Chapter Text
This host was acceptable…for now. She had been malnourished when the symbiote first came in contact with her, but now she was well-fed (though only with strange and flavorless liquids, not with the squirming flesh the symbiote craved). And she was missing something, some important ingredient that would truly nourish them both, but the symbiote couldn’t put a name to it. After all, it hadn’t had this problem before. But now such an issue presented itself, and there was no solution presenting itself, only a growing craving for something living, a craving that had never before been this strong.
But despite the host’s negative aspects, she provided the symbiote with a bounty of information. Her name was Maria. Her body—their body now, but the symbiote hadn’t addressed that with her yet, and probably wouldn’t get the chance to considering their health—had been dirty when they’d first bonded, but upon their successful joining they were cleaned up.
“Don’t get any more dirt on my lab,” the man in charge had said. Maria’s memories told it that his name was Carlton Drake, and that he was in charge of many things. She had known his name to be dangerous, but she had still come here.
Maria used to live on the streets, selling songs or newspapers. She had no home or employment, and out of desperation had signed up for a low-paying volunteering job for a scientific study. The waver had been long and convoluted, with words that hadn’t even been on her…SAT, yes, those strange tests humans apparently had to do. Complicated tests, judging by her memories.
She had seen the advertisement in one of the newspapers she was selling. Overpriced newspapers, as many customers had pointed out. Like that one…
He was an interesting character. “Eddie.” Twenty dollars for a newspaper, instead of the offered five. From Maria’s memories, that was an uncommon thing for humans to do. But a kind one. How strange.
Maria didn’t know this “Eddie” particularly well. He used to have a show called the “Eddie Brock Show” before he reported on Carlton Drake, which somehow resulted in the show being shut down. Maria thought this was unfortunate. He had often helped bring awareness to issues that affected Maria (one of the major ones being homelessness). It was a shame to see his show cancelled because of one bad interview. He—
The symbiote was suddenly at attention. Distant footsteps tiptoed through the lab. That was odd, since the scientists were all supposed to be gone. The symbiote readied itself, but it was careful not to let Maria get wind of its apprehension. She was in the middle of curling herself into a tearful ball, and the symbiote didn’t want to make her even more upset if it didn’t have to.
The footsteps came close. There was the sound of a snap—the sound of a camera shutter, Maria’s mind told the symbiote.
It felt Maria’s mind come to a realization: Someone was here, and that someone wasn’t a scientist. A scientist would never take pictures of the mistreatment occurring at the Life Foundation. Then who…?
Her head shot up, and in the split second she looked at him they both recognized him. They slammed their body against the glass, banging their hands to get his attention.
“Eddie!” Maria shouted. “It’s me!”
They were filled with an exhilarating mix of anxiety and relief. Eddie was smart and kind! He could get them out of there, he could—
He touched the keypad next to their cell and an alarm blared, shooting pain through every fiber of their being. They screamed, screaming being all they could do, powerless to stop the noise, powerless to escape.
But the glass shattered, and there was an opening. The symbiote willed their body to surge forward, tackling Eddie to the ground. Their hands clenched around his throat, and in a moment of pure instinct the symbiote moved to him. As soon as it did, Maria collapsed to the ground in a lifeless heap. That was unfortunate. It had hoped to be able to keep her alive just a bit longer.
But it wasn’t the time to dwell on that, not when its new host was so unexpectedly fitting. He still lacked that something the symbiote craved, but he was healthier, and he was a better match (in terms of biology). And Maria had liked him. He was "kind" in a way that seemed to be rare for other humans. And the symbiote was filled with a new and hard to place feeling as the two of them began their escape.