It was time to clock out.
Gwen went downstairs to tell Cindy, Mayday, and Peni she had plans that evening. She told them to do as they pleased. If they wanted to go fight crime, that was fine too—just don't overdo it. That was that.
After Lorien, Wanda, and Gwen took a stroll and chatted in the Little Universe, it was around five or six in the afternoon. With a snap of his fingers, Lorien teleported the three of them straight to Tony's house.
"You finally made it, Lorien."
Tony and Stephen were busy hauling wood for the bonfire barbecue. They'd already cleared the ground and just needed to stack the wood. When Tony saw Lorien arrive, he tossed his load aside, clapped his hands, and said,
"If you hadn't shown up, we would've already started eating."
Lorien glanced at the unassembled pile.
"Raw?"
"Well… not impossible."
"Then you eat it. Let's see who dares touch a one-minute steak."
"...."
The truth was, don't listen to those self-proclaimed elites bragging about eating steaks medium-rare or medium. Some even claim eating them more done is low-class, insisting no one in fine dining orders like that. But really, are they stupid? Forcing yourself to eat half-raw meat?
People eat medium-rare or medium when the cut allows for it, or when certain preparations make it suitable—not because everyone eats it that way. That'd be insane. It all depends on personal taste, the cut's quality, and how it's cooked.
Anyone who only ever praises medium-rare or rare? They're the ones who are actually low-class.
So Tony would never eat raw steak. He wasn't about to become a human jetpack at night or spend the midnight hours doubled over in pain.
Meanwhile, Gwen and Wanda went inside to find Pepper. Compared to stacking wood, they were more curious about how the pregnant Pepper was doing.
Outside, Stephen stared at the woodpile. To save himself the effort, he glanced at Tony and Lorien.
"Leave it to me."
He moved his hands slightly. The logs lifted into the air on their own, quickly stacking themselves into a neat crisscross shape.
"Doo-doo-doo-doo~~~"
In no time, the pile was finished.
"Clap clap~"
Stephen dusted his hands and looked at Tony.
"How's that?"
Tony gave him a thumbs-up.
"Putting knowledge to work."
The pile was done. Next was adding kindling and some oil to help it catch. Tony was about to head inside for tools when Lorien waved him off.
"No need."
He snapped his fingers.
"Snap snap~"
The logs burst into flames—not a huge blaze, but steady and bright.
"...."
Tony looked crushed.
"So basically… I'm useless here, huh. A bonfire party, and it's just you two showing off. What did I even do?"
Seeing his disappointment, Lorien comforted him.
"Don't worry. You still provided the wood, the space, and the food."
Tony thought it over.
"True."
Money was still a contribution, after all. Even if neither Lorien nor Stephen cared about it, Tony was the one who organized the gathering.
And with that, the bonfire began burning steadily. Once everyone had finished their tasks, Tony wasted no time. After motioning for everyone to sit, he turned to Lorien and asked.
"Last night, Friday, an emergency alert was issued. Massive ultra-high-energy reactions were detected on the outskirts of the Solar System. Was it a war between the Transformers civilization and the Annihilation Wave?"
Stephen spoke up after hearing this.
"Since last night, I've had this intense feeling of dread. It only began fading this morning."
Seeing Tony and Stephen's confusion, Lorien casually picked up the milk tea on the table, took a sip, then nodded calmly.
"The war did begin."
"What was the result?" Tony and Stephen immediately asked, tense.
"It ended long ago. Around two in the morning? Actually…" Lorien thought for a moment. "More like between midnight and one."
"That fast?!" Tony was stunned. "That many bugs, a war between civilizations, wrapped up in just a few hours?"
Stephen was even more shaken. He had seen firsthand the sheer scale and horror of the Annihilation Wave—blotting out the sky, endless swarms, dense and uncountable, mountains and seas of insects. The numbers were so overwhelming it was impossible to tell how many there were.
And that kind of enemy… defeated in just a few hours? Was that even possible?
