The Beginning of the End
Rio Morales was sitting in her kitchen, rolling her thumbs anxiously as she was staring down at the table. She had just seen the news about Spider-Man, which were shocking, but that didn't matter to her right now. What mattered to her was that her baby boy was still not back, and no one had seen him. Not even Peter had brought him back like he said he was going to, which made her fear the worst. Had Kraven killed him? Maybe Li did? She had called everyone that could be of any help and now there was nothing more she could do, but there was still a part of her that felt that she should be doing more.
She stood up, walking over to the fridge to look at a family photo. It was a picture of her, her husband and Miles from a few years ago. Losing her husband had been the hardest time of her life, losing Miles would just send her over the edge.
"Miles, where are you?" She said quietly as her fingertips brushed against the family photo. A tear ran down her cheek, feeling like she was going to lose her mind. But suddenly, she heard a knock on the door. Rio didn't hear it at first as she was deep in thought, but then a second knock came, which was a bit louder than the first one.
"Miles!" She snapped out of it and immediately ran towards the door, fumbling a little with the doorknob as she tried to get the door open as fast as possible. When she finally opened the door, she stepped back and gasped in shock at the sight before her, feeling her heart drop.
In front of her stood Martin Li, holding an unconscious Miles in his arms bridal style. There was still blood on his costume, what was left of it at least, as it had taken quite the damage during his beatdown from Peter. None of his limbs looked like they were out of place at least, so that was always something.
"I was going to take him to a hospital, but he insisted that I would bring him to you instead. I think it was to protect his identity, but I'm not really sure." Li explained as Rio was shaking. "I saw the other Spider-Man swing into the city with Black Cat, but I didn't see Miles with him, so I went back to the mansion where Kraven made us fight. I… found him like this not far from it."
"Put him on the couch. I'll get the medical supplies." Rio ordered him and immediately went to grab everything she needed. Moments later she returned and started helping him, with Li assisting any way he could. Once they were done Miles still hadn't woken up, but at least it seemed like he was going to be okay. Eventually.
Rio sat on a chair with Li standing next to her, watching over Miles as he rested. Neither of them said a word to each other, for understandable reasons. But suddenly, Li began to walk towards the door.
"Wait, where are you going?"
"I don't know to be honest. I just… it doesn't feel right for me to be here after what I did to your family." Li said as he glanced at the family photo on the fridge. He sighed, wishing that things had been different. But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder which stopped him.
"It's… it's okay. You can stay."
Li turned around and looked at her in confusion. "But… why? Am I not the last person you would want in your home?"
Rio sighed, then slowly shook her head. "Just like Miles, I can't forgive you for what you did. But… I don't hate you either. You brought Miles back to me and I can tell that you feel guilty for what you did to us, so if you really are trying to change… then I will give you a chance to do that."
Li looked at Rio in slight shock but then glanced away as he was feeling conflicted about all of this. Did he really deserve a second chance? But he didn't get to dwell on it for long as the two suddenly heard Miles cough, which made them rush to his side immediately.
"Miles?"
"Ma…?"
Miles's eyes were slowly fluttering open, and he tried to sit up, but failed, feeling his body protest in pain.
"Easy, you're okay. You're home now." Rio gently put her hand on Miles's shoulder and smiled ever so slightly. Even though he was still badly hurt, just the fact that he was regaining consciousness was a good sign.
"I don't think I should be one of the first faces he sees when he wakes up, so I'll leave you two alone for a moment." Li said. "I'll… go and see if there's anything in the bathroom we can use."
Rio nodded as Li left, understanding his reasoning. Hearing a groan of pain, she focused her attention back on her son.
"You need to rest Miles, don't move."
"I'll be fine Ma… it's part of being Spider-Man." Miles let out a weak laugh, trying to play it off like he usually did when he got injured.
"Miles."
"Okay, okay. Rest does sound pretty nice right now."
Rio remained silent for a moment, just looking at Miles as she realized something. "Miles, what happened exactly? Who did this to you?"
"…"
Rio glanced in the direction of the bathroom, but Li was still looking through the medical cabinet and couldn't hear them right now. "Did Li do this to you?"
Miles shook his head. "No."
"Kraven?"
"No."
"Then… who did?"
Miles seemed hesitant to answer, but eventually he took a deep breath and told her the truth.
"Peter… Peter did this to me."
A few hours earlier…
It was in the middle of the night when Spider-Man and Black Cat finally left Kraven's arena. Kraven had escaped during Peter's battle with Miles, and they had no leads, so they decided to just go home and rest before they tried to locate him. Even though Peter was still angry that Kraven had escaped, he knew that there was no point in going on a wild goose chase. Besides, after everything Miles put him through in his fight, he knew that he could use some rest.
"We will get him. Don't worry." Black Cat said reassuringly in the midst of a swing, doing a summersault through the air before shooting out another web.
"I know, I know. It's just… I was so close to ending it and he got away." Peter sighed and let out his web wings to soar over the streets of New York City. The rain was pouring down on them relentlessly, but he was too deep into his own mind to even notice.
"Hey, knowing him, he will probably just come to you. He wants to die after all."
"Yeah, proba- watch out!"
Peter's Spider Sense suddenly went off and instinctively he flew right into Black Cat, before wrapping his arms around her and doing a barrel roll to evade incoming gunfire. Once they regained their balance it only took a second for them to realize that it was one of Kraven's gunships, and it wasn't alone. Two other gunships were with it, and they were closing in. But as the duo moved, they noticed the concert that was going on down below them, which was going to be a problem.
Nodding to each other, the two deactivated their web wings in order to free fall to the ground, landing near the ground after slowing down their falls using Peter's tendrils.
"This is an emergency people, get out of here! Quickly! Hunters are here!"
People began screaming in panic and ran for their lives as the gunships hovered above them in the air, their guns aiming at the duo as trucks began to move in on their location. Hunters were moving in from all directions, but it was nothing they hadn't faced before. Spider-Man and Black Cat positioned themselves back-to-back, glancing around them while the Hunters got ready to fight.
"You ready Cat?" Spidey asked and entered a brawler stance.
"Are you?" Black Cat retorted as she brought out her claws.
"You bet."
The crime fighters and the Hunters stared at each other intensely, muscles tensing, guns cocking and fists clenching as the tension kept rising. Besides the rain pattering against the concrete and the distant New York traffic, there was complete silence on this new battlefield. A crossbow suddenly fired a net at Spider-Man, and that was when everything descended into chaos.
Spider-Man ducked and easily evaded the incoming net, before turning into a black whirlwind and unleashing a powerful Symbiote Strike that sent several Hunters flying. Black Cat used her acrobatics to flip over the Hunters on her front to avoid several incoming attacks and then retaliated with a barrage of strikes from her Iron Arms.
"It doesn't matter how many times we knock them down, they just keep coming!" Spider-Man exclaimed as he arched his back to narrowly dodge a sword that went over his head, before knocking out the sword's owner with a powerful haymaker.
"You have to give it to them, they are resilient!" Black Cat replied and kicked a crossbowman in the face. A swordsman leapt up in the air and attempted to slam his blades down on her, but she quickly parried the attack with her Iron Arms which sent the swordsman flying back.
The duo regrouped and positioned themselves back-to-back again, slowly moving in a circle as some of the Hunters were getting back up. A few brutes had joined the fray to reinforce their comrades, but Spider-Man and Black Cat were unfazed.
"It looks like they want more." Spider-Man said.
"Then let's give it to them."
They sprang into action once more, knocking Hunters out left and right with coordinated attacks and perfect teamwork. They covered each other's backs, not giving the Hunters any opportunities to strike back. As the Hunters' numbers went down, they began to spread out more, taking them down one by one. Everything was going well, with neither of them barely getting a scratch.
But that was when the sniper rifle rang out.
Spider-Man's Spider Sense warned him of the bullet, and as of that moment, everything seemed to slow down around him. He could see it all in slow motion, but it was already too late. He saw the bullet moving through the air, the smoke from the sniper rifle, the smirk on Kraven's face. His arm lashed out, his tendrils flailing wildly to push Black Cat out of the way, but it wasn't enough. His tendrils made contact with her before the bullet did but pushing her away just made the bullet hit her in the abdomen instead of the head.
