CRUMP!
The thick, white cocoon of webbing fell to the ground with a heavy, solid thud. Peter casually tossed Captain America's shield back to its owner.
Steve caught it, his expression a mixture of relief and awe. "Good job, kid."
"Ah, it was nothing," Peter said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "He's not getting out of that, is he?" he asked, glancing at the webbed-up herald. "My webs are pretty tough. A single strand can support several tons. As for him—" Peter surveyed his handiwork. The Other was trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. "I'll admit he's stronger than me, but he's not breaking out of that easily."
"If I may," a regal voice interrupted, "perhaps you could rescue me before you begin celebrating?"
All eyes turned to T'Challa, who was still pinned to the wall by the massive battle axe. "I cannot maintain this for much longer…"
"Oh!" Peter slapped his helmet, his mask's eyes widening. "Sorry, man! Your suit is so dark, I didn't even see you there in the shadows." He paused, suddenly nervous. "Uh, I mean the armor, not you… the armor is very stealthy…"
T'Challa chuckled, a low, rumbling sound. "I am not offended, Spider-Man. Do not worry."
Captain America grabbed the axe's handle, grunting as he tried to pull it free. It wouldn't budge. After Peter lent a hand, the two of them managed to wrench the three-meter-long weapon from the wall, letting it fall to the floor with a deafening clang.
"Whoa. That thing is almost twice as tall as me," Peter said in amazement.
T'Challa finally stepped away from the wall, stretching his arms and letting out a long sigh of relief. "Indeed, it is a formidable—wait!"
He never finished his sentence. In that same instant, a bolt of lightning shot through Peter's skull—his Spider-Sense, screaming with an intensity he had never felt before. He spun around, his eyes locking onto the cocoon just as it tore apart from the inside.
The Other exploded outwards, a hideous grin plastered on his face. "You thought that could hold me?" he mocked, his voice a low growl that quickly escalated into a furious roar. "Do not compare me to that worthless piece of refuse, Cull Obsidian!"
The roar was a physical force, a sonic wave that blasted through the corridor. Steve gritted his teeth, covering his ears, but Peter just pinched the nose of his mask.
"Whoa, dude! How long has it been since you brushed? Your breath smells like a backed-up sewer! Seriously, do you guys not have dentists in space? Or toothbrushes?" He raised his hands. "Here, let me get that for you."
He fired two streams of webbing that slapped directly over The Other's mouth. The monstrous being tore them away with an enraged snarl, his eyes burning with pure hatred.
"I have grown tired of you insignificant pests."
He hooked his foot under the handle of his axe, flipping the massive weapon back into his hand as if it weighed nothing. Seeing this, Steve and T'Challa immediately fell into combat stances. Only Peter remained frozen, his entire body rigid. His Spider-Sense wasn't just warning him of danger anymore. It was screaming one, simple, primal command.
Run!
Peter reacted, lunging toward Steve. But he was a step too slow.
A violent, purple light erupted from the head of the battle axe. The energy it contained swelled, exceeding all measurable peaks in an instant, and the terrifying force washed over them like a hurricane, rooting them to the spot.
The Other's grin was one of pure, sadistic triumph. He brought the supercharged battle axe down.
BOOM!
A beam of pure, annihilating purple energy tore through the universe. Everyone in the space battle saw it. The blast ripped straight through the Leviathan's body, continuing its path into the void and vaporizing dozens of Chitauri ships that were unlucky enough to be in its path.
The giant beast let out a long, silent, mournful cry as its life was extinguished. A hundred-meter section of its body was simply gone, and the massive corpse began to lose its orbital stability, tumbling slowly through space.
Aboard the Helicarrier, Falcon and the others frantically tried to raise Steve's team on the comms. There was no response.
At the massive gap in the Leviathan's body, everything not bolted down was vented into the vacuum of space. Only the towering figure of The Other remained, his feet planted firmly on the deck. He was certain no mere mortals could have survived such a blow. Even the beast he stood upon was now dying, but he didn't care. These creatures were just biological transports, tools to carry his army to its destination.
