Neon Venom reuploaded

by Alaster Boneman

A HOTNA story. When the much reviled Venom and his spawn Mania escape their captivity make their way to the eerie harbor city of Innsmouth and bound with two troubled high school students. Andrea Benton and her twin brother Nathaniel lives are turned upside down as they are dragging into the life of reluctant super heroes as a conspeacy long in the making threatens their world

2. Chapter 2: more to know

Venom chapter two

Neon Venom

A Hero's of the new age story

Volume one Gathering gloom

Chapter two: more to know

13/09/ 2061

Country USA,

Sate Massachsetts, Kay county,

City of Innsmouth

Local time 8:43am

The Benton household

XXXX

Light wisps of steam wafted through a well-appointed if modest bathroom, filling the crisp September morning air with ethereal fantoms which drifted this way and that according to the whims of the air currents. Sand-colored tiles, that lined the floor and about half way up the walls glistened with faint condensation.

A pearly white chip bord cabinet complete with a mirror, thick with condensation, sat above the bathrooms singular sink, which itself was built into a stomach high draw that was made of foe stone.

Near by a wicker basket which had seen better days was piled full to bursting with an array of discarded and crumbled clothes , the top most recent layer was free of any kind of stain and lacked most if any telltale signs off recent ware which may have warranted such harsh treatment.

While there were a few pieces among the growing pile that lent toward a masculine sensibility in design if not size. That had been chosen by their owner whom fancied herself practically minded, the ware and tear these articles of clothing spoke a different story especially in regards to what made up the rest of the strained basket.

Most of the articles were anything but practical, tending towards the fashions popular among the gothic and dramatically inclined. A Collection of studded jeans a fixed with belts and buckles that seemed to serve no purpose, purposely tatted checker board skirts and what may have first appeared to be modest shirts and blouses, dark spaghetti strap tops that would hug a body not unlike a corsets.

Across from the sink and a little to the left, a wooden side cabinet sat near to the sole bathroom toilet. A few arrent empty cardboard toilet roles littered the topmost shelf, alongside a few magazines and dog eared puzzle books. A black ceramic bawl half filled with a collection of colorful and varied 'bath bombs' and scented soaps, populated the second shelf along with a few small glass jars of oils and scents some of which had collected a thin layer of dust despite the rooms over all cleanliness. A few cloth bags of dry potpourri hung, here and there around the room providing a mild sent that mixed with the gradually cooling air

The floor tiles many of which had seen better days had a complex pattern worked on their otherwise sand colored complexion. In miniature these stylized pictures depicted the same typical sea or oceanic features that were popular with in Innsmouth and to a somewhat lessor extent the rest of kay county. However, a feature lost to most was that the designs had a 'magic eye' effect and that when looked upon from a certain angle or Hight created a single image. Or so her father had said, Andi had only really glimpsed parts of the overall picture herself and suspected that it could only be viewed from the ceiling and her father had misjudged the proportions.

Andi, mused absently that with her new, wall crawling abilities which seemed to work with or without her…other half, Mania, Manifesting. She could now get the full picture but that would mean not only moving the cupboard above her toilet and the two dark blue matts which covered about half a meter of floor each, one sat near the glass rimmed shower stall and the other sat beneath the sink as well as other sundry items and she was not so burdened with curiosity as to go through all that, at least before she did a major rearrange of her Barth room whenever the mood for change struck her.

Andrea Benton or Andi as she preferred to be called, stood a step or two away from the sink near the center of the small room, lightly chewing on as, yet unpainted lips. A mounting sense of frustrated annoyance rippled across her pail features like waves on an uncertain ocean.

A hint of nebulous anxiety stirring with in the depths of her aqua blue eyes, as she tried to adjust the last few buttons on a royal blue dress she had bough only a week or so before her encounter in the sewers over her mild bust. Yet try as she might the topmost section of her dress could not be persuaded to close with out risking ripping the fabric or having one of the offending buttons tear away from its stitching.

The thought of the later conjured images of those dreadfully cliché anime Nathaniel watched. The ones were through some contrivance, one or more of the shows ridiculously proportioned heroine's, shirt or dress would rip open, buttons would give way or lace fray to reveal a frankly ridiculous amount of flesh if not reduce the heroine to wearing little more than strategically placed rags.

She was by no means a peril clutching prude and due to her own proclivities towards her own gender. Found some mild entertainment in those scenes and it wasn't always due to the ridiculous amount of effort those kinds of anime would go through without just committing to nudity for the sake of titration.

She shook her head, having no desire to emulate the images in her minds eye or expose herself to the chilly pre autumn air of a typically bleak Innsmouth day that lay outside her homes cozy and warm interior. As she started to remove the outfit for something that might fit better or at least be more modest though in both regards much of the clothing she had set aside for her planed excursions today had fallen up sort, when something, little more than an impulse, pulled her attention towards the still slightly misted mirror that sat above the bathrooms sink.

Taking two steps towards the cabinet and whipping some of the fog from the mirror and met her reflections gaze and stopped her fingers fruitless fiddling, letting the dress's fall open without the restraint of buttons she couldn't close anyway, closing her eyes as she did so to mentally prepare herself to feel the heat of embarrassment warm her cheeks and see herself turn red as saint nick in the mirror. However, when she reopened her eyes rather than that expected self-rejection…she felt…'surprise'… 'no, not quite surprise' Andi mused as she turned her profile this way and that 'confidence, maybe?

She had never really felt all that confident in her looks before at least regarding her figure which had until maybe a year and a half ago had being fairly, androgynous as she had lagged well behind most of the other girls in her school. Having stayed thin and nearly as flat as a ruler well into her now senior years of high school she had being the butt of many jokes. It had come as something of a relief that her body had seemingly finally gotten with the program, and she had started to catch up though she remained one of the smallest and least curvy girls in her age group.

What had made her confidence, some how brake through rock bottom was finding some pictures of her and Nathaniels absent mother Eloise, from around the time she'd being their age and even then, she had been a knockout. Another cruel twist had been how similar Andi and her mother looked to each other in every other detail, Nathaniel who much more took after their father. Had often said how uncanny it was and she had to agree.

That probably played a part in the style of self-expression she had committed to through most of her teenage years and up to this point, not that she really had any intention on changing it up now she was catching up to the other girls, her lagging behind had played some role in the ecstatic she had chosen for herself. Though she chose not to dwell as she had come to like standing out with her taste in bubble gum goth which stood out among those others that favored a goth or grudge look, which was a relatively popular ecstatic among her generation all things said and done.

Like her mother, Andi had jet black hair though she had both cut and styled it into an asymmetrical lop sided bang, the left side of which framed her round almond shaped face and brushed the top of her shoulder. The bottom third of her long bang was highlighted in faint light blue. The rest of her hair up to just above her ear was light purple, or more of a pink now it had been some weeks since her last touch up. The right side of her scalp had been practically shaved to the skin during her last time with the stylist. However now, like with the fading highlight her hair had moved on, a thick layer of charcoal almost brush had replaced the fuzz she had left behind.

Her hair, like the rest of her body had never grown fast and it had been something of a shock to her father when she had chosen her latest hair do as it would take months for it to even out, let alone grow to match the rest of her hair. However seemingly like her bust now being too large to button up the top of her dress, her hair growth had seemingly doubled over night. Andi did not think of herself as so absent minded about her looks and daily wardrobe choices that she would have somehow failed to notice these changes until now.

Whipping away more fog from the mirror, she ran a hand over her tummy and felt more than the casual though soft flatness she had expected, instead her tummy was far firmer. She had never been unfit as an aspiring actress she took care of herself through diet and exercise like swimming, dance and stage fighting lessons but she had never being on the verge of muscle development at least to this extent.

Andi lifted the bottom hem of her dress up and away from the knee length black shorts she wore underneath and conformed to her own eyes. That she was starting to develop the barest hint of abb muscle. The likes of which she saw on the sporty girls both in her gym, drama class's and even among the school's cheerleaders. She had a way to go yet before she caught up with their standard but a sense of growing certainty she would be there before she knew it and with out having to really even change her life style.

