Cecily ventured deep into the forest, her senses heightened as she took in the surrounding trees and underbrush. She made a conscious effort to memorize her path, noting the unique patterns of bark and the arrangement of the leaves on the ground. Each step was deliberate, her mind focused on the sounds of the forest around her, ready to guide her back when the time came.

As she walked deeper into the forest, her thoughts began to swirl like the leaves rustling overhead. Each step felt heavy with the weight of her past-the loss of loved ones, the constant struggle, and the strained relationships that had shaped her into who she was.

She recalled the moment she first discovered her abilities: a scared little girl standing in a vast field, overwhelmed and confused by the strange sensations swirling around her. The laughter shared with friends danced in her memory, bright and fleeting, but it was soon eclipsed by the heavier shadows of solitude and grief. The faces of those she had lost haunted her, their absence a constant reminder of the void they left behind, a gaping wound that never truly healed. Each loss felt like a thread severed, unraveling the tapestry of her life.

She stumbled upon a quiet, serene clearing and paused, breathless. Leaning against a tree, she pressed a hand to her mouth as if to stifle the sobs that were rising within her, as though someone might see her vulnerability even out here. But the tears came anyway, unstoppable. Slowly, her legs gave way, and she slid down the rough bark until she was seated on the ground, knees pulled to her chest.

Everything that had been happening finally caught up with her, settling like a heavy stone in her chest. He was here-Logan. Not her Logan, but still, someone she thought she'd never see again. The sight of him had stirred something deep within her, emotions she had tried to bury, and now they surged to the surface, overwhelming her in the quiet of the forest. It was almost too much to process, the strange mix of hope, grief, and disbelief swirling inside her.

After a while, her cries subsided, and exhaustion took over. Cecily drifted off into a restless sleep. When she drowsily opened her eyes, the sun was beginning to rise, casting a soft glow through the trees. Panic set in as she realized how long she had been out. She quickly made her way back to the car, her heart racing.

As she approached, the eerie silence around the vehicle made her stomach drop. The car was an absolute wreck-doors dented, windows shattered, the aftermath of what she could only imagine had been chaos. Cecily cautiously peeked inside. Both Wade and Logan were fast asleep, but Wade had been restrained with every seatbelt within reach, tangled in a mess of straps like some crude makeshift punishment. She couldn't help but smile, guessing exactly how that had come to be.

Cecily glanced over at them, trying to sneak into the back seat as quietly as possible, careful not to wake either of them. Once inside, she settled herself against the side, resting her head on the cool surface. With a deep, tired breath, her eyes fluttered shut, and she drifted off into sleep once again, finding a brief moment of peace amid the chaos.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Cecily woke up in an unfamiliar place, her heart racing with anxiety. She quickly glanced around, relieved to see Logan and Wade still asleep nearby. Slowly, she stood, taking in her surroundings with growing unease. The area was eerily quiet, no signs of movement or anyone else around. A chill ran down her spine as she cautiously began to explore, unsure of where they were or how they had gotten there.

After a while, Logan stirred awake, stretching with a low grunt. Cecily didn't acknowledge him, lost in her own thoughts, her gaze distant as she remained deep in contemplation. She made no effort to engage, letting him move about freely, consumed by her own inner turmoil and allowing him to do whatever he needed without interruption. The weight of everything still hung heavy on her, and for now, silence was the only companion she welcomed.

After another long while, Wade jolted awake with a start. "Thor!" he yelled, looking around in confusion. "Where are we?"

"No clue, but I like it here," Logan muttered, already halfway through a bottle of alcohol he'd found nearby.

Their attention snapped to the sound of a door opening. Wade shot up, drawing his blade and moving quickly toward the entrance. Without hesitation, he swung at the approaching figure, but the woman blocked his strike effortlessly, pushing him to the ground and holding her own dagger to his throat.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wade yelped, throwing his hands up in surrender. She eyed him for a moment before sheathing her weapon, allowing him to scramble back to his feet.

Cecily stood up, intrigued by the commotion. She studied the woman, wondering who she was, but her curiosity deepened when another figure stepped through the door. A tall man entered next, surveying the group with a calculated glance.

Before anyone could speak, a card flickered through the air, only to be caught mid-flight by yet another figure who stepped in behind them, casually playing with a deck of cards.

"Okay..." Wade said, sheathing his own blade. He looked at the newcomers, his brow raised. "Look at you... all of you. You must be the others."

"Terrific. So just to refresh, you are Wonder-" Wade started.

"Elektra," the woman interrupted, her voice sharp.

