Chapter 7
Harry was sitting through a class at school tuning out the teacher's lecture on the book Animal Farm while mentally taking care of some of his business via his bio-net. All of a sudden an alert came to the sorcerer pertaining to the prick that was framing Spider-Man. Harry was determined not to let the little bastard go again.
"He has shown up again," Harry sent to MJ and Gwen who sat on either side of him. "Take us with you please," MJ begged, knowing her boyfriend was going after the impostor. "Alright," Harry agreed. "It is going down in Atlantic City anyway." "I definitely want to go," Gwen asserted.
Lily interfaced with the system which controlled the school's fire alarm and triggered an evacuation. The sorcerer and his lovely ladies waited until the class filed out of the room before slipping away. Harry confounded his teacher to think the three of them were present when she did a head count and when the class would eventually resume. Then the trio phased to Atlantic City to a pier where the action was going down.
As they phased back into existence the trio's costumes materialized on their forms. Harry, Gwen, and MJ watched as a backpack which was smoking and the wizard could sense was filled with an incendiary bomb sailed through the air thrown from the Spider-Man impostor towards a child eating a popsicle.
Gwen's father leapt towards the youngster and tossed the child to his friends who caught the tot. Captain Stacy fell back against a nearby police cruiser with the momentum of the toss and the smoldering backpack fell right on top of him.
"NOOOO!!!" Gwen screamed.
The incendiary in the backpack chose that moment to explode in a ball of flame. Suddenly Richard Stacy was standing in front of the three costumed heroes. Richard ran his hands up and down his chest in amazement.
"I'm alive! But how?" Richard asked.
"You are so going to get lucky tonight," Gwen sent to her mate while resisting the urge to hug her father for dear life. "But that impersonating prick isn't going to be for long," Blend said aloud before her form shimmered and she shot into the air, blending her body with the hydrogen in the atmosphere and shooting into the sky like a cloud of vapor.
"Huh...I didn't know she could do that," MJ said.
Moments later a screaming Spider-Man impersonator came flying over the edge of the building he had fled onto. There were several snapping sounds as the thief landed without his mask. Blend landed on top of him and turned solid once more. Her fists now changed into Adamantium and began pummeling the barely conscious thief.
"Blend...stop," Richard barked. "Please...don't kill him."
Gwen stopped beating the punk who had almost killed her father and looked up at the man. Only because it was him did the blonde stop. Only if it had been Harry or her father that had asked would Gwen have resisted the urge to kill the bastard. While standing Gwen made sure to crush the little bastard's manhood with her metallic heel before she rejoined her companions.
"Well I think that took care of him," Harry pointed out.
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"Quite right," Richard agreed as several officers rushed over to cuff the thief.
Harry was down in his basement cleaning up a bit when he came across a small storage room that had been located behind his workbench. In all the years the Parkers had lived in that location Peter had never realized there was a storage room back there. Opening up the first box he came to Harry discovered pictures of a young Peter Parker with his father. There were also pictures of his mother along with many other photos. There was another man Harry didn't recognize right off but which Lily's connection to the internet identified as Eddie Brock Senior, deceased.
Harry also found a video tape so phased up to his room to play it. When the tape began it showed Peter as a child.
"Peter, look over here," a man's voice directed. "I did a report at school about Emperor penguins, daddy," Peter informed his father. "Really?" Richard Parker prompted. "Yeah, did you know there are fifteen kinds of penguins?" Peter eagerly explained. "Really?" Richard prompted again.
Young Peter began to name the penguins off before a Frisbee to the back of the head interrupted him. Peter's concerned mother ran into the video to check if her son was alright. As the video continued to play more people were revealed. Ben Parker, May, and the three Brocks who Peter vaguely remembered were having a picnic with young Peter and his parents. The adults talked about a project Ed Brock Sr. and Richard Parker were working on while young Peter played with Eddie Brock Jr.
"Where did you find this?" May asked as she stood behind her favorite superhero. Harry had of course known his aunt was there.
Standing, the mage wrapped his favorite aunt in a hug while explaining, "I found it with a bunch of boxes in the basement in a small storage room. Are you ok?"
"I'm fine...I just miss my sister sometimes...and everyone else. Out of everyone in that video I am the only adult that is still alive. That is alarming I guess," May explained. As if to change the subject or distract herself from such morbid thoughts May said, "Those things in the basement are yours. They belonged to your father and mother."
"Whatever happened to Eddie Brock Jr.?" Harry queried, curious if his aunt knew.
"After his parents were killed in the same crash that claimed your parents' lives he went to live with his grandparents. They lived quite far away. You should see if you can find him," May suggested. "You two used to be thick as thieves. I remember you and Eddie used to build forts out of blankets and cardboard boxes. Your mother used to get so upset when you dirtied her blankets outside," the woman added with a wry smile.