Felicia gasped and her eyes widened as the bullet buried itself in her gut, her movement ceasing as she fell to the ground. For a moment everything froze for Peter. The only sound that was audible to him being his own heartbeat as he stared at her unmoving form.
"FELIIIICIIAAA!" He roared, unleashing the most powerful Symbiote Blast he had ever mustered and knocked away every Hunter in his vicinity, sending them flying like they were nothing but spare change. Panting, he glared at the Hunters around Felicia, and it only took a second before they backed off.
With the Hunters out of the way he quickly ran to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to help her up a little. She coughed, blood dripping from her wound as her breathing was shaking.
"Oh god, Felicia…"
But as Spider-Man held his lover, he heard someone land on the ground about ten meters away from him. His head lowered a little, his eyes narrowing in anger. He didn't even need to look behind him to know that it was Kraven. The crime fighter turned his head and glared daggers at the man, but then quickly refocused his attention on his companion upon hearing her weakly call out to him.
"Peter…?" She said meekly. Her gloved hand cupped his cheek, her touch tender. "Y-you have to stop him… you're the only who can…"
She coughed, wheezing in pain.
"Don't talk, I'm not letting you die here!" Peter cried out. He couldn't bear the thought of losing here, not like this.
"No… it's too late for me… all that matters now… is saving the city…" Felicia shook her head, patting Peter's cheek as the rain mixed with the tears on her face. "I love you."
And with those words her eyes closed, and her body went completely limp.
"Felicia? Felicia!" Putting his ear against her chest, he could feel her heart still beating, so she was just unconscious, for now anyway. He knew that she would not survive for long and there was no way he could get her to a hospital now, not with Kraven right behind him and his Hunters presumably nearby.
For a moment neither Spider-Man nor Kraven said anything, as they were just still in the rain which continued to pour down on them relentlessly. Thunder rumbled and lightning struck, lighting up the sky in flashes of white and blue, before Spider-Man finally spoke up.
"Ever since you came here, I have just lost more and more. My city, my people, my best friend, my job, my home, now the love of my life! How much more are you going to take from me, from all of us?! When will it stop?!" Spider-Man demanded to know, still looking at Felicia while Kraven remained behind him.
Kraven just looked at Spider-Man and scoffed, stoic as a statue. "When I get my warrior's death. And if you refuse to give it to me, then I will explore every other possibility this city has to offer. But there is truly no one here who can be my final hunt, then I will just move onto the next city."
"So, this ends when you die, huh? There is no other way?"
"Precisely." Kraven said and took a few steps towards Spider-Man. A moment of silence followed, with the exception of the rain pattering against the concrete.
"Then so be it."
In one swift move Spider-Man turned around and hit Kraven in the face with a powerful haymaker, sending him flying across the street. The leader of the Hunters grunted as he crashed into some scaffolding that had been set up for the concert, the metal bars collapsing on top of him like a card house. Spider-Man breathed heavily, glaring at the spot where Kraven had landed with hatred burning in his eyes. After a moment a groan could be heard from the pile of metal and a figure rose from it, moving the metal bars out of the way before he stood up straight.
Kraven wiped some blood from his face and spit out a tooth on the ground, before he turned back to Spider-Man and grinned. Spider-Man fell to one knee, holding himself up with one fist as he trembled and twitched with more rage than he had ever felt in his entire life.
"Yes… finally! You are no longer holding back! Let's finish this, Spider!" Kraven exclaimed with pure joy.
"No… not… Spider-Man… not anymore!" Spider-Man replied and shook his head as he continued to twitch violently, his suit rippling intensely as it began to morph and change.
"No? Who are you then?" Kraven tilted his head and raised an eyebrow in both confusion and curiosity.
"We… are… Venom." He slowly stood up as the Symbiote Suit went under a drastic change. Now he stood at a towering 10'4 feet tall with rippling muscles that even made Kraven look small. What was once a flat surface on his mask opened to reveal a mouth with two rows of long fangs along with an elongated tongue, which flailed around a little before he let out a loud roar.
"There it is… you finally let the beast out." Kraven chuckled darkly and discarded his vest. His Hunters dropped a spear and a shield down from one of the gunships, the heavy metal clanging against the concrete. He glanced around at his Hunters, feeling a bit of pride in his heart. Despite the various obstacles, they had brought him an opponent worth dying to.
In other words, they had served their purpose.
They all beat their fists against their hearts, and he simply nodded in response, a sign of respect towards each other. The Hunters looked at their leader one last time, then left the area.
"At last." Kraven muttered and picked up the spear and the shield, grinning as he felt his heartbeat faster than it ever had before. His adrenaline was rushing, but he would not let his excitement weaken him.
But before Kraven moved, he noticed something interesting. Despite Spider-Man's transformation into what looked like a hulking beast, it seemed like he hadn't turned into a mindless monster. Not entirely anyway. Large tendrils came out of his back and wrapped around Black Cat, forming a protective cocoon that would keep her safe during the battle that was about to take place, while still allowing her to breathe.
Even though it showed that Spider-Man was still in there, it didn't really matter to Kraven. He could see the anger and the hatred in those white eyes, so he would get the fight he wanted. And if he got that, then he didn't care about anyone or anything else.
Making the first move, he leapt up into the air, attempting to bring the spear down on Spider-Man, no, Venom. However, the beast merely swiped its arm which disrupted the attack and sent Kraven tumbling back. His feet shuffled, quickly regaining his balance. Venom snarled and lashed out with his right arm, but Kraven managed to thrust his spear and yellow lightning suddenly crackled around the upper half of it, which stunned Venom for just a second.
"We will destroy you!" Venom growled and smashed his fists into the ground, sending out numerous tendrils in various directions that knocked Kraven back. His tendrils retracted, but only a little bit, before being raised up into the air to slam down on Kraven. A large ball of black mass formed at the end of the tendrils, like a Symbiote wrecking ball, but Kraven managed to block it with his shield.
Kraven struggled to hold up his shield, his arm trembling from the strain as the club-like mass started to press down more and more. But with a grunt he pushed the club up before rolling out of the way, the mass of black goo missing him just barely.
"Is that so?" He activated his stealth device, knowing that he could not compete with Venom's overwhelming strength. Venom glanced around, snarling in annoyance as he could no longer see Kraven. Despite the change the Symbiote Suit had undergone, his Spider-Sense was still as sharp as ever. Sensing an attack from behind, Venom slammed his fists into the ground which sent tendrils in all directions, similarly to the Symbiote Blast, except way more powerful. The stealth device deactivated, and Kraven grunted in pain as he rolled backwards, but quickly picked himself up.
"Long have I dreamt of a perfect death, drenched in fire and blood! Will you finally give it to me?!" Kraven yelled and fired some kind of grenade from his shield. Venom merely grabbed it midair with a tendril, seemingly not even bothered by it.
However, this wasn't a regular grenade.
This was a sound grenade which used soundwaves emitted by the chapel bell, which still affected the Symbiote despite its newfound power. Venom snarled and shook his head, dazed by the soundwaves. Kraven seized this opportunity and slammed his spear into Venom's chest, sending a small wave of lightning through his body.
Venom growled angrily and lashed out with his fists, slamming his right fist into Kraven's shield which sent him skidding back a bit. Attempting to follow up his attack, he reached forward and tried to grab Kraven, but the leader of the Hunters quickly parried the attack with his shield. However, Venom used his other arm to swipe at Kraven with a large tendril that sent him stumbling back. He was then hit square in the chest by a Symbiote Punch that sent him hurling back and almost knocked the wind out of him, but he quickly slammed his spear into the ground to halt his movement.
Kraven grinned and twirled his spear before entering his combat stance once more. "Yes…"
Venom didn't seem to care that Kraven finally had the fight that he was looking for and instead just tossed a nearby hot dog stand at him, but the projectile was evaded by a roll from Kraven.
"Make this my final hunt! The end of all things!" Kraven exclaimed and fired another grenade at Venom, but this time he grabbed it and tossed it right back at its owner.
