Chapter Summaries

After spending the day with Gwen and Kara, Xi Nian returned home and asked his aunt, Diana, to be his girlfriend for half a day as practice. Diana agreed to a Friday date and offered him ten thousand for it.

• Gwen and Kara exchanged a gift and reaffirmed that they were rivals for Xi Nian’s affection.
• Xi Nian walked home with Gwen and Kara, then recalled how Superwoman Kara and King Shark Nanawe had been mistaken for divine envoys in the Fisherman Kingdom.
• Xi Nian returned home and was welcomed by Diana, who apologized for being too busy with Justice League work to care for him.
• Xi Nian asked Diana to be his girlfriend for half a day as practice, and Diana agreed to meet him after school on Friday.
• Xi Nian asked Diana for spending money for their first date, and she offered him ten thousand.

Xi Nian dressed Diana in matching Mickey and Minnie couple's clothes for their dinner date, but they fled the house when Wanda unexpectedly came home. The pair escaped downstairs, still shaken and wondering why their secret date felt like an affair.

• Xi Nian came home with a matching couple's outfit he had bought for himself and Diana.
• Diana reluctantly changed into the Minnie Mouse shirt and matching pants, and Xi Nian let her hair down.
• Xi Nian and Diana were about to leave when Wanda unlocked the front door and came inside.
• Diana and Xi Nian escaped to a street corner downstairs before Wanda could see them together.
• Wanda noticed the slippers by the door, while Can Luo briefly watched from its jar on the balcony.

Xi Nian and Diana spent the evening on their pretend date in Washington, struggling with the difference between their abilities and experience as they tried typical couple activities. When Diana’s former museum colleague Mr. Upton asked who Xi Nian was, Diana confirmed that Xi Nian was not joking about being her boyfriend.

• Xi Nian and Diana held hands and went to a steakhouse, where Xi Nian struggled to cut Diana’s steak and she finished cutting his for him.
• Xi Nian suggested a trust game crossing the road, then realized Diana’s godlike strength made it impractical.
• Xi Nian paid a street performer to play a Christmas song that recalled the night he and Diana had first met seventeen years earlier.
• Xi Nian bought one vanilla ice cream and asked Diana to taste it first, leaving him pleased that he had surprised her with something new.
• Mr. Upton recognized Diana and asked who Xi Nian was, so Xi Nian introduced himself as Diana’s boyfriend and Diana confirmed he was serious.

Xi Nian and Diana buried messages beneath an old tree and promised to return together in a hundred years, before sharing a kiss on their walk home. When a familiar woman cried for help from the woods, Diana rushed toward the sound.

• Xi Nian brought Diana to an old tree and suggested they bury notes there to read together in the future.
• Xi Nian and Diana placed their notes in a bottle, buried it, and promised to return in a hundred years.
• Xi Nian resolved to find a way to extend his life, while Diana privately decided she could not bear to lose him.
• Xi Nian praised the moonlight, and Diana kissed the corner of his mouth before they continued toward the park exit.
• A woman cried for help from the woods, and Diana raced toward the sound.

Xi Nian and Diana rescued Felicia Hardy from Trent’s assault in the park woods and took her home. Felicia refused to involve the police because of Trent’s powerful family, but Xi Nian secretly marked him with a Can Luo split body, and Diana vowed to keep him from attending school again.

• Trent dragged the drunken Felicia Hardy back into his Jeep and began assaulting her until Diana pulled him out and threw him against a tree.
• Xi Nian recognized Felicia as his assistant instructor, covered her with her clothes, and comforted her as she cried in his arms.
• Diana knocked Trent unconscious and stood on his handgun while Xi Nian urged Felicia to call the police.
• Felicia refused to report Trent, explaining that he was a college friend, and Xi Nian and Diana escorted her home.
• Diana explained that Trent’s family background made the police ineffective, while Xi Nian revealed through his thoughts that he had left a jellyfish clone on Trent.
• Diana learned Felicia taught at State University and said she would ensure Trent could never attend school again.

Xi Nian and Diana returned to their usual relationship after sharing a secret kiss, while Felicia began transforming into a black cat. Xi Nian then met Kara and was brought to Superman's home, where he faced Clark for a second time.

