Chapter 10
The Bonding That Symbiotes Do
Roll On (18 Wheeler)
by
Alabama
(Spoken over CB radio) Hey, how 'bout ya, Alabama, roll on.
Roll on Highway, roll on along,
Roll on daddy, 'till ya get back home,
Roll on family, roll on crew,
Roll on, mama, like I asked ya to do,
And roll on eighteen wheeler, roll on,
ROLL ON!
Well, it's Monday mornin, he's kissin' mama goodbye,
He's up, and gone with the sun,
Daddy drives an eighteen wheeler, and he's off on a Midwest run,
And three sad faces gather 'round mama,
They ask her when daddy's comin' home,
Daddy drives an eighteen wheeler, and they sure miss him when he's gone, Yeah, they do,
But he calls 'em every night, and he tells 'em,
That he loves them,
He taught 'em this song to sing,
Roll on highway, roll on along,
Roll on daddy, 'till ya get back home,
Roll on family, roll on crew,
Roll on mama like I asked, ya to do,
And roll on eighteen wheeler, roll on,
ROLL ON!
Well, it's Wednesday evenin', mama's waitin' by the phone,
It rings, but it's not his voice,
Seems the Highway Patrol has found a jackknifed rig,
In a snow bank in Illinois,
But the driver was missin', and the search had been abandoned, 'cause the weather had everything stalled,
And they had checked all the houses, and the local motels,
When they had some more news, they'd call,
And she told them when they found him to tell him, that she loved him,
And she hung up the phone, singin',
Roll on highway, roll on along,
Roll on daddy, till ya get back home,
Roll on family, roll on crew,
Roll on mama, like I asked ya to do,
And roll on eighteen wheeler roll on,
Mama and the children will be waiting up all night long,
Thinkin' nothin' but the worst is comin',
With the ringin' of the telephone,
Oh, but the man upstairs was listenin',
When mama asked him to bring daddy home,
And when the call came in, it was daddy on the other end,
Askin' her if she had been singin' this song, singin',
Roll on highway, roll on along,
Roll on daddy, till ya get back home,
Roll on family, roll on crew,
Roll on mama, like I asked ya to do,
And roll on eighteen wheeler,
Roll on highway, roll on along,
Roll on daddy, 'till ya get back home,
Roll on family, roll on crew,
Roll on mama, like I asked ya to do,
And roll on eighteen wheeler, roll on,
ROLL ON!
Eighteen wheeler,
Eighteen wheeler,
Eighteen wheeler,
Eighteen wheeler,
ROLL ON!
"We still don't understand why we had to wait until nightfall before making an attack on this place." Venom stated, looking up at the large eight story office building, the upper floors were incomplete, and there was a huge chain link fence all around it,
"Simple," Ron replied, "it's too risky for me to play my ace in the daytime."
"You're not gonna do what I think you're gonna do, are you?" Johnny asked, looking over at Ron with a questioning glance,
"I don't have a whole lot of choice, J Blaze." Ron stated, walking up to his motorcycle, the cap now glowing brightly,
"What's with the cap on the bike, Stoppable?" Venom asked,
"Curious?" Ron asked,
"Yes, we are." Venom stated,
"Watch, and learn." Ron stated, smiling as his hand came into contact with the cap, the transformation took place within a few seconds, right in front of the startled faces of Venom, and Spider-Man, Johnny, and Kim didn't flinch, due to the fact that both had seen, or experienced the transformation into Ghost Rider themselves,
"Alright, you four, are you ready for this?" Ghost Rider asked, as Venom winced slightly from the flame covered specter,
"Don't worry about it, Venom, I'm not going to hurt you, unless you step out of line with me." Rider stated,
"We have no quarrel with you." Venom stated, now standing to his full height,
"Alright, let's get in there, get Tara, and get out, Pete, Venom, I need you to take a rear entrance, Johnny, you go through the right side, Kim, the left, I'll take the front myself." Rider stated,
"On it." came the resounding reply from three, but Kim remained at Ron's side,
"You never did tell me how you met those two, Ron." Kim stated, looking at Ghost Rider,
"Remember when I was the photographer for the school newspaper, Kim?" Rider asked,
"Yeah, if I remember correctly, you left the staff because you didn't feel that photography was in your blood." Kim replied,
"Well, the school paid me to go to a photographer's convention, Eddie and Pete were working as photographers for The Daily Bugle in New York, I found out who they were by accident, when the place came under siege by a group of terrorists." Rider explained,
"I can't believe that you know two real live heroes." Kim stated, awed that Ron could be so resourceful,
"Don't say that in front of Venom, KP." Rider stated,
"Why not?" Kim asked,
"His head's big enough as it is, I don't think I could handle it if someone called him a hero." Rider stated, on a cackle of laughter,
"Alright, I'm going in," Kim stated, she leaned up, as Rider allowed the fire around his skull to die out for a second, as Kim planted a kiss on his bony cheek, "take care of yourself in there." she added, before disappearing around the other side of the building,
"Alright, time to set this place on fire." Rider stated, as he walked into the front door, and disappeared from street view.
