DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.


Infinity Verse Spotlight

Wendy Corduroy: Pit of Vipers


It had been about a month since Wendy and the others were forced to be benched from the League, and after a week, she was already sick of it. [1] Ever since she had been suspended, the redhead suddenly realized just how dull her life was without having the Pines Twins in it. True, she and Mason were still in a relationship after everything, but the twins' duty to the League meant they had to spend more time on the Tower. Aside from going to school and helping Melody take care of the Mystery Shack when Soos was away at Skward Tower, the only other thing that Wendy did was meet with the other benched heroes at Steven's house to discuss the meaning behind their dreams, but the ginger was starting to notice that the group was starting to become more of a self-help group than a group trying to find answers.

If Wendy was being honest with herself, the more that she had these dreams, the more she starting to feel at peace with the being that was calling out to her. Granted, she was pretty sure that her boyfriend felt the same thing when Bill sweet talked him into taking control of his body, so she knew that this whole thing was more than likely too good be true. However, after seeing how the others talked about how they didn't want these powers, it was becoming clear to Wendy that she was probably the only one who could not only contain that power, but also have the willpower to control it as well.

She'd be lying to herself if she didn't think about losing said control over that power, but she knew Mason would be there to take her down the moment things became too much for her. It broke her heart to ask her lover to carry out this task should it come to it, but she knew that he needed to do so to protect the wold from her should it come to that.

Currently, Wendy was at the Gravity Falls Diner waiting for her boyfriend to join her on a dinner date. It was nothing major, just to catch up after not being able to see each other for the past three days. As she waited at the bar table for her lover, she heard the sound of someone coming up behind her. Thinking that it was Dipper, she turned around to greet him, but instead of seeing her boyfriend, she was instead met with her long-time friend, Tambry.

"Where the hell have you been, Wendy?" Tambry began in a harsh tone. "None of us have seen you in weeks!"

The cover story for whenever Wendy was away for a mission with the League was that she was trying out homeschooling. With the team's big brains' help, they manipulated certain files to back this claim so the school wouldn't become too suspicious. They still received their proper teachings from Professor Utonium or Dr. Wakeman, who held classes on the tower for those who needed it. It also helped that Wendy's father was aware that his daughter was secretly the heroine Lumberjane after she told him that she had joined the Infinity League. However, her cover story kept her from seeing her friends.

"Uh, hey, Tam," Wendy greeted meekly. "Yeah, I've just been busy AF lately. You know, homeschooling, work, all that junk."

"Were you to busy too be at Thompson's funeral?" her friend questioned sharply.

Wendy looked away in shame. She was telling the truth when she said that she was busy the day of Thompson's funeral, just not the whole truth. The full truth was that she was busy fighting alongside the League in order keep the Inhumanoid known as Tendril from stealing plutonium for his master, Metlar. It broke her heart when she heard the news that Thompson was murdered in his sleep, but what was odd was the details of his death.

According to police reports, Thompson had his organs pulled out from his mouth, something was psychically impossible. The whole ordeal sounded very close to the odd string of murders that happened in the 80's and 90's in Springwood, Ohio that were said to have been caused by being from the victims dreams. It was also disturbing to note that since Thompson's death there had been several other unexplained murders across the U.S., something that the League had been looking into, but found nothing so far. [2]

"I swear I wanted to be there Tambry, but I was so caught up with work that day that I-" the redhead attempted to explain.

"Save it," Tambry coldly cut her off. "I thought Thompson mattered to you, but I guess this new job you have is all that's important."

Before Wendy would further explain herself, Tambry stormed off, leaving her best friend feeling crushed on the inside. In that moment, she wanted to run up to her childhood friend and tell her everything that she had kept hidden from her, and chances are that she'd believe her, considering the insanity that goes on in Gravity Falls. But she relented, knowing that she'd be putting her friends in danger if she did. Besides, Tambry wasn't exactly the best at keeping secret.

"Ain't easy being a superhero, is it?" came a voice from behind her.

Wendy turned around to see her former boss, Stan Pines, standing before her. Stan didn't have to say anything. She already knew what his meant fo her date.

