"Eddie, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" Anne's voice hadn't gotten any less stress-inducing since they'd broken up. "Who in this world told you it's okay to go and start psychoanalyzing these kids and prying into their personal matters?" She glared down at him, having cornered the man into the couch in his hotel room. "That is so wrong on so many levels. Have you not learned anything about privacy rights?"

Venom pulled their head out from Eddie's shoulder to stare at him disapprovingly, much like Anne was. Those two spent way too much time together if Venom could mimic the top-notch lawyer's expression with those massive teeth and curling eyes.

"Seriously, Eddie? You didn't learn your lesson, did you? The whole reason Anne left was that you didn't respect her privacy, asshole. Maybe learn it this time. Those kids are super nice to you, even though you're super creepy."

When Eddie tried to glare at the symbiote, Venom just hissed at him like a snake, daring the human to try and argue. Eddie groaned and cradled his head in his hands. "Annie, please, I just-"

"You just what, Ed?!"

A chuckle escaped him without his permission. "That's worse than Edward, honestly." Her gaze got no less intense after that little quip. "Okay, look. I'm truly only looking out for these kids. It's past the point of asking. They're putting themselves into danger constantly. And it doesn't help that they've got no hero training."

Dan, ever the sweetheart, replied calmly from where he sat on the edge of the worn-down hotel bed. "But neither do you, Eddie." Okay, that was a fair point.

"Yeah, but I at least have Venom to keep me from doing stupid shit. Those kids enable each other, and I'm starting to worry that they have no sense of self-preservation. I really do just want to help them, guys. But I can't just barge in and start asking why they're like this. That's not gonna get me any answers and might make them upset because they might think I'm judging them."

Anne rolled her eyes, pulling up the chair from the desk to sit comfortably. "Right, because you're not judging them at all right now by gossiping to your friends that they have no sense of self-preservation. Do you hear the irony in your words, Eddie?" she prompted.

"Ugh, I see your point, but mine still stands. Just asking them outright might alienate me from them, and I can't let that happen after I've promised to help them with their mission."

Scratching under his chin softly, Dan suggested an idea. "If you want to figure out their issues and make them safer, you have to get to the core of those problems and address that directly rather than skirting around the issue. But more than that, you have to get to the core of the group. It's kind of like operating on a tumor or pulling out weeds from a garden. You can't yank at the edges and hope to resolve the issue once and for all."

Both former fiances turned to look at the man, eyebrows raised. Dan grinned and kept going. He wasn't much of a public speaker, but he at least knew how to explain things, credited to his time doing too much undergraduate research and presenting on his findings. "You have to get rid of the issue from its root, and then maintain the area with preventative measures until there is no chance for regrowth or relapse."

Anne just hid her pride in her boyfriend's cleverness behind pursed lips and warm eyes. Eddie kept pushing for answers. "So how would I do that with mental health?"

Dan nodded. "Okay, well, there's a group leader, right?"

Eddie nodded in response.

"How do they identify?"

"The kid uses she-her pronouns, as far as I've seen."

"Okay, then. Handle her issues first. If your team is a nervous system, she's the brain from which the others branch off. Not that they're not smart too. They're probably super smart too, but she's the control center for the group, so she's the one handling their movements for the different missions." Eddie nodded again, confirming the other man's theory. That was a pretty accurate assessment of the team.

Dan sighed in relief, glad that he'd guessed correctly. He wasn't too sure of his idea, but he could at least ask his clinical therapist friends to check his facts for him later that day. "If you help her heal and ensure that she's communicating that positive growth with the others, they'll fall in line and get safe, too."

That…kinda made sense, actually. Eddie loved that idea. Basically, if the others look up to or trust Sanjeevani enough to let her lead the missions and organize the team's movements, it means they probably accept that she has their best interests at heart and will take her advice if she tells them to be safe after learning to be safe herself.

Dan, clearly on a roll, soldiered on. "And if she gets better and improves in her role as leader and in her life overall because of her new understanding of the importance of safety, they'll take that to heart and get safer too. Of course, they might still need a push from you as the oldest adult in the team, but you can handle that on your own, I'm sure." Eddie reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and tugged out his notebook, jotting down the suggestions and nodding to show he was still listening. Still, that wasn't totally accurate. Havardr was probably way older than Eddie himself, as an Asgardian.

"But consult a few people first. A child psychologist, a psychologist with PTSD and anxiety expertise, and an occupational therapist. The child psychologist can help determine whether their issues stem from childhood experiences, a PTSD and anxiety expert can see if their issues come from trauma or other sources, and an occupational therapist can suggest ways to get them to open up about their issues and offer you methods of how to discuss these issues and help those kids."

Eddie just stared aimlessly at the man. How the fuck- "Dude, how do you know all this stuff?"

Dan could only shrug and smile. "I did have to learn about psychology and similar subjects in med school, Eddie. And I do have therapist friends. They talk about this kind of stuff a lot, surprisingly. Or maybe not so surprisingly."

The journalist muttered under his breath and nodded, tucking away the little leather-bound book. "Fair enough."

Venom crooned, reaching forward to bump their massive teeth against Dan's shoulder. "You would make a wonderful host, Dan. Such a good brain! But you're too clean. Eddie is the equivalent of a garbage can on fire in a jungle. Sweaty, full of weird-ass bullshit, and unbelievably loud. I like him better."

"I feel like that was supposed to be nice but instead made you sound like a major asshole, V."

The symbiote chuckled in that weird thrumming way they do. "As opposed to a minor asshole, Eddie? This is a conversation about why you suit me, not about your shitty taste in old rock music, you trash man."

Anne burst out laughing, almost falling out of her seat from the force of her laughter. "Venom, you're the best."

Preening like a fucking peacock, Venom smirked at Eddie, or the emotional equivalent.

Dan just smiled awkwardly. "Does Eddie ever get upset when you say that, Venom?"

