Upon learning that other unknown Spider-Women might exist in this universe, Gwen, Cindy, and Mayday said their goodbyes to Lorien.
Then they dashed off excitedly to fight crime and get more familiar with New York, since Cindy and Mayday weren't fully used to the city yet. After all, this was prime time for crime-fighting.
"Bye~!"
"See you~!"
"Mwah~!"
And with that, they cheerfully headed out.
The first two goodbyes came from Cindy and Mayday. The last one was from Gwen.
Watching the three leave, Wanda took a bite of her apple and laughed softly.
"They're so full of energy. Gwen's already found herself some good friends."
Wanda's Chaos Magic could sense emotions, so she could feel it clearly—Cindy and Mayday were both good girls. That made Wanda truly happy for Gwen.
Lorien glanced at Wanda.
"I think you should get to know more people too."
Wanda blinked.
"I don't need to. I have you..."
"I'm not saying you have to force yourself to make friends. But the future is long—very long. You can't live the same unchanging life forever. That would get boring."
Friendship comes with fate. One true friend is worth ten—or even a hundred—ordinary ones.
Lorien's point was clear. It wasn't that she needed to surround herself with friends, but she couldn't shut out the idea entirely either. A year like that was fine. But ten years? A hundred?
After thinking it over, Wanda nodded.
"I understand."
...
Still, Lorien found it amusing.
In other universes, the 'three spiders together' were all male Spider-Men. But here, his trio turned out to be all female Spider-Women—now that was interesting.
Could it be that all future Spiders here would turn out to be women?
From what Lorien remembered, there were three male Spider-Men—the first, second, and third generations, the classic Spider-Man trio.
As for female Spider-Women, to be honest, before meeting Cindy and Mayday, he had only known Gwen.
Because Gwen was the prettiest...
Ahem.
Of course, Lorien didn't mean Spider-Women were any less. Quite the opposite—he'd be more than happy if they all lived in his building.
The reason was simple. They were all stunning. A delight to look at.
Cindy had a sharp, commanding aura—she rarely spoke, but when she did, her voice was melodious.
Mayday, though they'd just met, was also attractive—lively, full of youth, easy on the eyes.
Imagine having this Spider-Alliance living right downstairs. That would be pure joy.
...
Once Wanda showed she understood, Lorien nodded with satisfaction. Then he stepped forward, scooping her into his arms in a princess carry as he headed for the bedroom.
Wanda immediately realized escape was impossible. So instead, she wrapped her arms around Lorien's neck, offering him her scarlet devotion.
...
Meanwhile, before leaving the building, Gwen and Cindy instantly pulled on their masks, ready to leap out in one smooth motion.
But Mayday wasn't quite there yet. She had to run while tugging her mask over her head, then fumble with the zipper to fasten it.
Gwen noticed and turned her head.
"When we get back tonight, I'll have a custom nano-metal suit made for you, just like the one Cindy's wearing now."
Mayday looked at Cindy.
Right then, Cindy's form-fitting suit spread rapidly across her face. In less than a second, the nanometal armor had wrapped her completely.
"Whoa! Cool~!"
Mayday gasped in awe.
"Can I really have one?"
"Of course."
With one step, Gwen shot forward into the air.
"Nano-metal suits are our standard gear. The Spider-Alliance wouldn't be complete without them."
Cindy followed, soaring out. Mayday jumped right after.
Together, three figures launched their webs and began swinging through the city.
...
The next day, Lorien had to go to work...
With a heavy heart, he got up, took the Ballerina Twins to the bathroom to wash up.
In that mood, even brushing his teeth was slow, and he scrubbed his face a few extra times. Then he went to the kitchen and had Nora make him a bowl of noodles. Finally, after dawdling, he made his way to the office and sat down.
It was 8:57 a.m. Not too much time, not too little.
Bella noticed the weary look on Lorien's face and decisively stepped forward to give him a massage. This time, though, it wasn't his shoulders. She used her fingers to scrape, press, and knead his brow, eye sockets, the corners of his eyes, and his temples.
"Huuu..."
Lorien let out a long breath with his eyes closed. It felt wonderful.
Bella's fingers were cool—not icy, but with just enough chill to make the pressure deeply soothing.
"Aria, turn on the news."
Aria stepped forward, switched on the TV, and began flipping through to find the latest reports.
The broadcast came on:
"New Spider-Man appears on New York streets! Spider-Alliance members now total three girls!"
At that, Lorien opened his eyes.
On the screen, three Spider-Women swung across a skyscraper, each holding onto her own strand of web.
Gwen, in black, white, and pink, led the way.
Cindy, in black, white, and red, was in the middle.
Mayday, in red and blue, followed behind.
The three drifted together past the building, captured perfectly in a candid shot. If the photo were zoomed in further, you could even see Mayday at the back flashing a peace sign.
Lorien closed his eyes again to enjoy the massage.
The news continued:
"Following verification by the U.S. federal government, Osborn Industries has been implicated in illegal biological experiments. FBI agents have already intervened, and results will be made public within 3–7 days."
