Venom The Secrets of a Monster

by Scarlett Michealson

20 years after the events of the Venom documentary, Venom suspects they are being watched and they move to a remote place where they can monitor their surroundings...and train. When a stranger shows up to look for them, things take an odd turn, leading to something Venom nor his host ever thought would be possible...but will their identity be discovered...will the monster come out?

Venom

The Secrets of A Monster

Scarlett Michealson

20 Years Later (After the Venom Film 2018)

I stared at their headstones. The pain was too much to bare. I had gone numb from it. I felt like an emotionless robot. But then I could smile deep down for I knew what had been given to me, what had been left behind, and I knew I wasn't alone.

I put my hand on his headstone and smiled.

"Thank you." I whispered. I turned and walked back to my car. Everyone else had left. I couldn't blame them. This rainy weather was horrible. Thankfully someone brought extra black umbrellas.

As I walked, my mind drifted to other places...

"Red, you and I both know, I'm not going to last much longer. He can't protect me from everything. Death is inevitable." He said, holding my hand and smiling up at me. He looked so pale in his bed.

"But you can't, you said you would live so much longer with him!" I cried, tears running down my face. He shook his head.

"I thought I would, and I did, just not as long as we all hoped. It's okay though. Promise me you'll be okay?" He asked. I nodded. Deep down I knew I would feel better.

"I have something for you." He whispered. I sat closer and nodded.

"What is it" I asked. He sat up a little and coughed.

"Now you listen to me, Red, it has a lot of hitches, so if you don't want it, tell me. I won't be upset." He started. My heart skipped a beat. I knew exactly what it was...and I wanted it.

"Dad!" I burst. He looked up at me, clearly mid-thought.

"Yes?" He asked. I smiled.

"Just do it already." I smiled. He gave me an odd look.

"Red, are you sure?" He asked. I nodded.

"He's family. Of course I'm sure." I replied. Deep down, I had always known.

My father took my hand in his, looked at me, sighed, and then closed his eyes. I watched, eyes wide open.

"Goodbye." He whispered. Suddenly his arm started to turn black, the spots growing bigger until his arm was covered, then suddenly it started to 'grow' onto me, spreading up my arm and then covering my body. When it was completely off of Dad, it faded, the spots growing smaller, until it was gone, as if it had buried itself 'in' me.

"Good. Now I feel better." He whispered. I looked at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He smiled.

"I feel better knowing you won't be alone." He smiled. I nodded and another tear crept down my cheek.

"I love you." He whispered. I nodded.

"I love you too, Dad. Thank you for him, for everything." I wept, and I kissed him on the head.

I watched as he leaned his head back against his pillow, and closed his eyes, and when he sighed, he passed away. I cried for days, and he never said anything, never complained, nothing.

The doctors recorded the death of Edward Eugene Brock at 5:02pm on the evening of October 8th, 2038. That day was a bitter one. I would miss my father dearly. He was one of my best friends. We had been, especially towards the end, closer than my mother and I ever were. She was good, caring, kind, and sweet, but we had different opinions, which made it difficult at times.

I got in my car and closed the door. For a moment, I stared at the windshield and watched as the water droplets rolled down the tilted glass. Until now, my head had been quiet and I could only hear myself. I tapped my thumb against the steering wheel. It was time.

"Venom." I said out loud. Suddenly, like a computer turning on, something came to life inside me. I felt it, as though it were stretching after being asleep for a long time. Something jolted me and I sat back against my seat. Suddenly, a voice in my head made me smile.

"Redetta." His deep voice replied back. I smiled.

"How are you today?" I smiled.

"Better." His voice came a little more gently. I could feel his emotions. He missed my father as much as I did.

"What do we do now?" He asked. I chuckled.

"Isn't that the question of the day." I replied. I started the car, and we drove home.

The next day, I started work again. People had left cards and all kinds of flowers and other goodies for me. I smiled and thanked them all. They were being nice to me. It wasn't bad, it was just another reminder. Days came and went, and I still felt empty. They always tell you that after something major, you should never make a big life decision, but it became too tempting.

Eventually, as nice as they all were, I just couldn't take my surroundings anymore. I listed my apartment and gave my two-weeks notice. When it sold, which LA apartments sell fast, I moved to a place, I had always wanted to: Canada.

The Canadian wilderness had been a life-long dream, and if Father had still been healthy, we would have lived there together, away from civilization, without fear of getting in the way of mankind, and without fear that they would get in our way.

I bought a small cabin with some good property and away from any town or village. The nearest gas station was ten miles away. I was happy.

"What do you think?" I asked out loud as I unpacked my things and got the little cabin in order.

"It's perfect." He chuckled. "We can do whatever we want out here." I smiled.

"Glad you approve." I giggled.

It took two full days to unpack everything, but when I had, it already felt like home. I nodded. Good.

"Venom?" I asked.

"Yes?" He asked in a devilish voice.

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

"Always." He replied. He was like every guy ever. I grabbed my key, threw it in my pocket and locked the door behind me on my way out. I walked through my 'yard' and straight into the forest. When I had past the first few trees, I paused and looked over my shoulder. No one was around. I was the only 'human' for miles. I smiled to myself.

"Venom." I whispered. "Mask."

"Copy!" He replied, and within seconds my world was dark as he enveloped me in his skin. I could feel him take off, and start running, and when my eyes adjusted, I could see through his. We were passing trees so fast, that they seemed more like a blur. He jumped up a little, hit the ground, and launched himself high into the air, far above the trees. The view was beautiful.

