With the blare of the klaxon alarm, Kate's first morning of many within The Raft began. The tired groans of inmates all across the cellblock could be heard as they all groggily got up.
Kate's heartbeat suddenly quickened as she heard Hela slowly rising from her bed beside her. Kate couldn't wait for the cell door to open so she could get as far away from the terrifying Asgardian Goddess of Death as possible. She had not slept a wink, keeping her eyes spread wide open during the night, in case her cellmate might try something. Thankfully, nothing had happened, so far. She pretended to sleep a little longer, so hopefully Hela would leave the cell before her.
Suddenly, Hela was ominously looming over her, staring down at her. "Awaken, my thrall." She commanded in a cold distant voice.
Kate shuddered. The voice scared the crap out of her. "I'm awake." She whispered softly, not wanting Hela to think she was unconscious and vulnerable.
Hela smirked, glad to see her subject was properly scared. She stepped over Kate and moved to the bars then stopped. She slowly turned around, leaned over, and brought her pale face to her cellmate's. "How did you sleep?" she asked, knowing Kate hadn't slept at all.
"Great!" Kate lied with a fake smile plastered on her face. Her eyes felt so heavy they were almost filled with tears. She got up with difficulty, her muscles aching from the lack of rest.
Before Hela could get any closer, the cell door drew open and guards could be heard ordering for everyone to step out of their cells.
Relieved, Kate hurried forwards and slipped through the door, speed walking towards the cafeteria, not looking back.
On the other side of the prison, Yelena awoke with a soft yawn, comfortable at the top of her bunk bed. She could have had a fancy king sized bed if she wanted, her sister had enough influence to get her anything she wanted. But Yelena preferred this bed. Ever since she was a little kid, having a bunk bed had seemed like the coolest thing to her. She didn't share her room with anyone and the bottom bunk was filled with books and other things she had collected over the months she stayed here. She wasn't very good at keeping her room organised, but felt a freedom in doing so. She could do whatever she wanted with her room, so why couldn't it be messy?
She climbed down the small ladder to get to the floor level of the room and looked at herself in the mirror she had hung up in her room, applying her usual contraband-chique eyeliner look as she tried to wake up more. She thought about the previous day and everything that had transpired. Then she thought about Kate and wondered how her night had been. Hoping to see her at breakfast, she checked her own breath by breathing into her hand and smelling it. Wasn't terrible, for being in prison. She hurried down towards breakfast as fast as she could, eager to see Kate.
Monica awoke with a start, her spine hurting all over from the uncomfortable mattress on the ground. She groaned, having forgotten for a second where she was until it all came rushing back to her. The events of last night staggered her and she internally cringed at what she had done. She carefully peeked at the bed Nebula had claimed for herself and was surprised to see not only Nebula sleeping there, but also Bereet. The tiny form was snuggled up against Nebula, who lay awake staring at the ceiling with a smug look on her face. Monica quickly glanced away, not looking to converse with either of them. As the guards rounded them up, she looked at her feet and stayed silent.
Nebula had had her best night's sleep ever. Her satisfaction was felt deep into her core and she had enjoyed the warmth of Bereet sleeping next to her. She had never been a physically affectionate person, because how could she be as the daughter of Thanos? This new life pleased her, and she relished in having control over her cellmates already. As they were escorted down to breakfast, she locked eyes with several other inmates, sizing them up and making plans for more sexual encounters. Her arm was loosely wrapped around Bereet's shoulder, who seemed to quiver with either fear or excitement. Or both.
Jessica groaned as she fought to roll out of bed. Last night she'd had the same awful dreams she'd had for the last five years. Just like every other night, he had been there with her and she was helpless in her own body to his every awful command. Instinctively Jessica stretched her arm out and reached for the bottle of whisky on her nightstand but then was harshly reminded she wasn't in her flat and there was nothing for her to drink away her problems with. She opened her eyes and forced herself to sit up, she could see that Trish was already up and getting dressed. They both chose to not say anything to each other out of a mixture of anger and awkwardness for the morning and as the door opened they kept their distance, each getting lost in the crowd of inmates marching to breakfast. Just before they were entering the cafeteria however, Jessica noticed Trish being pulled astray by a rather nervous and twitchy looking inmate. They seemed to have some sort of disagreement, before Trish scanned the hallway, pulling out a small bag of some white substance and giving it to the other prisoner. She then noticed Jessica looking at them and whipped her head around, hurrying into the cafeteria.
