Chapter 116: Madness

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By the sixth-hour mark of the symbiote invasion, many news stories began to cover the situation and numerous theories began to appear discussing how exactly the symbiotes came to be. Very few theories had merit, while most were just plain crazy. Regardless, even those out of reach were filled with fear upon hearing about the craziness happening in New York through news outlets and podcasts.

"An unknown virus of some sort has taken over New York City. Experts say that this... unknown disease may eventually make its way out of the city, causing a global pandemic. As of now, the United States military is closing off all entrances and exits to the city, blowing up bridges, and blocking off tunnels to keep those who are infected at bay.

Many are calling for the US military to take nuclear action to wipe out the threat that is now rapidly making its way throughout the city, starting from Midtown and crossing into adjacent districts. However, taking nuclear action would result in the deaths of millions of innocent lives.

Harry Osborn, the young CEO of Oscorp, along with S.H.I.E.L.D., are doing their best to find a cure and a way to keep those who are infected from leaving the city. Currently, a protective barrier has been placed around Oscorp, one that repels those who are infected by these so-called symbiotes. As of now, Osborn and his team, along with Dr. Quintin Beck, are working on a way to use that technology to create a barrier around the entire city..."

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"You wanna know what I believe? No, you wanna know what I know? That MENACE Spider-Man has something to do with this! These guys are climbing walls, slinging webs, and they even MIMIC his voice and appearance to lure people in! You know what I think!? I think Spider-Man has finally gone rogue, this was his plan all along! He waited to gain our trust before he started laying eggs and hatching these guys while spreading them throughout MY CITY!"

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"The government is lying, people! These supposed 'symbiotes' are nothing more than a military weapon being tested on us! Now that the world is watching, the US is going to sell this stuff to the highest bidder. My guess is China. Wait... what if China is the one who sent this shit here! This is a goddamn Chinese Virus!"

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"All you dadgum SHEEPLE, gettin' them vaccines must feel silly now. I have been tellin' ya' that these vaccines do nothing more than cause even more diseases. I know y'all heard all about them city folk up there in New York being turned into the Walking Dead and such. It's 'cause of those vaccines, I'm tellin' ya'. The government 'gon lie and say it ain't that and it's something else but when the truth comes out don't say I ain't tell ya'."

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"Jesus is coming for us all! The Bible speaks of this! For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first!

For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be!

And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, and death flees from them!"

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"The StarkG is in the phones and it's in the air! Every time you talk on your cell phone, the waves enter your brain and you get one step closer to becoming one of those zombie spiders!"

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"Now the government is saying we have to wear muzzles on our faces just to go to the store because this disease might be airborne. I'll be damned if they think I'm going to wear a mask over my face. It looks silly and it's hard to breathe. Besides, if masks helped, why is New York a hellscape now?"

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"Spider-Man got his powers from a spider or something, right? What if patient zero ATE a spider? They ate a spider and that's how all this virus stuff started! I heard they were eating spider soup in Chinatown."

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"Population control! This disease was engineered to lower the population, starting with old people! Think about it, old people can't outrun these freaks! They're easy targets. This is an anti-boomer virus made to weed out the old folks so the WOKE can take over."

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"I heard the virus was spread through anal sex, that's why only a certain community is getting turned into those freaks! People are saying that if it was spread through sex, then children wouldn't be getting turned, but the answer is simple. That community is a danger to our children, we've been saying this for the longest of times. This is the result of them forcing all their mumbo jumbo on our children!"

Throughout New York City, even outside of Midtown, most people were hunkered down in their homes, jobs, or wherever they found themselves when this whole thing started, afraid to even attempt to go outside.

By this point, all of Midtown was completely taken over by symbiotes. Nearly sixty percent of the population had already been eaten or transformed, and those numbers of those being eaten were doing nothing more than increasing, despite one of the hives being destroyed.

Symbiotes weren't even the only issue as people began to turn on each other. Humans were stealing from each other, killing each other, and much much worse...

Just outside Midtown's borders, there were riots by those who chose not to stay indoors and buildings were being engulfed in flames as arson rates skyrocketed upon hearing that the symbiotes were weak to fire. Perhaps people lost their minds and burned themselves and wanted to take everyone down with them, or perhaps people were so afraid of their neighbors, they burned the whole neighborhood down.

After some time had passed, a new sort of symbiote seemed to have come to be. People were calling them Walkers, as they did just that, they walked. Walkers were what Deranged became once the symbiote turned on the host and began consuming the nutrients from their still living body, or even their corpse. It was rare, but Bolters and Mimics could also devolve into a Walker, but due to their abilities and speed, they'd be able to find victims for sustenance before the transformation took place.

