Spider-Man. The House Of Venom

Peter squirmed once more. Sweat dripped from him as his skin rippled and reformed under the images he was bombarded with. He reached out a hand only for it to coat with his symbskin and become a claw. He opened his mouth to scream and it died in a throat no longer capable of making noise. He remade himself as the war within raged on.

Fuelled by a ritual he had no part in and forced into a vision quest he was not supposed to be aware of he was trapped. His powers reached out and touched a consciousness much larger and much older than his own.

It forced him to watch, uncaring that he was suffering.

⁂

The Celestials surveyed the rocky and desolate planet. It had been created to test the survivability of certain races, and so far, none had succeeded. New spheres were constructed, leaving this one abandoned and forgotten.

They had seen the black creature coating Mind kill and consume the fire-haired woman. Her companion was damaged and would not survive, but the three were not of their creation.

It made no sense. So far all cosmic lifeforms had been eliminated, to keep the stability of the universe whole. It was only after the death of the planet eater that they felt the death of Space.

As they arrived they watched the battle. The creatures were strange, familiar but alien.

You cannot hurt me, sister, I am stronger than you. With the power I now possess, it is enough to destroy this wretched place. Null hissed.

Death huffed and her lip snarled at the creature, I know. But while you are stronger than me, are you stronger than them?

Null looked up and saw the remaining Celestials hovering above the skyline.

You are not of us, yet you kill one of us. You dare creature! As Power raised his staff, a purple gem glowed and a blast of pure cosmic energy slammed into Null. It blasted him away again.

As Power turned, he stared at Death. You, you are not like us, and not of us, what are you?

Death shook her head. We all have our Purpose, Seeker. Do not forget yours.

As she waved an arm and soon the entrance to her own realm opened and slipped into Hel, the world of the dead. She sealed herself away, waiting until her sister returned to her.

Soul? Power asked.

He shook his head. It is not one of mine, I know only what Mind can tell us, but he was cut off as the breath left his body. Looking down he saw several black tendrils sprouting from the ground. They had impaled him through the groin and were burrowing and slicing through his flesh.

Reaching out a hand he could only whisper, Brother, before they expanded, slicing him to pieces. The tendrils separated and he exploded into chunks that splattered across the landscape.

All of you. All meat for my hunger. All will feel the jaws of the devourer, All will find their end. Null pulled back his tendrils and tore at the meat chunks hanging from them.

To see Mind covered in the black ooze, they knew something had survived. It was not strong enough to deal with them all, even if Space, Soul, and Mind were already gone. They knew their bodies were transient, but their power was immortal. It had taken Mind to ensure its survival, but Power knew it would not be enough.

Power levelled his staff once more but Mind dodged the beam.

You may run creature, but I am infinite. Power yelled as more beams disintegrated the landscape.

Mind launched himself and tendrils reached out for Reality. He warped the air around himself and it became hard. The tendrils slapped harmlessly against it. Unable to pierce Reality's barrier.

It is hostile brother, even the planet eater sought to reason with us before its demise.

It is of no matter, once we harvest it, we can test its power, and judge it worthy of its life.

But as he raised a hand Time shook his head. No brother. It is not life, it is not anything.

A tendril reached and severed his hand at the wrist, pulling it into its grasp. As the maw extended it swallowed all of Time’s hand and with a sickening crunch swallowed the limb whole.

Brother! Power shouted and levelling his staff again sent out a stream of energy that sent Mind flying.

Stop, the creature is taking your power. You cannot hurt it that way, and Power blinked at what his brother had said.

As Reality shone a red light over the corpse of Soul he shook his head, can you?

Time shook his head. Whatever the creature is, it is immune to our powers. He motioned over at Mind, who was shaking the crumbled rock from his body. It appears to be gaining power, how do we kill it before it destroys everything?

Can you contain it? Power asked and Reality and Time both shone a light over at Mind. He shuddered and the black ooze seemed to retract slightly,

It is not of this universe brother, I cannot change its true nature.

Time nodded, and it is eternal, I cannot stop its time as it exists outside our influence.

As Power lifted his staff and shot more energy at Mind he was blown backwards once more. We are hurting it, he said as Mind lifted his maw and hissed as the trio, his skin bubbling under the blast from Power.

It must be a creature from the beginning, from before we were born.

As Mind jumped, Power allowed the energy to gather around his staff and he swatted Mind from the air. Reality warped and a solid block formed above him and slammed him into the ground.

Together brothers,

As Reality, Time, and Power all blasted their coloured bolts at Mind, his own light shone bright yellow. It lit up the darkness and faded as tendrils of creeping blackness extended out from him.

Copying the same move Reality hardened the air around himself, creating a shield. He slashed it through the air, surrounding Mind and severing them all. The conjured shield flew and battered at Mind, forcing him to one knee.

Yes, Brother, we did it. We can hurt the creature.

Keeping the creature at bay, the other two moved to blast Mind once more. The monster screeched at them before the jagged maw split back. Its inky blackness uncovered Mind's broken and battered face,

Brothers! He pleaded but the ooze formed a disk and with a twisting lurch, took his head from his shoulders.

As Mind’s form crumbled and faded, Time raised a hand, trying to stop the creature's advance. The creature was fixed. Moving it forward, backwards, or stopping it had no effect. Time uttered a pained scream as he was swallowed by the ravenous black ooze.

Yes, yes, now we exist in all spaces and all times, we shall move and consume each moment.

No, Power motioned to Reality, bring her back, she exists within our domain, and she must help us.

