Fourteen - Pt. 2 -

This is just the sort've thing that would happen to me.
I travel to a world to meet the main character and the main character has flown the coop.
For two seconds, I was so happy. Life is cruel.

I needed to sit down following this news, so the four of us migrated into the apartment, into the living room, where Gwen and myself sat on the couch. The boys seated on the chairs across from us. "I'm very much not okay right now.." I uttered as I sat there, leaning against the cushions, staring up at the ceiling. "Why has this thing happened."
"I'm don't know..but I've been worried sick."
My eyes slowly gravitated to her, me open-mouthed, as Gwen nervously sipped her coffee, which she didn't seem to be all into, probably due to stress. She did indeed look quite worried. There was something beyond the perfect, elegant facade she was putting up, that indicated rather clearly that she was not alright. This was damaging her, plaguing her thoughts. Gotta think, she was used to him being Spider-Man and was all for it, but the fact remained, she didn't know whether or not he was gonna come back to her at the end of the day. Something like this was bound to happen sooner or later, yet she was still not prepared. Who would be.

After a few seconds, I sat up and edged closer, leaning over to begin my sort've interrogation. "Gwen, ya gotta tell me..did Peter say anything, anything at all, that would indicate in the slightest why he left and where he was going?"
Regretfully, she closed her eyes and gently shook her head, carefully setting her coffee down. "Nothing..except...." She hesitated a moment. She glanced at me.
I gave her a reassuring nod. "....Some men had arrived at his place. Told him they needed his help. So he decided to go with them." "To where, though?! What about his city?!"
I sprung up. "His CITY needs help!"
Gwen then perked and her eyes moved on me, suspiciously.
"You know who...who Peter is??"
Ack......sigh.........oh well.
Hearing this made me clench and grit my teeth. Fool of a took.
I turned and tilted my head in guilt.
"Well....yes..yes, we do."
She looked confused. "Are you friends of his?"
"Err..well.." "He never mentioned you."
"Um...well..yeah..no."
"We're not from this city, we'll just say." Jim answered bluntly, bringing his tea upto his lips and taking a sip. I swung around and silently gestured at him that he was an idiot and I wanted to run him over with a truck. "Mm, most definitely not from the city.." Master added.
I gave him the same look. Gwen's eyes flashed to him, "And who are you?"
"People not from the city." "Don't mess with me." "Okay, people not unlike your boy."
I got closer. "Don't worry, though, we're on your side. I promise. It's just..well..we didn't intend to come here. It was kind've an accident. But upon arrival, we were hoping we could meet him. Work with him. See, there's...some people we're concerned might be here. And we needed his help to stop them, if it turned out true." "An accident??"
Well, good work being stuck on one thing, Gwen.
"We're kind've.....travelers."
She crinkled her brows. This was awkward.
I gave up and looked away, licking my lips frustratedly.

"Okay, yeah. My name is Sarah Demens. I'm from another world, another version of Earth, we'll say. The one homeless drug addict looking one is the Master, and alien called a Timelord, who kidnapped me with a time-traveling spaceship that we're using to travel to other worlds with, that, well, aren't even supposed to exist." "AHEM" I rolled my eyes to Jim. "And the fashion leprechaun is Jim Moriarty. An annoying criminal mastermind who flirts with everything. Be prepared. You are not safe. He can not be stopped. Moving on."

He gawked as I continued.
I looked back at her. "And by the way, back where I come from, you three are fictional characters."
There was silence. Her face was blank and emotionless. But I was impatient.
"Look, I can prove it, gimme your phone."
I didn't even wait for her to hand it to me. I reached across the table and snatched it, then tossed it to Master. "Work your magic, my boy."
He nodded, albeit a little offendedly, no doubt cuz I called him a homeless drug addict, and started to fiddle with the device. Once he drew out his screwdriver and did his Timelord thing, he flicked it back to me. I nodded as I caught it, then immediately went to Youtube, typed in this and that, and with a lick of the lips, I turned the phone to Gwen and watched as her mouth fell instantly.
It was a clip of her and Peter.
"--t-----tt--------tha----that's-------------that's--me."
"....yeah...."
It was a little weird to be doing this, considering it was my first time doing so, as well as the fact I had come across a fictional character of the modern age, where pulling out a phone and showing 'em a video wouldn't completely throw 'em into a crater of shock.

I closed the app out once her eyes turned away and I saw she had entered a state of shock.
welp. Setting the phone down, I laced my fingers together and the four of us sat in silence.
"...you're from...another...world......oh...my god........"
She gently shook her head, "Wow..."
I blinked......wait, wow? Only wow???.....wow.
I gained a look of perplexity. "..you're taking this disturbingly well..."
She shrugged a little, still not quite knowing what to say.
"..well...I don't know what else to say..what else can I say? I mean...wow...."
. . . . . . I was not comfortable.
"You're so level-headed, it makes me uncomfortable."
Gwen put her hands together and pressed her fingertips underneath her chin, glancing over at me.
"Sorry.....so...you said you were traveling...and there are people you need to find? Are they criminals?" "Well...traveling was rather for my own selfish purposes, initially. But now, well..we've since found out that there are OTHERS who are traveling...people with more sinister purposes. They've found eachother and are aiming to destroy the worlds..and everyone in them."
Her eyes flashed back to me in alarm. "What?!"
I shrugged and pressed my fingertip into my temple, "Yep."
"Why??" "It's kind've their thing. They're sick of good winning and now they're hellbent on killing the worlds and the people inhabiting them in order to, I believe, live among their own world. A world full of villains. This is their revenge. Getting back at the heroes for always winning. And what better way than to go back in time and kill 'em when they least expect it. They have a lot of advantages." "They can't do that." "Try tellin' THEM that."
"..Oh my god, do you think that's what Peter went to do?!"

WHAT WHAT, my attention fully snapped at her, my jaw dropping open.
"GWEN, YOU'VE GOT IT." "..I do??" "That makes total sense! That's why he dashed off a---a--aaaa----wait, when did he flee the scene?" "A week ago." "-A week ago! And then we conveniently showed up. The T.A.R.D.I.S. brought us here cuz Peter left and the city is in trouble."
I shook my head at this, "Boy, did he pick a heck of a moment to bail."
"What do you mean??"
"Well, we have a bit of a problem, love." Gwen's eyes turned to Master.
He lifted his chin and rose his brows, "We were being followed earlier."
"Which only means the ones out to destroy this world are already here." Jim spoke softly, quietly and calmly sipping his tea. Gwen's eyes enlarged almost to the size of saucers and could only utter an elegant and carefully thought out, "Holy crap."
"Agreed." I agreed. "This is bad......" "Agreed." I shifted. "And with Peter gone, that means the city is now OUR responsibility." I crossed my legs. "To effectively take control, we've gotta figure out who they've sent. Learn our enemy. Know their weaknesses. And stop them before they can succeed."
"But..how are you going to do that?" "Typically by fighting 'em."
Gwen sunk. "..Just the three of you?"
"I mean, no, I have others...a couple of..others..."
She blinked. I blinked back. "A big masked brute, Bane, and a psychotic clown, Joker..."
She blinked again. As did I.
"Don't worry, they're very useful.........most of the time...."
Repeat.
"..........stop it."
Gwen's eyes went to me, to Master, to Jim, to me, caught in complete silence.
"Gwen, why."
"...the five of you....just the five of you..."
"..yeah." "..going to save New York.." "..yeah.."
"..against God only knows who.." "......hush."
"No, it's fine, I get it. You're short-staffed, not a lot of people to back you up."
"...no thanks to your boyfriend..." I muttered as I sipped my Pepsi.
"..it's just..the odds of you winning are..pretty low."
I almost choked as I put my drink down and cast her such an offended glare, my eyeballs were sore.
"GIRL, excuse you, I will slap you blind! I'll have you know we five have been VERY successful. We've seen things you wouldn't believe. Why, just last week, I took down a freaking dragon. AND a flying boy, AND pesky pirates, AND an unkillable government experiment gone wrong, AND slayed an orc leader along with SEVERAL of his army men. So you can shove yo' doubt in the trash."
She blinked as I looked away, clearly insulted, and she looked away as well, laying her hands on her lap, speechless as ever. An awkward silence ensued for but a brief moment. "I'm..sorry.......I didn't realize..." "Don't sweat it...................but yeah, you're right, we're screwed, we need help."
My head turned and I sighed deeply and thoughtfully, as I rested my chin upon my fist.

