Arc Ten. Chapter Two-Hundred Ninety. Diamonds Are A Boys Best Friend

Red Hulk laughed as he held up Venom, becoming invisible was great, if you weren't in a cloud of steam that moved when you did. “Smash puny bug.” and as he would up a punch to finish Parker off he found himself lifted from the ground.

“Seems I’m just in time darling,” Emma said with a small smile as she floated down.

Landing he looked at the devastation the pair had caused, and tutted, “I hope you’re going to make him pay for hits. I do hate a mess, and now, Red, please put my friend down, before I hurt you.”

Red Hulk laughed and drew his arm back, “No care. Smash bug. Smash you too if get in Red Hulk's way,” but as he pushed he felt his arm meet resistance.

Emma floated over, ''I wasn’t asking,” and with a wave of her hand, Red Hulk felt his fingers pry themselves from Parker's armoured form. ”You are so terribly hurt,” and as she gently laid Peter down on the pavement she pushed Red Hulk away with her other hand, “and you now owe me again. The first time was for Shaw, this time I will get what I want.” as she gently cradled Peter's head in her lap he blinked a few times and stared up at her,

“Now I know I'm dead, I can see the pearly gates behind two white monotonous pillowy clouds.” 

Emma laughed, “If you're conscious enough to make stupid jokes, then you're conscious enough to walk on your own.” but she lifted another hand and stopped the charge of Red Hulk as he bellowed with rage.

“You see, telekinesis is the application of mental abilities against the muscular stretch of the individual you use it against, but there is a much easier way.” Red Hulk lifted slightly as if he was straightening his posture. “All muscle strength requires gravity or force to act against it, remove that force, and you can swing all you like, you can't move.” suspended in the air, Red Hulk swung wildly but with no friction, was suspended helplessly.

“Why fight your strength, when it's much easier to simply remove your inertia. Of course, there is something satisfying in fighting your strength” Carefully laying Peter down she stood and brushed her mini skirt down.

You have to help me, Peter. I can’t keep someone as powerful as him down for long.

I know, but I’m too hurt. You need to give me a few more minutes.

Fine, but the meter is running darling.

“I have lost a lot of money today because of these stupid machines, and now I find a giant red monster beating on the one person I might actually like. Do you think I’m having a good day?” as Hulk stumbled forwards he was smacked in the face by an invisible hammer blow. It was followed by another, each time Emma flicked her wrist a force smashed into Red Hulk's body blowing him back, “Do you want to find out?”

Red stood and roared, causing Emma to cover her face with an arm, even Peter was blown backwards by the immense pressure given off by Red, “Red Hulk strongest one there is,” and as he clapped his hands together the shockwave blew Emma and Peter back and they turned against the wall of the building behind them, “Red Hulk always win,” and as Red roared over and over the pitch grew and Peter and Emma watched as his muscles swelled even further and the steam rising from his body began to smoke.

“Sorry Emma,” Peter said as the dust and debris flew around them “this was my fight.” 

Emma hid her face with her jacket just snorted, “This was never just your fight darling,” and as she stood, “this was everyone's.” The debris began to clear as Emma extended a shield around them, pushing back against the shockwaves produced by Red Hulk powering up more. “But we will be having a very interesting conversation after this. You are starting to owe me too much.” 

Peter laughed and held his ribs, “Consider this down payment.” 

Emma gasped as Peter touched her ankle and a voice rang out in her head,

We are Precious, and we taste you, Emma.

As Emma felt the Symbiote cover her, replacing the clothes she laughed, Octave hadn't rejected her, she had wanted Peter to add her to their little group, Liv enjoying having someone just as open-minded as she was. Precious shared everything. Oh, you little shit. She thought

“Give it” and she motioned to Peter, crouching down, “and I won't ask again. The stone. Give it.” and she motioned with her hand.

“That wasn't part of the deal.” but as Red Hulk Huffed and stretched, now massively pumped up and dwarfing the buildings around him Peter knew this was a fight they weren't going to win.

Coughing up the Stone, Emma took it and let it absorb into her forehead. “I finally have something hard of yours inside me,” she said and winked with a very cheeky grin. Peter laughed, hoping he hasn't made a huge mistake.

Red stood, now almost ten feet tall and growled at the pair, “Red Hulk strong. Red Hulk kill puny Parker and big titty lady.”

Oh shit, Peter thought to himself, wrong thing to say.

“They are rather spectacular aren't they. Even Peter can't keep his eyes off them.” Emma motioned down to where Hulk's pants had burned off, “Pity we can't say the same about your equipment though” 

Red Hulk didn't care if he was naked or not, all that mattered was smashing these two bugs. This was what he wanted, Ross never cared about Banner or anything other than having the power of the Hulk, and once he got it and then Extremis, nobody could stop him.

As he roared and charged he felt the ground under his feet give way and even with his strength he crashed into the ground and it furrowed up as his weight crushed the concrete

“A shame, see, where most of your weight is as you put it in your titties, you learn. You learn that when an Augment can lift you with his mind, to work around it, you learn then when an Augment can project energy you work around it,”

Red Hulk lifted himself and grabbed  a handful of debris, throwing it at Emma, who tutted and brushed to one side, 

“How rude. You learn that strength is nothing without training, and I know that without a good place to stand, you are nothing but a brute.” as Red lined up a charge his feet dug into the sidewalk, and as he sped towards her, he tripped on something small.

Emma didn't need to pit her telekinesis against his massive strength, a simple block would do. Wedged hard enough that when he kicked it, his momentum did the rest and he fell once more, crashing through the road.

