By the time Lucas returned to the seventh floor of the bookstore with various meals, it was almost six in the evening, New York time.
The sky was already dim.
Lucas waited for a long time, but Gwen still hadn't returned.
Helpless, he had no choice but to take out his phone.
Soon, the call connected.
"Lucas, I still have some things to do. Eat something and then go back."
On the other end of the line, Gwen's voice was a bit ethereal.
Along with her voice, there was the whistling wind and the faint honking of vehicles.
Lucas smiled helplessly, a scene forming in his mind.
A figure in a black and white spider suit was swinging through the night sky on a web line.
He just had one question: where did Gwen keep her phone when she wore her spider suit?
Shaking his head to clear these jumbled thoughts, Lucas asked, "What are you busy with? Do you need my help?"
Gwen snorted and said, "I'm not telling you."
Even though Gwen didn't say, Lucas had a guess.
She was most likely chasing a criminal.
Lucas's mind stirred, and he said, "Alright then, I'll keep your food warm for you. Remember to come back and eat when you're done."
"Mm, okay." Gwen responded.
Seeing that Lucas didn't speak for a long time, she hung up the phone.
Even Spider-Man would get a mouthful of wind when answering the phone while swinging on a web line in mid-air.
After hearing the click of the phone hanging up, Lucas grinned.
He took a step, and golden sparks shimmered. Lucas arrived in front of a private psychological clinic in Manhattan.
Yao's Clinic.
He knocked on the door.
"Come in."
A somewhat hoarse voice sounded from inside.
Lucas raised an eyebrow. The owner of this voice was clearly not the female Ancient One.
He pushed the door open and happened to meet a pair of hollow eyes glowing with silver light.
"Daddy!"
Before Lucas could react, the owner of the eyes pounced on him.
With a 'thump,' it clung to him like an octopus.
No, it wasn't like an octopus, it was an octopus.
"Venom, good evening."
Lucas raised his hand, wanting to pat Venom's head to greet it, but he awkwardly realized there was nowhere to pat.
Venom had completely melted onto Lucas's body, forming a golden, formidable armor. It was in the shape of the armor Lucas had worn once before.
At this moment, this armor was still constantly flowing, as if a clingy child was rubbing against its parents. This display of affection made Lucas a little uncomfortable.
"Venom, don't be like that."
"Don't call me Venom. Grandma gave me a new name."
Grandma?
Lucas's mind moved, guessing that the 'grandma' Venom spoke of was most likely Ancient One.
"Then what's your new name?" Lucas asked.
At the same time, he was also looking around the room.
Where Venom had been was a desk. On the desk chair sat a bionic little person, appearing to be a six or seven-year-old child.
The bionic person was currently in the posture of writing at the desk while turning its head to look towards the door.
Lucas walked closer and saw first-grade homework laid out on the desk. It seemed to be a drawing of family members.
At the edge of the drawing, Venom's class information and name were written.
Lucas softly read out the name.
"Roy?"
"Mm."
Roy got off Lucas and returned to the bionic body. He controlled the body, writing his name stroke by stroke.
"Roy."
Lucas stroked Roy's head and asked, "Roy, have you finished your homework?"
"Just a little bit left."
Roy said, holding the pen and adding notes to the drawing on the desk.
Lucas looked down, smiled and said, "Once you're done with your homework, let's go. Daddy will take you to see Mommy."
There were three people in the family drawing: two adults and one child.
The blonde woman on the left was annotated as 'Grandma,' and the black-haired man on the right was annotated as 'Daddy.'
Leaving Yao's Clinic, Lucas rode his lightcycle through the night sky of New York, and soon spotted Gwen and Erin.
Although Gwen and Erin were swinging in different areas, they were doing the same thing. They both seemed to be searching for something.
Lucas saw from afar and understood what Gwen and Erin were looking for.
He sensed the aura of extra-dimensional creatures on Gwen and Erin.
Especially Erin.
The aura of extra-dimensional creatures on her was strong, indicating she had recently fought fiercely with them.
Not only did Lucas spot Gwen and Erin, but Gwen and Erin also spotted him.
After all, Lucas riding his Lightcycle conspicuously through the New York sky was very noticeable.
However, with Iron Man as an example, the people on the ground couldn't immediately tell if this was a new suit developed by Tony.
Soon, the people on the ground knew the answer.
"Light, heed my call, purify the evil of this world!"
From high in the sky, a magnificent and bright voice descended.
