Toxin: The Devil Within

Epilogues Are For Wimps

Scorpia eventually regained consciousness. She could feel the pain rippling through her body and did not wish to open her eyes .The addition of the scorpion tail combined with her buxom chest forced her to lie on her side. She could feel cold, hard laminated flooring against her face. It was shockingly uncomfortable; enough to persuade her that it was time to get up. She carefully rose to her feet and stood up straight, her joints cracking thanks to the difficult sleeping arrangement. Her whole body was aching and she knew that her costume stunk. She checked herself over; cuts were still fresh and painful; swelling at its maximum. It was still night time as she realised how unaware of her surroundings she was. Scorpia checked out the room silently, her memory failing to recollect anything: it was just a regular living room.

"Good morning."

Scorpia spun around at the sudden noise of the brown haired man sitting behind her, leaning forwards in his armchair. She knew who he was; he was the man who had beaten her at the cafe. She instantly raised her tail behind her, ready for any form of assault.

"I don't appreciate being kidnapped."

"Last time I checked, it was you who begged me for help."

"Who are you?"

"Your life-safer. Now sit down and calm down."

Scorpia cautiously sat back down on the sofa, her protruding tail forcing her to sit on the edge of the cushion. As she sat down her face blushed and she looked down in embarrassment. She sat with her legs together and her hands tightly together, a sorrowful look on her face.

"Why did you help me?" she asked weakly.

"You were calling out for me; you genuinely needed me; I thought that I would be better for you than prison – take any of those reasons. I was told by a friend of mine about you, he said that you needed help – needed my help specifically."

"Thank you."

"You can have a shower here and you can borrow some of my clothes – I can't promise they'll fit your form exactly but right now it's the best thing you've got. Do you have somewhere to live?"

"Not exactly... I have a safe house deep in town, it's where I keep a spare pair of clothes and any food I have. The building was condemned a few months ago; it's being knocked down next week."

"Do you have someone to stay with?"

"No... It's just me and Scorpia."

"Scorpia?"

"I can't tell you about her... I'm not allowed..."

"Tell me."

"I can't-"

"You can and you will!"

"Scorpia lives in my head - my name is El - and together we share this body. I take care of the day to day stuff and in return Scorpia provides for us. But now we have no clothes, no food and very soon no home..."

"I shall allow you to stay here with me, on one condition: whilst you are living in my home, you... or Scorpia are not allowed to commit any acts of grand theft, arson or homicide, alright?"

"I – I –I don't know how to thank you."

"Simple, you will undergo training from... the friend of mine, a good guy named Toxin. You will become his apprentice and you will learn how to become a hero like him and you will help him fight for justice. Got it, Scorpia?"

The girl looked up, staring directly into his eyes and biting her lip provocatively, she answered. "Sounds like fun, I needed a change anyway. I kinda like the Toxin boy last time we met. Alright, I don't trust you yet but hell, you sure saved my ass and El thinks you're legit. Me and El are in, I thank you kindly."

"Good. You can have a shower now and get some proper rest, I'll get some clothes for you and we can go shopping tomorrow to get you whatever you ladies need."

She got to her feet and he did like so.

"I appreciate your kindness but there' one thing I have to know first."

"That is?"

"What's your name life-safer?"

"Patrick Mulligan."

"Scorpia and Elaine Colls, pleased to meet you." They shook hands and Scorpia turned to leave, pausing momentarily. "Oh and Pat, if I should catch you peeking at either me or El, I will gouge out your heart and I promise you I will enjoy it."

"Second door on the left," replied Pat, unaffected by her threat.

Pat had spent the entire day with Elaine, desperately trying to help her fit in but much to his dismay; the experience was more like looking after a child than moving in with a girlfriend. He had to tell her about why he had left the house for the evening and now the human host sat on a rooftop, hundreds of feet from the ground. He sought out the sunset alone, to drink coffee and converse with his symbiotic guest. His reward was a moment of peace which they could both enjoy as a break from the hectic mess that entwined them both. A man and his child.

"This coffee isn't very strong."

"Shut up. Stop complaining."

After a few seconds, Pat sighed.

"You're right Toxin; I hate this too. Out of all the stuff we share, having your taste buds is the worst, but I guess we really are one being now."

"Then you probably know about the robbery too."

"The stolen handbag on the street corner?"

"He's had ten seconds of running away time."

