When Dragon Balls Descend Upon Marvel

Smith Dole had utterly destroyed Riot. Meanwhile, Drake's second rocket—the Life Two—began to lift off.

Eddie shouted in panic,

"Boss, that ship is headed for the symbiote's homeworld—we can't let it leave Earth!"

Smith glanced down. Selina had caught Alexei from his fall, and Venom stood beside Michael at the launch platform. His voice rang out, calm but absolute.

"You two, pull back. I'll handle the rocket."

Eddie and Michael exchanged a look, then sprinted away at full speed. They knew—when the boss said "destroy," you'd better not be anywhere near the blast radius.

Once they were clear, Smith fixed his eyes on the rising rocket. His hands glowed as he gathered energy.

"Kamehameha!"

BOOM!

The blast ripped into the rocket, detonating it in a blinding explosion. The fragments never even hit the ground—his ki burned them into vapor.

Venom turned his head skyward, relief flooding him as he watched the threat obliterated.

······

A week passed.

The day after Drake's death, S.H.I.E.L.D. swept in, sealing the Life Foundation and freezing its assets.

Then the storm broke. News of the Life Two explosion, the Foundation's human experimentation, six hundred dead test subjects, and dozens of staff killed spread like wildfire.

S.H.I.E.L.D. quietly pinned the staff casualties on the rocket blast.

With so much blood on its hands, the $30 billion corporation collapsed overnight. At Smith's urging, a vast compensation fund was established. Many victims were homeless with no surviving family, so the money created shelters and aid programs for the homeless. Where heirs did exist—or where staff had been slain by Riot—the payouts reached tens of millions per family.

The Life Foundation's assets were then liquidated piece by piece.

Meanwhile, Eddie Brock resumed work in Capsule Corporation's PR department. And New York gained another "superhero": Venom. His brutal style left enemies as headless corpses, but crime fell wherever he walked. With Anne, Eddie finally set a wedding date.

In the Assassins' lab, Smith examined two sealed containers housing symbiotes.

"Venom has already communicated with them," he said. "They'll seek hosts willingly. We'll let them choose from among our core members."

Bulma nodded thoughtfully.

"A fair method. If they bond without harming the host, coexistence could be powerful."

Soon, the pairing ritual began. The symbiotes chose freely—one bonded with Cross's son, Wesley, the other with John Wick.

Selina, Michael, and Alexei declined, preferring to remain untouched.

······

Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.

Reports on the Life Foundation, the symbiotes, Smith's raid, and Eddie's transformation landed on Nick Fury's desk.

After reviewing them, he asked,

"Coulson, what's your assessment of these… symbiotes?"

Coulson recalled his talk with Eddie.

"They're a potent force. Any host gains superhuman strength immediately. Their power jumps by at least 50 points on our scales. And the stronger the host, the greater the boost—if a superhuman bonds with one, the increase could be exponential."

Fury's single eye narrowed.

"And the corpse we recovered? Any use left?"

Coulson shook his head.

"The one Dole left us is dead tissue. No value remains."

Fury grunted, disappointed.

"What about Eddie? Can we bring him in?"

Coulson hesitated, then reported honestly.

"He's already with Capsule Corp… likely inducted into Dole's Assassin League. He'll probably become one of Dole's official superhumans."

Fury's brow furrowed deeper.

"By U.N. mandate, extraterrestrial incidents fall under our jurisdiction. Venom—and those other symbiotes—belong in S.H.I.E.L.D."

Coulson raised a hand carefully.

"I spoke to the Inspector-General himself. He said since he is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Inspector-General, the symbiotes are already under our control. Eddie's his evaluation subject. He ordered us not to interfere."

"F***," Fury spat, face darkening. "That's outright insubordination."

But what could he do? Dole didn't play by rules. You argued law—he quoted "nothing is true, everything is permitted." You argued force—his fists were bigger. Anything that entered his hands never came back out.

Grinding his teeth, Fury changed tack.

"What about their homeworld? Did we recover coordinates from Life Foundation's files?"

If he couldn't seize Dole's specimens, perhaps he could fetch his own.

Coulson shook his head.

"Negative, sir. The Assassins stripped the servers clean. No trace left. The only option is to reconstruct the route from Life One's original flight logs."

Fury's fists clenched under the desk. Again, Dole had outmaneuvered him.

Finally, he gave the order.

"Assign a team. Reconstruct the course. If necessary, we'll retrace Life One's voyage ourselves."

······

(End of Chapter)

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