Chapter 8

Wednesday, November 10th

8:59 A.M.

Venom raced down the hallway, extending long tentacles from his body to peek into the rooms. The students had immediately scattered upon his arrival, making his job much easier. There was no sign of Spider-Man as of yet, though. He had encountered Wolverine -- after learning the mutant didn't know where Spider-Man was, he had thrown him through the closest window, wrapping his head with goo for good measure. He didn't think that would stop Wolverine forever, but hopefully it would be enough to keep him out of the way until he could track down Spider-Man. We'll find him, he hissed confidently to himself. We'll find him. And we'll make him pay for hurting Eddie.

Finally, he came to the end of the hall. Venom was about to proceed downstairs when one of his tentacles alerted him to Spider-Man's presence. He promptly spun and entered the last room on the left. Spider-Man was waiting for him, having taken up a protective position in front of a woman with two young children, another, older-looking woman with greying hair, and a young man. An obvious ruse to try and trick him, Venom thought. "Hello, Spider-Freak."

"Name-calling now, Venom? What happened to jumping on me and trying to eat a chunk out of my skull?"

Venom smirked. "As you wish." He took a flying leap at the superhero. Spidey webbed himself out of danger, leaving Venom to get a mouthful of carpet. The villain snarled and sent out tentacles to ensnare Spidey. Spider-Man countered by shooting what seemed to be almost gallons of webbing at him, essentially cocooning Venom. Venom managed to break free after a few minutes' struggle, and started chasing Spider-Man all over the room. "Your brains are ours!"

"Hey, I've been wondering -- what's with this 'our' business?" Spidey asked, back-flipping out of Venom's path. "It's kind of confusing."

"None of your business."

"Well, I would like to know who's trying to kill me." Spidey suddenly spun around and drove a rock-solid fist into Venom's face. "And who killed one of my best friends! Why'd you have to do that to Harry, you asshole?"

Venom was stunned for a moment. "Harry hated you! He brought us together to try and kill you!"

"I don't care! We could have worked things out! He was still my friend!" Spidey snarled, pounding on the symbiote.

"Ooookay," the other man said, lifting an eyebrow skeptically.

There was the sound of footsteps coming up the hall fast. A moment later, Doc, Marty, Verne, and J.C. burst in, huffing and puffing. "You all right?" Marty asked the others.

"So far," the younger woman said, pulling the twins into a corner.

Venom grinned at them. "We wouldn't hurt you. We're merely interested in the Spider-Freak here." Black tentacles wrapped themselves around Spider-Man's fists, forcing him to stop his assault. "He ruined our lives, and now he'll pay."

"Why am I always blamed for ruining someone's life?" Spidey asked, clearly annoyed. "Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions anymore."

"We do," Venom replied, looking affronted. "What we do is destroy evil. We kill those who do evil to others. It may be a little bloody, but it certainly gets results." The tentacles grew longer, wrapping around Spider-Man tightly. "Here, let us show you."

Doc quickly hit Venom with a burst of electricity. Venom squealed and loosened his grip, allowing Spidey to escape. Venom turned on Doc. "I guess the Spider-Freak can wait. You're the bigger threat!"

Doc held up his hands, which were glowing with electricity. "You come anywhere near any of us, and I'll shock you into kingdom come," he warned.

"What is your deal with us, anyway?" J.C. demanded. "You say you want to protect innocents? That's our mission statement too!"

"Lies!"

"We were just fighting Magneto!" Verne pointed out. "You obviously realized he's evil."

Venom was unbalanced for a moment. For a moment, he had a faint whisper of doubt. Are they really good? Are we fighting against the wrong people? Then he looked at Spider-Man, and certainty returned. "You help him," he spat, pointing at Spidey. "That alone taints you."

"Picky picky picky," Spidey remarked from the ceiling.

Doc released another shock. Venom screeched as the electricity tore through him. "Look at you," he muttered sadly. "You could have been an excellent hero, you know."

"Our father -- tried that trick many times," Venom said. The current was starting to take its toll -- he was feeling weaker than before. "We're immune to it now." He shot black webbing at Doc, binding his hands so he couldn't get off another shot. "We think we should deal with you in the same way we'd like to deal with him."

There was another clatter of footsteps behind them. Moments later, a round-faced, red-haired girl muscled her way into the room. "What's going on?" she asked frantically. "We saw Venom coming through here, and--"

Her voice suddenly died as she saw Venom standing right in front of her. Venom grinned in what he hoped was a reasonably friendly fashion. "Hello little girl."

"Tracey, we can take care of this," Verne said, trying to pull her away. "Go back downstairs, okay?"