Upon a few more probing touches she found her arms and legs had also become more defined though there the change wasn't so extreme as her fitness regiment, focused more on those areas than the rest of her body, lastly even her hips and butt seemed firmer and even broader. Her waste taking on more of an hourglass shape though these were the least of the changes she had undergone seemingly over the last day or two.

She thought back to what her body had looked like when her alien partner had manifested 'their' costume for the first time. While she didn't exactly have a mirror to hand she had seemed to be 'more' developed with in the second skin Mania had wrapped her in. The changes she had noticed were a touch more subtle but give it a few months?

Andi shook her head

"Considering what the four of us faced in the tunnel's, is this your way of preparing me for more weirdness…Mania?" she asked, turning to face the mirror fully, her aqua blue gaze intense. "Because I have some concerns" she added. Communicating with Mania had been something of a challenge so far whereas Venom was quite disturbingly chatty, in fact it was hard to shut the alien up once he got going. Especially about whatever inane flight of fancy took his interest.

Mania on the other hand didn't seem to talk at all, she seemed to prefer to communicate though feelings, impressions, and occasional mental images. Though at her verbal probing her alien partner dined to show herself physically at least here in the privacy of her bathroom. Mania's physical avatar gathered near the bottom of her dress, the aliens form reminded her oddly strings of mincemeat that slid and squirmed from hidden reassess and gathered into shape.

Try as she might Andi couldn't quite suppress her revulsion nor her mind wondering where or rather how the alien hid herself from the naked eye. 'Perhaps I should let that sleeping dog lie?' she thought to herself as the 'mass'. Grew to the size of her forearm before Mania decided to manifest her white eyes as her 'body' took on a serpentine form and slid up Andi's body with little difficulty, the alien rubbed herself against her neck like a cat before a sensation trickled cross Andi's awareness as she felt the aliens mind become more present.

Andi was always dimly aware of her partners presence, mostly through the gifts the alien granted even when she was otherwise invisible. Her physical changes' had not been unprecedented, her sensors all seemed sharper for good and for ill since that day in the tunnels and she had developed a kind of…sixth sense on top of it all.

Nathaniel called it, their danger sense. While she couldn't argue with her brother's rather simple assessment as it did seem to spike whenever they heard a siren in the distance or risked discovery from their father whom they had hid their alien friends from. However, as their bonds grew with their alien partners it seemed to her that it was so much more than that. She had once or twice felt something prickle against the outer most limits of her awareness something she could only describe as deju vu…that feeling had being strongest in their fight against the hellish knight, there had been moment she could see his blows a second before they landed.

Another way Mania differed from the talkative Venom was even in her physical manifestation, such as it was. Mania had no mouth, her 'head' was like a grey wrinkled worm peering at their now shared reflection as her long serpentine body separated from Andi's own, coiling around her like a slinky.

A feeling of confirmation radiated out from Mania's mental presence.

"We'll I don't see how doing this is going to help with that" she murmured under her breath annoyance flaring in her chest as she indicated her exposed cleavage and how tight the dress was now on her. Try as she might it was still difficult to not feel insufficient or like an imposter in her own body. "Besides while both Nathaniel and I appreciate what you and Venom did for us in the tunnels and the helping hands you've given us since. Neither of us have decided if we are cut out for the hero life…We haven't even really helped anyone yet" she said tearing her gaze away from her mirror and directing it to the alien whom peered at her with quizzical interest.

Mania tilted her snake-like head, images of their fight with the hell knight gently pressed into Andi's mind. Most notably their insistence on drawing the demon as far away from the tour group they had being a part of as possible and even trying to spare the knight's life till he forced their hand.

Annoyance and a flicker of shame fluttered across Andi's face, once the adrenaline of the fight had past, she had struggled the rest of the night to not be sick "I bloody well remember what we did Mania" she snapped making the alien recoil slightly. "But if anything that proves were not heroes...we knew almost everyone in that tour group" Andi explained, extending a hand to rub along the length of what she took to be Mania's neck.

Mania, however, rejected the affection moving an inch or two away whenever her fingers came close and probed at dim memories within Andi's mind a littler harder than was really needed but she would not be yelled at for merely helping she brought images of several superheroes her host had seen on news reports or online. Especially the young generation of heroes that had become active in the last year or so.

Big hero six, the young thunder bolts, a young Nova in new Mexico, the stretchy girl in Jersey city, several x men teams and a new spiderman to name a few state side.

Emanating a feeling of understanding but also took her hosts concern and reflected it onto the images of the figures she dredged up.

Discerning what her partner was getting at Andi nodded "I get your point I doubt many of them asked to get powers and whatever else…" she trailed off. ". …but I don't know if that's Nathaniel and I!" she told the alien earnestly.

Mania purred in thought, wondering if her host didn't have a point and whether it was worth herself and her father sticking with the untested teens and not cutting them loose now. Especially before their bond grew too intertwined and parting would bring both herself and her host great pain.

All she and likely her siblings Carnage, Toxin and Scream could recall of their limited existence was, being the victims of humanity so she had no great love of the apes. They, venom included had been experimented on, conditioned to obey, repeatedly been frozen and thawed to unleash violence. That situation, which was damaging to say the least, was likely to blame for the madness that had claimed Carnage and why even in the truck that had brought them to this city. Her brother had been …lost to them.

Yet for as much as the notion of revenge had for a moment or two tempted her. Mania doubted that they would have been treated any better under the lash of that knight and what passed for her heart ached that had not escaped with them.

While the hellish knight had not had her eldest brother with him in their confrontation, he could have passed Carnage onto one of his allies or her brother could have slipped away into the city, neither were favorable outcomes. Even Less favorable was the notion of hunting down a new compatible host while the city still crawled with government agents.

Andrea's reluctance might be for the best, she needed time, they both did. She could also despite Andi's words sense some potential in the teen to maybe balance the scales.

The alien pressed herself into her host's cheek, purring softly sending feelings of calm and reassurance through their connection, sharing the revelation. They would need time to test each other and their bond the rest would fall into place.

"Time" Andi echoed somewhat dreamily as she contented herself with lightly petting the nuzzling alien. "I suppose you do have a point" she agreed mildly her gaze drifting back toward the mirror. "But how much time do we really have? That Knight indicated he was working for someone and there are the men in black…" she trailed off as her phone started ringing.

Letting out a quite sigh, Andi lightly but firmly pushed Mania's nuzzling head away from her face and picked up the phone and quickly unlocked it checking the number on the other end and then the time, ten to nine. She recognized it as belonging to her local Decades' past. While she wasn't much into either comics or tabletop games and so on, one of her best friends Amy Strackhose was an avid collector and Decades past was one of the largest chains of not only, physical games and comics but also books though out several states. As such they were far more reliable than smaller local bookstores and geek outlets and as such one of Amy's favorite, haunts. Which made them ideal when getting her nerdy best friend, birthday or Christmas presents or just something to lift her spirits after one of her bouts of illness.

Though they sometimes struggled with more obscure items.

"Hello, you got Andi, Benton" Andi said as she pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello miss Benton, I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time. This is Criss Mornhome from Decades' past on Lincon Street. You were looking for some specific super hero and villain biography's?" Criss asked sounding mildly distracted.

Andi thought that the background chatter she would normally pick up was a little quieter than normal. A small prickle of sauceless anxiety crawled up her back like a spider "Yeah.' She confirmed, mildly wondering if her plan hadn't backfired.

When she and her brother had come home after the confrontation with the demonic knight. Nathaniel had suggested looking on the internet or going to the library, but she had disagreed.

The government spooks and police would be looking at the internet or the libraries for any isolated people that looked up Venom or Mania at least until she and her brother made a 'public' appearance. She had thought going through a roundabout way of searching for the information they needed might have been a good way through the men in black's net.

Thinking quickly to throw of suspicion if she was being listened to by any spooks "Yeah…my friend Amy has been really sick lately and I thought I could pick up some things she had on a list she gave me…." Andi trailed off awkwardly.

What she said was true enough poor Amy, had been battling a nasty chest infection for little over a month now. She had always been a bit on the frail side and why not kill to birds with one stone?

