CHAPTER 29: CHAPTER 029: ANOTHER MUTANT CRISIS! SPIDER-GWEN IS HERE!

This was indeed a problem.

Wanda now had Chaos Magic, but she didn’t know how to train herself. She had never undergone any systematic practice. Right now, she was like a child in possession of a Tiger tank—completely unable to drive it.

There were two ways to solve this. One was to go to Kamar-Taj and learn from the Ancient One. The other was to get the Darkhold early.

As for the Darkhold’s negative effects, that wasn’t an issue. Lorien had Purification. If it could erase the will imprinted on a Phoenix Fragment, then removing the Darkhold’s corruption would be no problem at all.

But that was for later. At the moment, there was no need for Lorien to do this for Wanda, and she wouldn’t accept such a huge favor for nothing. That would be a conversation for another time.

"Gwen! Over here!"

"Hurry up! We’re just waiting for you!"

On the band’s stage, Mary Jane Watson and Betty Brant—members of Gwen’s band—waved to her, urging her to come. The performance was about to start.

"I have to go, Lorien. Can you hold my bag for me?"

"Give it to me."

Seeing that everyone was ready, Gwen quickly handed her bag to Lorien. She pulled out her drumsticks, climbed up the side of the stage, and took her place behind the drums.

"Dong Dong Dong~"

The accompaniment began. Gwen’s bright eyes sought Lorien’s through the crowd, and he smiled, nodding in encouragement. Wanda, standing beside him, also offered a supportive smile in Gwen’s direction.

"Ting!"

With the last note of the intro, the band launched into their performance. The guitar and bass players struck their strings, and Gwen’s sticks moved in a steady rhythm over the drumheads.

"That’s nice!"

"Not bad!"

The crowd murmured their approval after the opening section, then settled in to watch the show.

The band was playing an instrumental metal piece—one of those high-energy tracks often heard as battle BGM.

"Bang Bang Bang~"

Gwen’s drumming seemed to strike directly into the listeners’ hearts. Each beat made heads nod or feet tap in time. This kind of music, the kind that made the body move on instinct—that was good music.

Lorien began clapping along to Gwen’s beat. Wanda leaned in close and whispered, "I don’t really understand it, but the music is very nice."

"As long as it sounds good, that’s what matters," Lorien replied with a smile in her ear. "That’s the purpose of music—if it doesn’t sound good, it’s not good music."

Wanda thought about it and nodded. He was right.

As the performance went on, the crowd in front of the stage grew. From a few dozen people at first, the audience swelled to nearly a hundred. The band members, energized by the growing numbers, played with more and more passion.

Time passed, and at 6:47 PM, the sun had set and darkness fell. The performance was nearing its end.

"Dong~~~!"

Gwen ended with a final, resounding beat.

"Ohhh~~~!"

Clap clap clap!

Some in the audience applauded, others shouted praise. After giving thanks with the rest of the band, Gwen hopped off the stage and ran to Lorien’s side, tilting her chin up expectantly.

"Lorien! How was it? How was it?"

She looked exactly like a pet eager for praise.

"Very good, you—"

"Ahhh!!!"

A sudden, terrified scream cut through the air, followed by more.

"Help! Mutant rats! Big lizards!"

"There’s a lizard the size of a man!"

"They’re heading for the bridge!"

The cries sent a wave of panic through the crowd. Lorien and Wanda turned to see people sprinting down the street, the audience in front of the stage scattering. In moments, the streets looked like a riot scene.

Gwen let out a sigh. "They’re back again?"

"Again?" Lorien raised an eyebrow.

Gwen quickly looked down. "Uh... I mean, they were just on the news a few days ago."

The chaos in the streets was like a scene from a disaster movie. Lorien sighed, glancing at Wanda, who remained composed but held his hand tightly.

"Want to stop them?" he asked.

"I have the power. If I’ve seen it happen, I could ignore it—but I wouldn’t sleep well tonight," Wanda said without hesitation.

That made Lorien chuckle.

Hearing him laugh, Wanda turned back with a glare and gave him a light punch. But Lorien understood her meaning. If they hadn’t come across it, fine. But now that they had, they couldn’t just walk away.

He nodded, then turned to Gwen.

"Gwen, you head back first. Wanda and I will go take a look."

He said it deliberately, giving Gwen the chance to slip away and change into her Spider suit.

Obediently, Gwen nodded. "Okay. I’ll wait for you downstairs—don’t take too long!"

"No problem," Lorien replied.

With Wanda still holding his hand, he started toward the source of the disturbance. Before leaving, Gwen’s eyes flicked to Wanda’s hand clasping Lorien’s. She playfully pouted, then darted off.

Three minutes later, a figure swung through the gaps between Manhattan’s towering buildings.

Spider-Gwen had arrived.