A/N: It's good to see positive feedback already coming in for this story, even if it's just the beginning. And I wanted to send a thank you to my readers of Symbiosis for their continued support and reviews, and I'm also glad they're on board to give this one a chance.
As for the direction I'm hoping to take this story, it will obviously run along the same plot as Supergirl not long after the pilot episode. Though there will be the addition of other DC Villains making their appearance ever now and again to make things interesting. But for now, I'll leave the rest as a surprise for another day.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
The 24-hour diner on the corner of Fourth and Lexington was a frequent spot for dozens of night-owls who didn't know the meaning of the word sleep. It was also a hangout for a lot of heroes not in costume after a long night of fighting crime.
It was also the usual place that Peter and Matt went to hangout after their own anti-crime spree on certain nights.
Both spider-powered individuals sat on the roof of the establishment. Their masks rolled up enough so that they could eat the sandwiches they had ordered. A large piece of chocolate cake sat on a paper plate next to the younger man while a red/blue tendril reached out of his suit and was absorbing it.
Toxin crooned happily through the link it shared with its host while it ate its 'birthday cake'. The phenethylamine contained in the confection making the alien life form feel content and at ease.
"So," Peter said clapping his hands together to shake away the leftover crumbs. "How many of New York's finest scumbags did you put away tonight?"
Matt shrugged, "Nine. Two attempted break-ins. A car-jacking. And an attempted rape. Left all of them hanging ten in various positions." he replied finishing off his own meal. "Pretty slow night if you ask me."
"Maybe, but I've been thinking about cutting back lately." said the older hero. "MJ could pop any day now and I don't want to miss being there." Matt smiled at his friend/mentor. His wife was over eight months pregnant with their daughter and was due anytime within the next month. Peter was beyond excited about being a dad, but was worried about what would happen after their child came into the world.
He made a lot of enemies...a couple of them (...Venom...) knowing who he was. And the thought of something happening to MJ or their little girl terrified him to no end. But Matt had been there for both of them, offering to take on more responsibility with stopping crime while Peter could stay home with his wife.
Hell, he'd even gone out with the older man when MJ had one of her weird cravings late in the evening.
"You're gonna be a great dad, Pete. I can tell." he said laying back, arms behind his head as he stared at the stars above them. "Christ, you, MJ and Auntie May took me in after what happened to mom when you didn't have to. Your girl's gonna have all the love in the world."
Peter smiled at him, "Yeah, especially with her overprotective Uncle Matt." the two shared a laugh as they relaxed, though it turned into a slightly tense silence.
Matt's mother had been killed by Carnage not long after he and Toxin had bonded. The psychotic symbiote wanting to send a message to the host of his offspring and leaving the teen orphaned. He'd been out training his new abilities when it happened, and by the time he had gotten back home police had been all over the place and he'd been told that she had been murdered.
At first he was in shock, having walked away from the scene like a zombie as his mind tried to fathom what had happened. That had quickly changed into a blind rage, Matt and Toxin both completely destroying the junkyard they had been training in earlier which had attracted the attention of the local webslinger, who found the grieving son hunched over with his suit still on.
Of course Matt knew who he was through Toxin's memories from Venom. And Peter knew about him and what he contained from his fight with the older symbiote. After a long talk, the hero brought the younger man back home with him. Informing Mary Jane and Aunt May of the situation en route, so the moment they walked in the door the two women swooped in and began consoling Matt for his loss.
After his mother had been buried, Peter and MJ agreed to let him stay with them until he was ready to be on his own. It had also given Peter the chance to help train the new hero about his powers and how best to control him, all the while monitoring Toxin to be sure it didn't end up like its father or grandfather.
In the months that followed, Matt began feeling right at home with the Parkers. Aunt May was always warm and inviting despite knowing about the symbiote that lived inside him. Saying that she could see the good in him and it reminded her so much of Peter that it was almost shocking.
Learning from Spiderman himself had also been productive. With his experience, and Toxin's knowledge, he was able to get his new powers down-pat like it was nothing. And from it all, he learned the most valuable lesson that Peter had learned from his Uncle Ben, who had been lost long ago.
