Franklin POV
The next day
It's Saturday.
Meaning: no school.
Meaning: I have a lot more time to be a hero.
I already threw on some casual clothes and grabbed my car keys. Beth's staying home today. When I walked into the living room, she was curled up on the couch reading a book.
"Are you sure you don't wanna come?" I asked.
"No thanks. I wanna spend my Saturday just reading. I might come tomorrow, though," Beth said without looking up.
"Okay," I shrugged. Everyone has their own way of spending their free time.
Ava and Yolanda won't be at the base either. They both said they had "stuff to do," but refused to say what. Group chat says MJ2 isn't coming either. Weird. She usually shows up with Peter.
Doesn't matter. I walked to the door and opened it.
And froze.
Because someone was already standing there.
Grandpa Max.
But that wasn't the shocking part.
Standing beside him were two people I never expected to see anytime soon:
Amanda Waller. And Nick freaking Fury.
"Wow, perfect timing! Hell, I was just about to knock on the door. Surprise!" Grandpa Max said cheerfully.
I stared at them, completely stunned.
"You're surprised to see me, I can tell," Grandpa Max continued. "Well, you're gonna be even more surprised finally meeting your aunt and uncle."
He gently pushed Waller and Fury a little closer to me.
My brain just… bluescreened. Too much information.Too fast.
I passed out on the spot, just fell backward, and everything went dark.
"…He took that better than I expected," Grandpa Max muttered. "Honestly thought he'd punch someone. Anyway, somebody grab a marker."
Mary Jane POV
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I jolted awake, heart pounding, eyes darting around my room. I was in my bed. My room. Everything looked normal.
So… last night was just a nightmare.
'It wasn't a nightmare. It happened. We are now connected.'
The voice came from inside my head.
I froze.
My breath hitched as I looked around the room again, quicker this time. Nothing. No one. Just me.
I scrambled out of bed and rushed to my mirror. I looked fine, no injuries, no bruises, no… anything. Especially nothing on my head.
Maybe I was going crazy.
'You're not going crazy, young one. Let me show you.'
Before I could even scream, something red, like living liquid, slid out of my shoulder and rose up beside me, forming a head. A face. Something that could look back at me in the mirror.
Both of us stared at each other.
"Oh my god… oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD!" I panicked, backing away. "What, what is that!? Why is it connected to me!? Why is it inside me!? Why can I hear you in my head!?"
"Shhhhh. So many questions," the creature murmured calmly. "I can answer them all. But I need you to calm down. We don't want anyone to see us, do we?"
…It was right. The absolute last thing I wanted was my parents walking in and seeing this.
I forced myself to breathe, slow, shaky breaths, in through my nose, out through my mouth. It took a while, and my hands wouldn't stop trembling, but I eventually got my emotions under control. The thing waited patiently the entire time, like it had nowhere else to be.
And maybe… it didn't.
"Good girl. Now let me explain everything to you," the voice said, calmer now. "I am what's called a Klyntar. An alien species. But to make it easier for you, just call me a symbiote. Or" the red shape tilted its head slightly, "you can call me by my name: Queenie. The reason I'm inside you is simple… You are the perfect host for me."
I stared at her, stunned.
An alien.An alien inside me.
"Alien paras—"
I didn't even finish the word.
Queenie's expression twisted into pure anger. She darted back into my body, and suddenly red tendrils exploded out of my back, slamming into the wall and yanking me with them. My breath left me as I hit the wall hard, suspended there like a bug in a web.
She re-emerged, face inches from mine, eyes narrowed.
"I have one rule. Just one. Never call me a parasite. We hate that term."
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you!" I blurted out.
Queenie stared into my eyes for a long, uncomfortable second… then slowly leaned in even closer.
"Of all the hosts I've had over the years," she said in a bored, slightly amused tone, "you might be the most pathetic."
"…What?"
"So shallow," Queenie murmured, almost disappointed. "So quick to abandon your friend… all so you could fit in with a bunch of fools. And you're not even truly happy with them."
My stomach dropped."How do you... you in my head?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied simply. "And because I'm in your head, I see everything. Every fear. Every regret. Every little truth you try to bury."
Her voice softened, almost comforting."You hate yourself for abandoning Peter. You want to apologize… but you're too afraid. But you don't have to be. With me? We can be better. We can be the best version of us."
The tendrils released me, and I slid down the wall, landing on my feet.
"Here's the deal," Queenie said as she seeped back into my body. "I make you better, and you keep me alive. I can't survive long without a host."
"What do you mean… make me better?" I asked cautiously.
"I can enhance you. Make you stronger. Faster. Braver. You don't have to be the shallow girl pretending to fit in. You can be your true self. Confident. Capable. And yes… you can get your friend back."
"You… you can help me get Peter back as a friend?" I asked quietly.
