"She's regenerating fast," Dave muttered, stepping back. "We need to separate her from the symbiote."
"Working on it!" Peter fired off a rapid volley of web shots laced with mini sonic charges. The moment they made contact, pop-pop-pop!—bursts of sound sent shockwaves through the symbiote, making it screech and falter.
Shed stumbled, her form flickering as part of the suit peeled off. For a moment, her real face surfaced beneath the writhing black layer—pale, terrified.
"Help… me…"
But then the symbiote surged back with a vengeance, engulfing her completely again and forming a jagged spear from her arm.
She lunged at Peter.
"Heads up!" Dave shouted, flicking a portal open in front of the spear. It emerged behind Shed and stabbed into her own shoulder. She screamed, stumbling backward.
Peter looked at him. "Okay, that was cool."
"I know," Dave said, breathing hard. "Damn, man, I never felt this weak... is this what Mana deficiency feels like?"
Dave mumbled as he steadied himself, sitting down briefly while he began to refill his mana reserves. A soft, golden glow surrounded him as he drew ambient energy from the world around him, breathing slowly to stabilize.
Meanwhile, Shed, still fully under the control of the rogue symbiote, charged again, roaring louder, angrier.
Peter glanced back at Dave. "Man, I need help!"
"Give me twenty seconds!" Dave called out, gritting his teeth as the glow around him intensified. His magic core spun faster, compressing pure mana into usable force.
Peter didn't wait—he swung in with a double-kick, slamming into Shed's chest and sending her flying backward.
Shed hit the ground hard but bounced back up almost instantly, her symbiote armor twisting and hardening into sharp, jagged spikes along her arms.
Peter landed lightly, eyeing her warily. "She's tougher than she looks!" he said, shooting webs to try and bind her arms.
But Shed flexed, and the symbiote pulsed, shredding through the webbing like wet paper. She lunged at Peter again with a guttural snarl, claws flashing.
Dave, now fully recharged, stepped forward, his hands glowing with pure golden mana.
"Alright, my turn," he said under his breath.
As Shed rushed toward Peter, Dave stomped the ground, forming a magic circle beneath her feet. Bright chains shot up from it, trying to bind her legs. Shed stumbled, snarling, but with a burst of raw symbiote strength, she snapped two of the chains.
Peter flipped backward to avoid her swipe. "Uh, Dave, little more juice, please?!"
Dave grinned. "Fine, I'll crank it up!"
He extended his right hand, forming another circle midair — this one burning with more intensity.
"Mana Bind: Gravity Lock!"
A shimmering force dropped onto Shed like an invisible mountain. She crashed to one knee, roaring in frustration as her body was pinned by the overwhelming magical pressure.
"Now, Spider-Boy!" Dave shouted.
Peter didn't hesitate. He swung a heavy, reinforced web straight into Shed's face, wrapping it several times, then webbed her arms to her sides as she struggled against the combined force of gravity magic and webbing.
For a moment, the area was silent except for Shed's muffled growling.
Dave exhaled, hands dropping. "Whew. That should hold her... for a bit."
Peter looked over at him, panting. "You and me? We make a pretty good team, magic man."
Dave smirked. "Yeah, Spider. Magic and webs — best combo."
Behind them, Shed's symbiote twitched and pulsed, trying to find a weak spot in the bindings.
Dave noticed it and frowned. "Uh... she might break out again. And if that happens, I'm gonna need a serious mana recharge."
Peter sighed. "Great. So... backup plan?"
Dave chuckled. "Yeah. Hit her harder."
The rumble grew louder, like thunder rolling closer.
Peter turned his head, nerves tightening. "Uh, Dave… you hearing that?"
Dave narrowed his eyes, mana flaring lightly in his palms. "Yeah. And it's not good news."
From the far end of the ruined street, a massive black mass surged into view — an even bigger and meaner looking symbiote creature than Shed's.
It was pure muscle, crawling and shifting with black and dark-red tendrils writhing across its body.
Peter's jaw dropped. "That's... definitely not normal Venom."
Dave groaned. "Oh fantastic. A bigger, angrier problem. Just what I needed."
Shed, sensing reinforcements, roared under her bindings, straining harder. Cracks began forming in Dave's magic circle.
Peter leaped beside Dave. "We need a plan. Fast."
Dave cracked his neck. "Alright, new plan: I'll keep gravity-locking Shed. You stall that giant lump of symbiote long enough for me to finish her off."
Peter blinked. "Wait, I stall that thing?! Are you crazy?!"
Dave grinned. "You're Spider-Man. You live for crazy!"
Peter sighed dramatically. "One day, I'll say 'no' to this stuff..." He shot a web and launched himself straight at the incoming monster.
"By the way, where are the others? Why aren't they here?" Dave asked.
Peter looked a little sheepish. "Well, Fury stopped them. He wanted to see your powers firsthand."
Dave rolled his eyes. "I take it back — he's definitely paranoid too."
Spiderman added quickly, "But they're on their way now. Fury sent them after seeing Venom going out of control."
Dave narrowed his eyes. "How do you even lose Venom when he was contained?"
Peter shrugged helplessly. "Dunno! I was sitting with you, remember?" He said, dodging a massive slime tendril that Venom swung at him.
"If we let this thing run wild, it'll wreck the whole city!" Dave muttered, mana swirling in his hand. "Just five cores, huh... I only need a little more core energy to cast the real spell!"
"I have to siphon it from the atmosphere," Dave murmured as he concentrated, standing firm even as the chaos raged around him. Slowly, the ambient mana in the air gathered, shimmering faintly, feeding into the magic core at his center.
All around him, intricate magic circles appeared, forming a glowing network. The energy condensed into a single, massive seal in front of him. With a sharp gesture, Dave aimed it at Shed.
The magic shot out like a net, wrapping around Shed and the Symbiote with stunning speed, binding her tightly in a web of glowing chains.
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