Andi herd several clicks over the humming of the line "ah yes Miss Stackhouse shes a repeat customer here…" Criss stated sounding slightly relieved. "I… sorry but could you remind us what you were looking for?"

"Of course…She was after a bio about the Spider family, especially anything around the spider girls that came round at the end of the golden age of crime…she also was talking about some avengers books…" she paused for a moment before adding "Oh I just found her list" Andi lied griping up one of her puzzle books and flicking through the pages as loudly as she could. "She mentioned some guy called Venom" she asked wondering whether she should press her luck but if her paranoia was on the money then, cutting the line now might as been setting up a neon sign say 'we have you billion doller aliens'

While Venom wasn't widely known, she could recall a few times Amy had brought him up in relation to the first spider man during the heroic age. Then there was some kind of massive superhero/villain brawl that crossed over the Kay County sate line about thirty years back. Involving some guy called Carnage, Mania already indicated there was a connection there. Which didn't exactly fill her with confidence in relation to her own alien partner let alone Venom but she hadn't sensed any hostility from Mania and her brother would have told her if Venom was telling him to skin puppies or something.

"I see, well we do have a few older biography's and some comics in our back rooms but if you don't have a name of the items your after then there is only so much I can help you with over the phone Miss Benton" Criss told her. "If you came into the store today our friendly staff would be more than happy to help you.."

"Well, I'm going to make my way through some of the secondhand stores today anyway so I might find my way to you, while I'm making a day of it" Andi said, putting on an air of mild disappointment

"Sounds like a fine plan miss Benton…" Criss said sounding increasingly uninterested and or distracted, Andi couldn't tell which. "If I may, recommend Kraken collectables on Jackson Road they have a far more extensive back log than we do!" he added as an afterthought.

"Oh yeah I always forget about them" she lied covering her fib with a light almost forgetful chuckle. "Well thank you for reaching out to me anyway…" she trailed off unsure how to end the conversation without sounding rude. Thankfully Criss was the first to end the call.

Andi sighed, putting down her phone and looked at the alien creature, who seemed more interested in a bar of scented soap she had in a small dish by the tap of the sink than the back end of the conversation she'd just had. "I don't suppose, there's any insight you'd like to share?" she asked, Mania tilted her serpentine head this way and that and wrinkled her grey skin in what Andi thought might have been the alien equivalent of a shrug. "Of course, you're not that helpful…" Andi murmured, sighing again as her gaze drifted back to her reflection.

The mirror had entirely cleared of condensation during her conversation and likewise the last bands of steam from her shower had drifted apart. "Well, there's no point standing round here…" she trailed of before her attention drifted down to her exposed cleavage "I don't suppose you'd help with this could you? I'd rather not have to go shopping for a the next size in dresses and shirts today…. there's only so much retail therapy I can take" She complained pointing to her chest, annoyance edging her voice.

Mania regarded her passively before she melted away from sight, not two moments later the material of the top of her dress shimmered like a mirage seeming to shift and expand, growing over the gap before her very eyes. She blinked and it was over, and her dress covered her just as well as it had before the alien had messed with her body. Through as far as she could tell her body hadn't shrunk back to her previous size.

"Neat trick!" Andi said mildly. "I suppose having you around will save me on buying new clothes" she chuckled reaching down to a small hanky that sat on the sink table and picked up her various piercings from where they rested and returned them to her face and ears.

She mulled on her errant joke for a moment as she examined her reflection one last time a thought occurring to her as she applied her makeup 'If Mania can change the clothes I have on to fit better and completely cover me…' she closed her eyes to the last time she was at her favorite clothing store and recalled a outfit that had caught her eye but was well outside her budget and beyond what she'd feel comfortable waring. She reopened her eyes and saw the clothing she wore shimmer.

Her dark demine shorts were first to go, replaced by a ruffled dark skirt with black frills that barely reached her mid-thigh, her stockings were next.

Once so black they could have been mistaken for leggings but were now so opaque. Someone might have thought her legs were bare if it wasn't for the diamond patten that ran up and down her long dancer's legs.

Andi watched in rapt amazement as Mania's form shimmered near her feet, manifesting the glossy high heel's that had being on the store manikin. They were far taller than the platform boots she had favored for the last few years, adding nearly three or more inch's to her height and making her dancers legs all the more shapely, they even had a cute little buckle. Which took the shape of a cartoon skull which was framed with little bat wings.

Last but by no means least was the top which was almost in the style of gown one might see on a 'medieval' reenactor. The very top of the dress exposed most of her upper chest and barely hung onto the top of her shoulders with an intricate weave of airy black lace and string. While the dress barely exposed any of her cleavage, paradoxically even more of her skin was exposed now than had been with her old shirt.

The dresses integrated cups fit her girls just right, the black airy lace sown into and then gave way to a thick red silk, creating almost floral patterns along her sides and back. The front of the shirt, below her breasts was a subtle divide kept shut by shiny sliver buttons, creating an almost 'corset' effect without the need of the extensive 'ribbing' she had seen on most corsets.

"Oh my kay" Andi swore , her eyes almost becoming impossibly wide in their sockets as she took herself in, surprise soon gave way to admiration as she twisted and span, neither movement should have being as fluid as they were as she had little experience with heels, at least heels that were as tall as those she now wore. However Andi found she could move in them as if she was born to them, she supposed that Mania's preternatural dexterity was to thank.

A giddy smile filled her face. Never in a million years did she think she could ware something like this and not only pull it off but look so natural doing so. "This is amazing Mania" her hand brushing the petal like tassels that rand along the end of her skirt, "Could we make this a bit longer…about to my knees?" she asked eager to experiment with this ability. The skirt lengthened to fulfill her request. "Maybe change up the color from red to purple, Please!" she begged indicating her top.

The alien was happy to oblige. In the short time she had known the teen, Andrea had been rather serious-minded and while she took joy in her hobbies and interests like she supposed any human teen would and there had been her interactions with her family. Those small sparks of joy, passion, desire, satisfaction, annoyance, even anxiety and more had been small things, like errant flakes floating down through the depths of the ocean to settle upon the bottom for the hungry things in the deep.

For one such as she, whom had spent most of her life either frozen or drugged by those who held her family's leash, this was a rare and special treat to savor and savor it she did as it wouldn't be long before her host recentered herself. Venom had warned her well not to drag out the waves and swells of her hosts too long, to prevent them both from being caught in a feedback loop, that could do serious damage to the host and themself. So, she let the ebb come with out to much resistance

"Got a little distracted there" Andi breathed out as she smoothed back a length of hair that had escaped her long bang. Noting how flushed her face had become. "I'm guessing our bodies and sensors aren't the only things you…enhance?" she asked directing her gaze towards the mirror. There was no response from her partner other than a fleeting feeling of acknowledgement. "Well, we cant stay in here all day an work out all the kinks in our...relationship" She sated firmly turning her gaze, first towards the basket full of clothes that thanks to Mania's alterations no longer fit her and then to the door.

Which she could hear music drifting through, the side of her eye twitched slightly 'how many times have I told him to keep it down?' she thought as she went to open the door choosing to deal with her clothes another time "Its fine...it doesn't bother me it doesn't…" she said holding herself to her full height and standing as tall and dignified as she could.

XXXX

For his part Nathaniel Benton only became aware of the fact that his music both its source. A pirate radio station hosted by a figure, called DJ Vox Poplie whom most of the mainstream outlets and parent groups with in Innsmouth and beyond had labeled as a trouble making rabble rouser and its volume did in fact bother his high-strung sister.

When a preternatural sense of something rapidly approaching his head by a faint 'shiver' that ran down his spine as he was altering the line work on one of the hand drawn commissions he was working on.

Without thinking his right hand dropped the pencil and snapped out, to prevent a tennis ball from colliding with his head. "The fuck? Nathaniel squawked realizing what just happened, regarding the tennis ball in his hand before turning to regard his sister who stood just outside the thresh hold of his bedroom's door, wearing an expression of pure irritation and a dress he had never seen her ware before. His pierced right eyebrow quirked as he slowly realized the clothes his sister was wearing, were running like melted wax down a candle.

