So I posted the previous chapter the day before the official trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage hit. I saw it the next day… and it was glorious! We had our official look at the Lethal Protector's iconic, terrifying arch-nemesis, along with a first look at Carnage's girlfriend/partner-in-crime, Shriek, and finally Patrick Mulligan, aka the first host of Toxin! As much as I would like to put these characters in, they won't be introduced until much later in this story, maybe after I go see the movie which is due to come out in four months, assuming they don't move the release date again. So expect several delays in some chapters.

As always, Venom and Justice League are property of Marvel and DC, respectively.

Enjoy!

"You sure we should grab breakfast at this time?" Eddie asked as he walked through the streets of Metropolis.

'We left without eating first. And Boy Scout made me lose my appetite.' Venom growled.

"Plus the other cafes we tried looking for in Gotham yesterday and this morning smelled like somebody smoking or fucking, maybe doing both while nobody's looking. No wonder people from there moved here." Eddie muttered, looking around as people were walking to get where they needed to as well as cars going down the street.

Eddie was so lost in his thoughts and his conversation with his other that he didn't notice he was about to bump into someone until he had already bumped into that someone, who was a woman, causing her to fall to the ground.

"Oh, Jesus!" Eddie gasped. "I'm sorry, miss!"

His breath halted as he stared at the most beautiful woman he's ever seen, well as beautiful as Anne actually. The woman had long raven black hair, a perfect face, a voluptuous body that was definitely not normal. She was dressed in a pair of black pants, a brown blouse and black heels. She was gorgeous, beauty incarnate Eddie thought.

'Homina Homina Homina…' Venom muttered, and Eddie could tell that the symbiote was as equally taken aback by this chick's appearance than he was.

As the woman scratches her head, Eddie offers his hand to her, "I am so sorry about that. Uh, need a hand?"

She smiled, "Yes, thanks." she takes Eddie's hand as she gets up.

"Sorry… about bumping into you." Eddie apologizes.

The woman shakes her head, "No, it's my fault. I got too caught up with something on my mind that I wasn't paying any attention."

"Guess we have something in common: not paying attention to anything." Eddie joked, which made the two of them chuckle for a bit before shaking hands. "Brock. Eddie Brock."

"Eddie Brock? As in-"

"The Eddie Brock Report? Yeah, I'm him." Eddie said with a smile.

"Diana Prince." the woman greeted. "So, are you busy doing another story?"

"Yeah, and it's on finding the best diner this city has to offer." Eddie joked as he scratched his head in embarrassment. "I'm… sorta new here."

'Way to make a first impression, Einstein.' Venom quipped.

The woman smiled, "I can show you where the nearest diner is at here. Just follow me."

"Thanks, Diana. You have no idea how much my stomach has been bugging me lately, almost like it's gonna eat my other organs." he chuckled, making Diana raise an eyebrow at the joke.

'I might as well start with your liver if we keep waiting.' Venom hissed as Eddie and Diana started walking.

The two arrived at the diner a few minutes later, and are now sitting at their table eating their food; Eddie had ordered a breakfast sandwich, tater tots and a chocolate milkshake, while Diana ordered an omelette with orange juice.

"Tell me, Eddie. What brings you here to Metropolis?" Diana asked.

"Actually, I visited Gotham yesterday, and then I decided to come here. Just wanted to take in the sights. Probably do another piece on that Venom guy who's been around here just this morning, plus I heard he killed two guys wanted for rape and murder last night in Gotham." Eddie explained to her, which is not far from the truth.

Diana raised an eyebrow, "Another story on Venom, huh? How do you suppose you do that?"

Eddie smirked, "I have my ways."

Diana giggled at his response, which in turn made him smirk.

'Look at her. She's into us already.' Venom complimented.

Diana turns her head away from Eddie as they continue to eat, "What do you think?"

"Of what?" Eddie asked her.

"Venom. His methods in dealing with criminals. Your stories always seem to focus on him, and he's earned himself quite a fanbase possibly with your help, and I thought you had some answers." Diana said, wanting to know his opinion… and to see if it can be connected to Venom.

