I Woke Up in the Marvel Universe, But All the Heroes Are Women?-Chapter 80: Let There Be Carnage

The shotgun kicks against my shoulder as I blow a hole through another guard's back. She drops like a marionette with cut strings, her blood painting a crimson Rorschach across the pristine marble floor.
I lower my weapon, suddenly aware of the eerie silence that's fallen over the grand entryway. Bodies litter the space in grotesque poses, some twisted from Spider-Woman's webs, others torn apart by Venom's savage strength. The rest sport gaping wounds from my shotgun, their tactical gear useless against point-blank blasts.
I scan the carnage around me, a strange detachment settling over me as I take in our handiwork.
A blur of movement catches my eye as Venom and Spider-Woman leap up to the second-floor landing where I'm standing, landing with predatory grace on either side of me. Their symbiote-covered bodies shift and flow with each movement, adjusting to their surroundings.
"Wow, that was over pretty fast," I marvel, trying to catch my breath as I survey the bloody tableau we've created.
Venom's massive form looms closer, those blank white eyes somehow managing to convey affection as she looks down at me. The black substance of her body rippiling around her powerful frame.
"We would have finished sooner," she growls, her dual-layered voice sending pleasant shivers down my spine, "but we had to ensure you were protected."
"Thanks," I say softly, reaching out to touch her arm. The living darkness feels warm beneath my gloved fingers, responding to my touch with subtle movements.
A thunderous crash echoes through the mansion, drawing our attention forward. The grand double doors at the top of the third-floor staircase burst open with explosive force, wood splintering outward as a familiar figure emerges from the darkness beyond.
The Green Goblin hovers above the staircase on her glider, emerald armor gleaming in the morning light that filters through the mansion's high windows. Her grotesque mask twists into that familiar grin that haunts my nightmares, eyes glowing with manic energy as she surveys our handiwork below.
Her laughter fills the cavernous space, high-pitched and unhinged, bouncing off marble and making my blood run cold despite my earlier bravado.
"Shane Steele!" she cackles, her voice amplified by her mask. "You've arrived earlier than I anticipated!" The glider dips and weaves through the air as she circles above us like a predatory bird. "But I'm absolutely delighted you missed me so much that you came running back to me!"
My grip tightens on the shotgun, knuckles white beneath my gloves. Every muscle in my body tenses, ready to teleport at the slightest provocation.
"We're here to kill you," I call out, my voice steadier than I expected. "This ends today, Norma."
Venom growls beside me, her massive form tensing for battle. I can feel her rage radiating like heat, the symbiote expanding slightly as it prepares for violence. On my other side, Spider-Woman's maroon covering shifts and flows with barely contained fury.
The Goblin tilts her head, the motion exaggerated by her grotesque mask. "Kill me?" she repeats, her voice dripping with mock hurt. "After everything we shared together?" Her hand dips into a pouch at her waist, extracting something small. "I think you misunderstand our relationship, darling."
The small device in her hand catches the light as she holds it up triumphantly. "Did you really think I wouldn't come prepared for our reunion, darling?"
Her thumb jams down on a button, and suddenly the air fills with a piercing, high-pitched wail that reverberates through the entire mansion. The sound slices through my eardrums like dull knives, uncomfortable, but manageable.
I turn to check on the others and my heart stops. Both Venom and Spider-Woman have collapsed to the floor, their symbiote-covered bodies contorting in violent spasms. Their screams are primal, agonizing sounds that cut through even the sonic assault filling the room. The living darkness covering them both writhes and pulses erratically, trying desperately to separate from their hosts while simultaneously clinging to them.
"MAKE IT STOP!" Venom shrieks, her massive form convulsing as she claws at her own head.
Spider-Woman's maroon covering bubbles and stretches across her floundering form as she curls into a fetal position, her scream shifting between her human voice and something alien and tortured.
The Goblin's laughter rises above the sonic barrage, cruel and triumphant. "You couldn't possibly believe I wouldn't prepare for these two idiots, did you?" she cackles, her voice somehow cutting through the chaos. "I saw how it reacted to shocker last time!"
Rage explodes through me like wildfire. My friends are suffering while this monster gloats. I focus on a spot directly behind her once more. In an instant, I'm there, materializing at her back, my shotgun already raised.
She barely has time to register my presence before I pull the trigger. The shotgun roars, buckshot tearing into the upper layer of her armored back with devastating force. The impact launches her forward off her glider, her body arcing through the air before crashing onto the second floor with a sickening crunch.
The glider spirals out of control, smashing into a nearby column before clattering to the ground in a shower of sparks and twisted metal.
The sonic weapon continues its assault, filling the mansion with that ear-splitting wail as I watch the Goblin's body hit the marble floor. I expect her to stay down, but she rolls with the impact, her armor absorbing most of the damage as she rises to her feet in one fluid motion.
Norma's mask adheres to her face like a second skin. The exaggerated features twist into a cruel smile as she turns to face me, not a hint of pain in her movements despite the shotgun blast I just delivered.
