Disclaimer: I do not own Venom
A/N: So, an extra long chapter this time, which I sincerely hope you will enjoy. As I was reading more and more about the Venom symbiote and the developments of this movie, I came to the conclusion that I would make some changes from the comics and adapt them into this story. Hopefully it will turn out well and I apologize if some of you comic-fans will become angry with it. However, I have not concluded anything yet, so all that remains is some more planning.
- W.W
Edit: 14.10.21
Chapter 6: The Experiment
Carlton Drake always knew that his ambitions would pay off one day, even though his parents did not express the same kind of enthusiasm as he did. "Too idealistic" they often called him, much to their son's chagrin. Was it a bad thing to be able to look into the future and see hope? A bad thing to wish to work hard to achieve it? Even after he managed to find a way to triple the life expectancy of patients diagnosed with cancer, they never ceased to be pessimistic about his chances.
But what he was about to accomplish now was larger than anything he had ever done before. He had founded the Life Foundation, performed divine "miracles" in the eyes of people (even if their God had abandoned them), and he was now about to unravel the mysteries that would ultimately save the humanity he loved so much. He loved it enough to be willing to sacrifice anything to achieve such success, regardless of what.
He cast a side-glance to the physician in the white coat next to him, feeling pride overwhelm his chest in a way that could have made him jump with pure delight. Despite her initial reluctance to comply with their experiments, he knew that there was no way that a pragmatic individual such as her would ever decline the chance to save people. The world needed more people like her; people who were willing to make sacrifices for the better good, and who did not require the approval of others in order to do so.
It was a quality he wished was present in Dr. Skirth as well. Unfortunately, beggars could not be choosers.
"I'm glad that you decided to give this a chance, Dr. March," he spoke with appreciation, noting the way her usually-sharp eyes turned to focus on him.
"As I said," she began stoically. "I'm not making any promises. I will evaluate the results and see for myself whether or not this seems promising."
He nodded her way and turned his head forward again, successfully managing to hide the smile which spread across his lips upon processing her answer. "Of course, that is understandable." It wasn't like he couldn't understand her skepticism. In any other situation, he would have done the same, but he had witnessed these symbiotes, these miracles, for the past six months now and he imagined – no, he knew – that it would not dissatisfy her.
The doors leading into the primary cells opened in front of them and once they headed inside, they were greeted by the sight of their fellow researchers. They were all prepared for this, after six long months, the moment was finally there.
Almost.
As they entered their range of sight from the hallways, all pairs of eyes turned their way and a few of them grew wider upon noticing the new figure that was accompanying their CEO. Either few of them had failed to acknowledge her the previous day or some of them never bothered to care about the fact that Dr. March was about to make their development go much smoother.
The arrogance within them was present from an external perspective, and it sickened Drake to see it in person. Even so, he pretended not to notice it as he smiled their way and walked up ahead, gesturing the doctor to stay on the side as he turned to face them all. He easily gained their attention, and as soon as he had secured it, he began to speak.
"My friends," it was a charismatic way to start. "In less than a few minutes, we are going to make history." With his arm tilted towards Dr. March, he continued. "This is Dr. Evelyn March, a competent physician who is here to contribute to the same degree as the rest of you. Therefore, I ask that you all treat her with the same respect as you would with each other. Her role in this might be one of the most critical ones at this point, as her task is to evaluate the volunteers before we start this experiment. Do you understand?"
Receiving no objections, he nodded and clasped his hands together. "Beautiful. Now, Dr. March," he turned to Dr. March, whose eyes were consistently aimed at him with barely any blinking noted. "Dr. Skirth will escort you to our first volunteer. I'm certain that you know how to perform an assessment?"
"If I did not, I doubt you would have requested my presence in the first place, Mr. Drake." Her response noticeably caught the rest of the researchers by surprise, as her bluntness must have left quite an impression. Drake could not help but smirk at this act of bluntness, which would undoubtedly have inflicted offense upon his subordinates.