Another thrum of amusement. "If he hated that about me, he wouldn't have stuck around and saved the world with me, Daniel. Besides, he only gets upset when I suggest eating those silly, annoying flesh bags you humans keep around for your amusement."

Anne raised her eyebrows. "Pets?"

At the same time, Dan suggested, "Men?"

Venom laughed louder this time, hissing at the two of them. "I meant pets. Why do you hate yourself, Daniel?"

The doctor flushed bright pink. "Look, I've just been reading a lot of neofeminist theory, okay? Men kind of suck."

Venom exclaimed before Eddie could stop them, "SUCK DICK!"

"Well. That's the first time I've seen a Klyntar behave like a human," echoed a croon from the darkest corner of the room. Everyone jumped, Anne and Dan hiding between the wall and the bed while Eddie and V suited up, claws at the ready. A shape moved forward out of the shadow, a sly smile lining a face full of sharp edges.

Loki stepped into the light, the fluorescent bulbs shining over the dark wave of his hair. "Hello, humans."

Venom growled, the noise rumbling low in their throat. "What do you want, Jotunn? What are you doing here?"

The god laughed, shaking his head. "Same thing you are, Edward Brock. Worrying about our little bright-eyed dancer."

With a little puff and snarl, Venom stared at the being, soulless eyes vast and shimmering in the dim illumination of the room. "Explain."

"Mm. I will. Can I be offered a seat, though, first? This will take some time, and I plan to offer solutions."

Venom eventually suited down, the symbiote still bubbling and tensing just under Eddie's skin as the man pulled up a chair for Loki and sat down on his own couch. The two battled for control of their voice for a few seconds before deciding that V was far too angry and emotionally vulnerable to be able to speak without ripping the god's head off with his teeth. "Alright, magic man. Why are you here, and how did you find me?"

Loki snickered quietly, keeping his smile tame. "You spend much of your waking hours with a Klyntar. I am quite familiar with their species, and it's not at all hard to track them in a city as small as this. And it certainly helps that a lot of her magical residue has stuck to you."

Eddie scowled hard, shaking his head. "She's literally just got a mutation that gave her these powers. She's not magical."

"And how would you know, reporter?"

Loki was definitely an asshole, Eddie thought. No wonder people hated him so much. Well, the asshole thing and the fact that he invaded Earth with a bunch of alien monsters to help Thanos. "Because that's exactly what she told me."

"Right. Well, that's not true. Her mutation only allows her to control her body's functioning more actively. It lets her work with her brain rather than for it. She basically just has conscious control over her body systems," the god explained. The others stared at him in shock, maybe confusion and fear. He nodded slowly, sighing with exhaustion as he dragged a hand down his face. "Yes. I understand why you're so confused."

Dan raised a hand, still too scared of the new guest to speak openly. "So. Um. Just so I get this straight, Mr. Loki, sir. You're saying that the White Witch's powers are more about herself than other people? Then how is she healing so many people?"

Loki shook his head, chuckling. "No, good doctor. What I said was that her mutation is more about herself than others. Her magic is what lets her exert that influence on other people."

"But how did she get magic? I thought you had to be born with it."

"Well, that's certainly not true of the Sorcerer Supreme. He learned his magic. It is true, most beings in the universe are born with an affinity for magic. But everyone must still learn to use it. She is somewhat of an exception. She never learned magic. She was forced into it."

Eddie threw his hands up, shaking his head adamantly. "How in the fuck does that make any sense, man?"

A slow, exasperated sigh. "Of course a human of your profession cannot comprehend such a complex matter, no matter your experience." Eddie tried to not huff indignantly. "Basically, when the Sorcerer Supreme brought her to this universe from her original universe, she had to go through a portal crossing multiple realities. She had to pass through a portal created by the combined force of the Sorcerer Supreme's magic and the Space stone. This exposed her to a similar kind of magic wielded by Wanda Maximoff."

Anne put her hand up this time, a question already forming in her mind. "So this is the reason that you and your brother were here in Paris a few weeks ago? To interrogate her about her powers?"

With a high eyebrow and an impressed grin on his face, the son of Laufey chuckled. "No, but good question. We were here to intervene on behalf of the Sorcerer Supreme and others of the Sorcerer's Guild. One of her close associates is of great concern to us. His skillset leaves quite a lot to fear, and we want to return him to his home so that we may help him work on his powers. But that is not for you to worry about."

"Okay, so what now?" Eddie grunted out. "Why are you telling us this?"

Loki smirked. "My friend-"

"I am not your friend."

"Hmph. Alright, human. I'm telling you this because the Avengers want to induct the White Witch into their team, and I was assigned as her teacher, to help her learn how to use her powers."

Eddie rolled his eyes, shaking his head as Venom pushed him up to stretch their arms and legs. "Why? She's already got it down, as far as I can tell. She's basically healed something like one or two percent of the city's population. Give her a few years, and she'll have healed everyone at least once."

Loki rolled his eyes in response. "Her powers can do more than just heal. My own idiot brother underestimated her ferocity and strength until she slapped him in the face. Good on her, by the way. That was the peak of my day. But like I said. She can do more than just heal or change her own body's energy usage or musculature."

"Oh yeah, then tell us what else she can do."

He huffed. "I don't know all of it. That's the point of me teaching her, so she can figure out for herself what she's capable of and show me how much she can really do. Besides, I'm not telling what I do know to anyone else. Too many are after her, unsurprisingly."

Dan raised an eyebrow, turning to Anne and Eddie before looking back at the godly being in the room. "And uh, why's that not surprising? Why would people want to hunt down a new hero who hasn't mastered her powers yet? That's plenty surprising to me. It seems like a big waste of resources and a big risk to take, especially if the Avengers want her in their team."

Loki stared silently at the others in the room, an unimpressed eyebrow raised almost into his hairline. Really? No one pieced it together yet?

