The Black Spider-Man stared at the armored figure before him—the man who had just stolen his kill. He didn't know who this intruder was, but the suffocating aura of danger radiating from the stranger's silver armor told him everything he needed to know: this was no ally.
With a furious roar, the Black Spider-Man lunged forward, his massive fist swinging straight toward Marcus's face.
But before his knuckles could even graze the armor, a flash of blinding steel cut through the air. A shriek of electricity followed, mingled with a burst of crimson flame.
In the next instant—his arm was gone.
The Black Spider-Man froze, staring in disbelief at the stump where his right fist had been. The wound burned with searing pain, heat flooding into the exposed flesh as the Venom symbiote screeched uncontrollably, writhing in agony. The monstrous giant form began to shrink, collapsing back into the lean frame of Spider-Man's original shape.
Of course. When he transformed into the hulking giant, he sacrificed the fine-tuned precision of Spider-Man's senses—his Spider-Sense included. Without it, he couldn't react in time to Marcus's strike.
The moment he reverted, he shot a web from his left wrist, desperate to ensnare Marcus before the next attack came. Sticky black strands wrapped tightly around the armored man, giving the symbiote precious seconds to attempt regeneration.
But nothing happened.
The severed limb twitched violently, the living black tissue squirming like worms, but the missing hand refused to regrow.
Impossible.
Ever since the Venom symbiote had inherited Deadpool's regenerative ability, it had never failed to heal. Not once.
Marcus tilted his head slightly, admiring his weapon—the Carbon Steel Alloy Blade, designed specifically to counter regenerative beings like Deadpool. Its anti-healing properties rendered the symbiote's recovery useless.
The Black Spider-Man's shock turned to rage—but before he could act, the webs binding Marcus burst into flames. Blood-red fire ignited across Marcus's body, crawling over his silver armor like living veins of molten energy.
The flames didn't just burn—they devoured.
In a single flash, every strand of webbing turned to ash.
The sight made the symbiote recoil instinctively. Another flame user? It remembered the agony of the Human Torch's heat.
Without hesitation, Spider-Man leapt to the side, punching through a nearby pipe. A torrent of water erupted from the shattered steel, cascading into the chamber and flooding the ground. If fire had been his weakness, water would be his salvation.
But this time, he was horribly mistaken.
The water crashed down upon Marcus—but the Bloodflame did not waver. The crimson flames clung stubbornly to his armor, hissing softly as they vaporized the oncoming deluge into thick white steam.
Marcus didn't even flinch.
"Little Spider," he said calmly, his voice cold and distorted through the mask. "You're still too slow to learn."
With that, the Bloodflame surged to his limbs. Marcus launched into the air, streaking forward like a crimson meteor.
Spider-Man's reflexes saved him—barely. His Spider-Sense screamed, and he fired a webline to the wall, swinging out of the way at the last possible second.
But Marcus wasn't aiming for him.
He was aiming for the web.
The armored man's hand closed around the taut black strand, and before Spider-Man could sever the connection, the Bloodflame raced along the web like a lightning strike—an unstoppable current of living flame.
The heat traveled faster than thought.
By the time Spider-Man cut the line, it was already too late.
The Bloodflame reached his arm and ignited instantly, spreading across his body in a wave of blistering scarlet light. The temperature skyrocketed, and the Venom symbiote shrieked in terror.
The agony was indescribable.
The alien parasite convulsed violently, its black surface boiling and splitting apart as the Bloodflame tore through it. The symbiote's screeches filled the chamber, its body rippling and peeling away from Peter Parker's skin as it tried to escape the unbearable heat.
Marcus didn't give it the chance.
He dived downward, slamming into the writhing figure and seizing Spider-Man by the throat, pinning him against the scorched wall.
The flooded waterline surged below, but Marcus effortlessly lifted Spider-Man off the ground, keeping him suspended above the water. The Bloodflame roared louder, pouring through the armored man's hand into his captive's body.
The symbiote screamed again, its voice a raw, alien wail. It had never known such torment—not since the day it was born in the void of space.
Finally, the black shell shattered completely. The symbiote tore free, collapsing to the floor in a quivering pool of black liquid, half-boiled and barely alive.
"Stark…?" Peter gasped weakly, his consciousness flickering as he looked up at the silver armor through the heat haze. "Tony… is that you?"
Marcus's voice came, calm and merciless.
"No."
He extended his hand, Bloodflame blazing brighter than ever.
"I'm not Stark."
Bloodflame: Crucible Hammer!
The crimson flames erupted violently, consuming Spider-Man whole. The infernal energy poured into his body, incinerating every cell—and awakening what lay dormant within.
The Zombie Virus.
The result was instantaneous.
Even as the Bloodflame devoured him, the virus activated, mutating his flesh and fusing with the dying cells. When the flames finally subsided, the once-human hero lay motionless… before his fingers twitched, then clenched into a fist.
Spider-Man was dead.
But in his place, something new had risen—something undead.
A Zombie Hero had joined Marcus's army.
Yet Marcus's attention was not on his new subordinate. His eyes fell on the puddle of half-dead symbiote lying nearby—the remnants of Venom.
Unlike before, it didn't move. Its glossy surface no longer pulsed with life.
Perfect.
Marcus stepped forward, letting Bloodflame spread across his feet. The flames darkened, infused with the infection of the zombie virus.
Then—he stomped down hard.
The molten-red fire burst outward, engulfing the motionless black liquid.
The symbiote quivered weakly, too exhausted to resist. The virus seeped into every cell, consuming its structure, rewriting its genetic code.
Moments later, Marcus's system confirmed what he already knew.
[Virus Touch Activated]
Target: Venom Symbiote
Zombie Virus successfully injected.
Status: Infection complete.
Warning: Unknown extraterrestrial lifeform undergoing abnormal mutation.
Outcome: Unpredictable. Mutation duration—unknown.
The black mass stilled.
Its once-living surface dulled to a lifeless sheen, spreading thinly across the floor like spilled oil. To the naked eye, it was dead.
But Marcus knew better.
This was merely the beginning—an incubation phase. Something was changing within that alien flesh, something beyond prediction or control.
He looked down at it for a long moment, his eyes glinting behind the visor.
"Let's see," he murmured softly, "what kind of monster you'll become for me."
_____
T/N:
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