This issue was written by me and @batkevin74. I divided it into two parts because it was relatively long. Enjoy.
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The street was quiet, and not many people were out. Edward was surprised and disappointed which was unusual of him. He generally did not care, and actually preferred a quiet day over a busy one. But today, he felt he deserved some blessing, or celebratory praise from whatever cosmic force he misinterpreted and believed in. My life sucks, he remarked to the symbiote. He did not expect a reply nor was he given one.
Edward stepped playfully down the grey entrance steps, almost as if he were hopping. He couldn’t stop the unnatural energy that charged through his body. He felt like dancing. A Bee Gees song played in his head. He sang along, imagining it as his personal theme song. Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk. I'm a woman's man, no time to talk—
‘What are you doing?’
‘Dancing,’ he said as he pranced down the street. He bit his lip as his shoulders moved fluidly, tipping and rising like a dancing scale. And now it's all right, it's O.K. And you may look the other way—
‘You must take this seriously!’ Toxin cried. It had a feeling of déjà vu which it couldn’t understand. Spiderman did the same thing when bonded to grandfather, it thought. Maybe it was a memory I inherited from him.
‘I’m coo-coo for cocoa puffs,’ he said. A soft wind brushed through his hair and slipped over his face. Edward felt like he was in a music video. “Stayin' aliveeeeeeeeeeee!”
Toxin’s efforts were becoming more futile—Staying alive! He had to stop him. The symbiote was overprotective of Edward and believed forces would separate them and send Edward to a normal prison. Who knows what they’ll do with me, he thought.
Fortunately for Toxin, Edward could not hear his thoughts. It was within his power to do one thing, but it was risky. He could detach himself from Edward; therefore he wouldn’t have a reason to go to the police. However, Toxin would be left vulnerable and would most likely die on its own. I would die for Patrick, it said spontaneously.
‘I’m leaving you.’
‘What,’ he said, but refused to stop dancing. ‘You can’t do that.’
‘I can.’
‘You can’t. There’s nowhere for you do go.’
‘I could use your mother,’ it said.
Edward stopped dancing and his face become stern, almost threatening.
‘If you touch her, I swear I’ll—’
‘I will find a temporary host until Patrick wakes up.’
‘And you would continue to kill no doubt,’ he coughed. ‘They’d probably do what I’m doing right now.’
‘Dancing?’
‘You’re not going anywhere,’ he coughed again. ‘You’re my protector not my abandoner.’
‘You abandoned your family.’
‘Dad wouldn’t be too proud if you abandoned his only son.’
‘He could always make another,’ Toxin retorted. ‘And maybe he’ll be twice the man you are.’
Edward coughed again, only now it was persistent. He felt embarrassed when people walked past him. He continued coughing and his chest began to hurt. Edward assumed there was mucous lodged somewhere in his throat which he attempted to bring up. He spat red goo on the floor. It was too thick to be blood. He tried again to cough up more.
His eyes widened. Whatever was in his throat was preventing him from breathing. He had the same sick feeling he usually got when Toxin was tumbling around in his stomach. It felt cold.
‘Goodbye.’
Edward fell to his knees. His throat tightened and he choked as the symbiote worked its way up his airways. A boy and his dog came running to his aid.
‘You alright man?’ he said. ‘You want me to call an ambulance.’
Edward waved his hand as to tell him to go away, but the boy persisted. He pulled out his phone and began dialing numbers. His dog was sniffing Edward and began barking continuously when it detected something unnatural.
Edward heaved as the shapeless body of Toxin came pouring out. The boy jumped and told the dog to shut up but it wouldn’t listen. It moved closer to smell the gooey puddle and whined helpless when it latched onto its nose and crawled over its body. Toxin now possessed the dog and ran; its owner took off in the opposite direction. Edward picked himself up and despite being breathless, ran after the beast. It was too fast for him but he trailed after it by following the people’s screams.
Toxin quickly cornered itself in an alley.
‘You’re not the brightest light bulb in the box,’ Edward said. ‘Are you?’
The dog backed away and growled at Edward, showing its teeth. It scared him but he knew Toxin too well to be put off by it.
‘You won’t hurt me,’ he said. The dog ceased its growling and put away its teeth. ‘Good.’
Edward slowly approached the dog which flashed its teeth with every step he took. It barked.
‘I know,’ he said. ‘I know you’re sad. It’s what brought you to me. I’m sad too. Sometimes it feels hopeless like dad will never recover…he’s the provider. And now he can no longer fill our needs. I have to be the man now.’
The dog whined pathetically and lowered its head, refusing to look at Edward as if guilty. Edward quickly began to cry and used his hand like a fan, waving it in his face for air. He never imagined himself doing that.
‘I—I don’t know,’ he cried. ‘Being bonded to you makes me feel closer to him. Don’t you feel it too? Don’t take it away from me. You have been a comfort to me—I mean I think I would have been a lot worse. That’s why I’m obsessed with being a superhero because it’s fulfilling. I mean we get to help people. It gives us meaning. And—and I realize now, it stops me from focusing on my own pain. We need each other. We are connected. We are Toxin… now come home.’
Edward held out his hand and the symbiote quickly jumped off the dog and onto him.
‘You look like a mess,’ it said before shapeshifting into a black three-piece suit.
‘Is this necessary?’
‘Yes. You look sharp.’
Edward walked onto the street, ignoring the people that saw him, and waved for a taxi. He wanted to feel normal for once. Toxin, still against the idea, remained silent and would suffer with him for the sake of Patrick.
A taxi pulled up and the driver issued to him to open the door. He jumped in.
‘Where to?’
‘One Police Plaza,' he said.
Images and snippets of memories drifted through his head from the nights events. Like he was watching a movie, but in the movie, almost like a bizarre dream. Edward rested his head against the window and sighed as he watched the traffic go by. In his head, his inner monologue was joined by the symbiote, harmonising the falsetto parts as Stayin' Alive hummed in his head.
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