I cried out, "WOOHOO," at the top of my lungs. We hadn't been this free EVER. The feeling was incredible. We hunted for several hours, finding some deer and a smaller bear, which he was pretty happy about. By the time we came back to the house, it was nearly midnight. We always had so much fun together.

As we walked into the backyard, and sighed.

"Venom?" I asked. Without saying anymore, he relaxed and slowly retreated back inside me, until by the time I touched the door-handle, I was completely 'normal' looking again.

Those nights I slept well because it made me so tired. When I finally woke the next morning, it was already 10. I smiled and got up. I opened my laptop and started the coffee. Working from home was ten times better, especially being us.

I sat on my couch all morning and wrote out all my reports while sipping one mug of coffee after the next. We were mildly addicted. After lunch I worked for a few more hours, and by mid-afternoon I was done.

We hunted some more, and so it became a daily routine. The days when he wasn't hungry, we would train and practice being 'better,' being 'good.' Having moved to the forest and only hunting animals was already a huge step towards not eating people, but the cravings remained.

And so we trained, and worked, and ate, and repeated. In the forest we worked to increase our strength. We did mock scenarios, and we tried to befriend certain animals, like squirrels to practice being gentle, kind, and caring. At first Venom wanted no part of it. He wanted to practice killing and speed, but over time he learned what things were important to me, as he had with my father and so we grew to care for each other, we became a team.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned into a year. When we had lived in that little cabin for just over a year, Venom suddenly became paranoid.

Every month I would create a shopping list and drive 25 miles to the grocery store. The store clerks all knew my name and we often spoke when they would check me out. They were all very friendly, and about the only human interaction I ever had. Six months in, I decided to make it a routine that after I went shopping, I would walk across the street and have a few drinks at the local bar, just to see and hear people, music, and remember what socializing was.

After the fourth time at the bar, the bartender learned my name and we would talk now and then. He was a nice older gentlemen. Reminded me of my grandfather a lot.

"Oh, by the way." He said, one night as I sat at the bar drinking my favorite whiskey shots. I looked at him.

"Friend of yours stopped by the other day." He told me. I paused, mid-sip, and lowered the glass.

"And who might that be?" I asked. The old man shrugged.

"Not sure. Fella wouldn't give me his name. He was tall, African, American, wore shades, kind of a shady character, spoke in real short sentences." He explained. My heart was skipping beats.

"Oh, yeah, I know who that is! Funny, he didn't say he was coming up to visit. I'll give him a call. Thanks Frank." I smiled, and I tipped him extra. I left the bar and crossed the street to my truck. When I reached the driver's side door, I paused, my hand on the handle and looked around from under my hood.

"Venom?" I whispered.

"Yes?" He asked.

"You see, smell, hear, anything suspicious that I'm not?" I asked. We looked around, gazing up and down the street.

"Alleyway." He said. My eyes darted to the alley across the street next to the bar. Some shady dude was standing by the backdoor, smoking. The guy was white.

"Nah. Not him." I whispered. I opened the truck, got in, and sped down the street and out of town. I left my headlights off and took many turns before I headed home.

No one followed me that night, but we became very paranoid. For weeks nothing happened, and then one night, that changed.

As we walked out of the forest, Venom retreated into me and I unlocked the door and came inside. We had just gone hunting and I was exhausted. Increasing our strength meant that we also needed to eat more. I locked the door behind me and turned a light on. Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed some milk. It always helped me sleep for whatever dumb reason.

Suddenly someone knocked on our door. I nearly jumped out of my skin, though I managed not to drop the milk. I put it down and looked back at the door. I looked at the time on the microwave. 12:43 a.m. What drunk moron could have possibly found my house, and why did it have to be at this morbidly horrible hour? I sighed and walked over to the window, and looked out from between the curtains.

It was him. The shady African-American with shades. My heart sank.

"Venom?" I whispered.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Killing people is BAD, but we might have to kill this dude, just be ready." I breathed.

"Copy." He replied. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Can I help you?" I asked. The character was tall and he was wearing way too much colon. Something seemed...off, about this guy.

"I'm looking for Redetta Jones?" He asked. I smiled.

"Oh! Sorry! She was my roommate, but she moved out a few months ago. I think she moved to Utah." I smiled fakely at him. He lifted and eyebrow as I tried to close the door, but he put his hand out, and stopped it.

"Nice try Red." He said blankly. I stopped and glared up at him.

"Okay, who are you? And what the hell do you want?" I outright growled at him. The man took a step back, and put his arms up.

"Why do humans always do that?" Venom asked in our head.

"I'll tell you later." I barely whispered through my teeth.

"Look, my name is Nick, Nick Fury. I purposely came un-armed, because I really don't want to tick you off." He explained. I lifted an eyebrow.

"And why don't you want to tick me off?" I asked, growling a little less.

"I think we both know the answer to that." He breathed. I tightened my jaw.

"Okay. Get inside." I glared. I let him in and quickly locked the door behind him.

"Who else knows you're here?" I asked. He looked around my cabin.

"No one. Not even my team." He replied. I looked back at him.

"Oh, great, you have a team?! And who might they be?" I demanded. He took a step back again.

"I can tell you, I'm not from the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, or anything like that. Trust me. None of them know where I am, or that you are here. Okay? Promise." He said. I could tell he was nervous. He also didn't seem like the nervous type.

"And what's with the shades? It's dark out." I nodded at his face. He paused, sighing.

"They're just my...cover." He paused, and as he did, he took them off. I gasped, standing back.

"Holy Crap! You're that dude! I've seen you on Tv! You're with the Avengers!" I freaked, backing myself against the wall in front of the kitchen. He sighed.

