Mantis Skins

The Collector found her in his Museum and asked her where she had come from.
Mantis did not know. One moment she had been with her fellow Guardians of the Galaxy and the next…
“Fascinating,” the Collector said. “There is about to be a vacancy. I hope you last longer…”
She waited for her moment as the Collector fiddled with the displays in his new Theme Park. He readied an enclosure for his new guest, eager to display her to his audiences from inside a glass-walled tank. She would be featured prominently in a vast hall filled with other life forms the intergalactic Elder of the Universe found interesting. Many were humanoid, but the others ran the spectrum of physical shapes from globs of protoplasm to members of the Brood, their hive mind forcing a constant thrum in the back of Mantis’s mind. It was tough being a telepath sometimes, especially in the presence of so many fearful minds reaching out from their cages.
One of those minds was peculiar and interesting to her. Unlike the others, it was all excitement, emotions turned all the way up, like every thought it had ended in multiple exclamation points. He was full of a kind of joy that Mantis found infectious, even though she was held prisoner in a psychotic museum in deep space a thousand light-years from the nearest planet.
Jeff. Jeff!
She smiled at his name and thought, I would very much like to meet you, Jeff.
!!!!!!!
Another mind, physically closer to Mantis, also drew her attention. A human woman whose mind teemed with memories of war. No, not human, but something close… She was a deadly warrior. Mantis, who knew a little something about being deadly herself, thought that if she ever managed to escape, she might enjoy taking the battlefield with this woman. She called herself after one of the weapons she wielded: Sai. But in her mind was a deeper name, one Mantis would have to ask if she ever got to talk with this warrior.
That’s far enough, get out.
And with that, Mantis lost her connection to Sai. She was psionic, too, and her last thought screamed vengeance, so Mantis returned to listen to Jeff for a little additional dose of optimism.
There were so many others, but Mantis enjoyed the company of these two. Jeff because of his irrepressible joy, and the few bits of Sai she could latch onto, because she put Mantis in mind of escape… and revenge. Mantis started to form a plan. Well, another plan. She had been forming plans to escape practically since the moment she had arrived.
The other feature of this hall in the Theme Park was its garden. The Collector was not only interested in animal organisms. Huge trees, ferns, flowering vines, mosses and more bizarre forms of vegetation grew over and around the tanks containing the exhibits — including Mantis’s. Those plants would be her way out.
For a time, she had tried to use her telepathic powers to influence the Collector’s cleaning and maintenance staff or one of the guards to open her tank. Then, she had tried to use her powers over plants to get them to grow over to her tank and break it apart with their roots. Neither worked, and Mantis realized the Collector had built this tank to dampen her active psionic powers.
She had another option to escape, but it would be an act of desperation — and if the Collector had blocked it as well, Mantis didn't want to know that just yet.
After what felt like weeks, though, he forced her hand.
Her tank was wheeled into a large arena, and placed inside a larger transparent chamber. The stands were packed with spectators, the noise from their minds nearly intolerable to Mantis, filled with eager bloodlust she couldn’t shut out. She reached out, probing the barriers that imprisoned her and found that the Collector was still somehow blocking her telepathic powers.
Another tank came into the arena, and inside it was another Mantis. Even before their individual tanks dissolved and the Collector himself called out over the speaker system, Mantis understood what he wanted.
“It seems I have another duplicate in my collections!” he proclaimed. “These infinite Mantises are intolerable! So again, my people, I have transformed this excess into entertainment. Two Mantises enter… one Mantis leaves!”
The crowd exploded with raucous cheers.
The other Mantis looked at her. How long had she been imprisoned here? Had she too tried to escape? Had anyone tried to rescue her? In this timeline, was she one of the Guardians of the Galaxy, or…? Mantis knew she would never know. She didn’t have time to find out, and she felt the waves of anguish and desperation radiating from the other Mantis. There was no barrier between them. Mantis tried to calm her, but the frenzied crowd made that impossible. She steeled herself to fight, but then the other Mantis broke through, speaking directly into her mind.