Tracey didn't hear him at all. The whole of her attention was fixed on the being before her. With a horrified start, J.C. noticed that Tracey was starting to hyperventilate. "Shit! Tracey, NO!" she yelled.

But it was too late. Tracey Roarke, code-named Siryn, screamed.

Doc abruptly found himself on his knees, hands clamped so tightly over his ears his fingernails were digging into his scalp. It wasn't helping, though. The sound waves were lancing right through his bones, creating a pain unlike any other he had experienced. Around him, his other friends fell as every light bulb and window in the room shattered. Damn it, someone has to silence her! he thought desperately. She could kill one of us with -- that --

voice. . . .

Doc stared. When Tracey had started screaming, Venom had dropped to the floor like all the rest. But something very strange was happening to his costume. It appeared to be -- dissolving. Underneath it all was the large, brawny form of a man. Even the terrible toothy face disappeared, replaced by a fully-human head with curly blond hair. That's Venom? Great Scott, I never would have believed it. . . .

Tracey's voice was suddenly, mercifully cut off. After making sure his eardrums hadn't burst, Doc slowly got back to his feet. Marty was standing behind the young mutant, one hand over her mouth. "Don't -- do -- that," he whispered, eyes screwed up with pain.

The other occupants of the room started getting back up, whimpering and holding their heads. "Damn, that hurt," Verne muttered.

"What?" Jules almost yelled.

Tracey pulled away from Marty, looking absolutely horrified. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she babbled, running from the room.

Marty started to go after her, but J.C. stopped him. "It's best if you just leave her alone. She always gets really upset when she slips up. Better to let her calm down first."

"Yeah -- ow," Marty said, wincing as he moved his head a little too quickly.

Doc turned his attention back to Venom. The supervillain was still on the floor, his costume in shreds -- though luckily there was still just enough black left to keep him decent. He appeared to be whimpering to himself. "Oh God it hurt it HURT my other hurt and now I'm alone so alone--"

Doc felt a sudden burst of hope. Tracey's voice had obviously affected him the most out of everyone -- had they finally stumbled upon a way to defeat Venom once and for all? Come to think of it, he ran from the gunshots the first time we saw him. That suit seems to keep him safe from most physical injury -- even my lightning bolts don't seem to have left any lasting damage on his body -- so he must have been running from the sound! The only problem is, any sound loud enough to destroy his costume for good would most likely be harmful to us too. Hmm. . . .

"Eddie?"

Doc's head snapped up. Spider-Man was staring at Venom. Doc couldn't see his expression, but his voice sounded pretty stunned. "Eddie Brock?"

Venom's -- Eddie's -- head lifted a little. "Ke-keep away from me, Spider," he said, in a pathetic attempt to sound menacing. "Y-you've already ruined my life."

To everyone's intense surprise, Spider-Man nodded. "Yeah, I guess I did," he said, sounding depressed. "I've got a knack for doing that."

Eddie lifted an eyebrow. "Just before, you were saying--"

"That's before I knew you were Eddie."

Eddie seemed utterly thrown by this. He looked at Spider-Man closely. "You sound familiar. . . ."

"You only just noticed?" Spidey shrugged fatalistically. "Hell, Gobby and Doc Ock both figured it out. Why don't we just cut to the chase?" With that, he pulled off his mask, revealing the face of Peter Parker.

If Eddie had seemed thrown before, it was nothing compared to this. His jaw hung open as he stared at his former coworker. "Parker? You're -- I -- I would have never guessed--"

"Well, I would have never guessed you were Venom." Peter looked at the black ooze, which was slowly beginning to spread over Eddie's body again. "What the hell happened to you, Eddie?"

"I needed money. So I agreed to help Osborn test out a new invention -- a supersuit. This." Eddie smirked a little. "He was gonna use it to kill you, Peter. He really hated you."

"I know," Peter said, fidgeting.

"Did you really kill Norman Osborn then?"

"Norman Osborn was killed by the Green Goblin," Peter said. "I was there, but I couldn't stop him. I merely took Norman's body back."

"I bet you're lying," Eddie said coldly. As more black flowed over him, his voice took on Venom's growling tone. "We know what you really are. We know you never cared for Eddie."

"Why the hell do you keep--"

Peter's eyes suddenly went as wide as dinner plates. "Eddie -- is that suit -- sentient?"

Eddie nodded, grinning. "Harry picked up an alien from somewhere in Kansas and unknowingly used it in the suit. It bonded with Eddie after we murdered him. Now we're Venom."

"Holy shit. This is Doc Ock all over again," Peter muttered, looking stunned.

"What?"

