For Gwen, Lucas's diary was mostly just a way to kill time between classes.
It was filled with his snarky commentary, his rants, and his weird jokes. But in between the lines, he casually exposed the true nature of the world, and that was what blew Gwen's mind.
Iron Man, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman... she'd gotten used to those names. Then came timelines, Thor, Loki, Odin, Captain America.
Of course, Gwen was smart. She knew how to protect herself.
This world was dangerous. Even Lucas—who seemed to know everything—was terrified of certain threats. The Purple Titan snapping his fingers? Loki invading Earth? None of these were small problems.
They were massive.
World-ending events.
If a girl like her got involved without powers, she'd be dead in seconds.
The "Inner World" of superheroes was fascinating, sure. But it was also lethal. In one timeline, even Thor—a literal god—got killed by a single arrow. If a god could die by accident, what chance did a normal human like her have?
And Lucas mentioned her a lot. Apparently, in some parallel universe, she was the girlfriend of some kid named Peter Parker, and she died in his arms.
Or in another one, she became Spider-Woman, and Peter Parker died in hers.
Basically, interacting with these "protagonists" never ended well.
So she kept her head down. She played the role of the perfect student, never mentioning a word about the diary to Lucas. To his face, he was just her handsome, slightly eccentric tutor. Even if she suspected things, she kept her mouth shut.
That was the plan. Keep pretending until the day she maybe—just maybe—became Spider-Woman herself.
If that happened, then she might have a chance to survive in this crazy world.
Meanwhile, Lucas had just arrived in the small New Mexico town after a long flight and a bumpy bus ride. He looked a bit dusty from the travel, but he didn't feel tired at all.
Thanks to his Superman physique, soaking up the desert sun was like chugging energy drinks. He was fully charged.
"Energy..."
Lucas squinted at the horizon. Even from a distance, he could feel it. A massive, throbbing pulse of power coming from the crater outside of town.
It was magical energy, laced with the crackle of thunder.
A normal person wouldn't feel a thing. But Lucas had been sun-dipping for days, and his senses were dialed up to eleven. Plus, his "Magic Immunity" body came with a heightened sensitivity to mana. To him, the crater felt like a lighthouse beam in the dark. It was impossible to miss.
"That has to be Mjolnir," Lucas muttered.
Truth be told, he really wanted to try lifting it.
In his previous life, fans had debated endlessly about how Mjolnir worked. Why could some people lift it while others couldn't? Lucas had his own theory.
It was all about Admin Privileges.
Mjolnir wasn't just a heavy rock; it was a programmed weapon forged by dwarves and coded by Odin.
Odin held the Root Access. He was the System Administrator.
Just like a computer, different users had different permission levels. Thor had "User" privileges, but Odin could revoke them with a single voice command—which he did in the first movie. Thor was locked out until he met the specific conditions Odin set for "re-verification."
That's why, even though it's called "Thor's Hammer," the primary owner was always Odin. It was built before Thor was born. It was originally Odin's weapon.
This theory held up in Thor: Ragnarok. Hela appeared in the murals wielding Mjolnir. She had "User" privileges too, back when she was Odin's executioner.
But when they fell out, Odin likely revoked her access and sealed the hammer away. By the time Thor 1 rolled around, the permissions had been transferred to Thor.
It was also clear that Thor's priority level was higher than Hela's by the end. When Hela returned, she didn't try to hack the hammer or reclaim ownership—she just crushed it. She knew she was locked out.
As for why Captain America could lift it?
Lucas figured it went back to the specific "code" Odin programmed into the hammer in the first movie: "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."
That was an open command. A conditional permission grant. Like Tony giving J.A.R.V.I.S. a "Guest User" protocol.
If someone met the criteria—high moral character, selflessness, the heart of a warrior—the hammer would grant them temporary Admin rights.
And Steve Rogers? Whether you liked American politics or not, you had to admit the guy was a saint.
Some people rolled their eyes at "American values" because politicians used them as lies. But Steve Rogers wasn't a politician. He actually believed in that stuff. Freedom, justice, standing up for the little guy—he lived it.
As the Chinese saying goes: Unity of Knowledge and Action. He walked the walk.
Sure, Civil War made things complicated, and some fans argued he was hypocritical or stubborn. But that didn't change the core of who he was.
His character was undeniably worthy.