A day after the whole ordeal with the Black Cat, Spider-Man swung through the city, his black and white suit glistening in the moonlight. After all that he had been through in recent days, he was getting used to Venom amplifying his strength and agility. He had heard about how there was apparently some sort of bank some criminals were planning to rob a bank, and he wasn't about to let them get away with it.
As he arrived at the bank, he could already hear the commotion inside. The criminals had taken hostages; their faces were concealed by masks. Spider-Man's eyes narrowed, and he leapt into action, landing gracefully amidst the chaos.
He swiftly incapacitated the first criminal with a series of acrobatic moves, webbing him to the wall. The other criminals turned their attention to the symbiotic hero, their guns aimed at him. Venom, the voice in his head, urged Spider-Man to unleash the full power of the symbiote, to strike fear into the hearts of these criminals.
"We can take them out and call it a day right now if you stop squandering our potential as being one together," Venom tells him.
But Peter hesitated. He knew that using the symbiote's darker abilities came with a cost—a cost he was not willing to pay. He believed in his responsibility to protect the innocent, even if it meant facing overwhelming odds.
"Venom, we can't just terrorize them. We have to find a way to stop them without causing harm," Peter said, his voice firm. "We are way too powerful to just openly attack random thugs. If we unleashed our full strength, we would kill them."
The symbiote, however, had a different perspective. "Lane, you're weak. We have the power to crush them, to make them fear us. It's the only way they'll learn to stop this."
Spider-Man glanced at the hostages, their terrified eyes pleading for help. He couldn't ignore their pleas. "No, Venom. There's always another way. We can subdue them, disarm them, and ensure they face justice."
"Ugh, must you make everything so difficult?" Venom asks.
"Funny, that's what Mom says," Peter replied as he leapt down into the hole. "Hey, fellas!"
The criminals opened fire, but Spider-Man's reflexes were unmatched. His spider sense guided him as he dodged bullets with lightning speed. He disarmed one criminal after another, using his webs to immobilize them without causing harm.
As the battle raged on, the hero's determination never wavered. He fought with a calculated ferocity, incapacitating the criminals one by one. Venom's voice persisted, tempting him to embrace a darker path, but Spider-Man remained resolute. While he did so, Venom was also following Peter's wishes and used the Symbiote to not cause harm but to subdue the criminals using his tentacles.
Finally, the last criminal fell to the ground, defeated and webbed up. Spider-Man took a moment to catch his breath, surveying the scene. The hostages were safe, and the criminals were neutralized. His approach had worked.
"See, Venom? We did it," Spider-Man said, his voice filled with conviction. "We protected the innocent without succumbing to Batman territory. Besides, seeing as how much stuff that guy has, I bet he could afford the best lawyers to try and sue us."
The symbiote grumbled but ultimately conceded. "For now, Lane. But remember, there will come a time when you'll have to make tougher choices."
"Come on," Peter says as he makes his way out of the bank through the open window. "When do you think we'll have time for this? We took down Livewire easily. Regular criminals are no threat to us. The only thing we really need to worry about are villains who use fire or loud noises."
"How about when fighting the Dark Knight?" Venom asks.
"Why the heck would we want to fight Batman?" Peter asked in confusion.
"Well, why is he looking down at us from the skylight?" Venom questioned.
Peter was confused when he turned around and looked upward, only to notice the Dark Knight was indeed watching them. He had been hiding in the shadows to avoid drawing attention, but didn't realize that Venom was now keeping an eye out for him after placing a tracker on them.
"Need something, Batman?" Peter asks.
Bruce leaped off of the building and extended his cape to land gently on the ground. "What I need are answers." He stated to the two of them. "And you are the only ones who can give them to me."
"Us?" Peter asks.
