Ask Lorien about it? Why had Gwen mentioned Lorien twice in just a few sentences?
"Who is Lorien?"
Mayday couldn't help but ask about this person who sounded like some kind of know-it-all.
Gwen and Cindy exchanged glances. Then Gwen turned to explain.
"Lorien is a psychologist, a spiritual leader. You'll meet him eventually."
Cindy nodded.
"Lorien's a good man, incredibly capable. The Spider Alliance was built because of him."
"!?"
Mayday's eyes widened at that.
Hearing so much praise, she found it hard to believe.
"Sorry, I don't mean to doubt him, but… is Lorien also a Spider-Man? Can he really be trusted?"
Spiders were kin. Just like the three of them. Trust naturally came easier among their kind.
But now there was an outsider.
Well... not exactly an outsider, but someone outside their definition of power.
That made Mayday uneasy.
Before Gwen could even answer, Cindy smiled and said,
"Lorien is Gwen's partner. His family are gods. Honestly, the Spider Alliance is more like us playing house compared to them—you know what I mean."
Cindy thought back to Hela not long ago.
And to that powerhouse, the Scarlet Witch—Wanda.
At first, Cindy hadn't even known who Wanda was. But after looking her up the night before, she realized...
Another legend.
A former Avenger.
A top-tier superhero.
Even the official Goddess Alliance site still had footage of Wanda's battles!
That magic of hers—who wouldn't be terrified?
And that was Wanda from years ago.
The Wanda of today was countless times stronger!
For Mayday, it was overwhelming.
Gods?
Gods!?
Was Lorien really that terrifying?
So the Spider Alliance was built with this kind of backing? And that backing was this powerful?
Gwen and Cindy's words completely changed Mayday's understanding of what stood behind the Spider Alliance.
It made her treat the whole thing much more seriously.
Holding her hood in her left hand, she extended her right and said,
"Then let's reintroduce ourselves. I'm Mayday Parker, from another world. Right now, I'm lost... and curious."
Cindy stepped forward and shook her hand.
"I'm Cindy Moon, also from another world. A member of the Spider Alliance. I'm glad to meet someone like me."
Cindy stepped back.
Then Gwen shook Mayday's hand.
"I'm Gwen Su Stacy, native to this world, a member of the Goddess Alliance, and captain of the Spider Alliance. It's a pleasure to meet you both."
...
The three of them had finally introduced themselves properly.
But the exchange had also given Mayday a lot to process.
She first turned to Cindy in surprise.
"You're from another world too? Which world? You…"
Mayday almost kept asking, but then she realized it might be rude. She quickly covered her mouth and corrected herself.
"Just tell us what you're comfortable sharing, Cindy. We'll all share."
Gwen nodded.
"Exactly. We share what we know, so we can help each other, little spiders."
"Little spiders?" Mayday frowned.
Who came up with such a cute yet teasing nickname?
"Lorien used to call me that. It felt... close."
Makes sense.
Cindy gathered her thoughts and began her introduction.
"I come from a world identical to New York. But I'm an orphan. I think I once had parents, but they disappeared."
"Later, at a biotech exhibition, I was bitten by a spider and became Spider-Woman."
"And not even three months after that, I ended up in this world. Now I live in the Alliance."
Hearing Cindy was an orphan, Mayday said softly, "I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Cindy waved it off. "I never knew my parents, never had any bond with them. Don't even know their names. Round it off, I was basically an orphan from the start."
Mayday: …
Then it was Gwen's turn.
Gwen spoke lightly.
"Nothing too special for me. I lived with my parents, and like Cindy, I was bitten by a spider in high school and became Spider-Woman."
"But during that time, I met Lorien. He guided me step by step, showed me the way!"
Mayday nodded at that.
Gwen's story didn't have as many twists.
She had Lorien—caring for her, teaching her, guiding her.
That's why she was so strong, and why her mindset was so steady.
After listening to the two of them, Mayday thought for a moment about her own story, then said…
"Well, I'm different from both of you."