'With great power, comes great responsibility'. It was a credo that Matt took to heart and vowed to use his and Toxin's abilities to help people no matter what it took. The symbiote vowing the same since the older hero had also given him a chance much like his host had done.
Reaching up and touching the cross necklace that his mother used to wear all the time, Matt thought about the last moments he had with her and wished that he could have spent just a little more time with her that day. Or even getting back sooner and stomping the deranged bastard into the ground before he could lay his claws on her.
He and Peter had tracked down the symbiote not long after his mother's funeral. And Matt held nothing back as he fought Carnage with everything he had. The battle shifted when Venom made an appearance, but Peter held him off while 'father and son' went toe to toe.
Seeing that the duo were too powerful, Venom teamed up with Carnage and they attacked as a team. But by the end of it, Matt proved that he and Toxin were already more than the two older symbiotes could handle as they beat them down and hard.
Both villans had slipped away in the end, but the new hero had proven that he could handle his own against them should they rear their ugly faces again. And Peter had been proud of his protegé.
"Ready to head home?" Peter asked after rolling his mask back down. Toxin slurped up the last of the cake and retracted the tendril as the mask reformed over Matt's face.
"Yeah, let's get going. Feel like I could sleep like the dead."
The two heros headed toward the edge of the diner's roof and was about to shoot web lines when a soft beeping started going off. Peter reached into a small pouch he kept on the side of his costume's belt and took out a small communicator. "Spidey here." he said cheerfully.
"Hay webhead! It's Stark." came the distinct voice of Tony Stark, AKA Iron Man. "Listen, got a bit of an issue at one of my research labs in East Harlem. It seems a couple of your ugly friends showed up and started wrecking the place."
"Who would be dumb enough to attack one of Tony's facilities?" asked Matt confused.
"Looks like you got junior there with you, good." said Tony hearing the teen's voice. "I'm en route now, but you guys are closer at the moment. You mind heading over there and making sure they don't destroy everything?"
The two heros nodded to each other and started swinging off toward the location. "Who are we dealing with?" Peter asked as they moved faster and faster through the city.
"From what I could gather from the security footage, slime ball one and two." replied the billionaire. "The place was designed to test a few new innovations that Fury and SHIELD were having me look into. One of which was a serum that would help...uh, Kill a symbiote. That's probably what they're after."
Matt felt Toxin recoil in fear at the idea of such a creation. "Relax, partner. We've proven to Fury and the other heros that you're not a danger. I'm pretty sure that stuff was meant for Venom and Carnage."
"Still, if they get their claws on it, they could kill me...and then you shortly after." the symbiote replied.
"That's why we're gonna stop them." the teen thought while clenching his fists. Venom and Carnage were back and were already causing problems, good. He needed an excuse to let out a good amount of aggression. And there was no way in hell he was letting that serum be destroyed or get used on his partner.
Little did he know that the events that were about to take place would turn his world upside-down and inside-out.
X
They arrived at the facility in a matter of minutes. Perching themselves on a rooftop on the opposite side of the fenced off area to scope the place out, they found the front gates smashed in, various vehicles flipped on to their sides with claw marks carved into the hardened metal. The bodies of over a dozen security guards were scattered everywhere, either dead or unconscious they couldn't tell which.
"They're here...I can sense them." Toxin said in Matt's thoughts.
"That means they can sense us too, we better hurry." he thought back. "Toxin says they're still here." he relayed to Spiderman.
The webslinger nodded, "Then lets knock Smiley and Chuckles down a few pegs and save Tony's science projects." They swung down and landed in the damaged courtyard, making their way toward the main building where the door had been ripped from the hinges and was left laying several meters away.
Matt sent out a small pulse that traveled through the facility, detecting two familiar signatures deeper in locating inside a large room which must have been one of the main labs. "22 meters ahead, in a large room." he said as they started sprinting down the halls toward the lab in question.
