They rushed into the storage vault.
The space inside was enormous. Rows of shelving stretched floor to ceiling, lined with Arc Reactors of every size. Some were no bigger than a palm. Others were the size of basketballs. A few monsters near the back were as tall as refrigerators. Each one pulsed with a faint blue glow, turning the dim vault into something out of a sci-fi film.
"There!" Peter pointed to a unit on the middle shelf, labeled MARK-III-ARC. "That's the model we need!"
Veyric exhaled. He crossed the room in quick strides.
The reactor was roughly the size of a microwave. Heavy, but nothing Spider-Man couldn't handle.
They had it. They were ready to leave.
Then Peter's Spider-Sense screamed.
"Veyric, move!"
Before the words left his mouth, two shapes lunged from the darkness at opposite ends of the vault.
One was blue, low to the ground, closing the distance with the explosive speed of a big cat. The other was silver, heavy as a tank, each footfall sending tremors through the concrete.
The silver giant drove a fist straight at Peter. He swung clear on a web line, barely, but the blue shape caught him from the side.
Peter slammed into a shelf rack and went through it.
Veyric fared no better. The silver giant pivoted toward him, arm already swinging. Venom threw up a shield across both forearms, but the impact was staggering. Veyric flew backward and crashed into a pile of debris.
He coughed, dragged himself upright, and got his first clear look at their attackers.
The blue one was covered head to toe in matted blue fur, a full size larger than any normal man, muscles knotted and dense. It moved on all fours like an enormous ape. The face had once belonged to someone thoughtful and refined, but half of it had rotted away, exposing white bone beneath. Thick black saliva dripped from its open mouth.
Veyric recognized him immediately.
Beast.
Dr. Hank McCoy.
The X-Men's greatest scientific mind, reduced to a thing that only knew hunger.
The silver one stood just over two meters tall, its entire body sheathed in gleaming metal, like a statue forged from steel. The surface that should have been mirror-bright had gone dull and tarnished, like scrap iron left out in the rain.
Colossus.
Piotr Rasputin.
Another X-Man. His mutation let him convert his body into organic steel. In that form, he could lift close to a hundred tons and shrug off a direct hit from a tank's main gun without a scratch.
"Two X-Men..." Veyric gritted his teeth. "Peter, you okay?"
Peter hauled himself out of the wrecked shelving and rolled his shoulder. "Caught me off guard. I'm fine."
His eyes sharpened. "Won't happen again."
Beast and Colossus stood shoulder to shoulder, a low growl building between them. Then they charged.
"Peter, take Colossus!" Veyric shouted. "He's slow. You can handle him!"
"What about you?"
"Venom and I will hold Beast! Go!"
Peter set his jaw, fired a web line, and swung toward Colossus.
Veyric turned to face the blue shape barreling toward him.
"Venom, full defense!"
"On it!"
Venom pooled across both arms and formed a shield. Beast's claws shredded through it instantly. But more of the symbiote surged forward, coiling tight around the creature's arms.
Beast thrashed with terrifying force, ripping through the tendrils one by one.
There was no helping it. With Veyric's current strength, stalling Beast through Venom was the best he could manage.
"Peter! Hurry!"
On the other side of the vault, Peter's fight was going well.
Colossus hit like a freight train, but he was slow. Against Spider-Sense, every swing was telegraphed. Peter darted around the giant like a wasp, layering web after web across his body.
Colossus roared and threw punches that hit nothing but shelving and concrete.
"You're strong, I'll give you that," Peter said, ducking another wild swing. "Shame you can't land one."
He caught the opening after Colossus overcommitted, lashed webbing around both legs, and yanked hard. The giant toppled like a felled tree.
"Done!"
He turned toward Veyric and found him backed into a corner, Beast pressing in close.
"Hold on!"
Peter launched himself at Beast, both wrists firing. Webbing caught the creature's hind legs, and he pulled with everything he had.
Beast stumbled. Veyric seized the opening, shaped Venom into a massive fist, and drove it into Beast's jaw with every ounce of force he could muster.
The impact was tremendous. Venom's oversized hand slammed Beast into the wall and pinned him there.
"Got him!" Venom crowed.
Veyric doubled over, gasping. Cold sweat soaked through the back of his shirt.
"Peter, I'm going to heal Beast first."
He moved toward the pinned creature. Beast thrashed against the hold, fangs snapping at empty air.
Two steps closer...
A black blur came from his blind spot.
He didn't even see what hit him. Pain erupted in his shoulder as two thin metal prongs punched into the muscle, and then electricity ripped through his entire body.
Veyric screamed. Every muscle locked and convulsed. Venom's hold dissolved.
Beast tore free and lunged at him with a roar.
"Veyric!" Peter's face went white.
He tried to reach him, but the split second of distraction was all Colossus needed. The giant wrenched free of his cocoon, shredding the webbing by brute force, and threw Peter to the ground.
Beast's claws were inches from Veyric's throat when a shadow blurred across the vault. A boot connected with Beast's chest and sent him flying.
Veyric dropped to his knees, shaking, and looked up at the person who had "saved" him.
A tall woman. Close-cropped red hair. Black tactical suit molded to her frame.
Her face must have been striking once. Now most of it had rotted away, revealing bone and raw muscle fiber beneath.
In each hand she held a compact electroshock device. The source of those two metal prongs still buried in his shoulder.
Widow's Bite.
Black Widow's signature weapon.
"Natasha Romanoff..." Veyric forced the name through clenched teeth.
She tilted her head and studied him with open fascination. A grotesque smile pulled at what remained of her lips.
"Such a fresh little morsel..." Her voice came out ragged and broken. "You're mine. Nobody else gets a taste..."
Two against three.
Beast, Colossus, and now Black Widow.
Three zombified superheroes closed the circle around Veyric and Peter, eyes locked on them like wolves sizing up a kill.