Eddie put his sandwich down and hummed as he cleaned his mouth with a napkin. "Simple: he… saved my life once. Now he's there whenever I get too close to very dangerous people. By very dangerous people, I mean those who couldn't be touched by the law because of money or connections. We're sort of like a team; I dig up the perps' dirt, he takes out the trash, if you know what I mean."

Diana nodded her head, carefully taking details of Eddie's connection to Venom. It felt wrong to spy on him like this, but if this didn't get the Justice League any answers, she was afraid of what they would to to get them. Nevertheless, she asked her next question, "That's quite a relationship you two have. Now I want to know why he kills so brutally. What caused him to do this?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that. For starters, he gives people the results they want. With the Justice League, animals like the Joker never stay locked up for long. Only in a matter of a few weeks or months, they're out again killing innocent people by bigger numbers than the last few. The system's fucked up, so he takes matters into his own hands. Sure, not many people will agree that what he does is the right way, but I think he understands that. He isn't doing this to be famous in the eye of the public, that I can easily see, he's doing what he does because… maybe it just feels right to him." Eddie explained before frowning. "Of course, the Big Leagues always see people like Venom, the Punisher, and the Red Hood as the villains when all they're trying to do is help people. Sure, their way of doing things can be a little extreme at times, but at least people are feeling safer under their watch, and they seem to care about the people. The League's only concerned about trying to maintain their image than actually bringing justice. I think that's why people think the Avengers are better than them in terms of how they do things. At least to them, the people come first and their morals last. Plus they show some responsibility whenever things don't go their way, unlike the League."

"Where are you getting at?" Diana asked with a frown.

"What I'm trying to say is… Is protecting innocent people more important than maintaining some shitty rule that keeps letting them get killed by psychos like the Joker? Better yet, are the people's lives more important than that of a monster like the Joker?" he asked.

Diana fidgeted in her seat, trying to process this question. She would've agreed with him right then and there, but she had another question in mind. "But what if Venom ends up going too far?"

"He won't. He drew a line between who to spare and who to kill. If it's a thief that steals to help their family, or a crook who hasn't hurt or killed any innocent people ever, they live and walk free. If it's a psychopath who kills, rapes, enslaves, or ruins lives for the hell of it… they die." Eddie clarified, ending his sentence in a dark tone, which almost unsettled Diana. "Look at the Joker. He's tortured and killed hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of people, blew up buildings, treated his so-called girlfriend like shit, all for a sick laugh, and nobody has given him the death sentence, instead they give him another time-out in that shit-hole they call Arkham Asylum just to break out a few weeks or months later and start the cycle all over again. Same with Scarecrow, who experiments on people by showing them what they're afraid of while watching them die screaming. And Zsasz, who pretends to be freeing people from what he saw as a cruel existence when he actually gets off of killing them. Some people could say they suffered something traumatic or have mental sicknesses that made them what they are, but a lot of people think that's bullshit when they keep killing people for no other reason than to get a kick out of it. Do you really think these guys deserve help? Any pity? After all the people they've hurt, the lives they've ruined?"

For the first time, Diana was speechless. Anyone else in the League would simply retort that they would be no better than the criminals if they killed even one, or that even the vilest of criminals deserved another chance, but Eddie's argument was shockingly specific. It was true, some people do think they've suffered something horrible that warped them into cruel and sadistic monsters, or that they're suffering some kind of mental illness that urges them to kill people. By some people, that meant mostly the people working at Arkham, naïvely trying and failing to cure the patients. Still, it was no excuse for them to keep hurting others under such pretenses when they already take pleasure in their cruelty. It was then that Diana found her answer.

"No. No, they don't. Not after what they've done." she said after a moment of silence. "Still, what about the other part? The one with criminals helping their families or not hurting innocent people?"

Eddie nodded. "Right. Now look at Mr. Freeze. This guy just wants to find a cure for himself and his wife. Sure, he goes overboard at times to get it, but I don't think he's hurt or even killed anyone who's innocent. He's one of those who don't deserve to be in Arkham just for helping someone close to them. Same goes for Clayface. I've seen a few of Hagen's movies, some good, some not so good, some in-between, and I think he still has fans who want him to make a comeback as normal, healthy Matt Hagen. And let's not forget Harvey Dent. He just wanted to get rid of the crime and corruption in Gotham, and some crime boss ruined his life and half of his face because of it. Those are the ones who need help, but the guys in Arkham probably don't even give a shit about helping them anymore, only caring about getting a few minutes of fame for 'curing' them, or a fat stack of cash when they let the crazier inmates loose. If there's any way Venom could help either of them, then he could. That's what really separates guys like him from the scum they fight." Eddie finished, leaving Diana in stunned silence at his declaration.

