13643/Thank You For The Venom

Thank You For The Venom
Date of Scene:	26 December 2022
Location:	Handball Court, Playground, Hell's Kitchen
Synopsis:	Kim tries to score some drugs to help keep her festive mood up for the holidays, but things go horribly wrong for her when double-crossing is suspected at the deal. Perhaps it's fate that Venom and Mania are also drawn to the scene, and soon a standoff between the three Symbiotes ensues...
Cast of Characters:	Kim Hayes, Eddie Brock, Andi Benton

---

Kim Hayes has posed:
    It isn't like Kim to be hanging around a kids' playground at this hour of the morning. At least, not without her bestie October and a baggie of green. She's certainly done that a few times last summer, and the summer before, and...

    Anyway, it isn't summer now. It's Christmas season. October is off with some family plans, or off with her boyfriend's family, or something. Kim can't remember exactly what the blonde had told her, even now that her mind is feeling painfully lucid. The point is that she's alone, and she's cold, and she's after something to take the edge off of both, because that edge is hitting the point of unbearable. It always does, this time of year.

    'Alone' is more a state of mind than physical reality as well. She didn't come to this poorly-lit urban playground alone; she's here with her dealer, Carlos. He's not her only dealer, but he was the only one around tonight, and he hadn't had what she needed when she'd called him. He'd told her to wait till New Year's Eve, but she'd begged him. Pleaded.

    Bartered.

    He'd made a call, and now, they're about to meet his supplier. It's supposed to be an easy one-on-one deal. Kim's leaning against the wall of the handball court in her hoodie and jeans, hands stuffed in her kangaroo pocket for warmth, trying not to look as anxious as she feels. Carlos is next to her, looking only slightly more at ease. Nobody in his business likes last minute changes of plans.

    "Hey... you sure they're gonna be okay with me being here?" Kim asks, her grey eyes shifting sidelong to her dealer.

    "Sure. I told 'em you're my best customer. Don't worry, this guy's chill," Carlos assures the pale woman.

    There's an awkward silence for a few seconds.

    "What kinda music does he like?" Kim asks.

    "How the eff do I know? Just be cool, Meow Meow," Carlos chastises her, causing her to fall back into a sullen silence.

    Less than a minute later, the sound of Future can be heard from an approaching low rider as it pulls up alongside the playground.

    "Dude, bad vibes," Kim says as she hunches her shoulders at the sound of the oncoming trap beat.

    "Don't make it a thing," Carlos says as he steps away from the wall. As he does, four young men all get out from the doors of the low rider one by one.

    "Yo, Dee. When I said meet me at the ball court, I didn't mean for a pick-up game," Carlos calls to the newly-arrived crew, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the orange glare of the lamp overhead.

    "Shit," Kim breathes quietly, her eyes picking out the gleam of iron from the mens' trousers.

Eddie Brock has posed:
It wasn't like them to hunt during the morning.

Usually they stuck to the cover of night, stalking down whatever unfortunate criminal happened to stumble into their way whenever they weren't going after specific groups. This night had proven to be quite unlucky for them however. Eddie had run out of leads and tracks from the many gangs of New York to hunt down, and the night was a weirdly peaceful one.

Others might have appreciated it, but for Venom it just meant there was no dinner, which naturally was not acceptable. It had been too long since his last little morsel. So they kept going, well past midnight and into the morning of the next day.

Maybe it was the same luck that had kept the now cranky symbiote from an early dinner, but just as they were about to give up- they saw something strange amidst their bounding across rooftops. Two shady looking people standing alone in a handball court, seemingly waiting for something, in a children's playground of all places.

No children in sight, however.

Their tongue flicked out as their grin widened. When other men arrived, with guns on their belts, both Venom and Eddie knew they had struck gold.

He began to move out towards them, crawling down the side of a neighbouring building slowly as their black skin changed colour to meld with their surroundings.

   <<Eddie>> "Not yet. Wait and see. I won't have you kill potential innocents."

A small growl escaped Venom's lips.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    The playground is likely deserted - by the children who should be there, at least - due to the onset of the school holidays for the winter. Even with the sun having cracked the horizon, it's not especially inviting, anyway; the clouds cast a gloom over the asphalt and concrete. The lingering light overhead finally flickers out for the morning as the posse of four approaches the pair on the court.

    "Yeah, well, forgive me for thinkin' you was actin' sus, Carlos," the guy who's probably 'Dee,' leading the group and wearing a black puffer jacket, says as he approaches. His brown eyes slide sideways to Kim, and he tips his chin at her. "This her?"

    "Yeah, man, this is Kim. Kim, meet Dee," Carlos says, looking over his shoulder at the stony-eyed brunette.

    "'Sup," Kim says, making brief eye contact before averting her gaze.

    Dee looks unimpressed, letting out a 'pffft' disdainfully as he turns his attention back to the dealer. "Your standards are slippin', Carlos. Guess you'd go after anything after your time out, huh?"

