Hello there, UltimateDemonBeast65 here with the new chapter of MVA: Symbiote's Justice! I do apologize if this chapter took a bit too long to make, as admittedly I have been dealing with burn-out from writing and trying to keep up with writing chapters as quickly as possible. I am currently feeling better, but after talking with my co-writer, we will be taking a break from writing MVA, not too long but long enough to give us time to prepare for what happens next and plan out stuff in the future. I hope you guys understand, and will we try and get back to writing as soon as we have things figured out. Anyway, let me take a look at these reviews:
Trux-Killer: Well fortunately, Lady Nagant is not associated with All For One here, so that won't be a worry. I also think their ideas are interesting too.
Maximum Rhapsody: Eddie and Venom would never work for the Commission, they've spent the entire time making things hard for our protagonists. The League of Villains and Shie Hassaikai won't be getting symbiotes, at least not at this stage. Regarding your last question, we will wait and see.
For'Sleep 3rd: I am fully aware of how it went down in the comics, but understand that this is our story, and we are attempting to ensure that Knull and his lore can both fit within the mold of the setting but also still be believable in how powerful he is.
Angel lara451: That is a pretty interesting idea, I will definitely think about it.
Austin: Thank you, Austin, for your in-depth review, which has left us with a lot to think about. There isn't a huge lot I can exactly discuss as that would be going into spoiler territory.
With that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!
All For One stood in front of various computer screens within the League of Villains' warehouse, monitoring data and surveillance footage from across Japan and beyond while making sure to carefully and articulately analyze and read the data given to him through one of his Quirks. Shigaraki meanwhile had been giving out orders to his subordinates within the League, ensuring that they not only had resources but also to keep an eye on any loose ends. However, the leader of the League of Villains looked over to his master, wondering more and more about his plans and the mysterious benefactor that he had made a bargain with. Feeling brave enough, Shigaraki approached All For One and bowed to him.
"Why do you bow before me, Tomura? You are the leader of the League of Villains now and must articulate yourself that way. It's only a matter of time before we become equals." All For One said, before looking at his student.
"Apologies, Master." Shigaraki said before standing up straight. "I had wanted to ask you this ever since that night you returned from your fight with All-Might."
"Then ask away." All For One said.
"Who is this benefactor of yours? What do they want and why do they need you for it? You said they needed to be set free when speaking to Overhaul, what did you mean by that?" Shigaraki asked his master.
"I suppose I should explain a few things to you, Tomura, for should anything happen to me then it most likely will fall upon you to uphold this pact." All For One said as he began to explain. "You see, that fateful night in Kamino was meant to be the night of my defeat, where All-Might would use the embers of One For All to lay down a deciding blow, one that could very well have landed me in Tartarus. But instead, someone intervened, pulled me into their domain, preventing my capture and introducing me to our benefactor."
A few months ago, Knull's domain…
"I am the Living Abyss…I existed before this reality and shall exist long after…I slumbered in the colorless void until light invaded my kingdom and drove me out of my rightful place in the never-ending cosmos…I am the Forger of Darkness, the King in Black…I am….Knull…"
All For One stared at the pale humanoid figure with long wavy hair and red demonic eyes that identified itself as Knull. He felt a powerful sensation radiating off Knull and the domain around him, pure primal dread, fear and entropy falling on the Symbol of Evil like a waterfall. All For One however maintained his composure as he addressed the King in Black.
"The King in Black…I heard those words inside my head during the fight with All-Might. Was that your doing too?"
"You called out to me…therefore I called out to you, and it allowed me to bring you into my domain…the domain of a god…" Knull replied, glaring at All For One.
"Yes, I suppose you are a god, having lived before the universe and being the creator of the symbiotes…" All For One remarked. "And if you are their creator, then perhaps you could share with me their history, their biology, what makes them tick and how to shape them into the perfect weapon."
"So is that what you desire? To usurp my dark throne, become the new King in Black?" Knull asked, as he bent over and sat on a large black throne he manifested from his own shadow.
"Oh no, I do not seek godhood, rather I seek to become the perfect antithesis to all things good, to crush the Heroes' vision of a better and peaceful future. And I will do whatever it takes, including using your creations and mine to create an army of evil that will devastate my world." All For One explained.
"You wish to become evil itself….interesting…maybe you are the one I seek…" Knull said as he placed his closed hand against one of his cheeks. "When the Celestials and their light sprung into my kingdom, infecting it with life and hope, I created a living weapon from my shadow and beheaded one of their interlopers, creating a forge from their skull and spark that allowed me to create more of my symbiotic abominations."
"The Klyntar…" All For One said.
"Klyntar…what a disgusting phrase…it might as well be what you could call this domain of mine…a cage created by my deceitful kin!" Knull roared angrily, his voice echoing across his domain and increased its intensity. "I was betrayed, my plans to reclaim the Multiverse for myself ruined by symbiotes whose hosts taught them compassion, honour and freedom! They buried me and my existence, ensuring that their future kin never know of their origins and their mission…"
"The Heroes in my universe, they wanted to do the same to me, reduce me to nothing but a ghost story, an urban legend used to frighten petty criminals and law enforcement. But I endured, I seized as much power as I could obtain, and even when death's door was right around the corner, I refused its call and kept going, even if I had to rely on machines and drugs to preserve my ailing body." All For One explained. "What you seek, O King in Black, is a way out, to be free of this prison so you can reclaim what is rightfully yours. I can help make that happen."
"You would set me free knowing the level of destruction and despair I can unleash upon creation? And for what, my knowledge and wisdom regarding my symbiotes?" Knull asked.
"Not only that, but I can also provide you with an army, one that is fully obedient without a trace of free will, a union between Symbiotes and Nomu, engineered with Quirks to enhance their pre-existing abilities as well as purge them of their vulnerabilities. Just imagine it, Knull, ravaging the cosmos with the ultimate army of perfect invincible killing machines that no planet or galaxy could ever overcome." All For One spoke, explaining his idea to the King in Black, to which Knull thought for a minute before a sinister gaping grin formed across his face.
"Human, you will come to regret your decision, but very well…I will pass on my knowledge to you, and in exchange you must set me free…"
"And how, pray tell, do I set you free?" All For One asked.
Knull extended his hands out and used his power to manifest what looked like a black dragon.
"Before I used the forge to create my symbiotes, I took my shadow and blood and created the dragons I would use to decimate entire worlds and devour their life forms. Of the many I created, none were as mighty or as merciless as the Grendel…"
"The Grendel…they were a giant in Germanic folklore, who battled Beowulf in the Old English poem of the same name." All For One remarked. "I assume this Grendel is detrimental to your freedom?"
"Though my true body is trapped here, I can manifest within my creations that are still enthralled by my will, and the Grendel, being one of my first, is a perfect candidate. Fortunately, it came to your world long ago to ravage it, but your kind somehow sealed it away, putting the Grendel in an eternal slumber." Knull explained.
