Tony Stark glared at Stephen Strange with great displeasure. The two of them seemed to have a fundamental incompatibility, always bickering whenever they met. As usual, Strange ignored the arrogant, science-worshipping man and simply offered his "objective" opinion.
"The Eye of Agamotto revealed the possibilities of the future. The method Spider-Man came up with is the only way we can win."
"Is that so? Can your magical eye tell us if we even survive?"
Strange gave Stark a cold glance, saying nothing, but his silence set the tone.
Once the molecular stabilizer was injected into Grendel's body, Venom had to consume Grendel within three minutes, and it had to be a live consumption. During this time, it also had to face a massive number of symbiote-infected superheroes. It was an arduous, almost impossible task.
But "almost impossible" still left a sliver of hope.
"We can't provide direct support on the battlefield, so, in theory, the same people who can go with Spider-Man are the only ones. Iceman and Emma Frost are submerged by the symbiotes, Ghost is missing, and Livewire is also submerged."
Hank Pym brought the discussion back to the main point, or rather, to the special situation they were facing. "That leaves Human Torch, Jack of Hearts, you, maybe Thor, and Strange and two people he can cast spells on. That's our entire fighting force."
"And we'll be facing almost all the superheroes and supervillains who have been infected by the symbiotes."
"And me…"
Kitty Pryde added from the side. Everyone finally began to pay attention to the girl who had inexplicably appeared. They had all assumed she was just a civilian Peter had rescued on the way, a classic Spider-Man move. Now, they were being told she wasn't an ordinary person, but a combatant.
"This is Kitty. She's a mutant. She can phase herself and anything she touches through any material, so even the symbiotes can't touch her," Peter introduced Kitty's abilities and then added her recent achievement. "She's the one who brought the Hulk over."
Reed and Tony exchanged a look, then glanced at the molecular stabilizer on the lab table.
"If she can ignore the threat of the symbiotes and phase through anything, she can carry the molecular stabilizer to stabilize Grendel's form. At the same time, if she carries Pym Particles, she can further shrink Grendel's size. Our biggest problem is solved!"
"No, the biggest problem now is, how do we inflict enough damage on Grendel while ensuring Spider-Man delivers the final blow?"
Reed shook his head. One problem solved, another appeared. The scientists looked at each other, and their gazes finally settled on the sorcerer, Strange.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Hank handed the Pym Particles and the activation device to Peter with some uncertainty. According to Peter's request, he had made a slight modification to the Pym Particle activation device.
The current Grendel was a massive puddle of liquid inside the Sanctum Sanctorum. Nall had undoubtedly learned a valuable lesson from the disappearance of Riot's codex and had transformed the entire Grendel into part of the current symbiote swarm to avoid risk.
However, these symbiotes were not Riot or the cannon fodder created from Riot's codex. They didn't have the same resistance as Riot. And so—
Dark clouds gathered in the sky once more. Thor raised his hammer, summoning terrifying lightning. The sound swept across the entirety of Manhattan, turning the symbiote swarm that had almost engulfed the city into a sea of wailing, screaming creatures. But Thor's thunder did not strike; it simply continued to torment Grendel with its noise, forcing it to reveal its true form.
After all, if Grendel was struck down and killed, the plan would fail.
With the continuous roar of thunder, Grendel, from the ruins of the Sanctum Sanctorum, finally let out a long howl. Having converted a sufficient amount of matter, its body had grown to an immense size, nearly ten times its original. It spat flames at Thor, who retaliated with lightning, but still maintained restraint.
Just as they had planned, Grendel was to be dealt with only by Venom, to prevent anyone else from killing it.
Then, a portal opened above Grendel. Kitty took a deep breath and dropped from high altitude, carrying two canisters. One contained the molecular stabilizer. As she phased into Grendel's body, a blue gaseous substance diffused, and the unstable symbiotes on Grendel's body immediately solidified. Then, phasing through Grendel's body, Kitty pressed the button in her hand. As the Pym Particles took effect, Grendel, whose molecular structure was now fixed, shrank back to its original size.
At that moment, standing on the rooftop, Peter raised the rod-shaped container filled with Pym Particles high, activated it, and simultaneously released Venom. Venom's body rapidly expanded into a giant over forty meters tall, striking a standard pose reminiscent of the first Ultraman in a battle stance. It was now on par with Grendel, which had regained its original form, measuring over thirty meters long with a wingspan of over fifty meters.
"Alright, Earth's defense team, help our Ultraman take care of this monster." Tony's Silver Centurion armor was covered with protective runes prepared by Strange. He and Hulk took up positions with the protective runes and fired a volley of missiles at Grendel's limbs.
Tony Stark was certain that Peter's motion of raising the Pym Particle container and Venom's behavior were cosplaying Ultraman, but it fit the atmosphere quite well, didn't it?
Grendel roared. A multitude of symbiote-infected superheroes and villains appeared on the front line, rushing to block the remaining active superheroes. Compared to the two giants, the real fight started on the ground first.
"Oh, my God, it looks like the Avengers are out in full force. This is the moment that will decide the fate of Manhattan."
Jonah Jameson's hair was a mess, but he still held his ground on the front lines, now watching the two sides begin their battle and the giant Venom charging towards Grendel, starting his solo news report.
Three-minute countdown. The objective: devour Grendel. The operation begins.
Venom isn't un-enhanced; according to the nature of symbiotes, Venom has now evolved with super strength, super speed, enhanced senses, bio-electricity (release), invisibility, wall-crawling, and the ability to generate webbing—that's right, symbiotes replicate their host's abilities after a long period of coexistence. However, for Peter Parker, there's no change in strength. Venom himself has gotten much stronger.