Venom Tide

Chapter 2

"Don't look now," Percy whispered as he nodded at a woman as he bought flowers from her cart on the side of the street. "But there's a guy pointing a gun at us."

Of course, the symbiote stuck his head out from the collar of the demigod's shirt to look.

"Gods dammit, Venom!" Percy shouted thanks at the woman before walking quickly away, "What part of 'don't look' did you not understand?!"

Venom turned to look at him, "I will protect you. We will be fine."

"That's nice," The son of Poseidon said. "But it's not me I'm worried about! This is New York, it's crowded as the Underworld. If the dude shoots, he could hit any of these people," He clutched the stem of the sunflowers tightly in his hands. "I can't let that happen."

The symbiote was quiet for a moment, "Down the street to the left, there's an empty alley. No humans have come near it. The man looks ready to fire, we must hurry."

"Okay," Percy nodded, his stride turning into a run. For a moment, he could've sworn he heard the man cursed as he chased after them. "I'm not exactly bullet proof. What about you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, really? That's pretty cool. Alright, we're here. What do we-" The demigod yelped as he was dragged up to the top of the building, his eyes wide in shock, "Wait, you can stretch and stuff?"

"There are many things I can do that you could not begin to comprehend."

"Awesome," Percy grinned widely, watching as the man finally found where they were and gestured for others to follow. "What else can you do?"

Venom felt a wicked glee as he bonded with the demigod, taking over. He made the human about a foot taller, white markings on his chest fading into a sea-foam green. He was leaner than when he bonded with Eddie but he felt quicker and a bit stronger. He looked down at his hands and his eyes widened in surprise at what he saw.

"This is so cool," Percy spoke, a smile in his voice. When the symbiote didn't respond, he asked, "Hey, you okay? Oh, that's weird," He commented when he saw what Venom was looking at. The symbiote's hands and body were tinted with bronze- or, more specifically, celestial bronze. "Dude, I think you merged with my sword or something."

"You have a sword?" Venom wondered, "I did not see you holding a sword."

"Yeah, man, it's disguised as a pen," Percy replied. "Pretty neat. Guess you can fight, like, monsters and stuff. Anyways, thought you should know that the people below us are about to shoot us."

"I'll eat their heads," Venom promised, tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"You most certainly will not. What the heck, dude, you eat people?" Percy sounded like he was freaking out, which was perfectly reasonable when you found out that the creature bonded to you could eat a human being.

"Yes," The symbiote said. "They are tasty. As are tater tots and chocolate."

"I'll get you tater tots if you promise not to eat people or a damage the flowers. They're for my mom."

"I can do that," Venom nodded before raising a shield to block two bullets fired at them. He jumped down, slamming a man against the wall and knocking him out, and kicked someone away that tried to fire a taser. "They're weak."

"Not everyone can be an alien from space or a demigod. I mean, the gods sleep around but even this much would be crazy even for them."

"Did you just say your father sleeps around?" Venom said, ignoring how confused the men attacking them seemed.

"Not gonna lie, my dad's kind of a whore." Percy sighed, "Can you hurry up though? We left the flowers on top of the roof and I don't want them to blow away."

"Okay," The symbiote quickly knocked the men unconscious. He would have played around with them a bit longer but the human had promised him tater tots if he brought the flowers safely to his mother. "There, all done."

"Yay! Oh, and they all have their heads! Good job, Venom. Alright, grab the flowers and I'll tell you where to go. Stay out of people's sights. We don't want anyone to see us until we have a general idea of where to find Eddie."

—

"Percy!" Sally Jackson hugged her son when he walked inside the apartment, "How was camp today?"

"It was okay," He admitted before holding up the flowers. "I got you these today. Ms. Nowing was selling some half priced."

"Oh, they're beautiful," She smiled, taking the plants. "I'll put them in the vase right now. Go put your stuff in your room and then you can tell me how your day was."

"Okay, can I have tater tots for dinner tonight?"

"I don't see why not. Now, shoo, go to your room."

Percy cheered, taking his bag to his room. Once he was inside, he sighed, "Alright, Venom, you said Eddie Brock, right?"

"Yes, do you know him?"

"Not personally but my mom and step dad like his videos. I'll ask them if they list the general area he lives at online."

"You would tell your mother and father about me?"

"Dude," Percy snorted, throwing his bag on his bed. "I tell my parents everything."

—
"...and now Venom and I are trying to find Eddie."

Sally put down her spatula while Paul was silently drinking some coke. They didn't say anything for a moment until Sally broke the silence, "Is it only Venom that wants tater tots or do you want some as well?"

Percy shrugged, "I could go for some tater tots. Anyways, can you help me find where Eddie lives?"

"I can look that up now," Paul said, reaching for his laptop. "Can I have tater tots, too?"

Sally laughed, shaking her head, "I guess we're all having tater tots today."

Venom regarded the family with shock. They had accepted him so easily and it was surprising, if not a bit touching. He figured, though, that this was a fairly tame situation for Percy if what he was told about demigods from the son of Poseidon was to be trusted.

"I feel weird," Percy mumbled, barely audible, and patted his chest when his parents weren't looking.

The symbiote stayed quiet, knowing that what the human was feeling was an imperfect bonding. They had to find Eddie quickly if the boy did not want any lasting effects from holding him. If they didn't... The boy could very well die.