Kapitel 102: Arc Four. Chapter One Hundred Two. Bleeding Heart
"Peter I get it, I really do, but right now, I want to fix this," and Gwen slid a chart with the Conners formula on it, as well as the different formula that Gwen had collected across the breakfast table, where she and Peter were sitting.
"Yeah but college is important," he argued.
Since the Goblin incident, Gwen hadn't been back, citing not just the incident itself but her fathers funeral and dealing with his estate. The college had been forgiving, and she had almost taken a month off, but now they had started to send letters asking when she was coming back. Sitting back and holding her cup, she shook her head,
"Pete, I have Curt freaking Conners here to help, and Liv, when you give her a chance to get out of bed. Why go back to that place when I can learn so much more here?"
Peter sighed, leaning back in his chair, "well, for one, you won't get a diploma sat at home."
"And you're doing fine, I've got the cream and this. Once I crack it, with Poison, then we can make so much money it won't matter if I don't have a diploma. Pete, please, just, not this, not now." and sighing he had to agree.
"Fine, but at least let them know you won't be back, either tell them or leave, stop putting it off." and standing he dumped out the rest of his coffee and left his mug by the sink, "Aunt May and Curt are coming over, Curt wants to talk to you again anyway."
Since the engagement, Curt had become a mentor to Gwen, who readily soaked up anything and everything he had to teach. As usual, Curt and Gwen worked on the serum, modifying and then checking each new iteration of the formula.
Gwen threw her hands up once more as the machine beeped,
"sample 765 incompatible."
Curt shook his head, he'd been at this for years, and he knew that it would be years before they found a working version of the formula to cure him and fix Liv. While Ravage had helped there was still damage to her spine, and with Gwen recovered, they found that her powers were enhanced to a much greater degree but without the mutation he was suffering from.
She took a deep breath, we have the antivenom formula, we have the data from Poison, and the new Conners formula but why don't they work? She thought to herself.
It was the question that had them all stumped. After sampling the suppressant Connors used, Gwen worked on its formula and had a way to strip an enhanced person's powers and then repair the damage, but when it was applied to living cells it killed or mutated them. Curt was living proof of that. It was only the relatively low doses and the agony that followed that allowed him to remain human, but his arm was still gone and the Lizard still lived within him, it was just sleeping.
Seeing Gwen frustrated, Curt stuck his head out of her lab and called over to Peter. "Uh, Peter, why don't you get us all something to eat okay. We've been at this for what feels like days and a break would do us all good, maybe some tacos or pizza?" And Peter stood, checked his pockets and got organised for heading out.
He was assigned to all the shopping and cleaning in the warehouse, while the girls weren't mad at him, they still were still angry he'd had sex with Tali. A honey trap was still a honey trap and even MJ, who'd said it was okay, was in the bad books with the trio. She had been given a pass on the housework, shifting it to Peter after an exhaustive shift at the diner, even Muse complaining over the extra work she had been doing.
She sat bolt upright, "wait, Pete! I know you've not left yet, get your ass in here!" She yelled and sure enough, Peter appeared a few moments later.
"Uh, yeah Gwen?" he rubbed the back of his head,
"sit," and as he did she snapped a rubber band around his arm and, "undress." Thankfully he knew she just meant his arm, and the rubber hose tightened on his bare arm. Gwen drew a blood sample and fed it into the machine, then the decoupler and the machine dinged,
"sample 766 Compatible."
Gwen then took the same sample and squirted a dose of the enhancement formula into it, once it was back in the machine, she started the cycle again and after a moment it dinged,
"Sample 767 Compatible."
"Fuck YES!" She yelled and Peter shrugged.
"It's you doofus. Your cells were bonded with a symbiote, not enhanced by the formula, you don't have a mutagenic compound in your blood, sure it's a spider motif but your powers are what you think you should have, not what a symbiote or a spider's powers actually are. Why," she took a breath, "why Poison let me make chemicals, why Muse lets MJ adjust her body, and why Huntress is about hunting. Your powers are a blank slate, with no remnant animal DNA in the retrovirus to screw up the process. It's you Pete, the answer is you."
