[Virginia, 2044/47.]
“EDDIE!!!”
He doesn’t see the Spider-Man, too, more sees through the web slinger's eyes as he sails through the air in a furious rush. He feels Peter’s horror and fear – along with his own – as both their eyes (in one mind) fall onto the broken limbed and bloody body lying motionless on top of the smashed and dented car it just landed – was thrown down – onto. He feels the panic flaring up in the friendly neighbourhood hero, feels his own heart stop and then crumble as he lays eyes on his mother...
“Eddie! No, no, no. Oh, God.” Peter is mumbling, talking more to himself, talking just to make himself feel better, just to hopefully calm himself enough to help his friend. He lands less graceful than usual, trips a couple of times as he rushes over to her. “Eddie! Oh, please don’t be dead! I’m sorry! I saw you falling and I couldn’t get to you in time! I was really trying, but the stupid symbiotes got in the way! No offence to your other half... who isn’t with you right now. Oh, God... Eddie? What do I do?” He looms over her, perches on the roof of the smashed up car, stays with her while he tries to process, tries to think of a next move, while not knowing whether to move her or not. “Tony? Sam? Nat? Anybody hearing me? Shit!” He hisses when he gets no answer, rips out his ear piece in a huff and tosses it aside.
At least he can still hear her heart beating. It’s faint, but still fighting valiantly... on it's own... Venomless... But then, she surprises him by trying to speak.
“Dylan...” Eddie croaks, eyes blurred, with her own blood, she’s sure. “Peter... take... Dylan... to Sleeper... please...”
From beyond, from before any of this has even happened, Dylan watches in his mind, heart clenching in misery.
“Hey, no, it’s gonna be OK, OK? I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you. You’re not done yet, Brock, you hear me?” Peter shoots her the best smile he can muster up, gently begins to wrap her up in his webbing. “Shh, shh. I know. I’m sorry. Almost done.” He tries to keep his voice soothing and calm as she groans in pain while he shifts her around as carefully as he possibly can – and he’s got pretty steady hands, even for a super human, so he can’t imagine how much pain she must be in. “There. D–done, and oh... my fuck...”
Eddie can barely hear him anymore as she slips further and further away into that more and more persuasive darkness beckoning her closer and closer.
Dylan’s eyes widen behind Peter’s, both their hearts hammering in even more horror as they see the symbiote infested heroes advancing on them. Amongst the horde of symbiote dragons and God damn Celestials, and poor innocent civilians, there stands Peter’s friends. He can see almost everybody has been captured – at the front, seemingly leading the rest, is Sam, Bucky, Quill and fucking Jean (he’s so fucked if he doesn’t run.) Carol isn’t too far behind with Storm, both flying above the armies, drawing closer and closer. He sees Jen and Bruce, sees Yolena and Clint, Ben and Sue and Reed, Logan and Scott and Hank, Groot and also, Bob, and many more, so fucking many more. He even sees some of his old high school friends – even idiot Flash – gunning straight for him.
Though, he doesn’t spot Tony anywhere, or Nat. He wonders if they’re still alive, or much worse.
“OK, time to go, all our friends are trying to kill us.” Peter hops gracefully over her, now perched by her shoulders, and finally, pulls off his half torn up mask, tosses it aside – because it’s not like secret identities even matter right now. She groans again, and he gently shushes her as he pulls her now securely web wrapped limbs slowly and carefully up over his shoulder. He turns to see the horde just a couple of blocks away from them now, then, feels his heart sag with relief at the sight of a familiar and very welcome flaming face. Though, Peter has to admit that watching the small flaming man burn his way through a symbiote dragon the size of a small skyscraper is something he will never forget.
“Did you fucking see that shit, Petey Boy?! Holy fuck, that was awesome!”
Peter can’t help staring up into the black sky lit up with flaming pieces of falling symbiote dragon corpse, can’t help chuckling a little at his friend’s excitement.
“Hiya, Spidey. Need a hand, bud?” Johnny darts down to him, flames surrounding him, trails of blazes left behind him as he moves. And he’s still wearing that infamous cocky smirk of his, even at a time like this.
“Torch! Thank God!” Peter exclaims. “Should’ve known you’d still be with us.”
Johnny nods, smirk widening. “These little pussies hate fire, yo... oh... dear God...” He finally catches sight of Eddie, limply slung over his friend’s shoulder. “She still alive?”
“Yeah. But she’s not gonna be for long if I don’t get her outta here. I gotta get her to the FF lab.” Peter tells him as he hops as gently down from the smashed up car as possible, is careful not to jar her broken body.
“Go. I’ll cover you.” Johnny tells him, tone less amused and more serious as he pulls his game face back on.
“Johnny, don’t be stupid. With their stupid god backing them, fire doesn’t kill them anymore.” Peter shoots him a withering look.
Johnny scoffs, floating higher above him and smirking towards the horde closing in on them. “Still stings them like a motherfucker though. That’s good enough for me.”
