Marvel: The Psychologist Who Stole Wanda and Gwen's Hearts!

As Natasha shared the news Lorien already knew, he nodded as if just learning it.

"Alright, got it. Anyway, Wanda and Gwen are on this cruise, so relax."

Hearing both Wanda and Gwen were here, Natasha finally eased up. She trusted the strength of Spider-Woman and Scarlet Witch, and with an Asgardian god on board, there was no way that so-called Vulture would get to run wild.

By then, little Hela, bored out of her mind, had run off to play nearby. Watching her go, Natasha walked over to Lorien with a glass of red wine, their shoulders brushing lightly. She glanced at him and said, "Remember what we talked about that day?"

"What did we say? Let me think..."

Lorien thought for a moment—oh, right. That day, he had said that if they had the time outside, he’d make sure she had a good time. He got it now, but he tilted his head toward the people nearby.

"Here? I’m fine with it. Can you handle that?"

Not that he could’ve done it before, but he knew he was just talking big. I mean, in this kind of environment? What, were they supposed to do it in the water? So, whatever—might as well play along.

Natasha swirled her wine, gave the surroundings a deliberate look, then said seriously, "That might be tricky."

Exactly—tricky was right. Even if he used magic to block everyone out, he’d feel awkward. Way too damn pervy.

Then Natasha tilted her chin toward a private yacht moored by the shore. "That, we can try later."

"..."

Lorien looked at the yacht. Private. Meaning he could just buy one, take Natasha out to some empty stretch of sea and... well, cough cough cough. Plenty of rich Americans did exactly that—buy a big yacht, invite a bunch of girls, sail out, and throw a wild party. Everyone knew it.

But if he bought one? Natasha would be secondary. The main draw would be Wanda and Gwen... cough cough...

For a moment, his mind was full of thoughts. Truly sinful.

Natasha, seeing him deep in thought, smiled and leaned close to his ear. "Buy one. I’ll christen it for you—just for you~"

Hiss... now that was tempting.

Lorien stroked his chin and nodded. "I’ll think about it."

Natasha took a sip of wine. If he was considering it, that meant there was a chance. As long as it wasn’t a no, that was good enough.

...

Elsewhere, Gwen and Wanda strolled through the ship, hand in hand. Gwen looked around at the crowd.

"With so many people, how are we supposed to know who their boss is?"

Wanda tapped her finger on Gwen’s head. "Don’t resist."

Of course, Gwen trusted her. After all, the two of them would be... close, sooner or later.

In the next moment, an image formed in Gwen’s mind—pulled straight from someone else’s thoughts by Wanda.

The man in the image was the leader of their group: Vulture. A scientist with more than a few screws loose.

"Alright, I got him."

Gwen shut her eyes, opened them again, and flashed an OK sign. The two began their search.

The cruise ship was big, with two to three hundred guests on board tonight, spread across three or four decks. It would take some time to find him.

But just as they reached the stern of the ship.

"Clang!"

A metallic crash rang out from above the cruise ship.

A man in metal wings, gun in hand, dropped onto the large aft deck.

"My name is Vulture!"

His opening line made Wanda and Gwen’s expressions tighten instantly.

This was painfully awkward.

They tried imagining themselves saying that—and it was so cringe their toes curled.

Swish!

In a flash, Gwen’s Symbiote suit snapped into place. She was a hair’s breadth away from drawing the Black Necrosword and skewering Vulture on the spot. That was how much secondhand embarrassment she felt.

Wanda, on the other hand, didn’t even hesitate. Her hand lifted into the air, fingers spread, and—

"Gak!"

Vulture was yanked up into the air by her telekinesis.

Dozens of meters separated them, but for Wanda, that was nothing.

The crowd, seeing the villain drop in and immediately get restrained, froze for a moment—then turned and realized who it was.

"It’s Scarlet Witch! And Spider-Woman!"

"They’re working together again! They’re not fighting!"

"Yes! Awesome! My goddess!"

Cheers erupted from all sides.

Vulture, still suspended in midair, grew even more furious—rage boiling over.

"Damn it! Those cheers should be for me! They should be cheering for me!"

"You stole my fame! You should all die!"

