"You all seem pretty close..." The taxi driver noticed Doom's warm interactions with Reed Richards and Ben Grimm. It seemed to remind him of something as he glanced at Doom and said, "When I was younger, I had friends as close as you guys. But, as we got older, we lost touch. You should cherish it..."
"Drive! To the XX Building!" However, before the driver could finish, Doom coldly interrupted him. A chilling gleam flashed in Doom's eyes as he stared at the driver, causing him to instantly shut up and drive silently, though he surely grumbled inwardly.
"Tony Stark? Stark Industries? The Avengers? Hmph! Reed! Don't think you can reach the top in one leap. No matter how smart you are, without me, you're nothing! And given your personality, can you really leave me?" Doom closed his eyes slowly, a cold smile playing on his lips.
Meanwhile, over at Stark Industries, Tony Stark was genuinely surprised that Reed Richards had chosen to continue with his space project instead of joining the Avengers.
"This is interesting. On one hand, their bond seems strong, but then again, that one guy's relationship with the other two isn't that great..." Tony Stark mused, looking out the window with a smile. "But on the other hand, their bond isn't weak enough for Reed Richards to outright refuse to join the Avengers..."
"But, their group won't last long. The smartest one isn't smart enough, and the not-so-smart one is too clever for his own good. It'll fall apart eventually, especially with that one who can see it all too clearly..."
"Jarvis, keep an eye on them. Track who ends up investing in them and monitor their project's progress. It'd be a shame to waste talents who could give us a challenge!" Tony Stark gave the order to Jarvis while quickly suiting up and flying back to the Avengers' base.
For Tony Stark, meeting Reed Richards and his friends today was a rare moment of leisure. After all, even though the Venom issue had been resolved, there were still plenty of tasks awaiting him at the Avengers' base. Without being able to recruit Reed Richards immediately, Stark had to hurry back to help out. The Martian Manhunter might not mind, but Morbius would surely have something snide to say, accusing him of being the real vampire.
Meanwhile, after Venom used the Skrull's genes to completely overcome its weaknesses, it felt a newfound freedom, even taking over Peter Parker's body.
Of course, this was partly because Peter Parker could sense Venom's joy and didn't resist. After all, Peter could understand how Venom felt—it was like a person who had lost an arm suddenly regaining it. The sense of completeness was too satisfying, too exhilarating...
So, Peter allowed Venom to take control for a bit. But who could have predicted that after Venom's moment of happiness, it would decide to seek out Johnny Storm for revenge? Yes, revenge. In Venom's mind, Johnny Storm was an enemy. Countless times before, when Venom was about to display its abilities, Johnny Storm had frightened it back into hiding.
If it were just fire, Venom could handle it by keeping a distance. But Johnny Storm used explosive flames—not only did they burn, but they also exploded with a loud noise, completely suppressing Venom. Venom had to retreat deep within Peter Parker's body, too scared to come out.
Venom had been holding onto this resentment all along, waiting for Tony Stark and the others to find a way to eliminate its weaknesses. Now that its weaknesses were gone, how could Venom not want payback? And Johnny Storm was just the first. After dealing with him, Venom planned to find Hulk, who had nearly killed it and Peter Parker, to truly settle the score!
As for Robert, Venom knew that even without its weaknesses, it wouldn't stand a chance against him. Besides, it was Robert who had saved it and Peter Parker when Hulk nearly killed them. Influenced by Peter Parker and the Avengers, Venom had learned to feel gratitude. Of course, the main reason was that it couldn't win...
"What? You want to fight me?" Johnny Storm was taken aback when he saw Venom-Peter Parker. He then chuckled, mocking Venom, "Really? You couldn't find anyone else? You sure you can handle it? Wait...if we fight, and you retreat, wouldn't Peter take the hit? What did Peter do to you? Peter! Get out here and explain!"
"Heh, don't worry. This time, Venom isn't afraid of you!" Peter Parker grinned, reassured by Johnny's concern, and explained while holding back Venom a bit. "Remember that dead Skrull? Tony and the others found a way to eliminate Venom's weaknesses. Now I can go all out!"
"Seriously?" Johnny Storm's face froze upon hearing Peter's explanation, his smile fading as he instinctively took a step back. "We're all brothers, teammates. Just because Venom's fixed, doesn't mean you have to use me as a test subject, right?"
Johnny knew how powerful Venom was. Venom-Peter Parker's strength had already caught up to Peter with Mjolnir, and in the battle against Hulk, Venom-Peter had far surpassed Mjolnir-Peter! In Johnny's eyes, apart from lacking large-scale attacks and thunder abilities, Venom-Peter's strength and durability far exceeded Peter with Mjolnir. Now that Venom wasn't afraid of fire or sound, Johnny doubted his flames could even scratch Venom...
