Spider-Man. The House Of Venom

Flash yelled again as he fell. The new implant he had gotten was hard to walk on, even though he'd been told it was top-of-the-line. He slumped between the twin bars. He refused to give up but he wanted to do something about this anger in his chest.

Ever since he found out MJ had moved in with Peter, he knew she was fucking him. The day she came around was just too perfect, just too opportunistic and he knew he'd been right.

Then Osborn. Flash knew as soon as the killing started it would only escalate. He had begged his father not to make such a bold statement, and he had been proven right. He wasn't at the parade and watched on TV as his father was murdered.

Parker, MJ, and now Goblin were all on his shit list. He was going to train, find that fucker and gut him. He might have only held a grudging respect for his father, but he was still his father. Nobody deserved to die that day, and not at the hands of the tin-plated asshole.

If only they hadn’t argued. If only he had been there, been stronger.

"Knock Knock," came from the doorway, and to Flash’s surprise, Harry Osborn stood there.

Flash had cancelled everything, the internship, the college and spent his trust fund. He started seeing that therapist. It wasn't long after she made hints at expensive rings, she was after him for his money, not anything else. She'd even fucking yelled at him, calling him a limp-dicked pussy and he raged at her, some therapist she was.

His father shook his head when he told him, “It's the Thompson curse son.“ They had shared a drink as they talked. It was seeing his father commiserate with him, rather than rebuke him that made him want to try harder.

Another memory of the few good times. Another reason to find Goblin.

"Fuck you want Osborn?" Flash spat at him, The last person he wanted to deal with was Osborn's son. He never liked Harry, he was too smooth, too fake. There was just as much anger and pain behind that mask and Flash hated how Harry looked down on everyone.

"I come bearing gifts," Harry said, opening up a case in his hand. Inside lay a vial of blue liquid that seemed to swirl and catch the light.

"Is this some kind of experimental Oscorp bullshit? 'Cause I'm not a guinea pig Osborn, not for you, and not with that."

"And if I said this can give you what you want, give you a place to put that fire?" There was that fake smile again, and the even faker sincerity. Flash hated him even more and felt repulsed by this 'thing' in front of him.

"Magic potions and spooky goop doesn't impress me, so give me a real reason.“ Flash sat on the floor, crossing his arms. Flash knew this was a trap. He could see the hunger on Harry's face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. He was tempted to throw it back in his face. To tell Osborn to shove that vial up his as, but he paused. If Harry wanted to help him get revenge against Parker, then he would let him. The hospital gym was useless anyway.

"This," Harry held the vial up to the light and the liquid sparkled, "is the solution to all your problems. Venom, Spider-man, anyone who dares to hurt the mighty Flash Thompson."

"Uh-huh, what's the price?" Flash had had it drummed into his head by his father, ‘Always ask the price, even free had a price.’

"Price? Oh, that's easy, kill Venom, just kill him. I don't care if it's painful or slow, just dead, nothing more, nothing less. This is a job offer Eugene, not a noose. I’ll find him and then all you have to do is sqwrk," and Harry made a noise as he did the throat-slitting gesture, “That’s all.”

Flash hated being called Eugene, ever since first grade. He was Flash now and as he stared at the vial, soon he would get back at that bastard who ruined his life. He didn't need it though, he had other plans. As he listened to Osborn talk, he knew he would get a better chance at revenge if he agreed.

“Sure Osborn, sure, but uh, not with that. I’m not putting that shit in my veins okay?” Flash expected Harry to push the issue but he just raised an eyebrow and smiled.

“Never look a gift horse in the mouth Eugene. But if you insist” Harry waved a hand dismissively before he closed the case” Who am I to argue”. Harry straightened his tie, “You will have company, and we will fix,” he waved a hand at the implant, ”that. I need a man Eugene, not some broken thing.”

Flash bit back the anger, yeah, broken, but not out. 

Harry seemed to read his mind and raised an eyebrow. “I will be back, clean yourself up.”

After Harry had left Flash sitting on the floor of the gym he held the signed contract. Flash refusing the formal was no loss. He knew his father made that pitch a little harder than normal, even so, it still fitted with his plan. He smiled as he dialled a number on his phone "Yeah John, it's Harry. Flash is in."

⁂

With Flash in, John had the task of speaking to his father. While his dad was a tyrant to his workers John knew he was a softie at heart, he'd never admit it to the man though. J.J. looked at the report his son had handed him. "Are you sure son?" For once he didn't look like the domineering media man he looked like a concerned father.

"I'm sure Pop, Harry was very specific in getting my help, especially after, well, you know." John had never forgotten the help that Harry had given him in the past few years. If it wasn't for him, he'd still be with that thing. "Plus, I've already been training Flash. The kids good, Pop, really good."

Flash had reached out to him, asking what exercise he could do to strengthen his upper body. John had a few of his old training manuals and he passed them on. Flash breezed through them and wanted more.

"But this is dangerous. More than the space mission more than being in the military." J.J. put down the report, afraid of reading it once more. "I can't lose you, son, he's more than a menace, he's dangerous."

J.J. had spent many restless nights years ago. From the moment he heard about the accident to the moment John's shuttle came back, all he did was worry. He didn't even get to see him. It was a month before he got any news. All they would tell him was John was hurt and it wasn’t until later he even got to see his son. Even now he didn’t know what had happened on board and John refused to tell him.

"I know, I know. We aren't going in blind. We've got we've built up a pretty good profile of whoever is wearing that suit. Young, inexperienced, and most of all arrogant, and if the initiative takes off, they'll need my help."

