"Really?" Venom's eyes lit up instantly, but he quickly thought of something and continued shouting insults at Johnny Storm above, not showing any intention of stopping. In the sky, Johnny Storm couldn't hear the conversation between Venom and Peter Parker and became more arrogant as he realized his flight ability had successfully countered Venom.
"Heh, Venom, weren't you just acting all tough? Why are you just standing there now?" Johnny floated in the air, taunting Venom. "Didn't you say you weren't afraid of fire? Why are you scared after just one hit?"
"Crack! Crack! Crack!" Venom gritted his teeth, producing a cracking sound as he clenched his jaw in frustration. He cursed back at Johnny Storm, all while waiting for Peter Parker's progress.
"Zzzt!" Just as Johnny was starting to wonder why Venom wasn't retaliating, a flicker of lightning flashed across Venom's body, catching Johnny's attention.
"Huh? What was that? Lightning? Did I see that right?" Johnny didn't react immediately, but soon he remembered that Venom was no longer afraid of fire. This made him hesitate, muttering to himself, "Could it be? Now that Venom isn't afraid of fire and sound, he can also use Peter's lightning power?"
"But even if Peter and Venom can use lightning again, it shouldn't be a big deal. After losing Mjolnir, Peter's lightning isn't that powerful—about the same as when I first awakened my powers..."
"If he still had Mjolnir, I might be worried. But he doesn't have that artifact, so there's nothing to fear. Even if he's regained the lightning power, he can't fly, so what's there to worry about?"
Johnny's momentary concern quickly passed as he reasoned through the situation. He decided there was no need to fear Venom's potential new abilities and continued to taunt him. "So, you're holding back a trump card, huh? Well, don't disappoint me! I'm waiting right here, come at me..."
"Zzzt!"
As soon as Johnny finished his taunt, a bolt of lightning shot toward his position, moving so fast that Johnny barely dodged it. If he had been on the ground and unable to fly, he wouldn't have been able to avoid it at all.
"Weren't you waiting for me? Then why did you dodge?" Venom sneered as he saw Johnny's frantic movements.
"Why does that feel stronger than before?" Johnny glanced at the dissipating lightning in the sky, muttering to himself. When he looked back at Venom, he noticed that Venom's body was now surging with lightning energy.
Venom, already over two meters tall, now crackled with lightning, creating a powerful sense of oppression that made Johnny feel like he was facing a monster.
"He can't fly, right?" Johnny murmured as Venom suddenly grinned up at him, feeling a sudden sense of unease.
"Whoosh!" The next moment, Venom's figure vanished, leaving only a flash of electricity in his wake, causing Johnny's heart to skip a beat as he quickly dodged.
"Zzzt!" Venom reappeared in the spot Johnny had just vacated, his body still crackling with electricity. Though he missed, Venom didn't immediately fall to the ground; instead, he flashed away again in another burst of lightning.
"Boom!" Johnny was startled to discover that Venom's burst speed was even faster than his own, so fast that Johnny couldn't keep track of him. Even though Johnny reacted quickly, Venom still managed to land a hit, sending Johnny flying.
"Zzzt!"
"Whoosh!"
Johnny's body was sent hurtling away after the impact, his flames colliding with the residual lightning energy. Though the lightning didn't cause significant damage, Venom's punch left Johnny feeling very uncomfortable.
"Shit! He really can fly? It took me so long to learn that!" Johnny grumbled as he stabilized himself, realizing that Venom's flying wasn't quite what he expected.
Venom wasn't really flying; he hadn't yet mastered flight. Instead, he was using the lightning to give himself bursts of acceleration and control, making it easier to fight in mid-air.
"Ah!" Upon realizing this, Johnny's eyes brightened, and the flames on his body flared up even more. Before, Johnny's flames had merely covered his body, but now it seemed like his entire being had transformed into a flame.
At that moment, Johnny's body was entirely composed of fire, except for his special, non-flammable suit. This transformation was Johnny's new hidden card!
"Boom!" As Johnny's flames transformed, Venom appeared by his side again, delivering another punch charged with lightning.
But this time, the punch didn't send Johnny flying. The lightning still surged toward Johnny's flaming body but was quickly extinguished by the flames. Venom could feel that his punch had been significantly weakened.
"Huh? What kind of ability is this?" Venom was puzzled by Johnny's new technique. He didn't understand Johnny's abilities well, and even Peter Parker was no longer familiar with Johnny's current capabilities.
Since acquiring Venom, Peter hadn't seen much of Johnny's powers, so he still thought of Johnny's explosive flames as simple firebombs.
