Centennial Park, Metropolis
"So, what made you and Eddie come to Metropolis?" Zatanna asked as she and Anne were seated on a bench.
"Me and Eddie wanted to kick our careers into high gear and go international." Anne said. "We worked as a sort of investigative group; he does the investigation and I do the filing for the clients."
"Maybe you should be called the Dynamic Duo." Zatanna said, earning a chuckle from Anne.
"More like a trio." Anne spoke up, earning a raised eyebrow from Zatanna. "Our jobs have gotten easier since Venom came into our lives."
"Venom?" Zatanna asked in a surprised tone. "You mean the guy from San Francisco who's popped up in Gotham a week ago?"
"Yeah, me and Eddie bumped into him a few times and he helped out on some cases." Anne said, though the story was half true in a sense. "We bust a few criminals, he takes out the rest."
"Take out? As in killing them?" Zatanna asked, a bit shocked at this. "What if people get caught in the crossfire?"
"He'll take responsibility." Anne said firmly before turning her attention to the golden Superman statue in the center of the park. "I don't mean to insult your friends, but Venom told us that not once did the League stick around to pay their respects to the families of those killed. Venom has, and he has brought criminals to justice, especially child murderers."
Zatanna stood silent; never had she heard people talk about the Justice League the way Anne did, and now she was starting to have second thoughts about the way they operate.
"Still, he's not out to kill every criminal he sees. Murderers, rapists, and terrorists get the death sentence, while thieves and other small offenders only get a warning or a cell, but if they're turning to crime to help their families, then we toss them back into society with a clean mind." Anne continued. "And he's not just stopping crime, he's doing the kinds of things Superman's normally doing: foiling robberies, stopping runaway vehicles, even saving a cat from a tree!"
"Venom sounds like a different person from that story." Zatanna commented. "I don't see why the League misjudges him, he sounds like a good guy."
"Their pride and ego never let them see the good Venom has done for the people." Anne stated as she glared at the statue even further. "They never even have time for the people's needs or even hear their opinions about Venom. What the people do know is that Venom is giving them something to truly believe in. To make sure they no longer have to be afraid of going out alone since he's going the extra mile to keep them safe."
Zatanna looked at the ground as she thought about what Anne had said. "When you put it altogether like that, I think I understand why people keep expecting more from us."
"Glad you understand, Zee." Anne replied when her phone went off, and she saw who was contacting her.
"Oh, it's Sean." she said before answering. "Hello?"
Her smile faded.
"Whoa, slow down. What is it?" she asked, then a look of shock formed on her face. "Oh, God. We'll be right there!"
"What's the matter?" Zatanna asked concerned as Anne hung up before turning to her.
"I think your friends decided to pay Eddie a visit."
Eddie's Mansion
"And that's how I ended up having an alien bonded to my system." Eddie concluded as he took another bite out of a chocolate bar. "Not gonna lie, but it's still not a lot of fun when you're out having your bones broken and then fixed or having to tear apart psychopaths, even if they deserve it."
To put it short, what the League had learned from him was that he got fired for jumping to conclusions by questioning Carlton Drake about the Life Foundation's shady activities, struggled to find a job for six months, found out his suspicions of the company conducting illegal experimentations were true through one of the scientists, the symbiote bonding with him when he broke in gathering evidence, being on the run from the Life Foundation for a while, engaging in a fight with Drake and his symbiote, which was named Riot, destroying the rocket with them inside, and then getting his job back while fighting crime as Venom, albeit in a brutal and gory fashion.
"We want to speak to Venom." Superman demanded with crossed arms. "I think it's time we get answers."
"Better hope he's in a good mood right now." Eddie warned before the tendril with Venom's face extended from his shoulder.
"What do you want now?" Venom snarled with distaste.
"Why are you hijacking Brock's body?" Green Lantern asked. "You'll wear him out someday if you keep this up."
"I'm not hijacking anyone." Venom said in an offended tone. "Eddie agreed to let me stay. In fact, we've learned so much about you. Honestly… we're disappointed."
"What makes you say that?" Black Canary asked sternly.
