Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 4 (comic story)
Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 4 was a the fourth chapter of the original Kate Five vs Symbiote arc of the webcomic Kate Five, written and drawn by James Bridger, alias Cyberkitten01. Like many other installments, it was highly NSFW.
Contents
Plot
Kate Five awakens suspended in a mysterious vat of green fluid, breathing through a gas mask strapped to her face. Facing her on the other side of the glass is her long-estranged twin sister, Kimberley. She explains that, through the telepathic link they have always shared, she was able to observe all of Kate's misadventures ever since the Symbiote attached itself to her. Mocking, she taunts Kate with the claim that every evil thing she did while possessed by the Symbiote was simply the Symbiote allowing her to give in to her own darker impulses, and that she enjoyed every moment of it. She also asserts that Kate's strange intuition to flee from Cardiff to America was not an idea planted in her mind by the Symbiote as she had previously assumed, but rather, Kate subconsciously hoping to reconnect with Kimberly.
Kimberley then shows Kate the seemingly-lifeless remains of the Symbiote, which she has been dissecting in an effort to use the secrets of its alien biology to improve her own work on bioenergy. Finished with her monologue, Kimberley leaves Kate. Desperate, she tries to isolate the lingering presence of the Symbiote in her mind and talk to it. It turns out to indeed still be alive, and, as a sign of trust, shares with Kate its actual name (or rather the one it chose for itself, as its actual native name is not pronounceable for humans): “Ghede Nibo”. It tells her that with Kate's help, they might be able to escape.
Meanwhile, back in Angel Falls, Battle Angel and the also symbiote-bonded Nexus Girl visit the Bleeding Rose, with Nexus Girl briefly morphing into her monstrous form to scare the bouncer into letting them in. They make their way in, watching the volunteers being drained of blood by the patrons, and draw the attention of Marcus, who tells Lori to bring him “the Japanese girl”. She thus approaches Taki, acting surprisingly friendly, while Nexus Girl, unused to the atmosphere, is too easily persuaded by two female patrons to have sex with them. Taki speaks with Marcus, who tries to temper her expectations of saving the Kate she knew, but she is undeterred in her passionate certainty that the good person she considered hber best friend is still in there somewhere and can be separated from the Symbiote's evil.
The next morning, Kimberley returns to the laboratory only to find the vat smashed open from the inside and empty. Still feeling Kate's mental presence nearby, she warns her that she can't hide from her, but is caught by surprise when Kate uses her chains to bludgeon her. She is all the more startled because, through the telepathic link, she had felt Kate's intent as striking from the left, thus being unprepared for a blow from the right. Kate explains that she figured out how to spoof the mind-link, broadcasting only what thoughts she wants Kim to hear, many years ago, having kept it a secret until now. Another shock compounds that one as Kim sees that the inert remains of the symbiote are also gone from where she had left them. Kate, who seems bonded with Ghede in a new way, reveals that she made a deal with the entity, reabsorbing its remains to strengthen it, and bonding with it irreversibly at a “genetic level”, in exchange for more control over their hybrid existence, with Ghede now unable to override her will.
Kate's confidence in no longer being overcome with evil impulses is instantly contradicted, however, when she lets the Symbiote overcome her, warping into her monstrous form, and voice its intent to force itself on Kimberley to spawn yet another symbiote. Reacting to the threat, Kimberley reveals the endpoint of all those years' research: an emerald-green power-suit that makes her “the Emerald Valkyrie”. Despite initially getting a few good kicks in, Kate soon finds herself out of breath, forcing the Symbiote to recede, and Kimberley explains to her that her fight with the Atlanteans in Angel Falls left her far more severely injured and weakened than Kate previously realised — in fact, she had been declared legally dead some time after being taken into custody, which was how Kimberley was able to smuggle her away without anyone really caring, and spent weeks in a coma in the tube before Kimberley finally managed to awaken her. Soon, however, the fight restarts when Kate needles Kim with the idea that she did it all, including building the power suit, out of childish jealousy. Gaining the upper hand, the Symbiote-possessed Kate indeed forces themself on Kimberley, but soon realises that the other woman isn't resisting as Kate had expected. Smug despite her circumstances, Kimberley reveals that she actually goaded Kate and the Symbiote on purpose in order to harvest genetic material from the symbiote through the act.
Worldbuilding
Universes
- This story takes place entirely in Reality Z-25 31-H.
Other
- Kate recalls being taken to sports practice by “Mum and Dad” while Kimberley was left without assistance on her “science project”. She also references a boyfriend called Danny whom Kimberley convinced to cheat on Kate with her.
Continuity
- The story picks up some time after PROSE: Angel Falls: Vengeance.
- Kimberly recounts the events of COMIC: Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 1 and mentions her mysterious drive to travel to Angel Falls at the beginning of COMIC: Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 2.
- Kimberley Jones's history, including the fact that she had moved to America, had previously been presented in PROSE: Kate Five Extended Bio, elaborating on a brief flashback in COMIC: Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 2. In the Extended Bio, her name was spelled as “Kimberly”, whereas here it is spelled as “Kimberley”.
- Also established in PROSE: Kate Five Extended Bio are Kate's struggles with her sexuality, with her having had sexual experiences with girls at slumber parties while drunk but denying that they meant anything. The Extended Bio mentioned that she'd had two boyfriends while at university; one of them is here identified as Danny.
- Taki mentions that she “knows what it is to be controlled”, referencing her backstory as given in PROSE: Battle Angel Yoshida Bio.
Behind the scenes
Read online
Kate Five vs Symbiote - Chapter 4 is available online on DeviantArt.