"Elektra, right. Who could forget?" Wade continued, a grin spreading across his face. He then turned to the next man. "And you! I wasn't expecting to see you here. Thought you were, you know, retired."

"Retarded?" the man said, his tone deadpan.

"Retired," Wade corrected, louder this time. "I'm already in the void, I'm not trying to get canceled again."

"I don't like you," the man responded coldly.

"You never did," Wade replied with a shrug. He then shifted his focus to the man with the cards. "And who's this... succulent reminder of my own inadequacies? Look at you. You look like the superhero version of Hawkeye."

"The name's Remy LeBeau, Le Diable Blanc," the man said with a smirk, flicking a card between his fingers. "But you can call me Gambit."

"It's been a while since I've seen Sling Blade," Wade said, half-joking. "Hit me again?"

"They call me Gambit," Remy repeated, his tone more pointed this time.

"Do they? Or is that just what you really, really wanted them to call you, but it never quite worked out?" Wade quipped with a grin.

"You know, we never had a Wolverine up in here," Gambit said, turning his attention to Logan. "But I'll tell you now, it's just common courtesy to ask before you drink all of my liquor."

"Well it's a good thing I don't give a fuck," Logan replied, taking another swig from the bottle.

Gambit chuckled, then flicked one of his cards toward the bottle, causing it to explode in Logan's hand. Cecily flinched, startled by the sudden burst.

"So embarrassing," Wade muttered, shaking his head at Logan.

"Now that that's settled," Wade continued, "we came a long way to find you three."

"There's four of us," Elektra corrected.

"Four-hey, wait. Is it Magneto?" Wade perked up. "Dear sweet God in heaven, let it be Magneto. Because with him-"

"He's dead," Blade interjected flatly.

"Fuck! Now Disney gets cheap?" Wade ranted. "It's like Pinocchio jammed his face in my ass and started lying like crazy."

Gambit grinned. "Ooh, you nasty. Mon petit rouge, laissez les bons temps rouler, huh?"

"Not a single word," Wade snapped. "What do you even do, exactly?"

"I charge the playing cards and make 'em go boom!" Gambit replied casually.

"Your powers are close-up magic. That's... great. We're not totally fucked at all," Wade muttered sarcastically. "So who brought us here?"

"That would be me," a voice said. Cecily looked over, startled, as the voice sounded familiar. A girl walked down the stairs, her presence commanding attention. "Don't make me regret it."

Cecily placed her hand over her mouth in disbelief. "Holy shit. Logan, that's her. That's X-23. She's the one I told you about!"

Logan and Laura locked eyes for a moment. Laura's gaze then shifted to Cecily, her expression inscrutable, leaving Cecily wondering what thoughts lay behind those intense eyes.

"How did you all get stuck in the void?" Wade asked, looking around at the group.

"There was a knock at the door. TVA sent me here," Blade replied, his tone serious.

"Me too," Elektra chimed in, crossing her arms.

"Well, maybe I was born here. It's... it's hard to know for sure," Gambit added with a shrug.

"TVA decided our universe was dying. And I never even got a chance to fight for it," Blade continued, his frustration evident.

"People like us don't go quietly. TVA knows that, so they took us out," Elektra said.

Wade, undeterred, grinned. "The answer is yes. I'm in."

"In what?" Blade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A team! Me, you, you, and me. All of us together. Let's get the fuck out of this place!" Wade declared.

"Don't listen to him. He's a fucking liar!" Logan interjected, glaring at Wade.

"It was an educated wish!" Wade yelled back, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

"Ha!" Logan shot back.

"Look, we've been inside Cassandra's lair. The only way out of the void is through her. She can get us home. She told us," Wade insisted, trying to rally the group.

"Wait a minute, you've been inside? And you made it out alive?" Blade asked, skepticism evident in his voice.

"Bullshit. Nobody's ever done that," Elektra added, crossing her arms defiantly.

"We did. Every time one of us has gone up against her, they die. The Punisher, Quicksilver, Daredevil," Gambit chimed in, shaking his head.

"Daredevil? I'm so sorry," Wade said.

"It's fine," Elektra replied.

"Okay," Wade said, refocusing. "Even that sweet baby angel Johnny Storm? He up and went missing, like, what, two days ago?" Gambit asked, glancing around the group.

"Ugh. That's so sad. Wherever this Johnny fella is, I'm sure he's thriving," Wade remarked, earning a chuckle from Logan.

"Look, there's... there's strength in numbers, all right? Us plus you guys. We can put Cassandra over our knee and force her to let us out of the void. I know what it means to feel self-doubt," Wade continued earnestly.

"I don't feel that at all," Elektra shot back.

"I'm good," Blade added, shrugging.

