A/N:...Holy Sh**! I was NOT expecting the fanbase explosion this story has gotten from just one chapter! It would seem the Venom-craz has reached biblical proportions, not that I'm complaining.
With such a huge amount of positive feedback, I doubled my efforts to get the next chapter ready for everyone. Your support is not in vain and here is the proof of that.
X
The very moment they stepped off the PT boat, which Sean had learned was named the 'Black Lagoon', after it had docked, the host had tossed Dutch a small wad of hundreds that equaled out to ten thousand as promised.
Happy about the simple transaction, the boat Captain made an offer about drinks at a place called the Yellow Flag. A local bar where everyone frequented.
Wanting to get a better layout of the city, Sean agreed to tag along as they got into a car that belonged to the blonde computer expert that was also on the crew named Benny. Getting in the backseat with Revy, who made a point to sit as far from him as physically possible, he watched Roanapur pass as they rode down the many streets.
"This place looks worse than any slum we've seen before." the host thought as he took in the filthy condition of things, the number of hookers going about their business, and even a couple of either dead or drunk bodies sprawled out in the gutters.
"Guess the 'City of the Dead' lives up to its name." his other responded, also seeing their surroundings. "Won't be hard to fit in around here."
"So, what brings you to the ass end of the world?" asked Dutch from the shotgun seat toward their passenger.
Sean didn't say anything at first, choosing his words carefully. "It's a place where people go to get lost. Besides, we're supposed to be meeting someone here."
This caught the attention of the three crewmates. "You must be dumb as fuck." Revy scoffed, "Anyone asks you to come here is probably getting ready to shoot your ass. Especially with that bounty on your head." she grinned maliciously, "Speaking of which,"
One of her guns was out and aimed at the side of host's head. "Not this again." the symbiote rolled its eyes at how trigger happy the female was. As for Sean, he didn't even turn his head from where he was still looking out the window.
"Hey! I ain't paying to have the seats fixed and cleaned in here...again." Benny said from the front while he kept driving.
"There's a lot of green on your head, pal." said Revy with a glint in her eye as she cocked the hammer back on her gun, "Give me one reason why I shouldn't cash that in."
Slowly, Sean turned his head. The barrel of the 9mm now leveled between his eyes as he leered into the gunslinger's. Revy was surprised to not see a hint of fear in them, even more so when he smirked at her.
"If you want to go for round two so badly, we can't promise we won't break anything...your pretty little neck included." he said with a very calm, albeit dark, tone.
There was a brief stand off before Revy scoffed again and holstered her weapon. She would never admit it to anyone, but something about the guy they were riding with unnerved her. And it wasn't just from the fact he had knocked both her and Dutch around earlier.
"She's a feisty one." the symbiote commented with a grin in its voice.
Sean rolled his eyes, "Why are the hot ones always the most crazy or psychotic?" he thought, not getting a response from his other as Benny parked them outside a building that looked like an old fashioned saloon in a western film.
"Place gives us that cliche 'bar at the end of the world' vibe." the host commented to himself as they stepped out of the car.
"You wouldn't be wrong." said Dutch as they headed toward the front door. "This place was started by the Southern Vietnamese soldiers who survived the war. But they started taking in fugitive soldiers, too, and before we knew it, the place went to hell. Every sort of lowlife imaginable make this place their watering hole."
When they stepped inside, Sean and his other were immediately bombarded by the smell of smoke, gunpowder and lots of booze.
The place was filled with many sorts of people, every one of them Sean knew right away were some form of criminal, mercenary, or prostitute coming to either blow their money away or making contracts to earn more. Several fist fights were even going on while people either placed bets for the winners or completely ignored them.
Seemed to be a regular night for the place.
Approaching the bar and taking up four stools, the Vietnamese bartender turned to them and scowled when he saw the female gunslinger sitting among them. "Oh great, you're here." he said with disdain.
"Shut the fuck up and set us up, Bao." Revy snapped back, the bartender setting several glasses before them and collecting the usual for the crew.
"Brought a new face with you? What you want?" asked Bao to Sean.
The host motioned to the bottle of Bacardi rum Revy had sitting beside her, "We'll take what she's got, make it a double." the bartender poured him a glass that he knocked back in several gulps. The taste and warmth passing through him was a luxury at that moment, it had been a while since he last hit up a bar.
"Guess you're not a complete dipshit if you know your booze." said Revy as she finished her own drink.
Sean shrugged as he poured himself another, "Tried all kinds. Favorites are either Vodka, Whiskey or Rum. Malts are for pussies." his other hummed as the alcohol flowed through their system. Their bonding would flush it out far quicker than if the host was on his own, ensuring that he didn't get drunk, but there was still a pleasurable buzz that the odd duo still enjoyed.
Dutch excused himself to go make a phone call, leaving the other three on their own. "I gotta ask," said Benny, "Why do you refer to yourself in plural like that?"
The host shrugged, "Verbal tick we've had for as long as we can remember." he lied smoothly.
"It's fuckin' annoying." said Revy, "Bet you got your ass kicked a lot."
"Like back on the ship?" Sean quipped back without missing a beat.