I can’t do this anymore.
Mantis couldn’t help her response: Two of us enter…
…One leaves, the other finished. You. Then the Collector will have no Mantises, as it should be.
What?
The mind of the other-dimensional doppelganger radiated an exhaustion and despair so intense that Mantis almost tried to break off their connection. But she couldn’t. One curse of being a telepath is you always felt like you owe someone your attention, since you spend so much time sneaking around in their mind.
You can go. You just have to leave your body behind. I’ll help.
No, we can go together —
We can’t. I don’t have the strength. I can push you along a little, but I can’t pull myself out of here. Too many battles… just too much…
The other Mantis’s attention wavered, and Mantis realized she was only going to get one chance at this. She had to take it before the other Mantis faded away.
Grateful for the other Mantis’s sacrifice, Mantis gathered her mind and focused on the shimmering essence of the astral plane, unseen but omnipresent. She felt a tinge of remorse. She would miss this body… but she had missed all the others she had worn before it, too. Now was her chance.
She felt the other Mantis pouring energy into the link Mantis was building to the astral plane. The link would only hold for a short time before the Collector detected and severed it.
Go, the other Mantis said. I can’t do this for long.
You win, Mantis told her other self — and with a sob, she let her body go.
One Mantis leaves, she thought… and it was going to be her.
Do me a favor, the other Mantis said as her consciousness faded away. Come back to this place someday… and make the Collector pay for what he’s done...
In the astral plane, the Collector’s Theme Park was a scintillating stew of thoughts and emotions, emanating from hundreds of different life forms. Mantis floated free of her enclosure and dove into a thicket of alien plant life, feeling the sensation of the vegetative consciousness enclosing her. She greeted the plants and made her request. In a rustle of leaves and a twitch of vines, they agreed.
From the cells of vine and flower, branch and bark, Mantis built herself a new body and sank into it from the astral plane. It was a draining process, but also a thrill as she felt her physical self become real again. She thanked the plants, and they rustled their acknowledgement.
All right, Collector, she thought. Now we’ll see what happens when one of your prize exhibits gets loose.
When she stepped from the garden, fully formed and Mantis again, alarms were shrieking. The Collector was onto her. She had already figured out which way the hangar was, where the Collector’s huge fleet of spacecraft were docked, but she had something else she needed to do first.
Navigating through the Collector’s Museum, Mantis got close to the spot where her old enclosure had once been. Across the gallery, Sai stood in her own cage looked back at Mantis. Didn’t call out, didn’t ask for help. Just looked.
Mantis ran to Sai’s cage, knowing she didn’t have much time. The Collector’s guards wouldn’t be looking for her here at first, but they would get around to it sooner or later.
“Your name is Sai, right?” Mantis asked.
The woman in the cage glared back at Mantis with curiosity.
“You cut me out of your head,” Mantis said, “but you never left my thoughts. Would you like to get out of here? We might have to fight.”
Sai smiled a smile as thin and deadly as her blades.
At that moment one of the Collector’s guards lumbered around the corner and caught sight of Mantis. The guard, a massive humanoid with tusks and a clubbed tail, did a double-take. He was transporting a glass enclosure with Mantis’s previous, lifeless body within it.
“What the —?!” the confused guard exclaimed.
He never got a chance to finish his thought. Mantis leapt into a spinning kick that snapped the guard’s head back. Before he could recover, she kicked his legs out from under him and landed an elbow in the middle of his forehead. As he hit the ground, she gave him a little telepathic encouragement to stay down. His agonized grimace turned into a sleepy, peaceful smile.
“Nice,” Sai said as Mantis opened her cage and set her free. “But not permanent enough.”
As another group of guards ran down the hall, Sai leapt into action. Her abilities no longer dampened by the enclosure, she manifested a sword made of pure psionic energy and began slashing at the guards with deadly precision. Each cut set her foes’ synapses ablaze. Sai stood over one of the fallen guards and raised her blade high, ready to deliver a lethal strike. But she stopped when Mantis put a hand gently on her shoulder.
