Love Struck Eternal

Chapter 9 - Internal trouble.

Char's POV, the next morning.

Standing with Zandro and Rosco inside one of the main development labs, I had to ask them both the same burning question that was running through my head since I heard this happened.

"How the hell did someone manage to break into this facility and get away with all of our research and our surplus of stockpiled viper venom? Can anyone please explain this to me?"

Zandro was fuming that this was even a problem in the first place. This lab was locked down at night and even if someone wanted to break in they would need access codes, keys, and the prior knowledge of where all of this was even stored to begin with. There was no way this was a common thief or even an experienced one at that. With Rosco keeping the best composure he could in front of both me and his boss, he replied.

"It had to have been an inside job. There isn't a possibility of this being someone we don't know who works here. One of the scientists? One of my men maybe?"

Zandro took his time but came in to say.

"It had to be one of them. But I can't understand why someone would do this. They took everything we had. Even the research data."

"Maybe they wanted to sell it all?" Rosco raised the idea which got both Zandro and I to think about the idea.

"Sell it to who Rosco? It's not like we were ahead of the game when compared to G.U.N or any of the other countries developing the strain."

"Yeah but I'd be willing to bet there are plenty of PMCs looking to get their hands on the recipe and a good shipment of completed doses. Easily all that research and the gear could be worth a few hundred thousand to the right buyer. Maybe even close to a million or two if they can haggle."

All I could do was try to keep myself from getting a headache from this whole mess. After a minute or so Zandro asked Rosco.

"Did you check the cameras?"

"Yes sir. They were wiped clean."

"It had to be someone from the science division. Rosco? Go get to work on figuring out who it could be. Chances are if they are working here they won't remain in the country for much longer with all that hardware sitting at home. Look around, ask the right questions and see what you can find out. I'm gonna go have a word with the rest of the men and see if they can help search the area for any sign of the thief."

"Understood. I'll get right on it." Rosco replied as he saluted me before exiting the lab. My eyes watched as he left and now left alone with Zandro I asked him.

"Any chance it could have been him? Head of lab security?"

Giving me a small chuckle Zandro replied.

"Not a chance in hell. Rosco is as clean as they come. He's been working for me since he was just a little kid. Plus Char, if he was the one who just robbed us; why the fuck would he have been standing there just now? He's not that dumb. Whoever did this is smart enough to know if we caught them they'd be thrown in prison for the rest of their miserable lives. Nah, whoever did it is gonna leave the middle east and never come back. Fuck!"

Slamming his fist down onto one of the nearby desks, Zandro made his way out of the room leaving me to look over the rest of the lab that had been ransacked. It's not like viper venom was rare or hard to make and like Zandro just said we didn't have any research that was currently ahead of the times. The research we had was worth maybe a few grand to an upstart buyer, but that's it. The venom itself could be easily sold to anyone, but what made me curious was that whoever robbed the lab also took all the chemicals we had stockpiled for the production process. Why would they take the chemicals? You could get the ingredients easily from anywhere. Especially if they planned to sell it to a PMC or another government. It's pointless to take it all to go.

The question made me wonder what was really going on, but for now I had to trust that Zandro and Rosco could get to the bottom of this in due time. I had other business to attend to. The first of which involved my niece who I have been meaning to see since her fight with Raptor. I haven't talked to her since I last had dinner over their place and my hope was that she would be willing to talk to me about the situation. She hasn't said a word to anyone since leaving the house; so I had my fingers crossed I'd be treated differently if I tried. I know Zeta would love to know what she's been up to and at the very least I wanted to figure out her plan going forward.

Sam's POV, A few hours later.

"Ahhhhh…...ahhhh…...ahhhh!"

I was on my hands and knees in the middle of the floor. Blood left my nose as I looked to the side of my left hand to find an empty case of venom. All five needles were empty. Three of them rested in the case itself and another two rolled right along the base of my palm. One case down since I got done with my deal with Rosco. My body was starting to break down. I could feel it coming down to my bones. I was shaking and I couldn't stop it. I was out of energy to do anything else but breathe and try to keep myself from falling all the way down to the ground.