Peter was my first friend. My only real one.I hated myself for drifting away from him in high school, for chasing popularity, for letting Flash bully him without stepping in. I know it hurt him. And watching Franklin step in, watching Franklin be the friend I should have been, only made the guilt worse.
Queenie laughed, a rich, sly sound."Oh, I can help you get Peter back as a 'friend.'"The way she said friend made something twist in my stomach."So… do we have a deal?"
"Yes," I whispered.
And I felt her smile from inside my mind.
Michelle Jones POV
I stared at the white sludge-face hanging off my shoulder like some horror-movie puppet attached to my spine.
"Explain it to me one more time," I said flatly. "Because this is crazy, even for me."
"Almost all of your friends are superheroes, but this is where you draw the line?" the symbiote said, sounding offended.
"Do it," I warned, "or I'm going straight to Franklin. He's basically a walking alien encyclopedia. I'm sure he can figure out how to scrape you out of me."
That got her attention.
"Okay, okay, geez," she grumbled. "My name is Crystal, and I am a symbiote, though my real species name is Klyntar. My kind came to this planet looking for hosts. Our race can't survive long without one. Once we find a perfect host, we usually work with them."
"'Usually'? Why usually? Do some hosts just… not allow you or something?" I asked.
Crystal sighed, like this was a story she'd told one too many times.
"Yes. Some hosts don't like the idea of another species living inside them. Once they find out, they try to force us out, or kill us." Her tone darkened. "When it gets to that point, we have to take over the body completely and move on to a different host. That's what my group and I do. There are… others who aren't as friendly."
"Your group?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. "How many of you are there? And where are they?"
"We're only four," Crystal said. "And I don't know where the others are. We got separated when we crash-landed here."
"Just the four of you? No hidden army? No invasion force?" I asked.
"None that I'm aware of," she answered.
I crossed my arms. "Okay. Then why should I let you stay in my body?"
Crystal didn't hesitate."Because I can help you become a superhero."
"…What?"
"I can hear your thoughts," she said simply. "I know how badly you want to be a hero by his side. I can help you with that. Watch."
Before I could react, Crystal surged over me like liquid light. In an instant, I was covered from head to toe.
God.
I felt incredible.Like every sense got sharper, every muscle stronger, every ounce of me elevated.
I stood from my bed and walked to the mirror.
And there I was:Black-and-white suit, smooth and sleek, my face completely concealed behind a featureless mask. Then, with a little ripple of movement, Crystal formed a black spider symbol across my chest.
"Okay… that was cool," I admitted.
"I can do much more," Crystal said, retreating back under my skin. "You'll discover it all by being my host."
"So you make me a superhero," I said slowly, "and I just keep you alive."
"Yes. That's the deal," she replied.
I nodded once."Okay, partner. Deal."
With her help…I could finally stand beside Peter.Not just as a friend.But as an equal.
Flash Thompson POV
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I was sleeping better than I had in months, deep, peaceful, the kind of sleep you never want to wake up from.
So naturally, I got launched out of my bed and slammed into the wall.
"Ouch!" I groaned, snapping awake. I scrambled to my feet and looked around wild-eyed, ready to swing at whoever did that.
I grabbed the bat I kept beside my bed and crept around my room. Everything looked normal… until I walked past my mirror.
And froze.
Because the mirror wasn't showing me.
It showed something else.Something huge.Something monstrous.
Tall, bulky, muscles stacked on muscles, its skin like liquid black oil. Rows of jagged teeth filled its mouth, and its eyes were pure, blank white. It stood exactly where I stood, holding a bat just like me, copying every move.
Heart pounding, I set the bat gently against the wall and stepped closer.The creature's reflection stepped closer too.
I tilted my head.It tilted its head.
"What the hell are you?" I whispered.
The thing stopped mirroring me.
Its mouth stretched into a wicked, too-wide smile.
"I am Venom," it growled, voice rumbling like thunder, "and you… are mine."
I jumped back in shock, tripped over my own feet, and landed on my butt. Before I could scramble away, black sludge crawled up my chest and formed a face inches from mine.
"Hello, Flash," Venom said.
"H–How do you know my name?" I stammered, absolutely terrified.
Venom chuckled, low and dark."Oh, Flash… I know more than your name. I know everything about you."He floated closer, our faces nearly touching.
"You… you do?" I whispered.
"Yeeees," he hissed.
"How?"
"I am inside your head," Venom said. "I see it all. You are a loser, Flash. A bully who picks on the weak because you know you can't handle someone stronger. Living in your own fake fantasy. Pushing away the people who actually want to help you. Truly… pathetic."
My chest tightened. "Are you talking about puny Parker?"
A few months ago, Peter tried to help me study to get my grades up.I shoved him into a locker for it.
