The Invincible Spider-Man
Chapter 65: What Makes You Stronger
Spider-Man sat outside the ICU, face buried in his palms, as thoughts rushing through his head. The last time he saw Carradine, he didn't have a pulse. That was 2 hours ago.
Just then, the doctor walked out of the door, a mixed look on his face. Spider-Man quickly got up and walked up to the doctor, his legs shaking with every step.
"How is he?" asked Spider-Man, his voice shaky, and the raspy tone gone.
The doctor massages his eyebrows. "We managed to jumpstart his heart again, but there's barely a pulse," said the doctor.
"Is he alive?" asked Spider-Man.
"There's a line between life and death. Right now, he's literally right in the middle of that line. We can't be sure which side he falls in," said the doctor.
"Right," said Spider-Man, going back to his seat and sitting down, sighing heavily, as he massaged his forehead.
"If I may ask, what happened to him? You seem very concerned," said the doctor.
Spider-Man hesitated for a second, taking a deep breath and looking directly at the doctor's eyes.
"I did," said Spider-Man, voice cracking as he breathed in a shaky breath, staring back at his hands, covered in the black suit.
The doctor raised his eyebrows for a second, but seemed to be relatively calm. "It's the suit, isn't it?" asked the doctor.
Spider-Man looked back at him, then to the suit. "How'd you suppose?" he asked.
"My son has been a massive fan of yours, ever since you beat The Lizard about three years back. Then one day, he comes and tells ne about how the news outlets are deeming you more reckless, and the new suit too. Doesn't take a genius to make a connection," explained the doctor.
Spider-Man looked a little surprised.
"You're right, it doesn't," he replied, looking bewildered, as he stood back up and walked back to the window, jumping out of it and swinging towards a high building.
He reached the top, as the mask pulled away from his face.
"Why didn't I realize this sooner?" asked Peter to himself, staring at his suit. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in his neck.
"No, it couldn't have been the suit! What am I thinking? The suit is what made me strong enough to actually have criminals fear me," said Peter, out loud. His mind then flashed back to Dennis Carradine, on a hospital bed, half-dead.
"Dammit!" exclaimed Peter, as he shook away any thoughts and recklessly swung back towards ESU.
"Something's wrong. It's like I keep jumping from loving this, to realizing something is off. And right now, I'm thinking the latter. I may have killed someone, oh God…" thought Peter, his mind racing as he reached the window of his room at ESU.
He opened the window and snuck through, closing the window. Normally, the suit would retract back into his watch with a mere thought, but right now, it seemed to stay still.
"What the Hell?" asked Peter, when the suit wouldn't retract. In fact, it seemed to shift a lot, almost as if it were getting tighter.
"Hey, get off! GET OFF!" exclaimed Peter, but the suit got tighter and tighter, as it started to constrict Peter, preventing him from breathing.
"Get…off…" said Peter, weakly, as he fell unconscious.
"How's the SO-2 coming along?" asked Spencer, as he walked into the lab. Alistair had his head buried in files.
"It's gonna take a while to salvage parts from the SO-1, but I may have another idea," replied Alistair.
"Do share," said Spencer, walking up to desk.
"When Tricorp's assets were liquidated a couple years back, we gained all information on Lonnie Lincoln's double life. Including a contact he had saved when he was still out to kill Spider-Man," explained Alistair, as he pulled out a folder.
"Sergei Kravinoff? A Russian hunter living in Africa. Says here he's a…conservationist? Doesn't that completely undermine the whole "hunter" part of him?" asked Spencer, bewildered. "Son, I don't think we're that desperate to hire a backwards mercenary who doesn't even understand his own title," chuckled Spencer.
"He's taken down some of Africa's wildest animals. Who's to say he can't slay a spider?" asked Alistair.
"Even if he can, why would he want to go after Spider-Man, what's in it for him? It doesn't look like he worries about money too much," said Spencer.
"Check the list of relatives," said Alistair, grinning.
"Calypso Kravinoff, Vlad Kravinoff, Dimitri Smerdyakov…there's only three," scoffed Spencer.
"Does the last name sound familiar?" asked Alistair.
