The white strand of webbing Peter fired cracked through the air like a whip, latching onto Hawkeye's knife arm with pinpoint accuracy.
But the zombie archer didn't so much as blink.
His wrist flipped. The combat knife hit the floor, already discarded. In the same breath, he'd drawn the compound bow from his hip, his left hand reaching back toward the quiver at an almost inhuman speed.
A single alloy arrow slid free and found the string.
Hawkeye didn't aim. Muscle memory did the work. The bowstring snapped forward.
What happened next defied all reason. The arrow flew along the exact trajectory of Peter's web line, threading through its dead center. The razor-tipped head punched through the silk, spinning at lethal speed, shearing through every trailing strand behind it.
"Whoa! How is that even possible!"
Peter yelped from beyond the window and yanked his hand back before the arrow could find it.
But Hawkeye wasn't finished. His hands blurred, moving faster than the eye could track.
Three arrows, fired in rapid succession.
Three black streaks tore through the air with a vicious shriek, spreading into a triangular formation aimed directly at Peter's midair position, cutting off every possible escape route.
"Man, this guy's just as insane as a zombie!"
Peter twisted through a string of backflips, each one shaving closer to the incoming shafts, weaving between them by margins too thin to measure. He stuck the landing in a textbook superhero crouch.
And in the moment Hawkeye's full attention locked onto driving Spider-Man back...
"Nice shooting, Clint. But save your arrows for the real zombies."
Black Widow's voice cut through the air behind him, cold as a blade.
He spun. Too late.
The Widow's Bite on her wrist erupted in a blinding arc of blue electricity. She drove it into the base of his neck.
High-voltage current ripped through his body, forcibly shutting down his central nervous system. He convulsed, a strangled snarl of fury clawing up from his throat. The bow clattered to the floor. He toppled like a felled tree.
Black Widow kicked his twitching body toward the shattered window.
Spider-Man read her perfectly.
In the space of a heartbeat, the paralyzed Hawkeye was wrapped in a massive cocoon of webbing, sealed from neck to toe. Only his head poked free, jaws still snapping at nothing.
"Thanks, Peter." Black Widow exhaled long and slow, dusting off her hands.
"Don't mention it. Spider-Man's always your friendly neighborhood helper!" He grinned and flashed her the signature peace sign.
Down on the street, a different kind of frustration was boiling over.
"This flying freak is driving me insane! He just circles up there and won't commit to a real attack!" Colossus swung a massive metal fist at the sky, the motion alone stirring up a gust of wind.
"Easy, big guy." Veyric patted him on the hip. "That's exactly what he wants. Wear down our patience, wait until we're sloppy, then dive in for the kill."
Above them, Falcon beat his mechanical wings, the thunderous drone shaking the night air.
Then, without warning, he banked hard and plummeted toward them at terrifying speed.
"Heads up! He's coming in again!" Veyric shouted.
Falcon's afterimage streaked across the sky, closing the distance fast.
"Bring it! This time I'm ripping those wings off!" Colossus roared and charged to meet him.
At the last possible second, a red-and-blue figure dropped from above.
"Aw, looks like someone else could use a hand."
Peter's bright voice rang through the darkness.
He'd read Falcon's flight path from midair, one hand gripping a web line, the other already poised in the classic shooter gesture.
Two shots of high-density adhesive webbing hit their mark dead-on, plugging the exhaust ports on the back of Falcon's mechanical wings.
The thrusters choked. A horrible grinding whine erupted from the engine housing as it sputtered, died, and belched thick black smoke.
Without power, Falcon dropped like a kite with its string cut, spinning wildly, and slammed face-first into the asphalt.
The impact cratered the road.
Before he could claw his way upright, Colossus was already there. One enormous metal foot came down on the mechanical wings, pinning Falcon flat to the ground with no room to move.
"Sorry, friend."
He looked down at the thrashing, snarling figure beneath his boot, a former Avenger reduced to snapping jaws and animal fury. Genuine regret crossed his face.
Peter touched down lightly and brushed his hands together.
At the same moment, the front doors of the office building flew open with a crash.
Black Widow emerged from the lobby dragging the oversized web cocoon behind her, expression utterly unbothered.
"Looks like you wrapped things up out here too." She dumped Hawkeye's bundled body on the pavement.
From the bunker's first official field operation, the teamwork had been flawless.
Now it was time for their "blood bag" captain to do his part.
Veyric walked up to the restrained Hawkeye and Falcon. Two former Avengers who'd once commanded awe and respect, now baring blood-crusted fangs at him, throats gurgling with the desperate hunger for flesh.
Hawkeye and Falcon. Today's theme is apparently "Avengers clearance sale." Once they join up, that'll be three Avengers in the bunker. Getting a little crowded on that roster...
He rolled up both sleeves and extended his left hand to one mouth, his right to the other.
"Alright, dinner's served!"
Instinct overrode everything else. Both zombies bit down without hesitation.
Pain lanced through him, sharp and immediate, as teeth punctured skin and sank into muscle. He hissed through clenched teeth.
Venom poked a tiny head out from his shoulder. "You know, Veyric, next time I could just open a little incision for you first. Minimally invasive, totally painless!"
"And you couldn't have mentioned that before?" he growled under his breath, cold sweat already beading on his forehead.
"You never asked." Venom retreated back inside him without a shred of remorse.
Blood flowed from the wounds into the mouths of both zombie heroes, and the effect was instantaneous.
One second they were tearing at his flesh. The next, their bodies locked rigid.
Both of them wrenched their jaws open and retched violently. Thick clots of blackened fluid and decayed blood poured onto the ground.
Then their rotting flesh began to slough away, peeling back at visible speed to reveal healing tissue beneath.
Veyric pulled his hands free. Venom surged over both wounds instantly, the black symbiote sealing torn skin and accelerating the repair.
Right on cue, the familiar interface panel materialized before his eyes. Time for the post-battle tally:
[Ding!]
[Successfully rescued Blade. Blade's disposition updated to: Grateful]
[Blade affinity +20. Current value: 120]
[Ding!]
[Detected: Host has cured a new hero, Hawkeye!]
[Detected: Host has cured a new hero, Falcon!]
[Notice: Successfully cured Hawkeye and Falcon. +2 Experience Points awarded.]
[Ding!]
[Successfully cured Hawkeye and Falcon. Black Widow's disposition updated to: Grateful]
[Black Widow affinity +20]
[Black Widow affinity: 90 → 110. Bond Level LV.0 (Stranger) → LV.1 (Companion)]
[Congratulations, Host! Unlocked Black Widow Bond Reward ×1! Delivered to your storage vault. May be opened at any time.]
---
Hey everyone, sorry for the inconsistent updates. Starting tomorrow, I'll be posting regularly without missing a day :)