"He told us there were good people in this world that needed saving, and there are bad people that should have been put down a long time ago." Venom explained. "People want you to get with the times and do what must be done already, but you don't always seem to listen."
"Is that what this is about?" Hawkgirl asked incredulously. "Just to prove that we're not doing enough? Is that why you hate us?"
"You'll have to ask Eddie for more on that info, Pretty Bird. See ya." Venom taunted before retracting back into his host, who gave a smirk that spelled confidence.
"Got anymore questions for us?" Eddie asked.
"Listen, Eddie," said Black Canary as she tried changing tactics, "You're supposed to be a reporter, not a killer."
"Is that what you ask people that do anti-hero stuff all the time?" Eddie asked dryly. "I mean, why else would you let Wonder Woman keep the sword? To make her look more attractive to you guys? Gimme a break!"
"Enough." Batman growled, wanting to get straight to the point already. "We need you to cooperate on this or-"
"Or what, rich boy? You gonna file a lawsuit against me with your cash?" Eddie interrupted, shocking the rest of the League, while Batman remained stoic.
"How did you find out?"
"Let's just say, we had help from a reliable source." Eddie said with a smirk. "But in all honesty it wasn't that hard to figure out. You disappeared for a long time with no one hearing from you and when you came back to Gotham, Batman shows up. Sure that can be written off as a coincidence but then you have to ask yourself, 'How does Batman afford all of his gadgets?' That's when it hits you: either he's rich or someone who's rich is funding him. There's not that many rich people in Gotham that are willing to waste their money and even fewer that have access to everything you have. Even as Bruce Wayne, your training shows whenever you come into a room and you look around, not because you're curious, but because you're looking for threats and escape routes. You try to hide it well but your training as a ninja is too great for you to completely conceal."
"Moving on, if you're letting the symbiote stay with you, then you know what you've been doing is wrong." said Batman.
"Is it really, Batshit?" asked Eddie, unfazed.
"Yes, a life for a life won't make anything right." said Batman.
"You know I find that funny coming from you." Eddie countered.
"And why is that?" Batman challenged.
"Simple: you lost both your parents right in front of you as a kid and it was the first time you really saw the darker side of the world, of Gotham. That can be very traumatizing for a child. Once you were older, you trained with Ra's al Ghul and the League of Shadows in combat, knowing full well that they expected you to become a full member of their little club. But when your final test came, killing a man that killed his neighbor just so he could have his land, you held back. That even though the guy was a criminal he didn't deserve death and that it was your job to be better than the criminals that you'd be facing." said Eddie.
"I don't know how you knew all of that, but I stand by my decision that day." said Batman calmly. On the inside though he was greatly unnerved by how much Eddie knew about him.
"I'm not saying you chose wrong, that guy could change and didn't deserve to die. Anyway after you got away from the League of Shadows you returned to Gotham to clean up the city by using what scared you most to scare the scum infesting it. You dressed yourself as a bat to fight crime and your plan worked… for awhile." said Eddie.
"Awhile?" asked Batman. The rest of the League were curious too as they were sure Batman was stopping crime in Gotham City.
'Now they're catching on!' Venom hissed in delight. 'Keep going.'
"You're a barking dog with no real bite, the criminals of Gotham were afraid of you at first because you were new and they never dealt with someone like you before. Now they know that nothing really bad will happen to them with you involved. A bruise here and there, yeah, but they're more likely to be killed by a cop in a shootout than you doing anything permanent to them. The criminals in Gotham have changed over the years, but your methods haven't; Joker, Penguin, Scarecrow, and Zsasz pretty much do what they want in your city with the only consequence they have being a month at the most in jail or Arkham." said Eddie before pausing to see what Batman or any member of the League would say.
"It's not my place to decide who lives and who dies just as it isn't your place. Killing makes us no better than the ones we try to stop from killing." said Batman with few of the League agreeing with him, minus Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Green Arrow, who were still taking in what Eddie had said earlier.
'How many times must they make that excuse?!' Venom growled in frustration from the same speech being given over again. 'Try to bend it a little.'
"So in your opinion the cops that had to kill to protect themselves and the public are no better than the people they've killed, that they should be arrested for the lives they've taken while on duty?" asked Eddie.
