The next morning, as sunlight streamed through the curtains, Lorien and Gwen woke at the same time.
They were sprawled all over the bed. Sleep is unconscious, after all, so it's not like they clung together every night. Strictly speaking, a restless sleeper can end up in any position—sometimes you wake up and realize you've flipped yourself completely around.
Upon waking, Gwen kept her eyes closed and immediately reached out to find Lorien. Once she touched him, she snuggled in at once, rubbing her cheek against his solid chest, nudging her forehead under his chin, little pig-like snorts puffing from her nose.
Lorien opened his eyes and smiled.
"Are you Spider-Ham?"
The words may sound similar, but in English they're easy to tell apart.
Gwen nodded.
"Yes."
"..."
Alright then—little Spider-Ham.
For a moment, Lorien's mind drifted to GG Bond. And Super Lollipop.
They cuddled for a while until the drowsiness faded.
Lorien glanced over. Wanda was still fast asleep. She'd had the roughest night—Gwen had taken revenge from start to finish. No control over her own body, pinned and held and hugged the whole time. Brutal. Sometimes even her calves and toes felt like they were cramping.
Gwen looked up at her, then ducked back down to nuzzle Lorien.
"She's the real pig."
Lorien chuckled, half exasperated.
"You're the one who targeted her."
Gwen pouted.
"She was showing off on purpose."
After a while, Lorien and Gwen got up—one to work, one to school. Gwen had morning classes, so she had to be up early.
They dressed and headed to wash up. While ordering breakfast, Lorien asked,
"Eating at home?"
"Not today," Gwen said, already at the door slipping on her little leather shoes. "I'll eat out with them."
Them being Mayday, Cindy, and Peni. If Gwen ate alone, it'd feel awkward for the three.
"Go on."
Lorien nodded and only ordered for himself. Nothing much on the schedule today—another glorious day of slacking.
Gwen finished with her shoes, went downstairs, passed the second-to-last floor, and reached the third-to-last.
As soon as she arrived, she saw three girls waiting at the entrance to the living area. Cindy leaned against the wall with her arms folded. Mayday watched Gwen with a gossipy smile. Peni kept her head down, too shy to speak.
Gwen eyed the trio, puzzled.
"What's up?"
"Ahem~" Mayday cleared her throat twice, slipped an arm around Gwen's waist, and asked,
"How'd you do?"
"???"
The phrasing threw Gwen for a second, but she caught on quickly.
"Mayday, who taught you that? Sneaking adult movies at night?"
"We're all adults now, Gwen."
Mayday gave her a once-over.
"But you do look different. Kind of… radiant."
"Um..." Peni ventured timidly, "I'm not an adult yet..."
"Zip it, Peni. Just eavesdrop nicely."
"Okay..."
Gwen took out her phone and checked herself. Was she actually glowing?
She looked to Cindy.
"Am I?"
"Yes." Cindy nodded.
With everyone's answers in, Gwen pocketed the phone and raised her hand.
"Looks like you forgot—I'm the strongest in the Spider-Alliance, the captain. And you still dare tease me? Gotcha!"
Cindy and Peni's eyes went wide. The moment Gwen said it, they bolted.
Mayday tried to run too, but she was the cheekiest—and right next to Gwen.
So her butt paid the price first.
Cindy and Peni didn't escape either; Cindy got a proper smack. Only Peni got off lightly—just a light pat.
Afterwards, Gwen treated everyone to ice cream and milk tea, and they headed off to school together.
Once there, Gwen pulled out her phone. The video she'd shot last night had blown up—especially the rocket fireworks. Probably the freshest angle on the entire internet lately, with the comments section full of praise. The Spider-Alliance's debut had landed.
Seeing that, Gwen nodded and said to the three beside her—
"I'll give Natasha a call, then you can set up your personal accounts. I'll tag and pin you in the comments section—just make sure to follow each other."
Hearing this, Cindy remained calm; she was always reserved in public. But Mayday and Peni lit up instantly. They were the type who thrived on excitement.
"Really?!" Mayday grabbed Gwen's arm.
"Are they verified accounts?" Peni quickly asked.
"Yes." Gwen nodded.
"That's awesome! Let's make them now!"
Not long after, the three of them had created their accounts. Gwen passed the details along to Natasha, and within minutes, their profiles had been upgraded to superhero accounts.
Then came the first problem.
What should their names be? Their aliases.
Gwen's were Spider-Woman or Ghost-Spider. But what about the others?
"What titles do you want?" Gwen asked.
The three thought for a moment. Cindy didn't hesitate—she already had one.
"I'll still go with Silk."
Mayday considered.
"Then I'll be Spider-Girl."