Gwen shifted in her spot and contemplated on the matter a bit, as if she too were trying to figure something out. "Any idea who you could get out here? Besides the police, that is."
"Ah, the police, they'll only slow us down, unfortunately. We need back up from outside the law, especially with who we might be facing against." "Which is who?" "I dunno, but someone smart and dangerous. They'll have to be if they're coming into Spider-Man's territory."
My eyes slowly and suspiciously cut to her as I thought long and hard on the list of candidates.
"......actually........wait......yes.....YES."
I grinned wide and mischievously, as I shot up, many thoughts bursting through my skull.
"I know EXACTLY who to get!"
"WHO." Jim and Master demanded in unison. Then simultaneously glared at one another.
Jim looked back. "DON'T KEEP SECRETS."
I pointed at them, then swung my arm. "MAX AND HARRY."
"Come again?!" Master exclaimed. "The bloody vILLAINS?!"
"YES, the villains! And besides, at this stage, they ain't villains yet, remember. They're pure right now. We make our move and win 'em over, they can help us to fight against the slime!"
Jim's eyes fell to his cup and hurriedly picked it up. "I need tea..." He hurriedly sipped.
Master shook his head, "That's a bold move, Demens. Really bloody bold and you know what happens if it doesn't work."
I fell back down. "I know it's a bold move and I know what happens if I fail. But we've got a world to save and if that doesn't push one to do bold things, then it's not a very pressing matter, is it? There's no one else here that can help us. Lizard is out've the game. We've got no choice."
"You know about him??" Gwen piped up, surprisingly.
"Let's just assume we know about everything, Stacy." I replied, curtly.
She looked away, now looking a bit confused. "Max...who's Max?"
"Max Dillon, an electrician at Oscorp. You probably don't know him yet."
She looked away. "..And Harry, who's Harry?"
"Harry Osborn." Her brows lifted in shock. "..oh wow.."
"Indeed...both have connections to Peter. Strong connections. Max is a fanatic. Harry's his bestfriend. Both turn against Peter when they change. If we can avoid that and get them to side with us, then maybe..just maybe.." "..We have a chance."
I nodded. "Exactly."

But then..I had another realization..one that made me very much not happy.
And I frowned.
Jim looked over at me with crinkled eyebrows, "What's wrong?"
My eyes lifted, "That's it.." "That's what??" "Max and Harry...they're the primary enemies of the movie, remember?"
"Yeah, AND?" Master said with rolled eyes.
I rolled my eyes to him, "And who have they been visiting in the worlds?"
At that, Master and Jim's faces fell.
I nodded, "See?"
They blinked their eyes and moved them to the table, completely thrown off.
"That settles it, then. We've got to get to them before the others do."
"And hurry up about it. I've a feeling they might just accelerate their plans knowing that we're already here." "Crap, you're right, Jimbo. We're wasting time just sitting here, sipping beverages."
Gwen quickly turned to me, "I can track down Max at Oscorp and talk to him for you. Maybe we can set up a meeting and you can explain the plan to him."
I pointed. "Perfect. Thanks, girl. In the meantime, we'll set up an appointment to meet Harry. I dunno if his pops has for sure and for certain passed yet, so he might be in a fragile state for awhile. That's when things start going south. We need to make our move fast."
The party nodded.
"Right..I guess we're initiating our next little adventure, then."
"Correctomundo. Welp..Gwen...thanks again."

I stood up and shook her hand. She had taken hold of my gloved hand with still an edge of caution and worry. "And hey.." I laid a hand on her shoulder, which made her relax a little, swallowing hard.
"I promise..when this is all over and Peter isn't back yet? I'll do my very best to find him. Okay?"
Her bright blue eyes lit up at this and a smile bled through her worried expression.
"...Thank you, Sarah." I nodded. She nodded back.
I let go as the boys arose and the three of us soon headed for the door. We saluted Gwen off and marched for the elevator, to travel back down to the lobby.
. . . . . .

We arrived back at the lobby, the elevator doors systemically sliding back to reveal a Bane and a Joker standing on the other side, leaning against the wall ahead of us.
Both their eyes immediately flashed to us and their faces contained a hopeful expression, naively expecting success. But my dismal sadness caused the two to sag.
"What happened?" Joker's high-pitched voice echoed through the empty hall.
"Change of plans, boys. Gonna have to seek help elsewhere."
They crinkled their eyebrows in confusion.
"Pete's gone."
"WHAT?! Who killed 'im?!"
"NO, you imbecile! He just..left. When he wasn't supposed to leave.."
They exchanged curious glances at one another.
"How?!"
"I dunno, he's just gone! Gwen doesn't know where he went. She's worried sick."
"So, in other words, we're screwed." "Nein. Harry and Max are still out there. They're all we need."
"What??" "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, we're gonna go meet Harry and Max now and recruit them to help fight the accursed jerk visitors."
Joker rose a brow, "You're getting help from a couple of crooks to save the world?!"
His eyes fell and he shrugged, pouting his lip. "That's bold."
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time I did it.." I gave each of them a slight smirk and three out of four narrowed their eyes at me, picking up my reference.
Bane lifted his arm up and gestured at me, "Are you sure you want to do this, Miss Demens? What if they refuse to assist us?" "They can't. They can't refuse. We can't let 'em. We HAVE to win them over. None of us have a choice." Bane looked down. "And why is that?"
"...because if they don't side with us, they'll side with the enemy, and then they'll be lost to us. I refuse to let that happen. I need to save them......I have to."
With that, I started for the door. The others, as usual, rushed to catch up with me like four children.

Master shuffled to my side, placing his hands in his pockets. "So what exactly IS the plan? We're just going to walk in and tell them everything? Then what? We comb the city for anyone else unusual?"
"Well, yes. We'll find Harry in Oscorp, convince him to our side, whilst simultaneously protecting him. Cuz you know they're gonna be coming for him. That's their deal. Meanwhile, Gwen's gonna try to track down Max and get 'im to talk to us. We'll protect him, too....then we'll find the baddies, kick their tails, restore peace, then peace out ourselves. End of story." "Well then.." "Good plan." Jim said from behind. "Except for one teensy thing.."
"What's that?" "Your boy, Parker...you're not going to find him?"