"Ooh I should have probably warned you about that…" Venom said to his host, his body having turned into half a dozen tentacles which stretched out from Nathaniels body like roots from a tree trunk. "Mania's not a fan of sound"

Several of his tentacles had formed human like hands and were busy drawing and coloring several sheets of A3 paper, others were typing at a lap top they'd set up on Nathaniel's bed, and at least one was devouring the remains of a whole roast chicken dinner, the bones and all.

"Ha…hay sis" Nathaniel stuttered as he noticed Andi had another tennis ball in hand and murder in her eyes. He never thought anyone could make a ball threatening but here he was. "Ok point taken, but wasn't throwing a ball a little much?" he asked reaching over to his radio and turning the nob, he breathed out a sigh of relief as he saw the ire in Andi's eyes dim slightly.

"Thank you" she said with a relieved breath as her bones no longer felt like they were being ground to dust from the sheer volume of that hateful station he listened to. Through her ears still rang a little and Mania, radiated a feeling that Andi could only discern as 'queasy' but was recovering. "I hope you're not looking up our new friend's!" Andi asked, as she shot her twin's laptop a withering glare "I thought we agreed that wasn't the move for the moment at least?"

"I'm not looking up Venom and Mania" Nathaniel said dismissively waving away Andrea's concerns "Besides I still think your being paranoid about all that"

Andi narrowed her eyes searching Nathaniel's mis matched brown and blue for any sign of deceit but she couldn't see any. "Not so sure about that, I had a weird feeling when the book shop rang me up not ten minutes ago"

He turned full to his sister regarding her carefully "Like when that renaissance reject was 'bout to blast us?" Nathan asked standing up from his chair, recalling the various tentacles Venom had spawned on his behalf as he walked carefully across the debris covered floor of his bedroom pushing past a patch of moldering socks and food wrappers. A chance glance at the expression his sister wore as he made his way through told him everything she thought of his room without his twin having to utter a word. Not that she was inclined to lambast his living standards most of the time as she herself was by no means a neat freak. They'd both come to the silent agreement that each other's rooms were their own business, any intrusion would be met in kind, However he could see her distain as clear as the nose on her face.

She gave him a small uncertain nod "Kind of felt like I was being listened to or something, it was like…"she trailed off "You remember that feeling you'd get when we used to stay at aunt Imogen's farm house every other summer when we were kids?" Andi asked.

"Kay!" he swore "Yeah, those woods and the old hut out there just beyond the fence line in the paddock. I thought the beast of the barrens itself used to live out there or even Mr Padmarrow" Nathaniel said with a small humorless chuckle. Even all these years later the memory of that place cast it shadow on his mind, like walking through a spiders web strung between trees on a moonless night.

Despite the many places he had being when he started up with urban exploration and the few spots he had being told about or found on his own that felt strange. Few if any other place he had ever been had held the same energy as that old, rusted hut in the paddock. "Could be something in that" Nathaniel admitted running a hand through his short moehawk "But have you noticed that our new friends…kind of make what we feel more intense?"

"I had… a moment In my bath room" Andi trailed off when she noticed Nathaniel's face wrinkle "Not like that kay!" she squawked taking a step back. Drawing a breathy snort from her brother in response. "When Mania gave me these clothes" she brushed the hem of her dress for emphasis "I don't know I kind of got caught up…" Andi looked away her face down cast.

Nathaniel grimaced, feeling ashamed of his crash jap, 'I should really know better' he chastised himself. "Andi…" his voice heavy with apology as he reached to touch her shoulder, ground her in the moment but she stepped away.

Shaking her head pushing away the gloom that had settled across her features like mist over the harbor. "Just thought I'd tell you is all… Before I go out looking for information on our friends the old-fashioned way" Andi explained starting to turn and walk away from her brother making for the stairs.

He nodded before fallowing, a step or two behind "Ok, well if you really think those spooks working with the cops are looking for anyone with a sudden interest in Venom and Mania. Is it really the right call to go looking around bookstores for …I don't know old biography's?" Nathaniel asked as Andi went about getting the last few items she needed for a day out.

"There is a risk" she admitted putting her house keys in her shoulder purse and making for the front door, still to annoyed with her brother to meet his eye as she turned her gloom into resolve. "But they can't be at every book and comic store and we need to know what we've gotten ourselves into before things get stranger." She stopped and turned to glare at her brother "But winds be dammed you have a point…" she admitted her arms crossed "Didn't Venom say something about hanging round with spider man back in the heroic age?"

At the mention of his first earth-based host Venom perked up and manifested his own head. "I did a little more than hang out with the old web head" the alien said grinning from ear to ear, his long white teeth glinting in the dull morning light the streamed into the foyer.

"Before you ask, he won't share much… but that was what I was doing on my computer, double checking his story" Nathaniel added "Those spooks might be looking at internet traffic about Venom directly, but it'll be harder to track things down if we look up people connected to him and since there's being a dozen or more spider people since the heroic age. It'll be even harder for them to narrow things down"

"Any luck?" Andi asked mildly impressed at her brothers out of the box thinking, as it was not normally his style, he preferred taking the shortest root between point A and B as he could. Even if it didn't work out in the long run.

"Well, he got around during that time, he'd fought basically everyone at one point or another, but he also seemed to be on the good guys side more often than not towards the end of the heroic age" Nathaniel explained.

Andi eyed the alien head cooly "Well considering his base line personality I can't say I'm surprised to hear that the old heroes wanted to punch him in the face"

"I have a great personality! Toots" Venom grumbled

Continuing as if the alien hadn't spoken "If he's one of the good guys more, often than not. How come we've never heard about him or Mania?" She asked

Nathaniel shrugged "He kind of drops off the map during the golden age of crime and I couldn't find anything about Mania other than some big show down maybe thirty years ago"

"Yeah that's a blank spot for me and the kid's to" Venom interjected "If I try thinking back, I get nothing"

Nathaniel sighed, "For as much as you love chatting you don't say much do you!" he accused. Mean while Andi glared at the alien all the harder

Venom regarded the two teens "Look I'll say this to you two chuckle fuck's once. I got a lot of past in my past and not just on this back water. If I even attempted to go through it with you two, you'd be old and grey before I even got past my prolog" the alien hissed.

"See what I got to work with!" Nathaniel moaned pinching his brow "Mania might not say much but she at least lets you in"

Andi inclined her head in agreement "Fine, you told us about there where three of you in the car sir stabs a lot was driving into the city"

"We really need a better name for him" Nathaniel murmured

Venom nodded ignoring his host "That's right toots, there was the kid" he gestured to Andis clothing "Myself and my eldest, Carnage in the car"

"He's the one that went crazy right?" Nathaniel pressed

Venom glared at his young host "He's not well but that don't make him crazy!" the alien grumbled "But yeah thought you might have heard of him that's how we all got put on ice"

Andi regarded her brother and the alien in turn, the former nodded "Anyone else, I get the impression from Mania that its more than three?"

Venom wriggled "I got two more kids, Toxin and Scream but before you ask toots, I got no clue where they are. First clear memory I've had in the past, null knows how long….Was that flaming freak busting me, Carnage and the kid out of a government ice cream van"

"Scream and Toxin, Charming" Andi said rolling her eyes

"And before then?" Nathaniel asked "I think you mentioned a guy called Brook, before?"

The alien shook his long head "Brock meat bag, Eddie Brock but even my memories of then…" he trailed of "are foggy"

"But having his name could help!" Andi said wrighting his name on a sticky note

Nathaniel regarded his sister as she opened the door, grabbing her wrist before she could take another step. "Be careful out there, sis if the men in black got and eye on people looking up Mania and Venom then they'll be having an eye out for people looking for this Brock guy"

Andi nodded.

XXXXXXXX

Biding a curt thanks and farewell to the buss driver as she stepped onto Jackson street, just as a sliver of weak sun broke through the seemingly ever present cloud cover that hung over Innsmouth like a thick blanket.

Andi wished she had worn something a little less showy as she could feel several of her former fellow passenger's eyes linger on her back side as she tried to avoid stepping into a stagnate puddle but she couldn't really find as sure footing as she wanted as an older women. Dressed in the unflattering style of a office worker drone, all slate greys and eggshell whites pushed past her making her almost stumble as her oh so fancy high heals slipped across the warn coble stone. Stagnate days old water splashing up her ankles

"Watch your step" the woman said a few other women who had fallowed her barge wake snickered snidely before disappearing into the milling crowds.