"Maybe I will track him down and give him a copy of this video," Harry suggested.
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"I think that would be a great idea," May agreed. "Just make sure I get a copy too. I am sure your girlfriends would love to see you at that age."
After May left the room Harry decided to contact Eddie. Lily had looked Brock Jr. up while the superhero had been chatting with his aunt.
"Hello," a voice answered after several rings of the phone. "Hello Eddie, this is Peter Parker," Harry replied.
"Peter Parker...Peter Parker...Oh my god! Get out of town! Little Peter Parker?! Where are you? How are you? How'd you find me? Where are you?" Eddie asked in rapid succession.
"I live in Queens," Harry answered.
"Hey, I'm in the city. I go to Empire State," Eddie interjected. "We used to play together like every freakin' day, man. This is amazing! What are you, like, in high school?"
"Yes, although I have been contemplating just graduating early. I only stay because of my friends," Harry replied.
"You must be quite the little genius. Don't give up those high school hotties too quickly Peter my friend," Eddie urged. "We should get together. Do you ever make it into the city?"
"Yeah...I manage the Daily Bugle's website and am in there almost daily," the mage assured. "That is really cool man," Eddie declared. "You and I can paint the town red or something."
Empire State University Campus the next day...
When Harry knocked on Eddie's dorm room door the next day the blonde college student actually had to look up a bit.
"Wow...not so little Peter Parker anymore," Eddie declared. "Welcome to higher education my friend!" Eddie ushered Harry into his dorm and it was a mess. "Well it isn't much...but it works for me."
"A little young for you, ain't he Brock?" Eddie's roommate inquired. "What a douche bag," Harry announced. "I feel sorry you have to room with that, man." "Thanks, let's go grab some coffee or something," Eddie suggested while grabbing his jacket.
"So after switching from Astrophysics I became a bioengineering major," Eddie finished summarizing his diverse college career.
"That is interesting. I was considering doing that as one of my majors as well," Harry mused.
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"One of your majors?" Eddie asked inquiringly. "I'm not sure you realize the amount of work they will be assigning you. Three chapters a night, a hundred pages a day," Eddie asserted.
"I think I will be able to handle it," Harry assured.
"Well you should start saving right now because books are going to cost you a small fortune. You won't be able to afford to take a girl out working as web support," Eddie asserted. "Do you have a girlfriend by the way?"
"Several," Harry said with a grin. "Several...how do you have several girlfriends?" Eddie demanded.
"I'm just that awesome," Harry replied with an enigmatic half smile. "How are you getting on without your parents?"
Eddie's incredulous expression from moments before changed to one of sadness.
"Sometimes I find it hard to even picture my mom's face. I look at pictures of them and see what they look like but I worry that I am not remembering them right," Eddie explained. "I don't think I am saying this very well. I don't think I am remembering them how they actually were."
"Maybe this will help," Harry suggested while sliding a disc out of his pocket and across the table. "I found hours upon hours of video my father took with his camera on outings between our families. I compiled it."
Harry pressed a button the disc and a hologram began to show the video recorded within the device.
Eddie stared in amazement, finally saying, "Peter, you are a genius man. And this is about the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me." As he spoke Harry turned the recording off. "How do I work this thing?" Harry showed Eddie how to operate the holographic device. Eddie focused on his old friend for a moment before apparently deciding something. "Peter, I have something to show you too."
Eddie led Harry into one of the lab buildings on the ESU campus and keyed in a code on a high security door. "Nice," Harry complimented the lab setup. "This place is obviously well funded."
"It is...but that isn't what I wanted to show you," Eddie explained as he opened a bio-containment safe. "This...this is something... It's our inheritance. This is what our fathers committed their lives to creating. Unfortunately they were not given the chance to see it through. Right now it's a big pile of protoplasmic goo. It was supposed to be the cure for cancer. According to my dad's notes they were really close too. Or my dad could have just been waaay too excited," Eddie explained while locking the safe back up. "The notes are pretty hard to decipher. Either they were really disorganized or parts are missing. Maybe your dad had some. Plus who knows how much they had on them when the plane went down. Without the help of my professor I don't think I would have been able to make heads or tails of the research."
"Who is this professor?" Harry asked.
"Doc Conners," Eddie answered. "He is amazing and a super great guy." It sounded like Eddie had a bit of hero worship for his professor. That was natural for someone young and impressionable like Eddie. Eddie pulled out a drawing of a human sized tank with the outline of a person inside visible through the clear front
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of the unit. "Our dads called this thing 'the suit.' It was some kind of protoplasmic medical dip that was to be tailored to a patient's specific DNA code. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Harry confirmed.
