A city full of opportunities stretched beneath Drake's feet.
He looked at the endless lights and sighed.
"...Time to go superheroing."
Then he paused for a second and shook his head.
"...Not really."
He wasn't planning to run around saving cats from trees or helping old ladies cross the street. Drake had a much simpler goal tonight.
Street gangs.
Weapons.
Loot.
Upgrades.
During the past few months, he had discovered something very interesting about the symbiote. It could analyze machinery and copy mechanical structures.
That included guns.
Pistols.
Rifles.
Shotguns.
Explosives.
Maybe even military equipment if he found enough samples.
The more things he copied, the larger his personal arsenal became.
And if luck was on his side...
Maybe he could even find heavy weapons.
Rocket launchers.
Advanced gear.
Black market toys.
A grin spread beneath Drake's mask.
"Sorry criminals."
"You guys are about to become my suppliers."
Without hesitation, he jumped off the building.
The night officially began.
The moment Drake stepped into the air, black tendrils spread from his back and started moving.
A second later, they transformed.
Two dark wings appeared.
Whoosh.
Drake shot forward through the night sky.
His eyes widened.
"...Okay, this is awesome."
He originally thought flying would be difficult, but strangely, it felt natural. Almost like his body already knew what to do.
It wasn't like Superman's flight.
He wasn't floating upright or firing laser beams.
Instead, it felt like a mix of gliding and propulsion. The tendrils beneath his suit constantly adjusted his balance and movements.
Drake tilted left.
Then upward.
Then downward.
A second later—
"WOAH!"
Bang!
He crashed directly into a rooftop water tower before rolling across the roof.
Silence.
Slowly, Drake stood up and brushed himself off.
"...Okay."
"...Still needs practice."
For the next few minutes, he experienced several near-death situations involving billboards, pigeons, and one very unlucky rooftop antenna.
Thankfully, he slowly got the hang of it.
Soon, Drake was moving smoothly through the city.
Then he noticed something below.
An alley.
Three men.
Weapons.
Money changing hands.
Drake landed silently on a nearby rooftop and looked down.
"...Found some."
A grin appeared beneath his mask.
A few moments later—
Thud.
He landed behind them.
The three criminals immediately turned around.
"...What the hell?!"
Before they could react, black tendrils exploded outward.
One man was instantly tied upside down.
Another got slammed into a wall.
The third froze in fear.
Less than ten seconds later, the fight was already over.
Drake crouched in front of the last man.
"Question."
The criminal stared at him nervously.
"W-Who the hell are you?!"
Drake ignored him.
"Where's your storage place?"
Silence.
The man shook his head.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Drake stared at him quietly.
Then black tendrils slowly moved around his shoulders and formed several sharp blades.
They didn't touch him.
They simply hovered nearby.
The criminal immediately swallowed.
Drake leaned closer.
"Wrong answer."
A few minutes later, Drake stood on top of a building while staring at an address written on a piece of paper.
Warehouse District.
Pier 17.
He looked toward the city lights.
Then he smiled.
"...Jackpot."
Apparently, those idiots weren't random street thugs.
They belonged to a small gang.
And according to the information Drake got from them, their warehouse contained rifles, shotguns, explosives...
And maybe some heavier equipment too.
Drake's eyes instantly lit up.
"...Please let there be rocket launchers."
Drake looked at the address one more time before putting the paper away.
"...Let's go shopping."
Whoosh.
A black blur shot across the rooftops.
Only a few minutes later, Drake arrived at the warehouse district.
Rows of old storage buildings stood near the docks. Most looked abandoned.
Pier 17 was near the edge.
Drake landed silently on top of a nearby building and looked down toward the warehouse below. The place was much larger than he expected. Bright lights illuminated the entire area, revealing several armed men standing guard outside. Some leaned against crates while smoking, others chatted casually, and a few continuously patrolled the surroundings with rifles in hand.
Drake narrowed his eyes beneath the mask.
"...Quite a few."
A second later, he simply shrugged.
"...Not my problem."
At this point, bullets weren't something Drake feared anymore. Even if they hit him, the symbiote could easily defend against most attacks. Combined with his enhanced body, ordinary guns had already stopped being a real threat.
As for rocket launchers...
Well, Drake honestly hoped they had some.
Unfortunately, reality had other plans.
Moving quietly across the rooftop, Drake got closer and listened to the guards below.
"Boss said move the crates tomorrow."
"What about the new weapons shipment?"
"No idea."
The moment Drake heard "weapons shipment," his eyes immediately lit up.
Weapons shipment?
Nice.
Then—
Crunch.
Everything suddenly became silent.
Drake slowly looked down.
Under his foot sat a crushed soda can.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then one guard frowned.
"...Did you hear that?"
Another immediately turned toward the rooftop.
"...Who's there?!"
Silence.
A few seconds passed.
Drake stood there.
The guards stood there.
Nothing happened.
Then Drake sighed.
"...Well, stealth attempt over."
BOOM!
The rooftop beneath him instantly cracked apart as Drake jumped down with explosive force. He landed directly in the center of the group.
Dust spread everywhere.
Everyone froze.
One man stared blankly.
"...Who the hell—"
WHAM!
Before he could finish speaking, a black tendril shot out and slammed him straight into a crate.
Everything exploded into chaos.
"ENEMY!"
"SHOOT HIM!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire instantly erupted from every direction.
Rifles.
Automatic weapons.
Semi-automatic guns.
Bullets rained toward Drake nonstop.
Yet Drake didn't even bother moving.
He simply stood there.
The black symbiote covering his body rippled slightly.
Bullets struck him—
—and stopped.
Some flattened against the armor.
Some got absorbed directly into the black surface.
Others simply bounced away and hit nearby walls.
Slowly, the shooting stopped.
Silence filled the area.
One criminal stared at Drake with wide eyes.
"...Nope."
Without hesitation, he turned around and started running.