"And that's why I wear the shades." He replied. I nodded.

"Yeah, I get that now." I sighed. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I'm here for you both." He started. I lifted an eyebrow.

"For who? It's just me living here." I replied. He shook his head.

"You know that's not true, don't you?" He replied. I looked around the house.

"I'm the only person living here." I argued. He chuckled.

"I wasn't referring to another person." He smiled.

"I like this guy." Venom commented in my head. I kept a straight face.

"I was referring to him." Nick finished. I tightened my jaw. No one knew I had Venom.

"Who...?" I breathed, afraid.

"The voice in your head, the one making you stronger, deadlier...the one called Venom." He replied. Our hearts stopped.

"How...how do you know...about him?!" I started to panic, backing away, I could feel him starting to take over, his black skin crawling up my arms and neck. My eyes flickered.

"Wow! Red! Wait! Please!" He said, backing away, his hands up again. Venom relaxed, and my arms returned to normal.

"I knew your father." He said more quietly. I stared at the tall and afraid man.

"He never told me about you." I growled.

"I asked him not to. Back then, things were...different." He replied.

"How did you know him?" I asked.

"We...worked, together. He trained with my team." He started to explain. I gave him a strange look.

"My father was an Avenger?" I asked. He nodded.

"Believe it or not, yes. Yes he was." He ended. I held up my hand.

"Hold on a second." I said, and I turned away.

"Venom...do you recognize him?" I quietly asked.

"Yes, I do." He replied.

"Are you sure? Did he really work with you and Dad?" I asked.

"Yes. I remember him now. We trained with Hulk and Thor." He finished. I took a deep breath.

"So he is a friend?" I asked.

"Yes he is Redetta." Venom assured me. I nodded.

"Okay." I relaxed. I looked back at Nick Fury.

"Wow." He breathed. "You really are your Father's daughter." I smiled.

"Now, We are Venom." We smiled, for even Venom's voice could be heard saying those words. Nick backed himself against the wall, as I walked up to him, getting up really close.

"Is that why you are so afraid?" I asked. He nodded.

"Your Father's strength...it was unparalled..." He breathed, nodding frantically. I took a step back.

"Yes, well, now that strength belongs to us." We replied. He took a deep breath and straightened up again.

"Don't be afraid. We won't bite your head off." I chuckled and I turned and walked into the kitchen.

"Right." He said.

"So what do you want from use?" We asked. He leaned against the doorway.

"Your help. The Avengers might be going up against something big soon. Thor says he keeps seeing strange things and they all lead back to earth. We're not sure yet, but we need all the help we can get. Please." He asked. I closed the refrigerator door and looked over my shoulder.

"You want us, to join the Avengers? The good-guys? The...superheroes?" We asked. He nodded.

"That's exactly what I want." He nodded. I walked over to the kitchen sink and looked out the window and frowned. We had been working really hard, and ultimately the Avengers was our goal, but were we ready for this? I sighed.

"We don't know Fury." We said. "We can't be...trusted. We're not...good...enough." We sighed.

"Red, that's just it. None of them were good enough either, but as a team, they helped each other to better themselves. I'm very sure we can help you. It helped your father a lot." He replied. I tapped my fingers against the edge of the sink as we thought.

"Redetta?" Venom's deep voice asked. I nodded.

"Do it. Your Father would want you to." He encouraged me. I nodded again.

"And you're up to it?" I asked quietly.

"As long as we're bonded, always." He replied. I smiled.

"You're a good symbiote, Venom." I breathed.

"Thank you." He replied. I looked back at Fury, whose eyes were wide.

"We'll go." I responded. He nodded.

"Then we better get going. There's no time to waste." He said, standing up straight. I could tell he was as shocked as ever.

I was surprised at what we found, parked, at the end of my driveway. The aircraft he had come in was huge, and incredibly modern-looking. I lifted an eyebrow.

"How the heck did you get across the border with this?" I asked. He chuckled.

"The Avengers don't have boundaries. We are international, therefore the border did not matter." He smiled. I nodded. Made sense...I thought.

We flew through the night, and as we did, I curled up on a couch in the ship and fell asleep. I wondered what tomorrow would bring. I wondered where we were going. I wondered what they would be life. If they would like me. If they would fear us. If we could be good, by their standards.

"Red? Red? We're here." I heard a voice saying, suddenly my eyes flew open and Venom had Nick pinned against the wall in less than a second, holding him by the throat.

"Holy!" Nick cried, hands up. "It's just me!" As soon as we realized, we let go, and Venom shrunk back into me.

"Sorry! So sorry! I'm really sorry! We didn't mean to...you...you just startled us...!" I started to panic, my heart rate increasing. He stepped forward, and grabbed my shoulders.

"Red!" He cried, shaking me. I shut up real fast. "It's okay! You didn't hurt me! It's okay! It was my fault! I should have let you wake up on your own. Your Dad did it to me too once, no worries! Relax! Take a deep breath." He told me. I nodded, and took a few deep breaths. He let me clean up quick and then we walked down from the ship.

He had landed on a huge tarmac, with a massive-industrial-looking building on one side and a forest surrounding us. The sun was up high in the sky, and I noticed an incredibly large boulder sitting by the tree line. For whatever reason it looked out of place. I frowned.

"Are you ready to meet them, or do you need some time?" He asked. I looked back at him.

"Maybe a few minutes?" I asked. He nodded.

"Take your time, I'll go find them all, and talk to them. See you inside." He smiled and I watched as he walked across the tarmac and up a flight of stairs and into the building. I sighed and looked back at the forest and sun. I wondered how far we were from civilization. We didn't want to risk anything...