Once she realised it was so simple. They had worked from the theory that both Peter and Felicia were enhanced by the Oscorp formula, but Peter wasn't. When it stripped and bonded him to the symbiote, it burned itself out in combining them, Peter wasn't enhanced, he wasn't a host he was Venom, there was no difference between them. No Peter and Venom, just Peter. His blood had repaired and regenerated Poison, his cells could energise theirs and, while she would never admit it, it was probably why they all enjoyed oral sex so much, socially acceptable cannibalism. Her symbiote was absorbing the healing and regenerative properties of Peter's sperm as if they were stem cells.
Gwen even wondered if once they used the formula to repair Curt if Peter could undergo the process again, or if his new DNA would mutate and split like a humans would. Shit, she thought to herself, he's not human anymore. They had glossed over that fact many months ago when they looked at his cells. Peter was a new species now, a symbiote progenitor, and if her theory was correct he might even be able to spawn more than once, unlike his offspring.
Curt had just closed his phone after ordering food for the group and came in to see Peter sitting with sample bottle after sample bottle being filled. "What did I miss?"
"I got it. Curt" Gwen shouted happily, "it was Peter, when he used his blood to cure me of the antivenom it didn't just heal me, but Poison and Ravage, it was the key. Look," and Gwen pulled out the recorded chemical data and Curt stared at it, his mouth hanging open.
"With this I can get my arm back. We can fix Liv and my arm," he stood and hugged Gwen, spinning her around. Peter was never conscious of Conners as a threat, he was happy with May, and Gwen and his relationship were of student and teacher. Moments like these just put a smile on his face.
"Uh, but you, can we maybe get the needle out of me now?" He asked and Gwen laughed,
"big baby, it's just a needle" as she undid the cannula and rubber hose. She leaned in closer. "I'll need a transfusion from somewhere else later and Peter kissed the side of her face,
Curt cleared his throat, "I'm not deaf you know."
Gwen just frowned and shook her head, "spoilsport."
This was it, the one chance they had to make sure everyone was safe and it was all thanks to her.
Peter left them to work, while he could easily follow the science, it wasn't his passion, that was next door in the robotics lab where he and Liv had carefully dissected the goblin armour they had stolen and were working on their own version. Free of the flaws and bugs that had been purposefully designed into it.
It was Curt who volunteered to go first with the serum Gwen produced. Its blue colour sparkling like liquid sapphires in the bottle.
"Although Peter, a word." and Peter nodded "I would like to keep my strength and powers, no offence dear boy but this," and Curt motioned to the lab set up, "is a disaster waiting to happen, and I won't risk your aunt over my own foolish pride." Peter frowned,
"We keep her safe," and Curt nodded,
"I know, I know, but not always, not every day and with Harry probably going to make good on his promise, I won't take no for an answer. I've even been looking over the designs for the harness, and with a few modifications I don't see why you can't refit the collar as a neural suppressant, allowing me to stay as the Lizard but remain in control."
Peter sighed and looked over at Liv, "It's your call dear, but you know he's right" and Peter nodded.
"We can at least give you your arm back?" Peter asked and Gwen nodded,
"The formula can be adjusted. We should wait though. Remove the old, let you recover and then use the new formula." and Curt nodded, he could finally get his arm back after 15 years, a few more days was nothing.
"Right, here we go,'' he said, and he closed his eyes as Gwen injected him with the serum. Stepping back they all waited. Curt choked and strained against the bed they had strapped him to. His body thickened and as his arm regrew his skin paled into a light green colour and his face cracked and crunched horribly as the bones reshaped themselves.
"Noooo!" he hissed as the Lizard was freed. Panic set into its eyes as it surveyed the room, there were five of his most feared foes here, even the weak female he had tried to eat was now pouring out danger signals, and he tried to huddle away from them.