And then Anne opened her mouth. "Because Dan. She might be the first successful merger of magic and science that the world has ever seen. Most of the combined magic and science in the world comes in the form of technology or tools that the Asgardians taught us how to make and use. But never in the form of a human being who can put those two skills to use." She sat up a little straighter and let a little smirk linger on her lips when the Asgardian-raised being gave her two thumbs up.

"Perfectly put, my dear. Well said. That is exactly correct. As far as my brother and I can tell, she would indeed be the first to use both magic and mutation-borne powers at the same time. On Asgard, her magic would just be another part of our science, and she'd just be another of our very talented healers, but Earth is a much simpler planet, and many here would want to replicate and sell beings with her powers to governments. Money runs the world, as you all say."

Eddie put his head in his hands. "Great. Now both of the heavy-hitters of the team are wanted for their abilities. Is there anyone else that people want?"

"Hm. No. I don't think so. But the myth-based shapeshifter and Wicker are also being considered for placement in the Avengers' team. I have no say on who can and cannot join the team, but I can offer suggestions about different matters as Thor's sibling."

"You're still on probatio from the UN, aren't you?" Anne wondered, tapping out a random rhythm on the edge of the bumpy hotel bed.

He scowled. "Yes. Unfortunately, those fools do not have the kind of sense that the rest of the planet does. I can't help people and fulfill the needs of my forgiveness program if I'm not allowed to do anything. And I won't be allowed to do anything until I fulfill the needs of the program. Quite a ridiculous policy, but I can't exactly change it, so I have to bear with it."

"Huh. So why is it that you're here? You're a god. You can help her remotely, right?" Eddie probed, cautious curiosity almost getting the best of him.

"Yes. That is true." Loki couldn't remember the last time he physically stepped in to help the White Witch, so this was a weird little incident. "I have been helping her remotely. Making sure she has her birth certificate and such, making sure she had her dance clothes, little things like that. But you know her personally, you know her psyche and behavior and emotional state. I need your perspective, and you need my powers."

Anne put her hands up. "But you said you've been helping her remotely. So you know her struggles, but not her emotions? And you've never stepped in to help her directly?"

Loki, with a sigh of admittance, nodded. "She helped bring back Anthony Stark. She and Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme, used the Infinity Stones to bring Stark back to life. But when we offered her a position as an Avenger, she ran off. She had been disowned by her family. She was in a whole new universe and met a sorcerer. Her life was on its head. It was too much, so she ran away and came here. To Paris. I knew that if I stepped in physically and tried to bring her back to New York, she would resist, get angry, resent us. I want to avoid that. I want to train her only once she's ready, only after she's come to terms with her experiences and her new life. That's why I never revealed myself to her as her remote helper."

V, finally popping out of Eddie's shoulder to address the Asgardian-raised god directly. "I understand your cause and reasons, Odinson. I do not approve of your deceit, but I understand it. She is not easy to read. Her mind is a maze. The time I spent with her, my own processing center was overwhelmed. Be cautious. She is not resentful, but she can certainly hold a grudge. It is not beneath her morality to despise authority figures, especially if they've attacked and killed innocent people. There's a reason she's never worked with Parisian police in her time as a hero."

The god nodded slowly, tapping his chin. "That makes sense. Thank you for the insight, Klyntar. Anyways. I hear you are struggling to keep her alive. Because of her own carelessness in missions?"

Eddie and V nodded together. "Yes."

"Then the next time you speak to her, ask about her childhood. Ask her if she remembers the first time she ever got hurt. Ask what her parents did and why. Explain gently that because they're not around now and didn't help her much back then, she needs to now be her own parent and love herself enough to keep herself safe just as she loved her younger brother and kept him safe. She'll fall into it easily. She might be angry that you brought up her childhood in the conversation, but she'll at least understand why you did so."

Eddie raised an eyebrow. "You're sure this will work?"

Loki laughed. "No. But I'm not the one speaking to her. You are. Figure it out for yourself, Edward Brock."

"I hate you."

The god smirked. "Very well." And with a puff of green smoke, he vanished without a trace.

"Asshole."

Anne snorted. "I think you just don't like him because he knows more about the White Witch than you do, despite your whole big-shot reporter thing."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "He's a god, Annie. How the fuck would I be able to know more than a guy who can literally do anything he wants? Besides, he's been watching over her for months."

"Exactly, Eddie. So stop complaining."

"Whatever." While the former sensationalist reporter pouted at his friends' bullying, Venom chittered with their weird little laugh.

That night, Eddie got to see the White Witch actually fight bad guys. It was pretty cool, except for the four times she got stabbed.

Armed with his new knowledge provided by Loki Odinson, Eddie Brock headed out into the night, V enveloped around him as the two bounded over rooftops and scoured Paris for the young heroine in hopes of convincing her to be safer during her crime-fighting nights. At some point, they leaped across a little alleyway, where the Witch was trying to fight four to five guys at the same time as an unmarked black van stopped at one end of the alley, its doors opening from the inside. Venom couldn't figure out why exactly she was fighting them, but it looked serious. They kept an eye on the van, assuming the worst.

Before they could drop down and help her, though, she grabbed one guy by his long brown hair and pressed his throat into the inside of a bent knee, tightening it around his neck to cut off his airflow. That was a weird move, Venom thought. But pretty interesting, though. With his breathing hampered, the tall man of clearly European descent choked and gasped for air, trying to yank down her knee and push it away, but to no avail. She had a steel grasp on him.

His friends eventually backed off, hands up and dropping their weapons. Eddie could hear the smirk in her voice. Eddie had to translate from French to English, which was unpleasant but necessary since the kid was speaking French, though somewhat badly. Kind of hard to yell at criminals in English when you're fighting them in Paris.