Jessica wasn't an idiot. She knew exactly what she had just witnessed and the knowledge of it had gotten rid of any hunger she might have felt. She still entered the cafeteria though, because it kinda felt like she was supposed to.
Yelena had been sitting at her own table, no one daring to approach her. She had no idea what Natasha was up to, but her and the other Widows always had some secret trade going on, so she supposed it was that. She drummed the table nervously with her fingers, partly worrying Kate had already been murdered in her jail cell on the first day. Relief flooded through her when she saw the archer show up. She beckoned her towards her table, taking her bare feet off the bench. When Kate got closer, the relief she had felt was instantly replaced with worry. Kate looked horrible. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot and she looked around at every sound that was heard, as if she was scared something was going to hurt her.
"Hi…" Kate said awkwardly as she approached Yelena's table. She was unsure if it was a good idea to sit down, but to be honest, it was nice seeing a familiar face, even if it was Yelena's. She still had no idea if the Widow could be trusted or not, but for now she would take it. She shuffled onto the bench opposite Yelena and felt the tiredness in her bones and eyes.
"You look rough, Kate Bishop." Yelena commented, not trying to sound mean but rather concerned. She still had a habit of referring to Kate by her full name. "What happened?" She shook her head at a few inmates who were looking to sit down too, seeing the fact that Kate had joined Yelena at her table as an open invitation to do the same.
Kate's eyes bulged as she let out a pained laugh. "You weren't kidding when you said she wasn't like Thor. Like, I don't know him or anything, but I'm betting he's a lot nicer than her."
Yelena sighed. "Well yeah." She checked Kate's face and arms for any injury, but she seemed fine. "Did she hurt you?"
"No, she didn't even touch me. But…" Kate looked around in a skittish manner. "She said she murdered her previous roomie. And she made me sleep on the mattress that was soaked with their blood."
"Fuck." Yelena commented. She had not heard of such a murder occuring, but she was not surprised.
They stayed silent for a while, both unsure what to say.
"Are you hungry?" Yelena eventually offered, watching other inmates return with trays filled with some unidentifiable slop. "I'm guessing Wanda is still in the hospital, judging by the look of that food." She commented.
Kate shrugged. "I could eat."
Yelena stumbled up from their table. "Wait here." She was sure no one would dare to sit next to Kate, a newbie, but still watched the table like a hawk as she went to get them both food.
Agatha was standing behind the counter at the food court, a napkin covering her uncontrollable, bushy hair like a headscarf and making sure it stayed out of her face. She was wearing an apron and looked to be beside herself with joy. As she was scooping the disgusting slop onto each tray she smiled hugely at the person holding it, completely in her element. "Enjoy, hun!" She would exclaim, causing the recipient to scurry away as fast as they could.
Yelena made eye contact with the witch, not afraid of her in the slightest. She knew that Agatha only fancied Wanda and did everything to get in her good graces, including being nice to all the other prisoners.
"Two please." She said, placing down two trays for her to fill.
"Now, you're mighty hungry darling!" Agatha replied cheerily as she filled both trays. The slop splattered everywhere, making Yelena scrunch up her nose in disgust.
"It's not just for me. It's for me and my…friend." Yelena said, not sure why she was sharing this information.
Agatha winked at her. "Well, enjoy!"
Rolling her eyes, Yelena grabbed both trays and walked away without saying anything. Agatha seemed momentarily offended by her rudeness, but the moment someone new had turned up, her smile was back.
Monica Rambeau looked down at the disgusting grey substance that Agatha had served her, the mere sight of this "food" made her gag. In an attempt to push aside thoughts of the nausea building in her stomach she chose to redirect her focus to finding somewhere to sit, which wasn't easy as more and more people filled the room and her options were further limited as she was worried about accidentally taking a seat at one of the many gangs' tables. That's when she heard a loud shout and looked to see Carol trying to get her attention.
Monica slowly walked over to the table Carol was sitting at, a little intimidated at her company. She spotted several women she had never met or heard about surrounding her. She stared at the bright red haired woman sitting to Carol's right in particular. The woman's hair was astoundingly long and thick, to the point that it was inhumanly possible to have that much hair. It circled all around her and even stranger it seemed to move ever so slightly.
"Glad to see you didn't get stabbed in your cell on your first night!" Carol smiled. "Please sit."
Monica shyly took her seat in front of Carol and set her tray down on the table, she felt a bit like she was intruding on their group. "Thanks for uh…saving me in the kitchen yesterday." She said awkwardly.
