Venom is owned by Marvel, and Justice League is owned by DC. Any original characters that appear are created and owned by me.

Enjoy!

Gotham

Eddie and Venom had gotten back to their temporary apartment by dawn. Won't be long until the scum are free to roam the empty streets at night… but with a certain Lethal Protector prowling the city, it's doubtful that they'll pull anything for now, unless they wanna get ballsy.

A few hours later, Eddie sat at the table with his notepad in hand as he examined the details he had written down. Another successful interview, but so many questions. For starters, who hired those guys to terrorize the hospital? More importantly, whose turf were they operating on?

His answer would soon come from the sound of his phone ringing, prompting him to answer it. "Eddie Brock."

"Eddie. It's Gordon." came the voice of the commissioner.

"Commish!" Eddie said in surprise. "I knew you'd call. That's great. Um, just got back from talking with the lady from last night."

"Was it about our guys? I'm just itching to put them in a permanent timeout at Blackgate."

"Well, Nicole said somebody's been sending those bastards for months. The hospital was on some big shot's turf, I'm sure of it."

"I thought as much. It's no surprise they kept getting their bail for good behavior. 'Good behavior', my ass." Gordon muttered.

"Any ideas on who their boss might be?"

"Cobblepot might be shady, and he keeps getting thrown back into a padded birdcage, but even that's not his style. Rupert Thorne might approve, but he's still in hiding after our last bust. Our only guess is that these guys might be on Black Mask's payroll."

"Mind lecturing me on Gotham's hierarchy system?" Eddie joked. From what he heard about the first two, Oswald Cobblepot, aka the Penguin, was the classic gentleman crook who engaged in less than ethical practices from time to time, but had some sense of honor. Thorne was the guy responsible for Dent's disfigurement during an attempt to blackmail the then-DA on the day of his election, engaging in an ages-long war with Two-Face. What could this Black Mask possibly have to blow those two out of the water?

"Roman Sionis isn't your typical crime lord. Whatever he wants in Gotham, he gets it. Money, guns, people, drugs, anything that's valuable in the black market. We tried putting that bastard behind bars for years, but all witnesses, associates, anybody connected to him were silenced before they could spill anything." Gordon said with caution. "Seeing how you took down people like him…"

'Oh, he doesn't know the half of it.' Venom hissed gleefully.

"…it's no doubt he'll come after you if he sees you." the commissioner warned. "We could send some of our guys to keep an eye on you. Assuming none of them are in his pocket, I hope."

'Forget witness protection. I am witness protection!' Venom protested, and Eddie once again decided to heed his other's advice.

"I've been in deeper shit than this. I'm sure I can handle it." he declined.

"After that whole fiasco with Carlton Drake? I don't think we should take our chances." Silence soon followed, until the commissioner caved in with a sigh. "Fine, just try to stay out of sight. Roman's other boys might be on the move."

'So will we…' Venom growled.

"Thanks for the heads up, Jim. See ya." And with that, Eddie hung up with a thoughtful look. So Penguin and Thorne were off the list for now, but Black Mask sounded like someone that took any threat to his empire a little personally. Perhaps beating down and munching on his boys was enough to drive him to desperate measures.

'Oh, heads are gonna be up, alright. So far, we've only taken out low-level trash, and still no big hitters like the Joker or this Black Mask.' Venom growled impatiently. One of the cons about this whole crime-fighting gig is having to wait for the next perp to pop up for easy pickings so Venom could take his easy pickings for a late night snack.

"Just gotta find a way to fish them out. Or wait for them to lure us out." Eddie reassured.

As if some cosmic force answered their prayers, a thump in the distance forced Eddie to look out the window. He and Venom could see smoke rising some distance away in the city. Another burst of flames followed, and the two took it as their cue.

"You up for a little campfire?" Eddie asked his other.

'Will we bring marshmallows?!' the symbiote asked eagerly.

"You bet your ass."

With the lack of criminal activity ever since Venom's arrival, people could've assumed that it would be okay to carry on with their lives in this godforsaken city.

Which quickly went to Hell when one of the apartment buildings suddenly blew open in a massive burst of flames, catching the tenants and any passersby outside by surprise.

It was all so sudden. No gas leaks, no signs of smoke, no warning. The flames quickly spread through every surface in the building, and all that mattered was survival as the tenants took the stairs to safety.

