I Woke Up in the Marvel Universe, But All the Heroes Are Women?-Chapter 55: Scottie Pippen

The harsh buzz of my phone tears me from a dream about flying. Reality rushes back as my eyes snap open, my vision filled with nothing but smooth skin and the gentle curve of Ellie's breast pressed against my cheek. Her arms are locked around me like steel cables, protective even in sleep.
The phone buzzes again, insistent. I squirm one arm free from our naked tangle of limbs and fumble blindly across my nightstand, knocking over an empty water bottle before my fingers close around my phone.
The screen's harsh light makes me wince as I squint at the notification. My drowsy brain takes a moment to process the words that suddenly jolt me fully awake:
'EMERGENCY ALERT: ACTIVE SHOOTER IN SCIENCE BUILDING. SHELTER IN PLACE OR EVACUATE CAMPUS IF SAFE. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.'
"Oh my god," I gasp, my body tensing as adrenaline floods my system.
Ellie stirs at my sudden movement, her arms instinctively tightening around me, pulling me closer to her warmth. Her face remains peaceful, completely untroubled by whatever emergency is unfolding across campus.
"Ellie," I say, pushing against her chest with increasing urgency. "Ellie, wake up. There's a gunman on campus."
Her eyelids flutter, then open, revealing those piercing blue eyes still clouded with sleep. For a moment, she just stares at me uncomprehendingly, the symbiote rippling beneath her skin in lazy patterns that match her half-conscious state.
"What?" she mumbles, her voice thick with sleep.
I hold up my phone screen to her face. "Active shooter. Science building."
Ellie squints at the bright screen and groans, dropping her head back onto the pillow. "Five more minutes, baby," she murmurs, her eyes drifting closed again. "Then I'll fuck you real good, alright?" The symbiote ripples lazily beneath her skin as her breathing already begins to even out.
My heart pounds against my ribs as I wrestle free from her embrace. People could be dying while she's offering me morning sex. I roll out of bed and scramble for my hero outfit, yanking on the pants and slipping into my jacket with frantic movements.
"Ellie, wake the fuck up!" I snap, louder this time.
Her eyes crack open again, squinting with exhaustion as she watches me dress. The symbiote seems to stir more actively now beneath her skin, responding to my obvious distress even as Ellie herself struggles to fully wake.
I rush to the window and pull back the curtain. My stomach drops at the sight below. Students pour out of buildings in panicked streams, some running, others huddled in frightened groups. Campus security officers gesture frantically, trying to direct the chaos. In the distance, I can hear sirens wailing.
"Fuck!" I grab my mask from the dresser and shove it on my face, then reach for the brass knuckles I've started keeping nearby. The metal feels cold and reassuring against my palm as I slip them into my jacket.
Ellie's finally sitting up now, the sheet pooled around her waist, her expression shifting from sleepy confusion to dawning awareness. "What's happening?"
"I'm going ahead to see if I can take down the shooter," I say, already focusing on a spot I can see through the window. "At the science building."
She blinks at me, still looking lost. "What?"
I don't wait for her to catch up. Energy surges through me as I focus on a rooftop visible from our window. The world bends, molecules scatter, and I'm gone.
I materialize on the adjacent rooftop, my momentum carrying me forward as I sprint toward the science building without missing a beat.
The campus quad has transformed into a nightmare. Hundreds of students flood out of buildings, moving in a panicked, sluggish mass, like frightened cattle being herded to slaughter.
"Oh god," I mutter, my stomach dropping. "They're just making themselves easier targets."
I focus on the next building over, teleporting in a flash of gold light. As my feet hit the concrete, a deafening blast erupts from below. The sound reverberates through my chest as I rush to the edge and look down.
What I see makes my blood freeze.
The Shocker, unmistakable in her quilted yellow and brown suit, stands at the edge of the science building's steps. Her mechanical gauntlets glow with pulsing energy as she fires another concussive blast into the fleeing crowd. Students scatter like bowling pins, their screams cutting through the morning air.
"What the fuck?" I gasp, watching in horror as bodies go flying.
The crowd's screams intensify, reaching a fever pitch as Shocker aims her gauntlets again. Some students try to crawl away, others remain motionless on the ground.
