Hello, Eddie. Did you miss me?

Hell no, I thought.

You don't deserve to be treated like that, Eddie. We don't deserve it. To be spurned by the ones we love. Do we?

W-w-w, I stammered in my thoughts. I was—I'm doing good. I got a job. I wasn't hurting anyone.

Don't lie to us, Eddie. That kid wouldn't have hit you if you were a perfect little saint.

I didn't do anything, I said in my mind. "I didn't hurt anyone," I said out loud.

My misguided little child, the creature in my head said. We always hurt the ones we love. Or they always hurt us. But now you're home, Eddie. We won't let that bitch hurt you anymore. Together, we are strong. We are powerful.

What the hell, I thought. I was going to die in this alley anyway. Might as well let it in. Take all the pain away.

I opened the door at the center of my brain and felt relief as the symbiote came flooding in.

"WE ARE VENOM!" the creatures sharing my body roared in unison.

Minutes later, we were crawling up the wall to Mich's apartment, tongue hanging out from a gaping maw of sharp teeth, slobber trailing below. The hunger was gnawing at us, the one Eddie was ashamed of before.

We weren't ashamed now.

We crawled back through the window that Eddie had been thrown out of. Mich was lying down, holding her head and ignoring her kids who were trying to cuddle with her.

This really pissed in our cheerios.

Though the symbiote had already closed up the wounds on the host body, our demented sense of humor could not be contained. The alien receded to show only the form of Eddie Brock, still in the same, bloodstained clothes. We opened the hole in Brock's head just a little, so more blood would ooze out.

"Mich, honey," said Brock's voice. "Wake uuuup."

Mich awoke with a start and yelled. "Go away, you asshole!"

The blood was really falling now. We stalked towards her, arms outstretched. "Look what you did to me, Mich! Look what you did to us."

Michaela was really screaming now. The kids could only stare in slack-jawed horror. If it had just been Eddie, he might have felt guilty.

Michaela swung her fist at Brock's head, the thousandth such assault in recent memory. This time, though, when fist connected with face, it was as though the woman had punched solid concrete.

She cried out. "You broke my hand, you piece of shit!"

Brock started to laugh. The spot where her hand had hit started to seep black oil. The oil spread all over Brock's body as the alien creature formed itself into the familiar black-and-white costume around his body. The face was the last to be replaced by the hungry, growling visage of Venom.

Now the entire family was screaming, but Venom continued advancing on her with a massive, slobbery grin.

A single punch to the face sent the woman flying into a corner. Venom knelt over her, massive jaws expanding so his razor-lined mouth could close over her entire head.

A few minutes later, the kids came out of the shadows, their curiosity piqued by the strange, slurping sounds coming from the corner where Mommy lay.

The image they saw would be burned into their brains forever. Venom slurping the woman's brains out of the smashed remnants of her skull.

Venom turned to regard them and smiled widely, chunks dribbling out of his mouth.

"Oh! Sorry, kids. Did you want some?"

With a chorus of horrified screams, the children ran down the stairs, out of the apartment and disappeared into the night.

Oh, what a glorious night it was! So many things were on the horizon now. No more pain, no more suffering for Eddie Brock or the unfortunate, downtrodden souls of the city. All the innocents out there were in for a reprieve from their suffering now that symbiote and host were reunited.

There was so much fun waiting for them out there.

But first, the creature thought. It's time to clean our plate.

Venom leaned back down and resumed his meal.

Mmmm. Delicious!