Disclaimer: "Spider-Pig, Spider-Pig, does what ever a Spider-Pig does. Can he swing from a web? No he can't, he's a pig. Look out, here's a Spider-Pig."

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. For the record, I don't own Spider-Man, or Spider-Pig! Oink, oink!

Chapter VI
Going Too Far

"If you're just joining us at this time, NYPD authorities have just arrived at the Daily Bugle. It appears that Spider-Man has been attacked by an as yet unknown assailant."

Mary Jane was in absolute shock upon seeing Peter dangling over the Bugle. She was reaching that point where she just wanted to deny everything that was presented in front her. A long time ago, she'd more than convinced herself that Peter could handle himself in the direst situations. This was all against the likes of the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Sandman, the Lizard, Scorpion and the Hobgoblin. Venom was a different story, since he possessed all of Peter abilities and then some. Mary Jane simply held her hand to mouth to keep from screaming. Liz Allen was sitting beside Mary Jane to try and comfort her. The anchorwoman on the television continued on with her report.

"We're just now receiving new information: the assailant is believed to be the creature that first appeared alongside Flint Marko, AKA Sandman, just over a year ago. According to initial reports from several sources, the creature calls itself, Venom."

Mary Jane shook her head in endless denial, and she though to herself, Please God, help my husband. Please!

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Jean DeWolff pulled up to the scene in her car and surveyed the chaotic scene. It was the proverbial sea of humanity standing with their collectives heads pointed up at the sky. Jean looked up as well and confirmed what she'd already known. She saw Spider-Man in the unyielding grasp of Venom. She then heard one of the bystanders exclaim something about a mask they'd found on the ground. Jean didn't dare want to believe it to be true; that Spider-Man's mask had been removed. She wasn't the only one. J. Jonah Jameson had also noticed the mask and ordered a cameraman to get the shot of the hero unmasked. Jean wouldn't let it happen. Over time, she'd grown to respect Spider-Man, even considering him a friend. Jean snagged the mask from the bystander before motioning to Stan Carter.

"Get that cameraman outta here, Carter." she said, needed to raise her voice to be heard.

Stan looked toward the cameraman and then back at Jean. "You want me to take that camera from him?"

"I don't care if you have to shoot him," Jean pointed out. "Just get him outta sight, pronto. I want every single camera here to be confiscated quickly."

A confused Stan said, "Um, I'll get the other on it right away."

Stan couldn't really figure out why Jean was so concerned for Spider-Man, being that in the past, she was immensely critical about him. Stan himself was more open to the hero's action, although he secretly wished Spider-Man didn't always hold back when dealing with the underworld scum. Stan wished the hero would just off each and every crook that popped up like a pimple on Prom Night. Be that as it may, Stan still had a job to do and went after the cameraman. They tussled for a moment before Stan retrieved the camera. Jonah approached and wasn't to happy with what transpired.

"What the hell are you doing? That's five thousand dollar camera," Jonah tried to take the camera from Stan. "I can have you arrested."

Stan got right in Jonah's and said, "I am the police." Stan then yanked the camera from Jonah.

Jonah was speechless and then spotted Jean amid the crowd. "You; DeWolff! I demand you fire that officer immediately and return my camera."

"You'll get back it when the tape's been erased." Jean casually said.

"Erased," Jonah bellowed. "That camera is property of my studio. I can sue you."

This time, it was Jean who got in Jonah's face and she snarled. "Then sue me."

Jonah went silent and Jean stormed off. Dammit, she called my bluff.

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Peter was struggling to break free of Venom's malicious grasp but made very little headway. The tendrils were obviously far stronger than his own webbing. In fact, they were stronger than he was in general. Peter was actually far more concerned about his loved ones. If his identity were to be blown in this manner, his loved ones would've become targets. Venom meanwhile, was wistfully swinging his captive to and fro like a pendulum. He was toying with Peter, who knew full well that Venom could just drop him at a moments' notice. Venom just wanted to prolong the torture for the hell of it.

"We bet you're worried about your loved ones…" Venom said. "Worried about what could happen to them if you weren't around. Well, don't worry! We'll be sure to take care of them."