Stephen thought about it. Maybe it was, but only under one condition.
"Lorien, you stepped in, didn't you?"
At those words, Tony also looked toward Lorien, who was sipping his milk tea, and suddenly realized.
Right. If Lorien had intervened, everything made sense. The Transformers ending a cosmic war within hours was nothing unusual if Lorien had acted. And considering his phone had been out of service last night, chances were high he really had gone to take part.
But what neither of them expected was Lorien smiling, shaking his head, and slowly setting down his cup.
"I didn't lift a hand. I only took them to watch."
Tony: "!"
Stephen: "?"
Both of them widened their eyes.
If he hadn't intervened, then how could a cosmic war end in just hours? On Earth, world wars drag on for decades. Conflicts between nations can stretch out for years. Even minor border clashes take long negotiations to resolve. But a cosmic war finished in hours? Impossible. Unless… were the Transformers truly that overwhelmingly strong?
Seeing their doubtful looks, Lorien sighed and shook his head.
"Don't overthink it. Even under normal circumstances, this war between the Transformers and the Annihilation Wave wouldn't have lasted more than a week."
"In fact, the more advanced a civilization is, the more often a single decisive strike can end everything—because their weapons are unimaginably destructive."
"Of course, the Transformers didn't rely on that this time. The real reason the war ended so quickly is because a powerful alien happened to pass by last night."
"And this alien also wanted to wipe out the bugs. On top of that, this alien happens to be someone I know."
"So the war was wrapped up in just a few hours."
Tony: ?
Stephen: ?
An alien? Another one?
Stephen had peered into countless futures with the Time Stone and racked his brain over them, yet he had never seen any hint of this. What was going on? Could the Time Stone have shown him wrong? That shouldn't be possible.
He was about to ask, but Tony suddenly smirked mysteriously.
"...Tell me, Lorien, was this alien humanoid?"
Lorien raised an eyebrow, then nodded.
Yes, humanoid.
Tony pressed further.
"And… beautiful?"
Lorien looked at him with amusement and nodded again in confirmation. How could Galacta not be beautiful? Stunning, in fact. Out of 10, he'd give her at least a 9.
Tony's smirk grew even more cryptic.
"So… at the very least, you've had some kind of physical contact with her? A handshake, a hug, anything like that?"
At that, Lorien immediately knew what Tony was getting at. He shook his head helplessly.
"Stop guessing. You've seen her."
"Huh?!"
Tony's grin froze stiff. His face went from :) to :1 (tilted ninety degrees). The grin didn't vanish though—it just slid over to Stephen's face as he stared at Tony.
Meanwhile, Tony's brain went into overdrive.
I've seen her? When? Who? How do I not remember?
He mentally ran through everyone around Lorien and himself. Especially those times when both of them were present. Which women had shown up?
He thought and thought, but nothing came. Who could it be?
Seeing Tony straining to recall, Lorien chuckled and dropped a hint.
"A girl who loves wearing purple. Head to toe."
"!!!"
At that, Tony instantly remembered! He smacked the table hard in realization.
"Wait—wasn't it that dinner, when the Celestials showed up? The girl you brought back after?!"
"She and that other little girl ate like crazy! They put away mountains of steak!"
Mountains of steak… That line nearly made Lorien laugh out loud. But Tony had figured it out.
The one who matched Hela bite for bite in a steak-eating contest was Devourer Girl. That was during the Celestials crisis. Lorien had brought everyone there, but before they could even get a few words in, Devourer Girl appeared and immediately drove off the Celestial judge. That was the end of it. And afterward? Just eating meat.
So Lorien nodded, confirming that the alien Tony mentioned was indeed the one who had stepped in this time.
That nod made Tony's eyes go wide.
"What!?"
He shot to his feet, unable to believe it.
"That little girl? She helped the Transformers civilization end a cosmic war in just a few hours?! How?!"
Lorien did a quick calculation, then raised one finger.
"Strictly speaking, less than an hour."
"Holy shit?!"