The girls of the Spider-Alliance were in disbelief. Gwen double-checked with her, but to her surprise, it was true.
"So can you look up New York's history?" Gwen asked curiously.
"Can you find records up to 2015? What happened to America afterward? Could you look up Lorien Su, me, Wanda, or any of us superheroes?"
The future was irresistibly fascinating to those living in the present. Cindy and Mayday were thinking the same thing. If Peni could find them… wouldn't that mean they could see their own futures?
But Peni's next words crushed that thought.
"But we're not from the same universe. My universe doesn't have you."
She licked her lollipop and went on.
"By 3145, New York had gone through countless splits and reunifications."
"Starting from 2015—America first fractured into dozens of state-nations. Each state fought until their brains were practically splattered out."
"Eventually, they unified again, but not even a hundred years later, they split apart once more."
"This time, the fragmentation went so far that entire cities became independent. New York, Los Angeles, Washington—all turned into separate city-states."
"New York's economy ranked third in the world back then, so it led the secession."
"After that, chaos reigned. Corporations grew so massive they surpassed nations. When conglomerates clashed, it was like world wars breaking out."
"It was utter turmoil. My father was killed in one of those corporate wars… and he left the SP//dr to me."
Her voice softened. Peni touched the mech's console, and in response, the Spider-Mech displayed a comforting expression.
"('ᴗ')/"
Her real hand overlapped with the little digital one.
Gwen pressed her lips together.
"So the future isn't necessarily better. It could be worse."
"Yes." Peni nodded.
After a moment of silence, Cindy and Mayday lost their own illusions about the future. The world's development wasn't always positive. Rising GDP didn't guarantee happiness for the people. Progress didn't mean ordinary lives would be better.
The present mattered most. The future depended on the choices made now.
After a pause, Gwen looked at Peni.
"Let's talk inside the shipwreck. We're all Spider-Women—we should sit down, share everything, and make things clear."
"Agreed." Peni nodded, guiding her mech forward.
The four of them, along with their two mechs, moved toward the abandoned ship. The three Spider-Alliance girls turned back inside, Jetfire following close behind. Peni quickened her pace in the Spider-Mech, drawing alongside Jetfire.
She waved at him.
"Hey~"
Jetfire turned his head slightly, gave her a silent nod, then faced forward again, following Gwen.
"So cold~"
Peni didn't mind. Mechs had their own personalities, after all. Her little Spider-Mech was proof of that. Still, she couldn't help but wonder why Jetfire operated so differently from hers.
Gwen glanced back as well, comparing the two. Peni's Spider-Mech had arms attached directly to its spherical body, while its legs seemed to move with magnetically driven joints. It was a high-tech construct through and through.
Jetfire, though, was a Transformer—a complete mechanical lifeform. That was the fundamental difference.
...
Before long, the group entered the abandoned ship's hold. Gwen scanned the space and recalled,
"When I first became Spider-Woman, I trained here for a while."
Cindy and Mayday hadn't known that.
"You trained here for long?"
"No." Gwen shook her head. "As my abilities grew, this place quickly became useless."
"..."
So it wasn't a training ground for leveling up after all—just a beginner's tutorial.
Once everyone had gathered, the three turned back. Peni opened her mech's hatch, climbed out, and stood on its head.
"Shouldn't we exchange information?"
"Of course." Gwen gestured. "You go first. We'll answer."
"Alright~!"
Peni plopped down on the mech, lollipop in hand.
"Earlier, Cindy and Mayday said they crossed over too. How did you two end up here?"
Cindy replied, "I hurriedly pushed open a door—and when I stepped through, I was in this world."
Mayday answered, "I woke up one morning, and my home was still my home—but not the one from my universe. My parents were gone too."
"Then we're all the same."
Peni nodded. "That's pretty much how I came here too."
"How exactly?" Gwen asked.
"I was in class when the company tried to seize the SP//dr my dad left me—Little Spider."
She rested a hand on her mech.
"It was my father's legacy. Of course I wouldn't hand it over. So I piloted Little Spider to escape. And before I knew it, I ended up here."
"Oh, and about school—yeah, my identity's forged."
Everyone had already assumed that. For Peni to be attending school here, she must have faked her records. Otherwise, there was no way she could've walked straight into New York University upon arrival.
Now that their backgrounds were clear, Gwen turned to Peni with another question.
"So what do you plan to do now? Go it alone, or team up with us?
