At the very beginning, both men held back.
It wasn't because they distrusted each other. Not at all. It was because this matter concerned Lorien.
Stephen recognized that Jetfire was identical to the Transformers he had seen in the visions of the future. That was why he stayed quiet. He worried Tony might not know about it, and the matter was far too serious to bring up casually.
Tony, on the other hand, stayed quiet for the exact same reason. He knew the Transformers Legion belonged to Lorien, and that they had already established a civilization on Mars! He also knew Stephen was referring to Lorien's Transformers. But Tony had no idea Stephen truly didn't know. So he couldn't say anything either.
In other words, they both kept silent for the same reason.
Now it all became clear.
"So you knew."
"So you knew."
Tony and Stephen looked at each other in speechless frustration. They had both been hiding a secret the other already knew. Wasn't that just plain idiotic?
Lorien, watching from the side, was clearly entertained.
"You two really coordinate well."
Both of them had their cards laid out in the open, yet they kept playing like they were still holding a hidden hand. Unbelievable.
Stephen paused, then after a moment gathered his thoughts and asked,
"So, Lorien, are you the master of a civilization of mechanical lifeforms?"
Master?
Lorien considered the word, then slowly shook his head.
"Not quite. Master implies dictatorship—everything controlled and managed by one person. But you both know me. I'm someone who hates trouble."
Someone who hates trouble. Indeed.
Tony and Stephen both gave slight nods in agreement.
Tony then followed up, half-joking, half-serious.
"So…"
"So I'm a creator."
Lorien smiled, watching the fish drawn to his bait in the water. He gave the line a subtle tug.
"A creator only guides. They all listen to me, yes, but I've never interfered. I only set the rules."
If Gwen or Wanda were here, even the Collector, they would all nod in confirmation. Because it was the truth.
Up until now, Lorien had only ever set rules.
For example: they couldn't completely transform a life-bearing planet into a mechanical one. As for other planets? Anything goes.
But how many life-bearing planets even exist in the universe? Out of a billion solar systems, you might not find even one.
So that rule was essentially just to stop the Transformers from slaughtering life in the name of transformation.
After all, once transformed, even if a species wasn't directly killed, it would still go extinct. That too was a form of slaughter.
In reality, though, the Creator's Laws Lorien set placed almost no restrictions on the Transformers. They only kept them from being defined as villains by others.
Since Transformers didn't understand human emotions or hearts, Lorien gave them just a bit of guidance.
And so far, they had always followed the direction he set, growing better and better. And he believed they always would.
"The Creator..."
Tony and Stephen mulled over the weight of the word.
"So basically, you don't interfere with the development of the Transformers civilization? You just check in sometimes and set a few rules?"
"Pretty much."
In truth, Lorien hadn't visited the Transformers civilization in quite some time.
"But the rules I've set are very few—so far, not even double digits."
Not even ten rules...
Tony found it hard to believe. Rules were like laws. Earth was overflowing with them—without laws, the world would fall into chaos. Probably straight into doomsday.
Yet the Transformers had fewer than ten rules, and they still advanced this quickly? Ridiculous.
Tony waved his hand in frustration.
"Next topic. Let's not talk about civilization—it doesn't help us, and honestly, it just makes us feel worse."
Stephen nodded. What mattered most now was hearing Lorien's thoughts on the war. After all, every move the Transformers made was surely within his sight.
So Stephen turned and asked,
"In the visions of the future, the insect swarms were unbelievably savage. Their numbers... at least in the tens of millions, maybe even billions. Could the Transformers really withstand that?"
After saying it, Stephen realized his words weren't enough. He extended both hands, weaving magic to conjure phantom images of the swarms for them to see.
Tony watched intently.
When the illusion fully formed, his expression darkened into a frown.
"How big are they?"
"The smallest are about two meters," Stephen answered gravely. "The largest... at least ten to twenty meters."
Hearing that, Tony's mood sank even further.
Insects ranging from two to twenty meters. If it were just one, maybe it wouldn't matter. But the point was—it was a swarm. Their numbers reached tens of millions, even hundreds of millions.
Multiply that number, and was it still a small problem? Unless that number was zero, even a hundred million pigs charging into a city could trample countless people to death. Let alone these monstrous swarms.
That was why Tony frowned.
"Sigh... the numbers are just too overwhelming..."