"Heh!" Johnny grinned at Venom, showing his teeth. "Given your sturdy body, you should be able to handle this..."
"What?" Venom was startled by Johnny's words, and then he saw Johnny hurl a fireball at him.
"Boom!" The next moment, the fireball exploded with terrifying force. Despite its small size, the explosion was incredibly powerful, sending Venom flying. The blast burned away a significant portion of Venom's body, revealing Peter Parker beneath.
"Whew!" On the other hand, Johnny, who was also caught in the explosion, wasn't affected at all. He even absorbed the flames left behind by the blast.
As he absorbed the residual flames, Johnny's fire, which had dimmed slightly after releasing the fireball, brightened again, though it was still noticeably weaker than before.
"It still needs work. The power and temperature of this extreme explosive flame have indeed increased, but the energy consumption is too high. Even if I absorb some of the released heat, I can't do this more than a couple of times. It's still just a last-resort trump card..." Johnny sighed in regret as he felt his slightly weakened body.
"But if I can push all my flames to their maximum temperature and explosive power, the effect will be even more devastating. This is my ultimate trump card. Too bad my recovery rate can't keep up. Looks like I'll need to work on both my flame power and my recovery ability..."
"What the heck? When did Johnny get this strong?" Peter Parker, his head exposed and looking rather disheveled, muttered in confusion as he stared up at Johnny Storm.
Originally, when Venom wanted to confront Johnny, Peter hadn't stopped him. After all, Peter thought that with Venom no longer fearing fire or sound, beating Johnny would be easy.
Peter had even been concerned that they'd have to hold Venom back to avoid seriously injuring Johnny.
But now, Peter felt his face burning, not just from the flames but from embarrassment. Johnny not only could fly but could also mitigate Venom's attacks and unleash such terrifying destructive power!
Peter realized that if it weren't for Venom, his own progress wouldn't have matched Johnny's. After facing one extraordinary event after another, feeling the strength of their enemies, the Avengers had all been working to improve their powers, hoping to stand strong against even more formidable foes.
"Damn it! I'm not backing down!" Venom was far more furious than Peter. He had shared Peter's initial assumptions but was now injured and humiliated. How could he let that slide?
"Whoosh!" With a flash of lightning, Venom once again vanished and reappeared in front of Johnny, delivering another powerful punch.
"Boom!" This time, Johnny's flames were dimmer than before, and he was sent flying back again, hurling another fireball at Venom as he did.
"Boom!" Another explosion shook the air as Venom was sent flying, his black, viscous body showing signs of being scorched by the flames. Venom glared furiously at Johnny.
But this time, Johnny wasn't in the air. Venom looked around, puzzled, and saw that Johnny had landed on the ground, his flames extinguished.
To be honest, Johnny didn't want to be grounded. He'd have preferred to keep flying, but he had no choice. The last fireball had nearly drained his energy, and if he hadn't let go of his flaming form, his flames would have extinguished on their own, and he would have crashed to the ground.
"Sigh, even shorter-lasting than I thought. Only two shots and I'm already out. Even though the second one was stronger than the first, it's still not enough. I can't let this tarnish my reputation as the Human Torch! If only I'd had more time to practice..." Johnny thought gloomily. But he quickly snapped back to reality as he felt a gust of wind approaching.
"Huh?! Now's not the time to be thinking about this. I need to calm Venom down. If all else fails, I'll just let him rough me up a bit, but I can't let him swallow me and then spit me out covered in slime with pictures sent everywhere!"
"What are you doing?" Venom growled, clenching his teeth as he faced Johnny, who seemed to be surrendering.
"Nothing. I'm not your match, so I surrender!" Johnny shrugged, acting indifferent.
"You're surrendering after blowing me up?!" Venom roared, grabbing Johnny by the collar and lifting him off the ground, staring him down.
"What else can I do? You're too strong! My
best moves can't even hurt you. What else am I supposed to do?" Johnny shrugged nonchalantly in mid-air. "You're the victor here. Do what you want. I'll tell everyone I lost badly to you and that I wasn't your match, no matter what."
Johnny's words left Venom feeling strange. Johnny's tone and attitude seemed defiant, but his words hinted at surrender, leaving Venom unsure how to deal with him.
"Just beat him up a bit..." Peter Parker suggested when he saw Venom hesitate to swallow Johnny. After all, he couldn't let Venom actually eat Johnny, could he?
But saying it out loud left both Venom and Peter feeling frustrated and annoyed...
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]