Peter huffs, knows he won’t change his mind.
Johnny rolls his eyes, sees his friend’s concern. “Look, you’re not gonna be leaving me alone to fight. Rocket, Nat, Tony and Kate are all still kicking it. So don’t do your annoying guilt trip thing on yourself and get gone before Eddie kicks the bucket.”
Peter rolls his eyes, tells him, “You really have a way with words.”
“Yeah, Sue tells me that all the time... and Reed.” Johnny scowls, adds, “Ben, too, actually.”
Peter shakes his head, but somehow, his friend manages to make him pull the faintest of smiles in such a shitty situation.
“Just do me a favour if I die? Tell people I said something cool before I died a hero?” Johnny asks, small grin threatening to sadden.
Peter nods. “You got it.”
“Thanks.” Johnny shoots him a grateful look, grin widening as he slowly floats upwards. “I may be fucked here, but I still got a reputation to hold up. Even from the beyond.”
And then, he’s watching them part ways, watching the Flaming Torch fly bravely (and typically optimistic... carefree) up into the horde, watching through Spider-Man’s eyes as he goes springing back up in between the buildings.
But then, Dylan is being sucked away, pulled from this future, this dream, this nightmare. He feels himself landing back in his own body, feels a familiar touch on his shoulder, gently shaking him awake. He feels groggy, the panic rising in him as the image of his mother all bloodied and broken seems to brand into his mind. He feels his body warm up slightly, and sighs as he tries to let himself get lost in the rather powerful feeling. But whoever is trying to wake him is getting in the way, and well, he really doesn’t like that.
“EDDIE, MOVE!!!”
“Wha – oh, shit!” Eddie’s eyes widen as her son’s body begins to glow with a pale blue light seeming to permeate from his skin. And in her stupidity, she gets lost in the beauty of the sight, instead of moving out of the way, like she most definitely should have.
Thankfully, her other half is there to save her, like he always is.
Venom’s humanoid body instantly forms under his noodle-head, and in the next moment, just as a small ray of pale blue light bursts from their son’s chest, Venom is scooping his love up into his arms and rushing her over to their bathroom. He all, but throws Eddie inside, pulls the door to and stands in front of it for extra protection.
“V, what the fuck is happenin’ to him?!” Eddie exclaims, half annoyed, half panicked as she slaps a hand against the door in between them.
“We are the ones in danger right now, Eddie. Dilly is fine, I promise.” Venom calmly tells her, though, he knows she can sense that he’s on edge.
“What?” Eddie peeks out of the door, tries to peek around his black hulking mass, glares up at the back of his shiny black head when she fails to see anything else at all. She huffs, but trusts him completely, so instead, she just goes with the flow (like she almost always does) and asks him, “What does that even mean? Talk to me, babe.”
Venom watches the glowing of his son fading slightly, but still not totally gone. He cautiously steps aside, opens the door for her to see for herself. He watches their son, feels her awe and intrigue, and still a little concern there, too. He lays a land on her tiny shoulder, lets out those pleased low rumblings to let her know he’s not worried for their son, and smiles to himself when he feels her relax, both under his touch and in their mind.
Eddie doesn’t know what to think, can only whisper, her voice showing her amazement, “V, what’s happening?” She forces her gaze away from their son, is slightly surprised, but happy to see her other half smiling proudly back down at her.
“Our baby has the power of gods at his fingertips already, my love.” Venom lifts a hand when she scowls, curls a finger under her sweet dimpled chin, pulls her flitting gaze back up to his. And because he knows exactly what she’s thinking, he promises, “Doesn’t mean he has to be the new God of Symbiotes, Eddie.” He grins, tries to lighten her mood by adding, “Definitely means nobody will ever mess with him.” She shoots him a small, but still sweet smile (all of her smiles are sweet to him) and that’s enough for Venom as his pulls a fake sad face and adds, “But unfortunately means he will never need his daddy to protect him.”
Eddie grips his large fingers in both her hands, squeezes them gently and smiles up at him as she tells him, “That’s never gonna be true, V.”
Venom shoots her a cheesy grin, feels his inky mass warming so perfectly as she keeps a hold of his hand.
The glowing in the room dims considerably in the next few seconds, the pale glow fading back into their son’s pint size form, and Eddie feels him gently squeeze her hand in return as both their gazes crawl back to their son’s.
“Mom? Dad?” Dylan sounds groggy, is half awake as he slowly pulls himself upright in his bed.
“We’re here, bud.”
Venom lets her hand slip from his, only because their son needs them; needs her.
Eddie calmly darts back over to him, takes seat on the bed beside him.
Venom smiles faintly, watches her brush away the curly strawberry blonde locks away from his eyes, a daily gesture he finds beyond endearing, amongst many others. His smiles quickly disappears, however, when he hears the distress in their son’s voice, sees the horror in his little ocean blues.
