Boom!
Peter fell from above and slammed hard onto the roof of a moving car.
"Ah!" The woman and child inside screamed at the sudden appearance of a man on top of their car.
"Hey! Sorry, it's me, Spider-Man!"
Peter struggled to his feet, chest heaving as he caught his breath, giving the woman an awkward wave.
But she was so terrified that she stomped on the accelerator, sending Peter skidding dozens of feet down the street.
"Hey! Ma'am, I think you need to calm down!"
Peter slapped against the windshield, trying to make it clear that he would very much prefer not to be run over.
But the shadows moving between the buildings gave him no chance to recover.
Eddie landed in front of the car. Several black tendrils burst from his body and wrapped around Peter, lifting him off the hood.
"I swore I'd make you pay!" Eddie's distorted voice hissed in Peter's ear as he dragged him into a nearby building, smashing through the wall before kicking him away.
Poor Peter. If he had been facing the original Eddie and Venom, he probably wouldn't have been this helpless. But now he was up against an enhanced version of Eddie, and he was getting beaten so badly it was practically Renzo's lifelong dream come true.
"Ugh... ahem..." Peter lay sprawled across what used to be a reception desk, now reduced to rubble, his head spinning as he reconsidered every life choice that had brought him here.
"Where did this guy even come from? He's harder to deal with than Sandman was."
Peter staggered back to his feet and looked at Eddie, who was slowly approaching him.
"I don't even know you!"
"But I know you!" Eddie snarled irrationally.
The Venom symbiote spread across his body and transformed into thick black ropes that instantly bound Peter's arms and legs.
"What the hell is this?" Peter yelped. "The last time I saw this many tentacles was with Otto. And for the record, neither MJ nor I are into bondage."
Peter looked up at Eddie. "What are you, some kind of octopus too? Are mollusks just really popular now?"
Annoyed by Peter's nonstop rambling, Eddie drove a fist into his stomach.
"Urgh—"
Peter nearly threw up from the blow, but somehow managed to swallow it back down.
"Now let's see who's under that mask." Eddie's right hand sharpened into a blade as he reached for Peter's face.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you that forcing yourself on people is rude?"
The moment the words reached Eddie's ears, a beam of energy blasted into him and tore Peter free from his grasp.
"Oh. Maybe you didn't have a mother."
To Peter, Renzo looked like a glowing savior. The golden cloak behind him billowed in the wind as he slowly descended to the ground.
"Eddie Brock! This ends now!"
Renzo stared at the figure crawling out from beneath the collapsed wall, his expression grim. He stayed on full alert. This wasn't just Venom anymore. Eddie was stronger in every way, and somehow he could use magic.
"Be careful, Spider-Man!" Renzo shouted. "He can open portals and send you somewhere else."
"Got it, Renzo!"
Peter dropped into a fighting stance, eyes fixed on Eddie. But even with his spider-sense screaming at him, he still couldn't keep up with Eddie's movements.
Renzo and Peter charged together, attacking Eddie from both sides. The monster looked even bigger than before.
Boom!
Eddie effortlessly ripped a car off the street and used it to block Renzo's energy blast. At the same time, he backhanded Peter out of the air and sent him crashing into the street.
"You should be paying attention to me!"
Renzo shot forward, wrapped his arms around Eddie's waist, and flew straight up into the sky. He wanted to drag Eddie away from the city before even more damage was done.
"You monster!" Eddie snarled, face twisted with fury as he hammered punch after punch into Renzo's body.
Renzo couldn't feel pain, but every blow hit with enough force to drive him out of the air.
The two of them crashed into a nearby park.
Eddie was impaled against the sharp edge of a fountain statue, while Renzo hit the ground and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
"Hey, Renzo! You okay?"
Peter swung over on a webline and hurried to help Renzo to his feet.
"I'm fine."
"Oh! Look at that guy!"
Peter pointed toward Eddie.
Eddie slowly pulled himself free from the statue. A massive, bloody hole gaped in his chest, wide enough to see straight through him.
Then, in an instant, the wound began to heal.
Eddie licked his lips. His long tongue slid slowly across a row of sharp, jagged teeth, like some monster crawling back from hell. The hole in his chest sealed completely, and his body swelled even larger.
"I think... maybe we should call for backup." Renzo stared uncertainly at the massive, two-meter-tall brute. "Peter, don't you have one of those powers where you get stronger when you're angry?"
"It's not like I just found out my girlfriend cheated on me," Peter muttered helplessly, never taking his eyes off Eddie.
Whoosh!
Renzo's pupils contracted. In the blink of an eye, Eddie vanished.
Slash!
Peter sensed Eddie the instant he appeared behind him, but his body couldn't react fast enough.
Eddie seized Peter by the shoulders and raced straight up the side of a skyscraper.
His claws dug deep into Peter's shoulders, and the sharp pain forced a cry out of him.
Eddie dragged Peter all the way to the top of the building at impossible speed, like King Kong scaling the Empire State Building.
"I... am the king of this city!"
Eddie laughed arrogantly. Then he simply let go.
Peter dropped from the rooftop.
Renzo rushed forward and caught him in midair. Blood soaked through Peter's Spider-Man suit. His eyes were unfocused, and he looked like he could pass out at any moment.
"Hahaha!"
Eddie stood on the rooftop, looking down at them with a cruel smile, as smug as a king surveying his kingdom.
"You hurt my students!"
Just as Eddie burst into laughter again, one of Doctor Octopus's metal tentacles wrapped around his head, slammed him into the wall, and dragged him down the side of the building.
Eddie crashed from the top floor all the way to the street below.
Otto appeared moments later, fury written across his face.
"I don't know if you've heard of the term 'mad scientist'!"
One of Otto's tentacles punched through an abandoned car and hurled it straight at Eddie.
Boom!
"You really think an attack this pathetic can stop me?" Eddie shrugged off the wrecked vehicle. "I bet you'd taste pretty good roasted."
"Damn it!" Otto froze for a second. "Where the hell did this thing come from? Did it escape from a lab?"
"I swear I've never seen him in prison!" Peter shouted weakly.
Eddie looked up just in time to see a tidal wave of yellow sand sweeping toward him.
The sandstorm surrounded him, tearing at his body from every direction, carving lines into him like countless blades.
When Flint realized the attack wasn't doing enough damage, he simply blasted Eddie high into the sky, launching him into the darkness until he vanished from sight.
The moment Eddie disappeared, Flint followed after him.
Otto moved to join the fight, but Renzo stopped him.
"Save Peter!"
__________________________________________
You can read early chapters on Patr*on. If you enjoy my work and would like to support me, consider becoming a patron. My Patr*on username is Renzo28557.