Andi looked out the bridge window and watched as Saturn zipped past them at what must be an impossible speed. Within just a couple of minutes the giant planet was out of view in the giant void of space, and their little ship was still speeding up.

"Definitely faster than light," she thought to herself, focusing on the distant shape of what must be Pluto quickly accelerating towards them.

"I can't believe I'm actually doing this," Himawari said excitedly. She'd been uncharacteristically giddy since they took off, and Andi wasn't sure why. It made her a little uncomfortable to be honest. "We're tracking down an alien spaceship… This is incredible! This is ridiculous! I've never been further than The Peak before… We just passed Pluto!" She couldn't stop laughing! As if she were a kid doing something she'd never had the chance to do for the first time.

"Himawari, I know you're riding that adrenaline right now, but we need to get to Gwen," Andi said, trying to snap her friend out of her high.

"I know, Andi, I know. I've already locked in the coordinates to Teuthida. And I've got our ship's VI searching for the imprint of any ship that was detected entering earth's atmosphere in the past day… It's weird though, I've run the program twice but it's come up with nothing out of the ordinary. A couple ships just moving around Wakanda and eight coming to and from the Peak." Himawari tapped on a holo-screen a few times, searching for information Andi knew she wouldn't be able to get.

"Well… what do we do if we can't find it," Andi asked quickly. She had to think up a plan without giving her roommate all of the information.

"Oh, well, Teuthida is a small moon orbiting a gas giant in a binary star system in the Cancer constellation. They'd only just discovered warp speed when the Xandarians found them and gave them basic tech to become starfaring and protect themselves from the Brood." Himawari's holo-screen expanded and displayed the small planet- mostly covered in water with just two small continents in its southern hemisphere. "They aren't very advanced and most of their economy is built on pirating tech from ships who couldn't defend themselves. And this is a standard S.H.I.E.L.D. cruiser. If they're on the same course as us back to their homeworld, we'd be able to make it there and back to earth before they arrive." She looked to Andi before blushing in embarrassment, realizing that any civilian with no knowledge of the galactic world outside of earth would have struggled to keep up with her.

"I- I mean that-"

"Save it. They're dumb and slow, we're faster. Could we find them before they got to Teuthida," Andi pressed, wanting to do everything she could to make sure that this mission would be successful.

"Yeah, we'd be able to pick up a ship's signature in space pretty easily- it's really unusual to cloak while moving at warp speed anyway. If we get within a few AU of their trail we might even be able to follow it- anything moving at warp speed leaves an energy signature through space that's pretty easy to follow." Himawari was an open book, and thankfully she'd studied a lot of different subjects in her quest to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

"How long is that going to take?"

"Factoring in their ship's usual speed? About four hours. We'll be dropping out of warp speed about every fifteen minutes along the way to see if we can find any sign of them. Trust me, we're going to find them," Himawari said comfortingly, gently patting her friend on the shoulder. "It's just a waiting game now, and they don't know we're coming."

"What are you going to do when we get there? You don't have any weapons or anything." Himawari seemed just a bit too relaxed for Andi's tastes. They were heading into danger- into potentially hundreds of armed aliens that'd taken Gwen hostage. Himawari was one unpowered S.H.I.E.L.D. agent without a gun. How did she expect to-

"The same thing you're going to do, Andi. Get Gwen back. We're both going to do what we have to do. I didn't just break into my own job and get myself into huge trouble with my boss just to fail the mission and lose one of my friends," she says confidently. She gently squeezes Andi's hand, looking into the woman's eyes. "Don't worry. We're going to get her back. Gwen's strong. She's probably annoying the heck out of those Teuthidans and they're debating bringing her back to earth already," she chuckles, gently squeezing Andi's hand again before getting up from her seat and walking towards the back of the ship. "Bathroom. I've always wanted to use one of these in space! You should probably go too before we get there. I don't think there's gonna be any time for a pit stop on an alien ship. They probably don't even have toilets," she rambled before sliding the door shut behind her. Andi sighs, sinking deeper into her seat.

