Rematch with the Monster.

After her near death experience with the wretches, Gwen along with Baird and Cole regrouped with Marcus and Dom. While both of them reacted to Gwen's condition, she assured them she could manage as long as she avoids taking more damage. With that they continued on, using some carts and some platforms to finally reach the underground tunnels. After killing a whole bunch of Locust along the way of course. Gwen looked around. The tunnels where massive, but there was also some kind of liquid floating around in the cracks. Gwen did not know what it was, but she was pretty sure she should avoid touching it.

"Damn..." Dom mumbled.

"Stinks down here. There's Kryll shit everywhere" Baird said while holding his nose.

Gwen covered her own nose "Smells like an old outhouse that has not been cleaned in years".

"All right, enough! Let's get this done and get out of here before the Kryll come back" Marcus ordered.

"This place is big enough for me to sing through. I can swing on ahead and scout out the place" Gwen suggested.

Marcus thinks it over before he nods "Sounds like a plan. Just be careful. If the Locust where in the factory, they'll be here too".

"Yes sir" Gwen saluted before using her webs to swing through the tunnels. It had been a little while since she last had the chance to web swing, so Gwen took the chance to enjoy it for a little bit... until she had to land on a wall, because her injuries where begining to sting "Damn... those things really did do a number on me. If I'm not careful, my injuries will not heal and could even get worse" She took a deep breath before contacting the others "The road is clear so far. But be careful, the path is rough".

"Copy that, let us know if you see anything else" Marcus answered.

"Got it, talk to you soon" Gwen said before continuing on... however she was not to careful with where she shot her webs, so one of her lines hit a lose rock, causing her to fall "Shit!".

She shot another web line, but she was only able to swing for a second before the object she hit came lose, making her fall down a hole. She was tumbling down the hole, and every time she tried to use her power to stop herself, it did not help because the uneven earth left nothing to stick on... it also did not help that by trying to stick to the surface, Gwen accidentally made it even more unstable, and caused the opening to start filling up.

Gwen finally flew out of an opening and hit the ground hard, causing her to hiss in pain as she also landed on a sharp rock, and her sniper was crushed by a rock. She slowly sat up and saw the opening collapse "Damn it! It will take me hours to dig through all that!" She sat up only to hiss in pain again "And I'm bleeding again. Perfect".

She sat on a rock and used her webs to stop the bleeding. There were moments like these when she really wished she had a fast healing factor. Wouldn't it be nice to have healing that allows one to heal from even the most fatal wounds? Gwen envies those that has it. Gwen could also feel that she was getting tired. She shouldn't be surprised. She's spent hours of non stop traveling and countless gun battles. Luckily she did not need as much rest as others, but sadly she did not have time for a nap right now.

Gwen contacted the others "Marcus, you there?".

She heard a grunt before Marcus answered "Yeah, still here. Me and Dom had a bit of a slip up. Where are you?".

"Same as you, fell down a hole and now I have no idea where I am... not that I had any clue in the first place" Gwen answered.

"Do you see anything note worthy?" Marcus asked.

Gwen looked around before she sighed "Not unless you consider dust and rocks note worthy".

"Alright, I'm afraid there is little we can do to help you. Try to find a way out and if you can, find a way to our destination" Marcus ordered.

"Copy that, I'll see if I can find you guys" Gwen answered before she sighed "Just when I thought my life could not get any worse... I sure hope this is as far as my bad luck goes".

Gwen had no idea how wrong she was. In the shadows, a certain someone was watching her. As Gwen began walking she could hear the faint whispers of the same voice she heard back in the city, it was faint but Gwen could still hear it... it felt like it was trying to guide her somewhere. Gwen knew following an mysterious voice in her head might not be the smartest thing to do, but she had little choice at the moment

Gwen walked through the tunnels, not trusting her web swinging anymore. She felt like she was walking around in a maze, no matter where she went, it felt like she was just heading towards another dead end. Not to mention she was way of the path she was meant to take along with her team. Each step felt like she was getting further and further away from her friens... and close and closer to something really dangerous.

She finally reached a more open space, much to her relief since it allowed her more of a clear sight of what was in this place.

"This place is massive. The locust must have had some insane stuff to dig all this stuff" Gwen mused to herself, she was about to contact the others but then her spider-sense went of making her look around "Now what?".

She looks around, but could not find the source of what her spider-sense was trying to warn her of. That alone made her a little worried. Her spider-sense would not warn her if there wasn't any danger. Gwen wondered if the danger was below her, but she could not feel anything. But then she finally felt something behind her and quickly spun around to see... The large Locust that killed Kim and the locust who almost killed her when she tried to avenge him.

General RAAM.

"You...!" Gwen said.

RAAM jumped down from his spot and looked at her "At last... you have been found".

"How did you even find me?... Wait. You've been tracking me this whole time!" Gwen realized.

"Why the hell would you track me all the way here?! Don't you have better things to do?" Gwen asked, ready to fight the moment she needed to.

"The Queen... wants you" RAAM answered.

Gwen blinked "The queen?... Wait... Is she the one who has been talking inside my head this whole time?".

"You have been chosen... you must answer your calling" RAAM said.

"What calling? What does the queen want from me?!" Gwen demanded.

"You... are the future... of the horde... You are chosen... as the child of the Queen" RAAM said.

Gwen felt more than a little freaked out over that "Child of the Queen?! I'm not even her child! I am pretty sure I would remember my mother being the Queen over an army of monsters!".