Passing by damaged rooms and crumbling walls, a few more guards were laid sprawled out on the floor. Some with blood pooling beneath them as the two spider-powered heros approached the lab where loud crashes and banging could be heard. They entered the lab and saw the place in shambles, with pieces of equipment and machinery torn and shredded apart scattered all over.
In the center of all the destruction was Venom and Carnage. The latter throwing a dead guard off of the end of his arm that was in the shape of a large blade while the former chucked a large computer terminal against the far wall.
"How do you wanna play this?" Matt whispered as they crouched on either side of the open doorway.
"We need to lead them outside, keep them away from that serum until Stark and the rest of our back up arrives." Peter turned to the younger hero. "Think you and 'slither' can keep the collateral damage to a minimum?"
If Toxin had fingers he'd be flipping Spiderman the bird. Matt just shook it off and nodded, "We'll do our best. Now, let's go in and say 'hi'." The two heros entered the room and leapt up on to opposite walls and began crawling along the surface toward the two symbiotes.
"Feh, thought this would be more fun than this." Carnage hissed after throwing the corpse aside. "Find the stuff yet old man?"
Venom put his fist through a sealed cabinet, throwing the contents around before growling deeply. "Nothing. Wherever that tin can is hiding that serum it's somewhere secure." The older symbiote began skulking toward the other end of the lab as it continued looking.
The red/black symbiote began to head after its 'father' when it suddenly paused. A wide, malicious grin appearing on its face.
It's ability to see in all directions picking up the two individuals that entered the room. "Looks like we got company." he hissed before spinning around, slashing his arm through the air and sending a volley of hardened red spikes through the air.
Matt saw the attack coming and leapt off the wall, spinning over the projectiles and landing a solid kick to Carnage's face. Sending the older symbiote crashing through a couple of desks and into the wall.
"Hope you don't mind us 'dropping in'." he quipped as he landed on the floor and stood to his full height.
"But we happened to be in the neighborhood and thought we'd hang out with our two favorite psychopaths." added Peter dropping down next to him.
Venom let out a bellowing roar and charged through the lab, bashing equipment out of his path as he steam rolled toward the heros. Peter fired webbing at the rampaging symbiote, scoring a hit right in its face and blinding him long enough to leap out of the way, firing two more web lines that attached to the creature's back and catapulting him forward. Both boots slamming the back of Venom's head and sending him crashing into the wall ahead.
"Why so mad, Brock? Someone lose your favorite chew toy?" Spiderman asked, jumping aside as a massive black fist shattered the floor where he had been standing.
The large symbiote spun around and fired a black wed-line from his wrist, grabbing ahold of Peters chest and snapping him forward before punching him hard enough to send him into the side of a nearby machine. "Attempting to be funny like usual, eh Parker?" Venom growled before charging again, claws outstretched to cleave the hero in half.
Peter flipped backwards and attached to the wall just as Venom's claws sheared through the machine. "You're one to talk, Smiley." he said firing a glob of webbing that encased the villain's head.
Roaring in frustration, the symbiote tore the webbing off before grinning. "I wonder if your spawn will have the same sense of humor? Guess it's a good thing we're paying your wife a visit when we're done here."
Peter's eyes widened behind his mask. "Leave them out of this!" he shouted while throwing a punch. Venom caught the strike and chuckled as he threw the hero across the lab and pursued him.
Pulling himself out of the wall, Carnage looked up and glared at Matt who was standing in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest while the sounds of Spiderman and Venom fighting could be heard elsewhere. "Long time no see, pops." he said darkly. "Miss us?"
The older symbiote growled, raising its arms and creating a curved blade on one hand and a double-bladed axe on the other. "Allow me to show you my ever loving joy." he launched himself at the young hero, blades slashing wildly though the air with complete abandon as he tried to eviscerate his target.
Matt ducked and dodged around the swipes, his reflexes and speed keeping him out of striking range. Dodging another swing from the axe, he formed a blade of his own that extended from his right forearm and began attacking right back. Parrying blows and attempting to get under Carnage's guard.
