The late afternoon sun dipped low over the Manhattan skyline, casting golden hues through the windows of Saitama's mysteriously-teleported apartment.
Gwen Stacy stood near the couch, bouncing her heel nervously against the floor.
Her mask was off, and she held a flyer in her hand, colorful, glittery, and unmistakably pop-star themed.
She cleared her throat.
"Hey... so, um... there's a concert in Midtown tonight," Gwen said, trying to keep it casual but sounding just a bit too rehearsed.
"Luna Snow's performing. You know, K-pop idol, also shoots ice and saves the world on weekends?"
Saitama was half-lounging on the couch, watching an old rerun of Nature's Dumbest Predators. Without looking up, he replied flatly, "Never heard of her."
Gwen blinked. "Wait, never?"
"Nope," he replied. "Sounds chilly."
"...That was a pun."
"Yup. Honestly i rarely watch anything beside the news"
She rolled her eyes but pushed forward. "Anyway, I got us passes. Like, good ones. Thought it might be... fun? Music, people, night lights, might break up the boredom?"
That caught his attention.
He turned slightly toward her, scratching his cheek lazily. "Hmm... yeah, alright. I'm bored enough."
Gwen nearly dropped the flyer. "Wait, seriously?"
"Yeah, concerts are loud, right? That's different" Saitama said, already standing and stretching. "Better than watching squirrels faceplant for the third time today."
From the kitchen, Silk popped her head out with a suspicious squint. "Did someone say Luna Snow?"
Gwen hesitated. "Uh, yeah. Just going to her show, that's all."
Cindy walked over, looking insulted. "Just? Girl, she's literally the queen of ice-pop fusion! I'm coming. No debate."
Saitama gave her a thumbs-up. "Cool. More the merrier. Maybe she'll shoot lasers."
"She doesn't shoot lasers" Gwen muttered.
"...Yet..." Cindy countered.
Across the room, Genos finished reassembling a toaster he didn't break but "improved." He glanced at Tatsumaki, who hovered mid-air with arms crossed, clearly impatient.
"This city's energy is unstable," Genos said. "Residual dimensional fractures everywhere. I recommend a full sweep of the surrounding boroughs."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tatsumaki scoffed. "The sooner we figure this out, the sooner I can stop sharing this building with that guy."
She motioned at Deadpool, who was singing Bohemian Rhapsody in a bubble bath, no water, just bubbles, sunglasses, and a slice of pizza.
"Fair point," Genos said flatly.
As they floated out the window, Gwenpool poked her head around the corner. "Psst. Silk."
Cindy leaned over. "What?"
"We should absolutely follow them," Gwenpool whispered. "If they find a way home, I'm not missing it. Plus, this has side-story energy."
"...Or shipping energy," Cindy muttered under her breath, grabbing her mask.
"Exactly! I've seen them fought the monster king before!" Gwenpool grinned.
"Huh. You can go with Wade, i gotta see my goat performing"
And just like that, two extra shadows tailed the green-haired psychic and her explosive android companion into the heart of New York.
Meanwhile, Saitama blinked at the now-quiet room, scratching his head.
"...Where'd everyone go?"
Gwen handed him the concert flyer again, smiling. "Doesn't matter. You've got a friend to hang out with"
He stared blankly.
"...So we're friends already? Cool"
"Oh."
...
Meanwhile, between timelines...
Somewhere beyond time, beyond space, and beyond even narrative logic, sat a man on a throne of golden thread and glowing strands of destiny.
Loki, God of Stories, no longer bore the crown of mischief, but rather the solemn weight of eternity.
He sat calmly, one leg over the other, knitting a cosmic sweater.
Yes. A sweater.
It was multicolored, strange, and constantly shifting, as if woven from every timeline in existence.
Patterns of ancient battles, lost romances, pruned variants, and Taco Tuesdays spiraled across the sleeves.
He paused and stared at it.
"Bit too much blue" he muttered, tugging on a strand.
Instantly, a thousand minor timelines fluttered out of existence, then reappeared as green swirls.
"Better."
A monitor blinked nearby, embedded in the air like a lazy fish tank screen.
Most days, Loki ignored it, too many disasters, too many Lokis, but today, it flickered in a way that drew his eye.
Something wasn't right.