• Diana planned to ruin the white youth's future, while Xi Nian prepared to use Can Luo's jellyfish clone to take away his crime tools.
• A figure in a Spider Suit watched Xi Nian and Diana, and Felicia's body began changing as black cat ears, claws, and a tail appeared.
• Xi Nian and Diana kissed at their front door, while Wanda's wandering soul witnessed them and grew flustered.
• The next morning, Xi Nian and Diana resumed their usual roles, and Wanda sulked at Xi Nian during breakfast.
• Xi Nian met Kara on the rooftop, and she flew him to a farm outside Metropolis to meet Clark, also known as Superman.

Xi Nian shared a family lunch with Kara, Superman Carl, Lois, and Martha, then went with Kara to the fields. As they watched the sunset, Kara showed off her Kryptonian powers, and Xi Nian saw her as Superwoman at her most beautiful.

• Carl recognized Xi Nian as the young man who had fought him and asked whether Xi Nian could use that power again; Xi Nian said he probably could.
• Carl hinted that Kara had liked Xi Nian for months and said they might become family, but Kara interrupted him by announcing that lunch was ready.
• Martha and Lois welcomed Xi Nian during lunch, and Carl joked that he wanted Xi Nian and Kara to be his best man and maid of honor at his wedding to Lois.
• Martha asked Kara to take Xi Nian out, and the two walked through the fields to a grassy slope overlooking a lake.
• Kara froze the lake with her breath, and Xi Nian admired her as she stood beneath a rainbow in her Superwoman Suit.

Kara’s growing affection for Xi Nian led to a kiss that triggered his second transformation into Superman Mode, leaving him unable to control his Kryptonian power. The chapter ended with Xi Nian and Kara crashing into a lake as Lois and Carl felt the resulting tremors from a cabin nearby.

• Kara straddled Xi Nian and kissed him after he tried to return her black Superman Suit.
• Xi Nian’s Lord of Kin ability activated during the kiss, awakening his Kryptonian powers and sending him into an uncontrolled Superman Mode.
• Kara tried to contain Xi Nian’s rampaging power with her Superman Field, but his matching field broke through it.
• Xi Nian carried Kara into a nearby lake, shattering its ice and sending water surging into the air as the shore shook.
• Lois noticed the water in her cup rippling, and Carl guessed what was happening before telling her not to worry about the details.

After their night together, Xi Nian discovered that he had permanently gained a weakness-free Steel Body from Kara, even though his other temporary Superman abilities had expired. He realized Lord of Kin could permanently acquire parts of supernatural women’s abilities, and began wondering what conditions might allow him to gain more.

• Xi Nian and Kara crashed through a mountain, flew into space, then plunged back to Earth and landed on a snowy peak.
• After waking near noon, Xi Nian realized his Kryptonian Power had expired, but his body remained unusually muscular and strong.
• Xi Nian tested his durability by slapping himself and asking Kara to punch him; even her powerful blow left him unharmed.
• Xi Nian recognized that he had permanently gained Steel Body, optimized by an inherent Biokinetic Field and unaffected by Kryptonite or a red sun.
• Xi Nian concluded that Lord of Kin could permanently grant him some of a supernatural woman’s abilities and asked Kara whether she felt changed.

Xi Nian learned that another symbiote might be hiding in New York and sent Can Luo’s jellyfish to investigate S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Can Luo also showed him footage of a masked Black Cat Woman killing a man and destroying a jellyfish clone, leaving Xi Nian suspecting he recognized her.

• Xi Nian returned home after taking Kara to her parents’ house, then learned from Venom that it had sensed another symbiote somewhere in New York.
• Venom and Xi Nian considered whether Riot had produced an offspring before dying, potentially leaving a stronger or flame-resistant symbiote behind.
• Can Luo reported that it had found S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in Manhattan, and Xi Nian ordered it to surround the facility, infiltrate it, and search for a silver-haired boy.
• Can Luo told Xi Nian that the man he had been monitoring had died the previous night and transmitted a recording of the murder.
• In the recording, a masked Black Cat Woman slit the man’s throat, stole cash and gold, and crushed Can Luo’s jellyfish clone; Xi Nian thought her figure resembled someone he remembered.