"He's not coming, is he?" Wendy said, clearly disappointed.

"I'm sorry, kid," Stan apologized on his grand-nephew's behalf. "The League's got him tied up with training and guard duty."

Wendy let out a deflated sigh at that, making Stan almost want to tell the teen about what Mason was really up to at the moment right then and there. Mason wasn't on the Tower. He wasn't even carrying out anything League related. In truth, he was currently in east L.A. busting up some local street gangs in his villainous guise of the Red Talon in order to get Black Hat's attention, as was all a part of his plan to save Wendy from whatever it was that was reaching out to her in her dreams, something the League benched her and the others for without looking further into it. [3]

"Eh, it's cool," the redhead replied halfheartedly. "He's off training to be a hero. I can't fault him for doing what he loves."

"Yeah, right," Stan agreed, despite knowing the truth. "So, mind if I join you?"

"Sure," his former employee accepted. "But you're buying."

"I was afraid you'd say that," the old con-artist said as he sat down. "Just order something cheap, alright? I'm not made of money."

Wendy gave him a sardonic look back at him.

"Okay, I am, but I ain't spending more than twenty bucks in this dump!" her former boss informed her.

As advised, Wendy only ordered a small sandwich while Stan got himself a tuna melt. The redhead was impressed that her former boss was more than willing to pay for her food, considering what a cheapskate Stan could be. If any good came out of Bill's invasion of Gravity Falls, it was that it opened the old grouch's heart and made him care about his fellow man...Well, more like the six people who called his family.

As the two friends ate their dinner, Wendy noticed a sight that soon caught her full attention. Sitting in one of the booths was a young girl, no older than five, laughing and playing with something Wendy had little experience with: A mother. The teen's distraction soon caught the attention of her elderly friend.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm good," Wendy quickly assured. "It was just...seeing that kid with her mom reminded me of my mother...or lack thereof."

"You know, I don't think you've ever talked about your mom," Stan noted.

"That's because I hardly knew her," Wendy answered. "She ditched the family when I about three years old. She had my brothers and then bounced just like that."

"You ever tried to find her?" her former boss inquired.

"I tried a couple times when I was younger, but Dad didn't like to talk about her. He doesn't show it, but I think it hurt him way more than he lets on," Wendy replied. "Later on I gave up trying to find out anything about her. I kinda figured that if she didn't want to be in my life then why should I waste my time trying to be in her's, ya know?"

"I'm sorry to hear that, Wendy," Stan responded.

"Nah, it's cool. At least I'm not like some five years old asking dad 'when's Mommy coming home?'" Wendy brushed off. "Everything she could have taught me I taught myself. I learned to do my make-up without her, I learned how to shave, I learned how to drive and I learned how to get over my first break-up without her help. I'm sixteen years old, she hasn't even sent me damn card!"

Wendy's building rage suddenly boiled over as she suddenly slammed her fist on the table.

"To Hell with her!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Everyone's eyes in the diner fell upon the red-haired teen, but she didn't care. The tears were falling freely from her eyes as she found herself weeping over the past memories of the mother who wasn't a part of her life. Seeing that his younger friend was a wreck, Stan quickly paid for the dinner before gently taking Wendy outside.

"I-I'm sorry," the teen apologized as she wiped her tears away. "That was dumb."

"Don't worry about it, Wendy," Stan assured. "Besides, your little emotional roller coaster got me a 30% discount on our dinner."

"It's just...what kind of parent just leaves their kid like that?" she asked.

Stan's face suddenly became forlorn upon hearing that, confusing the teen the process. However, before he could speak, something struck the old con-artist in the back of the neck. At first, he assumed that it was a bee sting, but when when he pulled what he thought was the stinger out of his neck, he discovered that it wasn't a bee sting, but a small dart with a red snake symbol on it.

The insignia of Cobra.

Before he could say anything to warn Wendy, the drugs in the dart had taken affect and caused the old man to collapse to the ground. When Wendy quickly rushed to Stan's aid and tried to see what was wrong with him, she too was struck in the neck by a dart. As the fast-acting drugs began to overtake her body, the last thing she saw where a pair of Cobra Crimson Guards approach them before their commanding officer, Major Bludd, walk up to them.

