Symbiotes and Surprises-Chapter 2

     Eddie Brock, otherwise known as Venom, dead? Could it be? If so, what will happen to his symbiote? Will Spider-Man still have to face-off with Carnage or will Carnage be satisfied with a triumph over Venom?

     Spider-Man was still standing in the same spot he had been standing in three minutes ago. He had seen it all, but he still couldn't get over it. How could someone so strong as Venom be beat so swiftly and easily? Carnage's hand-blade had gone straight through Venom, not even giving him a chance. Venom had fell to the ground, bleeding from the stomach, as though the suit offered no protection at all. Spider-Man knew that the suit had a mind of its own, but why would it want to part ways with Brock? Spider-Man had a feeling that he wasn't about to find that out just yet.

     Carnage had ran off at the sound of police sirens, scared not of the officers themselves but of the sirens on their cars. Only two things could be sure to hold symbiotes at bay: fire and noise. Even a symbiote as strong as Carnage had the common fear of noises.

     After most people had cleared out and the police were getting ready to make him leave, Spider-Man noticed something. He noticed a black slime trail leading down into the New York sewage system. Then, he also noticed something quite peculiar. Venom was gone. There was still someone lying dead in the street, but it was not Venom, it was Eddie Brock. Spidey realized that the symbiote was gone, and it had gone into the sewage system.

     Two weeks of rest later …

     Spider-Man circled the city on his routine patrol, keeping an eye out for any law-breakers that might get in the way of a safe New York. He had already been on patrol for three hours with no sign of trouble from 10:00am to 12:00pm. This would usually have been good for the wall-crawler, but today it made him feel uneasy. He felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, a feeling known to man as déjà vu. He felt that the peacefulness of that day was eerily reminiscent of the quietness of two weeks ago, the day Eddie Brock, known to many as Venom, was killed. Carnage, his symbiote's spawn and bitter enemy, had killed him, but he had forgotten one thing in his haste to get away from the loud wailing of police sirens. He had forgotten the symbiote itself.

     Spider-Man had later found the symbiote's slime trail leading into the New York sewage system. He had hoped against it, but in his heart, he knew that the symbiote would find a new host and a new monster like Carnage or Venom would spring up, possibly stronger than either of the former. It seemed unlikely, but Spider-Man wondered about his arch-foes. What if the symbiote bonded with them? Spider-Man didn't think he could handle a symbiote Vulture or Shocker. With that kind of power, his foes would be able to defeat him with ease … After all, it seemed that the symbiote had a mind of its own. And if it did, wouldn't it want a powerful host such as the Vulture or Shocker?

     Spider-Man shook off that thought, deciding that it was too much to think about for now. I better lay off the mental stress. Spidey thought, If my predictions are right, I'll sure have enough to worry about in a couple of days.

     And, too bad for Spider-Man, he was terribly right. But in fact, it could just be a matter of minutes before he met grave danger in the form of … the Red Skull! That's right, the ex-Nazi mastermind criminal with all the powers of Captain America. However, the Red Skull is not known to attack on his own. He usually employs other super-villains to do the dirty work for him, and today is no exception.

     In the shadows of a building not so far away from Spider-Man, the Red Skull sat and watched. He watched the projection from a surveillance camera posted a couple buildings away from the Red Skull's new lair.

     "Hello, Headsman. Your arrival has been awaited." The Red Skull said, looking up from the projection. "Are you ready for your task?"

     "Yes." The purple-hooded Headsman replied, rubbing the blade of his amazingly powerful ax with his huge, muscular hands. "He has beaten me twice now. The first time, I was powered by a puny backpack. The second time, I had no excuse. He beat me, fair and square, and that is what angers me so."

     "I see." The Red Skull answered, pulling his face into a smile, "You want revenge on the Spider. So this is not just for money, it is for a personal feud."

     "Yes sir, it is. I mean to put that fool Spider-Man to shame and behead him with my indestructible ax!"

     "As you will, Headsman. Do not worry about that. All you need to worry about right now is going off to fight him. Remember, go easy on him. Unless you have a clear kill, do not take chancy stabs at him. He is smart and talented, and not very easily outwitted. It will take more than just a great weapon and brawn to kill that Spider!"

     "Maybe so, but I might just go for the kill. You never know. He may give me an open opportunity, and if he does …"

     "Kill him." The Red Skull answered, taking a puff of his cigar, "It's as easy as that. Now get out there and do what you've been told!"

     The Headsman, with his huge ax, unrevealing purple hood, and nearly uncovered chest, hopped on a large, flat, silver disk. The disk began to hover, waiting to get into action.

     The Red Skull pressed a button on his huge control panel, and a tiny wall space opened in the street-facing side of the room. The Headsman slid through that space and out into the open, out to get Spider-Man.

     Will Spidey meet defeat at the hands of the Headsman? Will the symbiote join another host? What happened to Carnage? Is the Red Skull the only crime boss after Spidey? That's a lot of questions to answer in the next chapter, but we'll try. You'll just have to wait for chapter three!