Summary:Venom intervenes when Darcy faces an attack Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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It's near midnight and practice ran late. Mostly because after practice, the girls had gone to an eatery near the roller rink for wings and beer. Hours later, Darcy bid her friends good night, and slightly buzzed, she made her way down the street toward the subway to get back to her apartment. It was a tiny thing on the bad end of town, but it was clean and it was dry and it meant that she wasn't homeless.
The trouble with walking toward the subway at this time of day was what she was wearing. Torn fishnets, a t-shirt that was cut and retied to look like a corset, and short shorts that showed the lenght of her bruised legs. Her bag of skating gear was over her shoulder and she bobbed her head in time to the music playing in one earbud. The other dangled into her cleavage.
Not a good neighborhood at any time. Certainly not this time of night. Lots of predators lounging and just waiting for something ripe to fall from the nearest tree. When the buxom woman with the scandalous look makes her way by, a few men detach from the alley behind a nearby pool hall, the hangout of a particularly scabrous street gang with a penchant for human trafficking.
And above them, another shadow entirely, alive and liquid and sporting teeth, squirms along the edge of a rooftop and watches, slavering and curious, to see how it all plays out.
That Darcy's lived in a 'small college town' when compared to NYC shows when she doesn't seem aware of the gang memebrs peeling off toward her. She pauses not far from that alley, eyes looking this way and that way along the street for traffic so she can cut across to head for the subway entrance she just spotted. It's the perfect time to strike, and the thugs grab her up and start to haul her back. She yelps, lifting her feet up to kick while inhaling to scream. They cover her mouth and she tries to bite, making her first attacker yelp by the time they have her in the darkness.
<She bites. Just like us.> says the voice in Eddie's head.
There's a soft thump as the muscular frame of the dark-clad beast falls into the alley behind them, so that, as they carry Darcy back, the one in the rear actually backs up into Venom first, "Who's that?" he says sharply, "Fuck off, man, this one's ours."
And then a serpentine tongue flicks forward over his shoulder, crawling along the side of his neck, smearing spittle along the plane of his cheekbone. And there's an audible voice, a rasping, razor-edged thing, like more than once voice speaking at once, distorted, inhuman…wrong.
"We beg to differ, little meat. All your fates belong to usssssssss," Venom says, the voice trailing then into laughter.
She bites and she kicks, trying to break free enough to yell FIRE. Because no one wants to get involved if it's RAPE. The one carrying her, whose hand got bit, pulls his hand away, closes it into a fist, and hits Darcy in the temple before she can yell out. It leaves her disorientated, her bag falling to the ground as the gangers are just now starting to realize Something's Wrong (TM).
A clawed hand wraps around the face of the one in the back, dragging him into the shadows first, the one who struck her. There's a thump as he's flung into a wall, a crunch like something snapping bones and then a blood curdling scream. The man stumbles back out, clutching at a hand that seems to be missing a few digits, spilling blood in his wake as he runs past his friends and tries to escape the alley.
And then a tendril of darkness lashes out between them, running momentarily over Darcy before it wraps around the man's throat and jerks him to a sudden stop. Venom moves forward now, into the barest hint of the light, the overhead flourescent leaving an eerie sheen on his long, long fangs.
"Here be monsters," they hiss.
When the one holding her is yanked back, Darcy grunts and somehow keeps her feet. She hears the crunch, the snap, the scream, and slowly, dazed, she turns to see. Because that's what one does. She watches, glasses askew, as the tendrils ease past her and catch their prey. Green eyes widen as the monster Venom steps into the light.
The other two gang members bravely tuck tail and run for it, leaving their third in Venom's clutches. Darcy just stares at the beast.
Venom watches them run and then, with a powerful flex, leaps into the air, up and over Darcy until he lands on the back of one. He lashes out with his hand at the other, another tendril snapping and wrapping around the man's ankle, pulling him to a sudden stop as he smacks his pinned prey's head into the asphalt.
Slowly, the monster rises and turns back towards the girl. Now he's between her and the street. Not exactly friendly seeming.
Helowly, the head of the thing peels open and reveals the relatively handsome face of a man in his early thirties, a bit scruffy but no doubt human. The voice remains a bit…unsettling, nonetheless, if a little more palatable. "We hope he didn't hurt your head too much. Pesky little scumling. We should've taken more than a few fingers."
He leaps over her, and Darcy turns, her head angling to watch him. The brutal efficency with which he dispatches the gang members has her lips parting and her eyes wide in open surprise and a touch of disbelief.
"…holy… fuck," she gets out. She brings a ahdn up to adjust her glasses so she can see this creature better, from the now handsome looking face to the length of tawny inhuman sinews and muscle.
"Wow," she all she says, eithe rnot having heard his comment baout her head being okay or she's too rattled to have it parce.
