It was his first night out again as Venom and the warm summer air felt good against his skin. Before he set off his first job was to finish installing a new roof hatch. He had added an extra security layer to the simple one already installed in the roof and it was now wired shut with a physical lock holding an electronic one. There was no key for either, and he had hardwired it into the power so that if it was cut open or the keypad was disabled the whole thing went into lockdown and triggered an alarm in all three homes. The only way to open it was by extending symbskin into the keyhole and unlocking it and then entering the code to open the electronic lock. Once MJ and Gwen could unlock it, it was good to go and he activated the power before sealing the whole thing up.

Paranoid he was not. Cautious was Peter's keyword when it came to the security of the warehouse and the people within. Especially now that both Gwen and MJ were hosts for whatever creature the symbiote was. He wanted them to be safe if he wasn't here.

As neither of the pair was willing to fight and persuading them that learning was necessary even if they never used it, Peter was still concerned over just how secure the warehouse was. Shielding it from electronic snooping was easy, protecting it from physical intrusion was a lot harder and potentially illegal depending on what kind of countermeasures he added. He needed a security system that could go from lethal to non-lethal and still look to be legal, although if they had to kill anyone he doubted they would be advertising the fact.

Venom mused on that as well, the one thing that plagued his thoughts. If he had to, would he kill to keep them safe? Where was the line? If anyone threatened MJ, Gwen, or Aunt May he knew he’d have no problem crossing it, even thinking about it caused a fiery rage to bubble up in his chest. Where was the line though? He knew he wouldn’t kill for fun or pleasure, he wouldn’t steal or hurt anyone innocent. Breaking into his home wouldn’t necessarily be a death sentence, just a really bad idea. The line had been drawn, and for now, at least, Venom was confident he wouldn’t cross it.

He hadn't stretched his webs for a while and rather than setting out to hunt simply swung from building to building, letting the world pass him by as he regained a sense of adventure. Swinging from rooftop to rooftop was freeing, he could close his eyes and let the world around him become a buzz of activity to his other senses. He passed a hotdog cart that the dogs were going off, a nightclub that stank of stale booze, Laundromats, and restaurants as he used his hearing and nose to guide him around New York, never missing a web line, never hitting anything or coming into contact with another person. He had the piece of paper that promised many delights if he stopped a mugging, but right now he just wanted to swing.

His thoughts drifted not just his relationship with the girls. He was enjoying a hedonistic lifestyle, with either Gwen or MJ satisfying his carnal desires but he wondered if he was doing enough for them. He had read about poly relationships, and how disastrous they could be. It needed a level of trust and understanding that most people couldn’t find with one person let alone two. Divorce was common in almost half of all marriages, and if you couldn't make it work with one person, what about more? 

Venom swung and made a promise that he wouldn't just take the girls, and the things they did for him, for granted. Even though the jar had been a great idea, and he gave as good as he got, he needed to do more. Gwen loved the sciences and MJ the arts, and planning trips and dates once the warehouse was more settled was now a priority. Either together, or if they preferred separately.

Finding a purpose Venom began to swing over the more populated areas, attracting some attention but he wanted to see what things were on offer. If anywhere was doing a show or exhibition Gwen or MJ might like and as he swung over a flower stand and the sharp floral scent hit him, not flowers though, definitely not flowers. That was one disappointment the girls would have to live with, as his superior sense of smell went crazy at the overbearing perfume coming from them.

It was about an hour later his mood was spoiled. As Venom sat on a gargoyle, eating a hotdog, he felt the other approach him, the subtle shift in air pressure and the man's cheap cologne, Peter refused to wear any for that very reason. Why hunt if you're gonna smell like flowers or a cheap date on prom night and let anyone know you're there? The question was, was he here for a friendly visit or something else?

"Tarantula, or well, Venom?" asked the surprisingly well-spoken but garishly dressed Spider-man.

"It’s Venom and you damn well know it, Spider-Man," Venom replied, he didn't even bother to get up as the red and blue suited idiot crawled towards him.

Spider-Man watched carefully as he approached the dangerous and somewhat elusive criminal, he was unsure if this was a trap or not but so far his spider-senses hadn't given him any warning of danger, so while he was relaxed, he was also prepared.

Venom looked over at Spider-Man. He was more muscular than he was, and taller, which made Venom instantly hate him. Sure, he had two girlfriends but it was always the same. How tall are you? How rich are you? blah blah, stupid tall Spider-Man. "So, what do you want? I'm not in the mood for a photo op, my hair’s a mess and I've not done my makeup." to make a point he stretched his maw wide, letting the gigantic tongue roll over his razor teeth.

