In short, if it was a different-colored Spider-Man, there was still a tiny chance of running into an evil version.
In Lorien Su's memory, there seemed to be one or two. One turned into Spider-Man while also becoming the Lizard. Another had his body swapped with Doctor Octopus. Other than those, the original Spider-Man really didn't have any villain counterparts—unless you counted the different costume versions.
And since this Mayday Parker was a girl, the odds of her being a villain were practically zero.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Jetfire locked onto its target and kept trailing Mayday's path.
After leaping across several skyscrapers, she finally stopped on the rooftop of a New York high-rise. Looking down, Mayday watched the crowded streets.
With her sharp vision, she could see what played on the big street-side screens, what people were scrolling on their phones, even the small items on the roadside stalls.
Just then, the content on one of the giant screens changed. A red Ferrari stood still by the curb, its "eyes" zooming in and locking directly onto Mayday.
At the same time, the big screen displayed a snapshot someone had taken of Gwen and Silk gliding through the streets in their suits. The shot was crystal clear. It definitely wasn't something Gwen and Silk posed for—at most, they intentionally let themselves be caught in frame.
On the screen, Gwen wore a black, white, and pink suit with a bright pink spider emblem on her chest. Silk wore a black, white, and red suit, her emblem blazing red. The two took up the entire screen, one ahead, one following.
People around immediately stopped walking.
"Look! It's the Spider-Alliance cover!" a man shouted, halting in the street.
"Wow, so cool! I wish I could be like them," a woman said dreamily.
"They're incredible! Just two days ago, I saw them flying across a rooftop. It was beautiful."
"You look up from time to time too? Ever since the Spider-Alliance appeared, whenever I'm in New York, I always glance at the sky to see if Spider-Women's swinging by."
"Like right now!"
In the middle of the chatter, someone suddenly looked up, as if hoping to catch a surprise appearance!
Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Mayday chuckled softly to herself.
"Not bad. Looks like the Spider-Women of this world are all doing great. They even formed an alliance? That's wonderful.
I wonder when they'll show up. I really want to meet them, and maybe figure out why I suddenly ended up here. Are they all locals?"
Muttering under her breath, she stood and got ready to leave.
She had three goals for this outing:
If she came across a crime, arrest the criminal immediately.
Observe New York and find the differences.
Check out the Spider-Alliance—her biggest curiosity.
Just those three.
If she didn't bump into the two Spider-Women today, she'd tour all of New York and see if anything was different from her own world.
So far, though, everything was the same.
But instead of being disappointed, Mayday only grew more curious.
She lifted her hand, ready to fire a web and swing away.
But in the next moment...
"Huh?"
Mayday sensed something was off. She lowered her hand and glanced down at the street below.
On one side of the road, as the crowd stopped to watch, a pickpocket had begun sneaking wallets. He clearly wasn't very skilled—grabbing whatever he could manage. If he couldn't snatch it, he'd just slip away.
Still, the guy was smart enough to only target people who looked too slow to chase him down: middle-aged men and women, the elderly. Kids didn't have money, so he ignored them.
Seeing this, Mayday sighed from the top of the building.
"It seems no matter the world, scoundrels are always an indispensable part of it."
By then, the thief had already slipped his hand into an old lady's pocket.
Mayday stepped forward, then dropped straight into free fall toward the street.
The glass walls of the skyscraper blurred as her figure in the Spider Suit streaked downward.
On the top floor, a white-collar worker froze in shock, turning his head too late to catch what had passed.
On the middle floors, some office workers leaned against the glass with coffee in hand, enjoying the view.
When Mayday suddenly flashed by—
"Pfft~~~!"
One of them spat coffee across the glass wall, spilling the rest all over the floor. But he exclaimed in excitement:
"It's Spider-Woman!"
"A Spider-Woman I've never seen before!"
"She's got a new suit—come look!"
Tap tap tap~!
Colleagues who heard him rushed over, pressing against the glass.
"Holy crap!"
"It's real!"
Of course, Mayday wasn't about to hit the ground. Once she'd fallen to the right height, she shot out a strand of web.
It latched onto the wall and instantly tightened, swinging her into a graceful arc through New York's streets.