Or rather... something was hilariously wrong.
Loki narrowed his eyes.
On screen: a bald man in a cheap hero outfit casually agreeing to go to a pop concert.
A green-haired esper floated out a window.
A masked girl whispered conspiracies while crawling through an air vent.
And somewhere off-screen... was Deadpool.
"Oh no" Loki whispered. "He got pulled in here?"
He leaned forward.
"Mobius!" he called.
A moment later, Mobius shuffled into view holding a bowl of something suspiciously TVA-looking.
"Yeah, yeah, I heard. What is it now? Another Kang cult? Sylvie messing around again?"
Loki pointed at the screen. "No. This."
Mobius squinted. "...Huh. That's the bald guy, right? The one who one-shots gods?"
"Yes."
"Oh."
Mobius handed Loki the bowl, filled with snacks like popcorns or something else, hard to tell.
"What's he doing?" Mobius asked, half-amused.
"...He's going to a concert."
Mobius blinked. "Well. That... seem normal...."
Loki smirked, eyes glowing faintly as he reclined, the cosmic sweater now floating in mid-air, knitting itself.
"Let's watch what happens when raw power and zero ambition meet a girl with a crush and a pop idol."
Mobius grinned. "Better than paperworks. You've been bored lately yeah?"
"You sure do understand me"
They both leaned in.
The screen glowed brighter, focused now on Gwen Stacy, Saitama, and a building storm of nonsense.
...
Midtown was alive with color.
The streets buzzed with crowds, neon signs danced across storefronts, and distant bass beats echoed like a heartbeat through the air.
It was the kind of night where anything felt possible, electric, vibrant, and completely wasted on someone like Saitama.
He stood in front of the venue entrance in his hero outfit, a small glowstick necklace someone handed him earlier now hanging limply around his neck.
He blinked slowly at the horde of fans swarming in front of them, most of whom were in sparkling Luna Snow-themed merch.
"...Didn't expect this many people," he said.
Beside him, Gwen Stacy adjusted her hood nervously, cheeks a little flushed. "Yeah, uh... she's kind of a big deal. In, like, every universe."
Cindy (Silk) had already vanished into the crowd, blending in like a Luna Snow megafan ninja.
She yelled back without turning, "I'm getting a shirt! Maybe five!"
Saitama watched her disappear. "Is she always like that?"
Gwen smiled faintly. "Only when music, cute idols, or suspicious vibes are involved."
"Three outta three tonight, then," he muttered.
They walked in through the side entrance, Gwen's VIP passes making security nod in approval.
Inside, the air shifted immediately.
Bright lights cascaded across a massive stage shaped like a shimmering snowflake.
Holograms of Luna Snow danced across the space, mixing projections with real-time tech.
Saitama stared at the floating ice particles in the air. "Huh. That's kinda cool."
"Literally," Gwen said, then winced. "Sorry. That was bad."
"No, I liked it," Saitama said flatly.
The moment grew quiet for a second. Gwen fidgeted with her hands. She looked up at him, taking a small breath.
"I'm... glad you came," she said, voice lower this time, more sincere.
Saitama looked at her curiously. "You're acting weird. Are you okay?"
She froze. "What? No, I'm fine. Totally chill. Chill as Luna Snow herself. Haha. Hah..."
He blinked.
Gwen bit her lip and turned toward the stage quickly. "Okay! look! the concert is starting! let's focus."
A burst of fog exploded on stage. The crowd screamed.
Luna Snow stepped out in a sleek, glowing white-and-blue suit, shimmering with cold light.
Her mic sparkled like a shard of ice, and her voice rang out like glass bells over a frozen lake.
The music hit, fast, energetic, full of electric beats and emotional lyrics in Korean and English.
Ice swirled in coordinated visuals, dancers moved like snowflakes in sync, and the air itself seemed to hum with magic.
Gwen was already into it, bouncing slightly, mouthing the lyrics.
Saitama?
He just stood there.
Expressionless.
"...So this is music... Wow, i don't understand most of the korean part..." he muttered.
Gwen leaned in over the roar of the chorus. "You seriously don't like it?"
"I didn't say that," he replied. "It's fine. Just loud. And sparkly."
A beam of spotlight cut across them, briefly catching Gwen in full view.
