Chapter 2

Deep within the dank abandoned tunnel tunnels under innsmouth a crowd of people were being lead through the twisting maze of mouldering stone work and baffling dead ends by a tour guide. Ghost tours of the many the haunted sites throughout the city and the surrounding country side were extremely popular in the city due to its alleged connection to the supernatural. Many locals joked that it was city's third most important part of economy after shipbuilding and fishing.

One of the most popular haunted tours was of the innsmouth tunnels. The tour guild droned on about the dark history of the tunnels to both regulars and half dozen out of town tourists he lead them though the depths. The guild explained the tunnels have been built in the 1920s by a cult called the esteemed order of dagon to get around the city in secret. The cult was now long gone but the tunnels remained and as so often happened throughout human history. Some people found ways to make money off what others had left behind.

The regulars of this particular tour group the CEO of Benton construction, Absalom Benton, his twin teenage children and the men and women work worked with them and their families took this tour every year. Absalom wonted to be a good boss to the employees of his small business. So several times to a year he took his employees and their families on 'fun' excursion like the innsmouth aquarium, Midway boardwalk, monolith national Park or the haunted tour of the innsmouth tunnels.

Absalom's fifteen year old daughter Andrea Benton, Andi to her friends wasn't too focused on the tour. She knew her father meant well but she had being going on these tours for a long time now and was now just kind of bored of the whole thing. She thought it was fun when she was a kid but she had gotten sick of doing it every year and her father wasn't found of many of the other haunted tours that might actually be interesting or scary, the Madhouse, Night in the barrens, fisher king cannery and others. She panned her flashlight over the pages of a think booklet that read 'Darkly dreaming' to read a script for a play she was going to be in at school.

Andi was short stocky and pale with short black hair ,highlighted with streaks of blue and purple and one long fringe of hair on the right side of her face that went down to her neck. She had black nails, lipstick and eyeliner. She wore a frayed leather jacket with spikes on it, the back of which had the twin faces of comedy and tragedy. Underneath the open jacket she wore a light purple and short skirt that came, mid way to her thighs. A white skull was stitched into her shirt over her modest bust. She wore slightly ripped black jeans and dark boots. She had a small a number of small plan metal pricings, one on the right side of her nose, two in her left ear one top one bottom and two in her upper lip. Lattely she had being thinking about adding another, maybe to her right eyebrow but needed to ask her father and do research first.

A few of the tour group especially the younger men, had complemented her on her 'pretty looks, saying things like she was the spitting image of her absent mother'. Andi did her best to ignore them even when they asked her about 'look' which they seemed to think was novel and unique though it was very common in the city. Pretty much all the teenagers in the city were clustered were Goths to one extent or another. Even the local high schools and collages the cheer leaders and the jock's favoured the look.

She was glad she didn't take the look, to the extremes some did, an old friend of hers Brian Fisheg had tattooed his face to have permanent black tear marks running down his cheeks and painted his face up every day so it looked like a skull.

Returning her attention to the task at hand Andi closed her eye for a moment to visualise the scene the play she was reading in her mind's eye when she felt a tap on her shoulder. The person who tapped on her shoulder was tall and moderately well built young man who wore a brown hoodie, khaki pants he wore a cross a manta ray charm and an octopus charm around his neck,. His face was hidden behind a smooth featureless white porcelain mask.

Andi turned around slowy to face the young man. He was two years older than her and was the son of one of one of her father's employees Humble Servant. 'I really hope this is what I think it is!' a cold ball of ice forming in the bottom of her gut.

She knew most of her father's employees and their families by name, others like Gracious and his family she thought of as extended members of her family. She liked Gracious he was friendly and easy to talk to they had practically grown up together. However she dreaded the possibility that he would ask her out not only because of how she thought of him more like a brother or cousin than as a potential romantic partner and if he went there was no way it wouldn't get awkward.

Also much there was the fact, that like most of his extended family he's suffered from innsmouth syndrome or the deep curse as it is sometimes called. The syndrome in minor cases caused scaly skin or rings around the eyes. However in severe cases it would give people fish like appearances, deep sunken eyes, thin bloodless lips, bloated cheeks, terrible teeth and long greasy lanky hair. The syndrome was fairly common to one extent or another in the city and unfortunately even more common with in the city poor which was why many people in the city wore masks to hide the deformities caused by the syndrome. Andi had never seen Gracious without his mask and knew that his case was particularly bad though he and his family weren't that poor they were just unlucky.

