"Guys, I said I'm sorry," Himawari pleaded, hugging her knees close to her chest as she bit back tears. She looked so small and helpless, as if she weren't a highly trained S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with the skill to kill an average pair of angry roommates.

"We looked everywhere for hours," Andi hissed, arms crossed over her chest. She wasn't yet convinced of Gwen's crazy theory, but she did at least believe her roommate should've sent them a text letting them know she was okay before the evacuation had ended.

"I told you, I was trying to contact S.H.I.E.L.D. to come help! It's my job, Andi," her voice cracked as she spoke, desperate for her friends to understand the unique position she'd been in. Andi was too frustrated to care.

"We almost died, Himawari! I blacked out! Gwen had to save me after I'd passed out. Red Hulk threw a rock at us- it would've killed us if it weren't for that dragon chick. As much as you hate heroes, we both had to be saved by one." Andi rolled her eyes, her friend's tear-filled gaze difficult to hold.

"Andi, I'm so sorry. I… I just didn't know what to do! Kowakatta! My training just kicked in and I… I didn't think. Gwen! Please!" Himawari looked at Gwen, hoping her blue gaze would be more forgiving than Andi's violet.

"I'm not speaking to you," Gwen looked away, way angrier about the entire situation than Andi was considering she hadn't known about Himawari's job in the first place.

"Guys… g-gomen- I'm sorry! I messed up. I was a bad friend- I could've done more- I should've done more! Please… please forgive me." Andi watched as she practically begged for forgiveness. Maybe they'd pushed this too far. Maybe Gwen was wrong and they were just torturing the poor woman. She sighed and decided to push one last time.

"Himawari… Tell us the truth. The second we were in danger, the dragon chick came out and saved us." Andi watched the color drain from her friend's face. Andi had hoped Gwen would've been wrong about her hunch- that Himawari had nothing to do with MonStar. But now it was impossible to believe her friend hadn't been hiding something.

"Ano… watashi wa…," Himawari stumbled over her words, unsure of where to start. Andi's eyes were harsh as she glared down at her. She needed an answer. There was no way she'd be able to keep dorming with the woman if MonStar was only ever one text away from kicking down their dorm room door and dragging both her and Gwen to the nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. prison.

"Just tell the truth! You're dating her! You're dating MonStar aren't you," Gwen shouted, jabbing an accusatory finger into Himawari's chest. The smaller girl floundered for a moment, mouth opening and closing as she tried to form words, looking from one roommate to the next.

"I… swear I was going to tell you guys," Himawari squeaked.

"I knew it," Gwen said excitedly.

"L-look you can't tell anyone," Himawari said urgently, tugging at Gwen's jacket as she tried to breathe her urgency into her. "It's super dangerous for us to be together and we're technically coworkers- we could get reassigned! I could get fired," Himawari hissed. Gwen sighed before she finally laughed, nudging Andi with an elbow.

"I told you! They're dating! Ah man I can't believe I was right again!" Gwen laughed excitedly while Himawari desperately tried to get her to settle down.

"Guys, I'm serious! No one else can know! Please, I'm begging you, if anyone else found out about this I'd lose my job," Himawari whined, desperately tugging on Gwen's sleeve while she kept laughing. Andi stared at the two of them quietly as she moved to sit on her bunk. This seemed almost too easy… too convenient…

Something was off.

"Look, we just need you guys to make me a sword," Gwenpool whined, her wrists tied behind her back and joined in a knot with Mania's, ensuring neither of them could attack without harming the other. They were kneeling, facing away from each other on the rough ground, the warm spring air a sharp contrast from the late October chill they'd felt only a few hours ago.

"How did you even get into K'un-Lun," Iron Fist asked as he scowled through his mask, arms crossed over his chest.

"How did you get into K'un-Lun," Gwenpool said pointedly, earning an angry tug from her partner.

"If you let us go, we'll leave," Mania hissed. She was tired of this game. They'd nearly been captured on Asgard as Gwen tried to lift a sword the size of a building, and barely escaped with their lives when the Shi'ar realized they were on their world. She was done with this weapon search.

"They can't let us leave, Mania. We trespassed so technically they have to kill us," Gwenpool explained nonchalantly.

"What?!"

