Chapter II

A police siren wailed somewhere up the street and Eddie shuddered. I know it's not for me, he told himself as he sighed with relief, but that doesn't mean that I still don't get nervous every time that I hear one of those things. Looking cautiously on either side of him, he briskly jogged across the street. His glances were for safety- both from oncoming traffic and from any unwanted attention. Even though he had shaved his head and changed his wardrobe completely, not to mention the fact that no one here in San Francisco knew his secret, he had long ago decided that it was better to err on the side of caution than to take any risks.

Still, part of him had already relaxed since arriving in the Bay City, whether it was because he was no longer a wanted man or because he had simply returned to his hometown. His last few days in New York had successfully broken any ties he had to that city and he was grateful for that. Whether it was the death of his ex-wife or his final confrontation, and unbelievable alliance, with him, Eddie had been able to leave New York without fear of anyone following him. The only things that had followed him to San Francisco were the alien symbiote that had bonded with him and his past.

The Symbiote. Eddie looked down at his feet and inwardly groaned as his thoughts went back to the mysterious alien entity that he had come to bond with three years ago in that church. I wasn't looking for it, he mused, and the truth of the matter is that it wasn't looking for me. But we found each other- both looking for a safe place and both seeking vengeance. He looked up and folded his arm as he skipped onto the sidewalk. But that was a long time ago and vengeance is no longer an issue- not now. All that remains now is to decide what to do next.

Perhaps that was what brought Eddie back to San Francisco. While it was true that he had come to try to restart his life and contribute something meaningful to society, but he knew deep down that this place was as much a weigh station as it was a refuge - a place to change direction and seek advice. It was that latter that brought him to the church that stood before him. The Church of St. James had been his parish home until ten years ago, when he had left to go to New York and work for the Jameson as a reporter. He had come back a few years later when his father died, but he had left almost immediately afterward. It was a few months after that that he had met his "other". The irony of all of it was not lost on him.

He sighed again and stepped through the door and seemingly twenty years into the past. Not much had changed in the church since he was a little boy running up and down the pews when his father wasn't looking, from the ornate stained-glass window depicting the martyrdom of St. Stephen to the chipped tiles that covered the floor. Eddie gazed silently at the window for several moments. The story of Stephen had always fascinated him throughout his life- man willing to sacrifice everything for what he believed. Somehow he had always wanted to be like that. Again, the irony was obvious.

Exhaling slowly, Eddie made his way toward the confessional. Part of him hoped that there would be no one in there or that it would be a new priest. But as he slid into the booth, he knew in the pit of his soul that the likelihood of finding an empty confessional was nil. That would be too easy, he thought with a half-smile. And nothing with me can be easy.

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned."

"Eddie? Eddie Brock?" the voice on the other side of the screen said in shock.

Inwardly, Eddie smiled, but he consciously refused to look through the screen to confirm what he already knew. Though the voice had changed from the years, it was the same man who had been his exemplar for the majority of his life.

He swallowed hard and said coolly, "Hello, Father Bryan."

The priest chuckled. "What are you doing back in town? When did you arrive?"

"About a week ago."

"But what's with the surprise visit? Last I heard you were still in New York. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have you back; it's just unexpected."

"Yeah," Eddie said as he folded his arms, still refusing to make eye contact, "I probably should have written someone telling them I was coming. I guess I sort of made my decision so quickly that I didn't give myself the time to do it. I just needed to get out of New York and start over somewhere familiar."

Father Bryan nodded and said gently, "We all need to start over at least once in our lives. How is Ann doing these days?"

Eddie clenched his teeth. Ann was a sore subject among so many. First there was the divorce when she found out his secret and then-

"She's, ummm, dead."

Father Bryan sat up with a start. "What? What happened?"

Eddie hung his head. "She found out some things about me and we divorced. Then she decided she couldn't live anymore and…" There was a pause before he mumbled, "… and she threw herself off of a tenth floor balcony."

"I'm so sorry Eddie," the priest replied empathetically. "I had no idea. But Eddie, I have to ask. What did she find out that was so bad? What is there about you that could drive a sweet woman like Ann to kill herself?"