I knew what the problem was with this fucking shit. I had a good idea anyway. I just had to get some rest or at the very least, I needed to get to my desk.

Mocha was still asleep from last night. I didn't know what was wrong with her. She never sleeps this long. Not unless I told her we were ready for bed. But to be honest my top priority was to get moving. Just to the desk Sam. You can do it. You gotta.

Forcing my body to move felt like the biggest challenge of my life. With every move I made it felt like my bones were shattering. But not breaking apart, just cracking ever so slightly as I grabbed onto one of the legs which held the desk up, but not after making sure I disposed of the case. Once I had stuffed it under my shirt, I worked from there to throw myself up and back onto the chair where I proceeded to gasp in pain.

My neck was where I took all the venom to and it felt like a lump was there from all the injections. Grabbing my nearby phone, I turned on the camera and turned it to selfie mode so I could see myself. The first thing that noticed was the color my eyes were. They were both beat red. Almost the same dark color my blood was.

Checking my neck to see if there really was a lump there; I found there actually wasn't. The pain I was feeling had to be all mental. My mind was making things up. Nothing was really happening to me. Apart from my insides burning to a crisp. But now that I was done with the first set of doses, I could put together my thoughts as to what was really going on. Struggling to move my hands, I went onto my computer and pulled up my notepad. Each time I hit a button I could feel a distinct spark that resembled friction leaving my fingertips. It wasn't as bad as what I was feeling in my legs, but it was still annoying to type with. Halfway through my thoughts, I widened my eyes when I heard a knock on my door.

"Samantha? Do you wanna come down and have lunch with Teddy and I?" Janet asked with that same happy voice she always displayed to me. I wanted to respond right away but my vocal cords felt fried after all the crying I did earlier, but I had to say something. Just anything so not to draw attention. Unable to turn around from the extreme pain I was in, I replied as loud as I could so she could hear me.

"Not at the….not right now! I'm not hungry! But thank…..thank you!"

"Are you okay?" She proceeded to wonder.

"I'm just distracted!" I replied back confidently.

Crossing my fingers, I prayed I sounded convincing enough and waited for her reaction back to what I said. After a few seconds Janet urged me.

"Well I'll leave you alone then. But do come down for dinner. You need to make sure you're eating."

"I will!" I replied as I heard her heavy feet going back downstairs. Once confident I was safe, I went back to my notes, but not before wiping the blood off my nose that was still coming out slowly with each breath I took.

Char's POV.

Yoga and I reached the house where Sam was staying at. Together we got out of the car and with him in the front; I was escorted to the front door where he proceeded to ask me curiously.

"You sure she's in?"

Nodding my head as I began to knock, I replied to my comrade who had his M16A2 laying across his chest.

"Only one way to find out. We'll only be a few minutes if she's here. I just want to see how she's doing since the fight she had with her father."

Now Yoga chuckled and informed me again of the facts I already knew.

"I heard she knocked her father off his feet. Quite the fireball."

"You have no idea." I went on to say to him as we both looked ahead as the sound of the door opening could be heard. What came to be standing in front of us was this very large bear. Had to be at least a foot taller than myself, but once he saw who it was at his door he questioned in shock.

"What? Your?"

Smiling, I replied.

"My name is Char. You must be Teddy's father Philip right? Nice to meet you."

"And I'm Yoga. The driver." My ferret cohort announced cheerfully which made me instantly add on to help ease the sudden surprise to the bear.

"More than just my driver. Don't worry he's quite friendly despite the appearance."

Yoga just chuckled to my idea of a joke and together we listened as the man in front of us questioned in complete shock; still seeing the current president and his bodyguard at his front door.

"I can't believe this. It's an honor sir. I voted for you. My whole bloodline did. What are you doing here? Is this about Teddy?"

"No sir." I informed him as I went on to say.

"I'm actually here because I heard you're currently housing my niece."

"Samantha? You're her uncle?" Phil asked, somewhat surprised.

Keeping my smile on I replied.

