Andi had placed all her faith in Gwen's planning- she really had no other choice. Despite being an important part of the plan's success, the entire thing was Gwen's design and would only work if her partner was as resourceful as she said the 'plot' would demand her to be. She really didn't want to risk her freedom on luck, but it was all she had if she wanted to save her soul... And her partner. Unfortunately no plan would ever be perfect.
"So who's in the transport," Andi whispered as Gwenpool slipped into frame behind her. She'd gone ahead to scout the passengers in the vehicle and see how many guards and prisoners it was carrying. Andi still wasn't sure how her friend pulled off any kind of stealth missions with her brightly colored costume, but now wasn't the time for questions.
"You're probably not gonna like this," Gwenpool started with a sigh, unbuckling her utility belt and leaving her weapons in a small hole in the sand Andi had prepared while she'd waited for her to return.
"What's wrong," Andi groaned exasperatedly.
"There're four guards- two female, so we have enough armor- but there's only one female prisoner in the entire van… It's Joystick." Gwenpool rolled her eyes, sitting down next to her partner.
"How hasn't she already been here," Andi hissed confusedly. "We fought her weeks ago!"
"I guess they had to process her in Philadelphia before bringing her out here. It's fine, I can definitely knock her out. She just might recover quickly. And it puts us on a bit of a timer to get off the Raft, but it's not like we were staying there long anyway," Gwen said confidently, trying to get Andi to see the bright side of the situation.
"Hm… this is already getting dangerous," she groaned, punching the sand under her in frustration. This was supposed to be an easy mission!
"You're right, but as far as expectedly unexpected snafus go, this isn't that bad." Andi couldn't help but glare at her friend, really wishing just for once she'd stop treating everything like a book. This was such a risky plan and if they got caught they'd be spending decades on the Raft for their crimes. She rolled her eyes before speaking up.
"Alright, Gwen. This first leg is all you and your weird comic-book powers," she reminded her. The truck slowed as it reached the dock before grinding to a stop, kicking up dirt and sand around its military-grade treads. Two guards exited the front cab- one man and one woman, covered in bright blue armor sporting the name 'Raft' on the back. Their helmets completely enveloped their heads, with a bright blue screen masking their face that Gwen stated acted as a heads-up display, relaying communication for all guards in the complex.
Gwenpool appeared behind the woman, silently creeping up on her before grabbing her and dragging her backwards out of the panel. Andi's Hell-Mark burned red hot on her chest as she threw the hardest punch she could muster, hitting the woman square in the gut. The guard dropped her to her knees, the wind knocked out of her. She was gasping for breath, but thankfully unable to call out for help. Gwen fiddled with the back of the helmet for a second before the suit unlocked. Slipping the helmet off of the guard, Gwen smacked the woman on the side of the head with a rock, knocking her out cold before she could shout for help.
"See. Not too bad," Gwenpool smirked, tossing Andi the helmet before moving to finish undressing the guard. Andi kept her costume on underneath the armor, and thankfully it seemed to be designed with an extra layer of clothing in mind. Not a second late, Gwen managed to drop her friend off in the panel just as the male guard reached the back of the truck. Andi nodded once before following the man's lead, placing her hand inside the locking mechanism of the truck in unison. The laser lock scanned their wristbands before disengaging. The two guards inside the truck copied their motion, all four guards turning their handles in together to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
"All clear," Andi's partner asked the pair inside.
"Clear. Little agitation from the female enhanced. Says she saw someone spying in on the van," the male guard explained, pointing over his shoulder at Joystick. She was seated towards the front of the truck with her face covered in shadows. Andi couldn't help but freeze. Knowing that the criminal had never seen her face, hardly made her feel safe this close to her.
"She's just stirring trouble," her partner explained with a shrug.
"What I figured. Just wanted to report it."
