Chapter 3

The Lethal Protector, paced around in their web trap. They were getting impatient and they wanted to fight, and they wanted to fight now. They couldn't stand the fact that Peter could have ignored them. But they also knew, that if Punisher was around, they would at least have fun before. Punisher was an acceptable ally, but he would not stand in thier way of defeating the Spider, and becoming the only wall crawling hero in this town. But they also thought, of just leaving, but that was more Brock, than the symbiote. They didn't like the smell of New York, they had been away from it for too long. But it was a neccesary step in their plan to become free of the taunting life of Parker. They roared in anger, this was getting to be too long to wait for the Spider. They thought about going after him again, and trying to lure him there. But they knew that he would suspect something was wrong if they backed out of a fight. They wanted to get it done and over with. It was the only thought in their tortured mind. And Brock was steadily losing controll, if he couldn't keep his wits, the symbiote would take over, and who knew what they would do then. The thought, made them chuckle. To him, every time they were Venom, the symbiote was in controll, but he also guided their thoughts, and kept the violence in check. But waiting around, just made them more impatient, and killing of innocents, seemed more fun, every dreadfull moment. Just then, they sensed someone coming. They knew who it was, and it excited them to no end.

In the van, Spidey, and Punisher, were trying to figure out which warehouse Venom was in. It didn't take them long though, to spot one that had a huge hole in the roof. It was Venom's trade mark, and they knew it. "Doesn't anyone use doors anymore?" Parker asked. Punisher chuckled and then pointed to the door. "He probably has the door trapped, and every other exit for that matter." He said. Spidey looked at him, and realized that Punisher knew Brock better than he did, and if that gave them an edge, he was glad. But traps just didn't seem to be Venom's style, at least to him it didn't. He had always considered Venom to be a few cards short of a full deck. Not capable of thinking up traps, but then again, Brock was a smart person, and maybe not always smart when he was Venom, but he sure seemed to be pretty good when he was just himself. Peter brushed the thought aside, and trusted Punishers judgement. They parked the van, and started to advance to the warehouse on foot. Spidey didn't like the atmosphere, it seemed too creepy, and he felt like there was a thousand eyes watching them. No doubt a few of Punisher's cameras were watching, but it was more than that. But the closer to the warehouse Spidey got, the less his spider sense went off. Which only could have meant one thing, Venom was near.

Venom looked out the window, and then grabbed the biggest crate they could find, and hurled it out, aiming for Punisher. "So, the Spider, and the Punisher have joined forces. Let's see how you do in here!" Venom yelled. Spidey got another chill from the sound of the monster's voice. He just plain didn't like it, it seemed unearthly. They advanced up to the building, and even though his spider senses were out of commision, his senses still made him unsure this was such a good idea. Venom in a close environment, with his massive bulk and strength would be a dissadvantage. Not to mention not much maneuvering room. Punisher looked at him, and then pulled out a canister. He pulled what looked like a grenade launcher out, and told Spidey to stand back. Spidey did as he was told and perched up top of the flagpole sitting next to them. "If he want's a party, he's gonna get it." Punisher said. Punisher, then launched the grenade and the whole door to the warehouse blew up in a ball of fire. "Nice, make your own door in a can?" Spidey asked. Punisher just walked into the building. "Geez, can't you take a joke?" Peter asked as he jumped down and followed.

The ware house was poorly lit. Punisher pulled out a flash light and started to look around. Spidey -- nervous without his spider sense -- looked around and tried to identify a familiar smell. The two of them continued on, making sure they covered each other in case of an attack. "You know, these old warehouse meetings are so a decade ago." Spidey quiped. Punisher, still looking around, chuckled and nodded his head. "Yeah it seems to be only the older generation that uses these anymore." he agreed. Spidey tried hard not to let out a loud laugh. Just then -- without warning from shuffling or sound -- a giant barrel came rushing towards them. Punisher saw it in time and shot a concussion grenade at it. The short blast lit up the warehouse and revealed what was hiding in the shadows. Spider-Man and Punisher looked on in awe of what they saw on top of them. It was an endless network of webs, building work, and endless amounts of junk. Just then, something caught Spider-Man's leg and he fell to the ground. He landed however not on concrete but a large webbing net. The sound of Spidey falling made Punisher whip around. All he could see was Spider-Man being hoisted up into the darkness. He quickly shined his light up towards where Spidey was pulled but saw only webbing and junk tied in with it. "Parker! You ok?" Punisher yelled. But there was no answer. Just then he felt a whoosh of air behind him, and he whipped around to see a black form just barely catch the light of the flashlight. "Nervous?" he heard in the darkness. He tried to turn towards the sound of the voice but saw nothing.

