Spider-Man. The House Of Venom

Sandman hadn't waited long and took the initiative to ambush Venom as he opened the door. A huge stone fist flew at him and cracked him across the jaw.

Venom rubbed his chin and then hissed. He crouched and sprung forwards catching Sandman around the waist. He lifted and slammed him to the ground. Straddling him, he pinned him down and drove his fists into Sandman’s face. He knew there had to be a limit to how much damage Sandman could take, nobody was completely invulnerable. Peter hoped nobody was completely invulnerable.

"Guess you're not so smart after all." Sandman laughed as he took each punch. Venom took offence at that, his exam results had come back and he got A+'s on all his tests.

"I'm not the one with rocks for brains," Venom retorted and leaned back. He sprayed Sandman with the sticky tar web he used at the restaurant.

Sandman covered his face and flowed backwards out from under him. Venom watched as the sand covered by the web tar sloughed off in a ball. Rolling along Sandman’s arm and down into his hand.

"Thanks,” he said and then he smashed the crusted ball of web and sand into Venom, "as I said, not so smart."

Venom had to admit he hadn't seen that coming. While he gave Sandman a point for the ingenuity he deducted one for dumbness.

The gritty web ball gave him a target and shooting out normal webs it held onto the end of Sandman's arm. He leaned back and swung Sandman off his feet.

The alley was just wide enough to swing him around like a ball. He grinned as he waited for him to brush his feet against a wall before letting him go. Watching him fly and crash against the brickwork.

Sandman let out an ooff as he thudded against the wall. He had cracked the brickwork and sand granules spread out. He just grunted as the sand was reabsorbed back into his body, along with some of the shattered bricks.

"I'm sand you moron, that won't work." He let the ball of tar drop from his body. "And that web shit won't work twice." As Sandman picked himself up, his hands formed two huge clubs, "now. Now it's my turn."

Venom ducked under a swing. Sandman might be tough but he was slow. What he needed was heat or water and in an alleyway, he had neither.

If he exited out onto the street he could find a hydrant. On the roof, he could find a water tower but would Sandman follow him?

He was brought out of his musing as another arm launched its way towards him. Avoiding it easily Venom took the chance and sprang forwards. As he lept from one side of the alley to the other, he scaled the building and headed to the roof.

Sandman snorted in derision at Venom fleeing. He stretched himself up and began to climb the fire escape. chasing Venom up and onto the rooftops.

"I thought you were tough Venom. Running?" Sandman taunted Venom as he sat on the edge of the roof across from him.

"I don't want anyone to get hurt. something you should learn."

"I'm a lot of things, but a murderer, well, that ain't one of them." Sandman shook himself after stretching up to the roof. It made him use his sand powers and altering his body still felt wrong. He shook himself off, the content gritty feeling was irritating. He didn't like it, it was coarse and got everywhere.

"You're still a scumbag who attacked a young woman. So what if you got your ribs broken? You deserved it." Venom knew he needed to find a way to defeat Sandman. Without a source of fuel to rebuild his symbskin he was vulnerable to the heavy blows of the man.

"That money was for my daughter!" Sandman yelled back, "if Osborn hadn't taken her in, she'd have died, and you, you're gonna fuckin pay for that." He banged his fist together and advanced on Venom.

He thumped one fist into his side and Venom caught the other.

"Try that goop shit again, I dare ya," he taunted.

While Venom knew he'd probably thought of a counter, he wasn't the only one.

"You can't hurt me, flesh bag," he laughed as Venom punched him.

His fist went straight through Sandman's body. He laughed, grabbed it, and slammed Venom into the roof. He was starting to enjoy this.

"You ain't gonna win, I'm not like you, I'm more than better." He punched down and Venom rolled to one side and zipped out a web.

It hit the side of the building and he hauled himself forwards, kicking both feet at Sandman. He passed through him again, and as his torso met Sandman’s, he bearhugged him and pulled him up. covering him in sand.

"My daughter almost died cause of you. I'm this freak cause of you," Sandman shouted at Venom. With him trapped in a cocoon of sand, he punched his face again and again. "I hate you, I hate you," with each punch Venom felt dizzier and dizzier.

Begin held with the pincer-like grip he needed to get free. He had figured on acid to dissolve him if he proved too strong, but he hadn't brought any. Option two was using heat to turn him to glass, but as that happened at over three thousand degrees, it wasn’t an option. He needed water, but he couldn't raise his arms high enough to snag the water tower on the roof.

He tutted. He didn’t need a huge amount of water, he was wearing a huge suit of glue he could use. He would worry about it not working later.

He began to thicken his symbskin. Once it was a thin layer with sticky liquid underneath he began to push back against Sandman.

He was flexible enough that he slipped backwards between Sandman's arms. As he left him holding a pile of symbskin goo, he punched, causing the sack to burst. 

The thick skin flopped over Sandman like a blanket. As he struggled to roll the sand away, Venom shot two web lines at his feet, pulling and sticking him to the rooftop.

Ock had been right. He’d underestimated Sandman and had paid for it. Sand was fun, until you had to fight a walking pile of it, and try not to let it blast your skin off. He’d used a trick to beat him, next time he would have to be better prepared.

While he was now vulnerable. He could slowly replenish the armour around his body, but it would take longer than he knew he had.

As Sandman tried to uncover himself Venom fired more webbing at his arms. He was trapped, spread eagle and unable to move.

"Now, you will answer us, or we will make you a permanent statue."

