(Hi all, yes, first post here - spent most of last week reading the tale from start to present)
Bernie Being up close and personal to Warden limits Warden's ability to use the handheld cannon thingy she used a couple of strips ago, so it looks as though they're going to be using fists only. Added onto which, Warden can't use her chain as that's currently tying up Polly. Warden's rules state that if Bernie can knock her down, she'll automatically be promoted to Class A.
Once this match is over, given Bern's preferred fighting style is counter-attacks, it might be fruitful for her and Polly to discuss tactics at some time - perhaps when they get more experienced fighters, Polly starts off the fight (if their opponent doesn't make the first move) then Bern completes it. Of course, if they're fighting as a duo, it may mean they have to face two opponents - in which case, the perfect counter may be putting #2 in the way of #1's attack, or coaxing #1 and #2 to start attacking each other.
Regarding the speculation about Bern and Polly facing Mary / Mary's clones, I'd say very unlikely. Mary's currently up in Eschelon and will probably bump into Suspira and Crest at some point (possibly in Ch. 41, since 37 was the Three Paths, 38 was Suspira, 39 is Bern, so logically 40 will probably be Maytag). Bern and Polly are down in Marvallo - starting off at a town about a month's journey away from Eschelon (~600 miles [1]) - which, after all, is a different country (albeit there aren't any border controls - then again, with portals they'd probably be pointless). I don't think deporting criminals is The Conclave's style - besides which, dead people usually remain dead
Now if it's not considered too off-topic, a couple of quick thoughts on the other two paths:
Suspira probably still blames Mary for Kin's death, so I can't imagine the two teaming up soon. However, given both Maytag and The Thin Man speculating that despite her need for flesh and bloodlust, she doesn't necessarily have to be the ogre she is currently, maybe at some point in time she teams up with someone who happens to have (a) a conventional diet, (b) high pain resistance, (c) high regeneration ability. It's remotely possible Crest's healing sword may have a beneficial effect, but I wouldn't count on it.
With Maytag, The Dark Cell sounds rather ominous - albeit more of a psychological experiment rather than a biological one. I'm not yet convinced by the Qualia's existence - untold billions of nanobots floating around in the air, capable of producing any effect perceived as magical? Then again, The Thin Man is the closest we've got to Mad Scientist territory, the kind of villain who thinks his experiments will eventually benefit all of humanity, so in the grand scheme of things won't mind a few dozen / hundred failures en-route.
[1] In the real world, horses can travel about 20 miles a day (with breaks every couple of hours). So assuming Flipside months are approximately the same length as earth months (~30 days), then Bern's about 600 miles away from Eschelon. She may be slightly nearer or slightly farther, depending on where The Colosseum is in Marvallo.