Crises in the city are piling up. This afternoon we even dealt with an octopus monster. If more threats appear, this city will need us. We have to stabilize things here before we can search for clues about the Multiverse."
Peni thought it over.
She'd seen the octopus monster on the news earlier. That was part of why she had come out at night to prep her mech and wander the city.
But the truth was, she was completely on her own.
She had the skills, but no equipment to build.
She had the technology, but no place to put it to use.
She had ideas, but no way to realize them.
If she tried to fight alone with just the Spider-Mech Warrior, it wouldn't amount to much. All she could do was scrape by.
Peni understood that. And those were only the rational reasons.
The emotional reason was even harsher—loneliness.
That was the worst of all.
She was in a strange environment, with no one she knew. She didn't even have a single friend. And she was only fourteen! How could she not feel lonely?
That was why Gwen used the phrase "huddle together for warmth." And it hit Peni right in the heart.
After thinking it through, Peni asked,
"Does your alliance restrict freedom? Like, would I be forced to do things I don't want to?"
Before Gwen could even answer as captain, Cindy spread her hands.
"Other than missions where you follow the leader's orders, the rest of the time is yours."
Mayday grinned and added,
"Take the past few days, for example. We've trained and played games late into the night, gone to school or studied during the day, and after classes we head out to fight crime. Do you think that feels restrictive?"
"You play games!?"
The moment Peni heard that, she lit up.
"I thought you were stuck doing missions all the time!"
Hearing this, Gwen suddenly realized something.
"In your New York of 3145… people in those corporations don't really only work ten hours a day like corporate drones, do they?"
"Ten hours? You're thinking way too small."
Peni smacked the side of her mech angrily.
"Employees work at least twelve hours a day! And almost every day there's two more hours of mandatory overtime!"
"They only get one day off every two weeks!"
"Annual leave is just three days!"
"The companies even provide free inhalable stimulant sprays. No major side effects, but after too much stimulation, they make you vomit from nervous overload!"
From her tone alone, it was clear—the world of 3145 didn't treat people like humans. It treated them like livestock.
If Lorien were here, he'd probably say it was no surprise. A prosperous society might grow a large middle class, but once big corporations took control, the world became their playground. People could earn good money, yet still never truly live well.
They'd keep you working and consuming, without a moment's rest.
"...Whoa."
Gwen, Cindy, and Mayday all sucked in a sharp breath.
That was terrifying.
"Do people there even have hope to live?"
"Of course."
Peni waved her hand in a sarcastic gesture.
"When the environment is like that, people have no choice but to work. If you don't, you don't survive."
"Sure, some people commit suicide. But compared to the total population, it doesn't matter much."
"Besides, companies put a wristband on you. If your mood dips too low, they'll assign you a company psychologist to 'treat' you—or just inject you with hormones."
The three girls shuddered even more.
This wasn't life. This was hell.
No wonder Peni felt the way she did.
"Peni, let us show you the Spider-Alliance base."
"I'll do it! Let me!" Mayday volunteered excitedly.
"Alright," Gwen agreed.
Mayday immediately pulled out her phone, opened her gallery, and walked over to Peni with a smile.
"This is our living floor. Everyone has their own 100-square-meter apartment, plus plenty of public areas for entertainment and daily life."
"This is our training floor—swimming pool, gravity chamber, strength facilities, rest areas, and more."
"These are our study rooms and meeting rooms. We've still got a lot of space unused, and even more levels where we haven't decided what to build yet."
"How's that? Nice, right?"
Among the three Spider-Women, Mayday was the one who loved taking pictures the most. And she was good at it.
She had captured every corner of the Spider-Alliance's three floors, along with moments from their daily lives.
"Wow~!"
Peni was stunned at the sight.
"You guys look like you're running a charity!"
Mayday chuckled.
"That's because we've got a big generous sponsor behind us—ah!"
Before she could finish, Gwen smacked her hand, making Mayday jump back in alarm.
Gwen explained,
"Peni, you'll understand in time. Compared to the entire Multiverse, we're just grains of sand. To the real gods out there, this kind of thing is nothing."
"Whatever you dream of, they can create in limitless amounts—enough to fill an entire universe."
Peni nodded.
She'd already done her research online, even hacking into SHIELD's database. She knew about the superheroes here.
Compared to her own more 'normal' and grounded universe, this one was overflowing with powerful beings.
So she didn't dwell on it.
Instead, she asked,
"Then can I go visit your base now?"
"Of course."
Gwen glanced at Peni's mech.
"You can even bring it along. Our tower has secret passages."