Hey everyone! Welcome to a story I did not plan on writing but became obsessed with when the idea popped into my head as I played the last few hours of Spider-Man 2 haha. It's definitely a much more dour piece than my usual fare - I generally prefer my superheroes bright and uplifting - but I'm very happy with the results!
This archaic website doesn't use tags, so I'll warn y'all: Peter Parker dies in this one, in the first few paragraphs in fact. If that's not something you wanna suffer through (and I very much understand it), then I'd advise you not to read this story. It's not overly graphic, nor does the story linger on the worst parts, but expect the characters to react accordingly.
For Kverse readers, this story is definitely part of the Multiverse - specifically, Earth-1048-S, an alternate timeline to the main Insomniac Spider-Man universe. Dunno if we'll see this universe again, as part of the crossover or otherwise, but just in case, it's out there!
Hope you enjoy! (y'know, as much as you can with the subject matter haha)
It's the glistening red on her otherwise yellow claws that finally, finally snaps her out of it.
The iconic lenses on Peter's mask widen as much as mechanically possible, a small, rattling gasp escaping his throat as he looks down and sees the gaping wound on his abdomen, which Scream has just yanked her clawed limb out of. Superhuman strength holds him upright just a few seconds longer than a regular person would stay on their feet, but his legs buckle soon enough, and he falls to his knees.
Pete clutches at the mortal wound, weakly looking up at his killer. What he sees – and it is very near the final thing he does see – is a shaken Symbiote, staring at their trembling hand, paralyzed by the cognitive dissonance between the seeming inclination towards violence of their alien half, and their host's utter abhorrence for the murder they've just committed together, however unintentionally.
Under the mask, Peter smiles weakly; at least his final act won't end in failure.
"Pete?" –MJ whimpers, a bit of Scream's hissing still clinging to her otherwise normal voice. She recoils, as if shot, and the Symbiote slowly, almost reluctantly retracts into her body – something within them has been tangibly severed, not between Symbiote and Host, but between the bonded pair and the larger hive mind that Venom forcibly joined them to.
"…it's okay." –he rasps, struggling for air, his body broken beyond what even his prodigious healing ability can mend. "It's not your fault."
Cold grips her throat and her stomach sinks as he falls to his side. She swiftly catches him, far stronger this time than all the others she's held him in her arms, yet utterly powerless to save him. "I didn't…I can't…" –she gasps, similarly breathless for wholly different reasons. She swiftly carries him back into May's home, away from prying eyes, and removes his mask. "Peter, please, don't go…we still need you! I still need you."
"You'll…do fine." –he gently reassures her, fading fast. "You, Miles…Harry…"
Blinding fury briefly overtakes her – she can feel the Symbiote trying to take the wheel again, but this time it's…different. It feels like the alien is trying to protect her from something, as if responding to her anger, rather than attempting outright to possess her again, more of an overzealous co-pilot than a callous body-snatcher. "Harry's gone, Pete. He said it himself – it's just Venom now."
"Can't believe that." –he says, as firmly as he can while little rivulets of blood trickle down from the corners of his mouth. "You're…still…MJ…" –he whispers, bringing his hand up to brush her cheek with one final, herculean effort. "…my…MJ…"
His hand goes slack, and his body relaxes. After ten years of protecting the people of New York – of constant fighting, stress, and frustration, but also millions of lives saved, and an iconic legacy in becoming a beacon of hope for the city – Peter Parker finally rests, never to suffer again.
She screams till her voice is hoarse, and the Symbiote honors its name, too, shattering every glass in May's home that survived Venom's attack. She must spend over an hour there, afterward, quietly sobbing over his body, until she's finally sensible enough to carry him up to May's room, miraculously untouched by the chaos save for the broken glass, setting him down on her bed and covering Peter's body with a clean blanket, leaving the mask atop his chest in remembrance.
Miles finds her sat down on the floor, in the ruins of the kitchen, all but tearing off his mask as he rushes over debris from the fight, dread quickly turning to grief as he takes in the scene.
"No…" –he says, his voice small. He doesn't need to see the body to know better than to hope for Peter to miraculously bounce back from this one, judging by MJ's obvious body language. "He can't be…how did this happen?"
"The Symbiote." –she says hoarsely.
Miles hangs his head. "Damn it…I know Harry murdered Kraven in cold blood, and he's been kidnapping people and turning them into Symbiote hosts for days, but…I can't believe he would do this."
She shakes her head. "He didn't. Maybe Harry's too far gone, maybe he isn't, but…I know he didn't want this. He wanted to prove to Pete that he'd made a mistake, trying to get rid of the Symbiote – in his words, to 'show him what he's missing' – but he never wanted him to die. We just…went too far."
To a normal human, the way he ever so slightly tenses at her words would be imperceptible, but she's no longer normal – the Symbiote senses it with ease. It feels like the alien's goo-like form is bubbling under her skin, just begging to be released, but MJ holds it back for the moment with surprising ease. "We?" –he asks.
MJ manages a small smile. Miles really is a smart kid. "Yeah." –she says, allowing the Symbiote to manifest over the left side of her face – no point in hiding it, not with Spider-Man gone, Venom on the loose, and precious few allies left to make sure this can't ever happen again. "We."