"Sir, the target is sedated, but what should we do with the witness?" one of the Crimson Guards inquired.

"Bring them both just to be safe," Bludd ordered. "I want to know how much they each know."

Wendy's vision began to darken just as the Crimson Guards were starting to reach down toward her.


Wendy's eyes snapped open as she jumped to her feet, which she instantly regretted when she felt a strong feeling of nausea in her stomach. No doubt a side affect of whatever drugs she had been pumped full from the dart that hit her. Fighting through the sickness she felt, Wendy took in her new surroundings. She was in a holding cell, but not one of Cobra's high-tech prison cells. This one was made of iron bars, which meant that she was either being held in an older base or that Bludd was using some run down facility as a make-shift base while he tried to get what he wanted out of her and Stan.

'Which begs the question,' she thought to herself. 'Where is Stan?'

She looked around the cell, but found not a single trace of her elderly friend. However, she did see a blonde haired woman dressed in a rags in the cell next to her sitting on the small wooden bed of her holding cell.

"Hey! Hey!" she called out to the woman to get attention. "Did you see an old guy when they brought me in?"

"I did, but they took him away to be interrogated," the fellow prisoner replied. "Knowing Bludd, your friend might end up dead by the time the Major's done with him."

Wendy mentally cursed herself for letting Stan get wrapped up in all of this. The only reason she could think of for Cobra wanting to kidnap them was that they somehow found out that she was Lumberjane and were now torturing Stan to find out more about her and if he knew the identities of other Infinity League members, which he obviously did. Wendy didn't have time to think about how Cobra managed to figure out how they they knew who she really was though. All that mattered to her was saving Stan and finding out if weather or not Cobra had compromised the identities of any other members of the League.

She quickly checked herself for anything she could use to escape. Obviously, they had already taken her phone and Wendy had stupidly left her communicator back in her bedroom since it wasn't like the League was going to call her anytime soon. Fortunately, she did manage to find a bobby-pin in her back pocket. The perfect tool to make her escape. Wendy had picked enough locks back when she hung with her friends to know what to do. It was an especially handy skill when she had been arrested by Blubbs and Durland. Her fellow prisoner watched as Wendy began to pick the lock on her cell door until it finally opened. However, instead of being impressed by the teen, she instead was frightened by what she had done.

"You fool!" the women chastised her. "You tripped the silent alarm on the cell door! The guards will be here any second!"

No sooner did the woman say that did three Cobra troopers burst into the holding cells. They were all armed with batons, but Wendy could see that they were dressed with their sidearms, though she guessed that they wouldn't use them on her just yet, at least until they got what they wanted out of her. Rather than cower before the guards, Wendy stood her ground in defiance to them. The guards didn't issue a warning for her to return to her cell. They instead rushed toward her with their weapons at the ready.

The first of the three guards swung his baton at the young heroine. She dodged and countered the attack by grabbing his wrist and clocking him in the jaw before kicking him in the stomach, sending him stumbling backwards into the bars of one of the empty cells. The second guard tackled Wendy, but the moment the teen's back hit the ground, she used the guard's own inertia against him and instead flipped him over.

Just as Wendy got back to her feet, the third guard suddenly came up behind her and put his arms around her chest and arms to hold her in place as the the other two guards got back to their feet. Acting quickly, Wendy threw her head backwards, breaking the nose of the guard that was holding her, which in turn caused him to loosen his grip on her long enough for her to break out of his grip before kicking him in the groin to keep him down for the moment. The other two guards rushed toward their young captive, who had managed to snatch the first guard's baton off of the floor and cracked it across one of the two's guard's jaws, knocking him to the ground.

With another foe taken down for the moment, the teen hero turned her attention toward her next opponent. The final guard swung his baton wildly at Wendy, who dodged the attempted strikes on her person until she saw an opening to attack. She took her own baton and struck him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him as she did. To finish the job, she grabbed the guard by the back of his uniform while he was still doubled over in pain and flung the man head first into the bars of her former prison cell, knocking him out cold upon impact. She then noticed that the other guard she had hit in the face attempting to get back up, which she put a stop to with quick thump to the back of his head with her weapon to also knock him unconscious.