But the symbiote managed to dodge just as well, side-stepping one of the wider strikes and slashing a tear in the younger host's suit that quickly healed in seconds. He may have been more powerful than Toxin's father, but the older symbiote had more experience. Not to mention zero mercy and tact as he continued swinging like crazy.
Leaping back from one another, Carnage fired a barrage of sharpened tendrils from his back straight at Matt who backflipped at the last moment. Slashing with his arm-blade and cutting the tendrils in half and making the red/black symbiote screech in pain. Matt followed up by firing a webline that attached to his opponent's chest before yanking him forward, driving his fist into Carnage's jaw and sending him skidding back.
"We know what you're after you sick freak, you're not getting that serum!" the teen shouted as he charged the other host. Forming a shield on his other arm with the suit and blocking an attack that would have cleaved him in half.
"That's what you think, sonny boy!" Carnage fired back as he threw a barrage of shuriken from hardened pieces of his suit. Matt made a small web in mid-air that stopped the bladed projectiles, then ducked right as Carnage's axe-arm swung for his head.
A powerful uppercut sent the older symbiote up high, but he fired tendrils from his shoulders grabbing the rafters above and launching him straight at the hero. Arms forming into massive claws ready to tear Matt to pieces.
The young host changed his arms back and fired a webline from each hand. Grabbing a large machine on either side of the room and snapping them forward, the two pieces of heavy metal slamming together with Carnage in the middle with a loud crash.
A red and blue blur flew over his head and slammed into a computer terminal causing it to spark and smoke. Peter groaned, rubbing his head as he shook off the strike that had sent him flying. Matt felt his 'spider-sense' spike and ducked under a large black claw that was aimed for the back of his head.
Venom growled as he took another swipe and succeeding in slicing huge grooves in the concrete floor as the hero jumped up and attached to the ceiling. "You made a mistake in not joining us, youngling." the hulking creature grabbed a desk and hurled it after his target before firing a webline and going after it. "All that power, wasted!"
Matt flipped to the side to avoid the large projectile, then did a backflip as the large monster crashed into the roof and continued after him. "And what? Become a mindless abomination like you and your bastard son?!" he shouted while throwing a wide kick that caught Venom in the gut and sent him hurling back. "Sorry to disappoint, but Toxin and I like the way we are!"
"Yeah!" Toxin shouted in his head in agreement.
His 'spider-sense' flared again, he swung his elbow back and connected with Carnage's chest. Before the psycho could recover a glob of webbing encased his head before Peter swung through, flipping in the air and slamming the heel of his foot on the top of his head sending him crashing back to the floor.
Venom attempted to grab Matt from behind, but he grabbed the larger limb and twisted it around before piledriving the larger symbiote down hard on to his son.
"Give it up you two!" Matt called out as he and Peter stood a few meters away from them. "Back up's coming and you can't beat us!"
The two symbiotes got to their feet, tendrils waving around their forms as they hissed/growled at the two heros. Carnage's mouth slowly twisted into a sadistic grin. "You've definitely improved, a far cry from the pathetic createn you once were." his claws clicked together as the two glared at one another. "You're mommy must be so proud."
A sudden shot of anger lanced through Matt's body. "Don't you DARE mention her!" His suit began rippling in tune with his emotions while the other symbiote cackled.
"Aww, did I hit a nerve? Are you gonna cry now?"
Peter snapped his hand out and held Matt's arm, knowing full well that Carnage was trying to bring out his darker emotions. "Matt, don't. He's doing this on-purpose to make you lose control." he said trying to calm him.
Carnage formed a blade with his right arm and looked at it with a long expression, "You know...her death wasn't all that satisfying. Barely put up a fight as I gutted her like a fish." Venom chucked next to him as he clenched his large fists.
Matt was literally vibrating, Toxin along with him as the anger from before slowly turning into rage. His whole body, and his suit, pulsing as he tried to keep himself in check. "Breathe...need to breathe...can't lose control." "Stay calm, don't let him get under you're skin, Matt." his symbiote attempted to sooth.
