The moment he arrived at the scene, Stephen's eyes were immediately drawn to the little girl being hunted down.
There was no other reason. She simply looked exactly like the girl from his dream!
So, to figure this out, Stephen had no choice but to act. If the girl died, there would be no clues left.
After Lorien nodded, Stephen twisted his hands, conjuring a golden whip, and lunged at the giant octopus!
Wanda froze in surprise, watching him.
"He's a sorcerer, why not cast a spell first?"
Lorien shrugged. Who knew? Marvel was full of melee sorcerers. That guy who always boasted about being the Nine Realms' top sorcerer—didn't he spend his days stabbing people with a little dagger instead of casting spells? Did you ever see him use magic? All he did was play with a dagger!
Lorien glanced at Wanda. Thankfully, under his training, Wanda had always relied on spells—using them to wipe out vermin, crush enemies, tear them apart, and bombard them into dust. That was what made her a true sorcerer.
Meanwhile, under Lorien and Wanda's gaze, Stephen swung his golden whip at the octopus monster that looked like a void creature. With a sharp crack, the beast recoiled in retreat.
The girl looked over in shock.
"It's you again!"
"No, you've got the wrong guy. I'm another Stephen."
He snapped the whip again at the monster—but this time, it wouldn't move.
"Hm?"
Stephen looked up. The creature had coiled its tentacles tightly around the whip.
With a sudden tug, the octopus monster yanked hard.
"Ah!"
Stephen was hurled forward.
The girl cried out quickly.
"Let go of the whip, Stephen!"
"Alright."
Stephen didn't panic. After all, he'd faced Dormammu before.
Releasing the whip, he began to fall.
"Look out! The tentacle's coming!"
The girl's warning came too late.
Stephen turned just in time to see a massive tentacle lashing at him. His Cloak of Levitation couldn't carry him out of the way fast enough—it only managed to wrap around him, absorbing part of the blow.
Impact. Boom!
Stephen was sent crashing into a nearby wall, then tumbled down with a heavy thud. The cloak quickly regained control, hauling him away.
But would the octopus monster let him escape? It immediately gave chase—after both Stephen and the little girl.
"I'll handle this!"
At that moment, Wong finally arrived. He unleashed his magic and joined Stephen in the fight. The two worked together, battling the octopus monster with all their skill. The fight grew fierce.
From a distance, Lorien watched with suspicion. If his memory was right… In the original story, these octopus monsters—they had been sent by Wanda.
Yes. The ones from Stephen's earlier dream didn't count. Only the monsters on Earth were originally commanded by Dark Wanda.
But now…
Lorien tilted his head slightly. Wanda was clinging to his arm, watching the battle with keen interest.
And since there was only one Wanda here with him, there was no way she had sent them.
So who was it?
Lorien's curiosity was piqued. Without Wanda, the Sacred Timeline would inevitably appoint someone else to fill her role—another figure, but driven by the same purpose.
Who would that person be? Lorien was eager to find out.
Tap… tap… tap…
Just then, soft landing sounds came from behind him. He and Wanda turned.
It was Gwen, Cindy, and Mayday. All three were suited up in their Spider battle gear. Gwen wore her familiar black-and-white-pink symbiote suit. Cindy was clad in a black-and-white nanotech suit. Mayday sported a red-and-blue nanotech suit.
They were instantly recognizable.
Wanda glanced at the trio.
"You guys got here so fast? The fight just started."
Gwen bounced over to Lorien Su and wrapped her other arm around his.
"I already knew, of course."
Yeah. Spider-Man's sixth sense was incredibly strong. Even Peter Parker, the male Spider-Man, could foresee major crises unfolding in the city. And the Spider-Women, with their even sharper senses, were on another level entirely.
They could even detect smaller incidents happening across the city, like robberies or shootings. But when it came to threats capable of destroying the city... the three of them could sense it instantly and rush to the scene.
So a woman's intuition... really was spot on!
The three of them gathered at the rooftop's edge, curiosity piqued as the battle grew fiercer.
"What's going on?" Cindy asked, staring at the Void Octopus. "What kind of monster is that?"
Mayday looked at the two sorcerers in astonishment.
"Is that magic? Why are they fighting hand-to-hand? Shouldn't they be casting spells?"
Too many questions—Lorien Su couldn't be bothered to answer. He shifted his fingers slightly, and Wanda, picking up on the signal, stepped in to explain.
"It's not just you Spider-Women. Others have tapped into the Multiverse too—and what you're seeing now is just another face of that chaos."
With Wanda's explanation, the three immediately understood.
This Multiverse really was a mess.
"Should we help them?" Gwen asked, watching the two sorcerers struggling in a two-on-one fight.
"I don't think they'll finish this anytime soon."
"We can help." Lorien nodded.
