It must be said that Riot's self-proclaimed title of King of the Symbiotes is not entirely pretentious or baseless.
In fact, of the five new symbiotes created by Venom, Riot is undoubtedly the most powerful among them. Not only does he inherit all of Venom's inherent traits, possessing enhanced resistance to both sonic attacks and fire, but he also possesses the unique ability to transform his body into various weapons. These weapons are incredibly tough and incredibly powerful in combat.
As for the other symbiotes, aside from Scream, who escaped during the chaos, whose abilities are second only to Riot's in terms of power, the other three—Phage, Lasher, and Agony—are slightly less powerful than Scream. However, without exception, their abilities are all greater than Venom's original power, and they all possess at least some degree of weapon transformation capability!
Riot waved his arms dramatically, and long, slender blades composed of his own tissue shot out rapidly, piercing through the tempered glass of the laboratory and releasing all three symbiotes within.
"Come on, my brothers and sisters, there are enough potential parasites out there. Find a suitable one to infest quickly and work together to kill our enemies!"
The three symbiotes were not necessarily obedient to Riot's commands, but they knew the situation was the best option for now. Furthermore, a symbiote's primary goal was survival above all else, and as long as they could survive, many other things could be put aside temporarily.
Those outside were Life Foundation security guards. For the symbiotes, their physical strength made them the perfect target for infestation. While unsuitable parasites would not survive long under a symbiote's control, those with sufficient strength could hold out long enough for the symbiotes to fight Tony and Reed.
Of course, there were symbiotes who wanted to infest Tony and Reed, especially those with special abilities like Reed possessed. However, they also knew that without a parasite host, their bodies were extremely fragile. If they were affected by the sonic waves and flames, they would likely be instantly destroyed, so they naturally would not take such a risk.
The sudden appearance of three symbiotes caught the security team outside completely off guard. In a flash, they found three individuals whose bodies best suited them, quickly attaching themselves to them and forcibly taking over their bodies, transforming into full symbiotes.
Phage and Lasher chose male hosts, and the most suitable target for Agony was Dr. Drake's secretary, who had accompanied the security team. Although the symbiote disliked the frailty of women, she was the most suitable for Agony, so it took over without hesitation.
None of the three possessed strong willpower, so in a short moment, they were seized by the symbiote's will and lost complete control of their bodies.
Phage was a yellow-orange colored figure with sparse brown markings. His arms and legs bore short, blade-like protrusions, and he was second only to Riot in stature and build. Lasher, on the other hand,
was a dark green color, tall and thin, with numerous whip-like tentacles extending from his body. They coiled around him, wriggling and twitching from time to time, making him seem unnaturally alive.
The final Agony, purple in color with black stripes on its face and a slender figure, had claws transformed into sharp pointed claws, emitting a faint cold light.
Upon seeing the three symbiotes appear, the other security guards immediately drew their weapons to defend themselves, but they were quickly killed by the three, their bodies mostly devoured. Then, at the call of Riot, they returned to the experimental floor behind the gate.
Seeing the three symbiotes arrive, Riot burst into laughter and exclaimed, "Excellent, excellent! Phage, Lasher, and Agony, the three of you hurry over to my side. Together, we will finish them off!"
As Riot finished speaking, the three symbiotes did not move much. Phage, the most volatile, even addressed Riot directly, "Riot, we still do not know who is the leader among us. Do not act like you are the boss and order us around!"
"That is right... Riot, who is the leader? Or maybe we should just each handle our own problems and we will figure it out once we have dealt with these guys... The one with the stretchable body is a perfect match for me. He is mine!"
Lasher, with those words, took the lead and charged towards Reed aggressively.
Seeing Lasher's movements, the others did not hesitate, rushing towards Tony and Reed together.
Only Venom, deliberately lagging behind, turned and scurried away along the wall and ceiling before Riot and the others had fully charged, chasing after Eddie.
Riot, furious at Venom's cowardly escape, had no time to worry about him for now. He needed to establish absolute authority in the battle, thereby ruling over the three of them. As for Venom, it would not be too late to settle the score later!
Watching the four symbiotes charging towards them, Reed and Tony retreated strategically, shouting, "Tony, why have not Sebastian and the others arrived yet? What happened?"
"I do not know. I tried to contact them, but there was no response at all. Something unexpected must have happened!"
True to Tony's words, something unexpected had indeed occurred.
Sebastian, now in the mirror dimension, surveyed the drastically altered space, now completely eroded by the sinister power of the Dark Dimension. He already had a strong suspicion about who had constructed it.
"Mordo, it seems you are doing well in the Dark Dimension."
As soon as he finished speaking, a figure emerged from the darkness. It was none other than Baron Mordo, who Sebastian supposedly had slain during the Ultron incident.
Baron Mordo was now wearing a plain, jet-black robe. A terrible scar ran down the middle of his body, dividing it into two halves. This was clearly the same scar Sebastian had previously inflicted when he used the Sectumsempra curse to cut Baron Mordo in half.
Baron Mordo looked at Sebastian. The skin around his eyes had completely carbonized and was covered in dark cracks, emitting a purple-red glow. It was clear that his connection with the Dark Dimension and Dormammu had deepened considerably.
"Sebastian Shaw, my return this time foreshadows the arrival of the great Dormammu on Earth. At that time, neither you, nor Kaecilius, nor even the Ancient One, will be able to escape the might of the great Dormammu.
You will all be completely lost in the endless darkness of the Dark Dimension.
When that time comes, I will return double the pain and suffering I have endured to each of you, and I am willing to pay any price for this!"