~Yo! We've hit 200 Powerstones, here's your Bonus Chapter as promised!
~Next milestone: 300 Powerstones! Let's keep the momentum going!
As soon as A.E.L.R. alerted him to the Life Foundation's activities, Nolan didn't hesitate.
He launched from Oscorp's rooftop, a sonic boom trailing in his wake, soaring above the city like a crimson comet. He followed the only other figure racing toward the West Coast Spider-Man.
Except this wasn't Peter in his usual red-and-blue. His suit was black. Organic. Pulsing.
Nolan narrowed his eyes. Venom.
A few moments later, Nolan sensed something behind him and turned.
A familiar red-and-gold blur was closing in fast.
'Of course' Nolan thought. 'Was he tailing me the whole time?'
Magnetic pulses rippled out from his glove, disturbing nearby electronics.
Back at Stark Tower, Friday's voice rang through Tony's private lab.
"Sir, Dr. Nolan has left Oscorp. He's following Spider-Man."
Tony, who'd been mid-sentence during a meeting about the Illuminati, snapped to attention. "Peter?"
Friday's voice lowered. "Mr. Parker's behavior has changed. His personality's grown erratic. Surveillance indicates his suit has turned black organic in nature. He's also been purchasing large quantities of live chickens."
Tony frowned. That wasn't just odd it was symbiotic.
Footage on-screen showed Spider-Man no longer just webbing criminals. He was breaking bones. Hospitalizing people. He looked... unstable.
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"Friday. I'm suiting up."
The glass wall of his penthouse split open with a hiss of decompression. The wind roared through the tower.
Tony dashed forward off the ledge just as a fleet of gold-and-crimson micro-drones locked onto him mid-air.
They latched to his limbs, torso, and spine, forming plates and repulsor nodes.
Within seconds, Iron Man launched into the sky.
He caught up with Nolan moments later.
"Warning: Magnetic interference detected," Friday chimed in his HUD.
"Countering with anti-EMP stabilization," Tony muttered. "Running anti-Magneto protocols."
He'd been preparing for this. Ever since he met Charles Xavier, Tony had quietly developed contingency armor.
One for mutants with magnetic manipulation.
He hadn't finished the first. But the second?
Well, it was designed for Magneto—and now it was coming in handy against Nolan.
"Magnetism, huh?" Tony said aloud, flying alongside him. "Didn't peg you for the 'Master of Metal' type."
Nolan glanced sideways. "Didn't peg you for a stalker."
"I made a promise to his aunt," Tony snapped. "If Peter's in danger, I have a right to step in."
"And what if he's the danger?" Nolan challenged.
Tony paused, remembering the footage. Remembering Peter's fists. The broken limbs. The screams.
"...What's happening to him?"
"Keep up, Stark," Nolan said. "You'll see for yourself."
Meanwhile, at the Life Foundation
In a sealed observation chamber, weapons were trained on a homeless test subject trembling inside a glass lab.
Behind the control window stood Carlton Drake, the Life Foundation's founder and CEO.
Polished. Smiling. Ruthless.
Just days ago, he'd told the world he'd discovered a "microbial miracle" a substance that could heal bones instantly.
He hadn't mentioned it was alien. Or alive.
"Still no sign of Venom?" Drake asked, eyes narrowing.
"We've located him," a lab tech replied. "He's bonded with someone. Spider-Man."
"...You're telling me my property has attached itself to an Avenger?"
"Yes, sir. And there's no known way to extract it."
Drake's fist clenched.
"He's not untouchable. Not when I'm finished. Begin the fusion trial. Prepare the Riot symbiote."
"But sir—Spider-Man is backed by Stark. The Avengers—"
"I don't care! Once I perfect my own symbiote enhancements, I'll crush Iron Man like scrap metal!"
He turned toward the containment unit.
Inside, silver liquid slithered like a living mass. The Riot symbiote is aggressive, unstable, and immensely powerful.
"Do it," Drake ordered.
They complied. The chamber hissed open. The fluid surged forward, smashing into the terrified test subject.
"No—please! I didn't sign up for this—!"
The silver goo wrapped around him forced itself into his body and clawed at his mouth.
Screams filled the lab.
The man convulsed, slammed against the walls, and collapsed—dead.
The symbiote slithered back out, unharmed.
"Failure," someone muttered.
Drake scowled. "Useless."
Just then, alarms blared.
"Sir," said Eddie from security, "we've got incoming. Spider-Man. The black-suited one. He's tearing through the east wing!"
Drake's eyes widened as live footage appeared on-screen.
Venom-Spider-Man was moving like a demon, webbing guards to walls and breaking through titanium doors.
"Damn it," Drake hissed. "Fine. Prep the chamber. I'll do it myself."
"You're not ready—!" a scientist objected.
"Dr. Dora Skirth left!" another shouted. "We haven't even calibrated the serum—!"
Drake stormed into the fusion chamber.
He wasn't going to be shown up by some masked kid.
Especially not one wearing his symbiote.
Not after what Riot did.
This time, he would bond.
And this time, he would win.
[Support with 100 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter]
For early access to advanced Chapters on p@treon:
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!q