Reviewers statements or questions:
Sithlord King: You are right in that Diana over the course of this story will become disturbed and even eventually horrified by what her husband is slowly becoming and it will cause her to question her own choices. But that's later down the line like just before the events of the game start
Aniimeziing: No the events of One More Day didn't happen here
Daniel's the man 98: No Agent Venom will not appear in this story sorry, but Flash Thompson will appear later on and he'll have an interesting partner with him…
Disclaimer: I don't own any Marvel or DC characters seen, mentioned or used in this story
Year one…
KAKOOOM!
Tarantula was sent flying by a hut by one of the large sea creatures that the Atlanteans had brought up from whatever oceanic trench they inhabit
Tarantula righted himself in mid-air and landed on what was once a van that has since been crushed from an earlier fight. He rubbed his jaw as he stared at the sea creature with a glare
"You know after this, I'm going to the nearest fish market and buy up the whole damn place and eat every last fish and crab there!" the dark spider growled before he grabbed the destroyed van and chucked it at the sea creature that squealed in pain as they wreckage collided with its head and sent it stumbling back
Kaine felt his spider sense flare and he just narrowly avoided a hit from two large hammers that seemed to be made of water. Kaine looked towards the owner and saw that it was the teenager known as Aqaulad, he remembers reading that the kid use to be a member of the Teen Titans, well that and Cassie would talk about him a lot
"Aquaboy, how's it going?" Kaine asked as he saw that several Atlanteans were surrounding him
Aqualad looked at him with slight confusion "Spider-man, I thought you wore red and blue"
"Heh, I ain't Spider-man kid. I'm his slightly unhinged brother that kicks ass first and then kicks you when ya down for good measure!" Tarantula said as he activated his stingers and assumed a fighting stance "I'm only going to say this once kid, stop attacking my home and the people here or not even you king will keep you safe from me and a jar of Old Bay!"
Aqualad narrowed his eyes at the red and black spider "I'm sorry, but Superman has given us no choice. We will not be bullied into submission by him"
"Well I'm giving you a choice…" a voice suddenly spoke up "Leave now on your feet with bruised egos or on stretchers with broken bodies"
Tarantula and the Atlanteans looked up to see a black clad figure with a large white spider on their chest. Kaine felt his blood freeze at the sight of Peter, and he can tell it was him, crouched on the top of a flag pole looking down at all of them with white blank lenses
Aqualad looked a bit unsettled by the new comer, recognizing the infamous suit. Everyone in the hero community has heard of the black suit of the webslinger "…Spider-man… it's been a long time"
"Kaldur" Spider-man nodded as he dropped down to the ground. His impact cracked the ground and caused the armored Atlanteans to tense "I'm only going to say this once, please leave"
Aqualad's answer was to have his hammers form into swords and several Atlantean's to aim their weapons at Spider-man's form. Spider-man looked at them and towards the ever emerging soldiers rising up from the sea along with a few more of those giant sea bug creatures
"Hmm, I should leave the negotiating to my wife, she's better at it than I've ever been" Spider-man said as he cracked his neck "Tarantula, make sure there's no one nearby, I'll keep these guy's busy"
"You sure?" Tanrantula questioned the other spider warily
"Their Atlanteans, they can take a punch from me, just make sure to get back here in time. I'm amazing not invincible" Spider-man said before he launched himself at Aqaulad and delivered a powerful punch to the teen's surprised face
KOOOM!
Aqualad was sent flying into the first row of soldiers and knocked them down while Peter ducked under a sword swipe from one of Aqaulad's men. He responded by kick the armored man in the chest and send him flying towards several of his men while he without looking, caught the end of a spear that tried to pierce his head
"Guy's if this is about me saying that Atlantis was a bad Disney movie, then I'm sorry. But it's true" Peter said as he saw dozens of Atlanteans descend upon him with their weapons raised
His lenses narrowed as he rushed to meet the charging men head on. He jumped over the first few with ease and landed on the chest of one towards the back and gave him a painful punch to the head before he springboards off him and delivered a kick to another Atlantean in the face, knocking the man's helmet off and a few teeth too
Spider-man landed in a crouch and ducked under several spears sent at him before he righted himself back up and gave the nearest Atlatean a powerful upper cut that sent him flying several meters into the air
He jumped up and planted his feet on the man's armored chest before launching him at the rest of the startled men with a smirk
THOOM!