    "Hey man, I wasn't in there long," Carlos says, holding up his middle finger and grinning. "Barely had enough time to get a haircut."

    "Yeah? That 'cause you were givin' names? That why two of my home boys got pulled last week?" Dee says, suddenly drawing his pistol and pointing it at Carlos' chest as he steps to one side, allowing the rest of his crew to imitate his motion, four barrels training on the dealer.

    "Hey, that wasn't nothin' to do with me! They had nothin', man -"

    "And now you bring a fuckin' UCO to my patch?" Dee bellows, a hateful glance sent Kim's way, before his eyes turn scowling back to Carlos. "Fuck you, Carlos!"

    *BLAM*
    *BLAM*
    *BLAM*
    *BLAM*

    Before Kim can register what's going on, Carlos' body explodes in bursts of red mist, rocking with the impact of the bullets as they tear him apart in a brutal execution. The girl drops down to her knees and throws her arms over her head as the gunfire rings out. "Oh, shit! Fuck! No! I'm not a fucking cop! I just wanted some K, for fuck's sake!"

    "No?" Dee says as he points his gun toward the crouching female. "You're a witness, then. Fuckin' junkie bitch."

Eddie Brock has posed:
The two of them hung from the wall, clutching pipes and digging their claws into the wall as they watched the proceedings underneath. A chilly morning wind pushed past their hidden form, causing a soft rumble at the back of their throat as it stirred Venom's hunger.

As the men below bickered, the symbiote grew impatient. A meal, withheld from it's grasp right in front of it. Very irritating.

   <<Venom>> "Why not just kill them all and be done with it?"

   <<Eddie>> "I'm not having this discussion again, Venom."

   <<Venom>> "I haven't eaten in AGES! I know you want to get this over with too, Eddie!"

The man didn't grace his fellow with a response, which only further angered the symbiote. Tiny black tendrils began to twirl around on the surface of their skin as they continued to watch as the deal seemingly began to go awry and weapons were drawn out with a panting tongue.

Soon.

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

*BLAM*

Without even thinking twice, they leapt off the building, hurtling through the air down towards their target. The wind whipped past their body as Venom's excitedness manifested in the shape of a long, lashing tentacle where their left hand used to be.

And just as the leader of the soon-to-be corpses turned his weapon on the woman, he landed right beside the man on the rear. He grasped the man's head as he moved, and using the momentum of his fall, pushed him face first into the concrete.

He wouldn't be getting up.

Just as quickly, before the others could react, his betentacled arm shot out forwards and wrapped itself around the neck of the man about to gun down the woman. The rumble on the back of their throat grew with their thrill, and without even realizing it Venom was roaring loudly, before tossing the man aside and rising to their feet.

Nothing like breakfast in the morning.

Andi Benton has posed:
Why were they still up? Why had Andi and Mania not gone back to Happy Harbor and slept by now? Possibly because there were a lot of little things to bust up. Muggers mugging. Pimps pimping. Dealers dealing. That sort of thing.

Mania's escapades brought her gradually closer to the area Kim and her own dealer had been waiting around at, closer to where Venom is hidden.

<<Mania>> We are hungry, Andi. We should find something to eat.
<<Andi>> One, it's like...5 AM or so. The only stuff open is the 24-hour diners and fast food places. And some gas stations. Two, we just had a snack about half an hour ago.
<<Mania>> But that was so long ago! Why do you neglect us like this? We need food to be strong and healthy!
<<Andi>> I swear, you sound like a cat.
<<Mania>> We love cats! To pet and hold.

Subtly, feline ears pop into place to either side of Mania's spiky hair, the symbiote's way of expressing itself. Fingers rise to touch one, then that head shakes slowly.

Gunshots interrupt the relative quiet. "Guess food will have to wait a little longer." Weblines are cast out so she can close ground on the sound. Multiple shots definitely aren't a good sign.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    Flinching into herself, Kim covers her head with her sleeves as the weapon aims at her, eyes squeezing shut. Silently, she wills the gangster not to shoot.

    << He can't hear you, Kim. Do you want us to tell him to leave you alone? >>

    "I just want..." Kim's lower lip quivers as her voice quavers through it, hot saline liquid streaming down to her chin. She can see Carlos' lifeless eyes through the crack of daylight between her arms. All she can think about is to wonder where she's going to score from now. She hates herself for it.

    Suddenly, the predatory roar pierces through Kim's impending mental collapse. She looks up to see Dee's eyes widening and the gun dropping to the ground as the tentacle-armed mass lifts the gangbanger off the ground, then tosses him easily aside.

    As the visage of Venom comes into her view, Kim drops her hands to the ground and starts to scramble backward, scuffing the seat of her jeans along the concrete until her back meets the brick. She tries to pull herself unsteadily upward, barely even hearing the sounds around her as her silver eyes lock on the Symbiote.

    "Oh, shit! Roscoe!"

    "DEE!"

