---

The wooden floorboards of the old mansion creaked as Mary Shelley slowly backed away towards the window. She was clearly uncomfortable, as anyone would be in her position, admittedly. Time travelers weren’t exactly an everyday occurrence, especially not ones in such weird, bright costumes, hiding parts of their faces behind a piece of cloth.

Ruby noticed, and tried to calm her down.

Ruby: “Hush now, my gal, no need to get spooked. I think I ended up here by mistake, to tell you the truth, but it’s all good in the hood!”

It didn’t exactly have the desired effect.

Mary: “Why can’t you talk properly? PERCY!? CALL THE CONSTABLE!”

She suddenly shouted towards the open door, but Ruby closed it in a hurry and shushed her with a gloved finger in front of her lips.

Ruby: “Shush! What’s with all the racket! No need for a kerfuffle, my girl! And definitely no need to call five-o on me!”

Mary: “What are you talking about, you weird little girl??”

Ruby: “Hey now, don’t be giving me no flippin’ lip, missy! I’ll have you know I have several years on you! I need to talk to you about that book you’re holding there. You may not realize it, but those pages constitute one of the most important pieces of horror writing in literary history. Two centuries from now, you’ll still be the inspiration of many other books, movies, and …”

Mary: “Movies? What are those?”

Ruby: “They’re like a bunch of pictures, shown behind each other so quickly that it looks like they’re moving!”

Mary: “Wow, you really ARE crazy! That’s impossible! Just like how you can’t be from the future!”

Ruby: “It’s true, I swear! And the reason why I wanted to become more familiar with the creation of Frankenstein’s Monster is because a, err… friend… is suffering from a similar affliction. See, someone has pieced together her rotting corpse and through some sort of foul, evil magic or science, or a combination of both, has turned her into one of the living dead.”

Mary’s eye grew large as Ruby told her those particular details, and she clutched the manuscript even tighter to her chest.

Mary: “H-How do you know that?? Nobody has read this book but Mister Shelley and myself!”

Ruby: “I told you! I’m from the future. It’s like I said, someone I know has undergone some… drastic changes, much like the monster Frankenstein created. But make no mistake, Mrs. Shelley, the one I am talking about it not a sympathetic creature. She never sought to aid those in need, or do good upon the world. No, she lied and cheated during life, so much so that it has apparently caused her to cheat even death itself. She was the head of a ruthless rabble of misfits and miscreants, whose only intention was to inflict carnage and pain. I lied to you earlier. She was not my friend. She was my enemy. And yet, when she passed from this world, I mourned her. Just like I mourn every loss of life.

But now, she has come back. But she’s not even truly alive. She is an abomination. And as vile and wicked as she was in life, the monstrosity that she has become is an insult to a legacy that I thought could not be tainted even further.”

Mary paused for a second, before seemingly relaxing a bit.

Mary: “Well, it sounds to me like you want to help her. By destroying her.”

Ruby: “Only if there’s no other way. I’ve always believed in redemption. And the fact that it’s possible for almost anyone. But unless I can truly understand her, which I had hoped to by witnessing the creation of the monster in your book, I don’t think I can ever put her back on the path towards it.”

Suddenly, a voice behind Ruby spoke up.

WarpZone: “You do realize that’s impossible, don’t you?”

Mary: “WHO IS THAT!!??”

Ruby sighed, and tried to calm Mary down.

Ruby: “No worries, Mary, he’s a friend of mine, the one who brought me here. Now listen here, Warpz, you can zap people through all kinds of realities, can’t you? Why is this impossible?”

The old master of time and space scratched his beard and rolled his eyes.

WarpZone: “Because it’s a fictional story, obviously. You were right: I can zap you to other REALITIES. Emphasis on REAL. Aka, non-fiction.”

Ruby: “Alright, alright, no need to mansplain, mister senior citizen! Well, that IS a major bummer, and really something I wish you’d told me about right from the get-go…”

WarpZone: “Indeed. Now shall we get back to our own time, please? I have a pot pie on the stove.”

Mary raised her hand.

Mary: “But, sir… If you can truly time travel, can’t you just travel back to the exact right minute it’s perfectly cooked?”

Ruby: “Excellent question, Mary! Well?”

WarpZone: “I errr… never really thought about that, to be honest. I usually just add the minutes or hours of my absence to the time I depart. Anyway, we’re still wasting time over here! Because our bodies still age, as you can see from my rather wrinkly complexion and grey beard!”

But as WarpZone got ready to zap them both back, Ruby jumped high up into the air, raising her fist.

Ruby: “HOOOOOLE UP, my guy! I think I know the solution to our problem! YOU may not be able to teleport me into a fictional reality, but… ”

As it dawned on WarpZone, his eyes grew wide and he shook his head.

WarpZone: “No. No way, Ruby. That is crazy, even for you.”