"Heh, forgot how good this thing feels…" Peter said as he landed and punched another Atlantean in the face and sent him flying by the force of the blow.
…
MJ was watching the news recording the events happening at the docks and around the world when it showed Peter arrive to help Kaine. Her blood ran cold at the suit he was wearing. Ben's eyes widened before he quickly got up from the couch and made his way to the room.
MJ followed him and saw him pull out a familiar chest "You're going out there aren't you?"
"I have to sweaty, they both need me. And not just to help them with the invading fish people" Ben said as he quickly began to throw on his old Scarlet Spider suit.
He was happy to see that it still fit like a glove as he also reached for the blue hoodie that went with it.
"I know but just be careful okay?" MJ said as she hugged Ben "This family has lost enough members as it is…"
"I know…" Ben said as he returned the hug and gave his wife a kiss on the forehead before he leaned down and patted her stomach "I'm counting on you two to be good to your mommy and stay safe, can you do that for daddy?"
MJ smile as she rubbed her belly "Their kicking, I guess that's their way of saying yes"
Ben chuckled before he placed his mask on and held his arms out "Well, how do I look?"
"Like some old man trying to relive the glory days" MJ smiled sadly "But you my old man"
Ben laughed as he made his way to the window and opened it up "Don't worry, I'm coming back"
"…Go get'm tiger" MJ said as Ben leaped into the sky and shot a web line out and swung towards the docks
…
"So just a quick question, do you guys have any weird glowing crystals that you guy's wear to keep yourselves immortal by any chance?" Spider-man asked as he dodged several spears thrown at him. He grabbed another out of midair and used it to whack another Atlantean away with so much force that the spear shattered into pieces
His spider-sense flared and Peter flipped into the air to avoid several electrical blasts fired from several Atlanteans holding some sort of rifle that apparently works like an electric eel or jelly fish.
"If you do, can I have a few? Please!" Spider-man said as he landed in a group of Atlantean soldiers and sent quick and powerful jabs into their sides and joints. While they made by tougher than the average human, their bodies still worked in a similar fashion. The men fell screaming in pain as their bones were either broken or fractured from the force of the blows
Spider-man felt his spider-sense flare and he turned to grab the water sword created by a recovered Aqualad. Spider-man pulled him into a headbutt that sent the young hero stumbling back. Spider-man didn't let up as he delivered several more punches the teen's head and ribs before he sent a round house kick into his jaw and sent him flying into a nearby parked car
"Sorry kid, but I did give you the chance to walk away from this, you chose broken body instead!" Spider-man shouted as he grabbed an approaching Atlantean and rammed the man's face into his knee
THRAK!
The man let out a scream as the helmet caved in slightly and his nose was broken. Peter not letting up brought the man into a powerful headbutt that actually created a small shockwave and shattered the helmet entirely. The man slumped to the ground with his face heavily bleeding and possibly with a serve concussion
Spider-man felt his spider-sense flare again and looked to see one of the water bugs charging towards him. Peter narrowed his eyes as he shot several strands of webbing at the sea beast, only for it to tear through the restraints and keep on charging
"Dammit" Spider-man muttered as he ran towards it and at the last moment jumped on top of its head and used his adhesive powers to stick to its hard shell "Whoa, mechanical bull water style"
The sea creature began to shake its body in an attempt to fling the spider themed hero off it while several Atlanteans aimed their energy weapons at him and fired. Spider-man ducked and weaved through the bolts shot at him as he made his way to the top of the sea creature's head before he jumped into the air and shot two web lines on either side of it and pulled himself down
His feet impacted against the creature's head and created a small shockwave as the shell cracked and the sea animal's upper body slammed into the ground
THOOOM!
The Atlantean soldiers backed away in surprise as they saw Spider-man standing on top of the creature and glaring down at them. His hands than formed two hammers and he chuckled
"Any of you ever hear of the game whack-a-mole? It's fun, here let me show you how it goes!" Spider-man jumped towards them with his hammers raised
…
The man in the black and red suit sat on a distant building watching as Spider-man, clad once again in the black suit, fought the forces of Atlantis. He was amused to see that a vast majority of the forces were regrouping at the wall crawler's location.