    *BLAM*
    *BLABLAM*
    *BLAM*

    More gunfire rings out as the other two gangsters turn their weapons on the monster in their midst, desperately trying to take down the deadly creature in a hail of nine millimeter rounds.

    "Is that... another..." Kim murmurs under her breath, her eyes becoming glossy as the shuddering of her face begins to ease. Shock setting in?

    << Another of us? Seems so. Shall we introduce ourselves? >>

    "He's going to kill them," Kim whispers meekly.

    << Isn't this that 'karma' you were telling us about? >>

    "Stop!" the brunette calls out plaintively, holding a hand up toward the creature.

Eddie Brock has posed:
Gunfire erupted all around them as the large symbiote jumped sideways for a moment, before turning their bared sharp teeth at the panicked gangsters. The tentacle entangled a man's feet, tripping him into the ground as Venom crouched low and faced the other man, claws digging into the ground.

Just before they pounced however, the woman called out at them to stop, holding out a hand towards them. It was enough of a distraction, even over the gunfire, for Eddie to hesitate.

Venom didn't.

Their body crashed into the man, sharp claws digging into his shoulder before tearing sideways, ripping off his arm- not so- cleanly. Blood splattered over their face. They licked it up, before placing a large foot on the man's chest and glancing around.

The white pools that were Venom's eyes settled on the strange woman, before tilting his head slightly.

   <<Venom>> "Something's wrong with this one."

   <<Eddie>> "Don't touch her. She's not a threat."

The large symbiote snarled at the comment, but to the outside it might seem as if it were targeted at the woman. In either case, Venom felt something beneath their foot give way with a wet squelch. A sticky sensation enveloped their ankle.

Oops.

Andi Benton has posed:
Not good. Not good at all. Not only are there the gunshots, but a variety of screams and shouts. Mania locks in on the location, catching sight of the park area first, some apparatus set up for kids to play on. It's not the right time of day for anyone to be there, but if there's trouble going on around a playground...

<<Mania>> He is here, Andi.
<<Andi>> Who?
<<Mania>> You cannot tell by the sounds? We can.

A crunch, a gasp, other sounds of bodies beginning to be decimated, and another yell to stop. Female, though. Mixed in with male.

Finally, the /third/ one comes upon the scene from a building adjacent to the place, just in time to see Venom's heavy foot crushing through a man's chest and into it. "Oh, shit.." she says under her breath. There is a shiver that runs over her, though whether it's a good one or bad is unclear.

After that hesitation, she leaps down to get involved one way or another. "What is all this?" she demands. The face lacks the mouth Venom so often sports, one of their stylistic differences. She also has the mark of the Spider, while Venom does not. White eye pools dart toward Kim, then back to Venom, body in a slight crouch of readiness.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    More screams - pained, panicked - come from the gangsters before one of them is cut viciously short as the man's lungs are crushed underneath the Symbiote's weight. The only member of the crew still on his feet has already emptied his clip at the alien assailant; his gun *click* *click* *clicks* before he turns to retreat toward the low-rider at full speed.

    "Don't leave me! TYLER, DON'T LEAVE ME!" the crumpled figure of Dee bleats, his black puffer jacket covered in blood, gun battered aside and one arm bent the wrong way under his body as he lies near Kim's feet.

    "Where is it?" Kim demands from Dee.

    "Where the fuck's what?" Dee begs to know through tears.

    "Tell me where the ket is and I'll help you," the brown-haired woman practically hisses under her breath as she focuses her watery grey eyes on the Klyntar.

    At around the same moment, Mania drops into view, causing Tyler to stop with a horrified cry, looking between the two Symbiotes before opting to run in the direction of the play area.

    << You want us to fight them? We can't! >>

    "Don't be a bitch," Kim growls at herself, almost ferally.

    Dee interprets the threat as being directed at him. "Okay! OKAY! Whatever you want, just please --!!"

    The hoodie and jeans that Kim is wearing start to seep with purple ooze - a sight that is likely highly familiar to both Venom and Mania. The latter might even recognize the brunette at this point. What appears initially to be stains spreading over her clothing rapidly becomes viscous, flowing over the woman's body, though it only reaches to her chin before it seems to stop - still flowing, but leaving the face uncovered.

    << This is a mistake, Hayes! >>

    "Come on...!" Kim insists, the look in her eyes increasingly unhinged as the inner turmoil exhibits itself across her fused flesh, little tendrils lashing out chaotically across the slick surface as it adheres to her shape.

Eddie Brock has posed:
<<Eddie>> "Damn it Venom! What the fuck?"

   <<Venom>> "Not our fault! Why was he so soft!?"

As gore splattered all over their leg, the symbiote was distracted momentarily by the brief sensation, their tentacle arm returning to its original shape. The last of the men turned to flee against the desperate pleas of his fellow, and they turned to give chase. It was only a few steps in when they were interrupted by an unexpected newcomer.

Their eyes narrowed as they took in their fellow symbiote.

   <<Venom>> "What is she doing here!?"

   <<Eddie>> "I don't know..."

   <<Venom>> "He's getting away!"