At the rear of the building:
Two figures walked through the dark building, and down a deserted corridor, one of them was wearing a red and blue costume, with a heavy spider theme, while the other was dressed in black from head-to-foot, with white patches on his hands, and over his eyes, his mouth was not much more than a large gash in his face, with sharp, dagger-like teeth sticking out in all directions, his pointed tongue was lashing at his face, while drool, and spittle flew everywhere with each flick of his tongue,
"Alright, Eddie, you want to calm down?" the red and blue clad Spider-Man stated to his cohort,
"He's close, Parker, we can sense him." Venom stated, looking at Spider-Man with a careful eye,
"Yeah, well, just remember the plan." Spidey stated,
"We know, we know, find the girl, and get her to safety, while Ron takes care of Carnage." Venom stated, as they walked up to a fork in the corridor,
"Well, looks like we part company here, Eddie, remember, if you find her, let Ron know immediately." Spidey stated, as he headed for the corridor on his left,
"We're not THAT stupid, Parker." Venom replied, heading for the corridor on his right,
"Could've fooled me." Spidey stated in a low voice, as he turned his back to Venom, and disappeared down his chosen path,
"Leave it to Parker to crack jokes in a crisis." Venom stated, shaking his head. Ever since he had started working more and more with Spidey, he found him to be, at the least, a joker with no sense of timing.
Venom had continued down his chosen path, and so far, found nothing but emptiness behind every door,
"This is getting tiresome, where is she?" Venom thought out loud, when he heard a muffled voice coming from behind a door to his left,
"Is someone in there?" he asked out loud through the door, again, he heard a muffled shout,
"Only one way to find out." Venom stated, taking a few steps back from the door, he ran at it, and lowered his shoulder just before impact, the door splintered underneath the brute force.
Venom looked around, and found a pretty blonde sitting on the floor, she was bound, and gagged, her long blonde hair hid most of her face, and the accumulated dirt made her look as though she had spent days in here, undiscovered, he quickly walked up to her, and pulled the gag out of her mouth,
"Are you Tara King?" Venom asked, looking at the lithe blonde at his feet,
"I . . . I am." Tara replied, scared at what she was seeing,
"We won't hurt you, a mutual friend sent us." Venom stated, Tara nodded,
"Where are we going?" she asked,
"Out of here," Venom stated, reaching for a small earphone device, he stuck it where his ear should be, and began to speak in a clear voice, "Venom to Ghost Rider, come in."
"This is Ghost Rider, whatcha got, Eddie?" came the reply,
"We found the girl, and we're getting her out of here, how goes things on your end?" Venom asked,
"Not good, I'm not able to find Cassidy anywhere." Rider replied,
"Keep looking, they're around here somewhere . . . we can feel them." Venom explained,
"Copy that, Eddie, get Tara and get her out of here, Kim should be meeting up with you shortly." Rider explained,
"Copy that, Rider, we'll see if we can find Kim, and get to the rendezvous spot, Venom, out." Venom replied,
"Come with us it you want to live." Venom stated, now extending a hand to Tara, who took it, but she was unable to leave the room, due to a large, heavy chain, attached to a collar around her neck,
"Leave it to our other to come prepared." Venom stated, as he grabbed onto the chain, and bit it in two, he then grabbed Tara by the arm, and took off out of the room.
On the fifth floor of the building:
Kim was walking carefully, and couldn't find anything, she knew the instructions were to find Tara, and get out of the building before Carnage had time to know anyone was there, but there was something in the back of her mind that kept telling her that this was a set up of some kind, that's when she heard that Venom had found Tara, and that she was supposed to meet up with him outside, and proceed to the rendezvous point,
'Excellent, now we can get out of here.' Kim thought, taking off for the stairs she had climbed up, no sooner had she turned the corner, than something red streaked by her, and hit her square in the chest,
"Thinking of leaving so soon?" said a high-pitched voice that made her blood run cold, another flash of red, and a loud, painful scream, and suddenly, all was dark.