Bruce then hits a button on his communicator and the Batmobile comes driving up to them. When the back of the vehicle opened up, a computer screen was shown, and Peter watched as what appeared to be a Venom-infested Symbiote-powered Superman was attacking the Justice League. He wasn't sure of where they were since he never saw the Watchtower from the inside. Peter was shocked to watch this happen and looked to Batman. Then he looked down at his suit and recalled what Venom said a while back. He was sad to see everything go. This was what he was talking about. They got to Superman first, he was their most powerful member.
"A Symbiote got to Superman," Peter muttered in shock.
"And you are carrying one in you," Bruce replied.
"Peter, I can explain," Venom promises. "I can explain everything."
Peter however wasn't listening as he was starting to become afraid about the creature inside of him. "Shut up." He stated as he looked at his reflection to try and get a good look at Venom as he didn't seem to wanna come out. "I thought that you had a second agenda here. I should have known."
"No, Peter it isn't like that." Venom tried to plead his case.
Peter turned towards Bruce. "Does your vehicle amplify sound?"
"Lane!" Venom tried to get through to him.
"One of the few less impressive gadgets I have," Bruce confirmed. "How high do you need it?"
"As high as it can get," Peter tells him.
Bruce did just that by then amplifying the sound on the Batmobile. He activated the sonic device, and a powerful wave of sound radiated from it, filling the air. The Symbiote writhed in agony, its grip on Peter beginning to weaken with each passing moment. The sound waves penetrated deep into his very being, breaking the Symbiote's hold.
Peter's vision cleared, and he felt a newfound sense of liberation. The Symbiote, weakened and disoriented, slithered away, retreating into the shadows. Bruce amplified the soundwaves stronger and stronger and watched as he began to notice the pain Peter was in. It didn't take long for Peter's body to spew the Symbiote and watch it go flying. It was weakened and started to crawl around to make it back to Peter. But Bruce quickly grabbed a container and placed it over the Symbiote, entrapping it within the container. It was built to withstand re-entry, so there was no way it was going to break out of there.
"You were using me? After all we've been through together. I thought you were my friend," Peter said to the symbiote, now wearing his first old costume. "You came to conquer our world. What happened to 'we'?" he snarled at the creature. Then, taking the container from Bruce, he looked at his house. "Well, we're going to deal with you later. First, we have to deal with Superman."
Peter made it home and was glad to see Lois was out and that Kara was watching some late-night television. Right now, she was watching Frankenstein and seemed to be distracted, not even noticing Peter enter the room. He marched towards his bedroom and placed the Symbiote down on his desk.
"We will discuss what to do with you later," Peter says to Venom. "I should have never trusted you."
Peter then made it to the window and opened it before turning back to the Symbiote. He was no longer connected to it, but it was almost as if he could tell that it was asking to be let out. But that was the mistake he had already made, letting it into his life and giving it access to information about his world. It knew too much that he couldn't risk it going back to this new Symbiote.
Peter leaped out of the window and managed to find Batman so that they could come up with a plan to fight this guy. When he did, Peter discovered himself in the Batmobile, driving down the streets. Under different circumstances, he would have loved this idea. But right now, he was upset to learn that Venom, someone he had begun to consider a friend, was actually a traitor.
Peter asked Bruce, "So, what's the plan?"
Bruce says, "We need to find a secure place to detain Superman and stop this parasite from hurting anyone."
Peter asked, "Hasn't he already done that?"
Bruce reported to Peter, "He has only subdued the League; likely using them as hosts for his other soldiers."
"Do you think this could be a full-scale invasion?" Peter hadn't considered that a possibility.
"It's possible," Bruce replies. "If there are two of them here, there's undoubtedly more out there. And we need to stop him before he can call upon the rest of his army."
"Well, how do you stop the Man of Steel with a Symbiote?" Peter wonders.
"Well, if fire and sound are what harm him...we can use that." Bruce was starting to come up with ideas.
While they were driving away, Kori had gotten up from the couch after finishing her film and looked around the apartment. She wondered if Peter was still awake and knocked on his door. "Peter?" When she opened the door, she found Venom in a container and was confused. "Venom, what are you doing here?"
