Venom roars, her massive form twisting with inhuman speed as she launches a barrage of webbing directly at the Goblin's glider. The black tendrils shoot through the air like liquid lightning, but the Goblin banks hard to the left, the glider spinning gracefully to avoid the attack.
"Get down here and fight, you fucking coward!" Venom bellows, her voice a nightmarish chorus that rises above the chaos.
I'm about to teleport to higher ground when a flash of movement catches my peripheral vision. I turn just in time to see Shocker aim her gauntlets in my direction, her quilted yellow suit standing out against the panicked crowd.
"Oh shi…"
The concussive blast hits me square in the chest before I can finish the thought. It feels like being hit by a truck. I slam into a tree and crumple to the ground, my vision swimming with bursts of white light.
Pain radiates through every inch of my body as I struggle to draw breath. My ribs scream in protest with each shallow gasp.
"SHANE!" Venom shouts, already lunging toward me.
The Goblin seizes her opportunity, diving lower on her glider and hurling another pumpkin bomb. It detonates near Venom, not a direct hit but close enough to send her staggering sideways.
I try to push myself up, but my arms feel like they're made of jelly. My mask has twisted sideways, restricting my vision to a narrow slit. With trembling fingers, I adjust it, just in time to see Goblin flying at me.
I scramble to my feet, but I'm too late, Goblin's descending on me like a predatory bird. Her metal-clad hands lock around my torso, yanking me upward without trouble. My feet leave the ground as her glider rockets skyward.
"Let me go!" I thrash in her grip, but her armored arms tighten like a vise, crushing my already pained ribs.
"Now, now, Mr. Steele," she purrs, the voice distorted through her mask vibrating against my ear. "Don't be rude to your host."
The campus shrinks beneath us as we climb higher, my stomach lurching with each sharp turn. I can see Venom below, her massive form a blur of motion as she fires web after web, trying desperately to snag us. Each shot misses as the Goblin executes perfect evasive maneuvers, banking and weaving through the air.
"GIVE HIM BACK!" Venom's roar echoes up to us, her voice carrying a note of panic I've never heard before.
The Goblin laughs, the sound chilling against my ear. "My, my, she really does care about you, doesn't she? How touching."
No matter how hard I focus on a nearby rooftop it just never works. Same as always whenever I'm being held.
"Struggling with your little disappearing act?" Goblin taunts, her grip tightening painfully.
Below us, Venom has gone completely feral. Her form expands, massive tendrils whipping through the air as she launches herself from building to building in desperate pursuit. Students scatter in her wake.
"Look at her," Goblin whispers, banking sharply to avoid another web shot. "Pathetic. All that power, and she can't even protect her little pet."
A sudden blur of red and blue streaks across the sky, and my heart leaps with recognition.
Spider-Woman swings into view below us, her graceful form arcing between buildings with practiced precision. The Goblin's grip on me tightens as she banks sharply to avoid Spider-Woman's incoming web.
"Oh look, another hero to the rescue," Goblin sneers, her voice dripping with contempt. "How predictable."
Spider-Woman lands on a rooftop directly in our flight path, her stance wide and ready. Even from this height, I can see the fury in her body language as she looks up at us.
"GOBLIN!" she screams, her voice carrying even over the wind rushing past my ears. "LET HIM GO!"
Below, Venom has reached the same rooftop, her massive form landing with enough force to crack the concrete. She stands beside Spider-Woman, an unlikely alliance born of shared rage.
"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" Venom shrieks, the dual-layered voice vibrating with raw emotion.
The Goblin laughs, the sound chilling against my ear. "Well, would you look at that? Two mortal enemies working together. All for you, Mr. Steele. I'm impressed."
She banks the glider in a tight circle, keeping us just out of their reach. I watch as Spider-Woman and Venom exchange quick glances, some unspoken strategy passing between them.
The glider dips suddenly, bringing us lower. Goblin's hand emerges with another pumpkin bomb, its surface glinting ominously in the morning light.
"Catch!" she cackles, hurling the bomb directly at the rooftop where Venom and Spider-Woman stand ready.
The bomb arcs through the air, but before either hero can react, a yellow blur streaks across the rooftop. Shocker appears on the roof top. She must have climbed up there in all the pandemonium. She fires her gauntlets once again. The concussive blast hits both Venom and Spider-Woman simultaneously, sending them flying backward.
What happens next seems to unfold in slow motion.
The blast doesn't just knock Venom back, it does something I would have assumed impossible. The symbiote peels away from Ellie's body like oil separating from water, leaving her completely exposed. She lands hard on the concrete, naked and vulnerable, her face frozen in shock rather than pain.
"What the fuck?" I whisper, unable to believe what I'm seeing.
The pumpkin bomb hits the rooftop, landing directly in the puddle of living darkness that was once wrapped around Ellie. The explosion is deafening, sending black symbiote matter scattering in all directions like a Jackson Pollock painting.
"Now that's interesting," Goblin murmurs, her glider hovering as she watches the spectacle below.
"NO!" I stare in horror, certain that I've just witnessed the death of the symbiote, and possibly Ellie too. But then, something miraculous happens.
The scattered bits of black ooze begin to move, flowing back together like magnetized liquid. It surges across the rooftop, absorbing most of the droplets that had been blasted apart, growing larger with each passing second. Like a sentient tide, it rushes toward Ellie's naked form and envelops her completely.
In seconds, Venom stands whole again, as if nothing had happened.
"Resilient little parasite, isn't it?" Goblin observes, sounding almost impressed.
Below us, Venom's massive form coils like a spring. With terrifying precision, she creates what looks like a giant slingshot from her webbing, anchoring it to nearby structures. Spider-Woman, recovered from the blast, takes position beside her.
"I believe that's our cue to leave, Mr. Steele," Goblin says, suddenly yanking the glider upward. "Your girlfriends will have to wait for a reunion."
The Goblin's armored hand dips into a pouch at her hip, retrieving a handful of mini pumpkin bombs. My stomach drops as I realize what she's about to do.
"You're going to love this part," she cackles, her voice distorted through the mask. "Nothing like a good distraction!"
"No!" I scream, thrashing against her iron grip. "Those are innocent people!"
She ignores me, casually tossing the bombs downward like someone scattering birdseed. They tumble through the air, glinting in the morning sunlight as they descend toward the panicked crowd below.
Her laughter rings in my ears, a cruel sound that makes my blood run cold. I watch in horror as the tiny explosives plummet toward dozens of terrified students who have no idea what's coming.
"You psychotic bitch!" I snarl, ramming my elbow backward. It connects with her armor with a dull thud that hurts me more than her.
Below us, Spider-Woman launches into action. She fires web after web with machine-gun precision, each strand connecting with a falling bomb. With incredible strength, she yanks the explosives away from the crowd, redirecting them toward empty spaces before they can detonate.
The bombs explode in rapid succession, creating a chaotic lightshow of orange and yellow flashes. Each blast sends shockwaves rippling through the air that I can feel even at this height.
"Impressive reflexes," Goblin remarks, sounding genuinely appreciative as she banks the glider sharply to the right, carrying us farther from campus. "Too bad she's too busy playing hero to save you."
Venom launches herself from the massive slingshot, her body a dark missile streaking toward us. My heart leaps with hope as she soars through the air, her massive form cutting through the distance between us.
"Venom!" I scream, struggling harder in the Goblin's grip.
The glider's engines whining as we climb even higher into the sky. I watch in despair as Venom's trajectory falls short, her outstretched claws missing us by hundreds of feet. She screeches in rage as she begins to arc downward, the distance between us growing further and further with each second.
"Too bad," Goblin purrs against my ear.