And here we are, once again, with a new arc! I'm going to be doing something different from now on though, where instead of waiting to create a backlog of arc chapters, I'm just going to release them as soon as they are finished. I feel like that should've been what I was doing from the start.

But anyway, let's get started with: New Ways to Die!

Back in U.A., Bakugo is becoming increasingly irate, angry, and paranoid. Well, more than he usually is at least. The teaching at U.A. is finally getting to him, and while he does respect and enjoy the brutal training that he is going under, unlike the people around him that he no longer holds and respect for (especially those who align themselves with the spiders), but the stress of it is beginning to get to him. No matter how hard he tries, he never thinks that it's good enough. He can never be good enough.

Especially not compared to Deku.

No matter where he goes, he is always there. On the TV, they talk about him and his stupid quirk. The extras around him talk about him in hushed tones of pity and sorrow when he doesn't deserve it at all. It is all they ever seem to talk about around him, and even when they're not talking about Deku, they're talking about Spider-Man. In one way or another, if it's not about Deku, then it's about that fucking dropout loser Peter Parker and his gang of insect losers.

And Bakugo hates it. He feels inferior. He feels that no matter what he does or where he goes, he can never escape Deku. He can never escape that mocking look that he gives him. He can never escape the feeling of not being good enough.

And the Symbiote inside of him feeds more and more on his toxic thoughts.

Meanwhile, Ochako, Inko, All Might, and Keemia take to personally helping Izuku learn how to walk again by taking him to the old warehouses that they had taken as their own from the ex-Hunters, and using it as a place to help Izuku build up his strength once more and getting him into his best physical and mental shape.

However, Izuku would still be deep in his depression over what happened during the War of the Symbiotes, and would be lost as to what his purpose should be now. His life was effectively over. He had no quirk, he had no way to fight, and he had no way to help others. Ochako and Keemia would try to comfort him, saying that it was possible, now, for him to be a quirkless hero, but Izuku would be too depressed to listen. At this point, he is even wondering if he wants to be a hero anymore, and if he can even be that anymore, considering that the whole world seems to hate him now.

However, All Might would sit him down one day and talk with him about how he felt. Here, All Might would express his own grief at the past, in how he had been unable to save Nana, and had been unable to help Izuku in the past as well, and apologises for it. But even so, Izuku would still lament his own inability to help anyone, and would wonder what else there was left for him in the world anymore.

However, back in U.A., Bakugo would end up losing another fight to Momo, and his frustration and anger would only continue to grow and grow, reaching a boiling point.

Soon enough, during his time in the dorms, it would boil over.

It would all begin with Mina casually poking fun at him for his loss, to which Bakugo would respond in his usual way. The class would laugh at this once more, and would begin talking about the state of the world after the War of the Symbiotes, and how so much has happened during their time at U.A., such as the Kamino Incident, Kraven's Last Hunt, the Hosu battle, the USJ, and probably so much more that they're not aware of. Some of their classmates would point out that most of these events have been because of Spider-Man's many enemies, revealing that despite knowing that none of it (or at least, the parts that they know about) was in Peter's control, they can't help but feel a hint of resentment towards the events that have happened and how it was Spider-Man's villains who did this to them, the trauma of those events only worsened by the newfound stress of their training. The others, however, are quick to point out that none of that is hardly Peter's fault, to which the other half are able to agree. But still…

Then, the conversation turns to the rest of their former classmates, and then to Izuku and what he is supposed to do now that he has woken up and the entire world seems to be gunning for him thanks to what Venom did. Bakugo, in a fit of anger as his resentment begins to reach its point at how once again, Deku proved to be inescapable, expresses his own anger at the green-haired boy, saying about how he was always a nuisance, always looking down on him, even when he was gone. The others would be confused by this, not entirely believing him as many of them actually knew Izuku, and didn't think that he was capable of looking down on anyone. If anything, Bakugo's current attitude was making it clear that he was biased in his opinion of Izuku, which they all call him out on.

And then, someone asks Momo about her recent training match with Bakugo, which she won, and she, only half listening due to trying to figure out what Kaine meant about S.I.L.K. and also how she was going to counter the Life Foundation, nonchalantly says that it is nothing.

And that is what really sets Bakugo off over the edge. Being treated like he was lesser… like he was weak… being looked down upon. It was the worst feeling of all.

Bakugo stomps off to his room, close to throwing a fit. However, the voice in his head, something that has been growing for a while, feeding on the toxic ideals that has been installed into him, telling him to keep going, to stay his course and show them all that they are wrong, that he isn't as weak as they think he is-

And for the first time, the dam breaks, and he agrees.

So, he stomps back down into Class 1-A and B's shared room in the new dorms of the crappier U.A. building, and demands that Momo fights him, right here, right now.