Venom saw this as a way he could possibly escape if he could trick her into opening the lid. He stretched himself out and splat himself against the lid of the jar. Kori didn't seem to understand what was going on as she just decided it would be best for her to open the lid. Venom then launched from the container and latched himself onto Kori.
"Venom, what are you doing?!" Kori freaked out as the Symbiote began to latch onto her.
Meanwhile, Superman was flying around the world looking for a specific person. He knew how Superman felt about Batman. But when he couldn't find his real identity, he still knew his fighting patterns. He just needed to find the man in the mask. Closing his eyes, he started to try and locate him in the world. Hovering over the ocean, he tried to locate Batman, but all he got was noise. Or so he thought.
"So, this is strong enough to take down Superman?" asked Peter.
Batman said, "Let's hope so."
The Symbiote-infested Superman then flew at full speed to the area where he heard the conversation was being had. He landed in the middle of the Metropolis docks and saw nothing surrounding him but cargo containers. He started to try and use his X-ray vision to locate them, but all he got was a lot of shipments and even a few he couldn't see through.
"Don't worry," Batman's voice was heard again, "if all goes according to plan...". Batman's voice trailed off as Symbiote Superman sped over to the area and ripped open one of the containers. But when he did, he found a speaker and a detonation device that went off the moment he ripped open the container. The entire compartment then began to fill up with Kryptonite and weaken Superman. "...he will fall right into our trap."
Superman groaned as he tried to get out of the container, but the hole that he made was quickly sealed by another container falling on top of it. Peter used his strength to rip off one of the containers to keep the infested hero inside and stop him from harming anyone. The message that he was listening to was a recording that Spider-Man and Batman had made on the way inside the Batmobile. Of course, Batman had his car made out of lead to keep Superman out.
"That should help keep him down," Batman said as he walked beside Spider-Man. "Once he's knocked out by the Kryptonite, we can use sound waves from the Batmobile to finish the job."
"This is just odd," Peter said. "It shouldn't be this easy. When I was about to be finished off by Livewire, that's when the Symbiote fought hardest to save me."
"You think he might be biding his time?" Batman asked.
"I almost died, and that's when the Symbiote became the strongest," Peter explained. "That's why-"
Peter's senses then went off and the entire roof of the container was ripped open, revealing the Symbiote Superman who flew out of it. The Symbiote Superman eyed the two heroes with anger. Batman went running as Peter quickly followed. Superman then came flying and crashed into the ground, causing the ground to shake and a giant cloud of dust to form. That seemed to give Batman the idea to run in head-on, attempting to punch what he considered a weakened Superman. However, that didn't end in his favor as the Symbiote wrapped around his hand and threw Batman into one of the containers. Batman groaned as he fell and Spider-Man webbed him upward onto the top of the containers.
"Okay, this plan doesn't seem to be going according to plan," Peter commented.
Batman said, "I noticed."
Peter asked, "You got a Plan B?"
Bruce then showed he had a detonator in his hand and activated it. When the dust settled around Superman, he noticed the dozens of bombs that were placed around him. As the explosions went off, a giant cloud of smoke and fire surrounded him. While Peter covered his eyes, Batman continued to stare at the explosion.
Peter asked, "That was Plan B?"
"It was in case the sound didn't work," Bruce explains.
"Think that it did anything?" Peter wonders.
That was when a giant figure emerged from the flames and was revealed to be a gigantic creature. It resembled when Venom took control of Peter's body, only this one was entirely silver. It growled as soon as it laid eyes on Spider-Man and charged at the two of them.
Batman shouted, "Run!" as they all turned to try and escape the area.
The Silver Symbiote then grabbed hold of the containers and threw them into the air. Peter and Batman tried to outrun them, but the ground they were on began to become unstable and they ended up having to jump to avoid getting crushed by the debris. They were sent crashing into the ground, and Peter was pinned under some of the containers while Batman was knocked out and crushed between two containers. Peter gasped as he tried to lift a dozen containers that all toppled on top of each other, but he wasn't strong enough without Venom.
