Venom stared intently at Johnny Storm, who was trying to gauge whether his words had made an impact. Just as Johnny started to feel a bit relieved, thinking he had avoided further conflict, his stomach suddenly felt a sharp pain. He stumbled, nearly falling to the ground, but that was just the beginning.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
In the next moment, Johnny was overwhelmed by a flurry of blows, each strike sending waves of pain through his body. He wanted to fight back, but with his flame powers temporarily gone, he was no match for Venom, who was far stronger than any ordinary person.
As Johnny was beaten, he hurriedly shouted, "Wait! Venom! Peter! You can hit me, just not the face!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Unfortunately for Johnny, this only gave Venom a new target. Focusing on Johnny's already battered face, Venom landed punch after punch, turning Johnny's face into a swollen, bruised mess—he now looked more like a pig than a person.
Before long, Johnny lay on the ground, groaning in pain, his body covered in injuries. Only then did Venom feel some satisfaction and hoist Johnny up, carrying him back to the Avengers base.
Despite Johnny's frightening appearance, his injuries were mostly superficial. There was no blood, and no internal injuries. Once his flame powers recovered, Johnny would heal quickly.
"Hey! Venom, what's that you've got there? A new trophy? Looks like you caught a wild boar!" Tony Stark teased when he saw Johnny's new look as Venom brought him back to the base.
Tony had already guessed Venom's intentions when he saw Peter Parker and Venom leave earlier. But even seeing Johnny in this state, Tony wasn't worried; Jarvis had already scanned him and confirmed that Johnny was only exhausted and bruised. A quick session in the healing chamber would fix him right up.
"Tony, are you just going to stand there? I'm reporting him! He attacked a teammate without reason!" Johnny managed to open his swollen eyes just enough to shout at Tony.
"Sparring, Johnny. Isn't that something Saiyans advocate? Without long bouts of combat, how can we improve our strength?" Tony smiled, showing no intention of intervening. "If you really want to get back at him, work on improving your own skills. When you're stronger, then go and defeat Venom."
"I... He... I..." Johnny stammered, trying to find the words, especially as he felt Venom's grip tighten.
"Don't play the victim! I wasn't even using my full strength!" Venom snorted, dropping Johnny onto the ground before leaving the Avengers base.
Despite having beaten Johnny, Venom was still frustrated. The fight hadn't gone as smoothly as he had hoped, and Johnny's defiant attitude only added to his dissatisfaction. Venom decided to go out and cool off—maybe even find Hulk for a rematch if he was lucky.
"Jarvis, take him to the healing chamber," Tony ordered as Venom left, shaking his head as robots came to carry Johnny away.
"It seems that fight was even more interesting than we thought. Too bad we missed it," Tony remarked as Johnny was placed into the healing chamber, casting a glance at Martian Manhunter to gauge his reaction.
Although all Avengers members carried communication devices, Tony Stark didn't monitor them directly. Martian Manhunter, however, with abilities similar to Superman's, could see and hear things from afar. Tony wanted to know if he had watched the fight.
"Don't worry. Next time they fight, we'll just make sure to watch," Martian Manhunter replied, smiling and shaking his head, unfazed by Tony's curiosity.
"Alright, then." Tony didn't press further, unsure if Martian Manhunter had seen the fight or just didn't want to share. Either way, he let the matter drop.
Meanwhile, Venom wandered aimlessly after leaving the Avengers base, unsure where to go. He had no idea where Hulk, or Bruce Banner, might be. While Peter Parker knew Hulk had joined S.H.I.E.L.D., he had no clue where exactly. And even if he did, he couldn't just send Venom to storm S.H.I.E.L.D. to challenge Hulk.
Eventually, Venom retreated into Peter Parker's body, allowing them both to recover from their injuries. Johnny's fireballs had been no joke, and even though Venom no longer feared fire, the blasts had taken a toll. Had Venom still been vulnerable to flames, Peter Parker might not have survived the encounter.
"Whew! Finally, you're calming down a bit. Now I can get back to being New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!" With Venom quieting down, Peter Parker breathed a sigh of relief, quickly changing into his Spider-Man suit and heading into the city to resume his daily patrols.
At Oscorp Tower, Harry Osborn was listening to Doom's pitch. Initially, Harry had been intrigued by the space project, but after Jarvis informed Tony Stark of Doom's whereabouts, Tony had intervened, leading Harry to reconsider the costly venture. He was now thinking of a way to turn down Doom's proposal.
