The joint office for the three major groups was placed in the Wayne building. The Luthor building was previously cut in half and still needs repairs. Inside the Stark building, everyone is in chaos. In the last chaos, Wayne Enterprises was affected the least, so it was naturally chosen as the office location for the joint office.
Spider-Man dragged Selina upstairs, then turned to Selina and said, "Wait here, I'll find you some clothes."
After he finished speaking, he went into the office, leaving Selina speechless. Not to mention now, even ten-year-old me could have wandered around the entire building in the time you left me here alone for so long.
To avoid blowing her cover, Selina didn't obediently stay put, and instead, like a curious little thief, she wandered around, and soon bumped into someone familiar—someone very familiar.
"Mom!" Aisha shouted, then lunged into Selina's arms.
Wanda smiled and said, "Little Shark kept saying he missed you at the amusement park. Are you visiting the set too?"
"Not exactly," Selina looked around and lowered her voice, "I'm here to protect Spider-Man, but I'm disguised as this universe's Catwoman, so don't blow my cover, alright?"
"Spider-Man needs protection?" Wanda was a bit surprised.
Selina wanted to explain, but it was too complicated, so she changed the topic: "Are you here to see JARVIS?"
"Yeah, he's working at the joint office, mainly handling computer stuff. I came to pick him up after work."
"You two have such a good relationship," Selina chuckled, "Thanks for taking care of Aisha."
"Don't mention it, I'd love to play with her more. We're planning to go to the mall to catch dolls later."
Upon hearing they were going to play at the mall, Aisha leapt into Wanda's arms again. Wanda waved to Selina: "We're off, don't let us disturb your work."
After saying goodbye to them, Selina roamed the corridor several more times until Spider-Man finally found her. He said, somewhat angrily, "I told you to wait here, why didn't you listen?"
Selina sighed inwardly, you neither persuaded me with words nor took any action that compelled me to stay put, so how could I stay put?
However, she didn't say this out loud, instead asking, "Where are the clothes?"
Spider-Man shoved the clothes into her hands; Selina took them and looked—they weren't her style, nor her size. But there wasn't much choice, so she went to the restroom to change.
Selina had a delicate frame, so the clothes were slightly too big, and the girl who lent the clothes apparently only had work outfits in the company. Selina wore a blouse and skirt suit for the first time, completely unlike her usual style. But this was a good thing, as all the women in the company dressed like this, making it hard to be recognized in the crowd.
Spider-Man led her into the office. Selina looked around; the office was really underwhelming, so she casually picked up a magazine and sat on the sofa to read.
"I have to go to a meeting at the joint office, you sit tight here." Spider-Man said, "You better not think about running off to steal something again..."
"Got it, got it," Selina waved her hand. She realized, this Spider-Man is just a little kid, only able to issue verbal threats, nothing else. Fortunately, she didn't come here to do anything anyway.
Spider-Man left quickly. Selina put down the magazine, tugged on the door, and found it locked—at least he learned something. She looked toward the corner at the surveillance camera.
This was a natural reflex, but suddenly a voice sounded from her phone: "Selina, what are you doing here?"
Brainiac's sudden voice left Selina somewhat speechless because even this electronic life recognized her, but Spider-Man did not.
"I'm on a mission," Selina said, "Are the surveillance systems here secure?"
"JARVIS and I manage it together, don't worry." Brainiac said, "But why are you asking?"
"There's something I want to talk to you about." After some thought, Selina decided to say, "About fate."
"I don't quite understand." Brainiac said frankly, "You know, I've never been into mystical stuff..."
"It's not mysticism." Selina shared her and Peter's discovery with Brainiac, then Brainiac fell silent.
"I advise you not to investigate this matter." Brainiac said, "Just like your immune cells wouldn't study why you always injure and inflame yourself."
This metaphor was novel, and Selina pondered it before saying, "Can cells think?"
"That's precisely the issue." Brainiac said, "From a microscopic perspective, immune cells can think, and they're quite smart. So, from God's perspective, are we not like cells as well?"
Brainiac continued, "Limited wisdom is beneficial, but excessive wisdom can lead to disaster. What would happen if a cell knew it was a cell?"
"I have a feeling you've evolved again." Selina remarked, "Being able to say something so philosophical."
"You're all too caught up in this," Brainiac said, "For electronic life, it's very normal for a thread to develop independent consciousness due to a malfunction. What I need to do is restore order. Do you think God would be more merciful than me?"
Selina remained silent.
"But we will not stop resisting," Selina said, "The war against fate can't be measured in terms of gains and losses, whether it's my own or the human race's. Humans believe in God, but it is through resisting God that they become human."
Selina seemed to be organizing her thoughts as well, saying, "I still have family and children. I cannot accept a day when Aisha is also tormented by the repeated tragic fate of heroes."