"Smart move. Prisoners, exit the transport," her partner ordered. The prisoners groaned and complained and swore as they got up and followed the command in a single file line. Andi's partner pulled away to lead the criminals towards the boat they would take to reach the island. A quarter of the line had exited the truck before it was Andi's turn to move. Holding her breath, she could do nothing but hope that Gwen would be able to pull this off without being spotted. She was about fifty steps away from the van when the male guard from the truck joined the line, and a hundred steps away when she heard a soft thump come from the van. She didn't look back, hoping no one would call attention to the noise. Luckily the only response was the march of feet against the metal pier as the group boarded the boat. Andi didn't look behind her until she was in her proper position, finally daring to catch Gwen's eye. She was dressed in Joystick's prison jumpsuit, complete with heavy shackles, a control collar and energy cuffs. But she looked… different. The angle of her jaw was sharper, her lips looked fuller, and even her hair and eye color had changed. Andi tried not to stare, but there was no way Gwen could've changed so much in just a few seconds, was there? Gwen boarded the boat last, standing up comically straight about a foot behind Andi.
"Um, don't stress out, but I didn't have enough time to grab some Pym Particles to make me taller. Getting the glamor charm was hard enough... Anyway, not that big a deal, we just gotta-"
"Quiet, prisoner. Delgado, don't be afraid to smack these enhanced guys around. Don't let them intimidate you," the other woman warned from her position on the boat.
"Right," Andi replied, roughly slapping Gwen on the back of the head to keep up appearances. The loud "Ow" from her friend thankfully pleased the other guards. The boat ride to the prison was uneventful, but the silence around them made Andi nervous. She occupied herself by looking down into the water, noticing large swarms of yellow and blue jellyfish floating along the river's surface.
"Those things are genetically modified to produce a neurotoxin that can paralyze an Asgardian," Gwen whispered, calmly looking down into the water as if this were just a pleasant sightseeing tour in NYC. Andi did her best not to think about what would happen if their plan failed and they were captured. The boat ride lasted about fifteen minutes, passing through several checkpoints and barriers before they docked on the south side of the island. They exited the boat single file before slowly shuffling into the lobby of one of the several large buildings scattered around the compound. They were patted down again, three of the prisoners including Gwen had their vitals checked as well, ensuring that their powers were being properly dampened by the field surrounding the island. Andi could tell it was working- Her Hell-Mark always felt like a soft warmth etched into her skin even while it was invisible, but it suddenly felt far away, as if it were part of someone else. She hoped she'd still be able to summon the Hellfire she'd need for her leg of the plan and didn't bother to dwell on it too much. If she failed she really wouldn't have to worry about it much anymore. Once they'd finished being checked over, they waited in the lobby for… something. Minutes passed before a tall, buff woman entered the lobby, flexing her biceps as if she'd just finished her workout. She walked confidently without armor, as if she couldn't possibly be bothered by even the worst these super-criminals could offer.
"Prisoners! Welcome to the Raft. Better get comfortable, because you won't be leaving." Her voice was deep and carried far in the empty lobby. Andi's mind clung to her every word, and she couldn't help but feel that the woman might have powers of her own. She was followed by a smaller woman, covered in shimmering blue scales that reflected a neon green when the light caught them at certain angles. She'd stopped about a foot behind the taller one, a curiously excited look on her face as she glanced over the prisoners. She looked like a kid in a candy store. Her every step seemed calculated, like a predator closing in on its prey. It made Andi shiver, and the rest of the guards seemed just as uncomfortable.
"I'm not here for any grandiose speeches. I'm not even here to intimidate you. I'm here to enforce the law. You break that law, I break you. You piss me off… I feed you to the rookie here. And a warning: every guard with powers on this rock is affected by the same power dampeners that are making you all look pathetic. Keep that in mind if you ever decide to turn those off." She eyed every prisoner individually, practically begging any of them to act out of line.
"We got a couple bitches for nannies? What is this, a slumber party?" One of the prisoners spat before laughing, getting a small laugh from the prisoners closest to him. The man was built like a brick wall, large and strong, his skin made of living stone- one of the prisoners with powers that'd been tested twice to ensure he was safe. Two of the guards walked up to him, batons powered up and ready to administer some discipline before the large woman whistled, calling them off.
