Seeing her husband on the verge of an absolute breakdown, Helen gave Gwen a look and quickly interjected, “But can you get in touch with him?”
Understanding her mother’s look, Gwen thought about it and nodded.
“Yes.”
Helen let out a sigh of relief.
“Good.
Try to contact him tomorrow and invite him over to our house for dinner.”
Gwen glanced at her furious father and agreed.
The next morning, the first thing Gwen did when she got to school was find Peter Parker and ask him for Gaia’s number.
***
“Hello, Gwen?”
Gaia’s voice came through the phone, instantly giving Gwen an inexplicable sense of security.
“It’s me, Gaia.
My parents want to invite you to our house for dinner tonight.
I was wondering if you’re free.”
“Invite me to dinner?”
Gaia was taken aback.
He glanced at the time.
For some reason, his Spider-Sense was tingling, warning him that there was something off about this invitation.
Could there actually be something in Gwen’s house that triggered his Spider-Sense?
Originally, Gaia had planned to politely decline, but now he felt it was necessary to go.
He had to see exactly what could trigger his Spider-Sense.
Right on cue, Little Gaia popped up in front of him, anxiously urging him on:
“Accept it, accept it!
This is a golden opportunity to meet the parents!
Conquer the father-in-law and mother-in-law tonight, and in a couple of years, you’ll have a wife, kids, and a warm bed!”
Gaia cast a cold glance at Little Gaia, flicked his head, and sent him flying.
“Sure, Gwen, no problem.
Do I need to bring any gifts?”
Gwen thought about it.
Subconsciously, she wanted Gaia to make a great impression on her parents for the sake of their future.
“Gifts?
Oh, just whatever you think is best.
Besides my parents, I also have an eight-year-old brother.
My dad likes guns, my mom likes jewelry, and you can just buy any toy for my brother.”
*Didn’t you say ‘whatever I think is best’?*
A question mark popped up over Gaia’s head.
Before he could speak, Little Gaia—now sporting a pair of little devil horns—leaned close to his ear and whispered:
“Should I also buy a ring for you to wear on your middle finger?”
Without paying attention, Gaia repeated Little Gaia’s words word-for-word.
Gaia: “?”
Gwen: ฅ₍ᐢ⸝⸝› ̫ ‹⸝⸝ᐢ₎ฅ˒˒
Hearing Gaia’s words, Gwen’s face instantly turned bright red.
She slumped against her chair, steam practically rising from her head.
*Is…
isn’t this moving a bit too fast?*
A flash of murderous intent flickered in Gaia’s eyes.
He grabbed Little Gaia, threw him onto the floor, and began stomping on him.
*How dare this little demon corrupt my mind!
Taste my Foshan Shadowless Kick!*
Hearing a series of thudding noises from the other end of the line, Gwen squeezed out some strength to ask, “Gaia, what are you doing?”
*Mighty Vajra Leg!*
With a final kick, Gaia sent Little Gaia flying.
He answered, “Just dealing with a small matter.
Let’s hang up for now, Gwen.
I’ll pick you up when school is out.”
With that, Gaia hung up the phone.
Gwen stared blankly at her screen.
Her mind kept replaying his last words: *”I’ll pick you up when school is out.”*
*Maybe I should borrow some makeup and perfume?*
No sooner said than done.
Miss Stacy, who usually never wore makeup, faced the world bare-faced, and spent all her time reading, stood up to find some help.
Meanwhile, after hanging up, Gaia looked around.
He had returned too late last night.
To avoid waking Peter, he had crashed at Tony’s Manhattan villa for the night.
*Sigh, time to head home.
Odebiao is watching over the club anyway.*
*These past few days have been really busy.
I still have to go supervise the fitting for Wanda’s dress later.*
*I haven’t even had time to work out.*
At that thought, Gaia remembered the changes in his Spider-Sense.
He opened his system panel:
[Name: Gaia Parker] [Grip Strength: 25.41 tons] [Wrist Strength: 50.63 tons] [Leg Strength: 70.25 tons] [Speed: 169.53 m/s] [Reaction Time: 0.00056 seconds]
“So I haven’t even fully completed my mutation yet?”
***
That afternoon, at Midtown High School, Peter, Harry, and Mary Jane walked out of the school gates side-by-side.
“Peter, look over there.
Isn’t that Gaia?”
Peter looked in the direction Harry was pointing.
Sure enough, Gaia was leaning against his car in casual clothes.
“It really is Gaia!
Let’s go!”
Thinking Gaia had come to pick him up, Peter was thrilled and quickly waved.
“Hey, Gaia!”
Having sensed Peter via his Spider-Sense long ago, Gaia turned his head at the sound of his voice.
Seeing Peter walking toward him with a giant grin, Gaia didn’t even hesitate.
He raised his hand, stopping Peter in his tracks.
“Sorry, Peter.
I’m not here to pick you up.
I’ve got something to do tonight, so just grab dinner on your own.”
As he spoke, Gaia pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and handed it to Peter.
Peter looked at the cash in front of his face, then at Gaia’s expressionless face.
Just as he was about to ask what was going on, his Spider-Sense tingled.
*That feeling again.
Alright, I get it now.*
*Ugh, I’m being excluded again…* *(Little Peter sighs)*
Peter helplessly took the cash and turned around.
Just then, he saw Gwen, wearing heavy makeup, running toward them.
“Gaia~”
*Peter’s Mental Theater:* *Oh~ Gaia~* *Please, why is she talking in that tone?
She sounds like a cat in spring.* *I admit Gaia is handsome, but she doesn’t have to act like this, does she?* *I really can’t take this anymore.
All three of us got bitten by spiders, and Gaia and I are cousins.* *So why does it feel like I’m the outsider here?* *The kind that gets completely excluded.* *(Little Gwen drops from the sky, kicks Little Peter and Little Gaia away, and takes their place.)*
“Gaia.”
Gwen stood in front of Gaia, shyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Looking at Gwen’s heavy makeup, Gaia’s eyelids twitched.
For some reason, even though he usually detested heavy makeup, looking at Gwen right now, he felt a strange, captivating charm.
*Motherfucker!
It’s all your fault, you goddamn spider-slut!*
Little Gaia clung to Gaia’s shoulder, looking at Gwen with a goofy grin.
“Is this the scent of a pure, innocent teenage girl?
It’s truly intoxicating.”
Gaia lost his patience.
He grabbed Little Gaia off his shoulder.
*Mighty Vajra Leg!*
Little Gaia instantly turned into a shooting star, flying off into the distance.
“I’ll be back!”
With his ears finally quiet, Gaia dusted off his hands.
“Get in.”
Gaia opened the car door and slid into the driver’s seat.
Gwen nodded shyly, waved goodbye to Peter and the others, and jogged over to the passenger side.
Watching the car disappear down the road, Peter still couldn’t snap out of it.
Harry stepped up and threw an arm around Peter’s shoulder.
“Hey man, looks like Gaia is going to have a great night.
You’re going to be home alone again.
Just so happens I am too.
Want to crash at my place tonight?
Mary Jane, you should come too.”
Mary Jane shook her head.
“I think I’ll pass.
The Daily Bugle is recruiting interns soon, and I need to prepare my portfolio.
You guys know my dream is to become a real journalist.”
Harry looked disappointed but quickly forced a bright smile.
“Alright.
Peter, what about you?
Are you down?
I just bought the latest limited-edition gaming console.
I’ve been waiting for you.”
Thinking that this was a perfect opportunity to share the good news of his superpowers with Harry, Peter nodded.
“Sure.”
Harry pumped his fist in excitement.
“Awesome!
Tonight is a night of pure bliss for the twin stars!”