Just as Wendy had thought she had beaten her foes, she heard the sound of the safety of a gun being switched off. She turned around to see that the guard whose nose she had broken had gotten up and had drew his sidearm. But before he could fire a shot, the woman who was also being held captive suddenly reached out and grabbed the guard before pulling him backwards, slamming the back of his head against the bars of her cell to knock him out.

"Thanks," Wendy panted out, exhausted from her three on one fight.

"You were sloppy," the woman scolded. "You should've made sure that he was down before moving onto the next one."

"Well, excuse me, I was only fighting three guys at once while trying to keep them from calling for backup!" Wendy shot back. "Who the hell are you anyway, lady?"

"My name is Claire Harker. I'm an agent of the Global Justice Network," the woman introduced. "I was working deep undercover in Cobra before I was discovered."

"Do you know the insides of this base?" Wendy asked.

"From top to bottom," the GJN confirmed.

"Okay, good," the teen replied. "Listen, I can help you get out of here and back to Global Justice, but before I do, you've got to help me save my friend."

"The old man?" Claire gathered. "Forget him, he's probably dead already!"

"I don't believe that," Wendy refused. "Now you listen to me: If you don't agree to help me save Stan, then I will leave your ass here and not give it a second thought, got it?"

"But I'm an agent of the GJN!" Claire reminded her sharply.

"That's kinda the reason I'm thinking about leaving you here," the ginger admitted. "Knowing Dr. Director, she probably wanted you to dig up some shady shit from Cobra just so you guys could use it how you saw fit."

"How do you know Dr. Director?" Claire asked, taken aback by that statement.

"Because I'm a member of the Infinity League," Wendy answered. "Look, we can keep talking about this here as we wait for more guards to show up, or I get you out of here and we can get back to saving my friend. The choice is yours."

The GJN agent was surprised to hear that revelation, and admittedly Wendy was surprised with herself for even telling the woman about her superhero persona. On the other hand, Agent Harker might've already suspected something after seeing the teen take out three of Cobra's well-trained guards regardless, so it was best that she tell the agent now rather than just let her play twenty questions with the teen while they were trying to fight their way through the base to save Stan. In all honesty, those guards were a cakewalk compared to the demons she fought during Bill's Weirdmageddon, though this did give her a chance to try out some of the moves that Dipper had passed along to her from his teachings from April.

After finding the keys to Agent Harker's cell, Wendy let out her new ally, who immediately went over to one of the knocked out guards and took his sidearm before taking another and holding it out for Wendy to take.

"Nah, I'm good," the teen declined as she held up her baton. "I've got my weapon."

"You think that's going to stop gunfire?" Claire questioned. "Your 'no kill' hero-code isn't going to count for anything here!"

"I'm not killing anyone" Wendy stated firmly. "And neither are you. You can wound them, but the moment you kill one of these men, I'll drop you."

Rather than argue further with her, or even give the redhead a dirty look, Agent Harker instead gave her a her an expression that Wendy could almost swear was one of pride. With that, Claire took point as the two women headed out of the prison cells and into the rest of the base.

After checking the hallway for any other passing guards, the GJN agent gave an 'all clear' hand signal to Wendy before they slunk through the hall and went into a nearby empty storage room.

"What are we doing in here?" Wendy asked.

"There's no less than forty guards between us and the interrogation room," Claire explained as she began to move aside equipment. "Fortunately, there's an old sewer system that runs underneath the base. If we cross through here then we'll be able to reach your friend undetected."

Soon enough, Claire had pushed enough stuff aside to reveal a dusty old manhole cover. The GJN agent then gestured for Wendy to assist her in removing it. With the young heroine's help, they managed to quietly lift the cover and place it in front of the door to keep anyone from coming in.

"I hope you don't mind the smell," Claire mocked as she began to climb down the ladder into the sewer.