Kraven swatted it aside with his spear, only to have a giant tendril slam down on him. He grunted in pain and stood up, only to find his opponent up close and personal. The Symbiote growled angrily and hit Kraven with a haymaker, then with a swipe of another large tendril, followed by several more punches and tendril swipes that sent Kraven tumbling down on the ground. Each strike felt like being hit by a train, and if it wasn't for his superhuman durability then he would have been dead already.
A tendril wrapped around his chest, pulling him close to Venom's face, who looked ready to bite his head off. The beast's tongue got closer to Kraven's face as if to get a taste of its prey. However, Kraven suddenly grabbed the appendage and tugged at it, before cutting it off with his knife. Venom whined in pain while Kraven backed up to pick up his spear and shield.
"Do not underestimate me." Kraven said and grinned, wiping some blood off his face. Venom had staggered back after losing his tongue, clearly in pain. He then hissed and opened his mouth to reveal that it had grown back like nothing happened. Then they charged at each other again, both determined to end this fight once and for all.
"Yes! YES! You WILL be my final hunt! And I shall be your first." Kraven ducked under a tendril and shocked Venom with a spear stab but was then slammed into the ground by an axe slam from Venom's fists. The Hunter leader cried out in pain, but in the nick of time he managed to roll out of the way of a vicious punch that cracked the concrete.
Venom then lashed out with a Symbiote Punch that Kraven blocked with his shield. His feet dug into the concrete as the tendril pushed against the shield, making him grunt from the strain.
Sweat was dripping from his forehead as he struggled to hold the tendril back but managed to move his shield and redirect the attack to the side. He leapt into the air and the spear crackled with yellow lightning as he prepared to stab Venom, only for the hulking beast to slam his fists into the ground which sent tendrils bursting up from the ground with such force that everything in close proximity was sent flying, including Kraven. He cried out in pain upon colliding with a broken Hunter truck but still got up, determined to keep fighting until his body gave in completely.
"Let us show the world what death SHOULD be!" Kraven yelled and spat out some blood before picking up his spear again, smirking despite the damage he had taken. He fired his last sound grenade which Venom grabbed, but this time the activation time had been reduced, so it detonated in his arm which dazed him a bit. Kraven seized this opportunity and moved in to stab Venom but had to cancel his attack in favor of ducking under a tendril swipe. But a black club hit him square in the gut, which almost knocked the wind out of him.
"You want death? Then give up!" Venom snarled and grabbed Kraven's throat, slamming him into the ground over and over again, which created a small crater in the asphalt that only grew bigger for each slam. He growled and raised his free hand, forming a club around his fist, ready to crush Kraven. However, in the last second Kraven managed to grab his spear again and shove it into Venom's side, stunning him for a moment which gave him enough time to get out of his grip.
As the Hunter leader rolled away to get some distance, Venom slammed his fist into the ground, missing Kraven just barely. But tendrils sprouted to the side and slammed into Kraven's side, making him cry out in pain as he was sent tumbling back. Growling, he used his spear for support and stood up, gritting his teeth with determination. Despite his injuries, his excitement only grew.
"I WANT it to be WORTHY of me!" Kraven yelled and lashed out with a series of stabbing motions, the yellow lightning crackling around the spear as he tried to stab Venom. The Symbiote formed a black shield on his left forearm and blocked the strikes, before snarling and swiping his arm to knock Kraven back.
He grunted and stumbled backwards, but before Venom could follow up with more attacks, he suddenly heard some beeping at his feet and looked down to see a remote explosive. He didn't have time to dodge and could only raise his arms to shield himself from the explosion. When the smoke cleared Venom shook his head and growled in pain, stunned and dazed, but only for a moment.
"Do you know what it's like to have your body betray you?!" Kraven gritted his teeth and his grip on the spear tightened as he hit Venom with a barrage of stabs and swipes, while also mixing his attacks with his shield to keep Venom on his toes. "WEAKNESS will not claim me! If I am to die soon, I will die ROOOARRRING!"
Kraven continued his onslaught until Venom suddenly growled and summoned several large tendrils from his arm, sending them towards Kraven like a tidal wave of darkness. Grunting, Kraven raised his shield to block it, but the force from the attack still sent him flying into a wall. Grunting in pain from the impact, he got back up on his feet and shook his head. But when he looked forward, his eyes widened as the tendrils came for him again, but Kraven kicked himself off the wall and flipped over them before they stabbed into the wall like knives.
Landing behind Venom, Kraven thrusted his spear forward, only for Venom's right hand to suddenly catch it behind him without even looking back. Kraven grunted and tried to pull it back, but Venom's grip was just too strong, even as the electricity was shocking his hand. Turning around slowly, the towering beast stared down at his opponent as the lightning continued to crackle. And with a flick of his wrist, the spear snapped in two. The lightning slowly died out, sputtering and sending out small yellow sparks until it ceased completely.
"We do not care what you think, little man. You will die tonight." Venom snarled and dropped the piece of metal to the ground. Kraven threw the other part of the spear at him like a javelin, aiming for his face, but Venom simply moved his head to the side to avoid the projectile.
Venom raised his arm and let out several large tendrils, which moved through the air like black snakes. Raising his shield once more, he felt the tendrils slam into it with immense force. But Kraven's eyes then widened as the tendrils wrapped around the shield and began to crush it, the metal creaking loudly as it was completely destroyed. With nothing else to defend himself with, Kraven tried to draw his knife, only to receive a powerful uppercut to the jaw. Blood spewed out of his mouth, and it felt like his brain shook inside his skull as he fell onto his back with a loud thud.
"Have I… been defeated?" Kraven thought to himself and tried to get back up, but it was no use. He had hit his limit. Collapsing, he grunted and breathed heavily as the thuds of Venom's footsteps approached him.
Venom growled and wrapped his tendrils around Kraven's torso, slowly lifting him up to eye level before the tendrils retracted. Venom was holding Kraven by the head like a sack of potatoes and then tossed him effortlessly through the air, sending him flying into a large screen on top of one of the nearby buildings. Kraven grunted in pain from the impact as the glass cracked and the screen fell over with a loud clang.
Snarling, Venom launched himself up on top of the screen by pushing tendrils from his back against the ground. The screen shook for a moment as he landed on it, like he just landed on a wooden platform on water. He glared at his opponent, defeated and on his knees. The fight was over, and all that remained was the finisher.
For a few moments all that could be heard was the pattering rain and the loud thuds from Venom's footsteps as he slowly approached Kraven. Each step cracked the screen like when someone walked on thin ice, spreading like small webs.
Venom growled and licked his teeth, but Kraven just looked up at him with a small smile and scoffed. Despite the pain from his wounds and his aching muscles, he was happier than ever.
"Thank you." He uttered, his gratitude evident in his facial expression. He had been defeated fair and square in one-on-one combat by a worthy opponent. It was the moment he had been waiting for so long. It was finally time. This was the end of his final hunt.
In response to this Venom didn't say anything and just grabbed the beaten warrior by the throat, before lifting him up. His tongue flailed a little as he looked at Kraven's face one last time.
And with a wet crunch, he bit his head right off.
Blood dribbled onto the screen along with Kraven's necklace, the blood mixing with the rain as it seeped into the cracks that had formed on the screen. Kraven's now headless body fell with a thud, before Venom let out a triumphant roar into the night sky.
He had done it. Kraven was finally dead.
But with Kraven dead, Venom finally had a moment of clarity. The rage finally began to fade, and Peter was starting to come to his senses. He looked at the headless body of Kraven and realized that he had just killed him. His number one rule, broken. Even though it had to be done, he still didn't like it. But now he also remembered something else.
"Felicia."
Leaping back down to the ground, he walked up to the cocoon that contained her, and it opened like a flower to reveal her still unconscious body. Peter's hulking Venom-form shrank back down to regular Spidey-size, and he fell to his knees. Was he too late? He gently put his head against her chest and his eyes widened as he could hear her heartbeat beating slow, too slow.
It was close to stopping completely.
"No… Felicia…" Peter held her, the worst memories of the past returning. He remembered how he almost lost her when Hammerhead tried to blow her up, and the pain he had felt until it turned out she was still alive.