"Briney…Bit.." Andi trailed off feeling something hotter than annoyance but cooler than rage flair in her chest, but she didn't have much of a chance to process the emotion as she stepped into the chest of a boy around her age, maybe a year older. Only her enhanced reflexes and the young man's strong grip that lashed out and held her by the flair of her hips stopped her from falling ass first into the puddle, which would have completed her embarrassment.

"Havn't got you land legs yet?" the boy chuckled pulling her away from the stream of people rushing in and out of the bus.

"New heel's" Andi stated, really starting to regret not waring her normal platform combat boots while taking a half step away from the stranger. His hands having lingered a little longer than what she was comfortable with but as she looked up at him she felt herself flush as her gaze drank him in and wondered for a second or more if she hadn't being a little too hasty in her distancing.

He was taller than her even with her new heels, broad in his chest and face which was movie star handsome. Though he didn't quite have the muscle bulk of a jock or gym rat. She never liked those kinds of guys, he clearly looked after himself. He had rich earthy brown eyes and small, cute freckles doting his subtle smile.

He was clean cut with decent though not high-end clothes. A plan light blue polo shirt, jeans, Converses. The only jewelry he wore was a wristwatch which looked a decade or two out of fashion. He also wore a metal bird necklace that glittered like sliver. He was carrying a rather thick and bulky computer case and a small shopping bag filled with comics and a few other books.

"I can see that" Alvian Carpentersaid chuckling warmly. Taking the briefest moment to look her up and down, quite liking what he saw. Though he wasn't normally into these goth types, she made it work.

"I'm more of a boot fan really, but had to walk these in eventually, right?" Andi stated trying to push away the feeling of nervous embarrassment that fluttered with in her. "Thank you anyway from stopping me for been run over" she inclined her head towards the buss that just now pulled away from the street and into the sluggish pulse of traffic. She grimaced , noting the boys bag, "I hope you didn't miss your buss on my account…"

Alvian waved off her concern "Even if you had, it'd be worth it" he smiled as they unconsciously drifted out of the stream of people to lotter near one of the innumerable mobile coffee and hot drink stands that moved around the rustic Victorian era and turn of the century streets of Innsmouths heart.

Andi couldn't quite prevent the warm flutter of her heart "Charmer"

"Carpenter, Alvian Carpenter actually and you are…." He asked

'Carpenter' she thought dwelling on the last name for a moment, it sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. "Impressed, though also wondering how many girls you had to use those lines on to be this smooth" Andi said smirking

"A few" Alvian shrugged noncommittally "and you?" hitting the ball she had lunched back into her side of the court. Two could play at this game, ' not that I have all the time in the world today to play it' he thought annoyed at his fathers plans which would rob him of his day which would have being interesting if spent with this young woman.

"A few as well," Andi implied, playing with one of her wrist bands she had put on after Mania had dressed her up. Her eyes narrowed to study whatever expression would race across Alvian's face when he put two and two together. Normally she wasn't this bold but if he was going to play this game than so was she and she wouldn't hide who she was while she played it. She liked both guys and girls and if he didn't like that or thought there was a chance in the deep that she'd fulfill some fantasies of his about having two girls at once than it wasn't worth telling him her name.

It took a second or two for him to realize what the girl was saying, "Oh…" he flushed wandering if he had misread the signs and saw the bracelet she was playing with which was in the colors of the bisexual flag. He breathed out a note of relief, he hadn't completely miss read her signs. "Your good" Alvian told her with conviction only for his phone to start vibrating. His gaze flicked to his pocket and than to her apology on his face "sorry this is probably my dad…he's picking me up…."

Andi inclined her head in understanding as he juggled his bags while reaching for his phone. "I'll hold those" she offered and he silently but quickly agreed as he put the phone to his ear.

She took that moment to take a quick glance at the books he had in the shopping bag. Comics mostly, a few nonfiction books. She could see one on drones and another on computing. The computer case was locked with something that looked like a thumb print scanner or something similar, 'a bit high tech for a study or gamming computer' Andi thought.

"Sorry about that" Alvian said noting her interest in his bag "isn't it rude to look into some else's bags, at least without sharing coffee with them first?" he ventured

She pretended to think about that for a moment "A little" she admitted "and do you have time for coffee?" she indicated the stand not ten feet away, the barista handing over a cup to a cute girl a year younger than herself.

Alvian bit his lip, disappointed "Afraid not" pointing to a car pulling up on the other side of the street. A very large man steeping out and looking around. "That's my dad…maybe next weekend?"

'This is getting dangerous now' Andi thought a mild prickle of shame skittered up her spine. "sorry…already booked I'm having a coffee with someone I met the other night" she admitted a little red faced as she thought of Guinevere.

Seeing shame and anxiety play across the young woman's face "Its fine…to go window shopping while you're just having coffee…" Alvian told her.

She wasn't sure about that but his response did ease her guilt slightly "Andi…My names Andi, Benton" she said taking her phone out, clicked a button and tapped to his. The devices shared their numbers. "If you wanna talk or meet up…I cant promise anything more than that…and I shouldn't keep you" She said indicating his portly father whom was drifting towards a bakery on the other side of the street. A strange flicker across her awareness had her gaze linger on the large man for a moment longer than she intended only to see beyond him was a pair of innsmouth police officers waring their elaborate face concealing helmets,

Taking a chance to look around the street there were nearly a dozen or more officers walking through the crowds or watching for any disturbance. She supposed that made sense with the hell knights attack only being three days ago but what was strange was she didn't have the same 'flicker' across her awareness when she saw the other police, making her wonder for a heartbeat or more if it wasn't Alvian's father that hadn't rosed what ever it was Mania had sensed.

"I'll see you around" she called out as Alvian rushed off without another word.

Dismissing the strange feeling that had brushed her alien friends awareness as she stepped away from the coffee cart and into the avenue of brownstone's and quant rustic shop fronts and eatery's the made up the high street.

The crowds were restrained compared to the indistinct streams of comers and goers she was accustomed to in the heart of one of innsmouths many shopping districts. The recent attack likely wayed on everyone's mind but the pulse of the crowd was steady and growing.

Buskers played covers of popular songs from a decade or two ago, there was a clown making colorful balloon animals. People of all shape and sizes sat on old benchers sipping streaming coffees, hot chocolates or had braved the lines that stretched out form the smoothie hut which was always a popular destination. There were a few people, maybe a hand full or more waring or holding up anit mutant protest signs or placards which were sprawled with anit mutant slurs.

Her eye twitched at the sight, things had been relatively decent between mutants and humans over the last twenty years or more, at least within the states but over the last few years this nonsense seemed to be building up again. The demon knights attack had been largely blamed on a rogue mutant which would only stoke these bigots' ire. What made it worse was that she and Nathaniel already knew that whatever that knight was, he had never been human, but it wasn't as if they could come forward, hell they still didn't know exactly what sir stabby was.

Pushing that unpleasant reality from her mind, she turned to focus on the more welcome sights and smells of her surroundings.

She could smell the spices from one of her favorite middle eastern eateries, wafting through the chilly air. All three of the street level burger, places she walked past were fit to bursting. She fought the temptation offered by a old Chinese place called 'Mings' that had stayed in business and within the same family for nearly one hundred years and she doubted had ever changed their oils which was likely the appeal.

There was a basement chemist, above which stood a massive toy shop. A tattoo parlor was offering a sale. A dark stair case which was squeezed between an all-night bakery and a soap shop led to a bar/ strip joint called 'Tartarus'.

Past a age warn Plack which detailed the streets history and some lush sitting gardens, a stone stage was host to a amateur stage play which had gathered a respectable crowd. Andi thought she recognized one or two of the would-be actors from some of her failed auditions.

Beyond the stage and in among the greenery stood a taller-than-life statue of a sailor which sat atop a massive stone plinth which must have been three meters tall. The plinth was lined with names, ranks and conflicts. The revolutionary war, the war of 1812, the civil war. World war one, World War two and more besides. The names of Innsmouths children sent away and never to return.