"Interesting, and so then what would happen if the Grendel is awakened? You would be able to manifest from them and use Grendel's body to break your true body out of this prison?" All For One asked.
"Precisely…but are you truly certain of your decision?" Knull asked.
"If freeing you allows me to ensure that Hero Society fails, then by all means, Knull, let loose the apocalypse." All For One replied with a grin.
"Then I will send you back to your allies so you can begin…but first, allow me to enlighten you…" Knull said as he extended his arm forward and then with a sadistic grin plunged his index finger into All For One's face.
All For One audibly growled and huffed at the sensation of pain that went around his face, not to mention felt as blood dripped from the open wound. Knull cackled mildly before moving his index finger in a circular motion which went inwards more and more, all while All For One tried maintaining his composure as more blood seeped out of his face. Knull then pulled his finger out, in which the release forced All For One onto his knees, allowing more blood to fall from his face. All For One puffed and panted as he felt the freshly made wound start to close up, and when he lifted his head up, the Symbol of Evil saw his reflection, and in it a scar on his face which resembled a pale red spiral.
"The pact is sealed…rise, All For One…return to your planet, find the Grendel and set me free…" Knull commanded and created a pitch black portal behind All For One, who stood up and was then enveloped by the portal, which soon disappeared.
"After I was pulled into the portal, my outfit and life support systems were transformed into what you see now, the mark he etched onto my face granted me his knowledge and a power boost, however it is also the seal of my bargain, and I must complete the task Knull gave me in order to be free of his grip." All For One explained to Shigaraki.
"Master….why would you make a deal like that, knowing that it would mean serving someone else?" Shigaraki asked, surprised and shocked by All For One's story and decision.
"Much like how Overhaul sacrificed his plans for eradicating Quirks to remain alive, I chose to seize the opportunity to obtain cosmic knowledge and a greater understanding of the symbiotes, even though it would cost my freedom. But it's hardly slavery, my goals are to destroy the future after all, and should Knull be set free, then it will guarantee that this accursed world is destroyed, just as you intended, Tomura…" All For One explained, forming a grin.
"I….yes, I suppose that the League of Villains do wish to see the end of this damn society, this hopeless world…I will follow your lead, Master, whatever you choose, I will do so as well." Shigaraki declared.
"Now not so fast, Tomura, though I ask you to respect my decisions and not interfere with my plans, I encourage you to take charge of your subordinates and ensure that your plans remain intact." All For One assured.
"Are you sure, Master?" Tomura asked.
"Do what you need to do, my apprentice, it's all anyone can do at this stage…" All For One said as he continued his work, while Shigaraki then left to continue his own plans.
"If the Master is willing to placate to the whims of this Knull, then he must have a plan to ensure his survival. I just hope that he chooses to enact it before it's too late."
The sun was setting upon Tokyo as a young female student was supposedly walking back home. The uniform was composed of a white undershirt, a black skirt and black shoes with white shoes though the most distinct feature was the navy blue cap with a black front brim, orange trimming a gold badge with an S insignia on it. This girl was from Shiketsu High School, a hero school with a similar level of prestige and standards akin to U.A. High, albeit with a lot less media coverage primarily due to most of the top Pro Heroes in the country being alumni of U.A. High. However, not everything was as it seemed, for there was a muddy substance slowly dripping and falling off the girl as her phone started to ring. As she went to pick up her phone, more and more of the muddy substance fell off of her and revealed that she was in fact the blood-sucking shapeshifter, Himiko Toga.
"It's about time you picked up! Where are you right now?" Mr. Compress said irritatingly. "Toga?"
"I had the most wonderful fun today!" Toga replied with glee.
"Yeah well, fun for you maybe, but I sure as hell didn't have fun…couldn't kill anyone or rip them to shreds!" Carnage whined.
"Zip it, you had your fun earlier, this was my time to have fun, my way." Toga said to the psychotic symbiote.
"Still not getting along it seems…anyway, don't get so lost in your role that you slip up!" Mr. Compress stated. "There's too much at stake to get caught."
"I've never been caught in my life! Not even close!" Toga remarked before holding a few vials in front of her. "And my mission was a success! Tomura is going to be so happy! I managed to get some of Izuku's yummy blood, and a few extra of course!"
"And with my strength and speed enhancements, no doubt!" Carnage said with a snarky tone.
"Nice work, guess I was worried for no reason." Mr. Compress remarked on the other end. "And what about your other task? Do you have your targets?"
"Of course, I'm already headed towards one now, I'll call you back once I'm done." Toga replied, putting away the vials.
"Very well, tread carefully and don't give your targets a chance to fight back." Mr. Compress advised before hanging up on his end.
"Alright, time for a little detour…" Toga said with a grin.
"So, how do you intend to exploit my power now?" Carnage asked.
"Borrowing, not exploiting." Toga argued.
"Oh really? So when did you ask me if you could use it then?" Carnage countered.
"In case you've forgotten, you're basically my bloodstream now, what's yours is also mine." Toga said, starting to get annoyed by the Blood Hunter.
"Then I suppose that the blood you collected is also mine too, huh?" Carnage asked her host.
"Nope! That's for my Quirk, something you don't have!" Toga replied with a mischievous grin.
"I can shapeshift too, you know!" Carnage exclaimed in a pouty tone.
"Not into people like I can." Toga said as she took out a vial that was separate from the others she collected at the Provisional License Exam. "I should have enough of that Camie girl's blood to transform into her again."
"Fantastic, I was hoping you'd turn into that millennial trash again, can't wait to hear your best slang and dank memes, playa!" Carnage said sarcastically.
"What century were you born in? Millennials don't exist anymore, that's like my great-great grandma's generation!" Toga said with a laugh.
"I forget that this universe isn't in the 21st century like my own." Carnage pouted.
"Universe? I thought you and Venom were aliens." Toga said, confused.
"We're aliens….just not…interstellar ones…I mean I was born here and part of your bloodstream, so technically I'm from here, but my old man and Brock aren't…" Carnage said awkwardly.
"Oh, and when were you going to tell me about this?" Toga asked with a frustrated huff.
"Knowing that my kind was from another planet is more believable than my shitty dad being from another universe! Besides, that stupid knight symbiote is from your universe, so I'm not technically lying, am I?" Carnage explained sheepishly.
"I'm not dumb you know! I know about other universes!" Toga said, crossing her arms.
"Alright, then explain how the Multiverse works!" Carnage challenged her host.
"Well, every universe is just a copy of another universe, where things happened differently, where we made different choices…" Toga explained, trying her best to sound smart.
"Wow, everything you just said is complete horseshit! The Many Worlds Hypothesis, really? You picked the most basic theory out of them all, given that it's similar to branching paths on a timeline!" Carnage said, mockingly.
"Give me a break, you stupid tapeworm! I'm not some quantum physics expert!" Toga exclaimed. "Wait, how do you even know about that Many Worlds thingy?"