"Not really, should it?" asked Spencer, his throat seizing up a little. Alistair pulled out a police report and handed it to his father.
"Dimitri Smerdyakov…The Chameleon? Foiled by Spider-Man…" read Spencer. "Aaaaah…." He said.
"Exactly," said Alistair. "If we do hire Kraven, he has enough motivation for hunting down Spider-Man, since he put his brother in jail, while we work on the SO-2 as a backup," continued Alistair.
"Perfect," said Spencer, as he turned around.
All of a sudden, his chest started to tighten as he started to cough, tasting the copper-like taste of blood.
"Dad, you okay?" asked Alistair.
"Oh dear," said Spencer, as his eyes rolled back into his head and collapsed onto the ground.
"Wake up, Peter! Quick!" shouted a voice. Peter slowly opened his eyes, only to see Harry Osborn standing beside his bed.
"Harry? What are you- wait a minute…" thought Peter, as he looked around where he woke up. He was back in his bedroom, the one at Aunt May and Uncle Ben's house, when he was still a sophomore in high school.
"Wait a minute-" thought Peter, super bewildered. He looked at himself, and as he looked at his arms, he found himself to be way muscular than he thought.
"While we're young, Peter!" said Harry, as he began to lift Peter up from his bed. "The bus waits for no one!"
"Wait, what bus?" asked Peter, as Harry threw a pile of clothes, a can of deodorant and a couple breath mints.
"Don't tell me you forgot, it's literally been the only thing you talk about," replied Harry.
"Is it…the school trip to Oscorp?" asked Peter, spitballing an answer.
"Obviously! Looks like too much sleep messed up that Parker brain in there. Or maybe it was that French test. Oh well, allons-y!" said Harry, as he left the room, and Peter began to put on his clothes.
"What the Hell is going on? Last thing I remember is putting Carradine in the hospital. When did I even fall asleep?" Peter asked himself, as he left his room and walked down to the stairs.
"There he is! Gee, I wonder what you were dreaming about that made you sleep in so much," said Uncle Ben, as he sipped on his coffee at the dining table.
Peter heavily swallowed. "U-Uncle Ben?" he asked.
"As much as I'd like to be Captain America instead, yep, it's me," said Ben, a slight confused expression on his face as Peter ran up to him and hugged him tight.
"Wonder what's got you so affectionate," chuckled May, as she left a plate of waffles on the table.
"What coffee is that?" asked Harry to Uncle Ben.
"This, is the purest coffee in the city. Well, the city's most prolific thrift shop," chuckled Ben. "Still, coffee is coffee," he continued, as he sipped the drink. Peter lightly chuckled, he missed how Uncle Ben loved drinking coffee.
"Any time left to eat breakfast?" asked May.
"Nope. Time waits for no man, and the Midtown High bus waits for no time!" exclaimed Harry, as he practically dragged Peter out of the house.
Just about 10 seconds later, Harry rushed back in, grabbed a waffle, thanked May and ran out again.
Peter walked out of the driveway.
"So, you excited?" asked Peter, as he turned around, only to find himself somewhere else. A corridor of sorts, and Peter instantly recognized which one. In front of him was an elevator. He knew what was going to happen.
And just as he predicted, he heard a cop scream out, as a man holding a bag of cash came barreling down the other end of the hallway, sprinting towards Peter and the elevator.
Without hesitation, Peter stood in front of Carradine's way.
"Move, kid!" exclaimed Carradine, as he pulled out a gun.
All of a sudden, a massive black tendril extended from Peter's back and whipped the gun out of his hand, as the cop caught him.
"Thanks kid," said the cop, as Peter took a couple steps back.
"What the Hell is happening?" thought Peter, as he turned around and found himself back on the Washington Bridge. He instinctively ducked as the Green Goblin came swooping in.
"Hold him still! I'll get him!" yelled George.
"Captain Stacy?" asked Peter, confused. He looked across the bridge and saw Gwen unconscious on a car.
Goblin dropped another bomb, this time towards George.
"NO!" yelled Peter, as 4 tendrils extended from his back. One pushed George out of the way, two others held down Norman, while the fourth one grabbed the bomb in mid-air and threw it back towards Norman.