Crackling blue arcs spark at his hands and run up his arms, as if on instinct, a blue glow shining through his ribcage, skin, and even the armored fabric of his suit. Miles doesn't strike yet, however; Symbiote or not, she's still Mary Jane Watson, a good friend, and the love of his late mentor's life. "We can take that thing off you." –Miles says, half an unwilling threat, half a shaky reassurance. "I helped Pete do it, I can help you too."
The Symbiote feels furious at being called a 'thing', but its wrath is tempered by what almost feels like guilt – the alien life form seems to only somewhat understand human emotion and behavior, but MJ's reaction to taking Peter's life and her subsequent crisis seems to have given it some much needed clarity. "It's not like that. Not anymore." –she says, the Symbiote receding once more, as if to demonstrate the difference.
Miles frowns. "What does that mean?" –he asks, skeptical. "We've been fighting Symbiotes left and right for days, and none of them could even talk, let alone hold a conversation like this. How come yours isn't turning you into a feral goo monster?"
"I honestly kinda was, an hour ago. When Harry turned me, I was trapped in some kind of hive mind, watching my body fight Peter from light years away." –MJ says. "I barely knew what was happening – just knew Peter was in the way, all my fears and frustrations spilling out of me as my body lashed out at him, fully controlled by Scream."
Miles winces. "It has a name?"
"I think it gained a name, when we fused." –MJ clarifies. "Maybe I'm…optimistic, but I think ours is a different case to the kidnapped civilians'; the Symbiote still has a difficult time communicating with me in a way I can understand, but it thinks of them as something approaching 'drones', while it thinks of itself as…well, I guess the closest word to what it's showing me is 'sibling'."
"Harry's?"
"Venom's." –MJ corrects. "That's what they call themselves. My guess is Venom and Scream are full-fledged Symbiotes, something like queen bees, while the ones corrupting people are more like worker drones, building nests and spreading their territory, kidnapping even more people to infest and speed up the pace."
Miles purses his lips. "I guess it'd make sense if there's some kind of caste or hierarchy system to the hives." –he muses, then cuts himself off, shaking his head. "But that's beside the point. MJ, it…you killed Peter."
MJ chokes back a sob, covering her face as tears start falling down her cheeks again. "I know. I know! And I know there's nothing I can do to fix it, but…maybe we can still save Harry."
"Save?" –Miles asks, clearly gauging her response. "…or stop?"
MJ sighs, taking a moment to collect herself. "I admit, part of me wants nothing more than to tear him apart – and I can assure you that's not Scream talking. But I think Peter was right about me being able to achieve something actually resembling a partnership with my Symbiote, so I have to believe he was right about Harry, too. If I can get back control and share the wheel with Scream, then Harry should also be able to snap out of it. We could save his life, free all the people Venom's kidnapped, and then figure out a way to avoid this whole Symbiote debacle from ever happening again."
"…I trust you, MJ. And I believe you believe you can handle the Symbiote." –Miles says. "But you didn't see Peter choking the life out of Kraven. You don't know what it took for him to get rid of that parasite."
MJ notes that Scream seems even more pissed off by that one than getting called a 'thing' – and strangely enough, MJ kinda gets it. The Symbiotes aren't 'self-learning exo-suits', or whatever bullshit Connors came up with to fudge their true nature from anyone but Norman and himself. They're living, sapient beings, with their own hopes and fears, and despite how utterly bizarre it is on paper to willingly share her body with an alien organism, she's honestly having a hard time thinking of losing this – whatever this might be.
"That's the thing, Miles; I think this is what being the host of a Symbiote is supposed to be like – one hand on the wheel each. You saw that with Harry, before Kraven took Peter down; he acted perfectly normal, and he fought like a hero. Like you." –she says, and Miles nods, dubiously. "I think Peter's frustration, his anger at Kraven…it must've been a horrible feedback loop – his rage poisoning the Symbiote, which made Peter even more aggressive and powerful, which turned the Symbiote more and more violent, and eventually led it to take control so it could finally destroy the object of their fury."
"Which we stopped, but…I guess it finally accomplished its objective with Harry." –Miles surmises, glumly. "But the massacre at OsCorp, kidnapping people and turning into Symbiote zombies? That doesn't exactly square with your 'innocent Venom' theory."
She shakes her head. "I don't think Venom is innocent, Miles." –she says, scornfully. "But I do think it was traumatized by its time with Peter, and mixed with Harry's desperation for a cure…" –she trails off, but she feels like she's on the right track, judging by the way Scream seems to agree with her assessment.
"So, what's keeping, er, Scream from going full-on crazy slime monster mode, then?" –Miles questions.
"Doing the one thing its host could never, ever want." –MJ says bitterly, the Symbiote shrinking within her. "Peter's death, it…it broke the spell, for both of us."
Miles takes a moment to process her response, then nods. "Well, this is either the best or worst time to trust my gut, but my gut's saying I should take a chance on you, so…I can't believe I'm saying this, but suit up; we have to get moving." –he says, and for the first time, MJ notices how tall he's gotten in the past couple months. "We have requests from City Hall piling up in the app, so I'm betting that's where Venom went after he turned you."
MJ nods, somewhat surprised but understanding the urgency, willing the Symbiote to transform her. Despite knowing what sort of thing to expect, Miles still takes a step back, taken aback by her menacing form.
