Spider-Man. The House Of Venom

“What I’m trying to tell you Peter is that without help I can’t do anything.” Felicia was exasperated with Peter. They’d written a list, and she had agreed to it until she found out exactly what it entailed.

Cleaning up Hell's Kitchen was number one. Norman was out of their league so instead, they worked on what they could actually accomplish. She’d already formed the Black Cats and started to recruit some of the more abused streetwalkers.

Not everyone liked having a pimp that expected sexual favours. Not everyone liked having a pimp who’d beat them if a target wasn’t met. Soon enough, she had classes running, teaching self-defence and more.

They were also making deals with the more agreeable places. Giving the streetwalkers a quiet place to work if they wanted. The more abusive pimps were warned at first, and then not given a second chance if they didn’t listen. The results were astounding. The streets were quieter again and Felicia felt she was making a difference.

It was great. She’d begun to clean out most of Hell's Kitchen's more obvious operations already. Word spread quickly and anyone who was in the know knew to stay quiet or risk the Black Cat coming after them. The files Peter had taken from Aleksei were already paying off. Huntress was on a campaign of fear and it was making an impact.

It was item number two that irked her. While Peter tended to Liv she had to also find Curt Conners. While she was building the contacts, she didn’t have the time.

Trudging from safe house to safe house took her away from her job of running the streets. There was a delicate balance of loyalty and understanding towards a new boss. If she didn’t keep a presence in the streets they would gut her, and Peter didn’t seem to understand that.

“No, I get it, you need help,” he said, shaking his head, “so what do you need?”

Felicia thanked her maker and slipped a map down on the table. “Sewers. All the hideouts we’ve checked capable of hiding him are clean. The only place we can’t go is the sewers.”

Of course, it was the sewers. Living underground would be the perfect place to hide in New York. There were hundreds of miles of tunnels. The situation got worse once you added in the abandoned network of old subway stations. Peter shook his head at the enormity of the task.

“Sorry, I didn’t realise. Yeah, of course, I can help. but uh, we need something better than one of us going down into the tunnels. Even with better senses, we’ll never find anyone down there.”

Peter stared at the map again. Maybe Liv could help but he doubted Conners was stupid enough to go to any old hangouts. He sighed in frustration as he realised he might need to break his promise to Liv.

As he stared at the map, copied from the local library he saw nothing more than a jumbled mess of old tunnels. There were too many ways to hide underground that with an army he doubted they would find anything. But he had to come above ground at some point.

The sewer might have a good supply of rodents but clean water? Curt had to make an appearance for food. He had to earn money and even if he had access to hidden bank accounts he still needed to come up to get to an ATM. They needed to catch Curt as he made his trips above ground.

“Uh Felicia, don’t get weird but um, could you come here a minute?” he asked, looking slightly worried.

Felicia shrugged, “sure.”

As she came closer to him he took her and pulled her into his lap, she giggled, “uh I know it’s frustrating but, maybe later huh?” 

He just smiled and grinned. “Not what I’m after.” Peter paused, “but later? Damn right.” Felicia grinned and cuddled closer to him. Taking her arm he took a deep breath at her wrist. Then he lifted her arm and took another, kissed her neck before taking another deep breath at the nape of her neck. “Liv, come here a minute.”

A moment later a frowning Liv wheeled herself from her home. While it had been six months since she had been freed from the harness, she was still recovering. Long nights working with Felicia were starting to take their toll, and she was tired and a little cranky. Liv was getting ready for a small nap when Peter called for her. “Oh dear, sorry I’m really too tired for that.”

He shook his head and motioned her over, “Arm.”

As she frowned and held out her arm he sniffed it. “Different, much different, I can smell the formula in your blood, it’s faint but mixed in with your symbiote.”

“Wait, you can smell my blood? What the hell Parker?” Felicia exclaimed.

“Oh shush. It’s not like you never thought about it before. I mean hell, you can smell my arousal, so why can’t I smell yours?” 

Liv just smirked, “I bet a lot more too. I did tell you Symbiotes are hyper-stimulated. You know I trapped Peter with a  test tube of my own scent. The horny little devil he is,” Liv explained with a small grin.

Felicia looked at Peter who shrugged and she laughed.

“Really? You got tricked by a bad guy 'cause you were horny?” Felicia creased up laughing, explaining her thoughts to Liv. "You mean like one of those old cartoon wolves. Big love hearts for eyes and a massive erection cutting a groove in the pavement?"

Of course, Liv found this hilarious as well, and the pair laughed as Peter grinned and shook his head.

“Fine fine. I don’t hear you all complaining though. My point still stands, for-mu-la, it gives a person a specific scent that can be tracked.”

“Hmm, a spectrum analyser with an electronic nose might be able to pick up the scent. Maybe buy a carbon monoxide detector and rewire it to detect formula. Gwen might be able to synthesize a small amount for us to use as a pure test sample. Oh and Peter dear. Make sure you get one with an electrochemical sensor. The ones that just go off once they absorb the gas would be useless.”

Peter shrugged. Gwen was at college right now so he sent her a text, asking if on her way back she could pick one up for them. They had to wait for her to synthesize the formula anyway, so asking her to pick up the sensor wasn't an issue.

It was only for a test. They would need to leave hundreds around New York, but they could at least narrow the search down. Sewer access, within a few blocks of not just an ATM but a convenience store as well.