I came to a halt and turned around to look at him. "..I have bigger problems to worry about right now. Peter can take care of himself for the time being." "You promised his girly, though.."

"..I will find him....eventually..." Jim turned his head, still staring at me.

"So you lied." "I didn't LIE." "Mmhmmm..."

My eyes slightly glazed in irritation and I bowed my head to give him a more stern stare.

"Are you saying you care?"

He paused for a moment, a little taken by the question, until his eyes inevitably fell and he had to turn his head away. "Of course not..."

I lifted my head back up and I started to turn back around to continue forward.

"Right..well, focus on the problem at hand. It's what you lot are always telling me, right?"

"Whatever makes you sleep better.."

"Shush, Riverdance."

We all rushed back to the T.A.R.D.I.S., simultaneously looking around us and over our shoulders to ensure we weren't being followed or watched before we entered back inside.

Once we were in, I leaned against the door and stared at the metal floor, rubbing my arms as the others scurried over to different parts of the room.

"..Gwen sure took the whole 'you're a fictional character in a fictional world' thing well..."

Master peeked over at me, "Better than you did."

My muscles tensed. "I'm not a fictional character."

"You know what I mean."

"But maybe you ARE."

"DON'T DO THIS TO ME, JOKER."

"Calm down, she's most likely still in shock."

Wow Jim, thanks.

I folded my arms like a five year old not getting her way and I 'hmphed' grumpily.

"Sari's been waiting for this her whole life, leave my wife alone."

He defensively put an arm around me, casting the three a dark yet comical glare, and I couldn't help but puff in pride. That's right, I have, nyeh.

Joker and Master rolled their eyes.

Master went over to the controls and hovered his hand over one, eying my way.

"So, to Oscorp?"

I made a few fake sniffles and glanced at him, placing my hand over my heart.

"you listened"

He rolled his eyes again, albeit smirking and shaking his head.

"And yes." I smacked Jim's arm away, which he suddenly let out infront of him, making me flinch.

"To OZ-corp?!"

oh lord, that took me by surprise, and a ridiculously abrupt laugh escaped from my mouth.

I accepted it. "To OZ-corp." I locked arms with him, grinning at the silliness.

"Come along, then, Toto."
He winked and we skipped across the room, making the others sigh.

~ ~ ~ ~

Master transported us to the location of Oscorp, but before we got out, we departed eachother's company to get a few things out of the way. Like go to the bathroom, for one, cuz I for one had to go really bad. I retrieved my laptop and notebook and stuffed 'em into my backpack cuz we no doubt would be away from the T.A.R.D.I.S. for a few hours and you guys know me well enough by now to know I like being prepared. Also I grabbed several snacks and Pepsis and my pack was bulging, I looked like a thief. Regardless, I trounced forward into the living room, waddling like a penguin due to my heavily loaded luggage. Master, already ready, looked up at me and his brows immediately rose in shock. "WHAT do you have packed in there?" "Only the essentials."
He shook his head, disapprovingly, knowing full well it was not only the essentials.