"…something less threatening?" –she says, voicing his apparent concern, to which Miles mutely nods. She focuses on her bond with Scream, projecting the need for them to look…softer, friendlier, less likely to be mistaken for the ravenous hordes, and more likely to be looked to as New Yorkers look to their heroes.
Simply put, they need to look more like Spider-Man.
The Symbiote seems to feel confused about how something like that could ever intimidate their foes, but it complies. Most of it recedes into her, leaving her in something that's fairly close to what Venom looked like on Peter and Harry, before things went to hell – thin enough to be mistaken for some kind of thick, armored fabric, a mostly red and yellow design along the torso that nonetheless exhibits the black of its alien sibling along most of the arms and legs. The suit is devoid of the jagged edges and chitinous shapes of the full transformation, save for the pointed crimson claws on her hands – useful in a fight, sure, but also a pointed reminder of the frightening ease with which they can take a life.
Miles hums. "It's a good look." –he says, approvingly. "…hope you're okay with the sudden haircut, though."
MJ frowns, taking off the mask and looking at a nearby broken mirror. Sure enough, her long mane of wavy red hair is gone, replaced by a short, messy bob barely reaching past her jaw. "I guess it wouldn't fit under the mask." –she admits, grudgingly. The Symbiote seems to express something akin to snide amusement as she replaces the mask and nods resolutely. "Let's heal the world for real this time, Miles."
After a very somber and uncomfortable phone call to Doctor Connors, asking him to covertly take Peter's body in order to preserve his identity before the cops finally manage to pull themselves together enough to brave the site of Spider-Man's final battle, Miles and MJ book it towards City Hall.
Miles easily outpaces her, as even with Scream pulling from MJ's many memories of Pete's swinging and having the surviving Spider-Man right in front of them as an example, emulating their chosen method of travel is much harder than it looks. To compensate, Miles stops whenever he spots Symbiote-possessed victims, rescuing them and giving her a chance to catch up.
She does improve steadily, though; she won't be zooming across the city – or God forbid, gliding – anytime soon, but by the time they finally make it across the East River, she's at least competent enough to keep him in sight.
The trip has made her realize something that's equal parts comforting and startling; her bond with Scream is already much, much stronger (and no less equal) than she could've expected it to be in such a short time. It doesn't even feel like she's a passenger or co-pilot anymore – it feels like the Symbiote is now a part of the whole that is Mary Jane Watson that, should it be separated, would make her incomplete. Scream can't quite communicate, but it's clear that she knows everything that MJ knows and has lived through, like she's always been there, and always will be – a deadly guardian angel that couldn't bear the thought of leaving her any more than she can.
Much as she hates to admit it, she's starting to understand what Venom meant by 'show him what he's missing'. Up until the point the Symbiote made Peter stop acting like himself, he must've felt this way, too.
City Hall is an absolute mess, the building itself barely visible under the Symbiote infestation. Dozens of Symbiote zombies crawl all over the place, attacking everything in sight, so the pair – or, as Scream reminds her, the trio – gets to work. Her fighting is a lot less acrobatic than Miles' or Peter's, more of an extension of her self-defense training with Silver Sable plus the added Symbiote strength than their borderline Cirque du Soleil antics, unused to the superhuman agility that's seemingly second nature to the radioactive spider-bitten.
The only silver lining to the Symbiotes is that they seem generally uninterested in outright killing people, at least for the moment – they must still be ramping up, building up their numbers through kidnapped victims, for the purpose of which going the lethal route would be counterproductive. Still, going by Venom's actions at OsCorp and Times Square – what Norman hasn't been able to cover up, at least – it's obvious that the 'peaceful' Symbiote phase won't last forever.
The newly fledged team makes their way inside, and Scream within her tenses, as they spot Venom carelessly tossing terrified people towards awaiting tendrils, which swiftly envelop them for the ensuing transformation. MJ motions for Miles to hold back – Venom will only see Spider-Man as a threat, and besides, she needs to confront him alone.
Venom only partially turns as she lands, freakishly long alien tongue tasting the air. "You're back early, MJ." –he drawls. "And looking…soft."
"We've taken the form of a hero. Like yours, before all of this. Like Peter's." –she says.
"You mean weak." –he hisses. "Unwilling to do what needs to be done. But deep down, he knows better. You were supposed to remind him."
Her knees falter a bit as a fresh wave of grief hits, but she clenches her fists. "You can see Scream and I together. And Pete…Pete's not with us." –she says. "What do you think happened?"
Venom turns fully towards her. The white patches on his head aren't eyes, not as humans understand them, but they still narrow to emulate suspicion. He takes her in – not just the 'redesign', but the fact that neither Scream nor MJ are holding the other hostage, along with the way her shoulders droop and her balled fists tremble. "…where is he?" –he asks. "Where's…Peter?"
She gives a cynical chuckle. "I don't know if turning into Venom broke your mind, but I know it didn't make you an idiot, Harry." –she spits out. The clean lines on her suit grow a bit jagged for a moment to reflect her anger. "Peter's dead! We killed him!"
The Symbiote growls. "LIES! We would've FELT IT! The Other we left within him when he RIPPED US OUT would've cried out through the Hive Mind if he'd died!" –he roars, snatching a nearby desk and tossing it her way in a blind fury, which she easily vaults over. He looks around, crazed and drooling. "WHERE IS HE!? COME OUT AND FACE US, SPIDER-MAN!"
