1, 2, 3, Burgers and I finally feel satisfied. After the accompanying fries and shake of course.

~I think you're overreacting~

After dumping my tray I get up and walk out into the crisp new york night. "I really don't think so."

~We don't need to eat a lot of brains, just need a few every now and then. You might even like it.~

I consider swinging to move around faster but on the off chance I happen to run into the Human torch I'd be completely screwed. Oh god am I afraid of him? "We are not going to eat people. What do you mean need?"

~Well… I need them. There's something in the human brain, I can smell it. I'm pretty sure whatever it is was apart of my diet before I came here. I can tell that there are cells in my central nervous system that are warping without it.~

I stop for a second to process all of that. This is getting more and more complicated maybe Venom is more trouble than it's worth. One thing is for sure though, I think back to the look Kitty gave me when she realized we were the bad guys, it's the same one I got from Gwen when I admitted to murder. I don't want to be the bad guy anymore.

Venom can read my thoughts but it doesn't respond. Probably because I asked it not to. "Are you sure that we can't get whatever you need somewhere else."

~I am unsure. I have not spent much time on your planet.~

Hmm, "I suppose we could just try stuff? Maybe we can do some research find out what it is you need. By the way, where exactly do you come from?"

~I don't remember~

Weird, "How did you get here?"

~I don't remember~

I stop for a second to consider this. Assuming Venom isn't lying, I can't think of a reason why it would, it's entirely lost here. It's even guessing about what should be in its diet. I shake off that train of thought, what good can pity do for me?

I stop and check my wallet. Not enough for a hotel and I'd rather not sleep in the junkyard. Going to Gwen's is an issue with her cop dad, and I don't even know where Mary Jane lives.

Now that I think about it there is one place I could probably stay but I would have to be an idiot to go there.

An idiot without a bed.

I can see that they've just started on the renovations. Only most of the shattered glass is picked up, and there's brown paper put up to cover the windows. I step inside through one of those paper windows and re apply the painter's tape that holds it there once I'm inside.

~This was your home?~

"Yeah." Most of the furniture is gone. Minus the couch which looks like it was put halfway through a wood chipper thanks to Sandman. I lower myself onto the couch and take a seat, trying not to lay in glass. "Tomorrow we'll find a better place to sleep."

~I don't need to sleep~

"Good", Yawning sleepily I dust off on of the surviving couch cushions and stuff it under my head as a pillow. "You can keep watch."

When I wake up for a second I actually forget that I'm laying on a couch in my ruined old apartment. I feel Venom shift around me as I sit up. Black cushioning receding into my clothes. "Thanks."

~We will need to find a more suitable domicile~

No arguments there. "We should get out of here. No telling who might come by."

~To Harlem? We find this Cottonmouth we find your enemies~

That's the plan, "But first I need to talk to Gwen."

~I don't like that one ~

I step out of the front door and query the elevator. "Tough, I want her opinion on what I'm doing."

~You doubt yourself?~

Probably not as much as I should.

"So let me get this straight." Gwen is sitting next to me at the waffle house where I'm eating away the last of my cash. "You, picked up an alien parasite, met a woman in a cat costume, who told you to go find a drug dealer, and you came to me for permission?"

I formulate my response as I take a moment to swallow the chunk of waffle that is attempting to choke me. "Not a parasite, it doesn't like that, the woman wasn't dressed like a cat but she called herself black cat, he's a crime boss not a drug dealer and I just want your opinion not permission. Although I am taking ideas if you have any better ones?"

"Literally any other plan is a better plan." I eye the hash browns on Gwen's plate already knowing that my last waffle won't be enough to fill me up. Before I can even ask she slides the plate over to me.

~I change my mind, I do this one~

Gwen sighs, "Jesus Peter did you not have enough drama in your life? Anyway to get your facts straight I think I've heard of this Cotton Mouth guy." She pulls out her smartphone and searches something before holding it out so I can see. The image on the phone is of a black man with graying hair wearing a green suit, he's giving the camera a confident looking grin, showing off what look to be razor sharp teeth. The title reads, "Cornell 'Cotton mouth' stokes accused former member of the Fang Gang and drug kingpin. Released due to lack of evidence"

Gwen pulls back her phone and resumes typing. "The guy is a known drug lord. And not very subtle about it either. Not only that but now that the Kingpin is gone." she gives me a sardonic look, and I have the sense to feel guilty, "He and all of the other criminals in New York have been fighting to take his place. Apparently Harlem is a battleground. Gwen turns her phone back to me and shows me a video clip taken of the street from inside a shop.