Then the memories of Aunt May resurfaced as well. He couldn't save her, and that feeling of helplessness was one of, if not the worst feeling he had ever known. Seeing her on that hospital bed with the cure in hand, but still unable to help her, then hearing her last words before her death. Even to this day he was still hurting from her death.
"Felicia, please… stay with me…" Peter pleaded, but her fading heartbeat told him that she wouldn't be around for much longer. It had almost stopped completely now. She was going to die, and it was too late to get her help.
No.
He would not let this happen again. He had already lost Ben and May; he would not lose another loved one.
"We won't let you die."
The cocoon that had protected Felicia during the battle split into tendrils that began to wrap around her, slowly morphing into what looked like a black suit of some kind. It looked like Peter's, with a few differences. It lacked the white spider symbol on the torso, her head wasn't covered at all, and it also hugged her curves nicely. The tendrils rippled as the suit was finished.
For a moment, she didn't move. It felt like an eternity for Peter as he waited anxiously for her to move, or speak, anything that would indicate she was still alive. And then, Felicia opened her eyes.
She gasped, waking up with a jolt as she sat straight up. She looked around in confusion, as if waking up from a dream. "What happened?!"
Peter threw his arms around her, letting out a sigh of relief. He was trembling, his heart beating rapidly as he was still shaking after nearly losing the love of his life.
"Hey Spider." Felicia whispered and hugged him back, gently patting his back. "Shhh, it's okay. I'm okay."
"I almost lost you…"
"I know." She glanced at herself, noticing the Symbiote Suit she was now wearing. She looked at Peter and was surprised to see that he still had his, which made her wonder how there were now two suits instead of one. "But you didn't, I'm still here."
"Yeah… yeah." Peter nodded, slowly standing up and holding out a hand to help Felicia back up to her feet. "I know you probably have questions, but we should get out of here."
"What about Kraven?"
"I… dealt with him." Peter said, averting his gaze in shame.
Felicia gently cupped his cheek and made him face her, giving him a small smile. "Hey, it's over now. Let's go home, okay?"
Peter just nodded and they swung away into the night sky, leaving the scene behind.
Later, at Peter's house…
The duo was now in Peter's kitchen, sitting opposite each other at the kitchen table. Felicia could tell that Peter had something to get off his chest, that something happened when she was unconscious.
"So… what happened exactly after I passed out?"
Peter was a little hesitant, but eventually he sighed and leaned slightly forward with a lost look in his eyes. "I killed Kraven."
"I see." Felicia reached forward, putting her hand on top of Peter's. She knew it was hard for him to break his most sacred rule, but she would be there for him no matter what. "You did what you had to do. At least no more innocent people will get hurt."
Peter nodded in agreement, interlocking his fingers with hers. "I know. It's just… I'm afraid of people what will happen next. What will people say?"
"You were forced into an impossible situation Peter. A man who killed so many people just so he could die himself, and with an army at his side that made it impossible to arrest him. Some people will definitely not be happy about it, but you can never please everyone. You did the right thing."
"That's… not all." Peter replied.
"What do you mean?"
Peter was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts to try and explain his transformation in the best way possible. "After you lost consciousness, I… went berserk. Me and Venom… we reached true symbiosis and transformed. It gave us the strength to kill Kraven."
Felicia was taken aback by this but then got a curious look in her eyes. "Would you… mind showing me this transformation?"
Peter looked a bit reluctant, but Felicia squeezed his hand and leaned a little closer, making him look into her eyes.
"You won't hurt me. I know you won't."
Peter slowly nodded, trusting her judgement. He slowly stood up from the table, taking a deep breath as the clothes on his body rippled and turned into the Symbiote Suit. It then began to morph as it increased in size, taking on the bulking form of Venom. Once transformed, he looked at Felicia with his white eyes.
Felicia was in shock, but slowly stood up and approached the towering being, who remained motionless. "Spider?"
At first, he didn't answer, but after a moment of silence he raised his hands slightly and looked at his palms. "It's strange. When we transformed earlier, we were so… angry. It was like we saw red. All we wanted in that moment was to kill Kraven. But now… everything feels so… different. We can see clearly now."
Venom looked at Felicia, conflict evident in his eyes. "Are we a monster, Felicia?"
Felicia gently put her hand on his chest and shook his head. "You ran and fought back when the Hunters broke in here, you were angry, furious even. But despite that you didn't kill anyone. And after everything Kraven has done, it's only understandable that you would want to kill him. You are not a monster, neither of you, understand?"
Venom blinked a few times and then let out a small, subdued growl. "Thank you, Felicia."
They remained silent in the same position for a minute or two, until Venom reverted back into Peter.
"You really are the best Felicia. Supporting me, or us, even when we're at our worst."
"I know, I'm amazing." She replied with a giggle and ruffled Peter's hair.
Peter smiled softly, leaning into her touch as he glanced at her black shirt. "How's your Symbiote Suit by the way? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm great! It feels like I never got shot in the first place." Felicia said and looked at herself. The "fabric" rippled as it turned into small tendrils for a second, but only for a moment. "Doesn't feel like I hear or feel Venom or another Symbiote, it just feels like a suit. An organic suit that lets me bench-press a car and create tendrils."
"Wait. Another… suit…" Peter's eyes lit up when it suddenly hit him. "Oh my god. That's it!"
Felicia tilted her head in confusion. "What are you talking about Peter?"
"Harry! I can cure Harry by giving him his own Symbiote Suit! I can cure him and still keep Venom! This is a win-win situation!" Peter said and laughed in pure joy as he felt another weight be lifted off his shoulders.
Felicia thought about it and nodded when she realized that he was right. This might be the solution to Harry's problem. "It brought me back from the brink of death, so if you give him something similar then it should work."
Peter's clothes began to shift into the Symbiote Suit as he jogged towards the door, excited to finally cure his friend. "I'm gonna go and help him right now, the sooner the better!"
"Hold on, you forgot something."
Peter paused and turned around, tilting his head in confusion. "Forgot what?"
"Oh, you know…" Felicia walked up to him, swaying her hips with a playful smile.
"Oh, right." The mask peeled back to reveal Peter's face before he gave Felicia a deep kiss on the lips. "I love you."
"I love you too Spider. Now go and help your friend, I'm going to unpack some stuff in the meantime, maybe do some cleaning while I'm at it. I can tell you haven't exactly had the time for it."
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll try to be back soon; I think we both need some rest. I'll see you later Felicia."
And with that he swung away into the night sky, making his way towards Oscorp while Felicia watched from the porch of the house, her white hair swaying in the wind. She smiled and stood there until Spider-Man was out of sight. Once he was gone, she went back inside to unpack her stuff from her apartment.
"I really hope things can finally calm down now." The former burglar said to herself, having no idea what the future had in store.
Later, at Oscorp…
It didn't take long for Spidey to arrive at Oscorp and soon as he did, he immediately started looking for Harry. He checked his room first, but he wasn't there. There weren't a lot of people around since it was nighttime, so he didn't really have anyone to ask for directions.
Eventually he found himself in one of the labs, still looking. "Harry? You in here buddy?"
"Yeah, I'm here…" A weak voice replied as Harry came into view. He looked even worse than last time, and he was only standing thanks to his cane. "What are you doing here Peter? It's in the middle of the night, is something going on?"
Peter walked up to his friend with a small smile on his face. "I got great news Harry. I can cure you!"
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly in disbelief. "You… have a cure for me?"
"Yeah! I think so at least. It's worth a shot anyway."
"What is it exactly?" Harry asked curiously.
"I'm going to give you your own Symbiote Suit Harry." Peter replied.
Harry tilted his head in confusion, wondering if he heard that right. "Give me my own Symbiote Suit? You can do that?"
"Yeah, apparently, I can. I gave one to Felicia earlier after… she almost died." Peter sighed; the experience was still fresh in his memory. "Kraven shot her and she almost died from it. I didn't even know what I was doing, I just- I knew I had to save her. No, we knew we had to save her."
"You and… Venom?" Harry asked, still not fully understanding the symbiotic bond between Peter and the Symbiote.