"In theory it would temporarily take hold of a person's biology, find out what the body required, and then find a natural solution. For example, if a cancer tumor had developed the suit would search the body for the right natural toxins and ensure delivery to the tumor site. Basically this would find cancer and kill it. As far as I can understand...our fathers reached somewhere into phase two of the project where the suit would enhance the physical strengths and natural abilities of the patient. I'm not really sure about the specifics of this phase because that is where the notes start to get hazy. That is the point where our dads ran out of money. I remember some of this being discussed when I was a kid. They had some serious talks on the porch," Eddie explained.
"That was when they took up positions at Trask Industries," Harry surmised. "Do you actually remember some of this?" Eddie queried.
"No, I was too young. But I have heavily researched my parents. I knew my dad took up the position at Trask and that corresponds with the time things began to get tough financially in their bank records," Harry replied.
As he pulled out some photos Eddie explained, "I didn't know it at the time but our fathers were just 'work for hire employees.' Do you know what that means?"
"I have found the lawsuit information," Harry replied even as Lily uncovered the information her creator was talking about and feeding him information. "I know Trask took their intellectual property from our dads. But the details aren't a matter of public record. Judging from what you have described of the suit I am guessing management at Trask found out a military application for this bio-enhancement suit."
"Yes, read this," Eddie said while handing Harry several pages.
"This situation is our worst fear realized. We were locked out of our own laboratories and our project was taken away from us. I know that Richard blames me for all of this and I can't say that he is wrong. I am the one who pushed him into this deal with Trask. I am the one who wanted out of the day-to-day grind of fund- raising in the private sector. And now everything he warned me might happen, happened. Now our days are going to be filled with lawyers and weasels. All we really want to do is finish the project we dedicated our lives and the lives of our families to," The words of Eddie Brock Sr. explained.
"That is the last entry. Two days after that...," Eddie Jr. trailed off. "On the way back from meeting a big time lawyer in Washington getting ready to sue the pants off of Trask Industries...boom!"
"That is damn suspicious," Harry agreed. "I assume Trask didn't manage to get everything otherwise you wouldn't have that," Harry said while indicating the flask of protoplasm in the bio-locker.
"That was something our fathers were making on their own behind the company's back. As far as I understand it...they planned on proving their ownership by making a suit of their own. They didn't get far but it was started. My grandpa kept it in the same freezer my dad put it in because he couldn't get rid of anything that belonged to his son. I only found it in the notes recently and had it moved to the university a couple of weeks ago. Doc Connors suspects it might be useless given its age. But Doc Connors does think our dads were on the right track. Their math was good and the logic was correct. It might just be that the
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technology wasn't advanced enough back then to support the dream our dads had. Doc Connors thinks that even if the suit doesn't work the way our dads thought it would that it might create some new interesting questions to answer. And that isn't a bad way to spend your day," Eddie explained as he finished locking up the research notes.
"You said the suit was coded to a specific person's DNA. Whose DNA did they use back then?" Harry inquired.
"Your dad's," Eddie replied.
After school the next day MJ, Gwen, and Harry found Eddie waiting in a hot little two seat convertible at the curb in front of the school.
"Yo Pete, you said your girlfriends were gorgeous but I didn't quite believe you until now," Eddie declared as the trio approached his car.
"This is Gwen and that is MJ," Harry introduced. "I thought you said all your money went towards books. How did you afford that car?"
"It belonged to my dad. I'm afraid it will be tight with three of you but hop in," Eddie suggested.
"Oh...Peter is used to fitting into tight places," MJ assured flirtatiously as she and Gwen squeezed onto the mage's lap in the passenger seat.
Eddie grinned and began to drive.
"There is no way I would ever join a frat," Eddie declared after Gwen had asked him about one. "Who is the biggest douche bag in your school?"
"Flash Thompson," all three crime fighters declared in unison while pointing towards the blonde jock sitting at a nearby table.
"Being part of a frat is like being surrounded by thirty versions of Flash all day long," Eddie explained. "Screw that," MJ declared.
Just then Eddie got a call which he took briefly. Doc Connors was calling to inquire about Eddie's visit to the lab the previous evening with a guest.
"I'm not sure I want to go to college. It just seems like so much hype," Gwen said after Eddie's call had ended.
"Oh come on...it will be fun," MJ suggested.
"I wouldn't exactly call it fun...but interesting maybe. Don't get me wrong...there are fun parts. Like Friday night there is a reggae band playing in the quad and it's free," Eddie said.
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"I love reggae," Gwen gushed. "Do you guys want to come? I can pick you up," Eddie offered. "We have ways of getting around. I think we will probably make it," Harry said. The friends chatted for some time before Eddie dropped the trio off at the Parker residence.
