Chapter 241: The Symbiote
The Parker brothers arrived at a relatively secluded research facility.
"Life Foundation?" Peter read the sign on the gate, surprised. Wasn't this the company Uncle Ben mentioned at lunch, where his classmate worked?
"It seems the Life Foundation isn't exactly a charitable organization," Silas noted dryly.
Peter nodded. He and Silas climbed onto the roof and slipped inside through a skylight.
Inside the Life Foundation
"These organisms are simply incredible," Carlton Drake said in awe. He was the CEO of the Life Foundation and the mastermind behind these experiments.
Dr. Dora Skirth, standing beside him, added with a mix of wonder and concern, "Yes, but we still haven't found a single human host compatible with them."
In front of them was a transparent laboratory chamber. Inside, a mass of black liquid was writhing and undulating.
"Boss, we're back," the group of men from the van announced as they walked up to Drake.
Drake turned to them, his expression hardening. "Well? Didn't get hauled off to the police station today?"
"..." The men lowered their heads, silent. They were the same group Peter had webbed up the night before; Drake had used his influence to bail them out that morning.
"Hmph. I thought I'd be spending my day fishing you lot out of jail again." Drake stood tall. "How many did you get today?"
"Ten in total! We grabbed five from the east side and five from the west," a subordinate quickly replied.
"Good. Dr. Skirth, let's begin the experiment," Drake commanded.
Dr. Skirth nodded and walked to the control panel as other researchers scrambled into action. A homeless man, forced into a white hospital gown, was dragged out and shoved into the chamber containing the black symbiote.
"No! Let me out!" The man panicked the moment he entered, pounding frantically on the glass.
Behind him, the black symbiote slowly approached, ready to pounce. The man backed into a corner, his face pale with despair. He was trapped.
Outside, Drake and his team watched with anticipation, waiting to see if this host would be a success.
"Hey! Are you guys having a party? Count me in!" Peter and Silas had been observing from the shadows, but Peter knew he couldn't stay hidden any longer—the man was about to die.
CRASH!
Peter delivered a powerful kick, easily shattering the reinforced glass wall that the man hadn't even been able to scratch.
"Save me!" The homeless man scrambled out of the wreckage.
"Who are you?!" Drake shouted in fury. His experiment was just about to reach its climax, only to be ruined by interlopers.
"Uh... I'm Spider-Man. As for the guy behind you..." Peter pointed toward Drake's back.
Drake spun around to see his security team already incapacitated by a figure in black.
"Sorry, they were a bit weak," Silas said, dusting off his hands.
Drake looked between the red figure and the black figure. "Who the hell are you people?!"
"Like I said, I'm Spider-Man. He's Destiny." Just as Peter finished speaking, he felt something wrap around his ankle.
"Holy—! What is this?!" Peter saw a blob of black goo crawling up his leg. He reached down to pull it off, but to his horror, the substance merged directly into his body and vanished.
"What the..." Peter muttered. What was that? How did it just disappear?
"The experiment... it's a success?!" Drake gasped. He hadn't expected Spider-Man to provide such a miracle. It worked!
"What experiment?" Peter asked, starting to feel a strange sensation coursing through his veins.
Silas was equally stunned. Venom had merged with Peter? Shouldn't it have been Eddie Brock? This was a major deviation from the plot he knew.
"Can someone explain the black liquid?" Peter demanded, looking at Drake.
Drake didn't answer. He was muttering to himself, "I did it! I finally did it!"
Thwack! Silas delivered a sharp elbow to the back of Drake's head, knocking him unconscious. He then walked over to Peter.
"Silas, do you know what that was? Is it a parasite? Oh no, is it an Alien?" Peter clutched his head, his imagination running wild.
"Calm down, Peter. Take a deep breath. How do you feel right now? Any pain?" Silas asked. He wondered if this was the Lethal Protector version of Venom or the classic Spider-Man version.
"Feel? No real change yet." Peter closed his eyes, focusing inward. After a moment, he realized he felt fine physically.
"No sensation? Then it should be okay for now," Silas said, though he remained wary.
Peter was less convinced. "Maybe we should go to a hospital, Silas? What if it really is a parasite?"
"We will, after we finish up here." Silas had already dispatched Shadow Ninjas to locate the other three symbiotes. He only had a vague idea of the timeline, but he knew the symbiote Riot was likely still making its way toward the facility from Malaysia.
Silas glanced at the unconscious Drake. He decided to leave him there for Riot to find later.
"Let's go, Silas. We need to get the other homeless people out of here," Peter said, trying to push the black goo to the back of his mind.
"Right." Silas was curious to see how Venom would evolve inside Peter, especially since this was the movie version of the symbiote.
Ten minutes later, Peter had freed all the captives—fifteen were still alive. He paved a way for them, taking out every guard in their path.
"Everyone is safe. We can go back and rest," Silas suggested. He had already secured the other three symbiotes: Phage, Agony, and Lasher.
"Yeah." Now that the rescue was over, the thought of the black liquid returned to haunt Peter. All he wanted was a hot shower.
The brothers returned to the hotel. Peter immediately stripped off his suit and rushed into the bathroom to check his skin for any sign of the black substance.
Silas turned off the lights, pretending to go to sleep, but instead slipped into the Shadow Kingdom.
The Shadow Kingdom Laboratory
"Master." Little Black bowed low as Silas arrived.
"How is it? I brought you three high-quality specimens." Silas smiled at the symbiotes currently contained in transparent, reinforced vessels on the lab table.
They had been aggressive when they first arrived, but after realizing they couldn't break out, they had settled into a wary crawl.
"Excellent, Master. I haven't had the chance to study symbiotes yet," Little Black said. He had been spending his time in the Parker Industries labs, working with human scientists on beneficial technology, but this was a project he could sink his teeth into.
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