Chapter 112: Hornless
The Manhattan skyline glitters against the night like shattered glass as I stand on our apartment rooftop, cold air biting through my thin t-shirt. I barely feel it. My mind's still back at the Baxter Building, trapped in that sterile medical room with Susan Storm's clinical gaze dissecting me like I'm some fascinating new specimen.
Ellie hovers nearby, keeping a careful distance. The symbiote ripples across her skin in agitated waves, responding to her anxiety. She's been like this since we left. Watching me like I might shatter if she looks away, but afraid to come too close in case that's what breaks me.
"What can I do?" she finally asks, her voice small against the background hum of traffic below. "Just tell me what you need, Shane."
I stare out at the city, at all those twinkling lights representing normal lives being lived by normal people. People who don't turn into demons. People who haven't been violated twice in the span of months.
"There's nothing you can do, Ellie." My voice sounds hollow, detached, like it's coming from someone else. "I'm just so fucking sick of getting raped."
The words hang in the frigid night air between us. Raw. Ugly. True.
Rage surges through me suddenly, white-hot and overwhelming. I spin around and kick the nearest vent, my foot connecting with the metal in a savage motion fueled by pure fury.
The vent doesn't just dent, it crumples in on itself like an aluminum can, the metal shrieking as it collapses.
I freeze. "What the fuck?"
Ellie's beside me in an instant, her hands moving to my head, fingers gently probing my scalp with surprising tenderness. "No horns," she murmurs, turning my face toward hers, examining me with wide eyes. "You're still you."
"Oh god." I look down at my hands, no claws, no crimson skin. "Do I just permanently have super strength now?"
I flex my fingers, half-expecting them to transform, but they remain stubbornly human. The power I felt when kicking the vent still thrums through me, though, a steady current of energy just beneath my skin.
Without thinking, I dart toward Ellie, my hands finding her waist. In one fluid motion, I hoist her into the air, lifting her entire body above my head like she weighs nothing at all.
"Hey!" she yelps, the black substance covering her shifting wildly. "What are you… Put me down!"
"This is weird," I say, spinning her around once, laughing despite everything. "Usually you're the one tossing me around. Funny role reversal, huh?"
She dangles above me, her expression cycling through shock, indignation, and finally settling on something like competitive interest. Those intense blue eyes narrow as I slowly lower her back to the rooftop, setting her feet gently on the concrete. The moment she's grounded, she squares her shoulders and gives me a look I know all too well, the one that says she's not about to let this challenge go unanswered.
"Let's arm wrestle," she says, folding her arms across her chest.
"You're on," I reply immediately, a rush of adrenaline pushing back the darkness that's been clinging to me since the penthouse.
We scramble to create a makeshift table from some empty crates stacked near the roof access door. The setup is ridiculous, just some wooden boxes with a flat piece of plywood balanced on top, but it'll work.
"Ready to lose?" I taunt, placing my elbow on the plywood surface.
Ellie's response is to let the black substance completely overtake her, transforming her in seconds. Venom towers over our pathetic little table, massive jaws splitting into that terrifying grin filled with needle-sharp teeth.
Venom's enormous hand completely dwarfs mine, her fingers wrap all the way around my palm and then some. The living darkness of her skin pulses against mine, warm and somehow comforting despite its alien nature. The sensation sends an odd flutter through my chest, even in this monstrous form, her touch feels familiar. It feels like home.
I can't help the smile that spreads across my face as I look up at her. Those blank white eyes that would terrify anyone else somehow soften as they meet mine. Her jaws part, revealing rows of gleaming teeth that would give most people nightmares.
"Is this okay?" she asks, her dual-layered voice surprisingly gentle.
"Yes," I say, still smiling. "I love you."
Her teeth arrange themselves into something like a smile. "I love you too, Shane," she rumbles. "So I'm so sorry for what comes next."
I barely have time to process her words before I feel the pressure against my hand. I'm already pushing back with everything I've got, my muscles straining as I try to match her strength. But to my shock, she doesn't budge an inch. Instead, she slowly, inexorably begins to force my hand downward.
I grit my teeth, pushing harder, my arm trembling with effort. This doesn't make sense, I just dented solid metal with a casual kick. I should at least be able to hold my own against her. But Venom seems to be applying herself pretty hard, her massive form completely still except for the arm locked against mine.
My hand touches the plywood with a soft thud.
"You did better than I expected," she says, those blank eyes somehow managing to look impressed despite their alienness. "You're definitely super strong now."
"Yeah," I say, flexing my fingers as she releases my hand. The loss stings my pride, but I can't help feeling a bit awed too. Even with my new strength, she's still stronger. There's something oddly comforting about that.
The symbiote melts away from her face, revealing Ellie's triumphant grin underneath. "Don't look so disappointed," she teases. "I've been at this a lot longer than you have."
"I'm not disappointed," I say, rubbing my wrist. "Actually, it's kind of reassuring that you're still stronger. The world would probably stop making sense if I suddenly outmatched you."
Ellie's symbiote recedes completely now, leaving her in just her t-shirt and jeans. The night air doesn't seem to bother her at all as she studies my face.
"You're feeling sad again, aren't you?" she asks, her voice softening.
I sigh, turning away to face the cityscape again. "Yeah. I'm just so mad at Doc Ock. Every time I think I'm getting my life back together, something else happens."
Ellie moves beside me, her shoulder brushing against mine as she joins me at the rooftop's edge. "I can kill Piper," she says matter-of-factly, like she's offering to pick up milk from the store. "I kinda feel like everything in our lives gets better if I finally just killed…"
"Don't kill Piper," I cut her off quickly.
"Yeah, yeah"
"It's not her fault at all," I continue, my fingers tightening around the edge of the roof. "But honestly, I don't think I'm going to be able to go near her for a while."
Ellie nods, her blue eyes reflecting the city lights. "You know the second she's cured, she's going to come running to apologize, right?"
"I don't care," I say firmly. "I don't want to see her. I know it wasn't her, but I just can't."
"I'll take care of it," Ellie promises, her hand finding mine on the rooftop ledge.
A heavy sigh escapes me as another thought crosses my mind. "I don't want to go to class tomorrow."
"Then don't," she says simply.
"I don't want to fail," I counter, frustration building in my chest. "I've already missed a few classes."
Ellie's fingers tighten around mine, the symbiote shifting slightly across her knuckles. "I'll talk to Masters," she says suddenly, her blue eyes lighting up with the solution. "She said she wanted to talk to us about you anyway."
My stomach tightens instinctively. "Does she know about..." I trail off, not wanting to bring up the rape again.
"Yeah," Ellie nods, her expression softening. "I filled her in while you were unconscious."
I nod slowly, digesting this information.
"She's a good ally," Ellie adds, her thumb tracing small circles on the back of my hand. "Better than most."
"I agree," I say, feeling a small smile tug at the corners of my mouth despite everything. "She's always so nice to us."