"We're ready," Jim called, turning Master and I's attention to the hallway, where the others were coming through, loading up on guns. "All we need right here, Demens." Joker teased.
"Pft." I drew out my handgun and gave it a shake with a raised brow.
Forgive me for this, but I was COCKY. Don't shoot me.
"I AM armed, clown."
Moriarty flashed his eyes to J. "You've been threatened."
"I feel threatened. By a pint-sized royal."
"And don't you forget it." "Ihateyou." "And that makes 37." "Say what?"
"-times. 37 times you've claimed you hated me...this morning."
I shook my head, playfully. "Sounds more to me, J, that you're simply trying to convince me you hate me to hide the real truth.." Jim's mouth fell at what I was implying and Joker's face tightened sourly as if he ate a lemon, and he grunted with developing irritation.
I grinned teasingly, "I'll take that as a yes. Let us away, then, my brothers."
With a few steps, I waddled for the door, although before I could make my exit, I was grabbed from behind by my pack with a firm grip, where I was flung backwards and I stumbled to a halt.
Master stood infront of me, shaking his head as he pointed to my back.
"Take that off. I'm not going out there with you like that."
"Oh, c'mon!" "NO. You look like a runaway hobo!" "You're one to talk!"
"Take it off! You can use your toys later."
I gave him such a grumpy expression, my face ached.
However, I had to listen. He was being very serious. And I didn't have time to argue as we needed to hurry, so I brought my arms back and let the pack slide down to the floor.
"FINE." I sassed, pushing forward and shoving him aside.
He watched me with an attitude that I wanted to punch him for.
I charged for the door and flung it open with widened arms, and dashed off.
Groaning came from behind and I heard the four scramble after me for the thousandth time.

~~~

Onward into the city streets.
We charged away, me at the front, Master and Joker right behind, with Bane and Jim looming in the very back, attempting to keep a steady pace.
"There's a pattern here you're not seeing, Demens." Master commented out of nowhere, hands stuffed in his hoodie's pockets. "These..enemies we've been running into..they all seem to have a particular interest in you." "..Yeah, so?" "Has the thought crossed your mind that perhaps they're after you for the same reason as us..for revenge?"
"..highly doubtful." "Eh? And why's that?" Joker chimed.
"Because..well..Pan told me otherwise."
I could feel the tension rising. "..Pan?" "Yeah..the skinny little creep of a beep. He told me they were aiming to kill everyone on every world, minus the villains they successfully recruit, and rule as one large evil division. Finally getting some victory and all that junk.."
". . . . The boy told us we are no longer accepted."
I skid to a stop and threw my head at Bane. Soon, all of the party stopped and turned their eyes to the masked brute. He lifted his chin, "They no longer view us as their own. They have deemed us traitors, against their cause. And have sided with you in your quest to save worlds."
My heart dropped. I held completely still, holding my stare directly up at Bane.
"...b..being with me......has made you their..enemy?"
The rest all looked back at me. Slowly, solemnly, they all nodded their heads.
I swallowed hard, trying to hide my guilt. Which could only be done by bowing my head.
"........I'm sorry."
Joker's brows perked and he tilted his head. "What was that?...sorry? You're sorry?"
 He stepped closer, "You're sorry for us? Are you defective, kid?"

Silence fell, despite the endless noise in the city background.
I wanted to scream over how guilty I felt over FOUR. FREAKING. VILLAINS.
And, well..I had put a target on their backs just by making a deal with them.
Like..why did I feel so bad over ruining their chances of joining the evil club?
Just why?

"I.....I just......I'm.....sorry."
Master gazed at me for a bit, a perplexed look on his face that was mixed with irritation.
I could tell there was a hint of anger in his eyes, that was attempting to hold back.
There was a tense anger deep in all of them, in fact.
And I knew, I just knew, that they all blamed me. They hated me. And deep inside, I knew..no matter how much they meant to me...they would always feel he opposite for me. They'd never love me....there was too much anger and hatred for that.
"....no matter." Master finally answered. "We rule ourselves. Needing no one. That's the way it's always been." . . . . . I sighed. This was stupid.
"....Well..even so..we're doing our own thing. Doesn't matter what they actually want or who they're actually after. I'm stopping them. We'll keep traveling. Whatever goes down goes down." "...right." "..and then eventually..when it's all over..we'll all five have peace."
Each of us exchanged glances. Master nodded, albeit slowly and a bit reluctantly.
"..Right."
. . . More silence . . .
....I shuddered.  "ANYWAY.." I proceeded onward. "Oscorp is just a couple more blocks from here. We continue this way at this pace, we'll be there in no time."
"..Right!" Master exclaimed as he hurried along across the sidewalk, trying to catch up with me. "Demens-" "Will you ever call me by my actual name." "--what are we going to tell him? That Harry bloke..you rather unveiled everything to that Stacy girl, I'm not so certain it would be wise to reveal the plot to Osborn, given his...development."
"I thought about that..I think for now, we'll use some kinda cover story..try to befriend 'im..show 'im we care.. he's always been rather alone.. the downfall of a lot of villains, actually....anyway, we'll cozy up to him and Max when Gwen finds him, and try to get them on our side as best as we can without having to tell them much.."
"And how long will that take?" "As long as it takes. It honestly doesn't matter, considering our objective is to win them over. Before the mystery fiends do.."
"..Right." "What is this obsession with RIGHT?" "..Sorry.." 
"Mm.." "And then?" Uttered Jim. "-er, and then we cream the baddies, duh."
"Excellent. Except for one thing." "What's that?"
"When are we having our date?" "Jim, get out." "This ain't the time for that, half-pint."
Moriarty scowled at the Joker something fierce.

"But actually...that gives me an idea."
All eyes cut to the Master, suspiciously. For the Master having ideas is equally concerning for everyone and there is cause for suspicion.
He turned his eyes on me and my skin crawled, bracing for impact.
"What if you use your..feminine charms..on Osborn?"
I threw my head back, "EXCUSE ME WHILE I LAUGH", but I didn't laugh, I just turned right around and gave Master such a look of judgment that I was hoping would make him feel utterly silly. "FEMININE CHARMS? DO YOU EVEN KNOW ME AT ALL, BOY?"
"Why are you shouting??" "BECAUSE I'M OFFENDED."
"Oh please, I'm simply stating you use what we all know you're capable of, and seduce him. Have dinner with him or something."
I started to chuckle so deeply and forcefully, it almost hurt, considering, ya know, it was a painfully sad and hilarious matter. "Yeah, no. That ain't ever gonna happen."
"Come now, Demens, you won't really be dating him. None of your sacred little laws will be broken." "No..I mean..he's not..ugh. One, I don't have a seducing bone in my body. I can attempt it, but I just come off as clumsy and awkward and just no. And two...guys don't...go for me. I'm not what they're looking for. I'm not what attracts them. I'm hardcore and dark and weird; they're after sunshine and beauty and prissiness. I'm not hot or alluring. I've never turned eyes. It's the way it's always been. And that's ok. I'm used to it. It's just the way it is."
He crinkled his brows. And he uttered a word I'm too lazy to beep out.

I sighed and shook my head, "ok, guys don't go for me, that's the bottom line. They do flirt and maybe a few find me cute, but I'm telling you, I'm not the type they aim for. I get sister-zoned, yo. That's all you lot unfortunately see me as."
"LOTS of blokes have been after you. Moriarty and that dwarf spring to mind!"
"HE-" I shot my finger at the Irish bug. "-IS A FREAKING PSYCHOPATH. HE DOESN'T COUNT. AND KILI WAS AROUND A BUNCH OF DWARVES ALL THE FREAKING TIME, OF COURSE HE FLIRTED."
I rolled my head and cricked my neck, sighing frustratedly.
"...Even if I was on the market, it wouldn't happen, okay? Just trust me."
"Then why keep the code of honor? Why wait for your beloved? Why not just give up?"
My arms shot themselves up as I backed away.
"Cuz deep down, I kNOW THAT'S NEVER GONNA HAPPEN. LOOK AT ME. DO I REALLY LOOK LIKE THE TYPE THAT A GUY WOULD WANNA SPEND THE REST OF HIS DAYS WITH?"
I shot a finger at them. "NO. I'm a freak of nature among my gender! They get all the attention and I stay alone!"

I tried to escape the conversation by swinging around and bolting forward.
But for the first time, they immediately caught up with me.
"So no one's ever asked you to dance?" "no"
"Never tried to kiss you?" "nO"
"Never proclaimed their love for you ONCE?"
"NO!" "I don't believe that!!" "Well, believe it! It's true! And it's fine, I don't care. I'm past it."
"Are not." "Am, too." "You're fine with being alone FOREVER?" "YES"
"Liar!!" "THIS IS STUPID, WHY ARE WE EVEN HAVING THIS DISCUSSION?"
