The massive, mutated Venom roared — a deep, guttural sound that made the very pavement tremble. Its grotesque bulk slammed down the street, smashing through wrecked cars and crumbling walls like a living freight train. Tendrils lashed out in all directions, each one tipped with barbed spikes, oozing with toxic sludge.
Peter flipped in midair, dodging a swipe that shattered a streetlight behind him. "Yup, definitely bigger. Also faster. Why is it faster?!"
"Less talking, more stalling!" Dave shouted, sweat beading on his brow as he focused on keeping Shed restrained. His magic net glowed brighter, pulsing as the symbiote within writhed and screeched, still resisting.
Peter zipped past the monster's shoulder and launched a barrage of explosive webs. "Hey ugly! You wanna wreck something? Try me!"
The blasts exploded on impact, burning patches of the symbiote and making it rear back with an enraged howl. But instead of backing off, it surged forward with renewed fury, slamming both fists into the ground.
A shockwave rippled outward.
Peter lost his footing mid-swing, tumbling through the air. He twisted and barely managed to catch a lamppost with a webline, swinging around to safety just in time.
Dave, eyes locked on the creature, growled through gritted teeth. "This thing's pumping out raw negative energy. I need to cut it off from the ambient mana before it feeds off my spell!"
With a wave of his hand, he summoned a glowing rune circle in the sky above the monster. "Mana Severance: Zone Null!"
A ripple of distortion dropped over the monster like an invisible dome. The tendrils froze momentarily, pulsing slower, as the link to ambient mana was severed.
Peter landed beside him, panting. "Nice move! But I don't think it liked that."
The monster screamed again — this time with rage and pain — and its form began to shift. Dozens of eyes opened across its chest. Its jaw split in three directions, revealing row upon row of jagged fangs.
Peter stared. "Okay. That's just gross."
"Focus!" Dave snapped. "If I can drain its core essence, we can end this—"
The monster lunged.
Before either of them could move, a massive tendril smashed into the street where they stood, sending debris flying. Peter tackled Dave mid-spell, yanking them both away from the blast zone.
"You okay?!" Peter asked.
"Yeah," Dave muttered, coughing. "Spell broke, but I've got enough mana for one last shot."
Peter looked at him, eyes narrowing. "Then let's go big. Hit it hard. I'll distract it—you hit it with everything you've got."
Dave stood, brushing dust off his coat. "Big finish?"
"Big finish."
Peter swung back into the fray, taunting the beast with precision strikes, zipping around its limbs, dodging and weaving. "Come on, you overgrown hairball! You want me? COME GET ME!"
The monster shrieked and charged.
Dave stood firm, hands glowing bright gold, forming a new seal — more complex, more unstable.
"Mana Compression: Core Spear."
A golden spear formed in his hand, radiating heat and arcane force. Runes danced along its length.
"Peter!" Dave called out. "NOW!"
Peter flipped backward in the air, just as the monster reared back to strike—leaving its core exposed for the briefest instant.
Dave hurled the spear.
It tore through the air like a comet, colliding dead-center with the creature's chest. The impact was cataclysmic—a burst of golden light engulfed the street as the spear detonated, sending shockwaves in all directions.
The creature let out one final, earsplitting roar… then collapsed into itself, the corrupted symbiote melting away into nothing but twitching sludge.
Silence.
Peter coughed, stepping through the smoke. "Tell me that was the last one."
Dave dropped to one knee, exhausted. "That was all I had."
They looked over—Shed was unconscious but breathing, still bound in glowing chains.
From behind them, a quinjet roared overhead. Reinforcements were finally arriving.
Peter glanced at Dave and smirked. "You know… you're not bad for a magic guy."
Dave chuckled, eyes closing for a moment. "And you're not bad for a bug."
"I guess we're late," suddenly someone said, landing beside Dave.
Without turning, Dave glanced at him and nodded. "Yep, you're Iron Fist," he added as the rest of the team touched down.
"Though I can't say you're entirely late—we beat them down, tied them up, and held the line, their transport securely is still pending" he said, standing up slowly. "You guys might want to get in next time before it gets that crazy."
Behind him, Iron Fist, White Tiger, and Power Man stepped forward, surveying the damage.
White Tiger narrowed her eyes at the wrecked street, the melted symbiote sludge, and the still-glowing chains binding Shed.
"Looks like you had a party without us," she said, crossing her arms.
Peter landed beside Dave, brushing off bits of concrete. "Yeah, sorry—we didn't send out invites. Things got a little... tentacly."
Power Man stared at the smoldering crater where the massive Venom creature had fallen. "Okay, what hit that thing? A tank? A missile?"
Dave held up a hand, mana still faintly flickering around his fingers. "Magic spear. Compressed core energy. Nearly passed out doing it, but it worked."
Iron Fist nodded approvingly. "That was good work. Strategic, clean, and effective."
"Clean?" Peter raised a brow, gesturing to the trail of destruction. "You and I have very different standards for clean."
"Still," White Tiger said, stepping forward, "you held the line with just the two of you? That's impressive."
"Let's leave. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s cleanup team will handle the rest," she added, watching as both Shed and the remains of the monstrous Venom were restrained and loaded onto the waiting Quinjets.
"I guess… no matter the world, the Marvel Universe is full of crazies," Dave muttered as he followed the others toward the Quinjet.
For the rest of his time there, the days were intense. Every day a new villain emerged, threatening to crush the big city. Spider-Man fought them, delaying and disabling them, while Dave fought by his side—shoulder to shoulder.
And through it all, something kept weighing on Dave: this was the last day for this body he could use.
"So… you're really leaving?" Peter asked quietly, as the others gathered around.
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