As she passed the thief, Mayday reached out.
Pfft~!
A strand of web shot forward and stuck to his back.
The thief was just about to pull out a wallet.
In the next instant, Mayday gave a light tug.
"Ah!"
He was yanked off his feet by an irresistible force, crashing against a utility pole with a loud thud.
Mayday swung down, firing two more strands mid-air, binding him upside down against the pole.
Pssst Pssst
Once she saw the thief securely restrained, she didn't even land. With the crowd too dense below, she swung off again, leaving only her words behind.
"911… never mind, the cops are already here.
Oh, and if you steal again, be careful—life after prison won't be so easy."
With that, Mayday was gone.
Only then did the crowd fully react.
"It's Spider-Woman! The new Spider-Woman!"
"She's wearing red and blue—I saw it, that's a brand-new suit!"
"My god, where is she?"
"She's already gone."
After Mayday left, plenty of people rushed over to where the thief was tied up. They wanted to see what kind of criminal Spider-Woman had caught.
A crowd quickly gathered around the pole.
But that wasn't the main thing. The main thing was that dozens of people pulled out their phones to record.
"Haha, I'm uploading this to TikTok!"
"Yeah! Tag Spider-Woman too!"
"This is awesome!"
Meanwhile, patrol officers on the streets of New York noticed the commotion. They hurried over to check it out, though first they had to fight their way through the packed crowd.
"Make way! Ladies and gentlemen, please step aside! Thank you!"
Beyond the throng, a red Ferrari quietly reversed, then drove off in another direction.
...
On the other side.
After watching how Mayday caught the thief, Gwen and Silk exchanged a glance. They both nodded simultaneously. This essentially confirmed it. Mayday Parker was trustworthy. She could be approached and attempted to be recruited into the Spider Alliance.
So Gwen stood up and said.
"I'll go now. Lorien, and Cindy, come with me."
"Alright." Cindy's hair was dry.
She stood up and walked toward Gwen.
Lorien waved goodbye.
Wanda looked at the two of them and asked.
"I'll teleport you nearby to save you the trip."
"That's perfect. Open a portal above the Tower."
"Got it."
After confirming the location, Wanda extended her hand, smiling gently at Lorien. Then she snapped her fingers.
"Snap~"
A crisp sound echoed. A crimson portal opened. Wanda still gazed at Lorien, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
Lorien: …..
"You have to learn this too? If other sorcerers see you doing it, you'll probably corrupt them."
What kind of sorcerer opens portals with a snap? Lorien didn't need to, but he thought it looked cooler—flashier, gave it some style. That's why he did it. As for Wanda… hers was pure showmanship. Later, he planned to snap right next to her head just to tease her.
Meanwhile, Gwen and Silk were too busy to care about such things. One conjured her symbiote battle suit. The other tapped away, summoning her nanotech armor. Though the nanotech suit transformed in under two seconds, it still lagged behind Gwen's instantaneous change. But it didn't matter.
After donning their armor,
"Wanda, I might not be back tonight. You gotta take good care of Loren~"
Gwen waved to everyone before stepping into the portal. Silk waved back and followed.
But...
The moment those words left her mouth, Wanda's smile vanished. Then it shifted to Loren's face. The two exchanged a glance. Wanda now resembled the fattest sheep in the pen.
...
Meanwhile. Though she seemed to have walked away, in truth, Mayday had circled around and was listening from the rooftop. She nodded happily.
"Daily Quest: Complete!"
"Haven't done dailies in days. So boring."
Sure enough. The Red and Blue Spider-Man were both highly responsible Spider-Man. Unlike Gwen. If not for Loren, she'd become Spider-Man and just tough it out for a couple years... Seriously. In the original story, Gwen really was like that. Not a bit of a lie.
After hearing most of the conversation below, Mayday prepared to leave. But one phrase suddenly caught her attention.
"Quick, record this! Post it on TikTok and tag Spider-Woman!"
TikTok? Mayday wondered. What is TikTok? Why could you tag Spider-Man on it? In her previous world, there was no such thing as TikTok.
Suddenly, Mayday instantly realized.
TikTok was unique to this universe!