"You really should die!"

In his fury, he crushed the weapon in his hand.

A split second later, a laser burst from his palm.

The moment Wanda saw the flash, she was ready. She swept her other hand forward, and the beam slammed into a conjured shield, ricocheting wildly inside it.

The energy output was no joke.

"Get to the edges!" she called.

The crowd scattered toward the railings without hesitation.

Once Wanda saw they were clear, she angled the shield and cracked it open halfway.

Pssh!

The laser shot through the gap, redirecting sharply. Even with Wanda’s precise control, the blast still sheared off a corner of the cruise ship roughly the size of a person.

Her eyes immediately flicked to Gwen—who was already moving.

Two sharp snaps of webbing, and the falling section was caught midair. Two more, and it was anchored to the railing. For now, it wasn’t going anywhere.

By then, Lorien and Natasha had arrived.

Spotting Lorien, Wanda twisted her grip, flipping Vulture upside down. The villain dangled, staring at the deck as it swayed below him.

"What are you doing?!"

"I’m asking what you—"

Boom!

Wanda slammed him into the ground. His voice cut off instantly.

Everyone watching flinched as if they’d just been hit themselves.

She dragged him to Natasha’s feet and shoved.

Thud.

Vulture collapsed onto the deck, twitching.

Natasha smirked, pulled out a pair of handcuffs, and snapped them on him.

"You brought handcuffs? How did I not see those?" Lorien asked curiously.

Natasha turned slightly, lifting her skirt just enough for only him to see.

Strapped to her thighs—alongside the cuffs—were throwing knives, a stun gun, an alloy wire saw... and a whole arsenal of spy gear.

"Impressive." Lorien gave her a thumbs-up.

Natasha straightened, flipped open her ID, and addressed the crowd—making it clear the area was now under control and instructing everyone to return to their seats until the ship docked. After a brief round of questioning by agents, they’d be free to go home.

Relieved, the passengers settled back into their seats.

Vulture was cuffed to the railing.

With everyone secure, Natasha knew she had work ahead. She gave Lorien a quick wink.

"You just earned me a bonus. I’ll buy you a drink sometime. Gotta go."

"Alright." Lorien nodded. "I’ll be waiting."

After she left, Gwen, Wanda, and Hela hurried over.

"Natasha was here too?" they said after glancing in her direction.

"Yes," Lorien replied with another nod. "Hela and I ran into her at the bow. The Avengers were already onto Vulture."

Which made sense. They were the Avengers, after all.

SHIELD might only exist in name now, but its agents hadn’t been disbanded—just shifted underground—still holding a wealth of intel.

At that moment, Hela leaned close to Lorien and whispered...

"Let’s go home."

"Home?" The word caught Gwen off guard.

She quickly pulled out her phone to check the time.

"Oh no~!"

It was already 10 p.m.

Even though she didn’t have a curfew anymore, if she went home too late, she’d definitely be asked where she’d been and what she’d been doing.

And what would she say? She wasn’t one to lie.

It was really just this busy stretch of time. Once things calmed down in New York and there weren’t so many cases, it wouldn’t be a problem.

"I’ve gotta get back!"

But when Gwen turned and looked around, everyone was still out at sea. Was Spider supposed to swim home?

Lorien smiled.

"I’ll teleport you back."

"Perfect~!"

He made a snapping gesture with his fingers.

"If your parents ask, just tell them you were with me."

"Got it~"

Snap!

With that, Gwen’s figure blurred and vanished without a sound, unnoticed by anyone.

Wanda, however, spoke with a touch of regret.

"I wanted to send her home myself."

"Your portals are way too obvious at night," Lorien said with a helpless shrug. "Fine if no one’s around."

Wanda nodded. "True."

Seeing everything was handled and the time already at 10 p.m., Lorien waved his hand.

"Let’s head home too."

"Home!" Hela raised one arm high, hiding the other behind her back.

Snap~

In an instant, the three disappeared.

When they arrived back at their home in the northern tower, Hela pulled out what she’d been hiding, grinning from ear to ear.

"Another laser weapon! I’m testing it out at sea next time!"

Lorien glanced over.