Miles drops down like a thunderbolt, wreathed in lightning. "I'm the only Spider-Man coming today!" –he says, clearly choking up under the mask. "MJ's telling the truth, Harry! Thanks to you…I'm the only one left."
Venom zeroes in on the younger hero, and MJ curses under her breath. She thought it might've been a good moment for Miles to come in, too, but Harry's hold on reality must be even more tenuous than MJ's was if his mere presence can completely take over Venom's focus. It seems like it'll take more than a single confession to convince him to hear reason.
The hulking mass of black and white goo, claws, and fangs in the vague shape of a man that is Venom pounces forth, but Spider-Man is quicker on the draw and casts a bolt of lightning from his palms, which hurts him just enough to make his clawed swipe miss, causing him to crash halfway through the wall behind Miles. As he pulls himself out, MJ is on him, swinging repeatedly at his face – such as it is, more teeth and alien saliva than anything else – but a black tendril explodes from his chest and tosses her a couple dozen feet away. Spider-Man crashes on Venom like a lightning bolt, keeping him down for a moment, but Venom quickly snatches the teenager and swaps places with him, pinning him down with a single outstretched arm.
"YOU'RE the reason he REJECTED US!" –he bellows, slamming him down as MJ sticks blood-colored Symbiote weblines to his forearms and yanks them back to try and sap most of the strength from his blows, unable to stop them completely. "We had nearly KILLED KRAVEN and you SAVED HIM, left him free to KILL AGAIN!"
Spider-Man pops one of the sonic gadgets he and Pete designed to deal with the Symbiotes, causing Venom – and, of course, her – to stumble back in pain, agonizing tendrils flailing from their bodies. "I wasn't trying to save Kraven! I wanted to help Peter save himself!" –Miles says, pummeling the hulking foe. "Keep him from becoming something Spider-Man should never be!"
Venom's unhinged jaws nearly close around Miles' head, but he manages to flip back and land a hefty kick to his chin for good measure. "He ripped you out to keep himself from becoming a murderer – from turning into you!"
"HE WANTED IT!" –Venom roars, shrugging off Spider-Man's zapping blows. MJ swings in with a pendulum kick that takes the fused monster off his feet, then launches herself off the ceiling and crashes them both through the floor, landing hard on the floor below. "We gave him the POWER to STOP HIM, and you ALL HELD HIM BACK!"
Wicked claws painfully dig into her thigh as he yanks her off of him and slams her down through an expensive looking desk. Screams wants to go all out in response, but MJ keeps her steady despite the sharp pain, quickly shooting a crimson web to a fancy chandelier and bringing it down on Venom's head. "You got him drunk on power!" –she grits out, taking advantage of his briefly slackened hold and slipping from his grasp. "…you made him betray your own damn host!" –she grabs a heavy metal plaque and tosses it a la Captain America, slicing through his shoulder and making him roar in pain. "…and you gave us the power to KILL HIM!"
She tosses half of the surprisingly heavy desk at his face, and after his stumble, she summons Scream's strength and uppercuts him back to their previous battlefield, where Spider-Man has recovered, and unleashes an explosion of electric power that shakes the whole building. MJ jumps up, holding Miles steady.
"Did that do it?" –he asks.
A pained growl is their answer. Venom visibly knits his injuries back together, rising to his feet and roaring defiantly. "…nice try. Your act put us off balance just enough for you to blast us at full power. But as you can see…we're still standing."
MJ tears up. "Harry…please." –she says, ignoring the way Venom tenses. "Do you really think I'd lie about something like this? He was your best friend, and the love of my life. And he gave his own trying to save me! Hoping we'd be able to save you! Please, let us help you!"
"Help? We do not know you as a helper." –he says, and just for a moment, she feels like she finally recognizes Harry somewhere in Venom's baritone. "You betrayed Peter for a JOB. You stood in the sidelines as we slowly DIED. And now you seek to TEAR US APART, sealing our FATE!"
She shakes her head, and Scream seems to feel the same pity – Harry seems to have buried himself deep within the symbiosis, putting Venom between himself and everything and everyone that can hurt him, physically or otherwise. She wonders just how much of this is actually getting through to him.
Judging by her initial experience with Scream, most of it probably isn't.
"We might be able to figure something out." –Miles says, looking at her, seemingly a bit more convinced of her and Scream's equal bond. "But Harry...Venom…you know that's not how everything happened! If you'd gone right back to Harry after you healed Peter, we wouldn't be here!"
Venom lashes out, but the blow is easily dodged. "Kraven HAD to be stopped…Spider-Man needed us." –he argues, but he seems confused, torn between the alien's starkly utilitarian justification and Harry's despairing recollection of the previous weeks. "We are together again – that is all that matters. And we will NEVER let go again."
"Please, both of you, listen to me: I know what it's like to truly bond with a Symbiote, now. I know how it feels to have so much power, but I also know that's not even the most important part." –she says, trying desperately to reach out in such a way they might understand. "The confidence. The feeling of safety. The companionship. You feel like you'll never be alone again, like no one can hurt you anymore, and despite the way we gained each other…I don't know that I can let go of Scream any more than you and Venom can stand the thought of being separated." –she admits.
