Chapter 260: Tsundere Venom
"Chocolate is the only snack on Earth that I can actually eat," Venom explained.
"But why chocolate specifically?" Eddie was genuinely curious.
"Don't worry about it. Just buy it for me," Venom growled, cutting the conversation short. He wanted to focus on digesting his meal.
Eddie shut his mouth. He figured he'd just wait until tomorrow's check-up to find out what the hell Venom actually was. Bored and restless, Eddie sat on his sofa and turned on the TV, gnawing on a leftover chicken wing to kill time.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Eddie had barely sat down when a heavy pounding echoed from the door.
"Don't open it," Venom warned, sensing the hostile intent of the visitors outside.
Whether Eddie believed him or not was his own business, but Venom was fully prepared to protect his host.
"Why shouldn't I?" Eddie muttered, stubborn as ever. He strode to the door and pulled it open.
The moment the door swung wide, a heavy boot slammed into Eddie's chest. The force sent him flying backward, crashing hard onto the floor.
"FREEZE!"
"DON'T MOVE!"
Five armed tactical police officers swarmed in, their rifles leveled at Eddie. He had never been in a situation like this before; terrified, he lay flat on the ground and thrust his hands high into the air.
"What are you doing?" Venom asked, confused by Eddie's submissive posture.
"If we don't want to be turned into Swiss cheese, we have to keep our hands up," Eddie hissed under his breath.
Venom let out a frustrated huff. "No. This is far too embarrassing."
Suddenly, Venom forced Eddie's hands down and made him stand up.
"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean that!" Eddie panicked, fighting the symbiote to shove his hands back up.
"NO!" Venom forced them down again.
"Hands up!" Eddie shouted at himself.
"NO!"
The two engaged in a bizarre tug-of-war right in front of the bewildered officers—hands up, hands down, hands up, hands down.
"Eddie Brock, you are a suspect in a cannibalism case. You're coming with us for questioning," the lead officer commanded.
"Investigation? For what?" Eddie froze. He hadn't expected the police to find him so quickly.
Taking advantage of his hesitation, two officers lunged forward, grabbing Eddie's arms to pin him down. Suddenly, black tendrils erupted from Eddie's shoulders, whipping out and sending both officers flying across the room.
"Surprise?" Eddie offered a weak, terrified smile.
The police weren't laughing. "Officer down! He's resisting! Open fire!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
A hail of bullets erupted from their rifles, peppering Eddie's body. Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the end.
Venom manifested instantly, forming a localized shield to deflect the bullets before lunging through the leaden storm toward the officers.
Gulp.
The officers stared up at the towering black monster, the realization of what they were facing finally sinking in.
"Digestion is over. I'm hungry again." Venom grabbed the lead officer by the head and pulled him toward his massive, fanged mouth.
"AAARGH!"
Seeing that their bullets were useless, the remaining officers turned and bolted. Staying there was just providing free snacks for a monster.
One Minute Later: Downstairs
Eddie walked briskly, his blue hoodie pulled low over his face. He couldn't stay at his apartment anymore; the police would only send more men. He needed a place to hide out for the night.
"We should have chased them down and eaten the rest of those idiots," Venom grumbled. He processed food very quickly.
"They aren't idiots, they're the police! They're the good guys!" Eddie tried to make Venom understand basic social structures.
"The 'good guy' just tried to fill us with holes," Venom retorted.
"That's because we fought back first! If we had just listened, this wouldn't have happened... okay?" Eddie felt helpless. He had officially assaulted police officers. Actually, it was worse—Venom had eaten one. He was in deep trouble.
"Where are we going now?" Venom asked. He had liked the apartment; it had a nice view and delivery-service snacks.
"To a friend's house." Eddie had contacted Dr. Dora Skirth. He needed a sanctuary, and more importantly, Dora was a scientist from the Life Foundation. She was the only person who might actually know what Venom was.
"Hmph," Venom pouted (-`ェ´-).
Dora Skirth's Apartment
Eddie arrived at the door, constantly looking over his shoulder. He knocked urgently.
"Eddie? What's with the get-up?" Dora asked, surprised to see him looking so "undercover." She hadn't seen the news about the police shootout yet.
"Can I come in? We need to talk," Eddie said.
"Come in."
Eddie stepped inside, pulled off his hood, and slumped onto her sofa, scanning the room nervously. Dora brought over a cup of hot tea. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."
Eddie took a tentative sip of the tea. "Dr. Skirth... what do you know about Symbiotes?"
Dora's eyes widened. "Symbiotes?! Eddie, how do you know that word?"
"I think I've got one of them inside me." Eddie looked down at his chest. "Hey... Venom. Come out and show yourself."
Silence. Venom didn't respond. The room became very awkward.
"He's... uh... he might be a little shy," Eddie said, trying to laugh it off.
"What color is he?" Dora asked seriously, ignoring the awkwardness.
"Black," Eddie replied.
Dora nodded. "Stay here. I'm going to get something for you."
"Okay." Eddie watched her walk into the next room. "Venom! Why didn't you come out? You're making me look crazy!"
"I didn't want to. I refuse," Venom muttered in his head. He was still "offended" by Eddie's earlier lecture.
"Chocolate?!" Venom suddenly spotted a box of chocolates on the corner of the table.
"No, no, no, Venom! That belongs to her!" Eddie hissed as a black tendril started to creep toward the table.
Venom didn't care. He snatched the box, forced Eddie's hand to tear open the packaging, and swallowed several pieces in one go.
"AH!" A scream came from the doorway.
Eddie turned to see Dora standing there, clutching a folder.
"This is the Symbiote I was talking about. His name is Venom," Eddie said, gesturing to the black head now sticking out of his shoulder.
Dora caught her breath. "I know... I was just surprised to see it so clearly." She sat down next to Eddie and handed him the folder. "He said his name is Venom?"
Eddie took the file, confused. "Why are you giving me this?"
"This is the Life Foundation's data on the Symbiotes. Now that Drake has blown the building up, this might be the only record left of their biology," Dora explained.
Eddie's heart raced as he opened the folder. Maybe, just maybe, there was a way to get Venom out of him without either of them dying.
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