Ruby: “Oh come on, it’s a perfect idea! We call The PageStrider! Where’s he living these days?”

WarpZone: “These days? He’s about 200 years from being born.”

Ruby: “Cheeky. You know what I mean. Munich, I believe. Spit-spot, my dude. Mary, we’ll be back in a jiffy!”

Mary: “But… WHAT IS GOING ON…???”

Before she received an answer, a surge of purple electricity filled the room, and Ruby and her heroic friend were gone, leaving nothing but a cloud of smoke. Mary sighed.

Mary: “Great. And NOBODY is going to believe me…”

---

---

Back in 2022, Ruby and WarpZone appeared in front of the Antiquariat Angelika Ziegler, an old bookstore filled to the brim with rare and unique editions of books of all kinds, comics included. It wasn’t too far from the Old Town part of Munich, near the Marienplatz and Stadtmuseum. It was a beautiful store, a literary nut’s wet dream. Unfortunately, they were here for business, not pleasure.

WarpZone put his hands in his pockets and sighed.

WarpZone: “I still think this is a bad idea, Ruby.”

Ruby: “Well, I don’t! This is going to work!”

WarpZone: “He’s a creep! The GHOC banished him from the Guild after he ‘strode’ into the Compendium of Call Girl AND the Inquisitor’s. He’s on really thin ice.”

Ruby: “Well, shall we call Popsicle to put some more ice underneath him? We can turn this adventure into an ensemble piece!”

WarpZone: “No! No more ‘heroes’! I’m semi-retired, you know! I’m doing this as a favor to you, but after this we are DONE!”

Ruby: “Works for me, my dude! I’ll consider us even!”

WarpZone: “How is it that you’re the only GHOC approved Superhero in the Guild with NO actual powers to speak of, and your Compendium is not only five stars and filled to the brim with gold stamps, but every other hero in the Guild owes you a ton of favors??”

Ruby: “I don’t know, my dude. ‘Cause I ball so hard? I love helping people, you know. That’s what we do! And apparently, me better than most.”

WarpZone wanted to answer, but he closed his mouth again as Ruby opened the shop’s front door. An old school bell rang, and they were greeted by the lovely smell of old paper as they stepped inside.  They didn’t have much time to admire the sights however, as a voice from across the store greeted them.

PageStrider: “Ruby! Mein Liebchen!”

Along came the nerdiest looking guy you’ve ever seen in your life. He was a clerk at the store, short of stature, rather rotund, with thick glasses and hair that was swept to the side to cover up his upcoming baldness. His skin was rather greasy, with the occasional boil spoiling its surface, and he wore a white shirt above knee-high pants that were kept up with suspenders. At least he wasn’t wearing socks in his sandals.

The ‘Hero’ known as The PageStrider was a German fellow, who had discovered at a young age that he could literally dive into any fictional, written story in the flesh. Given the plethora of stories at hand in the antique bookstore, it was no surprise he had chosen to work in this field. Wanted to experience Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory for yourself? Wanted to watch the exorcism in William Peter Blatty’s horror novel live? Wanted to attend the Red Wedding, or watch Frodo cast the One Ring into the Crack of Doom? Or did you want to experience your own hand-written novel in the flesh? PageStrider was the man to see. He possessed a unique ability that would make you think he’d be in high demand. However, he was far from popular among the superhero community, as he had zero disregard for other people’s privacy. After he had dove into fellow Heroes’ Compendiums, he had been officially kicked out of the Guild after a formal complaint from Call Girl.

It was for this reason that WarpZone pulled up his nose as PageStrider approached. The feeling was mutual. While he was happy to see the Super Dear’O, he eyed WarpZone up and down.

Ruby wasn’t completely comfortable working with someone of PageStrider’s… icky reputation… but he had been on the straight and narrow for many, many years now.

Ruby: “What’s up, Page! Long time no see! I trust you’ve been keeping your nose clean?”

That could be taken quite literally. At the time of his banishment, PageStrider had been a serial substance abuser. His promise to get clean, and remain that way, were one of the reasons banishment from the Guild had been his punishment, rather than something more severe.

PageStrider: “As clean as can be, Fraulein. Has the Inquisitor asked you to come check up on me? I’ve been good! I would never break my promise.”

Ruby: “Relax, my guy, we’re not here on Guild or GHOC business. I… need a teeny tiny favor. I… need to dive into a story. A book. And not just a book. Mary Shelley’s original manuscript of Frankenstein.”

PageStrider seemed to be taken aback a little bit. He cast his eyes downward.

PageStrider: “Oh! W-… Well, anything for you, Ruby, usually. But I promised I wouldn’t do any more drugs, and wouldn’t PageStride anymore.”

Ruby: “To do anything inappropriate! You’d be doing a good thing! You’d help me defeating one of the nastiest villains I’ve ever come across.”

PageStrider: “Really? Nastier than The Inquell or The Man Who Knew Too Much?”