On the fourth floor, near the fire escape:
Johnny Blaze was walking through the maze of corridors, and so far, had found nothing, then, he heard that Venom had done his job, and had found Tara in an auxiliary closet on the third floor,
'That's one floor down, better get there, and cover the big brute's back.' he thought, that's when he heard a loud, painful scream from the fire escape,
'Oh, no, this isn't good, that sounded like Kim.' Johnny thought, skidding around the corner, he kicked open the fire escape door, and saw something red flash past him, he turned, and saw the person they were supposed to be hunting, Carnage, over his shoulder, was Kim,
'Ron is going to go completely ballistic when he finds out about this.'Johnny thought, tearing off after Carnage, who had suddenly turned back, and disappeared from view,
"Dammit!" he shouted, coming around the corner, he kicked open the fire escape door, and found himself in a huge office of some type, there was only one desk, and there were several papers strewn all over it, he walked up to it, and rifled through the papers, the more he read, the more unsettled he became,
"Ron's gotta see this." he stated, digging into the pocket of the trench coat he was wearing, and pulling out a small comm device, he shoved it into his ear, and called out,
"Blaze to Ghost Rider, come in."
"Go, J Blaze, whatcha got?" came Rider's reply,
"I got something you might want to see, where's your present location?" he replied,
"Second floor, near the Schwab offices." Rider replied,
"Stay there, I'm on my way down to you." Johnny replied, running out of the room at top speed, with several of the papers in his hands.
On the third floor:
Tara and Venom were running for the fire escape, but Tara had to stop, and get her breath back, she leaned against the wall, and began panting heavily,
"Did Carnage say what he wanted?" Venom asked,
"What did you call him?" Tara asked,
"We called him Carnage, although we didn't choose the name for him." Venom replied,
"No, he just said that I was supposed to be bait to call out someone named Ghost Rider." Tara explained,
"He's about to receive a very rude awakening, come on, we need to get you out of here, move." Venom stated, grabbing Tara, and hoisting her up onto his shoulders, he quickly jumped through the fire escape door, and bounded down the stairs to the second floor, where he could feel the presence of Ghost Rider, he came to a halt next to the ghoulish specter, and looked him over quickly,
"About time you got here, Eddie, hey, T-babe." Rider commented
"Where's Carnage?" Venom asked,
"I don't know, couldn't find him." Rider replied,
"We don't like this, you were supposed to take care of Carnage, while we rescued the girl." Venom stated, reminding Rider of the plan,
"I know that, Eddie, I'm not stupid." Rider explained,
"Could've fooled us." Venom stated, as Blaze came skidding around the corner,
"Thank God you're still here, Rider, we got a big problem." Blaze stated,
"How so?" Rider asked,
"It's Carnage, he's got Kim." Blaze stated,
"WHAT!" Rider shouted, the blazing aura around him gaining in brightness, and intensity,
"Yeah, he saw me, and ran, I lost track of him on the eighth floor." Blaze stated,
"Is that all?" Rider asked,
"No, I found this." Johnny stated, handing Rider the papers he had found sitting on the desk earlier,
"Uh-oh, this is not good." Rider stated,
"What is it?" Venom asked,
"Apparently, he's found a way to synthesize symbiotes, and he's looking for a human guinea pig." Rider stated,
"And he's found one." came Spider-Man's voice from directly above them,
"How so?" Rider asked,
"Uhh . . . guys, you'd better turn around." came Blaze's voice, in an almost steady manner.
