Disclaimer: I'm still astonished by the amount of reviews I've received throughout the trio of Spider-Man stories. Whoa, I check my ego at the door. I mean, I'm not that good. Am I? Nah!
For the record, I still do not, by God in Heaven, own Spider-Man. I'm gonna shut up now and let you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter XI
Dangerous Minds
It was a great relief for Mary Jane to have Liz stop by to keep her company at home. Aunt May stop by as well to offer advice. Granted, May never had children of her own, but she and Ben Parker had raised Peter like he was their own child. Mary Jane was sure to learn much. Liz, on the other hand, had been thrown off by the fact that Mary Jane was so far unable to break the news to Peter.
"I still can't believe you haven't told Peter." Liz said.
"It's not like I haven't been trying, Liz," MJ said in her own defense. "Peter's just been unusually busy, even for him."
Liz rolled her eyes. "Oh please, what could be more important that telling your husband about something like this," Liz stood up and, in her very best Mary Jane impression, said, "Hey guess what, Peter, I'm pregnant," Liz sat back down. "See, it can't be that hard."
"Oh yeah, Liz," Mary Jane said in sarcasm. "You make it sound so easy. I'd like to see you tell that to Flash when you get pregnant."
"Are you kidding," a flabbergasted Liz shouted. "Flash and I aren't even one month into our own marriage."
"All the same, I'd like to see the look on Flash's face when it happens." MJ retorted.
Aunt May chuckled at the bickering between the girls. "Liz, I'm very sure that Mary Jane will tell Peter eventually."
"Of course he's going to find out sooner or later when MJ gets a little, you know," Liz said and at the same, patted her stomach, "Worst case scenario, Peter might just jump out the window."
"You have no idea," MJ chuckled at that little unintended in-joke before a knock sounded from the door. "I'm going to tell Peter at some point before he finds out the hard way. At least things can't get any worse."
MJ stopped at the door and prepared to open when she stalled for a few moments. She thought about the last time she answered the door and remembered having Eddie Brock's hand around her throat. Then, she thought about Peter and his overall reaction to the eventual news of her pregnancy. Which was the worst of the two? MJ opened the door finally and the blood drained from her face upon seeing Eddie Brock standing right front of her.
"Where's Parker?" he said.
It was all Mary Jane could do to keep from screaming. "He's not here, now go away." Mary Jane went to close the door but Eddie stopped it halfway.
"I'm not leaving until I find Parker." Eddie said.
Mary Jane actually did know where Peter was at the moment, but there was no way on Earth that she'd tell Eddie Brock. Wait a minute! There was something very different about Eddie. He seemed much more focused and determined, not his usual sadistic demeanor. He wasn't attempting to suffocate Mary Jane like last time, and he wasn't grasping her throat. Maybe it was woman's intuition, but Mary Jane sensed that this wasn't the same Eddie Brock. It was at that point that aunt May came up to the door behind Mary Jane.
"Oh, hello Edward, how are you?" she said.
Eddie switched gears and produced a feigning smile. "Hello, May. I was actually looking for Peter. I don't suppose you know where I can find him."
"Well, I believe Peter is at the J3 Studio building." May answered.
Mary Jane shut her eyes in disbelief. Thanks a lot, May!
"Really? Thanks May," Eddie nodded. "I appreciate the assist. I better be on my way. I'd hate to keep Pete waiting."
Eddie left the apartment as quickly as he arrived. Aunt May returned into the apartment but Mary Jane followed Eddie. Eddie knew full well that Mary Jane was following him, so he led her outside the building. Mary Jane should've been very cautious. In fact, she was better served not go any further. But to her credit, Mary Jane went outside. That was where Eddie was waiting when MJ appear, but he didn't attack. He could have, but simply did not attack.
"It isn't very nice to be stalking people." Eddie said.
"You're one to talk, after you spent last Christmas making our lives miserable," Mary Jane in total defiance. "Why are you doing this to us, Brock?"
"Hey, I have nothing against you," Eddie said, almost sincere in a disturbing way. "It's your superhero husband I'm after. Listen, you're a smart girl, and beautiful too," Eddie started backing away. "It'd be in your best interest to stay out of my way. It'd be a real shame if something happened to that baby."
Cripes, MJ thought. Eddie knew about the baby. In sheer defiance, MJ stated, "Peter's beaten you before, Eddie, and he will do it again."
Mary Jane got her word out and started back into the apartment building, leaving Eddie alone in the cold. He brought his left hand to his face and examined it. The alien symbiote began to slowly but surely envelop Eddie's hand. Eddie shivered, not out of the feeling of cold air, but out of resentment for Peter Parker.
Balling his symbiote hand into a fist, Eddie mused, "We'll see about that."
