[Piper Parker's POV]
Blood and fury. That's all I have left as my fist connects with Shocker's face again, the impact jolting up my arm. I've got her pinned against the warehouse wall, my hand twisted in her yellow and brown quilted suit. The maroon symbiote covering my arms ripples with my rage.
"WHERE IS HE?" I scream, slamming her head back. "WHERE DID THE GOBLIN TAKE SKIP STEP?"
Her blank white mask eyes reveal nothing as she sputters through a mouthful of blood. "I don't know!"
I punch her again, feeling something crack beneath my knuckles. The symbiote enhances my strength, making each blow devastating. Six days of searching, six days of dead ends, and this woman was working directly with the Goblin when they took Shane.
"You're lying!" I slam her against the wall again. The concrete fractures behind her. "Tell me where he is or I swear to god I'll tear you apart piece by piece!"
"I swear I don't know!" Shocker gasps, her voice trembling. "The Goblin never tells me the whole plan! She just said to cause a distraction at the university!"
The symbiote pulses across my skin, hungry for violence, feeding on my rage. It would be so easy to let it take control completely, to give in to the darkness screaming for blood.
'KILL HER. SHE'S USELESS.'
I slam my fist into the wall beside Shocker's head, leaving a crater in the concrete. "If you're lying to me..."
"I'm not!" she pleads, genuine terror in her voice.
The television blares in the background, cutting through my murderous thoughts. I glance over my shoulder at the screen where Joann Jameson's face fills the frame, her trademark flat-top haircut and perpetual scowl as irritating as ever.
"Three spider menaces terrorizing our city!" she bellows, pounding her fist on the desk. "Spider-Woman, Venom, and now this new one calling herself Scarlet! And what about this boy toy they're all hanging out with? Sources say the masked vigilante known as 'Skip Step' was kidnapped during the Empire State University attack, and these monsters have been tearing up the city looking for him!"
I turn back to Shocker, my grip tightening around her throat. "Everyone knows. Everyone knows he's gone, and I can't find him."
'FEED HER, TO US!'
The overwhelming urge to tear her head clean off courses through me, the symbiote's bloodlust merging with my own rage. I can feel it bubbling beneath my skin, this alien hunger demanding violence, demanding blood.
But that's not who I am.
Instead, I let the symbiote reshape my hands into wicked talons, the maroon substance forming long, razor-sharp claws that glint in the dim warehouse light. With calculated precision, I drive them through her quilted suit, just deep enough to pierce skin without hitting anything vital. Shocker screams as my claws sink into her flesh.
"Tell me anything," I hiss, my voice distorted by the symbiote's influence. "I need something new, anything. If you don't I swear I will rip your heart o…"
Jameson's voice suddenly rises in volume from the television, cutting through my threat. "Breaking news! The Department of Justice has just released a bombshell photo showing Iron Woman, Toni Stark, shaking hands with disgraced financier Jessie Epstein on her private island."
I can't help but turn my head, the strange news momentarily diverting my attention. On screen, there's a crystal-clear image of Toni Stark in her iconic red and gold armor, helmet off to show her smug expression as she clasps hands with the notorious criminal.
"Wait, Toni was friends…" I mutter, momentarily distracted by this bizarre revelation.
My spider-sense screams a warning, electricity crackling in the air. Shocker seizes her opportunity, her hands diving for her gauntlets. But I'm too fast, even with my attention split. The symbiote reacts instinctively, my hands shooting out to grab her wrists with inhuman speed.
With one savage twist, I snap both her wrists and crush her gauntlets simultaneously. The sickening crack of breaking bone mingles with the crunch of destroyed technology. Shocker's agonized shriek echoes through the warehouse as sparks fly from her ruined weapons.
"You bitch!" she wails, collapsing to her knees as I release her mangled wrists. "You broke my fucking hands!"
I grab her by the throat, lifting her off the ground with terrifying ease. The symbiote ripples across my body, eager for more violence, more pain.
The symbiote reacts before I do, sensing a new presence. A familiar thwip echoes through the warehouse rafters as a web line attaches to my arm.
"Spider-Woman, what the hell are you doing?" Scarlet Spider's voice cuts through the haze of my rage. She drops from above, landing in a perfect crouch. "Let go of her!"
The command slices through my fury. My fingers uncurl from Shocker's throat, and she crumples to the warehouse floor, gasping and clutching her broken wrists against her chest.
"She knows something," I growl, the symbiote rippling across my skin in agitation. "I can feel it, Scarlet. She's holding back."
Scarlet approaches cautiously, her eyes scanning the maroon substance flowing across my body. She crouches beside Shocker, examining the woman's injuries with a clinical detachment I can't muster.
"Look at her," Scarlet says quietly. Her gaze meets mine through our masks, and I see something like concern there. "Crap." She sighs, standing up. "I'll swing her over to the hospital."
"No!" The symbiote pulses violently at my outburst, tendrils whipping around my arms. "She still hasn't given me anything yet!"
Scarlet steps between me and Shocker, her stance protective. "And she won't if she's dead, which she will be soon from shock if we don't get her medical attention."
The symbiote whispers dark thoughts in my mind. 'SHE'S INTERFERING. PUSH HER ASIDE. FINISH WHAT WE STARTED.'
Scarlet steps closer, her posture softening as she places a hand on my shoulder. The symbiote bristles at the contact but doesn't lash out.
"I get that you're scared and desperate for a lead," she says, her voice gentler than I've ever heard it. "But think about what our Aunt Brynn always told us. With great power comes great responsibility. This..." she gestures at Shocker's crumpled form, "this isn't what we do."
The words hit me like a physical blow. The symbiote recoils slightly, as if the truth in those words burns it somehow.
I nod slowly. "Fine," I sigh, stepping back. "I'll keep digging elsewhere."
Scarlet watches me for a moment longer, as if ensuring I won't change my mind, before carefully gathering up Shocker. The woman whimpers pathetically as Scarlet secures her with webbing.
"I'll call you later," Scarlet promises before firing a web line to the ceiling and swinging away with her injured cargo.
The moment she's out of earshot, something inside me snaps. The symbiote responds instantly, coating my fists in thick maroon armor as I slam them into the nearest wall. Concrete crumbles under the impact, dust billowing around me. I grab a nearby metal drum and hurl it across the warehouse, the crash echoing through the empty space.
"FUCK!" I scream, my voice distorted by the symbiote's influence. "SIX FUCKING DAYS!"
I tear through the warehouse like a hurricane, ripping pipes from the ceiling, smashing crates, destroying everything I can get my hands on. The symbiote feeds on my rage, growing stronger with each act of destruction. Water sprays from broken pipes, soaking me as I continue my rampage.
'YES! DESTROY! RELEASE YOUR ANGER!'
The violent purge continues until my phone buzzes in the hidden pocket of my costume. I freeze mid-swing, my fist inches from demolishing yet another wall. The symbiote reluctantly retreats from my hand as I reach for my phone with trembling fingers.
It's a text from Ellie.
'Meet me at the docks ASAP. I think I found him.'
My heart stops, then restarts at double speed. The symbiote pulses across my skin, sensing my sudden surge of hope and excitement.
'GO NOW! FIND SHANE!'
I don't need the prompting. I'm already running, bursting through the warehouse roof in a shower of broken glass and twisted metal. The symbiote forms a web line, stronger and thicker than my usual ones, as I launch myself into the night sky.