"Gnawing at your gut like a coked-up tapeworm," Wade pressed.

"It's like you're holding up a mirror to my soul," Gambit said.

"You guys may not have been able to save your universes, but you can avenge them. It's what Johnny would have wanted," Wade declared, trying to rally the group.

"Wait, you knew Johnny?" Elektra asked, curiosity piqued.

"Oh, yeah," Logan said, chuckling. "Dickhead here talked him into a team-up, and Johnny came down with a little case of the deads."

"No, no, no. We don't know that. It was just a flesh wound. He may have survived," Wade insisted.

"If he survived that, he's praying for death," Logan retorted.

"Thank you, Doctor Wolverine!" Wade shot back, throwing his hands up in mock surrender.

"Spill it!" Blade demanded, his voice low and threatening.

"What'd you do to Johnny, huh? Talk, or I'm gonna start dealin'," Gambit said, flicking a glowing card between his fingers.

"Okay. Okay. Hey, hey, hey!" Wade stammered, throwing his hands up. "Look. He ran his fat ass mouth about Cassandra. Then she zip-zapped his skin, leaving his organs to splash crudely onto the ground while the soil greedily drank his blood. It was... horrible. He was like a brother to me," Wade said, putting on an exaggeratedly mournful tone.

"Look, he died before he could make a real difference, but maybe you couldn't save your worlds... but Jesus Christ, you can save mine!" Wade urged, his voice rising in desperation. He quickly pulled Cecily closer to him, as if to emphasize his point.

"Ours," Wade corrected, trying to sound sincere.

Cecily immediately shrugged him off. "No. No, don't touch me," she said softly, pulling away from his reach, her tone edged with finality.

"I don't give a shit about your world," Elektra said, her gaze cold, "but if these three made it out alive, maybe together, we can get back in and take her down." She pointed at Logan, Wade, and Cecily.

"Where I come from, we call that suicide, *chère*," Gambit said, shaking his head.

"If we can block her psychic powers, we can get a leg up. I know it," Wade insisted, his mind racing. "Now, I know Magneto's dead, but I'd bet his helmet's still lying around here somewhere-" Wade started, scanning the room.

"Cassandra melted the helmet," Blade interrupted.

"Fuck!" Wade shouted.

"After she killed him," Blade added.

"Fuck!" Wade yelled louder, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"She doesn't play," Blade said matter-of-factly. "She knew that helmet was the only way to protect anyone from her powers. The only other one strong enough is Juggernaut's... and he works for Cassandra."

"Juggernaut's helmet. That's it!" Wade exclaimed, eyes lighting up.

"Yeah and we don't be knowing that lid ain't coming off without that dome gonna come off wit'it," Gambit said dryly.

"I'm so sorry, beautiful," Wade replied, turning to Gambit. "I want this to be gentle. Who's your dialect coach? The minions?"

Gambit gave him a look, unimpressed.

"I feel like we're missing critical exposition here," Wade said, gesturing to the group.

"I'm sick of this shit. Sick of hiding," Elektra snapped. "Let's face it our worlds forgot about us."

"Or never learned about us," Gambit added, his voice low.

"The heroes we were," Elektra continued.

"Lives we saved," Blade said.

"Or wanted to save," Gambit added with a shrug.

"Maybe these three are our chance," Elektra said, gesturing to Logan, Cecily, and Wade. "A chance to be remembered. The way we deserve."

"Yes!" Wade chimed in enthusiastically.

"An ending," Elektra whispered.

"A legacy," Blade said with conviction.

"YES!" Wade shouted, clapping. "Let this man cook! This is what I'm talking about-big slow-motion fights, sad music swelling, everybody working together. Who knows if you live or die? That sorta thing. Who's ready?"

"I was born ready," Blade said, cool as ever.

"Yes! Gambit?" Wade turned to him.

"I ain't know my daddy, but I'm sure I shot out of his dick ready," Gambit said, deadpan.

"Jesus Christ, that is graphic," Wade replied.

"Yeah, he was layin' them buttery nuts all up in my mama, and I shot outta there like, 'What's up, Doc?'" Gambit said, casually spinning a card in his fingers.

Wade burst into laughter. "Johnny must have loved you. X-23, what's it gonna be?"

"The name's Laura," she said coldly, "Let's fucking go."

"Let's fucking go!" Wade echoed, fists pumping.

"It's on like chicken and corn," Blade said.

"Yeah!" Wade shouted.

"We're doing this," Elektra said, her voice sharp with determination.

"You're all fuckin' dead," Logan muttered, completely ruining the atmosphere.

"My god! Read the room!" Wade snapped at Logan.