Spider-Man. The House Of Venom

Peter surveyed the warehouse, its once-empty shell holding a promise of a brighter future. Now, of course, he wished they'd all shut the hell up and let him sleep.

It had been a week since Felicia had been dragged into their lives against their will. Liv was recovering nicely, but Huntress and Felicia seemed to be at odds with everyone. Arguments, stolen food and of course, the very loud sex was a distraction that she didn’t seem to care about.

Asking Gwen, she had simply told everyone, “It's her adjustment period,” and as they knew how rough it would be left it at that.

Felicia and Gwen had taken to sharing a home. MJ was still quietly living on her own and Liv had taken the cabin next to Peters as her new home. Peter had removed the lower door frame so her wheelchair could roll over it. She still slept in his bed most nights. Nightmares and other physical needs meant that for now at least, sleeping alone was not an option.

Everyone had accepted Liv. Gwen and Liv struck it off immediately. Two amazing minds fell into sync almost immediately. Felicia was salty about her involvement with Oscorp she still accepted things. MJ was happy as long as Peter was happy. While Liv was a stranger she knew all about being trapped where you didn't want to be and the pair bonded.

Peter had a list and with everyone there, he began to go through it.

Item one was a ramp and washing facilities for someone in a chair. They all agreed to let Liv move in. Even if she couldn't pay rent they weren't going to hand her over to the NYPD where Osborn could get his claws into her. The home would need to be modified to accommodate her chair. Being the wiz he was, that was left up to Peter.

Item two was adding soundproofing to his own place.

Listening to Gwen and Felicia had been fun at first but damn did they ever take a break? At least they were far enough away. Liv was a different matter. She had taken some of Gwen's cream and was taking things into her own hands as well. Peter was positive she knew he could hear her. With the comments and looks she gave him sometimes, it was defiantly on purpose.

He ignored it though. After sixteen years she had a lot of frustration to vent. Not just on carnal desires but everything. Their grocery bill had shot up. Two extra mouths would have been fine. But one was a symbiote host who ate like a pig. While the other was a recovering patient, who needed quality meals to help build her strength.

He drew the line when she asked for a cigarette. Smelling four sexually active females was bad enough. Adding in the rank smell of stale smoke and nicotine was more than he could handle. She instead opted for a vape machine. She seemed to shudder in almost orgasmic pleasure as she took her first draw.

Item three was to start working on the new and improved cyber limb system.

The CLS was a working prototype already, and with Liv's help, he should get a fully working version made. He had her harness to work on as well. He had handed her the instruction manual for his two babies, to which she had scoffed, handed it back and begun to reprogram them both with settings he never even knew they had. Oscorp used both models of printers for mockups and prototypes and Liv had used them for years. Even if she was still on probation, it was great to have someone just as technically minded as himself to talk to. It also led to item four on his list.

Item four was on the table right now, a discussion with Liv about her future.

There was an item five, but Gwen wanted to discuss that with everyone later.

"So, Liv I've got a plan," Peter said, pouring them both coffee. MJ and Gwen were both at work and Felicia had conveniently taken the time to scout out her apartment. Liv seemed to shrink a little, so far they had all been nice to her but she still felt the sword of Damocles over her head.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Oh stop, I'm not going to save you and then kill you, I'm not really a monster, this," he slid over a paper, "is my plan."

Liv took the paper and scanned it, her eyes bugged out, even under the thick-rimmed glasses she wore. "A contract? Zero pay but shares in Parker Industries. To develop and build a working cybernetic replacement system for artificial limbs?" Peter nodded. Liv peered over the top of the contract at him.  "You know that the harness is already that."

He shook his head. "No. You made a harness with a glaring flaw," he pointed to her legs. "It does really work if removing it disables the wearer now does it?"

She frowned and glanced down at her legs, "no, but you could blame that on the person removing it," she stated.

"Now, this isn't a blame game, this is a negotiation. I need your expertise and I'm willing to pay for it." He handed her a second paper.

‘Curt Conners’ was written at the top, and underneath was a list of possible locations and safe houses.

"How, How did you get this?" She was stunned. She knew Curt had been working on a regenerative formula. Like so many others he had disappeared when the 'accidents' started.

"Felicia was tracking Oscorp for years. Her dad is missing and she's good at digging." He signed, "so, a safe place to stay. We'll hunt for Conners to fix your legs and," he slid over the last piece. "Neural Interface Cap System." It was his design based on the chip Osborn used to tap into her nervous system.

Once Liv saw it she shook her head. "No."

"Read the paper," Peter said rolling his eyes.

She took the schematic, and frowned a few times as she scanned over it, “but this, no, you need, yes, no, oh, I see. Peter Parker, I kind of hate you right now. With the design, you could cap the entry points to my spine and potentially restore movement. As well as allowing me to control the harness and safely remove it afterwards."

She pointed to several points on the design sheet Peter had handed her, “but let's be honest. Right now while you have the facilities to make a working prototype, I'm not going to volunteer to test it. I had enough of," Liv paused and straightened up, "that unnamable arsehole using me. Sorry, but I can't."

"I know and I wouldn't ask you to. We can work on finding Connors. If his serum works we can repair the damage to your spine while you're working on making this design a reality. I won't ask you to undergo surgery, it's not like either Gwen or I are doctors. Sign the contract and we'll protect you. You can stay here until we find a way to prove that Norman was pulling the strings. We all know it wasn't your fault."

Liv nodded. It was a very nice offer much better than what she could expect from the police or Osborn.

"Any company perks?" she asked with a grin.

"Well, sit on my lap and we'll see what comes up," he chuckled.