Xi Nian dressed for Gwen’s coming-of-age banquet and stopped at a jewelry store to buy her a gift, where he and Officer George helped end an armed robbery. Officer George drove Xi Nian to the banquet, warning him to stay safe for Gwen.

• Xi Nian put on a suit and bought a piece of jewelry for Gwen at a Washington store.
• Three armed robbers took the customers and clerks hostage, and Officer George arrived with the police.
• Xi Nian used his Steel Body and Can Luo’s warnings to attack the robbers while keeping the hostages safe.
• Officer George shot the remaining armed robbers, and Xi Nian retrieved his gift from the scattered jewelry.
• Officer George drove Xi Nian toward Gwen’s coming-of-age banquet and told him to protect himself for Gwen.

Xi Nian arrived at Gwen’s birthday dinner with Officer George and discovered that Gwen was acting coldly toward him. Gwen took his gift into her room, where she angrily threw it aside but used her webbing to catch it before it hit the floor.

• Officer George drove Xi Nian to Gwen’s apartment after Xi Nian defeated three robbers.
• Xi Nian arrived and found Aunt May and Peter Parker visiting Gwen’s family.
• Xi Nian gave Gwen a coming-of-age gift, and Gwen criticized its dusty wrapping before accepting it again.
• Mary introduced Aunt May and Peter Parker to Xi Nian as Gwen’s aunt and cousin.
• Gwen retreated to her room and threw the gift, then caught it with her webbing and clutched it to her chest.

At Gwen’s birthday dinner, Gwen confronted Xi Nian about his relationships with Kara and his aunt, confessed how deeply she loved him, and asked him to leave. Xi Nian returned by climbing to her window and, after Gwen pulled him inside, told her he had come to treat her like trash.

• At Gwen’s birthday dinner, Gwen withdrew to her room, and her family blamed Xi Nian for upsetting her.
• Xi Nian entered Gwen’s room and apologized, but Gwen explained that she had seen him with Kara and still sensed Kara’s scent on him.
• Gwen cried, asked whether she was not womanly or attractive enough, and told Xi Nian she wished they had never become childhood friends.
• After Officer George called time, Xi Nian left, while Gwen put away their photo album and clutched a gift box beneath her covers.
• Xi Nian decided to return and climbed to Gwen’s window; Gwen used her webbing to pull him inside, and he hugged her and said he had come to treat her like trash.

Xi Nian and Gwen were transported from Washington to a parallel world where Spider-Man was the only superhero. After confirming they had crossed over, Xi Nian decided they should find this world's Spider-Man, believing their arrival was connected to him.

• Xi Nian confessed that Gwen had always attracted him, and Gwen asked him to kiss her; they kissed while Officer George spoke to Gwen outside her bedroom door.
• A strange energy erupted around Gwen, and she and Xi Nian sank through the floor as the lights across Washington went out; Ancient One arrived moments later and found the room empty.
• Xi Nian and Gwen emerged thousands of meters above New York City and used their webs to swing safely onto a rooftop.
• They watched a news report about a Spider-Man who had been active for ten years, then confirmed through research that they were in a parallel world with Spider-Man as its only superhero.
• Xi Nian told Gwen they should find Spider-Man because their arrival in this world was likely connected to him.

Xi Nian and Gwen staged a jewelry-store robbery to draw out New York’s Spider-Man, then ambushed and captured him. Spider-Man was left web-bound in an alley as he demanded to know who his two opponents were.

• Xi Nian pretended to rob a jewelry store, demonstrating his strength by cracking the floor and lifting a police car while evading gunfire.
• The police summoned Spider-Man, and Xi Nian fled through the store’s back door as Spider-Man arrived and pursued him.
• Xi Nian lured Spider-Man into a dead-end alley, where Spider-Man sensed that Xi Nian and Gwen shared his Spider Physique.
• Gwen sealed the alley with webs and helped Xi Nian overpower Spider-Man, whose attacks could not break through Xi Nian’s Steel Body.
• Xi Nian and Gwen bound Spider-Man in webbing, and he asked them who they were.

Xi Nian and Gwen learned that Peter Parker had not caused their arrival in the parallel universe and decided to wait for the future event tied to him. After Peter welcomed them into his home and showed Xi Nian his Spider Suits, he identified Kingpin as a likely suspect and planned an investigation with them.