The man had turned to flee in another direction, but Venom lifted its arm towards his fleeing form before a glob of black webbing shot out to hopefully entangle his feet.

With a growl and a leer, they then turned to face Mania with a clenched fist. "Why, how nice of you to join us. We were just about to enjoy our newest meal." They grunted, making to step towards the smaller symbiote before something else caught their attention.

The woman they'd dismissed was... Changing.

This was proving to be a very interesting day.

Andi Benton has posed:
There's already some webbing being sent out at whoever's still standing, aside from Venom and Kim/Haze. "We do not know what started all of this, but no more killing tonight. This morning. Whatever." Mania pointedly eyes the bodies so far, the shape of those pools displaying her displeasure, and the first thing she does is turn her attention toward Venom.

"Whatever you might think, we do not follow you around. And you did not invite us. But what was that?" A clawed hand gestures toward the one Venom just..stepped into. "Not our idea of a good meal."

For once, Mania doesn't nudge or press, maybe because what's going on over there with Haze is taking up more of her focus.

<<Mania>> It is the one that smells like drugs.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    The black webbing splatters around Tyler's sneakers as he runs, causing him to topple forward and cry out in agony as his ankles bend out of joint, the adhesive arresting the momentum of his feet without stopping his upper body in time. Something can be heard snapping. Despite the abandonment by his brother-in-arms, Dee clenches his teeth and grimaces in empathy.

    Meanwhile, a hissing, shuddering whisper between Kim's teeth is barely audible, perhaps imperceptible to anyone other than herself - and the entity that it's intended for. "You want chocolate? You're hungry, right?"

    << You know we do. >>

    "That guy knows where the chocolate is."

    << We can read your mind. You're lying. >>

    Kim's eyes shut tight, a pained expression on her face.

    << ...But we understand now. >>

    Kim suddenly opens her eyes gasps in an inhalation of breath before what's still visible of her face is rapidly enveloped in the purple biomass, the pseudo-liquid streaking through her hair and swelling its strands into thick, sickly-green tendrils that leave the fully-transformed host's face hidden behind the resulting curtain.

    The third Klyntar stumbles forward a couple of steps as its host reels with the alien feeling of the fusion, the woman's fingertips stretching and hardening into long talons. The nightmare creature lets out a cough behind the willowy mask of hair hiding its visage, causing a vile cloud of murky toxic mist to rise from behind the visage. The same gaseous chemical cocktail starts to seep from all over the Klyntar's protean flesh, distorting the already-impermanent shape even further.

    At this point, Dee decides that there's nothing for it but to scream.

    "No, no, none of that noise," the Klyntar says, rolling its neck before turning its head and opening a maw of rotting teeth to breathe a stream of the fumes directly toward the fallen gangster. His eyes roll back in his head as the narcotic gas overwhelms his already-strained faculties.

    Turning back to the other two Symbiotes, the purple one lets its head loll forward, the hair once again falling in its face as it lurches forward one step, then another, its long claw-tipped limbs dangling at either side of its slender, faintly feminine frame.

    "Greetingsss, Mania. We remember you," the creature addresses the shorter of the Symbiotes, its head turning to them before turning to Venom. Its tone is almost nonchalant, considering the circumstances. "Ssshe wantssss you to leave thisss one alone. The othersss too, she saysss. We are open to... negotiation."

Eddie Brock has posed:
"This?" The large symbiote spoke, gesturing towards the crushed man. "You know us. We can get a bit too excited sometimes. But have you tried mashed organs? They are truly delightful."

   <<Eddie>> "Sure. Let's go with that."

   <<Venom>> "Silence!"

"However could we think such a thing?" Venom answered Mania, placing a claw upon their chest as they mocked her. "Our dear niece? Following us?" They tilted their head forwards, before sweeping their arm to the side, claws extended. "Stalking us?" They closed their fist, claws scraping against each other.

"Whatever would she do that for?" They growled in a much lower voice, all sarcasm gone from their voice as a question laced with a threat was implied. Clearly, they didn't buy her story.

They didn't continue however, as something else far more interesting was going on with the other woman.

They watched as the woman's body transformed in a rather disturbing manner before their very eyes. Neither Eddie nor Venom commented as she changed into something different, her skin being covered by a fleshy substance not too unlike their own.

Another one

Venom's already large grin stretched into a rictus of dagger tipped teeth as they turned to fully face their newest kin. She was different, they could tell- her shape seemed less cohesive than usual and the foul odour she breathed was peculiar. Tiny tendrils began to form across their dark skin in excitement.

But Venom knew better than to lower their guard. Specially when surrounded by others like themselves.

"Negotiate!?" The symbiote blurted out, before laughing loudly. "Whatever would you want that little man alive for? It's easier to chew when they don't struggle, you know?" They replied.

   <<Eddie>> "This is not good, Venom. We are surrounded."

   <<Venom>> "Oh, but it would be so fun to see them try something..."

