Chapter 254: The New Shadow Mask
"This is already the fastest we can go," Carlton Drake said, sounding exhausted. Even if Riot killed him, he couldn't make the rocket ready any sooner.
"Two days... a lot can go wrong in two days," Riot muttered. He regretted only bringing a handful of symbiotes to Earth. If he had brought one or two more high-level warriors, he wouldn't be in this position.
Now, he didn't have a single subordinate. The only fellow symbiote he'd found was Venom—that traitorous, useless failure.
On the Journey Home
On the other side of things, Silas was preparing to initiate his new Shadow General cultivation plan. This time, he was going to summon the Sumo Khan General, Tarakudo's fifth general.
"Let's play this a bit differently," Silas murmured. He pulled out the green Sumo mask and tossed it directly into a random portal within the Shadow Kingdom.
The portal would open somewhere in the world, and the mask would find its own way to a "destined" wearer.
"I'm looking forward to this," Silas said. He glanced over at Peter, who was staring blankly out the car window, and promptly used the Goat Talisman to enter the Shadow Kingdom again for some "productive" rest.
"Sigh... Silas sure can sleep," Peter muttered. He had wanted to ask his brother a question, but Silas had already drifted off.
"I don't understand you humans," Venom grumbled internally. "Why do you waste so much time on something as meaningless as sleeping?"
"Don't you symbiotes need rest?" Peter countered.
Venom thought about it for a second. "As long as there is plenty of food, I guarantee I don't need rest."
"...You symbiotes really are bizarre." Peter couldn't argue with that; who knew if Venom was even telling the truth.
In the front seat, Aunt May leaned toward Ben and whispered, "Ben, I think Peter is acting strange. Is he... talking to himself?"
Ben glanced at the rearview mirror. "Maybe he's just bored and passing the time."
"Maybe, but it feels weird," May said, unable to shake the feeling.
In the back, Peter continued his mental interrogation: "Venom, why are you black?"
"I don't know."
"Was your name given to you by your parents, or did you pick it yourself?"
"I was born with it."
"Can you only bond with humans? Could you bond with a dog or a cat?" Peter's questions were like a leaky faucet—non-stop.
"ENOUGH! I NEED REST!" Venom roared in his deep, resonant tone. He felt like his head was going to explode from the sheer volume of Peter's rambling. Now, in addition to fire and high-frequency sound, Venom had a third weakness: Peter's chatter.
Back in Queens
Ben Parker pushed the SUV hard, and they finally rolled back into New York City before the sun had fully set.
"Finally home! Ben, let's not do the road trip thing next time," May said, stretching her tired limbs.
"Agreed. Next time, I'm booking plane tickets," Ben laughed. It had been a spur-of-the-moment idea, and he hadn't realized how exhausting driving across the country would be—especially that night sleeping in the car. He vowed never to do that again.
"We're back," Silas said, stepping out of the car. He had spent the "trip" in the Shadow Kingdom.
"Silas, I've never seen anyone sleep as soundly as you," Ben praised his nephew's ability to tune out the world.
"Maybe I stayed up too late playing the night before we left," Silas lied with an awkward smile. Peter, standing nearby, didn't buy it for a second—he had seen Silas pass out the moment his head hit the pillow.
"Don't stay up too late; it's bad for your growth," May reminded them.
They hauled their luggage inside, and after a quick cleaning session by May, everyone headed for the showers. Spending days on the road without a proper wash had made everyone feel a bit grimy.
Peter's Room
"Peter, we must deal with Riot," Venom said, surging out of Peter's shoulder to look him in the eye.
Peter looked confused. "Why are you so determined to take down one of your own kind?"
"He is not one of 'mine.' Let me tell you something," Venom said seriously. "Do you know why we came to Earth?"
"Why?" Peter asked. He knew that symbiotes couldn't survive long without a host in an oxygen-rich environment, so what was the point of being here?
"Riot has a plan. He wants to bring the entire symbiote fleet to invade Earth," Venom revealed. He left out the part where they were actually looking for a new feeding ground.
"Invade? But you can't survive here," Peter noted.
"We can't survive alone. But there are billions of humans. Every symbiote will take a host, and your species will be controlled. Not every symbiote is as 'nice' as I am."
Venom puffed himself up. His reason for stopping Riot was simple: Riot was the leader. If the rest of the species arrived and Riot told them Venom was a traitor, he'd be torn apart.
"If that's the case, we definitely have to stop him!" Peter's eyes hardened with determination. He was Spider-Man, after all.
When the house was finally silent, Peter snuck into Silas's room.
"Peter, Uncle Ben said to get to sleep early," Silas reminded him, not looking up from his desk.
"Oh, come on. They don't know what we're up to, and you're not sleeping either," Peter countered. "We have to go back to San Francisco. We have to stop Riot."
"You're going back already?" Silas guessed what was coming.
"Yes. There's something you need to know." Peter relayed Venom's "invasion" story.
Silas, knowing the actual plot, knew Venom was half-lying. The symbiote was mostly just scared of being jumped by his own kind.
"So, Silas, are you in?" Peter asked, eager to go.
"Fine, let's go. I was getting bored anyway," Silas said, clearing his desk of the various mechanical parts he'd been tinkering with. He sent the design for a new gadget to Shadow Mike in the Kingdom to finish.
"Let's move." Silas used a shadow on the wall as a medium, opening a portal to the Shadow Kingdom. Peter jumped in right after him.
San Francisco
"Drake, they're back. I smell that nauseating stench," Riot growled. He had caught Venom's scent instantly.
Drake's heart skipped a beat. He immediately summoned his security team—men armed with flamethrowers. If Venom showed his face tonight, they were going to burn him alive. Riot decided to stay hidden inside Drake and let the humans handle the initial encounter.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Life Foundation...
Dr. Dora Skirth walked toward a side entrance, leading a man with a camera.
"Be careful," she whispered. "I don't know what's gotten into Dr. Drake lately, but he's stepped up the 'collection' of homeless people."
"Don't worry," the man replied. "I'm going to get the evidence and expose him to the world."
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