"That's not what I'm saying at all." said Batman.
"Oh, but it is. You see the world as black and white through your eyes, Batshit, and that's a dangerous way to see it. Let me tell you why you fail as a hero: you try to save everyone without realizing who can't be saved. You can't save everyone Bruce, there are those that just need to die." said Eddie.
"I haven't failed anyone." Batman snarled, feeling his anger rising. "And no one needs to die."
"Tell us Bruce, how tall will the mountain of bodies keep growing before you do what's necessary? How much more vast must the sea of blood that Gotham's drowning in become before you wake up to reality?" asked Eddie. "We can see it in you. You didn't become a hero to stop crime, you became a hero to save someone. Who are you trying to save, Bruce? Who do you really see when you refuse to kill the monsters running around in Gotham?"
"I do this for the people of Gotham." said Batman through gritted teeth.
"That's where you're wrong. You're trying to save someone, but who? It's not yourself since you've already given up on that." said Eddie.
"What? What do you mean?" asked Batman.
"Oh come on, Bruce, look at the way you live your life. You're Bruce Wayne, the Billionaire Playboy. You never have a relationship that lasts longer than a day, you have no true friends to speak of, and you never take anything seriously, to the point that while you own Wayne Enterprises, you don't run it. Look at your superhero life, you're paranoid of everyone, you have partners yet they barely know anything about your personal life, and you have everyone in Gotham's electronic devices tapped so that you know their location and what conversations they're having. And finally look at your love life, you push away every girl that tries to come near you on an emotional level. Catwoman, Huntress, Black Canary, Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and so many other hot chicks all just throwing pussy at you and you reject all of it. Preferring to run around with other guys in tights and chasing after the Joker all the time." said Eddie, with a smirk ever so present.
'Burn.' Venom hissed with glee.
Batman gritted his teeth at all this information about him being told to everyone, Supergirl put her hand over her mouth in shock and surprise, Wonder Woman and Black Canary blushed at their pasts with Batman being brought up, and Flash moved away from Batman when he realized what Eddie was implying and really couldn't argue with his point. Green Arrow snickered at the insult directed at his teammates. Green Lantern and Superman didn't react.
'His loss is our gain.' Venom chuckled. 'Wonder how Zee will react to her ex beating on her other ex after this.'
"How do you know all of this?" asked Batman.
"You're not afraid of bats anymore, but you're still afraid of something, and it's yourself." said Eddie, ignoring Batman's question. "Despite everything you've done, you're still that scared little boy in the alley next to your dead parents. You refuse to kill because you're afraid that you'll never be able to stop, you're afraid that deep down you're no different from the Joker. Wanna know the best part? That by letting him live to kill more, you've already sunk to his level."
That was the last straw for Batman as he quickly got up and pushed Eddie against the wall and held him off the ground. "You don't know anything!" he snarled.
"That's why you never kill the Joker or let anyone else kill him." Eddie said while keeping his cool, while the symbiote inside him was getting more hostile the more aggressive their interrogator got. "When you see the Joker you see yourself, you see your other half. The Joker doesn't care if he kills a man, woman, or child and you still believe he can be saved. I wonder just how many more people Joker's killed since you stopped people like Red Hood from killing him, how many more lives he's ruined or is planning to and yet here you are questioning us. Not to mention… is this all a game to you?"
"What was that?" Batman asked dangerously.
"Take the clown for example. How many times has he broken out already? Three times, four times? Is this all a game to you? Catching the bad guys, them escaping, killing a few hundred innocents and then you catching them again?"
"Where are you going with this?" Superman asked.
"Tell us something: is the life of a rabid animal like the Joker more important than the lives of a few hundred innocents?"
"ANSWER US!" he shouted after a few moments of silence, Venom's distorted voice briefly taking over and causing the League to jolt in surprise.
"No." Batman said eventually.
"Then why in God's name is he still alive?"
The majority of the League didn't answer. Batman stood out the most, for he heard those same words from Jason when he was given the choice to save the clown from death or leave him to his fate.
"That's one of the things you enjoy about being a hero, don't you? But in order to be a hero, there's always gotta be a bad guy, right? For you, the mighty 'Justice League' to play your game, a number of enemies is needed. That's the reason why you don't intend to clean up the filth that infects Gotham or any other city on Earth."
