Hello all! I've been a fanfic writer for many years, though you'd never know it, because I changed my name! (And no, before you ask, I won't tell you who I used to be) This fic is my baby, I've been working on it for over two years, and, honestly, I'm STILL working on it (along with it's sequels, and short stories, all at the same time).

But there's some important info you need to know. In this story, I've based Eddie Brock/Venom on the 90s comic version of him. Specifically anything after Amazing Spiderman #374 (1992) and the Lethal Protector mini series that followed. (You can find the comics on torrent sites if you look hard enough). This means that I'm ignoring the movie canon, and pretty much everything after Venom: the Hunger.

Here, the symbiote is sentient, and, as mentioned in 'Planet of the Symbiotes' was ostracized from it's homeworld because it sought a balance with it's host, rather than domination over it. When melded with Eddie into Venom, they don't change into a huge, hulking monstrosity. (Look up Mark Bagley's Venom art from the 90s, and you'll see what he looks like in my head-canon.)

Words in between - these- are translated from sign language.
Zoe is pronounced: "Zoh-ee"

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"Stop! Thief!"

Wolf-gold eyes narrowed as the black haired mutant sped up and tightened her hold on her backpack, wanting to make sure that the food she had gone through the trouble of stealing wouldn't fall out.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled back, doubting that the market store owner would believe her apology but wanting to put it out there anyway. She hadn't even gotten enough food, either. He had noticed her earlier than she had guessed, and it had almost gotten her caught.

Cursing herself for not casing out the store ahead of time and thus ensuring that she'd enough time to grab what she needed, she wove her way through the crowd with practiced ease, reaching back to pull the hood of her jacket over her head. Her face hidden, she ducked into an alley and hastily made her way up the first fire-escape she came upon. She wasn't in the best part of San Francisco. Here, it wasn't the cops she had to be wary of, but the gangs. Especially if they realised that she was a mutant. Friends of Humanity had a chapter in every major city in the United States, and they weren't against joining gangs to get their 'work' done.

And I'm in no shape to get in a fight either. The fingers of her left hand curled slightly, as far as the cast she had on that arm would allow. She had broken it a week ago in an ambush, where five men had attacked her and her friends. Hospitals were never her thing, but her friends had insisted and then promptly dragged her to the closest emergency room. That visit had completely depleted what little funds they had; none of it had been legally earned mind you, but it had been all they had.

She and three other women were currently living in an abandoned warehouse near the docks. They had met on the streets, all of them homeless for various reasons. Jasmine's protective instincts had led her to 'take in' the three teenagers. It had it's ups and downs, but at least with the four of them banded together, they could look out for each other, defending themselves from the others that also dwelled on the streets. It didn't help that Jasmine had a reputation with the gangs in the city, one that she had gotten for all the fights she had gotten into and won against various bullies and gang members.

Shaking her head to pull her thoughts back to the present, she slung her bag onto her back and slid her arms through the straps, tightening them before sweeping her gaze over the roof she was on. The next building over was close enough for her to reach it, and, with the sound of potential pursuit in the alley below her, it didn't really leave her much choice.

Glad that her mutant abilities gifted her with inhuman strength, agility and speed, she took a running start and leapt over to the next building, not even bothering to slow down as her worn boots hit the ragged roof, found purchase, and enabled her to keep in stride as she repeated the procedure once more.

Only once she was certain that she was far enough away from her most recent crime did she stop, stepping around a mess of ventilation pipes and leaning back against them, blowing her hair out of her eyes as she gazed up at the darkening sky. Damn. It's later than I thought...

It was a rule amongst her and her group that when they needed to steal to survive, that they always made sure that it was a fair distance away from their current base of residence, something that they changed every two weeks in order to stay safe. That meant that she still had a half-hour walk back to the 'safehouse', and she didn't even have a decent meal to show for her efforts.

Stupid arm. Pain slows me down, makes me sloppy. Glaring at the offending appendage and the cast that stretched from her hand up to just below her elbow, she squeezed one of the fingers of her right hand under the cast and vainly tried to scratch at the itch that was just beyond her reach. With an exasperated growl, she banged her head back against the ventilation duct, took twisted comfort that the brief pain in her head lessened the itching under the cast, then pushed away from it. Gotta get back. Zoe worries when I'm late.

"I knew it was a bad idea to let her go off on her own."

Angel rolled her eyes where she was sitting on an old couch, her feet propped up on an over-turned milk crate in the vain hopes that elevating them would ease the annoying swelling of her ankles. Feeling movement, she rested both hands on her swollen belly, smiling as she felt her baby move within her. "Calm down, Zoe," she murmured for the fifth time in as many minutes. "Jasmine can take care of herself."