"Oh, so that's all it took? Wow, that's underwhelming. But good to know!" And with that, she reached under the shoulders of his hoodie and shirt and pinched the bare skin of the base of his neck. It wasn't a normal pinch. Eddie, through Venom's enhanced vision, could see a bunch of broken blood vessels in the dude's neck. No major ones, just capillaries under the surface of his skin. The guy passed out right then and there, no longer fighting her knee-grip. His muscles all fell limp, dragging along the floor as she moved forward to release his neck.

Eddie winced, and V just snorted unhappily. What a waste of force. We could have finished this fight in five seconds, had you let us descend.

Yeah, well, she's not exactly the cannibal type, bud. The kid wants to save lives more than take them. In this world, that's a rarity, considering the kind of shit people do to the ones they love and care about. You remember how I told you about Captain America leaving Iron Man for dead? There ya go. Just let her save these losers. Besides, the ones we should be eating are the ones hurting innocent kids and other vulnerable people. Pedos, rapists, serial killers, etc. These idiots aren't worth the bloodshed, V.

Still could have taken them, Eddie.

Don't care. Not our fight, man.

When the man dropped to the floor like a sack of onions, the other men watched on in horror as the heroine reached down to check his pulse and nodded. "Good. Only unconscious. Look, boys. I know what you were doing. Just stop what you're doing and relax, and I can get you out of whatever situation put you here. But you have to explain yourselves."

The young men, ever the angry group, screamed in rage at their friend's takedown and lunged at her. The White Witch groaned and jumped back, knocking one guy out with a perfectly-placed punch to the throat. Another swiped at her with a knife, scowling tightly as she kept shoving his arm aside, easily averting his strikes. He was more agitated than the rest, for some reason. She dragged him back into the same position she had his friend in a few minutes ago. He thrashed like a fish out of water when she cut off his air supply. "I'll do this until you stop. I want to help you, but you have to stop doing this. Taking kids off the street, tossing them into vehicles, and sending them off somewhere?! None of that is right. Make money the right way. I can help you do that, but you have to stop!"

He did not stop. He got a solid stab in her thigh, leaving her to clutch the limb and scream until her pain subsided enough for the battle to resume. But before she could take the knife-guy down, two people jumped out from the black van and ran up to grab her arms, shoving them behind her back while reaching into their pockets to retrieve something.

When Venom spotted what looked like syringes, they leapt down from the rooftop and sent the remaining loons into a rage. They knocked out the remaining two idiots the kid had been fighting with a well-thought-out smack to their backs. The van-guys holding onto her screamed at the sight of them, abandoning the heroine to return to safety, far away from the aptly named "Monster of Midnight".

Sanjeevani sighed. "Seriously, man? I was fine."

Venom flicked her forehead with their claws. "Right. Because you looked totally fine after you got stabbed…how many times at the start of the fight?"

She huffed. "Three."

"And just now, so four. Come on. We need to have a talk."

The White Witch didn't leave until all five guys were healed and talked to. She kept shit-talking them, which was concerning, to say the least. The kid didn't seem to care that they would definitely stab her again, given the chance.

And then began her scolding. The guys she beat up sat on the curb as she glowered down at them and yelled in horrible French. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Just because you got kidnapped as a kid, you're gonna do that to kids now?! That's the wrong response. If something horrible happens to you, you make sure you prevent it from happening to other people. You learned the wrong lesson, so now you're gonna have to learn how to handle trauma and how to make up for your many mistakes. Step one is jail time. I'll make sure they don't violate your rights as people, but you made so many mistakes along the way and never took the right path. Stupid fucking dumbass."

The kid had this weird therapy thing, where she would talk to the criminals about their lives and why they were doing what they did. Basically, it was like an elementary school teacher asking why two kids were fighting and making them spill the story of their friendship and what went wrong. It was amusing at first, but also pretty smart, to be honest.

Eddie could now understand why she didn't work with the police. It wasn't just that the police kept murdering innocent people, especially innocent people of color. It was that she didn't need them. She was doing the actual work needed to reduce crime: discovering the issues leading to crime, addressing the causes for those issues, making sure criminals are punished, and then giving them options to leave their crime-driven lives to find new ways to survive in the world.

Those were what American police seemed to avoid at all costs. Probably because it's easier to throw people into jail and act like they're not people with problems than it is to actually help them and get them out of whatever situations caused them to turn to crime in the first place. Well, no wonder the new generations hate cops so much. Venom could see it too, now. "Pathetic little leeches. We eat actual humans, and even we're better than them."

Eddie couldn't help but laugh. "You got that right, buddy."

After sending the goons off to the police station, Sanjeevani gave the cops themselves warnings about how she would always know if the cops themselves or if the jail wardens were committing human rights violations. And then she promised to help the goons free themselves of their criminal lives if they promised to try and be better people. She must have told them something Eddie didn't hear while he hid with V in the shadows of the alley next door because they seemed more contemplative when Eddie entered the police station as himself and not Venom. The officers didn't acknowledge him much.

One waved from her desk as the White Witch bitched at the worst cop in the precinct, the one who actually put behind bars the guys the Witch had fought.

The female officer smirked. "That asshole deserves it," she joked with Eddie in a thick French accent. "He's been ruining morale and merit since shooting that man accidentally last month and acting like it was the poor man's fault."

The greaseball human snickered, nodding. "Pretty entertaining. I get why you're enjoying this," he teased back with a wink. Eddie wasn't exactly comfortable hanging around a bunch of police officers, considering his arrangement with V, but he was definitely used to it, and so were the officers. He'd do this to visit the White Witch every once in a while as she talked down criminals and yelled at cops to do better.

"AND THE NEXT TIME YOU WANT TO TRY AND BEAT UP JAILED PROTESTORS OPPOSING SOMETHING YOU BELIEVE IN JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T LIKE THEIR OPINIONS, I WILL SHOW UP AND RUIN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE, YOU GODDAMN MONSTER." With that, Sanjeevani Rao, lunatic extraordinaire, called it a night and joined Eddie for a late-night cup of tea and a peaceful walk home.

