4/4 Instance: How To Lose Friends & Alienate People

[Ferguson]

Current Timeline

<Cecilia> Cecilia sat cross-legged on the stone patio wall out back observing the lake, a light spring breeze gently lifting the curls of her hair. Even if the front porch had been serviceable she would not have gone there. As much as she was loathe to allow this cult to effect her life any further she just couldn't face yet another flashback of Shaw's dead eyes staring right back at her.

<Cecilia> She'd be damned though if she became a shut in 'cause of Kraven, Rott and Quent though. Those fuckers had taken so much already, there was no fucking way she was letting them take the outdoors from her. She didn't care if she was torn apart, she wasn't staying inside 24/7.

<Venom> There was a dark shadow cast, followed suddenly with Eddie Brock, landing a jump from the balcony above. He turned around, taking no note of the girl sat down observing the scenery as he made his way to the front of the mansion.

<Cecilia> Cecilia startled as Ed dropped from above and landed behind her. "Ed! Hey Ed!" She got up and followed him as he made his way to the front. "What're you doing? What's wrong? Are we being attacked?!" He looked tense, as though he was gearing for a fight.

<Venom> "Nope.", Eddie responded, voice as cold as his eyes as he made his way away.

<Cecilia> Cecilia sighed heavily at this. "Thank God..." She didn't stop following him though. He looked like he was ready to kick the shit out of a trucker and she'd heard about the patio incident as well as the DR bloodbath. "Are you alright then?"

<Venom> Eddie stopped dead, taking a deep breath before turning to Cecilia, "...I had you flagged as 'bright', Reyes.", he shook his head, "Someone who was would not be forcing this conversation..."

<Cecilia> "Good," Cecilia remarked, stopping in front of him and maintaining eye contact. "Nice to know somebody noticed. The only thing you forgot is I'm not afraid to speak my mind regardless of whether or not someone wants to hear it."

<Cecilia> "What are you doing, Ed?" Cecilia asked empathetically.

<Venom> Taking a slow, deep breath, Eddie flexed his fist a few times, sure that the only thing stopping him from outright cutting her throat was the fact it would cause trouble later, "You don't get it, none of you get it.", he sighed, "I am doing the ONLY thing I can. I'm making this right."
[18:35] <Venom> With that, he stepped past her, "Stay outta my way, kid."

<Cecilia> "What don't we get?" Cecilia said, following along behind him a small distance away. "Really, I'm serious, I'd like to be enlightened, 'cause right now? What you're doing now, how you're acting, is the furthest thing from the person I spoke to just months ago."

<Cecilia> "Seriously, what the hell happened?!"

<Venom> Eddie stepped closer to her, looking down into her eyes, "I opened my eyes.", he spoke plainly, "I was wrong. Cassie's dead. I lost her to Kraven and I'm about to lose Johnny and Jamie.", he moved his face to meet hers, "I grew up. The person you knew is dead."

<Cecilia> "We lost her," Cecilia corrected evenly, not flinching or moving away. "We might lose John and Jamie, but we haven't yet that we know of. There's still hope. As long as Jamie keep producing those dupes he's useful, that gives us time."

<Cecilia> Cecilia crossed her arms. "Who suffered the most for Apocalypse's dream?"

<Venom> "Who has two thumbs and doesn't give a fuck what your opinion is(?)", Eddie shoved her away, turning to leave, "Back off, you preachy bitch, or I really will bite your head off..."

<Cecilia> Cecilia's expression darkened. Jawsopeningwide. "That one's for free, the next will cost you," she said roughly. Fuck this. If she had an opinion he'd hear it whether he liked it or not. "Since you're a particularly thick student, I'll enlighten you. It wasn't Nur or the Marauders or even Essex. Wanna know why?"

<Cecilia> She didn't care if he wanted to really. "'Cause Nur and all his cronies were killed. Their suffering can be measured in the minutes it took for them to die. It's not the ones who die that truly suffer. It's those left alive. Do you know why I'm telling you this?"

<Venom> Eddie let out a low, inhuman growl, "...something tells me you're going to keep TALKING...",

<Cecilia> Cecilia let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm talking 'cause I'm trying to help you, Ed. Like I've been trying to do since day one. 'Cause you need to hear it. You're standing on a very slippery slope and either most people are too scared to say anything, are incapacitated themselves or too busy to notice."

<Cecilia> "But I'm here and I've noticed and once I've seen it I can't just turn away and watch you destroy yourself. You're slipping, Ed. You need help, just like I needed help less than a week ago. Someone has to say it. So I will: Please. Stop."

<Venom> "I'm gonna make this as clear as I can." Eddie leaned to her ear, "YOU. ARE. WRONG.", moving away, he affixed his soulless eyes on hers again.

<Cecilia> "Well, we'll never know if I'm right if you kill them, now will we?" Cecilia said, tensing up slightly but not budging. "You can intimidate me as much as you like, it doesn't change what's true."

<Cecilia> "If we keep them alive they'll spend the rest of their days trading cigarettes to avoid being jumped in the showers. They'll have years to spend staring at concrete wall. They'll have no future, no hope, no forgiveness. They'll rot. On top of this we can question them, maybe get them to I.D. the victims and give some families some piece of mind!"

<Cecilia> "And you won't have to get locked up like Bob or Rachel and spend your time worrying if they'll conscript you in SWORD or deem you too unstable and send you right down to whatever hellhole the Acolytes are in now - but we can't do any of this if you kill them. THINK, ED. For Christ-sakes!"