"Because with benefits and qualities such as your's, it's ludicrous for them to be wasted. I think the men on your planet need a swift kick in the *beep* if they don't find YOU desirable." "Ugh, what'd I tell you about your-" "You're a QUEEN, Demens. You're above them. You take what you want. Not the other way around."

This quieted me into silence and I cut him a glare that was trying to be strong, noble and tough, but all I really felt was me trying to hold back my tears. Me trying to escape the conversation was for good reason. Truth of it is..it does hurt. It hurts when no one picks you. When you're actually interested in someone and the feeling isn't in the least bit mutual. Just thinking about being alone, being rejected, hurts. Seeing everyone else happy, and you remain without anyone. I've seen it happen to so many others...and I can't shake the heartbreaking feeling that that would be my future. It's funny how people expect things to be different and actually work out for them, as if life is kind. But life is not kind. Life is unfair.
I'm not girly. As much as I love male kind, support them, relate to them, I'm not the one they pick at the end of the day. I don't have strings of them lining up for me. The girly girls do. The ones who trash them, mock them, demand that they change for them, ask for so much and give so little. Yeah...life ain't fair. Ain't fair at all. I guess you can say, I'm an unlucky cabbage.
An unlucky emo cabbage, listen to me go on, back to the story.

I bowed my head to the ground and tried to suck in some dignity as I uneasily shrugged my shoulders and shut my eyes tight to hide my escaping tears.
"Despite what you might think..my planet is cruel. We don't get happy endings. We don't get the simple things we want. We don't get justice. We don't get love. We don't get peace. People use eachother until they're nothing but grouchy, bitter shells. There's no true love, no justice, no miracles, no blessings. Nothing works out. That's why I wanted this. That's why I followed you all. That's why I wanted to leave. I hated it there. Hated it more than anyone knows."
I spun around for only a moment.
"And if nobody there wanted me as me, then they sure as heck aren't getting me as the Queen." And I turned right back around.

Now hopefully that'll be the end of the relationship talks with the boys,
cuz that was extremely awkward.
--
We silently moved on and finally reached Oscorp.
With the help of a few nearby citizens, perhaps due to my inquiring, "Where the heck is Oscorp?"
I stood, hands on my hips, my confidence regained, staring up at the Tower as the others stood around me. The bright light made us squint and I had to put my hand over my eyes just to admire the shimmering top of the expensive building that had hundreds, if not thousands, of windows.
Poor window cleaners.
"So...that's it?"
I nodded. "That's it."
Joker tilted his head. "It's...big."
"very big." "....wow." "yeah"
".......So we waiting here or.."
"OH no, I'm not leaving you dorks alone. We're going in together."
Joker gained a snooty expression and snootily jiggled his head away from me, closing his eyes snootily. Snooty snoot.
"Right then." Master moved on after taking a deep readying breath.
We all soon did the same. "Let's be off."
With a nod and glance from each of us, we all took a step forward and made way for the tower.

- - -

 Upon entering, I instantly got overwhelmed by an immense feeling of wonder and had to catch my breath. Oscorp was big. And futuristic. And clean. And expensive. And wow.
I felt out of place almost instantly and felt bad for standing there in my dirty poor girl adventure-worn clothes. It was so squeaky clean, I felt offensive just breathing.
Things were also very bright and blinding. But despite my own discomfort, imagine how my poor boys felt. They looked even weirder than I did and it was actually quite a sad sight to see them almost shrivel down in size upon entering such a large, overwhelming environment that probably cost more than all five of us combined.
"This place is so rich, I feel like crying." Joker sounded like a teenage girl now.
"I won't cry. Real men don't cry." Jim sounded like a teenage boy. I ship it.
"I always feel like crying now, thanks to you louts."
  "I'm offended." "Go to your corner."
I hurried onward to the receptionist, who was currently reading over a magazine, slurping a coffee I assume. She paid me no mind. Highly unprofessional, but okay.

I leaned over, resting my folded arms against the counter top and stared with a tilted head, waiting for a glance or uncomfortable shift, or simply for her to tell me to quit it. Moriarty and Joker joined either side of me and rested against the counter, same as me. And all three of us just stared.
A hooded Master and a towering Bane lurked in the background, approaching closer behind us, they too giving the woman an intense staring contest which she was losing.
After a few moments of this, I finally grew too impatient and proceeded to clear my throat.
Her eyes at last darted up. And they grew wide. I smiled, innocently.
"Hiya."
She responded with a blink.
"I was wondering, is Mr. Harry Osborn in?"
Her eyes flickered and she leaned back against her chair as if remembering she had a job to do.
"Oh...Mr. Osborn..he..um..you're here to see him?"
Her eyes nervously scanned over the others.
"Yessss." I answered with a widened smile, in a tone that insulted her intelligence.
"That's why I'm asking for him."
I harbored a moment of pride as I glanced over at the others and saw that they were smirking.
She looked back at me, her jaw hanging open, and she wound up staring dumbfoundedly, her eyes twitching uncomfortably. I looked back at the others, uncomfortable myself about the awkward situation, then turned back and leaned over. "Can ya tell 'im we're here?"
I felt like I was dealing with the slowest toddler.

Yes, my companions are menacing, corporate men are menacing, women who can't function fast enough are menacing, get over yourself. She snapped back, remembering once again that she had a job, and she nodded, reaching in for her device. "I'll tell him right now. Please hold a moment."
I slid back to a straight posture, and folded my arms, the others shifting around me, sighing in relief.
The receptionist held down a button and leaned in to bring her voice closer to the microphone.
"Is Mr. Osborn in yet?"
I glanced at her. She waited.
"No, he's not in."
Ugh. She glanced at me. "..do you know when he'll be in?"
"In about an hour or so..why?" "..there are some..guests..here to see him."
"Well tell them to wait awhile, he's busy elsewhere."
I squinted darkly at the device. She nodded at the bodiless voice and removed her finger, turning around to us as she laced her fingers together. "I'm sorry, Mr. Osborn isn't in right now."
"Yeah, we caught that." J snarked.
"He should be back in an hour or so."
"We caught that, too."
"If you'd like, you can wait in the food court in the meantime, and we can send someone to come and get you." "Food court? Since when do you have a food court??"
She tilted her head, "It's nearby. Can I take a name?"
I looked away, thinking for a moment, until I gave an unsure shrug. "Queen and company."
She nodded, a little slowly, a little weirded out.
I looked back at her. "Thanks." "My pleasure."

The others and I turned and they faced me, huddling into a little pile and I felt uncomfortable by how close they were getting. "Well...I am hungry...if they have a Pizza Hut, I'm sold."
"You have five boxes in the T.A.R.D.I.S.!" "YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH PIZZA, MAN."
Master threw his head back and groaned. He was giving up fights quicker now, the wuss.
"Okay, fine, food court it is." "Maybe they'll have a nice British shop that will serve you tea."
Joker took a jab, rolling, literally rolling, his eyes over at Moriarty and Master, with the biggest smirk I've ever seen a person give. They both in turn rolled their eyes at him, looking more done than words could describe. The homicidal tension between the three was increasing and I felt as if I should take cover. "ANYWAY" I hummed out. They snapped their gaze at me.
I cleared my throat and let out a hand that pointed onward. "Shall we?"
"We shall." Bane confirmed with a nod and offered his arm for me to take it.
How unexpected for such a quiet bear. Still, I seized the opportunity and took it and we headed on ahead of the three, whom all made snooty faces at the visible reminder that Bane was my favorite.
- - -

Ah, the food court. Always a fun place to be. Ya know, with food.
The boys, despite their tough self-assured villainous facades, started getting wide-eyed and drooly at the sight before us and they obviously were not alone. I was in a food trance.
Twas the largest and most modern, clean food court I'd ever done seen.
And the amount of restaurants there was enough to make anyone squeal.
AND THERE WAS A PIZZA HUT, LSJSHDWLHDLLKDLKDKISOIIVXDKMNDVDSM
My arms threw over my head in an instant, "I NEED MONEY"
Master at once slapped a $100 bill in my raised palm. I glanced up at it, then at him, and recognition entered in his gaze what I was thinking. I narrowed my eyes a slit before finally shaking my head.
"I still don't wanna know how you got this money."

I didn't bother saying goodbye to them or giving out a game plan on where we'd meet, they were smart..enough. I just immediately charged for the Hut, giggling like a maniacal fool.