J.J. was still unconvinced. John had approached him about his speech. He wanted to take the fight to Venom and the other superpowered freaks running around New York. John had the backing, had the smarts and if Harry could pull through and his Pop agreed, he'd have the team.

Harry had already confided in him that George Stacy was building his own task force. The 'Enhanced' as they were officially dubbed were special and they needed a heavier hand. Harry had praised his initiative but not his lack of foresight. Normal humans could not hope to take on someone like Rhino or Venom.

"Look Pop, I need your backing. With the media on my side, on our side, we can spin this however we want. Venom won't be able to hide. He won't have any friends to help him and we can nail him, get a scoop and a conviction, but I want you to headline this for us. I want the Daily Bugle to be our sponsor. You know how much space meant to me, how much you and New York mean to me. If Harry is right then Venom is dangerous, you know what he does, you see the reports. I have to take the fight to him, I have to stop him. Please Pop, please."

J.J. couldn't resist anymore, his son was right though. Venom was more than just a regular crook, even if he was caught by the NYPD could they actually stop him? They needed help and if it was John asking, then help he would get.

Picking up the phone J.J. dialled a number normally reserved for major events. "Yes, This is J. Jonah Jameson, I would like to schedule an appointment with George Stacy, please. Tell him it's about Venom."

⁂

As the unmarked vans pulled up outside the address they had been given. George Stacy was torn. He already had his own unit, but Harry Osborn had still managed to replace his father as a pain in his ass. 

With the mayor's blessing and a large 'donation' to the reelection campaign, his hands were tied. There would be two teams. One with regular police, and one with the vigilantes they were supposed to be arresting.

George Stacy had led the task force himself, and the intel given to him by J.J. had been spot on. Video footage showed the reporter breaking into Oscorp and the incident. A video clip showed a series of genetically altered spiders being released. It was grainy but one showed the infiltrator had been bitten.

It didn't take a genius to realise the pictures of Spider-Man could only be shot by someone who knew him. The angles were wrong for anything other than a well-placed camera.

A quick background check and Eddie Brock's name jumped out of the search at him. Smart, diligent, and a police academy dropout, Brock ticked all the boxes.

Eddie had no idea how they had found him. No idea what he was going to do but right now, sitting with his hands up and trying not to get shot was top of that list. His small apartment was filled with well-armed and hopefully not trigger-happy policemen. They kept their guns trained on him as a serious-looking man, who he knew was George Stacy, entered.

"Out," he motioned to his men. They holstered and slung their weapons while George grabbed a show of dusting off the couch. He sat down in front of Brock and stared at him. He reached behind himself and when Eddie flinched he smiled. It was a file and George licked a thumb before opening it,

"I know who you are," he began to pull out picture after picture. "I know what you do." He showed them one after the other to Eddie. Then came the USB drives. Eddie cursed himself as they were all the same as the ones he used to hand his work in at the Bugle.

Was it Betty? But it had been almost a year since he was outed, why wait until now? He squashed that through, feeling guilty he had even pondered it.

"I know what you want." He took out pictures of Venom and Black Cat, from the fight they'd had on the top of the warehouse, "and, I'm here with an offer." George handed Eddie one last folder.

Flicking through its contents Eddie was shocked. While the files were redacted they spelt out exactly what had been done to him. The following pages were the intel on what would be his new team and its members.

"You can't go public until they’re caught. You'll sign NDAs to that effect. We will train you and then you will follow orders. Everything, I mean everything will go through me. Once it's all been cleared, everything but your name will go to the Bugle."

Eddie hesitated, he knew he could get out the window. He knew it was safe and he could get away, but to what end? They knew his identity, they knew who he was and Stacy was right, this was what he wanted. "There's no pay."

George snorted and rolled his eyes, he'd met Brocks kind before, "turn over, pays at the bottom,"

Eddie's eyes bulged as he saw how much they'd pay him. The figure had a lot of zeroes. Enough that he failed to notice the Life Foundation logo at the top of the page. This was it, his big break.

"I'm in." was all he said and George Stacy smiled and shook his hand.

⁂

Harry loved the look on their faces as she let the lights of their new training facility blink and click on.

He raised his arms in victory, “This, is your new training facility. The Hunters Web.”

With the theme they were using, he felt it was appropriate. The public would love the grandstanding and he would love the attention. Spider-Man was a draw already, almost as big as Stark. With this, they would catapult him much higher. It made Harry smile to think they would even outshine that armoured idiot.

“We have three apartments, one for each of you so you dont have to worry about rent or other pesky problems. En suite dining so we can individually tailor your meals to your exercise plans.”

Eddie was gobsmacked. He had tried to talk to Betty about it. She already knew his secret but the paperwork specified that he couldn't tell her about this. It was part of the job though. She knew there would be secrets, just not ones that kept them apart for six months.

Flash wasn't as impressed. It was just money thrown at contractors. The equipment seemed top-of-the-line, but he learned. The equipment didn't matter if you didn't know how to use it.

John had seen it before. He was one of their new instructors and it would be a few weeks before everyone got into the routine. The army might push to make sure you wouldn't break under pressure but with these two, that was not an issue.

Flash had already proven himself to be unbreakable. Losing a leg and then having your heart broken gave you a fire that was hard to put out. Even the nurses had to lock him out of the physiotherapy suite to stop him from hurting himself.

Eddie was already insane. It was widely reported that the Osborn formula made you mentally unstable. Nobody wore tight spandex and hurled themselves from buildings without being slightly crazy.

Harry wasn't impressed. They had a month, maybe less to train these three. Their job was simple. Make sure Venom and whoever the others were stopped interfering in his plans.

Shaw had been clear and he was being given one chance and only one chance.

Fix the problem you made or we remove you and we will fix it.