"Just to talk, Venom, just to talk.” Spider-Man sat perched on another gargoyle not too far away, close enough, Venom thought, close enough to attack or defend if the need arose, and squatted legs splayed and hands between them, anchoring himself to the gargoyle.

"So talk then," Venom was already annoyed, he could hear the whirring of the automatic camera nearby, the safety feature of the shutter noise still evident to someone with super hearing but muffled by a bit of gum? He thought to himself, who clogs a speaker with gum? oh so Spider-Man's probably a moron, well, that explains Tarantula.

"You don't have to be a bad guy Venom. I mean, the city has enough crime, enough bad guys that one more, one more like you tips the scales. It doesn't have to be like that though. You could, you should be a force for good in the city." Spider-Man sounded convincing and it was a well-written speech. Venom thought, probably an English major, wait, was Spider-Man a reporter? That would explain the camera, the angled shots, the exclusives, Venom laughed, he bet if he checked the byline for the articles he'd find out who this was.

"A bad guy? I'm not the bad guy Spider-Man. The city, the city was already rotten before I got here. Tell me, how many of those punks get a conviction, how many defence attorneys argue that even you don't have the proper procedure, that you taint evidence, that your interference isn't," as he made air quotes, "Due process"

Spider-Man knew he had him there. He had checked court records and that was a firm favourite, even if it was largely thrown out though, Spider-Man always recorded the crime, always provided evidence, and never interfered until he knew it was safe too.

"It doesn't work like that, it makes things better Venom, more and more petty crooks get jail time, more and more people get their savings back or their memories. You take the money and leave the crook beaten, broken. Look what you did to that first guy, what's next? You decide not to stop? Not to let someone live cause they're a rapist or a murderer? then you're no better than them, Venom."

"You're wrong Spider-Man. No murder, no death and sure, we take the cash, so what? Does the city return it? Ask yourself, all the lost or stolen wallets with no address, no owner, does the city give it to charity? Feed the homeless? No, it doesn't. It buys a new tank or a cop gets a new piece of kit bought from the military reject pile. Stop trying to sound better than me, stop trying to impress your readers," Venom lifted an arm and after correcting his aim, let out a squirt of webbing, hitting the hidden camera and knocking it off its perch.

"Stop using me to get a scoop, Spider-Man, or I'll turn my big brain to finding out who you are and expose you to the world. I'm sure ‘Spider-Man, the big mystery solved’ would be a great scoop for the press, but you'd know all about that huh?" Venom stood up and stretched. "Don't follow me Spider-Man, don't try and stop me, you know this city is rotten as well as I do, I'm just better at cleaning it up than you are." Venom whipped out a web line and giving Spider-Man a fake salute, swung out into the night.

Eddie was swearing, Venom had heard his camera, supposedly silent, taking photos and recording their conversation. Venom was wrong though, the city wasn't as bad as he made it out to be. Where he was right though, Venom kept mentioning the press. Was he too obvious? Was he facing someone who was involved with Oscorp and knew about the break-in? Gathering the smashed pieces of his camera Spider-Man swung out into the night, unsure of what to do with the scuffed but undamaged memory card. If anyone else took Venom's words as fact, would he reveal himself to the world, or was it a bluff? He shook his head, bluff or not, his mission was too important to risk it, he'd stay away from Venom, only stepping in if he got too violent, if he got too bloodthirsty.

Neither man was willing to allow the other to reveal their identity to the world both willing to fight to protect what was theirs, two sides of a single coin, on one side Spider-Man. By the book, out for justice, serving the people the way he thought best, by being their shield by using the law to get them what they deserved. On the other was Venom, out for revenge, taking back the fear and the pain given out to the innocents of New York and sending it back to the criminal element, ‘harm my citizens and suffer my wrath was his message’. Both believing they were right, both knowing deep down that their conversations would go round in circles until fists flew, neither backing down.

Spider-Man was unsure of that outcome, he didn't want to hurt anyone, didn't want to hurt someone he knew could do good in the city. If Venom was the same as him, then why were his powers so different? Spider-Man made a mental note to investigate who else had been affected at Oscorp and if there were any others like him in the city. Maybe finding allies would show Venom that working tougher was better than staying solo, maybe he could show Venom a better path.

Venom was excited. Was Spider-Man stronger or faster than him? Did he have training like Black Cat? Was he a symbiote like him and everyone else or did he have different powers? like Rhino or those other idiots. His excitement grew at the thought of taking on New York's friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, knowing their showdown would be legendary.

~

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