"NOOO!" yelled Norman, as the bomb exploded on his glider, sending him flying away.
"Thanks for that, Peter," said George.
"Captain Stacy, I-"
"You don't need to say anything. That suit of yours singlehandedly saved my life," he said.
Peter turned around to face Norman, only to find himself at the top of the bridge. He was facing Norman, who was holding Gwen on the top of the bridge.
"No no no NOT AGAIN!" yelled Peter, grabbing his head.
"And you could've been a better hero! Kept your loved ones safe! But no, no one's safe from The Goblin!" yelled Norman, as he dropped Gwen off the bridge.
Without even a millisecond's worth of hesitation, Peter jumped off of the bridge, diving towards Gwen. He shot a web, even though he knew it probably won't make it.
Just then, a tendril extended from his arm, almost 3 times faster than the web, as it wrapped around Gwen. Another tendril extended from his back, wrapping itself around the bridge's cables.
Gwen was just inches away from the ground when the tendril softly stopped her fall.
"W-What…" said Peter, as the tendril let her down slowly. He landed on the ground, and noticed Gwen alive.
"I-I saved you…" said Peter, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Before he could do anything, he heard a voice in his head. A dark, twisted voice, sounding like nails on a chalkboard, but echoing all throughout.
"This…is what we could finish…together…" said the voice.
"W-Who are you?" asked Peter, suddenly finding himself in pitch blackness.
"We…" said the voice again, sounding like it was scraping Peter's brain.
"Are Venom."
Peter suddenly woke up, wearing only his trousers, and on the floor of his room.
"What the actual Hell?" he thought, terrified. The suit seemed to be nowhere, and Peter knew he had to get answers. He rushed to his closet and pulled out his makeshift costume, putting it on and swinging away.
"Smythe!" yelled Peter, dressed in his costume as he walked into Oscorp. Two guards rushed towards him.
"I need to talk to Mr Smythe!" said Peter, but the guards pushed him back, training their assault rifles towards him.
Mr Smythe isn't here. Though I'm sure he'd appreciate us bringing him your body," said one of the guards.
"I don't have time for this," said Peter, as he rushed out of the building. He then started to run up the tower, towards Smythe's office.
"Hey, shoot him down!" shouted one of the guards, as they opened fire. Peter began to dodge the fire as he guesstimated the office floor.
"There it is!" said Peter, as he crashed through the window, only to find it empty. The desk seemed to be completely clear.
"Goddammit," cursed Peter, as he heard footsteps coming. He quickly jumped out of the window and swung towards another building.
"The suit looks like it's gone, but it's still dangerous. I need to find out more about it," said Peter, as he hurried back to ESU.
Spencer came to, on a hospital bed. He had a respirator connected to an oxygen tank and an IV needle injected into his right hand. Alistair was next to him, talking to a nurse
"A-Alis..tair.." he said, raspily. Alistair quickly turned back to him.
"Thank God you came to! I…I didn't know-"
"You need to…call the hunter. The SO-2 will take time…to b-build, without me," said Spencer.
"Dad, are you sure? I can build the SO-2 myself, I-"
Spencer weakly put his hand on Alistair's.
"Do it," he said, his voice barely a whisper.
Alistair nodded, as he left the room, and dialed in a number.
"Hello?" he asked. There was no answer from the other side.
"HELLO?!" he asked louder, but there was still no answer.
"Mr Smythe," said a deep voice with a heavy Russian accent.
"Doctor Connors?" asked Peter, as he walked into the ESU Biology Lab.
"Peter, good to see you've come to class, when classes are over?" inquired Curt.
"I had to ask you a question. It's for the project I'm working on," explained Peter. Curt looked at his watch.
"Very well, I've got some time. What is this about?"
"Is there any sort of organism, which has the ability to…I guess…improve another organism's physiology?" asked Peter.
"I'd say those'd be steroids," chuckled Curt.
"No, like it's a living being that basically latches onto an organism, and basically increases physical attributes, but at the same time corrupts the organism. Like, psychologically," replied Peter. Curt's eyebrows furrowed.
"So it latches onto an organism, seems to make it feel more powerful, but takes things away from the body as well?" asked Curt.