"Star? Care to show him what the nannies do to misbehaving children?" The lizard girl excitedly looked up to her partner as if she weren't sure she had permission. The woman nodded and Star chirped excitedly before turning her attention back to the prisoner. Suddenly she went from excited puppy to feral beast as she stalked towards him on all fours, every movement she made was feral and predatory. The hair on the back of Andi's neck stood on end as she watched her. The prisoner had about two feet and a hundred pounds on the girl but that hardly seemed to matter. Clawed hands reached for him, tightly gripping the tough skin of his forearm. The scales of her hands shimmered and the man hissed in pain as his skin blistered and boiled, burned under Star's touch. He tried to pull away but she held on tight, yanking him off of his feet and onto his knees as if he were a misbehaving child throwing a tantrum. She then stood up, sending a rough knee into his gut that shattered the man's toughened skin. Large, deep cracks spread all over his body, from the point of impact, climbing up his chest, back and shoulders as if he were made of glass. He howled in pain, louder than Andi had ever heard anyone scream. Fear in his eyes, he finally managed to wrench his arm away from Star before struggling to crawl away from the monster in his shackles. The lizard woman was grinning from ear to ear now, her claws sinking deep into his thighs and the smell of burning flesh instantly assaulted the noses of everyone in the room. Some people had already turned away, but most couldn't help but watch. The man shouted even louder, begging to be let go, but she only dragged him towards her before straddling his chest. She was salivating, long, blue tongue dripping with slobber as she tasted the man's cheek. She wrapped a hand around his throat and-
"Enough." Star stopped in her tracks, black smoke pouring from her mouth as she growled in frustration before bounding on all fours back to the taller woman. She stood up, pride and excitement on her face as she licked the blood off her claws. "Guards, take him to the infirmary before he bleeds out. Any of you other enhanced freaks wanna test either of us, or do we have an understanding?" The question was rhetorical, but she still looked to both of the enhanced prisoners.
"Nah, I'm good," one of them said, a man whose icy hair had melted since he'd stepped foot on the Raft, water dripping down his face like sweat.
"No thanks. I'd like to go to my cell now," Gwen smiled happily.
"Star, make sure the prisoners don't give our guards too much trouble. If someone steps out of line, no one's going to stop you if you decide to follow through," the woman sighed before waving them off, heading back to the room she'd come from. Andi stuck close to Gwen, hoping that the creature wouldn't find her or her friend too appetizing.
"Hey, Delgado, relax. I'm not gonna hurt you," Star laughed, softly patting Andi on the shoulder. It made her skin crawl. The woman barely reached Andi's chest but she knew she could hurt her if she wanted to. "We've known each other for months now, you guys know I wouldn't hurt any of you," she pleaded. The guards all grunted roughly, not even bothering to make eye contact as they led the prisoners towards their cells.
"Alright, whatever. Be like that," she sighed, smoke pouring from her nostrils in an exasperated huff. The guards escorted their prisoners into their cells one by one, ensuring that each door was locked. The two supers were led to separate cells, reinforced glass domes whose seamless doors were invisible until they were opened. The man with ice powers was the first in his cell. His chart stated he was able to turn the water in the air to ice crystals, freezing someone's lungs from the inside. It was clear he didn't have much power at all while on the Raft.
"Prisoner 37728. Your cell's complete with a dehumidifier. Any and all water you get will be provided by us. Any escape attempts and UV rays will flood your cell, vaporizing any water you might be playing with in seconds. We keep those on too long, it'll get hot enough in there to cook you from the inside out. Repeated escape attempts will affect your water ration proportionally. Got that," Star read the specifications as if it were a new toy, her green, cat-like eyes scanning over the clipboard she'd been handed.
"Sure," the man nodded, his own eyes focused on his shoes. One of the guards removed his energy cuffs and triple checked his control collar before giving a thumbs up.
"Get in there," the guard commanded, pushing him forward into the cell. The hatch closed behind him, sealing him inside.
"Prisoner 24602," Star called, not even looking up from her chart.
"Huh- oh, that's me," Gwen took a step forward, looking at her cell.
"You start moving too fast, your entire cell will fill with high density foam that'll set denser than concrete in seconds. I'm supposed to tell you not to inhale when this happens until it sets, but let's make sure it doesn't," she winked, finally looking up from her chart before cocking her head confusedly at Gwen. "Wait… this is Joystick," the lizard girl asked one of the guards confusedly.
"Yeah. Why," he answered back roughly. Andi could feel her blood freeze in her veins.
"She was taller when we got her. 5'8" or something? Did none of you guys read the report," she chirped- a weird, birdlike noise high in her throat that could best be described as 'confused velociraptor.'
"I'm taller in my boots," Gwen provided, taking on a slightly harsher tone to mimic the other woman's voice more closely.