"You've got this." His deep voice whispered. I smiled.

"But do we?" I asked. He paused.

"Yes. I will work hard." He assured me. I nodded.

"Thank you." I smiled. "Ready?" I asked.

"As ready as you are." He said. I chuckled and turned to face the building. He had his funny moments.

Climbing the stairs, I could feel my heart racing.

"I can smell fear." He told me. I tightened my jaw.

"You're not helping." I replied.

"Oh, sorry." He said, and he was quiet.

I opened the door at the top of the stairs and walked into the building. Everything was modern, clean, sterile, and grey. I looked around and then started walking down the hallway. Sooner or later I would run into someone.

As I walked down the hallway, I suddenly saw a massive gap in one side, like a huge doorway into an even bigger room. As I approached the massive doorway, I could hear voices talking quietly. I stopped at the edge of the doorway, and took a few deep breaths. These were the Avengers. They were superheroes. They were all good, no great. We were nothing. We were a villain, a monster.

"I smell fear." Venom said. I sighed.

"You just said that." I said through my teeth.

"No. I mean, from them." He explained. I looked at the doorway.

"Well we are not going to hurt them. Right?" I said.

"Right. No biting heads off anymore." He repeated back.

"Right." I finished, smiling. I nodded to myself. We could do this.

Slowly we turned the corner, my hand on the wall, and looked into the massive space. Fifty or more yards away stood a small group of people, standing in a circle, all talking. Fury stood among them, talking. Suddenly someone in the group cleared their throat, and everyone looked back at us. We stepped back, nervous.

"It's okay! Come on over!" Fury called, waving his hand. I nodded and started walking towards them. The group opened up a space for me as I walked up.

"Are you good?" Nick asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, we're good." I smiled, rubbing my arms together.

"We?" Asked one of them. He was tall, and good-looking, I also thought he looked like Captain America, which it was likely that he was, being these were the Avengers.

"Yes. My other-side and I. We are Venom." I gently smiled. The others all looked at each other.

"Wow. Cool." Another one said. She had short, curly hair.

"Thanks." I replied. "My name is Redetta. People I know call me Red." I finished. They nodded.

"I'm Natalie, a.k.a. Black Widow." She went first. I nodded.

"I'm Thor." Thor said next, starting the circle.

"Steve Rogers, a.k.a Captain America." The good-looking dude replied. I knew it.

"Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man."

"Bruce Banner, a.k.a. The Incredible Hulk."

"Vision."

"Peter Parker, a.k.a. Spiderman." As he spoke, Venom suddenly jerked and I stepped back.

"Wow, big guy, relax." I whispered. Nick looked at me.

"What's wrong?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I know him." Venom said.

"You know who?" I asked.

"Spiderman." He replied. I looked at Peter.

"We'll talk about that later. Let me talk to them." I told him.

"Fine." He said, and he was quiet. By now everyone had weird looks on their faces.

"Wait...who were you talking to?" Thor asked.

"She was talking to him, to Venom." Peter suddenly said. I looked at him. "He was talking about me, wasn't he?" He asked. I nodded.

"You two know each other?" Thor asked. Peter chuckled.

"You could say that." He replied.

"Anyways, I'm Wanda." Said the long-haired girl next to Peter. I nodded.

"King T'Challa, a.k.a. Black Panther."

"Clinton Bart, a.k.a. Hawk Eye." He said, finishing the circle. I nodded.

"Nice to meet you all." We replied. They all nodded.

"It's nice to meet you...both?" Banner asked. I nodded.

"Yes, we use 'I' and 'we' interchangeably, so it doesn't matter a whole lot. Venom prefers 'we', I don't really care." I explained. They nodded.

"So...Venom...how do you guys exactly...work, or...exist?" Steve asked. I smiled.

"Venom is what we call a parasite. I am what, him and I like to call, his 'ride.'" I explained. They all nodded.

"So...do you just always look like this and he's inside...or what?" Clinton asked. I shook my head.

"No...sometimes he 'comes out' and 'takes over.'" I replied.

"What does that look like?" He asked.

"Yeah, can you like, show us?" Black Widow asked. I looked at Fury.

"That might not be a good idea." He said. "I mean, how do you feel? Are you up to it, or not yet?" He asked, looking at me. I shrugged.

"Theoretically we should be ready. We've been training for months." I replied. He nodded.

"Training? For what?" Steve asked. I looked back at him.

"To be...friendly to humans...even when we are...hungry." I replied.

"Wait...what?!" Peter freaked.

"We can talk about all that later, just show us!" Black Widow insisted. I sighed and took a step back.

"Venom?" I asked, looking down.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Are you up for this?" I asked.

"Yes. Let's do this." He replied. I smiled and looked around at everyone in the group. I could feel him taking over, my skin gaining black patches which grew bigger.

"Mask!" I said.

"Copy!" He replied out loud and within seconds he had taken over. When my eyes adjusted, I could see the reactions on their faces, as they all stepped back.

"Woah! Jeez! Holy...! What the...?!" Were just some of the expressions used. Someone else said, "Oh...F***!" Which made Venom chuckle.

"I did not realize how...big...you got!" Clinton said, and everyone agreed.

"Yes, we are much bigger than you." Venom's deep voice replied. Multiple eyebrows shot up.

"I can smell fear." Venom commented.

"That's because they don't know you yet. They will. They won't be afraid." Nick Fury reminded him. Venom looked at him.

"Yes. That is good. We are not supposed to bite heads off anymore." Venom said, repeating things I had told him. I sighed. Oh joy.

