So, if the Transformers on Mars really were Lorien Su's, then Tony's concern was over.
He trusted Lorien, and judging by the sheer number of Transformers stationed on Mars, if Lorien had wanted to take over Earth, it would only take a single command.
But if they weren't his?
Then things would get very bad.
If all those Transformers didn't belong to Lorien… what would happen if they decided to attack Earth?
The destruction would be catastrophic.
On the small scale, the extinction of humanity wouldn't even be the worst of it. On the large scale, the entire planet could be obliterated.
After all, the ability to terraform a planet meant they also had the power to destroy one. And destruction was far easier than creation.
Art was just explosion, wasn't it? The whole universe itself had been born out of explosions.
Simple.
That was why Tony desperately hoped the Transformers were Lorien's. Because if they weren't, Earth was in serious trouble.
On the other end of the call, Lorien could hear Tony's unease, and he chuckled.
"In this universe, is there really anyone else who owns Transformers? Who would that be?"
At those words, Tony finally exhaled in relief. The tension lifted, and he laughed.
"I knew it had to be you. That makes me feel a lot better. Honestly, I can't believe Mars has been completely rebuilt by Transformers. The amount of work that must have taken…"
"But actually, it's perfect. With them on Mars, they can protect Earth from alien attacks. Speaking of which, that huge energy surge the other day—wasn't that aliens invading?"
"Like the Chitauri?"
Compared to Thanos' army, the Chitauri were nothing. One legion from Thanos' forces could crush their entire civilization, and in fact, the Chitauri were nothing more than a vassal race under Thanos' command—just another colonized world.
But to the Transformers, it all made no difference.
"More or less," Lorien replied casually. "Either way, it was aliens trying to invade."
"I knew it." Tony let out another breath of relief, this time with genuine gratitude.
"Good thing the Transformers repelled them—or wiped them out. If another alien invasion had happened right now…"
He paused, then added, "Pepper's pregnant. That would've been a nightmare."
This invasion from Thanos' forces was essentially the version from Avengers: Infinity War after the Sacred Timeline collapsed into one.
In the original timeline, Thanos had attacked Earth, collected all the Stones, and snapped his fingers—before Tony's daughter was even conceived.
But in Lorien's reality, Thanos had been eliminated before he ever reached Earth.
So Avengers: Endgame would never happen.
Tony's daughter would be born safely.
And Tony wouldn't have to die.
A blessing in every sense. If Tony realized the difference, he'd be endlessly grateful.
...
So Lorien kept chatting with Tony while strolling with the two women. Along the way, they picked up more handcrafted souvenirs, unique pieces you couldn't find elsewhere.
Then Tony suddenly said,
"Oh, right, Lorien. When do you have time? I was thinking of stopping by your place. After you finish work one afternoon, we could go fishing out at sea?"
Sea fishing, huh? That sounded fun. Casting lures, reeling in tuna, maybe even riding a giant whale—it was exhilarating.
But Lorien only laughed.
"And how's your magic training going?"
"Don't tell me you really have no talent for magic."
"I expect that next time you visit, you'll step through a golden, spark-filled portal—not just fly over in your armor."
Tony glanced at the spellbook lying nearby, a bookmark stuck halfway through. He really had been studying hard these past weeks.
Ever since finishing the nano-suit, he had halted further upgrades, devoting himself completely to learning magic.
And Lorien still doubted him?
"Just wait and see." Tony snorted, slipping back into his cocky genius tone. "Next time I come over, I'll be walking through a portal."
Lorien chuckled. "And when will that be? Next year?"
Tony: …
"Before next month! Hanging up, goodbye!"
After being mercilessly teased, Tony hung up in a huff, vowing to himself that he would master portals before the month was out.
Lorien did a quick calculation and found the timing about right.
By that stage, Wanda had already been opening Eternal Portals.
So Tony, learning a standard portal spell? Having slightly less talent than Stephen Strange was perfectly normal.
The timing fit.
After the call ended, Lorien took the two women for another round of shopping.
By the time they finished, they had walked through the entire tourist street.
"Let's go home," Lorien said.
Gwen and Wanda, their shopping done, both nodded.
"Mm."
With a snap of his fingers—pa~—the three of them instantly returned home.
