After they finished chanting their slogan, "General Ross" tore off the mask from his face—this was their true objective.
"Deliver our goods right to those heroes."
At the general's command, the soldiers behind him drove a massive box truck straight into the entrance of Tri-Sky Industries, blocking the main gate.
The rear doors of the truck slowly opened.
Inside were no ordinary soldiers, but clone after clone of Spider-Man.
These clones had long since been completely brainwashed and controlled by HYDRA's neural interfaces. Now, HYDRA's only command for them was to eliminate those heroes entirely.
Even though Carnage's power was immense, they still weren't entirely confident.
After all, Carnage's host was no ordinary cloned Spider-Man.
Meanwhile, on the thirteenth underground level…
"The stench coming off of him is absolutely disgusting. He smells like he crawled straight out of hell," Miles commented the moment he laid eyes on Carnage. The air around it reeked of decay and blood.
"I hope you left some of the symbiote's weaknesses intact when you were breeding it," Bruce said as he flicked a small switch on the gauntlet of his right arm.
Before Nick Fury could even react, the seemingly weakest combatant in the room had already dashed forward.
Bruce had a clear target—Carnage, the most powerful being present.
Even Eddie, who was controlling the Spider-Man clones, was caught off guard. How had this guy managed to launch an attack before anyone else?
But the reality was, Bruce had indeed made the first move.
"Is he insane? He's just a normal human!" Fury couldn't comprehend Bruce's decision at all.
A mere human, challenging what seemed like an utterly invincible monster.
"Sir, this is just how the Bat operates," Jessica said, unfazed by Bruce's recklessness.
Although Bruce had never been this reckless before, Jessica had a vague idea of why he was making this choice now.
Using his grappling hook, Bruce instantly closed the distance to Carnage, his right arm making direct contact.
A powerful surge of electricity exploded from his gauntlet, crackling blue energy visibly coursing across Carnage's body.
Carnage let out a painful shriek, but it clung desperately to its host, like a child unwilling to let go of its favorite toy.
The tendrils, disrupted by the electric shock, began lashing out at Bruce like whips.
"Knew it. I just knew he had something like this," Miles muttered, unsurprised.
After all, the second time Bruce had encountered him, he had already developed weapons specifically designed to counter him.
And this was Bruce's second time fighting a symbiote—having countermeasures was only natural.
Nick Fury, on the other hand, was starting to feel out of touch. How had superhero tactics evolved into something he completely failed to anticipate?
He prided himself on knowing most superheroes well. But ever since this Bat appeared, everything had changed.
Jessica and Miles wasted no time. The moment the two Spider-Man clones hesitated, they sprang into action.
In reality, they only had to deal with one target—the Six-Armed Spider-Man.
The Dual-Faced Man, meanwhile, was still bound by Miles' webbing.
The Six-Armed Spider-Man, thanks to his numerous limbs, moved like a real spider, skillfully catching Jessica's and Miles' punches.
But unfortunately, he wasn't watching his back—where Mary Jane had already slipped behind him.
As a newcomer, Mary Jane wasn't sure where her power limits lay. But based on her strength, she figured she could probably send this six-armed freak flying with a single punch.
And just as she imagined, her punch landed squarely on the Six-Armed Spider-Man's back.
He was sent flying, along with Jessica and Miles, whom he had grabbed onto.
Mary Jane was shocked by the sheer force of her own punch. She hadn't expected to be this strong.
Fortunately, Jessica and Miles had enough combat experience to disengage quickly.
Otherwise, they would have crashed straight into the nearby stasis pods alongside the Six-Armed Spider-Man.
"Oh, to be honest, I think we should start calling Mrs. Parker 'Wonder Woman' now," Miles muttered, rubbing his head.
Jessica, however, was staring at the motionless Six-Armed Spider-Man.
That punch from Mary Jane…
Neither Jessica nor Miles could have taken that hit head-on.