I did take a glance at the others once getting in line and saw that they had broken up into their own separate units and were running to their own desired food portals.
Except for poor Bane. Bane went and leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and just waited. :(
Welp, I got my pizza, a whole large cheese all to myself..don't judge me.
But yeah, I had pizza, a beautiful chilled Pepsi and even a stack of garlic sticks.
I carried all with me, whilst munching a slice on the way, and traveled around the large quantities of people attempting to find a table to seat at, seeking out my missing companions.
Bane had moved from his former position, so that only meant that he had regrouped with the others. Unfortunately for me, I had to traverse through the heaps of hungry city folk to get to the core of the enormous room, where once I held still and scanned the area a moment, I at last located my cuatro dark companions who were very much still out of place among the normal inhabitants surrounding them. I apparently also stood out, for not two seconds after spotting them, they spotted me and Master briefly rose to wave me over to their claimed table.

I moved forward, pushing past the rude individuals here and there that were standing in my way.
The table they selected was only meant to seat four people, but Joker had pulled a chair in for himself and was seating in it backwards, nibbling on one of his three hotdogs, whilst Bane had secured a seat for me, Jim and Master sitting across from him, where Jim was eating some kinda cuisine. Master had gotten a few chickenwings, it appeared, and well..he really seemed to be enjoying them. As I approached the table, the boys all mumbled their greeting to me, Bane pulling out the chair for me to sit, where I laid out my foodage onto the table.
Master took one glance at my meal, then scoffed as he pulled out another chickenwing from his supply. "You're pathetic." He commented, before diving in like a vicious animal.
I in turn gestured at his rude eating habits, refusing to be shamed by such a foreign slob.
"I'm pathetic? Really? You eat like a mutated horse."

He didn't even say anything as he glared up at me spitefully, attacking his wing like a piranha, shredding it down to the bone. I gave him a satisfied, yet rather snooty, expression to indicate I had won, then turned my head away to speak with the others.
"All the restaurants in here, J, and you get hotdogs." "Shut up." "No, yo, I love you, you're so American." He shrugged. My eyes turned to Jim, but they soon squinted as I looked deeper into the soul of what he was feasting on. ".....What is that?"
He hurriedly swallowed his bite as he hovered his fork over his meal, swallowing of course with a brief shut-eyed look of pain and discomfort and he looked very uncomfortable.
So uncomfortable, in fact, it made me uncomfortable.
"...I don't know." He spoke honestly. His eyes fell to the small foil pan of strangeness.
And he started to make a face. "..But it's disgusting."
I made my own face and squirmed. "I coulda told you that without even digesting it."
I cracked open my Pepsi and dove back into my pizza box, which Joker peeked at.
"What chya got there?"
"Straight-up extra cheese pizza, baby, just the way I like it." "Oh geez, you're so predictable."
"So bland..why not add pepperoni?" "Ew, number one, NOT kosher, number two, nothing interferes with my cheese pizza. Nothing." "Not even pineapple?"
I dropped the slice I just started to munch on and shot my finger over Joker's head, giving him a vicious glare as I tried to swallow what was in my mouth. "GO AND REPENT OF YOUR SINS, RIGHT NOW." He slightly smirked, even chuckled a little, as he leaned back in for his final hotdog.
"No."
I squinted in vain.

"So.." Master spoke and I looked back at him, only to see he was on his last wing.
"What's the plan AFTER we speak with Osborn?" "Why do you have so many questions?"
He didn't answer. I sighed and let my eyes fall to the table. "Er..I dunno..go back to the T.A.R.D.I.S. and try to find the baddies, I guess. Until, of course, we hear from Max, which I hope Gwen has luck with." "Doesn't he work here?" "Well, yeah. But I much prefer Gwen to speak with him, considering she was kind to him and all.." "Yuck, kindness.." "YOU hush."
I threw a crumpled up napkin at J's face.
"If we are to locate the ones who have visited this city, we'll need to better arm ourselves, as a battle will no doubt take place." "Bane's right, there's no telling WHO will show up, so we better equip ourselves with some heavy duty junk so we don't get our tails handed to us like in the Marketplace."
Jim glanced up at us. "And if they find us first?"
Everyone turned their heads to me. I wanted to shrink.
"Well.......then.....we.....kick...their tails...first?"
Master dropped his bone.
We all looked at him.
He started to push his chair back, licking along his lips. "Those are delicious........I'm getting more."
"More what?" Joker hissed. "WINGS." "Addict!!" Jim name-called, even though this was the first I'd heard of it. Still, this looked like it was heading down a very dark and frightening path...
which became clear when he returned with 3 more buckets. We silently judged him as he dove right back in, munching like a beast. Was the Master becoming a chickenwing addict? oh dear god.

My eyes moved up to the ceiling and I sighed, depressingly. Jim reached in and stroked my gloved hand. "What's wrong, wifey?" I shrugged. "..I dunno..this whole..villain-plotting-together thing..it's just changed things." "..How so?" "..I was just hoping to go in, visit everybody, then leave, no trouble..not struggle to find some united fiends who wanna destroy all the worlds for no real reason......it just...puts an extra level of stress on me..now I feel responsible."
"Well, to be fair, you don't HAVE to stop them. It's not your fight, kid. You could just let 'em all die."
I cast him a vicious glare. "Absolutely NOT. I love you all too much for that. Besides, it never stops with the initial plan. They'll destroy all the worlds, INCLUDING you guys', but it won't stop there. I know them. They'll expand..even come to my world..and then we'll all be screwed."

Jim gave me a rather offended expression at that. "What's so special about your world?"
I squinted. "Oh I dunno, considering on my planet, you're all fictional characters and the people on it are the very same people who portray you and created you--like dude--duh. There's obviously something seriously important about my world. I mean, it was shut off from everyone, right? And the only reason you got through to me was cuz it was broken, the wall or whatever."
Bane lifted his eyes. "..Indeed....it's as if your world connects us all.."
Jim and the others thought of this for a moment, staring at the table in a renewed realization.
"..In which case, we would be screwed.." The Irish bunny whispered.
"Just think about it, though..if you kill your actors, your creators, what would happen? We don't know what effect it'll have on you. Sure, they die on their own and you live on, that's fine, but if you were to literally come and take their lives, it could very well end up being suicide. Especially due to them being able to travel to any time period they want. For instance, you can go back and whack Bob Kane, and the entirety of the Batman universe would be erased. I would literally lose every ounce of my mind if that happened. I mean......what if my world is...the heart of the universe? There's clearly a reason why it was closed off and is so active with everything, with so many different worlds and lives in our tales..why everything else about us is so bleak and boring..you guys have crossed to eachother's worlds on a number of occasions, so you clearly don't got as tight security on your end as I do mine. The wall to my world had to literally be shattered. Which obviously means..it definitely wasn't meant for you guys to waltz in."

"And another thing...the Marketplace...some of those people...like Harvey and Brian and that biker guy..they looked like people from my world..I recognized them. But they weren't the same people."
"So..you think they were...copies? Alternate versions?" "Maybe..I dunno..maybe my world is like..the origin planet..and everyone just stemmed from it somehow."
Master took a break pause. "..It would make sense..even people from your world can look like eachother, yeah? Perhaps there's some kind of genetic code within your race that produced the fruit for others to be created elsewhere." Wow...science...
"....that's another thing...what if...you guys..AREN'T..fiction? And you, too, are just the alternates of the people from my world? And we somehow..saw what was happening to you..?? Like..we were picking up on some kinda feed.." My eyes lit up. "Like in our dreams?"
Master blinked at me, hovering his hand over his chickenwing bucket.
"I think Demens might be onto something, lads.."
The others all nodded with intrigued expressions, glancing at me in the process, as if waiting for me to say more. But no, I said nothing. I was too busy stuffing my face with pizza to continue theorizing.
I mean, my mind still played at things, but I didn't verbally acknowledge it.
Now was not the time for theories. Now was the time for pizza.

"So who's willing to bet the next villain frolicking around in this world is a complete wuss?" J piped.