'The people in the shop all hit the ground as the windows explode. From the angle I can just barely see two groups of armed gangsters having a shootout in the middle of the street, suddenly one of the groups scrambles into an alley. The remaining group looks behind them confused before they panic. Two of them get away the last is lifted off of his feet by a massive figure that steps into camera. A tall bald black man wearing a tattered a jacket and jeans. The gangster empties his gun into the man's chest, but the massive figure doesn't so much as flinch. With one arm he casually throws the gang member off screen.'

That might be a problem, "Who was that?"

Gwen scrolls down past the video as she answers me, "That was Luke Cage. Harlem's hometown hero. Supposedly he can lift a semi over his head and is entirely bullet proof. People say he's invincible."

~I'm sure that we can test his so called invincibility~

"No, why would we fight the seven foot tall, bulletproof man? What do we gain from that?"

~Well…~

I'm taken from the conversation by Gwen poking my arm. "Is it happening is it talking to you?" I nod the affirmative, "What is it saying?"

"It wants us to fight Luke Cage." I see the look on her face and speak before she has the chance. "Which we are not going to do. What would even be the point?"

She gives me a look that says she doesn't believe me but decides to let it go anyway. "Speaking of your new passenger. I still think it's a bad idea and you should at least get it looked at." Her glare let's me know exactly how much she hates the idea, "but since you're apparently so attached I will look into this 'brain' thing. Maybe if we find out what exactly it needs we can find a substitute."

Has she always been so helpful? I really should have asked for her advice a long time ago. "Thanks Gwen, I really appreciate it." I slide off of the stool to exit, our meal already paid for.

I stop when I feel Gwen's hand on my arm, turning my head I can see her arm outstretched a few folded bills held out towards me. "You're out of cash right?" How did she? "I saw your wallet when you bought breakfast, and how hungry you were. You would have bought more if you could, right?"

~We don't need her handouts! We can take whatever we need~

I push her hand back towards her. "It's fine Gwen I'll just-"

"Take it from somewhere else?" People are starting to look at us, what are the odds one of them recognizes me? "You said you were going to try and be better. I'd rather you take it from me than steal it from someone else, so here!"

She shoves the bills into my chest. "And you better call tonight too. I'll be upset if I find you sleeping in some junkyard." With that Gwen collects her bag and walks out the door.

What just happened?

A whisper from a corner booth reaches my ears "Hey isn't that the Spider kid that destroyed that high school?"

Doesn't matter time to go.

~This really does look like a battlefield~

No kidding. To avoid drawing unneeded attention we took the bus here. By the time we were anywhere close to Harlem we were the only passenger. Stepping out at the bus stop, there are more buildings with shattered glass and bullet holes than not. I can also see a car wrapped around a telephone pole, no doubt who left that there.

All we have to do is find Cotton Mouth and avoid Luke Cage. Shouldn't be too hard.

"Hey kid." I turn around and see Luke Cage walking out of a nearby shop. In his arms it looks like he's carrying a couple hundred bottled waters. "It's not safe around here, I'd stay clear of Harlem if you don't have to be here."

Thankfully he doesn't seem to recognize me. "Thanks, I'll be on my way then."

I move to disappear down an alley, "Hold up there. At the moment It's dangerous to be walking around here, especially alone. If you let me know where your headed, I can walk you there. No one will mess with you while I'm around."

Which is the exact opposite of what I want.

~we should just take him out now. It's two on one, he doesn't stand a chance!~

Even assuming we could win, I'd rather not draw the attention of everyone in the city by fighting Luke Cage in the streets.

"Thanks but I'll be fine, I'm not going far."

He looks at me for a second before shrugging, "If you say so. Be safe." Luke gives me one last look and a nod before continuing on his way.

~Still say we should fight him~

"I'm sure were not going to get through this without a fight." I say while walking in the opposite direction Cage went in. The streets are empty with almost no one in sight. "You'd think with all the gang activity the police would be out in force."

~Makes it easier for us though. I hear whispers~

Which is the creepiest thing a voice in my could say. When I focus I can hear it too, from just around the corner.

"-Cage just left, hurry up and fill the truck-"

There we go. Venom shifts around me turning my hoodie into the black costume and mask.

We climb the side of the building and turn the corner. Four people, all armed, yes so helpless.

~Let's give them a scare~

Yeees.. We leap down onto the truck, feeling it bend under our force. The people below look frightened and scramble back guns pointed at me. Webbing shoots out from our hands and we yank the guns from their hands. Wouldn't want Luke to come would we.