Wendy shot her partner a quick glare at her insult before following in after her. She knew GJN agents were arrogant and condescending, and this woman proved it. Wendy, like most of the League, didn't have a lot of love for the Global Justice Network. They didn't like the idea of an organization that worked in the shadows and, more often than not, were as bad as the people they fought in the name of justice. It was also no secret that, while Global Justice had no control over the Infinity League, everyone knew that they wanted some form of control over the team's actions. Then again, after how the team has been run as of late, maybe some oversight was needed. Wendy could't lie to herself that she was still bitter about the leaders' choice to bench her and the others because of these dreams without giving it a second thought. What if this was something serious? How could they at least not look further into this? At least she could count on her boyfriend, who could make the sacrifice should it come to it.

As the two unlikely allies climbed down into the sewers, Agent Harker drew her weapon and surveyed the area before giving Wendy the all clear for them to keep gong. While they neither of them expected to run into opposition down here, one could never be too careful when dealing with Cobra. They walked in silence for several moments until the Global Justice agent finally spoke up.

"So, are you really a member of the Infinity League?" she inquired curiously.

"Yep," Wendy confirmed simply. "Code name: Lumberjane."

"Your Lumberjane?" Claire questioned further. "I find that hard to believe."

"You know any other teenagers who can take on three Cobra guards and live?" the ginger reasoned smugly.

"It was two," the GJN agent corrected. "Don't forget that I took out the third."

"Fair point," Wendy agreed. "But I did fight all three of them."

"Why are you telling me all this anyway?" Claire pointed out. "The GJN don't have any control over the Infinity League, so you're basically your just giving away your secret identity to someone who, for all you know, could use this information to exploit you."

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing," Wendy assured. "Like you said earlier, Cobra's no joke, and the chances of me making it out of here alive are pretty slim. So, in case something happens, I need someone to tell my dad that his daughter died like a fighter and not as a coward. Plus, I may be on the outs with the League right now, but when they hear that I'm dead, they're going to rain down on Cobra like God on a bad day."

"That's...quite mature of you," Agent Harker admitted. "You're not like an average teenager."

"Trust me, when you grow up in Gravity Falls, you're not exactly going to have an average life," Wendy replied.

"You're from Gravity Falls?" the other woman asked, almost stunned by that.

"Yeah, you heard of the place?" the teen asked back. "Wait, what am I saying? Of course Global Justice knows about Gravity Falls. I bet you've guys have known about all the crazy shit that goes on in there since day one, right?"

"Uh, yes," Claire confirmed, albeit a bit to quickly for Wendy's taste.

"Right..." Wendy said before asking her own question. "So, since we're swapping secrets, what did Dr. Director send you undercover to get?"

"We've been getting reports that the Red Talon has been attacking Cobra's low-level weapons depots," the agent explained. "It's been part of a string of attacks he's been launching on low-level criminal hideouts."

That took Wendy by surprise. The Red Talon was by far one of the most dangerous opponents the League had ever faced, so to hear that he had resurfaced after months of laying low after stealing the Ecto-Bullet from the Fentons was distressing news. It was odd that, rather than go about his usual schemes of stealing certain objects that could harm the League, he was instead attacking small-time hoods and low-level Cobra bases. What could he be after? But more importantly, what was he planning?

"I was sent in to find out the connection between the Red Talon and Cobra," Claire furthered.

"You think the Red Talon is a rogue agent of Cobra?" Wendy asked.

"No, if he was, Cobra Commander would've put him down in a heartbeat. But the Commander is barley giving him an ounce of his time since he's not losing much in all this," the secret agent answered. "And it's not just Cobra that the Red Talon has been going after. He's been attacking drug cartels, gun-runners and other street groups. We're not sure if he's looking for something or trying to send a message to someone, but we're certain that he's planning something big."

Wendy nodded in agreement at that. No one knew what the masked madman's endgame was, but the League knew that, whatever it was, it had to be bad news. There was always something that bothered her about the unknown villain. When they fought back at the Fentons' home, Wendy noticed the slightest hint of hesitation from the Red Talon, as if he panicked for a moment at the sight of her, before he composed himself again. It was also interesting to note that, while the Red Talon had fought with the League, he hadn't killed anyone yet, despite having access to technology to do so.