"We shouldn't have brought her," Andi sighed, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way she could keep Himwari safe without giving up her secret. Other-Gwen's warning was still ringing in her ears. "If Himwari finds out about us, she dies… But… she's hiding something herself," she mumbled. It was like an impossible math equation. What could Himawari possibly be hiding that was so important? "There's also the chance she wasn't even talking about Himawari. Maybe I've already dodged the bullet altogether… No, if she time-traveled back here to stop me then it has to be Himawari. Unless by time-traveling back she stopped me from going with the dangerous choice?" She could feel her brain frying.

"I'm not going to let her get herself killed. Maybe if I knock her out before we get off the ship… No, if they come in here while I'm gone…" The ship rumbled as it left the sun's magnetosphere. Andi watched, her heart speeding up a bit as she left behind the star she'd lived every second of every day under her entire life. She couldn't choke down the sinking feeling in her chest that threatened to drown her. "I'll think of something."

Himawari fished around in her pocket for a moment before finding her keychain. She kept it hidden around her friends, mostly because she didn't want Gwen getting curious and touching it. Alongside her dorm room key and two other keys that were more S.H.I.E.L.D. cover, were a half dozen pearl sized charms. She set them on the sink and crossed her arms, staring intently at them. Thankfully these places were sanitized to the extreme- any bacteria could really do damage on an alien world so S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.W.O.R.D. had to maintain decontamination protocols that Xandarians and the Kree had collaborated on long ago.

"I'm so glad I paid attention to those galactic history lessons," Himawari sighed, resting her head in her hands.

"Yeah, now Andi thinks you're a huge space nerd," Star chuckled in her mind.

"I hope she's okay. I've been trained for this and I'm excited, I can only imagine what she's feeling right now," she said worriedly. Andi wasn't someone who was easily rattled- she'd handled the news about their vampire professors fairly well. But zipping through space at faster than light speeds searching for their abducted friend- her own girlfriend- was just way too much for any normal civilian. "If she really is handling all of this well, she should think of applying to S.H.I.E.L.D. herself," Himawari chuckled softly, leaning against the wall as she looked at the charms again.

"I know you said you wouldn't help me infiltrate the base but-"

"If you think I'll let you get yourself killed by aliens, you're out of our mind," Star comforted her.

"Thank you," Himawari said gratefully. She'd nearly stuttered when Andi had asked her what she was going to do. Her friend was right. She was just one unarmed agent against who knew how many alien pirates. But her sister, Star? She didn't need to be armed. "But, you can't show Andi. I don't want her to know-"

"Himawari, how do you expect-"

"No, Star. She's a civilian. She's Gwen's girlfriend. If I tell her, she'll tell Gwen and I just-"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has protocols in place in case someone learns about something like this. They can both get their memories wiped-"

"I don't want them to have to experience that! Neither of them deserve that!"

"It's painless!"

"It's super disorienting and terrifying! You get snatched up, black bag over your head, brought to some warehouse, wiped, checked, wiped again and then dropped off outside of your house feeling confused and violated with no idea what's happened!" Himawari had watched the process happen more than a couple of times. It was technically painless, but the people who went through it always recognized they'd lost time. Sometimes just a few hours, sometimes days. She didn't want that happening to her friends.

"So what do you want? Do you want me to help or not? Because we're already on the way and I'm just as invested in making sure your friend doesn't die as you are. And I'm not letting you get killed on this mission, so you either tell her or-"

"I'll knock her out before we board the ship. I can lock her in the escape pod under the bridge- the Teuthidans won't find her there and they won't be able to get to her without launching the pod. She'll be mad but she'll get over it when we save Gwen. You can sniff her out-"

"I've never got her scent, remember?"

"She's the only other human on board the ship! You'll sniff her out, clear the path to her, grab any weapons they drop and then I'll take over to free her. Gwen and I will use them on the way back to the ship and we hit warp speed before the Teuthidans can launch a counter attack." Himawari could feel her heart starting to beat a little faster as she imagined the plan. Star was bulletproof but if the Teuthidans had advanced weaponry her scales wouldn't save her from energy or plasma weapons for long. She couldn't be sure that the alien weapons would work with her biology- some Kree weapons only worked for Kree and the Teuthidans might have employed the same kind of tech. There was also no guarantee Gwen was in any condition to move, and if she was hurt she'd be forced to use Star to get her roommate to safety. So many variables floated around in her head, so many things that could go wrong and-

"Enough." Star oozed confidence. She wasn't worried in the slightest. "I already told you I won't let you die. We can try your plan. The second it doesn't work, I'm taking over."