"Don't worry, Iron Fist is here, he's not gonna let them kill us, he's a big softie," Gwenpool chuckled. The hero deepened his scowl, looking to his teacher, Lei-Kung for guidance.

"If it were up to me I'd have you both executed… but clearly the Iron Fist finds some stake in your lives," the Thunderer said hollowly, as if he'd have no problem killing them both himself.

"Why are you here," Iron Fist asked, his voice not ringing in their ears with the weird language spoken in K'un-Lun.

"I wanted a sword. Well, I wanted you guys to make me a sword. Two swords really. You guys are the only ones that could help me out… Besides the dwarves I mean. But that probably wouldn't have gone as well," Gwenpool thought to herself.

"You trespassed into K'un-Lun for a sword," Iron Fist hissed.

"Yeah! Why not, it's not like you guys have any reason to say no- owowowowow," Gwenpool whimpered as Mania twisted her arms, the rope pulling her wrists at a sharp angle.

"Look, guys, my friend's a little sick in the head. We didn't realize that this was a sacred place. We'll get out of your hair if you let us go, I swear," Mania pleaded, doing her best to seem as non-threatening as possible despite the alien symbiote currently enveloping her.

"You realize Lei Kung is bald right- OW!"

"Master Lei Kung… I believe we can walk the proper path here… We test their hearts. If their words speak truth then we can allow them to leave." Iron Fist had switched back to that weird magical language again- one that Gwen and Andi both somehow understood despite never having learned it.

"With a sword please!"

"Test their hearts? Hm… I'll leave that to you then," Lei Kung said, looking at the Iron Fist with an inscrutable face before bowing and leaving the small hut.

"Gwenpool, what's he talking about," Mania asked, watching as Iron Fist collected some weird herbs and salves from the bowls and urns around the hut.

"You two… need to be more careful," Iron Fist sighed, coming back to the two women with a large pot. He sat down on the dirt floor and began mixing some of the ingredients together, pouring everything he needed into the pot. "Any other Iron Fist would've had you killed… or forced you to stay here. And the way you're speaking, you have a way to get out," Iron Fist explained, crumbling a pungent ingredient between his fingers and mixing it into the concoction.

"I know, but I really needed a sword and you guys were my best bet," Gwenpool explained.

"Our weapons aren't for sale. And they're only to be wielded by those trained in the martial arts here in K'un-Lun," he explained, lighting a stick of incense and deeply inhaling the smoke.

"Then train me!" She said it as if it was the only obvious answer.

"Gwenpool!" Andi wanted to tear Gwen's arms off. She wasn't being reasonable!

"What? I'm gonna need it! You've got a Hell-Mark and Mania, that means we're gonna be fighting way stronger bad guys- maybe even magical ones. I wasn't any help against MonStar and I barely held my own against Jack! I need training anyway, I might as well get a cool sword out of it," Gwenpool explained, looking over her shoulder at Mania as the other woman stared straight ahead.

"Lei Kung will not train you," Iron Fist said assuredly, filling the clay pot with a bit of water before setting it over a fire.

"He will if you put in a good word for me," Gwenpool said. "Anybody with an interesting enough backstory can be trained here," she continued, going on about the dozens of heroes who'd trained for a couple of issues in the city of K'un-Lun.

"Training will take years. A decade-"

"You don't have to drill me to fight Shao Lao, just enough that I can have one of your swords," she said exasperatedly.

"How do you know that name," Iron Fist asked, arms crossed over his dragon branding.

"Same way I know you guys have to let me train here if I can beat one of you in a fight," Gwenpool teased.

"Gwenpool you can't just leave school! There's too much going on in Philadelphia for you to-"

"Mania, it's okay. I'll just hop back into panel with you once I'm done. It'll be like no time had passed at all to you."

"Well, I can't guarantee you anything. Not even your lives. Not until you drink this," Iron Fist sighed, taking the pot off the flames and pouring its contents into one small clay cup. "This will show us your hearts' true colors. If you speak the truth then you may live."

"And there's only one because…?"

"You must choose who drinks it. That is the test. If either of you are lying, it will be seen," he said ominously.

"Oh, that's easy. Andi drinks it." She said it like she'd put so much thought into it but it'd hardly been a few seconds!

"Gwen," Mania shouted.

"What? We're in K'un-Lun, secret identities are dumb here," Gwen said with a shrug.