Once the process of decaying the person beneath began, a greyish symbiote enveloped their body, forcing them to mindlessly and slowly scour the streets for someone or something to eat. Much like Flash Thompson, the people beneath the symbiote could do nothing but watch as their body was being dragged around slowly.

The symbiotes generally preferred humans, however, Walkers didn't care what they ate. Dogs, cats, birds, rats, it didn't matter to them. They were desperate. Though they were incredibly slow, they were still capable of using their tendrils to quickly snatch something or someone close enough.

Usually, Walkers were in packs. Dealing with one Walker was no problem, however, once they reached the double digits, that's when they became a threat. Throughout Midtown, one could spot groups of Walkers chowing down and sharing their prey as they surrounded their corpses on their hands and knees.

Due to the fact that symbiotes were starting to outnumber humans in Midtown, Walkers were starting to be the only thing littering the streets. Above the streets, black symbiote-like sludge covered the buildings in a similar fashion to a house spider covering the corners of one's walls. Slowly, Midtown was becoming unrecognizable and the rest of New York would soon follow.

Occasionally, the military would be spotted, especially near the borders as they started to block them off. Not wanting to risk this pandemic from spreading even further, the military destroyed every bridge to the mainland. They also did their best to contain whatever riots they came across, but there were just so many.

Along with having the task of defending the borders, the military was given one single order:

Kill anything or anyone that moves.

Without even being able to trust their own military, all anyone could do was wait for Spider-Man and those at Oscorp to figure out a solution, which was exactly what was going on at that point.

Inside Oscorp, biologists were hard at work trying to identify the charred corpse that Spider-Man brought in, comparing it to Flash Thompson's records. At the same time, Eren, Harry, and Cindy were with scientists in front of Oscorp, along with Dr. Beck.

Just in front of them, there was a barrier surrounding the entire building. It was a translucent blue bubble, covering Oscorp from top to bottom. Once near it, one could hear the sound of it humming, as the molecules it controlled were vibrating at a very high frequency.

"If all is correct, Spider-Man should be unable to pass through it." Dr. Beck said, looking directly at the hero who was covered in his white symbiote. Eren chose to wear it at all times, making most people, Cindy included, feel uncomfortable around him.

"I guess we'll see." Spider-Man stepped forward, reaching his hand outward as he approached the barrier. Slowly, his hand inched closer before it was just a few inches away. He stopped for a second, hesitating as he could feel the symbiote begin to reel back from his fingertips. "It's definitely doing something." he told the scientists and his friends behind him before attempting to force his hand through.

Instantly, his entire arm recoiled back as the frequency interacted with his body. Despite his hand only moving, he could feel his entire body feeling as if it were about to burst. "Jesus!" Spider-Man shouted, flicking the pain away from his hand before looking back at the barrier with wide eyes beneath his masked face.

"Amazing..." of course, his nerd brain couldn't help but marvel at what was in front of him. It wasn't something outside of the realm of possibility to him, in fact, he was certain he could have made something similar if he wasn't out doing the fighting. However, it was nonetheless amazing to see right in front of him.

Spider-Man then retracted the symbiote from his body and forced his hand through it. It still hurt, but his Spider-Matter combined with the symbiote being under his skin allowed him to quickly move his hand through in the same way that one could move their hand inside a flame without being harmed if they did it fast enough. "Deranged might be able to pass through since the symbiotes are inside of them, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue if we guard the perimeter."

"Dr. Beck. Thank you." Spider-Man told the scientist without looking back. "What you did in the past isn't very forgivable, but I am grateful for your help. Oscorp is safe now because of you."

"O-oh, Thank you, Mr. Spider-Man. For giving me a chance." Dr. Beck bowed his head slightly as he spoke.

"Thank Osborn and Silk. They're the ones that gave it to you. I was dead when you did what you did after all."

"Right. Thank you, Ms... Silk. Mr. Osborn, thank you." Dr. Beck was sincere, he was truly grateful for getting the chance to right his past wrong. He just wanted to help people, that's why he did what he did. He realized he was wrong after the fact, and he was glad to serve the time that he felt he deserved. However, this second shot at helping everyone allowed him to begin forgiving himself. "Well, we should get to work on the complete version, right? The one that covers the city?"

"Yes. Silk, bring our friends and family here now that it's safe. I'll work on bringing in civilians." as Spider-Man spoke, Lily chimed in through his earpiece with news about the corpse.

"They've identified the corpse..." Lily's tone told everyone all they needed to know. Nonetheless, she continued.

"It's not him. Flash is still out there."

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