Chapter 19: Part two of the previous chapter
Wilson went to get rid of Stans' remains, and Bobby volunteered to drive me home again.
"I thought I knew her, thought she was my friend. Was it really just a mask?" Bobbie asked tiredly, leaning against the steering wheel as we pulled in.
What could I tell her? I didn't know Stans when she was alive, but her last words fit the symbiote's story about her passing out after Stans was cured in the hospital.
"What are your next plans?" I tried to distract Bobby from her sad thoughts.
"Well, before that asteroid hit, I wanted to take the firefighter's exam, and now I don't even know..."
"Speaking of asteroids... Is Venom still claiming to be from another planet?"
But it wasn't the girl who answered me, it was the symbiote that had decided to prove itself again:
"Don't you believe me, human?"
"Yeah, it's kind of hard to believe in aliens," I grinned, "I'd rather believe you escaped from some military lab... or escaped, what's the right word?"
"Never mind, symbiotes have no concept of sex, we don't need a mate of our own species to reproduce. My home planet, Klyntar, is a long way from Earth. You call it the Andromeda Galaxy."
"And how on earth did you travel two and a half million light years?"
"I don't know how I got here, my memories are fragmented... the remains of the ship turned into a red-hot melted piece of metal. I don't even know how I survived the fall."
"So there's nothing useful you can tell me?" I chuckled. The symbiote, deciding not to answer, dragged itself back into the girl's body. "Well, good luck in your endeavors, Bobby."
"Yeah... I, thanks, Peter, for everything."
"And you better get rid of that truck, there's too big a trail behind it."
After parting with my unwanted allies: Venom and Deadpool, I finally headed back to my house, anticipating the continuation of an already different adventure, with Mary Jane in bed... actually, no. First, I just wanted to wash up and get some sleep. It had been too long and too busy a day. I felt tired in every muscle of my body. Second, it was almost dawn, M.J. was probably still asleep.
Standing under the shower, I recalled the events of the day, piecing together the scattered fragments. I should thank Stans for her dying revelations; they helped me tremendously.
So, what do we have? Stans' serum was partially successful, but with a number of side effects. I suppose the lack of energy played a role. As far as I know, when Captain America was created, the entire city was de-energized to power the Vita rays. My emitter should have provided the impetus for the body changes, but there was simply no energy for the whole process, and because of this Stans fell into a coma. Something like this I had assumed before; the antiserum I had made for Stans should have rolled back the changes, or at least stopped them, but the symbiote intervened. Not just interfered, but gave energy and stimulated the body's immune system. The result is known to us - the transformation of Stans was completed, but there were side effects. Next, the doctor tricked her into taking over the symbiote, hoping that it could prevent the cells from dying out... then Connors' lab is ransacked and she has a run-in with the Lizard. Bottom line: the Lizard crawled away to heal his wounds in the sewers, while Stans tried to find a way to reverse aging by snacking on civilians, in the process drawing the attention of her hires Deadpool, The Shield, as well as Spidey. And here's the gap: how did she even know about Connors, and why didn't she find me first? And at the time I was lying in my house, defenseless.
Speaking of the spider. After getting out of the shower, I found my phone and texted Connors' number, "How's the scaly-tailed problem going?"
Soon the reply came back, "The drug worked, the lizard dropped its tail, the webbing is just awesome! Just what I needed! Thank you so much!"
I smirked smugly. I wish the cobwebs weren't good! The fact that the antiserum for the Lizard had worked properly was good news. It gives me hope that the antiserum for Stans was also flawless. Then wrote another message, "Tentacle problem solved, too."
"P.S. Clear your message history before returning phone."
That night...that morning, I couldn't sleep for a long time. Going over and over in my head Stans' confession, I tried to decide what to believe. But, damn it, it all adds up! If the symbiote is an alien from another galaxy, then that means Richard Parker never worked on Project Venom. Consequently, the cause of Richard and Mary Parker's death on this world must be different.
Stans had the results of her father's research, which she could have taken away by killing him. That thing had managed to stir up some stale scars! I never thought they could still cause me so much pain.
And I'll never know now why she did it, why she killed my parents.
I woke up an hour before noon, mentally broken but disgustingly awake physically. Eternity Serum, I guess. How inconvenient. I had no desire to work on the formula, so I decided to use the excess energy and put the research on hold until Deadpool organized the room. Even my computer was broken anyway. I decided to start with a jog, but before I did, I called the mercenary and hinted that it would be a good idea to steal the equipment I had left at Cindy's mansion. Yesterday had been a bit out of the way. Wilson accepted the new task without objection and promised to make the best of it, in her usual manner. Heh, I motivated her well.
Finding some conventionally athletic clothes in my closet: knee-length shorts, a T-shirt and sneakers, I went to win the hearts of women I met with the sight of my skinny ankles. In fact, the result of my first workout exceeded my expectations: I ran about three kilometers at a brisk pace, and then another five, sweating and gulping for air like a stranded fish. As I ran past the Watson house, I met M.J. with a bag of groceries.
"You didn't call," she blurted out as soon as we neared each other.
"Yeah," I hesitated, "I passed out as soon as I got back, and I woke up an hour ago, so I'm sorry."
"I'll forgive you if you go to rehearsal with me today," MJ said with a sly smile.
Hey, she's using my own trick, it's not fair!
"Your band?" The girl nods. "Sure, let's go."
MJ smiles even brighter and pulls me closer, grabbing me by the fabric of my shirt.
"Um, no need, I'm all..." but she interrupts me with a kiss.
"Just wash first, hero," Mary Jane giggled, pulling away from me and clutching her nose with her hand. "I'll be back in an hour."
Wow, no questions or recriminations. Even with the special treatment of men, is that normal? Not even that, it's doubly strange in light of the local attitude toward men! Has M.J. always been so lighthearted?
I barely had time to wash my clothes, eat, and get cleaned up. We're going out, after all. Heh, Mary Jane decided to show off her boyfriend to her friends. If she wants to be jealous, I'll make her friends jealous.
At the appointed time, M.J. showed up on my doorstep. She was wearing tight jeans and a tight white tank top again, which showed off her figure in a good way, which made me want to remind her where we left off before Bobby came in, just like she'd asked for yesterday.
"Ready, hero?" she asks with a bright smile.
She obviously finds it funny to call me that. Well, the heroes here are almost all women, and they are still very rare, the same Stark, still dragged through the courts, forcing to share the technology with the people, represented by the government, of course. The idea that such power can be concentrated in the hands of one person has not yet taken root in people's minds.
The girls rehearsed in an old garage, which was no surprise, as was their repertoire of rock 'n' roll songs. This was all to my expectation. What I didn't expect to meet here, especially as a member of the band, was Gwen Stacy. No, I knew about her love of music, but... senior intern Connors, top student in her class and suddenly the drummer in Mary Jane's band, and if you add in her other persona, Spiderwoman. Is she ever home?
Weekly Power Status
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