"No! Why would I drink it, this was your mission," Andi hissed angrily, Mania sliding off of her face as she looked over her shoulder to glare at her friend.

"Because I'm technically lying about a ton of things. To you, to Danny, to everyone. My secrets could put K'un-Lun in danger- hell, they could put the multiverse in danger. If this thing works the way they say it does they'd kill me just to cover their bases. But you know me better than anyone plus you're not lying about anything. It's gotta be you." Gwen looked at Danny, a playful smile on her face as she watched him wrestle with everything he'd just heard.

"Look, I'll explain half of that while you guys are training me. Promise, Mr. Rand." Gwen placed a hand on her chest in the sincerest apology she could before returning her hand behind her back. Iron Fist's eyes widened beneath his cowl and he checked the knot, making sure it was secure before continuing.

"Well… looks like your partner has full faith in you. Drink." Iron Fist moved to crouch in front of Mania, lifting the cup to her face. Andi sighed, purple eyes looking down at the contents of the cup.

"That smells disgusting," Andi groaned, holding her breath after catching a whiff of the warm liquid.

"Full disclosure, it tastes even worse," Danny explained, lifting the cup to her lips. Andi drank it down in one big gulp, her eyes watering the moment the liquid hit her tongue. It slid down her throat like one big slug, reaching her stomach and expanding and expanding. Iron Fist stepped aside, and placed a white rug down on the ground in front of her, just as her stomach started to twist and knot. It was on its way back up and Andi couldn't fight it, vomiting the thick slurry all over the rug.

"Is that bad," Gwen asked, looking over her shoulder at her friend. She couldn't see the vomit but she could see Andi's watering eyes and flushed face.

"Hm…" Danny knelt down, inspecting the splatter as if it weren't the most disgusting thing to have happened in the past ten minutes. Andi looked down and realized what exactly had caught his attention. There were patterns in her barf, some taking the shape of Mania's spider insignia while others looking like her Hell-Mark, both in a warm red color. She was positive she could make out Jack's ruined face and MonStar's smug grin dyed an angry orange. But one pattern was bigger than the others, taking up almost a quarter of the weird mural. Gwen- colored pink- straddled and held at gunpoint by the version of her Andi had talked to in Sarah's home. This one was colored black with yellow mixed in, a gleeful smile on her face as she twisted a knife that was lodged in Gwen's shoulder.

Andi's watering eyes threatened to tear up even more and she looked away, expecting some kind of punishment from Iron Fist.

"Hm…"

"What's he 'hming' about Andi, do we need to run," Gwen asked curiously, looking over her shoulder and trying to see what it was Iron Fist was staring at. Mania locked her arms, her enhanced strength easily keeping Gwen in place.

"Well… you're not a threat to K'un-Lun," Iron Fist announced, picking up the towel and throwing it onto a pile of other soiled rags and robes.

"So he doesn't have to kill us! Great!"

"Yeah… great," Andi sighed, even through the mask she could tell Iron Fist had seen what she had. She let Mania slide back over her face as he undid their bindings, massaging her wrists when she finally got them back.

"Now you've gotta train me, right," Gwenpool smirked, playfully nudging the hero.

"We will… attempt to-"

"Sweet! Alright, Andi, I'll just dump you home and then come back when I'm done training. This is gonna be so much fun, I've always wanted to have a training montage," Gwen said excitedly.

"Gwen… I-"

"Andi, come on! We can't all be lucky enough to get two sets of superpowers. Some of us actually have to train," she scolded, holding her hand out for Mania to take. The woman looked from her pink friend to the tattooed hero, hoping for some kind of out, but the man merely sighed.

"Fine… be careful," she said worriedly, taking Gwenpool's hand.

"Aww, that was the most emotion you've shown me all series," Gwen chuckled, leading her into that weird white space that she was quickly getting better at navigating on her own. Her feet held her weight despite literally floating in the white abyss, somehow finding an invisible platform to stand on over the millions of pages and panels that floated all around her.

"You know how to get back, right," Gwen asked, a hint of seriousness hidden under her smirk.

"Find an empty panel in our dorm, yeah," Mania nodded.

"And don't look at anything," Gwen warned, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

"Look, I really don't want to see anything in here I shouldn't. Last time I glanced around by accident, I saw Punisher's, uh… package," Mania shuddered at the memory.