As Harry and Susan sorted through Richard Parker's research files they listened to one of the tapes found among the research.
"The theory isn't a new one. The human body carries within itself the ability to create everything it needs to function...everything it needs to fight off any disease, to stave off any cancer. What 'the suit' will do is just help the body help itself. It's the ultimate natural medical treatment. As you will see in the enclosed specs we are currently in the middle of phase two. With your generous support we believe we will be able to bring the suit to the human testing phase sometime in the next two to three years. Mankind has been plagued by the unknowns of cancer for as long as we have recorded history. With every passing generation we have found a new and better way to survive and cure ourselves. We believe 'the suit' may be the final step...this generation's chance. Finally a cure for cancer and a promising hope for our children's future. Thank you for your consideration," Richard Parker said.
"Let's see what was on this one," Susan suggested while popping in another video.
"Until this lawsuit ends and I can truly know who to trust again I am stuck sitting on my hands," a disheveled and distraught looking Richard Parker declared. "I hate lawsuits! This isn't what I wanted. I would have never even started these experiments if I would have thought someone would have twisted them in this way. I would have rather worked at Taco Bell than to have this happen! People are living with pain and dying all over the world and all I want to do is help them. But because I signed the wrong paper for the wrong person not only can I not do anything to help them, I can't even tell someone else what I have so they can go finish it. I can't tell anyone. Ben, if you're watching this you were right. I'll never say it to your face but you were right. Never trust anyone wearing a tie."
A single tear rolled down the man's cheek.
"I'm not going to let that man's research be in vain. I am going to finish it and use the suit to help mankind in Richard Parker and Eddie Brock Sr.'s name," Harry declared.
"I will help you," Susan told her boyfriend.
"Alright...after the concert we can retrieve a sample of the suit material from the university's lab," Harry suggested.
The blonde nodded her agreement.
"You had better go get ready. I know how excited Gwen was to show you and MJ reggae music," Susan said. "Janet and I are going to grab a few drinks at a club she likes."
While stepping up and kissing the beauty Harry projected into her mind, "If you need me for anything just think strongly of me."
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"Of course," Susan agreed with affectionate thoughts.
MJ, Gwen, and Harry returned to the Parker residence after a great time at the concert. Eddie had seemed to have had fun as well and they had left him only a short while ago. They entered his bedroom to find a very drunk Janet, Susan, and Natasha on Harry's bed giggling merrily. Natasha had evidently joined the other two drinking at some point and had suggested switching to Vodka instead of lighter alcohol.
"Peeeter," Susan half squealed half slurred as she spotted the new arrivals. "I got impatient and retrieved your sample," the blonde said while gesturing at the nightstand.
"I like Peter's peter," Janet declared drunkenly before bursting into giggles followed by the other women.
Harry grinned at the three women as he walked over and picked up the sample container. As soon as he touched the container the mage felt the glob of organic material touch his skin. Immediately the goo, the suit protoplasm, began to react and grow as it sensed compatible genetic material.
"Curious," Harry mused as the organism stretched up his arm rapidly. "Peter," MJ cried in alarm. "Don't be alarmed," Harry urged as he turned to face his women. "The suit is bonding with me."
Lily had quickly confirmed this fact after several rapid scans of the organism. Soon enough the organism had completely grown over the mage. It took several moments to adapt to his physiology. One moment it appeared to the watching women as if their boyfriend had become an oddly shaped black blob of goo and then he was standing there in his familiar shape but with a shining black suit. The mask retracted back to reveal a gorgeous grinning superhero.
"Hot damn," Gwen declared. "This could be interesting," Harry suggested.
The next day found Spider-Man testing out his new suit. Every power the suit had Harry could duplicate with his own arcane abilities or through Lily. But that didn't mean a third alternative source of power wouldn't be appreciated. There could never be enough redundancy in Harry's experience. Lily constantly monitored digital communications for traces of crime so when she detected a kidnapping in progress she traced the position of the call the kidnappers were making for ransom demands. The kidnappers had taken a pop star that had just finished a concert after the young singer had gotten into her limo.
Harry landed on the roof of the limo and tore the top open, relying on the strength provided by his suit to test its limits.
"Time to go to jail," Harry said as he knocked out two of the kidnappers with a blow from each of his fists.
Another kidnapper managed to get a shot off which caused the singer to scream in terror. The suit actually absorbed the bullet. The singer and the gunman stared in amazement as the suit healed itself after pushing
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the slug out.
"Oh shit," the gunman muttered just before a foot came up and smashed him in the face hard enough to put him out cold.
