"Come on, I'm not scared!"
Venom was as cocky as could be. A hand shot out from behind Peter, pulled over a chair, and then took control of Peter's body to sit him down.
"Who do you think I am?"
"I'm Venom!"
"After escaping from that guy, there's no one on this planet I'm afraid of!" Venom bragged loudly.
"That guy? Who?"
Peter's curiosity was piqued. It was the first time he'd ever heard Venom talk about the past.
"You want to know?"
Venom switched to a voice dripping with temptation, like a devil dangling some forbidden object right in front of Peter's eyes. But at the same time, the voice was filled with a kind of joy that Peter found hard to understand.
"You really want to know about me?"
"Of course. We're partners now!" Peter said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"We're partners!" Venom shouted with glee.
Deadpool, I've won by a landslide!
Go off and have your stabby love-fest with your old wolf!
Spider-Man is mine, Venom's! Don't you even think about getting close!
After basking in self-satisfaction for a moment, Venom slowly began to talk.
"Actually, it was just a few days ago. I was young and clueless, drifting through the universe with a few good friends of mine. Then we got attacked by those no-good, motherless Chitauri bastards and had to make planetfall on Earth."
"And then?"
Peter automatically filtered out the profanity.
"And then I ran into that terrifying guy!" Venom's voice went shrill, practically trembling with fear.
"He locked me up, took me to some lab full of experimental equipment and dangerous weapons, and used the most horrible things against me!"
Venom's story was full of sound and fury, signifying trauma.
"In the end, he stuffed me into some kind of machine, and then I flew up into the sky along with a big red guy."
Listening to Venom's account, Peter felt a growing sense of familiarity.
"A big red guy... full of experimental equipment... dangerous weapons..."
Venom added another detail: "You could tell at a glance that equipment was crazy expensive."
"...Crazy expensive."
A face began to form in Peter's mind.
"You're not talking about Mr. Stark, are you? He can be a bit... difficult to approach," Peter said.
"Maybe."
Venom declared that he was past caring now.
"Anyway, you live in a shabby place like this. I guarantee that guy will never set foot here in his whole life. I'm free!"
He screamed inside Peter's head, utterly ecstatic.
"To hell with that piece of shit! We're the ones who are meant to be!"
Venom was in a fantastic mood.
Just thinking about never having to see Bant again in his life filled him with relief.
Honestly, he hated Bant, mainly because the guy had gotten the better of him right from the start. And that man even had a symbiote traitor on him that leaked the symbiotes' weakness, leaving Venom tortured by sonic waves for ages.
Right.
Even now, Venom hadn't figured out that Super Kill's true form was actually Bant himself.
Aside from the "crimes" listed above, there was also breaking promises, stuffing him into a sealed device, threatening to burn him with fire...
His crimes were too numerous to record!
And even more importantly, Bant was privy to some of his secrets.
But thankfully, he had not only found a suitable host now, but he would also never have to see that guy again.
Life from now on was going to be sweet!
"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Introduce me to your cousin! I want to see if he's as delicious as you are!"
Venom was spinning in circles with impatience.
Just then, voices came from downstairs.
Then Peter heard Aunt May say, "Peter is in his room."
"They're back!" Peter said.
"I sense it!" Venom's eyes lit up. "Your Spider-Sense is giving me a special feeling! My scalp is tingling!"
"You're right! I'm going to like him—Oh, fuck! It's you!"
Venom had been practically jumping out of his skin with excitement.
Then he heard two sets of footsteps climbing the stairs. The next moment, the door opened, and Bant walked in.
His mood instantly flipped from ecstatic to horrified. His Belial-like eyes went perfectly round with shock, practically popping out of his head. His voice screeched to a halt and took a sharp turn.
"Why is it you?!"
"How the fuck is it you again?!"
How old are you?!
He had never, in his wildest nightmares, imagined that the cousin Peter was talking about was actually Bant.
That fleeting scalp-tingling sensation had been the resonance between their Spider-Senses, a feeling the old Venom, who lacked spider powers at the time, naturally wouldn't have recognized.
Now, Venom lay slumped on the floor like a puddle of mud, as if his dreams had been shattered.
This was like ordering a call girl online, a girl who looked deliciously captivating, her skin so delicate it seemed like a single bite would release a burst of juicy, layered pork belly.
He couldn't wait to let his big guy have a full-body massage.
But just when the foreplay was getting good, she'd take off her pants, reveal her substantial family assets—bigger than yours—and expect you to be the one getting screwed...
Seeing Venom in this state, the three of them exchanged glances, each with questions bursting to be asked.
Harry spoke first: "Peter, why is there a puddle of petroleum in your room? Watch out, that might attract mold."