"Yeah. When I realized what I just did she woke up, and I still had Venom. So, if I can give other people their own Symbiote Suits, I figured I could give one to you and see if it can cure you. Felicia's Symbiote Suit was able to heal her gunshot wound just like how Venom healed my stab wound, so I think it should be able to heal your sickness too."
Harry thought about it for a moment, and then slowly nodded. "Okay. If you think it can work, then I trust you Peter."
Peter nodded back, happy to finally have a shot at curing his best friend at long last. "Let's hope this works.
After putting his hand on Harry's shoulder, black tendrils appeared out of Peter's forearm and began to wrap around his friend's torso, covering him in the black Symbiote substance. Harry's cane clattered to the floor as the black mass began to morph, shaping into the tactical gear-like suit that Venom had taken the form of during Harry's brief time as a crime fighter.
Once the transformation was complete, Harry gasped and stumbled back, feeling a bit dizzy from the sudden change. He looked at his hands, breathing heavily as he slowly flexed his fingers. In barely ten seconds he went from sick and dying, to being healthy and strong enough to demolish a car.
"How do you feel?" Peter asked, getting Harry's attention.
"I feel… strong again." Harry began to jump a little, shifting the weight between his feet. He entered a brawler's stance as he threw a few punches in the air. "It feels just like when I had Venom. It's like I was never sick to begin with."
"Wow, I figured it would heal you, but I didn't think it would be that fast. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I'm great! I feel like I could take on Kraven's whole army!" Harry said happily.
Peter glanced to the floor upon hearing Kraven's name, and even with the mask still on Harry could tell that he was ashamed. "Yeah, about that…"
"Peter? What's wrong?" Harry put a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "It's okay, you can tell me."
For a moment Peter was silent, but soon enough he spoke up. "Remember how I said Felicia almost died? Well, that was because Kraven shot her. And when he did I… we became angrier than ever. It was like we saw red, me and Venom. So, we killed him. We killed Kraven."
Harry was taken aback by this and was clearly in shock as he stared forward, unsure of what to make of it. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two, with neither of them saying a word. However, eventually he just hugged his friend and patted him on the back. "It's okay man. I know it wasn't easy, but you did the right thing."
For a moment Peter just remained still. But slowly, he returned the hug and let out a small laugh of relief. "Thank you man. Thank you."
Harry chuckled and pulled away, patting his friend's shoulder with a small smile. His new Symbiote Suit morphed into a black sweater and black pants, almost identical to Peter's when his suit was in its "casual mode". "Hey, that's what friends are for, right? Besides, you just saved my life. It's the least I can do for you."
"Yeah, I guess so." Peter nodded and let his suit change into clothes as well, in case anyone else entered the room.
"Come on, let's go and do something fun! We need to celebrate this!" Harry said and started walking out of the lab, motioning for his friend to follow him.
"Now?"
"Yeah, now! Kraven is dead, and I'm cured! What better time than now to celebrate? I mean, the Spider-Pals are back in business!" Harry said enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that little nickname." Peter chuckled and followed Harry to a nearby elevator. "But I would like to get back and check on Felicia, so I can't stay too long. But I would be more than happy to celebrate this properly in the near future."
"Yeah, no worries. Connors and dad probably want to run some tests on me or something, so there's no rush."
"Speaking of which, how are we going to explain this to them?"
"I… haven't actually thought about that. Any ideas?" Harry rubbed the back of his head as the elevator moved through the Oscorp building.
"I guess we can tell Connors everything about Venom and your new suit. Maybe we can prove to him that Venom isn't as bad as he thinks? Then again, might be hard to prove that after we killed Kraven…"
"Hey, it will be okay. We'll figure it out, we always have."
"Yeah." Peter nodded, watching the floors pass by as the elevator ride continued on. For the next few moments neither of them said anything and just waited for the elevator to get to their destination, but it looked like Harry had something to say.
"Is something wrong Harry?" Peter asked and turned his head to look at him.
"Well… there's something I have been meaning to talk to you about." Harry took a deep breath and thought about how to word it all. "I think you should apologize to MJ."
"Huh?"
"I know that you were upset by the article she wrote, but to be honest… you weren't the best towards her either. I know I might come off as a jerk move to bring it up now just as you cured me, but I have been meaning to talk to you about it for a while now." Harry sighed. This wasn't easy for him to talk about. "Look, you were both in the wrong, but I really think you should apologize to her. You two are my closest friends, and I really hate seeing you two fight. I'm not saying you have to get back together or anything, but maybe try and be friends again at least? Please."
The elevator finally stopped, and they stepped out of it before it continued on to another floor. Peter ran a hand over his face as he let out a long sigh. "I know. I've just… been so angry and stressed lately. All because of Kraven. And… I let that stress and anger get out on MJ. I was such a jerk to her."
"Well, now that Kraven is gone, you'll feel better right?"
"Yeah… I think I'll take a few days off. No Spider-Man, just help Felicia move in and help you with restoring the EMF. That should clear my head, so I can be myself again when I talk to her. No more of this angry, jerk Peter Parker."
"Sounds like a plan. I really hope you two can clear the air." Harry replied as they walked towards his personal quarts and opened the door. He plopped down on a bean bag in front of his TV, before prompting Peter to take a seat next to him. "But enough worrying for now. Why don't we play some video games? Like old times."
"I'll check how Felicia's doing first." Peter said and sent a text to his girlfriend. He asked how she was doing and if she would mind if he stayed at Oscorp for a few hours. While he waited for a response, he took a seat on a beanbag next to Harry and watched him boot up his console. It didn't take long to get a response from Felicia, in which she gave him the green light and told him to have fun. "Okay, she'll be fine. But I would still like only stay a few hours at most."
"You worry a lot, you know that? It's not bad that you care so much, but it must really take a toll on you."
"Well, it's part of being Spider-Man." Peter said and picked up a controller. "Now let's have some fun."
A few hours later…
After a few hours of gaming and eating snacks, Peter finally decided to head home. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. Kraven was dead, Felicia is alive, Harry has been cured and for the first time since Coney Island he actually had some time to have fun and enjoy himself. It was a huge stress relief, which would certainly help him let go of the rage and hatred that lingered after killing Kraven.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Felicia was unpacking one of the last boxes she had brought from her apartment. Due to her playful nature, she decided to turn her Symbiote Suit into a black nightgown to surprise Peter when he got home. Besides, she also found it quite comfortable.
But as she was unpacking, she suddenly came across a small picture frame of her and her father. She held it in her hands and tilted her head, studying it as she remembered when it was taken. It was back when he first started teaching her how to become a burglar, the same training which would eventually lead to her becoming the Black Cat.
She looked at the palm of her right hand, flexing her fingers as the nightgown rippled and shifted back into Symbiote Suit for a split second. She was the best burglar in the US, maybe one of if not the best in the world. Her skills allowed her to break in almost anywhere and get out undetected, whether it was billionaires' homes or hideouts of mafia bosses.
But with the Symbiote Suit, she could do it blindfolded. Hell, she could even do it guns a blazing if she wanted to. They wouldn't be able to stop her anyway unless they exploited the Symbiote's weakness to sound. It would be so easy… to take whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted.
No.
She shook her head, letting out a sigh before taking another look at the picture. "I'm sorry dad, but it's not who I am anymore."
However, as she was looking at the picture, she suddenly heard the window open when Peter finally came back. She put the picture frame back in the box and stood up to greet him.
"Hey Peter, did you have fun?"
"Yeah, we played video games and talked about restoring the EMF. How are-" Peter's suit was in the process of shifting into his casual clothes when both him and the suit's transformation process froze. He blinked a few times after noticing Felicia's revealing outfit, clearly not expecting her to wear that. "You…"
Felicia gave him a playful smile and then draped her arms around his neck, before giving him a deep kiss, during which Peter's suit finally completed its transformation into casual clothing. "I'm great actually. Just been acquainting myself with the house and cleaning things up, since you apparently hadn't."
"Yeah, haven't really had the time to do anything at the house… sorry." Peter replied sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. His eyes kept glancing at Felicia's figure, even though he was trying his best not to.