She suspected that Gracious like a lot of guys her age she knew had a crush on her. Through since with most of them she never returned their affections which was something that had earned her a bit of a cold reputation. Though as her ever trackless twin brother had said, few she voiced some concerns about going on the annul tour with Gracious a few days ago. 'It's alright Andi you don't have to explain it to me. You could never see yourself dating a fish person!' She tried to tell her brother that she just didn't like Gracious or many of the other young lads that way but knew that it meant much the same thing especially to Gracious whom was very sensitive. Her stomach turned she hated the idea she might hurt his feelings.

She hadn't thought of a way to let him down without sounding mean or shallow. "Hi Gracious" she said awkwardly.

"Have you seen Nathaniel?" he asked gestured to the tour group that were making their way up the tunnel.

'Oh thank kay' thought Andi 'he's not asking me out' she felt a wave of relief go thought her. He only wanted to know where her twin brother Nathaniel was "He probably just snuck off to paint the wall in the tunnels like he does every year" Andi surged wanting to return to reading her script.

"I think you should go get him before the tour ends what if he gets lost... again!" Gracious said a hint of worry to his voice.

Andi's eye brow twitched upwards and had she to suppress the urge to smile wickedly as she thought 'Maybe I'm not the Benton he's into' she shook her head. "I think he'll be fine Gracious..." she trailed off as she recalled one time she got lost down here when she was little, she remembered how scared she was. "Vera...I'll go do it I've seen this tour million times anyways." She told him as she started to walk off into one of the side branching tunnels, a rusted warring sigh hung over the stained stone entrance 'Maybe I should practice using the shame slang words that everyone else does in America? I won't be taken seriously as an actress if I say Vera instead of fine all the time when I leave Innsmouth' she thought.

Away once she was out of eye sight she aimed her flashlight at the skirt and began amble up the long tunnel. She didn't even need to check the sighs above the tunnel entrances or the maps built into the walls as she took this root and that, navigating the twisting maze off by heart. She knew her brother was and knew how to get there off by heart, she was in no hurry. She began to practice the lines for her play.

XXXX

Nathaniel gave the that was covered in neon paint that glowed in the dark and apprising look. He began taking out the paints he brought in his bag. He had been looking forward to this for a while. For the last few years whenever his dad took him and his sister on their annual tour of the innsmouth tunnels he peeled off from the tour group as soon as he could along with his art supplies and navigate his way through the maze of mouldering stone work to paint this specific wall. Each year he made a little more progress and finally tonight he was going to finish painting the wall.

Nathaniel was almost the expact opposite to his sister, he tall for his age and very thin. The only thing they shared as far as looks went was their dark hair and pail skin. Even their eyes were different where Andi pale icy blue eyes; he had one deep blue eye and one rich brown eye. His hair was short except for one side that shaved to the skin. He had several piercings well above his eyebrow and three in one ear. He wore on a hoodie that was covered in patches of dry paint and baggy pants that hung off his thin frame.

He smiled happy as he got to work with his bushes and spray cans. He did his best work alone. After about two and half houses of frenetic painting he finished the wall. He stepped back to admire his work. It was a picture of a T-Rex and a giant squid fighting. "Pretty good, though I wonder if I should have put feathers on the rex...rather than..." he trailed of as he heard something large heavy rattle through one of the storm strain pipe that lead into the tunnels. He fallowed the noise as best he could until two large glass jars fell out of the opening one, fell into his collection of paints spilling them every were. The jar cracked open and something black and gooy pored out of its container, its body started to take in the neon paints he had used like a sponge.

The other jar bounced on its heavy metal lid, then fell on its side and rolled down the tunnel until it disappeared over the ladder that led up to his hidey hole. He heard it shatter.

"What in Kay's name?" Nathaniel swore as the blob that oozed out of the jar that fell in his paints started to move of its own accord as if it was alive black. It started to suck up the neon paints he'd being using like a sponge until vivid stripes and splotch of colour pulsed along its mass as it started to slowly explore its surroundings. Nathaniel stood there staring at the strange thing transfixed. Then it lunged at him covering him.

He struggled as the ooze covered him, he trying to pry it off but his struggles almost seemed to encourage the gooey creature. "Get off me, Kay's shake someone help!" he yelled out panic griping him as he watched helpless as a glowing spider symbol spread across his chest as the goo spread up and down his body. He stretched his neck as far up as he could but there was no escape.

"Im going to die, im going to day" he yelled as the black mass enchased his head.

Hoever even as the goo covered his mouth and eyes, he could still see and breathe. Even stranger he seemed to be able to see better, than he ever had before. Everything around him became so much clearer. Even the air seemed a little fresher like when his dad took him and his sister out for nature walks outside the city. He felt his mussels start to tingle then burn though not in a painful way more like the feeling he had after going to the gym. His bisects grew nearly twice their size, his chest puffed out and his abbs legs and other muscles all straightened and became more defined. "This feel's kind of good" Nathaniel stated as he stopped fighting the goo.