Black webbing from the suit flew everywhere and wrapped up the kidnappers in the back of the car. Then Harry flicked the driver on the front of the head with enough force to put the man out. The mage slipped easily into the driver's seat while pushing the last kidnapper out of the way. The superhero swiftly brought the vehicle to a halt.
"Are you alright, Miss?" Spider-Man inquired as his mask retracted to reveal the familiar face of Harry Demire.
"Oh my god," the stunned pop singer said. "Thank you so much for saving me."
"It's what I do, Miss Cyrus," Harry answered. "I would love to stay and get your autograph but there is another crime in progress not far away."
Miley Cyrus could only nod in agreement as one of the most powerful and gorgeous men in the world swung away from her. Miley couldn't help but admire his muscular form in that tight black suit. She definitely approved of the wardrobe change.
Harry arrived in front of a nearby bank not long after to see a villain he had faced off with before. This particular guy used sonic vibrators to shake things up.
"Now step the fuck off! I'm not joking," the bad guy shouted at the cops after having sent a blast of sound at the lawmen.
"I should hope not...because it wasn't really that funny," Harry quipped. "Oh no...not you again," the criminal shouted before sending an attack at the sorcerer. To the observer's Spider-Man's form seemed to shake for several moments. "That actually felt kind of good. Thank you for that," the mage said. "Oh shit," the criminal said.
"Yeah...I get that reaction a lot today," the reality traveler replied while shooting out a web line and jerking his opponent into his fist. "Is everyone in the crowd alright?" Nobody answered as the police rushed forward to arrest the bank robber. "I will take that as a yes. Well there is more crime for me to stop. So... later."
Harry leapt into the air and swung away. Harry found a Laundromat a short time after that in the process of being robbed.
The thief ran out the door and yelled, "I told you not to move."
The thief then put a bullet in the proprietor. The anguished scream of the shop owner's wife was heard followed by a little boy's cries for his father. Harry swung after the thief. The scumbag managed to duck into an abandoned building but this didn't hide him from Spider-Man. The murderer attempted to put several
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rounds into the superhero but failed as Harry caught him.
"You make me sick. You killed a man for a bag of money," Harry growled, his anger spiking.
Suddenly the suit changed. The hood snapped into place. Harry's muscles were far more pronounced and his suit sported dozens of razor sharp teeth. His mouth could also open much farther than normal. Harry felt like he could eat anything of any size and his magic told him he could do it. A long probing tentacle-like prehensile tongue extended out towards the terrified murderer.
"You don't deserve to live," Spider-Man's suddenly deep voice said.
Warnings were blaring inside of Harry's head courtesy of Lily. The ancient mage quickly located the primitive intelligence governing the suit and found it was a neural network that learned from its host. The network was spread throughout the entire suit and was rather primitive. The suit learned from the subconscious of its host organism. Deep down Harry really didn't think the murderer in his arms deserved to live. But the mage felt no need to kill the scumbag on a conscious level. Harry reigned in the suit's new form with his arcane abilities and mental control. This feature of the suit would require further study. The mage knocked the scumbag unconscious and webbed the man up before phasing back to the coin laundry. The cops hadn't arrived yet which would make this easier. Sticking the thief to the wall in the front of the shop Harry phased home quickly.
"I need help with a revival of a white male approximately in his forties with a little boy and a grieving wife at the scene," Harry announced.
"I'll help," Janet volunteered from where she had been sitting on the couch typing on her laptop. "Me too," Gwen agreed, also rising from her computer.
The two beauties latched onto their man's arms on both sides and all three phased back to the shop. The distraught wife didn't notice at first but the little boy did.
"Spider-Man," the boy declared. "Please save my daddy."
"I will but you need to go with one of these nice ladies for a bit first," Harry answered.
Gwen took the little boy's hand and led him out of the room.
"You can bring my husband back can't you?" The distraught woman pleaded from where she knelt next to her husband's bloody corpse.
"Of course," Janet assured, dropping to her knees. "Just let me get the proper elixir." Janet quickly went to work and extracted the needed potion from her wizard.
Harry's girlfriend moaned in orgasm as he painted her tonsils and he groaned at the wife, "Take it from her and give it to your husband."
The woman did as directed, experiencing her own climax in the process of receiving the load from Janet's mouth. As the victim's wounds began to heal and his eyes fluttered open all three crime fighters disappeared from the building, phased out by Harry.
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Apparently Eddie became suspicious when he saw Spider-Man's new look on the news because he ran down to the university and checked his samples. When Eddie could detect no loss of material due to the fact that the sample which had been taken was so small he calmed down. The samples were full of bio-net nanites which were cloaked against detection. Lily wouldn't allow the experiment to fall into the wrong hands. Unbeknownst to the sorcerer or his bio-net AI the samples in the university lab were not the only portions of the experiment in existence.