"She was so...pathetic." The white, demonic eyes of the red/black symbiote turned to him while he cackled. "You wanna know what her dying words were? She begged, pleaded that nothing happen to her son. Even after I rammed my blade through her guts, all she could say was 'I love you Matty'. What a waste of flesh."
Tears burned his eyes, teeth gnashed so tightly that they threatened to crack as what little restraint he had left snapped like a dry twig. "...you're gonna pay..." Matt's suit literally exploded, tendrils flying in all directions while his body seemed to grow in size.
Peter jumped back from the sudden burst, watching wide eyed as his friend and student changed before him. His form still had the same color scheme, but he was now Venom's size with huge rippling muscles.
Long sharp claws dotted the ends of his fingers that were clenched into tight fists, the lower half of his 'mask' was ripped open revealing a gaping maw filled with sharp fangs with a long green tongue barely contained within.
"ROOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!" The bellowing roar that resonated from deep within the young host echoed beyond the walls of the facility before he shot forward like a bullet.
Venom roared in challenge and met him head on, but the rage filled hero grabbed the older symbiote by the head and slammed him into the floor hard enough to make a crater and send cracks in all directions. Carnage shrieked and also went on the attack, but he was swatted aside as though he were a fly while Matt went into a full rampage.
Spiderman fired a webline and snapped over to the nearest wall as his communicator went off. "Webhead what's going on? Jarvis is picking up a whole lot of vibrations out there." Tony said over the line.
"Carnage pushed Matt over the edge." Peter replied as he avoided a chunk of machinery smashing into the wall nearby. "He brought up killing his mother and set him off."
The billionare cursed, "How bad is it?"
Before the webslinger could answer he watched Venom hit the ceiling so hard that a section of it caved in as gravity took over. "Well...he just finished putting in a new skylight using Venom as a wrecking ball." he admitted.
"Pete, you have to calm him down. If Fury gets wind of this you can bet the kid will be trapped in a SHIELD cell for god knows how long." Putting the device away, the older hero looked up in time to see Matt grabbing Carnage by the neck and crashing through the back wall of the lab, Venom right on their heels.
"I won't let that happen to him." he thought strongly before firing a webline and swinging after them.
X
The wall exploded inward as the two forms tumbled into the next room. A slightly smaller chamber than the previous lab that was completely dark, the lights coming on when the two beings entered through the barrier illuminating the room and its contents.
In the far back end stood a metal archway that stood several meters tall with a ramp leading up to the front of it. Several monitors were spread out around it with cables all hooking up to the device along with a handful of large power sources.
But no one paid attention to the device, considering that they were attempting to tear each other apart.
Carnage was slammed into the ground, a large dark-blue claw holding him to the floor as Matt growled in his more beastial form. "You're going to pay for what you did to us!" he roared at the elder symbiote before hurling him across the room and through a monitor. "You took away the only person we had left!"
The other symbiote leapt up, sharp claws stabbing into the hero's chest but he barely felt a thing. He grabbed Carnage by the neck and began to slowly crush his throat just as a pair of large black arms wrapped around him from behind to restrain him.
Dropping Carnage, Matt snapped his now larger head back and connected with Venom's face. Dazing him enough so that he could break the hold and spinning around to deliver a thunderous punch to the eldest symbiote's jaw, sending teeth and saliva flying.
Capitalizing, the enraged hero continued to pummel Venom with everything he had. Picking the villan up and throwing him to the opposite side of the chamber, crashing into the terminal that was set up next to the archway. The electrical output from the damaged monitor frying the hulking symbiote and causing him to screech in agony before collapsing to the floor with smoke trailing off of him.
The sudden jolt of pain had Matt letting out a shriek of pain when Carnage jumped on to his back and started stabbing both arms into him in a frenzy.
Focusing, Matt fired several bladed tendrils from his back and forcing the psychotic symbiote to back off. Spinning around and firing a webline that attached to his enemy's chest and snapping him forward.
Seeing the danger, Carnage cut the webbing and flipped out of the way at the last possible moment as the large fist swung through the air. One arm forming into an axe one more as he made a downward swipe that was stopped cold by a clawed hand. A second one wrapping around the skinnier being's head.