"Thank you," Himawari said gratefully, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Now, the real question is why you grabbed the Scooby Snax," Star asked curiously. With the press of a button on the base of one of the charms, the Pym Particles deactivated and the charms grew to the size of golf balls. "You know I already ate this week."

"I know. But this is important and we have to be fast. Oganesson is for speed, right?"

"I like the way you think," Star chuckled, absolutely excited at the idea of testing out the rare element.

"We kind of share the same brain," Himawari teased her reptilian sibling, popping off a charm that was labeled #294 and placing it into her mouth. This part was hard, but she'd done it thousands of times before. Gathering her breath she swallowed the charm, her throat muscles straining to get the large orb down. "God, that tastes disgusting," Himawari whined, washing her face in the sink.

"Oh, it's not that bad, you're just being a baby."

Andi leaned forward in her seat as the giant alien spaceship came into view. They'd dropped out of warp speed about ten minutes ago, and their sensors picked up the trail of the ship through space- something about ambient energy that Andi couldn't give a crap about. But now here it was, taking up the bridge window and roughly the size of a city block and equally as tall.

"They shouldn't be able to detect us until we're inside. Our cloaking tech is pretty advanced," Himawari explained, her hand shaking despite her confidence as she held Andi's.

"Where are you going to board? Should we try to see where Gwen is first and land near there," Andi asked worriedly.

"No, we've gotta board from the cargo bay. We board anywhere else they'll drop blast doors to section that part of the ship off. We'd never be able to get back on." Himawari piloted them towards the front of the ship, finding the cargo bay doors easily. "Andi… if Gwen's still-"

"She is," Andi said forcefully. She had to be and she didn't want to hear about any alternatives.

"Then we'll find her. I promise," Himawari said comfortingly, still holding Andi's hand. "I know you're worried, but you can trust me. I'm going to make sure we get her."

Andi was so focused looking out the window that she didn't hear the weird tone in her friend's voice. It wasn't until Mania was prickling against her skin did she realize she was in danger. Himawari yanked her out of her seat- all of that gym training not having been for nothing- and she landed with her head in her friend's arms. Her roommate quickly wrapped them around her neck, cutting off her breath so easily.

"I'm sorry! You'll be okay, just trust me," Himawari said desperately, tears in her eyes as she squeezed Andi tighter. It would've been so easy to get her off. Between her Hell-Mark and Mania, Andi could've killed her friend a dozen times over for this betrayal. But she fought to keep either from surfacing to her defense.

"Mussssst ssssstop her-"

"No… I want to play this out. Just wake me up when she's gone." Her head was already swimming, and she blacked out glaring into Himawari's eyes.

Landing the ship had been fairly easy. Star wasn't as good a pilot as Himawari, but the whole point was to crash on purpose. About a dozen Teuthidans were sucked out into space as she punched through the bay door before a force shield closed behind it. Even more armed guards approached the ship as she waited for just the right opportunity.

"You're drawing too big a crowd, we have to go now," Himawari said urgently.

"We want as many Teuthidans here so that we can take them all down at once and there won't be enough to focus on our ship. We have to go back home in this thing, and Andi's in here. Just let me deal with this," Star grumbled, shaking herself off as she waited for what must've been the rear guard to file in behind the rest. "Opening the hatch," she said, pressing the button with a wide smile on her face.

"It's not a hatch it's-"

"I'm opening it. It's a hatch." She watched a screen display of what was going on by the bay door. Eight armed Teuthidans hiked up into the ship. Star cracked her knuckles before crouching on all fours. She waited, listening as their footsteps grew nearer.

The bravest alien finally reached the doorway, its one eye locking with Star's gaze. It raised its gun, ready to shout some kind of command, but it was already too late.