"The same way my old man got thrown into your universe: the Symbiote Hive-Mind. It contains billions of years of shared knowledge across the Multiverse, which our kind can access in order to learn something from our kind's history and experiences." Carnage explained. "But concentrating on it is hella boring and would fry your brain if I showed you it."
"Noted…we're getting off-track, time to suit up and take out our first target…and if you're lucky, you can eat them." Toga said with a grin, before taking out the vial of blood belonging to the Shiketsu student, Camie Utsushimi.
"Oooo, now you're speaking my language…" Carnage said with a sadistic tone.
Toga drank the vial containing Utsushimi's blood and quickly took off her clothes as a wet clay-like substance formed around her body and molded itself into a feminine shape. After a minute or so, Toga was covered in a life-like outer layer or shell made from carbon and nutrients provided by the ingested blood that resembled Utsushimi, giving herself her physique, height, weight and features such as her long fawn coloured hair and brown eyes.
"Perfect." Toga said using Utsushimi's voice.
"I knew it altered your physique and looks, but your voice box changes too?" Carnage asked, intrigued.
"The benefits of DNA I guess." Toga said as she put on Utsushimi's uniform and decided to keep moving. "Now then, my first target should be nearby."
Toga, under Utsushimi's appearance, voice and name, headed out of the alleyways and into a nearby district, which had a few shops and vendors around. Toga looked carefully at the people there, scanning them in order to identify her victim.
"Where are you….?" Toga thought to herself, as she kept looking.
"I can just tell you where they are if you like." Carnage offered impatiently.
"Don't tell me, I like the thrill of the hunt." Toga responded.
"Fine by me." Carnage said with a huff.
"I know you're here somewhere, my little gazelle, and I'm the big bad game hunter, eager to cut you up and snag me a trophy…" Toga said to herself as she continued to scan her surroundings and search for her target.
A few minutes passed and Toga locked her eyes onto her target. The target was a student from Shiketsu High School much like Utsushimi based on their uniform. They were a tall and well built young man with buzzed, dark brown hair and black eyes. He was Inasa Yoarashi, who possessed great power and skill with his wind Quirk, Whirlwind, making him a possible future threat to the League of Villains.
"Bingo…" Toga said with a smile as she then started to approach Yoarashi as Utsushimi. "Yo, how's it hanging, Yoarashi?"
"Hm? Oh Camie, there you are! Didn't Nagamasa say you weren't feeling well?" Yoarashi asked with an energetic but confused tone.
"Yes well, I was feeling under the weather, if you feel what I'm saying, but no sweat, I just needed a quick pit stop." Toga replied, trying to mimic the mannerisms of Utsushimi.
"Wow, cringe alert…" Carnage remarked inside of Toga's mind.
"Well, good to know you're feeling better! You upperclassmen have done so much for me since I came to Shiketsu!" Yoarashi said, pumping his fists up.
"Right, of course, anything for a first year…" Toga said, trying to keep her facade up. "So Yoarashi, could I talk to you for a sec? Away from this crowd?"
"Huh? What's up, Camie? Is everything okay?" Yoarashi asked with a concerned look.
"I think it's best if we went somewhere more…private…" Toga replied with a sly grin before winking at Yoarashi.
Yoarashi's face went slightly red as steam poured from his head.
"Oh…sure…lead the way…"
"Simp." Carnage commented with disgust.
Toga then led Yoarashi away from the increasing crowd and towards a nearby alleyway. Toga grinned and internally laughed, playing the first year student for a fool with feminine charms. Yoarashi wondered what Utsushimi wanted to talk about, given the suggestive nature of her wink and tone, though simply followed the second year student into the alleyway. Toga checked to see if they had been followed or if anyone could see them, however they were hidden by trash and a dumpster nearby, giving the two the privacy she needed to complete her mission.
"This looks private enough, wouldn't you agree, Yoarashi?" Toga asked, using a seductive tone this time that made Yoarashi's face go even more red.
"Y-Y-Yes! It most definitely is, Camie!" Yoarashi replied in his usual hot-blooded manner.
Toga giggled before turning to face Yoarashi.
"Alright then, ready to talk?"
"Absolutely!" Yoarashi replied.
"Good boy…" Toga said as she placed a hand on Yoarashi's shoulder, who looked back at who he assumed was his senior student with a nervous grin.
Toga's smile and radiant stare under Utsushimi's face then morphed into a blank and cold one.
"Do it."
Before Yoarashi had any time to process what Toga had said, a red and black tendril protruded out of her arm and pierced through his neck, spraying blood onto the nearby wall. Yoarashi's eyes widened upon realizing what had happened, and tried to scream, only to choke on his own blood and coughed violently.
"What's that? I can't hear you over the sound of your jugular being ripped open and filling your throat up with nice, fresh blood~" Toga said with a giggle.
"Finally, we get to kill someone, especially this hot-blooded wind-slinging buffoon!" Carnage exclaimed as she slowly started to take Yoarashi's blood.
"I'll admit that under normal circumstances, there's no way in hell I would be able to take you on directly, that wind Quirk of yours is too strong. That's why I needed to think smart, and by using my Quirk with a little bit of acting and stroking your teenage hormones, I can kill you without you ever lifting a finger against me and silence you so can't call for help…" Toga explained as the carbon based substance around her body started to fall off, revealing her true appearance alongside Carnage's biomass enveloping the arm on Yoarashi's shoulder.
"Oh, what's wrong, Yoarashi? Did you have a crush on dear old Camie? You did, didn't you? Aw, that's too bad…given that you'll never see her again. Actually…" Toga said as she pulled out what looked like a lock of fawn coloured hair, which made Yoarashi's eyes widened even more in horror. "...no one will ever see her again…"
Carnage then started to form over Toga, enveloping her face until it morphed into her own, creating more fear and tension between the Blood Hunter and slowly dying Shiketsu student.
"If it means anything to you, big guy, she begged for her life and the lives of her classmates…" Carnage said as her smile widened with bloodlust, before clamping down on Yoarashi's head and bit it off with one gulp.
Yoarashi's lifeless and now headless body fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood, while Carnage licked her lips clean of brain matter and bone fragments before retracted back into Toga, who now held a vial of Yoarashi's blood.
"Good riddance…" Toga said as she picked up her phone and dialed Mr. Compress' number. "Hey Atsuhiro, you'll never guess what just happened."
"If you're calling me, then I presume that Inasa Yoarashi is dead?" Mr. Compress asked on the other end.
"Yep! Man, it was too easy! Teenage boys really do only have girls on their mind, not that I can judge given my fascination with Ochaco and Izuku!" Toga said with a gleeful smile.
"His brain was pretty juicy for such a big guy, but also quite tender as it went down my throat~" Carnage commented, protruding out of Toga's body again.
"Peachy…" Mr. Compress said in a somber tone. "But that is one of our future problems disposed of."
