Chapter 11: …We Will Always Have Tomorrow Up Ahead.
"Among a million stars, a single love is born
A burning light to last the test of time
How I hope you never change
But hey, even if you do
You always will be you
I know that much is true
When many years have passed
How I hope that we look back
And see it clear
Like it's a photograph
All the people that we meet
And our friends and family
It'd be nice if we could all meet up again…"
Ned… the rage was completely uncontrollable for Peter as he entered the gym and spotted Ned Leeds. He couldn't stop himself from storming toward his long-time tormentor, but it wasn't what had been done to him that loosed his long-held rage. No, a hiss escaped his fanged mouth as his slit eyes focused on the bully. All the things he had to say about Gwen when she wasn't there to defend herself. All the rumors he started.
Ned had to pay.
Ned WOULD pay.
Ned would pay… NOW!
Before Peter could snap Ned in half with his massive jaws, Spider-Woman came out of nowhere and knocked him back.
Every instinct in him was to attack her as he lashed out at her in a counterattack. 'What am I doing? This is Spider-Woman… it's Gwen… not her; Ned… Ned is who I hate… Gwen, I… Gwen …' the monster that was Peter Parker turned back toward the bully. "I don't want to fight you…" he tried to say through hisses.
"Well, I wanted a nice, relaxing night with my best friend," Spider-Woman snapped, "but we don't always get what we want…"
Peter went to war with the animal instincts inside him. He had to focus on Ned and get away from Gwen. Ned would pay. He couldn't hurt Gwen. His eyes widened when he saw his claws start to shrink. Oh, no… not now… "No… too soon…" He still had to punish Ned.
"Oh, no, you started this, big guy; you're going to finish it!" Gwen jumped after him. He'd seen her go after villains before, but he never dreamed what it would be like to be on the receiving end. She was intimidating to say the least.
The Lizard tried to fight back the urge to lash out at Gwen. The thought of the monster he became fully unleashing on his best friend, the most important person in his life, was terrifying. "No, no, no…" he repeated to himself, pushing the monster down, "Leave me alone…" 'please, Gwen, leave me alone. Don't let me hurt you…'
"Oh, no, you don't! You tried to hurt my friends!" Gwen snapped angrily, punching the monster in the face and sending spiky teeth flying. "This isn't over…" she kept punching.
'Please hold on… I can't fight it… stop me, Gwen. Please, it'd be a mercy…' Peter thought as her full-power punches and kicks kept impacting his weakening scales. He tried to voice his thoughts, but with the broken ribs he was sure he had, it only came out a wheezed "Please… Mercy…"
"…until I say it's over!" Gwen cried out, webbing him up and whipping him away. Peter blacked out as he hit something unforgiving.
He started to come to but was in massive amount of pain, and all he could see was a panicked Spider-Woman over him. "Peter, what did I do?"
"I … just wanted to be special…" Peter said softly, reaching up to pull back her mask, "Like you… Gwen…"
"Gwen? Who's Gwen?" She tried to play dumb and stopped him from touching her mask.
"Don't worry… Everything's going to be ok…" he whispered as his vision began to go dark, and the pain lessened, "It's going to be ok, Gwen…"
"Peter, please, don't go…" Venom struggled against the massive amount of webbing that held him in place as he watched Harry Osborn begin to transform without any of the Spiders' notice, all except the other red-and-white Gwen that was suddenly rushing forward. He wanted to scream for them to move, but the symbiote kept its mouth sealed.
"GWEN!" Miles noticed the monster's spear-like tendrils after following Gwenith's gaze and saw it aiming a spike right toward her.
"On it, Cuz! I got your girl!" Prowler was closer and launched himself, knocking her out of the way of the attack and trying to get himself clear. Gwenith screamed as the spear went right through Prowler's chest armor and out his back and lifted him into the air. "Shit …" he grunted as Gwenith screamed.
The white-and-black Anti-Venom monstrosity slung the limp Prowler around before launching him across the street to finally stop near the feet of the restrained Venom.