When we speak our voices come out as one, deep and powerful, "~We are looking for Cotton mouth! Take us to him or we'll scoop your brains from your skulls and devour the information ourselves!~"

One of them attempts to flee, how pitiful. Our arm extends and we knock him unconscious from ten feet away. Another plus a knife so we grab him easily in one hand and hold him to our mouth. Our tongue slips out and runs against his hair and scalp, trying to taste the delicious morsel within.

"~ Oh well! Looks like it's meal time!~"

"Wait stop please!" a frightened cry, the smell of urine. Thankfully it's not the one I'm holding "I'll take you to Mr. Stokes just please stop!"

We drop the man, and our form shrinks down to just Peter Parker again. "Was that so hard?"

It doesn't hit me until I'm already following the soiled gang member what just happened. What did I just?

~We. That was us together, powerful~

"We wanted to eat his brain" the man leading me flinches and looks back like I might attack him any second.

~It was only for intimidation~

No it wasn't. But that's another thing that were going to have to talk about later.

The man in front of me pulls the door to a nightclub open and holds it standing outside. Whether or not that is to avoid his boss or get away from us I'm not sure.

I've never been to a night club but this one seems unnaturally active for the middle of the day. No dancers or music but there is half an army of armed thugs milling about, checking weapons or drinking. Finding the boss isn't difficult. Sitting on the second level I recognize the figure in the same pinstripe suit from the article on Gwen's phone. A man leans down and whispers in his ear and Stokes turns his gaze to meet mine. He raises a grey eyebrow and with one hand gestures for me to come up.

~We can make a real impression together~

No, not like that. "We aren't trying to make enemies."

Still I do need to make some impression. With a slight bend of my knees I jump up onto the second floor where Cornell 'Cotton Mouth' Stokes is sitting on a fine armchair in front of a small table where he sips an amber liquid.

"Well well, what do we have here. A lone spider wandering into the snakehole." I can feel the guns of almost everyone in the room pointed to me. "Perhaps you came here to lay me low the way you handled Fisk?"

If possible I don't want to ever repeat anything that happened between Kingpin and I. "What happened between Fisk and I was long and complicated. I'd like for things between us to be short and simple."

Cotton mouth makes a gesture and I can feel the guns lower, not all the way but its progress. "Well then boy, you've come a long way to find me. How can I help you?"

He says it in a tone that reeks of sarcasm. "Fisk put out a bounty on me when he died. There are only a few men that can collect. I want to find them."

He takes a second to scratch his chin. "Vulture, Rhino, Shocker, I might be able to contact a few of your supposed enemies. Maybe even find them." His gaze becomes predatory and he let's lose a malicious grin that shows off his shark like teeth. "But what reason do I have to help you?"

Venom shifts around me, my clothes change into the suit but it leaves my face revealed. "Are you sure you can afford not to."

"You walk a dangerous line boy." Stokes stands up, he's taller than me. Venom creeps further up my neck but leaves my face uncovered. His fist tenses, the guns raise…. "You know, you actually remind me of myself when I was young. Courageous if a bit short sighted. Let's make a deal." The tense atmosphere dissipates, as Cotton Mouth takes his seat.

Venom shifts back into my normal clothes as I sit in the other open seat. He takes a long sip from his glass as I lean back and wait for him to continue. "You seem like a smart young man. I'm sure that you know that I can't just give you what you want." I nod, of course it wouldn't be that easy, "However if you were to do me a favor. I could consider helping you a business venture."

I have a feeling I know where this is going. "What is is you want me to do for you?"

"Well there is a particular individual, that has been causing me business troubles. Luke Cage"

Of course. "I'm not going to kill Luke Cage for you."

"I didn't say anything about murder did I?" He chuckles as he reclines into his chair. "I simply need him distracted for a time. I have a particularly sensitive package that I can't afford Cage to interfere with. It will take less than an hour to move it out of Harlem."

Even if I wanted to, killing Luke Cage sounds like an Impossible task. Distracting him for an hour though.

~Easy~

"And if I do this for you, distract Luke Cage for an hour. You'll tell me where to find Vulture, Rhino, and Shocker?" He nods. "Fine, when." I promised Gwen that I wouldn't fight him. Distraction doesn't have to mean fight.

"What are the odds that I'd run into you again." The sun is just going down as I stand across from Luke Cage in the deserted street. His arms are crossed as he looks at me with disappointment. "I had kind of hoped you'd be well out of Harlem by now."

I'm standing across from him with Venom still posing as normal clothing. "I got held up."

He un-crosses his arms and steps forward, It's hard not to think about just how massive he is. "For some reason I don't buy that. I've got business this way, now why do I get the feeling that I'm going to have to go through you?"

