TheRedeemer1995: Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome back to The Venom Inside! Well, I admit, I really am having a blast writing this thing, and so is LegionnaireBlaze! We cannot thank you all enough for your support, and we hope you're ready for not one, but two big brawls for Venom today!

Unfortunately, LegionnaireBlaze will not be able to make it to this chapter's author notes, as he's currently not feeling well, likely due to the after-effects of the holiday season, so I hope you'll join me in wishing him a speedy recovery. All right, let's get this show on the road!

Chapter IV

Venom Vs All Might: Round One

As Venom's roar of hatred filled the managers' office of the abandoned factory, most of the thugs grabbed what seemed to be military-grade weapons, while what seemed to be the leader of the would-be trafficking ring's muscles grew to make the man a hulking brute, but nowhere near the size of Venom.

Venom grinned. 'They aren't nearly well armed enough!' symbiote and host thought in synchronization before the black-clad monstrosity began laying waste to the thugs as they opened fire, and were swiftly disposed of. However, the leader of the thugs was proving to be a bit more durable than Venom had anticipated, something that made the black monster's grin grow.

He'd been hoping for a challenge on his big debut night. He dearly hoped the brute wouldn't disappoint.

As the vigilante and the would-be crime lord traded blows, the bulky man began to get worn down until he eventually was knocked across the room, seemingly defeated.

Venom roared in triumph as he leered down at the thug. "Did you really think you had the strength and the power to beat us?" Venom said as he got ready to apprehend the defeated thug.

"Not like this, no," the thug admitted as he forced himself up onto one knee, before he glanced at something off to the side, a large chemical flask with half of it filled. "But, with Trigger…!" he said before grabbing the flask and downing it, nearly drowning in the liquid as he did so.

"NO! Not the whole thing." Venom yelled out in horror.

Almost instantly, the brute's body began spasming as his muscles began to grow to a size that would make any professional bodybuilder green with envy, and then kept growing in all the wrong ways, transforming the man into an abomination of muscle that towered over Venom and made the black monster take a cautious, and terrified, step back. This monstrosity's flesh had reddened harshly, with one arm twice as large as it should be, and the other barely any larger than before. While his head hadn't grown at all, the face had grown gaunt, the skin fighting to remain on his face.

The hulking beast of a man roared before charging and grabbing Venom by his head and throwing him like a rag doll through the factory wall, sending him crashing through two more buildings before finally coming to a stop, becoming partially buried in a pile of bricks and mortar.

"Ow," said Venom as he pulled himself up from the ground, taking note that there seemed to be a crowd gathering, no doubt thinking there was a hero fighting a villain. Only to be proven wrong as the thing the 'boss' had become, barreled through and began pummeling him. Before long Venom grabbed the larger fist, grew to his full size, still somewhat smaller than his opponent, and punched the red… thing back through another building.

As Venom looked through the hole in the opposite wall that he had just created, he saw that the monstrous brute of a thug was approaching him, still as terrifyingly muscular as ever as the crowd around Venom began to speculate what was going on.

"What is that thing?"

"Neither of those two look particularly heroic… maybe they're two villains having a disagreement of some kind?"

"Well, whatever's going on, the heroes should be here before long. They'll figure things out, I'm sure of it!"

Venom growled as he glared down at the approaching enemy. 'Right, so the direct approach is out of the question… guess that means we'll have to try an indirect one!' thought Izuku from within Venom, before the black-colored symbiote charged back at the malformed malefactor and the two began punching each other, neither actually gaining an advantage.

Venom quickly grabbed ahold of a nearby dumpster and threw it at the massive thug, landing a solid hit on the man's comparatively tiny head, and actually managing to cause him to stagger back a couple feet a wound opened on his forehead.

'Bingo! His body may be nigh invulnerable on that huge dose of that Trigger stuff, but it doesn't look like that's the case for command central… or what's left of it, anyway,' Venom and his host thought in unison before their early-warning danger sense kicked in, prompting Venom to evade the dumpster he'd just launched at the thug as the aforementioned goon made it return to sender.

Meanwhile, on a nearby rooftop…

All Might watched the battle between the hulking brute of a man and the black creature he had encountered earlier that day, having heard some interesting rumors about its activities that night, mainly consisting of vigilante work as it stopped muggers, robberies, breaking-and-entering crimes, and was now fighting what appeared to be a supervillain. From what he saw, the black creature certainly had the potential to be a real hero.

Unfortunately, the methods the black creature used in stopping crimes bordered on being far too extreme. Although some of the criminals were subdued by a black web-like substance, many more were suffering from severe injuries including multiple broken bones and heavy internal damage.