"No! Nononono!" Gwenith rushed to Prowler's side, sliding on her knees as she reached him. "Miles, what did you do?"
Venom watched in shock as Miles joined the two and helped her lay Prowler on his back. "Miles… baby, talk to me," Gwenith said, removing his faceplate.
"I'm ok…" Miles G. breathed as blood ran from the corner of his mouth down his chin. "Just… give me… a minute to catch my breath…"
"Don't, don't you dare leave me alone…" Gwenith begged.
"Hang on, we've got you…" Miles said, removing his mask and using it to try to stop the bleeding.
Miles G. removed his gauntlet and reached up toward Gwenith's mask, which she roughly jerked off to let him touch her face. "Miles… don't go…"
"My Angel…" He smiled as his eyes began to glaze over. Miles was torn from holding the wound and helping his variant or helping the others who were currently fighting this new symbiote. "Get back out there and stop that son of a bitch… I'll… I'll be ok…"
"Shut up! I said shut up and stop talking and let us save you," Gwenith gripped his hand and held it to her cheek. "You… you both… you both already did…" Miles G. struggled to breathe, "Take care of… Mom… and Uncle Aaron for me… will ya?"
As Venom remained still, Peter himself in the suit watched closely the tears fall down the all too familiar face of Gwen Stacy. All the while, something inside the Symbiote began to change. Since it had first bonded with the Peter Parker of Earth-616, it had fed off the anger and angst within its three hosts, but there was something beyond deep hatred and pain that connected its three hosts.
Images passed through the minds of both Peter and the Symbiote as it began to change.
A young Peter B. Parker walking to class with a giggling Gwen Stacy in a green skirt and black headband, then diving after her as she fell from a tower.
Gwen leaning toward Miles in class. "I liked your joke."
"Really?"
"I mean… It wasn't funny. It's why I laughed. But it was smart. So, I liked it."
"Miles, catch me!" Miles turned and held out his arms as Spider-Gwen playfully threw herself at him at their usual meeting spot. She giggled as she pulled off her mask and kissed him.
"I am wondering what she does when she's not swinging around and catching criminals in webs," Peter said as he laid beside her on the rooftop. "Like, does she have a dad? Best friend? Boyfriend?"
"Who knows, probably too busy for all that," Gwen shrugged, glancing away.
"Reminds me of a would-be rock drummer I know," Peter chuckled. "So busy her best friend has to practically kidnap her to get her to take a break."
"Breaks aren't for the Punk Rock, Pete; haven't you figured that out yet?" Gwen turned and smiled at him.
"We will listen…" Venom hissed as he strained his muscles, causing the webs to begin to break. "We will… you will… you will listen …" Venom finally broke free and dropped just a few feet away from the injured Prowler. "You will listen… to me… now…"
"I do not have time for this sh- wha?" Miles started to turn to fight Venom but was shocked when it went to its knees and placed its hands over the wound, black ooze spreading over the wound in Prowler's chest.
The demonic face of Venom rolled back to show Peter Parker, who glanced at Miles, "This will save him."
"Why are you doing this?" Gwenith asked in shock.
"I can't let another Gwen cry…" Peter said as the suit slowly transferred from him to Miles G. "But you might die without the suit," Miles said, and Peter shook his head.
"Gwen's in good hands if I do, and besides… this suit gave me a lot of power…" Peter said as the symbiote began to form armor plates on Prowler's body. "One thing I learned from Gwen and my Uncle Ben… with great power, there must come great responsibility."
The symbiote finished transferring, taking on a more armored appearance, and Peter fell forward slightly, being caught by Gwenith and Miles. "I'm ok, just… that was a rush…"
"That's one way to put it," Miles G sat up. "Hey, I survived… I love it when that happens."
"You idiot!" Gwenith released Peter and hugged Miles G hard.
"We need a plan," Miles said as the group stood up. "You defeated the symbiote by hitting it from the outside and inside at the same time, right? What if we did that with that thing?" Peter said, nodding toward Anti-Venom, who was swiping at the group.