"You, the Batman, need the Joker. He completes you."
When Eddie spoke those last words, Batman finally had enough. He pulled his fist back and sent it at Eddie's face but was stopped when Diana grabbed his wrist, catching him by surprise and shocking him.
"That's enough!" the Amazonian princess yelled angrily. "Let him go!"
"Yeah, listen to your ex, rich boy." Eddie taunted. "That attitude might cost you your marriage one day, if you even get married. By the way, did we mention we kissed two of your exes already?"
Batman let out an enraged growl before dropping Eddie to the floor, while Diana stood there with an open jaw, shocked and embarrassed that Eddie gave away their secret conversation and the fact that this was not a good time.
"No matter what you say, no matter what comes out of your mouth might be true, you're just another criminal." Batman growled.
"Regardless of what you think it is, you've murdered people, Eddie." Superman added. "So you'll be coming with us to face charges."
"Really?" Eddie asked in a tone of mock surprise. "What charges are we talking about?"
"Enough with the games already!" Green Lantern barked. "You killed a detective. Head twisted with a cigarette lodged in his right eye."
"He had blood on his hands." the reporter protested.
"A teacher!" Hawkgirl added. "Authorities found his body dismembered in a dumpster behind the school he worked at."
"Pedophile!" Eddie growled. "Besides, we gave the police enough evidence. Don't believe us? Go see it yourselves, unless you're… chicken."
Hawkgirl looked like she was about to smash the reporter's head in with her mace, but a deep glare from Diana that rivaled Batman's ordered her to stand down.
"We'll tell you one last time." the Dark Knight growled. "You don't get to decide who deserves to die."
Eddie slowly stood up as a smirk slowly formed on his lips.
"You're right. I'm not the one who decides." he said calmly before the black ooze exploded out of his body and covered him whole and bulked him up as the jagged eyes and gaping maw formed last, towering over the League.
"WE ARE!" Venom shouted.
Green Lantern fired a beam at Venom with his ring only for the beam to blocked by a tendril that engulfed his hand. The next thing he knew he was hunched over as Venom lunged at him and kneed him in the stomach before round-housing him in the head. Venom then ducked under Hawkgirl's mace as she swung at him and then swept her legs from under her before dropping his elbow on her throat.
Black Canary opened her mouth to unleash her Canary Cry, only for it to be covered by a tendril that hoisted her into the air and slammed her into the ceiling.
The Flash came at him at top speed by punching him. To Venom, it was just an average massage.
Venom shot a tendril from his hand and wrapped it around around Flash's legs before tugging it, causing the Scarlet Speedster to fall flat on his face.
Wonder Woman and Supergirl would've helped, but two tendrils from Venom's body refrained them and pushed them out of the living room harmlessly.
Turning around, he saw Green Arrow taking his bow out and spinning an arrow with his fingers.
"As much as I like to agree with your opinions, I don't think I have a choice, big guy." Arrow said apologetically before firing the arrow at Venom, which exploded and filled the entire room with smoke, causing Arrow to lose sight of his opponent.
"Maybe I should've packed some ice arrows." he muttered, when he was suddenly pulled into the smoke with a yelp, and the sounds of punching and kicking could be heard before he was thrown out of the smoke, looking all battered before Venom jumped out right in front of Martian Manhunter.
"Tell us, Marvin. Can you read our mind?" Venom asked, and J'onn's eyes glow red as he slowly got into Venom's mind, only to let out a gasp before collapsing to his knees, leaving him open for Venom to grab him by the neck and then throw him across the room.
'Mind-fuck at its finest.' Eddie quipped subconsciously before Superman got in front of Venom.
"You're not going anywhere except prison." Superman said.
"Great idea. Put us in prison with all the other inmates that we can eat." Venom said sarcastically. "Come on, Boy Scout. Just save yourself from further embarrassment."
Before he could react, Superman tackled him onto the ground before punching him in the face repeatedly until Venom caught his fist, surprising the Kryptonian to see that someone has equal strength to his.
"Oh, we're doing cheap shots now." Venom said gleefully.