Everyone turned at once, and what they saw made them all freeze in their tracks. Standing in front of them was what appeared to be a symbiote, the angry red color made them all think it was Carnage, but it was the long red hair that caught everyone's attention,
"Oh, no, Kim." Rider stated, in an almost soft voice, very unlike his own,
"We are no longer Kim Possible, now, we are Scarlet, and we are your DOOM, Rider." the symbiote stated, in a voice not unlike Kim's,
"Eddie, get everyone out of here, now." Rider stated, in an uncharacteristically calm voice,
"What are you planning, Rider?" Venom asked,
"I'm gonna deal with this myself." Rider stated, as the flaming aura around him pulsed brighter,
"We know who you are, Rider, and we can, and will beat you, for the glory of our master." the symbiote calling itself Scarlet stated, as it charged after Rider, who dodged her with a very simple sidestep,
"I know, Kim, and if you want to fight, then you're leaving me with no choice . . . I really wish there was another way." Rider stated, his voice filled with remorse for what he was about to do, Scarlet tried another pass at Rider, who quickly grabbed onto the symbiote, and crashed through a window, to the ground, some thirty feet below, where the fight began,
"Someone want to tell me what's going on?" Tara asked, looking down on the fight, watching the flaming specter called Ghost Rider attack Kim with a fury she had never seen from a living being,
"Right now, Kim is being controlled by the symbiote that attacked her." Spidey stated,
"We think we can explain it better than anyone here." Venom stated,
"I'm listening." Tara stated, her arms crossed across her chest,
"She's got a lot of Kim in her." Johnny stated, shaking his head, trying hard not to laugh,
"Well, when a symbiote bonds with a human host, they can feasibly control the host, kind of like a puppet, or marionette, they pull the strings, while the human hosts acts, the host has no free will." Venom stated,
"You would know all about that, wouldn't you, Venom." Spidey replied,
"Cut us some slack, webhead, that was a long time ago." Venom replied,
"So, Kim's being controlled by some kind of parasite?" Tara asked,
"In a round about way, yes." Venom stated,
"Why not just tear it off her?" Tara asked,
"It doesn't work that way," Venom explained, "only two things will force a symbiote from its human host . . . fire, and ultrasonics."
"So, why doesn't Ghost Rider just hit her with some kind of fireball, God knows he's got enough to do the job." Tara stated,
"There's more to it than that, Tara," Johnny explained, "Ghost Rider is not what he seems to be."
"What are you talking about?" Tara asked,
"Think about it, Tara," Spidey stated, looking at the lithe blonde, "Did Rider say anything to you, as a kind of clue who he is,words, or movements that you would associate with a single person?"
"Well, there was a comment . . . RON!" Tara stated, her eyes round as coins,
"She catches on fast, doesn't she?" Venom commented, while he watched the fight from above.
At ground level:
Ghost Rider was having a hard time fighting the symbiote, it had all of Kim's skills, with magnified agility, and speed, he was having a hard time dodging, and keeping up with its movements.
"Kim . . . don't force me to fight you." Rider stated,
"You act as if you have a choice." Scarlet replied,
"No . . . I act as if YOU have a choice." Rider responded, sending a ball of hellfire at Scarlet, which she dodged quickly, she caught Rider with a webshot, and sent him to the ground, hard, he quickly called forth his demonic chains, and lashed it like a whip, tripping Scarlet up, he quickly kipped up into a standing position,
"You got your webs, I got my chains, I think that makes us even." Rider stated, snapping the chain like a whip, Scarlet ducked, as the chain dug out a large chunk of the building behind the symbiote, and sent it crashing to the ground,
"Ooh, careful, Rider, you don't have the money to pay for the damages." Scarlet stated, as she charged at Rider again, Rider quickly hit her with a vicious clothesline, making her hit the ground hard, she kipped up, and back flipped out of the way, as the flaming aura around Rider pulsed, and began burning a bright white,
"PLAYTIME'S OVER!" Rider roared, calling forth the power of The Lotus Blade, he then reached behind his back, and pulled his shotgun,
"Do you think that crude noisemaker is going to work on us?" Scarlet asked, as she plugged up the barrel of the shotgun with webbing,
"And do you really think that webbing is going to clog my shotgun?" Rider responded, as he leveled off the shotgun, just as Scarlet moved in close, Rider pulled the trigger at point blank range, there was no time for Scarlet to react, as the ball of hellfire hit it's target.
Scarlet screeched loudly, and was thrown back, as she looked up, the symbiote parted from around Kim's face,
"Ron." she said, looking up at Ron with pained eyes,
"Who am I talking to?" Rider asked, that's when he heard Venom, who had landed some distance away,
"Don't let them trick you, Rider, don't lose your focus." he shouted,
"Ron . . . it hurts, please." "Kim" said, in a pained voice,
"May God forgive me." Rider said, as he cut loose with a massive hellfire blast, it didn't find it's target, as Scarlet rolled out of the way,
"I've had ENOUGH OF THIS!" Rider shouted, as he once again leveled his shotgun at Scarlet, who had ran herself into a corner,
"You win this round, Rider, but we still have your precious Kimmie." Scarlet stated, as she attempted to get away,
"I don't think so." Rider stated, just as Scarlet made her jump, a set of demonic chains grabbed her across the ankles, sending her crashing back down to Earth,
"Don't think you can break those, you will definitely get a major shock if you try." Rider said almost lazily, as he walked up to the symbiote, and, with a lazy wave of his hand, he created a demonic cage of chains, that wrapped the symbiote up where she stood,
"You haven't heard the last of us, Rider, we WILL come back." Scarlet yelled,
"On the contrary, I have." Rider replied, as he raised his hand to the heavens, immediately, a large column of hellfire engulfed the symbiote where it stood, completely obscuring it from view, while he leveled off The Lotus Blade in the direction of the column of fire, the blade began to vibrate violently in his hand, as it shot forth a powerful ultrasonic wave, that impacted with the column where the symbiote was trapped, the resulting screams sounded as if they were echoing from hell itself.