"This is from Vulture, isn’t it?"

"Yep." Hela’s satisfied smile said it all.

That had been the point—having some fun.

They stepped inside.

Hela, having skipped gaming all night, rushed off to play.

Meanwhile, Wanda and Lorien poured themselves drinks and went out to the balcony.

Wanda held her glass, gazing out over New York’s night skyline, and let out a long breath.

"I’ve missed this... this is what home feels like."

Lorien wrapped his arms around her from behind.

"We’ve got plenty of time ahead."

Wanda leaned back into him, brushing against his ear.

"Yeah... but I still want to treasure every single moment."

"That’s right, Miss Witch."

Lorien breathed in her scent, wine in one hand, the other starting to wander.

Wanda didn’t stop him. If anything, she pressed in closer.

Not long after, she took a deep breath and whispered into his ear,

"I’m going to rub against you until we’re both worn down to the bone. Don’t forget our little challenge from this afternoon."

Lorien’s grin turned sharp.

"Alright. Remember—loser’s a puppy."

"Just wait and see."

...

Late that night, Hela was still in the living room, glued to her game.

She had no intention of sleeping—after all, it was Wanda’s first night back. Going in there now would be suicide tomorrow.

So she decided to pull an all-nighter and wait for her chance later.

What’s that called? That’s called timing.

What she didn’t know was...

While she stayed up gaming, in the master bedroom—soundproofed by Lorien’s magic—someone was "woofing" all night long.

As for Wanda... well, what’s wrong with a little "woof"?

...

The next morning, as sunlight filtered faintly through the blackout curtains, Lorien woke.

He slipped out from under a pair of legs and an arm, then headed for a hot shower.

Water streamed down from his hair.

As for last night’s "battle"? Do you even have to ask?

Someone had "woofed" the whole night. He wouldn’t say who—but of the two people involved, one wasn’t him.

So who do you think it was?

And that person was still asleep, dried tear tracks at the corner of her eyes—whether from joy or pain, only she knew.

Thinking back, Lorien shook his head.

"Too weak."

No names mentioned, but everyone knew who that was aimed at.

Szzz~

Just then, the door beside him opened, and a shadow swathed in darkness flew in.

She knelt to the floor and started busying herself with breakfast.

Lorien smirked.

"Morning workout, huh?"

...

9:00 a.m.

Lorien appeared in his office right on time.

He crossed his legs on the desk, hands behind his head in the reclining chair.

"Ahh..." He let out a long sigh.

"Another day of sin."

Reaching for a bottle of iced milk tea—

Sluurp~—a few sips later, he stared at the ceiling, pondering life.

Is this happiness?

Hell yes, it is.

Alright, no more thinking. Happiness was enough.

With nothing else to do, he lazed away the morning as usual until lunch.

Then he pulled up the news.

[Scarlet Witch and Spider-Woman team up again! No conflict between them! Another crisis resolved together!]

[Think the Goddess Alliance only did one thing? No! There was also the air raid shelter crisis—don’t think we won’t tell you!]

[The man beside the goddess appears again! Same face, 40% appearance rate! Who is he!?]

Lorien chuckled as he scrolled.

He had to admit—these headlines knew how to sell a story. Some even had clever angles, like calculating the percentage of times he appeared with Wanda or Gwen.

Impressive. Really.

At this rate, if he appeared with both of them even ten more times, everyone would be convinced they were involved.

Well... they weren’t wrong.

Clack~

Wanda, finally awake and dressed, wandered downstairs, still groggy.

She dropped straight into Lorien’s arms, catching sight of the headlines.

After reading through a few, she thought for a moment.

"Lorien, after a few more of these, I want to tell the press I have a partner. Do you think I should?"

She meant announcing she was taken—without naming him.

Of course, the world wouldn’t be fooled.

He was the one who appeared with both women more than anyone else. Only him.

Even if they didn’t name him, people could still dig up his face—and being as handsome as he was didn’t help.

Still, Lorien asked curiously,

"You could... but why?"

Wanda didn’t hesitate.

"People’s expectations for me online are too high. There’s all sorts of gossip, and I don’t want it to affect you. Better to keep it quiet."