<div class="floatleft">(http://orig05.deviantart.net/3f1d/f/2011/098/d/d/ddf2d111fb8321948b49d3341449c1ee-d39go37.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong>Venom<br/><strong>Alias:</strong>Mikey<br/><strong>Time/Date:</strong>0030 EDT 6 April 2102<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Downtown Manhattan<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Astrid, Kaia<br/><strong>Mentioned:</strong>Astrid, Kaia<br/><strong>NSFW Warning:</strong>None<br/><br/>"She should have been back by now! I just...I don't know where..."<br/><br/>"She's probably just running late. I'll go check up on her, don't worry."<br/><br/>"Oh thank you, Mikey! Thank you!"<br/><br/>Mikey nodded as he turned and moved off down the tunnel. The sewers weren't the best place to be right now but at least the tunnel to the old station was clear. The few refugees that huddled down there were like a little family, and they'd always accepted Mikey without question. Even if they found him a bit odd at times.<br/><br/>Mikey turned a corner, and if anyone besides the rats had been there to see they'd have seen Mikey blur as his clothing seemed to melt, and then he was just gone. Even if his voice still lingered.<br/><br/>"Yes, we know she should  have been back by now. Jessica is usually very prompt. Yes, we should go look for her."<br/><br/>Shifting just slightly, Venom moved along the ceiling and vanished through one of the manholes a distance away from the refuge. Sniffing the air a moment, Venom leaped o a nearby building and swung out into the night toward Scav-Mart. "Jessica may need help with the trading. Or she may just need our assistance."<br/><br/>Swinging in, Venom blended in with the background and moved in. Dale strode through the place, smiling to himself. Hackles rose and Venom slipped past, in the past they'd always found that when Dale was grinning that meant that someone else was having a bad day. Moving around to the back venom's eyes widened as he saw one of the burly guards slap someone in shadow, and the shadow made a familiar yip of pain.<br/><br/>Fangs sharpening in his anger, Venom leaped to the side of the building. An arm shot out and lifted the man from the ground. Slowly the color faded in, a solid black arm that ended in wickedly sharp claws flowing up to the massive black muscular body. The thug swallowed convulsively as the head filled in. Soulless white spotches of eyes narrowed at him while a maw of razor sharp fangs emerged, along with the flexing red tongue.<br/><br/>"We believe you owe our friend an apology," Venom growled. "We hope she accepts it, otherwise we have no choice but to see what your brains taste like. A light snack would be fun."<br/><br/>Jessica stood up, a bit shaky. "I'm ok, Venom. Really. You don't have to eat him."<br/><br/>Venom looked over at her, his hand squeezing hard enough that the thug thought his head would crack. "Time to go home, Jessie. Your mother is worried. Do you have everything?"<br/><br/>Jessica nodded, picking up the bag that had fallen. Venom snaked a tendril down the thug and pulled his wallet out. "Take this too, Jessie. This one feels bad that he treated you so roughly and this is his apology. Isn't it?" he growled, shaking the thug's head in a positive gesture.<br/><br/>As Jessica took it and ran off toward the lair entry Venom pulled the thug around, putting his face next to the thug's. "There. Now we're all friends. So as your friend, we're going to give you some friendly advice."  The eyes narrowed and the tongue lashed. "This place isn't healthy for you. Bad things can happen if you stay." He walked off, carrying the thug toward the ruined buildings. "If we were you, we would seek out work away from here.<i>Far</i>away from here where you won't run into things like..." he pulled the thug around again and stared into his eyes, "<b><i>US</i></b>. Do we make ourselves understood?"<br/><br/>The thug nodded quickly. As Venom put him down a shockwave hit the store, reducing it mainly to rubble. Venom looked back, then to the thug. "Seems like it is your lucky day."<br/><br/>Venom turned as the thug ran off into the night. From the ruins a figure launched into the air, screaming.<br/><br/>"Interesting. No, we don't know what this was about but let us go look and see."<br/><br/>Venom crouched to leap and heard the high pitched screech in the distance. Venom sighed, turning slightly. "We know she means well, but those sounds make us uncomfortable. Well, let us see what she wants."<br/><br/>The blinking A in the distance caught his attention, but duty before blinkies. Venom leaped up, spraying out a tendril and swinging his way up and around toward where Astrid was calling.