"Yeah, like one's inhibitions. Their emotions, attitude, etc," added Peter.
"I think you're describing a parasite. At least a parasite that seems to form a symbiotic relationship. Like a… symbiote," suggested Curt.
"A living but not living parasite?" asked Peter.
"What do you mean by that?" asked Curt.
"Well, the symbiote has a mind of its own, but what if it's a lab experiment? Like artificially engineered life?" suggested Peter.
"Well, at some point the symbiote would develop its own goals. If we look at animal behavior, maybe the symbiote's main goal would be to gain more nutrition, reproduce more offspring, etc," replied Curt.
"And if the symbiote continues reproducing, it can affect other organisms in the ecosystem?" asked Peter.
"Most certainly," replied Curt.
"Okay got it, thank you so much Doctor Connors," said Peter, as he turned around to leave.
"Peter wait," said Curt, and Peter turned to face him.
"You're acting…like yourself again," he said, smiling.
"Thank you," replied Peter, smiling himself, as he turned around and dashed out of the room, sprinting with Olympic level speed out of campus and out onto the street.
"Don't care if anyone saw me run like The Flash, or if I'm without my suit. I need to get Oscorp ASAP!" thought Peter, as he ran down the street.
All of a sudden, Venom started to crawl out from his chest. Peter could feel it latch onto him.
"NO, STOP!" shouted Peter, as he tumbled onto the street. Cars and taxis quickly stopped in the middle.
"What're you doin' man?! Get high at home!" shouted one driver. Peter's hand extended into a tendril, and pushed the car away, as the symbiote quickly covered his face.
"Give in, Peter…" said a voice.
"NO!" he shouted back, as he rushed to the now overturned car and pulled the driver out, all while trying to fight Venom from taking over his body.
"You must. We showed you the benefits of letting us in…" continued the voice.
"SHUT UP!" shouted Peter, as he started to pull off the symbiote mask, but it was glued to his face.
The Black Suit extended from his chest and covered every inch of his body.
Peter dashed away and ducked into an alleyway, as he shot a web from the Black Suit and landed on a rooftop.
"Get the Hell off of me!" he shouted, as it started to rain heavily. The rain seemed to make it harder for Peter to focus.
"Parkerrrrrr…you need us…" hissed Venom.
"I never did!" shouted Peter, ripping out pieces of the suit. However, the torn bits seemed to instantly patch themselves.
Peter jumped off of the roof and started swinging, dodging buildings as he tried to distract himself from the symbiote, hoping that would be enough and trying to get somewhere safer.
"You know you can't escape us. We are everywhere. We are you. We are Venom!" said the voice, every syllable stinging Peter.
Peter eventually saw a familiar looking building and crashed onto it, violently tumbling onto the rooftop.
5 MINUTES EARLIER
Eddie entered the Bugle's office one final time, wearing a sweatshirt and trackpants. All his stuff was in a cardboard box on his desk.
"Hey man," said Ned, as Eddie just ignored him and went to get his desk.
"Look you don't have to ignore me," continued Ned.
"Seems like all of you did when Jameson fired me," replied Eddie, not even making eye contact.
"Dude, I tried my best. It's not our fault you kept such a huge secret," replied Ned. Eddie turned back around, but then muttered something and went back to pick up his box.
When he picked up the box, he made eye contact with Carlie. He tried saying something, but nothing came out.
Just as soon as he turned around to leave, a huge crash was heard.
"What was that?" asked Betty, as it seemed to rumble the office.
"It's probably the thunderstorm. The antenna on top is pretty much a lightning rod," replied Ned.
They started hearing grunts, as well as someone scream.
"That's definitely not the lightning," said Eddie, as he put the box down and rushed out of the office.
"Eddie, what are you doing man?" asked Ned, rushing after him.
"Stay here, I'll go check it out!" replied Eddie, as he rushed up the stairs.
"GET…OFF…ME!" shouted Peter, as he started to rip the symbiote from his body.
"You need us!" screeched the voice, as it turned into a massive ball and engulfed Peter inside it.
Peter opened his eyes, and found himself surrounded by darkness again.
"You're gonna show me memories again? No, you and I are done!" yelled Peter, his voice echoing all around him.