The Silver Symbiote then marched over towards peter and revealed that it had the ability to create weapons; it created a spear out of Superman's hand and approached Peter. Peter struggled to free himself as it approached, but before it could attack him, he was blasted by familiar green glowing energy blasts that sent him flying into the containers. Peter was shocked when he saw that his savior was a pale yellow and dark orange symbiote with tendrils that acted like long flowing hair. It snarled as it then looked down at Peter and smiled, showing off its teeth.
"Hello, Peter," he recognized that voice.
"Venom?" Peter was shocked to see it was the Symbiote.
That was when the Symbiote lifted the containers off of Peter and then grabbed him. When it lifted Peter to his feet, it locked lips with the hero, slowly transferring itself back into the hero. That was when Peter learned that the host he had taken to find him was none other than Kori. The two of them were still lip-locked when Venom finally left, having kissed both of them.
Kori then gasped as she realized what was happening and looked around. "Uh, I didn't know," she said to Peter. "I just thought you would be in trouble."
"Uh, I actually kind of was," Peter admitted. "You guys saved my life."
"The one with Superman is called 'Riot,'" Venom explains to him.
"Riot? Who's Riot?" Peter asks, confusing Kori as she couldn't hear Venom.
"Riot is what you call a team leader," Venom explained. "We've got to stop him."
"Oh, now you care about us?" Peter asks sarcasm, as he misses that Riot is now crawling out of the rubble. "Not half an hour ago, you were on his side."
"I was never on his side!" Venom proclaimed. "Okay, I was, but not anymore. If we don't stop Riot now, he will find his way off of this planet and invade this world with thousands of others."
Peter says in shock, "Thousands? So, this is an invasion."
"Not if we stop them here and now," Venom stated.
"Okay, but why are you helping us now?" Peter asked.
"Because things are different now, I have decided to stay," Venom stated. "I have begun to like it here. But it is going to take all of us to defeat Riot."
"Oh, now that it's about being annihilated, it's back to us being a 'we,'" Peter scoffed at that statement. "Tell me the truth. What really made you change your mind?"
Venom then morphed into its true form. "You. You did, Peter. Your love for these people. This world. Our love for it. I will help you protect this world."
"Okay, but what do we do?" Kori asks.
Venom saw their failed attempt to stop him and nodded. "You had the right idea, but the wrong setup. You weaken the host, you make a stronger Symbiote."
"Okay, that means Kryptonite was a bad idea. Got that idea." Peter commented. "So, what will work?"
"The Man of Steel needs to feel the heat," Venom said as he looked out onto the water. "Fire. Burn the Symbiote out of him."
Peter remembered, "There's an oil rig just a few miles off the coast." He continued, "My mom wrote a story about how hazardous it was. She got it shut down."
"Then all we need to do is lead him there," Kori muttered.
That was when Peter sensed something, and so did Venom. They both ducked, and Venom shrank into Peter as he tackled to save Kori before she could get hit by a flying container. Looking back, they saw Riot had retreated back into Superman and was now using the Kryptonian's powers to try and crush them.
Riot shouted, "Venom! You betrayed me?"
"YES!" Venom cried as he latched onto Kori. "Fly!"
Kori seemed to understand the urgency as she flew off into the ocean and watched Peter holding onto the strand of webbing Venom had made for him. Batman managed to get himself free of the containers and groaned. He dusted himself off and noticed that he missed something and saw the people flying off.
Bruce then tapped a button to call the Batwing over; however, that would take a moment, and he didn't have any other form of transportation to reach them. The three of them flew off into the air and were lucky enough to outrun Superman as he chased after them. As the oil rig started to become clearer in the distance, Peter pointed at it to get Kori's attention.
"There!" Peter told her. "When we land, I need you to shoot the barrels and get out of here!"