"You like it? I decided to try something… extra special, for my special someone." Felicia said and slowly spun around to show off her curves to him.
"It… uh…" Peter stuttered. "L-looks great... stunning."
"You're so cute." She let out a small laugh and rubbed his cheek. "Come on, let's go to bed. It's been a long night, and we both need to get some rest."
"Yeah, let me just go and brush my teeth." Peter said and kissed her cheek.
That night was the best night of rest he had ever had.
The next morning…
Their morning started the same way as it did for most people. They woke up, made breakfast and talked about what their plans were for the day.
"So, you want to take a few days off as Spider-Man?" Felicia asked curiously.
"Yeah. I think it would be good for me. With Kraven dead I think I can relax for at least a few days. I was thinking that we could unpack everything and clean the entire house, which shouldn't take long." Peter said as he was writing a to-do list.
"Then a date afterwards?" Felicia suggested and leaned her head on his shoulder while reading the list.
"Sure, that sounds nice." He nodded in agreement with a small smile.
"There's this restaurant I think you would really like, it-"
But Felicia was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door. She tilted her head in confusion and looked at Peter for answers.
"Did you expect any visitors today?"
"No, everyone I know usually sends me a text at the very least if they're coming over." Peter replied and stood up, before walking over to the door. Something was definitely off, but his Spider-Sense wasn't telling him that there was any immediate danger. Just… to be cautious.
His hand slowly pulled the handle down and he stepped outside.
"Hello? Who is-" His eyes widened in shock as he saw three Hunters standing outside his door, with more standing around the Hunter truck that was parked just outside his house. "Oh, you made a big mistake coming back here!"
His clothes immediately rippled and morphed into the Symbiote Suit, letting out a growl of anger as he glared at the Hunters. Were they back for revenge? Maybe. It didn't matter. If they were going to try and ruin his morning, then they had another thing coming.
"WAIT!" The Hunter in the middle of the trio held up his hands in surrender, with the other two quickly following suit. It suddenly occurred to Spider-Man that the Hunters were all… unarmed? "We are not here to fight!"
He tilted his head, clearly confused by the whole thing. But his thoughts were quickly interrupted when the door swung open, and Felicia stepped out. She had heard the commotion and wondered what was going on.
"Peter, is-" She had about the same reaction as Peter when she noticed the Hunters, changing her clothes into her Symbiote Suit with a hiss. But before she could attack, Peter held out his hand in front of her.
"Hold on. It doesn't seem like they're here to fight, and my Spider-Sense isn't going off. I… think I would like to hear them out at least." Peter said and slowly allowed the suit to shift back into his casual clothes. The Hunters already knew where he lived, so there really was no point in concealing his identity. Not that they ever really cared about it. "So… why are you here? What do you want? Revenge?"
The Hunter in the middle, the captain of the squad, stepped forward. "No, not revenge. Like I said, we are not here to fight. We're actually here to give you something, Spider."
"What?" Neither Peter nor Felicia certainly expected this.
The Hunter reached into his pocket and held out an envelope for Peter. "Here. It's Kraven's will."
"Huh?" Peter reached out and carefully grabbed the envelope before taking a closer look at it. After taking a moment to examine the envelope, he looked back at the Hunter. "But why me? Shouldn't it go to someone in his family?"
"Everyone in his family is dead." The Hunter replied. "He told us that his will would be delivered to whoever would be able to slay him in battle. And you did that, Spider."
"Okay…" Peter replied awkwardly, feeling a bit uncomfortable after they so casually brought up him killing Kraven. It was still a reminder of how he broke his number one rule. He gave the captain an awkward glance and then opened the envelope, before reading the will inside.
Felicia stood behind Peter, wrapping her arms around his waist as she looked over his shoulder and read the will with him. But the more of its content they read, the more their eyes widened. Once they had both finished reading, all they could do was stare at each other in disbelief.
Peter looked at the captain as he couldn't believe what he just read. "I'm inheriting everything Kraven owned, including control over the Hunters?! Because I killed him?"
"Yes, that is correct." The Hunter captain nodded.
"His fortune, his company… everything?"
"Everything." The captain nodded again, then got down on one knee, with the rest of the Hunter squad following suit. "We are now under your command."
Peter blinked several times and ran a hand through his hair, clearly overwhelmed by this revelation. Not only was he rich now, but he also had the very army he had been fighting for days if not weeks at his beck and call now.
"Do you have any orders for us?" The captain asked and looked up at his new leader.
The vigilante snapped out of his thoughts and immediately tried to think of the best course of action here. The army that had been terrorizing his city was now under his command, so with this new power he could stop them from ever causing trouble again.
"Do you still have that old manor as your main base?" Peter asked.
"Yes, we do."
"Then try and purchase it legally, withdraw all Hunters from any hideouts in the city to that place and fix it up. That will be all for now, I'm going to need time to plan the rest."
"Understood. We'll return at once and send out the order." The captain responded and rounded up the rest of the Hunters, before taking the truck back to the base.
After the Hunters had left the neighborhood, Peter and Felicia just stood still for a while, still shocked by the sudden revelation.
"I guess that date is going to have to wait?" Felicia said as they both stared blankly forward.
"Yeah, looks like it." He replied, before they went back inside.
They had a lot of work and planning ahead of them.
One week later…
After properly assessing everything Peter had inherited from Kraven, he decided to start his own organization called the "Spider Foundation". It was like the EMF in the sense that it was meant to help people, but in a different way. The Spider Foundation would work alongside the New York City police, both by providing them with highly advanced technology and training, but the Hunters would also act as a task force for when facing supervillains.
He did announce the organization to the public in a press conference, which was met with mixed responses. Some people were happy that the police would get the support they needed and keep the city safe, while others thought the Hunters all should be arrested. While Spidey did agree that it was what they deserved, it certainly wouldn't be a wise decision.
As he told the public, the Hunters would either just break out or cause too much trouble for whoever was keeping them contained. Having them help keep the city safe was a better option for everyone, which a lot of people could agree on, even though they were still skeptical of the whole thing. At the very least the authorities seemed on board with it, most likely due to the millions of dollars they've had to spend on repairs after what various supervillains have done to the city.
If it was one thing everyone could agree on, it was that the Hunters were effective at capturing and containing supervillains. So now they would repay their debt to the city by using their skills for a good cause. Not that they cared about the greater good, but they knew that this city would provide them with worthy prey to hunt.
However, one of the people who was not happy about this was Miles. Thanks to his accelerated healing and the tender care of his mother, he had been able to walk and even start swinging again in just a few days. His body was still sore, but nothing he couldn't handle.
His mind on the other hand was not doing as well.
Ever since his beatdown, he had been having nightmares of Peter turning evil. In those nightmares he sometimes killed his villains, sometimes he was controlling the city by giving everyone Symbiotes, but in the worst ones he let everything burn. And even though they were only nightmares and not that realistic, they still haunted Miles.
And after the announcement of the Spider Foundation, he decided that he had to take Peter down. He didn't think that Peter would willingly work with the Hunters, there was no way, right? Miles knew he had to take Peter down and separate him from the Symbiote, no matter what.
But he knew that he could never beat Peter head-on. It became clear as day in their fight that if it wasn't for the bell, then he would still have gotten that beatdown even if Felicia didn't show up. He needed an edge, so he asked Ganke for help.
At first Ganke was unsure about it, since in his eyes there was no need to take Peter down, not yet at the very least. But Miles was his best friend, so he would help him.
He did some digging and hacked into Oscorp's top secret files regarding anything related to Symbiotes, which led to him making a shocking discovery. About two years after the arrival of the first Symbiote had been discovered by Oscorp, another one landed on Earth. This one was red, and there were plans on testing it on Harry to see if it would further improve Harry's condition. However, after it became clear that the red Symbiote was way more violent than the black one after testing it, it was locked away to never be used again.
Well, until someone stole it. Before he got busy with Kraven and his Hunters, Peter and Yuri, who was now a vigilante by the name of Wraith, were investigating a cult called "The Flame". After some further digging, Ganke discovered that they had stolen the red Symbiote and planned on using it to further their twisted agendas. Luckily, he also managed to figure out where their hideout was.