"Of course," he declared, casting an affirmative nod in Dr. Skirth's way. On point, the ecologist knew what to do and dipped her head before she proceeded to head towards the newly-required doctor. It was not long until they both were gone from sight, and Drake could only await the results, his chest throbbing with excitement and uncontained euphoria.
She followed Dr. Skirth to a cell that was separated from the others. It seemed sanitized and neat, much like the typical room in a hospital. Equipment that she would undoubtedly require in order to perform the assessment was present, and she doubted that it would take up a lot of time before they were finished.
Then she immediately noted a man sitting on top of the bed that was present in the room, wearing white clothes. He had considerably long hair (twelve inches? fourteen inches?), with noticeable pale skin (iron deficiency? alcohol withdrawal? drug abuse?). She doubted he was much older than twenty or so, but it was evident that circumstances had not been kind to him. What kind of offer did the Life Foundation make in order to ensure his cooperation?
"All we need are his vitals. I will alert the guards once you have finished your inspection," Dr. Skirth said, earning her a side-glance from the doctor. "If you need anything, I will make sure that you have it."
Evelyn looked at the equipment that was present in the room on the table next to the man, but nothing that was absent. This was a general inspection, so she assumed that not too much would be required. Even so…
"You have a long range of competent doctors and scientists here, so I don't quite see how you would not be able to evaluate the volunteers yourselves," Evelyn cast a scrutinizing look at the doctor, noting the similarities between her and her sister. They were alike, no doubt, but although Dr. Skirth held a certain brilliance that her tutor had lacked, she did not seem to have the same dominance.
Dr. Dora Skirth seemed taken aback by her answer, but her eyes held no subtlety. She was afraid, but not of her. "Mr. Drake does not need a doctor," she admitted, taking a step back as to put difference between them. "He needs someone to share his view."
"An inhuman view," Evelyn established, nodding with no brief look of reluctance. "He's not too discreet with his ambitions."
"He's … not." Dr. Skirth agreed. "But I'm concerned about … these ethics."
"Or lack thereof."
"Dr. March," The other doctor had a question that had been plaguing her ever since the physician's initial arrival. "May I ask you something?"
Evelyn nodded.
"What made you come here today? What made you wish to work with …this?"
"What made you wish to work with this, Dr. Skirth?"
"I…" the ecologist hesitated. "I wanted to save lives."
"Then you have your answer."
There was a brief moment of silence and Evelyn noted the uncertainty that clouded the other doctor's features, as though something was on her mind and she wished to be vocal about it. Dr. Skirth opened her mouth, shutting it briefly before opening it again, but nothing came out in the way she wanted. Instead, she merely nodded and exited the cell.
As soon as the door closed, Evelyn began. She placed herself on top of a chair across from the volunteer and reached for the notepad that was placed by the equipment next to her.
"Are you one of the doctors?" the man suddenly asked after a brief moment of hesitation.
"I am," she clarified without looking up.
"Do you know what I'm supposed to do?" he queried nervously. "They told me I was supposed to take part of some kind of experiment, but I don't know what it's about."
He had not been told beforehand what kind of experiment it was he was supposed to participate in? Evelyn felt a tingle of irritation arise in her chest, but she did not allow it to overtake her focus.
"You will see," she replied, her full attention aimed at him as soon as she finished writing the date on top of the paper. Her looks seemed to render him threatened, as his pwn pupils dilated upon making contact with hers.
Instead of lingering on this, she prepared to do her assignment and got straight to business. "Name?" she requested.
"Oh… Uhm … Isaac. Isaac Burton."
She wrote the answer down.
"Age?"
"Twenty-five. Twenty-six next Tuesday."
After getting the basics down, she proceeded to check his blood pressure and respiration, all of the physical evaluations she had the ability to perform. Height and weight included. He was malnourished, that much was apparent, but not to a severe amount. His heart rate and inhalation was slightly off, but she found nothing too out of the usual except for slightly high blood pressure (alcohol abuse? drugs? nervousness?). His pupils dilated naturally upon exposure to bright light, indicating nothing neurological for the moment, but he was in a bit of a dazed state.