Eddie sat back against the cold hardwood confessional and thought to himself, How can I tell him everything? How can I tell him all of the terrible things that I've done… that we've done- that Venom has done. Eddie covered his eyes with his hand and tried to hold back his emotions. Venom, the name of the creature he and the Symbiote formed. Part of me hates that name, he mused, despite the fact that I was in fact the one that chose it. Yet I know that he is a part of me- a part of us, I guess. Venom is a part of both the Symbiote and me. He's the totality of all of our combined rage and hatred. I can't hate that name anymore than I can hate my own name.

Eddied sighed and said slowly, "Father, I've done terrible things. Horrible things."

Father Bryan's voice grew suddenly very dark. "What have you done, Eddie? I need you to tell me everything. I can't help you if you aren't honest with me- and I mean completely honest. Tell me what happened."

Slowly Eddie turned to face the confessional window, his eyes suddenly distant as he began to tell his story.

Dr. Annie Ozu sat quietly at her computer, the glasses hanging on the end her nose as she input the new test data into the simulator. While the experiment was more than capable of handling the new test simulations, she knew that if anything went wrong and the experiment was lost during one of her tests, she would be finished. Which, she couldn't help but think, would probably be a good idea at this point.

Leaning back from the desk, she pushed her glasses up on her face and pulled her long black hair back behind her shoulders. She had come to work for Sypher Corporation, a leading military research and development company, on their current project not only for the thrill of being on the cutting edge of genetic engineering, but also for the opportunity to get out of her former job. Prior to taking the job at Sypher, all of the expertise she had was used to make larger vegetables for an agriculture research firm. The pay had been good, but it was boring work and not much in the way of earning her any big promotions.

Then she had gotten the call to come out to San Francisco by Dr. Anton Lavren, the project leader of Project: Achilles. Her doctoral work on the integration of nanotechnology and pre-fabricated genetic material had caught his attention and he offered her a job. At the time, she had jumped at the chance.

But that was before things got worrisome.

"How is it going?" a smooth voice said from somewhere behind her.

Annie turned around and sighed. Dr. Lavren was her boss and nearly thirty years her senior, but over the past year that hadn't seemed to get in the way of any of his less-than professional desires. At first she had ignored it as merely a nuisance, but his behavior had gone beyond bothersome to entirely incommodious.

"Hello, Anton," she said as she turned back to the computer screen. "The computer simulation shows that the experime-"

"Adam."

Annie blinked and said confusedly, "I'm sorry?"

Dr. Lavren gave his signature oily smile and said coolly, "Since he is the first of his kind, I though the name 'Adam' seemed apposite."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Very clever, Anton. At any rate, the computer simulations show that Adam should be more than capable of handling the increased stimuli and environmental conditions."

Anton folded his arms and asked, "And what conditions are those?"

"According to this data, Adam can survive temperatures as high as 600° and as low as 350° below zero with minimal reaction to sudden acclimatization changes."

Anton smiled again and said in his most flirtatious voice, "Excellent work as always Annie. We'll implement the new conditions this afternoon."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Why don't we go celebrate over lunch? I know a great little bistro on-"

Annie cut him off quickly before he got any further. "Thanks, but no thanks, Anton. As I've told you before, I have no interest in you or any one else at the moment. I have more important things to worry about."

She swiveled the chair around to face her employer, her arms folded as she continued, "I'm worried about the subject's intelligence level."

"I'm not sure I follow," Lavren said with a perplexed look on his face.

"I think that Adam could be becoming too smart for our safety. With everything he's been given, he poses a danger if he were to ever decide to break out."

Lavren chuckled. "Look, Annie, the U.S. government didn't give us a grant for $250 million to make a dummy. Adam has been given full human cognition and intelligence for a reason- to make him more efficient. But if it'll make you feel better, I'll see if the boys in electronics can work up some kind of control harness. How'd you like that?"

Annie scowled at his patronization and said icily as she got up to leave, "When that thing turns on us and we all die, its going to be on your shoulders."

As she stormed out, Anton called behind her, "Does that mean we still can't have lunch?"

Several rooms away, in a large adamantium chamber specialy constructed to hold him, the being known as Adam smiled. His keen hearing had heard everything, which only added to the deliciousness of his plans. Leaning back against the cold metal walls, he thought to himself, I like this Dr. Ozu. When I kill everyone in this city, maybe I'll keep her around. Maybe.