"And I... I..." Peni struggled the most. She had to come up with something on the spot. But the moment she thought about her abilities, she blurted out,
"Then I'll be SP//dr! Or just Spider-Mech for short!"
"Hmm..." Gwen thought it over. "That works. Now follow each other—I'll pin your accounts."
She immediately followed all three and pinned them in the comments section.
As they worked on their profiles, Mayday suddenly frowned curiously.
"Gwen, why did you follow a default account?"
"Where? Let me see."
The three of them checked—and sure enough, it was a default account.
Gwen smirked. "Open it."
By the time she finished speaking, they had already tapped it open. It was Lorien's account.
The profile picture was the default TikTok avatar. The background was the default TikTok background. The username was the default TikTok name.
But the bio...
"Wait!" Mayday's eyes went wide. "The bio!"
"Whoa~!"
"This is..."
The three of them froze.
On Lorien's otherwise untouched account, the only thing he had edited was the bio:
[Goddess Alliance's Husband]
Just a few words, but it hit the three of them like a slap in the face.
Cindy, Mayday, and Peni all tilted their heads back, overwhelmed. They never imagined Lorien would put that directly on a public account.
And the Goddess Alliance still had countless fans!
In the entertainment industry, what female star could announce she had a husband without losing followers? Especially being the husband of the Goddess Alliance. The whole Alliance! Wouldn't that cause a massive loss in fans?
But the reality was the opposite. Lorien only became more mysterious. Even more people were desperate to know who he really was.
On YouTube's top mystery rankings, the number one spot was: Who is the Goddess Alliance's husband?
Number two was the truth behind the great families and hidden events.
After a moment of silence, Peni asked curiously,
"When you went public like that, did you face any resistance or pushback?"
"Yeah, yeah," Mayday chimed in, eyes sparkling with gossip. "Did anyone protest in public?"
Cindy was just as curious.
But Gwen only shook her head.
"No. Even if there was, it'd be barely noticeable. Sure, people envy and resent Lorien, but that doesn't matter."
"My job is fighting crime. Whether fans like it or not—what does that have to do with me and Lorien?"
"If people online don't like it, I'll just log off and ditch the fans. Doesn't bother me."
Cindy, Mayday, and Peni: !!!
Only then did it hit them.
Celebrities survive on fans.
But superheroes don't.
This wasn't The Boys.
With Gwen's raw strength...
Fans or no fans, it really didn't matter.
TikTok was just a place to share, to laugh, to play around. Nothing more.
"Wow~" Mayday sighed. "That's real happiness."
Gwen's face blossomed into a smile at that.
Yes—this was happiness.
...
Inside the Northern Tower, after Lorien arrived at work, the TV screens were already flooded with breaking news.
"Rocket Explosion in New York Suburbs! Suspected Osborn Industries Secret Base Severely Damaged!"
"Spider-Woman Releases New Footage! Spider-Alliance Confirmed to Have 4 Members!"
"Some Women's League Members Propose Spider-Alliance as the Face of Female Power—All-Female Heroes Can Protect Cities Too!"
Lorien scanned the headlines.
All he could think was... bizarre.
Especially the last one.
Since when did the Women's League get a buff like that?
At first, when Lorien saw the acronym "League," he thought it meant the Avengers. Only later did he realize it was the Women's League.
And the people in that League? Complicated, to say the least.
Few genuinely wanted to do good.
Most just wanted to stack clout.
Pulling out his phone, Lorien checked Gwen's TikTok. Her newest video had gone viral overnight.
He tapped into it—a wide third-person shot of the battlefield.
It was last night's fight.
Lorien had already seen it live, of course.
But scrolling down into the comments, he noticed Gwen had tagged the other members of the Spider-Alliance.
The three of them had followed him, too.
Lorien casually hit follow-back.
Ahem. His circle of connections had just expanded a little more.
...
Another universe. Kamar-Taj.
After an entire day of effort from both Stephens, the threat of Dormammu in this reality was finally erased.
Stephen watched as the phoenix mark on the back of his hand faded, and let out a regretful sigh.
Through the recent battle, he'd discovered just how terrifyingly strong this tattoo's suppressive power was.
It didn't provide much direct enhancement to him—but the suppression it unleashed was overwhelming.
Dormammu had felt its presence... and dared not utter a word of defiance.
The younger Stephen glanced at the fading mark on the elder Stephen's hand and bowed his head in gratitude.
"Thank you for your help, Ste... uh, Stephen."
He shook his head with a wry smile.
"Feels strange to thank myself."
Then, his expression turned curious.
"But I have to ask... the one who gave you that mark—just how important are they to you? More than the Ancient One?"