"-ake up."

"Nnn, no..." Kenzie muttered in response. She turned over, and fell to the floor.

She woke up.

Laughing followed her fall and she sat up and opened her eyes. Around her were the villains that had pursued her earlier.

"So, that wasn't a nightmare. I really was kidnapped by circus freaks..." she said, and stood up shakily from the floor. She almost fell over again when he bruise shot pain through her. She wondered why she had hardly felt it when she ran from the villains earlier. Perhaps pain really was a figment of the mind, since she hadn't even thought of it while she tried to escape them. Now it hurt like hell, and she tenderly placed a hand over it.

"Hey, we ain't no circus freaks." Rhino said.

"Says the giant talking rhino who hangs out with a vulture, a muddy mess, some electro-maniacs, and a big snow globe ..." she replied, and turned to see she was previously laying on a table. "Why the hell am I here? And where is here?" she asked, looking all over the room. It was filled with computers and lab areas.

"This, young madam," Mysterio said, "is our hideout. The exact location of this place, we cannot share with you, for fear that you may infor-"

"Why are you hiding out at OsCorp?" Kenzie interrupted. The villains froze in their places.

"H-how did you come to that conclusion." Mysterio began. Kenzie waved her hands and fingers mysteriously.

"Magic, yo." she said. Mysterio sputtered at the answer, and took off his dome of a helmet. His thin face looked accusingly at her, and his mustache twitched.

"I think not." he said.

"Oh, are we giving away our identities, to?" Electro asked. The electricity around his head was gone, showing only a mask and goggles.

"You're kidding, right?" Shocker asked, and smacked Electro upside the head. "Everyone knows who we are, ya idiot!"

"Ow! Asshole!" Electro yelled, and punched at Shocker. The two began to fight.

"As always..." Vulture said to Kenzie. "My dear, if ever you should join a villain group, make sure you don't have two people controlling the same element, else there will always be a constant contest to prove who is the better of the two..."

"Yeah...thanks..."

"Bunch of dorks..." Sandman said, and sat down in a chair. He eyed Kenzie suggestively. "Hey, wanna sit on my lap, cutie?" he asked. Kenzie's cheeks went red, and she balled her hands into fists.

"You think..." she stalked up to him and pointed her finger at his face. "You think I would sit on your ugly, grainy lap, you scum-sucking, low-life, perverted, fuck-tard?" she yelled. Shocker and Electro stopped their fighting, and everyone watched Kenzie as she continued her onslaught of insults. Sandman's eyes were wide, and showed a hint of fear as she jabbed her finger at him with every horrid name she gave him. "My boyfriend is a million times the man you are and ever will be, so keep your disgusting, gutter-trash thoughts to yourself or I swear I'll take a fire hydrant to your head!" she finished, and crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.

"Uh...okay..." Sandman said.

"Alright then!" Kenzie said, and held her hand out to shake his. "I'm Kenzie Marks." Sandman looked bewildered at her hand before slowly taking it to shake.

"Flint Marco..." he said.

"Nice ta meetcha, Flint." Kenzie said, and took her hand away.

"Jesus, bipolar much?" Electro murmured. Kenzie shot him a look and he shut up.

"She isn't bipolar, just expressive with all of her emotions." said a voice from above. Everyone looked up to see Doc Ock looking down at them from a railing on the second floor. "At least that is how miss Kenzie had explained it to myself when we were first acquainted." he said in amusement. The four metal arms that protruded from his back reached down to the first floor and carried him to Kenzie's level. He landed on his feet and walked over to Kenzie. He was about an inch shorter than her, and his eyes were covered by black lenses on each side of his face.

"Hello, my dear." he said, his hands clasped behind his back and a smile on his face.

"Sup shorty." Kenzie said, and crossed her arms again. The villains looked warily at Doc Ock to see how he would react. He did nothing, but smile a little wider.

"Joker as always, I see." he said. Kenzie nodded.

"Crazy as always, I trust."

"Can she do that?" Rhino asked Flint, who shrugged.

"This girl is a dear associate of mine, and I expect you to treat her with the utmost respect at all times." he said.

"She like your sister or something? Cuz I've seen your friends, and you don't let them tease you at all." Shocker said.

"She was a friend when I still worked here at OsCorp. She stood up for me and always told me to look out for myself. I finally followed her advice when I acquired these precious extra arms. In a way, she was my inspiration." Otto explained.

"Please don't give credit of your insanity to me. I don't want that reputation, Otto." Kenzie said.

"Of course, you would rather have the reputation of a certain spider's girlfriend." he replied. Kenzie snorted.

"I'm not Spiderman's squeeze, Octavian. You're looking for Mary Jane Watson, not me." she said.

"I'm not talking about Spiderman, Freeman."

"Don't call me that, and what are you talking about?" Kenzie said bitterly. Otto tsked.

"Of course. I didn't think he told you. Come with me, if you would." Otto said, and walked to one of the large computers. Kenzie followed. "I would not be here, of all miserable places, but sadly, this laboratory is the only one besides Connors' that I can use to find what I was previously looking for."

"What is that, I wonder?" Kenzie said. Otto took a vile from his coat and handed it to her. It contained black powder. "Is this the stuff I gave to Connors? You're the one who stole it?"

"I had to, to try and find out more about the character Venom. This sample was perfect, so I took it." Otto pressed a button on the motherboard and an image of Venom popped up on the computer screen.

"What did you find out?" Kenzie asked, staring hatingly at Venom's photo.

"You remember how you reacted when you found your father dead in that motel room?" Otto asked. Kenzie froze, remembering everything. His body. Torn. Scattered. Bloody.

"Why?" she asked in suspicion.

"You remember what you felt?" Otto asked.