"Mr. Tony Stark has posted photos on his personal account—images of rat swarms, the Lizard, Rhino, and Electro. Could this be a hint?"
"A figure resembling Captain America was spotted at an international conference, appearing alongside Wakanda's royal guard."
Heh.
Hearing this, Lorien smiled with his eyes still closed.
If Osborn Industries' actions were being reported on the news, that meant they were already in trouble.
Tony posting those photos made it clear he was quietly providing evidence to help bring Osborn down.
Remember when Wanda had taken him across the bridge? That was when Tony had said what he intended to do.
Osborn Industries was a massive conglomerate. In terms of the Marvel universe, its influence was equivalent to—and beyond—the combined might of Apple, Amazon, and Musk's companies in the real world.
And Tony's company was just as powerful.
So imagine how difficult it would be to topple a corporation like that.
Do you think Apple would collapse overnight? If it did, the force pushing it down would have to be immense.
Osborn Group was no different.
Behind the scenes, out of sight, there had to be mountains of evidence and powerful undercurrents in motion.
At that moment, Aria stepped out of the room.
Not long after, the door opened again, and she returned carrying a bowl of noodles.
"Master, breakfast is ready."
Lorien opened his eyes. Bella released her hands and stepped aside.
"Thanks, Bella."
"You're welcome, Master. Serving you is my purpose."
Before Lorien had transformed them into special Transformers, the Ballerina Twins had been all-purpose service robots. So serving him remained their mission.
Lorien nodded and began eating his noodles.
...
Meanwhile, Gwen and Mayday had also enrolled at New York University.
Of course, Cindy was right beside them.
NYU was enormous, and walking through campus alongside them, Cindy blended in seamlessly with the other students. With her mature, composed aura, she could easily be mistaken for an upperclassman.
The three strolled across campus, chatting casually.
But then Cindy spotted several figures in the distance and remarked in surprise.
"Wait—you've got little kids in your university?"
"Little kids?" Mayday blinked in confusion.
"Yes, look." Cindy gestured. "She's wearing an NYU student badge on her chest."
Gwen and Mayday looked over. Sure enough.
Several children were walking under the close supervision of a tutor. But these weren't ordinary kids. Normally, children would be playful or rowdy, but these ones walked like little adults, composed and mature.
Some of them even chatted in a way that looked strangely picturesque.
"...No idea," Mayday said after watching them, shaking her head. She had no clue why NYU would have such young students.
They looked like… middle schoolers? Maybe even younger.
Gwen didn't know either. But being naturally outgoing, she said,
"Why don't we just ask?"
"Yeah," Mayday agreed at once.
So Gwen and Mayday brought Cindy along to find out.
A short while later, they had their answer.
It was NYU's Young Scholars Program.
All of those kids were middle schoolers—some even elementary schoolers—but their IQs were exceptionally high. Simply put, they were geniuses. That's why NYU fully funded their education.
Hearing this, Cindy watched the departing group of students and said in amazement,
"This is the first I've ever heard of a Young Scholars Program."
But Mayday asked, curious,
"Exactly how gifted are they?"
Gwen shrugged, showing she didn't know.
Yet at that very moment, Gwen, Cindy, and Mayday all turned their heads at once—
Their eyes landing on one little girl from the Young Scholars group who glanced back just before disappearing from sight.
Realizing she'd been noticed, the girl raised her hand in a small wave before leaving.
After she was gone, Cindy said,
"Her eyes were interesting."
"I thought so too," Mayday nodded.
Gwen thought for a moment, then said,
"Based on what we discussed yesterday, if there really is another Spider-Woman in this world we don't know about..."
Mayday picked up the thought.
"Then the chance of her being close to us is higher than anywhere else."
Cindy agreed.
"Because going by our probabilities, after crossing worlds, Spiders are strongly drawn to each other."
Gwen nodded.
"So our top priority should be ruling out the people around us. But… how do we do that?"
The three exchanged looks.
Then they noticed a teacher carrying a roll-call book heading to class.
Suddenly, all three reacted at once.
"Let's check the enrollment roster!"
Of course. If they wanted to know who was in the school, all they had to do was look at the list of enrolled students.
And since Parker was the most common surname among Spider-Men…
They'd start by checking every Parker. Filter out the Parkers first.
The three were about to act when—
"Ding-dong~"
Gwen and Mayday glanced at the time.
"No, we've got to get to class. If we're late, we'll attract attention."
"Right. Cindy, you scout out the school's archive room first. After class, tonight, we'll meet up."
"Got it!" Cindy nodded.
Their plan was put on hold for now. Gwen and Mayday headed to class, while Cindy went off to recon.
But back among the departing Young Scholars, the little girl who had turned back earlier pulled out her phone and tapped the screen.
Immediately, a Red Spider emblem appeared in the notification bar at the top left.
She cleared the message, and the emblem disappeared.
Then she tucked the phone back into her pocket.