The goo mimicked his hoodie, baggy pants and old biker boots, the neon paint it had taken into itself heighted his now enhanced body and detalings of his clothing.

He felt a rush of stragth pulse with in him, he powerful like he could do anything. Nathaniel then became aware of a tingling sensation that buzzed like an alarm in his head 'What is that?' he thought to himself.

'Here we go again...' a husky masculine voice inside Nathaniels head said sighing 'That is our spider Sense. We feel it when we are in danger"

"Who... said that" Nathaniel asked spinning around expecting to see someone else in the tunnel with him but as far as he could see he was still alone. A tendril the goo sprouted from his shoulder, started of small and thin about the length of a ruler and about as thick then it thickened and lengthened doubling in length and thickness until it was about as long and as thick as his arm. It was like there was a snake trapped inside the gooy mass that covered his body that was trying to free itself. The appendage flexed sprain upwards to hover right in front of his face. Rows of jagged teeth and large glowing milky white eyes emerged from the black and neon mass of goo, forming a face. 'Though calling that a face would be an insult to faces the world over' Nathaniel thought,

"That's not a very nice thing to think about us, were we come from we are consider quite handsome" the goo head hissed seeming more amused than generally insulted.

"Kay in the deep" Nathaniel swore trying to back away from the talking snake, goo, head thing that grew from his body though since it seemed to be attached to him that was a futile effort.

The goo head 'rolled' its eyes "We sware it's the same every time, first Dead-pool, than Spider-man and then Brock all you hosts always freak out when we do the head thing." It sighed "Look we don't have a lot of time, our bond is new and we are in danger so we need you to listen to us with no back talk" the creature told him.

Nathaniel nodded his understanding.

"Ok, so spider sense yes we know it sounds silly but we didn't name it ok! When we boned with spider-man we got his powers, same with that idiot Dead-pool. Every time we bond with someone with powers we take a little bit of them with us. So we can sense when there is danger nearby and heal real good" The goo head told him.

"Who are you" Nathaniel asked out loud noticing that his voice sounded weird like he was under water.

"We are venom" said the goo head, rolling its eyes once again.

'Venom' Nathaniel thought the name venom sounded familiar. Maybe that was the name of a hero or villain from the heroic age? He wasn't that well versed in superhero trivia. Plus it was really hard to think with a tooth head snake thing staring at him. "Ok so now..." Nathaniel trailed of as the tingling in his head got stronger.

"Shit...he's here...We sware one of these days we will find someone that gets with the whole programme right away." the venom head murmured annoyed as it, slithered back into the mass that it came from, merging until they were one and the same. "We should run know, also we should try and pick up Mania, she's new and she's going to be cross if we leave her. We don't need the kids sass" Venom said inside Nathaniel's head.

"Who's here, what's going...?" Nathaniel trailed of as a new figure rounded the corner at the other end of the tunnel. His jaw became slack as he watched one of if not the strangest things he had ever seen immerge into view. A knight clad in stained red suit of armour stood under the faint light provided by the antiquated lamps that hung from the ceiling of the tunnels and stared at him. He drew a large flaming sword from a sheath at his waste and un hooked a empathy glass jar from his belt.

Nine's glared as at the new host covered in a mix of jet black and glowing neon colours "Get in jar" he screamed waving the jar in his hand about "Jet in jar" he said growing more irate with each reputation "GET IN JAR"

"Hold on there, sir cranky, I'm sure we can work something out" Nathaniel told the red knight as he backed away, the buzzing sensation in his head rang like cathedral bells.

The red knight screamed incoherently as he charged at Nathaniel, the flames on his sword growing more instance. Nathaniel felt a wave of fear wash over him as he sprang backwards and upwards somehow clinging to the upper wall of the tunnel above him. 'Who in Kay's name is that and what's his deal?'

"Nines is our enemy he is hunting us, we must find Mania and flee" Venom told his host insensately

Nines swung his sword upwards attempting to slash open the gut of the new host before he the symbiot could add him.

Nathaniel reacted on insist was and leaped over Nine's head just in the nick of time. He could felt the heat from the blade has the sword barely missed him.

Nines pressed his advantage and swung again, the flat of his blazing sword hittin the host in the back. The host and symbiote screamed in pain as hell fire rushed up their back

Railing against the pain Nathaniel Instinctively reached out his hand and aimed for the far wall, a stream of a neon coloured webbing shot of his palm and stuck to the wall. He yanked on the web and propelled himself across the tunnel. He only just managed to get out of the way of Nines as the red knight ran his sword through were he had just being. Nathaniel gritted his teeth as he felt the pain in his back brought on by the knights burning sword start to dull.