"You didn't have that accent either," Star reached for her wristband again, the suspicion rising in her voice.
"You think I wanna be recognized? I wear a mask for a reason," Gwen scoffed, rolling her eyes rebelliously as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other in a sign of increasing annoyance.
"You smelled different too," she hissed, sniffing the air intently as she tried to figure out what was wrong with this Joystick.
"I'm not a big fan of prison showers. Now you wanna stand with me and keep playing Twenty Questions or you gonna let me go, huh?" Gwen scoffed and walked into her cell without waiting for an answer, sitting on the bed and turning her back to the group. Andi watched her, surprised, confused, and thoroughly impressed. That'd been an uncharacteristically convincing display of her. Star rolled her eyes before following Gwen into her cell and taking the energy cuffs off of her before slamming the hatch shut.
"… guards, you're dismissed, I guess." Andi sucked down a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding as the guards took their leave. She wanted to stay behind, still not too sure exactly how Gwen would be able to escape from this kind of cell, but a quick wink from her partner forced her to swallow her doubts. She'd have to trust her. She threw one last look back at Gwen before making her way out of the building with the rest of the guards. Accessing the HUD in her helmet, she opened the map and plotted a course to the control room.
Gwen had explained her powers limited her to jumping to places that had already been featured in a comic panel. Even if she hadn't seen them or been there before, as long as the place had been featured in a book, she could go there. But Gwen had wracked her brain for hours and hadn't been able to remember a single panel featuring the Raft control room. However, if Andi got inside and looked around, the panel would pop into existence in her weird pocket dimension and she'd be able to travel to it. That was Andi's first job.
She reached the control room without incident and considered just breaking down the door for a moment. She tried to call on her Hell-Mark, managing to produce a small puff of smoke, but the strength that normally followed never came. There'd be no way she'd be able to slam through the heavily reinforced door designed to keep guys as strong as the Abomination out. She groaned, suddenly feeling the entire plan unravel at the seams.
"Delgado? Rachel, is that you," came a soft voice over the intercom. Andi stood up straight and saluted, hoping to appear like any other guard. She had no idea what kind of person Rachel Delgado must've been like, and she did her best to try to seem as 'normal' as possible.
"Give me a sec, I'll open the door," the voice answered before the door opened with a soft beep. Andi checked over her shoulder, making sure the hallway was clear before entering. She took a long look around the room, filled with a few dozen computer monitors that all fed information into the main platform.
"Rachel, you shouldn't be here!" The voice belonged to a handsome man, strong jaw and broad-shouldered. He had rich, dark skin and toned arms that Andi never would've guessed would belong to someone who spent hours in front of a computer screen. His eyes were a deep blue and emitted a pale glow that seemed to hum like television static. Clearly someone else with powers that helped to keep the prison running. He blinked a few times, the rapid movements of his eyes slowing down before finally focusing on her with a coy smile.
"Rachel, we almost got caught last time. They need my eyes on the cameras at all times, someone could escape," he explained breathlessly. Darker splotches across his neck and shoulders that were poorly hidden by his collar and undone tie caught Andi's eye and she instantly realized why the man had been so eager to open the door for Rachel Delgado in the first place. Without responding, she slowly strolled over to the console, doing her best to look as alluring as possible despite her inherent awkwardness. Sitting down in front of his console, she leaned back and spread her legs, tracing a finger along the marks Rachel Delgado had made along his neck. The guard shivered in response, eyes lighting up in excitement.
"You brought me my dinner early," he asked playfully, placing his large hands on her inner thighs and gently spreading her legs. She could feel the blood rush to color her cheeks, eyes widening as he deftly undid the magnetic locks that kept her cuisses in place with ease, like he'd done this way too many times before. They fell away, clanging to the ground and he leaned forward, looking up into the screen of her helmet as if begging for permission. All Andi could do was nod. Closing his eyes, he went on to continue undressing her as her heart hammered against her chest faster than she'd ever felt before. She gasped softly as she felt her pants come undone, and quickly raised a shaky fist readying a punch she hoped would knock him out as he lowered his head to her crotch. She was still in her underwear, but clearly the man was too excited to wait any longer. Just as she did, Gwen- clad in a set of guard armor- slipped into frame, cracking the man over the back of his head with her energy baton. Andi couldn't see her face but she could practically feel her friend's mind struggling to pick the best quip for the situation
"Gwen, whatever you're gonna say, please don't," Andi begged softly.