"Wow! Wait...what?!" Some of them cried, but before things could go further, I took over again, and we shrunk back down, until he disappeared and I alone stood before them again.

"What did he just say?" They asked. I looked around and shrugged.

"Just something we're working on." I replied, I was nervous. I couldn't be. If he sensed that I was afraid he would take over again and hurt someone because "no one intimated his host."

"Did he threaten us?" Thor asked. I shook my head.

"N...no! He...he um..." I started to say, but I was fighting him back now. He could feel my fear and he was getting angry.

"Red?" Nick asked. I looked at him wide-eyed.

"We can't do this." I just said, shaking my head and I turned and ran as fast as I could out of the building. As we exited the door, he took over and we launched ourselves off the staircase, over the tarmac and into the forest beyond the compound.

When we had run over a mile, he jumped into a tree and we remained there, watching the sunset.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Don't be." I replied. "You were just protecting me."

"Yes. And you told me not to hurt them, so all I could do was run." He explained. I smiled.

"And that's okay Venom." I replied.

We sat in the tree for a long time, talking about things and watching the sun go down. When it had, and it became night, we looked back at the compound, way in the distance. We saw a helicopter take off, with a search light, and start to fly towards us.

"They are looking for us. We should go back. We need to be patient with them, and tell them the truth. They will not understand otherwise." I explained. Venom nodded.

"Okay Redetta." He replied and we climbed out of the tree and walked through the forest. When the forest's edge was in sight, I took over again and I walked calmly out of the forest. In the distance I saw someone standing on the staircase up to the door. When they saw me, we waved, and they radioed to someone.

We ran to meet up with each other and as they came into view, I saw that it was Natalie.

"Hey! I'm so glad you came back! We were so worried!" She said, giving me a hug. I smiled. That was nice.

"Sorry we ran off. I just couldn't risk him hurting any of you." I replied. Her eyes went wide as things suddenly made sense to her.

"So that's why you ran off! We thought we had offended you!" She said. I nodded my head.

"I was just so nervous, and there's a lot I have to tell you all. If he senses my fear, he gets angry at whoever is causing it, and he'll take over." I explained. She nodded.

"That makes a lot of sense now." She said and we walked back to the building.

"They're coming back in the chopper now." She said as a helicopter flew over us and landed on the roof. We ascended the stairs and walked through the maze of halls.

As we walked into the main, large, training room, the whole group of them came down the stairs across the room, down from the roof.

"There you are! We were so worried!" Steve called as we met up in the middle of the massive space. They gathered around and I looked at the ground, and then at all of them. Fury ran in from across the room.

"Look, you guys. We need to talk. There are a lot of things that you guys don't know, that we haven't really told people...that um, you might not understand, but we need you all to hear us out." They nodded.

"Anything." Thor said. I nodded and took a deep breath. Venom stayed back, even though he could sense my fear.

"So...we haven't exactly always been like this. It's...um...complicated. There was a time when Venom was more...in control. He um...did a lot of what he wanted to do, and I didn't have much of a say, but eventually he began to recognize that what he was doing was upsetting me, and only making life for us harder. At the time we were...more dangerous...more um, violent. We were more...deadly. We killed a lot of...people." I went quiet after that final sentence. The weight of the room grew so much heavier.

"You've killed people?" Iron Man asked. I nodded.

"On purpose. " I replied.

"How have you changed?" Bruce asked.

"We don't...anymore. That's why we ran away. We don't want to even hurt anyone anymore." I explained. The looks on their faces said it all; the light bulbs were coming on. They were beginning to understand.

"Wow. What made you both change?" Clint asked.

"While Venom was in control when we killed, I could still remember killing them, and it was having a massive emotional impact on me. I was constantly upset, afraid, angry, depressed and many others. My emotions are his emotions, and he really hated always being down, so he started listening to me, and taking my advice and by doing that he made me so much happier. I didn't dread when he took over anymore, so we went out more often which he really liked, and so we grew to listen to one another and to be friends again. We've been hunting animals for over a year and a half now, and things are only getting better. We've gained so much strength as well. Things are...better, not great yet, but better." I finished.

"Why not great?" Fury asked.

"Because we still get...cravings." I replied more quietly. Even Natalie raised her eyebrows.

"Wow." Someone else whispered.

"So...it was almost an addiction?" Bruce asked. I nodded.

"We're sorry Redetta. We had no idea." Vision said, putting his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him and smiled.

"Thanks. It's been a struggle. Going from Villain, from monster to women...to hero." I smiled. They nodded.

"We'll help you. Things will get better." They said. I nodded.

"You guys are okay...with us sticking around then?" I asked. Thor chuckled.

"Yeah, of course we are. Why wouldn't we be?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I just admitted to being a serial killer." I laughed.

"Before I was an Avenger I was a Russian spy. I killed many." Natalie started. I lifted an eyebrow.

"My company was built on war." Tony said.

"I've killed many in battle." Thor said. Steve, Vision, and Clint all nodded at that one.

"I once worked for a villain, and I killed many as well." Wanda also said. I looked around the room.

"Before we were heroes, many of us were villains." Captain America finished. I smiled.

"Wow. I had no idea." I replied. They all nodded.

"So you might be the new kid, but you'll fit right in. You already have all the qualifications, however horrific." Stark admitted. I nodded.

"Thanks everyone." I smiled.

