Chapter Sixteen – At the Scene

I touched down quietly in the destroyed office, swinging through the smashed wall which exposed the innards of the Bugle offices to the New York streets. The room was dark and silent. Nervously I ran my hand over my stomach, feeling the stitches where Cat's claws had once scratched my abdomen. Scanning the room turned my stomach; the floor was littered with small yellow markers indicating where the bodies of the deceased had lay. Any one of these could have been Ned's…

Stepping quietly I proceeded through the room, following the path of destruction. It appeared that the creature had burst through the window, taking most of the wall with it, and rampaged through the desks straight towards JJ's office. Indeed the large window to the editor's room was smashed and a dark stain on the wall opposite suggested a body had been used to smash it. Carefully I passed through the open door into the same office I was in not a few days ago selling pictures to Jameson.

The destruction in the editor's office matched that from the larger Bugle floor – chunks of wood and plaster scattered across the floor, newspaper and books strewn across the place. JJ's desk was practically broken in half and his chair was in pieces. I moved towards the desk and checked around – there were deep gouges in the walls and floors. I stared out into the night – the creature had smashed the windows after grabbing Jameson and escaped into the night. That was significant: whatever did this was after Jameson, not after a body count. I suppose that was just an added bonus. I racked my brain as for who would want Jameson hurt. It wasn't a small list… He had made enemies all over New York, and probably even further afield. Kingpin and Scorpion were the first two who came to mind. This wasn't Fisk's work though, he wouldn't have been this obvious. Scorpion was a possibility, but I didn't see him sacrificing his who schtick for the black suit. He'd at least have a tail… Then who? I stepped back out into the open offices of the general workers and pondered, before hearing deep, rasping breath.

Before I could act I was slammed in the back by something large and something hard, throwing me across the room. Tumbling to the floor I looked up and saw the monster. Somehow he had evaded my spidey-sense – now that scared me. I shot two streams of webbing at the creature, but he grabbed the string and pulled, yanking me off my feet towards him. As I flew through the air I was a large mouth lined with rows and rows of jagged teeth, far too many to fit logically. I twisted midair attempting to glide over the monster, but he caught me by the leg and slammed me to the ground, knocking the breath from my lungs. Before I could get up the monster was already on top of me, maw wide and dripping with saliva and huge claws around my torso squeezing. I managed to wriggle an arm free and shoved my fist down the creature's throat, before releasing a massive burst of webbing. The monster roared in anger and flung me away before falling to all fours and coughing, like a demonic cat ridding itself of a furball.

I took a better look at the monster. It had certainly changed since it had attached itself to my body. This creature was swollen with muscle and huge. I understood now why it had smashed through the walls considering it was too broad to fit through the doors. Its body was jet black, the only splashes of colour being the white eyes and the mocking, jagged caricature of a spider symbol on the chest. The creature drew those eyes level to me gaze and snarled.

"Who are you?" I shouted. "What have you done with Jameson?"

"We are the blunt tool for vengeance." The creature growled back in return. Although the voice was deep and reverberated, I recognised it. "We are Venom."

"That's a cute name." I snarked, looking around for something to do. It was lucky my mask obscured where my eyes were moving to. "I think I had a lap dance from a stripper who had the same name."

The monster, Venom, roared and lunged. This time I was ready and leapt, vaulting of the beast's slick muscled back and propelling myself towards the far wall. As I landed Venom was already on me, knife like claws ripping down towards my body. I slipped through his legs and Venom slammed into the wall, claws slicing through the plaster. Before he could get up I jumped and attached two lines of webbing to either side of the creature, then propelled myself feet first into Venom's back, smashing the rest of his body through into the small kitchen which I knew was on the other side of the dividing wall. He slashed once more and I ducked, leaving him off balance, before jumping up and bringing my elbow down onto his skull with all my strength, slamming the monster back into the crappy kitchen oven that hadn't been replaced since the early 2000s.

"What do you want?" I once again demanded. "Why did you come here? Why did you kill innocent people?" I felt tears well in my eyes – another reason to be happy that my mask obscured my eyes to others.

A wide smile spread across Venom's face. "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, and you Spider-Man, you have sinned."

My heart grew cold and my stomach dropped. Suddenly the voice became familiar, all with that once citation. Eddie Brock. That's why he was after JJ – he was angry that he had been humiliated by Jameson's public apology after O'Riley's death, the apology which name dropped Eddie and brought his journalist career to an end. It still didn't explain why he had taken him alive though, or where he had taken him.

In a flash Venom was up once more, swiping at me. I had narrowly moved to avoid the claws, but his forearm slammed into me smashing me into the cupboards, causing instant coffee granules and sugar to spill onto the floor as jars smashed from the destruction. I had taken too many hits and could feel bruises already beginning to form. My loss of spidey-sense was really taking its toll. I breathed deeply before the next attack, and smelt gas filling the room. I smiled, glad for once of JJ's frugality for allowing my plan to work. Venom swiped again and I ducked under it, moving towards the far side of the kitchen where the sink was.

I remember being told by Robbie once that a few years back an employee had brought in candles to try to make the place more welcoming, but Jameson being Jameson had become annoyed and fired them. They had, however, left the candles here. I jumped Venom's next slash which ripped the cupboards apart and spotted my target, a small tealight and lighter. I grabbed them and shot two bursts of webs at Venom, the one catching him in the face blinding him, and the other attaching his foot to the floor. I ducked around his arm and back through the hole which Venom had made on entry; the monster that was Brock went to follow but had not yet freed his foot, so roared in anger. Now was my moment: I clicked the lighter and lit the wick of the candle, then launched it into the room. For a moment I was worried that the flamed had extinguished in the air, but then flames tore through the room.

Venom screamed, the monster's screech piercing my ears. He sounded in pain, more so than I'd heard this entire fight. What had been my intended distraction to escape was now his time to flee. He smashed his way through the other side of the kitchen and out to the other side of the building. The flames blocked my path of pursuit, so I quickly moved through the larger office towards the other side, only to find Venom vanished, a new hole in the wall where he must have escaped from. Fire hurt, that was good to know.

I cursed loudly, angry at myself for not doing more. Venom, no, Eddie, had escaped. I was none the wiser to where he was keeping Jameson (if he was even still alive) or what his plans were. I felt the tears well again – killing Ned had been nothing but an inconvenience to Brock, something which he had to do to achieve his goal. He would attack again, and I had to be ready for it.

Song Recommendation: For Your Malice - Lamb of God