After lettering down the results, she resumed. "Are you on any medication or drugs? Have you taken anything recently?"
"N-No, I don't take steroids or anything. Not since I was a kid."
"Past medical history? Any allergies or illnesses?"
"I'm allergic to cats, still am. I used to have mild asthma, but not anymore."
"Any hereditary diseases that you are aware of? Cancer? Heart problems?"
"My grandmother passed away due to some kind of heart condition a few years ago."
"At what age?"
"Eight-six or so, I think? She just… dropped."
"Heart failure or coronary artery disease is a common affliction at such an old age." She continued to write down the results she received. "Any addiction? Alcohol? Tobacco?"
Of course, she could already spot the discolor on his teeth to verify the latter.
"I tend to smoke and drink sometimes when I have the cash," Mr. Burton folded his hands over one-another, fingers knotting on occasion. His eyes were on the floor as if he was avoiding direct eye-contact. "I-It makes things easier."
There was no reason to stick to the question. "Diet?"
"How I eat?" He bit his thumb uncertainly. "Not too good. Mostly cheap food like hot-dogs or something when I get the money. Nothing too good for a poor shit like me to eat, is it, doc?"
"Nutrition is not my field of knowledge," she admitted with a voice that did little to express interest. "but I would say you suffer from iron deficiency, elevated cholesterol – do you suffer from headaches frequently?"
"… Sometimes."
"Too much sodium tends to do that. You're underweight based off your charts, but the little you consume contains nutrients that cause your body to break down internally over a longer period of time." For the first time since the inspection began shortly ago, Evelyn raised her head and met the eyes of her patient. "But for the time being, you seem physically stable enough."
She had to admit that there seemed to be missing qualities with this individual that she would have assumed that Mr. Drake would have taken into consideration prior to asking him to participate in the experiment. She had expected them to elect someone more… enduring than that Mr. Burton, not someone who looked like they were barely clinging onto a stick on a tree.
As she wrote down the last evaluations on the file in her hands, she got to her feet and turned around to exit the cell, prepared to inform the guards that the examination had been finished and that the project could proceed as planned.
"Mr. Drake said he would give me a lot of money," Mr. Burton suddenly murmured behind her, almost sounding as though he was whispering to himself. "Enough so that I can maybe reenter school again, finish my education, go home to mom and dad."
She did not understand it, but for whatever reason, Evelyn had stopped walking and was actively listening to what he was saying. Curiosity grew in her and she turned around to look at him. "Why are you unable to go home?"
Surprised, the man gazed up at her upon hearing her assert him. "When I dropped out of school, my dad told me to never come back unless I got my shit together."
So that was his reason for agreeing to participate? To get together his life for the sake of a parent that expressed nothing but displeasure with his son unless he managed to gratify him. Evelyn kept her face neutral, but there was a grip around her chest that she could not explain the reason behind.
"If you manage to get your life together," she said slowly, looking towards the exit as she conversed. "Don't waste your time going back to your parents."
"Wha- Why?"
"They don't want you to succeed in life," she explained, murmuring her words to a near-inaudible point. "They want it to seem like they succeeded in raising you. They wish to satisfy themselves, not to appreciate you for you. There's a distinctive difference."
Why was she talking like this, like she actually had anything to say about this? This was not something for her to get involved with. Her task was finished, she was supposed to report back to Mr. Drake and let them know that the volunteer had been examined and was now at their disposal. Her task was not to give anyone her opinion.
She dismissed this as a mere spark of curiosity and opened the doors to the cell, casting one last glance back at the volunteer. "I'll inform Mr. Drake that you're finished and ready to join us shortly."