Just then, Wendy's thoughts returned to the here and now when the GJN agent reached into her pocket and handed the teen a small case with a disk inside of it.

"Here," agent Harker said as she offered the disk to Wendy. "In case something happens to me, make sure you get this back to Global Justice. It's all the information I've managed to to gather on the Red Talon."

"How did you manage to hold onto this when Cobra found you out?" the younger girl asked as she put the disk away.

Rather than answer Wendy's question, Claire suddenly stopped in her tracks before pointing up. The teen looked up to see what she was pointing an saw and saw a small vent.

"That'll take us to closer to the interrogation room," the agent said. "I'll give you a boost up there."

As instructed, Wendy climbed up toward the vent with Claire's assistance. After pushing the vent aside, Wendy pulled herself into the upper levels. Once she had done that, she reached back down into the sewer in order to help pull up Claire. However, just as she had done so, she felt the barrel of a gun pressed up against the back of her head.

"Don't move," the solider standing behind her ordered firmly.

In the blink of an eye, Wendy spun around and cracked her baton across the solider's kneecap, breaking it on contact. The man let out a quick cry of pain before Wendy reached up and covered in mouth while at the same time holding him in a choke hold until he passed out. No doubt hearing the commotion, Claire called up to her young partner.

"You okay up there?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I'm good," the redhead called down. "Here, give me your hand."

After pulling Claire up into the base, the GJN instantly noticed the knocked out guard laying on the floor.

"What should we do with him?" she asked.

"This," Wendy answered simply before kicking the guard down the hole they had just crawled out of. "Let's go."

Surprised by how ruthless Wendy could be when the situation called for it, Claire nodded in approval to the ginger before taking point again as they headed further into the base, all the while sticking close to the shadows as they did.

"What is this place anyway?" Wendy questioned. "This doesn't look like a typical Cobra base."

"That's because it isn't," Agent Harker clarified. "This use to be a military outpost for the Allies during World War II until they packed up and moved to to a different location. Bludd is using it as a black site so he can carry out his dirty work in private."

That scared Wendy upon hearing that. From the League's files she had read about Bludd, she knew that she had only a limited amount of time to save Stan. The duo soon rounded a corner before backing up to peek to see a pair of guards standing in front of a room.

"That's the interrogation room," Claire whispered. "We'll have to move quickly and quietly if we're to take those two out."

"You got a plan?" Wendy whispered back.

"Hand me your baton."

As asked, Wendy handed the agent her weapon, thinking that she had some grand scheme to take them both down. But just as she had given away her weapon, she felt something pressed up against her torso. She looked down to see Claire's gun aimed directly at her at point-blank range. Before Wendy could mentally register what was going on, the 'GJN agent' struck her in the head with her own baton, drawing her into a world blackness.


"Wake her up."

A hard slap across her face threw Wendy into a new reality. One where she was in a dark room with a single bright light shining down on her. She attempted to move, but she soon discovered that she had been tightly bound to a chair. As her sight finally adjusted to the brightness, she saw a pair of figures standing over her, both of whom she instantly recognized.

"Major Bludd. Nice to meet you in person," Wendy greeted sardonically before looking over to other figure. "And you too Claire. Oh, wait, that's not your name, isn't it, Baroness?!"

'Claire' smirked at that accusation before pulling off her blonde wig to allow a cascade of long raven black hair to tumble down as she put on a pair of glasses. Wendy's heart sank in her chest as she realized that she had told the woman her secret identity. Much like Bludd, Wendy had read several files about the Baroness, and she should've expected something like this from the start. The Baroness was known to be a master of disguise and decryption, much like the mercenary who also worked for Cobra, Zartan.

"I'm impressed that you figured it out so fast," the Baroness said.

"Wasn't hard," Wendy shrugged. "It was either you or Zarana. Not a lot of top female agents in the sausage fest that is Cobra."

Baroness scowled at that. While Wendy was putting on a face, she was terrified beyond belief. She had unknowingly revealed her superhero persona to one of Cobra Commander's top lieutenants who had no doubt told Bludd who she really was by now. She looked around for any sign of Stan, but found none, making her fear the worst. Although she was faced with the very likely odds that she could die tonight, Wendy kept up her bravado, refusing to let these bastards see her cry up until the very end.