Around the bass of the plinth was a collection of flower reefs some were fresher than others though few if any had being here so long that the flowers had completely rotted away yet. She drifted closer to the plinth, finding distant relatives and some more recent. An uncle a generation or two ago, cousins, a few aunts. She also found family names of friends easily enough, Stalkhouse, Park, Krite and more. Andi noted an older woman maybe her grandmothers age approach, flowers in hand.

She took that as a sign to leave and go about her day, it didn't take her long to find another statue. While of a hero in her own right. The figure depicted in lifeless stone was vastly different to the sailors and service men and women who paid the ultimate price. The statue depicted the Kraken, a vigilante, though some called her a hero. She had operated throughout most of the golden age of crime, forty years ago. She had been one of the few 'super figures' to come from kay county let alone Innsmouth.

Andrea had a brief interest in the woman in her youth as she suspected most Innsmouth born and bred girls did. Female heroes, at least those that weren't related to a more established male hero, were a rare thing at least outside the x men and other mutant teams. Female vigilantes were rarer still.

The statue was worn by years of rain but still well maintained, the details hadn't been lost yet. The statue depicted kraken in what most people agreed was her most iconic costume. A long great coat that came down just below her knees, a tycorn hat, glasses, a face and neck covering cloth that emerged from under her great coat. Thick boots, strange metal wrist guards one of which had her iconic wrist blade extended. The guards were detailed with strange tentacle esk patterns. In her other hand she carried her other most iconic weapon, her spear gun. The back end of its grip shaped like the head of a squid or octopus, long tentacles wrapped around the shaft and barrow. Above her right breast sat a small icon of her name sake.

Unlike the sailor monument she passed, Kraken was not alone on her plinth, she stood on the back of a arkham ranger, a hate group that had preyed upon the city for much of the golden age of crime. The citys of kay county, Innsmouth, Arkham () had always had their rivalries and sometimes those had spilled over into violence, typically nothing serious. Brawls over the results of a sporting match and other such. Yet in the golden age of crime, there had been a scarcity of resources and several natural disasters that had turned those rivalries into something…darker.

The Arkham rangers and the krakens bloody response had being the capstone to all that.

Walking past the statue and into the dark granite jaws that were the entrance to the Wrymmother center a massive eight story department store. Which was practically a shopping center and small town in and off itself. The ground floor where she entered was home to a massive eatery and sitting area which was shaped like a elongated and slightly malformed oval. Familiar chain fast food restaurants and more specialized fair lining the walls with other shops clustered like fungis around imposing support pillars or elevators and escalators that led up to the higher floors. From the main eatery area several alleys branched off from the main room like twisting vines, which burrowed deeper into the complex. Some of these shared the ground floor, some led up, others led down. Each hallway offered more distractions and shops.

The building was like a giant geode or hallow tree trunk in design, each ring-like floor that sat above the eatery was home to a half dozen or more shops. Though Andi could remember a time when there had been dozens of stores big and small crammed were ever they could fit. Most had been closed for the better part of a decade if not longer, some of their signs still hung as if waiting for a grand reopening despite the yellowing and cracking paint

She smiled faintly as she looked up into the vast ceiling remembering when there had been a small roller coaster anchored to the top most floor. Locally called the 'screaming dragon'. When she was little she'd wait for half hour or more just for her turn to fly through the sky above the noisy eatery below.

The roller coaster was gone now, board teens and other such hooligans, would spat down onto the crowds below and she had heard someone had jumped off the thing midway through its turn around one of the six massive pillers that supported the distant dark glass sky window.

On the topmost floor was a large movie theater and a gaming arcade, she felt a mild temptation to go up there to see if there was anything worth seeing but thought better of it as she walked past the inviting eatery and other distractions. Down a flight of stairs following the signs into the sub-basement floor

There was a supermarket down here, a bobba tea place, a bakery, a phone shop, massage parlor, a chicken place. A video game store, half its space given over to pop culture collectibles. Past them a chain book store, she made a mental note to go in there later. A small sweets shop, a few clothing and shoe shops. Finally she turned a corner past a crystal shop that always gave her the creeps, she found what she came her for, Krakens, collectables.

XXXXX

The store was large maybe a little bigger than her family's living room, through it was wider than it was long. Two elongated tables each able to sit maybe half dozen or more people. These were in clear sight of the clear glass counter that stood sentry near the entrance and the 'detector' that would presumably beep if anyone tried to steal anything. The easternmost wall was packed high with shelves these were filled with boxed board games, roll playing games and some miniature sets. Though the far northeastern wall seemed to be more home to miniatures for various role play games, war games and everything in between. Some of the boxes featured outlandish star ships, others fantastical creatures, there were boxes for tanks and soldiers, some if not most with eye watering price tags.

Feather into the store there were several 'islands' made of shelves or small displays. Some of the latter were encased in glass and displayed some of the wall mounted figures. Frozen mid battle, like some bizarre historical diorama. Some of these displays housed superhero figures, some little bigger than the army soldiers while there were others larger, more akin to collectibles and action figures a hand full were larger still.

Other islands were more functional, home to graphic novels, rule and lore books for games, magazines, manga and some art books.

The western wall was home to paints both spray and small pots, flack and static grasses and other terrain she suspected were meant for the lines of miniature war games. Beyond these islands were a few more tables, these were smaller, round and could seat maybe four or five at a push. The entire north and most of the western wall was home to shelves crammed full of books.

There were maybe a little over a dozen people in the store beside herself, around one of the larger back tables five people sat, one of whom was half hidden by a cardboard sheet and seemed to describe a grisly crime scene that the others in the group were investigating via both rolling a dice and describing their actions.

Another table, closer than the first was being played on by two men who moved their soldiers around a table filled with blown up buildings and other battlefield terrain pieces. They would shoot or otherwise engage the others force's whenever the opportunity presented itself, one the larger of the two was gleefully descripting the way one of his playmates squad was blown into a fine red mist when his artillery stuck true.

There were a few other people, some perusing the books that took up the north and western walls some playing cards.

As the masked store keep was busy with another woman, maybe in her mid-twenties who was buying up some miniature kits of her own and asking if the store keep knew anything about a possible new release for some army or another. Andi drifted over to the far north wall but as she did so she really started to regret her choice in clothing as several of the men gazes lingered away from their previous interests.

Noting her discomfit and in turn the distraction of one of his players, the man behind the carborg game screen said something to the effect. 'eyes on the board George' which made the others at the table snicker as the player that had shown the most interest in her turned red faced.

It didn't take long for the store goers to turn her out and return to their various activity's as she spent a few minutes perusing the shelves full of comics and graphic novels.

Some were based on true if embellished events that had happened since super heroes first started appearing in the late nineties, if one didn't include the heroes that had appeared during the world wars or the cold war. Though her friend Amy had told her once that most of the Cold War adventures were completely fictional.

Some of the books she found were reimaging's of public domain characters and worlds, like alice in wonder land, wizard of ozz and so on, other were books featuring famous and marketable monsters, vampires and Dracula, tripods from war of the world. Western's, mystery, drama and more.

She picked out a few books she thought Amy might like, giving them a quick skim through to make sure they didn't have anything to objectionable with in. Amy was not partial to gore or overly skimpy clothing. She also picked up one or two that more aligned with her tastes in the gothic or dramatical.

One of the books she picked out on a whim, called 'ghost'. Which was clearly an attempt to create an original hero. Drew a chuckle from her as the characters repeatedly stated the heroine looked ready for war or described her clothing as 'armor'. It wasn't as if the heroine was wearing anything particularly revealing, quite the opposite. The heroine wore something not unlike a hijab or something similar expect it was some how even more voluminous and shapeless. In all honesty the heroine looked like she had dressed herself in bed sheets and curtains.

Yet she doubted it would offer any more protection than the countless heroines or damsels she had seen in her browsing that wore either modern civilian clothes or metal bikinis and loin cloths that barely covered anything and Andi imagined would chafe like sand paper.