"Birth, irrelevant. Your future, still the same" RAAM said as he began walking towards her "You... must answer... the call".

Gwen took a step back "The only thing I will do is to help my friends put an end to all you monsters! Now leave me alone, or I will have no other choice but to kill you right here!".

RAAM did not seem the least bit intimidated by Gwen's threat "Your blood... belongs to the Queen... You will answer... even if by force".

Gwen got in to her stance "Bring it on then, big guy!".

RAAM just glared and charged at her.

Gwen meets this charge by using her webs to send herself towards the large Locus. She then somersaults mid-flight before running forward to finish her advance. She uses her left web shooter to avoid RAAM's left swipe. She then lands three punches to RAAM's left leg, which causes the Locust to roar in response, as he seems apparent that they haven't done any significant damage. A retaliatory right swipe sends Gwen tumbling back, before the blonde Spider-Hero flips back upright and slows her momentum by firmly gripping her legs on the ground, with her left arm to support her in a three-point landing.

She fires two web shots, which arc towards RAAM, forcing him to block them with his arm, before roaring and charging again. Gwen grits her teeth as she then blocks RAAM's overhead punch with her left arm, stands her ground and lands an uppercut to RAAM's chin, propelling herself upwards to perform an airborne left side kick on The Locust General's chest, before landing back on the ground, propelling herself forward to slide between RAAM's legs, firing six more web-balls from behind, forcing RAAM to turn around, the projectiles apparently having no effect either.

Gwen jumped in to the air and used two web lines to propel herself again, before landing a powerful right hook to RAAM's left jaw, forcing him to wince in pain, before the second left hook keeps forcing his head to its right, as Gwen uses its momentum to move to keep hitting him. A right swipe from behind is blocked with Gwen's right forearm, she then proceeds to grab the limb, twists it and punches the Locust General with another right hook, forcing him back. Gwen then slides underneath His left arm to dodge the low left swipe, before propelling herself, sliding underneath RAAM again to dodge the right punch, finishing her movement with a cartwheel. As RAAM turns around, Gwen jumps in to the air, dodging the fifth strike, she then used another web line to spin herself up for a left tornado kick, which pushes RAAM's head to the right, before the Locust tries to use both hands to pin her down with a swipe, which misses as Gwen propels herself backwards, ready for another charge.

As Gwen prepares another left hook, RAAM times his right punch perfectly to hit her right in the face, sending her to the ground on her back and crashing into a boulder, the impact shattering the boulder she hit directly as well as making a small trough on the earth.

Gwen got back up, holding her now bleeding jaw, she looked at RAAM who was glaring at her. It was clear now that he was getting serious. Gwen spat out some blood and got ready to continue the fight... only this time RAAM did not charge her, he just waited for her to attack first. Gwen growls before rushing towards him but suddenly jumped to a wall before leaping of it and towards RAAM, ready to deliver another powerful punch to his face... but this time, he was ready.

When Gwen got close enough, RAAM moved to the side, allowing the punch to go harmlessly passed his face. But as Gwen went passed him, RAAM quickly grabbed her leg, swinging her up in the air before slamming her in to the ground, hard. Gwen let out a painful cry before RAAM lifted her again by her leg and slammed her in to the ground again, making her scream in pain. RAAM kept his grip on Gwen's leg as her roughly dragged her across the ground before lifting her up and slamming her down once again, making her scream loudly in pure agony.

When RAAM was finally done slamming her, he lifted her up by her leg and threw her in to a wall. Gwen coughed up some blood, feeling that her insides took a nasty beating. Had she not already been injured from earlier, this would have been a lot easier to handle. But as it stood, she was at a disadvantage.

Gwen studied RAAM for a moment. He was bigger and much stronger than most Locust she had fought and to top it all of, he knew how to fight, he made perfect use of his size and strength and he fought smart, taking all Gwen's hits so he could get a good feel of her fighting style and managed to muster a counter measure to it. Gwen had to admit, he was indeed a very clever foe. And as much as she hated it, she knew there was no way she could beat him in her weakened state, she would have a much better chance if she could fight him fresh.

RAAM noticed that Gwen was to weak to continue their battle so he stalked towards her "The Queeen... will have you now".

But as he reached for her, Gwen quickly fired web in to his face, blinding him. RAAM nods as he tries to get the web of his face, giving Gwen the opening she needed to make a run for it. When RAAM got the web of, he glares after Gwen and chased after her.

Knowing she could not outrun him due to her aching legs, Gwen risked using web swinging again. Thankfully the walls where more stable, allowing Gwen to swing away from her relentless enemy.

RAAM watched her swing away before letting out an enraged roar. She had escaped him again. And the queen would not be pleased.


Gwen got as far away as she could, before landing on a higher spot and collapsed. She was breathing hard and her whole body was in pain from the vicious beating she received. She had underestimated RAAM, thinking he would got down just as easily as his fellow locust. Gwen should have known he would be a much more dangerous foe than them. She should have known that the moment she saw him kill Kim. But she was so distracted by other thoughts to pay it much mind. Not to mention she was still bothered by the voice that kept speaking in her head, and it was beginning to scare her.

What RAAM told her did not help either. And she still had no idea of how he even found her.

But as she was trying to recover, the voice from before spoke again, only more clear this time "You are more resourceful than I hoped, my dear child. You are indeed worthy to be the one who will become the future of The Horde. You blood, shall bread new life in to our people and you will be remembered through our history as the one human who helped us all".

"No..." Was all Gwen got out before everything went black.

.

Been a while. Tell me what you think.