Sorry this took, so long, but here is chapter two of The Venom Captor. I hope the wait was worth it. Enjoy.
Before the day was done, Peter found himself on a plane headed to Japan early in the evening. To his surprise, he had managed to get a bit of funding from Mr Jameson at the Bugle. Not that he needed it, as Dr Connors had already covered his travel expenses. Peter, however needed to make some extra webbing. He had been forced to leave his webbing at home, out of fear it might cause attention at the airport, but he planned to make some more, as soon as he could, and would use the extra money to buy the materials. Mr Jameson had given Peter travel money, as he was convinced this was another opportunity to bring down Spider-man.
Earlier that day
After finishing his conversation with Dr Connors Peter headed over to the Daily Bugle, to let his boss know he would be out of the country for a few days. This meant he might not be able to provide Spider-Man pictures for a while. He quickly made his way to Mr Jameson's office, but decided to ask Betty Brant if it was safe to enter.
"Excuse me Betty," called Peter.
"Oh, good morning Peter," said Betty looking up from her desk.
"Listen, is Mr Jameson busy? I need to let him know I'll be out of town for a few days," stated Peter seriously.
"No, he's available, but be careful, he's not happy about the attention Japan is getting because of the Symbiote's escape," answered Betty just as seriously.
"I figured as much," stated Peter, before heading into Jameson's office and receiving the constant angry attitude, he had become accustom to.
"Parker, its about time you got here. Listen, I need all the pictures you have of that web slinging menace. Hopefully I can get the publics attention back on us, by letting them see all the new crimes Spider-Man is committing," shouted Jameson angrily.
"Actually Mr Jameson, I just came in to let you know that I'll be out of town for the next few days as I need to," started Peter before being cut off.
"Out of town for the next few days? That's unacceptable. Parker you're fired," shouted Jameson again.
"But sir it concerns," started Peter before being cut off again.
"Alright you're not fired, unfortunately you're the only person who can get a decent photo of that menace and he brings in the most sales, but I'm only paying you half for his next photo," shouted Jameson.
"I understand sir, but here's the thing, I'm going to Japan, because Dr Conner's has asked me to provide any information and assistance I can regarding the Symbiote!" explained Peter.
To Peter's surprise, Jameson didn't appear overly angry, instead he seemed lost in thought, as to how this could benefit both him and the Bugle. After a minute of thinking he spoke.
"Normally I'd fire you for this, as you'll be helping Japan get even more media attention, but considering the Symbiote is loose in Japan, I have no doubt Spider-Man will be heading over there, to help it cause even more destruction. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Spider-Man was the one who ensured it got free in the first place," stated Jameson sounding very sure of himself.
"Mr Jameson, I highly doubt Spider-Man would do anything to help the Symbiote," argued Peter.
"Parker we've been over this. You take the photos, I write the headlines," shouted Jameson.
"Yes sir," said Peter, knowing there was no point arguing.
"Good, now get out of here and make sure you get photo's before anyone else can, I'll even put money towards the trip," said Jameson pulling out his check book, writing down an amount and handing it to Peter, "That should be enough for an economy class flight and a cheap hotel."
"Well actually sir my," started Peter trying to explain his travel expenses had been covered, but he was cut off yet again.
"No, you're not getting anymore than that. It's more than enough. Now get out of here before I change my mind," said Jameson getting impatient.
Peter decided not to argue and left without another word.
Back on the plane
Peter sat impatiently, wanting to get to Tomoeda as soon as possible, to ensure he prevented the Symbiote from causing any damage. Unfortunately, his flight would take at least ten hours to reach its destination, and a lot could happen in that time. All he could do, was sit and hope nothing happened until he got there. Peter had a feeling, that by making his presence as Spider-Man known in Japan, he could make the Symbiote come to him. Peter was aware of the risks, but he knew it was his duty as Spider-Man to protect the innocent. Little did Peter know, he would arrive to late to stop Symbiote from combining with its next chosen host.
In Tomoeda
Sakura Kinamoto was enjoying her morning, completely unaware of the dangers that were about to befall her. She had heard the news report regarding the alien symbiote, but she did not think much of it, as she was unfamiliar with it. She was however made aware by both the news report and her father, that it was best to remain a little more cautious. Despite this, she had had a fairly carefree day, spending most of her time with her best friend Tomoyo, and Meiling and Shyaoran, her friends visiting from China. They had discussed the news about the Symbiote, but more all less put it out of their minds as they did not think it would be much of a threat to them. Not only that, Meiling and Shyaoran had decided to remain in Japan for another week and they all wanted to enjoy their stay as much as possible.
Sakura herself was being unusually carefree, because after dealing with the Nothing Card, she felt she was ready to take on anything. Little did she know, her greatest challenge was yet to come. The Symbiote had already tracked her down and was waiting for the ideal moment to take control of her. Unfortunately for Sakura, that moment would come later that evening. After spending a peaceful day with her friends, she had decided to do some of her summer homework. Normally she left it to the last minute, but Tomoyo had convinced her to try and get a little done every day, to hopefully make her last day of summer less stressful. She sat in her room with Kero, one of the guardians of the Clow Cards. Both of them were unaware the Symbiote was waiting outside, because unfortunately they were unable to sense it. It was then, that Kero made the worst decision he possibly could.
"Sakura, your dads out tonight and I'm fairly certain your brothers in his room, can I sneak down to the kitchen and get some snacks?" asked Kero feeling a little hungry.
"Sure, but if you hear Toya coming, make sure you hide," stated Sakura looking up from her book.
"Yeah, yeah I know," answered Kero flying out of the room.
