The white lightning nearly illuminated the entire night sky over Manhattan.
Peter Parker watched Grant Ward, who had collapsed to the ground, out of breath. His theory had been proven correct. He had once wielded Mjolnir in the wasteland, and his bio-electricity still carried a portion of the hammer's divine power. In other words, if he could release a massive burst of bio-electricity in an instant, he could, just like Thor, sever a symbiote's mental link.
It was just exhausting.
"If this failed, I wouldn't have the strength to keep fighting."
Another drawback was that this method was indiscriminate. The mental link between Peter and Venom was also weakened when the lightning was released, but because Venom had also been on him when Peter held Mjolnir, the connection didn't break. Now it had mostly recovered, but Venom was quite injured and a little sluggish.
Riot, Phage, Carnage, and Lasher—the four symbiotes had all turned into puddles of slimy goo, lying motionless beside Ward. Peter first pulled Ward away to prevent the symbiotes from reattaching themselves to him once they regained their mobility. The others were fine, but Riot was a hassle because he didn't succumb to the usual symbiote weaknesses. According to Ward, Riot had clearly formed a codex with him. If Riot died, his codex would somehow flow into Knull's consciousness, thereby awakening Knull.
Which one was Riot again? The gray one.
[Maybe I can eat them? It might be able to block the codex?]
"…Are you sure?"
[Not sure, it's just a feeling.]
"Don't forget Knull is nearby. Maybe he's influencing you." Peter said weakly, then scooped up Riot. Riot seemed to regain consciousness at this moment and began to writhe. At the same time, Ward woke up, looked around in confusion, and saw Spider-Man and Riot in his hand.
"Spider-Man! Riot buried proximity mines here!"
"Proximity mines?!" Peter was stunned for a moment. The Riot in his hand began to shake violently, and his Spider-Sense buzzed and changed dramatically.
What should he do?
If he ran with either Ward or Riot, the other would be killed by the bomb, and Knull would be revived. If he took both, Riot might reattach to Ward, and the Iron Spider suit was already destroyed...
Take them both!
Peter made a quick decision. He stuck Riot onto himself, then swung on a web to pull Ward up from a distance. Less than three seconds after Ward left the ground, the entire pier exploded, sending up a mushroom cloud.
"Great, Spider-Man caused a pier explosion. That's definitely tomorrow's Daily Bugle headline." Peter clung to the side of a building, looking down at Ward. "So what's with the proximity mines?"
"He embedded a piece of himself into my heart, which sped up my heart rate. If his symbiotic relationship with me was severed, my heart rate would drop and the proximity mines would be activated. The bombs are S.H.I.E.L.D. tech; he learned about them from me."
He really was a lunatic symbiote... was this even influenced by Ward? Peter maliciously speculated, but then he sensed something was wrong. His whole body began to sway. Riot had chosen a new tactic: he was trying to form a new "hybrid" with Venom and fight for control of Peter's body. This was impossible, as Peter and Venom's symbiotic relationship was extremely stable, but he didn't need to actually gain control of Peter's body. They were a hundred meters in the air. In a moment of desperation, Peter had jumped here, holding onto Ward only with his grip. He only needed to create a moment of chaos, make Spider-Man let go, and if Ward fell and died, Knull would be revived all the same.
He planned for this too?! He really had a contingency plan for everything.
Peter didn't try to hold onto the web. Instead, he extended a web-hand and tightly gripped his web-shooters. The web began to descend rapidly. As an excellent S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Ward immediately understood what Spider-Man was doing and quickly slid down to the ground.
"Has anyone ever told you that you'd be a great Batman?"
He forcibly tore the thrashing Riot off his body. Peter looked at the large lump of slime in his hand, furious. This guy was incredibly annoying, and he'd had enough.
You'll do anything just to die, won't you, Riot?
Riot said nothing, and he couldn't now. He just bared his fangs at Spider-Man and roared. The weak roar made Peter feel resigned, but at that moment, a figure appeared on the roof of the building he was clinging to.
It was Lasher.
A dark green whip shot toward Peter. He immediately leaped to dodge. The countless whips from Lasher's back struck out. He had only one goal: to grab Riot!
Wait, how did Lasher survive that explosion? Did I miss something?
Lasher's temporary host is still alive!
"Son of a bitch! Riot, you are truly something else!"
Peter was going crazy. Riot had really tried to account for everything. This was absolutely ridiculous. From the moment he brought Venom to Earth, this guy had been plotting, always having a backup plan. This was the first time Peter had ever met such a cunning enemy—and this guy wasn't even human!
Lasher lunged at Peter. In that instant, when Peter didn't dare to let go of Riot. Riot tried to form a hybrid with Venom for the second time. Peter's whole body lost its balance. He instinctively shot a web and clung to the building, but Lasher, in freefall, finally grabbed the thrashing Riot and tore him into pieces. Then he, too, fell and died at the base of the building.
Peter stumbled to the ground, muttering curses as he looked at the remains of the symbiote on the ground, which seemed to be slowly writhing.
Maybe Riot isn't dead yet?
Soon, the two clumps of symbiote residue merged, turning into a pure black similar to Venom. Then, a withered, pale hand emerged from within.