“Now, if you've finished sniffing me, can I get some sleep?” Liv asked as she yawned. "I may even let you watch me undress if you tuck me in."

Peter laughed and kissed the hand he still had a hold of. He looked over at Felicia, "give me a minute," and she nodded as he followed Liv back to her home.

Her home had become more personal. At first, when she thought the group would eventually turn on her she had very little. She had been too afraid to settle and make plans. Now, with free time, she was painting. Not just designs or schematics but landscapes and skylines. all her own work.

Liv slid a hand over Peter's cheek and he leaned forwards and kissed her. “Be careful dear. The lizard formula was one of the most unstable things Osborn had created. Curt might be a rational man but as a beast, he’ll be a monster.” Peter kissed her again. She slid his hand up her pyjamas and sighed happily as he gave her breasts a squeeze.

“Aren't we all?” he grinned as his fingers found a nipple to gently pinch.

Liv chuckled and shook her head, “Now, shoo, I’ll be a mess if I don't get some sleep.” She guided Peter's hand out, "and if you keep doing that, I won't want to."

Peter pulled the blanket up, letting Liv grab it and make herself comfortable. She took off her glasses and snuggled into the bed. Switching off the light Peter quietly closed the door of her home and headed back to the table with Felicia.

She was sending and receiving text messages over several burner phones. The Black Cat network let anyone talk to anyone else, getting help where needed. Communication was key in any organisation. So once the girls were united, their lives got a lot better. Bad pimps were taken care of, and girls with drug or money problems were helped.

The current topic was that the streets had been quieting down recently. A rival, and prominent, faction had gone to ground. Girls found themselves without handlers and several brothels just shut their doors.

Felicia had tried to find out if there was a reason for this other than Venom but so far there was nothing. Everyone was unwilling, or too scared to talk and Felicia was worried.

She knew from her father that this only happened right before a gang war. With her Black Cats being the latest faction to emerge, she could put money it was a sure thing they were coming for her.

“Pete, I really don't like this. If you want my gut feeling, something is coming. They might not know about Huntress and Venom, but I was active enough as Black Cat to make them scared.”

“Ask if anyone has been asking after you or Venom. If Aleksei had formal, so might whoever he worked for.”

Felicia tapped on her phone a few times and nodded, “You think it's a Powered?" Peter nodded while she chatted on her phone. "No weird costumes so far. The only news is that one of the higher-up enforcers, Aaron, was snooping around. Seems he’s been shutting down places all day.”

Felicia wrote down the address she had asked for, then compared it to the list that she and Peter had made. Most of the places closing were on their list to hit and shut down. Someone was preparing, and it was most likely for them.

As Peter stared at the two lists he sighed. “Any idea who he works for?”

“Nope, some of the bosses like it that way though. We’re not the only ones who wear masks, even if they aren’t literal ones.” Felicia knew a lot of the bosses only worked through intermediaries. Even the biggest faction in Hell's Kitchen was run by someone she could only find out was called Kingpin. There was nothing else. Whoever he or she was, kept their identity so secret that only the most loyal knew their real identity.

“Do we go after him? Or stay away and let him clear out the last few places we’d shut down anyway?”

“It comes down to one of two things. Do we head into a trap or do we wait until he’s prepared and finds us here?”

“I say we go after him. I’d rather keep the warehouse out of it. Liv can't defend herself if anyone attacks here and it draws a link between us and the Symbiotes.” Peter shook his head, “either way we’ve got no choice. If he’s being this blatant then he knows, and if he knows, then it's a trap. If it's a trap we either wait and he gets more time, or we attack and walk into it. It's not really a choice.”

Felicia nodded and tapped on her phone, “I’ll find out what places he’s been, and see if we can find out where he’s going next.”

Peter nodded and opened a cupboard to see what food they had. “So, I guess, uh, burgers or chocolate? I think we’ve still got some of those protein bars left.”

“Both?” Felicia bit her lip though and stared at Peter's groin, and he laughed,

“No, that kind of protein might be good for you but not for me.”

She fake pouted, “maybe after?”

He nodded and kissed her forehead, “as if you even need to ask.”

Peter and Felicia ate a pack of burgers each, finished the protein bars, and tidied up, before heading out. Peter left a note for Liv explaining what they were doing, and where they were headed.

Once in the denser residential area, Felicia made sure nobody was watching and Huntress coated her and she vanished. Huntress could blend in but Peter still hadn't figured out how she did it. He knew the science behind it, just not how to actually make his symbskin do it.

“Cheater,” he muttered.

Huntress giggled above him as he headed down the street out of Sunset Park. It was going to be a long walk to Hell's Kitchen.

⁂

Aaron had been making his rounds, trying to get the word on the street that someone was onto them. He’d planned and had every minor detail he could think of worked out. All he needed now was for the problematic pair to show up and he could lead them in his favourite dance. He checked his wrist launchers one more time. Clicking the rounds in and out of the chamber to make sure nothing went wrong.

The trap had been set. He made himself known to hopefully drag Huntress and Venom out of whatever hole they hid in. Once they were spotted he could spring the trap and drag them into the jaws of death. Once those two were gone, Black Cat and the operation she was starting would be next.

Everything had been prepared. As Aaron looked over his equipment one last time he also added in one last thing. A smooth and small injector gun hung by his belt. His final resort. He knew what the pale blue liquid inside could do to him, and he knew that unless he had no choice he would never use it.