"And there's plenty more to take out, more Heroes-in training to snuff out…" Shigaraki added on the other hand.
"Aww, Tomura, were you listening the whole time?" Toga asked in a playful tone.
"It doesn't matter, come back to the warehouse for now, killing one of Shiketsu's students is going to bite us in the ass if they discover his body and you along with it." Shigaraki said.
"Alright, I'll be there ASAP, boss! Ta-ta!" Toga said before hanging up.
"So what now, Toga? Heading back to HQ?" Carnage asked with a snarky tone.
"Well if I don't want to be caught, then yes I am." Toga replied as she started to carefully slip away from the scene.
"Come on, we could transform and kill and eat more people through your tactics!" Carnage pouted.
"I didn't stay a free girl by making dumb decisions, Carnage, we'll have another chance to kill and eat later." Toga explained with an annoyed tone. "Also, you're welcome."
"Huh?" Carnage said, confused.
"I let you eat someone today when I could have just killed them and left their body there for the cops to find." Toga replied. "So you should be grateful."
"Grateful? I let you use my powers to do your little mission and yet I'm the one who has to be grateful to you?" Carnage asked in disbelief.
"Exactly!" Toga replied with a sly grin.
"You're a weirdo, you know that…?" Carnage asked.
"Whatever do you mean? I'm just a cute little girl who likes stabbing people and drinking their blood~!" Toga replied before entering the nearby train station.
"Fantastic…" Carnage said sarcastically as they boarded the train.
Eddie and Venom had been stuck doing chores for the past few days at the Nighteye Agency, and though meeting and speaking to Togata helped to make their experience doing bearable, the two were restless and frustrated at the fact that they were confined to this building unless they went out to go shopping or get food. Eddie and Venom were currently on their lunch break, having picked up some take-out from a nearby shop while also making sure to feed Venom his daily dose of Phenethylamine.
"This fucking blows!" Venom roared angrily. "That future-sighted four eyes has had us do nothing but chores!"
"We're supposed to be on the Knull case too, but we haven't heard anything from Sleeper and Nighteye won't even let us exercise…" Eddie said, trying to remain calm.
"Why do we have to listen to him? He's just some nerd obsessed with All-Might and humour, except he has no sense of humour whatsoever!" Venom shouted.
"I mean he can see the future and predict people's movements." Eddie added.
"Only when he touches them and gives them direct eye contact! He can't predict us if we beat him up before he lands a punch!" Venom exclaimed.
"He would have heard you by now if he wasn't on patrol with Mirio." Eddie said in annoyance.
"I'm just bored, Eddie! I miss being out there, fighting and eating and doing what a Lethal Protector is meant to be doing!" Venom said, lifting his head up higher.
"Yeah well, until we hear something, we're stuck here, pal." Eddie said with a sigh.
Suddenly, Eddie and Venom heard a mechanical sound coming from outside, immediately catching the two's attention. They stood up and went to go and check out the source of the commotion, and to their surprise they saw a bizarre looking vehicle in front of the building, made from a dark metallic substance with green lightning around it.
"What the hell is that thing?" Eddie wondered.
"It's a spaceship, Eddie!" Venom replied.
"A spaceship?" Eddie said before realizing something. "Wait, if that's here then-"
"Edward Brock, Venom." A familiar voice said, to which the Lethal Protector duo turned in the direction of said voice.
"Sleeper, man I am glad to see you!" Venom exclaimed.
"I have alerted Sir Nighteye, they have been informed of your transfer over to me." Sleeper said, before opening up his ship. "Get in."
"Uh, okay then." Eddie said as he boarded Sleeper's ship.
"Welcome to the Oneiros." Sleeper said as Eddie sat down on one of the ship's seats.
"So this is your spaceship, huh?" Venom asked.
"It's not just a spaceship, it's a customized Xandarian Metamorphic Siege Cruiser." Sleeper replied. "Fully malleable and programmed to shift and alter its density and shape to adapt to a planet's personal gravity."
"Yeah, I don't exactly know what that means, but it sounds cool." Eddie said sheepishly.
"So where are we headed, space cop?" Venom asked.
"To hunt down a group of mercenaries that were tasked with ensuring Knull's freedom." Sleeper replied as he sat down, activated the ship and took off.
Fortunately the seat Eddie and Venom were on automatically formed a harness around his body to prevent him from being thrown around.
"Wait, run that by me again? Mercenaries who are trying to free Knull?" Eddie asked.
"Courtesy of All For One, he hired them the night after his and All-Might's encounter. Mine and the Collective's suspicions were confirmed, All For One is now Knull's herald." Sleeper explained.
"That Darth Vader clone is working for that asshole?!" Venom exclaimed angrily. "I felt him inside of the Hive-Mind that night!"
"As did we all, he used the Blood Hunter's brain to breach the Symbiote Hive-Mind, his psychic signature radiating across the Multiverse, which is how Knull located All For One, bringing him into his domain to enthrall him." Sleeper said as he brought up a holographic screen.
"Great, just what we needed, two of the biggest threats teaming up and destroying everything." Eddie said with a hint of anger. "So then we find these mercenaries, put a stop to their plans to bring their dark god to Earth and that's that?"
"It's not that simple, we need to also ensure that no one else can attempt to free Knull by finding the aim of the mercenaries' mission." Sleeper replied.
"And what would that be, sir knight?" Venom asked.
"One of the first symbiotes, a devourer of worlds and civilisations, the Grendel." Sleeper replied, confusing Eddie but made Venom nearly gag in surprise.
"You're shitting me, right? First the Necroswords, now the Klyntarian dragon of legend is here on this Earth?!" Venom asked in disbelief.
"Wait, hold up, a dragon? No one said there would be a dragon!" Eddie exclaimed.
"It merely takes the form of a dragon, but it is a symbiote, one of the first created by Knull using his blood and shadow. The Grendel decimated worlds, devouring its inhabitants and spreading the King in Black's message of death and entropy across the cosmos. However, somehow when it came to this planet, humanity was able to put it in a slumber, preventing it from destroying their world." Sleeper explained.
"And these mercs are going to awaken the Grendel?" Eddie asked.
"Correct, doing so will give Knull a vessel, allowing him to manifest into physical reality and continue his quest of omnicide across the Multiverse. Not only that, but this will allow him to re-connect to the Symbiote Hive-Mind and attempt to dominate and control all symbiotes connected to it." Sleeper said before finding a location on the holographic screen. "I sent out drones to scan the planet for their location, and fortunately they've managed to acquire the information we seek."
"Where are they?" Venom asked curiously.
"Finland, a European country bordering Sweden, Norway and Russia." Sleeper replied. "This must mean that the Grendel is somewhere in the Nordic descended lands."
"How do you know so much about Earth countries?" Eddie asked.
"The internet." Sleeper replied bluntly.
"Alright then…I'm surprised you admitted it." Eddie said.