Gwen cooed and shh'd him, and taking a second vial of liquid injected it into his arm. "You'll be fine Curt, it's fine," she said as she stroked the scaly bald head. The fear in its eyes soon faded as the lizard faded and the man reappeared. His face was peaceful even after the painful transformation.
As Peter waited patiently outside, it was Gwen who approached him,
"He'll sleep for a few days, maybe longer, but," and she turned the cot, showing the room his arm, "it worked. So. Liv. While it works, uh, you don't really need it do you? I mean, Ravage already fixed the damage didn't she?"
Liv nodded, "she did dear, but with Harry free to do whatever the hell he wants I still want to formula, and, a bit more." Liv tapped her tablet and a news article appeared.
Gwen frowned. "The Hulk? What's that got to do with this?"
"A rumour Banner was working on a formula similar to Oscorps circulated, but he used gamma radiation to bond it to his cells. Of course, it failed but if my theory is correct then we might be able-"
"No," Peter interrupted, "Hulk and Abomination trashed Harlem, they're monsters Liv, and I won't let you"
Liv patted his hand, "it's not really your call dear. What was it you said? I'd let MJ cartwheel naked down 5th avenue if she wanted. Well, I want this, plus even I'm not stupid enough to use gamma radiation. No, its frequency is too high, too disruptive. I'll use something a bit lighter, trust me Peter, who's the radiation expert here hmm?" but Peter still shook his head.
"Liv, it's not about who's smarter, it's about risk, I," Peter sighed, "I don't want any of you hurt, after Gwen was," Peter clenched his fists, "I don't want you to risk yourselves, please."
Liv came over and hugged Peter, "and we would do the same for you, my dear, you mean so much to all of us and yet you do these things. You risk yourself to keep us safe. It's time you let us repay that favour. Felicia and Gwen are both enhanced already, MJ," Liv sighed "MJ wants a normal life, Muse is content to let her have that too, but I was a prisoner for far too long, this is what I want Peter, let me help you." and Peter had no choice but to nod. He made it a rule, no matter what, he would support each of them whatever they wanted.
"Good, cause I need a blood transfusion as well, I want the whole package my dear, blood, formula, radiation and symbiote, a superior Octavious. Noone, especially not that little shit, threatens my Peter. So chop chop dear, he won't wait and neither should we. Gwen honey, as much formula as you think I can handle and the same from Peter."
sorry dear, but this might hurt, she told Ravage.
we don't mind, we agree, this is home, this is family, we take their pain and use it to hurt the ones who threaten us.
Well said dear, well said.
Liv strapped herself down to a cot, once Curt had been moved somewhere more comfortable and Gwen, now a deft hand at it, hooked up an IV leading to Peter's arm into a bag, and then into her jugular and prepared the formula for injection. Liv had her bring over one of the portable x-ray machines they had and even Gwen shook her head.
"Liv, I'm not a nuclear physicist but X-rays are just as damaging on the human body as gamma radiation, you need something in a much lower frequency, if at all. This is crazy."
"yes but I'm not looking for the X-rays to give me powers dear, just to help bond the formula and Peter's cells to mine. X-rays are more than strong enough, I'd use Ultra Violet but we don't have an emitter."
Gwen shook her head, "I said no, looking at Banner and whatever the hell that thing is he fought. The radiation caused an uncontrollable mutation within his cells, and you want to replicate that? Are you insane? I get that Peter won't stop you, but I will."
"Dear, please, Ravage will help counteract any harmful mutation within my cells. Peter's blood will nurture and strengthen her while the formula and the radiation do their work, please. We need someone stronger than Peter. We need someone that can stop Harry, you know we do, and why not let the stupid old bat do it. You girls are young and I know you love me dear, but I won't let Harry take the only good thing I have ever had away from me, I won't let anyone, Now inject me with the damn formula!" Liv almost shouted, trying to keep herself calm, but still adamant about her plan.
Gwen took a breath, "I hope you don't regret his Liv, I hope none of us does."
Tapping the needle to get the air out she injected two vials of formula into Livs arm, and then in a short burst, began to expose her, a second at a time, to the lower frequency radiation.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein