I Woke Up in the Marvel Universe, But All the Heroes Are Women?-Chapter 82: Demon Time

My blood boils with primordial rage as power surges through every cell in my body. The pain that tore through me seconds ago transforms into raw, unbridled strength. I'm no longer dangling helplessly, I'm standing, my newly transformed body towering over Carnage-Goblin, who still clutches my throat in her crimson grasp.
I wrap my clawed hand around her wrist, feeling the alien substance yield beneath my grip. The sensation is intoxicating, like crushing wet clay between my fingers.
"Let. Go." My voice isn't my own anymore. It resonates with demonic depth, echoing through the mansion's cavernous space.
The white eyes of Goblin-Carnage widen as I apply more pressure, her symbiote-covered wrist cracking audibly beneath my grip. Her mouth falls open in a silent gasp as I squeeze harder, feeling bones and alien matter compress and fracture.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," she hisses, her dual-layered voice wavering between disbelief and fury.
With a savage twist, I shatter her wrist completely. The sound of cracking bone and tearing symbiote sends a thrill of satisfaction through my transformed body. Carnage-Goblin's grip finally releases as she howls in pain, staggering backward.
I don't give her a moment to recover. My new wings extend to their full span, leather membranes stretching wide as I launch myself at her. My clawed hands find her throat, driving her backward until we slam into the marble wall with enough force to crack the stone. Her body creates a crater in the wall as dust and debris rain down around us.
"How does it feel?" I snarl, my new demonic voice vibrating with fury as I lift her struggling form higher against the wall. "To be completely helpless? To be at someone else's mercy?"
She tries to form a weapon with the symbiote, the crimson mass extending from her arm into a jagged blade. I catch it mid-formation, crushing it in my grip. The alien substance writhes and squeals between my fingers, unable to maintain its shape against my newfound strength.
"You're not in control anymore," I growl, my tail whipping through the air behind me with predatory anticipation.
Carnage-Goblin's face contorts with rage and disbelief. "This isn't fair," she hisses, struggling against my iron grip. "You're nothing but a pathetic little boy!"
The insult ignites something primal within me. With a roar that shakes the very foundations of the mansion, I hurl her across the room. Her body crashes through a massive marble column before slamming into the opposite wall. The impact leaves another crater in the expensive stonework as she slides to the floor, the symbiote momentarily destabilized by the force of the blow.
I don't wait for her to recover. My newly body moves with supernatural speed as I close the distance between us. The symbiote tries to reform around her, struggling to protect its host as I grip Carnage-Goblin by her throat and slam her into the ground. Marble shatters beneath the impact, creating a spider-web of cracks across the once-pristine floor.
"You took so much from me," I snarl, my demonic voice reverberating through the mansion. "My dignity. My safety. My eye."
I punctuate each statement with another blow, my clawed fist connecting with her face, her chest, her abdomen. The symbiote attempts to cushion each impact, but I can feel it weakening beneath my onslaught, the crimson substance quivering and shrinking back from my touch.
With an instinctual roar, I plunge my claws into the writhing crimson mass covering Norma's body. The alien substance screams, actually screams, as I dig my fingers into it, pulling with all my strength. The symbiote fights me, trying to maintain its bond with its host, but my demonic power proves stronger.
"NO!" Carnage shrieks, the dual voices separating as I tear the living costume away from Norma's body. "WE NEED EACH OTHER!"
The symbiote comes away in my hands like wet, living fabric, stretching and fighting as I pull. It burns against my transformed skin, but the pain only fuels my rage. With one final, vicious yank, I tear the entire mass free, holding the writhing, screaming symbiote aloft in my clawed grip.
Beneath it, Norma's Green Goblin armor is exposed, her mask still firmly attached to her face. She gasps for air, her body suddenly small and fragile without the symbiote's enhancement. Her eyes, visible through the mask's eyeholes, are wide with terror as she looks up at me.
"Shane," she wheezes, "please…"
I silence her with my free hand, gripping the edge of her mask. "Let's see your face, Norma. Let's see the real monster."
The mask doesn't come easily, it's bonded to her skin through some technological means. I feel resistance, then a wet tearing sound as I rip it away. Norma screams as her face is exposed, raw and vulnerable, blood streaming from where the mask's connections have torn free.
Her true face stares up at me, no longer hidden behind the Goblin's grotesque visage. She looks pathetic now, her eyes wild with fear, blood trickling down her cheeks where the mask's neural connectors have left their marks.
In my other hand, the symbiote continues to thrash wildly, trying to escape my grip. I tighten my hold, feeling the alien substance compress between my clawed fingers.
"Shane, please," she whispers, her voice breaking. "I love you. Don't you understand? Everything I did… I kidnapped you to hurt Spider-Woman at first, but then I fell in love with you. Please..."
The symbiote writhes violently in my grip, but I barely notice it anymore. My attention is fixed entirely on the woman beneath me, the monster who haunts my nightmares now reduced to pathetic begging. I release the alien substance, letting it fall to the floor where it slithers away, seeking safety from my demonic form.