"Now, what were you intending to do with my queen?" came a voice from behind Rider, as a set of crimson knives found their way into his back, Rider turned, keeping his concentration on the column of fire, as he pulled the daggers from his back,
"Didn't anyone tell you not to play with sharp objects, Cassidy?" Rider stated, as he trapped the red monster in a demonic cage, and fired off several blasts of hellfire at it, knocking the symbiote out where it stood, he then turned, and concentrated all his energies on Scarlet,
"You no longer have a choice in the matter, Scarlet, you will leave Kim's body, or I will incinerate both of you where you stand." Rider stated, he watched, as a trail of red left from the cage where he had trapped the symbiote, but inside of the flames, there was still a body, he quickly shut the flames down, and released the cage, once the flames died, he saw Kim, her eyes closed, her limp form fell to the ground with a loud thud,
"KIM!" Rider yelled, running to Kim's side, unfortunately, he loosened his grip on the cage that was binding Carnage, and he escaped into the night, with Venom hot on his heels,
"She's in shock, separation from the symbiote." Spidey said, as he reached the scene, remarkably, there were no burns on Kim anywhere, it was as if the fire didn't exist around her, not even her clothes had been harmed,
"Why isn't Kim all burned up?" Tara asked, as she looked down,
"The symbiote kept her from even getting a singed hair." Spidey explained.
Ghost Rider leaned forward, and reached into the cargo pocket of Kim's pants, a few seconds later, he pulled out the Kimmunicator, and pushed the call button,
"Wade, get an ambulance out to the new financial building on forty-fifth, and Vine, Kim needs help, like yesterday." Rider stated,
"How bad?" Wade asked,
"Severe shock." Rider explained, as he sat down, and began to transform back into Ron,
"They're on the way, Ron." Wade explained, as Ron looked into the small monitor, and smiled,
"Thanks, Wade." Ron replied, shutting the device off.
Middleton Memorial Hospital Emergency waiting room:
Ron was pacing the floor like an expectant father, when the doors to the waiting room opened, and Kim's parents walked in,
"How bad, Ron?" Mrs. Possible asked, Ron looked up through his tear streaked face, but didn't say a word, the pain in his eyes was enough of a confirmation for them,
"What happened?" Mr. Possible asked, Ron looked up at him, took a seat, and began to explain, with help from Peter, and Johnny, when he was finished, both of Kim's parents looked at Ron, but said nothing,
"Ann, why don't you go find out how Kimmie is, I'll stay here with Ronald." Mr. Possible stated, to which his wife nodded, and walked out of the room, and out of sight,
"I believe you, Ronald, even though this sounds like one of your far-fetched stories, I still believe you." Mr. Possible stated,
"It don't help much." Ron replied, as he turned away, and began crying again, that's when a voice caught his attention,
"Ron." came Kim's voice form the waiting room, she was in a wheelchair, but she was very much awake,
"KP!" Ron yelled, as he took his girlfriend in his arms, and gave her a hug so massive, it was if he never wanted to let go,
"Ron . . . ease up." Kim managed to choke out,
"Oh, KP, I'm so sorry . . . can you forgive me?" Ron asked,
"No big." Kim replied, shrugging off Ron apology,
"Well, the doctors say she's good." Mrs. Possible stated,
"Coolio." Ron replied,
"Just hang on, Ron, she's got to stay overnight for observation, then, she's clear to come home." Mrs. Possible replied,
"I'll stay here with you, KP." Ron stated, to which Kim shook her head,
"Sorry, Ron, doctor's orders, no overnight guests." Kim replied,
"Aww, MAN! That tanks." Ron replied, kicking at the ground.
