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Hearing Big Bear’s voice made Evan grin.
Big Bear was the name he had given the giant brown bear.
That morning, when Evan woke inside the cocoon, he discovered a new set of language instincts sitting inside his head.
Then an unfamiliar voice spoke to him.
After a short exchange, he learned the voice belonged to a bear.
That had been a lot to process.
Bears did not talk.
Then Evan understood.
The bear was not speaking like a human.
Evan had gained the ability to understand animals.
Beast Speech.
“Boss, I came back too,” another voice said.
Evan’s grin widened.
That one belonged to the giant bird.
He had named it Hothead.
At first, he had considered something longer and dumber, but Hothead fit better and was easier to shout in a crisis.
“Hothead, you too?
I thought you two went looking for food.”
“Master,” Big Bear rumbled, “humans have surrounded you.
They want to drag you away.
Then they will cut off your paws, eat them, skin you, and make a coat.”
Evan closed his eyes.
Of course that was where a bear’s mind went.
Hothead refused to be outdone.
“How do you know he’s a bear?
Maybe he’s a bird like me.
Humans wouldn’t cut off bird feet for stew.
They would pluck the feathers and roast-”
“Stop,” Evan said sharply.
His headache arrived right on schedule.
“Listen carefully.
I’m not a bear, and I’m not a bird.
You’re not ordinary animals anymore either.
You’re my pets.”
“From now on, Big Bear, act like a bear with some dignity.
No more eating, sleeping, waking up, and eating again as your entire personality.
You’re going to be king of the beasts.
Keep the land animals in line.”
“Hothead, same for you.
Anything in the air is your problem.
Understand?”
“Understood!” they answered together.
Evan frowned.
He couldn’t see outside.
The green cocoon blocked his vision and seemed to muffle his hearing too, so he had no idea he had been surrounded until the animals told him.
Still, it was easy to guess what had happened.
He had evolved in the middle of a forest.
A glowing green cocoon in a suddenly mutated preserve was not exactly subtle.
“When this ends, Venom covers my face,” Evan said.
“His identity is public.
Mine is not.”
He still wanted some kind of normal life.
Being hunted every hour of every day sounded exhausting.
Ten more minutes crawled by.
Then his limbs tingled.
He looked down and saw his hands and feet shrinking.
“Oh, come on.”
The change stopped almost as quickly as it started.
At the same time, the cocoon began to dissolve.
Green threads loosened, melted, and sank back into his skin.
Evolution was complete.
“Venom.”
“Ready.”
As the cocoon melted away, black slime surged up and covered Evan’s face.
Outside, Tony and Spider-Man saw the shell opening.
Everyone watched.
When the green light vanished, Venom stood in the crater.
“You,” Spider-Man said, stunned.
Tony stared too.
Whatever he had expected to find inside the Life Source, it had not been the black monster from the livestream.
“Great,” Tony muttered.
“My Life Source is the ugly one.”
Evan heard him.
‘Ugly, huh?
I’ll remember that.’
He turned toward the giant bird.
“Hothead.
We’re leaving.”
The bird spread its wings.
One hard beat sent sand, leaves, and broken branches flying in every direction.
Venom jumped and landed on Hothead’s back.
The giant bird launched into the sky.
Then a massive aircraft rose into view ahead of them, hanging over the city like a floating fortress.
Several missiles locked on.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.