When Venom and Carnage finally met, there was no waste of breath; both sides immediately surged into a state of combat.
For Venom and Flash, the opponent was a psychopathic murderer; killing him on the spot was the optimal solution.
As for Carnage and Cletus, they didn't really care who they killed, as long as the slaughter felt right. However, the Codex within Venom and Flash was a mandatory item required by Knull. Thus, Agent Venom was marked for certain death.
In an instant, Venom manipulated four long spears, thrusting them relentlessly toward Carnage. Countless holes appeared across Carnage's body, looking as though he had been riddled by a dense barrage of energy beams.
However, the Spider-Sense duplicated by Venom told Flash that the opponent was likely not injured at all.
"Are you done?"
Only after Flash had completely exhausted his energy did Carnage ask back. Then, he lunged forward immediately. In the mere second of that charge, Venom and Flash confirmed one thing.
The opponent was definitely stronger than them!
Agent Venom raised both arms, attempting to strike with his blades, but Carnage's speed was far superior. With a duck and a side-skid, Carnage brushed past the tips of the blades; then, the countless blades shifting all over his body stabbed into Venom's form.
Venom, however, acted as if he had seized an opportunity. He countered with a punch, yanking Carnage up and attempting to hoist him into the air.
Next, both sides demonstrated how symbiotes destroy one another: by attempting to utterly dismantle the other's molecular structure. But as soon as he initiated the attack, Venom realized there was a problem.
[Hmm?]
"What's wrong?"
[Its structure is far more unstable than a typical symbiote, which means it's much harder to destroy at the molecular level...]
Flash was shocked. "Doesn't that mean it can take a beating better than we can?!"
Not necessarily... Venom thought. This body structure was clearly specialized for intra-symbiote warfare. An unstable structure made it easier to resist destruction by other symbiotes and convenient for devouring them, but it also made it susceptible to being destroyed by other means.
Even if one ignored the conventional symbiote weaknesses of fire and sonic waves, the principle remained.
[We need to lure him away and let the S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists build Doctor Octopus's molecular oscillator.]
If a molecular oscillator could separate Venom from Peter, then for Carnage, the device would be a lethal weapon.
Flash naturally didn't understand the intricacies of molecular vibration, but he was obedient enough to act immediately. After tearing Carnage away with his claws, he departed at once.
Carnage glanced at the safe house he hadn't yet pried open, then looked at Agent Venom, who was slower than him. Wearing an excited grin, he gave chase in a single bound.
Agent Venom swung through the skyscrapers of New York on webs, moving rapidly, but the duplicated Spider-Sense rang out uncontrollably.
Flash couldn't resist glancing back, only to see Carnage directly using his symbiote mass to stick to the buildings.
Carnage's movements were far more violent than Venom's. If Agent Venom was imitating Spider-Man's "web-swinging," then Carnage was moving entirely like a human slingshot. He thrust his tentacles into the buildings, then rapidly spun and twisted them to launch himself forward, damaging the structures' integrity in the process.
The entire process took less than half a second; he caught up that quickly.
[Watch out! He's caught up!]
"I know that!"
Relying on his Spider-Sense, Flash swiftly dodged the aerial strike to avoid being grounded from a high altitude. He landed on the roof of a nearby building, looking around warily.
"Where's the enemy?"
The enemy had always been there, just not in front of Flash. He remained alert to his surroundings, then saw viscous red liquid appearing on the floor.
"There!"
A fully reloaded Flash opened fire toward the floor, even shooting through the ceiling, but saw no trace of Carnage.
No! Behind me!
Agent Venom spun around instantly and saw Carnage, who hadn't had time to escape. The latter simply stopped hiding; as the black-and-red symbiote gradually permeated up through the floorboards, a mass of twisted biomass transformed into Carnage in short order.
"You're much more interesting than I thought. How fun. At first, I thought you were just a clueless little brat, but I didn't expect you'd be so good at resisting."
"This is better. I can have some real fun!"
While praising him, Carnage let out a piercing shriek. Then, while Venom was enduring the sonic waves, Carnage chose to lunge, stabbing his blades directly into Venom's body and lifting him high.
Just as he intended to finish Venom off by tearing him apart, the Agent Venom he had impaled gripped the stabbing blades tightly. He then forcefully snapped the blades off, and Venom devoured that portion of the symbiote directly into his own stomach.
Furthermore, due to the unique nature of the symbiote, Flash wouldn't sustain damage from this, which meant he could maintain his stamina and engage in a "righteous" struggle with Carnage.
"You don't seem as tough as you act, do you?!"
As Flash spoke, he landed a punch on Carnage and began to tear and bite at him savagely. "Today, I'm getting rid of this menace for the people!"
The battle between the two symbiotes quickly reached a fever pitch. Flash, relying on the advantage he had just seized, attacked continuously, attempting to solve the problem before he lost his edge—hoping to beat Carnage into submission in one go and then devour him.
Unfortunately, this tactic failed. Carnage reacted quickly, his left hand transforming into an enormous blade that pierced through Agent Venom's entire body, hoisting him high once more.
"I could kill you at any time, Father, but I've decided not to."
Looking at the Venom he held aloft, Carnage suppressed his murderous impulse and threw him down from the heights.
"Because I intend to enjoy the slaughter!"
Flash slammed heavily into the ground after the fall, only narrowly escaping death thanks to the symbiote. Pedestrians nearby fled in terror at the sight.
Venom, sensing that Flash's consciousness was still clear, immediately asked with concern: [Are you alright?]
"I'm okay. This guy really is hard to handle..."
[That is why I think you should call Spider-Man.]
Unexpectedly, Flash refused.
"If Spidey has to show up for every villain, how is he supposed to keep up with everything..."
Flash spoke as he stood up, looking at the snarling, slowly approaching Carnage.
"Maybe right now, Spidey is saving the world or helping someone else! How can I disturb him!"
"I'm going to take this damn guy down all by myself!"