Jim smirked, "Bet you it's a girl." "Oi, don't be sexist." Master scolded jokingly, smirking and glancing my way as if I cared. I didn't even bother to fake an insulted expression. I simply shrugged.

Bane confided in opening up a book and viewing its contents. A book I had not seen him wielding until now. Joker looked over at him and gestured with a flick of his head, "What chya got there, Sir Ventilation?" Bane glared darkly at him for merely a second away from the pages he was on.
"A guide. A handheld guide to the city. It contains a map of the locations we previously ventured."
He brought the book closer, to show me the pages he was on, and pointed at one particular spot.
"There is where I saw them, near the police station."
He moved his finger to another spot without lifting it from the paper.
"And here is where we are now."
What he had brought my attention to was that the police station and Oscorp were not that many blocks away from eachother. Which meant, the fiends we were after could've very well had been close by. Perhaps even on their way to recruit Harry, same as us.
I shifted, "So..they could be right around the corner."
Bane nodded, "The wisest choice right now is to be prepared."
"For what? A slap match? Race to Osborn?"
"Battle. I fear our enemies will only dispatch their most powerful warriors from this point forward. The experiment at the Marketplace proves this."
"Eh, not necessarily..we faced a dragon earlier, then a pipsqueak forever-kid, and a drunken makeup-wearing pirate. Could be the threat just varies." "While I agree with Bane that they'll more than likely send out their best troops to finish us, I also think they're desperate enough to send whoever they can. They probably haven't been at this for very long, and there are LOTS of brutal baddies out there, so it's doubtful they have many members of their super secret special villain club."
Joker and Bane both nodded.

"Well, in any case..maybe we can use the next fool that screws with us to get to the top dogs who run the show..and ya know.." J shrugged. Master glared. "What?"
"...get revenge on our enemies."
I perked in alarm.
Moriarty smirked as he brought his drink to his lips, "We wouldn't be needing Demens anymore.."
"Yeah..she would be rather..unnecessary."
! ! ! ! !
my heart. it died. a lot.
My mouth ran agape and I sagged upon hearing this betrayal. "you mean you'd just...DITCH me?"
The three silently glanced at one another. My mouth still open, I could feel my throat tighten and my eyes start to burn, bringing the painful sensation of water beginning to form within.
They slowly rolled to Bane, who was cutting his own eyes at each of us with little to no emotion inside them, which deeply concerned me. "Bane...would you...do that to me??"
He looked right at me. All I could hear from him was his deep, robotic breathing.
My brows flexed a bit in a rather impatient manner as I awaited his answer. But he gave none.
My head turned away, my heart sinking. I started to feel it accelerate in anger and sadness, trying to break into a vengeful cry. I had to leave before I showed all that pain and vulnerability to four psychopaths I had been struggling to have see me as strong.

"What, you're just gonna dump me back to my world or leave me stranded on a random planet or just frick it all and KILL ME?"
They saw how upset I was getting. My initial response to something that brings me grief; anger.
And I am at my worst in this stage. "After all that we--you would just--"
Joker shrugged, callously. "So? What's the big deal??"
My eyes scrolled to him, then the others. "Don't I matter? At all?"
I awaited a response. Maybe a correction or an excuse, not necessarily an apology.
But no. All I got was a swift and agonizing, "You don't."
My eyes laid right on the Master. My heart sagged even more until I couldn't bear to stay still any longer. "Well...I was wrong..this isn't like Wizard of Oz at all. Cuz at least Dorothy's companions WANTED her to stick around." I darted up, my chair squealing backwards, and the four watched in surprise as I angrily, briefly, hovered over them.
"Even after everything, you four don't give a crap about me." I swung around. "So who needs ya!"
And I stormed off.

° ° °

I was so angry, I didn't even have a clear idea on which direction to go.
I just stomped off to the nearest exit I could find and threw open the door to an immediate halt, where I furiously stared ahead, trying to let myself cool off. Gritting my teeth, my curled fists shaking and tightening, ready to pound something. At that moment, I hated them.
Hated everything about them. And I wished I hadn't have met them.
That I hadn't have developed the feelings I had towards them. I wished I'd never cared about 'em.
It would've saved me the constant heartache.

My anger made me blind, and my eyes desperately scanned infront of me to see something else besides their annoying Judas faces. My vision scrolled left and right, me simultaneously wondering what it was my eyes were seeking. I kept looking for several seconds, my chest heaving and hoing, my fists still ready to pound something..until my mind made me stop and my gaze landed on...her.
Standing among the many members of the human crowds was someone who most certainly did not belong. My brain registered this and my mouth ran agape as my eyes locked on her.
The strange slender figure holding still among the steadily moving city folk. She was clad in a slick, tight-fitting black outfit, with a hood propped up on her head to no doubt help her blend in.
She had skin that was even whiter than mine and wore sunglasses that screamed suspicion.
The strangest part about her was that she was staring right at me. And she was grinning wide.

"You don't seem like a local." I said aloud. Indeed, she was clearly out of place.
And I was prepared to call her out on it. Instinctively, like an idiot, I puffed myself forward.
"HEY!"
She lowered her head and her smirky, cocky expression intensified. Slowly, cautiously, while managing not to back up into anyone, she was moving away. And then..well..she bolted. the heck.
"Crap." I uttered, unaware of what to do now. One of our enemies..sorry..one of MY enemies..was getting away. Whattodo, whattodo..had to do something...why not something stupid and retarded and something you should never do which is exactly what I did.
I didn't have time to wait for the others. I was too angry at them even if I did have time to wait for the others. So I chased after her. Knowing it was wrong. Knowing I had made a very bad decision.
Knowing I needed the boys. I ran.
And naturally......I wound up kind've regretting it. 

° ° °

"FREEZE, whoever you are!!" I screamed as I darted across the streets, chasing after the mysterious foe. She didn't listen, of course. But that didn't prevent me from snarking her.
"Freeze means STOP!!"
She kept running. I kept running. And I eventually started huffing and puffing like an old man.
"Oh my gah, I hate you." I breathed under my breath, just before jumping out of the way of a few obstacles. The unknown chick didn't bother to look back or anything. She just kept running, as if leading me somewhere. So the question of this being a trap was an obvious yes.
But I had to find out who she was, and what she PRECISELY wanted. So thus, I continued chasing her.
It wasn't a great distance, but it was far enough to make me work some steam.
We made another turn that she cut into sharply and sped hard to the left.
As I whipped in the same direction, I saw that she was running right into a small little Disney attraction. There were some promotions for Maleficent, which was set for 2014, funny enough.
And the soundtrack was humming almost eerily in the background.

There was no one around, as far as I could see. Giving the tiny amusement area an almost haunting, empty feeling. And before she crashed into a circle of giant tea cups, she skid to a halt.
I ran until I was roughly ten feet away and I stopped as well. The chase had come to a close and I was now facing the back of a black hooded female who was not only annoying, but also leading me into a trap. I paused and leaned over a minute to catch my breath, but didn't take my eyes off her.

When I recovered, I stood up straight and curled my fists, taking the most deep, confident breath I could. My eyes were narrowed from the sun, but I still made sure my gaze was locked on her.
"You."
Her head moved slightly.
"Who the heck are you?!"
Her head then tilted downward..she removed her glasses and dropped them to the ground.. and before I knew it, she lifted her arms up, her exposed hands bright and traced with static..and with both hands, she brought her hood back, revealing her head. A head full of spiky whitish blue hair that went in every direction like lightning. And with that, she turned to reveal glowing white eyes and ghoulish white skin to match that pulsed with electricity. Her lips were black, as well as her tongue, which she briefly ran along her mouth in order to produce a refreshed, chilling smirk.
My eyes bulged at the sight of her. Whoa. What even was she.
She was unknown to me, that ain't right, yo. My mind was clouded with confusion, trying to figure out her identity-- I stepped closer, pointing. "I repeat..who are you?"
She completely turned this time around and faced me, putting her hand on her hip.
IDK why, but a sudden urge to pull out my weapon flashed within me and I hurriedly darted my hand to my holster, when- WHAM!

