◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews.
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones. or 500 Collections
◇ You can read 90 chapter ahead on P@treon of which 10 are free Chapters. if you're interested: patreon.com/Heroicverse
------------------------------------------------
The Symbiote, like a surging black tide, enveloped Misty Knight's entire body in the blink of an eye, carrying an evil aura, and gradually formed a bizarre and terrifying spiral-shaped red rune on her face.
"Damn it, is that a Symbiote?!" Sheriff Frank Castle exclaimed, his face filled with horror.
He had personally witnessed Anti-Venom and Adrian Toomes possessed by a Symbiote, so he was no stranger to Symbiotes.
But before he could react, Misty Knight, controlled by a Loyalist Symbiote, unleashed a swift punch in Sheriff Frank Castle's astonished gaze, like a cannonball leaving its barrel, striking him directly in the face.
The immense impact made Sheriff Frank Castle's head snap to the side, his eyes roll back, and he was instantly knocked unconscious.
"Boom—"
The car lost control, like a wild horse unbridled, spinning wildly on the highway.
The car shook violently, and finally, with a "bang," it slammed heavily into the guardrail on the side of the road, the front instantly deforming, and plumes of smoke rising from the engine.
"Bang—"
Misty Knight kicked the right car door off with great force; the door flew a long distance like a kite with a broken string.
Under the protection of the Symbiote, the collision just now caused her no harm whatsoever.
Then, she walked to the other side of the car, reached out and directly grabbed the car door, which had been twisted and deformed in the collision, and with a strong pull, she tore it off and threw it aside.
She then bent down and dragged the unconscious Sheriff Frank Castle out of the driver's seat, effortlessly lifting him onto her shoulder, as if carrying a trivial item.
"Swish, swish—"
Afterward, she rushed towards Paterson City like an agile Beast.
Her figure flashed through the darkness, moving extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared into the pitch-black night, leaving only the disfigured car burning quietly on the silent highway.
...
Night fell, but the streets of New York were deserted, the city shrouded in endless darkness, exuding a oppressive and eerie silence.
Numerous police cars with flashing lights slowly patrolled the city's main roads.
It had been a full week since the "mass disappearance of nearly five thousand prisoners from Ravencroft Prison," but the police investigation still had no leads, like groping in the dark, unable to find any direction.
The general public was terrified by this heinous incident, whispers filled the streets and alleys, and fear spread through the crowd like a virus.
But to make matters worse, in recent days, every night, some horrifying and violent attacks occurred in the streets and alleys of New York.
Initially, only homeless people, as well as streetwalkers, drug addicts, and even gang members who frequently appeared at night, were attacked. However, the deaths of these societal outcasts did not attract much attention from the police or others.
Instead, people secretly rejoiced at the reduction of undesirable individuals in the streets and alleys, hoping that more urban scourges could be eliminated.
However, they soon stopped smiling.
Because gradually, more and more late-returning civilians were subjected to similar attacks, and the number was rising at an alarming exponential rate.
Fear, like a Shadow, began to spread rampantly throughout the city; citizens dared not go out at night, the streets were deserted, losing their former hustle and bustle and vitality, leaving only a deathly silence.
To date, at least a hundred civilians have been killed, and their deaths were all extremely gruesome; not only did their entire heads disappear, but even their spines vanished without a trace.
An unprecedented panic quickly swept through the entire city, like a storm, plunging people into endless fear.
Even the city hall had to issue a public statement, urging citizens to stay home as much as possible at night and to lock their doors and windows before going to bed.
At the same time, the mayor specifically ordered the police to find the true culprit behind this series of violent attacks as quickly as possible and to bring him to justice, providing an explanation to the citizens.
Because the manner of these civilians' deaths was identical to that of the prison guards in Ravencroft Prison, the police quickly focused their target on Vulture Adrian Toomes.
However, even though they used various methods and searched everywhere, they still could not find his whereabouts. Adrian Toomes seemed to have vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
Meanwhile, on a certain street in Hell's Kitchen.
With a muffled "bang," a private car that was driving normally on a dark street was suddenly stopped head-on by a huge humanoid creature that abruptly sprang out of the sewer.
It was a Symbiote Warrior possessed by a Loyalist Symbiote, and on his face, there was a very conspicuous spiral pattern, like a demon's mark.
Then, before the people inside the car could react, the Symbiote Warrior had already torn open the car door with his sharp claws; the sound of tearing metal was exceptionally harsh.
Then, in the terrified gaze of the middle-aged man driving the car, and the screams of a middle-aged woman and two children sitting in the back, the Symbiote Warrior opened his blood-red mouth full of sharp teeth and bit off the middle-aged man's head in one gulp. Blood spurted out like a fountain, and then he chewed with great delight, as if enjoying a delicious feast.
At the same time, he did not forget to reach into the middle-aged man's headless corpse and pull out the spine from behind, happily throwing it into his mouth to chew, a sound that sent shivers down one's spine.
"Run, children, run!"
The middle-aged woman sitting in the back seat of the car had now regained consciousness. Although her heart was filled with fear, and her legs were trembling too much to stand because she had witnessed her husband's head being eaten by the monster right in front of her.
But at this moment, her maternal instinct overcame all fear and helplessness, because she had to protect her two children.
So, while the Symbiote monster in front of her was eating her husband's head, she endured her fear, quickly opened the car door with trembling hands, pulled up her two still screaming children, and fled towards the distant street where faint lights were visible.