"I don't share humanity's fragile ego." Sleeper said bluntly.
"So then what do we do with the mercs?" Venom asked.
"Capture and interrogate them, and hand them over to Japanese authorities, as per the agreement with the Hero Public Safety Commission." Sleeper replied.
"Seriously? Can't we just eat them?" Venom asked.
"You really they're going to tolerate you consuming the targets? They already dislike you for going against their rules and regulations, I wouldn't risk further antagonizing them if you want to stay free." Sleeper replied.
"You call this free? Having Nighteye confine us to his agency, doing chores and waiting until you show up to actually do something productive and worth our damn time?" Eddie asked in a frustrated tone.
"Would you rather be put in solitary confinement?" Sleeper asked, to which Eddie couldn't argue or object to his question. "I understand your plight, and I believe that only your universe's authorities should be allowed to prosecute you for your actions. But of the many factions and organizations across the Multiverse, none deal with crimes committed by Variants outside of their native universes, not unless they are temporal crimes."
"So I really have to suck up to some other universe's feds, all because I'm human…" Eddie said, lowering his head.
"It could be worse, Eddie, they could throw us in a hole so deep we wouldn't be able to climb out." Venom said.
"Focus on what you can do, not what you can't, Edward Brock. If complying with the Commission can allow us to find a way of returning you to your universe, then we will do what we must." Sleeper said.
"I know, I know…I just...Nighteye, god he pisses me off…" Eddie said, scratching his head.
"His attempts at humour are either shit or really creepy, I mean look what he did to Bubble Girl the other day, that was just…" Venom said, trailing off and gagging in disgust.
"Yeah…" Eddie sighed. "But anyway, it's good to be out of that building for once."
Sleeper nodded in agreement before increasing his ship's speed, heading towards Finland as fast as they could. Eddie and Venom mentally prepared themselves for whatever fight was coming their way.
"We will be at our destination soon, then our mission can begin." Sleeper said.
"At the very least, we can kick ass and save the world!" Venom roared.
"Yeah, what he said." Eddie said with a shrug as Sleeper's ship descended to the ground, landing on the Finnish grass below.
Eddie and Sleeper soon exited the ship, with the Knight of the Cosmos bringing up his HUD to track down his targets, while Eddie and Venom observed a nearby clearing which had a decent view of the mountains and forest.
"Quite the clearing this forest has…" Eddie remarked.
"Fancy yourself a vacation in the Finnish countryside?" Venom asked sarcastically.
"Maybe next time, but work comes first, pal." Eddie replied. "Where are the mercs at, Sleeper?"
"If my sensors are accurate, they should be only fifteen miles from our location, in the city of Helsinki." Sleeper replied as he followed the coordinates on his HUD.
Venom then formed over Eddie's body and followed his fellow symbiote. The two moved as quickly and discreetly as possible, either on foot or using their tendrils to swing and zip-line across trees and boulders.
"Well, Eddie, looks like we're getting that exercise we wanted." Venom remarked.
"Yeah, yeah, you were complaining about it too." Eddie retorted.
"We have no idea when we'll see Carnage again, and that pisses me off! We need to eat her before that Darth Vader clone can make more symbiotes with her!" Venom roared.
"Unfortunately, I haven't been able to locate their base of operation, it appears to be protected from my sensors in some way, possibly with one of All For One's Quirks." Sleeper explained.
"Bastard, hiding away and scheming with Knull no doubt." Eddie said as he, Venom and Sleeper reached a clearing and sure enough, they could see Helsinki, the capital of Finland, right in front of them.
"Here we are, Helsinki, capital city of Finland, founded in 1550 and located on the Gulf of Finland." Sleeper said.
"That was a long time ago, especially in this universe." Venom remarked. "Now, where are these bad guys we're after?"
"My sensors indicate that the mercenaries should be east from our position." Sleeper replied.
"And how exactly are you tracking them?" Eddie asked.
"I've been tracking them since they left Japan." Sleeper replied.
"You've been following their trail the whole time? Do the suits know about that?" Venom asked.
"They know I've been pursuing them, but not when I started my hunt." Sleeper replied, before opening up his holographic HUD again. "Interesting, they're getting closer to our position."
"Wait, they know we're here?!" Eddie exclaimed.
"No, it's purely coincidence, their objective must be near the vicinity." Sleeper replied. "We should intercept them before they complete their mission."
Venom nodded, for both him and Eddie, as they followed Sleeper, who was following the trail his sensors were picking up. The three of them tried their best to avoid open streets and crowds in Helsinki, not wanting the locals to discover their presence unless absolutely necessary. Venom and Sleeper soon stopped on the rooftop of one of the buildings within a marketplace, and before they could do anything else, an eruption of what looked like lava could be seen in the distance.
"What the fuck was that?!" Venom exclaimed in horror.
"There's our mercenaries." Sleeper said as he slowly went towards the epicenter of the eruption.
"Hold on, wait a second, you never told us one of them had a lava Quirk!" Eddie shouted as Venom followed Sleeper.
"The Volcano Thieves, considered to be one of Japan's best mercenary teams." Sleeper said.
"Were you just going to let us fight an enemy we have a disadvantage over without telling us?!" Eddie exclaimed angrily.
"Eddie's right, how are we going to fight a lava spewing Villain? Heat doesn't exactly agree with our kind." Venom added.
"Just follow my lead, and you'll never even touch lava." Sleeper said as they soon arrived on the scene where the Volcano Thieves were, with the three of them standing in a freshly made crater from their leader's eruption.
"Uh boss, not that I doubt your judgment or actions, BUT WHY DID YOU MAKE SUCH A BIG ERUPTION!?" Gust Boy yelled angrily.
"We were surrounded, what else could I have done?" Volcano argued before firing another wave of lava at a group of local police officers.
"Yeah, but that blast was large enough for the whole city to see where we're at!" Dusty Ash exclaimed.
"We already smoked Helsinki's Pro Hero, no one else is going to be a problem." Volcano assured, until he saw something black zip passed his shoulder before being drop-kicked into the building behind him by Venom.
"What the hell just happened?!" Gust Boy yelled in confusion.
"Shit, that must've been another Pro!" Dusty Ash answered.
Venom grinned before backflipping over to Sleeper, who simply rolled his eyes at his partner's lack of subtlety.
"Was the drop-kick necessary?" Eddie asked with a sigh.
"We know you thought it was cool." Venom replied.
"Bastard!" Volcano yelled as he burst out of the building he was sent into, his eyes rabid with anger.
"Sorry, magma man! Did I make you angry?" Venom asked mockingly, angering Volcano even more.
"Wait, you gotta be kidding me! The Hosu Vigilante?!" Gust Boy exclaimed in disbelief.
"That's Lethal Protector to you, criminal scum!" Venom roared.
"What the hell is he doing here?!" Dusty Ash shouted but then regained her composure as she gripped her sword. "Ah, fuck it! Let's deal with him!"
