“Peter I get it, I really do, but right now, I want to fix this.” Gwen slid a chart with the Conners formula on it. Since the attack and her recovery, Gwen had been working harder than normal. She wanted to make sure that if Harry attacked again, the people that lived in the warehouse were safe.

She wanted the formula fixed. If everyone was Enhanced, even if the formula wasn't as effective as what Norman used, it would still be an edge. The Anti-Venom would be less effective, and they would be harder to capture.

Which was what Peter did not want. He chose to fight. He chose to spend time as Venom on the streets. He didn't want to force anyone to take the formula or fight if they didn't want to. Which had led to the pair arguing since Gwen had recovered.

“But college is important,” he argued. Fighting Harry was important, but so was having something to actually fight for.

Since the Goblin incident, Gwen hadn’t been back to college. She had used not just the incident itself but settling her father's affairs as an excuse. The college had been forgiving, at first, but she had almost taken a month off. Now they had started to send letters asking when she was coming back.

A high-profile student like Gwen was good for their image. She showed that she could overcome adversity. Even working at Oscorp wasn't a black mark, as it had been eclipsed by her work at Stark Industries. Not only that but she was even better for their bank balance. Student enrollment was up and so were donations. Having her at events and fundraisers would draw even more.

Sitting back and holding her cup, she shook her head. “Pete, I have Curt freaking Conners here to help, and Liv, when you give her a chance to get out of bed. Why go back to that place when I can learn so much more here?” Gwen argued again. Peter could be stubborn when he wanted, and right now he was past that and into belligerent.

Peter sighed, leaning back in his chair, “Well, for one, you won’t get a diploma sitting at home.”

“I've got Stark and this. Once I crack it, with Poison, then we can make so much money it won't matter if I don't have a diploma. Pete, please, just, not this, not now.”

Sighing he had to agree. “Fine, but at least let them know you won't be back. Stop putting it off.” Standing he dumped out the rest of his coffee and left his mug by the sink. “Aunt May and Curt are coming over, Curt wants to talk to you again anyway.”

Since the engagement, Curt had become a mentor to Gwen. She readily soaked up anything and everything he had to teach. As usual, Curt and Gwen worked on the serum, modifying and checking each new iteration of the formula.

⁂

May was off out making plans for the wedding while Gwen and Curt sat staring at a machine. Peter had been taken to one side, given the good news and decided that he would stay out of Gwen's way for the rest of the day.

Curt was now working at the same University Gwen was enrolled at, scuppering her plans to drop out. She had been contacted by Pepper, who told her the same. Her work at Stark Industries was good, great even, but she needed her diploma. It wasn't even veiled as a subtle threat, something Pepper was good at. This time she had been blunt.

"Finish your diploma or your name can't go on the cream."

Gwen threw her hands up once more as the machine beeped. She wasn't mad at the sample. She knew it would come back as a failure. She was just mad. She wanted to stay home, work for three or four hours in peace and then screw Peter's brains out. She wanted the life Liv had. Eat, fuck, and be merry.  Instead, she had been told it was work, get fucked, and be miserable. She knew it wasn't going to be like that. She just wanted to complain for a while.

"Sample Seven-Six-Five incompatible."

Gwen groaned and slumped against the table. They had tried over fifty new samples of formula, and none of them worked.

Curt shook his head. He'd been at this for years, and he knew that it would be years before they found a working version of the formula. Gwen was smart, possibly even smarter than he was, but that didn't matter. The formula was a delicate balancing act. One, that with Gwen's impatience, she was currently failing.

She took a deep breath and started to unload the machine. Every sample of formula they created was tested on donor cells and then destroyed. There would be no repeat of Norman's stupidity.

We have the anti-venom formula, we have the data from Poison, and the new Conners formula. So why don't they work?

It was the question that had them all stumped. After sampling the suppressant Connors used, Gwen worked on its formula first. It would be a way to cure anyone like Norman. That was an easy task. Crating a flushing agent took Gwen a month. It would de-power anyone and had little effect on anyone with formula in their system.

The hard part was the actual formula. They had the original Erskine formula, along with the gamma-based Banner formula. From there, they had reverse-engineered each one in turn but each one had the same flaw. No matter how they combined or changed the formula, they all had side effects.  When it was applied to living cells it killed or mutated them. Osborn, Banner, and Curt were living proof of that.

Seeing Gwen frustrated, Curt stuck his head out of her lab and called over to Peter. “Uh, Peter, why don't you get us all something to eat okay? We've been at this for what feels like days and a break would do us all good, maybe some tacos or pizza?"

Peter stood, checked his pockets and got organised to head out. While Gwen had been lax in returning to college, Peter had been busy passing his exams. With Liv working during the day, she could watch as the printers spewed out circuit boards. Each one was a prototype for the CLS. Each one was a step closer to his goal.

Gwen was sitting at the breakfast table, holding her head in her hands. She stared at the anti-venom formula and the list of treatments she had received. She leant back and spotted Peter sliding a jacket on and she blinked, stared at the paper and then grinned.

She sat bolt upright, “Wait, Pete! I need you."

“Uh, so, what's up?” he rubbed the back of his head. He knew

"Undress," Gwen ordered.

"You know, Curt is still here," he said with a small grin and she just rolled her eyes at him and tutted. He knew she just meant his arm. He slid off the jacket and his symbskin t-shirt rolled back.

