Gwen and Cindy were not only notified by Peter at the same time, but they also arrived at the Baxter Building almost simultaneously. The reason for not choosing the Parker residence was twofold: on one hand, Peter couldn't be certain that the Parker home wasn't under surveillance in this reality where SHIELD was untrustworthy; on the other hand, the Baxter Building itself was sufficiently secure.
At the very least, it was safe from eavesdropping—something Peter could personally guarantee.
"Let me guess, he's definitely planning to tell us not to follow him on this mission."
The moment Gwen saw Cindy, she pretty much understood what Peter was going to say. "What do you think?"
"I know where he's going. I plan to follow him."
"Exactly. Besides, if I follow him, no one will know. That's the plan."
Gwen laughed. Both of them were thinking exactly the same thing. They were certain Peter wouldn't let them participate in a dangerous operation and would try to make them stay behind, but neither Gwen nor Cindy intended to agree to that.
Therefore, they had to find a way to trick him and then secretly trail behind him.
At this very moment, Peter Parker was watching the two of them plot their schemes through the surveillance feed. Beside him, Franklin, who was playing on a computer, asked without even looking up, "Sometimes I fail to understand why humans exhibit intelligence far beyond their normal levels when it comes to their romantic lives."
"I can guarantee Reed isn't like that."
Franklin laughed with considerable pride.
"True. My father never wastes any extra thinking capacity in his daily life with my mother. Perhaps it is only in such a state that the world's greatest father can be born."
"Because they raised the world's most outstanding person?"
"Yes."
Shrugging helplessly, Peter let Franklin take his laptop and leave. The boy was still busy with the task of locating Reed. Kang would probably never imagine in his wildest dreams that the person responsible for this work was a three-year-old child.
As for Peter, he did some light tidying up in his laboratory at the Baxter Building—though he rarely ever used it.
Speaking of which, the portal that originally led to the Wasteland Universe had also failed. Kang didn't seem to know of the portal's existence; he had simply used the power of the Cosmic Cube to directly seal off most methods of traversing the multiverse.
So, this thing was a real headache.
As Peter thought this over, he waited for the two girls to come up. After the automatic doors slid open, he flashed a smile, then awkwardly scratched his head. Taking a deep breath, he looked at them.
"I asked you to come here because it's not safe outside. What I'm about to say is very important, and it cannot be leaked."
As Peter spoke, he operated the computer, immediately raising the laboratory's security protocols to the maximum. This shift in atmosphere was beyond what Gwen and Cindy had expected. They had originally thought Peter didn't intend for them to act, but it seemed that wasn't the case now.
"We have formulated a plan to deal with Kang. First, we can be certain that the other Warlords will undoubtedly choose to make their move. They will act ahead of us, so what we need to do is wait for their performance to end. Then, we have divided our plan into three parts."
Part One: The X-Men in Ancient Egypt will work with Apocalypse—who is currently still a Pharaoh's slave—to overthrow Kang's rule in Ancient Egypt. The most important aspect is to liberate Apocalypse as a powerful combat force. The Apocalypse of Earth-811 has already proven his strength; he is one of the rare combatants who can pose a threat to a Kang wielding only the Cosmic Cube.
Part Two: The retrieved Fantastic Four and Deadpool will launch a raid on Kang's base in the 31st century. They will search for Kang's origins and his source of power there. If a breakthrough can be made in that location, everything will become very smooth.
Part Three: This part will be primarily the responsibility of the four members of the New Fantastic Four. Peter has contacted several others to assist.
"We are calling Part Three—the most crucial part—the 'Master Thief Project.' As the name suggests, we are going to steal the Time Stone from Kang's hands."
After hearing the outline of the plan, Gwen roughly understood her role, but she was quite confused and asked a very important question: "Why aren't we stealing the Cosmic Cube?"
"Because Kang definitely has a way to ensure he remembers the Cosmic Cube's existence. It's not like once you grab it, he'll just forget it exists. Don't forget, Gwen, half of your abilities were bestowed by Korvac."
Peter explained briefly, "And more importantly, everyone else's attention will surely be focused on the Cosmic Cube. That makes stealing the Time Stone more certain. Most importantly, we'll then possess the key element for victory."
Peter didn't explain further immediately but assigned Gwen her task: "Gwen, you'll be working with Felicia, Kitty, and Nightcrawler from the X-Men. The Professor will be responsible for guiding you. You must ensure that Kang's attention is sufficiently distracted. Only act when it is absolutely foolproof. Don't think about stealing the Cosmic Cube. Do not do it."
"And Cindy, I want you to do the same thing as before."
Cindy looked at Peter with a bit of confusion before it clicked. "Find you? Where are you going?"
"I don't know. If I'm lucky, I won't have to go anywhere. I touched the Cosmic Cube before; maybe that will do something."
Having finished, Peter let out a long breath and offered a smile.
"So, after we get everything settled, let's let everything go back to the way it was before. You guys pick the time, and as long as I'm free, we'll go on dates together."
This sounded a bit strange, but the two of them understood Peter's meaning: just like before, they would each pick a time to go on a date with Peter...
Wait, Gwen seemed to realize something was off.
Back in Puerto Rico, the reason Gwen and Cindy had chosen this arrangement to let Peter Parker off easy was entirely because he couldn't make a choice between the two girls at the time. They had intended to be magnanimous for a bit. Yet Peter was speaking now as if he were setting aside that premise entirely?
"Wait..."
"I hope we can all come back."
Peter silenced Gwen with a single sentence. She stopped talking, and Peter Parker, lowering his head, breathed a sigh of relief.
Excellent, Peter. Never mind the other stuff; at least for now, I've managed to deal with this.
Future problems can be dealt with in the future. Surviving first is the most important thing.