Spidey opened his eyes to see nothing but dimly lighted rafters. He tried to move but found his arms being held by webs. He didn't struggle. He knew that Venom had just as much sensitivity as him. And with Eddie as smart as he was, he probably built the web so that he could feel any vibration from a struggle, no matter where he was on the massive web structure. All Spidey could do is just sit there and wait for Eddie to make his move. He wasn't sure if he could get out of it, but he knew that he had nothing else he could do.

Meanwhile back on the ground, Punisher stood perfectly still. He knew that if he moved in any direction, it would give Venom a chance to attack. He was in Venom's territory now. He had to try to make Venom make his move. He looked around, only moving the flashlight enough to see what was beyond him. There was webbing everywhere, and Punisher had a feeling if he disturbed any of them, Venom would know exactly where he was, and where to strike. "So, you've gotten smarter Brock." He said, trying to get Venom to show where he was by talking.

But Venom knew Punisher too well. They didn't say a word as They crept up to their prey. Venom was taking care not to move too loudly, or too hastily. Any sudden movements would make the webs shake, and possibly give away thier pisition. They stared at Punisher -- unaware of where Venom was -- licking their lips from the soon to be meal they were about to make. Then, Punisher turned in a flash and dropped the flashlight and was gone out of sight. Venom snarled, and franticaly searched for where he might have gone. They moved back up towards the ceiling. Once they got up to the ceiling, they decided to break the silence. "Scared yet?" they said in a low, and eager tone. They listened for a response, but didn't hear anything. This freak was going to be a little harder to catch than they though.

"This is the way I wanted it to end," Spidey said to himself. He tried to lightly pull on the web. Trying to make sure he didn't tug on it too hard. His hand slipped free eventually -- much to his surprise -- and he went to work on the rest of his limbs. "Now all I gotta do is beat Venom, make sure Eddie is alright, and be home before breakfast." Spidey mused to himself. "Easier said than done Parker." He replied to himself. Spidey looked around, trying not to disturb too many of the web lines. He finaly got to a part of the building that was sturdy enought to hold his weight. "Alright Spidey," he mused to himself, "where would you be if you were Eddie trying to hunt like a spider?" He looked around, trying to picture himself as Venom. "Well, being close to the ground would be a little too obvious." He said looking towards somewhere in the middle. "And staying close to the ceiling would give the effect of him being anywhere if he decided to speak." He said as he tried to navigate his way up the ceiling. "So if you were a ten ton spider, and wanted to hunt to the best of your ability, where would be the most central part of your lair?" He asked. He didn't expect a response but he got one anyway, and it made his skin crawl. "Right where you would be Parker" said the voice. Spidey turned around slowly -- like it would make whoever it was go away -- and stared straight at Venom. "Why do I always have to get myself into these things?" He asked. Venom stared down at him, and grinned. "Welcome home, time to punish a little spider." Venom said with a sadistic grin.

Back down on the floor, Punisher pulled out his supply pack and searched for an answer to his predicament. "Why did he have to insist nothing lethal?" He asked as he rummaged through the bag more. He finaly found something that might help. Flares. That was the ticket, if he could get enough of them out there, he could get a better layout of the area. He pulled all eight of them out, and got each one lit. He then threw them all in different directions. The sudden light made him cover his eyes, and give everything a greenish glow. He opened his eyes, and let them adjust to the light. He looked at the intricacy of the web trap, and tried to decide a good line of defense. "If I could just get up to the higher levels of the warehouse. I might be able to defend myself a little better. So he started to climb, not caring if he disturbed anything. This was his first mistake, one that could cost him his life.