Ruby: “For sure. She is an undead monster looking to destroy me. And I have to understand her better in order to beat her. I need to go back to the source… to the one creature that went through what she did. And only you can help me do that.”

Seeing as PageStrider was still hesitant, Ruby put her hands on her hips.

Ruby: “Come on. After I discovered your foul deeds, did I not also help you kick off from your substance abuse? Did I not also help you get this job here? Did I not also put in a good word with your landlord whose kids are massive fans of the Banana-Lime Blur? Do this for me, and we’re even.”

PageStrider sighed, and nodded as WarpZone groaned and shook his head.

Ruby: “Great! Warpz! Back to the Shelleys!”

---

---

With a zip, and a zap, and a zippedidoo, the trio of heroic folk appeared back into Mary Shelley’s living chambers. The young author screamed once again. Can’t really blame her. Ruby immediately got over to calm her down.

Ruby: “Mary, my gal, ish ya girl Rubes! Calm down, we were here like an hour ago!”

Mary: “An hour? It’s been THREE WEEKS! I thought you’d be back straight away. I thought I’d dreamt the whole thing or was going mad!”

PageStrider: “Losing your aim in your old age, Warp?”

WarpZone: “Shut the fu- errr…. Flip up, Page. Before I zap you into space.”

Even the master of time and space knew better than to use foul language when Ruby was around.

Ruby: “Pipe down, fellas! Mary, sorry for the long wait. For us it was like we literally just left. Speaking of literally, where’s your book?”

Mary sighed, and rather reluctantly handed Ruby her manuscript.

Mary: “Do be careful with it, my publisher is picking it up tomorrow!”

WarpZone: “Well, well, looks like my aim was perfect after all!”

But neither Ruby nor PageStrider had the energy for a retort. Both were in awe of the manuscript in front of them, knowing full well what the book had meant to world literature and pop culture throughout the ages. PageStrider carefully touched in with his fingers in reverence, as if he was scared to break it. He carefully placed his palm on the front page, and gently grabbed Ruby’s hand before flipping to the page of the monster’s creation.

PageStrider: “Ruby… Sind Sie bereit?”

Ruby: “It’s now or never, my dude.”

And there. She. Went.

---

---

From Ruby’s Go-Pro…

Ruby: “Hello, my flipsos! Ish ya girl, da Rubes, reporting LIVE from inside the pages of Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein manuscript back in the early 19th century! I know, it sounds incredible, which is why I had to film this for you all. Otherwise, nobody would believe me. I love my mans, but he also says I have a talent for embellishment, even though I NEVER exaggerate! So here we go…”

Ruby got in position as Doctor Frankenstein started his process. Contrary to popular belief, no electricity was actually involved, as that WAS an embellishment made up by movie directors. As life was breathed into the monster and it came to, Ruby’s mood dropped.

The doctor treated it horribly! He called it names, and made it feel inferior, even though it tried to be nice. It got scared, and eventually ran away.

Ruby followed it to the woods, where it started to lead a life of confinement because it was afraid. Eventually, it was shot by a human even though it simply wanted to rescue a child. It was… misunderstood. And humanity’s hatred and distrust were what turned it bad. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy, brought about by well-meaning citizens. And that was the real kicker.

Ruby sighed deeply.

Ruby: “I… I think I understand.”
 
She watched, as eventually the monster secluded itself forever, after having watched its creator perish. A self-imposed banishment would ensure that it would never hurt another being ever again. She sensed its sadness, and also… its fury. At the injustices it had gone through, at the prejudice it had suffered.

Ruby: “… is this you, Fury? Was I wrong, thinking that you were just plain villainous from the get-go? Was I wrong to assume that you were just a bad egg from the start? It makes me wonder if I failed, back in the day. Did I not do enough to uncover the true roots of your ways? Could you have turned out differently had you been given more of a fair shot? Were you just the product of your environment?

I guess we all are, in a way. I certainly was. I was brought up in a loving, caring home. My parents rule! I know that makes me one of the lucky ones. Regardless of what you WERE though, Fury… Right now, you simply have to be put down. Because you’re not a true Frankenstein’s monster. You are a husk of a once great woman… terrifying and evil, but great. You had the world at your feet, for better or… well, mostly for worse. But right now, you are little more than a mindless slave. Putting you down for good will be an act of mercy. And then you, in true FrankenFashion, can drift off forever, never to be seen again so you won’t hurt another soul again. And while I usually loathe the use of weapons, I guess this time the chainsaws will come in handy. Because I can’t kill what’s already dead, both inside and out. I can’t harm that which is without sense or feeling, except for hatred. I will show you the greatest mercy you’ve ever been shown, Fury. By putting you back in the ground where you belong. And making sure you can’t hurt anyone else ever again.”

Ruby sighed. A single tear escaped her eyes. The battle with her greatest nemesis was back on. And it wasn’t going to be pretty.