THe shadows continue to recede, leaving him seeming to be just a man, clad in a black leather jacket, t-shirt, jeans. Muscular, yes, but not the monstrous beast of a creature he'd been only moment before. Still, there's a splash of blood just along the corner of his jaw. No real mystery exactly what had happened to bright boy's fingers.
"You need me to call somebody? Ambulance? Cops? I ain't like to stay to see 'em, but we - I don't want to leave you wandering concussed."
"Shit. That's… fucking bad ass in a Ripley's Alien kind of way?" Darcy rambles, watching the shadows fall away to reveal a man. The blood on his jaw. Darcy's head tilts so she can consider that, but the motion makes her world tip over, and her left knee buckles a bit.
"Woop! Whoa. Wow. yeah. Nope. Good. Fine. See? Standing. I'm gravy. Nope. No cops. I'm cool. Just.. wow. That was bad ass."
Venom can see her eyes flick to the blood and he quickly wipes it away with a sleeve, then runs forward when she almost falls, slipping a shoulder under her arm and helping her to her feet. He's strong and solid, easily capable of holding her almost aloft without much effort.
"You're taking it well, which means you're either brave, loopy or both. Although judging by those bruises, you aren't exactly used to the soft life," he says, his journalist's eye picking up a few details beyond the prurient.
Roller derby. The main bruise on her outter thigh is the same shape and size of the wheel of a roller skate, and her hair is plastered from having been in a helmet. The hit to the temple is already starting to color.
"I've been called stupid, self-preserverance of a lemming. That count?" she asks, head turning to look at the once monster now man with a broad grin. Is she.. flirting with him? While concussed?
Eddie manages a roguish grin, "Good enough for horseshoes. Or roller derby, in your case, I'm guessin'. Explains the outfit, too. Little bit bad ass, little bit hooker. No offense," he says.
"Lemme get you home, at least. We can probably provide enough protection even without showing our…teeth," he says. He's been doing work as a bodyguard lately anyway, so he might as well get in the practice.
"None taken. It was my target aesthetic," Darcy quips, grinning even if she's still woozy.
"Sure. But I don't put out until the first date at least, Ripley…. Wait, Ripley was the chick. Facehugger? No. That's not right either. Hentai-man? Not enough tenticles." She rambling. Rambling and trying to reach for her bag, which is not at all adviseable since she's not at all stable.
He bends down and gets her bag for her. Chance he'll get some mace in the face, wouldn't be the first time, but he can take it if he does. He's still not very good at this do-gooder thing, but at least he didn't rip them to absolute shreds. Not that they were entirely whole either.
<A compromise.> the voice in his head whispers.
"We usually just go by Venom. But you can call me Eddie if you like," he says.
When he lifts her bag for her, Darcy gives him a smile. It's warm, it's winning, it's like she found a ferocious pitbull and is getting ready to bring him home for belly rubs.
"I like Venom. It's really bad ass, but I like Eddie too. Veddie? Enom? Ew. No. Eddie. Or venom. Both are nice," Darcy says, the smile going lopsided.
"Thanks for kicking their asses and biting off their fingers for me. Which is just weird and if I was sober, I'd probably be a bit weirded out by it, but I'm a bit drunk so. Whatever."
Eddie snorts, "I'm afraid my…friend has a bit of an appetite. I've at least gotten him to stop biting nice people. Well. In the bad way, anyhow," he grins.
"It's okay to be weirded out. We're weird. But we've made our peace with that. The important thing is that you're going to get home safe and not have to deal with a bunch of scumbags getting their jollies off hurting you, y'know?"
Darcy regards Eddie, her 'knight in black alien goop armor', as he apologizes, hints at a good way biting (Darcy grins.), and then gives her permission to be weirded out, before telling her he plans to escourt her home. Her grin turns into a smile, and the arm over his shoulders tightens to pull her toward him.
It looks very much like she's going to kiss him full on the lips.
But instead, she licks him.
Darcy licks Eddie on the cheek.
"You're adorable. I'm keeping you. I live that-a-way!" she points with the hand not around Eddie. Her head in one direction, her hand in the other.
Eddie blinks a bit in surprise at the lick, but he certainly isn't about to complain about it. "Then that a-way we go," he says, hooking her arm and leading her along the way.
The neighborhood remains less than good, but he definitely seems to be giving off a suitably protective aura, getting a few sullen looks and lascivious glares from the riff-raff along the street, along with a few hoots from hookers inviting them to come share a good time.
With Darcy's terrible drunker directions, they make it. It's a hole in the wall sort of place, with a noisy buzz of a lock and boarded up windows. But it's home.
"You leaving me at the steps, or coming up for a coffee or something? Cuz, I should at least give you a cup of coffee as a thank you. And I should have a cup of coffee too. Because I'm not completely sober right now."