Just then, a pair of guards came up to the two agents carrying a badly beaten Stan by each of their arms before tossing him at Wendy's feet.

"I believe this belongs to you?" Bludd said.

"Let him go, you bastard!" she demanded. "I'm the one you want!"

"You?" Bludd said, confused. "Why the hell would we you?"

"But, wait, I thought that..." the teen attempted to say.

Wendy's gaze went over to the Baroness, who looked away when she did. Confusion set into the teenage heroine's mind as she tried to wrap her mind around what reason she could have for not telling Bludd that she was really a member of the Infinity League. Before she could think deeper on the matter, Bludd spoke up again.

"I doubt that your elderly friend ever told you this, but he use to work for Cobra back in the day," he revealed. "Not in the official sense, mind you, but he did do some gun running for us for a quick pay check. Granted, even if we told him who we really were, he still would've done our little deliveries for us."

He then gave Stan a hard kick in the ribs.

"But then this son of bitch ran off with my merchandise!" he continued. "And ended up costing me a fortune, not to mention getting punished by Cobra Commander!"

"Human beings ain't merchandise, you one eyed prick!" Stan snapped back defiantly. "The second I found out that you were gonna use those people for slave labor for you little club, I set them all free back in Mexico!"

"A mistake on your part," Bludd growled as he drew his pistol. "One that your young friend will suffer for."

He then aimed it at Wendy's head, all the while making sure that Stan was keeping his eyes on the teenager. Even though her heart was pounding in her chest like a hammer at this point, Wendy refused to let her fears be shown on her face. She instead glared back at Bludd as he pressed the gun against her forehead.

But just before the Major could pull the trigger, the lights in the room suddenly went out, causing Bludd to loose his focus for a moment. In that same moment, Wendy felt her bonds cut, allowing her to jump out of her seat. She knocked the gun out of her captor's hand and let it slide on the ground until Stan could get a hold of it.

When the lights finally came back on, the Baroness and the two guards found Wendy pinning Bludd up against the wall. She attempted to aid her comrade, only to feel a gun barrel press up against her temple.

"Try it, bitch," Stan warned before looking over to the guards. "You two, back up! Now!"

The guards did as Stan ordered and backed up while Wendy glared back at the Baroness, who looked back at her not with a visage of anger, but one of almost the same look of pride that she had earlier when she was still disguised as Claire before she too backed off. Stan then carefully stepped over to where Wendy was holding Bludd, all the while keeping the gun trained on the Baroness before aiming his gun at Wendy's captive.

"So, here's what's gonna happen," Wendy began. "Stan and I are going to walk out of here and head to the nearest exit, and you're going to stay right where you are or Stan will put a bullet through the Major's skull!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Bludd refuted.

"Yeah, I wouldn't," Wendy agreed. "But we both know Stan would."

"Wait," Baroness suddenly spoke up. "If you let Bludd go, I can escort you to one of our vehicles and you can drive back to Gravity Falls without threat of retaliation."

"Have you lost your mind, Baroness?!" Bludd exclaimed. "The Commander will have your head for this!"

"If the Commander is going to punish anyone for this, it will be you, Bludd!" Baroness snapped back. "Your little revenge scheme has cost time and money for Cobra! He'll be more mad at you for all this than me for letting two insignificant people walk away!"

"How can we be sure you won't kill us the second we let Bludd go, or blow the car up or something?" Stan inquired in a suspicious tone.

"You have my word that no harm will come to you," Baroness assured. "Think of it as a token of my appreciation. You have knocked Bludd down a few pegs in the Commander's eyes, which will in turn allow me to elevate myself among Cobra's ranks."

Stan stood defiantly where he was while Wendy carefully studied the Baroness. None of the Cobra agent's actions made any sense to her. First, she refuses to tell Bludd who she is, and now she's just letting them go? What game could this woman be playing at? Wendy could figure that out later though. Right now, she had to get Stan out of hear and get him patched up, for she feared that he may have internal injuries as well.