"He's not petroleum, he's Venom. The suit I was wearing before," Peter replied. Then he looked at Bant. "You two know each other?"
"Who else do you think sent him into space?" Bant countered.
Only then did Peter realize that the "guy" Venom had been talking about was Bant all along.
"So... what's he doing?"
Bant glanced at Venom with disgust and asked.
"Probably watching his dreams shatter."
Peter shook his head and ignored Venom. Seeing Bant appear, Venom also quieted down, instantly shrinking back into Peter's body.
Seeing this, the three of them ignored him too and started chatting among themselves.
"Uncle Norman isn't coming over today?" Peter asked.
Today, everyone had gathered at their house. For no other reason than it being Thanksgiving.
Bant might never have massacred any local natives and didn't care for dry-as-cardboard turkey, but a holiday was a holiday. He wouldn't miss it on a day like this.
Besides, he had something important to do tonight.
That was to inject Uncle Ben and Aunt May with the Super Soldier Serum.
The Super Soldier Serum's greatest advantage was its anti-aging effect.
Originally, Bant had planned to inject Uncle Ben and Aunt May as soon as he made improvements.
But after Felicia's injection, her personality had undergone a slight change, making him think the serum wasn't quite perfect yet.
Later, Norman had taken a dose, confirming the serum had no issues. Bant checked everything again and still found no problems, leaving him to attribute Felicia's change to the influence of the Totem's power.
In any case, the serum's technology was now mature. Bant planned to administer it to the two elders, and at the same time, he and Peter could finally reveal their identities.
Keeping it a secret from them forever wasn't a viable solution.
In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, that universe's Aunt May knew Peter's identity and hadn't encountered any danger before Peter's death.
"No, he's way too busy," Harry shook his head. "I'm already starting to miss the days when he was still running Oscorp."
But even as he said that, Harry clearly also enjoyed his life as the chairman of Oscorp Group.
Under his management, Oscorp was doing quite well—at least, it was stable.
Soon, it was time for dinner.
The three went downstairs to have dinner with Uncle Ben and Aunt May.
Both Uncle Ben and Aunt May expressed regret that Norman Osborn couldn't make it today.
Although it was a Thanksgiving dinner, for the Parker family, there weren't many elaborate rituals or formalities. It was just everyone gathered together, talking, catching up on each other's lives.
Especially since their lives had changed so drastically over these past two semesters. Bant and Peter's time at home had dwindled significantly.
The conversation was incredibly pleasant. The family proposed finding a time to travel together, and then Bant mentioned he had an old beater of a car specifically set aside for road trips.
"It might look old, but it's actually a classic. You'll like it." Bant showed the old beater to Uncle Ben.
"You've got impeccable taste, Ben junior!"
Uncle Ben was delighted: "I can't wait to put on a Hawaiian-style beach shirt."
Peter expressed his incomprehension.
"Your tastes are so weird. And besides, the next break is Christmas vacation."
"None of your business!" Uncle Ben said. "I can't wait to drive this car across America."
But Bant said, "Let's wait until summer vacation. I just feel like summer break and an old beater go better together."
And so, the family decided to take the old beater on a road trip during summer vacation.
Uncle Ben told Bant to put in the effort and make sure to bring Felicia and Mary Jane along when the time came.
Bant replied, wasn't that just a matter of asking?
Right after that, Bant took out three small vials filled with a green liquid.
"What's this?"
"Uncle Ben, you've heard of the Super Soldier Serum, right?" Bant said.
"Of course!" Uncle Ben froze for a moment, then immediately answered.
The Super Soldier Serum was legendary to him. He had grown up listening to the stories of Captain America.
"Don't tell me what's in those little vials is the Super Soldier Serum."
His expression changed. His eyes instinctively swept the surroundings, on alert for any danger. At the same time, he nervously grabbed Bant's hand and whispered urgently:
"Put it away, now!"
Ben knew Bant's Prometheus Tech was formidable, that he had even invented the self-healing potion. But he never dreamed that Bant had now even replicated the Super Soldier Serum.
He was happy for Bant on one hand, but also worried on the other. A leak of something this precious could easily draw the attention of greedy people.
"Don't worry, there's no danger," Bant shook his head.
"No matter what, son," Uncle Ben's gaze swept over Bant, Peter, and Harry, then he said solemnly, "If these three vials of serum really work, I suggest you three inject them yourselves. Absolutely do not let anyone else know."
In Ben's view, this was the best outcome.
Harry being the Green Goblin was no longer a secret, and he could certainly use this.
As for Peter and Bant, having the power to protect themselves was naturally a good thing too.
Aunt May also nodded, agreeing with Uncle Ben's point.
"These three vials of serum are indeed going to be used. But the users are going to be you two."
Bant gently moved Uncle Ben's hand aside and smiled.
/-\
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