He gave Superman a right hook in the face and pushed him off. He grabbed him by the cape and spun him around before throwing him into a wall.
"Too easy." Venom scoffed.
He was about to walk away when Batman stood in front of him with narrowed eyes, causing Venom to hiss distastefully.
"You think a simple stare is gonna make us surrender?" Venom mocked. "How about you try something more original?"
Batman responded by throwing a batarang at him, which Venom dodged by tilting his head in a swift motion. With a mighty roar, Venom charged at Batman, only for the Dark Knight to move out of the way and engage him. Punch after punch, Venom blocked every single one of them before catching his fist and then kicking him in the chest, sending him flying straight into a wall, making him grunt in pain before Venom grabbed him by the cape.
"Let's take this outside!" the Lethal Protector shouted before hurling the Dark Knight out the window and onto the front yard as he leapt after him.
Batman rolled out of the way, and Venom slammed into the ground, making a small crater. He snarled in annoyance and got into a battle stance.
Venom charged at Batman, only for the Dark Knight to throw several pellets at Venom's feet, which instantly encased the Lethal Protector's lower body in ice. The Caped Crusader then threw several batarangs at Venom.
In response to this, Venom held his left arm out as it transformed into a shield, which blocked the projectiles. Retracting the shield, multiple tentacles sprouted from his back and headed straight for Batman, who quickly backflipped out of the way of the attacks, though he was unable to dodge two more that struck him directly in the face and in the chest, which sent him falling to the ground.
Venom used this distraction to smash out of the ice and withdrew his tentacles before jumping on top of the Caped Crusader.
Grabbing him by the ankle, Venom began slamming Batman to the ground several times before throwing him down and then stomping on his chest.
Venom panted, knowing the Dark Knight had enough pummeling, and the Lethal Protector himself had enough with his attitude, grabbing him by the neck and hoisting him into the air.
"You've overstayed your welcome." he hissed before raising his clawed hand up, almost resisting the urge to finish off the pain in his and his host's ass.
'NO! We don't kill superheroes!' Eddie shouted subconsciously. 'Even if they're assholes!'
That was when a loud, ear-splitting shriek from behind Venom forced him to drop Batman as he held onto his head, roaring in absolute pain at the frequency of the sound as tendrils shot out of his body and started whipping around erratically.
Black Canary had long since recovered and was now unleashing her famous Canary Cry on Venom, though she looked surprised at the effect it was having on the Lethal Protector.
The rest of the League looked on in equal shock as they have found a weakness for Venom.
"Keep going!" Batman shouted.
Black Canary continued her loud assault on Venom, who continued to spasm until the symbiote began to slowly writhe away, and Eddie's screaming face could be seen peeking from inside.
They just needed to keep this up until-
"POTS!"
To their surprise, Black Canary ceased her assault, allowing Venom to recover as he retracted back inside of Eddie, who panted heavily in exhaustion.
"Zatanna?" Batman asked in shock as he saw his ex, Anne, and, to their frustration, Global Tech security forces standing in front of the mansion.
"Get away from him!" Zatanna shouted.
"Zatanna, you don't understand what's happening!" Black Canary shouted, only to be silenced by a few soldiers aiming their guns at her and her teammates.
"What's happening is you're hurting him!" the magician shot back. "You're using fists instead of words to take him peacefully. Well, he's not going anywhere."
The League couldn't believe this; one of their own was defending a murderous vigilante and had sided with the very people that supported him as well.
"Step away from Mr. Brock immediately!" the commander of security shouted at the League, who slowly, but eventually, distanced themselves from Eddie, who stumbled towards his friends, while Sean stepped in front of them.
"You're relentless I'll give you that." he said. "But barging into my friend's home and assaulting him is low, even for you."
"For your information, your friend just so happens to be a murderer." Batman said, eyeing for escape routes.
The only response they got was a blank stare from the young CEO.
"You think I haven't noticed?" Sean asked dryly, shocking the majority of the League. "You want to arrest him when all he's ever done is help people?"
"You mean by killing them?" Superman questioned. "You and your company are helping a criminal!"