A hard object was swung into my head, hard..
so hard, it threw me to the ground onto my back and my ears instantly rang.
I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut and clenching my teeth at the sudden impact.
My spine was experiencing excruciating pain at how hard and how abrupt I was knocked down and prevented me from getting up as quickly as I hoped. So I laid there but a few seconds, trying to recover as quickly as possible. I opened my eyes at last and looked up, just in time to hear--
"We meet at last, O' Queen."
My eyes widened.
The voice...it was crisp..clear..quiet..gentle..yet commanding..British..cunning..wicked..
and oh so familiar.
In an instant, I knew who it was. Especially when he stood before me, speary scepter in hand, horns connected to his head by the blackening shade of the sun, standing tall and proud in his Asgardian attire, his long jet black hair waving in the wind.
Loki.



I could see him smiling down wickedly at me and my spine ran with more pain as I began struggling to get up. "Loki!" I exclaimed in a haste.
"Oh, don't bother." He then brought his scepter down and prodded me in the shoulder, which slammed me back down and I sent out a yell of pain, wincing at the blow.
He circled me, "And what is a defenseless queen like yourself doing away from your new companions? Knowing full well we could come after you, especially given this golden opportunity."
I growled and instantly reached for my gun, pulling it out, but at that moment, the chick ahead of me shot her arm forward and an instantaneous bolt of electricity charged towards me like a bullet and struck my hand, causing me to drop my weapon and I yelled once again in pain as my entire arm went numb. I held onto it and tried to get up, but Loki once more whipped my head with his spear and threw me back. My head hit the concrete and it, too, went numb. 

I grit my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut so tight, I was blinded upon opening them again.
Still, I struggled to move, this time to crawl a little away in order to stumble up, but he would not let me.. "You really think after all you put us through, we would just let you dance around the worlds and do as you please without punishment? Your actions have delayed us for the last time."
He took his spear and stabbed me in the side, which I yelped at, but the punishment didn't end there--the woman once again shot out electricity at me. This time, at my entire body.

Never have I felt so much abrupt pain. Not even when my leg was smashed in.
It was a pain that lingered and ran through my entire body and made it thrash uncontrollably, making my muscles lose the ability to control themselves and I shot my head back, gasping for air as my throat tightened and I felt my heart decrease in beats. I was paralyzed.
Loki circled me again, pointing his scepter at me.
"And so..we are ridding ourselves of you once and for all. And your traitorous little brothers are next. But we end you, now..your new found friends who you so gloriously saved will lose every ounce of hope..as all their worlds are torn apart."

I had to do something. I had to do something.
I reached for my gun, but it was pointless. The woman struck me again.
And another blast of lightning spread throughout the entirety of me.
This finally made me toss my head back and scream.
I quivered and twitched and spazzed and breathed like a gasping fool. I was literally dying.
Loki was no sweetheart when it came to a lady.
Seeing that I was already paralyzed made no difference to him. He brought his spear down and hit me with all the force he could muster. And I yelled in appropriate pain.
I continued to reach for my gun with all the strength in me. I couldn't go down like this. I refused.
Not by the loser Loki and a character I don't even know, which I'm still insulted by, btw.
But it was no use. My body was betraying me.

The chick soon joined Loki's side and began chuckling at my pain. Chuckling which turned into sadistic, callous laughter. And I wanted to punch her..but alas. I was kind've paralyzed.
Due to this, my body was shutting down by the second...my vision was blurring so bad, everything was starting to fade. My ears were ringing like sirens within a head that was pounding like crazy.
Pretty sure I was getting permanent nerve damage as all this was taking place, even if I didn't die, miraculously. But the sad state I was in wasn't enough for Loki. He wanted to finish the job.

"Now excuse me, your majesty--" He said venomously as he raised his scepter over my chest.
I couldn't even make a shocked expression, cuz frankly, I was already shocked. lol, leave me alone.
"--as I finally rid us of the thorn in our side."
It was a sure fire moment of total evil certainty that he was about to thrust his weapon right through me as his obnoxious cackling companion watched beside him--
however, that day wasn't his day. For right before he could plunge his pointy pointer, something blurred out from the corner of my eye and struck him right in the shoulder.
He jerked his body back in pain and cried out, grabbing for it.
He ripped it out, backing away, his head lifting to see who would dare defy him, whom was approaching from behind me. The woman darted her head to the same person and she shot her arm out to shoot electricity at him, but she too had a thingy thrown at her. Or rather several thingies, cuz whoever was throwing them was sending them flying nonstop.

And quite a few sliced her and Loki.
Loki yelled something at the assailant before swinging around, grabbing the woman's arm, and taking off. In the background, all I could hear was a haunting melody playing. Which I soon recognized as a version of "Once Upon a Dream". Nice song to die to, I suppose. Speaking of dying, I was fading away still, struggling to keep my consciousness and tried to move, but I couldn't.

I thought I was alone now with the two out of the picture, in my foolish naive dying mind..
until someone showed their self, coming from the corner of my eye.
He approached me, standing infront of the sun. My vision was clear enough to see.
it was him..ya know..him.

I didn't know if I was dreaming or hallucinating, but it was him.
Black shaggy hair..glowing skin and eyes..he knelt down infront of me in a rush and checked me out. Not in the way you're thinking, I swear. Or maybe, idk.
"Sarah"
My eyes widened. HOW KNOW NAME.
He came closer and put a hand on the side of my face..then stroked my hair.
what the heck, I felt violated.
"It's gonna be okay, I'm here."
okay, bUT WHO ARE YOU??????? ARE YOU REAL?????

My body was completely limp, but I kept on moving. To be honest, though, I was just getting sleepy. Still..the song playing was perfectly timed..as if the universe was actually on the right track for once.
The lyrics loomed gently in my ears.

I know you

And my half-conscious mind was thrown for a shock as old no-name suddenly reached in around me and picked me up. Imbecile. Unhand me. The nerve. How dare. Release me at once.
No words came out but unintelligible noises and I felt quite foolish.
He carried me away from the crime scene, safely cradling me in his arms.

I walked with you once upon a dream

And there was nothing I could do about it. Not that there was really any reason to.. I never felt more secure in someone's presence. It was as if just being around him ensured me that I was gonna be alright. All I could focus on as he carried me was his face, his black hair quivering in the wind.

I know you

He took me out've the amusement spot and away to some columns, where things were very open and I could catch the sight of Oscorp from the corner of my vision.

The look in your eyes is so familiar a gleam

He sat me down, to my disapproval, resting my head and back against the pillar, every action we took experienced in slow motion. Where he then sat back to look at me. I could feel myself going paler. holy spinach, this boy. He was like a beautiful, flawless, wonderful black-clad prince, and I was a wiggling, gasping fried fish. With my mouth gaping open all ugly like. I locked my swelling bright eyes upon him, unable to even.

And I know it's true

how. why. when. where. who.
these are the real questions.

that visions are seldom all they seem

He then reached in and once again took hold of the side of my face and gave me a promising stare that seemed to last forever and I wouldn't mind if it did.
"The boys will be here soon.."
not reassuring.

but if I know you

He nodded, slightly smiling. "You'll see me again."

I know what you'll do

And like that, he leaned in, held the back of my head, and kissed my forehead, INTERNAL SCREAMING, HOW FREAKING DARE.

you'll love me at once

Just as I truly realized I actually really enjoyed the attention, he pulled away. And little by little, he got up and backed away..further and further away..

the way you did once

I used all my strength to reach out for him to come back. I even tried calling, but no words came out, as if I was trapped in a dream.

upon..

As he was leaving, I heard the faint cries of my name in the distance to my left, proceeded with loud echoing footsteps. Just as I was starting to lose all strength and consciousness..

..a..

as soon as the boys all four slid down beside me and crowded all around me in a rather surprising, almost worried panic..I went out like a light bulb.

..dream