Harry was sitting in one of the rare high school classes he had actually decided to attend instead of sending one of his holographic floating orbs controlled by Lily. The geometry lecture didn't interest Harry so much as the females in the school. The sorcerer was having fun sending his powers out and coaxing orgasms out of the females in the classroom whenever they looked at him with desire. MJ and Gwen found their mate's antics amusing but were not spared from his arcane touch.
Only a few minutes after the lecture had begun Harry's spider-sense began to tingle. He looked out the nearby window into the rain and the cloud induced dark environment and spotted a black mass of morphing muscle and teeth leaping through the downpour.
"Do you want some help?" MJ projected as only she and Gwen could see their mate slip out of his seat under a cloak.
The holographic projection which took Peter's place fooled everyone else. "No, you two stay put," Harry asserted.
Lightning touched down nearby as Harry approached the dark shape that crouched on the football field outside the school with black tentacles waving in the air.
"You shouldn't have tried to stop my experiment, Peter. I was meant to be created," The distorted voice from the creature said. "I am Venom!"
"Dr. Connors I presume," Harry said even though he had never met the man. The mage's senses told him the suit wearing geneticist before him was sporting a suit which had bonded with Spider-Man's DNA but before Harry had merged with the superhero. "Where did you get my DNA?"
"You left it lying all over the scenes of your fights, Parker. Now I will devour you and get all of your precious genetic material, making me more powerful than ever," Venom declared.
"I should think not," Harry assured while his clothes turned black and changed shape into his spider suit.
Venom attacked first by sending out a tentacle lined with sharp teeth. Harry caught the tentacle in a firm grip and swung his opponent hard enough to launch the bastard up into the bleachers. Venom crashed into the stands. The crazy geneticist recovered quickly, snarling and launching himself at Spider-Man. Harry leapt into the air, meeting his opponent mid-leap and delivering an uppercut that launched the crazy being half a mile away. Harry turned invisible and flew after his foe.
"The suit needs you, Parker," Connors said as Harry appeared on the edge of the roof out of the heavy rain. "And it will have you," The snarling madman shouted as he again leapt towards the superhero.
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This time the suit around Connors tried completely enveloping the superhero, merging with Spider-Man's own suit. But the crazed suit was no longer compatible with the suit controlled by the sorcerer. Harry tore out of the enemy suit's grasp. Lightning surged down from the sky in the heat of the storm and struck Venom, stunning the creature. Harry flew forward and hit Venom so hard the creature sailed upwards once more. The crazed being didn't come down this time, swiftly attaining orbit.
When Harry slipped back into geometry class several minutes later MJ inquired, "Is everything alright?" "Everything is fine, love," Harry assured.
Both Gwen and MJ had been observing the fight through Gwen's ability to merge with other elements. The blonde beauty had learned to use the elements to sort of see and sense action and changes in the elements. She could relay this sense to her eyes through the light energy she was slowly learning how to merge with. It wasn't much more difficult for Gwen to do the same for MJ. Both Regenerate and Blend were amazed at their boyfriend's ability to treat what he had just done with such casualness. MJ shrugged at her blonde friend and went back to attempting to listen to the lecture.
Westchester New York...
Harry sat in a comfortable love seat in Jean's room at the institute with the redhead curled up against his side. The couple was watching the broadcast from Japan of Colossus, Cyclops, and Storm on a talk show to promote the mutant cause.
"You asked what are the X-Men doing in Japan," Colossus began. "I suppose the main reason is to highlight the plight of the genetic prisoners in China and South Korea. But we would also like to show the world that there is more to mutant kind than the anti-human movement led by the late Magneto's Brotherhood."
Cyclops added, "Professor X formed our school where mutants could learn to control their powers in safety without the threat of persecution. Tonight we would also like to show that the propaganda against mutants displayed by much of the world's media is false. Mutants are just ordinary humans with an extra active gene. If you discriminate against us now you could be discriminating against your friends, family, or even yourself in the not too distant future."
The show ended shortly after that.
Turning away from the TV, Jean gazed up at her boyfriend.
"Well love, whatever shall we do now?" Harry queried with a half smile.
"I'm sure a genius like you can think of something," the redhead suggested while straddling the sorcerer's hips and lowering her mouth to capture his lips.
The kiss conveyed just how deeply the young woman felt for her mate. The empathic connection they shared was only icing on the cake as far as conveying their feelings for each other was concerned. It was a great time to be the male the world knew as Spider-Man.