The two women were still wearing their metallic veils, a sight that stirred Lorien's appetite.
When he noticed they were about to take them off, he cleared his throat.
"Ahem, keep them on."
"Hm?" Gwen froze, her hand halfway up. "But what about sleeping?"
"I mean, at least keep them on before bed," Lorien said with a smile.
He recalled the desert regions in his old games, the exotic dancers draped in sheer veils. With a wave of his hand—boom~~~—two sets of sheer, exotic crop tops and short skirts appeared in his grasp.
Wanda blinked in surprise. She looked at Lorien's smiling eyes, instantly sensing something was wrong, and turned to leave.
"I… I'll go take a shower first. You and Gwen can play."
But just as she turned, pa~—her arm was grabbed.
She looked back. It wasn't Lorien—it was Gwen!
Under Lorien's approving gaze, Gwen flashed a mischievous smile at Wanda.
"Try it on first, Wanda. This outfit suits you perfectly. Lorien would love to see you in it."
Wanda shook her head furiously.
"No… no…"
"You have to!"
Gwen knew that if Wanda refused, she'd end up suffering instead. Without hesitation, she threw her arms around Wanda and, together with Lorien, dragged her toward the bedroom.
"Hurry, Lorien! In a team fight, always focus down the highest DPS first!"
Lorien nodded. "You're absolutely right."
He quickly joined the charge. Wanda, completely immobilized, nearly burst into tears.
"You're ganging up on the mage~!"
"Why is it always me~!"
Her protests barely echoed before the door slammed shut. Not long after, muffled cries of ah, oh, eh—I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die! spilled out from inside.
...
The next morning, Lorien was woken up again.
Before opening his eyes, he thought it was the Ballerina Twins. But when he looked, it was Hela, whom he hadn't "played with" in a long while.
Turning his head, he saw Gwen and Wanda still asleep on either side of him.
The metallic veil they'd bought the night before—one of them was now tied around Gwen's waist.
It had to be said, Gwen's waist was incredibly slim. The veil wrapped around it with ease, showing off her delicate figure.
But that wasn't the main point.
What caught Lorien's attention was Hela, her pale green hair swaying as she rocked back and forth.
When she noticed he was awake, she pointed at her small belly.
Lorien looked down.
Good heavens—it was already bulging.
He sighed inwardly. Sinful, sinful.
Folding his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes and simply waited for her rocking to finish.
After some time, with a soft thump, Hela started to head back to her room for some rest.
But—
"Going back now? Too late."
Lorien chuckled. He scooped her up and carried her straight to the bathroom.
Like a wildfire, once it starts burning, you can't just leave it unchecked.
...
Who knows how long later, Lorien emerged from the private bathroom, freshly washed. He had Nora place their breakfast order, then hurried off to the office.
Arriving just as the clock struck 9:00, he let out a breath of relief.
"Good thing those crits shaved off time, otherwise I'd have been late."
But when someone lands a crit, someone else has to take the damage.
So Lorien, pressed for time, secured the crystal. But the one who ended up dazed and battered… well, no need to say. The one charging at the frontlines—it was always Hela. And she was the one constantly coming up with bad ideas.
...
Once at work, Lorien settled into his usual routine of checking the news.
Unsurprisingly, the buzz about Gwen and Wanda opening personal accounts—and both publicly becoming his women—still hadn't died down.
And now, Tony—Iron Man himself, another massive public figure—had also launched an account.
With that, the hype wasn't about to fade anytime soon.
As long as Gwen, Wanda, Tony, and perhaps even more superheroes kept posting videos, the attention would keep surging.
It simply wouldn't stop.
Well… Lorien didn't care either way.
But while scrolling through the feed, one headline caught his eye:
"Renowned journalist Eddie Brock fired from his news company for violating industry rules during an interview with Harry Osborn, the new heir of Oscorp."
So Venom's destined host had just been fired.
And the one Eddie Brock had interviewed was none other than Harry Osborn.
Wasn't Oscorp originally focused on researching the Green Goblin?
Now they had gotten their hands on Venom samples—and it was Harry Osborn himself leading the research?
This whole Multiverse business... what a mess.
Lorien turned the news volume down to its lowest setting, then finished off the breakfast Aria had brought him. Finally, he leaned back in his recliner with a satisfied sigh.