Andi Benton has posed:
"We are not related," Mania states flatly to Venom, her arms crossing before her. It partly blocks the large spider symbol, but not nearly all the way. By now Venom surely knows she's friendly with a nemesis of his, of Eddie's. It's another wrinkle in things.

The defiant, independent attitude is very much Mania.

<<Mania>> We do not like the way she smells, Andi.
<<Andi>> Yeah, not into..whatever that is. Didn't like it then, don't like it now. Let's not get too close.

There is both curiosity and distaste around everything that Haze is, help in the past or not. More important, however, is how this situation is going to finish up. She scoffs, "And do not try to tempt us with..that." A hand cuts through the air in the direction of the man with his chest ruined, courtesy of Venom foot. "You are disgusting sometimes. And if we were really stalking you, we would have got here before you made a mess of them."

She can taunt as well, talk a big game. But can she back it up?

<<Mania>> Are we going to fight them? We do not want to fight them. Could we not be friends instead?
<<Andi>> He's a jerk! And he doesn't care about killing people! Even if they're bad people!

All the same, there is a half-step back, as if she's trying to keep some sort of peace. "Look. We should all calm down and figure out what to do about this. Why are they here? What was going on? A drug deal?" Eyes turn accusingly toward the one called Haze, especially when that puff of..whatever it is..is expelled, affecting the gangster. "Yeah. We remember you too. These guys belong in jail."

Kim Hayes has posed:
    The form of the newly revealed Symbiote is smaller than that of Venom, more incoherent than that of both of the other two. It's clearly a creature that hasn't been well-fed - other than whatever fuel has resulted in the sickly streams of toxins that rise off of its oozing skin.

    "We are Haaaze," the Klyntar introduces itself to Venom as it staggers, shambles forward - or is it only the fumes that make it appear so unsteady on its legs, whose shape waxes between sleek and spindly? There's something drunken to the way that it slinks forward, its intentions unclear, whether it means to lurch zombie-like toward the taller symbiote and strike, or... something else.

    "Ssshe doesn't want usss to eat them. We have developed other tassstes," Haze remarks, a tongue flickering out briefly from the curtain of hair-tendrils to slurp and smack disgustingly. It turns its head toward Mania.

    "Ssshe wanted her 'ssspecial kay.' Theeessse were meant to sssell it."

    Haze's head shifts between the two remaining, disabled gangsters, causing the fronds of green hair to flow with the motion.

    "Let'sss make a deal. One for you, one for usss, the ressst for them," Haze suggests, looking at Mania as it does, indicating itself with a crooked claw before straightening it and pointing it at Venom. "You can have the broken onesss," it offers with slurring magnamity. "We keep thisss one. We only need it."

    Reaching down and stretching its arm, Haze lifts the barely-there Dee up by the fur-lined collar of his puffer jacket, the gangster's eyes fluttering and twitching as his mouth hangs open.

Eddie Brock has posed:
A cold wind blew across the area as Venom bristled at Haze's offer. Their eyes narrowed as they considered the two other symbiotes, a cold chill spreading through their gut as another rumbling began to grow behind needle teeth.

   <<Eddie>> "Calm down, they are just trying to reach a compromise."

Hostility radiated off their body as claws were bared. They rose to their full height from their naturally hunched stance as they faced both Mania and Haze at the same time. Tendrils twirled along their form, black skin roiling and undulating as agitation build up. An internal discussion was reaching its height.

   <<Venom>> "They are trying to steal our prize."

   <<Eddie>> "Let's just take what we can and go, Venom. We don't have to antagonize them."

"NO!" Venom shouted out loud, clutching the side of their head with one hand. "If you want him," The large monster jabbed a finger in the direction of Haze's captive, snarling. "Then take him! We don't want your stench in our meal,"

They turned to Andi, eyes narrowing. "but every other one, is ours." They hissed, the long red serpent they called a tongue flicking through the air.

Andi Benton has posed:
Arms cross as far as Mania is concerned. Again. Those eyes narrow sharply toward both Venom and Haze, but for different reasons.

"No," is the first word out of that one's, well, facial area. Still no mouth visible. Same word Venom started out with, only stated more calmly than his version. The look in her eyes shows disgust as far as the people Venom's taken out, but she says, "No eating them. Definitely not around us."

On to Haze, with the swirling, fuming mists circling her mostly lurching form, the answer remains the same. "Feed your addiction another way. You used a playground area to set up a drug deal? You should be ashamed of yourself. Kids play here. What happens when people like these come around and put them in danger? Just because you tried to do it when nobody else is here does not make it better."

She is firm in adding, "The police should be the ones to deal with the rest of this. We should all leave."

This is the problem when a symbiote and host have morals and control, but others are lacking in that department.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    Haze may be taller than its hostess, but even so, it stands much shorter and less visibly potent than Venom at their full height. The purple-hued Symbiote doesn't rise to try and match the domineering stance of the inky alpha predator, instead retaining its laissez-faire, appeasing approach.