When out little meeting had ended, Natalie grabbed my hand and showed me around. I got to see all the training chambers. Each Avenger had their own space: a massive room, larger than a football stadium. They each had many different objects, all of which were involved in training. Many were strength exercises, but others, like the ropes in Spiderman's space were for technique. As we walked through all of them, everyone had good advice and they all seemed overly friendly. It felt good to know they knew the truth, and they were still so nice, and mostly unafraid.

When we walked up to Spiderman's space, my whole body jolted as Venom forced me to a stop. I blinked as my heart skipped a few beats.

"Woah! Venom!? What is it?" I asked.

"I know him." He said. I looked at Natalie and then up at Peter who was hanging upside-down from some ropes near the ceiling, nearly 50 feet above us.

"What is it?" Natalie asked. I shook my head.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I think we were bonded once." He explained. My eyes got wide. Peter, who was in his late 60's, but as young as ever, swung down, and landed on the ground with barely a sound. I stepped back from him and Natalie, as I took in that news.

"For how long?" I asked.

"Not long. Only a few months. Not even a year. He's how I met your father." Venom told me. I took in a breath as Nat and Peter exchanged worried looks.

"Red, what is it?" Peter asked. I had never truly known the full story of how my father and Venom had bonded, or how they had met.

"Are you sure it's him?" I asked.

"Yes. He...smells the exact same. I could never mistake him. He was an incredibly remarkable human...he was just too good for me at the time. Your father...was not." He told me. I took a deep breath and looked up at Peter.

"It's Venom." I said to both of them, the nervous looks on their faces said everything. They were afraid.

"What about him?" Natalie asked. I was staring into Peter's eyes though, and he knew, I could tell.

"He remembers." Peter whispered. I nodded.

"Says he could never forget you." I replied. He gasped.

"I didn't say anything, because I didn't think he would...remember." Peter explained. I nodded.

"He was the first human I bonded with." Venom's deep voice echoed in our head.

"Oh...wow." I whispered. Peter gave me a funny look, clearly what I was saying did not match what he had said.

"Venom said you were the first human he bonded with." I replied. He nodded.

"That's true." Peter said. Natalie was staring at us both as though we were freaks of nature.

"This is crazy." She breathed. I nodded. "Why don't I show you both your space." She said to us. I nodded and we shuffled off. I had a feeling that conversation wasn't over though. I wanted to talk to him. I had so many questions.

"Do you care about him?" I asked Venom.

"Yes. I care about all my humans. " He replied as we walked down the hall.

"You do?" I asked, amazed.

"Yes. But you and your father more. You are family. He is an old friend." He made an analogy I would understand. I nodded. He did that a lot so I would better understand his emotions.

"Wow. That's cool." I breathed and we kept walking. I was more amazed at his willingness to show emotion than anything else.

Natalie showed us to our new training room. The space was large and open, random obstacles sat in the corners.

"We weren't sure what you would best train on, but we thought we would put some things in here, and figure it out." She said. I nodded.

"Sounds good." I smiled. She nodded.

"Well, I'll let you two be, then." She smiled, and she turned and left us to our own devises.

It took a long time, but we figured out how we should best train. Strength was good, but only if it could be controlled. So we began to train around the others, getting to know each and every one of them so that he would understand and know them, and not attack them in battle. We had to make sure he understood the whole "Good guy vs. Bad guy" thing.

And so we began to train...and train...and train. We trained for several months, everyone working together. They knew we were dangerous, and we took precautions, but even Fury thought we would be ready for a fight...

6 Months Later

The spring-sunshine-warmth covered my skin, and the fresh cool breeze blew my hair. I sighed. This was perfect. I loved watching spring sunsets. They were beautiful.

"Comfy up there?" Peter asked. I looked down from on top of the massive boulder.

"Yeah! Haha! You coming up?" I asked. He shrugged, stepped back and then jumped up, grabbing the rock. He pulled himself up and climbed up to where I was before sitting down next to me. I smiled.

"Beautiful." He breathed. I nodded.

"Very." I replied. For a few minutes we were quiet.

"You know, we never did talk again." He said softly. I nodded.

"I know. I...didn't want to bring up bad memories." I admitted. He chuckled.

"They weren't all bad. He let me see who I truly was on the inside, and I was able to change a lot afterwards." He explained. I nodded.

"I have to admit, I never thought I would see the day when you two became an avenger, but I'm really glad you are. And honestly, I'm inspired. It takes someone strong to be able to handle Venom. He's not always...gentle." He replied.

"Hey! I heard that!" Venom's deep voice suddenly said. I giggled and he looked at me.

"What did he say?" Peter asked. When I told him, he laughed too.

"In the best way bud, in the best way." Peter replied and we all laughed.

"You guys!" We suddenly heard Natalie call. Looking over our shoulders, we saw her running towards us.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We need to go. Now." She said, coming to a stop and catching her breath. We exchanged looks and then jumped off the boulder and ran after her.

The training center was quiet when we came in, instead of the usual thuds and shatters that echoed the halls. The group stood in a circle in the main hall, talking. Fury was telling them something.

"There's been an attack. We need to go now. The U.S. Government just put us in charge." Fury said as we ran up. Even Natalie was surprised by that.

"Where?" I asked. Fury turned around and looked at me.

"San Francisco." He said seriously. Everyone looked at me.

"The Life Foundation. I guarantee you that's what they're after. They want him alive. They'll torture him if they find him." I said.

"You really think they're after Drake?" Fury asked. I nodded.

"He took their leader from them. Of course they're after him." I said.

"They're leader?" Thor asked. I nodded.

"Riot. He was the one bonded with Drake for a long time until the explosion." I explained. They all nodded.

"How many are there?" Fury asked. I shrugged.