"You are acting stupid, Peter. We can do better!" replied Venom.
"No, all you need to do is reproduce and spread your race! You're a parasite!" shouted Peter, into the endless void.
"Our goal is not to reproduce. On the off chance we did, the results would be…full of carnage," replied Venom.
"How are you even talking to me?" asked Peter, terrified.
"After bonding with a human host, I have inherited everything you know. Your intelligence, your memories…your insecurities," replied Venom.
"No, no you need to get off me right now!" shouted Peter.
"Think, Peter! Without us, people won't be afraid you anymore. Crime will run rampant!" scolded Venom.
"I don't need people to be afraid of Spider-Man, if it means people will be afraid of Peter Parker too," replied Peter.
"That is the problem with you, Peter! Because you cannot make the hard choices. Uncle Ben died because you didn't do anything. You didn't do enough to save George or Gwen! Think about all the pain you brought on their family, you!" exclaimed Venom, his voice booming.
And now Jean is dead because of your inaction! That is what you can prevent without us, Peter!" said Venom. "You must sacrifice Peter Parker in order to bring true justice to this city!"
"I-I can't," replied Peter, his voice breaking as he fell to his knees.
"Then let us help. Let us get full control over you, and we can make the world a better place…" hissed Venom, maliciousness in his tone, but Peter was way too tired to do anything.
"We can make the sacrifices you never could…" said Venom.
Peter closed his eyes, as the symbiote began to take him over. All he could feel was numbness, if that could even count as a sensation.
He started to feel the anger, the hate seep through his veins again. He wanted to fight it.
But for some reason he couldn't.
"Now don't you dare talk to my kid about sacrifices. He's made some unimaginable ones," said a voice, which seemed to cut through the darkness like a ray of polarized light. Peter opened his eyes, instantly recognizing it.
Out of the shadows walked out Uncle Ben, smiling as he stood beside Peter, who was still kneeling on the ground.
"No, what is this?" asked Venom.
"Uncle Ben?" asked Peter, just as confused.
"The one thing about you Peter, that always stayed constant no matter what, was that you always got back up," said Uncle Ben. "But sometimes you forget, that you could always use a hand in doing so," said Ben, as he extended a hand.
"NO!" shouted Venom.
"Shut up, will you?" said another voice, as George Stacy showed up on Peter's right side.
"Remember what I told you, kid? About how you constantly put your life on the line to help others? And how you take those punches and hit harder? Well now it's time to pistol up and show this guy what you're made of," said George, as he extended a hand.
"Spider-Man. The one hero who seemed to never give up. Jack of all trades, Master of all. Especially in being a hero, no matter as Spider-Man or Peter. Go be a hero, Peter," said Jean, as she also extended a hand, helping Peter get up.
"If I were you, Peter, I would've given up years back. But the beauty of it is, you always find that sliver of hope in a world of darkness. That's what makes you who you are. Spider-Man isn't made by the mask, or the suit or the powers. Peter Parker is what makes Spider-Man," said Spot, as he also helped Peter get up.
As soon as he got to his feet, he came face to face with Gwen.
"Gwen, I-"
"You once told me that with the power you've been given, it's your responsibility to protect this city. And that the city needs you," she said.
"What's the point of me is Gwen Stacy's not in my world?" asked Peter, his voice barely coming out.
"I'll always be with you Peter. Remember, the worst thing you can do to yourself is blame yourself. If you do that, you're not gonna help anyone," she said, her hand on his cheek, as she wiped away a tear.
"Now kick this symbiote's ass," she said, as Peter smiled.
"NO, THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING! YOUR LOSSES MAKE YOU WEAK! YOU'RE A LOSER!" shouted Venom, as the pitch black walls around Peter began to crack, more white light beginning to get through.
The cracks casted the shadow of an intricate web on the floor.
"You're wrong, Venom," said Peter, clenching his right fist.
He readied himself as he breathed heavily, his eyes focused on the miles of pitch blackness that was before him.
"Whatever I've lost doesn't make me weak," he said.
"It strengthens me, and makes me stronger," continued Peter, as he rushed towards the dark with a charged fist, and punched straight through it, shattering the walls of darkness around him completely.