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An evening jog through Prospect Park was just the thing that Heath Foster needed. At fifty-six years old, a senior citizen like him would no doubt benefit from it. Some of the people who lived in Heath's apartment questioned the reasoning for an evening jog. Heath came to a sudden stop when he heard moaning in the bushes. His initial impulse was that it was a young couple doing the deed, but then realized it sounded like a single person. Heath should've been smart enough to drop the issue, but curiosity reared its ugly head. He poked his head around to the other side of the bushes and found a man in a seated fetal position.
"Hey, you feeling okay down there, son?"
The man seemed to be shaking, and he didn't seem to hear the old man. Heath reached over a placed a hand on the man's shoulder. Then Heath was caught off guard by a blood red and black tendril. The man, revealed to be Cletus Kasady, had Heath by the throat as the symbiote enveloped his body. Heath was horrified at the sight of Carnage grinning at him and was lifted by his throat off the ground. Carnage went into a psychopathic cackling, before throwing the old man to the ground. No one person could hear the old man's screams for help as Carnage proceeded to rip him apart, piece by piece. Carnage finished as quickly as he'd begun and stood over the mutilated remains of his latest victim.
Feeling the need to answer the old man's previous question, Carnage, with a grin, said, "Never better!"
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"This is all Spider-Man's fault. Every single bit of chaos in this city is because of him."
J. Jonah Jameson was on one of his usual tirades at the J3 Communications Building. And as usual, he target was Spider-Man. Ashley Kafka wondered how any Bugle working under that man could stand his boasts. She wasn't the only one wondering. Jean DeWolff was there to get a statement from Jonah. A statement that translated into a tirade. She wondered how Spider-Man, AKA Peter Parker, could stand it at all.
"So, I'm guessing that's your overall statement, huh, Jameson?"
"I'm happy to throw in an opinion or two, especially about the incompetence of the police," Jameson snapped. "The fact is none of these so called super villains existed until the so called super hero showed up. Now, we've got two more freaks running around who can do exactly the same things Spider-Man can do."
"Mr. Jameson, you tend to address many of these individuals as freaks," Ashley stated. "This would include the likes of the Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus and Scorpion. But the fact that these may simply be human beings with some form of illness cannot be ignored."
"Illness," Jameson balked. "Don't sugarcoat it, Dr. Kafka. You make it sound as if they all have swine flu."
In the background, Peter was busy adjusting his camera while listening in on the conversation. For once, he had to agree with Jonah, which shocked him more than, well, Shocker. If only all the villains he'd battled were suffering from some sort of illness. Then again, the Green Goblin was insane and Doc Ock was delusional. Did they qualify? On the other hand, villains like Sandman, Shocker, and even the Hobgoblin were all motivated by personal means. So where did that leave Venom or Carnage? Peter pondered the question, so he didn't notice Ben Reilly coming up to him.
"Hey, Mr. Parker, you mind if I ask you question?"
"Oh, not at all," Peter said in the affirmative. "You can call me Peter, by the way."
Ben chuckled. "Right, sorry about that. You knew Eddie Brock at one point, right? What did he do to get fired from the Bugle?"
That was a question Peter knew the answer to all too well. "Well, Eddie kind of tried to sell a faked photograph of Spider-Man robbing a bank. I happen to notice the forgery and Eddie's held a grudge ever since."
"Wow, he must've been a helluva bad guy." Ben commented.
Peter looked at Ben and cocked eyebrow. "You have no idea."
"Confound it, DeWolff," Jonah bellowed, which obviously brought Peter and Ben back to reality. "Stop writing on you notepad and do something about those monsters."
"Oh sure, whatever you say, Jameson," Jean mockingly said. "I'll get on the horn and call up a group of mutants. Will that make you happy?"
"Don't get snippy with me, DeWolff," Jameson snapped. "I can have your job, you know."
"I'd like to see you try." Jean snapped back.
The banter between Jean and Jonah came to a sudden and violent end when the ceiling suddenly caved in. The impact threw pretty much everyone in the studio to the floor. Peter realized his spider-sense didn't go off, and that meant only one thing. Like an immense black cloud, Venom dropped into the studio with his tongue lashing to and fro. Jean instinctively pulled out her side arm and aimed, but Venom quickly snagged it with a line and pulled hard. The momentum actually sent Jean the floor, and the gun right into Venom's hand. Venom effortlessly crushed the gun before turning his attention to Peter. Peter tried to escape but he became embedded to the wall by some black lines. Then Venom grabbed Jonah by his throat and held him high.
"You remember us, don't you?" the alien villain snarled.
Jonah struggled to catch his breath. "Br… Brock, you don't… have to do this. I'm… sorry, I swear."
Shut your mouth," Venom bellowed. "We don't want your feeble apologies. All we do want is to rip your head off. After all, we are just like you said: monsters."
"Eddie, stop!" sounded the unexpected voice Ashley Kafka.
