Deadpool Syndrome - Spider Soulmates

Chapter 13 - Everything Is Science Fiction, And I Oughta Know

***GWEN***

The Vulture stays about a mile ahead of us the whole time. Eventually, he and Peter disappear into the entrance to some underground facility on Angel Island. It's pretty much accessible only from the air, being surrounded by fences both on land and in the water.

Sue lands us on the concrete surface outside the entrance, taking a deep breath as her force field vanishes. It's like she's a competitive swimmer or something, except she's the only one who was holding her breath. Wanda and I, on the other hand, were practically hyperventilating, trying our damnedest not to scream.

"You all right, girls?" Sue asks, stretching her arms. "It's not every day you get to fly by force field for the first time. I swear to God, I almost puked when I first tried it, and I'm the one making the damn thing!" She chuckles lightly.

"I don't think you really answered our question," Wanda says. "Who are you, exactly? You're not an Avenger, and you're not X-Men, so..."

Sue shakes her head. "Nope. Think of it this way - the Avengers and X-Men are like Target and Walmart - big-box stores. And my people, the Fantastic Four, we're more like a mom-and-pop store. Indie superheroes, if you will."

The dark depths of the passageway into the island beckon, and I'm the first to set off into the unknown. Wanda, however, pushes ahead of me, using her powers to illuminate the way. The flickering red light is somehow even more eerie than the previous pitch-blackness. "Since when can you be a human flashlight?" I ask.

"That's nothing," Sue says brightly. "You should see my brother. He can literally set the place on fire."

Snickering, Wanda says, "What an appropriate thing to say."

"How would you know? You've never met my brother." Sue pauses, then adds, "Have you?"

"I can see it in your mind," Wanda says. "Your brother's name is Johnny. And he's black - is one of you adopted?"

"I am," Sue says. "I'm from Kosovo originally. And you? You're definitely from somewhere in that neighborhood."

"Born in Transia, raised in Sokovia," Wanda says, dropping her voice to a whisper. "Now, quiet. We should try and sneak up on the Vulture if we can."

Male voices echo faintly down the tunnel to us. One of them might be Peter's, but I can't be sure. "So what's your story?" Sue asks me. "I don't think I ever heard of you being one of the Avengers. And the X-Men prefer mutants to mutates, so I'd be surprised if they had you as a veteran member."

"No, but they've tried to recruit me," I whisper. "I'm Gwen Stacy," I add, shaking Sue's hand. "And the guy we're here to save is my boyfriend, Peter Parker."

"Peter Parker, as in Spider-Man?" Sue grins. "If only Reed were here. He'd kill to meet him."

"And now we've started talking about boys," Wanda says with a sad clucking noise. "Are we, as a gender, forever doomed to fail the Bechdel test?"

"Does it really count as a failure when we're talking about rescuing a dude in distress?" I ask.

"Good question," Wanda says. "But shut up - we're getting close to the action."

Rounding a corner, we see a cavernous open space looming beyond the windows of a small control room. Inside said space, the Vulture is busy stuffing Peter into a pod of some kind. After we all drop to the floor to stay out of sight, I raise my head slightly, tilting it so I can hear them better. "I'm only gonna ask one more time," says the Vulture. "Where is Miles Morales?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you, birdbrain," Peter says. Jesus, he doesn't know when to shut off his smartass streak, does he? "Sorry to disappoint you - and Norman, in case he's listening!" - he raises his voice on this part - "But you're just gonna have to fly away home empty-handed. Or is that empty-winged?" he asks, pronouncing a second syllable in "winged," like a Shakespearean actor.