(Originally published in "The Many Adventures of the Avengers and Friends")
"No, no, you're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top." - Tony Stark, "The Avengers"
Or is there?
Multiverses have the...
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°2022°
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Maya?" Peter asked. "You could blow this whole thing and any hope of revolution is lost."
"My sister has been in prison for four months, Peter. I don't know how much longer she can last. She's tough, but grown men have weeped at the feet of Their Majesties." Maya replied, pulling the fabric over her face. She was dressed in all black as though she were a sort of ninja.
"If you're sure, but don't do anything stupid, okay?"
"Can't promise that, but I'll try."
Maya slipped out of Peter's window and into the dark streets below. She carefully coordinated her movements so as to not draw attention to herself to roaming alien guards. There was a sort of unofficial curfew that was in place starting at about 9 PM. Why would anyone want to be outside past that time anyways? Well, Maya of course, sneaking out at the extremely dangerous time of 11 PM.
Lucky for Maya, she found a window on the side of the Palace that was unlocked so she could slip inside. The room she found herself in was small and dimly lit. Probably some low level employee's office. Maya left the room and found herself in a hallway with pillars and plants along the walls. And guards... lots of guards, alien and human alike. She used these plants and pillars as hiding places as she moved down the halls.
She knew where the dungeons were, seeing as her father had an extensive knowledge of the different areas of the Palace. There was an entrance in the Throne Room that Maya dare not go near, but there was also another nearby the kitchens of all places. Maya need only follow her nose. It always smelled strongly of cinnamon, her father had said.
The spice hit her nose after a few flights of stairs. Maya eventually found the two double doors with roses carved into them where the kitchens themselves were. Then 3 doors to the right would be the dungeons. It was conspicuously disguised as another random door, but Maya gently pushed it open and was met with grey stones that smelled like mildew. She started down the winding staircase, careful not to slip on the wet stones.
Eventually, she made it to the bottom and was met with a few rows of cells. Some of them were occupied, some weren't. Maya looked inside each one for signs of Arianna.
Nothing... a random guy... is that Prince Phillip or a corpse? I'm not sure which one I would prefer... nothing... Ari!
She found her sister in the sixth cell on the left, curled on a metal slab asleep with her back facing Maya.
"Ari... psst, Ari!" Maya hissed. She tapped on the bars until her sister stirred. Poor Arianna was in bad shape. Knotty hair, covered in dirt, and one of her arms looked like it had been broken and healed wrong.