"One of her many. I was just in the neighborhood and wanted to make a house call to see how she's been doing since…..well I'm sure you know by now what happened between her and her father."

Now the bear lost his confused grin and gave me and Yoga a very angry glare. I sensed he was emotional towards this and listened as he confirmed it not a moment after by saying out loud.

"Yes, I know what happened and you'll have to forgive me but I'm still not over the fact that he would lay a hand on someone as sweet as Sam. She's a good girl and personally I consider her part of my blood. She's like a daughter to me and a sister to Teddy. If I could I'd like to have a few words with her dad about what it really means to be a father. You don't hit your kids. Never!"

Nodding my head, I replied back sincerely.

"I'm on your side for this matter. I couldn't agree with you more. What happened never should have happened in the first place. You have my word that Raptor hasn't been in contact with her though and this isn't about getting information as a middleman. I'm just here to see my niece. Do you think I could speak with her for a few minutes? We won't be long. I swear."

Almost instantly the bear moved a foot aside to reply.

"Of course it's okay. She's up in her room. Would you like it if I called her to come down? Or would you prefer to go see her for yourself?"

Giving the question some thought, I replied after stepping my first time into his home.

"I'd prefer to go see her myself. It'll be easier on both of us if we had some private time to talk. I know she may be a sweetheart, but inside she's a very innocent child who would prefer to keep her personal business to herself and those close to her. It's simply a matter of respect."

At this point Teddy and his mother Janet could be seen exiting the kitchen.

"Commander?" Teddy questioned as his mother shouted.

"Oh my god!"

I could only blush and force myself to take my first step upstairs. When I was ready I informed them with a sense of care to my voice.

"I know it's quite the surprise. I'm sorry for dropping in like this ma'am. I'm just here to speak with Samantha for a few minutes. We'll be out of your hair before long."

"Last room on the left!" Philip shouted at me as I reached the very top leaving Yoga to handle the rest.

My attention quickly went back to the reason I was here to begin with. With my eyes looking at the room Philip called out, I gently stopped a foot out to knock. Not a moment later did I hear from inside; a familiar voice call out.

"What is it?!"

Smiling to myself, I took the handle and began to slowly open the door. At the same time I replied while stepping through.

"I heard you were causing all kinds of trouble up here."

The moment I entered the room I stopped in my tracks to find Sam at a desk looking back at me with two puzzled and very scared eyes. With her voice displaying what to me was pain, I listened in still silence as she asked.

"Uncle Char? What are you doing here?"

My eyes were also puzzled as I looked her over. She had blood on her right forearm and she was shaking slightly. Slowly coming in to shut the door behind me, I replied to the wolf.

"I came by to see how you were doing. Is everything okay? You're bleeding." I informed her as I saw more blood start to leave her nose. Her head shot down to look at her shirt which now had more than a few drips on it from her lack of care. Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled out a small sweatrag I carried and approached her. Her eyes were red as I handed it over and begged.

"Here. Handle that."

She took it from me without questioning and as she took a few seconds to wipe herself; I had to ask.

"What's wrong? Nosebleeds?"

Nodding she replied back after setting the rag down on the desk.

"It's the suppressants. This has always been a problem. Most of the time it's just a little, but I've been bleeding for the last hour or so."

"And the eyes?" I wondered as she sniffed and replied back a moment later.

"It's just the venom. It'll go away soon."

I just nodded because in all honesty I had no reason to not trust her. I wasn't a user nor have I ever had to deal with venom in my veins. So my attention went to Mocha who was asleep next to the desk. Bending down to pet her, I asked Sam as I was surprised she hadn't already woken up.

"How's she doing? I'm shocked she hasn't woken up."

"We went out yesterday for a long run around the neighborhood. Then I had to be up early to go with Teddy's mom to the store and help her pick out new carpeting for the living room. She's been sound asleep since we got back."

"So what have you been up to besides that?" I then wondered as I saw she had her laptop sitting in front of her. It was folded, but I assume she was working on something. Not taking her eyes away from me for even a moment she replied.

"I was just thinking."

"About the scholarship? Have you figured out what you want to do now that you're out of school?"