Reality searched for signs of the strange woman. Her domain was different to his, but even he could feel the thinning of her passageway.

Power levelled his staff once more and blasted more energy at Time. The pair fought. Even though Time moved faster than light Power would already be prepared for him. He could sense and manipulate the flow of energy around him. Even Time was unable to fight properly as Power simply overwhelmed him. Any creature with energy was a part of him, even his brothers. By using Time as a vessel, he would never escape from Power.

I found her brother.

Reality split open a hole, and pulled the wounded Death from her domain,

No no, he will consume us all, she begged as she was dragged into their plane of existence.

Reality simply shrugged. We must stop him. Power, I have her.

As Power raised his staff he blasted Time away and marched back to Death.

There is no other choice.

He lay a hand on them both he pushed all his purpose onto them

No, no you can’t, Death pleaded but Reality nodded.

As the power of the cosmos flowed from him, Reality allowed it to alter the very fabric of the universe around them. Nothing could exist within this new domain.

As he altered the three of them he combined and multiplied their purpose. A slice of death, fueled by the power of the universe extended out in a sphere and stopped time.

Their actions brought about a new cosmic power. Something so terrible it was the singularly most destructive force in the universe. A tear in Reality, where nothing but Power and Death existed.

Yes, yes! Null screamed. This is my desire. Bring forth the true death of the universe.

The trio shook their head and spoke as one.

No, only we four shall perish. Outside the sphere, we protect and allow life to continue.

As Time tried to use his power to escape it was used against him.

There is no time here, no life, no escape. This is true death, and we give it to you.

As the sphere collapsed into the first black hole, the four were stripped of their powers. Time and the others screamed as the sphere consumed their forms and then exploded.

As the sphere contracted, it finally collapsed, forming a supermassive black hole. The intense gravity crushed and cast off the remains of the dead planet.

Unseen by the four, Mind’s head, severed and lifeless, flew into the void. Null had known he was outnumbered. So he plotted and created a new creature. one that would serve his Purpose. A creature seeking the death of the universe. With the stolen power of Life, Death, Mind, Space, and Time, it would seek out and consume, until there was nothing left. A tiny all-black dot that existed within the skull, waiting until it was free to begin its task once more.

The remnants of the planet were cast away. Soaked in the blood of the Celestials, the fragments held strange powers. When they seeded new planets, the life that evolved upon them grew with strange abilities.

The last of the Celestials, six brightly glowing stones, tumbled through the cosmos.

⁂

Peter gasped and reached out, feeling for the lives he had just snuffed out in a dream.

He sat on the edge of his bed, watching as the tremors in his hands faded and the cloudy need to devour and eat faded.

He flopped back down and the visions of that creature flashed across his thoughts.

A monster. It used the others and took them over to use as tools.

He held up a hand and watched as his symbskin covered it,

Just like my powers. Just like the Symbiotes.

Peter winced and held his head. Feeling a sharp pain as his thoughts swam and his vision faded for a second.

You are not one of us, thing. You shall not steal any more of our power.

Peter screwed his eyes tightly shut as a splitting headache assaulted him. He gritted his teeth as a shudder of pain passed through him,

We are watching, monster.

⁂

Eddie stretched once more, spinning and firing off a web at his target. It dodged to one side so he shot out another web and pulled himself away. He twisted away from the blade that shot out as it counter-attacked.

The pair, a man and a spider fought, teaching, and learning, and as he danced and weaved around her, she felt joy. For once, her champion could be depended upon.

Eddie smiled as well. His way of the web was coming along nicely and he figured that if he fought Huntress once more it would be an even fight.

No, he shook his head as he ducked under a foot-long claw, it wouldn't be. He knew if they fought, he would beat her. He was no longer prey.

He webbed upwards, catching the claw, weaved his hands around it and it was now covered.

Leaping upwards he sprung over the bulbous body of the creature, pulling its tied limb with it. As it reared backwards it tipped and shot out its own web to stabilize itself, swinging him back down. He had already let go as soon as he felt the spider retaliate.

Landing on its back he shot out two webs, catching the top of several leg joints. He remembered spiders had difficulty bending their legs backwards. As long as he remained high, it wouldn't be able to attack him.

This wasn't a fight to the death though. It was a test of ingenuity, intelligence, and wits.

He chuckled as he remembered an old movie and weighted webs swung around, under the knee joints of each limb. As he tugged the Spider was forced to curl, straining each joint. With a final tug, he webbed all eight legs together and it was trapped, stuck hogtied with no way to reach him.

He vaulted from its back but landed and stood with his fists ready. The spider struggled but then faded from view.

Good my champion, you are ready. The one you call Venom was to be our champion but his path is different now. You must take his place. You must be the hero the people need.

Eddie snorted, yeah, they turned on me once they saw I wasn't perfect,

And you should care why? A hero does not fight for accolades or the notice of their wards, they fight because it is the right thing to do.

Strange words coming from a spider, Eddie thought and he heard the soft laughter.

And yet, who keeps a house free from pests? Who works building and dealing with bothersome insects so that a home is clean? A hero is not always the one with the shiniest armour Eddie. A hero is there when needed and gone when not.

Eddie scratched his head, yeah, I guess but you know, not being accused of murder would be nice too,

The melodic voice laughed, on that we can agree. But you know all you need to fight in the approaching storm my champion, and your time here is over. You must gather your forces, there is a war coming, and without them, without each other, nothing with survive.

She had seen the other, seen his nightmare. She knew the devourer would rise once more, and they would perish. She hoped their champions would be enough to save them from the jaws of death.