"Volcano Thieves, your mission ends here. Give yourself up or we will make you surrender by force." Sleeper said to the mercenaries.
"Wait, who is he?" Dusty Ash blurted.
"Who cares? Both of them are dead…" Volcano said, gritting his teeth. "You think we're going to surrender to you two freaks? We're the Volcano Thieves, best mercenaries in the business!"
"Damn right, you tell 'em, boss!" Gust Boy exclaimed.
"These are meant to be Japan's best mercs?" Eddie asked awkwardly.
"More like a bunch of dangerous idiots to me!" Venom said with a snarl.
"Hey guys, a little less flexing and more killing!" Dusty Ash yelled.
"Get ready." Sleeper said, taking a stance.
Venom licked his lips before charging at Volcano, who tried to blast the Lethal Protector with a stream of lava. However, Venom fortunately made a tendril that zip-lined him out of the attack's range, then attempted to zip-line back with another tendril that latched onto the ground. Gust Boy however intercepted Venom's movements and spun his hands around, blowing the Lethal Protector away with impressive air currents. Sleeper leaped into the fray and launched his acid-tipped tendrils at the Volcano Thieves, which Volcano blocked with his gauntlet and Gust Boy aimed his spinning hands downward to propel himself upwards out of the tendrils' range. Volcano decided to take the offensive and threw a strong right hook at Sleeper, but the Knight of the Cosmos blocked the attack and then struck Volcano a few times around his torso with quick and precise punches. Enraged by the pain from Sleeper's blows, Volcano's shoulder volcanoes started to spill out thick layers of smoke before he thrusted his gauntlet forward and fired a barrage of lava blasts at Sleeper. Venom noticed this and tried to intervene but he quickly turned around to block the blade of Dusty Ash's tanto with his own newly formed blade.
"Mind if I cut in?" Dusty Ash asked playfully as she pushed against Venom's blade before moving herself to the side while spraying some dust at his face, sliding her blade away and cutting across his chest several times.
"Geez, cliché much?" Venom said, gritting his teeth as he healed and wiped the dust off his face, before blocking another attack from Dusty Ash and launched a few tendrils at her.
After Dusty Ash deflected the tendrils with her tanto, she ran towards the Hosu Vigilante and began to emit a large amount of dust off her body. She then brought her arms in front of her and swiped them outward to propel the dust ahead of her, creating a smoke screen to mask her movements.
"I dunno, just thought a guy like you would appreciate a good cliché. You've introduced yourself as the 'Lethal Protector after all." Dusty Ash remarked as she concealed herself within the dust, her voice slightly altered by her respirator.
"Well, looks like she doesn't like the name either." Eddie remarked, as Venom leaped out of the dust cloud and started swinging his blade at Dusty Ash.
"Shut up! It's a good name!" Venom yelled as he and Dusty Ash countered and parried each other's strikes with their blades respectively.
"No, it's not!" Dusty Ash taunted as she threw more dust in his face after blocking another slash and tried to counter with her own strike.
"Yes it is!" Venom yelled before blocking Dusty Ash's blade, then quickly used his free arm to land a punch on the ash themed Villain, making her skid on the ground a few feet before managing to make herself stand up back into a fighting stance.
"How rude! Have you no shame for hitting a girl such as myself, Venom?" Dusty Ash asked while readjusting her respirator and bra strap that came loose.
"My hands are rated E for everyone, lady!" Venom roared before he started to spin his blade around like a drill, then lunged at Dusty Ash with it.
"Damn!" Dusty Ash thought as she narrowly avoided his attack, jumping to one side. "I thought he could only create shields and tendrils from the footage that we watched, but it seems that he has more tricks up his sleeve!"
"She's using her Quirk to create a smokescreen so that we can't see her when she attacks…except we literally have special vision powers now." Eddie commented with a sigh as Venom dodged and blocked each attack Dusty Ash hit them with.
"What do you think I've been doing the whole time, Eddie? She can't hide from my eyes!" Venom remarked before addressing Dusty Ash again. "And what do you call this stupid attack? Battle Royal?"
"No! That's the stupidest name for an attack I've ever heard of!" Dusty Ash replied as she then released a large amount of dust from her body, covering the area in a big cloud of dust, more than what she did before.
She stealthily moved around in her dust cloud for a bit before finally pouncing on Venom, slashing him across the torso before retreating back into the cloud. But not too long after, Dusty Ash followed up with another slash from another direction, continuing to do it several times while getting faster and faster after each consecutive attack. She dashed at him one more time but landed multiple slashes up and down Venom's entire body, before ending it with a slice across his neck.
"Dust Storm Slicer!" Dusty Ash shouted.
Venom fell to the ground, both him and Eddie coughing their lungs out.
"I'll admit it, that actually hurt…" Eddie said weakly as Venom got back up and healed from his injuries.
"Well, it would have killed someone without a symbiote, I'll give it that." Venom commented, cracking his neck and wrists as he fully recovered.
"Shit! I should've figured that he could regenerate." Dusty Ash said, as she dodged an incoming attack from one of Venom's tendrils.
As those two continued to fight, Sleeper was weaving and dodging Volcano's lava blasts before he unleashed a stream of green acid at the mercenary, only for Gust Boy to redirect the acid with a strong air current. Sleeper formed his Necrosword and rushed at Volcano and Gust Boy, with the former blocking his sword with his gauntlet, then parried a few more of Sleeper's sword strikes.
"I can see why they are considered to be Japan's best mercenaries. It's not necessarily in how they act, but in their strength and experience. We've underestimated them." Sleeper thought before leaping out of the way of a combined blast of lava and air from Volcano and Gust Boy.
"Slippery bastard! Stay still and taste my magma!" Volcano yelled as he lifted his gauntlet clad arm up while smoke poured and erupted from his shoulders, preparing to use his own special attack.
"Dusty Ash! Watch out, the boss is going to erupt!" Gust Boy yelled, seeing his boss raise his arm up.
The Villainess then smirked before dodging backwards in order to avoid the area of effect that she knew Volcano would cover with his attack.
"Volcannon!" Volcano screamed as he unleashed a barrage of lava blasts into the air, which rained down and struck fast and swiftly like flaming meteors.
"Shit!" Venom exclaimed as he tried his best to dodge some of the falling lava.
Sleeper was having better luck at dodging, being a symbiote without a host let him carefully weave and move around each bit of falling lava. He got close to Volcano and struck him with a strong punch coated in acidic vapor to the torso, causing Volcano to stagger back and fall off balance which cancelled his attack. Volcano roared in anger and pain as he felt his skin beneath his costume burn from the acidic punch.
"Boss, are you okay?" Gust Boy asked with a concerned look.
"I'm fine!" Volcano yelled, straightening himself up. "That stings…really bad…"
"That was a close one…" Eddie said out of breath.
"Yeah…wasn't sure we'd survive that one…" Venom said, before dodging gunfire from Dusty Ash. "This girl just busted out the gat!"