'Sorry about the pain, usually we are faster at healing but fire and us don't mix' Venom told him

Seeing that his enemy was on the far side of the tunnel Nines lifted his sword above his head and yelled "Hell is coming" and charged.

"It sure is" Nathaniel quipped felling anger surge though his limbs as he jumped from the wall into the air. Two streams of web lashing out from his wrists, one pulling him up towards the ceiling the other wrapped around Nine's feet making him trip and crash into the wall Nathaniel had just leapt form. Nine cut the webbing at his feet and turned to fallow the host, screaming like a banshee.

Nathaniel twisted in mid air and shot out another string of web that latched onto a lump stone work half a dozen meters away. Somehow he 'knew' the brink his web gripped was lose, he pulled on the web stream and the brick flew into his hand and handing from the calling with the tips of his fingers from his other had. He threw the brick at the red knight

It hit the Nine's square in the chest making him stumble 'Great job kid, he has to let us hit him two more times before he can do an else.' Venom told him

Nathaniel smiled behind the goo mask that covered his face, sharp fangs grew from the featureless black mass as a mouth formed, a long neon pink tough snaked out of the toothy maw. Eyes similar to Venoms own formed. "Yess we like the sound of that" Nathaniel hissed feeling a intoxicating rush of anger and straight flow throw him as he swung above the enraged knight whom was screaming all the while taunting him by winding up to hit the knight only to dart away at the last moment.

"Hit me now" Nine's screamed over and over again as he let go of the empty jar, letting it clatter to the floor and un hooking his shield from his back.

'Play times over kid, we got to make our hits count' Venom said and Nathaniel had to agree.

"Your right we should be happy to oblige" Nathaniel yelled, his masked face split by a dark grin as he

He ripped a massive chuck of masonry from the ceiling with his bare hands and smashed it down on Nines whom used his shield to take the brunt of the assault. The rock splintering into a million shard, swinging over to the side of the wall that had his painting was. Nathaniel ran across the still sticky wall, jumped to the floor and did lunched out a savaged kick towards Nine's back side.

Moving faster than he should have being able to, Nines pivoted ninety degrees and used his shield to block the strike. He grinned behind his helm. "My turn now" Nine's proclaimed as he swung his sword, hell fire leaping out from the blades edge forcing Nathaniel to back peddled.

XXXX

Andi idly kicked an old empty tin can down the tunnels as she slowly made her way through the winding underground passageways. She didn't even need to look examine her surroundings. She knew these tunnels like the back of her hand and more importantly she knew exactly where her brother was because, he had been painting the same wall on this trip for several years. He was a creature of habit after all

As she was walking down the tunnel she heard a something made out of glass roll down the small ladder that lead to Nathaniel hiding spot, which a large tunnel about two and half meters above her and smash on the floor right in fount of her.

"Drock" she swore as she jumped back to prevent being showered in broken glass, it took her a moment to realised the jar was leaking some kind of black viscous goo. "Great I Have to clean that up before I climb or else I will get a piece of glass in my boot for sure." Andi said exasperated as she looked adorned for something she could use, there was an old metal trash can leaning against the far wall but she knew from bitter experience rats loved to make their home in it. There as a rusted metal pipe that lay half berried in the muck that gathered in the centre of the tunnel, a Skelton of a push bike that had somehow found its way down here since last year and a broom without any brush bristles.

"Well that's just typical" Andi sighed putting her hands on her wide hips "Right nothing to do but suck it up! Maybe I can use what's left of that broom to at least get the big chunks of glass out of the way"

As she turned to walk toward the broom, she found she couldn't lift her feet without them being quickly pulled back to the ground, mildly confused she looked down and saw her boots were was covered in black sludge that leaked from the broken jar. "What is this stuff, tar?"

She tired pulling harder but it did little good. The black sludgy slow seemed to be gathering straight and was somehow moving up her boots, spreading out thick vain like black tendrils as it clawed upwards.

"Holy Kay" Andi swore as terror soon grasped her heart in its hands and squeezed. The goo quivered and then shot up to her knees. Andi fell to the ground and screamed for help but no one came. Desperately she grasped at the half metal pipe sunken in the muck of the tunnel and wacked at the black goo that had now moved up to her lower thighs.

No matter how hard she tried fending off the sludge as it continued to crawl upwards , seemingly unconcerned as it reached her inner thighs "I've seen enough anime to know that something crawling up a girls legs is never a good sign", she said hysterically the rolling, quivering mass whipped out a tentacle and smacked the pipe from her hand. The appendage then splint in two and lunched itself her wrists sicking them to the dirty ground, the back goo spreading outwards over her hands and arms. "Oh kay in the deep someone help me" she screamed as the sticky mass crawled over her breasts.