Yes. Far too many.
The swarm thrived on overwhelming tactics. Mass spawning? That was their specialty. What could possibly match them in sheer numbers?
Thinking of this, both men grew sullen, even losing the mood for fishing.
Lorien had planned to explain. But then—
"Got a bite. Hold on."
He had hooked another fish.
He lifted the rod lightly, reeling it in with care, unhooked it, placed it into the water tank, then rebaited the line and cast it back into the lake.
While he did all this, the other two just sat there, watching in silence with furrowed brows.
Then Stephen suddenly jolted upright, realization flashing across his face. He turned sharply toward Tony.
Tony was confused at first.
Lorien caught a fish. What was there to be excited about?
But when he saw Stephen's reaction, Tony finally understood too.
They locked eyes. Excitement and relief burned in both their gazes.
Just then, Lorien finished casting his line and turned around—only to find the two of them looking ridiculously thrilled.
"You two..."
"I get it, Lorien."
Before Lorien could even finish, Tony nodded firmly.
"By acting so calm and unhurried, you were telling us—the outcome isn't ours to force. We just have to wait for the Transformers' answer, right?"
Uh...
Lorien thought for a moment. That wasn't wrong.
After all, this was the Transformers' war. As long as these two understood, that was enough. They could just wait for the battle report.
If the Transformers couldn't win, and Lorien didn't step in, Earth's fate would be sealed. Resistance would be meaningless. Right?
Lorien was just about to nod when Stephen spoke up.
"That war was immense—lasers blazing in every direction, endless swarms hurling themselves forward. It was like the end of the world. That's not something humanity could endure."
"It's not something humanity could even interfere with. All we can do is wait—wait for good news from the Transformers civilization."
What Stephen said... was true.
Humans were simply too weak, too insignificant, before a mechanical civilization and the Annihilation Wave.
As the Riddler would put it: when you're too weak, knowing too much is never a good thing.
Put more plainly: when you're broke, you don't need to know about the decadent, extravagant lives of the rich second generation. That intoxicating scent of money in every breath would only drag you into helpless collapse and despair.
Houses priced at six figures per square meter. Cars costing seven figures. Pocket money in eight figures. Small goals worth nine figures.
These were realities forever out of reach for ordinary people.
Some lucky ones might catch a glimpse in their lifetime—but a cosmic war? Best not to know anything at all.
At least this saved Lorien the trouble of explaining. The two had figured it out themselves.
So Lorien nodded.
"Good. The survival of the Transformers civilization depends entirely on their own progress."
Tony and Stephen nodded in return.
A civilization could only rely on itself. Depending on others was meaningless.
But seeing the lingering tension in their brows, Lorien could only smile faintly in resignation.
"You'd better stop worrying so much—if you lose your appetite, that's no good."
"As for the Transformers, they got the news long before you did. While you're here fretting, they've already started building defenses."
Think about the timeline. The Transformers civilization has been at it for days now. At their pace, they might have already finished the first wave of construction.
Never doubt the efficiency of the Transformers civilization. With hundreds of thousands, even millions of robots deployed onto a planet, what facilities wouldn't rise quickly?
"!!!"
"???"
Tony and Stephen both froze in surprise.
"They've already been building?" Stephen asked.
"Of course." Lorien shook his head helplessly. "The future you saw was only a fragment. It wasn't before anything had begun—this has been underway for quite a while."
If you really wanted to trace it back, it started when Thanos entered the Negative Zone. That was ages ago.
"Alright."
Hearing that preparations had already started, Tony and Stephen both let out a breath of relief. No need to worry anymore. Just wait. Time would provide all the answers.
"Mm!"
Just then, Stephen let out a startled sound. His float had dipped beneath the water!
Excited, he remembered Lorien's technique from earlier and copied it exactly, lifting the rod in one smooth motion.
Whoosh—
The fish that had taken the bait was instantly hooked through the mouth. Then came the tug-of-war. Stephen reeled it in slowly. Fortunately, it wasn't too big, and with just a little maneuvering, he landed it.
But once on shore, he took a closer look—it wasn't small at all. The head alone was longer than his palm.
"Nice."
Stephen happily placed the fish into the tank behind him. He looked at the three fish inside, then turned to Tony.
"There are three fish now. Does that mean each of us caught one?"
"....."
Tony's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Stephen, utterly speechless.