"What about you?" Kori asks him.
"Don't worry about us," Peter said as he looked down at the rig. "We have a plan."
Peter then dropped the strand of webbing and fell to the oil rig. But just when he thought he might not have enough time to reach it, Venom produced some web wings underneath his forearms and allowed Peter to glide his way down towards the rig. When he toppled and did a roll so he could stick the landing, and skidded to a stop. Looking up, he watched Superman come crashing into the rig and snarled. It seemed he didn't understand what they were planning, which meant that they had the chance to fight him.
"Venom," Riot said as Superman's eyes glow red. "You are a traitor to your kind! If you truly care about this humanity, then you will die with it!"
Riot then used Superman's laser eyes and attempted to kill Peter with them. However, Venom worked quickly and yanked some metal to shield himself and escaped the attack. When Riot stopped using the laser eyes, he sped towards Peter and grabbed him by the throat before he could react. Fortunately, Peter had an ally in the sky who shot oil rig barrels. When they exploded, both of the Symbiotes were beginning to spasm due to the intense heat that came from the explosion and Kori's blast. Peter, however, was weakened by the attack but was still able to fight back as he still had his natural powers, while the Symbiote was still safe inside Superman, protecting him from the harmful effects of the heat.
"Now let's give him a taste of his own medicine," Peter stated as he and Venom formed a giant fist above their heads.
Peter then sucker-punched Superman, sending him flying. However, it didn't last long, as being out of the heat allowed Riot to regain some control and fly straight at Spider-Man. The flames spread quickly, fueled by the surrounding oil.
As the flames grew higher and the situation became dire, Spider-Man knew he had to end the battle swiftly. He unleashed a barrage of powerful web attacks, ensnaring Riot and momentarily immobilizing him. Seizing the opportunity, Spider-Man used his strength to hoist Riot high into the air before slamming him onto the unstable platform.
The impact shattered the weakened structure, causing debris to rain down. But with his quick reflexes, Peter managed to shield himself from the falling wreckage. Meanwhile, Riot was buried beneath the rubble. With the villain temporarily incapacitated, Spider-Man turned his attention to the raging fire consuming the oil rig.
Using his webbing and symbiotic powers, Spider-Man directed torrents of water from the ocean onto the flames, slowly but steadily extinguishing the inferno. With the fire under control and the rig stabilized, Spider-Man turned his attention back to the defeated Riot. But to his surprise, when he looked back, there was nobody there.
"Uh-oh," Peter and Venom said in terror.
Then out of the ground came Superman, who grabbed Spider-Man and began to rip Venom off of him. Peter cried in pain as the separation was still painful, even after they were both brought back together.
"Superman!" Peter cried in pain. "Please! Stop!"
However, Riot managed to rip them off of one another and even was preparing to shoot his heat vision at Venom. But Peter acted quickly and ran over to grab ahold of Venom before he could get burned to a crisp. When they reattached, Venom morphed and grabbed Superman by the head and slammed him into the oil that was about to set fire. When the fire trail reached, the fire caught both of them and they both shrieked in pain.
Superman stumbled backward and Riot was starting to finally lose a connection. But before he could, Superman lasered Spider-Man in the hip, and with his healing factor working double-time to save Venom, it left a gaping hole in his hip as he fell and toppled to the ground.
That was when Riot was beginning to die down and left Superman to Clark Kent. Finally, he managed to regain control of his body as he looked around. He gasped, not remembering what had just transpired, and looked at the weakened boy. He watched Kori, no idea who she was, as she landed and picked up the boy who saved him.
"He saved you; save him," Kori begged him.
Luckily, the Batwing managed to arrive and drop off Batman, who saw the chaos that was unfolding below. "Clark!"
"Yeah, it's me, no one else upstairs," Clark promises as he eyed Peter and Kori. "Who are the kids?"
"A long story that I'm sure you already know half of. But right now, we need to get him to the Watchtower. Everyone has to help clean up the mess." Bruce said to them.