The crowd that had gathered around the scene could only watch as the fire continued to burn out of control. Teams of firefighters struggled to put out the roaring flames with the hose, but even that wasn't enough to extinguish the whole building. Squads of police officers arrived at the scene to find any signs of arson. One of the officers keeping the tenants out of harm's way was stopping a woman from running back into the burning building.

"Ma'am! You can't go in there, the place could collapse at any time!" the cop tried to reason.

"But my baby's in there! Please! She's all I have left!" the woman screamed trying to get through with tears running down her face.

As the chaos unfolded, Venom observed the scene from another building, having arrived not too long ago, white eyes widening at the mention of a baby still in the inferno.

Normally, he would rush in with or without planning first to rescue people from gunmen or debris. Here? Therein lies one problem…

'V… I know you hate fire…' Eddie hesitated. After nearly getting roasted alive by the fire that roasted Drake and Riot, Venom had been a bit hesitant to run into more fiery situations. Sure, there was the occasional kitchen fire whenever his cooking got shittier than before, but this was completely out of his element.

Now? Venom thought otherwise. "To Hell with that! We get the kid out of there!" he fired back as he launched himself toward the burning building. Ignoring the shouts from the crowd below as he shot forward and crashed through the window in the third floor. Smoke was everywhere, making it hard to see, and the heat in the room made him tense a little.

'Not much time, let's get the kid.' Eddie said as Venom began searching the place, doing everything he could to avoid the blaze as it burned out of control. Throwing pieces of furniture aside just as he heard a loud cry from down the hallway in front of him.

Not even thinking twice, he leapt over a few fallen beams and ran toward the source of the sound. Kicking a door in and finding a nursery where a baby in a pink onesie was kicking and screaming in her crib.

In a second he was across the room and scooping the barely 16 month old little girl in a tendril, cradling her to his chest to protect her as he began making his way toward the exit, leaping back as several beams collapsed on to the doorway, sealing it completely. The smoke was getting worse, the baby's health was at stake if he didn't get them out of there quickly. Spinning around, he began running back the way he came in.

'V! MOVE!' Eddie shouted as Venom pushed harder. Throwing himself out the shattered window just as the ceiling caved in behind him.

Snapping out his free hand, he fired a tendril and swung down to the ground, landing in front of the stunned crowd and emergency personnel. The mother broke free and ran up to him as he handed the child over, "In one piece and a clean diaper." he said as the woman swept her into her arms and kissed her all over.

"My baby girl!" she said crying tears of joy before looking at the Lethal Protector. Rather than cower at his monstrous appearance, she whispered, "God bless you... bless you..."

Venom couldn't help but growl softly, seeing mother and child together and safe. It was one of the pros he began to love about this hero gig, making it a point to tone down his menacing side whenever kids were in the picture. Looks like Eddie's rules were rubbing off of him. To his surprise, clapping could be heard, and soon everyone within the crowd was doing it, police included, as they started cheering.

BOOM!

Unfortunately, his shining moment was interrupted by another explosion that sent a massive flurry of burning debris falling towards the crowd, and Venom didn't waste anymore time to launch a tendril from his back, the tip spreading to form an organic "shield" to block the falling bits of flames. Although this usually helped against bullets, even that didn't help against large amounts of roaring flames as the heat spread through the shield, causing some pain to the Lethal Protector as he retracted the tendril, the flames slowly dying.

As soon as he recovered from the searing pain, a cackle from inside the building brought his attention back to it, seeing a figure fly out of the inferno.

The cause of the mess? A chrome-armored, obviously bug-themed looking bad guy hovering off the ground in a jetpack adorned with insect-like wings, his raspy laughing concealed by the helmet with a translucent gold visor. In his hands, and connected to the tank that was on top of his jetpack, were two large rifle-looking flamethrowers… the last weapons Venom wanted to be face to face with.

This was Garfield Lynns, aka Firefly. Pyrotechnics expert turned stalker when his pop star ex-girlfriend dumped him for being too close for comfort. After giving up on love, he turned to mercenary work, lending his services to the highest bidder, until one of his confrontations with the Dark Knight left 90% of his body covered in third-degree burns. Not only did his disfigurement leave him more unhinged than before, but it also made him deadlier, giving himself and his arsenal some upgrades to get an edge over Batman.

Up until this point, Venom had been used to facing armed thugs and punks who foolishly brought battering weapons against a set of sharp teeth that tore every piece of their flesh.