"You're one to talk. After all, you always save your enemies from death when you could have gotten away with your hands clean, and you do nothing while innocent people die every single day because of it. So, I'm gonna have to ask you nicely to leave peacefully." Sean said as his men aimed their weapons at the League, only for Batman to throw down smoke pellets that covered the area around them so no one could see them leave.
"Dammit." One of the men said annoyed.
"Remind me to file a restraining order." Anne muttered before turning to Eddie, who was slowly recovering. "Eddie, are you alright?"
"We're fine." Eddie said. "Ears are still ringing. Probably should've brought some ear plugs."
'I change my mind. Do not mate with that singer.' Venom hissed.
"Eddie?" the two froze as they saw Zatanna standing behind them with a look of shock. "What's going on?"
'Busted.' Venom blurted out, and Eddie sighed in defeat.
"Alright, let's just get inside and we'll tell you everything."
The Watchtower
"I can't believe she'd turn on us." the Flash said, bummed out that Zatanna had helped Venom avoid capture.
"I can't believe it either." Manhunter said in the same dejected voice. "But we provoked someone considered close to her without knowing it first."
"At least we were able to find Venom's weakness." said Batman as he and the rest of the League finally recovered from their little fight with Venom. Well, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl recovered since Wonder Woman and Supergirl weren't harmed at all.
"Then we need to come up with a proper strategy before Venom strikes again." Green Lantern suggested.
"I wouldn't advise it. Do you really want a multi-billion dollar corporation sic the entire government on you?" asked Black Canary.
"NO!" Flash protested, not even wanting to deal with the government again.
"Why did he only restrain you two?" J'onn asked Supergirl and Wonder Woman.
"Neither of us provoked him, so he wanted us out of the way rather than actually harm us." said Wonder Woman.
"Still, it was our fault." Supergirl added. "We kept pushing Eddie in the wrong direction. And he snapped."
"For that matter, Diana, can you explain what Eddie said about you?" Superman asked suspiciously as the League had their eyes on the Amazon warrior, who sighed, knowing there was no way out of this.
"Well, we met the morning after you sent us to find Venom, and we talked about you guys, apparently." she explained.
"Don't tell me!" Superman said in disbelief.
"He told me why Venom, better yet, why they acted the way they did around you." she said firmly. "They're doing their best to keep people safe without asking for anything in return."
"That still doesn't excuse him from killing people." Batman growled.
"And that doesn't excuse you from attacking him!" Diana barked back. "As Supergirl said, we kept pushing him too far until you forced his hand! All because you can't get over the fact that someone saved lives while we weren't around."
"Diana, you don't understand." Green Lantern spoke up.
"Oh, I understand that you all don't decide what people need." Wonder Woman cut him off. "Besides, I don't see anyone having a problem with him. He's done more good than we have, but you just don't seem to care, do you?"
The League stood shocked at her words; they knew Eddie had gotten to her head already like with Zatanna, and there was no way to put her to ease.
"You know what, I need some time off from this place." she said as she left the room before looking back one last time. "Eddie was right, he and everyone else expected more from you."
With that, Diana left the Watchtower, leaving the room in a frustrated silence.
"We need to keep a close eye on Venom." said Batman.
Arrow said with a hint of anger, "We're not helping you capture him. He had the right to snap at us, and so did Diana and Zatanna."
"I agree with Oliver, it would be best if we avoided Venom for the time being while we go over the information we've gathered." said Martian Manhunter.
"Besides, his girlfriend's a freaking lawyer, for crying out loud!" said Flash, not wanting things to escalate further after that little scene.
"It doesn't matter, he has to be stopped!" Superman growled.
"And who made you the one who can decide he needs to be?" Supergirl barked, glaring at her cousin, who had the decency to flinch, "You're not in charge of keeping the Earth safe and dictating what methods are acceptable! There's no one in the city that can or will prosecute him for what he's done now that Global Tech has him under their protection. You've always preached about acting within the law and that means you can't touch him until someone wants to and will arrest him. Anything else and you're no better than him: Just taking down someone you decide needs to be taken down regardless of the protocols and channels we normally have to go through." she finished making Superman grit his teeth and look away knowing she was right.