She also picked out a book featuring a band she knew her father was found of, which depicted said band in a Sudo sword and sandels setting, some of the band mates wielding magic powers others gripped swords and bows.

Turning her attention to the check out Andi saw the woman from before gathering up her bounty and making for the exit. Noting that none of the other people in the store were in a particular hurry to take up the cashers time she took a moment or two to look over the shelves she took to be more recent additions but didn't see anything that particularly drew her interest so she casually made her way over.

The check out was more akin to a small office than the bar like structures of other stores, with two hip high glass sets of draws which separated from it from the rest of the store. These housed more, figurines, sculptures, dice and some card games. Behind was a few shelfs, draws and metal filing cabinets and she could just about make out a door.

Andi felt her eyebrow hitch upwards as she noticed there were at least two Venom's on display, the first was a part of a diorama. The diorama depicted a bridge strewn with cars, some seemed as if they would tip over the edge to their doom at any moment. The first spider man was also present and seemed to be trying to pull up a car with his webs, Venom loomed behind him massive and monstress and looked ready to strike the webslinger.

The second was far more, humble in size and scale, more akin to the statues she had seen in the store already. Venom sat half crouched on the outcrop of a building, his cartoonishly long tongue sliding out between rows of shark like teeth.

She turned her focus than to the man behind the counter whom had yet to notice her, jotting down some details in a paper booklet.

He wore the face covering ceramic mask common to those with in Innsmouth that sported a particularly nasty skin disease that was well known if not strictly common with in innsmouth itself but less so through the rest of Kay county. Earning it the nick name of the 'innsmouth look'

His mask was old and chipped from age and use, likely a family heirloom, the 'look' tended to run in families. There had been images and decoration scrawled across its vague face melded visage but these were, little more than dark stains now. The man wore an old flannel jacket and jeans, the former did little to hide the wrinkled and yellowing skin that grew worse as some with the 'look' aged.

The man noticed her soon enough and ambled over, "Good Morring miss…" he greeted her his voice husky, warn but welcoming.

"Morring" she returned pleasantly, laying her own bounty of books on the glass countertop "I'd like to get these but I was also looking for something specific today as well if you have the time to help me?" she asked "My friend recently got me into some venom stuff but I was having trouble finding it on the shelves back there" she gestured to where she had being browsing.

The man nodded "Venom? Your friend has eclectic taste there hasn't being anything much written about him in quite some time at least officially…" he said thoughtfully "We might have a few copies of Brocks old tell all out back if you don't mind sliver fish" the man said with a chuckle

"Official?" Andi ventured hiding the excitement she felt at hitting pay dirt in her first venture.

"Whell some of the heros back in the day, sometimes had journalists and reporters inbed with them. Some people made a good living out of all that before print media went the way of the dodo…Lee, Ditko, Kurby, Parker, Miller or sometimes when the heroes got sick of the game or just got old had biography's written up"

"Like what Androus Stark and the Thunder bolts do?" she asked her lip curling as if she had tasted something foul. While she was not as anit establishment as her brother the thunderbolts public presence was vapid as their corporatization was sinical.

The store keep shrugged "Sometimes, the Starks were always media hogs…all that only got worse after the powers act" his gaze drifted over to a poster of the Kraken that stood pride of place over the desk he had been working on a moment ago. "Some folk just wanted their side of the story told some of its straight up propaganda"

"And this Broke guy, were dose he fall?" she asked her eyebrow raised.

"I can't rightly say, he was a reporter and photographer once. A dammed fine one before he got caught selling doctored photos of the first spiderman…at least that's how I always herd it" he said.

Andi glanced over to the venom and spiderman diorama "a lot of past in your past.." she murmured

"What was that miss?"

She shook her head, chiding herself for her slip "Sounds like kind of a prick" she told the store keep honestly "Ill was also wondering if there were any other's like Venom, sidekicks that kind of thing?" she asked.

The man tapped his masked chin "I think…give me a minute miss, I'll…" he trailed of as one of the other shoppers was approaching with his own selection "Hay Tim, get behind the counter while I look for some books for the young lady" he called out to one of the two men playing cards.

XXXXX

In all, it hadn't taken long for the store manager to find Brock's biography as well as a few other books of interest, one of which was an illustrated biography featuring Mania and the rest of Venom's family.

However, that was where Her luck in that regard had run dry. It was the fifth book in a series of twelve and the store keep had indicated that not only these books were well known as blatant propaganda, but the series was completely out of print and nearly impossible to track down inless you found someone willing to sell their private collection.

Worse yet In Andi's opinion was that tale being told with in the book, did not exactly fill her with confidence. The blatant Jingoism and casual disregard for life the team showed to their enemies, after the five symbionts had being deployed to the amazon bason to root out some Milita made her feel a little ill at ease.

Needing a brake from watching Carnage ripping apart some woefully overmatched paramilitary types that if the book was telling the truth, were in the employ of some mega corporation hell bent on stripping the amazon of life.

She took a bite from the ham sandwich she had gotten from a small café which delivered food to the hungry customers and staff of Krakens alike. She turned her attention to a tv set up above the two long tables nearest the entrance which of course was set to a local channel. According to the sign which hung from the tv, a selection of movies and or channels were able to be viewed for a small fee.

So far Andi was content to half watch a mid-morning cooking show when her phone suddenly rang. Seeing it was Nathaniel on the other end she picked up.

"Sis, are…. you in the… city still?" Nathaniel asked his voice strained.

Andi swore she could hear the rush of wind, whip by from her brothers side of the phone line. "Yeah im still at Krakens, found some stuff that might be interesting"

"Krakens!...good that's not to… " her brother grunted

Hearing the strain in her brothers voice and seeing that her conversation had drawn a little attention from the other store goers she stepped outside. "Bro what's happening, are you masked up?" she asked as quietly as she could, covering her mouth with her hand eyeing a security camera that sat in the hallway

"Yeah…somethings happing at dad's work….,. cops are already there…their pinned…Andi it looks bad"

Andi winced as his line end popped with static the phone let out a shrill whine as the other end was cut "Kay" She growled, feeling the clothes', that were in matter of fact Mania tense in anticipation. She pocked her head into krakens "Somethings come up, can I get those books put in the box we set up…Ill come back for them latter I got to go"

The store keep, spared the small collection a glance and shrugged "sure"

"Thanks, what's the quickest way back to street level?" Andi asked

"take that stare case near the toilets, it'll lead you to a back street but …" he trailed off as the girl sprinted faster than a girl in heals should have being able to "she's going to brake her neck" he murmured shaking his head despondently.

XXXXXX

Quickly reaching out with her sensers both her natural and those granted to her by her alien partner Andi concluded that the 'street', she had been pointed to, was less of a street and more a narrow, trash strewn alley.

Neither sensing nor seeing any eyes, living or camera on her, she reached out with her mind to her alien partner who's form shimmered and shifted like mercury. With in Seconds the colorful clothing she had indulged in that morning melted away replaced by 'Mania's' gray, charcoal and white flesh' molding itself to her body like a second skin.

The 'costume' if that was the correct term of the form, the alien used to hide her Identity if not her body left little to the imagination save for a few areas.

She had tall and thick combat boots that cupped her knee, her shoulders down to her elbows had what looked like armor sleeves, these like the boots were a darker shade of grey more akin to bitumen then the much lighter grey that covered most of her form. Both her knees, shoulders and elbows had white spikes growing out of the armor like pads.

Her hands, likewise had the same shade of dark grey affixed there creating a glove-like effect, which included exaggerated examples of the spiked wrist bands she favored.

She had a spiked belt fixed just over her hips, the same dark shade of grey as her boots, gloves and shoulders.

There were a few white bands wrapped round her upper arms, boots and white squares on the back of her gloves. Her eyes were, now large, oval and white, with in the otherwise featureless mask Mania created over her entire head, complete with spiked hair.

The last remaining white area on her body stretched across her torso, a Massive elaborate spider hugged her upper chest, its two sets of four long legs creating wing like archs. The tops of which crested over her shoulders just below her neck like a sports bra, the bottom of the arch wrapped along the outside of her rib cage and under her arm pits. The spiders abdomen which ended in three triangle prongs stretched down to just above her belly button.