Venom internally sighed in relief as Sandman looked ready to talk. That was it, he was spent, no more tar to glue him down and if the fight had gone on much longer he would have needed to run.

It was a painful lesson to know his webbing and armour were finite. Eating was enough to replenish them a little, but what bad guy would stop to have snacks during a fight? Once he secured his top workspace, he would have to investigate a bit more on that.

Unhappy with the answer, he swiped his claws through Sandman’s arm, scattering grains from it. Sandman cried in pain each time he did it. Even if he was silicon-based now he still felt it. Each granule was part of him, and it stung like tiny needles as it was scattered.

Venom hoped as he reduced his mass it was bringing him closer to his end. There was no way a single grain was large enough to store his consciousness. There must be a core of sand in his body, one that was vulnerable.

"So, what do you want then? I ain't interested and I got nothing, I'm muscle, not the brains, you want Ock."

“Where is Electro?” Venom asked first but Sandman shrugged,

“If he ain’t here then I dunno, ask Ock, she’s in charge, ask her,” Sandman yelled. Venom sighed, he was hoping he knew but even if he didn’t, he would be asking Felicia later what else she knew. This was too much like a trap to be a coincidence.

"What did you steal and why?" Venom asked.

"That? Who cares, it's gone, Ock took that weeks ago."

Venom sliced into his arm and webbed it apart from his body. He held his claw over Sandman’s throat. "I won't ask again."

Sandman felt his core ache. There was barely any sand left in his body and it was getting harder to remain whole, Venom wasn't messing around.

"Okay, okay, it was a chip. Ock wanted it for something her boss was building, that's it, that's all I know. It's a thing about the size of a pack of cards, in a case, that’s all. Man I'm just muscle please, I have a daughter, please, she ain't got no one else." Sandman was at the end of his tether, Venom was so close to killing him but all he wanted was to keep his daughter safe. Osborn had promised. "Please man, please?"

"We are generous unless we see you again. Tell Ock we are coming for her." Venom stood, towering over Sandman he spied a tall mast in the distance and shot a line out to it. "You have been warned, Sandman."

Venom leapt upwards and swung forward and he soon disappeared from Sandman's view.

He sighed with relief. "Fuck me, that was scary, Doc you there? Or do I have to get this shit off by myself?"  he yelled and waited.

With no reply, Sandman knew she had run as soon as they started fighting. "Fucking shit," he said to himself, slowly trying to grind the sticky tar out of his granular body. It would be slow but he could do it.

⁂

Unseen by Sandman, a hidden figure had recorded the whole fight. He was taking pictures as well as notes on the possible weaknesses of this new villain. Sandman was by his own admission part of the crew that destroyed the diner after robbing the bank.

Spider-Man had recorded everything. With his new job, he had a new high-definition camera, which was starting to pay for itself. After making sure he put the camera somewhere safe, he approached.

"Oh, shit, another one, what the fuck you want?" Sandman asked this new spider-themed idiot, "what? You copying the boy in black there? Can't think of anything original."

"First, he copied me. Second, thanks to your confession I think you'll be spending more time in jail, uh Sandman was it?" Spider-Man flicked open a phone.

"Yes, this is Spider-Man. I have the villain Sandman webbed to a roof at," he leaned over the building and checked the name of a shop nearby. "Madison and Jones yeah." Spider-Man snorted, "yeah, on Sand Lane. That's right, no, he's not going anywhere, thank you, officer." Clicking the phone closed he took a few pics with the Sandman and then paused for a second.

"Uh, want to do an interview? Maybe I can get you a better deal if you're helpful?" Spider-Man offered.

"Look man, fuck you. It's bad enough I'm covered in Venom gunk but now I gotta listen to your crap. Get lost," Sandman spied the same tower Venom had, would water help get rid of this damn sticky crap faster? He'd reabsorbed enough of the sand from the ground to at least attempt it. It was better than the alternative, being stuck with this idiot while the cops got here.

Taking a deep breath, Sandman extended his arm as quickly as he could. Spider-man jumped back and shot two webs at him, they did nothing compared to Venoms but he got an A for effort.

Sandman had grabbed onto the lower support of the water tower. His sand powers were weakened, but he was still a lot stronger than a human. Pulling with all his strength, he brought it down upon himself and the costumed clown.

Several thousand gallons of water poured from the huge tower.

Sandman found himself free from the roof but washed away still stuck together. The dilapidated roof tiles came loose with the water sloshing over them. It didn't matter, he was free and could move. Revenge would come later.

Spider-Man looked on in horror as the water crested a huge wave towards him. Before he could get a web out, it slammed into him, smashing him against the side of the roof edge. Lifting him up, the water cascaded down the side of the building and into the street.

People, cars, dogs, and all sorts of debris were washed down the street by the flood. The water tower pumped out more and more water, but Spider-Man had no idea where its shut-off valve was.

In the chaos Sandman rolled and made his escape into the sewers, still stuck together with the tar.

Spider-Man held on to the side of the building. His grip was stronger than the currents but it was still painful to be crushed by the water.

Soon he heard the sirens in the distance. Thankfully the emergency services could be called upon to take care of the mess Sandman had made.

His suit full of water squelched as he staggered down the alley. Bruised and battered by water, he had no strength left in his arms to use his webs to escape across the rooftops. The water had even reached his camera.

Soaked and dejected, Spider-Man limped home, cursing at both Venom and Sandman.