"Good. Keep that disgust and get home quick. I'll try and be home as soon as I can, okay?" She didn't wait for a response before stepping away, the Gutter closing shut behind her with a loud snap.

"Come on, Mania. I'm starving," she sighed, falling down through the Gutter as she searched for a page that belonged to her adventures with Gwen. She concentrated as hard as she could, and when she opened her eyes, a page appeared in front of her, just within reach. She grabbed it and found a mostly empty panel, Himawari doing homework with her headphones on, her back to the door.

"Perfect," she said, Mania taking the form of a hoodie as she entered the panel. She thought about making a little noise to alert her friend, but Himawari had already jumped up from her seat, fists clenched as she spun around to see who was behind her.

"Oh! Andi! You almost scared me half to death," Himawari whined, crossing her arms with a pout.

"Sorry, sorry," Andi shrugged and threw herself on her bunk with a loud sigh. It'd been a long day.

"You feeling okay," the smaller woman asked, sliding her headphones off as she worriedly doted over her friend.

"Yeah, I… I'm just tired," Andi explained, crawling under her covers.

"So you're not going to classes today," her roommate asked confusedly.

"Huh?"

"Andi, it's almost eight am," Himawari explained, turning her alarm clock to face her friend.

"#%€&!"

Gwen didn't meet her during their literature class. She didn't meet her for lunch. She didn't meet her after classes or at the dorm.

She didn't meet her the next day either. Or the next.

"Where is she," Andi hissed, hands in her jacket pockets as she kicked open the door to the secret library they'd discovered. Mania did her best to try and distract Andi as well, regular patrols keeping them both busy at night, but beating up run-of-the-mill bodega bandits was pretty unsatisfying.

By the fourth day, Andi officially started getting worried.

"K'un-Lun isn't even on a map! How did she take us there," Andi growled, her Hell-Mark flaring up on her chest as she tossed some library books to the ground in anger. Something must have happened. Maybe Lei Kung had decided to kill Gwen after all? Maybe some evil organization was attacking the place? Maybe she'd been eaten by one of the dragons she'd tried so hard to convince her about.

"No, no she's fine," Mania shouted. She was on patrol now and had to push those kinds of thoughts from her head! The annoying prickling of her danger sense didn't do much for her anxiety either.

"Wait…" Her eyes flew open as she took in the Philadelphia skyline. She followed the sense, searching for something. The shape of a woman standing on a fire escape about a block away caught her eye. She looked… familiar, and the playful wave was almost too on the nose. "Gwen?" She vaulted towards the woman just as she started dashing away. By the time Mania had reached the fire escape the woman was jumping off the roof, sliding as she hit the next roof over.

"What are you doing," Mania shouted, following after her. Her danger sense grew more intense as she closed the gap, but it was like Gwen was playing a game of cat and mouse. Whenever Mania thought she was close enough to reach her, Gwen would disappear out of sight only to reappear on the next building over.

"Where are you going," Mania shouted, running as fast as she could to keep up. She was so focused on chasing behind her, she didn't even realize where she was headed. The woman ran down a fire escape and entered an open window, Mania following right behind and landing in an empty living room. She looked around for her friend, but it was as if Gwen had disappeared, leaving only peeling drywall and dusty paint behind. The apartment clearly hadn't been touched in years but it felt like she hadn't been there for a lifetime.

"Gwen! This isn't funny," she shouted as she looked around at her old home. There were still scorch marks on the walls and ceiling. A discolored patch on the ground where the gas cloud Jack O'Lantern had used to try to kill her had eaten away at the carpeting. The spot where Coach had used Venom to try and save her.

The spot where she'd become Mania.

"Oh, come on. You can't think so little of me," Gwenpool cooed. Except… this wasn't her Gwenpool.

"What are you doing here," Mania shouted, her mouth opening to hundreds of razor sharp teeth.

"Whoa, whoa, cool it! You haven't even shown baby me what that tongue can do, I don't want you to spoil the fun," the evil Gwenpool smirked, her hands up as she walked forward.

"Get OUT," Mania took a step forward, her Hell-Mark burning on her chest. She took another step forward, her claws forming along her fingers as she tried to bite back her anger.