Within a dozen heart beats she was completely covered in the black mass. She laid complexly still for a few moments hoping to fool the creature that covered her into not eating of violating her. 'It's not much of a plain but it's all I've got till this thing eats me.'

An image of a featureless void black humanoid figure pressed into her mind, the figures head shock side to side.

She blinked suddenly felling a sense of claim acceptance wash over her, the vague figure nodded its head "...are you the goo?" Andi asked feeling oddly claim, like she was floating on a novelty pool inflatable. 'Get a grip Andi its weird alien goo, its trying to easy you into a false sense of security so it can eat you, or beam you back to its mother ship and impregnate you with its spawn'

The sense of claim lessoned slightly as a new feeling washed over Andi, a feeling of confusion. An image entered her mind, a spider in its web cutting a fly free of its sticky trap.

"Ok I think I get it, you're not going to eat me?" Andi stated. Again the image of the featureless void black humanoid figure pressed into her mind, the figure nodded its head. "Well that's good to know I guess" Andi told the seemingly young alien that had ambushed her. Feeling oddly claim despite being covered head to foot in alien goo monster "What's your name?"

An image of a lab pressed into her mind. There were men and women in lab colts and what to be had dressed in what looked to be stereotypical military uniforms, they carried guns of all shapes and sizes ready for use, rushing about like bees. She looked to the side and saw four large glass jars like the one the goo that covered her was housed in all attached to a machine, each jar had a small plank under it but she couldn't read what they said from her position.

"Hold on, am I seeing things from your point of view, like looking through your memories?" Andi asked. The vague shadowy form the goo used to represent itself nodded its head.

The scientists removed two of the jars on the other side of the machine, one was filled with a yellow and dark red glob of goo, the other was dark brown and black. The jars were handed off to a group of soldiers whom left the lab. Then scientists detached 'her' goo's jar and the two remaining ones, one filled with black goo the other with red and orange. They to were handed off to some soldiers.

As she was taken away she was able to get a proper look at the planks that were imbalanced on onto the metal below were each jar had being kept. The brown and black one was called Toxin. The yellow and red one was called, Scream. Red and black one was Carnage. The other pure black one, Venom and the name below where she sat was Mania.

"Ok so you're Mania, if you're not going to eat me or take me to your mother ship for your space babies can I get up now?" Andi asked. Taking Mania's silence as permission she slowly picked herself up.

She looked around for something to use so she could see her reflection and to check that she was okay. She saw the old metal trash can and the shards of glass that had broken off from Mania's jar. Sensing her intentions, Mania shot out several long strains of black webbing and griped the lid of the trash can and gathering up the broken glass and sick the shards to the inside of the trash can lid making a make shift mirror.

"Ok that's kind of cool" Andi told the creature as the tendrils remerged back into her body.

Mania had her covered from head to foot, sticking to her like a thick black body suit though her jacket and skirt were no were to be seen. The suit Mania enchased her in for lack of a better term hugged her and emphasising her curves and mussels, the latter of which seemed to have become even more pronounced. The eyes of her suit, two milky white ovels with curve at each end of the eye, widen as Andi, ran a hand down her lower torso and stumic. She was no slouch and exercised regularly as acting required her to be extremely physically fit but she know looked like an Amazon warrior.

Andi felt her new enhanced mussel's tense, feeling more like steel cords rather than flesh as she continued to study her visage. The costume was pitch, black except for a large white spider logo on her chest and two white patches were her eyes were a spiked dark blue belt around her waist, two dark grey arm bands that ringed her bicep's and leg bands that sat about ten centimetres below her knee caps, which were armoured and had spikes growing out of them.

She stretched out her arms in front of her and saw, short spiked wrist bands emerge from her arms. The costume had spiked hair and there were two spiked armour plats over her shoulders.

"Not too bad of a look if I say so" Andi told the alien that covered her like a second skin. "I'm not sure about the big spider on my chest" she admitted feeling a little uncomfortable that the legs of the spider curved around her bust, seeming to draw addition to her breasts. "And between the two of us I hope this isn't permanent." She told Mania.

The alien goo around her left hand quivered and then pealed back revealing her pale skin underneath completely unmarked by its presence. "So I can take you off and put you one again like cloths?" Andi asked

"Not exactly" a hissing feminie voice said uncertainly inside the confides of Andi's mind, as the vague void black figure in her mind's eye become a copy of her costumed refection. The costume, save for the black mask and eyes which remained unchanged. Changed back into the cloths Andi had being wearing before the alien had attached itself to her. Then the mental image, clothing mourned and copied various sets of cloths it had pulled from her memories.

