After successfully making contact... no, scratch that. After they'd successfully talked things through, Gwen and the others brought Peni to the Spider-Alliance base.
They entered through the underground garage first, then used the secret passage from Lorien's private underground garage to reach a massive elevator. At the moment, the elevator only lets you choose from levels 3 to 10. Of those, only 3, 4, and 5 have anything on them—the other five are empty.
Upon arriving at the base, the group toured the fifth floor from the bottom.
"Wow~"
Next was the fourth floor from the bottom.
"Wow~!"
Finally, the third floor from the bottom.
"Waaah~!"
All the way through, the others handled the explanations while Peni handled the wow, wow, wow.
After they finished the tour of the third floor, Gwen suddenly remembered something and added, "Oh right, Lorien and I have another plan. It seems like all of you could take part. Especially you, Peni—it's a perfect fit."
Peni looked puzzled.
"What plan?"
"The Life Foundation."
"The Life Foundation?"
This time it wasn't just Peni—Cindy and Mayday hadn't heard of it either.
"This is a plan Lorien and I came up with a long time ago," Gwen began. "I don't need to explain how great life is. Ordinary humans, mutants like us, powerful superheroes, all kinds of aliens, and gods of overwhelming might. Even mechanical lifeforms like the Transformers. They're all life. So the core of this plan is to study the existence of all forms of life."
Everyone followed her meaning right away: researching the meaning of life in all its forms.
But after that, Gwen stopped.
Peni, who had just gotten interested, blinked.
"That's it?"
"That's it." Gwen spread her hands. "The core of the Life Foundation is researching all forms of life. 'Foundation' doesn't mean money—it's about gathering capable people, like a fund, to join us in the research."
"But this foundation won't have outsiders. If you all join, the core research team will only be us, Lorien, Wanda, and Hela. Our main goal is research and growth; benefiting society is secondary."
Hearing this, Peni frowned in confusion.
"Who are those last three?"
"Family!" Gwen said seriously, looking right at her. "Lorien is our strongest pillar—following his lead won't steer you wrong. Wanda and Hela are family too. We all are."
Peni nodded, a flicker of envy in her eyes. Having so many people you can trust absolutely—that must be nice. Cindy and Mayday felt the same.
Cindy was an orphan; no need to explain how that felt. Mayday had parents, but they didn't support her—they even tried to burn her suit.
That's why Lorien once said it: Gwen is the happiest Spider among all the Spider-Men. She was before. And even more so now.
By now, Gwen had picked up on everyone's mood—she'd come a long way in reading people.
"Don't get down, you two. We're on the same team now. With time, you'll get to know Lorien and Wanda better and better. Also—" Gwen looked at Cindy. "Remember why we founded the Spider-Alliance in the first place?"
"I remember," Cindy said with a firm nod. "There might be even more Spider-People in the future. We need to gather together and unite our strength!"
"Right!" Gwen turned to everyone. "We have to huddle together for warmth and twist our strength into one! That's the meaning of the Spider-Alliance!"
She finished and extended her hand, palm down.
Cindy got it instantly and placed her hand on top of Gwen's.
Mayday and Peni understood too. Mayday reached out and stacked her hand on top.
Now three hands were in. Only Peni remained.
All three looked at her. Peni hesitated, glancing at her small hand.
"Peni, we won't force you," Gwen said. "If you don't want to join for now, we're still friends."
"I'm in!"
No sooner had Gwen finished than Peni smacked her hand down on Mayday's with a sharp slap. The decisiveness made it clear she'd already made up her mind. She looked at everyone with bright confidence.
But...
"You hit me too hard..."
Among the four, Mayday murmured with a hint of grievance.
The group traded looks. Gwen burst out laughing first, and then everyone joined in.
Smack~
Right then, the spider mech beside Peni placed its hand on the stack as well.
Only then did they all realize: there's a little spider inside the Spider-Mech Warrior—so it counts as an individual too!
"Well then..." Gwen looked around at everyone. "Let's do this!"
"Let's do this!" x3
"Huh?!"
That night, Peni didn't go home. She stayed at the Spider-Alliance base instead.
After all, they'd be heading to school together tomorrow.
...
The next morning, three figures leapt from the upper floors of the New York Tower.
Then they seemed to realize something, jumped back, and a moment later leapt off again—this time three carrying one.
Three were flying on their own.
One was being carried.
And yes, the one being carried was Peni Parker.
She was wearing a nano-spider suit equipped with web-shooters. But she had never trained—she couldn't fly. So Gwen had to hold her while soaring through the air.
As Peni shot across the sky in full armor, she kept letting out excited cries.
"Woohoo~!"
"This is amazing!"
"You guys get to fly like this every day? That's awesome!"
Gwen glanced at her and asked, still holding her tight.
"Doesn't your mech also climb walls and fly?"
"It's not the same!" Peni shook her head quickly. "This feels way more thrilling—like I'm actually flying!"
Gwen immediately understood. It was like the difference between riding a motorcycle and driving a car. Both were fast, but on a bike you could feel the wind whipping across your body, the rush of air and resistance. In a car, all you got was air conditioning.