With slow, deliberate movements, I cup Norma's face in my hands. My clawed thumbs rest gently below her eyelids, the sharp points just grazing the delicate skin there. Her breathing quickens, hope flickering across her bloodied features as she mistakes my touch for tenderness.
"Norma," I say, my voice still that strange demonic rumble, "with all my heart..."
She exhales shakily, her lips forming the beginning of a smile.
"I fucking hate you."
Her expression shatters as my thumbs press inward, slowly penetrating the soft tissue beneath her eyelids. Her scream is primal, raw with agony as I dig deeper, feeling the gelatinous orbs beneath my claws. My palms press against her temples, applying steady pressure to her skull as I continue my invasion of her eye sockets.
"This is for my eye," I growl, pushing deeper.
Her screams echo through the mansion, her body thrashing beneath me as I gradually increase the pressure of my palms against her skull. The bone begins to give way, a sickening crunch accompanying each incremental increase in force. Blood streams down her face, coating my transformed hands in crimson.
"How does it feel?" I snarl, my wings extending to their full span behind me as I bear down. "To be the one screaming? To be the one begging?"
I feel her eyeballs rupture beneath my thumbs, the soft tissue giving way with a sickening pop. Norma's blood-curdling scream turns to desperate gurgling as she claws frantically at my wrists.
Something wraps around my torso, constricting my movements. I twist my head to see thin strands of webbing binding my wings to my back.
"Shane, stop!" Spider-Woman's voice cuts through Norma's agonized wails. "That's enough!"
I turn to see her standing behind me, her red and blue suit torn and bloodied, but intact. No symbiote, just the hero I've always looked up to. Her hand is extended toward me, palm out in a pleading gesture.
"Come on, Shane," she says, her voice steady but urgent. "You got your revenge. Let this be the end of it."
I turn back to Norma, ignoring Spider-Woman's plea. The sight of Norma's ruined face only intensifies my hatred. I drive my thumbs deeper into her eye sockets, feeling the back of the orbital cavity. My palms press harder against her temples, the bone beginning to crack under the pressure.
Despite her mutilated eyes and the increasing pressure on her skull, Norma somehow manages to speak, her voice wet and choked with blood.
"You're making... a huge mistake... Shane," she gasps, blood bubbling from her lips. "I'm going to come back! Maybe it'll be a clone, maybe revival, maybe something else... BUT I'LL BE BACK, AND WHEN I DO, I WILL DESTROY YOU!"
Something inside me snaps at her words. Even now, broken and dying, she's still threatening me. Still acting like she has power over me.
"I FUCKING KNOW, NORMA!" I roar, my demonic voice shaking the very air around us. "AND WHEN YOU DO, I'LL DO THIS EVERY FUCKING TIME! I'LL FUCKING SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE KILLING YOU IF I HAVE TO, YOU STUPID FUCKING…"
My rage-filled tirade ends abruptly as her skull caves beneath my palms with a sickening crunch. An explosion of blood, brain matter, and bone fragments erupts between my fingers, splattering my transformed face and chest. The sudden give of her skull catches me off guard, I hadn't meant to finish her that quickly.
I stare down at the ruins of her head, my clawed hands dripping with gore. The fight drains out of me in an instant, leaving nothing but a hollow emptiness in its wake.
A shuddering breath escapes me as I stare at the carnage I've wrought. The blood cooling on my claws feels sticky, congealing already. My rage dissipates, leaving behind an overwhelming emptiness and bone-deep exhaustion that seems to pull at every fiber of my transformed body.
Behind me, I hear movement, the soft padding of massive feet against marble. I turn, my wings dragging heavily as my entire body suddenly feels like it's made of lead.
Venom stands there, fully reformed, her massive form swaying slightly as if she's still recovering. Those blank white eyes fix on me with an intensity that cuts through my haze of fatigue.
"Shane, baby," she calls, her dual-layered voice somehow tender despite its monstrous timbre.
She rushes toward me, arms outstretched, moving with surprising grace for someone who was incapacitated just minutes ago. Even in my demonic form, with the added height from the transformation, she’s still taller than me.
"Ellie," I manage, my voice a rough, demonic rumble that barely sounds like me anymore. "I feel tired." The words come out slurred.
Her massive form shifts before me, concern evident in her posture. The symbiote around her face pulls back, revealing Ellie's worried expression underneath. Her blue eyes widen as she takes in my blood-spattered, transformed appearance.
"Come here, Shane," she says softly, holding out her hands in a gesture of comfort and protection.
I stumble forward into her embrace, my leathery wings folding awkwardly against my back. Her arms wrap around me, strong and secure, the symbiote warm against my transformed skin. I feel safe for the first time since this nightmare began, truly safe in a way I haven't experienced in what feels like forever.
The last of my strength drains away, and darkness rushes in from all sides. My legs give out completely as I collapse against her, consciousness fleeing as my body surrenders to exhaustion.
The last thing I register is Ellie's voice, distant and fading: "I've got you now. I've got you."
Then nothing.