"Yes."

"A kind of release, wasn't it, from your father's torment. From his beatings."

"You had no right to kill him-"

"Both know that's truthful, but we both know you wouldn't be the healthy girl you are today. You'd probably be dead, and your father in a prison. Kenzie Freeman. Kenzie Marks. Which do you prefer to be?"

"...Marks..."

"And that is possible because?"

"Of you..."

"Don't beat yourself up, child. You looked out for me, and so I did the same for you, though I admit my methods were unorthodox."

"He was missing for weeks. I found him there because you told me his location. It was such an obvious place. The police never really tried to look for him..."

"No, they didn't. Now, let's speak of the new subject. Once again, it seems I must look out for you." Otto said.

"Why, Otto?"

"The identity of this Venom. I retrieved a feint reading when I tested the material. I was shocked by the results. Someone so otherwise ordinary to be this. I had to be wrong. So, I sent Shocker to retrieve a sample from the suspect. He took some skin particles and blood, and that was more than enough. After running some tests, the results ended with a match. It's quite interesting, I assure you, my dear."

"Who is it?" Kenzie asked. Otto smiled at her and pressed another button. Another screen loaded and two pictures were shown next to each other. On the left was Venom's face. On the right was Eddie Brock's.

Kenzie backed up slowly.

"You're wrong. That can't be him. It's impossible." she said.

"That's what I said to myself after the first test. That man who messed with you at the club the other night was Shocker. He took the second sample."

"So? There has to be a mistake!"

"I'm very rarely wrong with my calculations, and I'm never wrong when it comes to something as simple as a DNA test, Freeman." Otto said. "Edward Brock is Venom."

Kenzie walked to the table in a daze. She sat down in a chair and stared into space, her mind reeling. It certainly explained somethings. His new attitude, his disappearing acts.

The fact that he survived being thrown through the woods and onto that rock weeks ago.

Kenzie felt sick when another realization popped into her mind.

She slept with Venom...

"I'm going to throw up..." she muttered, and hung her head over the side.

"Yeah, that's what I said." Electro said, and laughed. He was smacked again by Shocker, and he went silent when he noticed Otto's glare.

"It will take a moment for what you currently feel to wear off." Otto said.

"Why did you tell me that? Why did you do that?" Kenzie asked, still looking sickly to the floor.

"Simply because I worried for your health. I don't know how this man acts around you, but I know how Venom acts around the city. I have half a mind to recruit him for this little team. He would be an invaluable asset. He may of course refuse me, but either way, he distracts Spiderman from me, and that is all I really need. Though I would like to study him more. He would be a wonderful experimental subject for me."

"No..."

"My dear?"

"He may be a monster but you won't go experimenting on my boyfriend..." she said, and another wave of nausea washed over her. She was it's girlfriend. Gross.

"You protect him, even though you know what he is?" Otto asked.

"Don't ask why, because frankly, I don't know why either."

"You've become much darker since I saw you before I became who I am now."

"I believe I have you to thank for that..." Kenzie said.

"Did I snap something in your brain when you viewed what I did to your father, Freeman, or were you always a tad on the crazy side?"

"Shut up, you bastard." Kenzie spat. "Just...quiet..."

"Alright then." Otto said, and seated himself next to her.

"You are positive that's what it is?" Kenzie asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes." Otto replied.

"So, why was Rhino able to knock him out so easily without him noticing? Does he have a spider-sense whatever?" Kenzie asked. She sat up and looked at Otto, hoping she would still be able to prove Eddie wasn't who he was accused of being.

"Using that sample I took from Connors, I created a type of chemical that will shield our movements from the beasts senses. It temporarily keeps him from noticing us if he cannot see us or hear us. I hoped it would work on the goody-goody wall-crawler, but to no avail. I works only on Venom, and for only a short time. It's like what hunters use when they go into the woods to keep from alerting the deer or what-have-you of their whereabouts. You see?" Otto said. Kenzie nodded, and stood.

"I want to leave." she said. Otto nodded.

"In a moment. I still need to speak with you." he said. Kenzie huffed and sat back down.

"What?"

"About his weaknesses..."

"Yeah, loud sound waves mess him up."

"How did you acquire that information?"

"Spiderman told me after Venom grabbed me that one-" Kenzie stopped herself, and balked. That day, when she was pursued by Venom.

That was Eddie...

Tears formed in her eyes.

"So, um, yeah. I know about that." she said, blinking them back. "Anything else?"

"No, just when you finally join the villainous side of life, know you are always welcome in my troupe. Good day, Miss Marks."

"...yeah..." Kenzie turned around and looked for an exit.

"I'll escort you, Frenzy." Flint said, and walked with her.

"Frenzy?" Kenzie asked.

"It's what me and the fellas decided to call you, after your little episode at me earlier. It seems to fit."

"I'm not a bad guy."

"But you're a buddy now, and buddies need nicknames." Flint said, and showed her the door. Before he opened it, he handed her a small spray bottle. "Here, you might find it useful. It only lasts about an hour." She took the bottle and looked at it.

"What is it?"

"That spray stuff we use to keep Venom off our tails." Flint said. Kenzie nodded.

"Thanks, Marco. I'll have fun with this." she said. He cracked a smile.

"Watcha gonna do?"

"You know how I screamed at you earlier?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"Imagine that ten times worse, and with a crowbar." she said. Flint flinched and his smile widened.

"That's why we call you Frenzy. Have fun. Don't get hurt." he said, and opened the door to let her outside at the back of OsCorp. She walked out, and he closed the door again, leaving her alone. She looked down at the spray bottle.

"Don't get hurt...that ship has sailed, Sandman..." she said, and walked toward the street to call a taxi.