So now Miles was heading over to the hideout with the intent of stopping the leader for good, as well as stealing the Symbiote. When Ganke asked what Miles was going to do with it he seemed hesitant to answer, but eventually just answered "research". It was weird, but again, he trusted his friend.
The Flame was currently holed up in an old warehouse, so Miles made quick work of the henchmen that were guarding the place and made his way to the leader's personal quarters. He came in from one of the vents, quietly crawling across the ceiling until he spotted him. When he did, he slowly lowered himself from the ceiling on a web, being sneaky as… well, a spider.
The leader, who called himself "The Flame" (it was unclear if he named the cult after himself or the other way around), was holding up the symbiote's container above his head. He was looking up at it with maniacal glee, laughing to himself as he thought about all the things he could accomplish with this.
"And when the Crimson Hour rolls over this earth, it shall bring truth, judgment… and carnage."
He laughed maniacally, but his laughter was suddenly replaced by shock and surprise when a web suddenly grabbed the container and yanked it out of his grip. The Flame looked at his empty hands, then turned around to see Miles holding the container in one arm, much to his dismay.
"The Fool's Beacon? No, this c-can't be! You're the other spider! I didn't prophesize this! This was not supposed to happen!" The Flame was overwhelmed with emotions, with the strongest one being the rage of a madman. But before he could reach for the nearest weapon he was suddenly webbed to the wall.
"Well, you better get a new hobby then. You should try yoga, I've heard it's good for both the mind and body." Miles quipped and did a two-finger salute before swinging his way out of the building. "Ganke, tell the police that the Flame has been stopped, and their leader can be arrested."
"Will do." Ganke replied over the comms.
Miles swung and zipped through the city with one arm around the container, keeping it neatly secured as he got to the top of a building in his neighborhood. He turned his head and looked at the sun as it began to set on the horizon, changing the colors of the sky to a mix of gold and orange.
As a gust of wind passed by, Miles contemplated whether or not he was making the right decision. This could end badly, but he had no choice. Not if he wanted to stop Peter.
"Hey Miles, where are you? Didn't you say that you were going to bring the Symbiote so we could study it?" Ganke asked.
Miles sighed. He had lied to his best friend, and even though he hated it, it was for the greater good. "I'm sorry Ganke, but I have to do this. It's the only way I can stop Peter."
"Miles? What are you doing?" But when Ganke heard the sound of the container opening, a dark realization dawned on him. "MILES, NO!"
Miles took a deep breath as the red blob of tendrils covered his body, morphing into a red suit with a black spider symbol on its chest.
"M-Miles…?" Ganke stammered, fearing for the safety of his friend.
"No… not Miles. Not anymore." A dark voice replied, something… that wasn't human. What was usually a flat surface on the mask opened, forming a mouth with a twisted smile, filled with two rows of sharp fangs that only made it look even more terrifying.
"I… am… Carnage."
Kept you waiting, huh? Heya. Sorry for the wait. Why did it take so long for me to write this chapter? Well…
Truth to be told, I have lost my motivation to keep working on this story. Shocker, I know. I'm sorry, but I'm just nowhere near as interested in this story as I was when I first started. If I was, then this chapter would have been finished in a month, maybe two at most. Another reason why it took so long to write was because most of the content in this chapter is completely original, stuff I came up with on my own. The Kraven fight was mostly the same as in the game with the only difference being that Venom was bonded with Peter instead of Harry. So that was something I also struggled with. Anyway, I got more stuff to talk about, but for now let us get to the reviews.
Dustinmelton18: Story has been pretty cool so far. Like others have said, it's rare to find fanfiction with Peter and Felicia and even rarer to find on with Peter and the symbiote staying together.
One thing I can add though is try to develop Felicia more as a character more than just keep her as Peter's new love interest. So far she seems to show up to either A) be a good girlfriend or B) keep Venom in check.
Maybe try and give her some screen time alone to develop her by herself. Maybe give her a moment of temporary relapse to crime and then have Peter and Venom remind her that she's a better person now.
Just something to think about
Thanks man. And yes, I know, Felicia hasn't really gotten her moments. I know I should have given her that, but other than the scene where she looks at the picture of her father, I just had no other ideas for that. I'm sorry.
Ciel Binns: Ngl u almost had me with the suit separation. At one point during the fight I thought Peter would have went full venom especially with the way he was beating Kraven and Miles. I look forward to the next chapter
It would have been a bit early for him to go full Venom then and there, and I felt that he needed some kind of emotional trigger to do that. Which in this case, was Felicia almost dying. Hope you like how it turned out.
Gortuh: One of my favorites ff about Peter x Felicia, and set on Insomniac Universe too. I love it.
Thanks man, I'm glad you like it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
J0ker st0ry: Bald Spider-Man got bro tweaking
Yeah, because several people suggested it and I think it's stupid. I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but I think it's stupid. Let's leave it at that and move on.
Guest: Damn, this got REALLY serious. I like it.
That's the idea, I'm glad you liked it.
Geek4Life: I bet Peter's going to really regret this when he comes to his senses
Hm? He is at his senses.
Teller-Story: I'm a little surprised that Felicia didn't admonish him even just a little bit over what just happened.
Miles was hurting her lover even though he begged for the pain to stop, so what did you expect her to do?
Farhan Akhtar: Finally, you decided to update. The only thing I didn't like was the part where Peter at the end beaten miles like that or threatening him that way, though I do understand his anger.
Also, Don't make venom evil please. Peter and Venom comes to an understanding. You can also show their banter ya know like the Live Action Venom and Eddie. You are the author your choice.
No MJ great. Chefs kiss for you. There are so many great women for Spidey like Gwen, Felicia, Silver Sable, Jessica, Carol, Betty, Angelica, Kitty and the list goes on.
I am tired of MJ and her Stans who are as toxic as Chlois Stans and West-Allen Stans. They think that MJ is some angel and very perfect for Peter.
Though I don't like Insomniac Felicia. She lied to Peter about having a son. 616 and 90s TAS version Black Cat are the best version.
Well, here you go. Venom isn't evil. And I agree that Peter should be shipped with other women than MJ, hence why this story exists in the first place. But I also agree that Felicia lying about them having a son was a pretty shitty move, so I hope she made up for it in this story. I don't know if you guys agree, if not, then give me suggestions on how I could have handled it differently.
J0ker st0ry: I really hope that Peter dosnt become Venom ive always hated the shitty concept of Spider-Venom it made zero sense to me instead i hope that this story puts some development into him and make him into a character and the reason for this being possible is due to Peter and Felicia acknowledging him and treating him as a living being, in canon no one did even after peter found out it was alive he still called it a suit and Harry only saw it as a mean to get cured and 'heal the worldin his early time with venom later venom just took full control of him) and in the final battle Peter and miles was trying to kill it which again shows that they didn't se it as a living being in Venoms pov (probably) but in this story he is seen as a living being by Peter which is importent because it can be the first host who sees him this way maybe like in the venom war comic were Venom reminisces and recalls how his first host also saw him as a tool for war maybe its the same here were venoms planet sents him out to conquer planets becaus they see him as a tool due to how strong he is with the wings and creating symbiotes by himself and all but due to how Peter and felicia treats him as a living being giving him a change of heart and makes him instead want to make peter the best possible spiderman in his pov, it can explain with how venom seemed so chill with felicia last chapter but hated mj (taking away the saber taser and all) maye you can show this with a Venom pov chapter maybe...maybe.
And instead maybe make the final big boss carnage or hell maybe make Venom planet come get his as they sensed somehow that he had abounded them to be with Peter instead of doing his mission and maybe throw miles,Mj and ganke maybe they expose Peters identity or smth to make him take off the symbiote (no idea how that ould play out or make sense but whatever)
Sorry i rambled a little its just Venom has so much potentiol in this story to be more than just some boring Planet conquering parasit with o character at all
Woah, that's a lot of words there buddy. Well, you got your wish granted. Venom isn't evil and Carnage is the final boss. If I do continue this story then I will explore Venom more as his own entity and not just an extra layer to Peter's subconscious, but the keyword here is "if".