    "Sssuit yourssselvesss," it bids to Venom as they reject the captive that Haze is holding. "We mussst sssayyy... the sssmell is sssweet if you breathe deeply enough."

    Dee starts to gibber as his senses seem to return -

    "M-mama, is that you?" Dee whimpers, glossy, dilated eyes rising up to Haze's face. The creature turns its hidden visage toward the gangster.

    "Yesss, dear. Now, tell usss where the drugsss are..."

    "Th-they're inside me, mama... I think I took too much..."

    Haze lets out a cattish hiss in irritation, shaking Dee and making him whine with angst. "Mama, please! Not again! I said I'm sorry!"

    "Ussselessss..." Haze declares, letting Dee crumple to the ground as it turns to Mania.

    "Thisss wasssn't her plan... or oursss... but if it makesss you feel better, ssshe iss alwaysss asshamed, for sssome reasssonnn..."

    Haze's hair parts with the motion as it turns its head toward the other gangster that's been claimed by Venom's glob, revealing a pair of pools that seem to eddy and swirl with shifting madness. It raises its left arm, pointing a claw toward Tyler.

    "Doesss that one know where the drugsss are...?"

Eddie Brock has posed:
"So what, do you want us to leave empty handed?" Venom barked at Mania, anger rippling through the surface of their skin. Within, Eddie felt an uneasy feeling in his gut. This was something his symbiote wouldn't back off on, he could tell. "We told you we would not change our ways to accomodate you. Not then, not now."

"If you want to stop us, by all means." They raised their imposing arms to the sides, their claws growing longer as more of their essence was drawn to them. Their large grin turned into a threatening display of gnashing teeth. A spark of excitement flourished within their body as anticipation set in. "Try."

Suddenly, the large Klyntar turned towards the man who they had webbed, and began striding towards him while glaring at Mania. A promise of violence dwelled within their big white eyes, should she decide to do something to stop what was going to happen, before turning to face Haze. They regarded the noxious fumes exuding from their body as they gestured towards their target.

Their tongue flicked out in disgust at their insistence. "If drugs is what you want, why don't you tear open his stomach and drink what's inside!" They exclaimed. "You are malnourished. How long has it been since you've had a brain?" They questioned with a mocking tone, before turning to loom over the entangled man, a red worm of a tongue dancing across expectant teeth.

Andi Benton has posed:
<<Mania>> Andi, what are we going to do?
<<Andi>> The right thing. That's what Spider-Man taught us.
<<Mania>> He might attack us. She might, too. He is angry. She is needy, but in a bad way.
<<Andi>> Then we deal with it somehow.

Venom has size and strength to his advantage, a force that's difficult for others to stop in most cases. Haze is still more of an unknown. Mania has speed and reflexes on her side. Time might tell where that leads this whole matter.

"Ashamed?" is asked of Haze, as Mania watches the one she drops with an internal frown. "Then you should ask her why. If you are that addicted, there is help out there. And chocolate is enough for us."

A pointed look is now sent toward Venom at this, and his own defiance, and she takes the risk of moving to place herself between Venom and his targets. Swift movement to get there, arms again crossed, a resistant stance before him. "Go find something else. Eat some chocolate. You have already done enough here to make it worse." Is he going to lash out at her over this?

Kim Hayes has posed:
    A hideous ripple runs through Haze's shifting hide as Venom suggests that carnivorous means be used to sate the Symbiote's hunger - its host's needs becoming secondary as its suppressed appetite is called to the fore by Venom's question.

    "S-she doesn't w-want usss to... we feed on chocolate instead... we have l-lost our t-taste..." the Symbiote claims as it twitches like something from a body horror flick. "Though... it hurtss... the other thingsss ssstifle the hunger pangss..."

    One squelching step at a time, Haze closes distance with Venom, Mania, and Tyler, while Dee tries to crawl desperately away on one arm in the background, sobbing.

    Haze lets out a hiss, something within it gurgling as the putrid aura of intoxication grows stronger around it. "Weee neeeed... sssomething...!!!"

    Suddenly, Haze lurches forward in an attempt to pounce on Tyler before either Venom or Mania can claim him, causing the gangster to scream anew as he catches a glimpse of what face hides behind the willowy tendrils of Haze's hair.

Eddie Brock has posed:
Venom froze as Mania put herself between them and the man. The tendrils across their skin froze in place as their gaze rose to lock itself onto her, eyes narrowing. Their grin fell completely, and the rumble in the back of their throat reached a crescendo as they tilted their head.

   <<Venom>> "They have courage. We'll give them that." Venom thought at its host as another painfully large toothy smile crept across their features. Excitement, perhaps, had overcome their anger.

Haze's reply was ignored as they raised their shoulders, hunching a little as they slowly began to raise a large hand.

   <<Eddie>> "Don't go overboard."

   <<Venom>> "Don't worry, Eddie! We're just going to have a little fun..."

But then something else caught their attention. Their head snapped to the side as the other symbiote darted forwards, attempting to snatch the man as they were distracted. Their eyes grew to large pools as they moved in reflex.

