[New Goblin Harry: By the way, I collected a bit of that alien lifeform's sample. Want it? @Wraith Spider Peter]
When Peter saw New Goblin Harry tag him in the squad chat, he was surprised, and also thrilled.
That alien lifeform was the symbiote Venom.
Sure, this version of Venom seemed weaker in every way, but it was still far from weak.
The moment Peter thought about making a symbiote suit, he got extremely excited.
The only problem was that this thing could affect a person's emotions, just like his Dark Suit. The difference was that one was alive, while the other was not.
[Wraith Spider Peter: Send it over so I can take a look!]
With a flash from the watch, Peter found that his equipment tab now contained a squirming mass of black slime.
He got up from the bed, sat down at the desk, took the slime out through the watch, and placed it on the tabletop.
This was the Maguire-version Venom.
The moment it was released, it seemed very excited, as if it were searching for something.
Peter tried stretching out a finger to see whether it would bond with him.
But the little symbiote immediately reacted with obvious resistance and kept retreating.
"Hey, what is this supposed to mean?! Isn't Venom supposed to be obsessed with Spider-Man?!"
Peter was annoyed. This was completely different from what he had expected.
By all logic, Venom should react to Spider-Man the way a predator reacts to prey, so how had it somehow reversed when it came to him?
"I don't believe this. Get over here and bond with me. Come on!"
Peter knew this thing had intelligence, so he shouted at it.
But the little symbiote completely ignored him. It stretched out a tendril and slapped his hand away.
"Hey?! What's that supposed to mean?!"
If the thing had bones, Peter really would have wanted to punch it into mush.
At the same time, he could sense that it seemed to be afraid of him.
What exactly was it afraid of?
That fear felt instinctive, like an animal fearing fire, or a dog fearing a certain movement.
Still, this symbiote was only a fragment peeled off from the parent body. It had self-awareness, but its power was still limited. If it wanted to become as strong as the original, it would probably need more time.
Suddenly, the little symbiote began forming a head-like shape. A huge mouth full of fangs emerged, dripping with slime.
"Let... me... leave..."
"Sorry, but I can't do that. You've only got one choice right now. Bond with me. Otherwise, I'm going to solve this the violent way."
Peter cracked his fingers. A string of sharp pops echoed through the air.
"Hiss!"
The little symbiote lunged at Peter with its huge maw, but Peter dodged easily, then instinctively fired out a strand of webbing and pinned it firmly to the desk.
"Are you a dog or something?!"
"Fine. You don't want to cooperate, right?!"
"Try this!"
Peter activated the Soul Shock ability he got from the system. A powerful wave of spiritual force slammed into the little symbiote's fragile newborn mind.
The tiny symbiote's newly formed consciousness was not merely stunned.
It was erased.
Once its consciousness was wiped away, the little symbiote calmed down again and returned to being a lump of black slime, though it still moved instinctively as if searching for something.
Peter extended his hand again, hoping that now that the symbiote no longer had an active mind, it would finally bond with him.
And yet, he got rejected again.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Thwip, thwip, thwip.
Hearing the familiar sound of webbing outside, Peter knew Gwen had arrived.
Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw a figure in a black-and-white suit with touches of spider-red grab the window frame and leap agilely into the room.
Gwen pulled down her hood, revealing the smooth golden hair under her mask and her beautiful face. The moment she saw Peter, she smiled, tilted her head, and said, "What are you worrying about this time? We're going out again today. I got some information from my dad. It's about Hell's Kitchen..."
"We can head out anytime. But first I need to deal with this thing."
Peter pointed at the black slime writhing on the desk.
"What is that? Some kind of new nanobot you made?"
Gwen looked at it curiously, but with her sharp mind, she immediately realized it was not a machine. It seemed like some kind of more advanced lifeform.
"It's alive?!"
"Yeah. It can parasitize a human body and give the host powerful abilities. Unfortunately, I can't get it under control. It seems to be afraid of me."
Peter spread his hands helplessly.
Hearing that, Gwen rolled her eyes.
At this point, who in New York wasn't afraid of you?
Your video had already passed a hundred million views.
Other than Harry, that overenthusiastic spider fan idiot, I might be the only person left who could still hang out with you normally.
"This little thing is actually kind of cute."
Gwen reached out and touched the symbiote. It felt soft, not nearly as sticky as she had imagined. More like a piece of clay. The texture was actually pretty nice.
And the moment it touched Gwen, the little Venom symbiote suddenly seemed to find a suitable host. Excited, it stretched out two tiny tendrils and patted her hand.
"What does that mean?"
"Well, looks like your new gear just arrived. This little thing picked you as its host."
Peter said it with obvious jealousy.
He had gotten the symbiote himself and tried everything he could think of, but it refused to acknowledge him.
Then Gwen showed up, and it immediately started acting like an eager little fan.
Thankfully, its consciousness had already been erased, and it did not seem like a new one would form again. Soul Shock had done a very thorough job. Any trace of newborn awareness it tried to develop was being continuously shredded.
"So I just let this little thing possess me? How do I do that?"
Gwen might usually come across as quiet and composed, but deep down she was actually pretty wild. Otherwise, when she helped form the band, she would have become the guitarist instead of the drummer.
Before Peter could explain, the small Venom symbiote began slowly crawling up Gwen's arm and then slipped into her web-shooter.
"Looks like we need to make a little device for it to live in."
"Congratulations, Gwen. Your power is definitely about to jump big time."
"Really? You're not messing with me, right?"
Peter flicked her on the forehead, rolled his eyes, and said, "Why don't you just feel for yourself instead of asking me? And it looks like this little thing has basically decided you're its mother, so just think of it as an alien pet."
"An alien?!"
"New Goblin Harry sent it over. Apparently it bonded with that world's Peter Parker before. This is only a split fragment, but once it merges with your suit, your spider powers will get boosted across the board."
"Then that's a pretty amazing little thing."
Gwen said with a bright smile.
Meanwhile, Peter felt deeply annoyed.
It was not even jealousy over Gwen.
He was just irritated that this symbiote was so ungrateful.
Then again, why bother arguing with a brainless alien lifeform?
What a waste of energy.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]