Dr. Skirth was waiting outside of the cell, her eyes contacting the ground and both her arms wrapped around each other for comfort. Her fretfulness did not disappear as the doors into the cell opened and Dr. March exited with the files in hand and a dire look in her eyes. The ecologist tried to mask her nervousness with a timid smile as she saw the young woman approaching. "I take it the assessment went?"
"He's ready to proceed." Dr. March affirmed, much to Dr. Skirth's dismay. Unbeknownst to them both at the time, neither party were looking forward to witnessing the process as much as they had initially imagined that they would. The difference was that one of them was better at hiding it from plain view.
"Thank you all for bringing us to this moment," Mr. Drake pronounced, in all his glory, with pride seething from him like some kind of pheromone, inspiring everyone close to him.
Standing on the side, separated from the rest of the researchers, Evelyn watched the spectacle without taking her eyes of what was about to happen. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was leaning against the glass wall behind her, silently contemplating the looks on each and every scientist.
She could see all kinds of emotions present on their features, despite her inability to properly distinguish from one another; excitement, fascination, anticipation, and uneasiness. If she had remained that young, hopeful student she once used to be at John Hopkins', she would have jumped with joy upon being able to participate in an experiment with the Life Foundation. She would have cried with excitement and stood out like a sore thumb.
But she didn't. Instead, Evelyn kept her thoughts to herself and stayed firmly in place, not letting anything from her thoughts become visible for anyone to lay their eyes on. If she wanted to conclude the situation, she needed to observe, and that required two qualifications; silence and concentration.
Yet every now and then, her eyes kept on flickering back to the organism that was twirling inside if the container within the cell behind her; never-ending movements. This was not the same one as the one she had previously seen; this one was blue - turquoise, specifically - and seemed somehow less … docile than the previous one. How many samples had Drake gotten his hands on?
"Our names will be spoken long after we're dust." Mr. Drake continued just as the volunteer, accompanied with two other scientists behind him, entered proximity on the other side of the cell. "History starts now. This is day one. This is first contact."
Mr. Burton seemed more self-aware now than he previously did, more alarmed of the circumstances. Upon acknowledging his arrival, Mr. Drake's lips curled into a victorious grin. "Let's get to work."
They all watched as Mr. Burton was escorted into the cell and promptly closed in with the container; the symbiote seemed to acknowledge his presence just as Mr. Burton seemed to acknowledge its' with his pupils growing smaller upon seeing it within such close range (fear? disgust? intrigue?).
"Establishing subject baseline," a voice echoed in and outside the cell. "All vital signs are normal."
The volunteer seemed to notice the researchers standing on the other side of the glass and he pressed his face towards it, eyeing them all with nervousness.
"Dr. March, what was his name again?" Mr. Drake inquired, looking over his shoulder to where she was standing.
"Isaac Burton." The doctor verified, stepping closer towards the glass with porcelain eyes starring into what it contained. Her level of fascination could not reach up to his, Drake knew as much, but it was hard to read her facial features even from a close range.
Nodding at this, Drake ordered them to patch him through to the volunteer. This would require persuasion in order to work, and if there was one thing he knew, it was how to persuade.
"There's no need to be frightened, Isaac." He put on the most charming smile he could manage. "There's no need." Seeing the submission in the volunteer's eyes made him beam even more. "Isaac, you know that's a biblical name?"
The volunteer nodded. "Y-Y-Yes, s-sir?"
Evelyn's eyes narrowed as the CEO attempted to use divine stories to win Mr. Burton's trust, feeling a part of her grow agitated upon this ridiculous metaphor. Divinity was a concept she found to be fictional, based on lies that could be exploited into gaining power. It worked for the Pharaoh in Ancient Egypt and it seemed to be working now as well.
The power of belief.
"God said to Abraham, 'Give me your son. Show me you are willing to sacrifice the one thing most precious to you.', and Abraham was willing." Mr. Drake stepped closer to the glass, closer to Mr. Burton. "You know what's always impressed me about that story? It isn't Abraham's sacrifice; it's Isaac's."