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Wolverine and Cyclops were running a little mission in New York after learning that the Russian mob Colossus used to work for were threatening to kill his family if he didn't start working for them again. Harry had decided to tag along. Logan wanted to knock and use some corny line when the trio of males arrived at the door of the apartment where the local Russian in charge of the New York branch of the mob lived. Harry had other ideas. The sorcerer kicked the door in without preamble. The Russian goons in the apartment opened fire with automatic weapons. Wolverine went straight for Boris' (the mob boss) bedroom ignoring the bullets. Cyclops opened fire on several of the goons while Harry used his webbing to snatch guns from the thugs before tossing them out the window with his bare hands.
Each of the thugs had murdered dozens of people.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Scott demanded when the room was clear.
A young woman ran out of the bedroom as Wolverine began to talk with Boris.
"If you don't have the stomach for the fight against evil, then get the hell out now Cyclops. Those men each have murdered dozens of people," Harry replied.
"But we will be hunted by the police, wanted for murder," Cyclops protested.
"You should know by now that I am smarter than that," Harry assured as he snagged the fleeing woman with a web line. The sorcerer grabbed Boris' squeeze and looked into her eyes while appearing to Scott as if he was whispering into her ear. A few quick telepathic commands later and he released her. The woman would relay what happened when they fucked with an X-Man to Boris' bosses. "Now, I suggest you go get the car. Wolverine should be done carving up Boris."
A few minutes later Wolverine exited Boris' bedroom and asked, "How did old one eye take the change in game plan?"
"I think he handled it fairly well. He was more worried about getting caught than any squeamishness about taking out those dirt bags," Harry answered.
"Yeah...I just hope Xavier doesn't pluck what we did from his mind," Wolverine muttered as the pair left the apartment and headed back to the back of the building where Cyclops was waiting with the car.
"Jean has taken care of that," Harry assured. "Excellent," Wolverine said with a feral grin.
The trio arrived back at the mansion not long after.
"Hey there, beautiful," Harry greeted Jean as he found her in the recreation room telekinetically building a house of cards, one of her frequent control exercises she performed. The mage wrapped his arms around his girlfriend from behind and nibbled on her ear. "You are getting better at keeping your focus," he added when she didn't let the cards collapse.
"I have had plenty of practice with distraction," the redhead purred while turning to kiss her mate with her arms encircling his neck.
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Just then Xavier began mind speaking to Jean. Harry listened in.
"Marvel Girl, this is Professor X. Ice-Man has come back from his short vacation with his parents just now with something of a problem. Apparently young Bobby has managed to acquire something of a girlfriend when he attended his mother's birthday party," Xavier explained.
"Let me guess...he told her about the school," Jean surmised.
"Actually I'm not sure there isn't anything he didn't tell this young lady in intimate detail," Xavier replied. "We have to do something but how far are we willing to go to maintain school security? I am concerned about the ethics of erasing the entire conversation from their minds. As always your thoughts would be appreciated."
"I just relayed our conversation to Harry at the speed of thought and he has some ideas for ensuring this girl won't talk and so that Bobby can maintain a relationship with her even over long distance," Jean suggested.
"That sounds intriguing," Xavier replied. "It will require us to make a visit to this girl's house but that shouldn't be a problem. Harry and I will just
pay her a visit," Jean suggested. "By all means," Xavier agreed. "Let me just change and then we can go pay Bobby's little hometown girl a visit," Jean suggested. "Do you want to drive, fly, or use the express route?" Harry inquired.
Harry had recently completed the installation of a remote teleportation system which orbited around the Earth in the form of many cloaked satellites. It was something the sorcerer and his mates had come up with after several thousand years of life after one too many near splinches after getting smashed at a party.
"Let's drive part of the way and we can always take the express route if we get tired of driving. But I want to try this thing I read about online," Jean decided. "I believe it is called road head."
Harry moaned causing the vixen to grin in satisfaction and stride out of the room with an extra sway in her hips.
While Jean was learning the ropes of road head Harry was alerted to the institute being attacked. The attackers were from Weapon-X, the people who had turned Wolverine into what he was. They were using non-lethal force. Lily began tracking the X-Men as they were taken back to the Weapon-X headquarters. Harry would be coming after them after taking care of Bobby's little girlfriend.
"It feels good to be home...," Jean began to say after she and her lover had teleported into the institute only to find the wall of the kitchen where they had headed right after arriving had been demolished. "There is nobody else here," the redhead added after finding herself unable to sense any other minds other than her boyfriend's.
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"They have been taken...by force," Harry surmised as he examined the damage to the grounds and the school, Jean floating behind. "The kidnappers had some military training and equipment."
"Can you tell who it is?" Jean inquired. "The kidnappers have the smell of those Weapon-X assholes we rescued Wolverine from," Harry answered.