"What are you gonna do? Kill me," Gwenpool asked with a smirk and a wink. In an instant she was slammed against the nearest wall, lifted up off her feet as Mania all but roared her frustration. "Come on, do it then, hot stuff. If you kill me now you might even stop me from becoming this," Gwenpool teased. Mania wrapped her tongue around the woman's throat, squeezing tight enough to get her to shut up. She wanted to kill her. To strangle the life out of her and keep Gwen safe.

But that'd be too easy.

The woman was still smiling. Her danger sense was still ringing in her ears. Killing her wasn't right. It wasn't the way to handle this. She let her go, slamming her into the wall again in anger.

"What do you want," Mania growled, crossing her arms over her chest. The woman doubled over and fell to her knees, coughing for a few moments as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Usually that's way more fun," she chuckled, wiping spit from the side of her mouth as she finally got to her feet. "I just wanted to visit where it all started. The spot where my beautiful wife upgraded from an extra to a bonafide hero," she moved to the discolored patch, her cape flowing behind her. Reaching down, she ran her hand over the ground, feeling the crusted residue.

"You shouldn't even be here! You're dead," Mania growled.

"Yeah, did you really think I could die? In a multiverse where entire universes can pop into and out of existence? Where future events can rewrite past events just to sell more books? My baby self did get the upper hand during her first run, but as long as she's alive I'm always a possibility," she smirked and sat on the table, kicking her feet as she watched Mania struggle with her emotions.

"No! Gwen's not like you. All those things you've said you done- shooting an innocent guy… starting a superhero war… She wouldn't do any of that." She was certain of that at least. Gwen had promised she respected this universe and she wouldn't make something like that happen on purpose. Galactus nearly ate the earth last time he showed up.

"Aww, it's almost adorable how much faith you have in me," she smiled and reached out, ruffling Mania's head spikes. Mania smacked the hand away and had to resist the temptation to break her wrist.

"What do you want," she demanded. She was over listening to this woman talk.

"Look, Soulfire, I know you're too stubborn and I'm too oblivious to admit what's going on between us right now, but the readers aren't that stupid. Archive's probably already got a few hundred fics dedicated to us getting all nasty in our dorm room. Why not just speed up the process? Why are you avoiding this so much," Gwen teased, rolling onto her back as she watched Mania wrestle with what she was saying.

"I'm not into either of you like that," Mania hissed, doing her best to pour as much anger as she could into the lie to make it sound true.

"Hmm, sure, okay, I'll pretend to believe you. But lemme ask, what was it like kissing me?" She hadn't expected this woman to know about that.

"I- I-"

"Full disclosure, I totally thought that was just fanservice for like, two years after it happened." Mania hadn't even noticed that Gwen had reached into the Gutter, her hand coming away wearing an Iron Man gauntlet. With a couple finger commands it produced a small ball of light that she casually bounced in her palm. Mania really didn't want to know where she'd gotten that from. "First kiss. Pretty big. Pretty unromantic," Gwen narrowed her eyes at the woman, feigning offense.

"Well, good job making the first move, anyway. But you were definitely drunk, so does it count," she asked herself as she sat up, tossing the ball of light behind her back and catching it as she hopped off the table.

"Why did you come here," Mania asked again, her voice wavering as she tried to get this Gwen from expanding on that thought.

"Aw, cheer up buttercup. None of this is your fault. You're just being written and I'm just doing what I have to do to stay in print," she pulled off her mask and Mania kept her eyes locked on her black boots. The older woman practically purred as she placed a finger under her chin, lifting her head up to meet her gaze. This Gwen was a few inches taller- nearly Andi's height- and it made her even more uncomfortable. "I came here so you wouldn't kill me before I said what I needed to. I know how sentimental you can get when it comes to your backstory. And I came here so I could warn you. That feeling you've got? That feeling burning in you that something's off? You're right. Follow it. And be careful," other Gwen let her go before taking a step away from Mania. She looked her up and down before coming back in for another tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you! You're gonna be great." Her hands lingered on Mania's shoulders for a moment before she finally pulled away, and with a puff of thick smoke, she was gone.

Andi fell to her knees, taking rough, shallow breaths as she bit back tears.

It was Friday night and Gwen- the real Gwen- still wasn't back. Even Himawari had asked, and Andi did her best to make 'I don't know' sound like a smart answer.