So Mayday pulled out her phone. She immediately found TikTok on Google and downloaded it. Once the installation finished, she created an account. Then she opened the app, tapped the magnifying glass icon in the top right corner, and searched: Spider-Woman.
Sure enough. The very first video was Gwen's debut personal post. In the clip, Gwen opened by scaling a vertical glass wall. From the inside of the glass, the crowd got their first up-close look at Spider-Woman's battle suit. Then came the first-person view of weaving through skyscrapers. It made countless viewers feel like they were flying through the air themselves!
"Cool~!"
Mayday exclaimed in admiration. This sensation translated into video was incredible!
"So cool!"
Mayday nodded, indicating her approval.
Just then. A faint rustling sound reached her from behind.
"Hm?"
Mayday turned to look.
Tap... tap...
Two soft footsteps echoed. Then, an unexpected voice whispered right beside Mayday's ear.
"Oh~, you're watching my video? Nice taste."
Hearing the sudden remark, Mayday instantly tucked her phone away and leaped backward. She jumped several meters forward, spinning around. Gwen and Silk then saw Mayday's spider suit eyes suddenly widened.
What does this equate to? It equates to watching a female celebrity's video, only for the celebrity to whisper in your ear: "Watching my video? Nice taste~"
Gwen and Silk exchanged a glance. Then both waved and chuckled.
...
"Hi, I'm Gwen, captain of the Spider Alliance."
"I'm Cindy, a member of the Spider Alliance."
After introducing themselves, Gwen looked around, then waved to Mayday.
"This isn't the best place to talk. Come with me."
With that, Gwen fired a strand of web and swung away. Cindy followed close behind.
Mayday was still frozen in surprise, staring as the two of them flew into the air.
"Hurry up, don't just stand there!" Cindy called back to her mid-swing.
Mayday hesitated for a moment, then broke into a grin. She stepped back, sprinted forward, and hurled herself off the building, firing a web just before she began to fall.
She soared after Gwen and Cindy.
The three of them swung together through New York's skyline.
They weaved through busy traffic, swept past towering high-rises, and darted over streets and alleys. Finally, they landed atop a building covered in greenery.
Luckily, in New York, skyscrapers were everywhere—it wasn't hard to find a quiet, safe spot.
Clack~ Gwen landed.
Clack~ Cindy landed.
A second later—
Clack~ Mayday also landed.
The three stood in place, forming an equilateral triangle.
They exchanged glances. Gwen and Cindy locked eyes and gave each other a knowing nod, leaving Mayday confused.
Swish Swish
Gwen's symbiote mask vanished in an instant. Cindy's nanotech headpiece faded away.
"You're—" The moment Mayday saw Gwen's face, she froze in shock! She quickly clamped her hand over her mouth.
A blonde beauty! She looked like she'd stepped straight out of an anime—those eyes, that nose, those lips, that figure—perfect!
And it was Gwen! The same Gwen who had checked in with her just this morning!
Mayday almost blurted out her name, but she suddenly realized that doing so would expose herself. She quickly covered her mouth tighter.
Gwen couldn't help but laugh.
"You really are just like Lorien said—always on the verge of slipping up."
"Mm-hmm," Cindy agreed.
"Huh?" Mayday suddenly caught on. "Who's Lorien? And how does he know I have that habit?"
"Don't worry about that right now." Gwen waved it off. "Take off your hood, Mayday. We've known all along."
"What!?" Mayday was stunned again. "You've known all along?"
"Of course. Well..." Gwen thought for a moment. "Not exactly 'all along.' It hasn't even been 24 hours."
Since she'd already been recognized, Mayday had no choice. Under their expectant gazes, she pulled off her hood.
She had to—her suit was only a little more advanced than regular tech, the same as Peter Parker's.
As the hood came off, her auburn hair spilled out, slightly messy. She quickly tidied it before speaking.
"I have so many questions for you both, and so much I don't understand. What world is this? Why did I suddenly end up here?"
Hearing that, Gwen glanced at Cindy, then nodded.
"That's completely normal. We'll talk it through slowly. There's plenty of time, and I'll explain everything."
"And if we can't figure it out, we'll just go ask Lorien."