While not a single centimeter of her pail skin was now open to air, Andi couldn't help but feel exposed, Mania's flesh hugged her curves and bust but not wishing to spare a moment more to possibly remedy that ultimately minor issue she looked up, spotting the ledge of a nearby building.

A stream of thick sticky webbing shot from her wrist, which with the briefest of tugs pulled her up allowing the teen and her alien to vault the edge and much of the roof of the building she used as her anchor in one move. Scattering pigeons and resting sea birds.

Quickly orientating herself in the direction of her father's office, she bound off in an example of truly inhuman speed. When she ran out of roofs to run along her webbing let her leap from building to building, gaining height as she did.

She was dimly aware before she left ear shot, that some of the street goers had seen her shadow pass over them but she paid the crowds no mind.

Innsmouth didn't have many skyscrapers, but the skyline of office buildings, business and turn of the century brownstone apartment blocks was enough to maintain a good pace though maybe not as fast as her sprint.

Taking a moment while swinging. She brought up her phone looking for news feed or, kay dam her someone streaming.

Her mask's large white eyes grew even larger as she found a live news broad cast

The video while jumbled was clear enough to give her a view of her fathers officer building surrounding street. She saw, Two masked police officers get knocked off their feet by what looked like a massive blast of concentrated air. Then their patrol car was flipped like a child's toy being hit by typhoon winds. A third police officer was firing at something that looked a metal. The female officer whom was using as cover was hit by a bolt of electricity.

The video shuddered before it was blown away by what looked like another blast of concentrated air. However, just before the video feed was losts she saw, large mechanical wings fill the view for a second.

Her eyes narrowed and seeing a new's helicopter heading in the same direction as she was, she fired a string of webbing and hitched a ride.

XXXXXX

End of chapter 2

Please review

Chapter three/ a rewrite of chapter three coming as soon as possible

A few tip bits

Kay is an all purpose term for both god and jesus, considered a very mild swear or exclamation like 'oh my god' would be 'oh my kay'

Yes, this dose mean kay county which is fictional. Means 'god county'

The reverend Stryker's referenced in this chapter is a sudo composit of the William Stryker from the fox xmen movies and the one from the comics. With in the Hotna, The adamantium bounding that logan underwent happened in the early 80s early 90s or at least that's our rough estimate at this time.

Within the universe of HONTA, Logan and the rest of the weapon plus guys worked with Stryker senior during most of the cold war. Weapon plus grew out of the projects that attempted to recreate Steve Rouges captain America and became corrupted over time

Stryker in this universe while always a bigot towards mutants, at least those that didn't serve the military or the us's interests. Didn't go full wacko until his first born son became a mutant and tormented the stryker family.

Here however, Stryker had a second son, William Stryker junior, much younger than the first whom senior had converted into one of his assets. Senior died during enemy of the HOTNA version state storyline with in. Which was about 30 years before the 2060s. Rather than hydra randomly gaining contole over Logan it was weapon plus

After logan broke free of his mind control, he broke the back of the weapons plus organization. In the after math of this

Weapons plus broke largely into three factions.

The Facility: which would create X23. And is led by Martin Sutter. Unlike its fellows the facility is motivated purely by profit rather than any kind of ideology

Paradise: lead by Doctor Colienus abraham cornelius whos basic created a cult around himself and verson of humanity created in his image.

The Purifiers: lead by William Stryker Junior are the most militant and sudo religious cult in and of themselves but one given the frame work of Christianity.

Junior takes over the role' and most of the personality that Reverend Stryker had in the comics. Especially after house of M

I am aware that Stryker's son in the comics dose exist but as far as im aware hes barely relevant. With in HOTNA senior was more akin to the movies striker. Were junior is more the religious nutter.

We've split Stryker in two like this because otherwise with us mostly treating the time line respectfully, stryker would be well over 100 by the time of the new age. Honestly hes be like 150 or there abouts if iv done the math right

Outside of world war two hero's, super heros as we know them only largely started showing up in the late 90s and early 2000ed

With in HOTNA, mutants were for much of their public history belived to be the next step of human evolution, by the time of the 2060s however this has largely been discarded on a science front and to a lessor extent a social one as well.

Mutants are scientific speaking considered to be a branching species of humanity, a cousin like neanderthal's and others. At the time of the 2060's there are maybe just about 2 to three million mutans globally.

With in the sates and some other western nations like Canada, Australia, New Zealand and to an extent Japan and Mexico Mutants are treated at least publicly no differently to any other minority but are still often the victums of criminalization and commodification.

In most other parts of the world, if not purged outright, their populations are heavily censored if not drafted into military or corporate interests.

There are currently three acknowledged Mutant Nations:

Genosha: which holds the largest mutant population outside the states but is shared with humanity. Both the native Gensonsan's whom are 2ed class citizens and human family of mutants (if a mutant has a human family to speak of)

Neo Sapon: (a super nation that's largely supplanted most of north Africa, including Egypt and has expanded into much of the middle east, controlling up to Israel) is controlled by the twin apocalypse's. While having a very small mutant population in comparison to its human one. The humans are little better than slaves if that. The twin apocalypse's have used their advanced technology to both terraform and bioform much of this region into a prime evil hellscape which they have populated with lab grown monsters and prehistoric animals. They have also opened several portals to the 'savage land' with in their territory. Allowing them access to ultra rare earth minerals and biological agents which they trade to the rest of the world. As well as use to fuel their expansionist efforts into central Africa and the middle east

Neo Roma: a small an mysterious city state of displaced hyper advanced romans, hidden somewere with in the amazon. They have a small mutant population and should rightly be considered an ally to mutants rather than a nation of mutants in an of themselves.

Karaoke as in the island dose exist. Its just a weird living island the xmen went to once. Some mutants groups among others have a small out post on the island to study it. But that's about it.

There are only five Klyntar simboits on the planet.

Venom who arrived during the HOTNA version of the first secret wars, hitching a ride on Peter parker

Carnage, Scream, Toxin and Mania were all born directly from Venom. I wont give spoilers as to how.

We might use 'anit Venom' at some stage but he doesn't count as a Klyntar and will be is own weird thing.

All the simboits at base have the same powers but each one other than Venom have one or two abilities unique to them or are hyper charged

Carnage: skill is complete mastery of his and his hosts form via shape changing. He can diverge the most form his hosts form and is by far the most malleable. He can while having a host mind you can turn into a near liquid state. He can also utterly redesign his host, able to change how they look at a whim

This comes at the cost of him being the most physical and mentally unstable. While traditional conventual firearms wont 'typically' kill him. He will feel the pain of being shot, cut, blown up what ever

Scream: scream among other things is a sudo speedster she is able to run and react far faster than any of the other symbionts, she is also the most agile able to go full bullet time. She also has the highest resistance to sound based weapons and can even use a moderately effective 'sonic' attack

This comes at the cost of being the weakest physically, both in the aspect of strength and endurance. In a fight with a spider person whom the simboits would typically be more powerful than or on par with. Scream is only par if not weaker in a drawn out fight.

Toxin: is by far and away the strongest, near base level hulk strength and endurance and can grow slightly stronger if pushed but doesn't have anything close to hulks infinite potential.

He can also store and create very potent acid's, poisons, radiation and anything that could be considered toxic. While also being totally immune to those things. And he can use what hes stores or creates as apart of his attacks or to coat his skin

This comes at the cost of Toxin being as dumb as a rock, highly suggestible and impressionable and driven pretty much by pure instinct. Allowing its host to dominate him mentally 9/10 times he is also nearly unable to 'web' swing as he basically has no control over his strength

Mania: is perhaps the most specialised as she is able to turn invisible though this invisibility is not very strong if she moves. She also has some access to weak mental attacks and a decent level of mental protection

In the scope of mind freaks in terms of defence, she wouldn't stand up to professor x, emma frost or Jean grey

But could about equall two of the steford koko's, pyslock or kid omega

Her mental attacks are physical only and are about as potent as one and a half steford kokos at a push

This comes at the cost of being bassicly a blank to other simboits. They can't sense or share their thoughts with her at all via the hive mind and nor can she communicate telepathic with simboits