"Venom, they have nothing to do with this," Peter shouted, still trying to get loose. "This is between you and me."

"They're as much a part of this as you are," Venom snarled. "When you're gone, maybe we'll pay Mary Jane a little visit. How's that sound, tiger?"

"That won't… happen!"

Peter managed to shift himself in the net and shot a glob of webbing right into Venom's bug eyes. Venom let out an ear shattering roar and reached to pull the webbing off. This gave Peter the opening he so desperately needed and pulled hard on the tendrils. The gamble worked, and Peter began falling, pulling Venom down with him. The crowd below gave a collective gasp as they watched the rivals tumble down toward them. Peter and Venom tussled with each other as the ground grew closer. Peter won the battle of attrition, shot out a web line and swung away, while Venom impacted the ground with a mighty thud. Peter swung for higher ground and landed on a flagpole a good distance from the Bugle. Venom sat up from the massive crater he'd left behind and roared in rage. He immediately started climbing back up the side of the Bugle and the cops on hand opened fire on him. The blood drained from Jonah's face as he watched his precious newspaper get shot up, his mouth agape. The gunfire stopped only when Venom disappeared over the edge.

Jean approached the speechless and flabbergasted Jameson and whispered, "Sorry about your building."

Jean walked off before Jonah could say anything. She then turned her attention toward where Spider-Man had swung away. Spider-Man was gone, and Jean looked at the mask she'd taken from the one bystander earlier. For once, Jean seemed genuinely concerned for Spider-Man. Stan Carter approached the captain and noticed the mask.

"Jeez, is that his mask?" he asked.

The answer was painfully obvious, but Jean answered anyway. "Yeah! Did you confiscate all the cameras?"

"We got all of them," Stan answered, "But why confiscate them at all?"

Jean turned to Stan with renewed vigor. "I won't let Spider-Man's identity be exposed like this. Not by these buzzards. Get all the tapes back to the station: I want each and every of them erased."

Stan nodded and went back to the task at hand. Jean went back to looking to where Spider-Man was hiding. Venom in the meantime was watching the chaos he'd perpetrated from a distance. He hissed in a mixture anger and delight, his tongue waving in the cold winter wind. Spider-Man had obvious gotten away for now, but Venom knew this was far from over.

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Mary Jane couldn't stand being in hiding any more. It wasn't that she wasn't comfortable staying with Liz, but MJ was devoted to Peter and his ongoing crusade. Peter had been lying low at home since the incident at the Bugle, and MJ was there for him. For some reason, Venom hadn't attempted to attack Peter at his home. Christmas had long passed and now it was New Year's Eve. Normally, the couple would be primed for the New Year to start. But with someone as fanatical as Venom running around, a New Year's celebration seemed like a moot point. Now, Peter was sitting quietly on the sofa with his hands folded together and he was deep in thought.

"Why is he doing this to us?" Mary Jane asked.

Peter didn't answer, nor did he know to how to answer. He finally said. "It's me. Eddie blames me for ruining his reputation, and he obviously doesn't mind using my loved one to hurt me."

"That's insane," MJ said in denial. "We never did anything to him. Not Aunt May, not me…"

"It doesn't matter one iota to him, MJ," Peter snapped and stood up from the sofa. "It's even worse because of the symbiote; Eddie has all of my powers and he knows my biggest secret."

A hush came between the couple, only to be broken by MJ. "Is there any way you can stop him; any kind of advantage?"

Peter went into deep thought like he had been in moments before. He finally answered. "The last time we fought, I noticed that the symbiote was vulnerable to sonic vibrations. In theory, I could use that weakness to my advantage, but I have no idea where to start."

MJ approached Peter as they heard a knock on the apartment door. MJ ignored and told Peter, "You'll find a way, Peter. Of that much, I'm sure."

More of the insensate knocking sounded across the apartment, and MJ went over to see who at the door. Peter returned to his thought process. Sound was Venom's Achilles Heal, there was no question about. It was how Peter first defeated his alien counterpart, albeit barely. So Peter had his one plan. It was just a question of how to execute it. Peter was suddenly brought out of his thought process by Mary Jane's screaming. A new thought streaked into Peter's brain: Venom. Peter rushed toward the door and found Mary Jane, scared to death and in the grip of Eddie Brock. Eddie was mostly in civilian clothes except for his arm, which was in symbiote form and covering Mary Jane's mouth.