For a split second, she looked up at Luna Snow, then at Saitama.
And smiled.
There was something about this moment. The lights, the music, the chaos of the crowd. She wasn't fighting villains, swinging from rooftops, or hiding her identity.
Just... being a girl at a concert.
Standing beside the guy she kind of liked.
And for once, he wasn't punching a god or casually dodging bullets.
He was just there, calm, weirdly grounded, and oddly kind in his own deadpan way.
She didn't need him to be a hero tonight.
Just Saitama.
...
Cindy Moon liked to say she wasn't nosy.
She just... investigated things thoroughly.
And right now, her current investigation included:
one possibly-date between Gwen and the world's baldest enigma, a K-pop ice princess who may or may not be using her stage as a portal battery, and an audience that smelled like overpriced perfume and light emotional repression.
"Yep," she muttered to herself, adjusting her hoodie as she edged away from the crowd, "this is definitely normal. Definitely not suspicious at all."
She ducked behind a lighting rig, popped open a small web pouch she had sewn into the inside of her jacket, and fished out a Luna Snow wristband, a folded seating chart, and a stick of gum.
Concert recon.
She slipped the gum into her mouth and chewed slowly while scaling a side railing like a cat.
From her perch, she could see almost everything: the crowd glowing in pale blues, the sweeping LED ice effects across the arena ceiling, and right there, VIP box, Gwen and Saitama.
Gwen looked like she wanted to say something every few seconds but didn't.
Saitama, as far as Cindy could tell, was just... vibing in his usual potato-chip zen.
Cindy squinted.
"NAH! No way homegirl is this innocent, do something more! I know his face he look like he can be drawn in 20 seconds but you gotta be more forward! This is not game😭"
She shook her head with fond exasperation, then turned her attention back to the stage.
That's when it hit her.
That low, prickly buzz in her Spider-Sense, not danger, but distortion.
She narrowed her eyes.
One of the backup dancers glitched. Not slipped, glitched.
Their figure flickered for half a second, doubled, then synced back like a buffering video.
The lights blinked a beat out of rhythm.
The temperature dropped unnaturally fast.
Cindy leaned forward.
"Okay. Now it's a party."
Suddenly, a voice from below snapped her attention.
"Whoa! Cindy?"
She looked down just as two familiar masked faces came into view: Miles Morales and Peter Parker, both in casual gear, hoods up, jeans, but unmistakably Spider-Vibing.
She dropped gracefully beside them.
"Miles? Peter? What the heck are you two doing here?"
Miles looked sheepish. "Uh... Gwen invited us too. Said we should 'get some culture' and stop web-slinging through alleyways like sewer rats."
"She also said, and I quote, 'Don't crash my maybe-date,'" Peter added, raising a brow. "So naturally, we came to crash it."
Cindy rolled her eyes. "Of course you did. Man, why is everyone think like me?"
Peter looked around. "This place is insane. Did they summon this crowd with a magic spell?"
Miles pointed at the stage. "Is that Luna Snow? She's awesome! You think she'd team up with us?"
Cindy waved a hand. "Focus, fanboys. We've got a problem."
She explained the glitch she saw.
The flicker. The distortion in her Spider-Sense.
By the time she finished, both Peter and Miles were already scanning the area with narrowed eyes.
"Multiversal distortion?" Peter said, voice low.
"Feels like it," Cindy said. "It's not Luna, she's not the source, but something around the stage. Maybe underneath it."
Miles nodded. "You think this is connected to... everything going on? The weird hero sightings? People falling through universes?"
Cindy crossed her arms. "I know it is."
Peter tapped his chin. "Well, we could investigate quietly—"
Suddenly, a burst of feedback shrieked through the arena.
The lights glitched.
Luna Snow paused mid-song.
The entire stage flickered blue.
Her mic sparked once, then froze solid in her hand, literally encased in ice.
The crowd gasped.
Saitama blinked once. Gwen leaned forward.
Cindy stepped back, her stance shifting into full-on Silk-mode. "Okay, i take it back, she's hitting the classic move. Get ready to defend them boys."
Peter sighed, pulling his mask from his jacket. "Does anyone get a normal concert night anymore?"
Miles already had webbing at the ready. "Nope."
Cindy grinned. "Let's crash the show."