The flame-haired woman that was pacing the length of the room snorted, dark brown eyes narrowed in mixed worry and exasperation. "Oh please. We're talking about the fool who broke her arm last week in a street fight. I know she's protective of us, but almost getting herself killed is just downright dumb!"

"She had her reasons," Angel gently reminded her. "Besides, she loves to fight, and as much as I wish she didn't pull stunts like she does, she is good at it."

A drawn out sigh left Zoe's lips as she ran a hand through her mess of hair that was currently in Hair of Death phase; every lock of hair was sticking out in a different direction, making it look like she had stuck her pinky nail into a light-socket. "I know... I guess I'm just afraid of what will happen if we lose her. I've been on the streets for three years, and I still don't know half of what Jaz does."

"She's been on her own for a long, long, time, Zee." Angel sighed as Zoe walked over and threw herself down next to her, making the couch shudder and groan warningly. "And we're the only family she has. I can understand why she's so protective of us. Not to mention the fact that she's the oldest amongst us."

"Meh."

Rolling her eyes, Angel gingerly lowered her feet to the floor, then slowly stood up, one hand on her belly and one pressing against the small of her back. "Oof. Kid's gotta stop kicking me in the kidneys," she chuckled as she made her way over to a partially boarded up window, peering through some of the cracks and quirking an eyebrow up when she saw that the sun was almost beneath the horizon. Maybe Zee has a point. It is getting late...

A series of finger snaps drew both of their attentions over to the main door, where Catalina, the fourth member of their little rag-tag group waved to announce that Jasmine was home. Strands of her brown hair came loose from it's extravagant pile atop her head to fall into her expressive - yet eerie - amethyst eyes as her hands moved in front of her in the specific gestures of sign language. -I don't think things went well, guys.-

Zoe frowned and got to her feet as Jasmine appeared in the doorway, a rather perturbed look on her face. "What happened?"

"Stupid bloody arm is what," Jaz growled, letting Cat take the backpack from her before she shrugged out of her worn-down jacket and tossed it into a corner. "It slows me down, makes me sloppy. Nevermind the fact that it still hurts like hell."

Smiling, Angel picked up the bottle of Tylenol on the coffee table and a half-finished bottle of flavoured water, walking over her friend and holding them out to her. "Here. It'll take the edge off."

A sheepish look crossed Jaz's face as she meekly accepted the offering, the amber fading from her wolf-eyes, leaving a rich green behind. "Thanks. I've been snippy lately, haven't I?"

"You broke your arm! You're allowed!" Zoe said, turning to look at Cat as the teen set out what Jasmine had brought home on the card table that currently served as their dining room table. "Besides, you got a good haul."

"Maybe..." Shrugging, Jaz swallowed five extra-strength tylenol along with a guzzle of water, then looked over at Cat. "Hey, pup. You holding up okay?"

-Perfect. Why?- Cat signed in return, tilting her head to one side quizzically.

"Making sure you're up to finishing this elaborate tribal drawing you started on my cast," she winked, slowly starting to relax now that she was 'home'. Sighing, she walked over to the couch and slowly settled herself down onto it, groaning as she propped her feet up and draped her arms along the back of the couch.

Her gaze swept over their temporary 'home', an old abandoned warehouse near the docks, wrinkling her nose at how dilapidated it looked and smelled. It would be time to move soon, mostly because she and Zoe had been casing out a high-end specialty grocery store, learning and memorizing when the owner brought his weekly 'earnings' to the bank. The foolish twit obviously didn't realise that not only was it a bad idea to personally bring the money to the bank on foot, but that to do it once a week, on the same day and the same time was just utterly ridiculous.

Truthfully, she never really liked stealing money. Food was one thing, you needed food to live, but ever since she had taken it upon herself to watch over the three teens, she had quickly found that just food simply wasn't enough. Even though they lived on the streets, they always tried to have some money in their possession, especially after Angel had joined them almost five months ago, when Zoe had found the pregnant teen on the streets, hiding from her parents who wanted to force her to have an abortion.

Now, Jasmine did her best to ensure that if any emergency arose, that they had a few options on how to deal with it. They didn't yet have a permanent safe place to live, but at least they tried to have enough money to go to a laundromat once a week, replenish their first aid kit and pick up some vitamins and other things that Angel needed during her pregnancy. And that didn't include the motel room Jaz rented once a month so that they could all sleep in a warm bed without the need of taking turns keeping watch during the night.

If I hadn't busted my arm, we wouldn't need to do such a risky thing as to steal money... My mutant genes let me heal faster than a human, but it'll still be another week until I'm healed enough to get this damned cast off... Sighing under her breath, she shook her head and gazed over at the three girls who were dividing up the food she had managed to grab, the scent of bread and fruit assaulting her heightened senses.