Her steps faltered, and her body swayed, but she had only one thought: to protect her children.
"Run, keep running, don't stop, and don't look back!" The woman dragged her two children forward, shouting loudly, but her voice became somewhat sharp and trembling due to excessive fear.
However, accompanied by a Beast-like roar, the Symbiote Warrior behind them caught up to the mother and her two children in just a few breaths, moving at an even faster speed.
"Mommy, I'm scared!"
"Mommy, I want Daddy..."
The two children, less than 6 years old, beside the woman were directly scared stiff; they clung tightly to their mother's thighs with their small hands, unable to even stand steadily, let alone continue to run. Tears streamed down their tender faces.
"I know, darling, I'm scared too... But Mommy will protect you."
Facing the Symbiote monster approaching step by step, the woman helplessly looked around. The dark street was empty, so even if she screamed her lungs out, no one would come to save them.
Despair!
Powerlessness!
Helplessness...
Knowing that she could not escape, the woman gave up her futile struggle, embracing her two children with both grief and helplessness, pulling their small faces, covered in tears and fear, into her embrace, temporarily shielding the monster behind her with her chest, and gently comforting them:
"Darling, close your eyes, don't open them no matter what... Don't look!"
"Soon we'll be able to see Daddy..." Her voice was choked with a hint of despair and helplessness.
"Roar!!"
The hungry Symbiote Warrior opposite let out a ferocious roar, a sound like a roar from hell, then opened its gaping maw and bit towards the woman's head. It rarely came out of the sewer, so it had to eat its fill today.
However, just as the woman thought she and her children were certainly going to die, a sudden voice rang out from behind, "Excuse me, please... Madam, you don't mind if I join the party, do you?"
The voice carried a hint of teasing, but it was full of power.
At the same time, the Symbiote Warrior, who had already lunged in front of the woman, suddenly paused, and then its mountain-like robust figure was forcibly dragged back by an unstoppable immense force.
"No, bad dog, you can't touch them!!"
Lizard Peter directly threw the Symbiote Warrior backward with his thick, massive tail, then said to the startled woman in front of him:
"Madam, take your children and leave here as soon as possible. Remember, it's best not to go out at night for a while."
"Tha... Thank you, Lizard-Man, thank you for saving my children..."
Although the person in front of her was also a terrifying-looking monster, the woman had already seen news about him in The Daily Bugle and knew that he was Lizard-Man, who had teamed up with Spider-Woman and later joined The Seven.
So, overjoyed and weeping uncontrollably with gratitude, she pulled her two frightened children and ran into the distance, her steps hurried but with a renewed desire to survive.
"Phew... Good thing I arrived in time!"
Watching the mother and children successfully disappear into the distance, Lizard Peter couldn't help but let out a long sigh, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.
His presence here was not a coincidence.
Instead, he had been closely monitoring the development of this matter recently.
The reason was simple... He knew that Gwen seemed to be very concerned about this matter recently and was feeling down because she hadn't been able to catch Adrian Toomes.
So, as a qualified lick... ahem, Peter Parker, a thoughtful friend, naturally had to do his best to help his goddess solve the problem as soon as possible and bring Adrian Toomes to justice!
From then on, Peter Parker would transform into Lizard-Man every night, shuttling back and forth through the streets and alleys of New York, searching for any clues that might be related to Adrian Toomes.
Just a few minutes ago, when he arrived in Hell's Kitchen, he suddenly heard a terrified scream from afar, and then the sound died down.
However, Lizard Peter still managed to find the scene of the incident using his powerful auditory system, successfully preventing a tragedy from happening.
"Then, it's our turn to have a good chat..."
Lizard Peter looked at the Symbiote Warrior, who had gotten back up and was now baring its teeth and charging towards him, and he unleashed a punch without hesitation.
"Bang—"
A powerful, heavy frontal blow directly knocked the Symbiote covering the upper body of the charging Symbiote Warrior backward, revealing the true face of the possessed prisoner underneath, as well as the orange prison uniform he was still wearing on his upper body.
However, the opponent's face was blank, like a walking corpse, with lifeless eyes, and he kept repeating one sentence, "The God is Coming!!"
The voice was hollow and mechanical, as if being controlled by some evil force.
"Hey, you escaped from Ravencroft Prison, right?"
"Do you know Adrian Toomes' whereabouts... and what exactly happened at Ravencroft Prison that day?"
Lizard Peter spoke while cautiously observing the other party's reaction.
But just as he tried to 'wake' the other party, the part of the Symbiote that had just been knocked away was pulled back by long, thin, fluid tentacles that, although stretched, had not been completely severed.
The 'reanimated' Symbiote Warrior once again lunged at Lizard Peter, baring its claws as if to tear him to shreds.
"What's going on? This guy seems a bit off..."
Lizard Peter fought while trying to process the scene he had just witnessed, his mind filled with questions, "Could it be that this prisoner isn't the dominant one, but rather the one being controlled?"
Logically speaking, under normal circumstances, when a Symbiote attaches to a human, the human should be the dominant one, right?
But just now, when he knocked the Symbiote off the other party's upper body, the prisoner 'inside' seemed to have his brain 'crashed' on the spot, stopping blankly until the part of the Symbiote that had been knocked away re-covered his body before he resumed normal movement.
This was clearly very different from what Lizard Peter had previously understood about the Symbiotes' habits!
What exactly is going on?!