"No need to say thanks. It really wasn't that hard and honestly Wanda can tend to be a bit…unstable." Carol was just a little bit (a lot) proud of the fact she won in a fight against the Scarlet Witch. "She shouldn't be bothering you again."
"Thanks." Monica repeated, managing to sound even more awkward. She also highly doubted that Wanda would just let this go.
The redhead looked Monica over with a sense of dissatisfaction. "This is the woman you attacked the witch for?" She asked, her voice held a sense of regality that Monica found to be strange in a place like The Raft.
"Yes." Carol ignored her clear disproving tone. "Monica, this ever-pleasant-to-be-around woman is Medusa, former queen of the Inhumans. Medusa, this is Monica. Me and her go way back."
"Hi." Monica shifted on the bench uncomfortably. She had no idea what an Inhuman was, but it didn't sound pleasant at all. She immediately got the sense that Medusa didn't like her.
Medusa just nodded. She had nothing in particular against Monica, it's just that while Carol was still focused on the merry high of having won the fight, she was more concerned with what effects punching Jean Grey's personal sex toy in the face may have on the gang relations side of things. She eyed Monica, kind of trying to size her up. "Why did Wanda have a problem with you?"
Monica swallowed. "Well I worked on a case in which she was involved. Well, kind of. She caused it, I guess. She might have kidnapped a whole town…" She wasn't sure if she was allowed to share, because this was all still considered highly classified, but then again were the people that put her here really worth keeping secrets for?
Carol looked surprised at this information. "What?"
"Yeah, I don't know, she had some sort of emotional breakdown I guess and her magic went crazy. We tried to help her…" Monica rambled. "I was even inside it for a little while."
"You went inside Westview?" Someone else at the table asked. Her tone made it clear that this was something special to them, like a feat.
Monica hadn't expected anyone to know about Westview, so she was taken aback. "Yeah…."
Carol cut the conversation short, not wanting everyone to get involved and keep asking Monica questions. "So why is she mad at you then?"
Monica shrugged. "I don't know. I guess she partly blames me for the loss of her family. She had some kids in the Hex."
Carol and the others nodded knowingly. "Yeah, we know all about the kids. She's kinda infamous here for attempting to kill anyone who dares mention them to her. It's basically the first rule to never bring up Wanda's children."
"Oh." Monica said, feeling stupid now because that was exactly what she had done. "Well there you have it."
Carol bit her lip nervously, thinking. "So, she went cray cray on you and I punched her. That's definitely not good." She had always been a punch first ask questions later kind of person and it had definitely gotten her in trouble before. She really couldn't handle having another gang war with Jean and her mutants right now.
"That is what I have been trying to explain to you. Your brashness has caused a diplomatic disaster." Medusa interjected. She spoke as if she was in a political council and not sitting at a breakfast table talking to convicts.
Carol seemed to put weight on her words though and nodded thoughtfully. "What do you think we should do?" She asked Medusa, like a child asking their mother for advice.
"We must do something to calm the waters. Like maybe meeting with Jean personally and apologising."
Carol scoffed and bit the nail of her thumb. "I'm not apologising to her." She said stubbornly.
Medusa was quickly getting annoyed. "Your ego is exactly what got us into this situation. If you can't get over yourself we will have an outright war to deal with."
Monica was watching the conversation like seeing a trainwreck in real time. "Well, maybe I can just…apologise for you?" She tried lamely. She didn't want Carol to be in trouble because of her. She wanted to be in Carol's good graces actually, feeling a distinct need to prove herself to her childhood hero.
Carol shook her head. "No, no, that won't be enough. We need…we need to fight them, I think." The thought already made her feel excited and she wrung her hands together. "We can win."
Medusa looked like she was about to scream now, but her regality kept that stress inside and she said calmly "I hate the mutant kin far more than you do, and yet I can at least see that they vastly outnumber us and a war would be idiotic"
Monica stuttered, the idea of causing an all out gang war terrifying her. "No, we need to do something else." Just as she was about to propose a plan, she made eye contact with Nebula, who was heading over to a table together with Bereet. Her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened yesterday and she fell silent.
Carol immediately followed her line of sight. "What, what?" She said, curious. She saw the blue Luphomoid across the cantina. She had never seen her before and had no idea why Monica was staring at her. "Who's that?"
Monica shuddered. "She's my roommate. In prison I mean."
"Why do you look so terrified?" Carol said suspiciously.