The /audacity/!

Barreling past Mania, very well not caring if they trampled her and full of anger once more, Venom threw themselves at Haze without thinking before they could reach the man, trying to tackle them in an attempt to stop them.

Andi Benton has posed:
"You do not /have/ to eat brains. There are alternatives." Mania points out. To some, it could be helpful. To others, annoying. "We ate a chocolate monster recently and it was amazing." Whatever /that/ means.

Haze produces a moment of the unexpected, trying to move on Venom's claim instead. It interrupts the stare-down between Venom and Mania, a sign of surprise in the white pools that make up her eyes.

She was prepared to tangle with Venom, already thinking about how to try to counter his brute force and strength, when he bypasses her to instead go after Haze. A quick dive to the side helps avoid getting shoulder-tackled or something, but she comes back up from a crouch with a hand raised toward them, a precursor to a 'Stop!' Only, nothing comes out just yet.

Instead, after a couple seconds of staring, a muttered, "Seriously, what the fuck," escapes instead. She keeps a healthy distance from whatever's emanating from Haze, but there's concern building over what it might do to Venom, if anything.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    The slithering shape of the Haze Symbiote would be surprisingly slippery and elusive, particularly given the deceptive fog that presumably serves as a defensive mechanism as well as its namesake. However, Venom is larger, faster, and stronger, as well as having the adhesive and viscous nature to match Haze's fluidity. The purple symbiote's mass ends up pinned underneath Venom's, claws scrabbling and raking shallow gouges in the ground near Tyler's legs as the horrified murderer tries to pull himself away along the concrete but cannot, stuck fast as he is by Venom's webbing.

    "Let usss GO! We were ONLY going to ASSSK them a QUESSSTION, not eat ittts deliciousss brainsss! We promissse!!" Haze protests, drooling and slathering as its long, pink tongue slides over its grotesque, rotting teeth, eyes locked on Tyler's face as it tries to claw its way toward him. The chemical fog billows off of Haze, already shown to be capable of inducing narcotic or hallucinatory states in humans with its ghastly fumes, but what effect could it have on another Symbiote...?

    "DEE! HELP ME!" Tyler screams across the playground at his puffer-jacketed compatriot, who's now trying to hobble away, holding his broken arm with one hand. The other gangster only gives a look over his shoulder before electing to continue using the opportunity to escape.

Eddie Brock has posed:
Anger billowed out from their form as ripples across their skin as they scrambled to pin down Haze against the ground with their claws. Having landed in a tangle of limbs and viscous ink made it difficult, however.

Frustrated, they roared at their opponent, not heeding their plea as they leaned forwards for a bite on their arm. Long before they clamped down however, both Venom and Eddie realized they'd just made a mistake.

Acting in instinct, the large symbiote had forgotten about Haze's noxious fumes. As they opened their mouth, the foul gas rushed in and soon they found themselves coughing and wheezing for air.

   <<Venom>> "What is this!?"

   <<Eddie>> "You idiot!"

The world around them spun as the drunkenly rose, releasing Haze from their deadlock as they stumbled a couple of steps back. Their head felt light, and inside Venom, Eddie felt like throwing up.

It was nothing like the last time they'd accidentally got in a cloud of drugs.

Venom screamed out an infuriated roar as their form slowly lost cohesion for a moment, their shape becoming less defined for a moment before they shook their head and leapt backwards, glaring at Haze hatefully.

Fortunately, the toxins were quickly flushed from their systems, but now they knew better about the sickly haze.

Andi Benton has posed:
"Oh, yeah. We were going to warn you about that," Mania says, a little too sweetly, when Venom finds out why Haze is called Haze. "But sometimes you learn better by finding out for yourself."

Smug sarcasm, thy name is Mania.

"And where do you think you are going?" she adds to the guy trying to sneak-crawl his way out. Without looking, without /needing/ to look, she fires off a handful of sticky stuff at Dee's legs to slow him down.

While Venom and Haze tangle, Mania remarks, "Cops should be here soon. We heard someone calling for them. Do you really want to make this worse for all of us, or should we all go our separate ways, feed..the way you think you need to..and try to do this again sometime without fighting each other?"

Kim Hayes has posed:
    It's not entirely unlike a situation where a predatory canine attempts to attack a small, weaker mammal and discovers a nasty surprise waiting for it - and though comparing Haze to a skunk amongst Symbiotes may be unflattering, it's hardly unfair.

    << Dude, that guy almost bit my arm off! >>

    << 'Our' arm, Hayes. >>

    << Let's just go! This is too much. >>

    << Why? Tired of feeling alive again? >>

    << I won't feel very alive if he /eats/ us! >>

    Purple slop splats against the ground as Haze pulls itself up from its near-gnawing by the larger Symbiote's sharp teeth, lurching forward.

    "Firssst time isss alwaysss rough," Haze slurs sibilantly over its shoulder at Venom as it creeps toward Tyler. "Weee warned you, we are an acquired tassste."