During her time with the League, and hearing their thoughts on violent vigilantes like Venom, the Punisher, and the Red Hood, she never even thought of people like them showing sympathy towards criminals with relatively tragic backgrounds while acting merciless towards the more violent ones. Now she was starting to see the picture more differently.

"I… I think I get where you're going with this." she admitted. "Maybe people like Venom are needed, no matter how brutal their methods are, but I've been around people who keep saying otherwise."

Eddie scoffed. "Whoever said 'how long until he puts innocents on his menu?' is just stupid and can't see the picture very well. What's got you all worked up?"

"Well, my… friends told me that he'll eventually turn his attention to innocents when there's no criminals left for him to eat." Diana said, hiding the truth yet telling a bit of what Batman said at the same time.

Eddie could feel Venom rumbling in anger inside of him, almost flipping out at hearing someone talking shit about him, but he kept his expression calm and blank for minute. "Really? Well clearly that's some asshole who kisses the imaginary asses of the Justice League and sucks up to them, thinking they're so great and perfect they can't do any wrong when they do just that by allowing scum like Joker and Scarecrow to live and run free and kill more innocent people left and right. They've got more blood on their hands than those guys."

"Sounds like… you hate the Justice League." Diana said, wanting to hear his opinion on them.

"Hate 'em? No! I don't hate the League... well not all of them at least." Eddie said with a chuckle. "I just hate that they keep thinking that putting a psychopath in prison is gonna magically make them see the error of their ways, or that the families of their victims will just move on when that's not the case. If someone is too far gone to be helped, you don't put them in jail or a mental asylum so they can grow more crazy and fucked up… you put them down for good. That's the way the world goes and always has."

The two sat there in silence, Diana thinking over Eddie's words and his view on the world, Venom, and the League. She sighed before shaking her head and stood up. "I better go. I got… work to do and my boss may fire me if I'm late."

"Sexy woman like you? He'd be an idiot." Eddie said, making her chuckle as she went to leave but paused and considered something before looking at him with a smirk, making him raise an eyebrow. "What?"

She walked over, took a pen out of her pocket and started writing down numbers on the back of his hand. once she was finished, she smiled at him. "That's my number. Call me." She winked at him and walked away, putting a purposeful sway in her hips, knowing his eyes were drawn to her ass along with the gaze of every man, and some women, in this diner.

Once she was gone. Eddie looked at her number and shook his head. "What a woman…"

'You know I can also feel your hormones, right?' Venom suddenly asked in a playful tone after staying quiet during the whole conversation.

"Ah, shut up." Eddie muttered before turning his attention to a patron seated behind him who had suddenly stopped munching on his own food to give him a confused look. "Not you."

Gotham City

It was nighttime, and Diana was now in her Wonder Woman attire on top of a tall building observing the almost empty streets.

Her thoughts went back to earlier. She still couldn't believe she had managed to score a date with the Eddie Brock… until her thoughts focused on his opinion on Venom, the League and their rules, and that one question that made her think about the way she and the rest of the JL had been operating:

'Is protecting innocent people more important than maintaining some shitty rule that keeps letting them get killed by psychos like the Joker? Better yet, are the people's lives more important than that of a monster like the Joker?'

Diana snapped out of her thoughts and she looked around before her gaze snapped to an alleyway where her eyes widened at see a group of six men dragging a woman down the alley, two of the men holding a crying little boy at 9 years old. Easily knowing what these men had intended for the woman, Diana flew in and landed hard in time to halt two of the men from ripping the woman's clothes off.

"Back the fuck up, Wonder Whore!" Diana heard and looked to see one of the men holding the little boy, with another pointing a gun at his forehead. "One move and this little shit has his brains splattered all over the wall!"

Diana looked from the boy to the woman as the men continued and knew if she made so much as a single step they would shoot the boy. She could barely resist the urge to let her warrior instincts loose and bring Hell upon these bastards as she glared at one of the rapists who laughed while trying to rip the woman's jeans.