"And you're right." Matt rumbled darkly as he slammed the red/black symbiote repeatedly into the wall behind him head-first. "She would be proud of us. Especially now that we're about to kill her murderer!" His hand clenched hard, enhanced strength constricting around Carnage's skull and threatened to crush it.
The psycho attempted to fight back, stabbing Matt with tendrils, bladed weapons, doing anything in his power to get free. But the pain was overlooked, fury and hatred fueling the young host as he was preparing to finish the creature and its demented host off.
"MATT STOP!"
Pausing in his actions, the teen turned toward the opening he had made earlier and saw Peter stepping through. Approaching him slowly with his hands up. "You don't need to do this. You're better than them."
"Back off, Pete. This needs to end! Carnage must suffer!" He growled back. "They'll never stop! They'll keep killing and killing until they take away everything that we have left! This. Must. END!"
"Not like this!" The hero exclaimed back. "Remember when you first started living with me and the family? You were so scared of becoming like Venom and Carnage that you we afraid to use your powers, even through you made that deal with Toxin. But you were able to harness your powers and use them for good."
He stood a few feet away from them now, Matt's form relaxing slightly but remained in beastial form. "Don't stoop to their level. You're not a murderer like they are."
"...Not...Like them..." Matt said as his anger started to drain and his senses started coming back. HIs body began rippling, shrinking down bit by bit.
Seeing his words getting through, Spiderman persisted. "Your mother would be proud of what you've become. Of how you use your new gifts. Don't dishonor her by turning into the one that took her from you."
Looking at Carnage, who had been knocked out from the constant hits. Matt let his unconscious form drop as he finished returning to normal, back to looking like he did when they first arrived as he slumped to the floor on his knees.
"Are you alright?" Toxin asked, fearing that the change into their more primal state had worn him out or harmed him in some way.
"I'm okay, Tox. Sorry about that." came the reply. "Nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad you're not harmed." said the symbiote in relief.
Ending the mental conversation, Matt retracted his mask and looked up at Peter. "Sorry, Pete. I thought I could..." he trailed off and shook his head. "Guess I'm still not over it."
Peter rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. The pain fades with time, and one year isn't nearly enough for those scars to scab over. Just know that you still have folks here for you that will help." Matt smiled up at his friend as he got to his feet.
"WARNING! PROTOTYPE SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED! ALL PERSONNEL ARE TO REPORT TO THEIR STATIONS IMMEDIATELY!" The sudden ringing of the PA system was coupled with alarms and red flashing lights all around the room.
The sparking terminal Venom had been thrown into started to hum loudly as the archway began to glow. The humming sound growing louder and seemed to reverberate through the whole building as bolts of electricity shot from the power sources around the chamber and strike the empty center of the metal frame.
A small, black and purple orb of energy appeared in the opening and was steadily growing larger with each passing second. Various objects around the room began shaking, some being lifted off the floor and floating in air as the anomaly continued to gain more intensity.
"What the hell's going on?!" Matt shouted over the alarms as the strange anomaly began to pulsate.
"Don't know," said Peter now nervous. "But we better get out of here!"
Nearby, Venom and Carnage returned to consciousness just as a large blast shot through the room. The orb of energy now filled the entire archway and was fluctuating out of control. The monitors around the room came online and started glowing red as another warning came over the PA system.
"CONTAINMENT EQUIPMENT SEVERLY DAMAGED! STABILIZATION FAILING! CODE: RED! EVACUATION ORDERS ARE NOW IN EFFECT! ALL PERSONNEL MUST EVACUATE THE FACILITY IMMEDIATELY!"
There was another burst of energy before everything began to be sucked toward the strange portal like a vacuum. The four in the room were also caught in the pull and did what they could to avoid being sucked in.
Venom, being the closest to the portal, stabbed his claws into the concrete floor and began to slowly crawl his way toward the exit. Carnage fired tendrils out of his body into the walls and ceiling to keep him in place.