Shaking her head, she replied back after taking a quick glance to Mocha who was laying down near the right end of the desk.

"I'm narrowing down some ideas, but nothing is certain yet."

"Why not stay in Iraq? You know we have plenty of schools you could go to. So does Afghanistan and Pakistan. Are you trying to look for something out of the country?"

My question seemed to have confused her for some reason. In the end she replied with uncertainty.

"I don't know yet. I told you….I just haven't made up my mind."

"Have you talked to your mother?"

Shaking her head she replied.

"No."

"You know she misses you more than anything right? Your father too."

I knew how she felt inside right then and there because the second I brought up Raptor; she turned away from me with a very soft yet annoyed growl. Not wanting to push her, I just settled for the most neutral option I could come up with to tell her.

"He fucked up Sam. No one is on his side when it comes to what happened. But like you, he has his own form of anger problems. Now you did say some things that weren't necessary but….?"

"No it was necessary uncle Char."

"How so?" I asked her out of my interest in the subject. Taking a seat down on her bed, I listened as she struggled to face me now. I had her left eye looking over at me but for the most part she wouldn't turn around completely. Instead she just took her time and once she was ready replied to my question.

"He has no right to decide my life for me. That scholarship? I earned that. He doesn't get a say in what I do with it."

"He's your father though Sam." I informed her as her tone went up a notch to reply.

"I don't care what he is. The bottom line is that this is my life. My story. He has no place in it if he thinks he can decide what I do with my time. If I want to go to the states then I damn well will if it means I can pursue my future. If I want to go to the army, he has no right to tell me what I can do while I'm in it. And this venom? The shit I wasn't given a choice about? He's allowed to decide the operation I go under? I didn't choose these pills. If anything I would have asked for the surgery. Fuck if I died on a table. I don't want to live my life under the influence of something I have no control over. I just expected to be given the choice to decide my own fate. Not be expected to accept what happens when someone else decides for me on what's best for my future. My future is the key uncle. My future!"

I just stared at the young wolf as she grew invested in the conversation. However as I listened, I felt my left foot bump into something under the bed. Gently I looked down to spot two duffel bags just behind my feet. Sam's eyes and her voice went still as I quickly refocused on her to say back calmly.

"I'm not arguing with you about that. Because Sam you're right. Your life is your choice. You should be allowed to decide what you do with it, but just please take a second to look at this from his point of view."

Getting a few inches closer to her, I went on.

"You're dad gave so much of his soul just to be where he is now. Do you wanna know something? I consider this a fun fact, but did you know it took him and your mother only one try to have you brought into this world? It takes most cross species couples years to have a kid together. Years Sam. You're a miracle to both of them and I won't lie to you since you already know about your father's past. After what happened to his first two families? That man cares about nothing in life. Nothing but you. So I'll say it for him since I know he feels bad enough not to come say it himself out of fear of experiencing more pain. But he's sorry for how he acted and what he did that night, but to him you're more than just a kid."

Sam's eyes were still looking down. I couldn't understand what thoughts were going on in her head, but I knew what I was saying. It had to be said.

"You're his legacy and his reward for suffering his whole life to see this side of his existence. He can't imagine letting you go. He can't bear the thought of losing you to something he truly hates like viper venom. So he's not gonna be able to just let you make these kinds of choices on your own; even though you should ultimately. He's just so worried about you and I know that deep down he would drop everything to help you. Everything Sam. That's my key word here for you. Even if you want to be rebellious and hate him right now, that will never be a lie. You could become the worst criminal in the world, a genocidal killer, a monster, and you're father will still be by your side…...defending you till the very end."

Sam was now staring at me as I finished up. Expect this time the look she was giving me looked a lot different then the one she just had before I told her all that just now. Now she looked considerate, sad, and maybe a bit disappointed in herself for what happened. As I took in her reaction, my foot bumped into those bags again. This time however I hit something that sounded like metal. Slightly unsure, I went to reach down to grab one of the bags by the handle. The moment I began to slide it out, I heard from in front of me.

"Don't."