"Well, she uh, isn't a nice roommate." Monica answered vaguely. She felt awkward discussing what had happened between them with Carol and especially her friends.
"Spill the beans, sis." Carol pushed, looking excited to hear about more prison drama. "We can't help you survive this place if you're gonna keep secrets."
Monica looked at the table, feeling herself turn red. "Uhm…she asked me about sex and stuff."
Carol let out a giggle. "Why are you all flustered? What are you like fifteen?"
"She made me touch her." Monica blurted out. She truly felt uncomfortable with what happened and didn't appreciate Carol laughing about it. Hearing Monica's tone, Carol immediately turned more serious. "What?"
"She wanted me to show her. Like, how to feel nice."
"Oh man….that's fucked up." Carol felt bad. "I shouldn't have laughed, Monica. Sorry"
She looked at Nebula again, remembering her face. "We won't let that happen again, I promise." She moved her hand to cover Monica's, but the other quickly pulled away.
Though she may not have seen it that way, Carol's outrage was more than a little hypocritical considering her and her gang had done things similar, if not worse, to loads of other weaker prisoners. It was simply the nature of life at The Raft in her eyes, and yet now that it was being done to someone she cared about it was an issue.
Medusa, who was unfazed by what was just discussed, cleared her throat. "So back to the mutie issue.."
"I'm gonna make sure that blue bitch gets what's coming to her." Carol said with gritted teeth. Seemingly not having heard Medusa's attempt at a topic change. She was ready to get up and go over, but Medusa clapped her hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down.
"You shall stay in your seat." She said sternly. "I don't care about your friend's quaint sexual exploits, no matter how much she didn't enjoy it. There is a possibility of war because you keep doing this, you cannot just go about attacking whoever you are displeased with."
Carol seemed to struggle with Medusa's extensive vocabulary. She blinked a few times, trying to make sense of her words. "Why not? I'm strong. I don't want anyone to disrespect me or the people I care about." She knew she needed Medusa to be her moral compass and for her advice, but it was definitely annoying that she was always talking her down from fights. She let out a defeated sigh at the other's pointed look though, and sunk in her seat. "Fine…But I'm still not apologising."
Medusa sighed. She missed the civilised nature of the politics of Attilan.
Before anyone else could say anything, Carol felt one of her companions tap her arm urgently, trying to get her attention. Carol turned her head, annoyed, until she saw Jean Grey, a tray of slop in her hands, walking straight towards their table.
"Oh, fuck." She said.
Jean approached them, a smile on her face. "Hey, good morning."
They all stared at her with deep dread. Monica gulped like a fish but was the first to find her voice. "Hi?"
"I just wanted to quickly come by and have a chat. I talked to Wanda this morning. She told me what happened. I wanted to apologise for her behaviour." Not a hint of sarcasm or anger was found on Jean's face and she looked kindly at all of them. "As you know, Wanda's….you know. She has some issues. I am glad no one got hurt. She's my responsibility. And I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
Carol and Monica both were stunned silent.
"We accept your gracious apology and on our behalf Carol will, in the future, be more thoughtful before starting fights." Medusa was the only one to be able to formulate a response.
Jean seemed satisfied with that and nodded. "Thank you." She walked away, sitting with her usual group of mutants. Wanda was nowhere to be found.
"What the fuck just happened?" Carol whispered, half chuckling. She felt so confused. This was so unlike Jean that it was almost funny.
"I exceedingly suggest you take your win and keep your emotions in check." Medusa said quickly, wanting this to be over.
"Alright, alright." Carol raised her hands, suspicious but somewhat happy with the outcome. Maybe Jean was mellowing out?
On the other side of the room, Jean had placed down her tray and took a bite of the food. It tasted extremely salty and she spit it out. "That's disgusting." She said to her accomplices, who all looked eager to know what she had said to Carol and her crew. She looked them all over and then beckoned Rogue, who was right next to her, to come closer.
"I need you to do somethin' for me." She whispered.
"Whatever you need, sugah." Rogue replied, in her cute Southern Belle accent.
Jean dug into her pocket and pulled out a rolled up stack of paper. She peeled off a bunch of 50 dollar bills and stuffed them in Rogue's hand. "I need you to talk to that guard. And I need you to make sure that today, Carol and that new girl are shackled together in the mines. And no one else is there." She hissed in Rogue's ear.
Rogue nodded, ready to do anything her leader asked of her. "What is your plan?"
"You'll see." Jean replied, the usual sadistic joy in her eyes.