As for the two heros, they fired weblines and began to crawl their way out as the vacuum started growing in strength, making it harder to escape.
Claws sliding back, cutting large gouges in the floor. Venom managed to let out a roar of defiance before his hands broke free and he was thrown into the portal in a small flash of light and disappeared. Seeing this, Carnage refused to go down like his father and looked for a means to escape.
Finding the two heros about to reach safety, he hissed lowly before making his move.
Peter reached the opening first. Grabbing the edge of the hole in the wall and shooting a good amount of webfluid so that he had a better hand hold before reaching back for Matt who was still climbing up his own line. "Com'mon Matt! You can do it!"
Matt grunted as he kept climbing up the webline. Each pull getting harder as the portal behind him kept sucking everything in. Pulling himself up another foot, he saw that he only had four more to go.
Pulling again, he made another foot just as the monitor on his right was torn from the wall and was sucked into the anomaly. Another pull, almost there. Peter was leaning out of the hole as far as he could go, hand outstretched ready to grab him.
Another foot down and he reached out to take his friend's hand. Gloved fingers barely touching as he tried to reach just a little farther.
"Not so fast whelp!"
Matt shouted when something wrapped around his right leg and pulled. Clinging to the webline, he looked back and saw Carnage with his arm stretched toward him, a tendril coming out of his forearm that was now wrapped around his leg tightly.
The other tendrils keeping the evil symbiote in place gave way and now the only thing keeping him from disappearing through he portal was Matt who was slowly losing his grip.
Another hand suddenly clasped tightly around his wrist keeping him from going anywhere. "GOT YOU!" Peter shouted over the maelstrom as the room started to crumple inward. The vortex becoming even more unstable as the whole facility began to shake to its very foundation.
Through the sounds of destruction and wind, Matt could pick up he subtle sounds of cracking. Looking toward where his friend was still trying to pull him in, he saw the wall he was clinging to start to crumble even more. The hole in it damaging the overall structure and was threatening to cave in completely from the force going on behind him.
"PETER! THE WALLS GIVING AWAY!" he shouted out as he felt Carnage start to crawl up his tendril line.
"HOLD ON! I'VE ALMOST GOT YOU!" The webslinger called back as he kept trying to pull him up. But the force from the portal making it almost impossible.
All the while Carnage grinned as he got closer and closer to the young hero. First he'd reach the end, and then he'd take out the heros before making his escape. Worst case scenario...he'd take them both down with him if he had to.
Looking back at the deranged symbiote, Matt looked back at his friend and knew that the chances of all of them making it out of here was not good. Peter had the better chance being where he was, but as long as he held on to him he could get sucked into the portal as well.
Not to mention Carnage was getting closer, he couldn't let that abomination escape. Peter had a family, a child on the way, he'd never let his future niece grow up without her daddy. The Parkers had done so much for him when he had no one...
"Time to return the favor..." The young host narrowed his eyes, steeling his resolve for what he had to do. Toxin silently agreeing with him.
Looking into the eyepieces of his friend/mentor's mask, he smiled. The webslinger seeing this on his exposed face was confused until he started speaking. "Pete! I just wanted to say, thanks for everything you've done for me!" he shouted over all the noise. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend!"
"What are you talking about?!" Spiderman said not liking where this could have been headed.
"We both won't make it out of this! You need to live! For Mary Jane, Aunt May, and your daughter! You all have done so much for me!" the teen kept going just as he felt a clawed hand latch on to his leg. "Now...I'm gonna save you! Like you saved me!"
Peter's eyes widened in horror. "MATT NO!"
"Tell MJ and Auntie May I love them!" with that, Matt yanked his hand out of the older man's grasp. Spinning around and grabbing Carnage by the neck with both hands as they tumbled through the air toward the portal. Both of them vanishing into the purple/black sphere of energy.
Volts of electricity shot in every direction, the power supplies that were feeding the device began to shake and spark before they began to detonate one by one. Peter had just enough time to flip himself behind the wall just as the units reached critical and exploded. Causing the portal to shutdown from lack of power and the entire room to cave in from the resounding shockwave.