It showed her an image of her walking with her friends down a street, only for two men dressed in stereotypical prison jump suits to jump out of a store front waving guns about and carrying bags with dollar sighs printed on them. She and her friends to run as far away from the criminals was possible, only for the mental image of herself to slip away into a side ally, her cloths changed as Mania covered her imaged body. She then quickly dealt with the criminals before returning to her friends whom seemed none the wiser.

"So I'm like a super hero now or something?" Andi asked feeling uncertain about the prospect. She wasn't that familiar with super heroes, save a few from the Golden age of crime, like Spider-Girl, the female Hawkeye, Innsmouths own super heroine Kraken and their processors like Black widow and the original wasp.

Though occasionally when she was younger, she had sometimes wondered what it would be like if she was a superhero though as her desire to become an actress grew within her, she put such flights of fancy behind her.

"Though being a hero isn't that different from being an actress, I'd have to show a different face to the world as a hero just as I like if I was playing a role in a movie or play" Andi's mussing was interrupted when she became aware of a loud buzzing in her head like a air raid bleared inside the confines of her skull.

Above her some one shouted "hell is coming" as a rain of stone splinters and short just of fire blew over the ladder that lead up to Nathaniel's hiding hole.

Insensitively she jumped backwards and stuck to the far wall of the tunnel. "Something coming this way" she said feeling her mussels tense. A moment later a tall and bulky, black and neno clad figure with a monitress face and spider simple on his chest came flying over the lip of the ladder that separated her section of the tunnels from Nathaniel's 'art studio'. He landed on upside down on the wall opposite to her and hung upside down from the tips of his toes.

XXXXX

"Nathaniel is that you?" Andi asked feeling a instant connation with the black and neon covered figure that hung from the wall opposite her.

"Yes and I take it you've found Mania, good! Look we have no time to talk. We seriously have to hide, he's coming" Nathaniel told her as he effortlessly sprang from his perch and swung down the tunnel.

Trusting her her bother despite not having a clue as to what was gone on, she fallowed his example and jumped of the wall she had clung to and ran after him until she heard something heavy crash down the ladder. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw what looked like some kind of twisted knight templar, in red armour with a flaming sword standing the back end of the tunnel she and her brother just vacated.

The knight bellowed "Hell is coming"

She gulped as he flicked a ball of fire from his sword in her direction, she ducked and the hellish flame slammed into the wall behind her blacking the stone work. "Running is a very good idea!" Andi stated as she balled her fist and struck out two fingers. A long string of black webbing connected with the ceiling and she started to swing away, quickly catching up to her brothers lead.

XXXX

After about ten or twenty minutes of none stop running and swinging between the confusing mazes of tunnels that ran under Innsmouth, the twin's ducked into a one of the brake rooms used by the tunnel workers, large lockers lined the side of the room. A large stainless steal table sat in the middle of the room framed by a connection of, wood, steal and plastic chairs.

"Do you think we lost sir grumpy?" Andi asked taking a moment to catch her breath though in truth she had hardy worked up a sweat in the entire case.

"COME FOR YOU!" the knight angry bellows echoed from the tunnel they just left

"Drock, there's your answer" Nathaniel told his twin emphatically as they darted inside two Neighbouring lockers.

"You are here" Nine's snarled as he stomped the strake mess room and slammed home the steel door behind him, useing the flames on his swoard to melt the lock traping the new hosts in the brake room with him

"Dame it, the freak is smarter than I thought" Nathaniel said quietly as he could, bailing his fist, anger boiling inside of him.

The demonic knight began pulling open lookers. Fortunately he started on lockers furthest from where Andi and her brother were hiding. Andi noticed whenever, the red knight. Searched a locker he did it in a very strange way, almost a ritual or compulsion.

The knight would knock three times, open the locker door see what was inside, after the knight saw neither she nor her brother were in the locker her had just checked. He would tap the inside three times before closing the door only to do the whole process again twice more before moving on to the next locker.

"This guy fruiter than a Christmas cake, he checks each locker three times. I saw in we jumb him while hes looking in one of the lockers. We have super powers and there are two of us, I think we can take him" Andi whispered conspiratorially to her brother in the locker next to hers.

Nathaniel shook his head and then realised his sister couldn't see him "Andi no, neither of us have ever been in a fight before" he reminded her quitely

"I took a stage fighting class last year at school" Andy reminded her twin. She waited for the knight creature to close a locker of the other side of the room, before he opened it to tap again "I'm going for it , back me up" Andi burst out of her locker and yelled "Hey if you want to fight you got one!" She shoated as she shot out a volley of webs towards the knight, she hadn't used her web string as a weapon before but surely if it could hold her weight as she swang on it like a vine then it had to be a viable offensive tool.

Nine's reacted in a split seconded and was just able to raise his shield in time to block most of the webs. "There you are" he growled as he lunged with his flaming sword.

Andi listing to her buzzing in her head, flipped backwards retreating just in the nick of time as Nine's swing would have disembowelled her if she seceoned slower. He swung at her two more time, each swing closer to the last as she darted about the room.

The Knight paused for a moment after his third swing allowing Andi to put some much needed distance between her, and the knight.

Nathaniel watched as Andi attempted to hit the knight, Venom told him was called Nine's again, this time trying to use a chair like a club. Only for the red knight to counter slashing though the chair, lung forward with his sword trying to skewer his sister trough the abdomen. Andi took take the sword in both her hands, her masked face grimace as the flaming blade bit into her hands and using all her straight deflect the blow into one of the empty lockers and attempt to jump upwards.

Nines swung his sword up over his shoulder, cutting through the locker as he turned a hounded and eighty degrees manging to just nick, Andis back as she jumped, but the power behind the blow was so great that it sent her across the room.

Andi let out a cry of pain as she smacked the wall with enough force to crack it.

Nathaniel fought down the urge to rescue his sister and try and kick Nine's head in for laying a hand on her, choosing to watch and study the demonic knights movements as he instead of pressed his advantage paused just long enough for Andi to get up.

She growled as she picked up a large metal pipe, crushed its end into a crude spear and throw it at Nine's whom throw himself at the ground to stop from being impaled.

Andi flipped over a large stainless steel table that was bolted to the floor in the middle of the trashed, putting the table between her and the red knight who picked himself of the floor. She shot out two thick ropes of web goo from her twist, snaring the knights flameing sword and managed pulling the blade so hard it imbedded it in the table.

Nathaniel noticed something as Nines rather than just pulling the sword from the table it had already melted through and attacking Andi, hit table twice more than paused before pressed in on Andi whom had taken advantage of the brake in the fighting to pull the make shift javelin from the wall were it had being imbedded. Andi snapped the pipe in two over her armoured knee cap and tapped the two ends together like night sticks. "Come on ugly"

"That's it" Nathaniel gasped quietly. Whenever Nines attacked, he would swing three times then take a pause. "Andi he's like a video game boss, he's got a Patten. He swings three times than pauses, hit him then and because he has to do things in threes" Nathaniel yelled as he jumbled out of his locker, pulled the door of and bashed Nines in the back with it sending him to his knees. " He has to let you hit him two more times before he can retaliate " he demonstrated his point by hitting Nine's twice more with the door before the dark knight conter swung with his sword cutting the table in two.

He ran at Nathaniel with murder in his blood red eyes but Nathaniel, fresh compared to Nine's and Andi, easily avoid the flagging knight's swing.

"Got it" Andy acknowledged as she darted forward smashing her make shift night sicks into the knights shield caring arm and shoulder with all her straight. Though she had clearly hurt the knight with her attack, he staged back her first attack wasn't enough, neither was her second, her thread was defected as the knight slammed his shield into her and swung down with his sword.

"One" Nathaniel yelled as he shot out a scream of webbing and pulled Andi away from the strike

"Two" Nathaniel counted as Andi ducked a second as the knight rushed her, she jumped up ran across the room and perched on top of a locker and webbed one of the old wooden chairs that littered the room to her. She throw it at Nathaniel who ran round towards the knight used it to take the brunt of Nine's third swing, slashed across Nathaniel's chest if she hadn't interceded.

"Three" Andi yelled springing backwards and upwards, cling to the ceikling, and shooting out a stream of webbing that wraped around the kights legs keeping him in one place as he paused

Nathaniel pivoted lunched a punch that would have connected with Nines head however the dark knight had seen the blow coming and razed his a shield but the blow caused the already unbalanced knight to stumble backwards cosmetically.

"You will pay" Nines screamed

"Maybe one day but not today" Andi quipped as she ripped a locker door of its hinges and smashed it down on the knights shield arm, utterly ruining limb. He screamed in pain as bone, splinted and mussels tore.

Nine's tried to stand but was knocked from his feet when the male host, Venom rushed in and punched him with a clawed fist, slamming his helmeted head to the floor as she was flipped onto his back.

"How many do we have left Mania?" Nathaniel asked, a gleeful and savaged grin filled his masked face.