“I saw it again. I saw him take dad from you. Saw you falling. I – you were almost dead, mom –“
His words come out as panicked whispers, and Eddie is moving behind him before even thinking about it. She slips under the blankets with him, pulls his back to her chest, and at 10 years old, he’s already half her size, but he’s still her baby, and always will be.
Venom shuffles back over to them, slowly shrinking back into his serpent form and floating down beside them both.
Eddie wraps her arms around his slim waist, presses a kiss to the top of his head before resting her cheek there. She smiles faintly when he rests his arms over hers, slips his fingers into hers and holds on tight – just like he’s always done since practically being born. Her smile widens when Venom shrinks down enough to settle his tiny noodle-head over their son’s blanket covered feet, and Dylan wiggles his toes and lets out a soft little laugh when his “daddy” pretends to munch on his feet – just like they always used to, when Dylan was barely able to walk or talk.
After a few moments of comfortable silence, Eddie finally tells her son, “I used to dream about the same thing, all the time. Doesn’t mean it’s gonna end that way. Even with that freaky future seeing power you got, kid.” She mumbles her words affectionately, cheek rubbing against his soft curls.
“But –“
“When you were asleep, just now, you almost separated your mother and I, Dilly.”
His words are more dire than the excited and rather proud expression over his father’s face, so Dylan can only look confused and tells him, “You said that like it’s a good thing.”
“Yeah.” Eddie agrees, nods, then, pouts as she asks, “What gives? You wanna leave me, V?”
Venom scoffs, shoots her a withering look, because she’s smirking smugly even before he tells her, “I’m not even going to dignify that ridiculousness with a valid response.”
Eddie simply chuckles.
Dylan almost manages a full smile, makes do with half instead, is still slightly confused as he stares back down at his father... his tiny father... whose eyes narrow, because he totally heard that, and now, Dylan really is smiling fully.
Venom pretends like he wasn’t so rudely interrupted by the two people who – supposedly – love him the most, instead, goes on to gleefully explain to them both, “You are able to separate symbiotes from their hosts. Even I can’t do that. Even Toxin can’t do that. And his ability range is far wider than mine.”
“Holy balls.” Dylan simply mutters after taking a moment to digest this new information.
Eddie puffs out a surprised chuckle at that, presses another soft kiss to the top of his head, and Venom’s, too, as he joyously scrambles in a floating loop, itching to get in on the snuggling action, as usual.
Dylan absentmindedly begins stroking the top of his father’s cute little inky head as he lies with them, and with his thoughts. “So... I mean, I should definitely learn how to control it, right? Kinda seems more of a hazardous power to have when you’ve got symbiotic parents...” He smiles sheepishly, but they both see the fear in his eyes – Eddie seeing it all through her other half’s eyes.
“I will help you, Dilly... I don’t know how. But I will... You probably won’t even need my help. You’re a natural with your other abilities. It should stand to reason that this one will be no different. It’s not even the most dangerous one you already have... or will receive as you grow older.. and...”
“V, stop talkin’.”
“Thank you.” Venom sags in relief against their son’s belly, then, glares up at her and whines, “Why did you wait so long to stop me?”
“I love you, but I also wanna see you fail sometimes.” Eddie shoots him an innocent grin when his glare only hardens. “What? It’s funny. You’re funny.”
‘I will show you FUNNY when I fuck you so hard you’ll be walking FUNNY for weeks!’ Venom growls in their mind when she only smirks smugly down at him, instead of gasping and blushing, like he wanted her to do – damn it! ’– because I will not be healing you! ...I will leave you unhealed!’
He adds the last parts desperately, like she needs help understanding, and Eddie is fighting back a laugh as she tells him, ‘Yeah, I got it. Thanks for explaining.’
Dylan rolls his eyes, doesn’t even want to know what they are both secretly talking about in their mind. Only, as he snuggles further into his mother, he can only wonder if they’re talking about the new addition to their weird, but wonderful family. He turns carefully onto his side as his father snuggles into her other side. He smiles at him, then wraps his arms just as carefully around her waist, presses his head to her chest, listens to her heart beating as they both now hug each other tight.
“Try to get some sleep, bud. Last day of school tomorrow. Then, you get to do whatever you want for the summer.” Eddie smiles, feels happy, proud, but also slightly sad as she says, “My baby’s gonna be startin’ middle school next term. Ugh. Why can’t you just stay a baby? I demand you stop growing any more at once!”
Venom grins as Eddie presses a sloppy kiss to their son’s face, and Dylan wrinkles his nose and lets out a half disgusted groan.
“What’d you need another baby for right now anyway?” Dylan asks as he lifts a hand and gently pats her still flat stomach, then, arches a brow and smirks smugly when both their eyes widen in shock.
“How did you –“
“Oh, please.” Dylan scoffs out a laugh, presses a quick peck to her cheek and then snuggles back into her as he tells them, “Neither of you are as subtle as you think. Especially not when you’re all happy and giddy. It’s cute... in a completely revolting way.”