"Oh, but I really wanna say it," Gwen pleaded, bending over to collect her partner's cuisses for her.
"I'll make it my life's mission to make sure you never meet Valkyrie. Ever," Andi warned.
"Oh, that's low," Gwen hissed, her hands on her hips in defeat. "Fine. My lips are sealed. No quips. Now go get your friend back," Gwen nodded towards the door before pulling the man's body out of his seat to rest on the ground.
"What if she doesn't want to come back," Andi asked softly, the thought having weighed on her since Gwen had suggested rescuing her. She'd been too afraid to voice it then, but it was all she could think about now.
"Hey, don't quit on me now, girl. This is your character arc. Taking back what Lee took from you, bonding with your old partner, reclaiming your title as Mania... It's gotta work," Gwen playfully blew a kiss at her friend before waving her out the door.
"Wish me luck," Andi sighed, adjusting her pants and armor for the last time before stepping out of the control room. Immediately, she bumped into two guards making their rounds and her heart sank.
"Oooh, Delgado! Fraternizing again," the two guards teased before laughing loudly, one of them patting her roughly on the back.
"Do I have to make an appointment, or should I just find you after lunch," one of them asked, getting another laugh from the group. Andi flipped them off, earning an even louder laugh from them before she pulled away from the group as they walked off and down a different path. She breathed a sigh of relief, sincerely hoping there'd be no more surprises. Reaching the elevator to the basement, she had to scan her wristband just to access the controls. Entering the lift, she took the time to quickly read through the specifications of the cell she'd be looking for.
The Maniac- Lee Price- was kept in the basement level of the facility, along with the rest of their highest security prisoners. Everyone who interacted with him had to be inoculated using Agent Anti-Venom's antibodies to ensure they couldn't be turned into his Inklings. His domed cell was larger than those of the other enhanced humans, allowing for the several kinds of contingencies in place should he try to escape. Sonic cannons modeled off of Black Bolt's cosmically powerful voice were armed and ready at all times with the potential to fire loud enough they'd make a small earthquake. Napalm dispensers ready to coat the entirety of his cell in the vicious chemical. Thermite dust could be sprayed from microscopic ducts built into the floor lighting the very air on fire. Every individual seam in the cell was watertight and checked once a week, the dome itself was made of ballistic glass triple reinforced with a vibranium nano-weave and protected by a forcefield generator designed by Reed Richards which was standard issue for all of the stronger inmates of the Raft. The Klyntar wouldn't be able to escape alone, let alone with her host. Price himself was drugged daily, a cocktail designed to inhibit anger and aggression, as well as outfitted with an implant in his spine that would block all electrical signals coming from his brain in the event of an escape attempt. There were also several contingencies about his containment that she was unable to access from her HUD at Delgado's security clearance level. Andi read through the specifications of each contingency, thoroughly convinced there was no way even someone experienced with using a symbiote like Coach Thompson would be able to escape from this level of containment.
"All this for one guy… and these guys still manage to break out," she hissed sourly. She couldn't remember the last time more than a month had passed between stories of Raft escapees hitting the headlines. A few minutes had passed since she'd entered the elevator, and the lengthy trip was starting to weigh on her. The temperature had dropped noticeably and she could feel the air grow heavier with each breath. Panic was just about to set in as the elevator rumbled to a stop, doors opening with a soft beep. The basement was enormous, essentially an underground auditorium filled with about twenty of the Raft's most powerful super-criminals.
Morbius, The Living Vampire.
Lady Deathstrike.
Carrion.
Flux.
Shriek.
Kraven The Hunter.
Maniac.
Lee Price was sitting on his bed, finishing the last of his lunch. His movements were slow and sluggish and he seemed pale and skinny, no longer the large, athletic man she remembered from her nightmares. However, as worse for wear as he appeared, she almost shed a tear for her long-lost partner. The symbiote was still bonded to him, but even it seemed pale. Hardly covering Price's skin, large swaths of his body would become exposed for a few seconds only to be covered in the thin, living fluid again like a living Rorschach painting. It was struggling to maintain its form over its host despite how terribly weak of a state it was in. Andi could feel a writhing in her gut, a tickle in the back of her brain, like the echo of a whisper coming from the symbiote's direction. Even after all this time, she was still connected to the symbiote, and she could feel its desperation in her heart.