"Hope she's tighter than the last sluts!" He laughed crazily.

"Mind if we tag in?" A familiar voice to Wonder Woman spoke from the darkness of the alleyways, making her eyes widen before a black tendril lashed out and struck the two rapists holding the woman right in the jaws and Diana could hear bone breaking when the tendril connected, sending the two thugs flying into their friends. With her quick reflexes, Wonder Woman quickly grabbed the little boy and his mother and got them out of the way.

"W-Who the fuck did that?!" One of the thugs demanded, getting to his feet. He pointed his gun at a glaring Diana. "Was it you?! Talk or we'll kill you after fucking you!"

A loud thud from the other side of the alley got everyone's attention… and fear formed on the rapists' faces as they saw a familiar black figure crouching in front of them, its white jagged eyes narrowing and drool spilling form its many sharp, needle-like teeth.

"Should've heard what happened to your other friends last night." Venom hissed. "Guess we'll have to make the message more clear."

With this distraction, Wonder Woman then struck.

Venom lunged forward and the two ended up fighting back to back as they dealt with the six rapists; Wonder Woman used her shield and her punches to hurt a few of the thugs really, really badly, sending three into the wall hard enough to give them fatal concussions that will need aid or else they'll die. Venom, on the other hand, was less than merciful as he stopped a futile punch that was coming his way with his teeth and yanked hard enough to tear off the man's entire left arm, causing the punk to scream in horror and pain at the freshly made stump before Venom engulfed his entire head in his wide maw, chomping down on his neck and then sending the headless body flying onto a wall, causing the little boy to turn his head away into his mother's stomach.

It was only Diana's experience as a warrior that kept her from vomiting or recoiling at the sight.

Now panicking, the two remaining thugs whipped out their pistols and started firing at the two. Wonder Woman quickly blocked the incoming bullets with her shield, while Venom simply stood there taking the bullets as they caused his oily, black skin to ripple harmlessly, making him growl in annoyance before he shot two tendrils; one hit the leader in the chest and slammed him into a wall, while the other grabbed the fleeing thug by the ankle, tripping him and dragging him over before hoisting him up and then slamming him onto the ground face-first, breaking the guy's nose, knocking a majority of his teeth out and creating a nasty gash on his forehead. Then he swung the punk over his head and slammed him onto the concrete, the back of his head breaking open and eliciting a weak, high-pitched groan before Venom slammed him to the ground face-first one more time, and the lack of noise and movement confirmed he was dead.

Both heroes panted as they observed the aftermath; three of the would-be rapists were covered in bruises and dislocated limbs, groaning weakly as they tried to move any part of their body, thanks to Wonder Woman. The other two were in… very poor condition from Venom's handiwork. The headless one was leaking blood from both the stump on his neck and the one from where his left arm once was, with said arm laying several feet away from his body. The other one's head was busted beyond recognition; bits of his skull and brain matter were almost sticking out of the gashes from both the front and back of his head, while blood continued to leak to the ground.

The two then turned their attention to each other… and kept their eyes locked onto each other. Venom let out a lowly growl as he stared down the Amazon. Diana, although raised to show no fear, could feel herself tense up as she saw his eyes narrowing and heard his growl. If this had anything to do with what she and the Justice League did in San Francisco, then she couldn't blame him for the nasty look he was giving right now.

That was when they heard coughing from behind them, turning around to see the leader coughing up blood before turning to the two heroes who had ruined his and his friends' "fun", and then upon seeing the black creature that dismembered a few of his men, fear overtook his other senses.

"Fuck this!" the guy shouted as he bolted towards the exit of the alleyway.

Though he didn't get far as his legs were pulled from under him by a tendril and he found himself being dragged back until he was held upside down by his ankle and looking into the pseudo eyes of the Lethal Protector.

"Didn't your mommy tell you not to rape other mommies while making their children watch? Unless you raped her first. Shame, shame, shame on you…" Venom calmly growled.

"Wait, no, no! No, please! I'm sorry!" the leader whimpered like the pussy he was as Venom stared at him with a hungry look in his eyes. "It- it was their idea! They told me to do it!"