Someone who utilized fire to their arsenal? That was a no-no for him.

"Well, well! If it ain't the Lethal Protector!" the arsonist cackled, his full attention on Venom. "I knew this campfire would smoke you out! And you're just in time for the weenie roast!"

Growling, Venom stood with bared teeth and a pointed finger aimed at Firefly. "You're gonna wish Smokey the Bear were here to deal with your ass. We're not exactly the cuddly type!"

"Good luck with that! Because neither of you can prevent this forest fire!" Lynns shot back with another cackle. "Maybe after I cash in on your roasted corpse, I'll pay your turf a little visit! Burn the Golden Gate open!"

'Cash in?' Eddie repeated in confusion, a sentiment shared with Venom until it hit them. That must mean a bounty was out… on the Lethal Protector. Before, no crime lord nor mob boss dared to hire any of their men to bump him off. They were usually sent back with severed limbs or heads, before Venom got to the main course when they kept pushing it.

Now? It seems like whoever hired this maniac was making this personal.

Before anymore guesses could be made, Firefly rocketed forward towards Venom, firing his flamethrower as he passed by. The massive jet of flames shot out at the Lethal Protector, its heat almost white hot. He quickly jumped back before launching himself towards another building, his weight breaking through the walls and windows as he climbed up.

"Nothing like a quick light to get the party started!" Firefly's laugh was muffled from under his mask as Venom reached the rooftop and began sprinting. Lifting the flamethrower again, Firefly arced another stream of liquid fire at Venom, who turned and ran, leaping from the roof of the building to the next one over, the line of fire spilling behind him. Sliding to a stop on the roof, Venom spun back around, firing a tendril at Firefly, grabbing him by the leg.

Grunting in surprise, Lynns aimed his rifle at the tendril, shooting forth another jet of flame that spread throughout the appendage's length, and to his manic surprise, Venom roared painfully as he let go, making Firefly spin wildly for a moment before regaining his bearings to see the sight before him. The Lethal Protector's ignited arm appeared to be melting off as he swung it around in an attempt to put it out.

"Would ya look at that! The big bad Lethal Protector is afraid of a little singe!" the pyromaniac cackled as he flew forward. "Here's a tip: stop, drop, and DIE!"

Recovering with an irate growl, Venom suddenly ran forward in a blur, leaping off the roof. Firefly had no time to react before the Lethal Protector plowed into him in mid-air. The arsonist tried to pull up, but his jetpack started sputtering.

"No, you idiot! I can't keep airborne with this much weight!" he screamed as panic began to flood his senses.

Venom laughed. "Bad luck then!"

The two tumbled through the air, falling eight stories to the street below before landing on a car's roof, its windows exploding outwards as Firefly and Venom impacted on it, making several passersby either flee the scene or observe the chaos, with some taking out their phones to record the brawl. Firefly was thrown through the air, slamming down onto the asphalt as Venom leapt at him from the car with a roar, but Firefly kicked on his jetpack, sliding out of the way right before the Lethal Protector's fist could smash onto his face. Hovering back into the air, Firefly looked down at Venom who calmly stood up, growling and snaking his tongue out.

The arsonist shot another line of flame, but Venom rolled to the side avoiding the shot as it impacted on the smashed car behind him, igniting it into a fireball as more civilians began scattering. Standing back up, Venom shot another tendril, quickly grabbing Firefly by the wrists and knocking the gun up so the oncoming jet of flames shot out into the night sky before hoisting the screaming arsonist into the air and then slamming him onto the concrete.

Panting in order to rub off the pain, he regained his bearings as he saw the Lethal Protector slowly striding towards him. He quickly whipped out his flamethrowers and pulled their triggers, only getting a hiss from his weapons in response. His shock increased when he saw the partially flattened tank leaking gas.

"What?! No!" Firefly shouted as he dropped his now useless weapons down to the ground and stared at Venom with a hateful glare under his helmet. "I'll be back… and then you'll- ACK!"

Any further rant was cut short as his neck was seized by a large black hand, which then brought him face to face with the Lethal Protector's crescent eyes and salivating maw. His panic increased as Venom brought his other hand and forcefully yanked off the helmet, his white eyes widening at the sight of decayed, burnt flesh.