The whole time they headed back to her apartment, she complained. No wonder Eddie and his friends didn't hang out with parents of teen kids. The annoying adults weren't the problem. It was the teens.

"I was fine, and then you had to go and ruin it! I almost got them calm enough to talk, and those assholes showed up. I would have handled them, though!"

"You got stabbed four times."

"I am literally the best healer in Paris, Edward!"

Eddie gave her a deadpan look. "You're also under the US legal drinking age and can barely walk half a block without getting into a fight with strangers about anything and everything."

She huffed. "Look, Eddie. If God didn't want me to be so openly willing to fight people to make the world a better place, he'd have made my personality to be more chill and uncaring. But it isn't like that, so deal. Because I will fight every bitch on the block to make Paris more crime-less. More than those fucking pigs are doing, anyway. They're just putting people in jail and investigating the crimes after the fact. I'm preventing the crimes. They're flimsy and weak and can't survive even one percent of the things I've dealt with. So maybe stop acting like I'm fragile."

"But you are. You're still human. So am I. Had it not been for V, I wouldn't be here right now. And if it weren't for your powers, neither would you. At the same time, there will always be someone stronger than you. Riot was stronger than Venom. Someone is definitely stronger than you. So you can't rely on only strength or fighting ability or your powers. You have to just be smart."

When they entered her bedroom from the window, she yanked off her mask and glowered at him. "Are you calling me stupid, old man? Because I will definitely throw you out of this window if that's the case. And I am only gonna do that because V can save you."

"No! I'm not calling you stupid, kid! I'm not that much of an asshole. But I am calling you careless."

"Thanks, that's so much better." She threw a pillow at his face really hard and grabbed some pajamas from her dresser and slammed the bathroom door shut after running in.

"Fuck, I'm so bad at this."

"My turn, pussy."

Eddie groaned and sat down on her couch way too hard, the wood creaking under his weight.

"Go for it, bud."

"Let her come out of the bathroom comfortable and relaxed, first. We don't want to further irritate her. Sorry, not we, I. You've already irritated her."

Once Sanjeevani stepped out of her bathroom and sat on the edge of her bed, Eddie got up to sit with her, only freezing in his seat when she sent him an irritated, expectant scowl. She drew up to her full seated height and pressed her legs tightly together so her hands could rest primly in her lap. The air changed in the room, and Eddie figured she wanted him to stay where he was. Maybe it was an 'asserting your dominance thing'. V started talking then, chittering at their host's embarrassed state.

"Sorry about him, kid. Eddie is still too stupid to figure out whether his words will anger someone before he says them. But we are concerned. So we want to talk."

Sanjeevani nodded slowly, relaxing her posture and shoulders just enough so her back wouldn't discomfort her as she spoke to them. "Okay."

"We've been noticing that you tend to be a little brash during fights. Hard landings that damage your knees and feet, hitting without precision and breaking your knuckles, holding up so much weight that your muscles tear almost beyond repair. Why?"

The breath she pulled in sounded more like a pained whine than a measured inhalation. "I dunno."

"You are plenty smart," the symbiote insisted while spilling forth from Eddie's shoulder. "You have learned much about yourself and your powers in a short time. You do know. Tell us."

As her eyes widened, her head lowered. This was not a therapy session she could have ever predicted. Not that she didn't appreciate their concern, but… "To teach myself how to handle pain."

Eddie was now VERY concerned. Much more than he'd ever been. She must have noticed the spike in his heart rate because Sanjeevani threw her hands up forward, palms open. Eyes like dinner plates, she tried to speak as calmly and softly as possible.

Normally, Eddie didn't get this scared about other people's safety, but this was way beyond anything he expected. What the fuck was the kid saying?!

"Whoa, slow down. I don't mean like that. It's just. I have always had a really low pain tolerance. Even as a young girl, my menstrual cramps were unbearable. There were days when I couldn't even move from my bed, that's how bad it was. But my parents didn't care about that and still forced me to go to school. I'd barely make it to the entrance of the building without passing out."

Okay, he was still concerned, but now for a different reason. He had to get her an actual therapist. A lot of her issues seemed to stem from childhood and family abuse. Venom hummed. "They are foolish. I would have eaten them for you, had I bonded with Eddie and then met you."

A little giggle slipped out of her mouth unexpectedly. "Thanks, V. Very sweet of you to say. But I'm not sure that would have helped. I still needed them a lot back then, and I wouldn't have been able to survive on my own."

Eddie, ever the worrywart, asked her to continue.

She closed her eyes tight, squishing the heels of her palms over the lids before suddenly staring right into her lap, hands now at her sides. She couldn't look him in the face. This was too hard, and she didn't want to see his expression of pity. "Eventually, as I entered high school, I could handle the pain better because it became a new constant in my life. Like, it was still there, but now it was in the back of my mind, and I could ignore it to do what I had to do. But other pain still crippled me." Something about that seemed familiar to Eddie. Very familiar.

At some point, she smiled, chuckling weakly and shaking her head, as if she were discussing sweet old memories and not how she had something like chronic pain. "If I fell and scraped my knees, I'd cry. If I accidentally cut my finger, I'd clutch it and sit on the ground, rocking back and forth until I felt better." She took a deep breath, her shoulders shaking from the effort of inhaling so much air.

"But now? I'm a superhero. I'll get hit all the time. I'll get hit until the day I die, assuming I'll still have enemies many years into the future. But I can't fight bad guys and help them find a better path if I'm constantly afraid to get hurt or if I'm constantly unable to bear the pain of their hits. I have to build up my tolerance so I can deal with the aches of my injuries, no matter the severity." That made sense. It sucked that she had to endure such a process, but it made sense.

Eddie shook his head, despite V's respect and understanding of the girl's train of thought. The human of the duo didn't like hearing about how the kid was purposefully getting hurt more so she could better handle pain. That sounded dangerous, maybe a little suicidal, if Eddie was being honest. And that was scary to him. "Sweetheart, the way you build up pain tolerance isn't by hurting yourself and damaging your body in the middle of a fight. I'm no battle expert, but V's taught me some stuff."