Carlo02: Hello man,you're doing an incredible job with the story. I like how some things don't really change from the canon(and it's fine that way) but you tweaked the story in many points that I didn't really like in the canon story.
Felicia in this universe truly has changed for the best, making a relationship with Pete entirely possible and this makes romance in SM2 so much better than what we got in canon.
Keep up the great work dude, I can't wait to read the story's end.
Thank you so much, the support is appreciated. It's comments like this that motivated me to actually completing the chapter.
Wolfofthesnow95: This is so good.
Thank you!
PrimeZero: This story is so good. Looking forward to the next one.
Well, here it is! I hope it was worth the wait.
Guest: I wonder...should the Rhino appear in this too?
I mean, if Mysterio and Tombstone got redeemed then maybe the Rhino could too. Especially now that he's free of Roxxon's control. Spider-man and friends could help him out of his suit and get him a more suitable one like the suit he has in the comics, one he can enter and remove at will.
Um, it's been a while since I watched anyone play the Miles Morales game, but I'm pretty sure the Tinkerer killed Rhino. Even if Rhino is still alive, I didn't plan on including him. Sorry.
Fail-Seeker: I wonder, will Tombstone and Mysterio turn up to help the heroes? Being the redeemed individuals they are.
Hell, I would have loved to see Rhino among them; especially after he was broken free from Roxxon's control.
I might include Tombstone and Mysterio, but like I said in the previous reply there will be no Rhino.
Guest: amazing can't wait for chapter 5
Thank you.
guest421: love this story can't wait for chapter 5
Here it is!
Teller-Story: Will Eddie Brock get involved somehow?
He might play a small role or make a cameo, but that's about it. Either that or he won't be included.
Guest7213: When is the next chapter coming
[Insert chapter release date here]
Doodleboy565: Apologies for not checking out this story sooner, but despite its length, I enjoyed the first chapter quite a bit. The character interactions - based on my prior knowledge of Spider-Man - were pretty well done, in my opinion, especially Peter and Felicia/Black Cat's. I'm not sure if you're intending to have them get back together, but if they do, I can definitely see how Felicia would try to win back his heart in a sense. I'm wondering what problems that would cause with MJ, though.
I also enjoyed the fight scenes involving the Hunters and Kraven itself. You managed to incorporate Peter's Symbiote abilities in an interesting, engaging way so far. I'm looking forward to seeing how else you'll use it based on the game's events or something original entirely.
My main criticisms for the chapter are mainly directed towards the opening narration and some minor grammatical errors that I took notice of. Apart from that, this was a good way to open the story. Looking forward to reading the next three chapters.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter. As for the opening narration, I was split on whether I wanted to include it or not. But since some people come across fanfics and are not familiar with the source material, I decided to include it just in case. But in hindsight I think I would have been better off without it.
Doodleboy565: This was another good chapter. Once again, I think you handled all of the character interactions pretty well. Peter and Harry genuinely felt like best friends, so they were the highlight of this chapter for me, to be honest. I like how you gave you some small moments between Peter and Felicia too, especially that one scene where they held hands at Doctor Connors' house.
The fight scenes were pretty well-written too. I like how you're putting extra emphasis on the Symbiote's weakness to sound, and how it's affecting Peter's current emotional state.
Admittedly, I didn't care too much for the Miles and Ganke scenes, but they weren't bad at all. I even enjoyed Miles' brief moment with Hailey, his future girlfriend, quite a bit. It was a nice touch to depict her dialogue through parentheses since she's deaf and can only speak through ASL.
I'm looking forward to reading the next two chapters.
I'm glad you liked this one as well, it means a lot coming from a great writer like you. As for the Miles and Ganke part, I could have probably just cut to Peter and Felicia arriving at the scene, but I felt like the reader could have been a little lost if I did.
Doodleboy565: This was another good chapter. The chase with the Lizard went on a bit long in places, but Peter and Felicia's fight against him was still decently written. Involving Kraven and the Hunters also made things more intense.
Dr. Connors also being afraid of the Symbiote/Venom's influence on Peter was also in-character. It's in-line with how the original Black Suit Saga went in the comics (with Peter being eventually becoming exhausted due to the Symbiote taking control of him at night). I didn't expect it to be called Venom so early on, though, but that might be something the Spider-Man 2 game included.
I do like Felicia and Peter's interactions together too. However, despite the kiss being a nice thing to include after 2-3 chapters of buildup, I still feel a bit weird about it. Peter and Mary Jane are still together, so I feel like he should have been more hesitant about reciprocating Felicia's feelings, even if she has moved on from her ex-girlfriend. To me, Mary Jane feels like a victim in this whole situation for no reason. I wouldn't be surprised if she breaks up with him soon, because Peter is 100% in the wrong here for lying to her about Felicia's involvement with his activities as Spider-Man.
I don't know. I don't mind Felicia/Peter as a couple, but it might have been better to just end Mary Jane and Peter romantic relationship before anything happened. Apart from that, though, I liked the Venom Symbiote going berserk near the end and Miles' fight against the Hunters.
Looking forward to reading the next chapter.
I wasn't sure how to handle Peter's and MJ's relationship in the story since I needed to break them up somehow, but I wasn't sure of how to do it. In hindsight I should have just made it so that they were already broken up and just friends before Felicia came back, which feels like such an obvious solution when I think about it. Ugh, why was I so dumb?
Doodleboy565: Welp, looks I'm caught up with the story now. Chapter 4 was also pretty solid, but I'd say it's my least favorite compared to the others. I feel Mary Jane's breakup with Peter could have been handled better, considering the fact that he kissed Felicia twice and lied about her helping him out as Spider-Man. Although I understand why Peter would be angry about the article, he still wasn't that good of a boyfriend to her (it was pretty jarring that he didn't even think of how she was doing while in Felicia's apartment, for example). I hope you'll be able to include a scene where Peter apologizes to her and they can be friends again, at least.
Peter's confrontation with Kraven and Miles was also decent to me. It was probably similar to the events of the game, but I still think you described everything, from the fight against Miles to Peter's pain, pretty well. It makes me curious what Peter and Felicia will be doing together going forward. There's a chance Kraven's death from the game could be changed perhaps.
Overall, it's been a while since I've read an actual Spider-Man fanfic, so in spite of its flaws, I had a good time reading this. I'm looking forward to Chapter 5, whenever you decide to post it. Same goes for your other fanfiction ideas as well. :)
Yep, I definitely could have handled it better if I hadn't been so STUPID. Anyway, I'm glad you've enjoyed the story so far. I hope you liked chapter 5.
Guest: The story is absolutely amazing. I love the interaction between venom and Felician how they're both developing as characters. I really am looking forward to seeing how the story progresses, and I hope that you continue to make content for the story even after the events of the game are over.
Well… now I'm unsure if I'm even going to continue this story at all. More on that in a bit. Thank you for the kind words though.
Abditive Sun: This was a really good read. I hope to be able to read more when your passion for the story strikes up again, and I hope you continue to share your ideas.
Good timing, you posted this just as I was finishing this chapter. Lucky you. And I hope you liked this chapter too.
Wow, that was a lot of reviews. I guess that's what happens when I don't upload any chapters for half a year. Like I said, I have lacked the motivation to continue this story, and I only really finished it because of the support from you guys and because I had already written like 7 k words when I was still somewhat motivated.
Could some scenes have been more detailed? Yes. Did some characters act weird or say weird things? Maybe. Could Carnage have used more buildup? Probably. But frankly, I just wanted all of the ideas I had for this chapter written down so I could share it with you guys.
Unfortunately, this story will be put on hold unless I really get in a Spider-Man mood. Maybe if enough people tell me to keep going then I might write what could be the last chapter for this story, MAYBE. Maybe. But in the meantime, I'm going to start writing a Fairy Tail fanfic I have been really excited to work on for a while now. I haven't just been lazing around guys, I have been watching Fairy Tail. All of it, including the filler. All so I could write a fanfic of it. It took me five months to finish, but damn was it worth it. I can't wait to get started! Also, just to remind you, the link to my Patron profile can be found on my profile here. You don't need to support me there, but you can if you want. Up to you.
Anyway, that's all for now. Until next time guys, take care.