Eddie wasn't doing so well after the interview with Straxus Nebulous. He lost his job, his was-to-be wife Annie had dumped him, and now he struggled to find a new job. Though, it was a stroke of luck that Annie and his close friend Maes Hughes were still willing to help him support his nephew, Marcus. Marcus' family had unfortunately died due to a plane accident. He suspected that White Star Corporation was behind it too. His sister and her husband were top-of-the-line researchers that tried to escape White Star after they had discovered something.
The only thing he got out of his sister when they dropped Marcus off was something about The Sanguine Star and what was needed to craft it. He couldn't get any clarity on what she meant about it though. It didn't take much for Eddie to see that whatever she discovered, it terrified her to her very core. Eddie let out a heavy sigh in anger as he shopped in one of the local small market stores within Chinatown. 'What the damn I was thinking about being so stupid…' Brock yelled in his mind as he grabbed some Advil for himself and Marcus due to the prick that they lived by in the apartment complex. 'I shouldn't have read that email behind her back…' He lamented with regret as he headed to the checkout.
"Hey, Eddie. Are you feeling ok?" The Korean Woman behind the counter asked in concern, "You look like shit today." She asked which got Eddie a bit offended, even though he realized what she was asking.
"Well… You look lovely as ever Ms. Chen…" Eddie told her as he rubbed his temples. "Look… Sorry about that… Just going through a lot right now." Brock explained as Ms. Chen rang up his products with an eye roll.
"Have you been meditating as I suggested?" The elderly Korean woman asked to move on from the minor dispute. "Or have you been too stubborn to actually try it out again?" She pressed with a slight scolding tone.
Eddie sighed as he looked to his right towards some candies. He wanted to grab something for Marcus while he was here. Though after he looked into his wallet, saw he was a bit short as a Hispanic woman walked in with her daughter to look around the store. "Wait… You Eddie Brock?" The woman asked as she walked over to the ex-investigative reporter with admiration. However, she was a bit regretful that she had brought this up when Eddie gave her a sad look. "Hey, Luz. Why don't you take a look around the store real quick?" She suggested to her daughter as she nodded in agreement.
Once Luz had taken off to look around, the Hispanic Nurse walked over with a nervous expression written on her face. "Sorry for opening old wounds, Mr. Brock… My name is Camila and I was kind of impressed by your work with The Brock Report." She introduced herself as Eddie and felt a bit better by the praise.
"Thanks, Camila. It is nice to hear that from time to time…" He told Camilia with a smile, though quite a weak one. The Hispanic Nurse caught notice of the money issue he was experiencing as Eddie was forced to compromise with most of the products he was attempting to purchase. They ranged from some meals and headache medication.
With a caring smile, Camila perked up as she asked, "Need help buying this? I wouldn't mind helping you out." Ms. Chen laughed at this. "He definitely needs all the help he can get these days. Especially due to his stubbornness that tends to get into a lot of trouble nowadays." The Store Clerk remarked with a chuckle.
Eddie though glared at Ms. Chen with annoyance. "Har, har Ms. Chen…" He agreed and thanked Camilia for her assistance. However, in the back corner of the store. A man dressed in a blue button-up shirt and white undershirt with baggy jeans was next in line.
"Why don't you just hurry up? I need to buy my crap before I fall asleep by the wait…" He rudely demanded as he briefly showed off the gun that was stuffed in his pants, like a damn moron.
Upon seeing this, however, Camila slowly pulled out some chalk as she began to draw some kind of enchanted circle on the counter as Ms. Chen hurried up in a bit of fear. Doing her best to conceal her panic to not draw any more unwanted attention.
Yet once Camilia had finished the drawing, she placed her hand onto it with blue sparks erupting from the stone as the counter suddenly morphed into restraints that caught everyone off guard as the man attempted to pull out his weapon. "We won't be having any violent confrontations with a child in the store, sir." Camila announced as she easily grabbed the gun from the man and dismantled it with ease. "Ms. Chen, please call the police for me and Eddie get something to tie this man up with. I'll explain what just happened when we are all alone. Ok?" Camila said with a warm smile as the two did such. Luz was clearly stricken with awe by this amazing display of power as she remembered what she read from the article discussing Van Hohenheim, the mystical science he discovered known as alchemy.
Once the man was taken into custody by the police and the countertop reverted to normal, Camilia began to provide the wanted explanation about what had occurred. She explained that after finding a journal in a public library during college and help from friends, Camila was able to work with the art Van had logged within his journal. There was a lot to process for Eddie as he walked back to his apartment complex.
Though, within a testing lab of White Star, Straxus was preparing human trials with the company's recently obtained alien entities. Though, he had felt some hesitance from his staff who were present within the room. "Have no worries my friends. With any means of progress, risks and experimentation must be taken to achieve our goals for a better future." The Elderly Man announced with a warm smile mixed cold angered glare to intimidate them. "Now, please bring in our first subject for Symbiosis Test One." Straxus demanded with a wave of his hand.
Shortly, a man who looked like he was living on the streets for quite some time walked into the room. He was clearly nervous while hesitantly walking into the testing chamber. "What's your name, young man?" The CEO asked to calm the man.
"My name is Issac, sir." Issac announced in a bit of fright by Straxus, his demeanor alone was quite intimidating.
"There is nothing to worry about Issac. Please relax yourself." Nebulous began before he folded his arms behind his back with a cold expression on his face.
"Did you know of the Story of Isaac and Abraham?" He asked as Issac shook his head no, "It is a story where Abraham was requested to show his faith by sacrificing his son… Though that story has always left me very irritated." Straxus declared as he looked toward Isaac with a chilling glare, "I have no issues with the ideal of a God, but what I despise is that the byproduct of Religion has forced mankind into a sense of inaction. If a god created man and granted them free will, they should not need to declare their obedience. It is their responsibility to act and achieve greatness on their own. Not relying on God to grant it to them." Straxus explained as he closed his eyes as he began to pace within the room. "And if God doesn't exist, it changes nothing." Straxus declared in pure anger for this notion of inaction and reliance on others in any form to progress.
He turned back to Isaac with a kind smile. "And this is where you come in. If you are willing to take this chance and grab your chance for greatness with this test. You will be one of the few who help us at White Star complete our true goal." The CEO went on with one of the scientists, a woman with glasses and wore a skirt with her laboratory attire, left utterly confused. "There are tales about a world that will grant mankind a source of unlimited energy with history and myths. Like any story, there is always a sliver of truth within them." Straxus explained as he approached the testing chamber as he looked over at Isaac, who was captivated by his story.
"I believe that these creatures you will be helping us with, are a key to entering the world that they called Argenta." He declared with a smile as Isaac was completely sold with the story. "Are you willing to take this opportunity, Isaac?" Straxus asked with a raised eyebrow as he nodded with eagerness. With that, The CEO chuckled as he nodded to one of his employees to open the container that held a blue goo-like being out as it made its way to Isaac before jumping into the panicked man. Yet, this ended horribly as The Creature tore Isaac apart from the inside out. Straxus let out a sigh of utter disappointment as the woman in the skirt was horrified by this scene.