Venomous

5. Research

The next day was a blur.  So was the day after.  I couldn't focus on my work, I certainly couldn't focus on the files that I was supposed to be analyzing, and I couldn't even get focused enough to go out at night again, although that is suddenly ALL that I want to do every waking minute of every goddamned day, now that I know what I think I know.  

The following day, I had pulled up all the files I did some digging at work, which I probably should not have done.  But I started by searching for Natalie Rushman and came up empty – except – I frowned as I glanced through newspaper clippings about what happened at Stark Expo in 2010.  One name kept coming up over and over again which didn't make any sense – Natasha Romanoff.  Of course, I knew who Natasha Romanoff was.  The Black Widow was infamous – a SHIELD trade secret for the dirtiest undercover missions possible.  She was an ex-assassin from Eastern Europe somewhere, and she was an Avenger.  Unsurprisingly, much of her file was classified, but...I stared at the picture that popped up when I clicked the link.  That's just...not possible.  How in the holy fuck balls was Natalie Rushman related to Natasha Romanoff, because the two of them together looked like twins.  I sighed.  

They weren't twins.  They were the same people.  Natalie had lied to me, well, forever.  She was working with Tony – had to be – that was the only explanation for why she was in California, why she was with Tony, and why she apparently had a hand in taking down the idiot that had tried to hijack his suits.  Now I had something else to worry about.  I had to worry about her.  She was relentless – when she wanted something, she went after it.  I replayed the events of the previous night on loop.  Had she recognized my voice?  She was far smarter than I really cared to admit, and I had to acknowledge that it was at least possible.

I went straight home to my apartment that night, not giving AV the chance to run free.  We had never settled on a nickname for my...roommate...so AV was the best I would come up with that it wouldn't immediately hate.  I stared at my phone, thumbing my brother's speed dial number before deciding against it.  I didn't need to hear a lecture right now.  I closed my eyes and thought back to my hospital stay after my accident...

Five years earlier:

Eddie didn't leave my side for days.  Dr. Lewis required me to stay at least 5 days in the hospital under his 'special care' given the problems that we encountered during symbiosis.  By problems, of course, I meant the fact that somehow, Venom had split into two separate symbiotes, and when Venom returned to my brother, the other, white creature, stayed with me.  Eddie had failed to mention that possibility – or any of the other warnings that he probably should have divulged before we began the symbiosis process, and now we were doing our best to mop up the consequences.  Our parents always told us that choices and actions had consequences, and Eddie and I both ignored them regularly.  Until we couldn't.  Like now.  I glanced over to find my brother sleeping in the chair beside my bed, and I smacked him hard in the arm.

"Wha...I'm up, I promise..." Eddie glanced around confused.

"Eddie, we need to talk."  I glared at him.  He rolled his eyes, but nodded, agreeing to the conversation.  

"Yeah...yeah, I think we do."  He agreed.  Generous of him, wasn't it?  I sighed and closed my eyes, resting my head back on the pillow.

"So...you and Venom..."  Eddie rubbed his face with his hands.  This was never a good sign.  

"We kind of made an arrangement."  I scowled at him.  

"An arrangement?"  Eddie nodded weakly.  

"He totally only eats bad people n..."

"EATS?"  

HUNGRY

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!?!?!?!" I shrieked and almost jumped out of the bed, except I was still connected and that would have been very, very bad.  Eddie DID jump out of his chair, not tied down to it by tubes and wires like I was, and he stood so fast that the chair went flying behind him and he flailed his arms around to keep from falling over.  

"Jesus, Parker, what?!"  

"I heard something...loud...in my head."  Eddie smirked and collected his chair, sitting in it again.

"Oh, yeah that happens."  I blinked at him.  This just kept getting better and better.  I took a deep breath, trying to figure out where to start.

"Okay.  So."  Eddie glanced at me expectantly.

"Your...parasite...is now two parasites.  You got yours back, and I got my own."

We are not a parasite.

"Okay, not a parasite."  Eddie frowned at me as I continued to maintain two distinct conversations at once.  It made sense to me, and he could just learn to keep up.

"But how did you..."  I sighed and shook my head.

"I'm pretty sure that it had to do with the exposure."  Eddie stood, leaning down over my bed, getting right in my face.  I smirked as I saw white tentacles gently appear and move him to a better distance – maybe this could be useful after all.

"What exposure, kid?"  I chuckled and glanced over towards my big brother, who was now in full protection mode.  A little late for that one, bro.

"Years ago, with shield.  I was exposed to a terrigin crystal but nothing happened."

"A crystal?  Like the stuff that creates inhumans?"  I nodded.  

"It was in the lab, but it exploded.  Everyone thought I was going to croak, but...nothing happened."  

"So, you think that is what allowed you to achieve symbiosis?" He asked.  I shrugged.

"Beats me, but I know that the antibiotics they gave me after exposure sure did a number on my immune system."  Eddie was uncharacteristically quiet for a moment as he thought about what I was saying.  

Eddie frowned and cocked his head to the side, almost like he was listening to something.

"Venom says that your antibodies were caustic to him...which is what triggered the split."  I frowned.  Did that mean that this thing was going to stick around forever?

Yes.

Great.  

Present Day:

I clicked on the news just in time to see that the Avengers were in Eastern Europe.  Sokovia.  The city was...flying?  I rolled my eyes, thanking my lucky stars that I wasn't that good of an agent.  Yet.  Or that at least I hadn't gotten on the bad side of anyone's radar.  Right?