"Yes," Venom growled. "I don't usually host with someone like you. But desperate times call for… desperate measures."
A tendril curled around my arm.
"Here is the deal," Venom said. "Cooperate… and you may survive. Deal?"
"Deal!" I blurted out instantly.
"Gooood," Venom purred. "We are going to have so much fun."
Yuriko Watanabe POV
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I woke up in my bed, staring at the ceiling, confused. I didn't remember coming home. The last thing I could recall was walking into that alley… hearing something move… and then something jumping me. It latched onto my body—covered me completely, and after that?
Nothing.
I didn't even have time to draw my weapon.
What the hell was that thing? And how did I get here?
'I don't have a name yet. And I got you here.'
A voice echoed inside my head.
I bolted upright, instincts kicking in immediately. My eyes scanned the room while my hand reached for the gun on my nightstand.
"Who said that?" I demanded.
'I told you, I don't have a name yet. I'm new. The others never gave me one either.'
"Show yourself. Now," I snapped.
'I don't wanna. You're just gonna grab that gun and try to shoot me.'
I froze.
How did it—?
'Because I can read your thoughts,' the voice said matter-of-factly. 'Look… I'm new to all of this. You're my first host. I was born from one of my kind and joined a group of other symbiotes to survive better.'
Symbiotes. Hosts.
I had absolutely no idea what it was talking about.
But from the sound of its voice, nervous, unsure, almost timid,…this thing wasn't just alien.
It sounded like a child.
"Come out. I won't try to shoot you," I said evenly. "I'm moving away from my gun right now."I backed away from the nightstand and walked to the opposite side of the room, hands visible.
Once I stopped, an orange, glowing sludge oozed out of my torso and rose upward, forming a small, round face in front of me.
"Holy shit," I breathed.
The creature tilted its head, mimicking me."Holy shit?" it repeated, testing the words like it didn't understand them.
Great. An alien toddler with no filter.
"Can you explain what you are?" I asked, forcing myself to stay calm. I live in New York; 'weird' is basically a Tuesday.
"I am a symbiote," it said proudly. "An alien from the stars. Others, and I came to this planet looking for a home."
"A home? Why?" I asked. "Did your planet get destroyed or something?"
"I… don't know." The little orange face drooped a bit. "I was never born on our planet. I was born on an asteroid by another one of my kind. After it gave birth to me, it left to rejoin its group. So I joined another group too. My chances of surviving with a group were very high."
It paused, thinking.
"They told me what to do before we landed on Earth. To find the perfect host."The creature dimmed slightly."It wasn't easy. I tried a lot of people and animals. I was weak. I almost died. But then you walked by."
Its voice softened into something almost… grateful.
"Without you… I would have died."
"Why do you need me to survive? Why do you even need a host?" I asked.
"My kind needs a host to live," it explained. "We can do a little on our own, but with the perfect host, we become strong. And I can make you stronger. And… unlike the others in my group, I'm actually immune to fire."
"What do you mean?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Symbiotes have two weaknesses," it said. "High-pitched sound… and fire. But me? I only have the sound weakness."
"And what makes you so special?" I pressed.
"When a symbiote gives birth, the offspring is always stronger," it said proudly. "And I'm a lot stronger than the group I arrived with. I can even produce fire!"
It puffed itself up, glowing a little brighter, like it expected praise.
Meanwhile, all I could think was:
This thing literally just told me its species' weaknesses.Out loud.Without hesitation.
Yeah.
It really is a child.
"And I'd feel like a monster telling you to leave," I sighed. "Look, if I say you can stay, will you cause any kind of trouble?"
"No, I will not," he said quickly. "I can help you. Protect you."
"Thanks for the offer, but I don't need protection."
He stared at me, confused."You live in a city filled with supervillains, superheroes, and crazy mutants. Your planet gets invaded at least once a year."
"…Okay, that's fair," I admitted. He had a very solid point. "Fine. I help you, you help me. We're partners now. Got it?"
"Got it!"
"And you definitely need a name. I can't keep calling you 'it' or 'him,'" I said.
"Can you name me?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
I paused, thinking. He was orange, glowing, and apparently could generate fire. And the longer I looked at him, the more he reminded me of molten lava.
Then it hit me.
My eyes widened. "I've got it. How about… Magnus?"
"Magnus…" he echoed, testing it out. The glow around him brightened with excitement.
"I like it. From now on, you can call me Magnus!"
"Good. Now let's lay down some ground rules," I said, pointing a finger at him. "Rule one: stop reading my thoughts."
Magnus shrank slightly, like a kid getting scolded.
"…Okay."
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AN: I got asks. Do you want Peter to have both MJ's, or not? I'm going to put it up to a vote. I could make it happen either way, to be honest.
Yes: for both.
No: for one ( the one is going to be Michelle Jones)