I stopped in my tracks to look up. Sam was now turned around and giving me a very serious look. Taking my hand off the handle, I questioned in confusion for her tone.

"What's wrong? I was just curious. Sounds like….?"

"Do you have a warrant?" She proceeded to ask me. Now I just laughed because I thought she was joking.

"Excuse me? What are you….?"

Leaning forward she ordered.

"If you don't have a warrant, then don't touch my things."

At this point I lost my smile and realized just how serious she was when she said that to me. So very slowly I leaned back down to grab the handle to the bag. Expect this time I pushed it back under the bed. Sam watched every move I made and by the time it was back under there safely I told her.

"Okay. I'm sorry. That's my bad. I shouldn't be snooping."

Very carefully she leaned back an inch to mumble.

"It's okay. I just don't have a lot in my life to care about right now other than myself. If there is one thing I take seriously it's my belongings. I wouldn't go through your things, so please don't go through mine."

"Understood." I told her back as I let out a faint sigh to ask her.

"Is there anything I can do to help? If you're in trouble or need some money or just need something Sam; I'm more than willing to stick my neck out for you. I understand if you don't wanna go to your parents right now, but we're still family and I love you all the same. If you need anything, just let me know or shoot me a text sometime. Don't be scared to ask either. I won't tell your mom or dad. I just don't want you struggling thinking you're alone in this now that times are rough. Okay?"

The wolf took a second to calm herself and slowly began to nod her head. After a moment or so I noticed two tears leaving her eyes. Then she said back to me in a voice that resembled pain.

"I love you too."

"Can I have a hug?" I proceeded to wonder. For a moment she nodded her head, but informed me with a slight chuckle.

"You can, but I need to be honest with you about something. I'm in a lot of pain right now from the pills. Do you mind just coming to me for it?"

Understanding her condition I replied.

"Of course."

Standing up from the bed, I knelt in to wrap both my arms around her as she attempted to lean in as much as she could. I held her for a few moments before giving her a small kiss on the forehead. She smiled as I again urged her before making my exit.

"You need anything, please come to me Sam."

"I will." She replied as I went for the door. Upon opening it, I heard her whisper.

"I love you."

"Love you too hun." I replied as I made my way back out into the hall. From there I collected myself and began a slow pace to the stairs. From there I saw Yoga waiting for me with Teddy and the rest of his family. I gave them all hugs and my thanks before leaving.

Sam's POV.

The second the door shut I let out probably the deepest exhale of air I've ever had held inside my lungs. It felt like I ran a marathon because the moment Char came in here to surprise me out of the blue; I used all my adrenaline to seem as normal as possible. I think I did a good enough job to not draw much attention and thankfully he had a reason to accept all the blood he was seeing.

However I now had a problem. I could barely move. Worse than before. I was probably a few minutes away from passing out again, but I had to take some initiative and move those bags out from under the bed. Thank god he didn't open them.

"Ahhh! Ohhhh….come on." I begged myself as I stood up and made my way over to the bed. When I reached it, I went back down to my knees to pull out the two duffel bags. From there I moved them inch after inch until we were at the closet. Then all I had to do was put them inside. I wanted to put them on the top shelf, but I couldn't muster the power that was needed to pick them up, so I just settled for the floor till I had more energy.

After I shut the closet door, I went right back over to my desk and back to writing my notes as best as I could. Towards the end I felt my head grow cold which I think meant my eyes were settling back down to their normal color. When I managed to look at myself on my phone, I saw I was right in my assumption. The blood also came to a stop and thank god it did because I don't think I could take it much longer.

Now I had plans for my first alteration. After taking all that venom I came to the conclusion that maybe lowering the dosage wasn't the way to go. Sure I wanted to play around and take some certain things away or even lower down from the recipe, but I think putting in more would actually work better for the body. Because when I had taken the fifth dose I felt as if my body was growing accustomed more to the high amount of drugs it was exposed to. Letting the body burn it off and going fresh for another round would only keep the same effects going. Raising the bar forced my body and my mind to compensate and adjust. It was a bitch though handling the pain that came with it, but I'm sure if I find the right combination, I could find a way to have both my mind and my body accept the venom naturally.

