Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, the Danger Room.
"Whether it's the New World or the Old World, Deadpool is right here."
Since joining the New Fantastic Four caused Logan to leave S.H.I.E.L.D., the group had no way to simply waltz in. They needed to devise another method to infiltrate.
"This area has been reconstructed based on our memories of the Raft. Thankfully, Logan has been to the Raft once before, so he knows the current layout."
As they looked at the simulation of the Raft prison generated by the Danger Room, Peter began explaining the situation to Gwen. He then pulled over Black Cat, whose memories had just been awakened, to give Gwen some special training.
"So, all I have to do is sneak in and hand the items over to this guy named Deadpool, right?"
Gwen, now in her uniform, asked with a hint of uncertainty. Her outfit was still the classic Ghost-Spider design, but it was crafted from the high-polymer materials of the Baxter Building.
This was her very first official suit.
Black Cat looked at Gwen, then at Cindy, and shrugged nonchalantly. She began briefing Gwen on the necessary preparations for infiltration—primarily how to plan a route quickly and efficiently.
After all, Gwen's abilities were a godsend for stealth. She was like a true ghost; no matter the circumstances, she remained undetected. The only things that could truly stop her were physical barriers.
"Theoretically, once you reach this position, you'll encounter a blast door. This door is kept closed under normal operations. Once you open it, the entire prison will go into an alert state."
Black Cat spoke as she began designing an infiltration route based on the intel she had. However, Gwen asked a different question: "Is an alert really that bad? They won't know I'm there anyway."
"But the prison's systems will operate as usual. The system might not know you exist, but it will 'remember' that the prison has entered a dangerous state due to some presence."
Peter chimed in with a warning from the side: "Once the danger level escalates, the Raft will initiate its self-destruct sequence."
"Self-destruct? The Avengers actually installed that in a prison?"
It had actually always been there. If Electro's intrusion hadn't directly paralyzed the Raft's entire system back then, the facility would have been detonated right then and there, making Hank Pym's backup plan unnecessary.
Gwen felt speechless upon hearing this news. She then began to listen intently to the lesson and started her training inside the Danger Room.
Cindy tilted her head in confusion and asked Peter, "So, has Gwen gained spider-powers now?"
"Probably because she was using the spider-isotope serum when Kang was rewriting reality. The Cosmic Cube must have mistaken it for her natural ability and solidified it."
Nearly a month had passed since that day, and Gwen's spider-powers had remained. However, much like Peter before her, because she had forgotten them, the abilities showed no sign of manifesting.
Until now.
Cindy felt a bit conflicted. The number of Spiders was increasing, and she felt it was happening a bit too haphazardly, which made her slightly unhappy.
Especially when she thought about the upcoming mission.
S.H.I.E.L.D. organized an operation that brought a group of agents to the Raft for an investigation. Silk was among them. After entering the Raft, she underwent a security screening and then checked her phone.
A message on her phone told her to go to the locker room first to change her clothes. Although she found it odd, she figured that since she had pre-set these instructions herself, there must be a good reason. Thus, Cindy headed to the locker room.
Then, before she even had a chance to change, a voice spoke up and gave her a fright: "So, what do we do next?"
"..."
It had to be said that Gwen's ability was truly terrifying. She had been following right beside Cindy the whole time, sneaking onto the S.H.I.E.L.D. ship, yet no one had noticed her. Even now, with Gwen speaking out loud, no one else detected a thing.
Cindy silently handed her keycard to Gwen. When Gwen activated her ability, everyone would "forget" the existence of this keycard.
And this was Gwen's chance to find Deadpool.
"Black Cat will infiltrate the Vault to steal Deadpool's gear; Peter is there to assist her. We two will handle things on this end."
After going over the plan with Gwen once more, Cindy couldn't help but voice her thoughts.
"I was thinking..."
"Yeah?"
"Maybe Peter and I meeting wasn't quite... right. We didn't really have anything in common; we were only tied together because of that spider..."
The more Gwen listened, the more she felt something was off. She carefully confirmed that she was the only one around Cindy.
If you're going to say something like this, shouldn't you be saying it to Peter? Is it really okay to tell me?
Unsure, Gwen hesitated for a long while before asking, "Do you regret it then?"
"?"
"Do you regret everything you've been through? Do you regret these things and wish they never happened?"
You have the chance, Gwen thought but didn't say. If Cindy truly didn't want this life, she could use the Cosmic Cube to erase her powers.
But Cindy hadn't, so the answer was clear.
So don't ask me these kinds of questions, what can I do? Suggest that I share half my boyfriend with you?
Gwen grumbled to herself as she took the keycard. She then activated her ability and followed the predetermined route, taking care not to trigger any alarms to avoid the Raft's self-destruction.
She cautiously approached the vicinity and waited for Peter to open a portal, through which she received Deadpool's equipment.
She wasn't entirely sure how Black Cat and Peter had managed to steal these things, but she knew exactly what she had to do.
The Raft had scheduled recreation time, meaning that at the appropriate hour, the prisoners would be allowed out for activity, during which the cell doors would briefly open. Gwen slipped inside during this window and hid Deadpool's most important gear.
Then, she simply waited for the recreation period to end and left.
After a while, as the recreation period concluded, Wade Wilson returned to his cell. Just as he sat down, his expression softened.
Something was wrong; as he sat, something was poking him in the backside.
Deadpool reached back and pulled the object out. It was a teleportation belt, with a small note tucked inside. It held a very simple sentence.
It's time to save the world.
"Wow, this really is... the best gift ever."
Dragging his costume out from under the bed, Deadpool quickly suited up. This behavior naturally drew the attention of the guards, but Deadpool had already fastened his belt.
"Hell yeah, it's time to save the world!"
Deadpool issued his victory declaration: "Deadpool is going to save the world."