"She's dying…" Andi quietly walked to the cell, doing her best to keep out of sight of as many guards as she could without looking suspicious. There were two guards at Price's cell, one on either side of the large dome, both armed with weapons Andi could only imagine were specifically tailored to hurt Mania.
"Didn't realize you were interested in these supers, D," one of the guards asked confusedly. Andi nodded her head, a tear running down her face as she watched the symbiote congeal and melt away against Price's body.
"This one's got brainwashing powers. I hate that shit. Probably can't do much of anything now. That alien's been showing low vitals for weeks. Not much longer before it dies and we can move this freak in with the rest of gen pop," the guard said hopefully, rolling his shoulders as he spoke.
"She…" Andi whispered, pressing her hand against the glass. She could feel the symbiote congealing as it recognized her presence, terrified of her but even more terrified of its own mortality. Small spindles grew out from Price's body, reaching out towards Andi before melting away under their own weight like hot wax.
"Delgado, step away from the cell," one of the guards warned, raising his weapon as he watched the symbiote react to her presence. An alarm began to blare before the hatch opened, every single contingency designed to contain the Maniac failing as one. Chucking her energy baton at the nearest guard, it shattered through the screen of his helmet and knocked him unconscious. Picking up his gun, she concentrated as hard as she could and stirred up the dregs of power her Hell-Mark could provide. Channeling it all into her arms, she threw her gun at the guard hard enough to knock him off his feet.
Lee took the opportunity to escape, desperately dashing out of his cell towards the elevator. Using the strength the symbiote provided, he ripped the arm of a guard that'd tried to stop him clean off before pushing past and running for the elevator. Andi was on his tail, avoiding the hail of bullets fired at them. Price slammed into the elevator door, frantically trying to wrench it open. Andi was forced to weigh her options- open the elevator for Price, or stay in the basement and be riddled with bullets. She groaned, scanning her wristband and letting the man into the elevator as she followed behind him. The doors slammed shut just as the closest guards reached it, slamming their fists against them in defeat.
Price gasped for breath, leaning against the far wall of the elevator as he gathered his failing strength. Any kind of exertion was difficult for him and he hadn't had the chance to stretch his legs or run in over a year. About a minute ticked by as he glared at Andi, trying to recognize her through the armor.
"You… the suit remembers you… I should kill you right now," he hissed, clawed finger-tips growing like liquid wax from his hands as he pointed accusingly at her.
"You don't have the balls," Andi growled, gun trained on him. This was the man that'd ripped the symbiote from her body, leaving her vulnerable and helpless. He'd stolen her friend and taken her for himself, and she wanted nothing more than to gouge his eyes out and feed them to him. Her Hell-Mark flickered on her chest, a faint ember that never even made it past the fabric of her costume, let alone the armor plating of the guard uniform.
"It hates you, you know? It blamed you every minute we were in there. It's terrified of you. If you came here to take it back you're gonna be disappointed," Price laughed cruelly, the symbiote swelling around his forearms, struggling to form the familiar, brutish muscles that the Maniac favored. Andi tore her helmet off and threw it aside, suddenly grateful to Gwen that the eyes of her costume so perfectly mimicked the design of her old friend. She reached out hopefully, trying to get the symbiote to rejoin her through will alone.
"Mania… please, girl," she whispered, hand outstretched for her partner. Mania shivered, enveloping Price in a wave, but never moved towards her.
"Is that your plan? To beg! You've got no idea how much this thing hates you, do you?" Price roared, slamming his massive fist into Andi's gut. The punch fractured one of her ribs and she fell to her knees in pain, clutching at her stomach. He followed up with a kick to her gut before slamming down on her back. The hit would've killed her if he'd been anywhere near his usual strength. Grabbing her by the chestplate, he dragged her back to her feet before lifting her off the ground. A wide, toothy smile formed across his face, long, prehensile tongue wrapping around her throat. She struggled to breathe, desperately kicking at his chest, but her Hell-Mark flickered weakly, the dampeners making it impossible for her to get the strength she needed to fend him off. Her head started to grow fuzzy as she struggled against him, and she hadn't noticed the elevator grind to a halt and open its doors.