"Ock's tentacles seemed sentient too -- at least, it definitely looked like he listened to them." Peter shook his head. "Eddie, I never meant to get you fired! It was just a stupid accident! I tried to get Jameson to take you back, but -- he's Jameson."

"What about the Sin-Eater, Spider-Man? We might have been forgiven for the article on you if not for that embarrassment."

"I certainly didn't tell that guy to lie to you! Honestly, Eddie, I don't have it out for you! I haven't had it out for any of the guys I've fought!" Peter scowled, then sighed deeply. "In fact, I -- I kind of respect you."

"You're lying!"

"No, I'm not. You're the first villain I've gone up against that didn't try to use other people against me. You never hurt Aunt May or M.J. Hell, you even saved a few people who were in danger of getting hurt during our fights." Peter managed a slight smile. "It's actually a nice change of pace."

Eddie frowned, looking suspicious. "You don't hate us?"

"I'm not exactly thrilled by the fact you want to eat my brains. And I can't say I agree with your crime-fighting methods."

"A few scumbags lose their lives? So what?" Eddie shrugged coldly.

"Well, there is the fact it usually freaks out whoever you're trying to help," J.C. said.

"We don't harm innocents!" Eddie protested with a snarl. The black was almost completely back, and Doc could see hints of Venom's eyes and jaw on Eddie's face.

"Look, you gotta admit your appearance is unnerving, to say the least."

"All the better to scare off the evil people."

"And everyone else within a ten-mile radius. You pair that face up with some good farts, you could own this city."

Eddie looked at Doc. "Is she always this smart-mouthed?"

"Usually," Doc deadpanned. "But she has a point. Your face doesn't advertise friendliness."

"It's not supposed to. It's supposed to strike fear into the hearts of evildoers." Venom waved at Peter. "His mask isn't exactly friendly either."

"Friendlier than yours," Peter retorted. "So the whole reason you wanted me dead is because I got you fired accidentally?"

"You ruined our lives," Venom snapped sulkily, now completely covered in the symbiote again. "Eddie has nowhere to go anymore. No job, no home, no nothing. We live merely to save innocents. To take your place, and to be better at it then you ever were."

"What about all the innocents Peter saves?" Verne spoke up.

"We could save them as well. And more besides. After all, we don't bother with the police."

"Trust me, you will," Peter said, starting to turn red. "One day, they'll figure out how to defeat you, Eddie. And you'll end up in jail."

"And then I'll just break out and go back to doing what I do best."

"Oh? You can't be everywhere all the time. People will always slip through the cracks!" Peter abruptly got in Venom's face, eyes shining brightly with anger. "Do you have any idea how guilty I feel every single day! My uncle Ben died because I was too damn full of myself to stop a thief! My wife has been put in mortal danger twice from freaks like you! Same with my Aunt May! People all over this city die because I can't get to them in time! I have nightmares almost every single night about the stuff I've seen! Do you think I liked getting you fired, Eddie! Do you think I liked seeing one of my few real friends on the Bugle have to leave because of me? Do you!"

Venom wasn't exactly sure when he had ended up backed against the wall, but here he was. Peter was staring him straight in the eyes, breathing heavily. "Not -- not when you put it like that," he admitted.

Peter eased back, looking slightly embarrassed. "You were a good guy, Eddie," he said quietly. "I'm sorry about what happened, and I'm glad that you're not going around randomly killing innocent people. But I'm not gong to let you get away with hurting any of my friends." He lifted his arm, preparing to punch Venom through the wall.

Venom quickly grabbed it. "Wait, Peter." He smiled, looking almost -- friendly. "We've obviously made a huge mistake. You're right -- we'd never get to everyone in time. How about we make a deal instead?"

"A deal?" Peter asked suspiciously.

"You don't bother me, I don't bother you. We both keep fighting for the innocents in this city." Venom smirked. "You be day shift, I be night shift."

Peter still looked uneasy. "What about your methods? I don't know if I could cooperate with a murderer."

"All right, all right, we'll try to hold ourselves in check more," Venom grumbled. "We'll just chew on them a little."

"What about us?" Doc asked, keeping his hands well-charged. "Are you going to leave the X-Men alone as well?"

Venom suddenly looked almost embarrassed. "Yeah. We owe 'em that much, for nearly siding with Magneto. He was the one working with Harry with the symbiote. He convinced us that you were the bad guys."

Marty leaned his head against the doorframe, groaning. "So Harry was going to be Venom. New York is just too fricking weird."

Venom grinned again. "We've always thought so." He stuck out his hand. "So, do we have a deal, wall-crawler?"

Peter looked at it for a long moment. Then he shook it. "We've got a deal, Venom."