Oganesson is a radioactive element with a half-life in the milliseconds. Inside Star's specialized stomach, it couldn't decompose that quickly. Instead, it sparked up her metabolism far beyond what most radioactive elements did to her. She was a blur, easily capable of speeds in excess of 300mph. In the confined space of the ship, the Teuthidans might as well have been standing still. She rammed into the leading alien so hard she felt something crack deep inside its body. The force she'd hit it with slammed them backwards into their fellow aliens, toppling them over. A few well placed kicks and punches finished the squad before they had a chance to call for help.

"I'm gonna be sick," Himawari groaned. Locked inside Star's mind, she wasn't able to see what was going on through her sister's eyes, but she could feel the way the squid aliens deformed against Star's scales and she was positive Star had killed at least two of them.

"Get it together princess, hard part's coming up," she warned her. With every ounce of her speed she dashed from the ship and into the Teuthidan cargo bay. The aliens had their guns raised but weren't able to react in time. These aliens met the same fate as the first- rammed so hard they crumpled on the floor. She tossed two of the fallen Teuthidans across the room at their friends, knocking entire groups over in a pile of twisting tentacles.

"You think these guys would be tasty," Star asked curiously, grabbing a gun that'd fallen to the floor and tossing it at a Teuthidan that was just out of reach.

"Please don't ask that question I'm gonna barf."

"I'm just saying. Stir fried? Little bit of butter? What's that seaweed that goes with sushi? Dory?" Star kept her momentum going, using another alien as a springboard to get herself closer to a group that were readying their guns. She descended on them with a blast of fire and razor sharp talons.

"Nori!"

"Yeah, that stuff!" Star's claws dug into one of the alien's faces, gouging deep before she followed up with a lash of her tail that put it down for good.

"Please focus on the fight. I'm never going to be able to eat sushi again," Himawari whined softly.

"I'm done."

"What?"

"I'm done. That's all of them." Star looked around, making sure that all of the aliens were unconscious before shrugging. "You should have more faith in me. You know I-"

"Star! Gwen! Please!"

"Alright, alright," she sighed, exiting the cargo bay in a blur of speed. She bounded on all fours through the alien spaceship, searching for her friend.

Gwen winced as the alarms blared through the ship. They were loud and fast paced- if Teuthidans had the same kind of psychology as humans did, they probably meant something extremely dangerous was happening.

"Just find them and stop them! I'm busy," the assassin shouted, hitting the button again and pumping Gwen full of electricity. Gwen shouted in agony- it felt like there was fire in her veins- but the one thought that kept playing through her mind was how many times she could take this before she ended up with Electro's powers.

"We revived you specifically to deal with things like this. Go handle it," one of the Teuthidans said coldly.

"You've gotta be kidding me," the assassin growled angrily, dialing the torture machine up as high as it could go before turning it off. "You wait here," he hissed angrily through gritted teeth.

"You're in soooo much trouble," Gwen chuckled, drool running down the corner of her mouth as she giggled softly. "Mania's gonna eat you."

"Quiet," he hissed, punching her in the face before grabbing a pistol and storming out of the room.

Time to move. Gwen had picked up a thing or two from her time in K'un-Lun. The restraints weren't exactly made for humans, and now that the assassin was gone, she was able to work in peace. It took some time, but Gwen managed to free one hand before her Teuthidan guard noticed what she was doing.

"Hey! Stop that right n-kk!" Gwen shoved her fist into the Gutter, her hand coming out the other side of her white space and hitting the alien in the back of the neck, knocking him out.

"I'm not locked out anymore? Ugh, thanks writers, I guess," she sighed before working to undo the rest of her restraints. She'd freed both of her hands before hearing a loud crash down the hallway and the unmistakable sound of fire. She'd been around Andi and her Hell-Mark so long she just knew that sound anywhere even without the sound effects.

"She sounds angry," Gwen chuckled, undoing the last of the restraints before finally stepping out of the torture device. Grabbing the Teuthidan's gun, she made to leave the room, but just before she reached for the access panel, the door slid open and she raised the gun right in her roommate's face. "Himawari?!"