"Sit." As he did she snapped a rubber band around his arm. Gwen drew a blood sample and headed into the lab. Curt watched her as she searched for the Erskine formula, added Peter's blood and fed it into the machine. The machine dinged.

"Sample Seven-Six-Six Compatible."

Gwen then took the same sample and squirted a dose of the de-powering formula into it. Once it was back in the machine, she started the cycle again and after a moment it dinged,

"Sample Seven-Six-Seven Compatible."

"Fuck YES!" She yelled and Peter shrugged.

“It's you, doofus. Your cells were bonded with a Symbiote, not enhanced by the formula. You don't have a mutagenic compound in your blood. Whatever the Symbiote did to make you, well you, changed the formula. Your powers are a blank slate, with no remnant animal DNA in the retrovirus to screw up the process. It's you Pete, the answer is you."

Once she realised it was so simple. They had worked from the theory that both Peter and Felicia were enhanced by the Oscorp formula. But that wasn't true. When he was bitten he was tested for suitability for hosting a Symbiote, and that made a huge difference.  It stripped and fused him to the Symbiote, trying to Enhance them both and failing. It merged their cells but burned itself out in the process. Peter wasn't enhanced, he wasn't a host. He was Venom. There was no difference between them. No Peter and Venom, just Peter.

They had used his blood to repair and regenerate Poison but Gwen knew it was his actual symbcells. The strange cells in his blood, that replaced his immune system, gave him his regeneration. It now seemed they could be used on other people as well.

Poison giggled, yes yes, we drink him and become stronger.

Gwen figured as much. Anything with a high concentration of cells was a source. His cells could energise theirs and, while she would never admit it, it was why they all enjoyed oral sex so much. It was socially acceptable cannibalism. Her symbiote was absorbing the healing and regenerative properties of Peter's sperm.

Gwen even wondered if once they used the formula to repair Curt if Peter could undergo the process again. She wasn't sure if his DNA was stable or if it would mutate and split like a humans would.

Shit, she thought to herself, he's not human anymore.

They had glossed over that fact many months ago when they looked at his cells. Peter was a new species now. A symbiote progenitor. If her theory was correct he might even be able to spawn more than once, unlike his offspring.

Curt had just closed his phone after ordering food for the group and came in to see Gwen grinning. "What did I miss?"

“I got it. Curt,” Gwen shouted happily. “It was Peter. When he used his blood to cure me of the anti-venom it didn't just heal me, but Poison and Ravage. It was the key. Look,” Gwen pulled out the recorded chemical data and Curt stared at it, his mouth hanging open.

“With this, I can get my arm back. We can fix Liv and my arm,” he stood and hugged Gwen, spinning her around. Peter was never conscious of Conners as a threat. He was happy with May, and Gwen and his relationship were of student and teacher. Moments like these just put a smile on his face.

“Uh, but you, can we maybe get the needle out of me now?” He asked and Gwen laughed,

"big baby, it's just a needle" as she undid the cannula and rubber hose. She leaned in closer. “I'll need a transfusion from somewhere else later and Peter kissed the side of her face,

Curt cleared his throat, “I'm not deaf you know.”

Gwen just frowned and shook her head, “spoilsport.”

This was it, the one chance they had to make sure everyone was safe and it was all thanks to her.

Peter left them to work. While he could easily follow the science, it wasn't his passion. That was next door in the robotics lab. He and Liv were carefully dissecting the Goblin Armour and were working on their own version. Free of the flaws and bugs that had been purposefully designed into it, it was being custom-built for a host.

⁂

Once Gwen and Curt had gone through their usual series of safety tests. Double and then triple-checked everything it was time to make a decision.

Curt volunteered to go first with the serum Gwen produced. Its blue colour sparkled like liquid sapphires in the bottle.

"Although Peter, a word." Peter nodded. "I would like to keep my strength and powers. No offence dear boy but this," Curt motioned to the lab set up, "is a disaster waiting to happen. I won't risk your aunt over my own foolish pride."

Peter frowned, "We keep her safe."

Curt nodded, "I know, I know, but not always. Not every day and with Harry probably going to make good on his promise, I won't take no for an answer."

Peter sighed and looked over at Liv. She lifted the lab report but shrugged. "It's your call dear, but you know he's right."

Peter nodded. "We can at least give you your arm back?" Peter asked and Gwen shook her head.

"Selectively regrowing a limb would require us to remove the Lizard formula. It's all or nothing." Gwen said sadly, "So?"

Curt rubbed where his arm was, "I can wait until Peter finishes his project. You are still working on it yes?"

Peter nodded, "Sure, but it's a few years out."

Curt nodded but still smiled, "it's been almost twenty years Peter. I think I can wait."

"So, someone who's Enhanced but can live without it?" Peter asked. Gwen nodded. They both knew exactly who that was.

⁂

Felicia sat in a hospital gown, "You know I could just sit here naked. I don't care."

"Curt cares." Gwen snapped.

Felicia shrugged, "I doubt it. He's all googly for May. I mean, who wouldn't be."

Peter groaned, "Do not even."

Felicia laughed, "Oh come on Pete. I mean, it's like she gets younger every time we see her."

Gwen raised an eyebrow at Felicia, "And there goes all sympathy for you. Have fun." She jabbed the needed into Felicia's arm and injected the de-powering serum.

"What the hell Gwen? That hurt." Felicia began her rant but stopped, "Uh." She dashed from the room and Gwen smirked as she heard Felicia throwing up downstairs.

"Yeah, no joking about banging Pete's Aunt.”