After the battle, most of the Avengers had to handle the aftermath, but some had other matters to attend to. For example, Peter, who had to keep his identity a secret, needed to get home first to let Aunt May and Uncle Ben know he was safe.
"Okay, Aunt May, I'm on my way back now. Don't worry, I'm fine."
After reassuring Aunt May on the phone, Peter swung through the city as quickly as possible, heading back to his Queens home. But he couldn't be too fast; he had to time his arrival. He basically arrived at the Parker home right at the theoretical time that the average Peter Parker would, opening the door with his key.
He could hear the hurried footsteps the moment the lock turned. As he opened the door, Aunt May rushed forward and hugged him.
"I'm fine, May. I told you on the phone."
"How do I know you're not hurt or something else happened and you're just not telling me?"
Peter helplessly let Aunt May hug him, then looked at Uncle Ben and Gwen, who were smiling behind her, and gave them a pleading look. Uncle Ben walked over and patted Aunt May's back. "I told you, Peter is a Parker man. He'll be fine."
"If there's one thing I've learned since marrying into the Parker family, it's that when a Parker man says 'I'll be fine,' he's lying." Aunt May finally let go of Peter and rolled her eyes at Uncle Ben, who was trying to lie. Uncle Ben gave a slightly helpless smile. After letting go of Peter, Aunt May couldn't help but cover her nose.
"Oh, my goodness, Peter, why do you smell so bad..."
"You know, I haven't showered since last night. I was on the run for a while, and then I got stuck to those things for a few minutes today."
"You got stuck to alien monsters?!"
"Yeah, just for a few minutes." Peter nodded helplessly. Aunt May frowned and looked at him disapprovingly. "No wonder you smell so bad. You need to take a shower now. Right now!"
Peter had no choice but to nod. He put down his backpack, then went upstairs to grab some clothes before taking a shower. During the shower, Venom complained.
[I don't smell bad at all.]
"Yeah, I just said that to placate Aunt May. Hey, buddy, how's Knull?"
"Knull is gone."
"?"
Peter frowned, genuinely confused. What did "Knull is gone" mean?
[Grendel hasn't bonded with any other hosts, so it doesn't have a Codex. Oh, we succeeded, don't worry.]
For a moment, Peter actually thought he had failed and Knull had been resurrected, but when he heard Venom's words, he tentatively asked, "Are you sure?"
[Yes, I can feel Grendel's power flowing through me.]
"So that's why you can phase through walls again and create weapons and wings. But that doesn't make sense. You didn't get Riot's resistance, and it doesn't seem like it's enough to turn you into a giant dragon."
[Because you rejected my power.]
In that instant, Peter was certain he heard Knull's voice, but when he came to his senses, he only heard Venom's rambling. He didn't know why he couldn't use that power. He only knew one thing: he now had infinite potential.
[The best news is that even if we unleash the power, our appearance doesn't have to change. Let me think. We can switch our current red and black suit based on the mission. When we need strength, we can transform into a muscular, pure red Spider-Man. When we need speed and agility, we can become a sleek, slim, pure black Spider-Man.]
Venom was waiting for Peter to ask, "Then why not just use the red form from the beginning?" but noticed Peter's silence. It asked with curiosity and concern.
[Did you forget something?]
"No, it's just... I think I heard Knull's voice."
[No, you're probably just hearing things.]
Peter was certain he wasn't hearing things. He had heard Knull's voice. Not only that, he realized he could now, or at any time, accept Knull's thoughts and become the King in Black.
A key was placed right in front of him. All he had to do was pick it up, and he would have infinite power. The question was, did he want to pick it up?
So Peter took a shower, changed his clothes, and dried his hair, ready to rest. He passed his room and saw Gwen sitting on his bed. He couldn't help but sigh and walked inside.
"I should be glad I don't keep a diary, or someone would definitely be tempted to snoop."
"No way, I would never read someone's diary." Gwen shrugged and then handed Peter a flash drive. "Felicia said this has new evidence against Fisk. She said I could give it to my dad or you. I thought it would be better to give it to you."
"Huh, that's weird."
"What's weird about it?" Gwen was thoughtful, then realized. "You mean she's hiding something?"
"Definitely. The Defenders have been handling Fisk's case all along, and she knows them. There's no need for her to specifically come to me. The point isn't the evidence. She's either telling me that she's found something new, or she's telling me not to investigate something."
Gwen's expression was strange. "Your way of communicating is... weird."
"Don't try to guess a cat's thoughts, or you'll get yourself tangled up. I'll just ask her when we're back at school tomorrow... Oh, we might not even have school tomorrow. I'll just ask her whenever we do."
Peter shrugged and put the flash drive down. He then casually asked Gwen about Captain Stacy. "So, Uncle George still isn't back?"
"Of course not. He has an entire New York City to take care of. His own daughter has to be put aside, obviously."
Gwen sounded like she was complaining, but she was really just helpless. She really wished she could help, but she was just a normal person. With superpowered crime becoming more and more rampant, what could Gwen Stacy do?
Gwen Stacy could do nothing.
"About that... Oh, there's something I need to tell you, Gwen." Peter suddenly remembered something. "The school is planning a trip to the Arecibo Observatory this month. You just have to win the prize at the science quiz, and I saw that the questions are easy, so..."
"You want me to go with you?"
Peter nodded.
"Okay, when is it? I need to tell my dad."
"The flight is on Monday the 12th. It's a one-week trip to Puerto Rico, and we'll be back Friday afternoon."