Venom snarled and hissed at the woman that was now actually standing up to him. The nerve of that little harlot! Venom wanted to throw Jonah to the floor, hard, and then pounce on Ashley. So why didn't he? If nothing else, Ashley's distraction bought Peter some time to get free and disappear. Meanwhile, Ashley was actually taking a few slow steps toward Venom. Very gutsy of her! Jonah was still flailing around in Venom's grip.
"Get away, Dr. Kafka," he wheezed. "He's dangerous."
"You should listen to him, doctor." Venom said.
Ashley didn't heed the warning and kept walking up to Venom. "You won't kill me."
"Oh yeah, and how do you know that?" Venom snarled.
"Because you're not a monster, Eddie," Ashley said. "It's not in you to kill anyone, so I know you won't kill Mr. Jameson or me."
"Oh, you don't know shi…" Venom was cut of by a glob of webbing to his maw.
"Now, now, let's watch the language. We've got children and old folks present."
Venom threw Jonah down and tore the webbing off, before glaring at the undamaged part of the ceiling. Sure enough, there was Spider-Man. "You!"
Venom shot a black line directly at Spider-Man and the hero very quickly dodged. Spider-Man landed on the floor and shot web lines at Venom's arms, but Venom ripped right through them and charge. Venom picked up a teleprompter and hurled it at Spider-Man, who again dodged out of the way. The teleprompter hit the floor with a very unsettling crash and exploded in a shower of sparks, much to Jameson's chagrin. Spider-Man attempted a quick swinging kick but Venom caught and heaved him over a news desk. Venom pounced and took two feet to his maw, followed by a sudden flurry of punches from Spider-Man. The rivals traded blows back and forth until Venom won out and again tossed Spider-Man across the room. This time, Spider-Man was prepared. He shot a web line to the ceiling, swung around and scored a direct hit to Venom's chest. Venom recovered and shot black tendrils, which Spider-Man avoided. The tendrils were actually aimed for an overhanging light fixture and they pulled it loose, the fixture careening toward Jean and Ben. Spider-Man acted quickly and saved the two from being crushed, but he didn't have nearly enough time to avoid another assault from Venom. Another black tendril caught Spider-Man and sent him hard to the floor, after which Venom stood over the fallen hero.
"You made this a bit too easy, Spider-Man," Venom snarled, rearing his arms back for the killing blow. "Oh well, at least you're death will be very slow and painful."
Out of nowhere, Ashley suddenly shouted, "No, Eddie! Don't do it!"
"Stay out of this, woman!" Venom shouted back.
"It's the alien, Eddie. It's making you do these things," Ashley said, trying to reach Eddie inside the symbiote. "You said yourself that you're not a bad person, and I honestly believe that."
Venom had no intention of listening to Ashley and prepared to crush Spider-Man once and for all. Or was he? Why was he hesitating to follow through? This was the moment Venom had been waiting for since the day Peter Parker ruined his life. Venom seethed, even shaking upon realizing that he was actually stalling. Spider-Man began to show signs of life and Venom finally kicked Spider-Man across the floor into a wall. Venom sank to his knees and the symbiote receded, rendering Eddie's face visible. Ashley took the ultimate gamble and very slowly approached Eddie.
"You see, Eddie," she whispered. "You're stronger the alien. You can fight it."
"You shouldn't be anywhere near us, Ashley," Eddie said in exhaustion. "We're… I'm a monster. I can't be trusted."
"Eddie, you have to fight the alien," Ashley urged. "Don't let it win."
Eddie hung his head in pain, balled his hand into fist and breathed heavily. Then the symbiote enveloped his face and he snarled, "SHUT UP!"
Venom quickly took hold of Ashley and shot a line straight up to the ceiling. Spider-Man recovered just in time to see Venom disappear through the hole he'd made earlier. He was ultimately too late to stop his rival. Jean helped Spider-Man to his vertical base. Jonah on the other hand was outright mortified at the damage down by Venom. Until he turned toward Spider-Man!
"Look at this mess," he bellowed. "You have any idea how much this equipment cost?" Then Jonah had his mouth shut with a glob of webbing.
"I know it ain't coming out of my allowance." Spider-Man quipped before leaping through the same hole.
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Spider-Man reached the roof but was obviously too late. Venom was already gone, along with Ashley Kafka. The hero checked over the edge of the building and looked down on the busy streets below. Spider-Man hopped onto the ledge and went into thought about what had happened the last several minutes ago. Venom had him dead to rights, but he hesitated. It was certainly a far cry from the last time the rivals fought, as Venom wouldn't have thought twice about squashing Spider-Man. What changed? As smart as he was, Spider-Man was only getting more questions than answers. The eventual answer likely wouldn't be very encouraging in the long run.
Author's note: Not quite as much knock down drag 'em out action as the last couple of chapters, since I'm trying to better explain what's happening with Eddie at this point. Anyways, tell what you guys think and I'll see you soon.