Going for the kill and breaking the spirit too? Seriously, Sorcerer Supreme, that's just cold. Watching you snag that fish was irritating enough already!
Lorien glanced over, then reeled in his own rod.
"Stop fishing. If we catch more, we won't finish them, and that'd be a waste. Tonight, one grilled fish each. Tony didn't catch any, so he gets the smallest one."
Stephen reeled in his rod and nodded in agreement. "Agreed."
"Huh?" Tony was stunned.
"Stephen, this fish is barely palm-sized. Who's that enough for?"
He still wasn't ready to give up.
"How about I catch one more?"
Lorien and Stephen exchanged a look, then both turned to Tony.
"...Fine. But tonight, you're the one grilling."
"Damn it."
Tony dropped his rod without hesitation. Fine, I'll settle for the small one. Hey, small things can be cute, right?
…
By afternoon, at New York University, two figures walked out of the campus together.
Gwen and Mayday each carried a textbook as they made their way toward the school gates.
Mayday chuckled.
"Who'd have thought we'd end up in the same college—and even the same class? Looks like we'll be having lectures together."
"Yeah," Gwen nodded. "What a coincidence. Maybe we could even head home together sometimes?"
"Where in Harlem do you live?" Mayday asked.
"Near Central Park," Gwen replied casually, naming the general area.
But then she caught herself. Her real home—her parents' place—was on the mainland. What she'd just said without thinking was the area near Lorien's tower.
Still, it didn't matter much.
Mayday thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"I'm afraid not. We live near Queens, it's a bit out of the way."
"Alright then."
Just as Gwen finished speaking, another girl ran up beside them.
They looked over—it was the same girl who had butted into their chat on the bus that morning.
She ran up and asked,
"Where do you live?"
"Manhattan."
"Queens."
"Well, that's not on my way. I'll head back first."
With that, the girl ran off.
Watching her retreating figure, Gwen and Mayday exchanged a glance, both finding it amusing.
Eventually, they reached the gates and waved each other off.
"See you tomorrow, Mayday."
"See you tomorrow."
After parting ways, Gwen headed in the opposite direction, where she spotted a red-haired woman waiting not far away.
The woman wore a long brown trench coat over a blouse with a lace-trimmed collar, paired with jeans and knee-high boots. The outfit made her look tall, with legs that seemed impossibly long.
Gwen walked up to her.
"Wanda, did you manage to lock onto her location?"
Wanda kept her hands in her coat pockets as she glanced at Gwen.
"Don't you trust me?"
"Just double-checking."
Gwen slipped her arm around Wanda's.
"If she goes out tonight, I'll trail her with Silk to see what she does. If she goes out two or three times and it's all good deeds, then we can recruit her into the Spider Alliance."
Wanda considered it.
"If it comes down to it, I could just use my psychic powers to check—it'd be faster. But if she's going to be a friend later, that wouldn't be right."
Gwen agreed. She thought the same.
Reading someone's mind without permission? That was no different from snooping through their browser history. That kind of thing was only acceptable with absolute trust.
...
Night came.
After finishing grilled fish at Tony's place, Lorien said his goodbyes and left.
But before he walked out, both Tony and Stephen fell silent for a moment. Then Tony suddenly suggested,
"How about we have a gathering like this at least once a month?"
Stephen looked at Lorien, then nodded.
Lorien thought it was a good idea as well, so he agreed. He understood—if they only ever met when there was business to discuss, then the chances of seeing each other would only grow fewer with time.
That was how so many once-close brothers, friends, and classmates drifted apart in society.
So the occasional gathering was a good thing.
With that decided, Lorien left Tony's house and returned to his Northern Tower.
Coincidentally, Gwen and Wanda had just come back as well.
"Lorien~!"
The instant she saw him, Gwen's eyes lit up. She ran straight over, throwing her arms around his waist, burying her face against his neck, and taking a deep, satisfied breath.
"Long time no see!"
"Huh?" Lorien froze. "It hasn't even been seven hours—barely close to a full workday."
"I don't care," Gwen mumbled into his collar. "I just missed you."
"Alright, alright." What else could Lorien say?
He looked at Gwen and Wanda.
"I missed you both too."
Hearing that, Wanda smiled knowingly.
But the next moment, she paused and turned to Gwen.
"Gwen, Mayday left Queens as soon as she got home."