"Hey, Pete! Love what you've done with the place," Eddie said with a twisted smirk. He was holding MJ tightly and Peter was paralyzed. "Well, aren't you going to invite us in?"

Peter could see tear beginning to stream down his wife's face. "Let her go, Eddie!"

"That's a pretty poor choice of words," Eddie said, tightening his grip on MJ. "What would've happened if your blushing bride was dangling from 70 stories? Don't you think we wouldn't let her go then?"

"I already told you," Peter said. "This is between us."

Eddie chuckled at the apparent absurdity of the situation. "In that case, we dare you to try and do something about it."

Peter was seething with more rage than he'd ever experienced in all of his past battles. Without a second thought, he lunged like a rabid wolverine right at Eddie. Eddie threw MJ to the floor and in one solid motion, backhanded Peter clear across the living room. Peter crashed into the wooden coffee table, reducing it to splinters. MJ shouted Peter's name and crawled to her fallen husband, while Eddie disappeared out the door from which he arrived, laughing. Peter slowly pulled himself up to his knee and held his back as Mary Jane hugged him tightly.

MJ was in tear as she told Peter, "Oh my God, Peter! He won't stop. He's never going to stop torturing us."

Peter was still seething, so much so that he barely heard MJ. His heavy breathing halted when he saw the pain in his wife's eyes. "Yes he will. I will not let Venom terrorize us any further."

Peter stood up with MJ, who seemed to sense a new wave of determination building within Peter. It had happened countless times before against a myriad of villains. This time, as Peter started off toward a closet, the determination was far more pronounced. It almost frightened Mary Jane more so than Venom, or Doc Ock or even the Green Goblin. Peter eventually came back with his costume on except the mask. He was lucky to have a spare after the previous fight at the Bugle. Peter looked at Mary Jane and could plainly see the worry in her eyes. A part of Peter wanted to comfort his wife and assure her that he'll be okay. Another part told Peter that he might not make it, but if he did go, he'd go down fighting. He'd damn sure take Venom down with him.

Through the uncomfortable silence, Mary Jane uttered one thing to Peter. "Go get 'em, tiger!" Peter nodded, pulled on the mask and leaped out the window into the city. MJ approached the window and watched her husband swing away. She whispered, "You better come back to me."

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Spider-Man swung across the skyline in search of his alien rival. Venom couldn't have gone too far after the stunt he pulled moments ago. Still, Spider-Man knew full well that he needed to be extremely careful. Venom could emerge from anywhere and Spider-Man wouldn't know it until it was too late. Maybe the web slinger was counting on it this time. He'd been ambushed plenty of times to know that Venom was capable of catching him off guard. But Spider-Man didn't count on finding what appeared as a small fender bender in the streets below. Something about the accident was off, and it prompted Spider-Man to investigate. He landed atop a street light and scanned the area, before addressing the people involved in the accident.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked.

One of the people, a burly cabby, threw something at Spider-Man and shouted, "What'd you care? You the one who caused this mess."

Well, that's gratitude for you! Spider-Man thought.

Another witness, this one a brunette haired woman, said to the cabby, "No, it was that other Spider-Man. The big, black one!"

Spider-Man hopped off the street light and landed in front of the woman. "Did you see where he went?"

Spider-Man received his answer in the most punishing of ways imaginable. Venom came out of nowhere and kicked Spider-Man clear across the street into the side of a parked car. As Spider-Man tried to get up, Venom was quickly on him and took him by the neck. Venom immediately pounded on Spider-Man with a series of vicious punches to the stomach, then a knee and finally a hard left hook to the face. Spider-Man went down to the asphalt with Venom towering over him.

"You took your eye off the ball, Spider-Man," the alien villain snarled. "Now, we're going to take your head off your shoulders."

Venom lifted one giant leg up off the ground. Spider-Man remained unconscious and totally defenseless. Was this finally it? Was this going to be the end of Spider-Man?

Author's note: Oh, crap! Another cliffhanger! You better stay tuned to find out what happens next.