"Gwen!" Her friend's arms were wrapped around her so fast, squeezing her tightly before she quickly let go. "And you already have a gun! We can talk on the ship but we've gotta go!" Himawari quickly grabbed Gwen's wrist and practically tugged her friend through the ship. Going back the way she'd come would only put them in the path of more Teuthidans- and the burned, crushed and mauled bodies Star had left behind- so Himawari took the long way around back to their ship, hoping that the aliens would keep chasing her instead of trying to cut her off.

"Wait, where's Andi," Gwen asked confusedly, looking over her shoulder at the way Himawari had come.

"On the ship! Come on, we have to hurry!" She kept pulling Gwen through the long chrome hallways, only letting go for a moment as two more Teuthidans blocked their path. With two shots each she dispatched them before taking Gwen's hand again and tugging her forward. Gwen was certainly surprised.

"Usually the only people that good with a gun are important characters." She waved the thought bubble away as her roommate kept dragging her through the Teuthidan ship. Instead she worked to cover their backs, putting down angry aliens that tried to follow them down the long, winding halls of their spaceship.

"How did you guys get a ship," Gwen asked curiously, pausing only to shoot her gun and drop another alien as it raised its gun to fire at them.

"Oh, can we please save all of the questions for after we're off the alien spaceship," Himawari begged, firing her gun again and knocking a weapon out of another alien's tentacles before shooting it in the crotch. They'd been running so long they were finally closing in on the hangar. Himawari sighed in relief before she heard a roar that made her skin crawl. "What the hell was that?"

"You know, you might wanna capitalize that H," Gwen chuckled, lowering her gun. She'd recognize the roar anywhere. Himawari kept her gun raised and ready to fire on whatever aliens blocked their path as they rounded the corner, but the only Teuthidans to shoot had already been torn and shredded to pieces. And by the hangar door was Andi, bashing the final Teuthidan's head in with the butt of a rifle.

Mania woke Andi up about five minutes after she'd been stuffed in the escape pod. She groaned as she opened her eyes, groggily pulling herself out of unconsciousness. Getting out of the pod had been easy- thankfully she didn't have to tear her way out when the buttons still worked on her side of the door. What Andi hadn't expected were so many dead Teuthidans. Even more curiously, none of them had bullet wounds.

"What…?" She'd figured out Coach's secret on her own. This couldn't be much more difficult. She slowly picked her way through the battlefield. The bodies were crushed, mauled and mangled. Some even had deep gouges on them- claw marks. She found one victim whose flesh had been seared- no blood oozing from the cauterized wound. The last piece of the puzzle hadn't been hard to find. These victims smelled of seafood, their flesh cooked from hot flames that'd melted their suits and cracked their thin skin.

"No fucking way… That bitch! How didn't I see this?" She looked down at the bodies, her Hell-Mark burning onto her chest as she roared in anger. "She's been MonStar the whole fucking time!" The realization felt like swallowing sandpaper.

"We trusted her! And she's almost killed us!" How could she keep something so important hidden for so long! How could their sweet, kind friend have been that bitch of a lizard?

The danger sense prickled at the back of her neck and Mania rushed to cover her just before the laser blast hit her square in the shoulder. It knocked her off her feet, and in the few moments she was on the ground, she looked at her hands. Covered in alien tar and long claws, she realized she hadn't exactly been truthful either.

"Whatever," she growled. She had work to do, and needed to make sure no Teuthidans would make it into the hangar until her roommates got back.

"Himawari, come on! This is the ship, right?" Gwen was pulling her friend now, trying to rush onto the only human looking ship in the hangar. Her powers were acting up and she really didn't want to be here.

"One second," Himawari said, glaring at Andi. In her hurry to leave she didn't even notice the looks her friends were sharing. Instead she raced to check out the ship, making sure that there were no surprises waiting for them when they'd finally leave. Himawari was much more observant. She could smell the smoke. She could see the slash marks on dozens of Teuthidans that hadn't been here when Star had left. She didn't have to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to figure out who'd done this.

