Arc Seven. Chapter One Hundred Eighty-Eight. Waking Up Is Hard To Do

Peter had been given a clean bill of health. As the first sample they took had no adverse reaction to the air and lasted much longer than normal, it was a success.

After several hours of testing. First, on his basic bodily secretions which he was left to tend to himself until the all-clear was given and then on his tissue and then his symbskin. All were given a pass and all were now heavily infected. It was as planned though, and the infected cells were stable and the virus was now part of his cellular make-up.

The original Extremis virus was now a part of Peter, Like the ancient Mitochondrial Eve, Peter was a new organism. He had kept both abilities, he could generate a strong blast of heat, causing his webbing to ignite and he finally could reproduce the stunning taser webs that Huntress liked to use, although his was a lot stronger. His symbcells could be modified into the napalm he sprayed earlier and as well as expelling it from his mouth, which was cool but impractical. His most impressive power was the sticky gel-like webbing he could now make, which like Gwens chemical whips could explode with the heat he generated.

Not only that but now his healing factor was accelerated to an incredible degree. His body could produce symbcells and rebuild missing tissue almost immediately, and much to Curts dismay, Peter removed a finger to have it grow back seconds later. While unwilling to test it to an extreme everyone agreed that a missing limb or organ would regrow, although the ultimate test, his head, would be left unanswered.

And then of course they had another problem that needed addressing. Infection. Unless Peter created a symbiote and gave it to a host they had no idea if any new symbiotes would be affected by the virus, or if the current batch would succumb to the original or the new strain. It would be a simple test to find out, but the results would lead to death or worse for anyone who volunteered.

As samples of symbiote tissue seemed to happily absorb the newer cells it was finally time for a live test. It was Gwen who decided to be the first test subject, as her natural ability through Poison to absorb and contain various extremely harmful substances seemed to be the best choice.

Strapped to the gurney, Liv carefully injected her with a small sample of Peter's blood and stepped back as Poison moaned and covered her, “more! More!” She yelled and laughed, giddy from the infusion. It was obvious to all what Poison was going through and Curt turned away and eyed the ceiling until the pair calmed down

As she strained against the straps Liv and Peter both let their armour slip out but Poison shook her head and eventually calmed down.

“uh, I’m fine. The cells are absorbed by Poison with no side effects, well, uh. Poison wants more, it’s like,” and as she looked over at Curt, she wasn’t about to admit it was like being injected with liquid orgasms and the Symbiote had gone crazy. If she hadn't been strapped down, she would have been riding Peter like a horse right now. “The symbiotes get a bigger kick out of it, so uh yeah.”

“It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen. I did attend college with Liv after all.” Curt said, chuckling softly

Peter looked up, “wait, did you two?” and Curt hastily shook his head,

“Oh no, but a very drunk Liv bursting into my dorm room, rather naked, and then puking in my shoes is not something you’d forget, even if I have tried.”

Liv cleared her throat, “and why am I the one being picked on when it was Gwen-” and Peter cleared his throat,

“Can we move on from the embarrassing part, and get to the is Gwen sick part?”

“Right then, more blood samples. Curt, start up the mass and let’s crack this,” Liv ordered and Peter sat back down, uncovering his arm. “And if Gwen is right, then you are free to indulge again,” and as she moved in closer, “and you can start with the one person running your company,” and Peter laughed and kissed her on the side of the cheek.

For the rest of the day more and more tests were run, with Gwen acting as an isolated specimen she allowed herself to be exposed to more of Peter's bodily fluids, and after each test, a comparison of Poison’s cells was made. After the assimilation, it was clear that Peter was no longer infectious and that there was no change to Poison herself, other than a renewed desire to indulge in Peter.

While Nat was still unresponsive, and Widow was dormant they had time to properly test out Peter's new symbcells. Her vitals as reported by the armour were stable and she seemed to be in a coma more than any danger. It was still unsettling for Peter. His biggest worry that someone would be hurt always came true, even if it was a choice they made. As he ran a hand over the cold exterior of the War Machine armour he sighed,

“Whatcha thinking Petie Pie,“ Gwen sang at him, giddy after a serious session left her and Poison both riding a high. As Peter had left to let her sleep, he had come down to check on Nat and once her legs had stopped shaking she had followed him.

“Just worried.” and Gwen wrapped her arms around him,

“She saved the world Pete, and the brain activity shows she’s fine in there. Fury said that asshole shot her in the head, and yet, she’s still alive. She’s a fighter, just like all of us, so quit being a mope.” and with a grin, Gwen leant over the armour, “Hey Nat, took your spot and Pete pounded me till I couldn’t walk, missing out staying in there, better hurry up or Pete might find another sexy spy to take your place.” Gwen sang-spoke at the armour but there was no response.

Peter laughed and shook his head, “You know she can probably hear you, coma, not deaf.” and Gwen shrugged, 

“Then she’d better wake up so she can try to kick my ass,” and Peter laughed again.