“It doesn’t need to be permanent” Mantis said, already moving down the hall and beckoning for Sai to follow her. “It just has to last until we’re gone.”
Sai looked down at the guard for a moment. In her old life, back in the Demon days, she would not have shown such mercy. But this was a strange new world she found herself in. Sai took a deep breath, let the psionic blade fade from her hands, then turned and followed Mantis deeper into the Collector’s compound.
“How can you be certain we are headed in the right direction?” Sai asked as she kept pace with her liberator. “This citadel is like a maze.”
“The guards know their way around,” Mantis said. “So I borrowed a map from one of their minds.”
“Clever,” Sai said.
“There should be a hangar straight ahead,” Mantis continued. “We’ll be able to find a ship there.”
“Then why are we turning left?” Sai asked, confused by the sudden diversion in their path..
“There’s someone else we have to get first,” Mantis told her new friend.
“Who?” Sai asked.
Mantis wasn’t exactly sure how to answer.
“Someone else that I heard in my head,” she said. “His name is Jeff. He’s… different…”
“We don’t have time,” Sai said.
“I had time for you,” Mantis said. “I’m not leaving him here.”
Sai held her gaze for a long moment, then rolled her eyes and gave up. “Then let’s make it fast.”
Mantis was already moving, homing in on the unmistakable psionic sensation of Jeff’s mind. She picked up the pace, dodging a patrol of the Collector’s guards, and sensed that Jeff was just up ahead, in the —
“MMMRRRAAARRRR!!!!”
He saw her and a huge grin spread over his face. A really huge grin. Filled with several rows of serrated teeth.
“Jeff…?” Mantis couldn’t quite believe what she saw.
The strange little creature swam excitedly to the glass wall of his water-filled tank and pressed his stubby nose against it. What kind of creature was this? Mantis had seen sharks in her previous time on Earth, but this was a shark with… legs?
“MMMRRRRR!!!!”
“He’s going to draw the guards,” Sai said, her jaw tight.
Mantis smiled despite everything. She and her new friends were on the run inside the Collector’s Museum, with no idea how to get or where they would go if they did get off — yet there was something about them both that made her smile, like she knew deep down that everything was going to be all right.

“I am Groot,” the giant tree-like alien said, an air of concern noticeable in his deep voice.
“You can say that again, pally,” Rocket Raccoon responded, frantically checking the readouts on the dashboard of The Milano — the signature spacecraft of the Guardians of the Galaxy. “Accordin’ to these readings, we’re totally flarked.”
The Guardians were part of a larger contingency of heroes who had come to this strange world on the edge of time and space to help liberate the innocent creatures being held captive by the Elder of the Universe called the Collector. It was a mission that was particularly important to Mantis, a member of the Guardians’ crew who had until-recently found herself caught in the Collector’s clutches, forced to fight for her very survival.
“Why aren’t we taking off yet, Rocket?” Mantis asked with a sense of urgency.
“There’s some kinda invisible wall surroundin’ this entire world,” Rocket said. “It wasn’t there before, which makes me think one of the cosmic creepers who run the place must be pretty angry. And after that heist Gambit and his crew pulled in the Collector’s Gallery, I bet I know who!”
“So… we’re trapped here?” Mantis asked, the slightest hint of panic showing through her usual calm demeanor.
“Afraid so,” Rocket replied. “At least until I figure out a way to breach the barrier without killin’ us all in the process. Gimme, I dunno, like, twenty minutes and we’ll see what I can do...”
“We may not have that long,” Mantis said as she gazed out of The Milano’s cockpit window toward the Collector’s massive museum in the distance. She knew all too well the horrors that still lurked inside. And while she was proud that she had found the strength to return and free so many others like her who had been unjustly detained, the thought of being reclaimed by the Collector once again had haunted her since her first escape. The things he had forced her to do — to harm others in the arena for the amusement of his wealthy spectators — went against everything that she believed in. Mantis celebrated life… something the Collector had little respect for.