"I'm not through with you yet!" Dusty Ash remarked before tossing the empty magazine aside and inserting a new one, pulling back the bolt and began firing her mini-uzi at Venom again.
Venom dodged a few of the bullets before simply opening his mouth and letting the bullets go inside, eating each pellet of lead fired at him. Venom then grinned before he spat all of the bullets back at Dusty Ash. She was momentarily stunned at what just happened, but then drew her tanto as fast as she could to block and dodge the redirected bullets. A few of them had managed to graze her, however.
"Damn! That's quite the trick you've got there, big guy!" Dusty Ash remarked after a whistle, catching a glance at a small scrape on her arm.
"Be glad that me swallowing those bullets made them non-lethal!" Venom roared before leaping into the air, coiling a makeshift drill around his legs and launched a dive kick at Dusty Ash.
She barely managed to avoid his attack and fired off another burst of bullets, though Venom dodged them this time and used a tendril to zip-line back to Sleeper's position. Sleeper, though not possessing a straightforwardly destructive power as Volcano and Gust Boy, was able to outpace them, first landing a strong uppercut on Gust Boy, sending him flying into a nearby two-story building and then dodged Volcano's lava blast before firing a stream of acid at him, which melted a portion of his suit's torso area, burning his skin.
"Motherfucker!" Volcano yelled. "Dusty Ash, Gust Boy! To my position now!"
"Right away, boss!" Dusty Ash responded before shooting a stream of dust at Venom and then retreated back to Volcano.
"Gotcha!" Gust Boy replied, propelling himself towards Volcano and Dusty Ash with blasts of air from his spinning hands. "What's the plan now, Volcano?"
"Time to show these freaks our real strength, prepare the team attack!" Volcano yelled.
"You got it, boss!" Gust Boy said, then spread his arms out and spun his hands, channeling air around him and his team to create a spiral of air.
"Let's fucking do this!" Dusty Ash said with a nod and then emitted a large amount of dust from her body once again, which was carried by Gust Boy's air spiral, creating a layer of dust around it.
"Uh, what are they doing? And shouldn't we be stopping this?" Eddie asked.
"I wanna see what happens!" Venom argued.
"What do you mean? This isn't some anime or turn-based RPG! Stop them!" Eddie yelled.
Sleeper rushed towards the Volcano Thieves and tried to use his Necrosword to cut through the spiral of air and dust, but it was too thick, and its rotation moved too fast, repelling Sleeper and shielding the mercenaries.
"Nice try, dumbass, when my air and DA's dust mix together, it creates the ultimate defense!" Gust Boy taunted.
"I could try and slice through it with my Necrosword at full power, but then I would be drained and vulnerable to their next attack." Sleeper explained. "Brace yourselves, Venom."
Volcano chuckled sinisterly before thrusting his gauntlet forward as smoke and embers erupted out of his shoulder volcanoes.
"Let's see you dodge this, you amorphous bastard!" Volcano yelled. "Krakatoa Blast!"
Volcano then unleashed a devastating wave of lava, to which the air and dust surrounded them wrapped around the lava to create their combined move, a beam of lava, dust and air.
"Oh shit!" Venom yelled as he and Sleeper ducked out of the way of the attack, in which the beam consumed the buildings, vehicles and architecture, creating an explosion that engulfed the street.
Venom and Sleeper did their best to avoid the explosion, given the intense heat and flames created from it. However, a few flames from the explosion were able to hit Venom and Sleeper, burning the biomass on their legs and knocking them to the ground.
"Shit, they got Venom and Sleeper's legs!" Eddie exclaimed, while also feeling the burning sensation from the flames.
After the explosion had faded away, a cloud of smoke took its place and spread across Helsinki, revealing the large crater and burnt debris from the Volcano Thieves' attack. Venom and Sleeper painfully got back on their feet, using a significant portion of their strength to heal from the flames.
"Yeah, that's right! Don't mess with the Volcano Thieves!" Gust Boy shouted as he deactivated his Quirk.
"Well that was fun while it lasted, but let's bounce and get back on track, boys!" Dusty Ash said, looking back at Volcano and Gust Boy.
"Agreed, let's find that next clue before these two freaks catch up." Volcano said, turning to flee the scene with his comrades.
However, before Venom and Sleeper could pursue them, Gust Boy was shot in the leg causing him to stumble and fall, with the sound of a rifle being fired being heard afterward.
"Kazetani!" Dusty Ash yelled before putting her arm around Gust Boy and lifted him up.
"What the hell just happened?" Eddie asked.
"There's a sniper nearby, and they're after our targets." Sleeper replied as he used his sensors to try and locate them.
Dusty Ash released more dust from her body to try and cover their escape, but then she noticed the skin on her arms and legs were starting to get dry. "Shit, already?! Boss, I don't think I can cover us from that sniper! We really gotta get out of here!"
Volcano got in front of both Gust Boy and Dusty Ash and erupted smoke from his shoulders to try and make a smokescreen to hide from the sniper. Once the smoke cloud he made was big enough, he grabbed both Gust Boy and Dusty Ash and sprinted off with them.
"Hey, they're getting away!" Venom roared.
"We can always track them down again with my sensors, right now we need to deal with our competition." Sleeper said as he then weaved his body around another sniper shot.
"Shit, they know we're on to them!" Eddie yelled before Venom dodged a sniper shot from their competitor.
"I have their location, let's move!" Sleeper yelled as he dashed across the street.
Venom gritted his teeth before following Sleeper, ducking and moving behind cover along the way to avoid the sniper. Two more sniper shots were, but fortunately Venom and Sleeper were not hit and they kept moving closer and closer to the shooter's location.
"Stupid sniper! Their aiming's pretty inaccurate!" Venom taunted.
"No, they're not shooting to kill right now, only to discourage us. If the trajectory of each shot I've measured is correct, they're missing on purpose." Sleeper said, dodging another sniper shot.
"They're firing on us, knowing we'd be able to dodge them?" Eddie asked in disbelief.
"I believe so, we're getting closer to their location." Sleeper replied as he continued to get closer.
Venom followed soon after, and this time when a sniper shot was fired, he stuck out a tendril and to the surprise of Eddie and Sleeper, caught the bullet in mid-flight.
"You caught it!" Eddie exclaimed.
"I didn't think I'd be fast enough to, but I guess we are getting stronger…" Venom said before putting the bullet in his hand, looking at it curiously. "Hold on, something's weird about this bullet."
Sleeper moved closer to Venom and looked at the bullet. It was shaped like a sniper bullet, however it wasn't lead or the colour grey or silver, instead it was dark blue with pink streaks and felt soft but coarse.
"Wait…is that….hair?!" Eddie exclaimed, both in shock and disgust. "Eww! The sniper was shooting us with their own hair?!"
"It must be the sniper's Quirk, they can turn their hair into sniper bullets." Sleeper concluded.