“Come on, let’s go give everyone the good news, and then work on Killian’s cure. We also need to decide what we’re telling him, oh and I think Hammer is coming for the glider tomorrow, so clean up.” and Gwen groaned,

“Shower then? or work.” and Peter shook his head, 

“Work first, we both know what you want in the shower,” and as they linked arms Peter and Gwen left Nats home. Unheard the armour shifted slightly, a small ‘Thbbft’ noise coming from the inside.

Cleaning the warehouse was a chore that nobody enjoyed. It was a huge area and even with superhuman abilities it still was tiresome. With Felicia and Emma familiarising themselves with the running of the Black Cats, Gwen was on suspension as nobody wanted a staff member working in a highly sensitive lab who was quitting, and MJ was still figuring out if she wanted to stay working or not, it was up to Gwen and Peter to clean. As Jean, Wanda, and Laura had just moved in they were still busy with their own places and it felt unfair to make them start chores immediately. Only in the short term of course, once a housemate had settled then it was business as usual. 

“So, do we share or do we hide?” Gwen asked as she drank her coffee.

“Well, the symbiotes are becoming more and more widespread. I mean, Sword is practically up my ass about it and once I gave them the brush off it’s only legal threats that stopped them from coming after anyone else.” Peter had made a list, one side was the pros of telling Killian, the other was the cons.

“If we tell him, it’s not like I’m going to give him one, that’s already been established, no one gets a symbiote without discussion. And no one experiments on them period. We can make waves with the Asgardians if they start pulling that kind of bullshit, and I have no doubt Carol could come back and kick ass if we needed her,

Gwen laughed, “oh I bet you’re thinking of her ass,” and Peter laughed, “but you are right, I don’t see any reason not to, he’ll find out eventually anyway, even if it’s not from you. We did let it slip that you aren’t entirely human, so it’s not so much of a leap to guess that you aren’t a hulk or a super-soldier.” and Peter nodded.

“But, I want to make it official Parker Incorporated business,” and Liv leant forwards, idly spinning her own cup,

“I agree. If we make sure the symbiote research is completely legal and patented then nobody can touch it except us, or at least nobody can touch it without breaking the law.”

“We also have to test your new Extremis biology.“ and she took a breath and sighed, “and I think you should spawn, safely, with a host in mind for the express purpose of making sure that the virus isn’t going to make it crazy or worse. We can’t risk ignoring it and then someone gets hurt and you expose them and us to something much worse.”

“But who?” and Liv shrugged,

“I think Maria has expressed an interest. She was rather shaken by her friend’s death, and as callous as it may seem, it is a good way to make sure that no one you care about is hurt if it goes wrong.”

Peter frowned and half shrugged, “seems fair, tell her that’s the deal. She gets a symbiote but it might go really, really wrong. Tell her everything, Killian, Extremis, the lot and let her decide. If she says no then ask Fury. I’m sure he’s got agents lining up to kick Hydras ass and one of them might say yes,” as Peter spoke Liv was tapping on her phone,

“Miss Hill agrees and in fact,“ Liv sat with her buzzing phone, “oh yes, she’s on her way, and uh,” Liv looked over at Gwen, “she asking if she needs to fuck him first, or if sucking him off will do?” and Gwen burst out laughing.

Peter stared at Gwen who was holding her stomach as she laughed, “oh my god Pete,“ and she snorted. “Venom, the scourge of the underwear, hunter of wet pussy, and slayer of virginities,” and even Liv was holding back her smile.

“You know, most women would be upset when someone asked if sucking off their boyfriend was acceptable,” and Liv laughed,

“Yes, and the all-women foursome we had last week without you was against your wishes?” and he frowned and shrugged,

“Uh, what?” and Liv nodded,

“See, we don’t ask if we can, and as long as we’re okay with the person, you don’t need to either.” but Peter shook his head,

“No, you’re right, I don’t mind, but which four,” Gwen pointed to herself and Liv, “Fel and Ele. Oh little Pete got an invite but as you said you weren’t too happy with Elektra we didn’t invite you,“ but he nodded, 

The only reason he was mad at Elektra was he was pretty sure she was cheating on Matt, and that was his no-no. Cheating killed trust, and lack of trust killed a relationship.

“Can’t argue with that, so uh, Wanda?” And Liv nodded, “Ororo” and another nod, and the final one, that even he wasn’t sure about “Selene?” and as Gwen and Liv shared a look, Gwen nodded. “So Maria is fine?”

Gwen looked over “We actually think she’s gay, and that’s why Sharon’s death hit her so hard but sure, she’s pretty hot Pete. I mean, I would.”

“If she’s gay then you volunteered, not gonna get upset either,” he admitted,

“And then there is Sword. I’m getting the vibe they won’t leave us alone until we throw them a bone. Maybe have a scientist work in tandem with you?” Peter asked Liv and she huffed but nodded,

“If I must, but the second any jumped up little shit thinks they can give orders in my lab they will be out the door dear.”

Peter grinned cheekily, “your lab?” and Liv laughed,

“Of course, who’s lab could it possibly be?”