"Burn." the symbiote stated while the woman gritted her teeth in agitation.
Turning back to Benny, the host asked his own question. "You look a little out of place here, if we're being honest. Where were you before here?"
The blonde adjusted his glasses, "University of Florida. I was fooling around and pissed off the Mafia and the FBI. Came here two years ago an-"
"I saved his ass before he was thrown overboard in a suitcase." Revy cut in. "Fuck it with the storytelling, we came here to drink, didn't we?"
"Fair enough." said Sean as he finished off another glass. "And just so there's no hard feelings, next round's on us."
The gunslinger grinned, "I'll take the booze, but don't think this means I won't shoot you in the face later."
She got a grin in return, "Bring it on then."
X
Out in the alley behind the bar, Dutch stood speaking into a cell phone out of hearing range from anyone that could stumble by.
"You sure? That's not good."
'I didn't trust Asahi Industries' response.' said a woman on the other end, 'So I left out bait, and a Chinese rat jumped right in. I'm talking to him now.'
"Who's on the move?" asked Dutch.
'One moment.' the line was silent for a couple of seconds before another voice screamed over the lin in agony, 'Sh-Shingian! Shingian's Wan Taikei! Wan Taiki sent an assassin to get you! He's sent an assassin to Roanapur!'
'Hear that?' asked the woman.
"Yeah. Not good." said Dutch before the tortured man was put back on.
'A mercenary contracting agency was hired! E-Extra Order! I don't know how many there are!'
'The EO Company scouts are experienced war junkies.' the woman said just before gunfire was heard in the background. 'I'd watch myself out there.'
Dutch sighed, "Yeah, rotten luck. We'll make it to the rendezvous, somehow."
'I wouldn't expect anything less. Oh, and Dutch? That passenger you brought in...make sure that he comes along as well.' before he could ask what she meant she hung up. Leaving the Captain to wonder if she knew something that he didn't.
X
Back in the bar, everyone was till having a good time. Sean and Revy had polished off over three bottles of rum between each other and had no intention of stopping just yet...
Until the host felt an all too familiar prickling feeling run up his spine.
Time slowed to a crawl around him as he looked over his shoulder to see half a dozen metal objects come in through the windows and clatter on the floor. It took him only half a second to know what they were and another to grab Revy and Benny and dive over the bar before several explosions rocked the whole building.
The lights went out and the sound of full-auto gunfire tore through the air, hundreds of rounds tearing through anything and everyone that hadn't been killed in the explosions.
"Looks like tonight just got a lot more exciting." said the symbiote.
"Yeah, no kidding." Sean muttered as he peered around the surprisingly still sturdy bar as more bullets tore the rest of the place up.
"Revy?!" they heard Dutch call out.
"I'm good." the gunslinger answered, picking up another, unshattered, bottle of rum and kept drinking.
"Benny?!"
"Surprisingly, still alive!" the tech wizard called back.
"Sean?!"
The host didn't answer, his eyes closed and fists clenched as the gunfire stopped and a large group of mercenaries came into the bar. "Sweep the place, no survivors." said the one leading them.
Revy took out her pistols, pausing when she saw Sean stand up. "What the fuck are you doing?!" she said, wondering if the guy had a death wish.
Stepping out in front of the bar, the host found himself with dozens of rifles aimed at him.
"Well, lookie here. Seems like someone thinks he's a badass." said the head merc, causing his men to chuckle.
"You guy's don't wanna do this, trust us." said Sean seriously, which only caused them to laugh harder.
"Shoot this idiot." said the leader as his men took aim.
The host sighed, "Alright, have it you're way." "Partner, show time!"
"Oh HELL YEAH!" his other shouted. In the next moment a mass of black tissue exploded out of his body, covering him and making him close to eight feet tall with bulging muscles. His head being last, forming into one with a pair of organic-reflective eyes and a maw filled with sharp teeth.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?!" one of the mercs screamed in horror as they all opened fire on it. Their bullets bouncing harmlessly off the creature's oil-like skin and clattering to the floor.
A clawed hand lashed out, several black tendrils shooting forward and snatching the rifles away from the mercs before the beast charged into their ranks. Claws slicing through their flesh as though they were made of wet tissue paper and splattering blood all over the place.
"Oh, this is fun!" the creature rumbled as it grabbed a merc by the head and threw him through the wall of the bar. It recoiled when a shotgun blast hit is back and spun around to see a new terrified soldier attempting to wrack the pump.
Roaring, the beast opened its mouth wide before chomping down. Biting the man's head in half like a grape. Blood and pieces of tissue spraying the air as the corpse fell to the floor twitching.
A series of tendrils fired from the creature's back, spearing through several more soldiers that tried to flank him while those that remained attempted to flee.
"Where's everybody goin'?" it asked, changing its arm into a large blade and swiped through the air. Cleaving the retreating mercs in half before they could make it to the door.
"There's more outside." Sean said from within the shared mind he had with the symbiote.
"An all you can eat buffet." the creature said out loud, a long serpentine tongue coming out and licking bloody fangs in anticipation. Taking a look around the bar, he quickly noticed that, save for Bao who was cowering behind his bar, the three people he came in with weren't present.