Four days later:
Kim had been released from the hospital the following morning, as promised, and for the last three days, Ron had been telling her about the fight they had, while Kim was being controlled by the symbiote, for some reason, Kim couldn't remember any of it,
"I just don't remember it, Ron, it's like that never happened, the last thing I remember is that thing attacking me in the financial building, after that, I woke up in the hospital, the doctors said that might happen, an erasure of part of my memory." Kim stated, as they walked through Middleton Park on a beautiful morning, some four days after the harrowing incident at the still incomplete financial building,
"Well, the thing is that Carnage got away, so did the Scarlet symbiote, Kim, I'm worried that Scarlet is gonna find her way back to you." Ron stated,
"We'll deal with that when the time comes, Ron." Kim stated, as they took a right turn down a small bike path, not noticing a rose colored pool snake it's way from behind a tree, and follow them back to Kim's home.
Later that day:
Ron had dropped Kim off at her house, when a loud beeping in the jacket he was wearing caught his attention,
'The comm device, I thought everyone gave those back?' he thought to himself, as he stuck the device into his ear, he was shocked to hear Venom's voice on the other end of the open frequency,
"Ron, is that you?" he asked,
"Yeah, Eddie, it's me." Ron replied,
"Bad news." Venom replied, his voice sounding urgent,
"What is it?" Ron asked,
"Your playmate, Scarlet, has found a new host." Venom stated,
"How so?" Ron asked,
"We're up in the mountains in Japan, unfortunately, Carnage discovered a school here, and some girl that shares his way of thinking, he implanted the Scarlet symbiote into the girl's body, but a part of it broke off." Venom stated,
"Yamonouchi, what did you say the girl's name was, Eddie?" Ron asked,
"Yuki . . . we were visited by an older man, and a young girl named Yori, they knew we were in touch with you, and asked us to relay the message, apparently, this Yuki girl is like a doppleganger to Yori, they're exactly the same, but they think differently." Venom stated,
"You sure about that?" Ron asked,
"Duh." Venom replied, then, he added, "We saw it with our own eyes."
"What could you tell from it?" Ron asked,
"The new symbiote . . . it's a total opposite from it's . . . and we use the term loosely . . . mother, it's intentions are not evil, and it's looking for a like-minded human to bond with." Venom stated, that's when a dull glow caught Ron's attention, he looked down, and saw the gas cap on his motorcycle glowing,
"Gotta go, Eddie, something's up." Ron stated, turning down an empty alley, as his hand made contact with the gas cap.
At the Possible home:
Kim was sitting on her bed, reading a rather large book that she had taken from the bookcase downstairs, when something suddenly felt different, like she was being watched, for some reason, she found herself drawn toward her closet,
"I know there's someone there." Kim stated, now standing in front of the curtain that separated her closet from the rest of her room, Kim opened the curtains, and began looking hard,
"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Kim said, but she was unable to say anymore, as a rose colored something hit her in the face, hard, and knocked her out.
Ghost Rider pulled into the Possible driveway, and shut off his mystical motorcycle, he walked up to the door, and phased through it, this still shocked the Possible family somewhat, as they were still not used to having some ghoulish specter phasing through their front door,
"Ronald, you could knock, like a normal human." Mr. Possible stated,
"Where's Kim?" Rider asked,
"Upstairs, in her bedroom." Mr. Possible stated,
"Stay down here, I'll be back in a few minutes." Rider stated, as he ran into the hallway, and mounted the stairs, he shot up them, and stopped outside of Kim's bedroom door, it was closed, and from all outward appearances, it seemed locked,
"Hmm, Kim should know that a locked door won't stop me." Ron said, in a low voice, as he phased through the door, he suddenly stopped, as he saw a deep rose colored symbiote in the room, Kim's trademark red hair sticking out from the top of the head, he quickly pulled his shotgun, and cocked it loudly,
"Don't even think about moving." Rider stated in a dangerously low voice, the symbiote spun on it's heel, and faced Ron, for some reason, this didn't look like the Scarlet he remembered, there was no gash for a mouth, no dagger like teeth, and no pointed tongue, in fact, there was no mouth at all, nor were there any eyes, Rider hesitated, and in that fraction of an instant, Kim's face appeared out of the rose colored mess,
"RON, NO, WAIT!" Kim yelled loudly, making Rider jump slightly,
"I don't think so, you fooled me once, I'm not going to give you a second chance." Rider stated, leveling off his shotgun,
"Ron . . Stop it, it's me." Kim stated, as the pink mass faded into Kim's body,
"Make me believe." Rider stated, as he took a seat on Kim's bed, and began a slow reversion back into Ron,
"Ron, don't you get it, this isn't Scarlet, it's the breakaway, it doesn't want to hurt me, it wants to work with me." Kim stated,
"Kim, I'm sorry, but I find that hard to believe." Ron stated,
"Maybe, if I let her talk to you, in her own words, then you might understand." Kim stated, allowing the Rose colored mass to once again appear, and surround most of her body,
"I'm listening." Ron stated,
