Day 87
After our battle with The Collector we returned to the Road to the Labyrinth, hoping to find the power promised to be at the end of it. We had been making progress when we encountered a hulking Abomination. Large, green, and hideous it was safeguarded the in the same way as our previous encounters along the road had been. With confidence X-23 stepped up to face him. But something was different about this beast. It secreted some sort of unseen poison that overwhelmed X-23’s healing factor. We tried to save her but none of us could get close without succumbing ourselves. All we could do was watch as her body boiled from the inside and her flesh melted away. It was the most gruesome thing I have ever seen. We are abandoning the road, for it is surely cursed. Nothing but death can be found upon it.
Day 89
Our humiliating defeat at the hands of The Collector and the sudden loss of X-23 have left the party morose. Namor in particular is constantly muttering to himself in frustration. I have tried to approach him, to brighten his spirits; but he is quick to rage, and I know not how to quell his temper. He announced tonight that he will enter the mythical Realm of Legends. We all try to tell him that this is hubris, that he is ill equipped to handle the challenges such a journey presents. But there is no reasoning with the King of Atlantis. I feel that things are beginning to unravel.
Day 90
We knew the dangers, but we returned anyway. And now our hubris has cost us dearly. Colossus is gone. Taken deep underground by the Mole-men. To deep for us to follow. We were ambushed. Again. Colossus became separated from us then a hole opened up beneath him and he was dragged down beneath the earth. I don’t know what is happening to him down there, with them. But I hope that his death was quick, any other fate is too terrible for me to consider. Our party grows smaller by the day. It’s just Doom, Gwen and I now. I need to get Gwen far away from all this. Someplace safe. Though I doubt such a place even exists anymore. Death is coming for us all.
Day 91
It was inevitable. With all the enemies Doom has made over the years, it was only a matter of time before someone returned to seek revenge. Today was that day. Terrax attacked without warning or mercy. He rode a chunk of earth into the sky, blocking out the sun. Then he descended a swirling tempest of stone preceding him. Gwen pulled me clear, but I was not Terrax’s target. It is not easy to catch Doom off-guard, but Terrax had managed it. When the storm of stone had cleared Terrax was gone, and Doom lay there with an ax embedded in his skull. An ignoble end for the Latverian dictator. One by one we fall. Now only two remain.
Day 94
The only warning we had was a crackle of electricity in the air. Then I was blinded by a white flash and overwhelming pain flowed through me. Like sticking a fork into a wall socket. After that? What followed in all that confusion and manic destruction? I could not say. I know when my vision cleared my clothes were blackened and my skin burned. That I was laying more than a dozen feet from where I had been before. And that standing over me with a deranged look in his eye was electro. The ringing in my ears kept me from understanding what he was screaming at me; but his intentions were clear enough. He intended to kill me.
It was Gwen who saved me. She managed to get hold of Electro’s arm with her webbing and pull him off of me. The fight was one-sided and quick. Even when Gwen could manage to land a blow, she did more damage to her own body than to her foe. I watched helplessly as her gloves burned away and her hands became blistered and scorched from electrical burn.
When it became clear that this was not a fight she would be walking away from, she screamed at me to run, to save myself. And so, I did. I ran. God help me I ran.
Day 95
I am alone. One by one all of my allies, my champions, have fallen. My resources are depleted, and no help is coming. Once more I venture forth to face The Collector, knowing full well that in doing so I will seal my fate. I wish I did so understanding more about why I was brought to this place. I suppose that really doesn’t matter now. Every time I close my eyes, I see Gwen there, Electro’s hands around her throat, the light in her eyes slowly fading away. I left her to die. Nothing I do can ever bring her back. I am a coward. And I deserve to die alone. But first I will make sure that The Collector remembers her name.