"It's almost like watching a school of piranhas attacking a Megaladon" the man said with a chuckle before he saw something else approaching the fight
The Scarlet Spider
"There's one brother…" the man said as he looked to see that Tarantula had finished helping people evacuate from the docks and was now heading back to Spider-man's location
"And the other… hmmm, three spiders' vs two hundred and sixty Atlantean warriors…" the man mused as he began to fade away
"Poof fish people didn't even stand a chance…"
…
Spider-man shot several web lines at several Atlantean warriors and used them as make shift weapons as he swung them into their comrades with a great bit of strength. Their armored cracked and dented as they impacted against each other hard enough to start causing their bones to break
Spider-man jumped out of the way as Aqaulad tried to tack him from behind with a large water mace. Spider-man quirked his head at the young Atlantean
"Kid, I just kicked your ass twice. I mean good for you being all stubborn but even I know when it's time to call it quits" Spider-man said as he rolled his shoulders "But hey three times the charm right?"
Aqaulad gritted his teeth in rage as he charged at Spider-man with his mace held high and ready to slam it down on him.
"Go back to Bikkin Bottom!" the voice of Scarlet Spider caught Aqaulad by surprised and was unable to block the kick that was sent into his chest and knocked him to the ground
"GAH!" Aqaulad screamed out in pain as he felt a rib or two give, they were already damaged from the hits that Spider-man gave earlier, the new spider just delivered the final blow
"Oops sorry" Scarlet Spider seemed to wince as he heard the sound of bone breaking when he landed the kick "Just put some ice on that…yeah and uh don't get into any more fights"
Ben than turned to see Peter back hand several Atlanteans away with a single swipe of his arm that's extended and formed several spikes on it. He narrowed his eyes at his brother's fight and looked to see Kaine land beside him in a huff
"When did he get Venom back?" Ben nodded towards their brother who was now lifting one of the sea creatures up and tossing it at the other one
"You think he'd tell me?" Kaine gave him a confused look under his mask "We may be getting closer, that doesn't mean we'll that close yet"
"Scarlet, Tarantula! Less talking about me wearing Venom again and more helping me take these guys out!" Peter yelled as he kicked up a shield and used to bash a Atlantean warrior away "After that grill me all you want!"
"He's right" Tarantula rolled his shoulders "Fight first, talk later"
Scarlet Spider watched his two brothers attack the invading forces from the ocean and gave out a sigh "Why couldn't my comeback be less violent and more joyous?"
"Because you share his DNA, things are not supposed to go the way you hoped" a woman's voice spoke up that caused Ben's eyes to widen as he looked to see a familiar platinum blonde dressed in a black leather out fit
The woman was standing on top of one of the downed sea creatures and gave him a smirk "Sorry I'm late hon, but I brought a friend to help out"
Ben gave her a nervous look "Uh, who?"
"RAAAAAAWWWWW!" a large black and white being landed on top of two Atlanteans and enlarged his fists and had several spikes form on the ends of them and sent a powerful punch towards the last reaming sea beast "Get the hell out of my home you dam mermaid rejects!"
KOOOOM!
The monster was sent flying back and several squads of Atlanteans quickly moved out of the way or risk being crushed
"The cure to this fish infestation" The woman said as she jumped down and landed beside Scarlet Spider
"Anti-Venom?" Ben gaped at the sight of the previous host of Venom and arguably the most dangerous. He then gave the woman a deadpanned stare "Felicia, you really shouldn't have"
The Black Cat smirked at the second spider as she activated her claws "What can I say, I like to make an entrance, now if you excuse me. This cat is in the mood from some sushi"
She than charged into the battle that was quickly turning to the Spiders side as the Atlanteans seemed to be actually retreating. At least the ones still standing as Peter as rendered a lot of them injured to the point that they actually might need a stretcher to carry them back
"Yep… hell of a time for a comeback" Scarlet Spider groaned before he leapt in the fray while keeping a watchful eye on Peter
…
Spider-man had just slammed his fist into a Atlantean when he saw Black Cat land before him in a graceful crouch before shooting up and driving her knee into the exposed face of another Atlantean
"So Cat" Spider-man said as he side stepped an ax and drove his knee into he armored fish man's gut before picking him up and slamming him into the ground and kicking him away into two more that were coming to his aid "What brings you back to the big apple?"