Father Bryan sat in silent shock at what Eddie had told him, his eyes glassed over as he mumbled a silent prayer. On the other side of the confessional, Eddie Brock lowered his head and folded his arms, awaiting the condemnation of the man he had looked up to for so long. The silence lingered on.

"Tell me one thing, Eddie," the priest said finally. "This creature you have become, this 'Venom', do you enjoy being him?"

Eddie breathed deeply and replied quietly, "I don't know, Father. I hate killing people. I hate the destruction and the death. But part of me believes that if I can just learn to control the Symbiote, to control the urges, then I can use it to do good things."

Father Bryan swallowed hard and said gently, "Eddie, I can give you forgiveness for the sins you have committed, but I can't and I won't let you use this place as a place of validation of this creature's actions- or of your actions. You have to make this right and you have to do what is necessary to stop the killings. That may mean answering for your crimes, but you have to make that decision."

Eddie turned to face the man on the other side of the screen and for the first time in a long time, smiled an ingenuous smile. The damnation he had expected was not there, only the frank truth from a man who was as much a father to him as his own parent had been.

"I know, Father," he said at last. "I want to try to make amends and help this city. I just don't know…"

Bryan held his hand up and said quietly, "I have a parishioner who works in a lab at Sypher Corporation. He may be able to try to get you some help from someone there. I'll call him tonight… but on one condition: you have to promise me not to go out there. I want to hear you promise me, Eddie."

"I, I mean, we promise."

Eddie stood up and pushed through the confessional curtain, turning quickly to see Father Bryan emerge from his side. Though his once bright red hair had turned silver and his body had grown fragile, Brock could still recognize his old friend.

"Eddie," he said slowly, "there's just one more thing I want to ask you. You can feel free to say no if you choose to. But I want to know if… well, if I can see him. Venom, I mean."

Eddie gulped hard and said quickly, "Father, I'm not sure you want that. Eddie Brock may not be able to control us once the Symbiote takes control. I don't want to risk hurting you."

"I'm willing to take that chance, Eddie. But if I'm going to help you, I need to see you as you are- both of you."

Eddie nodded and took a step back, his mind suddenly regressing into the dark place where the Symbiote dwelled. Slowly the alien began to take hold, the black mass covering his body to form the suit that had come to mean terror and madness in New York. Eddie closed his eyes as his face began to transform, the blank white eyes and jagged teeth covering his once-human exterior. Eddie Brock had disappeared completely. Now only Venom stood in the presence of God.

"You wanted to see us, little man," Venom hissed as he stepped forward, his long tongue hanging out. "'Ask and ye shall receive.'"

Father Bryan's face froze in horror as Venom moved toward him, his hulking form towering over the priest. Mumbling a quick prayer, the priest closes his eyes and steeled himself as the creature moved closer.

"You're not running," Venom said mockingly. "That's good. We really don't want to have to run to catch our food today."

Father Bryan replied sternly, "I'm not afraid of you, Venom. I know what you are and I'm not afraid of it. You are a force of nature, a primal animal- neither good nor evil. You merely survive by whatever means necessary. But like any animal, you can be controlled. I'm going to help Eddie control you. We're going to find a way to make you do what Eddie wants you to do."

Venom roared and bellowed, "Eddie is weak without us. He needs us."

"You're wrong. Eddie is strong without you, but with you he can be stronger. Besides, I'm willing to bet that you know as well as I do what this conflict is doing to Eddie. The human soul can only take so much torture. Eventually, he'll either destroy you or destroy himself. In either event, you lose."

Venom growled and sank back into the shadows, his fangs gleaming as he disappeared for a moment. There was a faint sound, something akin to water going down a drain, and a moment later, Eddie reappeared. He walked slowly toward Father Bryan, his eyes downcast.

"The Symbiote listened to what you had to say," he said softly, "and while it isn't happy, it knows that you are right. I… I think it knows that there has to be some kind of truce. But I don't know how to do it."

Father Bryan embraced Eddie and said peacefully, "We'll figure it out, Eddie. We'll figure it out."