• Xi Nian and Gwen questioned Spider-Man, who revealed that he was Peter Parker and had spent the morning at home, so they concluded the dimensional incident had not happened yet.
• Xi Nian and Gwen explained that they came from another parallel universe, and Peter agreed to help them return by carrying on with his usual life.
• Peter took Xi Nian and Gwen to his home, where they met Mary Jane and Aunt May and joined the family for dinner.
• Peter showed Xi Nian his collection of twelve Spider Suits and offered to provide suits for Xi Nian and Gwen.
• Peter showed Xi Nian photographs of Kingpin and suspected that the crime boss was behind the future dimensional chaos, so they agreed to investigate together the next day.

Xi Nian and Gwen settled into a hotel suite after Spider-Man arranged their lodging and prepared for a battle the next day. As they shared a room for the night, Gwen recalled their childhood games and invited Xi Nian to play one again, leaving him stunned by her familiar outfit.

• Spider-Man gave Xi Nian a communicator and arranged a hotel room for him and Gwen before returning to prepare for the coming battle.
• Xi Nian praised Peter Parker's combat suits, and Gwen said she had bought Xi Nian casual clothes and chosen a Spider Suit for herself.
• Gwen discovered that the suite had only one bedroom, and Xi Nian said he would sleep on the sofa.
• After showering, Xi Nian joined Gwen in the bedroom, and they lay apart in awkward silence before he wrapped an arm around her.
• Gwen sat up, reminisced about their childhood games, and asked Xi Nian to play another game with her.
• Gwen pulled down her blanket to reveal her familiar white shirt, black skirt, and mismatched thigh-high stockings, leaving Xi Nian staring.

Xi Nian and Gwen spent the night together, and Gwen's renewed Super Spider Genes awakened a powerful new ability in him. By the end of the chapter, Xi Nian had gained a stable, perfect Spider-Sense as his second permanent ability.

• Xi Nian praised Gwen and touched her feet as they played a game that grew increasingly intimate.
• Gwen told Xi Nian to go ahead and called it the compensation she wanted, and they spent the night together.
• The next morning, Xi Nian and Gwen continued their intense encounter inside a web nest woven above the bed.
• After noon, Xi Nian sensed tiny movements and sounds throughout the suite and realized his Spider-Sense had become far sharper than before.
• Xi Nian recognized his stable, perfect Spider-Sense as his second permanent ability, after Steel Body.

After gaining Spider-Sense, Xi Nian discovered that Gwen’s webbing had become vastly stronger and could turn sharp, suggesting that his permanent ability upgrades also perfected the abilities of those close to him. When Peter Parker contacted them, Gwen and Xi Nian decided to return to their original world together.

• Xi Nian gained Spider-Sense, which gave him detailed awareness nearby and warnings of distant danger.
• Gwen noticed her webbing had become nearly unbreakable and could turn thin and sharp, while Xi Nian realized her abilities had been optimized.
• Gwen told Xi Nian she had wished to stay with him in the parallel universe, then recognized that her family would worry about her.
• Xi Nian wished Gwen a happy birthday, and Peter Parker’s communicator rang.
• Gwen and Xi Nian clasped hands and agreed to return to their original world together.

Xi Nian, Gwen, and Spider-Man prepared to stop Kingpin from using an energy collision device to reach parallel universes. At the Brooklyn station, Spider-Man drew the villains’ attention while Xi Nian sabotaged the mainframe, leaving Kingpin’s machine disabled.

• Spider-Man explained Kingpin’s plan and showed Xi Nian and Gwen the villains and a virus USB drive meant to destroy the secret base’s equipment.
• Xi Nian proposed a battle plan centered on Spider-Man, and the team set out after nightfall in modified Spider Suits.
• Miles Morales arrived at the abandoned subway station, found the dead spider that had bitten him, and witnessed Spider-Man fighting Green Goblin and Prowler.
• Kingpin ordered the energy collision device activated while Spider-Man struggled against Green Goblin and Prowler.
• Xi Nian plugged the USB drive into the central mainframe, stopping the device from activating, and Spider-Man revealed that he had been acting as bait.