With the beast still having moments of life, he would make use of its remaining energy. He leaped from the breach to the creature's head, standing atop its highest point like a god of war. He held the glowing battle axe before him, as if in prayer. In the soundless void, the Chitauri fleet seemed to receive a new pheromonal command. Their morale surged, and they fought with renewed fanaticism.
On the heroes' side, however, morale plummeted.
"How much longer, Ben?!" Tony's frantic voice bombarded his headset. "Your cousin is in trouble!"
"Peter is fine," Ben's voice replied, unnervingly calm. He was confident. As a last resort, he had prepared Venom. Its previous host was Deadpool. Even if Peter were somehow killed, the symbiote's copied healing factor would bring him back.
On the dead husk of the Leviathan, a figure cloaked in black clung to the hull, looking at its own hands in astonishment. Peter felt an exhilarating, terrifying power coursing through him.
Jackpot! a gravelly voice echoed inside his head.
Peter jumped, startled. "What was that?!"
"Relax, kid!" the voice, Venom, said.
"What? Who are you?"
"Who am I? No, no, no. The question is… who are WE?" Venom corrected, his voice dripping with possessive glee. A wide, toothy grin split across Peter's masked face. "That's right! We are Venom!"
"What?" Peter still couldn't grasp the situation.
But Venom didn't care. It surged forward, launching their new body at a passing Chitauri skiff. They landed on the driver, breaking its neck with a sickening crack.
"Let's kill them ALL!" Venom roared. "WE ARE VENOM!"
The new, monstrous figure immediately drew the attention of the battlefield, its form a terrifying fusion of Spider-Man's physique and a monstrous, living darkness. T'Challa, still alive, saw the transformation. His own suit had provided him with a few precious minutes of oxygen. In the chaos of the blast, Peter's last act had been to instinctively cocoon Steve in a protective web-ball. T'Challa had grabbed it, endured the vacuum, and was now stuffing the unconscious Captain into a vacant Iron Guard suit before climbing into one himself.
But even with their leaders safe, the heroes were being pushed back.
"Ben, is it ready or not?!" Tony yelled.
This time, Ben's answer was affirmative. Inside the satellite, he looked at the console, a wave of relief washing over him. The Tesseract's activation sequence was finally cracked. All he had to do was press a single button.
"Then what are you waiting for?!"
"For you all to retreat behind the designated perimeter," Ben replied. "Tony, bring that big, dead friend of yours with you."
"What, are you crazy—wait, you want to…?" Tony understood instantly. Ben planned to use the energy field's formation as a blade, slicing the massive Leviathan in half. "I should remind you, the guy who just beat up Captain Popsicle is standing right on top of it. He'll fall to Earth with the wreckage."
"A fall from this altitude will be enough to kill him," Ben said. "And if it isn't, we still have Four Arms."
"Alright, I'm doing it!" Tony agreed, deciding to gamble. He yelled into the comms, "Everyone, prepare to evacuate! Fall back to the designated coordinates! Natasha, what's your status?"
Natasha's voice patched through, strained. "I'm still inside the beast. I blew the hatching chamber, but I don't think I can evacuate in time…"
"Try to get to the head of the creature," Ben instructed. "We'll rescue you before it falls."
With the plan in motion, the entire battle line began a fighting retreat toward Earth. The smaller Chitauri ships clung to the massive corpse of their mother ship, either to protect it or like frightened children clinging to their parent. Ben's finger hovered over the activation button, waiting.
At that moment, another voice echoed in the empty satellite.
"You cannot activate the Cube."
Ben spun around. Loki stood there, having appeared from nowhere. He looked like he had been through hell itself. His fine robes were torn to shreds, his body was covered in wounds, and he was panting for breath, looking just as he had as a slave on Sakaar. Ben's expression hardened, his eyes questioning not only Loki's words, but his desperate condition.
Loki had no time to explain. He stumbled forward, his voice ragged. "It's a conspiracy," he gasped. "Once the Cube is activated… you will fall into Thanos's trap."
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