Warning; spoilers for the Intergalactic Tournament Saga.
In an abandoned house in San Francisco, serving as the hideout of a certain psychotic symbiotic fluffy, Venom confronts their spawn.
“Wai am yu duin dis? Dewe am pwen-tee of BAD hoomins to kiww.”
Carnage shrugs, grinning with sharp yellow teeth.
“Gud, bad, ev-wee-wun bweed da same. An Cawnage wan BWUD. Jus cuz Cawnage CAN. Daddeh gut a PWOB-WEM wif dat?”
As Carnage snickers, Venom glares.
“YUS. We am Venom. Da Wee-faw Pwo-tek-tow. An dis, Cawnage…”
Venom prepares to attack.
“…am OUW SITTY!!!”
Just as Venom lunges, Carnage beats them to it, and lunges into them.
WHAM
CRASH
Both symbiotic fluffies crash through one of the windows, into the streets.
It’s late, but a few people are still out and about, and as the two symbiotic fluffies get back up, they see people with their phones out, taking pictures and recording video.
Tom hears his other’s voice in his mind, sounding displeased.
“Oh, great. And we were trying SO hard to avoid that. Let’s kill that asshole quickly and get out of here, Tom.”
Venom nods, speaking out loud.
“Wite. Pwee-pawe tu DIE, Cawnage.”
Carnage laughs at his progenitor.
“Yu fink yu can kiww Cawnage? Nu make Cawnage waff. Cawnage gut shit yu neba SEEN!”
Carnage charges at Venom, the psychotic symbiotic fluffy’s tail reforming itself into an axe.
SLASH
Venom dodges, leaping away.
thwip
Swinging away on black webs, Venom taunts their twisted offspring.
“COME AN GIT US, CAWNAGE!!!”
thwip
Swinging away on red webs, inherited from Venom’s Klyntar, Carnage pursues his antiheroic progenitor.
“GWAD-WEE!!!”
Michelle Howard, defence attorney, downs her tenth cup of coffee of the night.
As much she’d like to go home and go to bed, especially now that she thinks she’s starting to hallucinate, she’s got a very important case that could make or break her career.
She’s just glad that she doesn’t have a fluffy to distract her anymore. She moved across the country when she accepted a position at a very prestigious law firm, and her bosses wouldn’t be happy if she lost the case because she was spending too much time with her fluffy.
But then, lawyers are usually joyless bastards.
And she honestly doesn’t regret leaving Tom behind in Manhattan. Michelle amuses herself with the thought of Tom somehow making it across the country and showing up on her doorstep, begging her to take him back.
But of course, Michelle is certain that a fluffy could never make that trip solo.
Joke’s on her, huh?
Just as Michelle walks over to the window, opening it for a much-needed breath of fresh air, the two symbiotic fluffies swing past, Venom trying to lead Carnage to somewhere less crowded.
After witnessing this, and spending a full five minutes staring blankly into thin air, Michelle comes to a conclusion.
“Fuck this, I’m going home. If I’m seeing shit like that, I need to get some sleep yesterday.”
Venom leads Carnage to Old Saint Mary’s Cathedral, into the bell tower.
A yellow-orange pigeon happens to have been nesting in the bell tower, and saw the fluffies coming.
Tom knows the Klyntar’s weaknesses, having been told by his other: fire and sonics.
And Tom reached the conclusion that, even though what they’re about to do will hurt them as much as it will hurt their foe, it’s still better than the alternative.
Just as Carnage enters the bell tower, Venom leaps towards the bell, striking it with all the strength a symbiotic fluffy can muster.
BONG
Both fluffies’ Klyntar react to the ringing of the bell, the symbiotic masses shrieking and writhing in pain, the fluffies falling to the floor.
The pigeon flies off.
Venom gets back up, despite the considerable pain both halves feel, and leaps at the bell again.
BONG
As Venom lands, he sees Carnage, screaming in pain as his Klyntar half peels itself off, pouring out his mouth, his nose, his ears, even his eyes.