After Kero had left, the Symbiote knew it was now or ever. Sakura went back to her homework as the Symbiote began making its move. The Symbiote made its way through the window, which was conveniently opened and started lowering itself on to Sakura's floor, landing with a small splat. Although the sound it made was faint, it was enough to grab Sakura's attention. She turned to face her bedroom window. Too Sakura, all she saw was some strange black goo that was dripping through her window. She had no idea it was the alien symbiote, that had once bonded with Spider-Man. She got up from her desk and made her way to her bedroom window.
"Huh, what's this?" asked Sakura curiously, thinking that it looked a little gross, but was none the less curious.
Sakura reached out to try and gain a better idea of what it was, but without warning the Symbiote attached itself to her arm. Completely startled, Sakura tried to pull it off with her free arm, but that just made things worse, as the Symbiote attached itself to her other arm. Completely helpless, Sakura found herself being covered by the black goo, as the Symbiote made her its new host. Understandably, she started screaming, catching the attention of both Kero and her brother Toya. There was a brief moment, where after Sakura had been taken over by the Symbiote, she let out a horrifying screech, signifying that Sakura and the Symbiote had become one.
Kero rushed back upstairs to see what was wrong, as Toya rushed from his room to do the same. Toya managed to get their first, requiring Kero to stay out of site. When Toya opened the door to Sakura's room, he did not see anything out of the ordinary. Sakura was standing there, looking exactly as she did when he had last seen her. It was as if nothing had even happened.
"Sakura what's wrong, did something happen?" asked Toya concerned.
"No nothings wrong, I'm fine," answered Sakura smiling.
"Well, why were you screaming then?" asked Toya sounding just as concerned as before.
"Oh, I thought I saw a snake, but It was just my imagination," lied Sakura, coming up with the first excuse she could think.
Toya knew that something was not right. Even though he had given his magical powers to Yue quite some time ago, he could still tell that something was off about Sakura. It was not like when he ran into the mirror card imitating Sakura, where he was able to immediately tell that she was not his sister. Toya knew without a doubt, that the person in front of him was Sakura, but he also had no doubt that something was wrong with her. For the moment however, he knew there was nothing he could do, so he decided to just back away and let Yukito know, there was something his alternate self Yue needed to deal with.
"Ok well, if you need anything, just let me know," stated Toya before closing the door behind him.
With the coast clear, Kero decided to head back into Sakura's room, to see if he could figure out what happened. Like Toya, Kero could tell that something was off about Sakura, however Kero could also tell, there was something wrong with Sakura's magical aura. It seemed corrupted somehow. Sakura however was acting as if nothing had happened.
"Hey Kero, did you get your snacks?" asked Sakura cheerfully.
"Um no, as soon as I heard you screaming, I came rushing back upstairs," answered Kero, feeling a little cautious.
"Well, as I said to Toya, I'm fine, I just saw something that gave me a fright," lied Sakura, "So, feel free to go back down stairs."
"No, its ok, I'm good," said Kero, feeling that it was best he keep an eye on Sakura, as she was clearly hiding something.
"Suit yourself," said Sakura, who went back to her homework.
For the rest of the evening, Kero remained in Sakura's room, becoming more and more convinced that something was wrong with her. Eventually, Sakura went to bed, as did Kero. Unknown to Kero however, Sakura was not asleep, she had been lying awake this whole time, waiting for Kero to fall asleep. After about half an hour, Sakura felt it was safe to get up, believing Kero to be asleep. She walked over to her desk, and opened the book containing the magical Sakura Cards, once known as the Clow Cards.
"So, these really are the source of this girl's power? With these, I may finally be able to take down Spider-Man," thought the Symbiote to itself.
The Symbiote continued to flick through the cards, gaining more and more confidence, regarding the next time it would face Spider-Man. However, there was one card that made it stop dead, The Firey. By accessing Sakura's memories, it could immediately tell what this card did. It created fire. Fearing the danger, the card bought to it, the Symbiote made Sakura throw it to the side. With Fire being one of the Symbiote's main weaknesses, it knew this card would cause more damage to itself then Spider-Man. Looking at the rest though, the Symbiote grew more and more confident, that it now had the power to defeat Spider-Man, for good.
Without another thought, the Symbiote willed Sakura's body to take the book, Sakura's magic key and leave her house. The Symbiote willed Sakura to walk, until they found themselves in an empty park, with no one in sight. By accessing Sakura's memories, the Symbiote knew all too well how the cards worked.
"Release," said the Symbiote, as the key turned into Sakura's staff.
Using Sakura's magic, the Symbiote made the remaining cards surround it. It could hear the cards speaking. It was then, that the Symbiote realised, the cards were alive. It also realised, that the cards would only obey their master. In this case Sakura, so to ensure there was no disobedience, the Symbiote decided to make the cards its own. Using its own symbiotic abilities, the Symbiote engulfed Sakura's staff, causing it to turn completely black. Now having complete control of the staff, the Symbiote used its new abilities to bring the cards back, and once again used symbiosis to take control of the cards. The once pink Sakura Cards were now black and looked a lot eviller then before. The Symbiote now felt completely connected to the cards. They were 100% under its control.
"I was once known as the Card Captor, but now, we are the Venom Captor," said the Venom Captor, who covered herself in the iconic black suit and let out a horrifying screech.
"Fly," yelled the Venom captor, who used the fly card to grow large black bat wings and flew off into the night, ready to test out her new powers.
Unknown to the Venom Captor, Kero had been watching this whole time from the distance. Kero was now certain, that something evil had taken a hold of Sakura. Meanwhile, Peter Parker was landing in the nearby city of Tokyo, unaware that he had arrived to late to stop the Symbiote from finding a new host. Peter was even more unaware, that his visit to Japan would prove to be one of his greatest challenges.
Thanks for reading, I hope it was enjoyable and please let me know what you think. Thanks again.