    Dee's hopes of escaping the scene with only major injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder are dashed as sticky webbing from Mania brings him down, eliciting a yell. By now, even with this being the part of town the cops normally don't bother with, sirens can be heard in the distance - gunfire on a playground is no joke, but reports of alien shapes (and not just from the one guy on the corner who's always reporting space aliens) seen through the windows of nearby neighbourhood houses escalate the priority severely.

    "Sssuch unfortunate ciircumstancesss," Haze casually comments as it starts to slither and slink away from Tyler, Mania and Venom. "We should be friendsss..."

    << Ten bars of chocolate, yes? >>

    << Yeah, sure. Just to warn you, I'll probably puke, though... >>

    << Just like any Saturday, then... >>

Eddie Brock has posed:
Groaning, the larger symbiote took a step towards Haze before reconsidering, fists clenching as they internally cringed at the miasma. "You worm...!" Venom hissed, leaning forwards. "Get in our way again, and you will need more than some stench to save your rotten hide!" They threatened, pointing at Haze with a claw.

They were not happy with the turn of events.

Head snapping to the side, they faced Mania as the sounds of sirens approached, regarding her words but for an instant before growling.

With a flick of their wrist, a thick rope of black matter shot out towards one of the bodies, which soon found itself in Venom's grasp. "Interrupt us again, and it will not go well for you, girl." They said, before another web shot out to the side of the nearby building, their bulky frame following after it.

Claws dug into the brickwork as they leered down at the two symbiotes below, the body in their grasp hanging limply. "If you think we will just forget about this, you are wrong. We can talk all you want, but actions say more than a million words." Venom stated as they distastefully gazed at the retreating form of Haze, and then at Mania and the white mark of the spider on her chest.

   <<Venom>> "Why is every other one we meet not..."

   <<Eddie>> "Nearly as murderous? Maybe you are the odd one."

Venom grimaced.

Andi Benton has posed:
Mania's act of defiance holds in the midst of Venom's threats. All she has to say to him in response is, "You can be better than this. We know it. It is hard. But you have to want to try." This may not be the best thing to say in the midst of him absconding with a meal, the guy already dead in the first place by his hand...or foot, or whatever did it. "If you force us to fight you, we will."

<<Mania>> We will?
<<Andi>> I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it.
<<Mania>> We do not want to fight him.
<<Andi>> Neither do I, but he makes it more dangerous for us.
<<Mania>> And the smelly one?
<<Andi>> I..don't know yet.

Attention turns toward Haze. All she says is a few brief words. "There has been enough trouble here. You should get going. And think about what controls you. Not who. What. If you do not want that to happen again," she gestures toward the body of the guy she'd come here with, "because sooner or later it will be someone who means more to you than just a loser helping you get a fix."

Lines of webbing are sent off in another direction from Venom's, and as the reflection of flashing red and blue lights begins to shine closer, Mania finds another place to be that isn't here.

Kim Hayes has posed:
    The Haze Symbiote raises a clawed hand in an almost dainty gesture as Venom gives it a chewing out - less literal than the one that they had attempted earlier, at least.

    "We will try not to caussse you further foul, graciousss," Haze promises, "we should be bonding over chocolate inssstead of all thisss fighting. Or brainsss -"

    << No brains! Gross! >>

    " - nevermind, chocolate it isss."

    Haze turns its attention to Mania in turn as the perhaps-more-sensible Symbiote addresses it. The creature's head tilts slightly to one side, its green mop back in the way of its face, making its expression inscrutable. And it remains silent as Mania departs, before tilting its head down toward the bullet-riddled body of Carlos, already turning pale in the light of the cold New York morning sun.

    << He wasn't just a loser. He was my friend... >>

    << Sounds like a loose end. Should we eat the body? >>

    There's a horrible gurgling sound from inside Haze.

    << Hayes? Did you just... >>

    Can a host vomit inside a Symbiote? Either way, the question has probably just been answered.

    << It was only a question... >>

    Haze doesn't have the web-slinging capabilities of the other Klyntar to extricate itself from the scene, but it sways over to the low-rider, the keys still left in the ignition and the engine still running, having been intended as the getaway car from the execution scene. Dropping into the driver's seat, the Haze symbiote recedes down to reveal Kim's brown hair, grey eyes and sickly face as the low-rider peels off at a quick, but steady pace, turning a corner. Purple digits wrap tightly around the steering wheel as the brunette breathes heavily, eyes glass-like and tear ducts moist. She waits until she's made it a few more blocks and feels as though she's lost the heat before slowing the car, turning into an empty lot behind a building. She starts rifling through the side compartments, under the seats, between them - before she flits her eyes toward the glove box. She leans over and pops it open.

    A pair of gloves, a pack of chewing gum and some paperwork fall out as she digs in it, leaving it empty.

    "Dammit. Dammit. DAMMIT!" she yells, smacking her fist against the dashboard repeatedly before breaking down in sobs.