Xander and Buffy were searching the catacombs underneath Sunnydale. Xander realized that his self-styled war on crime was not worthy. He decided to use his powers to help the Scooby Gang instead.
Spike was searching for the Gem of Amarra and they were losing time. They both knew that if Spike got ahold of it, he would be unstoppable.
Buffy sighs in exasperation. "Find anything Xander?" She asked her boyfriend. Buffy and Xander had been together eversince he came back from his rode trip.
Xander looks down from the ceiling. "Nothing here, Buff." Xander was extremely happy with his spider powers. It gives him an edge in looking for clues.
Just then his spider-sence kicked in. "Buffy. Danger is heading this way." He warned his girlfriend. Both Buffy and Xander slinked into the shadows.
Harmony stepped back into the area. After Spike got the Ring of Amarra, he went after Buffy. She came back looking for jewelry. After stepping 3 feet from the coffins, Harmony was thrown to the floor.
She looked up to see Buffy and Xander staring down at her with mal- content. "Where is Spike? Harmony, don't play games with us. Or I will stake you down into the concrete." Buffy threatened.
Xander reached down with a cross and 'coerced' her into the information. Smoke sizzled from her forehead. She screamed.
"All right, all right. I'll tell you." Harmony begged. "Spike has the Ring and went topside. He's looking for you. Please let me go." She whimpered.
Buffy motioned to the exit. "Go and never return." The slayer ordered.
Harmony got out of there like a bat out of hell.
The two went back to searching. Xander turned Buffy to face him. "Buffy. You have to go. I'll stay here and search for something to help us. Spike is the main threat. If I can't find anything worthwhile, then I'll come after you." He ordered.
Buffy nodded. "All right. Xander, be careful. I'm getting bad vibes here." She cautioned.
Xander smiled. "Same here, sweetie." He replied.
Buffy ran topside to face Spike.
Xander turned around and continued his search. He came upon a necklace that Spike wore earlier. Inside the emerald jewel, lied something...alive?
He touched it gently. Then a black substance shot out and attached to Xander. It surrouned him untill he covered in it head to foot. He looked down and found a similiar design to his Spider-suit. It looked like an almost opposite design. For the most part, he was emersed in black. On the back of his hands were white triangles. His chest and back has a large, white spider on it.
There was something soothing about it. ˜Buffy!˜ Xander thought passionatly. He then shot out a string of webbing, not from the back of his wrists. But the back of his palms. He shot straight up from the celing.
Spider-Man headed out to find the Slayer.
After searching for what seemed forever, he found his true love.
Pinned down on the ground by Spike. From the air, Spider-Man shot off a strand and yanked. In the process, Buffy obtained the ring off of Spike's hand.
Screaming Bloody Hell, Spike ran to the nearest sewar gate and vanished underground.
Spider-Man landed next to Buffy and helped her up. "Xander?" she asked.
˜Just wish I was more inconspicuous.˜ He thought. Then he went back to his normal clothing. An almost evil grin appeared. ˜I think I'm going to like you.˜
As Buffy saw this, her boyfriend was giving her bad vibes. ˜I hope this is just a faze. I don't want to have to slay my boyfriend.˜ She thought with fear. "Let's go to Giles. I want to discuss where I want this thing delivered." She said cryptically.
Xander followed her with more evil than the monster they just defeated.
All the while, being watched by Riley Finn. And he did not look happy.
Several weeks had past since Xander's new costume attached itself to him. Since then, he's become darker. His soul and heart are darker. His attitude is meaner. Xander is now deadlier.
And his friends are worried. Willow and her new friend Tara were the first to notice-If you don't count Buffy. The Scooby Gang were frantically searching the reason why.
Giles was searching in his texts for the answers. And now, he was pulling double duty. For right now, all of Sunnydale's population lost their voice.
˜I know it's here somewhere.˜ He thought passionately. Finally a book entitled "Fairy Tales" came into view. He grabbs it and heads towards the university.
Giles turned on an overhead projector. "Would you like to know who the gentleman are?" A transparent message asked. He replaced it with another. "They are a fairy tale. They come into the night and steal the voices." He moved another one. "It is said the princess sang and destroyed the gentleman."
Buffy wrote something down on her board. "How do I get my voice back?" It said.
Giles gave an "I-don't-know" gesture.
"She doesn't need to do that." Xander said darkly. For some reason he retained his voice. "I'm on it." With one thought, he changed from his Armani suit to his new look. He moved faster than ever.
A side-effect from the symbiont is this. His powers are now augmented. He's faster, stronger and more agile. And shows now morose. Any demon he comes into contact with, Xander beats them into nothingness.
Meanwhile, Riley Finn was searching for his legacy. Eversince he saw Xander's change. He wanted 2 things. One. Buffy Anne Summers. And two. His powers and suit.
He followed someone into the belltower. With closer inspection, he could tell the person is the object of his desires. Buffy Summers.
But what he did not know is this. He, too, was being followed. By the new, deadlier version of Spider-Man. Basically being covered in all black. Xander made his way with ease.
When they made their way, they found Buffy fending off the gentlemen. And was loosing. She was being overpowered.
Riley noticed five hearts is five jars. And one small box with unusual writings on it.
He smashed it with his tazer. And the voices returned.
Buffy screamed at the top of their lungs. And the heads exploded.
Spider-Man showed up and grabbed Riley. He threw him down the hole. He then shot webbing to suspend him in mid-air.
Just now the Bells started going off. And Xander screamed in pain. It felt as if he was being split in two.