"Huh?!" x2
Gwen and Cindy exchanged glances, waiting quietly for Mayday to continue.
"My dad got his powers from a spider bite. But mine started developing after I turned fifteen—so I was born with them."
Gwen, Cindy: !!!
"Born with them?!"
Both Gwen and Cindy froze.
Spider powers could be innate? Someone could actually be born with Spider-Man abilities?
"That's unbelievable!" Gwen said, stunned.
Cindy was just as shocked.
"Wait," Gwen caught the key point. "So your father was also Spider-Man? That means your universe originally had two Spider-Men?"
"Yes." Mayday nodded. "But my father lost a leg in battle. He later replaced it with a bionic prosthetic, but he still forbade me from using my powers."
"He was afraid I'd end up like him. So one night, he and my mom decided to burn my suit."
"I was scared and unwilling. I grabbed the suit and ran away before they could, and that's how I ended up in this world."
Gwen and Cindy nodded, finally understanding.
In Mayday's world, she was already the daughter of a Spider-Man. But that Spider-Man had lost a leg in battle. Even though he replaced it, he still feared his daughter would suffer the same fate. So he tried to stop her by destroying her suit. But Mayday had escaped before he could.
Gwen chuckled at that.
"A little extreme, but you basically ran away from home—something I always wanted to do but never managed."
Mayday tilted her head in confusion.
"Didn't you have a good home? Why would you want to run away?"
"Because my parents kept setting curfews, so I couldn't spend nights with Lorien. I thought running away would be fun."
"....."
After the joke passed, the three shifted positions and began chatting like old classmates.
One leaned against the wall, feet braced against it.
One sat on the ledge, legs swinging.
One half-sat, half-squatted on the steps.
Mayday asked curiously,
"So how did Cindy and I get here? Why did we end up in this universe?"
Cindy had looked into it before, but she still didn't know.
Gwen looked at them both and explained,
"I don't know the full details—only Lorien does. But I can try to explain the basics."
She gestured with her hands.
"Our universe isn't the only one. There are countless parallel universes—maybe even infinite."
"Most people across them are the same. For example, your world probably also has Tony Stark, Captain America, Hawkeye, and so on."
"Our main stories are similar, but there are always variations. Those differences give rise to people like us."
That, Gwen explained, was the root cause.
"And then there's why we've all ended up here together."
"Each universe is like a bubble. The infinite Multiverse means infinite bubbles. Normally, they don't merge."
"But if there's a connection between us, or if one bubble has a problem, two, three, or even more will gradually start to fuse together."
"Lorien calls this the Multiverse Chaos."
"Usually, stronger beings show up to stop these kinds of anomalies. But since Lorien is here… for some reason, no one else has come."
"Anyway, that's not our concern."
"The reason you're here is because of the Multiverse Chaos. At first, I was the only Spider-Woman. Then Cindy came. Then you."
"In the future, more and more Spider-Women will arrive. Maybe even other superheroes."
Hearing this, Mayday covered her mouth in shock.
She turned to Gwen.
"So your Spider Alliance… it's meant to prepare for the Spider-Women who'll come here in the future?"
"Yes," Gwen nodded. "At first, the Spider Alliance was just going to be a verbal agreement, no base. But we realized that as more Spiders appear, if we don't stay connected, one mistake from a single Spider-Man could affect all of us."
Cindy agreed.
"That's why we made it semi-official—not strict or controlling, but enough to bring everyone together and keep us in touch."
Mayday nodded. She understood.
If more Spider-Men really did show up in the future without coordination, either nothing would happen—or if something did, every Spider-Man would share the blame.
One mistake.
Everyone suffers.
If it went too far, they might even turn against each other.
So it made perfect sense.
Still, Mayday asked with curiosity,
"Then where's your base? I want to see it!"
"Are you sure?" Cindy smiled.
Gwen folded her arms.
"If we take you there, the location will be exposed. So once you've seen it, you'll have to join."
Mayday spread her hands helplessly.
"Do I even have a choice…"
Of course not. Once you're a Spider-Man in this universe, you don't get a choice.