When Mantis stepped out of The Milano to get some fresh air, she saw something that she hadn’t noticed earlier while she was fleeing the Collector’s Gallery toward the Guardians’ escape vessel. She looked in disbelief at the Grand Garden… or at least what was left of it. When the Guardians had first arrived in this cosmic realm, this massive green space was overgrown with rare forms of foliage that had been gathered from across the universe. But now, all that was left were withered husks charred stems, as if all the life had been drained from the lush landscape. Mantis tried to hold back her tears as she took in the devastation… but another figure nearby was not making any effort to contain their emotions.
“The mortals did this!” the Elder known as the Gardener yelled in a rage as he knelt on the barren ground at the center of his Grand Garden, a handful of scorched soil sifting through his ancient fingers.
“To be fair,” a voice whispered into Mantis’s ear, “some of us happen to be immortal and quite proud of it.”
She turned to see Loki — the God of Mischief and the current ruler of the mythical realm of Yggsgard — standing by her side. He too gazed out at the grieving Gardener with curiosity.
“We should help him,” Mantis said. “The loss he has suffered is unimaginable.”
“His plants died,” Loki scoffed. “I am certain he will recover.”
“To a being who has devoted his entire existence to cultivating flora,” Mantis said, “it must be as if he lost his own children.”
“That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Loki asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You would know…” Mantis said with a slight smile. She and Loki had fought side-by-side in countless battles across the Chronoverse, and they had found that, despite their inherently opposite natures, in one point they were remarkably alike: they were both always true to themselves.
“Fair enough,” Loki said, bowing his head slightly to show his respect for Mantis. “Shall we see if we can ease his pain… and perhaps earn his favor?”
The unlikely pair walked toward the Gardener, who turned to them with unbridled fury in his eyes the moment he sensed their presence.
“You brought this destruction to these sacred grounds!” he snarled.
“Actually,” Loki replied snidely, “it was the Mutants. Specifically the one named Rogue. She managed to escape, but I’m sure she couldn’t have gotten too far. Perhaps if we —”
“Silence!” the Gardener snapped back. “I do not care which of you is to blame! All I care is that my Grand Garden is restored to its former glory. And none shall leave this place until that task is complete, even if it takes all of eternity!”
“So… you’re the one that put up that barrier?” Mantis asked, almost relieved by the realization. “Not the Collector?”
“The Collector and the Grandmaster are at odds yet again,” the Gardener said with disdain. “They’re likely locked in some foolish contest to prove who is to blame for all that unfolded here. It could last decades.”
“If we’re lucky…” Loki muttered under his breath.
“I can help you,” Mantis said to the Gardener. “I have a way with plants, too. They tend to listen to me.”
“Who can blame them?” Loki said with a flirtatious smile. “And if Lady Mantis chooses to aid your cause, Elder, then Lord Loki does as well.”
Mantis sat in the center of the Grand Garden and closed her eyes, concentrating deeply. She reached out with her powers, trying to communicate with any remaining vegetation in the area. But unfortunately, not even the slightest sprout remained. As she opened her eyes, she let out an exasperated gasp. She couldn’t remember feeling this hopeless before, even when she was trapped behind glass in the Collector’s Gallery.
“That wasn’t a promising reaction,” Loki said, reaching up to touch his own forehead, a rare moment of serious contemplation.

“My healing powers are potent,” Mantis said, “but true resurrection is beyond my reach. I can’t help life flourish once more in a place where there is no life left.”
“That does sound rather bleak,” Loki said, “but perhaps all we need is a change in our approach… or our tune…”
As he spoke, Loki reached up and grabbed ahold of one of the golden horns on his helmet. With a sharp pull, he snapped the horn off at its base. After casting a quick incantation, Loki raised the horn to his lips and blew into it, producing a tone that echoed across the Elders’ realm.
“Not a perfect performance,” Loki said upon lowering the horn from his lips, “but it should get the job done.”
“And what job is that?” Mantis asked, her gaze fixed on the golden horn.