Venom considers for a moment, looking down the street and then shrugging, "Yeah, sure. I like coffee. I like it better with whiskey, but I guess that wouldn't help the situation much," he says with a grin. Hole in the wall he's used to, his own apartment somewhat on the crappy and inexpensive side. At least it had a fire escape, not that he needed it. He was good at climbing walls.
He helps her upstairs, keeping his shoulder under her arm and pressed aginst her as she gets the key in the hole and gets them indoors, taking her coat and hanging it up. His own just seems to disappear, as if it were never there, leaving him in a tight-fitting t-shirt.
"Come in. make yourself at home. Excuse the mess. I can't be bothered to pick up my clothes," Darcy says, utterly unapologetic about the fact that she's got bras and leggings strewn about like adult confetti. She at least says thank you when he takes her coat. her keys are dropped to a bowl by the door, and she lets him know it's okay to just leave the bag wherever. She was off for some advil.
"I might have whiskey? Enya likes tequila better, but she might have left a bottle, if you want to spike yours. I think I'm just going to get coffee and water and things," she says, starting into the small apartment and kicking off her shoes while her hands reach for the bottom hem of her tshirt corset top thing.
Eddie doesn't seem to be the shy or reserved type, although he does take a moment to go through the kitchen looking for said whiskey, "You live with someone named Enya? Is she a singer?" he asks. Not that he can judge anyone else's living arrangements. Or decorations, even as he removes a pair of underwear from a kitchen cabinet. Not sure what those are doing there.
"Do you like it black?" he says with a raised eyebrow.
"Fuck no. Enya is straighter than 5th street," Darcy says, her voice muffled as she pulls her top off while walking away from the livingroom toward the even tinier bathroom she's got. The shirt is dropped more or less in a pile that looks like it's dirty laundry. In the kitchen, Eddie finds all the signs of That Single Life Tho', including a bottle of cheap whiskey that doesn't look like she's touched it in over a month.
"She's a skater buddy of mine. Her husband works at Tito's so like… free tequila. And no. I like it just like you," Darcy says, stepping out of the bathroom in panties and bra. The rest of the clothes are dropped in the pile as she steps into her bedroom for a long tshirt. She's mostly visible as she changes, fnishing her sentence as she pulls the shirt down and walks back towar the kitchen.
"Warm, white, sweet."
Eddie, again, isn't leering, but he isn't dodging either, taking a view, enjoying it but not staring like some sort of character out of Porky's. Act like you've been there, as the old adage goes.
He can manage coffee and, once he hears, he adds a liberal amount of creamer to hers, even as he slips a bit of whiskey into his. Even beyond the booze, he likes the hint of alcohol, like a sharpness underneath the sweet. He offers up the cup, "You make a living on skates? Seems like that wouldn't be easy."
It's a look Darcy's comfortable with. It's appreciative without being creeper stalker. So, she just smiles at Eddie for it and accepts her coffee. Her panties are eyed. How'd those get… oh, fuck I've been looking for them. She collects them and tosses them in the direction of the laundry pile. They were most likely clean, but… fuck it. Let's wash them again anyway.
"Oh, fuck no. I'm not nearly good enough. I'm working at a diner right now. Hoping to land a paid internship somewhere. It's that or get my ass back to school. Student loans suck the soul out of damn near everything," she replies, leaning on the counter as she drinks the warm sweet concoction of going to save her ass in the morning.
Venom nods, "I remember. Still paying off some of mine," he mutters. He may actually be in arrears on that, he hasn't checked in a while. He's been a bit distracted with other matters to worry too closely about his credit score. Still, he recently got a decent paying gig so that might all change.
"Well, if you do go to school, I recommend a trade or somethin' practical. My English degree ain't never done a damn thing for me, lemme tell ya that much."
That makes Darcy laugh. "Oh, too late for that. Polisci. I think yours is more practical," she adds, lifting her cup in tribute. her head jerks to the side. She pauses to steady the light sway, before pushing off the counter and leading the way to the small living space. There is exactly one sofa. It's a futon. It's seen better days. It has a blanket on it and one throw pillow. It likely doubles as her bed. She tucks a leg underself as she sits.
"So, the burning question. How'd an English stud like you get a cool looking alien with killer fangs and hentai tongue attached to you? And if that's a personal question, you can say hardpass and you'll get to ask another question."
Because apparently we are now playing QnA.
He takes a seat on the edge, perching with a surprising amount of agility for someone so large. But, on the other hand, he's already shown that he's not exactly human.
"Long story. The short version, the alien - good call - and I had both kind of hit rock bottom and we found a way to help each other. I kinda fucked up my life, it was on the run from…troubles. We helped each other out. It works for us, for now, even if it can get…complicated sometimes," he says. "It's a process."