X
Tony Stark blasted through East Harlem, encased in his Mark VI armor with several squads of SHIELD agents tailing behind him, along with Steve Rogers - Captain America, and Clint Barton - Hawkeye.
They all reached the facility and saw the place almost in shambles, wasting no time, the agents set up a perimeter while the heros and a strike team entered the building to help neutralize the threats.
None of them were expecting what they saw when they entered.
The labs were torn to pieces, signs of battle could be seen everywhere meaning that Spiderman and Arachnid gave the two symbiotes a hell of a fight.
With their guard up, weapons ready, Tony, Clint and Steve all moved through the ruined lab in search of their comrades while the SHIELD operatives left to secure the rest of the facility. "Damn...gonna be one hell of a tax write off for all of this." Tony said seeing all the destroyed equipment.
"Where are web-head one and two?" said the archer as they kept moving, eyes sharp for the two spider-powered heros.
Steve looked up toward a section of wall that had collapsed at the back of the lab and saw a familiar red and blue suit. "Over there!" he shouted as they moved toward the location. Seeing Spiderman on his knees in front of a collapsed section of the facility, mask in his hands as he stared at the rubble with eyes glazed over with unshed tears.
"Spidey?" asked Tony wondering what was wrong. "Pete? What happened?" It was then the billionaire/hero saw that someone was missing. "Where's Matt? Where are Venom and Carnage?"
Kneeling down next to the younger hero, Steve put a hand on his shoulder. "Peter?"
He looked up at them slowly, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "He's gone." he said before looking back toward the rubble, guilt and regret fill his chest. It was almost like losing Uncle Ben all over again. Someone he had come to look upon as a little brother had sacrificed his life so that he could live, taking down two of the most dangerous individuals in their world in the process.
Fists balling up his mask as he mourned the young hero who still had so much left to live for. A future stolen before he had a chance to experience it...it wasn't fair. It shouldn't have been him.
While this was happening, Clint looked over to a section of wall that was still standing. Words painted on the side that had marked the section of the facility that had collapsed;
LAB A-6: DIMENSIONAL BRIDGE TESTING SITE
X Meanwhile, in an unknown location X
Matt groaned softly as he slowly came back to reality. Hand reaching up and holding his head as the mother of all headaches pounded the inside of his skull. "...Christ...that sucked..." he muttered as feeling started to return to his limbs. "Toxin? You still there?" he asked out loud.
"...ow..." The symbiote groaned with him, whatever had happened having effected it as well. "Let's not do that again."
"Agreed." Sitting up, the teen found himself still in his suit with the mask receded. When his vision swam back into focus, he saw that they were in the middle of what looked to be a desert surrounded by hills and foliage. The sky was pitch black meaning it was nighttime wherever they had ended up, the light of the moon bathing light down on to the ground and casting shadows.
Getting to his feet, Matt surveyed the area and tried to get his bearings. "...Where are we..." he muttered, wracking his brain for anything that could help him figure out where they ended up.
Bright lights in the distance catching his attention, what looked to be a large city miles away from where they currently were.
Symbiote and host looked around again before looking back at the city, "Guess we could always try that way...not like we have much choice in the matter." Toxin agreed silently as Matt's clothes shifted into a black hoodie, jeans and a pair of converse sneakers.
Squaring his shoulders and putting his hands in his pockets, with nothing to swing on around him the young hero started walking toward the city. Hoping to figure out where he and his other had ended up and if there was a way back to New York.
Several meters away out of his field of vision, a large sign stood beside a long stretch of road. The bold letters illuminated by small lights reading, 'National City - 60 Miles'.
A/N: A bit of a cliché with how it all went down, but it has always been the best course of action when suddenly jumping dimensions. And now that Matt has gone through the looking glass and come out somewhere new, how will he handle the sudden change in dynamic. And how will he residents of said world handle his arrival.
New update coming within the next 24 hours. Send your thoughts and I'll be sure that it is ready in time.
