Archive of Our Own

It should probably have affected him more, kicking a man to certain death but he couldn’t find it in himself to feel guilty. Not for a man who had absolutely no qualms about taking advantage of innocent people, smiling and assuring them that they would be well compensated for their voluntary actions and throwing them in front of an alien symbiote knowing that their deaths were mostly guaranteed. All in the name of science. 

He had gone only a few meters from the edge when he felt something punch through his leg. Howling in pain, his leg crumpled underneath him, sending him crashing to the hard concrete.

Gasping in pain, he opened his eyes - having squeezed them shut in a futile attempt to block out the agony - bile rising in his throat as he took notice of his shredded leg. Something had blown his leg apart, the limb bent at unnatural angles with bone sticking out of the skin. Distantly he heard a menacing thump, but it didn’t register in his mind until he felt a cold, smooth tendril wind itself around his throat.

Alarmed, he jolted, but the symbiote yanked him backwards. His body arced through the air and slammed onto the ground. Eddie yelled as he felt bones crack from the force, then all air was driven out from his lungs as a heavy foot crushed his chest.

His eyes snapped open, greeted with the sight of Riot’s ugly face inches from his own. The symbiote opened its mouth, it’s long tongue sinuously coiling like a serpent. Eddie turned as much of his head away from the open maw as he could, a scowl of disgust decorating his face.

The pale colored symbiote tilted his head, dragging his long tongue up the side of Eddie’s face. The ex-journalist cringed at the slimy effect, attempting to shift from under the alien’s foot but only succeeding in aggravating the injury in his leg.

“I am curious,” Riot rumbled, his voice an unholy combination of a growl and a hiss, “Why would one of my kind, choose to betray us for something like you?”

Grinning despite the pain, Eddie huffed a strained laugh, his capacity to draw in air seriously constrained by the foot on his chest. “How should I know? Maybe - maybe I just have,” he gasped, “- have that good looking a face.”

Snarling, Riot yanked him up and slammed him against the ground again, drawing a choked yell from Eddie’s throat.

“Foolish human,” Riot sneered, snapping his jaws right next to Eddie’s ear, the journalist flinching at the hot breath.

“You are not smart, like my host is,” Riot grinned, baring his teeth menacingly, “You have nothing to your name, you are only a failure, even by your own human standards.”

Without warning, the symbiote suddenly clamped his jaws around on Eddie’s shoulder, the long, sharp teeth piercing through flesh and scraping against bone. Eddie screamed, his hands coming up to claw ineffectively at Riot’s head, the alien unlatching his jaw from the human, continuing to speak casually over his pained cries, “You are not especially tasty either,” he growled-hissed, chuckling lowly as he leaned more weight against Eddie’s chest.

Black dots dotted his vision as Eddie gasped, tears burning behind his eyes. Venom where are you? He screamed in his mind, hollow and empty ever since Riot tore the other symbiote out of him, a void that he'd never noticed was there until it had been invaded by an alien. Almost immediately after the thought crossed his mind he quickly banished it, knowing that if Venom were to appear now, the lead symbiote would kill him instantly for his 'betrayal'.

Despite all that had happened, he really didn’t want the alien to die, not when he’d saved him more times than he could count (And showed him what it meant to be we instead of I).

Riot pressed harder on his chest, and Eddie felt the moment when one of his ribs snapped under pressure. His mouth opened in a silent scream, his hands still batting uselessly at the symbiote’s leg, the vibration he felt in the monster’s body the only indication of its amusement.

“Weak and useless.” Riot spat, “A loser, just like Venom.” The symbiote cackled, “I suppose like calls to like.”

“Shut...up...” Eddie hissed, his eyes flaring with anger. “You know shit about him.”

Riot gurgled-hissed, his sharp teeth scratching the side of Eddie’s face, “He was given the chance to be great,” the alien snarled, “to rise from his pathetic state and yet he threw it away for a piece of garbage like you.”

Eddie forced a grin on his face. If he was going to die, he would do so laughing in the face of certain death. “You’re right, I’m nothing special, I think he just got tired of looking at your ugly face.”

An enraged scream assaulted his ears, and the weight on his chest lifted, Eddie sucking in a painful breath, the sharp, stabbing pain in his chest cutting each breath short.

A thick tendril wrapped itself around his neck and hauled him upwards. He yelled in pain as his injuries were jarred. The hold around his neck tightened, choking him.

Eddie coughed, hands gripping the tendril, trying to free his throat. His legs dangled in the air, his mouth falling open as the tendril coiled tighter and tighter and tighter -

“This, is the precious host that you chose over us, your brethren.” Riot growled, directing his voice to a darkened corner.

Through the slits between his eyelids, Eddie saw the shadows move, a dark mass slithering out sluggishly.

No you idiot, he screamed mentally, get away from him!

Riot sneered, lifting the human higher, “This trash is what you chose.”

Eddie wanted to warn Venom, to tell his symbiote to run, to find another host, to just survive because he couldn’t go up against Riot like this and Eddie himself was useless anyway.

His body jerked, a soft keen escaping unbidden from his throat. He couldn’t comprehend at first, staring blankly at Riot, the alien grinning cruelly.

He heard a distant echo of denial, as though Venom were still connected to him, speaking to him via their bond.

His eyes fell downwards.

Riot’s other hand had transformed into a blade, half of which had disappeared into his body. Eddie exhaled shakily, feeling a warm liquid coat the back of his throat. He coughed, the crimson liquid splattering against Riot’s arm.

The symbiote sneered in disgust and yanked his arm back, releasing Eddie from his hold. The journalist fell, lying spread-eagled on the floor. His head rolled to the side. He saw Venom slither towards him, belatedly realizing that Riot had left, probably heading for the ship already.

Go after him, he thought, his strength completely drained, I can’t help you anymore...

What came out was a wet gurgle, more crimson spilling out of his lips.

Eddie sighed, the last thing he felt was a cold touch at his fingertips and a loud roar in his ears.

“EDDIE!”