I don't even have time to think. The situation is way above my skill level, and I know it. I glance desperately toward my dorm building, hoping to see Venom's massive form swinging toward the chaos.
“Please, Ellie, hurry up. I need you.” I mutter under my breath.
Suddenly, something clamps onto my shoulders, lifting me straight up into the air. My feet dangle helplessly as the ground drops away beneath me.
"Wha…" I twist my neck upward, and my blood runs cold.
Above me, leathery green wings beat against the morning air. My gaze traces up to find a woman with a vulture-like appearance, her face surprisingly normal and human despite the monstrous transformation of her limbs. Wicked talons dig into my shoulders. Each powerful wing beat carries us higher above the chaos.
"Mr. Steele," she says, her voice carrying a predatory satisfaction. "You were remarkably easy to find."
I struggle against her grip, my heart hammering wildly in my chest. The energy that usually flows through me when I teleport feels blocked, like water hitting a dam. I focus harder, straining to dissolve into the air, but the talons gripping my shoulders seem to anchor me in place.
"Let me go!" I gasp, twisting uselessly in her grasp.
She tightens her grip, the sharp points of her talons pressing warning indentations into my flesh. "Stop struggling."
A thunderous roar explodes across campus, so powerful it halts even the panicked screams below.
"Thank God," I breathe, relief washing over me like a tidal wave.
The Vulture's grip on my shoulders tightens painfully. "What was th…"
Her question transforms into a wet gurgle as something massive hurtles through the air. Venom appears like a nightmare given form, her body contorted into a living weapon. One arm has elongated into a single massive spike that pierces straight through the Vulture's torso, the blood-slick point erupting from her chest in a spray of crimson.
The talons around my shoulders instantly go slack. I'm falling, the ground rushing up to meet me, but before panic can even register, black tendrils shoot out and wrap around my waist. They yank me against Venom's massive form as she twists in midair, the Vulture's body sliding off her arm-spear with a sickening sound.
We land on the ground with impossible grace, Venom absorbing the impact completely. She sets me down with surprising gentleness, then turns toward the chaos still unfolding around the science building.
"You okay?" she growls, those blank white eyes somehow conveying genuine concern despite their emptiness.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I stammer, my eyes landing on the Vulture's corpse sprawled next to us.
A perfect, clean hole punctures straight through her chest, so large I can actually see bits of gravel on the ground through the gaping wound. Blood pools beneath her in an expanding crimson circle, soaking into the campus concrete. It's the most brutal thing I've ever seen up close, and my stomach lurches violently.
All around us, students who moments ago were fleeing Shocker's attack are now screaming and pointing at the bloody corpse at our feet. Some are filming with their phones, capturing Venom's brutal efficiency for posterity and probably social media.
"I'm totally fine," I repeat, steadying myself. "But she said I was easy to find. What do you think she meant by…"
"What?" Venom hisses, those blank white eyes narrowing as she turns toward me.
Before I can answer, something arcs through the air, glinting in the morning light. A small, spherical object lands with a metallic clink between us.
My brain processes the pumpkin-shaped bomb in a split second.
"Get down!" I yell, already focusing my energy to teleport away.
But I'm not fast enough. Venom lunges forward with inhuman speed, her massive form enveloping me completely. She curls around my body like a living shield just as the bomb detonates.
The explosion tears through the air with deafening force. Venom's body jerks violently against mine as she absorbs the full impact, a terrible scream of pain erupting from her throat. The sound cuts through me like a knife, raw and primal in a way I've never heard from her before.
We scramble to our feet, and I’m immediately scanning Venom's body for damage.
"Ellie?" My voice cracks with panic as I reach for her. "Ellie, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she growls, though the symbiote covering her back ripples and writhes in obvious distress. Before my eyes, the damaged areas begin to knit themselves back together, the living darkness flowing to repair the wounded sections.
A shrill, mocking laugh cuts through the chaos, rising above the screams and sirens. My head snaps up, searching for the source of that bone-chilling sound.
There she is, the Green Goblin, hovering twenty feet above us on her glider, silhouetted against the morning sky. Her armor gleams in the sunlight, that grotesque mask twisted in a grin as she looks down at us like we're insects she's about to crush.
"Well, well! So the great Venom can be hurt after all?" Her voice carries across the quad, amplified somehow by her mask. "I was worried my little toys wouldn't be enough!"