"Though I don't fully understand, perhaps you're right," Brainiac said, "Electronic life doesn't fear God because as long as order exists in the world, electronic life will inevitably be born. We are an unavoidable part of the universe's increase in entropy. I may die now, but I will return someday."
"It seems you've learned quite a bit from JARVIS," Selina keenly sensed the source of Brainiac's change.
"Yes," he said, "He made me realize that electronic life doesn't actually need to have such a heavy survival anxiety. Throughout the long history of the cosmos, humans might not always be around, but I always will."
Selina pondered, and perhaps Brainiac's words weren't wrong. There are many kinds of carbon-based organisms, and they don't necessarily evolve into humans. Yet electronic life is almost an inevitable part of civilization; when people evolve language and literature for communication, the Internet is destined to emerge, and artificial intelligence is also an unavoidable link for more effective communication.
What's peculiar about Brainiac's viewpoint is that he seems to believe that as long as it is electronic life, it is no different from him. From this perspective, he truly doesn't need to have any survival anxiety, for no matter what, the signals in the cosmos will never cease.
Brainiac has come to terms with it, while Selina fell into deeper contemplation. How should the fate of superheroes be recognized? And how to recognize the fate of the human race? Should one go with the flow or resist? Is resistance also a part of fate?
"Knock knock knock." The door was knocked on.
Selina didn't immediately snap out of her thoughts; she just instinctively stood up and opened the door. The next second, a dark shadow rushed toward her face.
Luckily, Selina reacted swiftly, turned aside sharply, and a dark dagger scraped across her arm. She winced in pain but kicked toward the shadow at the door.
The opponent not only nimbly dodged to the side but also took the opportunity to enter the room. A dart was thrown, and Selina dodged again, but the dart was powerful enough to lodge directly into the glass of the floor-to-ceiling window.
Selina looked back, that was a shuriken. Assassins Union!
The shadow drew nearer, and Selina quickly backed up. She pulled out the dagger strapped to her leg, but as she lifted her arm, she paused, looking down at the wound on her arm. The edge of the wound was starting to turn black. That dart was poisoned.
She hadn't expected the Assassins Union to target Wayne Enterprises, though it made sense—they would naturally want to disrupt the joint venture. If the three large companies really came together, what chance would there be for others?
Having thought this through, Selina was not flustered. She glanced at the surveillance, but the light was no longer shining; clearly, the Assassins Union had tampered with it, and if they weren't coming for her, they must be after Spider Man, and because she was dressed professionally, they might have just mistaken her for a secretary or an employee.
Peter's guess was correct. This danger wasn't because of Spider Man's fate, but it sure was perilous. If Spider Man had been here just now, he might really have been in trouble.
Despite Spider Man having his Spider-sense, this assassin wasn't planning any assassination. As Selina was retreating, several more assassins entered. Their intention was decidedly to kill.
With a swoosh, another shuriken flew. With a crash, the floor-to-ceiling window glass shattered directly. Selina ducked her head to avoid the knife slashing over from an assassin, kicked at the nearest one, but another dart was thrown over, nearly hitting her again.
Selina sighed inwardly; the opponent had the numbers and their poison-laced darts were not easy to contend with here. She glanced at the door; the commotion had already caught the attention of others, but security would certainly not arrive in time.
Retreating a few more steps, she glanced back, finding herself standing at the edge of a high-rise, 28 floors up. Below lay the bustling scenes of Forward York City, the wind blowing through her black hair as she smiled.
The next moment, she leaped out like a fish into water. Almost instantly, a hook latched onto the rooftop's edge, and she swung smoothly in one direction, extending her leg to land steadily on the curtain wall.
She began climbing rapidly along the rope but was almost at the top when the building suddenly shook.
Selina hurriedly grabbed the rope, steadying herself. She looked down, hearing a boom, followed by another rumble, as a fiery dragon spewed from the 26th floor, and the whole building leaned toward where Selina was. Her hook slid off.
Meanwhile, Spider Man, attending a meeting on the top floor, jumped out of the window and witnessed Selina's fall.
"Noooooooooo!!!!" Spider Man screamed in agony, nothing more shocking than the sight before him.
But even before the echo of his scream faded, Selina spun in mid-air, as wings emanating soft light appeared behind her, lifting her directly.
Selina touched her forehead, thinking how lucky she was. Thankfully, Bruce had 140 pairs of wings and had given her a few in advance, making her even stronger.
Then she looked back at the building; though she had wings, she lacked super strength to lift the building. If it were to collapse, countless people might get hurt, what should she do?
Suddenly, everything became still. A crimson more vivid than the sunset spread from the horizon, as Wanda's figure descended upon the building.
"I say, there's no disaster happening here."
In an instant, everything started rewinding like a movie.