Just then, a web shot across the sky outside Oscorp Tower, as Spider-Man swung by. Peter Parker had intended to drop in and say hello to Harry but noticed he wasn't alone, so he decided not to stop.
Both Harry and Doom, however, noticed Spider-Man swinging past the window.
"Mr. Doom, to be honest, your space project is intriguing, but I don't see the potential returns. Plus, in this era of superheroes, the Avengers have likely already explored space. Even if there's something profitable out there, could we really compete with them?" Seeing Spider-Man triggered something in Harry, making him voice his doubts.
"This..." Doom, caught off guard, found himself at a loss for words. He had prepared various persuasive arguments, but in this era, who could claim they could outdo the Avengers? Even official agencies wouldn't dare say that, and if Doom claimed it, no one would believe him.
"Let's put the space dream on hold for now. Maybe when space travel becomes more mainstream, I'll get involved." Harry shook his head, his tone indicating a refusal to invest in Doom's project.
"Mr. Osborn!" Doom, now desperate, tried to speak up, but Harry waved him off.
"Mr. Doom, I admire your talent, your eloquence, and your plans. They're all quite good. If you come up with another investment idea in the future, feel free to bring it to me. If I'm interested, I'll invest." Though Harry declined, he did so diplomatically, showing he didn't want to sour their relationship. "And you should really consider the potential returns. A dream of space alone won't convince investors to spend that much, even if they don't have superheroes swinging by their windows. Their advisors aren't so easily fooled."
"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Osborn." Doom stood up, forcing a smile. "I'll be leaving now. Hopefully, we can work together in the future."
"Sure." Harry smiled and called out, "Secretary, please see Mr. Doom out."
As Doom left Oscorp Tower, his frustration began to bubble over. He had been confident that Harry would invest, but Spider-Man's sudden appearance had reminded Harry of the Avengers, leading him to back out.
Combined with his earlier frustrations at Stark Industries and the Avengers' invitation to Reed Richards, Doom's resentment toward the Avengers was growing.
"The Avengers were created by humans! I refuse to believe they'll stay at the top forever!" Doom muttered bitterly. "Superpowers? Hmph! They're not that rare!"
Despite his anger, Doom quickly composed himself and headed to the next company to seek investment. Each rejection only strengthened his resolve to make his space project succeed.
Doom had already invested too much to back out now, and he couldn't bear the thought of Reed Richards leaving or rejoining the Avengers if the project fell apart.
Meanwhile, Peter Parker, blissfully unaware of the impact his brief swing past Oscorp had on Harry's decision, continued his patrol. Even if he had known, neither he nor the other Avengers would have cared much. After all, there were plenty of people and organizations who bore grudges against the Avengers, and yet they continued to thrive.
"Peter! This is so boring! Can't we find something more exciting to do?" Venom's voice piped up just as Peter helped an elderly woman cross the street, already looking for some mischief.
"Something exciting? Like what?" Peter glanced around, frowning.
"Let's find some superpowered folks to spar with! What's the point of wasting time in a peaceful city like this?" Venom grumbled, urging Peter on.
"A superpowered spar? Sure!" Peter's lips curled into a smile as he swung through the air. "I don't know about others, but the Saiyans are probably free. You've been bonded with me long enough to know who the Saiyan is and where to find him. Let's go challenge him and see just how big the gap is between us. How about it?"
"N-No need for that!" Venom, who had been eager moments ago, suddenly deflated at the mention of the Saiyans. While Venom was confident about dealing with Johnny or even facing off against Hulk, the thought of confronting Robert made every part of him scream to stay away. Venom knew that crossing Robert would only end in death.
Since arriving on Earth, only two people had ever instilled such fear in Venom—Robert and Clark. The mere thought of them made Venom want to keep his distance, with no desire to test his strength against them.
"Heh, I thought you were braver than that. Turns out you're not so tough after all. When I first awakened my powers, the Saiyans scared the hell
out of me too... Huh? Is that... Bruce Banner, the guy who can turn into Hulk?" Peter was teasing Venom when he suddenly spotted Bruce Banner walking down the street and instantly recognized him.
"It really is him! Talk about a coincidence!" Venom's excitement flared up again, a complete change from his earlier reluctance.
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