"Life's complicated," Darcy tells Eddie, as if she were some wise old woman. She sips her coffee, pensive before smiling.
"That's nice though. Having someone like that to help you out. Really. It's great. And look! You get to be a hero to a damsel in distress some times too, so bonus!"
Eddie takes a long sip, 'Sometimes. He's not quite as…picky about who he preys on. Like I said, it's an ongoing process. I'm trying to convince him to stick to bad guys. So far, he…mostly…agrees. Mostly."
"Well, from me to him? Venom? Big, oozy, and beautiful? Thank you for not eating me. You are tops in my book," Darcy says, leaning to one side like she's talking to someone next to Eddie while still actually looking at Eddie. And then, like this is an everyday thing, she drinks some more coffee.
Eddie nods, "Oh, he can hear you. He always does," he says. "I would go ahead and tell you what he says back but, frankly, it's a bit…inappropriate," he chuckles. "Suffice to say, the admiration is mutual."
Giggling, Darcy winks, "I'd rather hear what he has to say so I can tell him myself if I think it's inappropriate. You don't know me. Maybe it's not."
Darkness floods his eyes for a moment and Eddie's teeth seem a little bit sharper. The dual voices return as the smile widens a little too wide on his face, "We were thinking that you might be the one oozing if we got our way. Especially if we decided to eat you…"
Darcy's head starts to tip, but she recalls feeling dizzy so instead she leans toward a bit, regarding that darkness in his eyes and the sharpness of his teeth and the wideness of his grin. She hmms softly, lips pursing thoughtfully, as if she is considering being offended.
"Dinner and a movie… Possibly dancing. With you. Eddie can give you pointers, but if YOU want a taste with that porno tongue, then YOU'RE the one that's gotta do the work for it," Darcy tells the creature that's come forward to talk to her, again like it is normal to just sit here and have a conversation with… Venom… about sex-ettiquette… while drinking coffee.
Venom flicks that tongue over canines, showing off, perhaps, the prehensile and frankly obscene nature of its appendage. "We haven't done much dancing. Most of Eddie's dancing is of the…hip hop variety? He grew up in someplace called…Philly."
"But don't worry, little morsel, we like doing work. And we don't tire easily."
"Could be fun. Take some classes, watch some YouTube, impress a girl, and we'll talk," Darcy quips, eyes on that obscene thing, the bit of maybe smile and all of that substance's possible uses. Her lips are twitching lightly, playing at a smirk as she sips her coffee again, her green eyes level on those black soulless pits of abyss Ven-eddie calls eyes.
And not even a shudder or a flinch of disgust.
"You really are brave or foolish. But you definitely have our mouth watering," Venom says, those dark eyes roaming perhaps a bit shamelessly for a moment and giving a little shudder before the darkness recedes and Eddie resumes full control again. Such control as he has. He takes a long sip of his spiked coffee, at any rate.
Darcy just smiles at Venom, sipping her coffee and just sitting still under the roam of his eyes. When it's clear that Eddie is back, she gives him a amoment before saying anything.
"You okay with all that? It's your body too, and if you don't want something, then Venom can go fuck himself."
Eddie runs a hand through his hair, "No problem here. I don't even necessarily disagree with him, although I probably wouldn't be as, uh…crude about it? Venom doesn't have much in the way of social niceties. He's all appetite, first and foremost," he says.
"Sounds like he needs something to make him want to figure out those niceties. He wants some of this, he's going to have to give me some of that. It's how these things work, baby," Darcy is saying, the compassionate tension in her voice when she was checking that Eddie was okay with the bargain she struck with his plus one fading back into her more usual lax tones.
"How'd you put it? Ya'll gotta work together? Help each other out?"
Eddie nods in agreement, "Something like that. We have a…codependent sort of relationship, I guess. Probably not healthy, but who is these days, huh? But I can only dull his edges so much. Underneath it all, he still is what he is. I can't make him a soft, sweet, cuddly puppy, even if he's good at pretending he is sometimes."
"Not asking him to be anything other than he is. I am asking him to have some manners and treat a lady like a lady," Darcy retorts, sipping at her coffee a bit more before she yawns. "Aaaah fuck."
Venom smiles, "That part, I think, he has a good grasp on. But I'll let you get some sleep, then, and I'll hit the streets again and we'll see if we can find something to do with his…pent-up energy," he says.
"Okay. Have fun. Leave your number on the fridge? I'll call you when I wake up or something, and we can do a thing," Darcy says, yawning again, setting her coffee down, and stretching herself out on her sofa-bed.
Venom does as she asks and casually heads back out into the night, the licking shadows of the symbiote lashing around him and carrying him up and away back to the rooftops, into the night, onto the hunt…