He gestured Mr. Burton to step closer to the glass, closer to him, and the latter did so, albeit hesitantly.
"I don't know if a God would ask that of someone, but it doesn't change anything for me. Isaac is still the hero of this story."
Growing up, Evelyn was introduced to the Church at a young age. Her maternal grandmother, being a strict Catholic, always ushered her mother to introduce her children to the miracles their God would bestow upon them once they devoted their lives to the deity up in the skies. It was also partially the reason behind her name, which her grandmother had pressured her mother to choose, and that was something Evelyn never approved of whilst growing up.
When her brother and she were attending church every so often at the demands of their grandmother, being forced into reading the bible and listening to the tales of their pastor, she could not avoid becoming curious as she got to the part about Moses and the ten plagues. How could water turn into blood upon the touch of a staff? How could fire descend from the skies? How could the sun just simply vanish into darkness? None of it made any sense to her at all, even as a child.
These questions plagued her young mind whereas her brother thought nothing of it. As such, she began to read more into the scientific reasons behind the plagues, finding more and more answers than the Book of "God" could ever provide her with. How algae were the cause of the red river, and how a solar eclipse was the reason behind the pitch darkness that had rendered Egypt in shadows.
Upon presenting these findings to her grandmother, the latter grew enraged and berated her for looking up things that stood against the Maker himself. It was at that point that the older woman took her frustrations out on her mother, blaming her for raising her children to be "disobedient spawn". Though they still kept in contact, albeit seldom, throughout the years, the bitterness her grandmother harbored towards them never quite ceased. Evelyn's choice to pursue medicine and science didn't really help improve things either.
Not that she genuinely cared either way.
This was why she could not quite understand Mr. Drake's reasons for bringing up stories like these in the face of science.
"Look around you," he said to Isaac. "Look at the world. What do you see? War, poverty. A planet on the brink of collapse. I would argue that God has abandoned us." His velocity increased upon pronouncing the actions the supposed Creator had committed. "He didn't keep his end of the bargain, Isaac, so now it's down to you and me to put this right. And this time, Isaac, we can."
He pressed his hand up against the glass, expecting Mr. Burton to do the same on the other side. The latter did not disappoint and did the same with a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. Evelyn witnessed this next to Dr. Skirth, noting the other woman's tension as she watched what was transpiring. Meanwhile, the thing inside the contained kept on twisting and curving, seemingly eager to get out.
"You said that you once bonded one of them to a rabbit," Evelyn asked and cast a sharp glance towards the ecologist, watching as her features lowered and raised themselves in equal measure (doubt? denial? fear?) on an unpredictable interval. "What happened to it?"
Dr. Skirth's bottom lip quivered, as though the answer was on the verge of slipping her mind but being somehow unable to do it at once. "It consumed it."
Consumed it?
"We will," Mr. Drake said, his head turning to signify an positive response. "This time, I will not abandon us.
Mr. Burton's face twisted with tearful eyes, supposedly believing every single word that Mr. Drake had spewed into his head. Evelyn wished to object, to somehow tell Mr. Burton that the answer he had received was neither an accurate nor a precise one. His life was hanging on a thread if this proved itself unsuccessful, yet the major part of her knew that doing so would do little to no good.
Humans were prone to fearfulness toward what they could not understand. It was in their nature, and right now, they did not require a human being.
They required a sacrifice.
Her stomach curled in disgust.
"Open it,"
What happened next was something she had committed the mistake of underestimating. Despite her attempts at staying composed throughout the predicament, Evelyn's green eyes widened ever-so-slightly as she watched the scene unravel in front of her like Pandora's box.
As the blue mass was released from its containment, it slid down onto the floor and continued to move across it. Its movements were more indecipherable now that she was finally able to watch it move from outside the container. It reminded her of the kind of web a spider would produce, only that it had a sentience of its own and was now moving towards its prey.
