This was catastrophically bad news.
Especially for Brumley and Kit, who sat in stunned silence, processing what Lord Tyger had just told them.
Karen—their leader, their friend, the heart of the resistance—had traded herself to save them. She'd made a deal with the High Evolutionary, offering her body for his experiments in exchange for their lives.
And the person who'd made this nightmare possible was Delwald. Brumley's own brother.
"I'm ashamed," Brumley whispered, huddled in the corner with his knees drawn to his chest. His voice was hollow, scraped raw. "Ashamed of Delwald. Ashamed of myself for believing, even for a second, that he was still the brother I knew."
Lord Tyger turned his attention to Mantis, who stood with her back against the stone wall, antennae drooping.
"I gave you a chance to escape when I released your companions," he said quietly. "You didn't take it. Now I can't help you anymore." He gestured to the energy bars confining them. "As you can see, I'm a prisoner myself."
But despite his imprisonment—despite being scheduled for execution at dawn—something in Lord Tyger's posture suggested relief. As if losing his freedom had paradoxically freed his conscience.
"You can still make amends," Mantis said softly, her black eyes studying him with that unsettling empathic intensity. "You can stop being a spectator. If you're willing to help, our chances improve dramatically."
"No." Lord Tyger's response was immediate, reflexive. "I cannot betray my creator."
"You already have betrayed him," Mantis said, gentle but relentless. "Every piece of intelligence you fed the resistance. Every sabotaged operation. Every warning you gave them."
She stepped closer, antennae twitching. "But you remain loyal to the ideals of knighthood. Honor. Duty. Protection of the innocent."
Lord Tyger said nothing.
"You know the High Evolutionary is wrong," Mantis continued. "Whether human or beastman, beastman or baseline—hearts are imperfect. Incomplete. There is good and evil in everyone."
"You're right," Lord Tyger admitted, lowering his head. The lightning-bolt marking between his eyes seemed dimmer in the cell's poor light. Shame, perhaps. Or the weight of a decision finally made.
He raised his head, meeting her gaze. "But it's too late to act on that understanding. This prison cannot be broken from inside. The only way your friends could reach us is by being captured themselves."
"That's not necessarily true," Otto said with a slight smile.
Immediately, the cell's energy bars flickered and died. The prison door slid open with a pneumatic hiss.
A massive lizardman in stolen guard armor strode through the entrance, head held high, scales gleaming in the emergency lighting.
"Did you miss me, Dr. Otto?" the lizardman asked in a voice that was definitely not reptilian.
"You're late, Agent Venom," Otto said dryly.
"Wow, such a strict and demanding teacher." The lizardman's form rippled and dissolved. Black fluid retracted from the borrowed body, leaving an unconscious beastman guard sprawled on the floor. The symbiote reformed into Flash Thompson, his actual body emerging from the living costume. "I'm really glad I didn't take your classes in college."
Flash stood there in his Plumber uniform, Venom forming a tactical vest across his chest. The symbiote's white spider emblem pulsed slightly, proof of the permanent bond they'd forged.
"That's because your grades were never good enough," Otto said. "I don't waste time teaching idiots. Now open the other cells."
Flash moved to the control panel and pressed several buttons. The remaining energy barriers dropped, freeing everyone.
Lord Tyger, Brumley, and Kit stared in shocked silence.
"Everyone, this is Agent Venom," Otto said, gesturing to Flash. "Brumley, you met him briefly during the nuclear plant operation. Flash Thompson, this is Lord Tyger. Due to circumstances, he's one of us now."
"Nice to meet you." Flash extended his hand to the golden tiger. Venom formed extra tendrils along his arm to emphasize the alien nature of the greeting. "How does it feel to abandon darkness and join the light?"
Lord Tyger shook the offered hand cautiously. "It feels... uncertain."
"Let's postpone the social bonding," Otto interrupted. "We have two critical objectives. First, install the diffusion device and disperse Dr. Connors's degeneration agent citywide. Second, rescue Karen before the High Evolutionary completes whatever procedure he's performing."
His mechanical arms spread, emphasizing the impossibility of their situation. "Neither objective is simple. The second especially—we'll definitely face the High Evolutionary directly. None of us are his match individually. Even combined, we're outclassed."
He focused on the symbiote. "Venom, report. What did you find?"
Earlier, while the team infiltrated the castle, Venom had been pursuing a different lead—ancient symbiote traces that predated Counter-Earth's current civilization.