Momo and the others are confused, and the former declines Bakugo's challenge, but then he restates his demand, more angry this time, more like a hiss. The others are confused, and some of them begin to back off. Sero in particular begins to move in front of the others, aiming them at the angry boy.

And Bakugo? He begins to rant, uncontrollably. Words begin to fly out of his mouth as he finally begins to express to them how much resentment is filled within him, how much he hates and loathes both his circumstances, the extras around him, Izuku, and himself and his weaknesses. Momo tries to get him to calm down, alongside the rest of his classmates as he continues to swear and rant, exploding at all of them and expressing how he refuses to be seen as weak and-

And that is when the Symbiote inside him takes over.

And Bakugo revels in it.

Bakugo is covered in a black and red sludge, and Momo and the others suddenly find themselves pressed into battle as the Symbiote announces itself not at Bakugo…

But as Toxin.

Toxin then begins to attack Momo and her classmates, tossing them about and trashing up the room. Momo forms her Iron Spider suit around herself and begins to fight back, but that is when Toxin realises something, and tosses them aside.

Their real fight isn't with Momo.

It's with Deku.

Toxin, Bakugo, then leaps out of the window to the dorms and disappears into the urban jungle… heading straight for the Midoriya household.

Meanwhile, Izuku is at the warehouse with Ochako and Keemia, the two of them helping him through his physical therapy exercises as Keemia regales her visit to her father at the local prison, and how the courts are thinking of cutting his time inside down because of his good behaviour. Ochako and Izuku are happy to hear this, but then Izuku almost collapses during one of his workouts, and the two quickly catch him, causing him to slip back into another depressive mood.

It is then that Ochako and Keemia finally decide to sit him down and talk.

However, at the same time that this is happening, Toxin is in the Midoriya family household, holding its current occupants, Inko, Gibbon, and Hippo, by their throats, snarling and demanding to know where Izuku is. Inko refuses – as do Gibbon and Hippo – but then Toxin snarls out the word 'Deku' and reveals himself to be Bakugo, the Midoriya household matriarch is left in stunned, horrified silence.

But then, Inko gets a text from Ochako on her phone, revealing that they were staying out a bit later tonight. Toxin, seeing this, texts back asking where, and Ochako responds with the old warehouses down by the port. Toxin snarls and then breaks the phone, stopping Inko from contacting them or anyone else as he throws them aside and leaves, making his way to Izuku's location.

Back in the warehouse, Izuku is sat down with Ochako and Keemia, and, with them listening to him, he finally feels safe enough to unload his issues onto them, his internal problems and anxieties. He regales to them his past, about how he was bullied for his quirklessness for so many years, and how, when All Might gave him One for All, gave him the Symbiote, it felt like, for the first time in his life, he finally felt like he was worth something, like he could do something with his life.

But then, even All Might's quirk deemed him as worthless, and chose Peter over him. And when that happened… he just, hated it. He hated it. With a passion. Everything about him was filled with hatred for Peter for taking away his only chance at being something other than the weak, quirkless boy, hatred at everyone around him for perpetuating the prejudice against him, hatred at the Symbiote for rejecting him, for treating him to be as worthless as everyone else already thought he was…

But mostly, he just hated himself.

Ochako and Keemia (who are both acting as the Gwen Stacy and Mary-Jane Watsons of their dynamic with Izuku respectively), deny this, saying that he has every chance to be a hero now, though Izuku rejects this as well, stating that his actions during the War of the Symbiotes, especially everything that had to do with Venom, have effectively shot that chance down, if it was even there in the first place. Even if it wasn't his fault, it still happened. His dreams have been dashed once again…

And that is when Toxin bursts through the roof above and roars, demanding that Deku fight him.

Ochako and Keemia, after quickly overcoming their shock, move to protect Izuku from this new Symbiote, but Toxin simply overpowers them and tosses them aside, glaring at Izuku and, once again, demanding he fight him.

And that is when Izuku realises that it is Bakugo, with a Symbiote, that is attacking him – the ultimate insult to himself – and the braindead Symbiote inside of him finally begins to awaken.

Meanwhile, Momo and her friends, Hatsume, Todoroki, and Sero, are about to head out and chase after the Symbiote-infused Bakugo, with Hatsume in particular wanting to break out a new toy that she's been working on, a new set of armour. However, the other students, particularly Tsuyu, are not as willing to let them go. They all know what a Symbiote can do, they all experienced the War of the Symbiotes. This time, they are putting their foot down. Their classes have already been through too much this year. This time, they need to let the pro heroes handle this.