If they had tried to block it with their arms, their bones would have snapped instantly.
Judging by the point of impact, the Six-Armed Spider-Man's spine was most likely broken.
Even with Spider-Man's accelerated healing, spinal damage wouldn't be a quick fix.
Just then, a shadowy figure was thrown across the room.
Mary Jane, to her surprise, found herself able to keep up with the airborne figure.
In an instant, she reached it and caught it mid-air.
Though, the position in which she caught it was… a bit ungraceful.
"No need to thank me," she said, smiling.
The figure she had caught was none other than Bruce, who had just been flung away by Carnage.
Bruce said nothing—he simply gestured for Mary Jane to put him down.
"Oh, sorry," she quickly responded, realizing the awkwardness of the princess-carry position, and hastily let him go.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Carnage was growing even more berserk.
The previous electric current was not entirely ineffective against Carnage. On the contrary, it had triggered a struggle within him, as the parasite inside began to fight for control over the body.
"Do you trust me?" Bruce suddenly asked Mary Jane, catching her off guard.
She hesitated for a moment but then nodded. After all, it seemed that everyone here placed their trust in the Bat.
Moreover, from the moment this Bat first appeared in the public eye, he had been doing the same things that Peter Parker once did.
Although their ways of handling things were completely different.
For Mary Jane, that was enough.
At the very least, she knew that after her husband's passing, there were still others protecting this city.
"I don't see any reason not to trust you," Mary Jane had just finished speaking when—
Bruce was already in motion.
A sharp Batarang was suddenly pressed against Mary Jane's throat.
"Hey! What are you doing?!"
"Bat, this isn't like you!"
The people around them were visibly shaken by Bruce's abrupt action.
Even Carnage, who had just been fighting for control over the body with its parasite, was momentarily stunned, watching the scene unfold in disbelief.
"If I kill her right here, what will happen?" Bruce's voice was so calm that it sent chills down everyone's spine.
"You'll face relentless pursuit from S.H.I.E.L.D.," Nick Fury immediately responded, turning his gun towards Bruce.
Jessica and Miles, despite their trust in Bruce, couldn't be entirely sure at this moment. The scene before them was too real, too unsettling.
"Hahaha!"
A distorted, electronic laugh erupted from the throat of the Six-Armed Spider, whose spine had been snapped. Eddie was speaking now.
"I had no idea there was such tension between you all."
"Or should I call you a coward, Bat?" Eddie sneered at Bruce.
"If you hand over Venom to me, maybe I'll let you walk out of here alive."
"But as part of the deal, you'll have to kill Mary Jane."
Eddie, like a demon, was whispering temptations, trying to lure Bruce into the abyss of corruption.
Especially since Bruce wasn't just anyone—he was a superhero.
"Bat!"
"Don't!"
Nick Fury's sharp gaze remained locked on Bruce.
He wasn't sure if his gun would have any effect on Bruce, but for the sake of an old friend, this was something he had to do.
Miles, tense and anxious, kept his eyes on the Batarang in Bruce's hand.
He was already preparing to go invisible, ready to intervene and save Mary Jane.
But it seemed that everyone had forgotten one crucial fact—
Mary Jane was no longer an ordinary person.
Suddenly, the most agitated presence in the room wasn't them—it was Carnage.
Carnage lunged straight at the Bat.
Without hesitation, Bruce pushed Mary Jane aside.
He let Carnage slam directly into him.
Even with the protection of his suit, Bruce could feel the searing pain coursing through his body.
But at least this meant his plan had worked.
After the electric shock, the Carnage symbiote's control over its host had been significantly weakened.
However, if the parasite within didn't possess strong enough willpower, Carnage would inevitably regain dominance over the body.
Bruce's task was to ensure that the host's willpower reached its peak—or to push their emotions to the extreme.
Pressing his right hand against Carnage's chest, Bruce spoke in a calm,
steady voice: "Wake up."
"Peter Parker."
(End of Chapter)
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