Suddenly there was a bright light, and both Venom and Spider man whipped around to see what was happening. The whole area was bathed in green light from several flares. Spidey took this opportunity to punch Venom as hard as he could. The attack sent Venom reeling and caused him to almost lose his footing. Venom recovered though, and found Spider-Man no where to be found. "Ok Spider, let's play hide and seek." Venom said retreating into what shadows there was left. Spidey ran along the web lines. Not even caring anymore if he disturbed them. Venom was loose, and he couldn't fight him like this. He had to start to take down some of this webbing so he could fight Eddie on par. But this proved to be more difficult than he at first thought. Some of the web lines were rigged to traps. And Spidey got caught in a few of them. He got out of them though, and proceded to release the webs that were attached to the rafters and other objects. "Watch out below, I'm quite sure that could hurt!" Spidey warned. Just then, Venom tackled him. They landed on another web segment. Spidey quickly found his feet and pushed Venom off. "You're getting too confident Eddie. You know I can walk on this stuff as good as you." He said trying not to sound panicked. But Venom just retreated into the shadows again. "And you're too scared little Spider." Venom replied back.

Punisher then spotted Spidey, and climbed to where he was. Spidey was startled and nearly knocked him senseless. "Is that how you treat your friends?" Punisher repiled. Spidey looked at him with a 'sorry' look and pulled him up to stand. "Sorry, but this is making me a little tense," he replied, "not to mention, Eddie thought this out very well." Punisher nodded in agreement and put his back to Spidey's. "This is too crowded, and there is no room for a fight. We have to get him out into the open." He replied. Spidey knocked him to the 'floor' of the web section just as Venom leapt at thier heads. Spidey felt him land on another part of the web section and stalk away. "This is getting old, he attacks, and retreats," Spidey snaped, "just like he was some sort of Hyenna." Punisher then got a great idea. "You know, they only attack when they have the advantage," he started, "why don't we take away a little of his edge?" Spidey turned and looked at him. Punisher just grinned and pulled out his oozie. Spidey looked at him for a second and tried to get what Punisher had in mind. Then it hit him and he shot a webline at the ceiling. He grabed Punisher and pulled up a little bit. " Ok, fire away," Spidey said, "and don't hit anything that couldl hurt us." Punisher just looked at him and chuckled.

Venom watched them with interest. They were more cunning than the 'Lethal Protector' thought. They moved over to a more solid part of the warehouse and watched as Spider-Man and Punisher got ready for an interesting maneuver. Then, there was a loud sound as Punisher pulled on the trigger and Spidey started to spin them around. Venom watched and wondered what they had in mind. Punisher had no idea where they were, and bullets had no effect on them at all. It confused the symbiotic creature, and they watched with facination. Then, Venom felt one of the lines on his web go limp. They were trying to take down thier web! Venom started to panic. Everything they had worked for would fall appart if they didn't have the web. It was loaded with a dozen traps, and tons of ways to get around the warehouse without being detected. They had to stop them before they ruined everything. Venom launched out onto the webbing and started to make thier way out to Spidey and Punisher. But just at that last second, the web section they were on came loose and they fell to the floor. The noise that came when they hit the ground made the weapon fire stop.

"D'ya hear that? Ol' big and gruesome must have fell to the ground!" Spidey remarked. Punisher nodded an agreement, and pulled the trigger again. Spidey tried to make them spin faster. By the time the magazine clip was exaughsted, there was barely anything left of the web trap. Spidey let out more webbing, and dropped them safely to the ground. "Well, that elimiates one problem. But leaves us with another big one." Punisher said. Spidey looked at him, and then turned to search the area. "Yeah, try about 300 lbs. of problem." he muttered. They both started to make their way back to Punisher's hiding spot. They mannaged to get there without any problem, and Punisher went back to his bag to pull out a few more weapons.

Spider-Man, looked at him with confusion. :"What'd I say about lethal weaponry?" he asked. Punisher just looked and grinned. He turned back to the bag, and unloaded another gun. "What is that? A gift from the military Santa Clause?" Peter quipped. Punisher looked at him and smiled. "No, think darts." he replied. Spidey burried his face in his hands. "Boy this isn't gonna work! I just know it." he said in despair. Punisher mounted some more canisters on his belt and slung the gun over his shoulder. "We better try and find big and gruesom before he comes to his senses." Punisher said walking away. Spidey darted up and jogged to catch up with him. "Um-" Spidey started but was cut off by Venom tackling him to the ground. "Now it's time for you to die Spider!" Venom snarled as he started to swing his massive fists. Punisher dashed off a little further and then dropped to one knee. He pulled the gun off his shoulder, and loaded his ammo. Spidey pulled his knees up to his chest and kicked out as hard as he could. The blow knocked Venom off of him, and onto his back. But they were up in seconds and charging at the hero. Spidey jumped up and punched Venom on the back of the head. Venom went reeling forward, slaming their fists into the ground. They whipped around and snarled, "That's the last time you get away from us Spider!" Venom yelled as the 'Lethal Protector' leapt up into the air at a jumping Spidey. The two met in mid air, and fell to the ground. The next few minutes were spent kicking, punching, and rolling around on the floor as the two traded blows. Punisher was waiting for a perfect shot. And it wasn't long before he found it.

Next thing Venom knew there was a sharp pain in their side as they stopped in mid run. Spidey took the chance to run up under Venom's massive arms and punch him with a right hook. Venom went stumbling backward -- though the large behemoth barely noticed as they were staring at the large dart in it's side -- and into a group of barrels. The sybiotic creature looked at it's side and tore out the dart. They brought it up to their face and noticed the syringe part was empty. "What'd you fill us with you COWARD!" Venom roared, getting back up. Spidey stopped and stared at Punisher. "What IS in those darts?" he asked worriedly. Punisher grinned and took aim again. "Tranquilizer." He said as he took another shot. The force of the dart hitting Venom caused the oversized behemoth to stumble back. Spidey took this oppourtunity to jump at Venom and kick them in the head. They fell down hard against the ground. The ground shook from the force of Venom's fall, and Spidey started to dash over to Venom again. "Wait Parker," Punisher called after him, "I think he's down now." Spidey stopped and stared at Venom. "You think you put in enough to keep him down?" He asked, "I mean Eddie isn't too small you know." Punisher nodded and got up. Just then Venom sat up, looked at the dart, and pulled it out. This angered them to new heights and they got up and roared with anger.

All of a sudden there was a bright light and a stream of what looked like energy slammed into Venom. Both Punisher and Spidey turned around to see Iron-Man, Johnny Storm, and The Thing standing in the door way. "We heard all the comotion and figured we coudln't miss out on all the fun," Storm joked. Iron-Man and Thing rushed to Spidey's side and watched as Venom got up. "Well, seems ol' big boy can take a good hit," Iron-Man commented. Spidey smiled under his mask and agreed, "Yea, he has all the resilience of an Armored Tank." Storm powered up and flew at Venom. The symbiotic monster looked at him with fear. "Stay out of this match stick, this is our affair. We're going to crush the Spider!" Venom yelled and tossed a barrel at Storm. Right as the barrel soared through the air, Storm shot a fireball at it. Spidey saw the label on the barrel and knocked Punisher, Thing and Iron-Man to the ground, "Hit the deck!"

The barrel exploded and sent both Venom and Storm flying to opposite ends of the warehouse. The force of the explosion blew out Storm's fire powers, and he lay against the wall unconcious. "Rarrrgh...Come and get it, 'Tin-Man'!" Venom yelled as they got up. Spidey grabbed Iron-Man's arm, "Be carefull, he doesn't care if you make it out alive," Spidey said, "he just want's to finish me off." Iron-Man nodded to him, and turned towards Venom. "You want me, you got me you symbiotic freak." he said making like he was cracking his knuckles. He flew at Venom and threw a punch. Venom caught his hand in one swift move, and pulled him close, "You're going be fun to rip out of that can you call a suit." Venom let go and shot a right swing straight at Iron-Man's left temple. The armored hero flew, and landed right into a pile of steel girders. The armored hero burried all the way into the bottom of the pile. Venom stomped on the ground and roared. "So much for the 'Wimp-in-a-can'," Venom hissed, "you want us too 'Pebbles'?" But just as Thing was about to rush in, there was a rustle in the pile of steel girders. Iron-Man stood up and shoved the girders off his back. "Now, what were you saying about-" he paused. He gestured like he was thinking. "Oh yes, I think you called me -- 'Wimp-in-a-can'?" he finished. Venom turned and grined, "We knew peeling you out of that sardine can would be fun," he replied. Venom rushed at Iron-Man who flew out of the way as Venom nearly crashed into him. Venom looked up and grinned. "You're stupid," they said as they leapt past Iron-Man. He tilted his head up, just as Venom slammed both fists down on his head. The hero was sent hurtling to the ground. Venom landed on him, and started pummeling his body.

Punisher -- shaking off the stupour -- scrambled to reload his dart launcher. But Venom caught it out of the corner of their eye and turned and shot a web line at the weapon and pulled it out of his hands. "Ah, ah ,ah, 'Pretty Boy'. No toys allowed in class." Venom joked as they caught the gun in thier hands. Then they snapped it in their hands and threw it behind them.

Iron-Man grabbed Venom's leg and pulled hard causing them to fall forward. Iron-Man then got up -- still holding the leg -- and started swinging Venom around in a circle. "Round, and round you go," he said. He let go, and watched Venom slam into more debris. One of the steel girders that was in the pile flew up and broke a support strut for the roof. The whole building shook. Spidey looked up and started to panic, "Whoa, any more of this, and the whole place'll come down on us." Thing looked up and noticed the problem.

"Hey!" Thing yelled at Iron-Man. The armored hero looked up at Thing, "Yeah?" Thing pointed to the ceiling, "Whatch it, or we'll all be pancakes." Iron-Man looked up and suddenly got an idea. He flew over to Venom and grabbed the over sized beast and started to swing again. "Here's what I call the 'Curtain Call'!" He said as he let Venom go right into another support strut. The building shuddered, and debris from the roof started to fall. Spidey looked at him with disbelief. "Are you nuts? You're going to bring the whole place down on us!" He said, about ready to tackle him. "Don't worry I have a plan. Just be ready to book!" Iron-man said as he watched for Venom to surface. Venom got up sending debris everywhere. "That's it fly boy, we're going to peel that suit off of you and eat you for lunch!" Venom yelled. Spidey looked and turned to Thing, "I thought it was closer to breakfast?" Thing shook his head and returned his attention to the battle.

Just then, another dart went flying through the air. It hit Venom straight in the chest. The angered symbiote looked down and swated it off. "What's that gonna do? Give us a headache?" Venom hissed. Punisher pulled out another dart and thew it as hard as he could. This time Venom knocked it harmlessly away. "Not gonna happen." the grinning symbiote said. Punisher swore, and started to dash for another place for cover. But Venom just turned back to Iron-man. "Let's finish this, you metal freak," Venom declared. Iron-Man flew at Venom. Venom started to charge. Spidey noticed something flick off of Venom's body. But it was too late to warn Iron-Man. The symbiote sent a tentacle out and grabbed Iron-Man by the throat and pulled it towards the charging behemoth. Venom thrust his fist out and planted it right into Iron-Man's chest. Iron-Man slammed into the ground, and the whole building shook some more. "You know, if this keeps up, they're going to kill us both!" Spidey shouted. Venom caught Spidey's last comment and looked up at the ceiling. The creature then grabbed Iron-Man and jumped out a window with him in tow. Spider-Man, rushed to Storm -- still unconcious -- and flung him over his shoulder. Thing grabbed Punisher and made a mad dash for the door.

But just then, Iron-man came flying through a wall, into the warehouse and landed right on Spider-Man. All three of them went tumbling to the ground. Spidey sat up, and rubbed his shoulder. "God, what are you made of, granite?" he said as he struggled up. He helped Iron-Man stand up, and helped up a groggy Johnny Storm. "Sheesh, did someone get the number of that tank?" he asked shakilly. Spidey chuckled and got under Storms right arm. "Yeah, he said he'd send payments." Storm tried to laugh, but it hurt to much. He clutched his side and groaned. "uungh...don't make me laugh." He said. Spidey chuckled again.

Then, from no-where, there was a loud thud. Venom was slaming fists into the side of the warehouse. It only took two blows, and the whole building started to collapse around the group. "Hurry, make for the door!" Thing yelled as he held Punisher over his shoulder. Spidey picked up Storm and shot a web line. Storm tapped him on the shoulder, "Don't tell anyone about this okay Parker?" Spidey turned and laughed, "Ok, only if you pay for my dry cleaners bill. It costs alot to clean this suit you know." Storm grinned and let Spidey do his thing. But they were too late. The whole building crashed around them. Spidey was thrown to the ground, losing hold of Johnny Storm in the fall. Venom watched as the building fell. Grinning at their feat.

"Now, we won't have that annoying Spider, and his little friends to 'bug' us." Venom said trying to make it sound funny. The dust cleared and Venom leapt onto a nearby building. "Hope he didn't get too mangled, otherwise no-one will recognize the corpse. Too bad for poor MJ." Venom said laughing. The symbiotic behemoth jumped up and swung back towards the city. Leaving Spidey, and his friends in the pile of warehouse rubble.