Aizawa is the most adamant about them not going out to confront the Bakugo-Symbiote. U.A. is in enough hot water as it is, and Momo and her lot have already been out too much on these runabouts against villains before the War of the Symbiotes. Anymore and they would be considered vigilantes, and be subject to the law. Only problem is that he doesn't communicate this the right way, and comes across as aggressively dismissive. His current mood, that of heightened frustration due to lack of sleep and increased stress, isn't helping. Momo and her friends begin to argue-

And that is when a flash of pain hits them, and they suddenly agree with what he is saying, then question themselves as to why they are agreeing.

Then another flash of pain, and they forget about the pain.

Momo and her friends sit down alongside their classmates, utterly confused as to what is going on, and Aizawa leaves, thumbing the Mind Stone in his pocket as he begins to think of new ways to help him make his students see sense, see logic…

And Momo and her friends begin to realise that there is something deeply wrong at the academy.

Back with Izuku, he is being beaten down by the crazed Symbiote-covered Bakugo, lost in his own rage and anger and taking it out on the green-haired boy. Toxin, Bakugo, begins to rant and rave once more, screaming about how Izuku was always looking down on him, was always trying to be better than him, was always stealing the spotlight away from him. Even when he was gone, Bakugo couldn't escape from him. So this? This was justice. Deku always getting in the way made him the villain of Bakugo's story, not that he wasn't already one, and this was Bakugo's story about how he would become the world's greatest hero-

And that is when Izuku snaps, and catches Toxin's fist in his hand.

White Symbiote sludge, mixed with the antibodies in his blood, bursts out from the pores of his body and solidifies into his second skin, growing and growing until Izuku has transformed into a tall, lanky creature with rough white skin, a black spider across his chest and back, and a set of glowing red eyes and mouth behind sharpened teeth and an elongated tongue…

He is no longer Izuku Midoriya. He is Bakugo's cure.

He is Anti-Venom.

Anti-Venom and Toxin begin to duel with each other, with the two of them flinging each other around the warehouse and trying to pummel the other into submission. Anti-Venom vs Toxin, Izuku vs Bakugo, childhood friend against childhood bully. The two finally, after so many years, begin to let out their longstanding resentment towards each other, screaming at each other and punching and kicking and slowly escalating into trying to kill the other-

And Izuku slowly begins to lose control of himself, the Anti-Venom compelling him to seek out the Symbiote, the quirk inside of Bakugo, and all the quirks around them… and cure them all.

And that's when tendrils begin to grow from out of Anti-Venom, and snake themselves into Toxin, burning away the Symbiote covering Bakugo, destroying the living quirk… and then destroying Bakugo's quirk entirely.

Bakugo slumps to the ground, in shock and unresponsive, reduced to the quirkless weakling that he had always hated Izuku for being. He just lays there, slumped down, unable or unwilling to stop the massive pale hammer that was being formed above him to crush him into paste-

But Ochako and Keemia do, and they are able to stop Izuku from smashing Bakugo to death, only for Anti-Venom to turn on them and begin to attack them in turn.

But eventually, after a long battle, Ochako and Keemia are able to pin down Anti-Venom and try to calm him down, the two of them eventually confessing their shared feelings for Izuku and how they view him as someone that they love, and that is enough to get Anti-Venom to cool and retract, Izuku returning to his normal self once more.

Ochako and Keemia hug Izuku, happy to have him back once again, and they ask him how he is doing now. Izuku is confused, not sure what just happened, but then realises what just happened and does his best to explain it to them. When they ask him if Anti-Venom has its own personality like every other Symbiote, and when Izuku tries to communicate with it like he would a Symbiote, he realises that the Symbiote itself, whatever it is, has no personality of consciousness of its own. It's mindless, without any thought or instincts behind it. The power is there, but the voices are gone. Izuku can use it to its fullest potential, and he is amazed by it.

So, he tries to summon forth the Symbiote again, and it works. Anti-Venom forms around his body, only this time, he can control the shape of it, forming it into a new set of armour, to which the girls comment that he looks like a secret agent, to which they dub him Agent Anti-Venom.

But then, they hear a shuffling behind them, and remember that Bakugo had started this all by attacking them. Looking behind themselves, they see Bakugo running to the exit of the warehouse, berift of any quirk or Symbiote and bawling his eyes out all the way. They try to catch up with him, but he screams at them, yelling about how Deku's taken everything from him, first his spotless story in U.A., then his hero All Might, and now his quirk and power and dream as well. He blames Izuku for everything, and vows that one day, he will… he will…

He can't do anything now. Because his quirk is gone now. He's just a quirkless, worthless Deku now.

Bakugo breaks down into tears and runs away. Izuku is tempted to go after him, but decides to stop himself. He's tired of being pushed around by Bakugo. He's just tired. Maybe now, it's time to let him go. Keemia and Ochako feel the same way.