Eddie rushed up to the roof, only to see a ball of black goo on the center.
"What the Hell?" asked Eddie, as he went to touch it.
All of a sudden, the ball exploded as Eddie was sent hurtling back.
"AGH!" he exclaimed, almost tumbling off of the edge of the roof. He looked forward, and saw Peter trying to pull off the Black Suit.
"P-Peter?" asked Eddie, his vision becoming blurry.
Peter continued to pull off the suit, which was actually coming off this time, as lightning began to strike the earth. Just then, Peter remembered something.
"Sound…and fire!" he said to himself. He quickly climbed up to the top of the antenna on the roof, which seemed to stretch super high into the sky. Thunder began to roar, and the symbiote began screeching.
"NOOO! NO, YOU WILL NOT LEAVE US, PETER PARKER!" yelled out the symbiote, as Peter pulled it off of his arms and legs.
"You're a parasite, Venom. And it's about time you…leave…this…host!" he yelled out, as a perfectly timed lightning strike managed to strike the antenna, generating large amounts of heat and fire as the symbiote was ripped away from his body, and Peter was flung off of the building.
"What the Hell…" asked Eddie, getting back to his feet, only to see nothing but an antenna on fire on the Bugle. Peter was missing.
"There's no way that was real…" he told himself. All of a sudden, he felt a tingling sensation on his leg, as if something was crawling on his skin. He quickly looked down, and saw nothing.
Just then, Ned and Betty came running up.
"What happened?" they asked.
"I…I don't know," said Eddie, still incredibly bewildered, as he walked past them and back down the stairs.
Peter slowly got back to his feet, finding himself near a dumpster in an alleyway. He was still wearing his civilian clothes, but the thunderstorm seemed to have calm down.
There was a mirror nearby, and Peter quickly went to check himself on it. His increased physique, at least the part enhanced by Venom, was gone. He took off his shirt, and noticed that Venom's imprint, of the larger, more elongated spider was gone too.
Peter put on his shirt as he sighed heavily, weakly smiling as he walked out of the alleyway.
"You want me to come after Spider-Man?" asked the voice over the phone. The unknown man seemed to be in a hut, twirling a knife between his fingers.
"Yes. I can understand if you choose to decline, it is Spider-Man after all," said Alistair, over the phone.
"Not to worry. A true hunter doesn't care about the prey, but the thrill of the hunt. And let us just say, I have had my eyes on this prey for a long time now," said Kraven, chuckling as he threw the knife with expert precision towards a wall.
The knife landed straight on a picture of Spider-Man, right in between his eyes.
Well, I have to say this is certainly one of my favorite chapters to write, and it concludes the Emo Parker/Bully Maguire saga! In all seriousness, do leave a review on what you think! The Venom saga is just beginning! Also I am so so sorry about the delay in uploading chapters, I've been super busy irl. But I will try and stick to a schedule!
In other news, things haven't been this good for over 2 years! I'm dating someone, I finally have friends, my story is doing great and school is physically reopening in another week! I haven't been this happy since about October 2019, and that was a massive deal for me. I genuinely have to thank each and every one of you who read, followed, favorited and reviewed this story, it truly means a lot to me! Things are honestly looking up for me in ways I can't even imagine, it feels like they might actually go back to normal. I also watched Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings, and it was absolutely amazing, What If so far has been a little underwhelming, but still enjoyable, and I cannot wait for Poison: Let There Be Chaos- I mean, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, super hyped for that!
redbirds12 and Fate-Be Changed: Yeah I actually retconned that lmfao. Peter taking a life would be a step too far!
Geek4Life and Guest: Sadly, I doubt that Peter will go bald this season. But I certainly do have a surprise about that, but it will come in Season 6!
I am the Voice: Well, not technically "gone" gone, but certainly out of the equation (for now)!
SpideyXBC: He certainly will! And now we'll see the toll it all takes on him
Teller-Story: Ahahaha yep, and he did get the imprints, but they were more or less temporary.
Yours Truly,
Shadow Strike.
P.S: Andrew Garfield is most certainly in Spider-Man: No Way Home. I'm 92% sure.