"What? Finally gonna stop pretending?" Andi dropped the gun she was holding, crossing her arms over her chest. She took a step closer to Himawari, her voice a low rumble. She could just leave the woman here for the aliens. She and Gwen could jump back to earth in seconds and she'd never even have to worry about Himawari Tokage or Star or MonStar ever again.

"Me?! Oh, you must think you're hilarious," Himawari snarled. Andi couldn't help but smile. She'd never seen her friend like this. The facade was finally slipping.

"I don't joke," Andi shrugged, sizing up her roommate. She looked so fragile like this. Not the feral, angry reptile whose claws burned and teeth shredded flesh. Just human. Her danger sense didn't even flare up.

"Right, you leave all the joking to your partner. You should start getting all your stuff in order because it won't be longer than a day for S.H.I.E.L.D. to be at KSU with a shiny pair of cuffs for you." Her voice was shaking as she threatened her friend.

"You'd really try to lock me up?" Andi laughed scathingly at the thought. For all Himawari's smarts she hadn't been able to figure out that Gwen Poole was Gwenpool! "Maybe Gwen was right about that Dr. Strange thing?"

"You stole that teleporter with Shocker," Himawari said, pointing an accusatory finger at Andi.

"I wasn't with Shocker and I needed it," Andi answered back. She didn't regret taking it even a little. It'd been such a hard week for her and she was glad she'd found a way to get to Gwen even if it'd proved useless.

"You stole that Symbiote!" Himawari was shaking now, her arms wrapped around her stomach as if she were trying to keep herself from throwing up.

"You were going to let her die! She belongs with me," Andi hissed, Mania covering half of her face and growling in agreement.

"You've been lying to Gwen this whole time!" Himawari's voice cracked. She was clearly upset about this, and Andi found her chance to strike.

"So have you! And guess what? You tell Gwen about me, and I'll tell her about you." The threat nearly made her laugh, but she stood tall over her friend.

"You wouldn't dare," Himawari said, angrily shoving Andi a step back. That was… odd. Her danger sense hadn't flared up that time either.

"Try me. I've got nothing to lose. You lock me up, Gwen'll know your secret identity. She'll hate you for breaking us up. And she'll tell everyone about your little secret," Andi smirked, knowing that even if Himawari didn't believe her bluff she still had the upper hand.

"Guys!" One of the dozens of ships docked in the upper level of the hangar directly above them broke free of its moorings and plummeted towards them. Mania spread over Andi's skin and she braced herself for the impact, ready to catch the ship before it crushed her. What she hadn't been expecting was a clawed hand grabbing her and pulling her out from under the ship before it crashed into the ground.

"Where's Gwen," Star asked, her head on a swivel as she searched for the woman.

"Don't you two fucking move," the man shouted, gun muzzle pressed against Gwen's temple. Their friend was already unconscious, blood coming from her nose and ear as the man positioned her body in between himself and the heroes. "I'll pull this trigger so fucking fast neither of you could blink before I splattered her skull on the floor!"

"Real easy way to make sure you die the worst death imaginable," Mania snarled, Hell-Mark glowing on her chest.

"That is not how you negotiate," Star growled, pushing past Mania to stand in front of her. "What do you want? What do you want so all four of us can get out of here?"

"All four of us? You think I give a fuck about her life?! Do you have any idea what she did to me?!" His hand was shaking as he held the gun, his finger teasing the trigger.

"I'm sure you believe she deserves whatever you do to her-"

"She does," he shouted back, spitting as he accused her of who knew what.

"Killing her won't change any of it. Killing her isn't gonna give you your life back. Only you can do that by putting the gun down," Star warned him, her ears perked up high on her head as she listened to their surroundings.

"It won't, but it'll sure as hell feel good!"

"NO!" Mania snarled, symbiote squirming over her skin. She knew there was no way she could close the distance and save Gwen from a point blank shot. She'd be dead instantly. No way to go into the Gutter to time travel, no way to use Mania to bring back a corpse. She was helpless, and had to rely on the wannabe hero.

"You're not thinking clearly! You pull that trigger and it's all over for both of you. I can keep you safe if you just hand the girl over."