Sanjeevani rolled her eyes at that and nodded, leaning forward a little to listen more closely. She didn't know much about Eddie Brock, but, if anything, the trash fire gremlin always had damn good advice to give. "The more you allow injury to yourself, the more difficult it will be to subdue and calm your opponents. So, you can't help or heal if you're fucked all the way up."

Fuck. He had a great point. "Yeah, fair enough."

V elaborated. "If you are fighting a person, and you allow them to wound you, you cannot fight them off in the battle because you will be weaker than them, in that moment. They will then escape to continue committing crimes while you lick your wounds and heal. In the meantime, they can hurt more people and continue hurting their own futures. And you will waste energy fixing yourself rather than fighting them. You have to build pain tolerance outside of fights to better prepare yourself."

Her face split into a big smile. "I love your advice, V. Always so many good ideas. But I just don't have anyone to train with. Havardr is busy with his own stuff, so are Kuro and Lien. Ahmed is still training with Havardr, and our other two partners aren't ready to go into heavy training yet. How can I build my tolerance outside of a fight when I can't practice with anyone?"

V grinned their monstrous little grin. "You were born alone. You live alone. You fight alone. So you must build alone. Train yourself. We will consult a doctor, trainer, and nutritionist about what your goals should be. Once determined, we will send the information to you. Reach those goals, and we will train you ourselves. We are quite capable of such. But train solely as the White Witch, not as Sanjeevani Rao, the dancer. Too many questions if you train as the dancer. But as the hero, you can show the public how you're trying hard, and we can be seen in non-murderous settings. Good PR for both sides," the alien promised. Sanjeevani stared at them, open-mouthed and eyes wide.

"Holy shit, my man. How are you so smart?!"

V chortled, winking at her. "We get some of it from this meatbag," they responded while poking Eddie. "But a lot of it is from me. I am an unkillable alien being with millions of years of wisdom. We know a lot more than you primitive humans."

"Fair enough. But okay. That's fair I guess. But why did you guys take an interest in this in the first place? Most of the team doesn't notice when I do shit too dangerously."

Eddie smiled. "Kid, they do notice. But they also know you're a kind soul with too much weighing on your heart and don't wanna hurt you by saying shit boldly. We're doing it now because we want you to be safe. We need you to help us take down GL. They're monsters. The city needs you to keep it safe and healthy. And your friends need you to be happy." That was a boring answer.

"Bro, that's why everyone else needs me. I asked why you're taking an interest."

He nodded. "Alright. I just don't like seeing you kids get hurt. Your teammates are just like you. Just as brash and uncaring about their safety. If I can help you be safe, I can kill two birds with one stone. I'd be helping you fight better and stay healthier, and your teammates would take a page out of your book and get safe too."

She smiled. "Better answer." Even if the reason for this intervention seemed a little selfish-ish, at least Eddie was honest. The same couldn't be said for Strange, no matter how much the guy wanted to seem like a benefactor to her.

"And also, you're a good kid. You're just trying to help a city that probably doesn't give a shit about you. I appreciate that kind of good moral character. Especially since you're trying to solve everyone's problems at once. Kind of overwhelming for one person. If I can make your work a little easier by keeping you safe, helping you be a better hero, then I'll have done the bare minimum as a fellow 'superhero' or whatever," he admitted with a little grin. Sanjeevani punched his arm, smiling much bigger.

"I knew you weren't absolute shit, Eddie Brock. Great answer." He laughed at her response, nodding slowly.

"Okay, fair enough." Eyes scanning around the room, Eddie leaned back. "But I did want to ask something else."

"Hm?" came her response as she stood to get a cup of tea for herself and her guest. Usually, she'd offer coffee, but it was past midnight, and she still had to get up early for classes tomorrow morning. Monday mornings were the worst.

Venom slapped a black, semi-liquid limb over Eddie's mouth and spoke for him, knowing the guy would fuck it up one way or another. "Child. You said your parents were cruel to you when you were still a small larva."

Sanjeevani grunted. "Yep." She returned to them, two small mugs of jasmine green tea in her hands. Placing one on the table beside Venom, the young woman plopped back down onto the edge of her bed. "Why?"

As their host took a careful sip of the tea, Venom probed cautiously, "Did they care for you when you got injured? Put on a bandaid or whatever?"

She sighed. "When I was much younger, they did. But after I got into elementary school, they told me to do it on my own. I taught myself a lot of basic first aid because I was so clumsy. I'd get hurt all the time." Sanjeevani rubbed her forehead with an open palm, gripping the tea with her other hand to not drop it onto her comforter and soak her bed.

"My mom would scream at me for getting my clothes dirty. My dad would get mad if I cried because of the pain, calling me stupid. I had to stop showing them if anything happened to me. Had to learn to clean off my clothes so I wouldn't get screamed at. I just had to learn all that stuff on my own before I was meant to."

Eddie drank his tea quietly, trying not to rage at the shit he was hearing. In Eddie's childhood, his own dad had been an alcoholic fuckwad. Absolutely useless and violent all the time. Seems like this kid had just as bad parents, but without the alcohol. So, basically, hers were sober and abusive rather than alcoholic and abusive. Venom mirrored his anger without any of the expression of it. The symbiote really was an amazing thespian, considering the calmness they exuded with their tone. Sanjeevani didn't seem to pick up on their feelings, but she wasn't fully merged with the alien, so that wasn't surprising.