"That's funny. You looked like you were into it seconds ago. And trying to ditch your friends? Some friend you are…" Venom mocked with a slight hint of disgust in his voice at the would-be rapist's cowardice. Typical. Depraved fucks like this one think they're in control whenever a vulnerable woman is at their mercy, but then they crumble into whimpering little shits whenever something bigger lords over them.

"Please! Please! I won't do it again! I'll tell the cops everything!" the punk started to sob hysterically.

"Of course you will. Tell the boys in blue how naughty you and your pals have been, and send a message to the other scum in Blackgate, or else…" Venom emphasized by unhinging his jaw and allowing his long tongue to lick all over the screaming bastard's head before chomping his jaws down just a few inches from it. "Sound fair?" he asked cheerfully.

"Yeah! Yeah! Just give me a fucking break already!" the punk frantically nodded in agreement and flailed wildly.

"If you insist…" Venom muttered.

Without warning, Venom slammed the leader headfirst onto the concrete, not enough to kill him but paralyze him for life, making Diana wince at such force, before making her way to where the mother and son were hiding, paying the bodies of the would-be rapists no mind as she passed.

She cared not for the states of those men. The bodies of the dead ones should be burned to a crisp and their souls sent to Hades for their disgusting actions, while the ones that were still breathing had better pray they don't end up getting thrown to the lions in jail should they make a full recovery. Her dark thoughts quickly dissipated as she found the mother and her son crouching against the wall quietly.

"Are you okay?" She asked with concern, crouching to her knees to check on the boy. "They didn't do anything more did they?"

"No." the mother shook her head, hugging her son tightly. "T-Thank you!"

A growl from behind them turned the tender moment into a tense one as they remembered Venom was still there. After seeing what he did to those men, they tensed up as he stared them down.

"You two should really stop taking late-night strolls." he spoke in a surprisingly polite tone, though the family was still on edge. "Have a name?"

"Nicole. Nicole Rivers." the woman answered, her fear subsiding as the monster that saved her and her son alongside Wonder Woman showed no aggression.

"D-David." the boy gave his name as well, also realizing that the monster that saved him and his mom was suddenly acting nice.

"Come to San Francisco anytime. Gotham's no place for such innocence. Plus there's better protection than Batman can give." Venom offered.

Wonder Woman herself was just as speechless at the display of kindness Venom was showing towards the family. For such a merciless creature with an appetite for human heads, he sure had some manners.

"I don't care what the Justice League says. You're not a bad guy!" the boy said with wonder at the Lethal Protector.

"I guess… they were wrong about you." Nicole added with a smile.

Wonder Woman smiled as she observed the conversation. With their attention away from her, she considered leaving, only to grunt in surprise when she found David hugging her tightly, thanking her repeatedly. Diana chuckled as a soft, almost motherly smile formed on her face as she looked into the innocent eyes of the child who was too young to experience the darkness of the world.

"You two were awesome!" David beamed.

Diana was shocked that neither the boy nor his mother pointed out how she, a member of the Justice League, had teamed up with a wanted killer like Venom, but smiled nonetheless. "It's all part of the job." She cleared her throat and stood, looking back to see Venom grinning, flashing his teeth.

"Why don't you take it from here?" he politely insisted before leaping onto the walls of the alleys and then disappearing on the rooftops. Diana sighed, but she knew she could catch up to him easily.

She made sure the mother and her child got into a taxi that would take them home before she flew around the alley and found Venom on a rooftop, waiting for her. She landed beside him.

"Are they safe?" Venom asked right away with his arms crossed, staring ahead.

"Yes, thanks to you." Wonder Woman said with a smile aimed at him.

"Aren't you going to cuff us anyway? Your friends are gonna be real pissed when they hear you let us slip through your fingers. Plus you saw what we could do." Venom pointed out.

Wonder Woman stopped as she considered the possibility. She feared the League's reaction to her allowing a (in their view) murderer to run free, but hey, that family was in danger, so what was there to be afraid of? And who were they to judge her for putting their lives first over the mission?

"No. Not today. That family's safety was important." she admitted. Silence soon followed, as both the Amazonian princess and the Lethal Protector gazed at each other.