"Let's roll."

As the tightly bonded friendship descended from the rooftop together, the human let the alien coat his skin. The red and black tendrils lashed around his body as the white eyed mask engulfed his face. The transformation left a warm feeling in the human body, the sense of closure and sharing his very essence. It used to disgust him but after accepting that this was his life, Pat now enjoyed the switch. Few others could understand this, especially not his witch of an ex-wife. This is why he must find time to be alone – strive to be alone - until someone can contain the spirit of two beings becoming one. The likely candidate: the audacious girl. Together they wished with all their being: "Please let her be the one! Let her love the hybrid he had become, neither human nor symbiote!" Even the creature learning to love knew he wanted this with every inch of his black soul. Although they could not tell her yet, they had to maintain the lie that they are two separate beings. She could not know yet, it was far too early, once her training had gotten underway then she could know the truth. However, this was not the matter at hand.

As his suit finalised, the hybrid shot a black tendril from the back of his hand to the nearest rooftop, inches from the floor, he swung away to do his job. It took mere seconds to catch up with the criminal, as he ducked into an empty alleyway. The victim had given chase but the deserted streets made for an easy runway.

The red light of sunset bounced off the red skin of the hero, making it appear as though Toxin was glowing. As the thief stopped to catch his breath, the celestial being landed in front of him and wasted no time with quips. Toxin easily dispatched the crook by grabbing his throat and chucking the villain over his head. Hitting a wall and instantly knocked out, the crook fell heavily to the ground, the handbag lay beside him. Together they lifted one arm and shot a tendril, grabbing the bag and yanking it back into his open palm.

The hero turned around as the victim caught up and stopped to catch her breath. Taking the bag from the offering hand, she desperately panted:

"Thanks… sorry about this… I should be more careful."

"It is not your fault, don't blame yourself. Scum like him prey on the weak but hey, that's why I'm here."

As her panting slowly became more regular, she began rummaging around in her bag. A few seconds she pulled out her purse.

"Here", she said. "Take this as a reward, a small thank you."

Patrick looked at the woman. She had a big smile on her face which was framed by her shoulder length blonde hair. All the running had caused her beautiful fair skin to redden slightly, giving her a more in-depth complexion to contrast against the white cloak she wore.

Toxin lifted an arm but Pat immediately forced it down. In the most suave voice he could muster, he replied: "Your beautiful smile is the only reward I'll ever need."

The woman giggled and blushed, whilst Toxin ran out of the alleyway, jumped high into the air and swung away. She followed him out of the alley and watched her hero swing away, completely infatuated.

The hero landed calmly on the rooftop and waltzed across it joyfully, they enjoyed the fact they were alive and together. The sun had finally descended making way for the starry night sky and they marvelled at its elegance. As they leapt onto a lower rooftop and continued to cross, the symbiote had another question lingering in his mind, slightly less grave this time.

"Why didn't you take the reward Pat?"

"It would have been wrong Tox", Pat sighed.

"We didn't have to help her", Toxin pointed out.

"It's our duty to protect the innocent, that's why we have our purpose."

"I thought we only gained our purpose because you couldn't run away from Carnage fast enough?"

"Shut up!" Pat snapped. "That may be how, but not why."

"But we need to money!"

"We can deal with it; the other heroes do, without making people charge for their lives."

"A superhero saving tax, like insurance!"

Pat chuckled. "You're a symbiote Tox, you don't need money."

"Well as you know, I am the one thousandth symbiote and the most likely for a mental breakdown− maybe this is my breakdown."

"What, you're becoming more human than symbiote?"

"Yeah, and I like it a hell of a lot more than becoming like my father."

"I'll drink to that!"

"Do you want to head back to the apartment for coffee and perhaps a quick lesson?"

"A lesson in what?"

"I want to learn how to write."

"Once again? Why? You're a symbiote…still, I think? You don't need to write. Plus, I can just do it for you."

"I want to learn how to write!" Toxin demanded. Pat hesitated.

"Fine, I give in, I'll teach you how to write." Pat looked around. "It's a quiet night-"

"Thanks to us!"

"Yeah. Let's go home."

The symbiote and its host bounded across the rooftop with a warm feeling in its heart, and the firm friendship of the two lighting their way. But before they could reach their apartment, Toxin had a small request for his human friend.

"Hey Pat, do you mind if we stop for a sec?"