"What's the matter? Is our mighty hero, the Human Torch, getting scared?" Venom's body swelled to over two meters tall, towering over Johnny Storm as it sneered.
"No, listen to me. We haven't had any real conflicts, so why me? If you want to test your strength, go find a Saiyan or something. Or maybe the Martian Manhunter!" Johnny Storm, now realizing Venom's true intention to beat him up, tried to reason as he looked up at the massive Venom.
"Nothing personal? Have you forgotten how many times you've stopped me from showing my power?" Venom grinned menacingly, showing its sharp teeth. "Come on! Use your explosive flame. I might go easy on you. Otherwise, I'll swallow you whole, cover you in slime, and send pictures to everyone!"
"You!" Johnny Storm's eyes widened at Venom's threat. He couldn't believe Venom would resort to such a nasty tactic, one that could ruin his handsome image. Taking a deep breath, Johnny stared at Venom and said seriously, "Fine! But don't blame me for what's coming!"
With a "shoo!" sound, flames erupted from Johnny Storm's body, enveloping him entirely in fire, turning him into a living torch.
"Not bad!" Venom nodded in satisfaction, feeling the heat from Johnny Storm. It confirmed that Venom no longer feared fire. Now, Johnny Storm's flames merely felt warm, posing no real threat.
"Swoosh!" But before Venom could say anything, Johnny Storm suddenly turned into a streak of fire, disappearing from sight.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" Venom looked around in confusion, unable to find any trace of Johnny Storm until Peter Parker's voice alerted him, "Above!"
"Sh*t! Since when could you fly?" Venom looked up to see Johnny Storm floating in the air, a face made of flames smiling down at him, which instantly irked Venom.
"Heh, you're not the only one who can overcome weaknesses with Tony's help. I can explore my abilities too, constantly improving my strength! This is my latest achievement. What do you think? Surprised?" Johnny Storm grinned smugly at Venom from a safe distance.
Originally, this move was meant to be a surprise for the Avengers during the next big event. But given the situation, Johnny had no choice but to reveal his trump card now. After all, if he didn't, Venom would likely beat him senseless.
To protect himself, Johnny decided to show his hand early. Besides, now that he had mastered flight, he had other tricks up his sleeve...
"You think you're tough? Come down here!" Venom snarled at Johnny Storm, who was taunting him from above.
"Why don't you come up here and get me?" Johnny Storm taunted back, waving his arms in the air. "Come on, jump up and hit me! I dare you!"
Johnny knew that while Venom had incredible jumping power, without flight, it would be tough for him to land any hits. He would be an easy target if he tried to jump up. In response to Venom's aggression, Johnny decided to have some fun. Even if he couldn't seriously hurt Venom, he could at least embarrass him and make him think twice about targeting him again.
"Swoosh!" While Johnny was gloating and thinking about his next move, black webs shot towards him. Although the flames around Johnny couldn't completely burn the webs, they softened them, slowing their flight, making them easy to dodge.
At that moment, Venom leaped into the air, lunging towards Johnny. But Johnny smirked and shot upwards, soaring even higher.
The main difference between powerful jumps and flight is that a jump starts fast but slows as it reaches its peak, eventually losing all momentum and falling back to the ground. Flight, however, can maintain or even increase speed, allowing the flyer to keep ascending.
So, by the time Venom began to fall, he hadn't even gotten close to Johnny. Johnny, meanwhile, had circled Venom a few times in mid-air, sending an explosive flame towards Venom's head, speeding up his fall.
"Boom!" Venom crashed into the ground, leaving a crater. The explosive flames didn't do much damage but the humiliation was severe. Johnny's earlier maneuvers only added fuel to Venom's anger.
"If you're so tough, then stay up there!" Venom glared up at Johnny Storm, seething with frustration. Despite his overwhelming strength, agility, and raw power, he couldn't do anything to Johnny, who had learned to fly. It was infuriating to be so thoroughly countered by something as simple as flight.
Even though Venom had the upper hand in almost every other aspect, he was rendered powerless against Johnny, who was now safely out of reach. Once again, Venom found himself completely outmatched by Johnny Storm.
"Don't worry. Now that Venom's weaknesses are gone, I think I can use lightning in this form!" Peter Parker, who had been observing the fight, suddenly spoke up, his voice filled with excitement. He had noticed something crucial and offered a glimmer of hope to Venom.
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