Another night out would calm the nerves. Hopefully.

She was swinging through the city looking for trouble without really looking. Trouble found her instead.

She was so distracted by her concern for Gwen she hadn't noticed her danger sense pricking at the back of her head. It wasn't until she'd slammed into a man barreling through the sky that she'd realized what was happening. They both crashed onto the roof below, the wind knocked out of her and a large duffel bag knocked out of the man's grasp.

"God-DAMMIT," the man shouted, gasping for breath as he crawled towards his bag. Mania had landed flat on her ass, and winced as she rolled over onto her hands and knees, moving towards the costumed man.

"You're-"

"You're under arrest, Shocker! Give it up!" A woman covered in thousands of shimmering blue scales vaulted onto the roof with them. She looked around at the scene, casually plucking the duffel off the ground while Shocker crawled on all fours towards her. "Oh! What do we have here? Philly's most wanted?" MonStar threw the bag over her shoulder and walked over to Mania, grabbing her by the wrist and rolling her over onto her back.

"Working with the Shocker? You must be getting desperate if you left your pink friend behind," MonStar teased, stepping on Mania's chest and pressing down until the concrete cracked around her. Mania clawed at her ankle, trying to push the woman off of her, but MonStar was as strong as she was- if not stronger. With no leverage, she was helpless.

"I'm gonna have so much fun throwing you in-" her next words were drowned out as a torrent of energy crashed into her. The concussive blast was nearly powerful enough to strip Mania off Andi's body and the symbiote screamed in agony as Mania hugged herself tight, trying to hold herself together.

MonStar weathered the storm, but was punched in the back of the head hard enough to send her sprawling across the roof, the duffel knocked from her grasp. Shocker rolled his shoulders and grabbed the bag, dusting it off and checking the zipper, making sure it was secure.

"You wanna get out of here, kid. That bitch is crazy." He aimed his gauntlet at the ground, the energy pulsing as he readied his shot. There was a loud boom followed almost instantly by a crash, two bodies slamming into the ground fast enough to crash through the concrete and into the apartment below. Mania crawled to the edge of the hole they'd made, looking down into the terrified faces of about a dozen high school aged kids who were officially having their grade's best party.

"You're putting civilians in danger, Shocker! You're not a murderer!" MonStar took a punch to the face that sent scales flying across the room. All of the kids in the room ooed and gasped- Mania even flinching away in sympathy- before laughing at her. With a soft growl, MonStar returned the punch, sending the man flying through the hole and back onto the roof with a powerful uppercut. Shocker groaned but held on tightly to his bag, shaking himself off as he tried to find a way to escape.

"You gonna help out or just stand there? She wants your ass too," he said angrily, aiming his gauntlets at the hole as MonStar jumped out, claws at the ready. Mania didn't respond, already thinking up an escape path. She was more agile than Shocker but he was definitely faster with those gauntlets. If he tried to get away he'd leave her behind, and MonStar would use her as a punching bag for it. She could help him take the lizard down so they could both make their getaway, but she didn't trust whatever was in that bag. Her only option was… "Hey, what are you doing," he shouted as Mania grabbed his arm and aimed the concussive blast out into the night sky

"She's turning on you, idiot," MonStar laughed, closing the distance between them with a powerful jump and barreling into them both. Heated claws tore at the symbiote, shredding it to ribbons and stripping it down to Andi's flesh while she easily ripped the bag out of Shocker's grasp. With a quick kick she vaulted over them both, landing on all fours and smirking at the two of them. "Let me guess, you're gonna leave him here for me to arrest, snatch this prototype teleporter and run, aren't you," MonStar asks, the scales on her feet hot enough to make the concrete crack beneath them. Mania's eyes went wide.

"Teleporter?" It was almost a little too convenient.

"Oh, don't act all surprised now. You're clearly working together. You showing up here right as he's making his getaway isn't a coincidence," she accused, her tail lashing angrily as she spoke.

"No! We- ah!" Mania shouted as MonStar moved on the offensive, a quick spout of flames shooting towards her and making the symbiote scream in pain. Shocker used the opening to rocket towards the dragon, but was caught in midair as if he was weightless and tossed over her shoulder with ease, his back slamming hard against the gravel and concrete.