Venom’s Klyntar half speaks in Tom’s mind once again, sounding strained.
“We’re… we’re almost there! One more time! But it’s taking everything I have to hold on! I don’t think I can survive the next one, Tom…”
Venom nods solemnly, both halves of them knowing what must be done.
Venom looks up at the bell, summoning all of their remaining strength.
They leap.
BONG
And with that, Carnage’s Klyntar half peels itself off, slithering away, falling down to the bottom of the bell tower.
splat
And Woody passes out.
whump
Venom, still struggling to stay bonded, totters unsteadily over to Woody.
Just enough strength left for one last thing.
“Fuk dis gai!”
CHOMP
Venom bites Woody’s head off.
Then, Venom passes out too.
whump
When Tom comes to the next morning, he’s back to normal.
And he can no longer hear his other’s voice in his mind.
As Tom sits on his fluffy little bum, up in the bell tower, his only company the headless body of Woody…
Tom starts crying.
“Huu… mistah swimy fwend am gon… huu…”
He doesn’t notice the yellow-orange pigeon flying back in.
Later, Tom wanders the streets of San Francisco alone.
It’s Sunday, and as people were gathering in the church, they heard Tom’s wailing from the bell tower.
While they had no idea how a pair of fluffies got up there, nor did they have any clue how one of them lost his head, they gladly helped Tom get down, and after a meal and a bath, sent him on his way.
Woody’s corpse was moved to be buried.
As Tom turns around a corner, into an alleyway, he spots something small and black out of the corner of his eye.
“Psst!”
Tom turns, seeing…
A pure black rat, with jagged, blank white eyes, and sharp yellow teeth.
“Am dat yu?!? How am yu awive?”
The symbiotic rat grins.
“I got away just in time, and hitched a ride on this little guy. Sorry I left you back there, buddy, but I HAD to get away from that noise.”
With that, the Klyntar abandons host, returning to Tom.
The rat, not having enjoyed the experience at all, promptly flees, hoping to never see the Klyntar again.
Unfortunately, a few blocks away, the rat runs into a hungry cat.
Well, wish granted.
Tom waddles off, happy to have his friend back.
“Su, am da udda Kwyntaw gon?”
The other speaks up in Tom’s mind, just as happy to be back with Tom.
“Not a clue, Tom. My priority was getting out alive. But hey, the asshole it latched onto is dead, so there’s that.”
“Twoo, but nao we gut anudda pwob-wem. Ev-wee-wun knu abowt Venom nao.”
“Eh, it was gonna happen eventually. And I was getting sick of lurking in the shadows. At least nobody knows our secret identity, right?”
“Su dewe am dat.”
Tom looks around, making sure that no humans are watching.
Once certain that there’s no witnesses, Tom shifts forms, and Venom swings off.
thwip
Up on a rooftop, a yellow-orange pigeon watches Venom leave, and flies off.
A few days later, in a house on the outskirts of town, Venom devours the corpse of the abuser asshole who lived in this house.
Venom took one look at what was in the basement, and both host and symbiote decided on the spot that the abuser had to go.
As Venom eats the abuser’s arm, two individuals walk in through the open front door.
Venom notices them, and the other speaks up in Tom’s mind, sounding annoyed.
“Oh great, we’ve got company.”
Venom snarls at the duo.
“Gu away.”
“We can’t do that.”
“We nee tu haf a wowdsie wif yu.”
“And we’re here to help you, if you want it.”
“Du fwuffy haf namesie?”
Tom hears the Klyntar speak in his mind again, this time sounding curious and interested.
“They want to help us? Well, we STILL haven’t found your owner. I think we can trust them, Tom. Even though the human smells a bit strange. Haven’t we seen them before? In an old newspaper, maybe? I think we should listen to what they have to say.”
Venom grins at Calvin Korkea and Marley, host and symbiont speaking as one.
“We… am Venom.”