"Damn! Did Freddy Krueger have a kid? Because that's a face not even he would love." he mocked, before snaking his tongue all over the arsonist's face.

This… this couldn't be happening! With the Bat, this usually ended in a beatdown resulting in a few months in the infirmary. But this? This was different. There was… hunger in this thing's eyes. That was when it hit him.

"You- GLK! You can't…!" the arsonist tried to gasp out.

"We can… and we will, glow worm, unless you tell us about this little prize. Did the assassin fair open tonight?" he joked darkly as he began to squeeze the arsonist's neck.

Fighting through the pressure around his throat, Firefly croaked. "Black Mask put a pretty penny on your head. Gotta admire his ballsiness for trying to put one on you. Probably had something to do with those punks you tore apart."

'Yep. Definitely personal. At least we know who's running the show.' Eddie muttered, prompting Venom to ask his next question.

"How much dough is he offering? Enough to make a citywide pizza?" he demanded as he tightened his grip around Lynns' neck just a teensy bit.

With whatever strength he had to speak, Firefly gagged. "It was ten million to bring you to him alive! Doubled if you weren't cooperative! Then again, who would want to bring you alive, anyway?"

Venom glared with a deep snarl. If Black Mask wanted a war, he was gonna get one. First, he had to send a little message to accept his challenge.

"So, Black Mask wants payback, huh? Well, so do we." Venom growled, until another idea popped up. "Say, you know what goes good with eggs? Toast."

"The hell's that supposed to-"

CHOMP!

A swift bite over the arsonist's head cut him off, permanently. And right in full view of the citizens, who gasped and screamed in horror at the sight before them, with even one of them throwing out their lunch.

Lapping up the blood and chunks of flesh from his teeth, and throwing the body to the asphalt, Venom grinned in satisfaction. "Crispy."

"DON'T MOVE!" Turning around, he looked down to see a young cop, a rookie by the looks of him, shakily aiming his gun at the Lethal Protector, trying to put up a brave face.

"Really? I stomp this bug's lights out and this is the thanks I get?" Venom muttered, more annoyed than insulted. Wasn't the first time he was hounded by cops, probably won't be the last now that he's out of San Francisco.

"I SAID DON'T MOVE!" The rookie's words fell on deaf ears as the Lethal Protector took a mighty leap towards a building, climbing to the roof as the cop blindly shot at him, only managing to shoot the building, making more civilians run from the scene.

"Hold your fire, dammit!" Thankfully, his fellow officer was sensible enough to call him off as Venom disappeared to the rooftop. Before anymore action could be taken, he stopped dead at the gory scene on the street.

Firefly, or what was left of him, lay there, motionless, blood leaking from the fresh stump on his neck, his cracked helmet a few feet away from his corpse. There was bound to be death in a city like Gotham, be it of a civilian, cop, junkie, or prostitute. A major super-criminal? It was doubtful that something like this would happen, but it did anyway, and it showed.

"Jesus…" he whispered, trying to hold in whatever lunch he had earlier before reaching for his radio. "All units. Venom is headed East of Gotham downtown. One casualty." He took a moment to take a deep breath at the bombshell he was about to drop.

"Firefly's dead."

From a clear distance on a high building, Eddie watched the choppers fly overhead to the scene where the fight with Firefly went down. Speaking of Firefly, since he was one of the most prominent members of Batman's list of bad guys, his untimely demise might send a bigger message to the rest of Gotham's scum… more importantly, Black Mask. Maybe find another challenge with the next assassin that comes to collect the bounty on Venom.

More importantly, this was their first Gotham baddie that they had faced and taken down, meaning…

"One down." he muttered.

'And a shit-ton more to go.' Venom finished.

A/N: We finally got to see Venom's first fight with a major Gotham baddie. And Firefly is the first one to go! And only a handful of escaped Arkham inmates remain. Eddie and Venom have now learned of the bounty on the latter's head, and eagerly await for the next assassin to strike while taking on the criminal element.

On another note, you may have noticed that Bladewolf101's Spawn / Justice League crossover, Spawn: Unchained Justice, contains scenes taken straight from this story, but altered significantly with his Spawn OC as the lead. But the truth is I'm actually allowing this, and I'm also proofreading most of his chapters in order to not make them identical. With this new chapter, I'm sure he'll update his story soon after.

Anyway, with Spring Break coming up, I might have time to get to work on the next chapter.

As always, leave a review and stay tuned!