Buffy neared him. She saw the "suit" move away and slink through the cracks. She ran to her boyfriend. "Xander? Sweetie? Are you alright?" She asked in fear.
Xander nodded. "I just now realized the cold, hard truth. I just now realized how close I was to being Angelus." He looked at her. "I was never as scared as I was before." Xander confessed.
Below, the symbiont latched onto his next host. Riley Finn. It covered him completely. Now they were not symbiont and Finn. But one whole monster. One known as .... VENOM!!!
Weeks have passed since Xander freed himself from the symbiont. But things were not all well.
A monster by the name of Adam has been terrorizing Sunnydale for what seemed like forever. He is composed of different demons, cyborg implants and a human brain. He is also far more superior than the Mayor.
But for Xander Harris, there is something darker out there. Deadlier. Watching. Waiting. Hunting for Spider-Man. Then kill him.
To sum it all in one word--Venom!
And his mother and friends do not know of this. And it all started the day after the belltower incendent.
Xander Harris is doing some major league groveling. To everyone he knows. His girlfriend to his best friend. His mother to Mrs. Summers to Giles.
All because of that symbiont. ˜I'm just glad that it's gone forever.˜ He mentally sighed. He walked up the Summer's household. ˜Time to brave the lions.˜ Xander thought.
Xander walked through the door and headed towards the living room. Where everyone awaited the young wall crawler. "Listen. I know I said things that I didn't mean. That was the symbiont talking. I just don't know where to be-" He stopped mid-sentence.
He caught sight upon someone who was truely evil. Riley Finn. But the problem was his "spider-sense" didn't go off. It was a feeling. A feeling that he had in the past. One involving Angelus.
˜I know he's evil. I just can't prove it.˜ Xander thought gravely. ˜He's more than evil. He is evil incarnate.˜ He somehow knew that Mr. Finn is deadly. ˜And what was he doing at the belltower last night?˜
The semingly daranged man smiled at Xander. "I just had to meet you, Xander." He motioned towards the front door. "Why don't we talk outside?" Riley asked.
Riley put his hand on Xander's shoulder, and squeezed. It seemed that his strength dwarfed his own. ˜But that's impossible.˜ Xander thought with disbelief.
When they finally made it outside, Riley broke the silence. "Well, well, well. I finally get to meet the great and mighty Spider-Man." Finn said evily.
Xander was shocked. ˜Better play it dumb.˜ "What? Are you deranged Finn?" He asked in denial.
Riley looked at him with deadly eyes. "And there's something else, TOWNIE." He growled. In the blink of an eye, Riley turned into a gigantic version of Xander's previous look. "WE ARE VENOM!!!!" It said with death.
Xander was scared for his life and for those inside. The change didn't trigger his spider-sense. Meaning, he couldn't tell where he might show up in the future.
When Angel showed up, Xander confessed to the ensouled vampire. Everything. To his powers. To his relationship with Buffy. To the symbiont. And finally, Venom.
Knowing that Xander was truely scared, Angel trained Xander in controlling his emotions. How not to let Venom to get to him. And everything his former mentor, Whistler, had tought him. Including the martial arts.
That helped him physical-wise, but psychological was a different story. It still scared him. But only to a certian degree. He knew that he should be with his friends taking down Adam-But he had to face down Venom.
Once and for all.
Using everything he knows, Spider-Man crawled down into the Inititave and take out Venom. Spider-Man stuck to the ceilings and stayed out of sight.
Untill he found Venom, which was a switch. The hero took down the villian with suprising ease. ˜Remember what Angel said. One pass, one punch. The next, go with a kick. Haymaker. Roundhouse. Right hook. Side kick.˜ Xander reminded himself.
The ferocity of the battle dragged out to the open. Where the Commandoes and HST's were going at it. ˜There is something missing, but what is it?˜ He asked himself.
Just then the overspeaker squeaked loudly. This sent Venom into a frenzy. He collasped onto the floor and screamed. The symbiont started to squirm all over it's host.
Xander finally put 2 and 2 together. ˜That's it! I remember! That night! The bell towers weakened the symbiont!˜ He thought.
Spider-Man glowered over the fallen Venom. "It's over Finn. Give it up." He ordered.
The larger man got up. "NEVER!!!" Venom screamed. He ran for his intended pray. Before he could get into reach, a metallic disk knocked him into the wall behind him.
It flew back to where it belonged. Spider-Man turned to see someone who is thought to be an All-American legend.
He is decked out like the American flag. His name is Captian America.
Xander was in awe. "I don't believe it. I thought you were only a legend." He whispered.
Cap chuckled. "I get that alot, young man." He responded. The living legend looked over to the monster. "Something has to done about him. Any suggestions, Spider-Man?" He asked.
Spider-Man was is shock. ˜The living legend of WWII asked me what I think?! I've died and gone to heaven.˜ He thought with astounding giddieness. "I would suggest you put in him a cell composed of sonic sounds. His weakenes is to high pitched sounds." Xander offered.
Captian America smiled at him. "I will put that adivse to good use. Thank you, Spider-Man." He walked over hauled Venom in a fireman's carry.
Leaving the young man in complete and total shock. ˜Captian America helped me out in battle. That is so cool! I can't wait to tell the others.˜ Xander thought like if it was like Christmas.
He found the others only moments later. "Guys, you will not believe who I just met!" Xander went on to tell them about his battle.
After S.H.I.E.L.D. hauled Venom off, Captian America went off to a dark, empty cave. The American icon removed his cowl, to reveal one Graham Miller.