My muscles tense but Venom stays in the guise of clothing. We're going to play this close to the best for as long as we can. "Go through me, do you really think you can?"

He steps forward, arm outstretched towards me clearly intent on shoving me away. "I'm Luke Cage, and I haven't found the person I can't get through."

Just as his hand is about to land on my shoulder I pivot and grab his wrist, with his height I don't get much leverage but I still swing him into the wall with as much force as I can. "Must be your unlucky day!" He makes a satisfying crash into the grey brick and kicks up a substantial cloud of dust.

If I swung any normal person that hard they would be lucky if I only ripped they're arm off. Yet predictably Luke Cage rises from the dust cloud without a scratch on him. One eyebrow raised. "Better than Cotton Mouth's usual thugs, but still not enough to stop me." He takes a step forward out of the collapsed brick and casually dusts himself off. "I don't know who you are, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. My name, is Luke Cage. This will not go well for you. Last chance to back down." Venom shifts from clothing back into my suit. " Cage sighs and cracks his knuckles, "I tried."

All we have to do is keep him from getting to Cotton Mouth for an hour. Cage raises his hands and steps forward faster than someone his size should be able to, he swings with a left cross, but it's far too slow to hit me. I jump up an onto the alley wall before he can make contact. Using my full strength I push off of the wall and rocket my foot into his face. It's not unlike kicking a brick wall. Cage's head snaps to the side and he falls to one knee.

I land a few feet away from him in a crouched stance and the short fight comes to a natural pause. I could put more pressure on him, but I'm not actually sure if I could knock him out so there's really no point.

Luke stands up and and runs his jaw. "You're no ordinary punk. Which is good, cause now I'm pissed."

I'm immediately made aware of the brick in his hand as it hurls towards me, I quickly dodge to the side and become aware of a second surprising fact. Luke Cage is faster than he looks. Despite that still not fast enough, in the second that I was dodging the brick he steps closer to deliver a straight punch towards my face, I see it coming however and am able to turn to make sure that it only clips me.

The alley takes the form of a spiral and I can feel a bruise forming on my check from where I was just barely clipped by Luke Cage. Thanks to my super awareness I'm able to correct myself mid flight and grab onto a streetlamp and hang sideways as I collect myself.

~A good punch. But we can do better~

Cage walks out of the alley and onto the crowded street. "You really can take a punch. Alright then." He shakes his first out, before adopting a boxing stance. "Ready for round two?"

I know I'm only here as a distraction but I can feel myself getting excited. Or maybe that's Venom? It's hard to tell.

We drop to the ground and rip the lamppost out of the ground wielding it as a club. "~Ready or not, here we come!~"

The news helicopter hovers over the battleground that used to be Harlem. The police have formed a perimeter around the area both to help escaping civilians and to prevent any curious citizens from becoming casualties.

The reporter tells into the microphone over the sound of the helicopter as the camera zooms in on the scene below. "As you can see the so called 'Hero of Harlem' is battling with an unknown monster down below. Over two blocks of property has been destroyed in the brawl."

The camera zooms in showcasing the battle between the two titanic figures as Luke Cage swings a car like a club and knocks the monster away. Only for it to quickly recover and leap at him with giant claws outstretched.

"From the look of things the damage will only increase. Will these two continue their rampage even out of Harlem? Or will the brave men and women of the NYPD be able to contain the damage? Back to yo-"

The newscaster is cut off as an explosion goes off below. The camera man takes a second to adjust before focusing on a new figure flying above the battle. "Breaking News! It looks like Iron Man has just arrived on the scene!"

The black monster leaps up at Iron Man but is redirected by a blur. The cameraman follows this blur as it bounces off of a lamppost and the ground to land back in the grasp of a star spangled blue figure. "Captain America as well! The avengers are here!"

x-x

AN: bit of a change to form at the end leaving Peter's perspective but I think the scene benefited from it.

For the record I'm of the opinion that Spiderman could take both the Human torch and Luke Cage. But Peter right now? He lacks experience at this point. He trained with the x men for about a month but that's it.

So I don't know how many of you are new or have been following this story for some time but you may have noticed that I'm trying a new strategy of actually uploading. Revolutionary I know. I decided to dabble back into fan fiction to remember why I liked it and I think I'm getting back into it. I chose this story because re reading it makes me cringe the least, and tbh I really liked the Venom movie and am looking forward for the spider verse movie as well.

Anyway, let me know if you guys actually like reading this. Also I know there's some weird typos. I've been writing this on my phone at work, and when I'm editing my eyes just scroll past the auto corrections -_-