"Homesick… and I wanted to see you…" Black Cat said as she turned to Spider-man while picking up a small knife that was dropped earlier before turning and throwing it into the leg off an approaching Atlantean
"Sorry, but I'm married, thanks for showing up for the wedding by the way!" Spider-man snorted in amusement as he shot several web bullets at a group of Atlanteans and pinned them to the ground "Oh and if you're going to try and sleep with me don't. Trust me, my wife isn't someone you want to pick a fight with"
"Yeah I heard" Black Cat said with annoyance in her voice "By the way where is she? This is her home too or is something like this beneath her attention?"
Spider-man was about to answer when he saw Aqualad leaning against a destroyed Atlantean machine pulling out a communicator. He narrowed his lenses at the sight and turned to Black Cat
"I'll be back in a sec!" Peter said as he punched away an Atlantean that tried to sneak up on him "Hold the fort!"
Without waiting for a response he turned and began to punch and kick his way to the former Teen Titan member. The young hero saw him approaching and for a moment Peter could see genuine fear on his face as he looked like he was about to speak into the communicator.
Spider-man narrowed his lenses and put on a burst of speed before appearing in front of Kaldur and grabbed him by the neck with a tendril from his suit while he snatched the falling communicator up before it could hit the ground
"Hey kid, hope you don't mind if I speak to the boss" Spider-man said as he looked to see that the com link was on
He held it up to his ear and listen to hear Aquaman himself speaking "Kaldur… pull your forces back. Return to the sea immediately and await further orders"
"Wow, Aquaman you sure work fast, I was just about to ask you to do the same" Spider-man said as he looked to see a lot of the Atlantean soldiers had stopped fighting along with his brothers, Black Cat and…
'Anti-Venom? When the hell did he show up?' Peter thought as Aquaman responded
"Who is this? Where is Kaldur?" the monarch demanded
"In order, I'm Spider-man Mr. Aquaman sir, as for where your protégé is… he's a bit tied up at the moment" Spider-man said as he looked to see Aqaualad struggle to free himself from the tendril wrapped around him
"…Spider-man?" Aquaman asked surprised
"Yeah your friendly neighborhood wall crawler and back in black no less! Your boy here was attacking my city… so me and a few other members of the neighborhood watch extreme division decided to intervene" Spider-man started off lightly before his voice went cold at the end
"I have called off the attack, release him" Aquaman said with a sigh "I have already agreed to Superman's terms"
"I don't work for him, so whatever you agreed to means jack to me" Spider-man said when he noticed Anti-Venom approaching him with a calculating gaze on his face "Apologize for the attack and your boy and his men are free to leave"
"And if I don't?" Aquaman growled out in anger and annoyance
"I'm a real big fan of fish tacos" Spider-man said with a shrug "And so are my friends. Aquaman, trust me when I say that I'm in no mood for anyone's bullshit at the moment"
Aquaman was quite for a moment before he gritted out an apology for the attack on New York. Spider-man chuckled and released Aqualad and tossed him the communicator
"Alright, scram before I change my mind and decide to make a Krabby Patty out of you guys" Spider-man said as he turned and nearly ran face first into Anti-Venom's chest. He took a step back and looked up to see the blank expression on the former host of the Symbiote "…Hey Brock, it's been a while. Thought you skipped town after Superman started the whole cease-fire thing"
"You've changed Spidey…" Anti-Venom said in a deep voice before he looked to see the forces of Atlantis retreating back to the water
"Yeah, well it's the suit. It has a habit of bringing out the worse in us no?" Spider-man said as he walked around the large man "Don't worry I'm taking it off after I get home. See ya at the next drug bust big guy!"