"For someone who claims not to be judge and jury, you guys sure do like taking the law in your own hands," Oliver added. He turned to the rest of the people on the table, "I vote we give him time to settle down. If he does something illegal, then we can act but until then, leave Eddie Brock alone. A show of hands for those who agree." A large majority raised their hands including Supergirl shocking those who hadn't raised their hands.
Batman merely turned around and said, "You're all making a big mistake, Venom is more dangerous than you think." He left the Watchtower without saying another word. An uneasy silence fell upon the rest of the League.
Eddie's Mansion, Living Room
"Why?" Zatanna whispered as she, Eddie and Anne sat on the sofa.
'Go ahead. Spill it.' Venom urged his host.
"We were trying to protect you and everyone else close to us. I know you may not agree with what we do, but you're our friend, and we'd do anything for you." Eddie answered. "It's not just you we're trying to keep safe, it's the people that need us too."
"But why turn to this?" the magician asked. "You should be making stories on these problems we're facing."
"It's not enough." Eddie said sternly. "Before your ex came along, I tried to get a piece on the crime and corruption leaking from Gotham, but mobs and dirty cops were infesting the place back then. Even when Batman came to fix things, nothing's changed. Psychopaths like the Joker kept running loose, more innocent people dying, you get where we're going."
"I don't know if I can work with this." Zatanna said as she looked to the floor.
"Zee… look at me." Eddie said, and the beautiful magician looked at the reporter to see the sincere expression on his face. "We promise, even though what we do is extreme, we won't leave you or push you away."
"How can you be sure?" Zatanna asked.
"You know how it goes: hero leaves love interest, love interest gets put in danger anyway, you know the rest." Eddie said, earning a giggle from both his girlfriends. "But we're not those kinds of heroes. We do whatever it takes to make sure no one will get hurt again."
Zatanna smiled, her trust coming back. "Thanks, Eddie. I gotta ask though, how were you able to guess Batman's real identity?"
"Oh, yeah, about that. While we were catching up yesterday, Sean told me he was able to hack into the Watchtower's computer systems from his space satellite and got enough data on our pals in tights." Eddie explained.
"You won't tell anyone, won't you?" Zatanna asked worriedly.
"I promised Diana I wouldn't, and the same would go for you." Eddie assured her, and she smiled in relief before she frowned again.
"The League probably listed me as rogue by now for siding with a killer." she said, looking down as she contemplated the consequences.
'Tell her to just quit already.' Venom urged his host in irritation. 'Problem solved.'
"Why don't you stay here with us?" Eddie suggested. "We'll protect you, like we said."
"If it means taking down the house, then we don't have that much of a choice." Zatanna said, causing Eddie to sigh in annoyance, seeing her point.
"I got a better idea." the three turned their attention to see Sean standing outside of the living room with a duffel bag. "You saw the heavy firepower my guys carried, so you'll be safe at Global."
"Really? Thanks!" Zatanna said as she hugged Sean briefly before letting go so he could walk over to Eddie.
"You all set?" he asked as he held out the bag before Eddie stood up and took it.
"Ready." Eddie confirmed.
"I'm coming with you. My van's right outside." Anne said as she stood up. "If the League lays another hand on you, I'll be sure to sue their tight-clad asses."
'I knew we always liked girls that fight ugly.' Venom commented, causing Eddie to roll his eyes.
"What are we standing around for? Gotham's waiting." Eddie said, and both he and Anne exited the mansion and entered the black van.
"Good luck." Sean said as he and Zatanna waved at their friends before they drove off towards Gotham.
I hope this chapter makes up for the last shorter chapter, and I hoped you enjoyed the bashing Eddie gave to Batman and the subsequent beatdown Venom delivered to the Justice League, not to mention that he and Sean were able to figure out his identity thanks to the latter's company, but the rest will have to wait.
In the next chapter, Eddie/Venom and Anne return to Gotham for more potential recruits for their team, while it seems that Zatanna has quit the Justice League and is given protection by Sean and his company. Meanwhile, the League is still determined to capture Venom even after all the facts and truths he gave them about their morals, while a few are hesitant to contain him, and Diana takes some time off from the team.
What do you wish to see happen next? Leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter as always. Peace out!