"We crack the shell, you take a zap shot on the inside while the rest of us hit the outside?" Prowler-Venom said as a new Spider-styled faceplate formed over his face.
"Could work," Gwenith said, popping her neck, "Or we could all die."
"YOLO," Miles G punched his palm.
"OK, we'll move in. Peter, you stay behind us…" Miles said, getting ready to fire off a webline.
"I'm not sitting this one out, another little gift from the symbiote…" he said as his eyes turned slitted yellow. "It gave me control…" he said with a hiss as his skin turned green and scaly and he began to stretch the life support suit he wore in Harry's tank.
Meanwhile Gwen, Jessica, Hobie, Pav, and Peter B. all were zipping around, trying to fight the much larger Anti-Venom.
Jessica's motorcycle roared as she shot circles around the monster to try to distract it but gasped when sharpened tendrils ripped through the bike, throwing her off and ripping it into pieces.
She was caught but didn't pay attention to who saved her as he landed beside Gwen. "That was my bike, you son of a bitch!" Jessica yelled before glancing up and gawking at the Lizard.
"Pe-Peter?" Gwen breathed, seeing the humanoid Lizard set Jess down.
"Everything'ssss going to be ok, Gwen," the Lizard hissed, glaring at Anti-Venom as the others rushed in. "Everything'sss going to be ok…"
"Gwen, I need you to focus," Miles touched her arm. "Listen, I need you and the others to web this guy up and keep him distracted. Gwenith is going to hit him from the outside."
"Gwenith?" Gwen glanced to her red and black-clad doppelganger.
"This thing hasn't had the adaptation this suit has," Miles G. said as his mask slid back like liquid. "Her hellfire will hurt."
"And you said you think you can get me a inside shot?" Miles turned toward the Lizard.
"Yesss…" He hissed with a nod.
"Alright then, let's see if this plan works. Gwenith, we have to do our attacks at the exact same time for it to work, so be ready," Miles glanced toward Devil Spider.
"I'm ready when you are," Gwenith nodded.
"Let's do this…" Gwen nodded and glanced to Miles, "Miles, be careful."
"Don't worry, we will," Miles G. replied as the mask closed back.
"Think she meant the other Miles," Gwenith quipped, earning a headshake from her boyfriend.
"Talk less, thwip more, let's go!" Peter B said as he swung by and he, Hobie, Pav, and Jessica began to web Anti-Venom.
Gwen and Gwenith glanced to each other, wordlessly putting aside differences and took to the air, lobbing web-balls at his face to momentarily blind him.
Anti-Venom roared and ripped off the webbing, just in time for Miles G. to leap in, transforming his arm into a blade and slash him across the face. "Don't feel good, does it, huh?"
Gwen and the other Spiders continued their leaping and webbing, keeping the monster on his toes, while Gwenith fired her own webs strategically around his body. She glanced up to Miles, who was helping with the distraction. "Almost ready? Whatever you got planned, we won't get another shot!" She yelled.
"Gonna need that opening," Miles glanced toward the Lizard glaring at Anti-Venom.
The glare was particularly focused on the black spider-symbol on his chest, the symbol Gwen once bore before she changed her costume, the one in the memories of the other Peter and Miles. That symbol meant something, something that he tried to corrupt himself as Venom, something Harry Osborn had corrupted with this abomination. "Youuuu have noooo right!" The Lizard hissed angrily. He rushed forward and opened his mouth, fangs shining as he loosed a spray of venom onto the monster's chest.
The acidic fluid made the symbiote blister and bubble before melting away in a black and red mess, revealing Harry's unarmored chest.
The symbiote tried to regenerate, but Miles G. extended multiple tendrils and held it open. "Get him!"
Miles launched himself into the air and arced toward the opening his brother made. "Now!" Miles yelled as he released his venom strike right in the center of the opening.
Gwenith gripped her webs and cried out as hellfire flowed through them, enveloping Anti-Venom's symbiote while Miles released his electricity inside.
"Miles!" Gwen cried out as Anti-Venom exploded from the attack, blowing everyone back.