"Remember Parker…" Anti-Venom said as he watched the wall crawler walk away knowing the man can hear him "Remember… your better than what that suit wants you to be…"
…
Several hours later Diana stood before Arthur on the shores of Algeria. He looks less than pleased to see that his city was in the middle of the Sahara Desert of all places. It was like taking an ice cube and putting it next to a lit fire place
"You will pull your forces back" Diana said as she folded her arms "You will bring any grievances you have with the Surface World to us before acting"
Arthur didn't respond as he stared down at the ground with a troubled expression before he looked up towards Diana "Kaldur was leading several regiments in New York"
Diana's eyes widened slightly at that before they narrowed in slight anger "Yes, while Tula attacked San Francisco and Garth led an assault in Miami"
"Yes… but Diana, he saw something in there that has me now concerned" Arthur said with a worried expression on his face
"…What is it?" Diana qustioned feeling uneasy all of a sudden
"Kaldur saw Spider-man in an all-black suit today" the king of Atlantis revealed
Diana's eyes widened at that information as Arthur continued
"It was him Diana. Your husband Spider-man, based on my men's descriptions and Kaldur's, he attacked them with a sort of animalistic fury I've only heard he possessed when he had worn that color in the past"
It was than the Diana heard Ares's voice again in a sort of mocking way "May the day come when your beloved his consumed by the darkness within him…"
Diana shook her head to clear the memory away "There is another Spider that has taken residence in New York Arthur. He calls himself Tarantula and his suit is mainly black and I'm told he can be quite brutal in his methods. Perhaps your men mistook him for my husband"
"No Diana, they didn't. Spider-man clad in a black suit was there along with the other two spiders. He left over a hundred of my men crippled and broke several of Kaldur's ribs in his assault on my forces" Arthur said as he rubbed his head
'Two others… if one was Kaine than that means the other was Ben!' Diana thought surprised to hear that her brother-in-law has seemingly come out of retirement. Then again if what Arthur is saying is true, he probably saw Peter in the black suit again and grew concerned
"I will speak with my husband when I return to New York" Diana said
Arthur nodded as he turned to enter the ocean again when he stopped "And Diana…"
"Hmm?"
"Can you pass on a message to Superman?" Arthur looked over his shoulder
"Of course" Diana nodded, curious to hear what the king has to say
"I have ruled peacefully for many years. If he has decided to command, when he is ready, I would ask that he seek my counsel"
Diana looked at him in slight surprise "I will be sure to tell him…"
"Thank you Diana… and tell Clark that I am truly sorry for what happened to Lois" Arthur said as he then turned and walked back into the sea, leaving Diana on the beach alone with her thoughts
…
"Well?" Superman looked to see Diana approaching him as he looked over the city of Atlantis
"He has pulled his armies back" Diana said as she came to a stop by him and looked down at the city
Superman nodded "Good, I'll let Shazam and Hal no they can return Atlantis to the sea. They were too fond of this course of action"
"Don't worry about what they think Clark. You did the right thing, you did what needed to be done Clark"
Superman nodded still looking a bit unconvinced "So you've said"
Diana's eyes narrowed "I won't let you doubt yourself"
Superman nodded slowly as he turned to leave when he spoke again "What else?"
"What?" Diana asked confused
"Did Arthur have anything else to say?" Superman looked back towards Diana with an expectant look
Diana was considering telling him about Arthur willing to help him should Superman choose to rule when suddenly Arthur's voice echoed through her mind
"Kaldur saw Spider-man in an all-black suit…"
"It was the suit Diana. Spider-man based on my men's descriptions attacked them with a sort of animalistic fury I've only heard he possessed when he had worn that color in the past…"
"He left over a hundred of my men crippled and broke several of Kaldur's ribs in his assault on my forces"
"I'm sorry Clark but I have to leave" Diana said as she turned to leave
"Where are you going?" Clark asked
Diana didn't look back as she spoke in a worried tone "To speak with my husband about his recent choice in attire"
She than shot off before he could say anything else
'Peter… what's happening to you?'