Venom kept going, their plans emboldened by the young woman's explanations. "So, you had to learn to take care of yourself at a young age. If that is the case, you've been doing that for a while, yes? Staying safe, feeding yourself, healing yourself? Then you know how to do it well, with all that experience. Because your parents won't and haven't helped you in the past, you have to do that for yourself now. Eddie and I also cannot step in all the time. Protect yourself. Only allow injuries and pain-training when you're not in a fight. That is the worst time to do that. We'll help you, but you have to help yourself first. No more brash fighting. Or we'll take over and take care of you like a little larva if necessary. Don't think that we won't," the symbiote warned. Sanjeevani smiled, laughing brightly.

She set down the tea, moving forward to take the cup from Eddie's hands and setting it down on the table. Venom, still baffled by human behavior and expression, rifled through Eddie's memories to determine what exactly the child was doing. To little avail. Eddie didn't know either. Dragging them up and into a hug, the young woman picked the duo up.

They couldn't really escape without shoving her away or freeing their arms. Eddie didn't seem to mind, but Venom strained against her grip, loosening her arms to return the embrace. Sanjeevani sighed and just leaned against the giant losers. "Thanks, guys. I'm not used to this kind of stuff. I think you know that, though."

Eddie snorted. "Yeah, we know. You have no concept of self-care. But we're here to help, kid. Really. So just stay safe. That's all we're askin'."

"Was this a planned intervention?"

Venom tilted their head to the side, staring at the young woman's face carefully. "Will you be mad if we say it was?" She just laughed again, poking the alien's 'cheek' playfully.

"Probably not. But I'd be a little miffed either way. Thanks for this. People caring about me and my safety feels like a weird concept, coming from adults, at least. My friends have always cared, but I wasn't always good at making friends. So now, hearing that you're actually worried about my wellbeing just had me on edge. People often pretend to care. Older adults are so good at pretending, at making me think they want what's best for me and then just using me or my feelings to gain something else in return. Trust issues are a big thing in my life. I guess, just…thanks, old man."

With a tired sigh, Eddie nodded, pressing his chin into the top of her head. Man, this kid was short. Her head barely reached his neck. "Yeah, you're welcome, kid. Don't worry about it."

She pulled back and stared at his face, almost glaring into his soul, "No, seriously, Eddie. Thank you."

It was a little concerning how she seemed to look through him, but it wasn't as creepy as it felt. "You're welcome." He patted her head, and her expression softened, her head pressing into his chest again. "You doin' okay, though? In life and shit?"

Sanjeevani groaned. "I don't even know, Pops. Shit just keeps piling up. I feel like my head's gonna explode. I just need a vacation, ASAP. But I'm a healer. Basically a doctor without the degree. I can't take vacations from saving people's lives, right?"

Eddie laughed. "Contrary to popular belief, you can, and you should. How about this? My ex-fiancee and her boyfriend are here in the city. Don't worry, I'm friends with both of them, and it's not awkward. Take a break tomorrow. Cancel classes and move them to Tuesday. Your students will appreciate it too, honestly. Join us for the day. The whole day. And spend evenings with us for the rest of the week. You'll have fun. Well, as much as a teenager can with a bunch of middle-aged losers."

She snorted. "Eddie, isn't your ex literally cooler than you?"

His face flushed bright red. "Who the fuck told you that?"

A snort and a snicker. "Who do you think, old man?"

Eddie scowled. "Venom, you're fucking grounded."

"Wrong, but okay."

Sanjeevani laughed again, pushing him back. "Okay, whatever, weirdos. Go have your old-married-couple arguments in your hotel room, not in my apartment. Go on, now. I'll join you tomorrow, I promise. What time and where?"

Venom squeaked out, "We'll pick you up here. Nine in the morning. Anne and Dan will be with us already, so don't freak out."

Grinning like a shark, she nodded, kissing the top of their noodle-y little head before pushing them towards the window. "Got it. Now go. I want to sleep, and you're getting in the way of that."

"Rude!" the duo shouted up to her as they jumped down from the window's edge. Sanjeevani threw her head back to laugh until she couldn't breathe. It had been a weird night, but one well worth it. Talking about her family's abuse had helped a little, if at all. But once again, she needed a drink. Her nights were getting weirder with each passing week in the so-called City of Love.

When Sanjeevani Rao fell asleep that night, she did not anticipate any dream visitors. But, of course, contrary to her expectations (as usual), she had a visitor. Better yet, she had the visitor. Loki Odinson, brother of Thor and former ruler of Asgard, sat in the same chair Dr. Strange sat in every time the Sorcerer Supreme made a dream visit. He sat leisurely, flipping through a spectral magazine that glowed with self-sustaining light while waiting for her, presumably. Dark hair slicked back, blue-green eyes barely paying attention to the words that they scanned over, the guy was focusing elsewhere. As soon as the young heroine stepped past the large oak doors did he finally turn to her, smiling slyly. "Ah. The White Witch. Welcome."

She raised an eyebrow in response. "I'd say your presence is the surprising one, Mr. Odinson. This is my dream, not yours. What are you doing here?"

He chuckled, looking down at his magazine again. "Well, I suppose that's fair. Either way, please do come join me. We have much to discuss."

Squaring her shoulders and keeping her head level, Sanjeevani strode forward, eyes narrowed at the ancient sorcerer seated on the taller couch. She plopped down comfortably, letting her back recline ever-so-slightly against her own seat. "What is it that you want to say? I've had Strange visit me, but never you."

"Indeed. He only knew because I showed him how to connect with you."

Her eyes flashed white with rage. This was not welcome anymore. "What the fuck?!" Realizing her guest's power and status, she soothed herself and glared, unable to restrain more of her anger. "What in the world are you talking about? You violated my privacy and gave him access to my head?! How dare you?!"

Loki nodded slowly, putting down the magazine and raising his hands up to kind of put her at ease. "Forgive me for that. My intention was not to cause you distress. What I did was I allowed him to open a line of communication via the dream world. Yes, it is its own separate realm. When you are ready to train with me, I will teach you much about the worlds of magic. But for now, let's leave it at that. You had to accept his call, so to speak, for him to speak to you."