She found herself frozen in place, hands trembling inside her pockets and stomach descending further down in her abdomen than she thought possible. On the outside, she did not seem much different than a bit surprised, but there was no doubt that there was something foreign crawling inside her chest; something which rarely appeared.
It was doubt.
Mr. Burton was banging on the window as the thing began to close in on him, screaming and begging them to let him out of there. However, none of them moved an inch. The researchers stood there, watching everything with a morbid enthusiasm in their eyes. Only Dr. Skirth seemed like she wanted to object against the experiment, but she did little more than to look a little disturbed.
Evelyn looked to the screen where Mr. Burton's vitals were displayed. His pulse was increasing drastically, and his heartbeats were as well, matching an athlete running a marathon. As she looked back to the cell, she watched as the blue mass climbed up to Mr. Burton's abdomen, who was by now frozen with fear. His eyes were aimed at the ceiling, wanting it all to be over.
The symbiote reached a bit further up, as if it was examining the person on whom it was currently attached to. It seemed to pause for a second before it – to her bewilderment – vanished straight into him like a ghost. There was no mark left on him, no stain of any kind. It had just simply disappeared as if it was never there to begin with.
She shifted her eyes back to the screen, shocked to see that his pulse was decreasing to a normal rate along with his heartbeats. 136 and 81 respectively.
"His vitals are stable," she confirmed, looking back at Mr. Burton. This was incredible, there was no doubt about it. She took a couple of steps closer towards the glass, her eyes marveled and her composure returned.
The researchers expressed their fascination and even Mr. Burton seemed relieved, although still in shock. He seemed completely unharmed, no signs of exterior or interior damage as far as Evelyn's eyes could detect. Cautiously, she placed her hands up to the glass, feeling the cold surface brush against the tips of her fingers.
Was there truly something like hope for the world now? Could this truly be the key to humanity's salvation? Could they be saved?
But just as soon as it appeared, the look of relief that washed over Isaac disappeared. His limbs started to twitch and turn to breakable points, causing a cold feeling to enter Evelyn's stomach as she became a witness to this.
Mr. Burton let out an ear-deafening scream, in excruciating pain, and his neck started to snap around. His shoulders went from left to right and there were visible bulges beneath his skin that were developing.
It wasn't long before all of his bones began to snap and twitch in all sorts of directions. His veins were growing unbearably visible beneath the skin of his neck as he fell to his knees on the floor, continuously crying and shrieking like he was being hacked together with an ax. He then fell completely down to the floor, arms spread behind his back before the same blue mass that had entered him quickly discarded its host through his mouth and his chest.
Only that the latter was now deceased by the looks of things.
Holding her breath, Evelyn bent down towards the glass and got a closer look at the creature. It was lingering on top of the corpse for what seemed like a couple of seconds before it abruptly snapped towards the glass, quickly prompting her to get up and retreat a couple of more steps.
The experiment had failed, and a human had just been killed in the process. It had killed him whilst trying to adapt itself to the body, but for some reason, it was not compatible. If the only sign of it being incompatible was death, then this was not about closing in on the answer through testing.
This was a matter about closing in on the answer through whoever did not die in the process.
Unbeknownst to Evelyn, her fingers were clenching themselves together into a fist, scraping her skin and piercing through the first layer until blood was shed.
This was not a sacrifice. This was going to become a deliberate genocide, one by one.
"Dr. March, I need you to examine the next volunteer."
Even with all her inner turmoil, Evelyn refrained from acting out on it. Instead, she crossed her arms over her chest and constricted her eyes to a piercing point as she glared silently at the CEO. His indifference towards what had just happened was not subtle at all; even an ignorant person would have noticed it.
Without answering, she tilted her head to the side and looked at the blue symbiote behind the glass. It was still clinging onto it like a spider would climb to a wall, almost as if knowing that its time was limited unless it was able to find another host.
If this was supposed to be the work of God, then were they Abraham or the lamb?
What she did next was not something she had expected from herself.
She shook her head.