Swinging towards the nearest building, he let go of the tendril and the pair descended to a nearby bus stop. The human, in a proud and courteous mood, answered his partner.

"What's on your mind, buddy?"

Nervously, the symbiote spoke up. "Well, if Venom gave birth to Carnage and Carnage gave to me. Does that mean that we will have to give birth at some point?"

Pat sighed regretfully. "Yeah Tox, it does mean that."

"What will we do then?"

"The only thing we can do. Find a suitable host for the child."

"Can we not kill it?"

"No Tox," he replied, saddened. "We can't kill the child. We won't cross that line. Plus, the child will be twice as strong as us; we probably couldn't even kill it if we tried."

The symbiote thought quietly for a second. "Who would be the host?"

"Someone we choose - someone with the same morals as us, someone who will use the child to fight alongside us. Fight crime, fight for those who cannot fight. We will train them. Teach them how to use this power. Teach them how to keep control, better than we have. Teach them how to save lives and change the world."

The pair fell silent for a moment.

"I'm still worried Pat."

"I know Toxin, I am too."

Shooting a tendril to the rooftops, the hero pulled himself into the air.

"Giving birth huh? How painful can it be?"

But as they swung back home, Pat felt an odd sensation trickle through his humanity. He wanted to fight it, force it deep down and kill it – but alas, he could not. He could not lie to himself, he had to admit to it, feed it.

"Hey Tox, I don't really know if you've realised but last year when Carnage caused the big underground explosion which I was investigating, well I did some research and it was a year ago today."

"That's where I first bonded to you... So we've been together for a whole year today then?

"Yeah Tox, it's your birthday."

"Err... that's cool I guess."

The pair continued, silently, awkwardly.

"So, Pat, what does this mean?"

"I was – I was just wondering if – maybe – you would like to celebrate. You know, do something special?"

"Err... yeah, that would be nice."

"Cool."

More awkwardness followed.

"Pat?"

"Yeah?"

"Does this mean that I can have a cake?"

"Yeah Tox," Pat chuckled. "You can have a cake."

The tired hero approached his apartment door in his traditional human form, his sense flaring from the smell of another person, her perfume was strong. Pat was not used to living like this, his heightened senses had no experience of living in such close quarters with another human, her every scent, her every sound. He opened the front door to his home and was immediately bombarded with a new smell, the heavy tang of cleaning products. Fighting his way through the invisible torture of his powers, he eventually found the source of the original perfume. Pat discovered a small hand written card on his kitchen table placed in front of a large brown cake sealed with white icing. He picked up the perfume soaked card as the young symbiote burst with intrigue:

"What's it say, Pat?"

"Well, it says 'As a way of saying thank you for your hospitality (which is spelt wrong) I baked you this cake, I hope you will enjoy it'."

"Oh this is so sweet!"

Pat's spine tingled as he heard footsteps emerge behind him, he slowly turned around. Elaine stood before him, the purple make up of before washed away and replaced with simple dark lipstick; her black hair hanging naturally around her shoulders. She wore an elegant black cocktail dress stretching from her chest to her things, the only item he had seen before was the tight choker placed firmly around her neck.

"You look beautiful," Pat complimented.

"Thank you, just thought I should make a little bit of effort," she blushed.

"I'll go get changed."

"Why?" she queried.

"Yes Patrick, why? There is cake on the table – birthday cake," protested Toxin internally.

"Because we're going out to celebrate you moving in, it's only right to make it a special occasion," he answered to the both of them.

"Really?" Elaine peered up excited, but paused again in discomfort. "You don't think I look too slutty do you? I let Scorpia buy some things earlier when you were busy and she likes to go a little flamboyant."

Pat smiled the most honest and sincere smile he had had for a long time. "You look perfect. I'll only be a second."

He entered his bedroom and immediately began ransacking his room in a panic.

"Toxin, do I have anything nice to wear?"

"How should I know, Human? This is your domain."

"This is important, we have to look good."

"I don't see why we even have to go out; she made us a cake after all. Can we not just sit down and have some cake, why are we going out instead?"

"Trust me Tox, if we play our cards right, you're gonna like this a hell of a lot more than cake."

That's all for now but unless Marvel remembers our favourite little symbiote exists then I guess I might have to write another story to satiate my Toxin hunger. Best Wishes, Havok.