"You're a guy with fancy gloves, Herman. I'm a dragon. The only way to win is to not play this game," she warned him, crouching down on all fours as Mania got to her feet. "You've already lost," MonStar hissed, bounding towards Mania, claws ready to shred her to pieces. With a deep breath, Mania let the power of her symbiote and Hell-Mark flow through her, waiting for just the right moment before catching the woman's wrist and slamming her to the ground- a perfect mimicry of what the woman had just done to Shocker. A loud explosion made Mania's skin ripple as Shocker rocketed towards MonStar, falling from about twenty feet in the air and landing on the woman with a ground pound that turned the concrete under the three of them to dust, sending them back into the apartment below. The kids were shouting in excitement again as they watched the heroes pick themselves off the ground, Mania groaning softly as the ringing in her ears refused to go away.

"I guess now it's a fair fight," MonStar smirked, wiping neon green blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of a clawed hand. She took another gauntlet powered punch to the face before throwing herself at them both and barreling towards the concrete wall. Mania snarled, her own claws ripping scales from MonStar's back but the woman was practically feral, not even stopping as they started falling. MonStar wrapped her tail around Shocker's waist and squeezed, keeping him from escaping as she tore into Mania. Heated claws ripped at her as Mania viciously fought back, Hell-Mark and symbiote coming together to fuel her wild haymakers. Green blood, and broken teeth, flew from the monster with each punch, but she was unstoppable. Biting down on Mania's shoulder, her sharp teeth sunk clean through the symbiote and straight down through Andi's clavicle. With a shake of her head she tore through flesh and bone, causing her to scream out in pain as they plummeted towards the ground below. The symbiote worked fast, gumming up the inside of MonStar's mouth with black webbing to prevent her from biting down again. She was fighting back just as hard as Andi was.

With a loud crash, Shocker finally got in a good punch to the back of MonStar's head. Mania felt the woman go limp and Shocker blasted out of her grasp, leaving his catch behind as he rocketed towards the nearest fire escape, having decided his freedom was worth more than whatever he'd stolen. MonStar fell away, only a couple hundred feet from the ground now. Mania loosed a web line to the nearest building, stopping her fall before looking back down at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent as she hurtled towards the ground.

"We can't let her crash," Mania hissed, much to her symbiote's chagrin. With a jump powerful enough to shatter the glass she was standing on, she pushed off the building and shot towards MonStar, snatching her out of the air less than a hundred feet from the ground. Slamming into the opposite building, she struggled to sink claws into the facade to break their fall. Bricks cracked and were ripped out of the building, glass cracked and shattered into hundreds of pieces. Mania and MonStar's combined weight was too much for Philadelphia's architecture.

Twenty feet.

In a desperate attempt to save them both, Mania fired a dozen tendrils from her free hand, wrapping around anything she could before pulling them taught. The strain was enough to rip her shoulder out of its socket, but less than a foot from the ground, she'd caught them. Letting MonStar go, she dropped to the ground, wincing in pain as Mania popped her shoulder back into place- just in time to catch the duffel bag.

"Huh," she'd completely forgotten about it, but held on tightly. A teleporter might take her to K'un-Lun! To Gwen!

"Give… give that… back," MonStar spat, neon green blood pouring from her mouth as she looked up at Mania.

"…" Mania wasn't sure what to say, clinging tightly to the bag as a crowd started to form around them.

"Give… it… back," MonStar growled feebly, her arms shaking as she pushed herself to her feet. She was unsteady and off balance, blood pouring off of her. "Prove you're a hero and give… it… back," she shouted before coughing up even more neon green blood, one of her knees buckling under her and forcing her back on all fours.

"Go call a doctor," Mania finally said, jumping into the air and webbing away.

Andi waited about an hour for Mania to fully heal her wounds before deciding she'd go back to the dorms, eat, and then go get Gwen. Her whole body was itchy and warm as Mania raced to heal her, and the symbiote was feeling the exhaustion as well.

"We'll get you some chocolate when we eat. Promise," Andi pleaded, finally letting Mania take the shape of a sweater, scarf and a pair of jeans, before picking up the duffel bag and heading to her dorm. Her danger sense normally alerted her whenever someone was nearby, and the lack of any trigger almost made her call Mania back into action before she realized who was waiting there in the room.