…
Peter had just placed Venom back in the bag when he heard Diana arrive
"PETER PARKER!" her voice shouted through the apartment
"Yeeeees Diana Parker?" Peter asked as he emerged from the closet clad only in a pair of red sweat pants
Diana looked at him with a hard stare as she folded her arms under her bust, something that he couldn't help but stare at a little longer than necessary, and began to tap her foot. Peter has come to see this as her way of demanding an answer without saying anything
"…My suit was damaged and Kaine needed help" Peter said not beating around the bush. She's likely already heard of what he appeared in today. It was still being talked about on the news, Jameson was having a field day with it
'Has Spider-man's true colors returned?' was the most common headline. It was even starting to trend on social media. His favorite was #Spidervenom
"Peter what were you thinking wearing that thing again? Especially knowing what it did to you last time!" Diana demanded. She may not have been there or know the entire story of what Peter did when he was in the suit but from what she's heard from both Ben, MJ and a few other heroes and villains over the years, it wasn't pretty
"I was in control the whole time" Peter said as he moved passed Diana and towards the T.V. "Besides, who are you to judge me on making crazy decisions or doing something stupid?"
"What are you talking about?" Diana asked
Peter switched on the T.V. that was showing Atlantis being placed back in the sea after it was reported that she, Green Lantern, Shazam and Superman had lifted it and placed it in the Sahara Desert
"Are you kidding me? You took a city filled with people who need the ocean to survive and placed them in the worst place on Earth for them!" Peter said angrily
"They gave us no choice Peter! I tried to talk with Arthur and he responded by having his men attack me! He even tried to drown me and went as far as to summon the Kraken, yet you make it seem like he's the victim!" Diana said in outrage
"He's not innocent, he just had his army attack our home and dozens of cities across the world! But he only did that because Superman decided to threaten him, you don't threaten a guy whose kingdom is seventy percent of the entire planet!" Peter said responded with equal outrage
The two stared at each other for a long time and looked like they were about to get into another shouting match before they heard slow clapping and a woman's amused voice
"And this is why I've never married, too much drama"
Both looked to see the Black Cat sitting on their bed with an amused expression on her face "Sorry, but the window was opened and in superhero terms that means come right on in!"
"And you are?" Diana glared at the woman that snuck into her and Peter's apartment and was eavesdropping on a private matter
"Black Cat" she said with a wink "Me and Peter here were close… reeeeeal close…"
"Felicia what are you doing here?" Peter asked with a loud exhale of breath
"Came to check up on you is all" Felicia said with a shrug "Make sure that you really were still you and not staring to say 'us' and 'we' when you talk. Brock and Kaine wanted to come too but I convinced them that this required a woman's touch instead of another fight"
"Well you saw and he's fine, now get out!" Diana pointed to the window with her eyes narrowing in rage "Or I'll throw you out!"
"Hmm, she's a feisty one Pete, always had a thing for the strong types huh?" Felicia said with a chuckle as she stood up and made her way to the window "If you need me, I'll be over at Ben and MJ's. It's been a while since me and MJ had some girl time and I want to meet the little bundles of joy that I'm going to spoil silly!"
She than hopped out the window and shot a grappling hook and swung off into the night. The two watched her go for a moment before they both let out a sigh
"Peter… I don't want to see or hear you in that suit again" Diana said after a time
Peter snorted "Why?"
"Because that thing is a parasite. All it does is suck the life out of people and turns them into monsters" Diana said
"Well I guess I have nothing to worry about since you don't seem to have a problem with monsters considering your still friends with one!" Peter said suddenly with a glare
Diana's eyes widened at that as did Peter's. He looked surprised and confused by what he said
"Diana… I-I didn't…" Peter slowly backed away from his wife and leaned against the wall "I-I'm sorry that was… I didn't mean to…"
"This is why I don't want you to wear that thing Peter" Diana said as she approached Peter and rested her head against his chest "Even for just a few hours it's affecting you"
Peter wrapped his arms around her and held her close "I didn't mean to say that… I had no right…"
"It's okay Peter… it was that thing; it corrupts the mind" Diana cupped Peter's face
"Yeah… the suit" Peter nodded as he kissed his wife and hugged her again
'It was the suit… right?'
…
And done
So yeah the symbiote has a way of bringing out the worse in people… and it's only going to get worse for poor Peter as this story goes on and venom won't even be responsible for half of it
Next chapter, Spider-man heads to Gotham to meet Batman but makes a detour at Arkham after he captures an escapee and all hell breaks loose as the Justice League shows up!