Marvel: The Ultimate Superman-Chapter 156. Symbiotes: Perfect Tools for Genetic Recognition

Chapter 156 - 156. Symbiotes: Perfect Tools for Genetic Recognition

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As Nolan secured the final symbiote containers, he turned to Tony Stark.

"These things aren't from around here. I'll be taking them back for study."

Tony blinked, arms folded, a mix of concern and curiosity flickering in his eyes. "Right... well, they seem dangerous. You sure you don't need backup?"

Nolan smirked. "If you want in, just say so. But I don't trade for free."

"...What do you want?"

"Your nanotech schematics."

Tony's brow twitched.

Nolan floated off, the four sealed symbiote capsules levitating behind him. Left in the aftermath were Drake, Tony, and a still-shaken Peter.

Drake fumed. "This is theft! I'm calling the authorities this is a hostile seizure of corporate property!"

BOOM.

Tony casually raised his repulsor and pointed it at Drake's chest.

"I already called them. And guess what? You're under arrest. Unauthorized human experimentation, trafficking of extraterrestrial organisms, and endangering the public."

"You're siding with him?! He stole my research!"

Tony's face hardened. "You were running death labs under a PR banner. You're lucky he didn't vaporize the building."

Drake wilted, suddenly aware of his own fragility now that Riot was gone. Just minutes ago, he'd tasted the strength of a god.

Now? Just another powerless man in a suit.

Meanwhile, Tony turned to Peter.

"Well?"

Peter rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh... no more webs."

"...Seriously?"

"My shooters—gone. I ditched them when Venom took over."

Tony sighed. "I'll build you a suit later. Something less... Halloween."

...

Back at Oscorp's secure lab, Nolan stepped through a spacefold and returned directly to his workspace.

"Norman," he said, "Find Dr. Dora Skirth. She's the only one who had actual insight into symbiote behavior."

Norman nodded and disappeared.

A.E.L.R.'s screen lit up with the Life Foundation's full symbiote logs—everything from Riot and Venom to the two others: Screamer (yellow) and Shade (blue).

"Riot and Venom showed the highest aggression and adaptive capability. Blue was stable. Yellow... minimal viability."

Nolan nodded. "Still worth dissecting."

He walked over to the containment unit.

Riot slammed against the reinforced glass, shrieking in distorted human mimicry. "You dare imprison the heir to the Symbiote Empire?! I am Riot!"

"I know exactly who you are," Nolan replied coldly. "And I know what you're running from."

He narrowed his eyes.

"Your comet. Still orbiting, isn't it?"

That shut Riot up.

Nolan didn't know if Knull, the symbiote god, had reached Earth yet or if this was just a fragment of his will. But he did know one thing: if Knull was the real deal, the Multiversal defense protocols would already be in motion.

After all, Earth was special.

If he'd landed anywhere else, like one of Thanos' conquests, he'd be dust by now.

"You Earthlings will be consumed," Riot snarled. "Knull will burn your sky black. You cannot stop what's coming."

Nolan rolled his eyes. "I've heard scarier things from toddlers."

He turned his attention back to the lab bench.

"Let's start the work."

He summoned a sphere of [Dragon Chi], using it like a sterile glove, and began the dissection of the yellow symbiote Screamer. It didn't resist much, its form sluggish in Earth's oxygen-rich air.

"Fascinating..."

Screamer's genetic code wasn't double-helix like humans. It was ring-based, layered in concentric biochemical loops.

More intriguing?

It had absorbed rabbit DNA specifically genes enhancing muscle elasticity and jump response.

"Genetic identification and selective assimilation... you don't just bond with hosts you learn from them."

He carefully resealed Screamer and summoned Venom next.

This one thrashed wildly.

Venom had bonded with Spider-Man and it showed.

His movements were sharp. Fast. Instinctive.

"Behave," Nolan warned. "Or I'll throw you into a nuclear furnace and see how long it takes to vaporize your ego."

Venom stopped.

Symbiotes weren't dumb. They understood pain. They remembered it.

Nolan cut off a piece of the biomass and began scanning.

"...Traces of Parker's DNA."

He zoomed in.

"...But no active replication of his enhanced traits. Just dormant genetic markers."

"Because," Nolan muttered, "Peter's powers aren't genetic. They're metaphysically connected to the Spider Totem."

If Venom had bonded with someone like Luke Cage or Jessica Jones, maybe it could've cloned their strength.

But not mystic-origin abilities.

Symbiotes, he concluded, could only replicate physical, scientifically grounded powers, not those rooted in the arcane or divine.

That meant: no magic, no cosmic totems, no reality warping.

But as tools for genetic scanning?

"They're perfect," Nolan whispered.

"These organisms... could revolutionize gene tracking."

They were self-adapting microscopes. Organic analysts. They could live inside a subject and report real-time changes.

Not just powerful...

But priceless.

"Begin full genomic mapping," he said to A.E.L.R. "We're about to make history."

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