Miles turns to her slightly, wary of her words. MJ keeps going. "But you have to realize that the bond you have isn't healthy right now. You're both hurting, lashing out – Harry, you feel like you were betrayed and abandoned by the people you thought you could trust the most, but you know the Symbiote chose to stay with Peter – you know he wanted to give it back to you as soon as it was done saving his life. And Venom…" –she says, trying to choose her words carefully, listening to Scream's non-verbal advice as best she can. "There's still so much we don't know about your kind, but I can feel the terror in Scream at the thought of being ripped out of me, the way you were. I know you were trying to protect and help Peter, and you probably think you're doing that now with Harry, but look at what you've done! How many people you've hurt, how many you've killed! Even if I agreed that every single one of the Hunters and Kraven himself deserved it, what about the guards at OsCorp? How many of them felt the terror and despair that you're trying to protect Harry from?"
Venom growls, but the wild spider design on their torso becomes just a bit less jagged, some tension ebbing from their enormous frame. "They wanted to SEPARATE us…they would have KILLED us BOTH! We will not wait for a cure that will never come. We ARE the solution…why won't you let us be!?"
"We don't want to separate you, Harry! We give you our word!" –she says, letting half of her mask morph into Scream's terrifying visage. Venom's monstrous, semi-permanently open mouth becomes something of a Glasgow scowl, perhaps disconcerted by the ease with which Scream can transform.
"But we can't let you keep doing this to people!" –Miles pleads. "Look around you! You think this is healing the world? People terrified, turned into mindless creatures doing your bidding? The city you love so much in shambles? Your best friend gone!? You need to stop! Don't make us keep hurting you, Harry…"
Venom falls to one knee, their body trembling as if struggling to maintain their form. The tar-like shell around their head slowly recedes, revealing Harry's face – and despite being healed, the black veins and ashen complexion he's gained from being within Venom make him look worse than ever. "We can't…" –he pants. "MJ…Miles…we can't stop…we need to do this…we promised Pete…!"
He chokes, and the Symbiote envelops his head again – only this time, those distinctive white eye shapes no longer manifest, replaced by the same foreboding spiral symbol on the face of every one of his Symbiote victims. Venom's toothy grin impossibly widens, so big that it feels like he might swallow the world.
"Hurt us all you like, little Spiders…" –Venom purrs. "We'll still save you. We're going to save everyone."
He roars, and the infestation around them comes to life, the tendrils and goo rapidly spreading, covering every square inch of City Hall. Ravenous mouths burst forth from the epicenter at Venom's feet, forcing MJ and Miles to try and dodge, but they're everywhere, sinking their fangs into her limbs and torso, even as she fends them off as soon as they break skin.
They're about to be buried in Symbiote goop when, all of a sudden, a blue-white nova erupts in their midst – with none other than Martin-freakin'-Li at its core. Everything goes black, then impossibly bright, and when she opens her eyes, she's no longer inside City Hall; instead, they've somehow been transported to an ethereal place, some kind of barren island surrounded by roiling seas, everything tinted the same blue-white color of Mr. Negative's powers.
MJ blinks, looking down and realizing she doesn't have the suit here, back to her normal attire. She turns to her right, only to get the bejeezus scared out of her when Scream's face blinks back at her. The Symbiote seems to be connected to her body, a disembodied head sprouting from somewhere in her upper back, their bond perhaps now strong and stable enough to manifest without transforming her. Scream doesn't have a mouth – she seems unable to speak altogether, at least so far – but the dark red face framed by a miniature version of her yellow-red mane doesn't lack for expressiveness, looking utterly confused at their current situation.
Wish I could tell you, girl, she thinks. A groan draws their attention; Miles is there, too, and he doesn't seem surprised to be here, instead laser-focused on the third figure ahead of them – a misshapen amalgamation of Harry and the Venom Symbiote, struggling to stay upright. Unlike their real form, the Symbiote here looks like a hideous mass of enormous, pitch-black tumors streaked with white, vein-like patterns, blighting the right side of his face, along with his neck, upper torso, lower back, and his whole left leg. Razor-sharp teeth poke out of the grotesque masses with no rhyme or reason, completing the horrifying look – almost like a revolting representation of their imperfect union. Beneath him, the Symbiote mass seems to sink underground, like rotting roots slowly consuming him.
"Where…are we?" –he wonders, wildly looking around, Venom's voice echoing on the shared pronoun.
"A shared mindscape I've created to put an end to this madness." –Li says, his voice seemingly everywhere around them.
The former supervillain in question appears in their midst. He doesn't cut quite as imposing a figure without his signature polished looks, but MJ knows better than to underestimate him, perfectly recalling the cold, murderous intent in his eyes, back when he attacked Grand Central station. Li looks down, and she realizes that her thoughts were actually heard by the man.
"I deserve your suspicion, Miss Watson, and far more than that." –Li admits. "I don't expect you to trust me, but I believe I can help with this. The way I used to, before…everything."
"The last time I was here, you weren't exactly interested in helping." –Miles says, dubiously, taking off his mask – Li must already know his identity, perhaps from the encounter he just mentioned.