“But, we also know that there is no way I can avoid you forever.” and as she moved over, “sorry darling, not for fun this time.” and lifting Peter she spun him around and undid his harness. It was cracked from the fight, and two arms were still tied around a fire hydrant, but it was still functional, and two arms were enough for what she needed.

Clipping it over herself two tendrils of symbskin branched out and the arms connected into a symbskin domed helmet which proudly displayed the Mind Stone at its front. “Charles gave me this idea, with his supercomputer Cerebro. Add enough telepathic power to a focusing crystal and,”

Red Hulk was hit by a beam of yellow energy pulsing out from the Mind Stone. Emma floated up, “Pure mental energy, handily powered by a small star and a metal capable of absorbing and projecting it, thank you Peter.” and even as he brought up an arm to ward off the beam it burned and smouldered on his flesh.

“My, you are a tough one,” reinforcing the beam Emma took all that rage and indignation, all the pain and hate and focused it more, distilled it down and the beam widened. The Stone flared and a beam of yellow energy hit Red Hulk. He grasped at his head and screamed as she filled his mind with every failure, every disaster, each punishment and each mocking escape done by Bruce, even Liv’s beating before he got a good grip on his powers poured into his mind playing over and over,

Pathetic, he heard over and over as Emma tore apart his mind, nothing but a bully, and as he was powerless to resist she lifted him up and slammed him over and over into the sidewalk.

“Puny Hulk,” she said mockingly as she floated back down once he reverted back to General Ross. “We do have company though darling.” and the harness retracted back into her clothing, taking the Mind Stone with it. “You may want to dress appropriately.” 

As the military convoy approached Peter covered himself with his thicker Venom armour and Emma nodded and took to the skies. Letting the military know about another powerful Augment was asking for trouble, and quietly she made her escape.

I want the Stone back Emma. Emma, I know you can hear me. Dammit, Emma,

Coulson stood across from Venom, and he motioned to the shattered Iron Legion drones littering the street, and to the badly beaten and unconscious Ross, still smashed into the sidewalk,

“I need you to stand down,” Coulson said, even as Shield agents surrounded Venom. “It's over.”

Venom shook his head, “it's not over.” and he motioned to the soldiers surrounding him, noticing most wore the Gamma Trooper patch, Ross’s Thunderbolts.

Coulson nodded and raising one hand slowly reached behind him, taking out a small radio.

Today, President Ellis signed an amendment to the Augment Act, forcing the issue through using his presidential privilege. From today, all Enhanced and Augments, civilian or otherwise, are pardoned of their defence against the Sentinels. The Sentinel program has been scrapped and a recall order issued.

For more on this story, tune in for our- 

but Coulson clicked the radio off. “It's over. Your friends destroyed all the Sentinels in New York. It Is Over.” he dropped the radio on the ground, “But we need you to surrender, and not finish what you started.” and his eyes flicked down to Ross’s body.

“He’s hurt, but not dead, and I won’t surrender. I’ve seen this before. Nat and Carol? Would I see daylight again, would any of us? No, I’ll leave and you can try to finish what Ross started, and hunt me.”

Coulson swore, and as Venom sent out a line and swung away, he stared at the quickly decreasing dot.

One of his commanders approached him, “I have the pursuit helicopter on route Sir, do we follow?” but Coulson shook his head.

“Don't bother, we know where he lives.”

Motioning to his men he set the GPS to Peter's address, he highly doubted he would be there, but leverage never hurt anyone. 

“Oh, and grab Ross, he’ll probably be in a bad mood when he wakes up, so keep him away from my office.”

The journey was quick. As the street had been cleared when the fighting started and as the jeep pulled up outside the warehouse, not just Peter but his whole group was waiting for Coulson.

“You know why I'm here Peter,” but Peter pointed over at a nearby rooftop,

“Hey, Shithead, Nice try. I bet even Red Hulk would have come here. All the scheming must have fried that walnut you call a brain,” Venom shouted from one of the rooftops. As Coulson and his men watched Venom leered and posed threateningly before the thrusters on his back fired and the armoured giant flew away once more.

Coulson shook his head, “touche Mister Parker, touche.” He motioned for everyone to get back in the ATVs, “retreat, Parker is not Venom, I repeat, Parker is not Venom. Find out which idiot gave us that intel and have him shot,”

As the soldiers filed back into their vehicles, Coulson approached the warehouse, “I know that's not you Peter,” and Coulson tapped his nose, “Liv told me any idiot with a nose can smell the formula, but honestly, I don't care. Someone will swing for this mess, and it won't be me, and I will make sure it won't be you. Stark was threatened by Senatorial suppression, so it’ll be passed around until someone says something stupid.” as he turned to walk back to the jeep, “just make sure it's not him would you.”

In the jeep, Coulson dialled his phone, “your plan failed Senator, and the fallout even cleared Peter Parker of being Venom. I can make sure the Thunderbolts and the Avengers are covered, but you better have a damn good backup plan, or this will end up on your head.” before whoever was on the other end could reply Coulson ended the call.

It had gone exactly as he’d expected. He knew Peter would triumph, he had help, a good team and more importantly, the Augments on his side.

Fury had warned him that Malik was Hydra and ever since then Coulson had kept his eyes on the Senator. He had expected Steve to disobey, taking the Avengers out of the equation. He knew Stark would try but fail as he had the wrong intel on Parker, he hadn't expected Ross to go off-mission though, and he would be seeing if Parker could depower him as well. The Thunderbolts could stay but Ross was even more unstable than Banner, and that plus Hulk powers were a really bad idea.

As Coulson made arrangements, for not just Ross, Tony, and the others hurt during this colossal act of idiocy, he now just needed Parker to finish the job and take down Gideon Malik once and for all.