"Hey, Andi! Miss me?" Gwen's hair was a little longer than Andi remembered, but the white shirt and pink accessories were the best kind of familiar. Andi felt her heart hammering against her chest before she finally sighed, tossed the bag onto her bed, and punched Gwen in the shoulder as hard as she could without any super help. "Ow! What was that for," Gwen said confusedly, rubbing her shoulder where she was sure it would bruise.

"It's been a week, Gwen. You said you'd be right back!"

"Aw, did you miss me," Gwen teased, sticking her tongue out at her friend only to be met with rolled eyes and an angry scowl. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, it was like, almost a year in my time," she explained with a shrug. Andi arched an eyebrow at her, curiosity quickly overtaking her anger.

"Yeah! Kung Fu is serious! Especially in Kun-L'un. I thought I was gonna die!"

"Probably would've deserved it," Andi mumbled.

"Only thing that kept me from leaving early was knowing we'd be kicking a ton of butt together once I learned everything I needed to," she smiled, reaching down under her desk and pulling out a long package wrapped in bandages. "Check it out," she said excitedly, drawing one of the katana blades with a quick movement of her wrist.

"They still need a name." She pushed the blade back into its scabbard before pointing at Andi's duffel with the entire package. "What's in the bag," she asked suspiciously.

"Oh… uh… our next story arc," Andi replied uncertainly. Gwen's eyes widened excitedly before she hopped out of her chair and over to the bag. She took a seat on Andi's bunk and rifled through it for a moment before pulling out the device.

"Andi… is this a teleporter," Gwen's voice switched from bubbly to grave in an instant, the ever-present blush fading from her cheeks, replaced by dark shadows over her eyes.

"Um… yeah? What's the problem," Andi asked worriedly.

"I'm not using this," Gwen said loudly, tossing the teleporter into the garbage. The moment it hit the metal trash can it beeped loudly and instantly vanished, taking a few crumpled homework drafts along with it.

"Was there a reason for that," Andi asked confusedly.

"Deadpool has a short-range teleporter. I am not gonna let readers confuse me for a chick version of him any more than I have to," she said matter-of-factly before tossing the duffel onto the floor.

"Okay," Andi shrugged, not caring enough to pry any further. She was just glad to have Gwen back… Her Gwen. She sat down next to her friend, tapping at her sheets to distract herself from all of the emotions she was feeling. "Your, um… your hair looks nice." It was the best she could do considering the circumstances.

"Thanks. I didn't think I'd be able to grow it out at all," Gwen explained wistfully.

"... huh?"

"When's the last time you got a haircut without switching up your hairstyle," Gwen said pointedly. Andi racked her brain, trying to think, but she just couldn't remember. She snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of jingling keys, their dorm door opening slowly.

"Hey Andi- oh, hey Gwen," Himawari said weakly, limping into the room on a crutch.

"Hima-chan? What happened," Gwen asked worriedly, running over to her and helping her settle down.

"Call me Hima-chan again and you'll need to use my spare crutches," Himawari said playfully, groaning as she sat down at her desk. "I hurt myself lifting at the gym… It was stupid," she explained, rolling her shoulder to ease the ache.

"I told you, working out doesn't make sense in a world where getting bit by radioactive spiders gives you super strength," Gwen says as she hands Himawari her water bottle.

"There's no way Spider-Woman got her powers from a radioactive spider," Himawari said with a roll of her eyes.

"Are those hair extensions," she asked curiously.

"Uh, yes! You like?" Gwen had an absolutely terrible poker face, but Himawari had no reason to believe she was lying.

"It's cute. And you kept the dye pattern," Himawari said with a smile.

"I'm naked if I'm not in pink," she said playfully.

"Don't put that thought in my head, you know I'd love the chance to ruin you." Himawari said with a playful smirk. Gwen just blushed, at a loss for words for once in her life. Andi crossed her arms over her chest, trying not to look at either of them. It wasn't often their playful flirting got outright sexual- and it definitely never started with Himawari. Andi wasn't sure how she felt about this. "What's in the bag," Himawari asked, turning to Andi.

"Oh, nothing. I used it for some luggage," Andi explained with a shrug.

"I need a bag like that."

"You want it," Andi offered, glad she'd already found a way to get rid of it.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm not using it anymore." The lies were starting to come a little too easily.

"Thanks, Andi."