As the Dark Knight, Zod had already made his mark on the world. But saving the day every other hour? That wasn't his style. He preferred to intervene only when necessary, when the police couldn't handle things on their own. His public image was managed brilliantly through The Daily Bugle and with the help of his AI, the Black Queen. Any negative press? Scrubbed clean. Smear campaigns on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram? Hacked into oblivion. Even the servers sometimes suffered 'mysterious' outages.
Then there was Spiderweb, the social media platform Zod had launched under Stark Industries. Combining the functionalities of Twitter, WeChat, TikTok, and Discord, it quickly became the go-to app for millions. People loved it, and Zod's reputation as a hero remained untarnished—except for the occasional slander from J. Jonah Jameson at the Daily Bugle. Zod found the whole thing mildly amusing. He knew Jameson's grudge stemmed from personal issues rather than journalistic integrity.
For Zod, there were more important matters at hand, as the Black Queen had just flagged an intriguing report.
"The Life Foundation's manned spacecraft has crashed, sir. Only one astronaut, John Jameson, survived," the Black Queen informed him. "The Foundation is preparing another rocket to resume its space exploration soon."
Zod's eyes narrowed at the mention of the Life Foundation. That name rang a bell—it was tied to the Venom storyline. According to that narrative, the spacecraft had returned with alien symbiotes onboard, including Venom and Riot. John Jameson... Zod smirked as he realized that the surviving astronaut was none other than the son of J. Jonah Jameson. A twist of fate, for sure.
But the symbiotes were what concerned him. Their potential for biological warfare was immense. He couldn't let this opportunity slip away.
San Francisco, home to tech giants and innovation, was also the base for the Life Foundation. While their public profile was high, their internal security was lacking. The Foundation had already begun conducting secret experiments with alien symbiotes.
As the Dark Knight, Zod made his way into the Life Foundation's headquarters with ease. The guards recognized him instantly and fell over themselves to let him through.
"Welcome, Dark Knight!" one of the security guards exclaimed. "It's an honor to have you here, sir!"
Zod simply nodded, playing along, though he was inwardly amused by how easily he could infiltrate the supposedly high-security facility. He strode confidently into the lab area, heading toward a sealed room where two vagrants had been imprisoned—unwilling hosts for the Venom and Lasher symbiotes.
The symbiotes sensed Zod's presence. The hosts twitched as the alien parasites stirred within them. Both Venom and Lasher detached from their hosts and hurled themselves at Zod, attempting to bond with him. But Zod wasn't about to let them latch on. Summoning his Kryptonian powers, he generated a field of intense cold. The room's temperature plummeted instantly, frost covering the walls. Both symbiotes froze solid in midair, unable to reach him.
With a smirk, Zod collected the frozen symbiotes and placed them into specially designed glass containers. These were no ordinary glass cases—they were reinforced with vibranium, making them practically indestructible.
"The third symbiote, Riot, must still be out there," Zod mused. "When the Life Foundation launches their next rocket, Riot could head back to its home planet, bring reinforcements, and spark an invasion."
The thought of an army of symbiotes invading Earth intrigued him. And yet, Zod couldn't help but feel that someone else would step in before it got that far. After all, this wasn't just any Earth—it was one protected by the likes of Doctor Strange.
As if on cue, Zod turned around to find the Sorcerer Supreme herself, standing quietly behind him.
Zod blinked. "Uh... hello?"
The Ancient One smiled cryptically, then vanished in a swirl of golden light. Zod looked back at the symbiote containment unit and realized something was missing. Venom was gone. Only Lasher remained.
Of course. The Ancient One had taken Venom, likely preparing to hand it off to Eddie Brock, setting the events of Venom into motion.
The Black Queen interrupted his thoughts. "Would you like me to prepare a vibranium target for you to vent your frustration, sir?"
Zod chuckled, shaking his head. "No need. I'm not that irrational."
He could live without Venom for now. He still had Lasher to work with. The symbiote's weaknesses—high temperatures and sonic frequencies—were well-documented, but Zod knew that symbiotes could evolve to overcome these flaws. If properly researched, symbiotes could be the key to creating a perfect biological weapon. He just had to make sure he didn't end up coated in the sticky stuff himself.
As expected, the Ancient One passed Venom on to Eddie Brock, setting in motion a sequence of events that put Eddie directly in the Life Foundation's crosshairs. It wasn't long before Brock found himself on the run, with Dr. Dan Lewis trying to help him evade capture. But even Venom couldn't stop them from being caught on camera by curious bystanders and local surveillance.
After a wild car chase and narrowly escaping capture, Eddie, now bonded with Venom, managed to lose the Life Foundation agents pursuing him. Exhausted, he staggered out of the water, collapsing against a telephone pole, drenched and panting.
"What the hell happened today…" he muttered, feeling the alien presence within him shift.
In just one day, his life had been turned completely upside down. And though he didn't realize it, Eddie was now part of a much bigger web—a web that Zod was quietly weaving from the shadows.