"This is Venom, oh my god, why are there so many of them."
Tohka stared blankly at the crowd of tight-suit freaks chasing after Spider-Man. While symbiotes could grow quite large, there was usually only one true host. Unless, of course, someone had intentionally stimulated them to reproduce at an accelerated rate.
"You know what that thing is?"
Tohka's voice wasn't low, so Tony, Black Widow, and even Nick Fury heard it. Several people turned to look at Tohka at once. The look in their eyes clearly demanded a proper explanation.
"Uh, this, that... how should I say it…"
Being stared at like that, Tohka started to stammer a bit. After all, she was usually the one cleaning up other people's messes. Now it was finally her turn.
But even so, she braced herself and said, "This thing is called a symbiote. It's actually quite a good thing. It can comprehensively enhance the host's abilities and can even record and inherit part of the host's powers. But how much it can inherit, I don't know. Overall, it's a very powerful being."
"Is it controllable, like what we're seeing now?"
After hearing that, Tony pointed at the screen showing the pack of stalker-types chasing after Spider-Man. The way those people had their mouths wide open—it didn't look at all like what Tohka just said.
"Well… it was originally controllable. Although the symbiote has its own consciousness, it doesn't distinguish between good and evil. What it becomes depends on the host. So, if you give it to a kind person, it becomes a powerful weapon."
Hearing that, Tohka continued to explain.
"Then what's going on here? Are all the guys chasing after Spider-Man thugs or something? Wait a minute—how do you know all this in such detail?"
Only then did Tony realize that Tohka seemed to know a bit too much.
"This, well, um…"
Alright, at this moment, Tohka truly didn't know what to say. She could only offer an awkward smile: "Can I choose not to answer?"
"No. You must tell us."
As soon as she said that, Tony and Black Widow shouted in unison. They both realized that this definitely had something to do with Tohka.
"Well, here's the thing…"
Startled by their strong reactions, Tohka took a moment before continuing: "This thing itself isn't inherently bad. But its first host was a chatterbox and a total lunatic. He literally drove the symbiote crazy. Now, the symbiote actually guides and even controls the host to release their inner desires."
"Who's that guy? Spit it out."
After hearing that, both Tony and Black Widow—and even Nick Fury who was listening in—wanted to drag that person out and slap him to death.
Such a good thing, not only did he not use it well, he ruined it for everyone else.
At the same time, they were also wondering—who the hell was so strong to begin with?
"Deadpool."
"..."
Alright, now even Nick Fury didn't know what to say.
They all knew this guy. And yeah, this kind of stupidity was totally possible with him.
Even though he hadn't been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for long and Black Widow hadn't seen him in person, she had definitely heard of him.
"But how do you know all this so clearly? Wait a second—don't tell me it's because…"
Tony glanced at Tohka suspiciously, suddenly recalling something he had almost forgotten.
That time when Tohka mentioned that guy paid off his debts.
He didn't think much of it at the time and went back to his armor research, but now that she mentioned this…
"Yeah, you remember now."
Seeing Tony's expression, Tohka knew he'd figured it out.
So, she didn't hide it anymore and said, "That guy gave the thing to me. I even did a bit of research on it."
"So, wait, you're the one who created this mess?"
At this point, Tony could hardly believe it.
It was the first time he realized Tohka was this capable—she even did research on something.
"That's enough. Since you're the one involved, hurry up and tell us how to clean this up."
But Nick Fury quickly cut in and interrupted the conversation between Tony and Tohka.
At this point, he was going crazy.
Why did all these superheroes like stirring up trouble so much?
Sometimes they were worse than supervillains.
"This really wasn't my doing. If I had the time to cause this mess, I'd rather be looking for a good restaurant. What benefit would this bring me?"
She wasn't about to take the fall.
Plus, she really didn't know what had happened.
"I know it's dangerous, so I kept it on me. But during the big fight with Graviton the other night, I lost it."
"Then why didn't you say anything!?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Nick Fury jumped out and yelled at her.
If that girl had said something earlier, he would've locked down the scene and recovered it that same night.
"Well, it didn't seem like such a big deal. We fought all night, I was tired, okay?"
Facing Nick Fury's scolding, Tohka replied confidently.
"..."
Alright, now even Tony had the urge to strangle her.
How big of a heart did this girl have?
"Forget it. We'll argue about right and wrong later. You all stop standing around and go. Hawkeye's already on the scene."
Though speechless, Nick Fury decided to suck it up for now.
Cleaning up the mess came first.
"We're going. Tohka, you contact Miku Izayoi right away. The concert hall is nearby, and there's a high chance the upcoming battle might spill over.
Tell Miku Izayoi to end her concert as soon as possible to prevent chaos—
A stampede incident wouldn't be unheard of."
At this moment, Tony's armor flew in from who-knows-where.
He quickly suited up and prepared to take off.
Before leaving, he made sure to assign Tohka to stop the concert.
"Alright, I got it. I'll go find her after she finishes this song. You guys go ahead."
Venom was tricky, sure, but not overwhelmingly destructive.
So Tohka wasn't in a rush.
Tohka wasn't in a rush. She figured even if Tony and the others couldn't handle it right away, it wouldn't be a disaster.
Still, something was bugging her.
From the looks of it, Spider-Man hadn't bonded with a symbiote yet.
So where did these other symbiotes get his abilities from?
"Hurry and get over there. Don't waste time."
From the looks of it, Spider-Man hadn't bonded with a symbiote yet.
So where did these other symbiotes get his abilities from?