On top of that, not only had All Might himself not seen anything quite like the black creature before, there was nothing like it in the official registry, meaning that whoever or whatever that black creature was, it was likely using its Quirk without a license, which was very illegal. So, despite all the good it had done tonight, All Might had no choice but to bring the black creature in to answer for his unlicensed vigilante work.

Unbidden, the words of young Midoriya echoed in All Might's mind as a pang of guilt ran through him.

"Do not fail Eri like you've failed me…"

All Might wished he could have done more to help the boy. When he'd stopped by his mother's house a couple days ago to check on him, he learned that the boy had moved out not long after what had happened at the Entrance Exam, and that one day she'd gotten a call from his middle school about him slugging Katsuki Bakugou, someone that All Might had a feeling he'd need to keep an eye on with how hot headed and prone to anger he was, only for Bakugou to retaliate with his explosive Quirk.

From what he'd gathered from poking around Midoriya's old room, he came to realize that Midoriya was something of a tinkerer, and had one of the most remarkable intellects for someone without a Quirk he'd ever seen, to the point where, if his mother was to be believed, he'd actually been offered the opportunity to advance or even graduate from Middle School early, yet he continued to turn down the offers.

Which made All Might even more worried after their encounter at U.A. earlier that day, as well as him supposedly threatening Katsuki Bakugou shortly thereafter. Someone that smart with broken dreams and that much anger and hatred boiling inside them… it did not bode well with him at all.

After all, while Midoriya had heard people he looked up to tell him time and time again that he couldn't be a hero… not once had anyone told him he couldn't be a villain. And when it came to villains… the smarter they were, the deadlier that made them.

All Might shook his head. He'd figure out how to keep Midoriya from becoming a villain later. Right now, however, he had a job to do, and it looked like the black creature had just landed the final blow on his opponent.

It was time to go to work.

Back With Venom…

Venom, breathing heavily from exhaustion after his long battle, let out a triumphant roar as the massive hulk of a thug finally went down, unable to keep himself from placing a foot on his fallen foe and striking a heroic pose as a number of photographers took pictures. Unfortunately, Venom's proud moment of victory came screeching to a halt when a familiar voice called out to him.

"You've been busy today, creature! I must admit, you do seem like you have good intentions, however the trail of broken bodies left in the wake of your vigilante actions tonight, and the use of that powerful Quirk of yours without a license, whatever your intentions may be, unfortunately means that I must ask you to accompany me to the station!"

Venom's grin turned almost instantly to a frown as he turned to face the source of the voice, none other than All Might himself, standing there all noble and heroic-like. Venom groaned and shook his head. He'd dealt with enough problems for one day, right now, he just wanted to get out of here, head home, and take a shower. But, alas, it seemed as though that would not be in the cards. At least, not yet.

"We do not answer to false gods like you, All Might!" snarled Venom as he glared at the hero.

"Oh? And what exactly makes me a 'false god?'" asked All Might.

Venom laughed. "Ooh, tough question, All Might, where to start? Oh, we know, how about 'anyone can be a hero?' Did you or did you not say that? And if you did, do you actually believe that? Or was it just some Public Relations bullshit that you spouted to keep the people who looked up to you buying your merchandise?" the black monster snarled angrily.

All Might was taken aback. He certainly wasn't expecting that answer out of the black monster. "Wha- of course I meant it when I-" he said, only for Venom to cut him off with a roar.

"Tell that to the Quirkless, who are treated as second-class servants or slaves at BEST! Tell that to the people born with Quirks that everyone says are 'perfect for villany'! If this cruel, unjust, and bigoted society is the one you defend, then we'll take it kicking and screaming back to the realm of decency, and common sense!" Venom snarled in rage. "You are the Symbol of 'Peace', whereas we are the ones who will shatter that forgery of true peace, the ones who fight for the oppressed and trodden-upon. We are the Symbol of Vengeance! WE ARE VENOM!"

OST: Ultimate Spider-Man OST: Mega Battle

With that, Venom shot a tendril at All Might, which wrapped around him, and slammed him into a nearby wall before releasing a powerful roar and charging at All Might, who was just starting to get up off the ground, and swiping at him with his claws.

All Might dodged out of the way of Venom's strikes before landing a few of his own on Venom, who seemed barely fazed by the super strong attacks, if his leering grin was anything to go by.