"That tickled, kid," she says, brushing debris from her shoulder with casual disdain. "This armor is too strong for that little toy of yours."
My heart plummets as she strides confidently toward Venom's convulsing form. Ellie's screams tear through me, her massive body writhing against the marble floor as the symbiote struggles to maintain its connection to her.
Goblin stands over Venom's suffering form. "You see these?" she asks, raising her arms to display what's attached to her wrists.
I recognize the familiar yellow-and-brown devices strapped to her forearms.
"Oh fuck," I whisper, the words barely audible even to myself. She’s wearing Shocker's gauntlets.
"I'm going to rip that suit off and kill your girlfriend, Shane!" Norma declares, her voice rising to a manic pitch as she aims the gauntlets at Venom's vulnerable form. "SINCE I'M SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR ONE AND ONLY!"
As she lifts her arms, energy crackling around the gauntlets, I don't hesitate. I will myself beside her, the golden energy enveloping me as I teleport. The world dissolves and reforms in an instant.
I pull the trigger before she can react, the blast catching her square in the side. The impact sends her staggering sideways, but the real damage comes as her finger involuntarily squeezes the gauntlet's trigger. The concussive blast meant for Venom goes wild, the energy wave shooting across the room and hitting Spider-Woman directly.
The effect is instantaneous and horrifying. The maroon symbiote peels away from her body like it's being torn off by invisible hands. It separates completely, leaving Spider-Woman in just her normal red and blue suit as she collapses limply to the floor. The detached symbiote convulses on the marble beside her, the living substance pulsating violently as it tries to escape the sonic assault.
Spider-Woman lies motionless, her body seemingly unconscious from the trauma of the forced separation. The symbiote continues to thrash beside her, unable to reconnect with its host under the sonic barrage.
Norma turns away from me, her attention jumping to the writhing maroon symbiote on the floor. Her movements are fluid, predatory, as she approaches the alien substance. The mask on her face shifts with her expression, contorting into a fascinated smile as she bends down to examine her new prize.
I seize the moment, focusing on the spot directly behind her. But this time, she's prepared for me.
Before I can even raise my shotgun, Norma spins with inhuman speed. Her fist connects with my face, the impact so powerful it shatters my golden mask. Shards of it explode outward as pain blooms across my cheekbone, my head snapping back from the force.
Her armored hand grabs me by the collar, yanking me close enough that I can see the veins throbbing beneath her skin through the eye holes of her mask.
"Enough," she snarls, her breath hot against what remains of my mask.
In one powerful motion, she hurls me over the railing. As I sail through the air, my fingers somehow manage to close around the sonic device clutched in her other hand, wrenching it free. My shotgun slips from my grasp, clattering against the marble somewhere below as gravity claims me.
I slam into the first-floor marble with bone-crushing force, the impact driving all air from my lungs. Pain explodes through every inch of my body, but strangely, nothing feels broken. I lie there gasping, a wild laugh bubbling up from my chest despite the agony.
The incubus within me. It must be protecting me from the worst of the damage.
With trembling fingers, I press the button on the sonic device. The ear-splitting wail cuts off abruptly, plunging the mansion into blessed silence.
In the sudden silence, I hear the telltale sounds of symbiotes reconnecting with their hosts. A rush of hope surges through me as I struggle to my feet, clutching the sonic device like a lifeline. My body screams in protest at every movement, but I force myself upright, scanning the upper level for Ellie.
"Come on," I mutter, staggering forward on unsteady legs. "Get up, both of you."
From above, I hear the scrape of movement, followed by a wet, slithering sound that makes my skin crawl. I crane my neck, trying to see what's happening, but the angle of the balcony blocks my view.
"Venom?" I call out, my voice breaking with desperation. "Spider-Woman?"
A low chuckle echoes through the mansion, growing in volume and intensity until it fills every corner of the cavernous space. The sound is wrong, horribly, fundamentally wrong. It's Norma's voice, but layered beneath it is something else, something alien and hungry that is way too familiar.
My throat closes as understanding dawns. The symbiote, Spider-Woman's symbiote, has bonded with Norma.
A sickening crack echoes through the mansion as Norma's head suddenly appears over the balcony edge, but it's not really Norma anymore. The symbiote has completely engulfed her, transforming the Green Goblin into something far more terrifying.
Deep crimson covers her entire form, pulsing with life as jagged black veins snake across the surface like corrupt rivers. The symbiote has melded perfectly with her armor, enhancing its contours into something more organic and predatory. But it's her face that freezes my blood. Carnage's nightmare visage has fused with the Goblin mask, creating a grotesque hybrid of alien malice and human insanity.
Those massive eyes, milk-white and soulless, fix on me with hungry intensity. Her mouth splits into a grin that's far too wide, revealing row upon row of needle-sharp teeth that glisten with saliva.
"Oh, Shane," she purrs. "You've given us such a wonderful Christmas present!"
Carnage Goblin