As Nolan delved deeper into his symbiote research, he began to realize just how much of a goldmine they were no wonder Knull designed them as his tools for cosmic conquest.
Originally, he'd only noticed Riot's more robust genetic armory compared to the other symbiotes. But now, after dissecting the data further, he saw clearly Riot possessed a significantly higher number of adaptable genes.
"A leadership template... Riot's structure is more like a command module, one that can pass its genetic dominance to future hosts. Venom, by contrast, feels more like a mutation."
Purebloods and mutates within the symbiote lineage?
Back in the real world, Nolan sealed the shredded remains of four dissected symbiotes within the Mirror Dimension, their twisted forms suspended in spatial stasis.
He had all the template data he needed.
"No wonder Knull was called a god," he muttered, recording every piece of data into his personal logbook.
"Al, begin the gamma irradiation sequence. Direct it at me."
A green pulse washed over Nolan as gamma rays bathed his body. What once would have been fatal now felt like a surge of Gatorade his strength returning instantly.
To him, gamma exposure was just fuel now.
"Run the analysis. Is it possible to merge the mimic genes from the Morph-type DNA with the symbiote strain?"
The term "symbiote" here didn't just refer to Venom it meant the genetic base shared by all Klyntar.
"Processing..." Al responded, its synthetic voice calm while its servers worked overtime.
Both gene sets were unstable and volatile. Finding a point of compatibility would take massive computational power. Nolan could do it himself, but why waste the effort?
That's what Al was for.
While Al ran the simulations, Nolan shifted to reviewing a text on Astral Magic that the Ancient One once taught Strange: where the soul trains while the body sleeps.
Not that Nolan ever needed sleep anymore.
Still, he understood the value of soul-based combat. Especially against powerhouses like Hulk or Red Giant—beasts with indestructible bodies but frail spiritual resistance.
Astral attacks? They were tailor-made to tear through such defenses.
Suddenly, a digital ping echoed.
DING. "Multiple flagged entities converging," Al reported. The company's AI surveillance unit code-named Nightmare had detected a spike.
All of New York was under soft surveillance. Key phrases. Energy patterns. Facial IDs. Any irregularity triggered a silent alert.
Nolan had specifically flagged Life Foundation since Venom's Spider-Man variant helped expose them.
And now? The data pointed to a convergence.
The screen lit up. A battle in the middle of Queens.
On one side Captain and most of the Avengers, minus Wanda.
On the other hooded figures cloaked in black, wielding eldritch energy.
"Dark sorcerers?" Nolan narrowed his eyes.
Just then, a glowing Sling Ring portal opened beside him, and Mordo stepped through. "There's a disturbance. Someone's trying to breach the Dark Dimension. The wards in New York are under siege."
Nolan glanced at the live footage. The Avengers were holding their own, but barely.
"These are Kaecilius' cultists," Mordo growled. "They're attempting to sacrifice civilians likely a ritual to weaken the Sanctum's barrier."
"Nightmare. Location."
"Queens. Prine Avenue..." A string of coordinates appeared on the screen.
"I'll go. Open a portal once I'm there," Nolan said, striding toward the lab's window.
"Magic?" He smirked. "This... is science."
Silver panels shot from Oscorp's towers, magnetically locking onto him midair. His custom-built armor assembled itself as he fell, locking into place with a click as the visor dropped.
Targeting systems activated. HUD pinged.
With a sonic crack, Nolan hit Mach speed, tearing across the skyline like a missile.
Meanwhile, in Queens...
"Damn it! What are these things!?" Rogers roared, deflecting a barrage of black tendrils with his shield. Beside him, Black Panther and Hawkeye fought with grim determination.
They were used to enhance threats.
Not shadowy sorcerers hurling curses and voidfire.
Cap grimaced, thinking not about the fight but the political fallout. The Superhuman Registration Act was already a mess, and now the military wanted control back. He didn't have time for demonic incursions.
Then came Falcon's message: "There's a ritual civilians at risk. We're moving in."
They hadn't expected cultists to invoke the Dark Dimension.
Five hooded figures. Six civilians, bound and unconscious.
Cap rushed in— and quickly realized these weren't Hydra. Or AIM. Or even Ultron bots.
"I've seen energy weapons," Cap growled. "Red Skull's tech. Wanda. Vision. But this..."
These cultists only whispered and entire structures warped.
They couldn't even get close.
"Where's Wanda?" Hawkeye shouted, lobbing explosive arrows in desperate arcs.
"She's in deep meditation. At Oscorp. Can't be disturbed!" someone shouted back.
"Of course she is," Falcon muttered, switching his arsenal to laser-mode and blasting one of the mages back.
"Any friendly assets nearby?"
"Skye. She's running an op in Queens."
"Quake? Her sonic powers might be our best shot!"
Cap blocked another spell. "Call her in. We'll hold the line until then."
The battle was far from over.
But help was coming. And this time, science and sorcery would fight side by side.
[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