"Found exactly what you predicted, Doc," Venom said, his toothy grin spreading wider than Flash's human mouth should allow. The symbiote's head extended from Flash's shoulder, speaking independently while Flash remained in control of their shared body.
"Ancient Klyntar deposits," Venom continued, voice resonating with predatory satisfaction. "Not conscious individuals—more like parasitic spores in suspended animation. Genetic memory banks without active personalities."
"I took control of them first. Considered using them as an army—thousands of hosts, all under my command. But then I realized quantity wasn't what we needed."
The symbiote's grin became almost feral. "So I devoured them instead."
Black tendrils erupted from Flash's body, demonstrating. They moved faster than before, sharper, more controlled. The symbiote's mass had visibly increased—Venom could form larger constructs, split into more appendages, cover more area.
"I'm hundreds of times stronger now," Venom boasted. "And I've overcome the traditional weaknesses—fire and sonic attacks barely register anymore. The ancient Klyntar had adapted to this planet's harsh conditions. Those resistances are mine now."
The symbiote's eyes narrowed, focusing on Otto with unsettling intelligence. "I'd like to see just how powerful this so-called 'High Evolutionary' really is."
"Don't get cocky," Flash said, reasserting control. His voice overlapped with Venom's, creating an eerie harmony. "That guy absorbed alien genetic templates. Even with the upgrade, we might not win."
"Which brings us to strategy," Otto said. "We split up."
Lord Tyger started to volunteer for the High Evolutionary confrontation when Venom suddenly grabbed the tiger's head and twisted it completely around—360 degrees.
"Like this?" Venom asked innocently.
Lord Tyger stood frozen, head facing backward, eyes wide with shock.
"Stop showing off," Otto snapped. Venom laughed and released Lord Tyger, who immediately spun his head back to the correct position, looking deeply unsettled.
"Here's the plan," Otto continued. "Lord Tyger, Mantis, and I will confront the High Evolutionary. Brumley and Kit, you'll take the diffusion device to the top of Wundagore Castle and activate the dispersal system."
He detached the canister from his mechanical arm—the device he'd been hiding since their capture—and handed it to Brumley.
"Wait," Venom said, confused. "What about me?"
"You're on rescue," Otto said. "The High Evolutionary doesn't know you exist. That's a tactical advantage we can't waste. While we keep him occupied, you find Karen and extract her."
His expression grew grave. "Listen carefully. Both missions are extremely difficult. The High Evolutionary is an unimaginably powerful opponent—possibly comparable to Thanos. Right now, we have no reinforcements. No backup. No cavalry."
He looked at Brumley and Kit. "For you two, every guard in this castle is your enemy. All I can offer is better equipment."
Otto began removing pieces of his Plumber tactical gear—energy deflection vest, enhanced goggles, signal jammer.
"What about you?" Brumley asked, watching the equipment pile grow.
"These are useless against the High Evolutionary," Otto said flatly. "His power operates on a completely different scale. But they'll help you reach the tower and activate the device."
He met their eyes. "That device must be activated. Understood?"
"Understood!" Brumley and Kit said in unison.
The group split up immediately. Brumley and Kit headed toward the castle's service stairs, while Otto, Lord Tyger, and Mantis moved deeper into the laboratory levels.
"Dr. Octavius," Lord Tyger said as they navigated the corridors, "do you actually have a plan? The High Evolutionary's power is overwhelming. We could be defeated in seconds."
"You're absolutely right," Otto acknowledged. "He looks human, but he's integrated countless alien genetic templates. Enhanced strength, durability, psychic abilities—he's effectively a living god."
One of Otto's mechanical arms gestured expressively. "But he still has weaknesses."
Lord Tyger's ears perked forward. "What weaknesses?"
He'd served the High Evolutionary for years, studied him closely, and never identified a vulnerability. How had this outsider found one so quickly?
"His soul," Otto said simply.
The golden tiger looked confused. "I don't understand."
"No matter what his physical body becomes," Otto explained, "no matter how much power he accumulates—his soul is still human. The very species he despises and claims to have transcended."
Otto's smile was grim. "He possesses all the worst traits of humanity he constantly lectures about. Arrogance. Cruelty. Obsession. The need to prove superiority. These aren't beast qualities or alien characteristics—they're profoundly, toxically human."
He gestured to Mantis. "And coincidentally, we have someone here who specializes in manipulating minds and emotions."