Li spares a sad, tired smile. "I'm not looking for a fight, Miles. You've already proven quite capable of defeating me – consider this my way of repaying you for saving my life." –he says, then turns to her. "Besides, I'm not sure I could survive a duel with both Spider-Man and what you and your tenant have become, if you decided to take me down."
"Jury's still out on that." –she says, coldly. Scream seems to agree, going by her memories. "Prove you can help, and we'll see."
"We don't want…your help." –Harry spits out laboriously. "We have…each other."
"Oh, you may not want our help, but you clearly need it." –Li says. "Look at Miss Watson and her own Symbiote – perfectly balanced, as all partnerships should be. You, on the other hand, are drowning in Venom."
"He's…keeping us safe." –Harry argues. "We are…tired of hurting."
"Do you feel safe? Healthy?" –Li questions. Harry doesn't deign that with a response. "Your form here is a visual representation of your overall state of being – mental, physical, and otherwise. Even if you feel great, you are not doing well, Mister Osborn."
Harry chances a look down. He must not like what he sees, judging by how quickly he looks back up. "Venom cured me. He's…the only reason I'm…still alive." –he says. "I couldn't give him up…even if I wanted to."
"We told you we don't want to take him from you, and we meant it." –MJ says.
Miles nods, adding: "But come on, man. You know we're right about the way Venom's been acting. Leaving you for Pete and only coming back to you when he rejected it, making you kill and beat the hell out of all those people? And you can't tell me you're just cool with all the freakin' alien abducting, dude."
The Symbiote masses grow larger, engulfing more of Harry's body and making his knees buckle, leaving him on all fours, suffocating under the pressure. MJ notices that the white veins coursing through the goo start twisting into spiral patterns, which Scream seems to feel apprehensive about. "We are only fulfilling our purpose." –Venom hisses, the tumor-like globules pulsing with every syllable. "We kept Harry healthy. We saved Peter's life. We stopped Kraven from EVER hurting people again. Harry's purpose is to heal the world – we are simply enabling his goals."
Venom recedes a bit, letting Harry breathe again. "You can feel it too…you said it yourself. How right it feels to be with your Symbiote? What if everyone could feel like that?" –he says, and MJ shivers, because he's right. Scream makes her fell all but invincible. "We finally have the power to make it happen – to fulfill the promise I made with Pete, which became my purpose in life as I buried my mom. We can rid this entire world of pain and strife. We can give everyone what you and I have with our Symbiotes. Isn't that worth this…adjustment period?"
MJ sees red, and she finally allows her Symbiote to respond in kind. Before anyone can react, she's on him, fully transformed into Scream. "ADJUSTMENT PERIOD!? IS THAT ALL PETER'S DEATH IS TO YOU!?"
Harry blows up, turning into an even more monstrous version of Venom, the smooth Symbiote flesh turning rigid and uneven, like chitinous armor, sporting oversized fangs and claws, as well as tendrils flaring wildly from his back, sharpened into deadly, improvised blades.
"LIAR!" –he bellows, pouncing on her, but an enormous, ethereal arm snatches him out of the air and squishes him against the rocky floor. Scream looks up to see what must be Li's very own Inner Demon, an enormous, Oni-like figure that blazes with his power. Peter tried to describe it once, after the Devil's Breath fiasco, but he did not do this otherworldly construct justice.
Venom thrashes, biting and slashing with everything he's got – and Scream is reasonably certain that, out in the real world, he would easily kill Li – but this is Mister Negative's turf, and despite getting visibly damaged by Venom's attacks, the projection holds steady.
Scream growls. "You refuse to hear the truth…we will FORCE you to accept it!" –she hisses, and looks to Li, who nods. His Inner Demon lifts Venom up, and slams him into the floor so hard that it shatters, plunging them all into a deeper layer of the mindspace.
They're just outside May's home, now, and Scream's grimly playing her part for the audience; she comes at Peter with everything she has, forcing him to play defense, unwilling to hurt the woman he loves. It's heartbreakingly easy to realize, through the memory, that he's pulling his punches – hitting spots that hurt but couldn't kill, even without the Symbiote.
This Scream has no such limits.
Despite Pete trying his best to emulate Miles' victory over him, using car alarms and his precious few sonic gadgets to try and weaken the Symbiote enough to give her a chance to shed it, neither of them are fast enough. Scream takes advantage of Peter hoping he's getting through to her, letting him get in close, and then lashing out with her whip-like hair tendrils, which wrap around his neck and force him to try and pry them off, leaving him exposed.
The stab that took his life follows.
Miles cries out mournfully, despite knowing what to expect, and even Li looks away – he may have become bitter enemies with Spider-Man, but May was still a very important person in his life, and seeing her surrogate son die must be like losing the only part of her he had left. Standing just behind a dying Peter, Venom roars, trembling with pain – Scream assumes, of the grieving kind. He breaks the script, sending her flying back and taking the mortally wounded Spider-Man with him into May's house, but when they follow him inside, they've changed scenery again.
"What is this place?" –Miles wonders.
"…Norman's secret lab. The one in his penthouse, anyway." –Scream mutters, recognizing it instantly. "This is where the spider that bit you was kept."
She turns to the largest figure in the room, which seems to be utterly ignoring them. "…it's where they first bonded, too."