"We'll find them later, for now." looking down, the beast grinned when it saw the leader of the mercs attempting to crawl toward a discarded rifle. His arm severed at the elbow from one of the earlier attacks.
His fingers barely touched the weapon before he found himself grabbed by a large hand and lifted into the air to come face to face with the one that killed his men.
"Hmm. Eyes, lungs, pancreas, so many snacks, so little time." the creature rumbled before its tongue came out and licked the side of the man's face, leaving a trail of blood and drool in its wake.
"W-W-What the fuck are you?!" the merc leader shouted, looking like the exact opposite of the arrogant bastard he was when he first entered the bar.
The creature grinned, the left half of its face peeling away to reveal half of Sean's;
"We, are VENOM!" the two sides spoke at the same time before reforming fully back to the creature's grinning visage. "And you, are dinner."
The rest of the Extra Order mercenaries that had been outside came storming in just in time to see their boss have his head bitten off with a sickening 'CRUNCH'. His body falling to the floor while the beast that ate him chewed and swallowed loudly before turning toward them.
"Oh look, second course." Venom said with another wide grin.
The air was filled with the sounds of gunfire, but was silenced and replaced with screams of terror that would have shaken even the most hardened of men to their core. This feeling became worse when a beastly roar echoed through the night.
X
"What the hell was that, Dutch?!" Benny shouted as he floored the gas pedal of their car and tore down the streets back toward the docks.
"Fuck if I know, Benny-boy." the Captain responded while reloading his revolver, "Whatever it was, we sure as shit didn't sign up for it." he looked into the rear-view mirror and saw Revy with both her guns out and staring out the back window, as if expecting the black creature Sean had turned into would be right behind them.
Dutch had seen a lot of shit during his time in Vietnam, even more after coming to Roanapur and starting his courier business...but what he had witnessed back at the Yellow Flag...the usually calm and collected Captain felt they were too far out of their element to understand.
Despite what they had just left behind them, they still had a job to complete. Getting the disc to the Belawan port to be handed off was the priority, everything else would have to wait for now.
Reaching the docks, the crew climbed out and made for their boat. Dutch and Revy with their weapons still out as they went up the gang-plank and onto the Lagoon.
"I'll start her up, we should be at Belawan before daybreak." said Dutch as he headed toward the helm.
"You know, it's not nice to leave someone behind."
They all froze when the deep, demonic voice suddenly spoke from somewhere close by. Revy looked up at the top of the deck and saw a large form hunched over above them.
Both her weapons were up and firing in seconds. The attack coming to an abrupt halt when a strange black sludge shot from the shadows and splattered over her hands and guns, hardening in moments and making it impossible for her to shoot anymore.
"What...What the fuck is this shit?!" she shouted, trying to shake it off and free her hands along with her prized weapons.
She froze when she felt hot breath on the back of her neck. Slowly looking over her shoulder, Revy was greeted with a large mouth that belonged on a great white.
"Can we ever just greet each other without all the gun-play?" Venom asked, saliva dribbling from his sharp fangs as his large eyes leered into her dark, honey-colored ones.
Despite the traces of fear sliding up and down her back, Revy glared at the creature in defiance. Prepared to fight to the bitter end if this thing tried to do to her what it did to the mercs back at the bar.
Dutch stepped forward with his .357 ready, Benny keeping behind him at a distance. Venom turned his large head toward the man and tilted it, "Relax, Dutch. If we wanted you dead, we could have taken you out anytime."
"What the hell are you?" asked the Captain pointedly.
The creature stood to his full height before its skin broke down and slithered back into the Human body beneath it, leaving behind Sean who stood in its place with his arms crossed. "We're not even sure ourselves anymore. We simply are."
"...How?" Benny asked, not fully sure how to ask all the questions in his head.
Sean motioned to the door leading below deck. "We think you're owed an explanation or two, if you can give us the chance."
Lowering his weapon, Dutch spoke clearly and directly, "How can I be sure you won't do to us what you did to those other guys?"
"Guess you'll just have to trust us." said the host with a shrug. "Like we said, we could have killed you all at anytime."
There was a long, hesitant pause among the crew. Dutch weighed his options and realized that their 'guest' had a point. If he could turn into that thing and tear through a whole group of mercs, the three of them didn't stand a chance. But at the same time, he could have killed them whenever he had wanted and didn't.
The question was, why?
Dutch holstered his weapon and motioned to the door silently. Leading Sean below deck with Benny trailing behind them.
"Hey! Get this shit off me!" Revy shouted after them, waving around her coated hands before chasing after the three men.
X
A/N: Venom has officially arrived!
The chapters are still a little smaller than what I was originally hoping for, but with the first episode of Black Lagoon broken up into three parts by itself it all kind of adds up. And for those that have asked, I am going by the anime with elements of the manga thrown in to enhance it where I needed.
And unlike the Venom movie, this WILL tie into the MCU timeline at a later date. Trust me, it'll all come together and be one worthy of mentioning.
Keep the reviews coming, and I'll keep the updates flowing!