She frowned hard, folding in on herself. "But…I don't remember ever agreeing to it. There was never any 'Do you accept the terms and conditions?' thing when he first showed up in my dreams. How did I accept his call?"

The man smiled more softly. "It's not an active thing. It's more like your magic has to accept his call than your conscious mind."

Sanjeevani groaned. "Man, again with the magic. I am not magical. I just have a mutation that somehow gave me powers. I don't know how that works, but whatever." Loki laughed at that, nodding his head again.

"Yes, that much is true. You do have a mutation. But it only allows you conscious control over your own body systems. Circulatory, nervous, digestive. That's the control your powers give you. The magic comes from when you were dragged through the portal with Strange. His use of his own powers and the Space Stone kind of influenced you at the molecular level, bound you to the realm of magic. That magic is what lets you exert bodily control over other people. But by no means are you solely a creation of biology and nature. Magic is a big part of your skillset."

Sanjeevani had to put her head in her hands and relax first. This was too much info. Again. Seriously, she needed a therapist at this point. Someone who could help her navigate this stuff and help her decide how to handle all this stress and information and knowledge. "Slow down, please. This is so much…"

He nodded, folding his hands in his lap. "Of course. Take your time."

That much she could appreciate about the Asgardian. He didn't overwhelm her with information or feelings like Strange did. Well, not the same way, at least. He gave her the space to deal with her brain before asking more questions or saying more new shit.

Once she could at least put together some of the puzzle pieces about her abilities, she sat up and looked at Loki properly. "Okay. Alright. Please continue."

"Wonderful. I wanted to ask how you're doing. How you're handling things so far. You came from a different reality, as it stands. You are slowly building a life for yourself, and that is quite impressive. But I have a feeling few have asked how you're dealing with all of this."

Sanjeevani, taken aback by his perceptiveness but grateful for the concern, laughed a little at the irony. Strange, who was supposed to help her because he brought her here in the first place, never really asked this question, and Loki, who wasn't really ever that invested in her, was showing such deep concern for her. "You'd be right. But I don't think I'm handling it as much as pushing it aside to keep going through the day. I just don't have the time to sit and think about my experiences, even though I probably should. I don't let myself relax like that because there's just so much to do."

Loki said nothing, nodding and holding his hand out to motion for her to keep going.

"It's like, I always feel tired because I'm always moving. But I'm always moving because I want to avoid my trauma and my heartache about my family, but I'm avoiding that because I have so much to do in a day, which makes me tired. It's this horrible vicious circle, and I can't seem to break out of it," she admitted with a big sigh. Her hands slid up to her face to rub at her eyes and cheeks before lying on the armrests. "It's just hard to leave a cycle like that."

"Hmm. And why do you think you can't?"

She shrugged, leaning her head back against the back of the chair. "I dunno. Maybe something about it giving me comfort even though it hurts me because pain is such a constant in my life that trying to undo my traumas and pain means I'll be truly entering something more unfamiliar than this universe and its weird physics."

The god of mischief only nodded, clasping his hands. "I'm familiar with such feelings. To be honest, we think more alike than I've assumed. You're quite self-aware, Ms. Sanjeevani." He gave her a little wink, and she cracked a tiny smile in response.

"Thanks, Mr. Loki…" They sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of what to say or how to proceed. And Sanjeevani figured it was up to her to ask for help now. She'd been self-sufficient to a certain point, but she was wearing herself down, and she had asked her friends for help with the missions and stuff. But now? She had very little time before she had some kind of big break, and to avoid that, she had to get help. It was time for a self-intervention. "Um…do you have any advice on how to work through big emotional issues? Like, trauma and stuff?"

Proud eyes trained on his future student's face, Loki hummed in response. "Yes, I do. First big suggestion. Find a therapist. I know France has free healthcare, but I'm not sure it will apply to mental health services as well. I can do my research and find you and your friends a therapist who can handle your issues and keep silent about any superhero details you may share, like your powers and such."

Sanjeevani, eyebrows high and pupils narrowed, tensed her shoulders. "How did you know where I am?"

Loki laughed brightly. "Child, I literally met you a few weeks ago in Paris. You slapped my brother. How else would I know?"

She groaned, smacking her own forehead with an open palm. "I am so dumb. I can't believe I forgot about that. Sorry. Please, keep going." He nodded, quirking up one side of his mouth.

"Right. Well, after finding someone, I can share their details with you in your next dream. Don't worry, I'll have them sign non-disclosure agreements with you and your friends who choose to take this option. If not, you can always ask Samuel Wilson from the Avengers. I hear he's quite experienced with veteran counseling. I'm sure he'd be able to help you as well."

Lips pursed, the young hero rubbed her hands together while staring at the god. "Um, have you ever spoken to him about your traumas?"

"I have. A few times. He did not always understand the reason things happened, but he at least gave helpful suggestions to overcome the desire for revenge. Those definitely helped me more than any ideas my own therapist offered."

"Okay, well, in that case, could you ask him if he could counsel us? Just, you know, in case the therapist thing doesn't work out?"

Loki, smiling softly again, nodded. "I will. Now, I believe sunrise has arrived. It is time for me to go. And you still have a long day ahead of you. We shall speak again soon, Ms. White Witch."

Sanjeevani put her hands up as he stood. "Wait!"

He paused, an eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

Her eyebrows knitted together before she gave him a hesitant smile. "Call me Vaid. With the soft Nordic th- sound at the end. Vaid. That's how I want to be called."

"Vaid. Good inspiration. I like it," Loki agreed with a wink. Sanjeevani's last view of him was the confident (maybe even proud?) smirk of his as the whole room was eradicated with blinding white light that radiated out from the fireplace. She woke up grinning.

"I have my name now. I have my name." She squealed excitedly and sat up in bed, throwing her arms up in the air, relieved that she had more or less confirmed her hero status now, at long last.

And then her window shattered because of some explosion outside, because why would the Universe ever let her have a normal fucking day?