"Ron . . . Kim is telling the truth, I'm not your enemy." came a female voice, a very soft one, much more gentle that the voice carried by Scarlet,
"Continue." Ron stated, never once letting his gaze fall from the rose colored mass in front of him,
"I was brought about because the Scarlet symbiote bonded with a like mind." the voice stated,
"Is that even possible?" Ron asked,
"Yes, it is, ask your friend, Eddie, he can tell you . . . that's how Carnage came to being, Carnage is a breakaway from Venom." the voice stated,
"Then, you're not controlling Kim?" Ron asked,
"No, it's a kind of relationship, like you and The Ghost Rider . . . you call the spirit when danger is nearby, I can be useful to Kim, by protecting her from danger, but I have no desire to control her, I want to work with her, not control her." the voice stated, Ron could tell that the voice was being completely honest with him,
"I'll let it slide for now, but if I detect a sign of you controlling Kim, I will not hesitate in putting a beatdown on you." Ron stated,
"Fair enough." the voice stated, as the symbiote retreated back into Kim's body,
"Do you believe now, Ron?" Kim asked, sitting down on the bed next to Ron, and placing a gentle hand on his arm,
"To a point, Kim, but it's still kind of dangerous to be bonded to a symbiote, Eddie told me that they're not easy to control." Ron stated,
"That's no big, Ron, I plan to talk to her about it." Kim stated,
"What makes you think it's a she?" Ron asked,
"What male of any kind would choose a rose color as their base, Ron?" Kim asked,
"Fair enough." Ron stated,
"Now, I need your help, I've been trying to find a design that would work for me." Kim stated, looking at the mirror,
"Sure thing, KP." Ron stated, kind of amused,
"You rock, Ron." Kim replied, kissing Ron on the cheek, before stepping into the middle of the room, and trying out several different designs with the new symbiote, until she stopped at one, which exposed her mouth, and part of her nose, but covered her eyes, it also left her long red hair exposed to flow freely down her back, in it's regular setting, it formed a pair of white, elbow length gloves over Kim's arms, and a pair of white, thigh length boots, with a modest heel,
"How's this one look?" Kim asked,
"I like . . . I like a lot." Ron stated, a smile on his face,
"Now, we need to find my little friend here a name." Kim stated,
"Well, seeing that the color reminds me of a rose, what about Rose?" Ron commented,
"She loves it, Ron, she thinks it's cute." Kim replied, a smile creeping over her face, as Rose disappeared back into her body,
"Rose it is, then, well, I gotta jet, KP, remember, we got reservations at Luigi's Italian restaurant tomorrow night, I'll be by to pick you up at five thirty." Ron stated,
"What should I wear?" Kim asked,
"Well, it's our anniversary tomorrow, so, wear something nice." Ron stated,
"Oh, I forgot, a year that we've been dating, I'll be ready, Ron." Kim said, as she watched Ron leave her room, she knew that Ron was not going to believe that Rose was kind natured, until he found out for himself, and that might take a long time to prove.
The following afternoon:
Tonight was to be the night that Kim and Ron were to celebrate an entire year together as a couple, but there was some things that Kim needed to get out in the open with the entity that now shared her body,
"Rose, are you listening?" Kim asked,
"Yes, Mistress, I'm here, is there something you wish to discuss?" came a voice inside of Kim's head,
"Yeah, I have a few questions I need to ask." Kim stated,
"I'll be as truthful as I can be, Mistress, go ahead, and ask." Rose telepathically replied,
"First of all, Ron told me about what happened with Scarlet, I don't want another repeat of that, I can count on you to not do that, right?" Kim asked,
"Yes, Mistress, I am the complete opposite of my mother, my soul purpose in life is to protect, and help." Rose stated, Kim could feel the symbiote smiling, so she felt safe,
"Second point of order, I don't have to worry about you taking me over like Scarlet did, right?" Kim asked,
"I will never do that to you, Mistress, it is not my intention to rule over you like a slave, I only want to help." Rose replied, again, Kim felt peace wash over her body, but she also felt that there was something that she wasn't being told,
"You're leaving something out . . . what is it?" Kim asked,
"Well, being bonded to you, I have kind of developed a crush on Ron . . . forgive me." Rose stated, rather bluntly,
"No big . . . we share memories, and thoughts, but please remember, I love Ron very much, and I don't want to do anything that would hurt him." Kim replied,
"Then, it would be safe to say that I think Ron is cute . . . especially when he's in his leather." Rose replied, Kim could feel the symbiote inside of her blushing heavily,
"It would be safe to say." Kim stated, smiling, then, a familiar male voice called up to her,
"KP, we got six o'clock reservations at Luigi's, we're gonna be late if you don't step on it." Ron stated,
"Our intended has arrived, Mistress, let's, how do you say it, knock his socks off." Rose said, Kim could hear the mischievous sparkle in the symbiote's voice when she spoke,
"What do you have in mind?" Kim asked,
"Allow me." Rose replied,
"Be my guest." Kim stated, as she stood up from the small stool in front of her vanity, at that point, a funny feeling came over Kim, it passed rather quickly, as she could no longer feel the wind on her legs, she looked down, and saw a beautiful red satin gown, she walked up to the full mirror that was standing in a corner of the room, so she could get a good look.