Liv rolled her eyes. "Peter dear, that was old when I was a student," but she still laughed and signed her name. It was great to feel wanted again. To be happy and fed. To feel like a person once more and not just a tool for some egomaniac.

"You know that was just a design right? We can't actually do a proper cap until we get someone to build it."

"Shh Peter, shh. You're ruining the moment," she said.

⁂

While Liv and Peter forged a new bond, Felicia was skulking outside her old place. She had been paranoid about going back to her apartment. The agents that followed her that night would have killed her without MJ and Gwen's help.

She had no regrets about what happened after, just the almost dying part, the being mostly dead part. That boiled her blood and Huntress stirred, feeling and feeding her rage. She took a deep breath and recited her mantra over and over. Her dad said it was Buddhist but she didn't know, it calmed her and that was all that mattered.

She hadn’t dared to come back here until Huntress shared some new tricks with her. She still trained, and with Huntress she learned, some things she doubted Peter knew about.

She noted the scruffy-looking car with the two men sitting in it. It just screamed stakeout and she ducked down the alley between the buildings a few blocks over.

As her symbskin bled over her, she felt its texture shift slightly and the light around her bend. Adaptive camouflage was one of her new tricks and she faded from view.

She’d seen it in one of MJ’s old movies and asked if Huntress could do anything like that. Normally Huntress just ignored MJ, feeling Muse was wasting her abilities. Trying to bond they watched a movie together. An action horror movie about an alien hunter. Huntress growled and purred with every appearance of the villain

That, we like that. We can do that too. Stop being lazy and train. Take us to your home, we can show you just how amazing we are.

Invisible, Huntress angled herself and pushed off the top of the window. She spun in midair and webbed a line against the edge of the building. She swung out and back, crashing through the window. She might be invisible, but not soundproof. The shattering glass echoed around the quiet apartment.

In the room she heard a "what the fuck," and as the door opened she pirouetted in midair and fired off a thin line at the man. He was holding an uzi and had no uniform on, she marked him and the others as targets, no questions asked.

The thin line stayed connected to her wrist, and as it touched him she sent a bioelectric shock down it. The man twitched and froze on the spot, his muscles spasming and she kept the charge going. She made sure he was out for the count before it detached from her wrist. She made sure he wasn't dead and webbed him to the floor, moving his gun and emptying it.

Bioelectric taser webs, good to know.

Her vision changed and she saw the patterned heat from the two other men as they stalked towards her.

You really loved that movie.

Huntress huffed, We are better.

So, you won't want to watch the sequels then?

Huntress huffed in reply, making Felicia smile and hold back a small laugh.

She waited as both men crouched down to try and stay hidden but with her thermal vision, she saw them plainly.

His shouting had brought the attention of the other two men. Huntress faded from view and waited in ambush as they rounded the door.

She grabbed one and spun him. Her hand locked on his throat and a second taser blast took his ability to shout for help away.

The third raised his weapon but with his friend a shield, he hesitated. It was long enough for her to fire another thin line, catching him on the shoulder.

With all three men stunned Felicia bound their hands and feet together. She dragged them all into her sitting room and dumped them next to one of the kitchen counters. This was one occasion she didn't care about why. She wanted her things and they were just in the way.

Good enough? She asked Huntress.

Yes. We deserve the credit though. The shocks were us. You are just the muscle, we are the brain. You should reward us, take Gwen and Peter when we're home. But first, kill the bugs that taint our presence.

Felicia was silent for a moment. How to explain morals and ethics to something fundamentally not human?

Too noisy, too easy.

We agree, no pleasure in a kill if the prey is so weak.

Keeping one eye on the trio she emptied her closet and sideboard into a duffel bag. Grabbed her own bug-out bag as well. Her father always taught her to pack light. Travel tight as he put it and she had.

Two backpacks were filled, leaving the mismatched crockery and furniture in the apartment. Her rent was paid in cash so leaving was no issue. One last thing though.

Felicia lightly tased one of the men, bringing him out of the nice nap she had granted him earlier. The mask of Huntress was mimicking her black cat outfit perfectly. There was no need to expose any more of her secrets. The man glared at her but she didn't care.

"Don't come after me. Don't look for me. Don't hunt for me. I took out the other two and I'll take out anyone else you send. I'm leaving New York. Tell your boss Black Cat won't exist after today."

He growled at her, defiant until the end.

Black Cat shrugged, “oh well, had your chance.”

Looking through the cupboard she had an old nonstick pot. She held it in front of him as she took his pistol.

"Come for me, and this won't be a pot." Holding it under the lid she webbed it shut, and then fired off five rounds.

She had been stupid of course, and the loud bangs slightly deafened her.

Do not do that again, Huntress chastised her.

Black Cat shrugged. It was loud and she knew someone would call the cops. The man glared at her as she threw the pan at his feet.

"You deserve worse." She turned and climbed out on the fire escape and up the side of the building.

Sadly the backpacks she took wouldn't turn invisible with her.

Too heavy, practice more, We are not a mule, was all Huntress said and Felicia ignored her.

Working her way home she entered the warehouse through the roof hatch Peter used to set up the antennae.

He'd put in a more secure locking mechanism that there was no key for. A symbiote tendril was needed to slide into and unlock it. As she slipped down, she found Peter and Liv discussing something. It was the usual technobabble she got from them and Gwen. It was always nonsense she didn't understand. She really didn't care enough.

Peter waved at her and she entered Gwen's home, sitting on the couch and holding her head in her hands. With her apartment clear, and Aleksei dead, she now had no leads on her father. The files mentioned him once, and that was a dead end she had already explored. After four years she finally ran out of options.

I won't cry. They don't fucking deserve it. I won't cry, but dad, I will find you.