"I don't know how many will come to attack us, but there are millions of them where they come from." I replied. They all exchanged looks of horror.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" He asked. I nodded.

"I mean Venom." He said. I set my jaw and looked down.

"V, you there?" I asked.

"Always." He whispered back.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I asked.

"Redetta, you and your father and all your friends, you are my family. I will fight, and I will fight for you." He replied. I raised my head and looked at all the others.

"He fights for us." I replied. They all nodded.

"Let's do this." I said and we ran to get into the plane.

The flight there was intense. No one spoke too much. They were all deep in thought, and when someone did speak, it was about a game plan, and what could be done to stop the situation from worsening.

"Look! There it is!" The pilot cried out, pointing ahead of us. Before us sat our home city, San Francisco. Over it, hung a massive ship with something that hung down and touched the ground. As we got closer, I could see people running. They all looked at each other. Venom was bouncing off the walls.

"I can sense him. He's here. I don't know how that can be. He's here...I know it! I feel it!" He kept saying. I stepped back from the conversation the group was having.

"Who? Who is it? Who's here?" I asked. Suddenly they all got quiet and looked at me.

"Riot...and carnage. They are both here." He said. I looked at all their eager faces.

"What is it?" Natalie asked. I sighed.

"The symbiote leaders are both here. Riot and Carnage. We're not sure how that's possible. Riot should have been killed in the rocket accident back when Venom and my Dad were still bonded." I explained. They all looked at each other.

"That's not good." Bruce said. I shook my head.

"No, no it's not." I breathed.

When we landed, they all took off, going in their separate directions, fanning out across the city. We stayed back, hiding in the ship. They needed us to be a secret. Plus we weren't entirely sure how Venom would react to fighting his own kind again.

As we sat in the ship, we communicated with them all, but then radio silence came for a while as they all fought.

"Do you like this life?" Venom suddenly asked. I sat in the pilot's chair, my arms around my legs, watching the war going on around us. I nodded.

"Of course I like this life, V! Why wouldn't I?" I asked. He paused.

"You feel lonely." He replied. I shrugged.

"It's not a big deal." I said.

"Yes it is. You do not feel happy. You feel like this often. I want you to be happy...I...I care about you Red." He said. I gasped.

"I care about you too V." I smiled.

"You should find a man." He responded. I chuckled.

"I think we would frighten a man." I laughed.

"Not the right one." He pointed out. I sighed.

"I'll think about it." I said.

Hours passed, and the fight had disappeared down a few streets. We waited patiently, but nothing ever came. I sighed. Should we go out and look for them? I didn't want the government to get to us first though...

Suddenly a whole group of them came around the corner, running towards the ship.

"Hey!" Natalie called, as they ran up.

"Now's the time to surprise him. He's human right now, walking down that street. You up for this?" She asked as the others ran up.

"Yeah, are you sure about this?" Thor asked. "They're very strong." V was already trying to take over, our eyes flashed.

"We were born ready for this." We smiled wickedly, and without looking back we left the ship and walked down the street.

"Just stay calm." I whispered through my teeth. "Maybe we can catch him off guard." V silently agreed.

As we walked down the street, I looked around. We were alone. Everyone else had fled. Suddenly a man turned the corner a full block in front of us and then stopped. Venom dove us behind a corner.

"That's him!" He cried. I blinked and looked around the corner just slightly.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Very." He replied. "That's Carlton Drake who should also be dead. They must still be bonded." My eyes got wide when he said that.

"Oh jeez." I breathed. Carefully I walked out from behind the corner, and started to follow him, I tried to make it look like I wasn't, and frantically looked around. A moment later he saw me and turned, walking over.

"Wow! You're like the first person I've seen!" I said, acting like a teenager.

"Same! Are you alright?" He faked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I was just looking for my friends! I don't know where they went. We got separated and..." I said, shaking my head.

"Your friends? Everyone left." He said. I sighed.

"What's going on? Who attacked us?" I asked. He shrugged, still faking.

"Aliens, I think. You should..." He stopped, suddenly turning his head as the wind blew. He frowned. I smiled to myself.

"What the...?!" He said, looking around.

"What? What is it? Is it that smell?" I asked, changing my voice back to normal.

"Yeah... it's been so..." He said absent-mindedly and then stopping half way through and looking at me. V was already ready.

"Wait...how did you...?!" He started. I smiled wickedly.

"What, you really thought we wouldn't come back for you, Drake?" I asked darkly. He stepped back.

"Who are you? How do you know me?" He asked. I smiled.

"Why don't you figure that out." I replied. "Who do I look like? Who could I possibly be?" I smiled. We were having fun with this. For a moment he looked at me, and then suddenly his eyes grew wide.

"No...you're Brock's kid, aren't you?" He gasped. I nodded.

"Didn't your father ever teach you to have manners sweetheart? Or are you as big a loser as he was?" He scoffed. I smiled.

"My father did a lot more than that Carlton." I smiled. His smile grew serious.

"What do you mean?" He asked, taking a step back.

"Oh, I think you know perfectly well what I mean." We smiled, and our eyes flashed. He stepped back again.

"Nooo..." He gasped as we transformed into Venom.

"Venom!" He cried out, and they transformed into Riot.

"Let's take this m*****f*****!" Venom roared and he launched himself at riot who was unprepared.

We landed on the ground right before him, grabbed him, and threw him a full block down the street. Then we chased after and did it again. By the third time, he was prepared, and he punched us in the face, sending us spinning. When we landed on the ground, he hovered over us and continued to punch us. Suddenly in between punches we rolled over, making him punch the ground. As he roared in pain we jumped back up, swung around, and kicked him square in the face, sending him flying over some deserted cars.