"Hmm...Wolverine took out Colonel Wraith but that doesn't mean the operation was shut down. In any case they have the X-Men. Do you know how to track them?" Jean asked.
"I have got a pretty good idea. Let's go," Harry urged while wrapping one arm around his mate and teleporting away with her.
Using the teleportation system didn't require Harry to hold his girlfriend but Jean had confessed she felt safer that way.
Finland, Weapon-X Headquarters...
Jean and Harry touched down on the roof of the Weapon-X facility. Jean thought there must have been some security system present but it didn't alert the inhabitants of the facility to their presence. The redhead knew this was because of her boyfriend. She and the gorgeous superhero had shared many details of their lives before meeting. Jean knew she was just scratching the surface with Harry Demire. He had never come out and said it directly but the slightly empathic redhead had figured out her lover was more at ease with her calling him by the name of his public identity, Harry. So far Jean knew her man was incredibly strong, had telekinesis, had faced off against alien races and won, was far more intelligent than he let on, and possessed advanced technology like the teleporter system. Jean was also pretty sure her mate was a powerful telepath but had not quite been able to confirm that fact. With each new facet she learned about her lover she fell deeper in love and yes lust with him.
"The X-Men aren't here," Jean announced after a few seconds of mental probing into the facility below. "They are on their way to India to rescue an American asset that has been captured by the enemy. Oh...it looks like Fury is the asset."
"An ass is more like it...and not the good kind," Harry muttered. Jean grinned...knowing her boyfriend appreciated a good ass.
"I suppose we will have to save Fury as well even though I don't like him much from what you have told me about him," Jean mused.
"We don't have to save him...but if he dies then I will have to break in a new S.H.I.E.L.D. leader," Harry replied.
"The new leader of Weapon-X is a scientist named Dr. Cornelius...although I don't know how he can be classified as a man of science with the experiments he has been performing," Jean muttered while sharing some of the things she was reading from Cornelius with Harry. "What should we do with him?"
"Let's worry about him when we get back. We will meet the X-Men after they have intercepted Fury since they are still en route," Harry suggested. "Let's get going so we can scope out the land we will be fighting in
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first." The couple embraced and vanished via the teleporter.
Cornelius had split the team up on different missions. One group was meant to rescue Fury and the other group was meant to finish Fury's mission.
Harry and Jean appeared at the base Fury was sent to infiltrate shortly after the team designated Alpha Team consisting of Storm, a teleporter named Kurt, Beast, and Cyclops touched down (the last two wearing jet packs) outside of the facility. The couple was cloaked and remained that way, not alerting their friends to their presence.
"The X-Men have some kind of explosive neural implant in their heads. Cornelius has threatened to blow the head off of their teammate if one of them should try to escape," Jean informed her mate telepathically.
Alpha Team made quick work of the blast door with Storm creating a miniature storm in the facility as a distraction and Kurt teleporting inside.
"Let's stay with them for now. I can permanently neutralize the implants but I need to send a virus into the systems back at Weapon-X HQ to keep Cornelius from being alerted to the fact that his leverage is gone first. I will also need to take out the implants in the second team," Harry explained.
When Alpha Team reached the lab section of the facility they split up; Storm and Beast heading down one corridor while Kurt and Cyclops went down another. Jean and Harry stuck with Storm and Beast because quite simply out of the four Alpha Team members Harry valued Storm most. Beast and Storm went to a large lab which contained several scientists. After taking out the guards Storm was ordered to make a pitch to one scientist in particular.
"What do you think, Doctor? Could you see yourself earning seven figures a year and building those monsters of yours for an amoral global security organization?" The storm manipulator questioned.
"I would certainly be willing to give it some thought," the small Indian doctor answered.
"Actually there is a change in plans, Storm," Colonel Maxim, Cornelius' head of military, broke in. "A rather well toned young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent just handed me a termination order. The mission objective just changed from hire to fire. We would very much like you to do the honors, Storm."
"I'm not going to kill this guy in cold blood," Storm protested.
"That my dear is what the majority of Weapon-X recruits say in your situation. That is why we have this clever enticement," Maxim retorted. As he spoke Kirk and Scott had come running into the room. Kirk, Scott, and Beast dropped to the floor clutching their heads in pain. "It's quite simple really. Kill the doctor who is a complete stranger or your friends die."
Storm didn't even hesitate for a moment longer. She had grown up on the streets stealing to survive. In a situation like this it was kill or be killed. A storm cloud formed incredibly fast and descended upon the Indian doctor before he could open his mouth to plead for his life. Lightning flashed within the cloud and when it had dissipated a charred corpse was all that remained. Tears rolled down Storm's cheeks as her teammates recovered and stood. She wiped at them furiously and turned away from the corpse.