Catalina was the youngest of the group, at an age of fifteen. She was mute, unable or perhaps merely unwilling to speak. She communicated through soft sounds, whistles and sign language, something that she had taught to the others in their group. Jaz remembered when she had found the young girl, remembered how those odd purple eyes had reached through to her soul and cracked the shell that she had spent so many years building in order to bury her feelings.

Catalina had been the first she had taken in under her wing, as it were. The girl hadn't even reached puberty yet when Jasmine had saved her from a rapist, and she had been dreadfully filthy and malnourished. After three years, Cat had managed to blossom into a lovely young woman; long auburn hair hung past her shoulders, her skin healthy and unblemished, and while she was still thin - it was a hard thing to gain weight while you were on the streets - she no longer appeared sickly. Her attitude had done a one-eighty too. Instead of the frightened little girl that Jaz had found in that alley, there was now a confident, mischivous, intelligent, young woman.

It had been Cat that had insisted that they help Zoe, and since Jasmine had developed a weakness to the teen's doe-eyed look, she had given in. Zoe had run away from a horrible home life and several failed foster homes. They had butted heads at first- both she and Zoe were hard headed and stubborn, not to mention fighters. Jaz, with her wolf instincts, had never thought that a human would have the same Alpha mindset. It had taken almost a month for them to come to the realization that they were a lot alike and had called a truce, recognizing that they would be stronger working together instead of trying to take each other out.

Angel was a whole different matter. Being on the streets and pregnant was a dangerous and usually fatal thing. There were so many freaks and other dangerous personalities out there that when Zoe had told her about the sixteen year old, she had immediately sent Zee out to find and bring the girl to her. Ever since Cat had come into her life, Jasmine often found herself doing things that she would have never even thought about.

"You're brooding again," Angel announced as she carefully lowered herself onto the couch next to the pensive woman, smirking at the odd look Jaz gave her. "Stop worrying so much. Those pretty eyes of yours lose that lovely shine when you do."

Jaz wrinkled her nose. "Isn't that a pick-up line?"

"You know what I mean!"

"I know," she smiled, reaching out to tuck one of the long side locks of brilliant red hair behind Angel's left ear. "So, how's the pup?"

"Active. He, or she, has taken a liking to tenderising my kidneys." Angel slid a hand over her belly, smiling contentedly when she felt a gentle kick against the palm of her hand. "But it's better than when I get sharp kicks to my bladder."

"Ouch."

"It's not the ouch, it's the desperate dashes to the bathroom that gets me. Oh! Wanna feel the baby kick?" Not waiting for an answer, Angel grabbed one of Jasmine's hands and held it against her stomach, smiling when the woman's green eyes lit up in quiet wonder upon feeling the evidence of the tiny life within. "I'm going to have to think about names soon."

"I, personally, think Zoe is a perfect name," Zee announced as she joined them, handing Angel a paper plate that had cut up apples, oranges, grapefruit, kiwi's, cheese and bread.

"You're a little biased, aren't you?" Jaz grinned, chuckling at the cheeky look Zoe gave her. "Did you give Angel half of my share?"

"Yes, oh stubborn one," Zoe replied as Cat walked over to the midnight-haired 'leader' of the group and sat on the floor facing her. "By the way, when did you want to head for the next safehouse?"

-I think we should split up,- Cat signed. -Angel and I can head for the abandoned building we checked out last week, while you and Jaz 'obtain' the money.-

Jaz frowned. "I don't know..."

"Well, what about this," Zee interupted as she headed back to the rickety card table. "You go stake-out the store, and I'll bring Cat and Angel to the building, then double-back to meet you."

Cat snapped her fingers to get the other's attention. -Besides, Angel and I still have those handguns we got from one of the the fighting matches.- When Jasmine looked like she was going to protest, the teen shook her head and continued. -I know you don't like guns, Jaz. Neither do I. But neither Angel or I can fight like you and Zoe can. And with Angel almost seven month's pregnant, she can't run. Those two guns are the only way for us to defend ourselves.-

A low sigh escaped Jaz's lips as she ran a hand through her hair, grumbling when a talon got caught in the long locks. "I know. There's just so much that can go wrong..."

"You can't be everywhere at once," Angel chastised her, shaking a piece of apple at her. "Cat and I know how to handle guns. Besides,we'd just slow you down and distract you. We can handle ourselves."

"I know you can. It's just..."

-You worry.- When Jaz sent a mock glare at her, Cat grinned. -Just because you refuse to admit it doesn't mean it isn't true.-

"Traitor," she retorted lightly as Zoe wandered back to them and handed a plate to her. "Thanks, Zee." It didn't take her long to inhale her meal, and when her stomach growled for more, she stubbornly squashed it's requests. She could go days without food, this time was no exception. "Alright. Considering how stubborn we all are, here's the plan for tomorrow."

tbc