Star walked with confidence, holding a beaten and bloodied Gwenpool by her leather shoulder straps like a ragdoll as she made her way towards the disturbance she was sure must be connected with this delinquent hero and missing Joystick. Behind her, a group of fifty armed guards followed, ready to open fire given the order. Her blue, glowing eyes flickered as the doors opened, processing the scene in less than a second.
"Maniac! Let go of her," Star roared, dropping Gwen and bounding on all fours towards the hulking man. Slamming into him, she knocked Andi out of his grasp and attempted to slash his back to ribbons, her claws catching on the thick tar of the symbiote. It sizzled and boiled and screamed in pain, jumping away from the heat of her razor sharp claws. Price responded with an uppercut that knocked the woman off her feet and slammed her head into the ceiling. Without missing a beat, the lizard girl breathed bright green fire on the man. Andi yelped, reflexively covering her face despite being fireproof.
Mania wasn't as fireproof.
A hellish scream poured from dozens of toothy mouths that'd formed along the liquid skin of the symbiote. Like living ink, Mania dripped off of Price piece by piece, and then all at once, splashing onto the floor in its final death throes. Andi desperately reached out to her, clawing at the quickly evaporating dregs of black tar that was her dying partner. In seconds, she was gone. Price howled with laughter, dropping to his knees as they buckled underneath him.
"Who the hell are- you," Star hissed, bristling at the hero as she recognized the mask.
"Looks like you've gotta move me to gen pop now, huh? I can finally get out of that fucking cell," he spat bitterly. "Oh, and your guard here's a traitor. Wanted the suit. Looks like neither of us can have it now, though," he laughed again watching as Andi grabbed at her head, sobbing over the loss of her partner. Star walked over to Andi, picking her up by the chestpiece of the armor as easily as Maniac had.
"You're those new heroes from Philadelphia… Thanks for saving me the trouble of having to track the two of you down," she smirked, smoke pouring from her nostrils and making Andi cough. "They wanted the suit. Broke their way in here impersonating Joystick and Delgado, and freed this Maniac to get it. Looks like there's no more suit to steal though. Sucks, I would've worn it myself if I had the chance. But maybe me and the Hot Topic look wasn't meant to be?" She sighed and tossed Andi towards the guards. Landing next to Gwenpool, she clutched her side as her rib shifted in her chest. Her partner was a lot worse off than she'd expected, covered in burns, cuts and scrapes and bleeding from her nose and mouth.
"Your obnoxiously talkative partner will tell you all about how I kicked her ass when she wakes up," the reptilian girl mocked, gently patting Andi on the cheek as she took her time to gloat. Finally rising to her feet, she walked back over to the elevator and grabbed Price by the front of his prison uniform before dragging him out of the elevator.
"Guards, escort them to those cells they wanted so bad. That control collar on Gwenpool is set for teleportation, but don't be afraid to pump either of them full of tranq in case they've got more tricks. I'm taking Price- he's still dangerous until we know that alien's gone for good," she explained, dragging the man to his feet.
"Yes, sir!" Two of the guards broke rank and walked towards the heroes, ready to apprehend them. Andi sighed and reached out for her friend, taking her hand in desperation.
"Gwenpool… it was cool working with you," Andi coughed, clutching at her broken rib. She leaned her head back, bracing herself for the pain in her side as she'd be dragged to her feet by the guards.
"Famous last words, meet not-so-final confession," Gwenpool whispered, using the last dregs of her energy to wrap her arms around Andi and roll out of the panel. Tranq guns already raised and fingers on the trigger, three darts pierced Gwen's back as she slipped out of reality.
"Oh… well that's not gonna look good on my report," Star growled, arms crossed over her chest. She angrily stomped her feet before turning to snarl at Price as he started to chuckle.
Falling through the Gutter, Andi could see dozens of pages flashing past her head. Comic covers that read Amazing Fantasy or Tales to Astonish unraveled around her, flipping through hundreds of pages covered with dozens of panels each. They fluttered around her like fireflies on a warm summer's night, spilling the tales of hundreds of heroes.
"Gwen, get me out of here," Andi begged, but looking over to her friend she finally noticed the tranquilizer darts in her back. She frantically pulled them out, but they'd done their job, her partner would be asleep for who knew how long. She'd have to find the way out on her own.