When we landed in front of him, he turned to face us and we punched him hard again, sending his head to the concrete, cracking the street. He stayed there for a moment, and we grabbed his shoulders and picked him up.

"How did you ever get so strong?" He groaned. "Your host is weaker now than before, yet you seem so sure of yourself." We smiled devilishly.

"We have changed. We have had time to grow. To learn. To practice. To perfect." We growled. Riot's face peeled back to reveal Carlton underneath.

"How could you though? You were always a loser Venom. You couldn't do it before." He protested. We leaned in close, inches from his face, and smiled wickedly.

"We weren't a monster before." He half growled/half whispered, and with that he took Carlton's head clean off and threw their lifeless body to the ground.

"Now, I am a winner." Venom roared, and the entire city echoed with the roar of our victory.

The other symbiotes came from all around, and gathered before us. In the distance, we could see the avengers. They all stood in a group, watching, waiting, to see what would happen.

"You have killed our leader. The one who reigned supreme. To you we look now and forever, to guide us in our missions." They all said in unison and they bowed before us.

"What do we do?" I asked Venom. For a moment he thought.

"We lead them now. They will do what we ask. Remember what we agreed to before? The way I see things, we can do, whatever we want." He replied, and he smiled. I took a deep breath, nervous about his next move.

"As your leader, we command that you release your hosts without harm, and leave our planet. You will board the ship you came here on, and you will fly back to our home planet. You will seek ways to live there without harming another race again, and you will wait until my return." He shouted before them. They nodded and without hesitation, got up, and walked to their ship.

We followed them, and as they boarded, one by one, they released their human hosts, freeing hundreds of people. When they had all boarded, the doors closed, and the ship lifted off. Once in the sky above the city, he blasted into space, disappearing in less than the tenth of a second.

"Just like that, they are gone." I whispered, amazed.

"Yes. Because we are the winner. They listened to us." He reasoned. I sighed.

"Almost wish humanity was like that." I breathed. Suddenly out of nowhere something smashed into us and sent us flying. When we landed, we got up, groaning, and looked back.

"Now, there's going to be carnage!" Carnage roared.

"Oh crap. We forgot about him." I said.

"We will win." Venom replied and he hurled himself at Carnage, who did the same. We slammed into each other in mid air, falling to the ground. He grabbed our face and pried out jaws apart, until a crack formed in Venom's face. We came up and punched him in the side before kicking him, sending him flying for a few yards. We jumped up and staged another attack. Coming up behind him, we put our arm around his neck and held him there.

"Give up!" Venom roared. He didn't waver.

"RELEASE YOUR HOST OR I WILL KILL YOU!" Venom roared. The city streets echoed.

"Never." Carnage replied. Venom took his upper and lower jaw in anger, and in one swift motion, literally ripped them apart, like opening a bag, and revealed Cletus Kasady underneath who quivered at the sight of us over just him. Venom leaned down, his fist up, ready to punch the human who did not compare in size or strength.

"WE WILL END YOU!" We roared in pure anger and rage.

"Venom!" A voice suddenly cried. It was much gentler, softer, kinder. We looked over. Natalie was running towards us.

"Please!" She cried. A moment later she slowed down and stopped, leaning over to catch her breath.

"Please don't." She breathed. Something inside us clicked, and we remembered who we were and who all of this was for. We remembered why we were here and our real mission. We looked down at Cletus and then stepped back, standing upright.

"Venom?" Natalie asked.

"Mask." I whispered.

"Copy." He said, and slowly he faded away, leaving me in the street. For a brief second I was disoriented, and I looked around, blinking. I was exhausted.

"Red? You good?" She asked, as the others ran up to us.

"Wow." Thor started as they looked around at the mess we had left.

"Remind me to never piss you off." Banner said and they all chuckled. I smiled.

"What on earth happened?" Clint asked, unstringing his bow.

"Isn't it obvious?" Vision asked. They all looked at him.

"They did the job we could never do. They ended everything. They ended him." He said, looking over at Drake's body.

"How did you do it?" Natalie breathed. I stood up straight and gave them a devilish grin.

"I told you; We're a monster." I explained. They all looked at me. "We are Venom." We growled, and Venom's voice came out.

"Yes you are." An old man with thick-rimmed glasses said, as he walked passed us with this little dog. He smiled at all of us and kept walking.

"That looks delicious." Venom commented, seeing the dog. I chuckled.

"No." I whispered.

"What do we do now?" Bruce asked.

"The way I see it, we can do whatever we want." Venom replied, taking over. Everyone laughed, and so our lives would begin to return to normal.

"Good morning Janet. Did you leave that folder on my desk?" I asked. She nodded.

"Of course!" She smiled. Thanking her, I grabbed some coffee from the break room and then walked into my office. When I had put my things away, and cleaned up, I sat down at my desk and looked at the folder. The label was blacked out. I frowned.

Opening the folder I looked inside. At first nothing made sense. Flipping through pages, I saw pictures, stories, things that seemed to come from legend. I shook my head. This was nonsense. A hoax at best. I got up, taking the folder, and I walked over to the Chief's office. Knocking on the door, he invited me in.

"How can I help you Special Agent?" He asked, smiling. I smacked the folder on his desk.

"I don't have time for games." I said. He chuckled.

"It's not a game." He replied. "It's your case."

"And what would that be?" I asked, frustrated. He paused, putting his coffee down. Looking up at me, he had a serious look on his face.

"Venom." He said.

The end...for now. ;-)