Unlike the ancient Hydra ancestor in the MCU universe, the Hive of Earth-616 is a product of modern technology—more accurately, a product of Hydra's reverse-engineering of Kree technology.
As early as World War II, Hydra had collected a vast amount of technology left behind by the Inhumans and the Kree. Through in-depth research, they understood the difference between potential Inhumans, ordinary humans, and mutants. Before awakening, Inhumans are no different from ordinary people; however, as long as the parts of their genetic code modified by the Kree are activated by a catalyst, these individuals transform into Inhumans, becoming powerful superhumans.
However, they encountered a very serious problem: the catalyst required for activation, the so-called "Terrigen Mist" mentioned in the literature, was nowhere to be found on Earth.
It wasn't until a dozen years ago that Arnim Zola completed his research. By using another type of parasite developed by Hydra to replace the role of the Terrigen Mist, they allowed the parasites to consume a Hydra agent. In doing so, Hive gained the agent's thoughts and consciousness. These parasites were then used to infect humans capable of awakening as Inhumans.
In this way, they could not only awaken superpowers but also be completely controlled by Hive. However, this method had two flaws: first, all the Inhumans were controlled by Hive like puppets, requiring constant maintenance of control over Hive himself. Second, all the parasites would naturally coalesce into Hive, making it impossible to replicate the experiment.
The reason this project was not included in the Weapon Expansion Program was that its limitations were too great—it was tied exclusively to Hive himself. But on the flip side, as long as Hive remained a member of Hydra, they possessed an army of "budget-version" Inhumans who were absolutely loyal.
Well, at least until now.
"Where did Hydra get so many disgusting little bugs? It's nauseating just looking at them."
Janet Van Dyne hugged her arms and flew opposite Hive. Just a moment ago, she had used Ant-Man's pheromones and infrasound frequencies to control a massive swarm of ants. They had pounced on the parasites, engaging in a life-and-death struggle that sent the creatures scuttling everywhere.
"Did you know? According to fossil records, the common ancestor of army ants originated no later than the early-to-mid Cretaceous period. In other words, even in a place like the Savage Land, there are likely army ants—and even if there aren't army ants, there are termites. These things are everywhere in the world, though termites aren't actually ants... Good heavens, I never thought Hank's ant trivia would actually have a useful day."
Janet continued to mutter to herself while Hive was busy dealing with the Savage Land's specialty: a literal army of army ants. These brutal creatures were not only massive in number but also fierce in combat. Most importantly, they were small—too small to be parasitized. Hive could only release a portion of himself to tear into the opposing swarm.
And looking at the sheer numbers, he definitely couldn't out-tear the opposition.
"Stop! Someone, help!"
Hive's instinctive reaction inadvertently rewrote the entire course of the battle. The mindless Inhuman puppets rushed over, plunging into the endless sea of ants to fight them, effectively diverting an entire Hydra unit away from the main front.
Moving past Hive being pummeled by ants, the person blocking Peter on the other side was a veteran Hydra figure, a master of biological modification and the general head of the Weapon Expansion Program: Arnim Zola. This fellow looked like a walking, oversized television with limbs attached. His big face was displayed on the screen, and he aimed the camera on top at Peter.
"Spider-Man, according to my calculations, I believe you are the enemy with the highest threat level in the entire Avengers, second only to Bruce Banner and Thor. Therefore, I have come to deal with you personally."
"Really? I'm that impressive? Then shouldn't you upgrade yourself to an LCD screen before coming back? You know, just to highlight my prestigious status?"
This remark momentarily short-circuited Zola's processing. After a brief silence, he flashed a smile. With a wave of his hand, massive giants composed of wind, sand, fire, and water emerged from behind him.
"For you, I have specifically produced a brand-new set of Elementals to fight you! This is the essence of the Weapon Expansion Program! Every powerful villain you eliminate is merely a weapon for us at Hydra. As long as we wish, we can recreate them instantly—"
Before Zola could finish, there was a loud "bang," and one of the Elementals exploded.
Zola looked over in shock.
"Oh, hey Peter, I saw you were having some trouble over here and thought I'd lend a hand." It was Kitty Pryde who had caused the blast. She had phased through the body of the new Hydro-Man, causing him to explode instantly. She wasn't even entirely sure what had happened. "This—"
"No, no, no, Kitty, you did great! All you need to do is phase through the bodies of these Elementals! When you phase, you disrupt the molecular cohesion of the elements themselves. These guys will just pop as soon as you touch them!"
Peter immediately realized what Kitty had done. He had managed to dismantle Elementals in similar ways before, but using Kitty's ability to directly alter the intermolecular forces was a truly unexpected pleasant surprise.
Zola, silent for a moment, seemed to grasp what had happened. He nodded and immediately brought in a second wave of reinforcements to deal with Spider-Man. "It's not over yet, Spider-Man! I have specially prepared some old friends to face you! Thanks to Carnage's contribution, Hydra now has an ample army of symbiotes!"
Row after row of Hydra soldiers appeared behind Zola. They were all clad in mass-produced, mindless green symbiotes, standing before Peter with weapons in hand. Zola looked extremely smug. Every soldier here had undergone rigorous and professional training. Based on the Spider-Man data previously transmitted by Otto Octavius, these men were to be the ultimate weapons against Spider-Man!
Peter looked at the group and remained silent for a good while. He glanced around to make sure Zola wasn't going to throw out any more new toys.
"Quick question: Has your database been updated since Otto Octavius died? Or is all your data on me strictly from what Otto sent back then?"
Hearing this, Zola looked at Spider-Man with some confusion. It had only been three months since June. What was the point? Was Spider-Man implying that in this short amount of time, he had become powerful enough to completely ignore a symbiote army with abilities similar to his own?
Peter gave a helpless shrug and instantly switched his suit to the white version with black accents. "Well, it seems your intel is seriously outdated. Or perhaps the way Carnage died led you to a miscalculation."
"Have you ever heard of Anti-Venom?"