I Woke Up in the Marvel Universe, But All the Heroes Are Women?-Chapter 64: Docking

"I thought I'd never see you again," I whisper back, my fingers digging into her shoulders, needing to feel her solidity. The symbiote wraps around my wrists like a gentle anchor, keeping me grounded in this moment that still feels like it might slip away.
Ellie pulls back slightly, her eyes scanning my face. When her gaze lands on the gauze covering my right eye, her expression transforms. The tenderness evaporates, replaced by something primal and terrifying. The symbiote reacts instantly, rippling across her skin in agitated patterns, tendrils whipping around us like angry snakes.
"Your eye," she breathes, her voice dropping to that dangerous dual-tone that makes the air vibrate. "What did she do to your eye?"
I flinch instinctively, turning my face away. After days with Norma, any hint of anger sends fear coursing through my system. Ellie notices immediately, her expression softening as the symbiote calms slightly.
"It's okay," she whispers, her hands gentler as they cradle my face. "I'm not mad at you. Never at you."
"She stabbed it with a fork," I whisper, my voice breaking. The memory flashes behind my eyelid, metal tines glinting in fluorescent light, Norma's face contorted with rage, the wet sound as she plunged it into my eye socket.
Ellie's face goes completely hollow, like someone scooped out her soul. The symbiote freezes around her, no longer flowing but solid as stone. She's not even breathing.
"Ellie?" I reach for her face, suddenly worried. The stillness is more terrifying than any rage.
Before she can respond, movement catches my peripheral vision. I turn around, and my heart nearly stops.
Spider-Woman stands a few feet away, but not in her usual red and blue suit. Her costume is maroon, almost black in the moonlight, with the same white eye patches but rippling with a familiar, living texture that sends chills down my spine.
"Oh no..." My voice comes out as a whisper. "The symbiote split?"
Spider-Woman tilts her head, the maroon suit pulsing across her body like a second heartbeat. "Wow, you're quick, aren't you?" she says, her voice carrying an underlying echo that wasn't there before. "First thing you notice after escaping hell is my fashion upgrade."
"Parker, back off," Ellie growls, pulling me closer protectively. "He's in shock."
I can't tear my gaze away from Spider-Woman's new look. The implications are staggering, Venom's symbiote has somehow divided, bonded with Spider-Woman. Two apex predators now share the same alien power source. My comic book knowledge screams danger, but my exhausted brain can barely process it.
"I just wanted to make sure he was okay," Spider-Woman says, taking a step closer. The maroon symbiote ripples more aggressively around her shoulders. "We've been looking for you for days, Shane."
"We?" I ask, my voice hoarse.
"The symbiote and I," she clarifies, and there's something unsettling in how naturally she includes it. "We've been worried."
Ellie moves behind me, wrapping her arms around me protectively. I feel her warmth against my back, the symbiote creating a cocoon of safety around us both. Despite everything, I find myself leaning into her embrace, desperate for comfort after days of terror.
"I can't believe you became Carnage," I mutter, shaking my head as I stare at Spider-Woman's maroon-covered form. The exhaustion hits me suddenly, making my shoulders slump. "Of all the Symbiotes..."
Spider-Woman tilts her head, the white eye patches of her mask narrowing slightly. "Hmm?" She pauses, as if listening to a voice only she can hear. "Carnage... That's a good name, isn't it?" A small laugh escapes her, oddly light given the circumstances. "Not very fitting for me, but the symbiote loves it."
"Fuck..." I stare at her, memories of comic book carnage rushing through my mind, the destruction, the bloodshed, the insanity. How long before this version follows the same path?
At least this time there’s not Cletus Kassidy.
"Um, do you mind if we do our reunion later? I kind of want to go take a shower somewhere familiar."
The need to wash away Norma's touch, to scrub my skin until it feels like mine again, suddenly overwhelms everything else. Six days of captivity cling to me like a second skin, and I can't bear it another moment.
Taskmistress pokes her head out of the submarine hatch, the skull mask somehow conveying exasperation despite its fixed expression. "Whatever you all do, for the love of god, get the fuck out of here. This location won't stay secure for much longer."
Ellie's arms tighten around me momentarily before she turns toward the submarine. "Hey, Task... thanks." The gratitude in her voice is genuine, stripped of her usual bravado.
Taskmistress chuckles, a surprisingly warm sound coming from behind that intimidating mask. "Of course," she says, nodding once. "Anything for my star pupil."
Spider-Woman steps forward, her maroon symbiote suit rippling with concern. "Shane, you need to get to a hospital," she says firmly. "You need to be checked out properly."
Ellie's symbiote flows back over her face, forming that familiar terrifying visage with blank white eyes. "I've got him," she growls, pulling me closer protectively. "I've brought him back from the brink of death twice before. I know how to help him."
"I know," Spider-Woman replies, her voice softening slightly. "But maybe…"
"I can't tell you how thankful I am, Spider-Woman," I interrupt, my voice cracking with exhaustion. "For being here to help me. For searching for me. But I really would just like to be alone with Ellie for the night."
My words hang in the night air between us. I glance toward Taskmistress, anxiety creeping up my spine. "Will we be safe?"
Task crosses her arms, her imposing frame silhouetted against the moonlight. "Oh yeah," she says with casual confidence. "Norma isn't even in the city right now. Business trip to Japan. You've got at least three days before she's back."
"Thank god," I whisper, relief flooding through me.
I watch as Spider-Woman's maroon symbiote briefly ripples across her body in an agitated pattern. The black spider emblem on her chest seems to almost be absorbed into her suit before everything smooths out again.
"Of course, Shane," she says finally, her voice carefully controlled. "But please, I'd like to see you tomorrow, alright? Just to make sure you're okay."
"Sure," I nod, not wanting to hurt her feelings despite my overwhelming need to be alone with Ellie.
The tension breaks as Task claps her hands together. "Alright, enough with the drama. Venom, get the kid somewhere safe. I have to go sabotage an underwater research facility."
"Thank you, Sensei," I say, the words catching in my throat as I look back at Taskmistress. After everything that's happened, this small gesture of respect feels woefully inadequate.
She pauses at the submarine hatch, her skull mask revealing nothing of her expression. Then, with military precision, she brings her hand to her forehead in a crisp salute before disappearing back into the vessel, the heavy door closing behind her with a final, echoing clang.
Ellie's arms tighten around me, the symbiote forming a protective cocoon against the night air. "Let's go home."