"How did it feel?" Venom broke the silence with that question, making Wonder Woman raise an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"We saw it in your eyes. Those men hurt a lot of people and you wanted to see them suffer too. Whenever they have someone vulnerable and weak at their mercy, they think they're in control. But when they cross something bigger than them, they piss and shit themselves like the pussies they are."

Diana only stood in silence as she considered these words. She couldn't admit that she enjoyed breaking those would-be rapists, but it did feel satisfying to see them on the receiving end of a humiliation, at the hands of a woman no doubt… and a musclebound, man-eating alien life-form. She decided to give her honest answer.

"Truth is, it's what me and my sisters were raised to do. As Amazons, it's our duty to bring peace and order, even when there's no other way. Killing during battle was always our way, at least where we're from." she answered.

"Amazon, huh? You sure you're not from the delivery service? We're still waiting for our monthly supply of chocolate." Venom joked, making Wonder Woman giggle. "You're not so bad after all. We thought you were soft like the rest of your goody-two-shoes team."

"Just because I'm a princess of the Amazons doesn't mean I'm soft like some classic Disney princess." Diana joked. "I guess the Justice League had the wrong idea about you. You do care for other people as much as you care for the people back in San Francisco."

"Just doing our job." Venom chuckled, seemed he had slightly lightened up around her. "Sorry we fucked you and your friends up badly last time. To be fair it was a home invasion, and we acted in self-defense."

"No, you were right the first time. We had no reason to come to your city." Wonder Woman said apologetically as well. "Still, now that you left, they thought it would be okay for them to try to arrest you before you head back."

"You're telling us this because…?" Venom waited.

"I've been having… second thoughts lately. About how we run things, and how people have been losing their faith in us recently because of it. I thought the rest of the League would learn after last time, but now they seem more focused on trying to detain you than the safety of the people we're supposed to be protecting." Wonder Woman said in a dejected tone.

"And you still take shit from them?" Venom growled in disapproval and disgust. "No, you should be throwing it back at their faces. You're a woman, and a warrior, and a princess. No one should force their rules on you. If they don't like your opinion… well do what you think suits you."

Wonder Woman stood there with shock on her face. She never thought about this at all. Whenever she stated her opinion on Venom, she was always turned down by the majority of the League, mainly Batman and Superman, with only a few agreeing with her, and then dropping it. Now, after taking Eddie's words from earlier, and now Venom's, she could feel some confidence growing inside of her.

"I… I think I'll consider it. Just try to lay low and head back to San Francisco while you still can. I don't want our next meeting to end up like last time." Wonder Woman said as she put her hand on his shoulder, making Venom look at it in surprise, which gave way to a grin, which Diana returned with a kind smile.

"Good luck." she finished as she flew off into the air, leaving Venom standing in silence as he watched her go.

'Did we just score another date?' Eddie asked after staying silent throughout the whole conversation.

"Perhaps we gave 'double date' a whole new meaning." Venom joked as soon as Wonder Woman was out of earshot and out of view. "You think Anne might be jealous when she hears about this?"

'I'm sure she'll take it well.'

And that's it for this chapter! Sorry for the delay. I have just finished my spring semester, now I have three months before I enroll for Fall classes, which means I have enough time to do this story, while working on my other planned stories, which are explained on my profile page. Go check it out for more details.

Unlike the last attempt, Eddie's explanation to Diana for why Venom does what he does is a lot more specific this time around. The only criminals on Venom's menu are murderers, rapists, pedophiles, human/sex traffickers, or other psychopathic criminals who ruin innocent lives for their own amusement and show no remorse in doing so, while criminals like thieves, or those who have families to care for and have never hurt a single innocent, are sent to jail or even allowed to walk free, proving that Venom isn't indiscriminate in who he kills.

Anyway, we finally got to see Venom and Wonder Woman in action by taking on some rapists, and then departing on peaceful terms, with Diana left pondering over Eddie's words and Venom's actions. Plus, both Eddie and Venom seemed to have deduced Wonder Woman's secret identity, but Diana doesn't know it. Furthermore, this won't be the last time we'll see the mother and her son, Nicole and David Rivers. Their roles will be important later in this arc. And yes, they are my first OC's for this story. On a concerning note, how will Diana explain to the rest of the JL about letting Venom go after this? Leave a review and stay tuned. Peace out!