Gwen scrambled to her feet and rushed back toward where Anti-Venom was standing and found Miles and Gwenith in tattered costumes but otherwise ok. Miles didn't even get a word in before Gwen threw herself at him, enveloping him in a hug.
"Can we… not do plans like that ever again?" Gwen asked, holding him tightly. "Please?"
"Yeah… yeah, I think I'd be good for that…" Miles hugged her back.
"Did we get him?" Gwenith asked, pulling off her mask as Miles G. approached to help her steady herself. Everyone approached the deathly still body of Harry Osborn lying among the melted goo that once was a symbiote.
"I… I didn't mean…" Miles stammered as Gwen squeezed his hand tightly. Before she could say anything to comfort him, Harry's body dissolved into dust.
"Life Model Decoy…" Peter B. said as he, Jessica, Hobie, and Pav approached the group. "Definitely an Osborn move if there ever was one. Gobby pulled that crap on me all the time back in the day."
"So, I didn't…" Miles asked. "Nope, you dodged that one, kid," Peter slapped his shoulder.
Jessica stepped up beside Peter and gave him a look. "Life Model Decoys don't do like that…"
"Could have been a clone, but he doesn't have to know that," Peter gave her a wink, as Gwen and Miles glanced back as the Lizard slowly climbed to his feet.
Gwen's eyes widened as the humanoid reptile began to grow smaller and take a very familiar appearance. Miles looked from the young man to Gwen. "What are you waiting for?"
After the storm has passed,
I looked up at the sky
That brilliant blue,
A bittersweet goodbye,
Gwen looked at Miles for a long moment, then gave him a firm hug before turning and running toward her oldest friend.
"Hi, Gwen…" Peter smiled as she approached.
I remember how we laughed
It always makes me smile
She stopped just before him, and with trembling hands, reached up and touched his face. "Peter?" She asked as she reached up to remove her mask.
Those happy memories
I never will forget
"I… I guess I'm back…" Peter said, and his eyes widened as Gwen lowered herself and pressed her ear to his chest.
Among a million stars, a single love is born
A burning light to last the test of time
Her eyes filled with tears as she listened to the steady beat of his heart and felt his chest rise and fall with breath.
She rose up faster than Peter could react and grabbed him in a bone crushing hug, pressing his face to the crook of her neck as she released loud cries and tears of joy.
Though the seasons come and go,
Peter hugged his best friend back as tears of his own wet her suit. Miles smiled softly and turned to go. His eyes widened as a webline stuck to his back.
Gwen jerked him toward them, and before he could protest, put her other arm around him.
And sunshine turns to snow
Miles gave Peter an awkward little smile as Gwen clung to the two most important people in her life.
We will always have tomorrow…
Miles and Peter held the sobbing blonde. For the first time in a long time, she didn't feel the suffocating weight on her shoulders.
Up ahead…
Miami Beach, Florida, Earth 1610
Two women occupied a beachside condo, the younger on balcony sunbathing in a green bikini while the elder prepared a meal in the kitchenette. The younger lowered her sunglasses as a portal opened and a man walked through.
"Welcome home, dear," the elder said as he removed his mask. "Dinner will be ready soon."
"Great, I worked up an appetite," he said. "I just have to make a phone call." He entered his and his wife's bedroom and fished out a cell phone from a drawer, black with a stylized A. He dialed a number and listened to the ringing.
"Talk to me."
"It's me," the man replied.
"How's the after life treating you, Underoos?"
"Sunny and nice, appreciate the help with that by the way."
"Any time. but I doubt this is just a thank-you call."
"He's ready."
The voice on the other line was quiet a moment. "Are you sure?"
"Positive. He's better than I was at his age. Probably better than when I was in my prime. He's… spectacular."
"Alright, I'll call a meeting and we'll make a vote. Let you know how it goes."
"You won't regret the kid. I can promise you that."
"I'll keep you posted. Enjoy the retirement."
The call ended and Peter Parker joined his family for dinner.
To Be Concluded…
Next: Epilogue: Forever Fight As One
