"We need to go see how things are elsewhere. Knull's feint earlier has a lot of people in a tough fight," Peter said to Cindy as he swung through the city. Cindy, as usual, stayed silent, following his lead. They first approached the American Avengers' battle, which had devolved into chaos. Jack of Hearts and Livewire were trying to stop Citizen V from taking out Rhodey and Blackhawk, who were now possessed by symbiotes and trying to kill everyone else. In short, it was a messy five-way brawl.
Peter used his Venom symbiote to web up Blackhawk's wings, dragging him to the ground. Meanwhile, Cindy yanked the machine gun off War Machine with her webbing and sent him into a nosedive. Fortunately, with the symbiote's protection, Rhodey wouldn't be paralyzed from the fall.
Peter could tell that Jack of Hearts could handle War Machine and Blackhawk, but he was holding back. "Symbiotes aren't that fragile, my friend. Sometimes you can be a little rougher," Peter said, webbing Blackhawk to a wall.
Jack of Hearts finally relaxed, but then Citizen V swooped in, flapping his wings. It was Peter's first time seeing this world's Citizen V, and he was surprised that the villain had completely copied War Machine's and Blackhawk's abilities, making him even more formidable than the symbiotes.
Wait a minute, wasn't this the robot Super-Adaptoid, who could mimic others' powers?
Jack of Hearts groaned, "We have to stop him from hurting our friends! Spider-Man, I need your help!"
"Alright, helping people is a Spider-Man specialty. Give me a minute!" Peter said, engaging the Super-Adaptoid head-on. After a brief standoff, the robot performed a classic web-shooting motion and began trading webs with Peter. But Peter wasn't alone. Cindy webbed the robot's back from behind, and the two Spider-people pulled in opposite directions, their combined strength tearing the machine in half.
Jack of Hearts let out a surprised "Oh."
"I have to say, buddy, your teammate isn't a living person. As long as the data isn't corrupted, you can just dismantle him. You can always bring him back to be fixed after the fight," Peter said.
Jack of Hearts let out another awkward "Oh" and scratched the back of his head. He hadn't thought of that.
"Thanks, Spider-Man. We'll handle the Colonel here. You go on ahead."
After parting ways with Jack of Hearts, Peter and Cindy continued their journey. According to Stark, to weaken Knull, a full-scale assault was necessary, so freeing up as many fighters as possible was a top priority. In other words, Peter needed to check on the others who were on side missions to see if they could spare any help.
"Something's up over there," Cindy's voice broke Peter's thoughts.
Peter saw a girl around his age running down the street, pursued by a horde of elite symbiote drones. He was confused; why was there a running girl on the street at a time like this? But seeing she was about to be caught, he didn't hesitate. He swung over, yelling, "Look out!" and grabbed her by the waist, cradling her in his arms.
Don't ask him why he didn't just grab her hand. Spider-Man wasn't Superman. His bio-electricity wasn't a bio-force field, and just grabbing her hand might result in just grabbing a hand.
Surprisingly, as he swung her away, the girl seemed to get a glimpse of the ground growing farther away. In a moment of panic, she passed right through his arms and began a second freefall. Fortunately, Cindy, who was following behind, managed to catch her with a web, saving her from becoming a splat on the pavement.
Thankfully, she didn't fall a second time.
The two brought the girl to the top of a building. Peter finally got a good look at her. She was a short girl, about fifteen or sixteen, with chestnut-colored hair in a ponytail and a pair of rare amber eyes.
"Hey, Spider-Man! I see you on TV all the time. And this is… Spider-Woman?"
Cindy, uncharacteristically, spoke up, "Silk."
"Oh, thank you, Silk. And Spider-Man, I'm sorry. It wasn't that you didn't grab me tightly; it's just... I fell right through you." The girl apologized sheepishly.
Peter had a guess who she was, but he waited for her to introduce herself. "Um, I… I think I might be a mutant."
"You think?"
"Yeah, I never had any powers before. Until yesterday, when I was about to get caught by these alien monsters, they passed right through my body." The girl's voice was filled with anxiety. "So I might be a mutant?"
"What's your name?" Peter asked.
"Kitty, Kitty Pryde."
Just as Peter had suspected. The girl in front of him was Kitty Pryde, the X-Men member who could make herself or anything she touched pass through solid objects. When he had worked with the X-Men before, he noticed Kitty wasn't among the past members. Now he knew why—she was from a different generation. The only mutant Peter knew of who was the same age as Kitty was Jubilee.
"Alright, it looks like you can protect yourself. Do you need us to take you to…" Peter trailed off, an idea sparking in his mind. He looked at Kitty, asking with a hint of uncertainty, "Perhaps, you could help us with something?"
"Help with what? Oh… wait." Kitty's eyes lit up as she realized what he was asking. "You mean I can help you? Help the Avengers?"
"Yes, but I'm not sure if I should ask you. This mission is very, very dangerous." Peter's eyes narrowed as he looked at Kitty. He wasn't sure if she could do it. He was genuinely hesitant because if Kitty agreed, she would have to face the strongest hero on Earth right now.
But on the other hand, if she volunteered and succeeded, the Avengers would instantly free up Thor and Hulk, two major powerhouses.
"I think I can do it. After all, if they can't hit me, what's there to worry about?" Kitty said, sounding confident. She looked at Peter. "Why don't you tell me what the task is first?"
"We need you to go face the Hulk."
"Huh? Me? Fight the Hulk?"
"And bring him out of the symbiote's control."
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