"So, first," Alice said, standing in front of him, "you have to will your symbiote biomass into the forms you want. It's easier if you've absorbed the form before. Makes it more… natural."
Max nodded slowly.
Black tendrils flowed from his arms, spreading outward and forming into shapes—blades, spikes, crude constructs.
They worked.
But they weren't refined.
"I can do basic stuff," Max said, flexing his fingers as a jagged blade formed and dissolved. "But anything complex feels… off."
Alice tilted her head, watching closely.
"Well, that makes sense," she said. "The original symbiote I gave you had a personality—a guiding will to help shape and control things."
She frowned slightly.
"But it looks like when it merged with the Ghost Rider spirit… they canceled each other out."
Max nodded.
"Yeah, I noticed," he said. "No voices. No instincts guiding me. Just… me."
Alice stepped closer and placed her hand against his arm, letting her own symbiote flow outward to connect with his.
Black biomass met black biomass.
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then it slipped away.
"…Huh," Alice said, pulling back. "That didn't work."
Max exhaled.
"Guess I'm on my own for now."
Alice gave a small shrug.
"We'll figure it out later," she said. "For now, let's talk about your weaknesses."
Max's expression sharpened.
"Fire isn't an issue anymore," she continued. "Hellfire cancels that out completely. But sound…"
She winced slightly.
"…Yeah. That one's still a problem."
Max frowned.
"I've heard it's bad," he said.
"Painful doesn't even begin to cover it," Alice replied. "High-frequency sound destabilizes a symbiote's structure. It messes with how it holds itself together at a molecular level."
Max nodded slowly, thinking.
"Right," he said. "Symbiotes are designed to be fluid—adaptable. But that makes maintaining structural stability harder under certain conditions."
Alice smiled slightly, clearly pleased.
"Exactly."
She picked up the stuffed fox from the bed, holding it absentmindedly as she looked at him.
"You know," she said, "you're a lot more knowledgeable than my original Max."
Max raised an eyebrow.
"…I'll take that as a compliment."
"It is," she said softly. "And honestly… there's no point comparing past versions to now."
She paused.
"Or future versions… or alternate ones… or whatever this is."
Max let out a small laugh.
"Yeah… multiversal stuff is insane."
There was a brief silence before Max spoke again.
"Would anything from your universe come here?" he asked. "Now that the collider's active, it might be easier."
Alice's expression shifted slightly.
"…I don't think so," she said quietly.
She looked down at the fox in her hands.
"In my universe… everything was destroyed."
Max went still.
"There was someone called the Collector," she continued. "He gathered everything. Worlds. Objects. Power. Eventually… he was the only one left."
Max frowned.
"…What stopped him?"
Alice hesitated.
"…Something killed him," she said. "I'm not sure what. It might have been my symbiote… or something else entirely."
She looked back up at him.
"But now? My universe is empty. Completely empty."
Max processed that.
"…That explains the asteroid," he said slowly. "If nothing was left—no infrastructure, no fuel, no systems—then drifting through space would be the only way anything could travel."
Alice blinked.
Then suddenly stepped forward and hugged him tightly.
Max tensed slightly from the sudden pressure.
"Hey—easy—"
"I was alone," she said quietly.
Max froze.
"For over fifty years after I came back," she continued. "No one. Nothing. Just… silence."
Her grip tightened slightly.
"It was horrible."
Max softened immediately, wrapping his arms around her.
"I'm here now," he said quietly.
Alice pressed her face into his shoulder.
"…Yeah," she whispered. "And I'm not letting anything take this away again."
Her grip tightened just a little too much.
Max winced slightly.
"…Alice—bones—"
She immediately loosened her hold.
"Sorry!"
Max chuckled softly.
"It's fine."
He glanced at the clock.
Then his expression shifted.
"…Shit. I've gotta go."
Alice immediately looked up.
"I'm coming with you."
Max shook his head.
"I wish you could, but I can't risk it," he said. "I don't have a way to explain you, and if Fisk sees you—"
Before he could finish, Alice's body shifted.
Her form melted into black biomass, compressing, reshaping—
Until a small, sleek black fox stood where she had been.
Glowing yellow eyes blinked up at him.
"I'll go like this," she said.
Max stared.
"…You're not backing down, are you?"
"Nope."
There was zero hesitation in her voice.
Max sighed.
"…Alright. Fine."
The fox hopped up onto his shoulder.
Max's suit formed over his body as the symbiote wrapped around him again, sealing into his Spider form.
"Let's go," he said.
Then he stepped out—
And leapt into the night.
[A: So, apparently tge picture of Alice didn't go through. She basically looks like AlterJeanne Arc from Fate but more sexy and refined]