<Venom> 'Kill her.'

<Venom> Eddie winced, shaking his head, "No, I don't think we should bother.", he grinned, looking back at her, "Cecilia, Bobby is now the bodyguard of the Vice President's daughter. Rachel is a member of faculty here. Your argument is totally invalid.", he placed a hand on her shoulder.

<Venom> "I know that you all hate my guts, so quit pretending you don't. You all think I'm a joke, that I'm an idiot. And you were right.", he went on, smiling wider, "And that is why I'm saving you all the trouble of worrying about me. He took Cassie from me, he took my best friends from me."

<Venom> Squeezing down on her arm, he shook her as if she were a doll, "KRAVEN is going to DIE! So STOP trying to protect him, ok?!", he laughed, releasing her with enough force to topple her balance.

<Cecilia> Cecilia grit her teeth as she sat up off the ground. That fucker - did he honestly think he could just manhandle her?! "If I didn't give a shit then why am I here saying something?! If I hated your guts why didn't I just stay quiet and let you fall on your ass!?"

<Cecilia> "I'm not protecting Kraven," she snapped, pulling herself up. "I hate his fucking guts! I have no idea why you're even implying I am! I'm trying to help you dumbass!"

<Cecilia> "But if you wanna go ahead and fuck your life up then go right ahead! Knock yourself out!" Cecilia said, throwing her arms up and laughing. "Just don't come crying to me when you're in a padded cell and don't ever say I didn't warn you!"

<Venom> "THAT'S ENOUGH.", Eddie spun around, his hand grasping her neck and lifting her effortlessly off of the ground, "Listen. Real. Carefully; I am beyond worrying about what will happen to me, what will happen to others. I have seen the fruit of my 'heroism' and it has killed more than its saved...."

<Venom> His grip tightened, "You think you know it all, think you're some pariah, like I'm lost, confused, doing the wrong thing? Well, consider it: if I'd have succeeded the first time, Kraven would be dead. He wouldn't have hurt Cassie. We'd not even be here."

<Venom> Pulling her close, he looked her in the eye once more, "I have considered the options. I'm prepared to sacrifice everything to stop him. Because it is my responsibility. And if you stand in my way? With body or words? You are my ENEMY."

<Cecilia> Jawsopeningwide. She couldn't breathe and some of the worst panic of her life seized her as he lifted her off the ground. She clawed and struggled violently at his arm but she wasn't a match for him, even without his symbiote, and her efforts just strangled her faster.

<Cecilia> She decided that if she was gonna die it would not be quietly and not 'cause of Edward fucking Brock. With even ounce of force she could muster she slammed a force field directly into his face, then another and another and another.

<Venom> Releasing her as he was knocked back, Eddie growled, morphing his arm into a blade, leaping up and over Cecilia and hooking it around her neck, "Move and I pull.", he said quickly, "Y-you're making this REALLY hard on me.", he retracted the blade, "You keep pushing, and I'll push back. And I will not stop myself twice."

<Cecilia> Cecilia didn't bother making threats, she already told him what would happen and she made no apologies for this. Her life was clearly in danger - whether or not the blade was gone - and she needed to get the fuck outta here. She was not Rachel, she would not stand up to a beating and she remembered how things had gone the last time.

<Cecilia> "I told you it would cost you," she said hoarsely, her voice still raw from the chokehold. She drove a forcefield spike right through his kneecap and smashed her elbow up into his face. Making a break for the mansion as soon as she was able and slamming the door behind her.

<Venom> Letting out a roar of pain, Eddie  cast a web, tearing the door open and releasing a snare of tendrils into her back, "Noooo.", he seethed, pulling her backwards and into his hand, "No, you get to listen for a change, you stuck up little bitch...."

<Cecilia> Cecilia seized the doorframe with both her hands and feet. "No!" She snarled, slicing through the webbing with a flat forcefield plane. "Not when you don't listen to a goddamn thing I just said! Not when you're like this!"

<Cecilia> "I always knew it!" She screamed. "I always knew you were a fucking monster and now you're showing your true colours! Well, guess what, Ed?! I'm not going quietly! I'm not letting you rest guilt free!"

<Venom> Eddie darted over to her, forcing her against a wall, "Why don't you listen?", he snarled, "You can tell whoever you like about this, and I'll tell 'em the truth: that the stupid bitch Cecilia Reyes decided to shoot off her mouth like she could 'understand'.", he smiled, "You're a fucking disgrace. A stupid little girl who thinks she knows better than everyone else."

<Venom> He released her, watching her stumble, "Go on, go. Tell 'em. And if you get in my way again, it'll be the last time you ever get to open that stupid little mouth.", with that, he stepped back outside, leaving without another word.

<Cecilia> Cecilia slid to the floor. Coughing and gasping for air. Cautiously she felt her ribs...nothing broken it seemed, but her windpipe might be damaged. She was the disgrace? She touched her neck...it was gonna bruise without a doubt. Oh hell no, someone was gonna pay for this. "I'll see you in hell," she snarled muttered, hauling herself up and stumbling towards the medlab. Oh, they'd all hear about this. He could bet his ass on it.

[Ferguson]

Oh, the people Fabian should just burn out, they are starting to come together? Fun times, guys.

[Starfish]