"What mess?" Clark asks.
"Explain when we get there." Bruce said as he took the boy from Kori and called the Batwing to pick them up, flying for the Watchtower.
Clark, Batman, and Kori quickly made it to the Watchtower and worked fast to freeing the rest of the Justice League from their cocoons they had been entrapped in. When they did, they were quick to get Peter to the medical lab and got it working to help treat his wounds while Bruce told Clark that Spider-Man, the man who saved him, was Lois Lane's son, who he already knew about. Meanwhile, Martian Manhunter kept an eye on Peter and noticed he wasn't healing, and was even mentally corresponding with the Venom Symbiote.
"Still can't believe a kid brought you down," Flash commented to Superman as he eyed Manhunter treating the boy through the glass.
"I can't tell if the kid is brave or crazy," said Green Lantern, John Stewart, with a snark.
When Manhunter was given the news through Venom, he approached the rest of the League. "It is not looking good."
"What do you mean?" Hawkgirl asks. "What's wrong?"
"He lost a lot of blood and energy fighting the Symbiote." Manhunter explains to the team. "The Symbiote, Venom, is keeping him alive, but he needs blood quickly if he is going to live."
"Last I checked, we don't have blood on stock up here," said Stewart apologetically.
"I can run and try to get what type we need." Clark offered.
"What kind is he?" Bruce wonders.
"AB blood." Manhunter reported.
"Oh, that's just great," Wally scoffed when he heard that. "A rare blood type is his only hope, and I doubt any of us are carrying AB blood."
"That's my blood type," Bruce confessed, getting everyone's attention. "Get everything ready. I'll do it."
Manhunter was both not surprised and surprised to see Batman go so far for a boy he barely knew. "All I need is you."
Bruce followed Manhunter while Clark grew concerned about what might happen. If Bruce discovered...Clark didn't know what Bruce would do.
Manhunter brought Batman next to Peter as he removed his glove to show his skin beneath. "Just relax and let him do the work," Manhunter said as Venom then reached out and latched onto his fingers. "He will drain the blood and draw it into his body directly, and what you give he can regenerate."
Bruce said, "I've got it."
Manhunter then did a quick scan and saw that the fusion was working and Peter was becoming stronger. "It's working!"
Bruce nodded as he kept an eye on the boy while he rested. Venom stopped covering his face and Bruce saw his entire face, which was injured and beaten up from the fight. He didn't know many kids his age who would willingly go toe-to-toe with Superman and live like he did.
"He is a brave young man." Manhunter complimented.
"Braver than any of us would have been." Bruce complimented. "But of course he wasn't alone."
Manhunter nodded. "She is a strange case. She seems to be no different from our Kryptonian friend. Except she draws off energy from her emotions," he said. "But she seems to have a strong connection with the boy."
Bruce said, "They have potential. They definitely need a lot of training, but they're already on their way." He then watched Peter moan. "How long will he be asleep?"
"He will still need a few days to recover afterwards. I would suggest alerting the boy's parents." Manhunter said when he came across something odd in Peter's scans and medical records they had access to. "Hmm..."
"What is it?" Bruce asks.
Manhunter said in curiosity, "Your blood and his seem to have many similarities." He looked at Batman, then continued, "Do you know the boy's mother? What about the father?"
Bruce admitted, "I've met his mother. His father isn't in the picture."
Manhunter said as he turned to Batman. "I wouldn't say that. I'd say he was sitting next to him."
Bruce was shocked when he looked down at Peter and over to Martian Manhunter. "What?"
"Should have figured you'd figure it out," Clark said as he walked into the room. "Sorry, Bruce. But it wasn't my secret to tell."
Bruce looked down at the boy again and looked at Clark. "What are you telling me, Clark?"
"Lois should be here to explain everything," Clark sighed as he leaned against the doorframe. "But this boy, Peter... he's your son, Bruce."