When it came to my trigger however, which was my anger, I think I would need to put more time into finding something that ether mellows me out or outright makes me ignore or accept the things that trigger me. Be that stupid people or my parents. Maybe even weed could aid in that if I found a way to add it into the recipe. However I knew just from the experience; that I would need a very high dose to even give it a chance. The other drugs would overwhelm the THC.

Shutting my computer down, I decided to try in the morning. For now I wanted to rest. Even though it wasn't even time for dinner.

The next day.

I was going to give this all I had for my first attempt. It was going to be dangerous though. My alterations made a normal dosage nearly triple in strength. What made me have some confidence though was all the venom I took yesterday. Hopefully my body would be a little bit more prepared this time, but I did add a little bit more LSD and managed to incorporate what weed I had left into the mix. That simply came in the form of me cracking open one of my cartridges and dumping the insides into the mix. After warming it all up for a few hours, I was ready to give it a try. So once I had it all tucked away in a needle I readied myself for the results.

"Braf!"

Looking away from my computer and down to where Mocha was sitting, I saw she was more than curious for what I was thinking. So with the needle a few inches to the left of my laptop, I told her calmly.

"I think I'll have a better chance this time around. If anything; I should be tripping balls at the worst. Don't worry. Just sit down and no matter what happens; you just stay calm and trust me. Okay?"

"Emmmm?"She replied back which made me laugh. Never once have I heard Mocha stray away from her normally confident outlook on life. But it made me smile for her honesty which I was gonna ignore.

Then once my eyes had gone back up to my laptop, I took a breath and leaned back. Very gently I put the needle up to my neck and prayed.

The goal of this was to make it so I could control the power easier. Less damage to my mind and body would be great, but the goal was to reinvent it so a person with my short temper wouldn't have to worry about losing control once it kicked in. If I found the right amount of stimulants and psychedelics; then in theory it would find a way to either numb or help my mind relax to the point where I could keep calm through anything and not overreact. Hopefully the added THC would be just what it needed to work.

Not wanting to drag this out, I pressed the needle to my neck and gave myself the dose. For a moment I was okay, but then it hit me. I dropped the needle and put both my hands down till they were wrapping themselves around the sides of the desk. I squeezed because it felt like someone was choking me at first. Then the normal burn came but due to the higher dose, it felt like I was physically set aflame. Like an overwhelming amount of sunburn and people smacking me all over. I bit down on my teeth as hard as I could and began to growl in pain. Mocha stood up to nuzzle herself in between my legs and this went on for maybe another minute before something new happened. I reopened my eyes to see my world was spinning, then I felt sick.

"Ohhhhhhh god!" I mumbled as I attempted to hold back any vomit.

Mocha moved with me as I spun around in my seat to lean over into my own chest.

"Braf!" She barked at me as I concentrated and keeping calm.

A few seconds later, all the pain went away and so did the feeling of wanting to puke. I was left completely dizzy and utterly drowsy. But I was okay otherwise. My world was just spinning.

"Ahhhh…..ahhhhh….ahhhhh….Mocha?"

My best friend jumped up onto my lap to meet my eyes. Those of which I didn't feel anything happening to. I had enough energy to actually grab my phone. Once I had the camera on I saw that my eyes were still gold. I was actually shocked that they weren't red, because it felt like I was under the influence of the venom. At least mentally. So now I needed to try and see if I could change that. If my research was right, a perfect user should be able to call upon the venom at will. Just by simply focusing all their power into something they felt was important. Be that by saving their life or by taking another. My thoughts seemed to go right at my father. It's not like I wanted to kill him or anything. I was just mad enough to consider him a trigger that would normally drive my venom out from whatever hole it was hiding in.

It was a mental game now and with less effort than I anticipated, my eyes went red. Then just from my excitement alone from just thinking about how I made that work; they went back to normal. Then I instantly refocused on my trigger and it went back to red. What's crazy to me was how easy it was and even though my venom was activated; I wasn't getting that mad. It felt normal. Not like before with Peek. I was onto something with this first dose. What needed to happen now was for me to see if I could operate under this. There was no point in using this if I couldn't walk."