Later, the police arrive, led by Adriana Soria and Peter Parker (who, as a sign of his growing connection to Adriana and S.I.L.K., is now sporting a red and black costume instead of black and blue, with a bright white spider-logo on its chest), and they ask about what happened, with Izuku, Keemia, and Ochako giving official statements, but avoiding the subject of Anti-Venom and saying that Bakugo arrived to fling them around in his Toxin form, and then left. But when the police leave, Peter and Adriana ask to know what really happened, and Izuku reveals his new form as Agent Anti-Venom, which amazes and worries Peter, seeing as he's had bad experiences with Symbiotes before, only for those worries to be tempered by Izuku saying that there's no central consciousness to Anti-Venom, it's entirely in his control, which Peter is still not entirely sure about, but decides to take his word on it.

Meanwhile, Ochako and Keemia notice Adriana giving Izuku a strange look under her surprise, like her shock was fake and she already knew about Izuku's predicament…

Later on, Izuku sits at the door of the warehouse and looks up to the starry sky. He is soon joined by Keemia and Ochako, and he asks the two about what they said earlier, about them having feelings for him, and asks if it was true. They say yes, it was true. They do have feelings for him. Izuku isn't sure what to do about that, as while his mental health is now starting to improve thanks to what happened and his venting to them, he is still uncertain about himself and how he feels.

The two girls simply respond that it is fine, that they will wait.

They sit by him, and the three of them cuddle together, content to stay with each other until the end of time…

Until Izuku ruins the moment when he says that he has to call his mum to let her know that they're fine.

But then, they are interrupted by Ben Reilly, the Scarlet Spider, who tells them that it'll have to wait.

There's a situation in Tokyo, and they need all hands on deck.

Meanwhile, Bakugo slips away into the city, running away from home and onto the streets. He's a wanted criminal now for what he did at U.A. and how he had attacked Deku, presumed to still have a Symbiote and quirk, presumed to still be something he's not; strong.

He collapses and breaks down into tears. He refuses to go home. He refuses to look his parents in the eye and tell them about how much he has failed.

There's nothing left for him now. He doesn't even have his drive to be strong anymore. That's proven to be a worthless fallacy now, just like he was.

The only thing he had left, was to simply lay down, and die…

You know, Bakugo wasn't supposed to lose his quirk and Symbiote before I wrote out this arc. Bakugo was originally just going to lose his fight with Anti-Venom, and then go off on the run as Toxin, now a wanted criminal. However, when I was writing out this arc, I realised that Bakugo has had some karma coming to him for a long time, and this? Him losing his Symbiote and his quirk, and being reduced to the same weak, quirkless Deku that he always hated Izuku for being? It was just too good to not write about.

But anyway, here's the next arc, featuring the first appearance of Anti-Venom! When I first thought of how Venom was going to be introduced into this story, I was always thinking of how the other Symbiotes, including Anti-Venom, was going to be introduced. I think I did that particular Symbiote justice with his introduction. The idea of Izuku being Anti-Venom, the cure for the Symbiotes, after his stint as Venom, the progenitor of the Symbiotes, like how Eddie Brock became Anti-Venom after staying as Venom for the longest time, is too good for me to pass up on writing.

Honestly, a lot of this arc is filled with irony and symbolism. Bakugo having a Symbiote known as Toxin, as a reflection of his toxic beliefs, and then losing both his Symbiote, the reflection of said toxic beliefs, as well as his quirk, the source of those beliefs, is just the biggest one. Where will Bakugo go next from here? I have a few ideas...

But speaking of Bakugo, he and Izuku finally have the square off that we've all been waiting for, and Izuku finally learns to let Bakugo go. I feel like that was a big moment for Izuku, the first step to letting go of his self-hatred. Whether he likes it or not, Bakugo has been a constant source of grief for Izuku, even before this story, before this arc in particular. By finally deciding to not have anything to do with Bakugo anymore, Izuku is finally ready to move on with his life.

There are probably people out there who are disappointed that Izuku has a Symbiote now, and isn't rocking it as a quirkless hero. Trust me, all will become clear with time.

Plus, Peter's got a brand new suit! This time, instead of simply being a guest star appearance like the Big Time Stealth Suit and the Future Foundation suit, this one is supposedly a replacement for his regular suit. His new suit is based off his appearance in the Marvel's Spider-Man games, the Advanced Suit with the big white spider-logo pasted on the front. However, this one has one of the alternate colourations to it, that being red and black instead of red and blue. This may or may not be true, but I'm pretty sure that back in the day, Spider-Man's original suit was meant to be red and black first instead of red and blue. Plus, he kind of pulls off the primary red and secondary black look to his classic suit, doesn't he?