A sudden whoosh of dark, sticky liquid burst from Eddie's shoulder blades, morphing into a grotesque face with a massive, toothy grin. Its unsettling eyes glared directly at him.
"W-What the hell are you?!" Eddie blurted out in a mix of terror and disbelief, a string of curses escaping under his breath.
"My name is Venom," the creature replied, its deep, guttural voice rumbling through Eddie's mind. "And now, I am the master of your body."
Eddie's stomach churned, his face turning pale as he struggled to make sense of the situation. "You just—" he gagged, pointing at the ground, his body betraying him with a sickening sensation.
"You just used my body to bite off someone's head."
Venom's predatory eyes narrowed, its voice dripping with dark amusement. "I needed to replenish my energy. Besides…" it paused, flashing a grin that made Eddie's blood run cold, "it tasted good, didn't it?"
"Oh god, no!" Eddie retched violently, gagging and clawing at his throat. But no matter how hard he tried, nothing came up—Venom had already digested the grisly meal.
Eddie collapsed against a wall, his mind racing in horror. He had just...cannibalized someone. His body, his body, had done that.
"Listen, Eddie," Venom's voice echoed ominously, "if you want to live, you're going to have to work with me."
Eddie froze, trembling, as Venom's alien face twisted into an even wider grin. "W-What... what do you want?"
His voice was small, hesitant. If Venom wanted more people eaten, Eddie couldn't handle it.
"We need to stop Riot. If Riot gets off this planet and returns to space, he'll bring back an army of symbiotes to invade Earth. Trust me, Eddie—you don't want that."
Eddie's eyes widened in disbelief. Riot? Venom's words echoed what he'd read in the comics, but this was real. According to the lore, Riot was Venom's stronger, more dangerous offspring. In some versions, Riot had no direct connection to Venom but was an independent, violent symbiote with its own agenda. Regardless of the backstory, Eddie knew one thing: Riot was no joke.
"Wait... you're telling me that you, Venom, want to save Earth? I thought you were the bad guy!" Eddie looked skeptical, his disbelief clear on his face.
Venom chuckled, its voice taking on a sarcastic edge. "Don't get it twisted, Eddie. I didn't come here to be Earth's protector. I like it here, and I don't want my good life disrupted by Riot's invasion. Plus," Venom added, its tone softening ever so slightly, "you've grown on me."
Eddie blinked, utterly shocked. Venom, a monstrous alien parasite, had developed some twisted attachment to him? None of this made sense. But before Eddie could fully process the insanity of his situation, Venom forcefully took control of his body once again, dragging him toward their next target.
Meanwhile, across the city, Zod sat in his private lab, analyzing the symbiotes he'd recovered from the Life Foundation—Lasher and Whip. They were similar in many ways, both originating from Venom's genetic material, but in Zod's eyes, they were inferior, lacking Riot's raw power and potential. Still, they were worth studying.
Zod frowned as his thoughts drifted to Venom, now in the hands of the Ancient One. If his guesses were correct, she had probably passed it to Eddie Brock to set in motion the events that would lead to Riot's downfall. But Zod wasn't one to rely on fate or some mystic's plan. He preferred to control his own destiny.
And so, he prepared to pay a visit to the Life Foundation again.
Carlton Drake, the charismatic and wildly ambitious owner of the Life Foundation, was having the worst day of his life. His prized lab had been broken into, and critical data on his symbiote experiments had been leaked to the press. The resulting media firestorm had his investors pulling out in droves. And to top it all off, one of his symbiote experiments, Riot, had bonded with him.
But instead of being frightened, Drake was ecstatic. He could feel Riot's immense power coursing through him, amplifying his every thought and action. For a moment, he believed he was invincible.
That illusion was shattered the instant Zod arrived.
"Dark Knight Zod," Drake sneered as he saw the armored figure enter his office. But beneath his bravado, the symbiote inside him bristled with unease.
Zod raised an eyebrow beneath his mask. "You're wasting time, Drake."
Before Drake could respond, Zod activated a small device on his wrist, emitting a high-frequency ultrasonic wave. Riot screeched in agony, unable to maintain its grip on Drake's body, and leapt free.
Drake stood there, dumbfounded, as Riot, with all its strength, charged at Zod. The symbiote's tendrils extended, forming vicious blades aimed straight for Zod's chest.
But Zod didn't even flinch.
With a mere flick of his wrist, he summoned a wave of heat so intense that Riot screeched and recoiled, retreating to Drake's side, writhing in pain.
"Impressive reflexes," Zod remarked, smirking. "But futile."
Riot tried another tactic, launching itself at Zod with even more force, its arms transforming into sharp blades. But Zod caught them effortlessly in one hand, barely straining as he held the symbiote at bay.
"Your abilities pale in comparison to my Dark Knight armor," Zod said coldly.
Inside Drake's mind, Riot began to reconsider its host. Zod's strength was unmatched, his technology leagues ahead of anything Riot had seen. If only Riot could break through that armor, it would be unstoppable.
But Zod was always one step ahead.
"I see you're afraid of sound and fire," Zod mused, triggering another ultrasonic pulse that forced Riot to collapse in agony.
The symbiote writhed on the floor, utterly defeated.
Zod calmly contained Riot in a specialized holding tank designed to keep the symbiote suspended in midair, unable to touch any surface. The Black Queen maintained 24-hour surveillance on the specimen.
As for Drake, Zod used a touch of psychic suggestion to ensure that the Life Foundation's assets were transferred to Blade Industries before Drake turned himself in for his crimes.
The Dark Knight's work was done. Riot was his to study now, and Venom? Well, that was Eddie Brock's problem. But Zod wasn't concerned. He had what he wanted—a symbiote battle suit, something that would be invaluable against magical threats. After all, when the enemy came wielding spells, even the greatest warriors needed every advantage.