“Have you ever heard of the Gjallarhorn?” Loki asked. “It is a mighty instrument that is blown to alert the gods when Ragnarok begins. Not the most pleasant thing to listen to, if you ask me, but it always does the trick. Yet in my studies of ancient Asgardian magic, I have learned that different notes have different effects. Instead of calling my fellow gods just now, I have instead summoned forth the essence of Yggdrasil itself. A mere hint of the World Tree’s power should have this wasteland back in full bloom ‘ere long…”
Just as Loki promised, the ground of the Grand Garden began to tremble and shift. Vines and stems ruptured forth… but instead of glorious green, each of these new sprouts emerged in a grim gray.
“Your magic seems to have missed the mark,” the Gardener said, clearly unimpressed. “You may have managed to bring back my plants in body… but not in spirit…”
“What is that old fool blathering about?” Loki asked Mantis quietly, offended by the Gardener’s lack of appreciation. “He acts as if these seedlings should have souls!”
“Every living thing has a soul,” Mantis said. “Plant and animal alike. Just because something isn’t sentient in the ways that we define, it doesn’t mean it can’t feel.”
“Well, if I have learned anything from that duplicitous witch Hela,” Loki said, “it is that the barrier between life and death is far thinner than most mortals realize.”
“You’re right,” Mantis said. “I can journey to the Astral Plane to seek out these lost souls. But when I find them, I will need your help to guide them back from the beyond.”
“I shall be honored to serve as your anchor,” Loki said, offering Mantis his hand. “And theirs, of course…”
Mantis took Loki’s hand and closed her eyes, concentrating deeply. Within moments, she transcended her physical form and found herself surrounded by thousands of wispy emerald spirits. Even as they swirled around her playfully, she could feel the immense sadness they carried.
“Your season has not yet ended,” Mantis said reassuringly, beckoning the spirits to follow her back to the physical plane. She glanced down toward her own body and could see that Loki was casting another spell, opening a mystic gateway between the spiritual and corporeal realms.
Soon after Mantis had ushered all of the tiny spirits through the gateway, she returned to her own physical form. Opening her eyes, she was overjoyed to see the Grand Garden beginning to flourish again. Foliage was rapidly growing and spreading across the once-sterile space, much to the delight of the Gardener.
Mantis threw her arms around Loki and embraced him, catching the God of Lies off guard.
“You have made amends for your fellow mortals,” the Gardener said.
“And immortals,” Loki mumbled quietly.
“I shall live up to my promise and remove the seal I placed around this realm,” the Gardener continued. “You are free to go.”
“Technically, I could have left any time I wanted,” Loki mused. “With the Bifrost at my command, there is nothing that can impede my travels.”
“Then… why did you stay?” Mantis asked, looking deep into Loki’s eyes for an answer.
“Isn’t it obvious, milady?” Loki asked, gracefully bowing toward Mantis, his sly smile leaving her completely unable to read his mind. “After all, I’ve had my eye on you since you aided my trusty raven, Munin, on Klyntar. Moreover, among the Ten Realms, there are few mortals who can compel me to be honest with them. You are in their number.”
“I…” Mantis tried to speak, but she was overwhelmed by feelings. The feelings of thousands of plants simultaneously blooming back to life around her. And her own feelings as well… ones she wasn’t quite ready to define…
Loki turned to walk away, but before he departed, he handed Mantis the horn that he had broken off his helmet earlier.
“Should you need me again,” Loki said, “for any reason whatsoever, this will always point the way to me. Wherever I may be. No matter how far.”
With that, a bright burst of rainbow-colored energy engulfed Loki’s form… and he was gone.
Mantis carefully clutched the broken horn as she returned to The Milano. For the first time since she returned to the Collector’s realm, she couldn’t help but smile.
But if she had witnessed what Loki had been up to while she was in the Astral Plane — if she had discovered what the Trickster had planted in the Grand Garden while both she and the Gardener were distracted — Mantis’s smile most certainly wouldn’t have lasted for long.