"Friday again—time for another weekend~"
Just thinking about it made him smile.
But really, it wasn't his last day of freedom. It was Gwen's.
Next Monday, she'd be starting college.
Of course, with Gwen's intelligence, she'd likely have more free time there than she ever did in high school. And if she managed to accomplish something big early on, she might even earn complete freedom.
What about a diploma?
In the U.S., as long as you deliver results—launch a successful startup, for instance—you could skip class every day and still have the dean hand you a diploma in person. They might even beg you to stay on as a professor or consultant.
Plenty of professors already wore multiple hats: investors, fund managers, corporate advisors—you name it. It all depended on the school.
In short, in America, success meant your degree was basically handed to you.
In this capitalist country, the only ones who could stand above the capitalists were even bigger capitalists — or the state itself.
...
By noon, Gwen and Wanda had finished their preparations early. They cooked lunch for Lorien, and the three of them ate together.
Afterward, Wanda returned to the Little Universe to train. From noon until afternoon, that was always her practice time. From afternoon to evening, she tended the garden. Evenings until late night were her free hours... before being claimed by Lorien, day after day, until the next morning.
After Wanda left, Gwen nestled into Lorien's arms, murmuring softly.
"Lorien... I have to go to school..."
They were sharing a chair—well, more accurately, Gwen was sitting sideways on his lap, leaning against him as she whined.
"We'll only be able to see each other in the afternoons again."
It was obvious she wasn't happy. It wasn't school itself she resisted—it was the time it would take away. School plus two hours of crime-fighting every day meant the earliest she'd see Lorien was after he finished work.
Five in the afternoon, at the soonest.
How exhausting. Home at five o'clock... sigh.
Lorien patted her back.
"That just means our schedules will line up. I finish work, you finish school."
"After a year, when you've finished enough, you can lead your own research team. I'll fund it, and we'll start a private company."
"Just ours. No one else has a say. Even if you don't stay in school, you'll still get a diploma."
Gwen's eyes lit up. She cupped Lorien's face and kissed him.
"Then that's what we'll do!"
It was only a year. She could wait.
And in that year, she'd push herself to grow.
Starting a company wasn't something she planned to take lightly. She wanted to do it properly, which meant she needed real skills and knowledge.
With the decision made, her mood immediately brightened.
She ran upstairs, grabbed her Nintendo Switch, and spent the afternoon playing co-op games with Lorien.
Time flew by, and soon it was already 4:30 PM.
They set the console aside, cleaned up the office, and prepared to clock out for the weekend.
As Gwen gathered the trash to hand off to the Ballerina Twins, she asked with anticipation,
"Lorien, where should we go this weekend?"
"Uh..." Lorien thought about it, but nothing came to mind.
The best fun was always spontaneous. Plans rarely survived contact with reality.
"Why don't you decide?"
Elsewhere, that might have been seen as indecisive. But Gwen's face lit up.
"Let's visit my old high school! I'll show you my classroom, my desk—I even drew pictures in my locker!"
Clearly, with college starting soon, she was feeling sentimental about leaving her high school behind.
Lorien nodded. "Then it's settled."
They finished tidying up, ready to turn off the news.
But when Gwen picked up the remote and glanced at the screen, she froze.
"Lorien... that's... her..."
Lorien had already noticed.
The station was airing a live broadcast.
Onscreen, a Spider-Woman was locked in battle with Rhino right on the streets.
What the—?
Lorien blinked at the broadcast.
If the one on TV was Spider-Woman...
Then who was standing right next to him?
Had to be another Spider-Woman.
He exchanged a look with Gwen, who had just turned back.
At that moment, Lorien already understood.
And Gwen realized it too.
"She's... she must be another Spider-Woman from a different universe, right?"
Who else could it be?
Lorien gave a wry smile. "Who else?"
Gwen stared at the white-suited Spider-Woman on the screen, her eyes wide in disbelief.
"But you told me... there's only one Gwen in the entire Multiverse."
"That's right," Lorien nodded. "There's only one Spider-Woman named Gwen."
"But there are plenty of people called Spider-Man."
"Only Spider-Men with the same name and identity are the same person. But different people can share the same role."
Gwen's jaw dropped. Tears pricked at her eyes.
"Why do I have so many counterparts..."