When it came to thrills, the first was unbeatable.
...
In just a few minutes, the four of them arrived at the campus of New York University.
Peni had her own class. Gwen and Mayday shared another.
But Cindy wasn't enrolled at all.
Gwen thought for a moment, then looked at her.
"At lunchtime, I'll have someone set up your enrollment, Cindy. That way you can attend classes with us."
"Huh? Me?" Cindy froze.
"I have to go to school too?"
"Of course." Gwen nodded firmly. "Our knowledge base isn't enough. We need to study hard. Otherwise, how else will the Life Foundation move forward?"
Cindy hesitated. "But..."
"Don't worry." Gwen already knew what she was worried about. She patted Cindy on the shoulder.
"Spider-Women are all geniuses. You're smart too—you'll learn fast. We'll study together."
"There's an old saying: 'You're never too old to learn.' Just because we're Spider-Women doesn't mean we can stop studying."
Peni and Mayday both nodded immediately.
"Gwen's right."
Now Cindy understood as well. She nodded. "Alright."
So they each went off to their classes.
After Gwen left, she pulled out her phone and sent a message to Lorien.
[Gwen: Lorien, I want Cindy to go to school with us too. Is there a way to make it happen?]
By then, Lorien was already at work, sitting in his office, idly passing the time.
The moment Gwen sent the message, he sensed it through the Phoenix Force. But when his hand reached for his pocket—ah, damn.
The phone wasn't on him. It was upstairs.
And upstairs, Wanda had just been jolted awake by the vibration of Lorien's phone.
She blinked open her drowsy eyes, thinking it was her own.
Lorien's phone wasn't locked. She picked it up, glanced at the message, and—too lazy to type—sent back a voice reply.
"Gwen, just ask Natasha—she'll take care of it in no time."
Wanda said it and sent the message.
Meanwhile, Gwen froze when she saw "Lorien" had sent her a voice message.
Lorien never sent voice messages!
Mayday, noticing Gwen's expression, tilted her head in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"Shhh~" Gwen hushed her. "Let me enjoy Lorien's first ever voice message to me."
She adjusted her earphones. Mayday leaned in curiously.
Gwen lifted her phone to her ear and tapped play.
"Gwen, just ask Natasha..."
Gwen: …
Mayday: ?
That lazy drawl.
That half-asleep tone.
Gwen silently lowered her phone and explained, deadpan.
"This is Wanda..."
At the same time, she fired back a reply.
[Gwen: Where's Lorien? Why is it you, Wanda, sounding like a pig! The sun's already up and you're still in bed! Next time Lorien and I will keep you up till noon!]
Mayday: !
Her eyes widened at the brazenness of it. She'd never heard anything like that before. Face burning, she quickly looked away, pretending she hadn't heard a thing.
...
On the other side, Wanda saw Gwen's reply and lazily played the voice message.
"Where's Lorien? Why is it you, Wanda, sounding like a pig..."
Wanda: !
She instantly opened her eyes.
Right—it was Lorien's phone.
Her fingers twitched, tempted to open a portal to return it to Lorien. But then she thought about Gwen's jab.
Why not fire back?
So Wanda grabbed his phone, slipped into Lorien's T-shirt, the hem falling just over her thighs, and opened the camera.
Click~
She snapped a shot of herself in the oversized shirt, thighs showing beneath, and sent it along with a message.
"But I couldn't help it, Gwen. Lorien was so rough last night—he didn't even let me sleep..."
Sent.
After that, she opened a small portal by Lorien's side.
"Here, Gwen's message. I thought it was my phone, so I replied to a couple for you."
"Mm, got it."
Lorien took the phone, then looked through the portal.
Wanda lay on the bed facing him, wearing his T-shirt. Her calves crossed and lifted, her hands braced beneath her. Nothing unusual at first glance.
But the collar of his shirt hung wide on her. And with her curves filling it out... from his angle, Lorien could see the elegant line of her neck, her delicate collarbone, and... the snowy whiteness below.
Hiss~~~
Lorien felt himself stir.
Wanda noticed. Instead of shying away, she flashed a sultry glance and pressed her arms together to accentuate the view.
Hiss~!
Lorien nearly stood up.
Then, perfectly timed, Wanda shut the portal.
"I'm off to water the plants~"
Damn it!
Lorien clenched his jaw, frustrated.
But first, Gwen's messages.
He opened his phone.
Huh!?
Only the first was text. The rest were voice recordings.
He tapped the first.
"..Just ask Natasha..."
The second.
"Where's Lorien? Why is it you..."
The third.
"..He didn't even let me sleep.."
Lorien: ?
Nonsense! He had held back!
He tapped the fourth.
"Wanda, you @#$%! Just wait till tonight when Lorien and I %&*!"
What came through was a torrent of profanity so bad it'd need to be censored online.
Don't ask what exactly. It was filthy.
After hearing it, Lorien typed back:
"Enrollment—yes, ask Natasha. As for that last part—strictly speaking, you're wrong, but in terms of human relations... we can discuss it."
Because honestly, last night's strap experience still lingered in his mind.
And he had to admit—Wanda in black stockings was breathtaking.