Ghost of You

Venom stalked forward, tongue lashing over his teeth as he took his time. This Red Hood fool didn't stand a chance to begin with but he had caused Eddie and more importantly his Other pain. Even minor as it was that was going to cost him.

Going to make this one hurt Eddie! Going to peel it out of its stupid helmet like a sardine in a can! the symbiote promised.

Eddie agreed. This particular kill needed to be inspired, inventive, and something that would be talked about by the boys in blue and the criminal element of this city alike. For years to come they'd tell stories in dark alley, whisper in back rooms, about the night the Red Hood met his end. Tales of the condition of the body or what was left of it, would act as a calling card, a deterrent to other criminal scum who thought they could prey on the innocent. While he hated doing it, usually only using the threat of it as a means to scare the piss out of his targets, Brock was tempted to actually allow the symbiote a snack in the form of this Red Hood moron's brain. It was one way to send a message and if anyone needed to receive it, it was that clown girl and army of fashion victims.

OOH! Let's do it Eddie! We always talk about it, but we never actually do it! Even that one time we came close you held back! We need to make a name for ourselves! This place, this world, it doesn't know us. Not yet Eddie. And this, this would let them all know that it is not motorcycle helmets, clowns, or flying rats that own this city. Its VENOM! cooed his Other.

Appreciate the thought, Eddie thought towards the symbiote. But we'll see. As you say this is a new world love and they don't know us. We don't want to get off on the wrong foot. We are heroes after all, heroes free of the web spun by Parker. It's a new beginning and we need to be careful that we don't send the wrong message. We want people to know Venom as a protector of the innocent and eating bits and pieces might just blur that message.

Before any further action could be taken, the freak with the pointy ears was back. Venom could smell the blood and knew he was in bad shape, but he moved remarkably fast for a man who had to be in complete agony. When the little throwing toy came his way, Eddie almost felt bad for the guy. His whole gimmick made no sense to begin with since bats bit people and didn't throw things, not to mention they were small, fuzzy, and kind of so ugly they were cute. Hardly scary. Still, he felt so bad for the guy who was obviously making an effort to look cool and seem competent that he let the fancy boomerang get close. The throw was so bad it barely even got any height, instead striking near his feet.

He started to laugh for a second at the feeble attempt, only to pick up on a high pitched sound, a beeping that was just on the edge of hurting the symbiote but was only enough to be annoying...when suddenly there was fire and smoke. Vibrations in the rooftop aggravated the symbiote and the ringing afterwards had it twitching uncomfortably, the equivalent of sand in your bathing suit. What really got him though was the smoke pellets. Three went off nearby blurring his vision. Even with the symbiote able to see out of every portion of its being he was blinded for a moment. However when a fourth pellet went in Venom's massive maw and burst close enough inside that it looked like the symbiotic monster was ready to breath flame, Eddie had, had enough.

Coughing and wheezing as the symbiote closed tighter around his head, blocking off smoke from reaching its host, he lashed out randomly towards Batman, tendrils lashing chunks from where he had been standing. Batman however had moved quickly and had already reached Red Hood by the time the smoke began to clear.

Before Venom could really take measure of what had happened or mock the pathetic attempts to distract him, larger, more powerful explosives went off. Whatever they were, they were stronger, more destructive than the Bat's little toy. If the explosive gel had stung, acting as an irritant no worse than sand or an uncomfortable mosquito bite, then the pair of blasts was like being caught in a sandstorm while being attacked by a hive of wasps. That however was only the initial part of the pain, that associated with the heat. The waves from the booming? That was like being torn apart in a thousand directions, from the inside out.

Eddie pictured briefly the images from history text books during his high school days, of men, mostly thieves or traitors, being torn asunder after having their limbs tied to horses sent running in different directions. Drawn and quartered they had called it. But this was so much worse and the image faded to white hot agony as his own pain mingled with the symbiote's, both stumbling backwards. Once more he felt the cool night air on his bare skin, realizing that a good portion of the symbiote had to of withdrawn. Suddenly however the sensation switched sides, the black intelligent goo covering his right side quickly as if it were running from another attack.

It was not until a few seconds later when his heart skipped a beat, then another, and the smell of burnt ozone filled his nostrils that he realized what was happened. His Other was not running, it was protecting him. He had fallen, plunging straight through the damaged electrical box. Blue-white sparks danced along his body, pieces of the symbiote scorching and disolving into thick black smoke as it worked overtime to protected the host. Covering his form and absorbing as much of the shock as it could. The electrical current itself was brief, the thrashing of the symbiote damaging the remnants of the box enough to stop the flow, but Eddie knew that he and his Other were screaming, the sounds mixing into an inhuman chorus that filled the night air. He wasn't sure how long it had been, but when he regained his feet, mind filled with rage, he knew that the symbiote was patchy, pieces of the human beneath exposed.




“GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!THAT'S IT! WE ARE DONE PLAYING GAMES WITH YOU! YOU ARE THE SAME FILTH AS THIS HOOD AND WHILE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO HARM THE INNOCENT, IF YOU ARE PROTECTING THIS SCUM THEN YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN HE! WE WILL END YOU BOTH!



f**k it. We get our hands on them, you can have both their brains pal. Just be careful. Nobody who dressed like THAT can be have a healthy brain.

 Red Hood