The dress was a red satin floor length gown, it was a one strap piece which came up over her left shoulder, around her neck, was a red ribbon, tied in a bow at the cleft of her neck, where it blends in with the shoulders, the dress was slit up to the waist on both sides, and had a gradual sloping hem, from left, to right, her hair had been done up, and a beautiful wave put into it, the long back was placed into a high ponytail, and she even had on a small bit of makeup, which made her look very sophisticated,
"This is gonna blow him away." Rose stated,
"I hope so." Kim stated, as she walked to the door of her room.
Ron was pacing the floor in front of the stairs, when he heard Kim's door come open, tonight, he was dressed nicely, in a black tuxedo, red cummerbund, and a red satin bow tie, he had borrowed his father's dress shoes, and spent all last night polishing them, so that they shined, he didn't turn around at first, until a semi-smoky voice caught his attention,
"Hello, hon, ready to do the town?" Kim said, causing Ron to turn around, as soon as he saw Kim, his jaw dropped to the floor,
"You can thank Rose for the outfit, it was her idea." Kim stated, walking down, and closing Ron's jaw with a very subtle motion,
"Wow . . . KP, you look . . . WOW!" Ron finally managed to say,
"Told you it'd blow him away." Rose stated, making Kim smile.
At Luigi's Italian restaurant:
Kim and Ron walked in, and took a seat near the back of the room, there was a light crowd tonight, and the sounds of the violin permeated the air, this was the place to go on a date, the lights were always kept low, and the soft music was known for making young lovers get close, and cuddle in the booths, Ron took a seat next to Kim at an unoccupied booth, and took a menu in his hands,
"What do you want, KP?" Ron asked, as he could speak Italian, Kim decided to let him order, until a voice in her head spoke out,
"I can speak other languages, besides English, Kim, I say, go with the Stuffed Manicotti." Rose stated,
"Stuffed Manicotti sounds good." Kim stated, looking at Ron with a smile,
"Whoa, KP, when did you learn to read Italian?" Ron asked,
"Since I have a certain guest." Kim replied, plucking at the gown she was wearing, it was at this time, the familiar four tones of The Kimmunicator went off,
"Oh, great, just what I didn't need." Kim said, reaching into a small pocket area on the gown that Rose had made for The Kimmunicator, "What's the sitch, Wade?"
"Is everyone listening?" Wade asked, looking at Kim with a knowing expression,
"Yes, I'm listening." Rose's voice echoed in Kim's head,
"The gang's all here, Wade, go." Kim stated, a knowing smile crossing her face,
"Motor Ed's at it again." Wade stated,
"Man, that dude's got a skull as thick as a block of cement." Ron said, shaking his head,
"And you, putting his hair into pigtails last time didn't help much, Ron." Kim stated, to which Rose began to laugh,
"Motor Ed, in pigtails . . . I would've paid real money to see that." she said in between gales of laughter, which caused Kim to giggle slightly,
"If he wants the Yul Brenner look, then fine by me." Ron stated, looking at Kim, who nodded, and both rose as one, and headed for the door, once outside, Kim looked around to make sure that there were no windows, and quickly changed into her new mission costume,
"Go for the motorcycle, Ron, I'll meet you in the warehouse district." Kim stated, as she shot a webline at the nearest tall building, pulled back, and disappeared from view,
"You'll . . . yeah." Ron stated, running for the motorcycle, where the cap was glowing brighter than Ron had ever seen it before.
"Okay, time to heat things up." Ron stated, as his hand made contact with the cap.