Andi blinked wrong footed by Nathaniel brazen mockery their downed foe and the fact he just called her by the name of the alien that had attached to her. "Umm... One... Venom?"

"That's right one" Nathaniel confirmed smiling wickedly as he shot a web that latched onto Nines back plate as he tried to crawl away and pulled him back. "That's right" he said as Nine's tried to get up. Nathaniel processed to pick up wail on the downed knight and threw him across the room into the same spot where Andi had being thrown, with enough force to make the cracks in the already weaken wall bigger. "But we think we can do better than one" He growed as he stood over the knight, his frists doubling in size, savage spikes emerged from his knuckles. "WE can do a lot better"

XXXX

Andi was a little taken aback by her brothers savagery, the grinning toothy Maw that took up his mask, seemed to grow more and more monstress as he laid into the now defenceless knight. Growing droll dripped from his extended tough as his fanged teeth grew larger, sharper and more ragged.

"Venom that's enough" Andi yelled at her brother pulling him away knight he was treating like a rag doll. Nathaniel hissed at her making her take a step back fearing if only for a moment she would become the next object of his rage but she railed, she knew he would never lay a hand on her alien goo monster or no alien goo monster. "That's enough" she told him firmly.

"Yess... Yes...it is..." Nathaniel agreed feeling the cloud of rage that had filled his every thought start to evaporated shame replacing it. His savage maw and dripping tong shuck down but didn't disappear completely. "We should hand this creep over to the cops or something..."

"You will not" Nine said somehow staggering to his feet. "You will not" he screamed as he ran past the two new hosts and rammed himself onto a piece of rebar that jutted from a broken section of wall. "YOU WILL NOT" Nines screamed in pain as the rebar had rammed through his where his heart would be, the knight slowly started dissolving into sand.

He let out a cackling laugh decimation sped up, the grains of his body falling through the cracks in the wall escaping the symbiotes.

Truth be told he was not particularly bothered be his defeat, sure it was disappointing losing a battle to two in-experienced fighters and he knew he would have to confess his failure to his master whom would not be pleased but whatever punishment or set back he suffered was a small thing. He would reconstruct himself, he would recover all he had lost and then some it was inevitable and he was immortal.

He smiled as he turned to address his two new enemies his face started to crack and sprinter, the knowledge they would fall made all the scorn and punishment his masters and his kin would put upon him worthwhile."Symbiotes will lose"

"Host's will die" Nine's added

"Philosopher always wins" the last of nines face turned to dust as his last assurance lingered in the air after he drifted away "This just beginning"

Andi blinked and then surged "Well that was ominous" Andi quipped she watched her bother stalk over to the door the knight had lucked to keep them form ecapeing and processed to kick it open "But I'm glad is that's over" she told Nathaniel as Mania pulled away from his face revelling her pail sweaty skin underneath.

The rest of her costume fallowed suit as Nathaniel likewise returned to his normal cloths though their physique's had changed forever. New mussels had grown and their bodies were now enhanced greatly by their symbiotes allies.

Nathaniel pashed a moment as lingered in the door frame waiting for his twin, like a good big brother was meant to do. "Venom tells me this isn't the end. That guy Nines, he's only one of a team of demons called. The heroes of chaos, they've been hunting him and the symbiotes for years on the behalf of someone called the Philosopher..." he trailed of as his stomach growled. "I hope we can catch up to the tour group before they leave for the dinner, I could murder a double stack burger and chips right now"

"Me too" Andi agreed as she freed a bag of chips from one of the wrecked lockers. "Hopeful this will keep me going till then" She said smiling as she rushed past her brother.

Nathaniel eyed Andi's packet of chips, "You know those have got belong to someone right?"

Andi looked back towards the wrecked brake room. "I don't think whoever comes back to that mess is going to care about packet of stale chips"

"Maybe" Nathaniel nodded in agreement "But we did just fight a demonic knight, you really want to risk pissing off Kay?" he asked

Andi eyed the packet of chips and sighed. "Dame it, these are my fav flavour too" she said as she threw them back into the brake room. "And I suppose we are super hero's now, they generally don't steal"

Nathaniel paused "They also don't bet on guys they have at their mercy"

"No they don't" Andi agreed as she glanced sideway at her brother after a long silence "You scared me back there"

"I scarred myself" He admitted "I'm sorry"

She surged "It's like dad always say's, don't be sorry, be better" Andi reminded her brother japing him playful in the shoulder. "Come on I bet we could catch up to the tour group in half the time if we sing" She told him, "And I bet I can bet you there" with that Mania flowed over her form as she launched out a sting of web and swung away.

"Hay no far" Nathaniel said as venom flowed over his body and he swung after his sister.