Andi started by looking for Gwen. She concentrated on that name and that name alone, finding dozens of covers of Spider-Man comics had answered her plea. They opened to hundreds of panels featuring Gwen without the pink highlights in her hair, laughing with a young, wiry boy with messy brown hair and glasses. Flipping through another comic, she saw pinkless Gwen playing the drums in a universe that seemed to be drawn entirely in watercolors. A final comic featured her friend being caught by Spider-Man, only to lie dead in his arms, a fall having snapped her spine.
"What… what happened to you," Andi asked confusedly, looking over to her sleeping partner. This time she thought of her costume. White and pink, big boots and briefs, soft blush over her cheeks and toned legs that'd make anyone look twice. Opening her eyes, the first instance in existence reached out to her.
"DeadGwenpool's Secret Wars" covered the top of the page, while her friend lounged on an inflatable pool chair, a martini in one hand and her katana in another as thugs bled into the pool water on the bottom left corner. Andi flipped forward, finding Gwen chasing a duck man, guns blazing. Gwen pushing a HYDRA member into an incinerator and taking a selfie with a weird squid alien. Gwen watching helplessly as a boy in a skull t-shirt and trench coat was vaporized in front of her by M.O.D.O.K.
Andi searched through the line as far as it went, following her friend's adventures. Fighting Thor, meeting Blade, befriending a pig wearing her costume. Andi confusedly stopped on a few panels of her fighting Terrible Eye and Spider-Man before skipping forward, watching her destroy a black suited version of herself.
"Thanks for reading. Now, if you'll excuse me? Who said anything about being done?" Andi couldn't help but shed a tear as she flipped through The Unbelievable Gwenpool #25. Following the thread even further, she found Gwen's West Coast Avengers adventures, flipping through entire issues at a time as she desperately tried to avoid the truly unbelievable amount of panels featuring her friend making out with Quentin Quire. This series seemed to end even quicker, and she fought to follow the thread through-
"Heroes After All #1. The Hellish Mania meets The Unbelievable Gwenpool." Andi's hands shook as she reached for the comic. The cover featured Gwenpool angrily slashing her sword at something just off panel, while Maina- symbiote suit and all- held onto her friend, desperately trying to keep her restrained. Opening to the first page, Andi could see herself, months in the past, casually sipping cherry soda on her way home with no idea of the events yet to come. She slowly flipped through each page, tears in her eyes as she read through the events of her life since she'd met her friend. In an instant, an idea dawned on her that she would've considered crazy- even by Gwen standards. Desperately she flipped through the pages as fast as she could, passing through more than a half dozen issues before finding herself and Price in the elevator, just a few pages in her past.
It felt like a lifetime ago.
Star's green fire covered a top-down view of the entire page, the sound effects of Mania's pained scream superimposed over the art. Andi took a deep breath and reached inside, fingertips breaching the veil of the reality- of her reality. Reaching through the bottom of the panel, just behind Price's boots, she found a small drop of her partner and pulled as much of her out the past as she could. The symbiote was small and helpless, about a hundred milliliters of sentient alien ooze. She looked around terrified and confused before recognizing Andi and finally curling up in her hand like a small, liquid puppy. She was hurt, but she was alive . Tears streamed down Andi's face as she finally held her partner for the first time in what felt like forever.
"I missed you so much," Andi whispered, tucking the symbiote away in one of the compartments of her armor. Grabbing Gwen's wrist, she flipped back through the pages before finding their intended landing spot. An empty panel following the one right after they'd left for the Raft.
"It'll probably be nothing," in a bright pink text bubble hovered over Gwen's head in the panel before it, the words still ringing in her head as if her partner had just said them. She did her best to push all the thoughts and paradoxes of time travel out of her mind and squeezed Gwen's wrist a little tighter before jumping back into her reality- back home.
She landed on her side, shouting in pain as she hit the ground. It took a few moments for her to finally stand up, shaky legs lifting her up as she looked at the prison complex they'd just left, yet technically still hadn't entered.
Within seconds, alarms began to blare, the Iron Legion concentrating above one area of the island. Andi didn't have to wait around to see what it was that'd tripped the alarm. The answer slept quietly in her armor, reunited with her at last.