Gwen tried to pull her hand away, but Lorien added,
"But you stay back. Let Cindy and Mayday get some practice."
Gwen understood. If she jumped in, she'd end it instantly. What would that leave for Mayday and Cindy?
She turned to the two girls and gave them a nod.
Go on.
Cindy and Mayday got the message. They sprinted ahead and vaulted off the rooftop, webs shooting out as they swung in unison toward the squid monster.
...
Meanwhile, Stephen was still locked in battle with the beast. After a few exchanges, it was clear—he and Wong were both on the losing end.
Seeing the little girl still being pursued, Stephen tossed out his Cloak of Levitation and ordered,
"Get her to safety first!"
The cloak immediately swooped in and carried the girl away.
But now, facing the monster once more, Stephen pressed his lips together.
"I think I'll need to use a bigger spell."
"What?" Wong snapped his head toward him, shaking it firmly. "No!"
"Unless it's the very last resort, we can't use high-level magic on the streets. One mistake, and the city could be destroyed beyond repair in an instant. Do you think you're the Ancient One with centuries of experience?"
It was clear Wong was the first to shut down the idea. Spells like the Ancient One's—spells capable of twisting entire cities—weren't something you could just toss around.
If interrupted mid-cast, the city would be obliterated on the spot. Recovering from that would be impossible. Once unleashed, advanced magic wasn't something you could simply control at will.
The Ancient One could do it because she had centuries of mastery. But Stephen? He'd only been training for a year or two.
In Wong's eyes, was he even qualified to try? If Stephen messed up, the monster's destruction would look mild compared to his own.
That was why Wong instantly refused his request.
The fight raged on. Stephen hurled spells while running.
"Then finishing this is going to take some effort."
"Better than destroying the city," Wong said sternly.
Just then, the monster's massive tentacles whipped out toward them.
"Dodge!" Wong shouted.
Stephen looked up and instinctively tried to kick off, letting the Cloak of Levitation carry him into the air.
But as soon as he landed, he realized—the cloak wasn't there!
It had just taken the girl to safety. And now he was stuck on the ground!
The tentacle was already upon him. Even if the cloak noticed, it was too late!
"Stephen!"
Wong cried out, reaching toward him.
Stephen looked at the massive tentacle swinging at him. All he could do was adjust his stance to lessen the impact.
But then—
Pssst! Pssst!
The sharp sound of silk shooting through the air rang out.
Stephen opened his eyes to see Cindy and Mayday, clad in spider battle suits, diving down from the skyscraper. Together, they slammed into the octopus monster with tremendous force.
"Boom! Boom!!"
The combined, multi-ton strength of the two girls sent the monster reeling. Its extended tentacles recoiled violently before the creature toppled across the street.
Stephen stared in shock. Their strength was unbelievable. Such a massive monster—knocked down with just two kicks!
But it didn't end there.
As the creature crashed down, Cindy and Mayday exchanged a quick look.
"Tie it up first."
"Got it!"
The two darted aside, firing webs that bound the monster's tentacles and head together.
Pssst! Pssst! Pssst!
They circled it, increasing the amount of webbing until, in no time, the octopus monster was completely restrained. Breaking free now would take immense effort.
"Help me secure it!"
Wong recognized the chance immediately. Twisting his hands, he conjured several golden chains.
Stephen caught on right away, summoning golden chains of his own. The two sorcerers hurled them together.
Clang! Clang!
The golden chains wrapped around the monster's body. With a powerful pull, they locked it tight.
Now, between the massive webbing and the golden chains, the creature was fully immobilized.
Cindy scanned the monster quickly.
"Hit its eyes—that has to be the weak spot. Got any long weapons?"
"Here."
Without hesitation, Stephen conjured a spear and tossed it to her.
Cindy caught it smoothly. But instead of stabbing, she shifted her stance, leaned back, twisted her body, and hurled it with all her strength.
Thud!
In a blur, the dark silhouette of the spear tore through the air. In an instant, it pierced straight through the monster's enormous eye, skewering its head clean through. The weapon then continued on, embedding itself deep into the structure behind.
"..."
Wong's eyes went wide. What kind of strength was that? A spear hurled hard enough to pierce a monster's skull and drive itself into the ground? How much power did that take?
Stephen was just as stunned.
"Have the Spider-Women always been this strong?"
The shocking part was—if even a girl had this kind of strength, wouldn't a guy risk having his skull twisted right off if he crossed her?
And worse still… why did he and Wong, two full-grown men, look weaker than this girl?
Oh, right. These were Lorien's Spider-Women. That thought made Stephen feel a little less bad.
After her throw, Cindy clapped her hands and looked at Mayday.
"Alright, done. Let's head back."
"Mhm."
Mayday nodded, pulling out her phone to snap a picture of the "corpse." She tucked the phone away, then fired a strand of web and swung off into the distance.