"You can't control that bitch," the man shouted, gun shaking even more as he pressed the muzzle harder against Gwen's head. He was getting ready to do it, Mania's danger sense was like a screw in her head as Gwen was threatened even further.

"Andi, just play along," Star whispered.

"What?" She didn't have time to ask anything else before Star grabbed her arm and pinned her to the ground.

"Just stay down," Star all but begged as Mania started to struggle against the smaller hero's hold. "I have Mania. Drop the girl, get on a ship and get out of here, and no one has to get hurt."

"This better fucking work," Mania snarled. For all Star's strength, slipping out of her grasp would be easy if this man decided to pull the trigger. She'd tear him apart. She'd send tendrils through every inch of his flesh and then cook him from the inside out before shredding him into ribbons. She'd-

The man took a step back, then another. He was careful, calculating each movement far in advance. He made sure Gwen was positioned between himself and the two heroes, ensuring that they wouldn't be able to attack him with his back turned.

"If either of you try anything funny-"

"We just want her safe. We don't joke."

The man lowered his gun for just a moment as he dropped Gwen onto the floor. He kept his gun aimed at her as he climbed into a smaller gunship. He clearly knew how to fly it, taking off in about a minute and clearing the hangar as fast as the vehicle would allow.

"Get off me," Mania shouted, shoving Star off of her as soon as the vehicle cleared the one-way force field. She wanted to jump outside and drag that ship back into the hangar. She would've loved to see the look on his face as she pulled him, kicking and screaming out of the cockpit and punished him for pointing a gun at Gwen. But…

Mania slid off Andi's skin, back to her usual outfit as she raced to Gwen. She gently picked her friend's head up off the chrome floor, dabbing at her still bleeding nose to clear her airway. "Gwen? Gwen come on… Gwen, wake up," Andi begged, gently smacking the side of her face.

"That's not how you wake up someone who's been knocked out. Can you bring her to the ship without jolting her," Star asked worriedly, her ears resting low as she took a couple of steps towards them.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to," Mania snarled, bared fangs and lashing tongue warning Star against taking one step closer.

"You! I'm talking to Andi and Mania and whatever else you want to call yourself. Can you get Gwen into the ship without jolting her," she asked again. There wasn't any of Himawari's nervousness in her voice. Mania had to fight to keep her claws from forming, instead taking a deep, calming breath before letting the symbiote slide down her skin, back into her outfit.

"Yes," she growled, keeping her voice even.

"Then hurry up! I can hear more aliens coming!"

Andi let Mania crawl over Gwen's body, wrapping her in a cocoon. She then carried her friend into their ship, passing Star as she did. The thought of pushing Star aside and leaving her on the Teuthidan ship crossed her mind. They wouldn't have to deal with the hero again and they might actually be able to help Philadelphia without needing to run around like vigilantes.

"Don't look at me like that. I don't want to fight you in front of Gwen. Himawari would be so mad if I broke her KSU cover. Now get on the ship before- OW!" Andi's danger sense had warned her that the shot was coming, but the way she was spread over Gwen there was no way she could dodge in time. Thankfully, Star had heard the trigger being pulled and had jumped to block the shot. "Move!"

As they ran onto the ship, Star melted away into Himawari, who quickly took the controls. "Hold tight onto Gwen while we clear the ship. I don't think the seatbelts can hold her securely enough and I might have to dodge some laser fire," she explained, pressing about a half dozen buttons before the ship got off the ground. More aliens filled the hangar, angrily firing on the ship as it took off, dashing out of the larger ship and out into space.

It took a few minutes before Himawari gave the all clear, turning in her chair to look at Andi. "I won't tell her if you don't," Himawari said, arms crossed over her chest. "But if Star catches you or your partner doing anything in Phili… We will bring you in," she warned.

"Right…" Andi rolled her eyes, stroking Gwen's head as she waited for her friend to wake up.

"Uuuuggggh, does anyone have an Advil," Gwen groaned, wiping blood and phlegm from her face with the back of her hand. "Oh? I didn't dream that up? Himawari, how'd you get here? How'd you guys get this ship?"

"It's a long story."