"Deal" Wendy accepted.

"Are you serious, Wendy?" her elderly friend questioned.

"We don't have much of a choice here, Stan," Wendy pointed out. "Either we take the offer, or we both die!"

"...fine" Stan relented.

"A wise choices" the Baroness said. "Now then, follow me."

With that, Wendy shoved Bludd into the pair of guards before the Baroness lead the former captives out of the room. However, she then pulled Wendy aside. She gestured to Stan to move away from the two before speaking.

"I hope you know that you owe me a great deal," she began. "Not just for saving you both, but also keeping your identity a secret."

"So, what do you want?" Wendy said, wanting to cut the chase. "I doubt you're keeping that little bit of information to yourself out of the goodness of your heart."

"And you'd be right," Baroness confirmed. "One day, I will call in a favor of from you, and if you value your secret identity and lives of your loved ones, then you'll do as I say. It also goes without saying that you should keep this little conversation between us."

Wendy grit her teeth at that, but she knew she could do nothing in this situation, least she and the others be hunted by Cobra.

"Your silence says enough," the Cobra agent smirked. "You can keep the information I gave you on the Red Talon. I think you'll be quite surprised by my findings."

Wendy growled back at her before turning to join Stan. She was too angry to form words to even speak to that woman any longer. The Baroness merely watched as as the young girl went to Stan's side. She felt a wave of guilt overcome her as she watched the two of them limp away from her.

While it was true that this was a ploy to get higher in the ranks of Cobra, she also did it to protect Wendy as she had always done. From the shadows, she watched over the teenager since she was a child, sending her family money through a secret fund she had set up for them. She kept tabs on her and her brothers to make sure they were safe, though that was difficult to do in a place like Gravity Falls.

What she was not expecting was the revelation was that Wendy was, in fact, the superheroine Lumbejane, and by extension, a member of the Infinity League. It stunned her to know that Wendy was now putting her life in danger far more than she had ever done before, something that her father no doubt had knowledge of. The next time she meets with him in person, she's going to give him a piece of her mind. She'd be more open about those meetings if it didn't mean that she'd be putting Dan's family in Destro's crosshairs. A part of her wanted to tell Wendy the truth, but for now, she would continue to keep her safe by staying away from her.

After all, it was a mother's first and foremost job to protect her children.


The Baroness kept her word and allowed Wendy and Stan go unharmed back to Gravity Falls with a supply truck as their form of transportation. During the ride back to town, the two were silent, both unable to find the right words to say. After dropping him off at the Mystery Shack, Stan couldn't help but think about what his young friend had said earlier about a parent abandoning their child. Sadly, it was something that the old con-artist knew all to well, for he had done such a thing.

He never told anyone, not even Ford before he fell through the portal, that he had a child years ago. A daughter he abandoned. But after his near-death experience today, all he could think about was the child he left behind in New York. It was time that he found his long lost daughter.


After returning home and telling her father of her ordeal, Wendy went back to her room to rest. She had considered telling the League, but relented, fearing the Baroness's reprisal should she do. She at least needed to tell Dipper, knowing that he'd figure it out on his own. However, there was something bigger on the ginger's mind at the moment. It was the information that the Baroness gave her about the Red Talon. Why would she do this? And more importantly, was any of this real? A part of her wanted nothing more than to destroy the so called 'gift' without giving it another thought. But on the other hand, what if it was true? What if the Cobra agent had found something viable? Perhaps that was her plan all along: To have the League deal with this problem for Cobra.

And so, her curiosity got the best of her, forced her to take the disc and play it on her computer. No sooner had she done so did she begin to comb through countless files, photographs and videos of the Red Talon and his one man war against the street level criminals. However, the more she dug into the research, the more she began to notice something. It was the way that the Red Talon fought and how shockingly familiar about the fighting style.

"Oh my God...Dipper?"


[1] - As seen in Chapter 3 of The Dark Phoenix

[2] - As stated in a news report in part 11 of The New Frontier

[3] - See Dipper's introduction as The Red Talon in his Spotlight and one such confrontation in Chapter 3 of The Dark Phoenix