So with some effort I stood up. Mocha watched me closely for the first few seconds. I nearly fell over. Thankfully I concentrated and got my ground. Now I was just dizzy. I needed to calm down and take small steps.

For the most part, I was okay. I did a few laps and I seemed good, but I was high as fuck and I knew it. Maybe a little less LSD or THC. Or maybe both for that matter. I thought to myself as I heard a knock at my door.

"Hey Sam? Can I come in?" It was Teddy.

Ironically I was already at the door and with my heart racing again from not wanting to be caught, I opened the door just enough to see his face and ask.

"What's up?"

Teddy smiled as he saw me and nicely wondered.

"I'm gonna head out to the movies for a few hours. Did you want to come? It's not like I have a girlfriend to go with."

Giving him an interested grin back, I questioned.

"What are you trying to say? You want me to fill that gap?"

Now the bear blushed and instantly replied back as he was clearly caught off guard.

"That's not what I was getting at! You know I could never date you. I'm out of your league. What would people say?"

"Oh is that how it is?" I fired back with some laughter as he quickly shook his head to reply.

"Nah I'm joking. But you've been up here for the last few days and I figured you could use a night out. So what do you say?"

I knew he was just being my friend about this deep down in his heart, but I really did plan on going out anyway. I had to pick up from my supplier. Only issue was he didn't know I dealt in the first place. So keeping my smile on, I nicely told him back.

"I'd love to normally, but I already had plans for today for your information. I'm going out for a bit with Mocha into the city. We'll be gone for a few hours. Should be back in time for dinner."

"Oh? What are you guys up to?" Teddy asked next as Mocha had heard her name and came running between my legs to greet him. Teddy got down to meet her as I replied to his concern.

"Just getting that night out you mentioned. If you want we can go somewhere another time?"

After petting Mocha, Teddy got back up to reply.

"Sounds good to me."

"Oh by the way Teddy? I'm out of your league." I informed him jokingly. The bear let out a heavy laugh as I began to shut the door on his face. From the other side I heard him respond with.

"Go fuck yourself!"

"Gladly!" I shouted back as Mocha came running back to the bed.

For the life of me I was shocked that went that well. After getting into that conversation my mind had leveled out and I was no longer dizzy. In fact I felt normal almost. Maybe a sugar rush type of feeling, but I was good.

Now just cause I was curious, I went over to the mirror to turn on my venom again. It came back so easy and without any issue, I instantly shouted to myself.

"Yes!"

"Braf! Braf!" Mocha added on as I ran over to my laptop to check my notes. As I looked over the recipe I said to myself.

"Now I just need to find a level where the LSD and THC don't fuck with one another. I'll lower the dose a bit and see what it does to me tomorrow. I knew I could do this. Fuck you Zandro for telling me it wasn't possible."

That guy and all his men must be trying to add or subtract from the recipe, when all they had to do was adjust the original. Sure making it stronger might make it harder for some people to take, but my focus was on flawed users like myself. If I can make myself perfect with this setup then I'll have solved that problem from ever being a thing again.

That's when I got an idea. What if I make this work? What next other than to make a dose that everyone can take and handle? What's to say I can't reinvent the recipe and make it into something perfect on it's own? To make a dose of venom that I could give to anyone and for it to provide all the functionality that it would give a perfect user without the risk of any death or unruly side effects. If I could make something like that a reality then I could easily have something that could change the world. A drug that can make anybody a super soldier.

I wonder if people like Zandro and other governments like G.U.N have tried to make that exact thing I'm now dreaming about? Maybe that's where the real challenge is. Now the scientist in me didn't want to leave the room without trying, but I had to go pickup and make some drops before the day was done. Regardless of the venom, I would still need money for the future.

So with that I packed everything back up and threw on my backpack. Empty and ready to go make some profit, I grabbed Mocha and together we went out for the first time in two days and right now all that mattered was not getting into trouble.

mT Shadow.