Skye chimed in, "I think so. I haven't seen anything special online lately. Social media's all just full of dumb pranks from kids. Guess it's really quiet these days."
"You've got some nerve calling others kids," Natasha shot back. "You are one. Girls your age are all dressing up, going out, having fun. You're the only one who holes up in here all day."
Skye crossed her arms and huffed. "What's so great about going out? You just run into sleazy punks. They all dress like peacocks and practically invite trouble from creeps."
Natasha smirked, leaning closer. "So… instead of letting random punks have their fun, you'd rather let your boss have it?"
Skye's cheeks turned bright red. She glared at Natasha and refused to answer, pretending to focus on her cake instead.
You had to hand it to Natasha—her social skills were top-tier. In just a few days, she'd gotten along with Skye and Gwen as if they'd been friends for years. There wasn't even the slightest trace of a generation gap between them.
"Ahem—alright, enough nonsense," Lucas interrupted awkwardly, trying to steer the conversation back to safer ground.
"By the way, what's Coulson been up to lately? Haven't seen him around in a while."
Lucas mentally did the math. According to the original timeline, Tony Stark's Middle East weapons demo was right around the corner—which meant the Marvel Universe was about to officially begin.
"The Director sent him on an assignment overseas," Natasha said casually. "He'll be back in a few days."
She was still technically on vacation. When Nick Fury had tried to call her in, she'd brushed him off under the excuse of 'keeping an eye on Lucas.' So the job had gone to Coulson and Hawkeye instead.
"What kind of assignment? Come on, give me the gossip." Lucas perked up immediately. His curiosity seal had been broken.
"Can't tell you. If I do, that egg-headed boss of mine will dock my pay for leaking classified info." Natasha replied between bites of cake, her tone firm.
"Tch, so secretive. Sounds like nothing good." Lucas rolled his eyes and resealed his curiosity.
The three of them continued chatting idly, half-bored, half-relaxed, until Peter and Gwen showed up—and Felicia tagged along as well.
Within moments, the girls had completely taken over the sofa, leaving Lucas and Peter exiled to a lonely corner, shivering in silence.
Defeated, the two men retreated to Lucas's room for a true test of masculine skill—video games.
The "battle" raged until well past ten that night. Natasha had already retired to her room under the pretense of getting her beauty sleep.
Lucas and Peter, however, were still going at it, totally losing track of time—until Skye came upstairs to call them down.
Back in the office, Lucas handed over the blue crystals to Gwen and Peter, explaining how they worked.
When the group heard that the crystals could send them into an independent space, everyone but Lucas looked completely dumbfounded.
Gwen even thought Lucas had lost his mind. She kept checking his forehead and whispering to Skye about getting him a psychological evaluation.
With a helpless sigh, Lucas decided to let proof speak for itself. "Just focus your mind on the crystal. You'll feel the connection, then you can teleport."
Since Felicia wasn't an official employee of DevilMayCry, she couldn't go in. Lucas left her in charge of watching the office while they were gone.
A flash of white light filled the room—then Felicia was left alone, staring in shock.
---
"Whoa!!!"
As soon as their eyes adjusted, the other three gasped in awe.
"This place… it's straight out of a fairy tale!"
Gwen and Skye bolted out the door, dazzled by the lush scenery around them.
Peter, meanwhile, immediately spotted Onion in the chocobo stable. His eyes lit up as he rushed over, hand outstretched to pet it.
Big mistake.
Onion might look cute, but it was as volatile as a mini nuke. With one mighty flap, it sent Peter flying backward, then actually lifted a taloned foot as if to stomp him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa—!" Lucas ran forward and quickly calmed the chocobo down. Onion instantly went from raging beast to clingy bird the moment it saw him.
Good thing that kick hadn't landed—because while chocobos looked harmless, they were trained for combat. If Onion had stepped down with full force, Peter's guts would've been splattered across the floor.
And where would Lucas find another Spider-Man after that? Not to mention Felicia's boyfriend would've been very single again.
"Don't tease Onion," Lucas warned, patting the bird's fluffy head. "It only recognizes me. Anyone else gets too close, it'll attack. Be careful."
"Man, that thing's strong! It actually flipped me!" Peter muttered, rubbing his back. As Spider-Man, his physical strength was insane—yet a bird had tossed him aside like a rag doll. Humiliating didn't even begin to cover it.
Gwen and Skye returned after circling the area, excitedly sharing what they'd discovered—something Lucas hadn't noticed before.
"This whole place is a floating island!" Skye said breathlessly.
At the island's edge, the ground simply ended. Their house sat perfectly in the middle.
"How'd you figure that out?" Lucas asked, curious.
"Gwen used her webs to swing out there," Skye replied with a grin. "She burned through an entire web shooter in the process."
Both girls had, of course, met Onion on their return—and, just like Peter, they'd been promptly smacked away when they tried to pet it.
Only Lucas could get close.
And Peter, for his trouble, now sported two new lumps on his head courtesy of Gwen and Skye—punishment for laughing at them while clutching his stomach.
Skye later discovered the open-air hot spring behind the house but refused to bathe in it since there was no gender separation. "No way I'm giving those two idiots a free show," she'd said, dragging Gwen away.
The sky above was bright and sunny, though Lucas knew it was already night outside. That inconsistency made him pause.
"Hey, A-Tong," he said, calling to his system, "last time I forgot to ask—if the time flow here is the same as the outside world, then why is it daytime here?"
[Ding~ The time flow is synchronized, but the time cycle itself is independent. The Chocobo Space has its own daylight, nighttime, and seasonal rotation.]
"Ohhh, got it~" Lucas nodded, pretending to understand. He didn't really, but as long as the time ratio matched the real world, that was good enough for him.
After exploring, Gwen and Skye picked their rooms on the second floor. Peter tried to claim one too—but Lucas flatly refused.
"You've got a home of your own," Lucas said firmly. "Why are you freeloading in mine? What happens when you spend every night here and leave Felicia alone, huh? Am I supposed to keep her company for you?"
Rejected.
Still, Peter understood what it meant. By giving him a Chocobo Crystal, Lucas was trusting him completely—treating him as family.
Peter didn't have many real friends. Hell, he barely had acquaintances.
When it came down to it, the only ones who truly counted were Lucas and Harry.
And that made this strange, magical new world feel just a little bit like home.
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