"What was that? Felt like a fly bit us!" said Venom with a snarl before grabbing All Might and throwing him into a nearby building, sending the hero crashing through it and into an empty car. "Aw, what's the matter, old timer? Losing your edge? Happens to the best of us… not that you're the best anymore!" taunted the black-clad symbiote.

All Might groaned as he pulled himself out of the car. Venom was proving himself to be a tough customer. A customer tougher than any he'd faced in a long time… but, even then, he wouldn't give up, not when the people were counting on him as the Symbol of Peace to stop this monster and bring him to justice.

All Might got up off the ground, green electricity dancing around him as he got a running start, his right fist ready to throw one of his signature Smash attacks at Venom. "TEXAS… SMASH!" roared All Might as he punched his fist towards Venom, who was sent flying from the air pressure, only to backflip and land firmly, sliding on his feet not very far away at all.

All Might couldn't believe it. That Texas Smash should have ended the fight right then and there, it had against the last villain similar to Venom, except the black-clad vigilante was still standing. What was he?

"A Texas Smash? How predictable," snarled Venom as he dusted himself off. "Here's a little tip for you, old man, you were the hero we looked up to the most before we took off the rose-tinted glasses and realized the truth about this world. We've studied all your battles, we know your every move before you do, we know how you THINK!"

All Might breathed heavily with exhaustion as his muscles began to deflate. 'Dammit, my limit is almost up… still, at least what Venom just said gives me some clues to work with when it comes to figuring out his true identity,' the hero thought before he made the decision to make a strategic retreat before his limit came up, leaping from building to building into the distance. Whatever else happened, he couldn't let the people see the true form of the Symbol of Peace.

"That's right old man! Run away! Run away from all the broken promises and lies you've told to the people who believed in you! We'll meet again, All Might! We promise you that!" snarled Venom as he watched All Might run away like a coward, before he turned on his heel and faded away before disappearing completely.

Not Too Far Away-A Short While Later

Venom became visible once again and reverted back to Izuku, who sat down against a nearby wall and closed his eyes to rest for a moment., feeling completely and utterly drained from the ordeals he had been through that night. True, he had expected to come across a few people with Quirks, he certainly hadn't counted on facing anyone like that big brute of a guy who used all that Trigger stuff, and definitely not a fight with All Might himself, let alone forcing his fallen idol into a retreat, something that struck him as odd.

The All Might he knew would have never run away from a fight like that. Then again, maybe he didn't really know All Might at all, and had only ever seen his public face. Although he couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with that matchstick-looking form he'd been in earlier.

Izuku opened his eyes and looked to the horizon, noting that the first vestiges of the sunrise were starting to appear. He needed to get back home, pass out for a couple hours until his alarm went off, go to school, then head back home and pass out for the rest of the day.

Everything aside, he couldn't deny that his big debut was a complete success. The world knew about Venom now, and what he stood for, although he had a nagging feeling that forcing All Might to retreat like that was going to have some serious repercussions down the road, and likely make him a target of the hero community in their petty squabble to out-vigilante each other.

Izuku scoffed. 'Who the Hell came up with that Pro Hero Chart anyway? All it's done is turn helping people and protecting the innocent into a petty squabble for fame and fortune. What happened to the days where people were heroes simply because people were in danger and needed a savior? What happened to the days when wealth and fame was ignored, and action itself was the reward?' thought Izuku.

'Your guess is as good as mine, Izuku,' Venom said solemnly.

As Izuku finally pulled himself up off the ground, unfolded his walking cane, and began to limp back towards his apartment, he caught sight of himself in a window's reflection that was illuminated by a streetlight. Taking a closer look at himself, Izuku frowned in thought.

'Maybe I should get a haircut…' Izuku thought to himself before continuing his trek towards his apartment.

TheRedeemer1995: And that's a bingo! Man, we are just cranking these chapters out, aren't we? Before we go any further, I feel I should explain why All Might fled from the fight with Venom. As we mentioned in the chapter, his three-hour limit was almost up, and as the last attack he just tried on Venom didn't end the fight right then and there as it did on the Sludge Villain, he needed more time to figure out a plan of attack that would actually work on Venom, and since he stopped the Sludge Villain before it entered the sewers, he still hasn't quite figured out how to push past that limit yet. Man, that Sludge Villain and what happens to him and when really is the difference between everything going as fate intended or going to Hell in a handbasket, ain't he?

In any case, if you liked what you saw here, then be sure to fave, follow, review, and join us next time as we take a break from the action of the last few chapters and do a bit of a paradigm shift and see how the students and faculty of U.A. High School, among others, feel about the newest vigilante and Symbol of Vengeance on the block. See you then!