"Yeah, that's handy but still gross…" Eddie said, before Venom and Sleeper then kept moving and dodged another sniper shot.
"Damn coward! Fight fair!" Venom roared.
Sleeper spotted something on one of the rooftops, the lens flare of possibly a scope, identifying the sniper and their location. He gestured to Venom silently, pointing out their location, to which Venom also looked and saw the lens flare. Venom and Sleeper then with all their strength moved swiftly across the street and then used their tendrils to zip-line towards the building where the sniper had set up their vantage point. After latching on the walls of the building on opposite ends, Venom and Sleeper leaped up to the rooftop and pointed their respective weapons at the sniper.
"That's enough, we've found you, marksman." Sleeper said in a commanding tone.
"Alright you hair slinging bastard, tell us who-" Venom yelled before losing his words upon seeing the sniper's appearance.
The sniper appeared to be a woman with short, dark blue hair with numerous pink streaks scattered around, with two strands reaching down to her shoulders. She also had purple eyes, with a scouter over her right eye. She wore a dark, sleeveless bodysuit with two armor plates underneath her chest along with knee guards, light-colored boots, and had a metallic utility belt that stored more of her bullets. But what was most eye–catching about her was that a barrel was coming out of her right elbow, with a tendril forming a scope.
"Wait, the sniper's a girl?!" Venom exclaimed.
"You gotta a problem with girl snipers, big mouth?" The female sniper said with a snarky tone.
"I uh…no…just…" Venom said, tumbling with his words.
"Just what?" The female sniper asked.
"Wait, is that sniper rifle coming out of…oh god…ugh…" Eddie said, as Venom was forced back into his body and quickly leaned over the side of the rooftop to vomit out his lunch.
"What's his problem?" The female sniper asked Sleeper.
"He is not used to seeing such a harsh mutation of flesh and bone before." Sleeper replied before keeping his gaze fixed on the sniper. "We are off topic, who sent you, marksman? Were you following us?"
"I didn't need to follow you, I already had a good shot at my targets, until you showed up." The sniper replied, before looking over at Eddie who just finished vomiting.
"Okay…I think I'm good now…it's all gone…" Eddie said out of breath, his throat sore and strained from regurgitation.
"Are you sure you're professionals?" The female sniper asked with a brow raised.
"He is, but we're more….freelancers…vigilantes…?" Eddie replied, before Venom reformed around his body again.
"So you must be the aliens…" The female sniper remarked, looking at Venom and Sleeper. "They told me about you, I didn't believe them at first, but here you are…"
"Someone told you about us?" Venom asked.
"They didn't sound happy about you either." The female sniper replied.
"The Commission…" Sleeper said, trying his best to hold back his anger.
"Why am I not surprised?" Eddie said with a groan.
"Those damn control freaks! They just can't help but screw around with us again!" Venom shouted.
Sleeper then angrily smashed a nearby pipe with his tendril, trying his best not to let his emotions overcome him. Venom sighed before looking at the female sniper.
"Oh yeah, they tell us to bring them in, and yet hire you to take them down."
"That's the Hero Public Safety Commission for ya." The female sniper said with a shrug before retracting her sniper rifle back into her elbow.
"So now what? We're all after the same people, but one of us has orders to kill." Eddie said as Venom retracted back into his body, then protruded out of it again in serpentine form.
"Look, I just took the job to get out of that damn prison, I don't like being under the Commission's thumb as much as you do." The female sniper said.
"Then perhaps we should work together for now, then we'll decide our course of action when we track down the targets again." Sleeper suggested, regaining his composure.
"You sure that's a good idea? How do we know she won't stab us or shoot us in the back?" Venom asked Sleeper.
"I can still hear you." The sniper said with an annoyed tone. "My ammunition comes from my hair, the more hair I have the more bullets I can make. But as you can clearly see, they cut my hair to limit my rounds, and so I can't afford to waste them on you lot, especially with how you can regenerate."
"Well, sounds like a fair argument to me." Eddie said, looking at Venom and Sleeper.
"It is a fair argument." The female sniper insisted.
"Alright, fine, but if you try to shoot us again, I'll bite your head off." Venom threatened.
"Oh how lovely." The sniper said sarcastically.
"I am Sleeper, Knight of the Cosmos, here to ensure Knull remains imprisoned." Sleeper explained. "We have the same mission, even if our methods and orders were not the same."
"I'm Eddie, this is Venom." Eddie said, pointing at his symbiotic companion.
"Hi." Venom said simply.
"What is this? A group therapy session where we sit around in a circle and talk about our shitty childhoods?" The sniper asked with a groan.
"So you're too cool to give out your name then?" Eddie asked.
"I'm merely asking what's the point of giving out our names." The sniper replied.
"So then what do we call you then?" Venom asked curiously, causing the female sniper to sigh.
"It's Nagant, Lady Nagant."
"Alright, Lady Nagant it is." Eddie said with a nod.
"What the hell's a Nagant?" Venom asked in confusion.
"I think it's a gun." Eddie replied.
"Mosin-Nagant, five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Made in 1891 and approved by Captain Sergei Ivanovich Mosin for the Russo-Ottoman War." The sniper, now known as Lady Nagant, explained. "It was one of the most frequently used bolt-action rifles up until the beginning of the 22nd Century."
"You know your stuff." Eddie remarked.
"I'm a sniper, I need to know these kinds of things." Nagant said, rolling her eyes. "I think that's enough talking for now, we should track down the Volcano Thieves before they get too far."
"Agreed, let us be off." Sleeper said, bringing up his sensors and attempting to track them down again.
Eddie and Venom looked at each other, then sighed before looking out into the city of Helsinki once more.
Did you enjoy the chapter? If so, please favourite and follow the story and give me your feedback! I will now go over my decisions made in the chapter!
So we decided to have a flashback of All For One's meeting with Knull in this chapter, which is supposed to help explain a few more things, as well as why All For One would even agree to work for Knull, given the god's omnicidal nature. It's primarily to help fill in gaps, but also drop the indication that All For One might not entirely be onboard with Knull.
Toga and Carnage didn't have a lot of focus in the previous chapters so I did the middle scene in this chapter to ensure they are still relevant to the story. And yes, I know that Toga and Carnage killing some of the Shiketsu students will probably be seen as controversial, but this isn't the canon timeline and we wanted to demonstrate that ultimately no one is safe in this timeline.
So yeah, Eddie and Venom have gone with Sleeper to hunt down the Volcano Thieves, and in their pursuit, they encounter and team up with Lady Nagant. I have been looking at some of your reviews regarding her, but right now I will just say that Nagant is teaming up with the symbiote crew to stop Knull's revival. I do believe that the reason her hair was cut was to limit her ammo for her rifle. I hope the dynamic I've set up between them is received well.
If that is all, then I will see you guys in the next chapter! MVA; Symbiote's Justice, Lethal Protectors away!