Venom is standing in something approaching solemnity in front of the large container in the back of the room, which was covered in metal panels when she infiltrated the lab; now, the panels are gone, revealing a tank within which Peter floats, showing no signs of life. The Venom Symbiote clings to his body, sprouting out of his grievous wound like a macabre flower. "We can heal you, Peter. You will get better." –he purrs, placing a clawed hand on the Plexiglas. "And then we'll fulfill our promise...together."
Scream steps forward. "You know that's not how it works. No Symbiote can have two hosts at once." –she says. "A choice must be made…and you made that choice, Venom."
He growls. "We gave you a task. You failed, and this is the result." –he spits out, never tearing his gaze from Peter's pale visage. "But we can fix this. We can fix everything."
Scream hisses, a tremulous sound betraying her heartbreak. "I killed Peter. I cannot deny it, and I must live with that horrible burden on my shoulders for the rest of my days." –she moans, nodding at the macabre scene. "You can try and run away from your part in the deed all you want, but that does not erase your responsibility…nor will it bring back the man we loved."
As she speaks, the Symbiote inside the tank expands, replacing all the fluid until it completely fills the container, which explodes from the pressure, Peter's body nowhere to be found. The goo takes on a life of its own, swiftly multiplying and swallowing them all.
Mister Negative's power washes over them, and the goo vanishes, leaving them in the basketball court at Midtown High, where a fifteen year-old Peter tries – and in retrospect, utterly fails – to act like his powers haven't made him an ace at three-pointers. Venom and Scream watch from the bleachers, their forms slowly diminishing until they settle on Harry and MJ as teenagers themselves.
"…he can't be gone, MJ." –Harry says, almost back to his old self, trying to project determination, but his resolve falters, as Peter accidentally throws another perfect shot, awkwardly looking around to make sure no one's noticed. "He's lived through so many things that should've killed him! Getting shot and stabbed on a daily basis…all those supervillains that would've destroyed the city God knows how many times over…we can't be the reason he's…"
"…dead." –MJ finishes for him, when it's clear he can't. "Harry, I've never wished more desperately that something wasn't true, but…that's simply what happened. I can't deny the truth, and you sure as hell don't get to."
Harry scoffs as Peter turns away from the basket and jokingly tosses the ball over his shoulder, somehow sinking in another perfect shot, which leaves him cursing under his breath. "…okay. Alright, say we buy it. How on Earth are you so nonchalant about this? How can you expect us to believe it when you've barely shed a tear this whole damn time?"
She shoves him. "Why the hell do you think, Harry? Same damn reason I had to put my trust in the very creature that forced me to kill him – your goddamn 'heal the world' bullshit forced our hand. I can't stop and think about it, because if I do, back in the real world, you'll try to bite my damn head off, have Miles for seconds, and go on your merry way, kidnapping innocent people and turning them into mindless bundles of goo full of teeth and claws!"
Harry frowns, seemingly confused. "I wouldn't…" –he trails off, fidgeting with his beanie. MJ's pretty sure that's the first time he's referred to himself exclusively this whole time – hopefully a sign that she's actually getting through to him. "What happened that night, with the Hunters, my father's damn private army, KRAVEN…all I knew was that I needed to get out, and they were in my way. But they kept getting up." –he says, shivering, covering his face. "Everything they did hurt, and the only way to stop the hurt was to stop them. I...enjoyed lashing out, and I don't regret hurting them back, but…I didn't mean to kill them."
"Venom just doesn't have the same standards." –she surmises, and Scream seems to agree. MJ can tell that her own Symbiote doesn't exactly have those standards either, but she begrudgingly respects MJ's – she's reasonably certain that they could go on without killing anyone ever again.
"Yeah. But that's the thing, MJ." –he says, darkly. The glower he shoots her is 100% Osborn, no Symbiote involved. "When the Hunters came…that wasn't just Venom. That was us." –he admits. Peter finally misses a shot, but there's a good reason for it – he's gawking at them, finally seeing them as the monsters they've become. The fear in his eyes is…hard to stomach.
It's a small mercy, that Peter was wearing the mask when she killed him.
The court falls out under them, dropping them onto something of a fused setting – the cemetery where Ben and May are buried, and the church Emily Osborn rests at. A new grave has sprouted between the others, reading as follows.
Peter Benjamin Parker
1995 – 2021
Beloved Son and Nephew
Cherished Partner and Mentor
Our Hero
Venom trudges over, finally defeated, taking a knee by the headstone – tracing the small, simple spider crudely etched to dangle from the 'o' in 'hero'. MJ stands beside him, having shed her transformation. Grief washes over her like a tidal wave – she doesn't even wanna picture how much of a wreck she'll be when they bury him in the real world.
"What would you have us do, MJ?" –Venom asks her. "We're killers, now. Peter would hate what we have become."
"I don't think Peter had it in him to truly hate anyone." –MJ says, quietly. "Not even Otto, or the man who killed Ben."
"He hated Kraven." –he points out.
MJ hums. That's the Symbiote speaking. "Did he, really? Or did your influence drag him over the edge?" –she asks. Venom doesn't respond, which is all the response she needs. "That just wasn't him. And he loved you, Harry. Even after everything you've done, all he wanted was to save you. Why won't you let us?"
"How? What can you do to 'save' us? There is no life for us to return to – not without separating. Even our father, who brought us together in the first place, wants to tear us apart, now." –Venom says, rising. Suddenly, they're on top of OsCorp Tower, the communications antenna still ruined by Peter's fight with Otto. "If we stop now, the world will remain unchanged. Hostile to us. To you."