Accompanying the voice were countless stars that suddenly brightened in the night sky.
The people on the ground looked up at the night sky in astonishment.
In a metropolis like New York, starlight is often drowned out by the bright city lights at night. Many people born and raised in New York had never seen such a sky full of twinkling stars in their entire lives.
Now, these stellar lights, which had traveled countless light-years and taken countless years to reach Earth, shone brightly again. They pierced the night sky, bringing a greeting from the Universe.
A greeting from the reality to extra-dimensional beings.
"Ahhhh!!!"
Throughout New York, almost simultaneously, about ten screams rang out.
The owners of the screams wailed, revealing their demonic forms.
Gwen and Erin exchanged glances from afar.
Erin's eyes held shock and inquiry.
Gwen's eyes, however, showed a hint of helplessness.
This drama queen was too reckless.
Just as Lucas could distinguish between Gwen's and Wanda's voices, Gwen could also recognize Lucas's voice.
She gave Erin a reassuring look, then set off, swinging towards the direction of the screams.
High in the sky, Lucas was not idle. He raised his hand, and starlight condensed in it, forming a long spear.
He swung his hand and threw it, the spear piercing through the air and pinning a demon, about to lash out and harm people, to the ground.
Lucas repeated this several times.
He suddenly noticed a gaze fixed on him.
At this moment, many people were looking at him. But the familiar gazes were few and far between.
And this particular gaze was quite familiar to Lucas.
He looked back.
The owner of the gaze was an old gentleman in a classic suit.
The old gentleman noticed Lucas looking at him. He slowly removed his hat and bowed.
"Mephisto, why are you here?"
The old gentleman was a projected clone of Mephisto.
He said fawningly, "Naturally, it is to be at your service, Sorcerer Lucas, at any time."
Lucas frowned. "Speak plainly."
After some communication with Mephisto, Lucas understood the situation.
Ever since their parting two months ago, Mephisto had been living in constant fear. His rationality told him that Lucas would most likely accept his fealty.
At the same time, his nature told him that he was currently in extreme danger, hanging by a thread.
After much thought, Mephisto made a bold decision.
He moved his Hell again, returning it to its original position. By this action, he expressed his sincerity to Lucas.
Although this was just a superficial gesture and made no significant difference in reality.
"Mm, I understand. I'm busy right now. I'll come see you tomorrow and tell you what to do."
Lucas nodded, also expressing his sincerity and giving Mephisto a sense of reassurance.
Having sent Mephisto away, Lucas took a few deep breaths, re-composing himself.
By this time, all the demons in New York had been apprehended.
Gwen's task was complete, it was time for him to attend to his own matters.
Lucas swung onto his Lightcycle and intercepted Gwen midway.
"Ghost-Spider, I've been looking for you for a long time."
A golden stream of light flashed, and Lucas, riding his Lightcycle, drifted in the air, blocking Gwen's path not far ahead.
Gwen, swinging in mid-air, couldn't dodge in time. She raised her leg and delivered a kick.
Bang!
Both man and mount tumbled.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't react in time." Gwen apologized profusely.
However, Lucas saw a hint of mischief in her eyes. She had clearly done it on purpose.
"Gwen, it's not a big deal if you hurt me, but what if you hurt our child?"
"Our child? What do you mean?" Gwen was confused.
She looked Lucas up and down, unable to see any child.
"Here, Roy, say hello to your Mommy." Lucas took out Roy's bionic body.
The next moment, the armor on his body dissolved, flowing towards and covering the bionic body, forming a human skin.
"Daddy, is she Mommy?"
"Symbiote?!" Gwen shuddered.
The scene of Roy possessing the bionic body just now was a bit eerie.
Gwen, during her occasional visits to Spider-Army HQ, had seen Symbiote Spider-Men from various Universes. She had originally thought that Symbiotes with mouths full of fangs were terrifying enough, but she never expected this innocent-looking Symbiote to be even more terrifying.
Roy looked at Lucas and asked, "Daddy, does Mommy not like me?"
Roy's slightly aggrieved tone made Gwen shiver again.
She had never seen a Symbiote with this kind of demeanor.
Gwen looked at Lucas, waiting for his explanation.
Lucas sighed, rubbing his forehead.
He knew he had been too hasty.
"Mommy doesn't dislike Roy, she's just seeing you for the first time and isn't very familiar yet."
Lucas first comforted Roy, then explained Roy's origin to Gwen.
"Here's what happened."