Seeing her tacit agreement, Gwen held out her fist to Cindy.
Cindy jumped down from the wall and bumped fists with her.
Then both turned to Mayday.
One extended a right hand.
The other, a left.
"Huh?"
Mayday stared at the two hands, confused.
She slowly reached out, trying to match them.
Then… crossed her own hands to shake theirs.
"....."
For a moment, they all froze.
Then they burst into laughter together.
"Haha, let's go! Time to see the base."
Gwen led them to the edge of the building and waved.
Then, with a graceful dive, she leapt off.
Cindy followed right after.
"Go, go, go!"
And of course, Mayday wasn't about to be left behind.
She jumped after them.
A second and a half later, three figures traced arcs like smiles through the city, swinging toward the Northern Tower.
...
Meanwhile, on Cybertron.
In an open field, a colossal figure over a kilometer tall, wearing a necklace, waved its "little hands" at two tiny figures, letting out soft rumbling roars.
The two small figures stood elegantly on the platform, hands clasped behind their backs.
Hearing Godzilla's gestures and noises, Aria tilted her head and asked, half-guessing,
"You mean… the Creator?"
"Roar! Roar! Roar!" Godzilla immediately nodded excitedly.
Bella followed up. "Something about the Creator?"
Godzilla nodded again. Then it pointed at itself, stretched a finger toward Earth, and once more repeated the gesture for "Creator."
Faced with this chaotic attempt at communication, the Twin Ballerinas exchanged a look.
They had no ability to truly understand Godzilla's language. The only one who could fully comprehend it was their Master—Godzilla's Master.
All they could do was speculate.
"You're trying to find the Creator?"
Godzilla shook its head.
Not find the Creator?
The twins were puzzled. Logically, if Godzilla mentioned the Creator, then surely it wanted to seek the Creator.
"Didn't you have something important?" Aria pressed.
Godzilla shook its head again.
No? Then why bring up the Creator?
The twins were utterly confused. None of it made sense.
They were about to simply report this to Lorien, since Godzilla belonged to him.
But then, Godzilla suddenly pointed one enormous finger at its heart, then at its head.
Heart? Head?
The twins thought for a moment.
Then it clicked.
"You… miss the Creator?"
"Roar! Roar! Roar~~~!!!"
The instant they understood, Godzilla let out a joyful bellow, thrilled.
The twins exchanged a glance and smiled faintly.
Aria said, "Then wait here. Our main bodies will tell Master."
Bella added, "That is… if Master isn't asleep."
Godzilla nodded eagerly.
...
Meanwhile, on Earth.
With three sharp thuds, Gwen swung through a private window of the skyscraper with two other Spiders, landing directly on the third-to-last floor.
She quickly began introducing the place.
"This is our living level. Everyone has a 100m² apartment with huge floor-to-ceiling windows, plus kitchens, lounges, entertainment rooms, a movie theater—everything you can think of."
"Wow~!" Mayday gasped.
Cindy pointed at two doors and added, "This one's Gwen's place, though she mostly stays with Lorien on the top floor. That one's mine. Now that you're here, we'll be neighbors!"
"Yeah!" Mayday nodded enthusiastically.
Gwen then led them down to the fourth floor from the bottom.
"This is the fitness and recreation level. We've got equipment ranging from 250 kilograms all the way up to 10 tons—even 20 tons. There's also a gravity chamber, swimming pool, sparring arena, and more."
"Whoa!" Mayday was stunned.
It had everything. Absolutely everything.
Finally, Gwen brought them to the fifth floor from the bottom.
"This is the conference level. It has the Spider Alliance meeting hall, study areas, a library, a café, desserts, all kinds of facilities."
She led them into the meeting hall.
Twelve tall-backed chairs were set evenly around a massive round table. At the center of the table was a giant spider emblem.
"Oh my god!" Mayday was completely blown away. "This is straight out of the Knights of the Round Table!"
"And you're telling me this is just a base?"
She looked at Gwen and shook her head.
"No… this is a super base. Even superheroes' bases can't be much more impressive than this, right?!"