"Then we make a new life for ourselves. I have hope that our actions will speak louder than the way we look. If I know anything about New Yorkers, it's that it doesn't matter if you have blue fur, metal claws, green skin, or look like the Devil himself – if you're a hero to the people, you'll always have someone in your corner." –MJ says. "We can master the symbiosis, Harry. Peter died believing we had the willpower for it, that we could find a way to be what we are and still help people. To do it the right way."
"We aren't Spider-Man, MJ. Maybe we don't want to kill every criminal in sight, but…we believe we did the right thing, with Kraven. He won't be able to hurt anyone else, ever again. There will be more." –he says, almost like a challenge.
"…I won't stop you." –MJ says, coldly remembering the night the Hunter killed Peter, trying not to think about the fact that they have that in common. "Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of killing anyone, myself, but…I can't say I'll miss Kraven. Or Scorpion. Or Electro, for that matter."
Venom looks out to the city. "…Vulture didn't deserve it, though."
"Yeah…I mean, he was a jackass, but what Kraven did to him was horrible. And Shocker?" –she shakes her head, unsure of whether to laugh or cry at the insanity of her newfound situation. It's been a long few weeks. "He was downright decent, minus the property damage."
He sighs. "…so we would become judge, jury, and executioner. Spider-Man wouldn't approve."
"Spider-Man won't approve." –she says, reminding him that, despite their devastating loss, the heroic mantle is still in good hands. "But…I think you might be able to convince him not to focus on you, if you figure out a code and stick to it. It's not like there isn't a precedent for this sort of...arrangement, after all."
Venom tilts his head. "What do you mean?"
"There's Wraith, just recently. She's a killer, too, and even though they fought, Peter couldn't bring himself to bring her in." –she says. "And there was Castle, too, back in the day. Haven't heard of him in a long time, and Peter wouldn't let him get away with his usual MO if they crossed paths, but…it's not like he hunted him down, either."
He looks skeptical, but MJ shrugs. "My point is, you don't have to be Spider-Man to try to live up to his ideals. You just have to use your power to help people. Truly help them, not whatever twisted version of that you'd envisioned."
"...we could be a deadly guardian. A lethal protector." –he says, licking his fangs as he does. "We find this compromise…acceptable."
Venom perches on the edge of the roof, an alien gargoyle surveying his newfound territory. "But…we need your help." –he admits. "You are no longer connected to the Hive Mind. You no longer serve the will-in-death of the King in Black. We…are not so lucky."
MJ frowns, confused. Scream helpfully supplies a terrifying vision of world after alien world, consumed by the Symbiotes, all of them bearing that dreaded spiral symbol on their body. From the ominous name and the vision, MJ gets the impression that this is the true mission of the Symbiotes – to spread themselves across the universe, swallowing all sentient life in their darkness. "Sounds like something out of World of Warcraft." –she says, sardonically, trying to hide how unsettling that vision was. "What do you need us to do?"
"The meteorite that brought us. It is currently shattered, but it must be completely destroyed. As long as it exists, we will remain your enemy out in the real world. And if the fragments should be brought together again…" –he trails off, then nods at the horizon. To MJ's horror, the island of Manhattan is consumed, entire blocks at a time, by massive Symbiote tendrils, upon which millions of Symbiote zombies crawl, like maggots on a festering corpse. "This would be the city's fate. And eventually, the planet's."
"This is what you wanted?" –MJ balks.
Venom growls, but it's almost…soft. "We promised a world without pain and strife. Our vision would have made it so." –he says. Yeah, I'll say, MJ thinks, guess there isn't much conflict when everyone's an alien zombie. "But…we have seen much of this world, since we made planetfall here, through many eyes. Despite the evils we would destroy, and those who will persecute us for doing so…there is much that we would regret losing, if we were to continue. And so, we must stop – for Harry. For you."
"For Peter." –she says.
Venom nods. "For Peter."
That was a lot! I'm not sure how I managed to get through two weeks of writing this without feeling depressed, but I'm glad I got it done. I deeply enjoyed Spider-Man 2, and that version of Peter Parker continues to be my favorite, so to kill him off was kind of a bonkers decision, but the narrative choices Insomniac made with the Venom storyline were so impactful that I had to write this (apologies to Kverse readers, I kinda paused writing on the series while I feverishly got this done, should be back to it now!)
I admit, I kinda had to bend over backwards to make Venom staying fused make SOME sense in the context of the story (jury's out whether I justified it enough, but I'm happy with it), but I just needed it to happen. I don't know whether or not they'd be true to their word in the long term, or even if MJ/Scream's fusion is as stable as it seems to be (I left it a bit vague and hard to believe on purpose), so this is like, only partially a Bad Ending. I'm optimistic - I think they can make it work, but it's sure gonna be an uphill climb.
The epilogue's already uploaded, so feel free to check it out! I hope you enjoyed this story! I wrote a bunch of trivia for it, but I've included it in the epilogue because there's some spoilery bits for that in there. If you like what I do and would like to reach out, feel free to leave a comment/review here, or send me an ask on tumblr (darthkvznblogs) my ask box is open to all!
Until next time!