World Tree MUSH

    London, England, circa the late 1800's. Workhouses, coal fires, heavy fogs and human misery as far as the eye can see. In the late afternoon light Omnibusses are moving people homeward bound or to factory work, horse drawn. Careful not to step in exhaust. 

     There's a cry that peirces the night, a boy is holding the side of his head after having been boxed about his ears outside a bottling factory. 

    "Please sir! I didn't mean to drop the crate! They weren't full or nuffin'!" he cries out, "I won't do it again! Promise!"

     The mustachioed man raises his cane, his thinning hair with a bit of sweat against his forehead as he crows: "Damn right you won't do it again, you cretin, I'll give yous omething to remember not to!"

Eddie Brock, Reporter, Freelance journalist, would-be 'modern' muck-raker and friend to the downtrodden.

Reduced to wearing a hoodie, stinking like e hasn't bathed properly in a week, and with dark circles under his eyes as he stumbles along unfamiliar streets. It was better than that time being stranded in the middle of nowhere, but at the same time-

<Hungry.>

It wasn't his stomach growling per-se. However he patted his middle lightly as he muttered, "Look work's thin, people don't want to hire somebody that got dumped out of a hoele in the universe and just look at these people...." A lot of desperate, poor, overworked, and more than a few starving faces looked back at him as he walked. "Think I've got a lead on something though."

Surprisingly nobody paid Eddie any real mind, probably either dismissing him as insane, or simply not their business to be involved in.

<I know, Very bad person, but it isn't healthy to go this long.>

ANd then Eddie found himself staring at someone with a cane raised to beat some poor underling and smiled. "Well looks like someone just rang the dinner bell for us." This was not a kind smile, and in fact seemed to hold far more teeth than should be humanly possible as a black tendril whipped out through Eddie's grey hoodie to grab at the man's cane, attempting to encase his forearm before pullingtowards Eddie. 

Regardless his voice would raise as he addressed the poor sap that was in the process of getting beaten a moment before, "Get lost kid, get the cops or bobby or whatever..."

    The kid's eyes go wide as the black tendril whips out, grasping the cane -- and he books it, about as fast as he can, screaming at the top of his lungs! "CLARA! CLAAARA!" he calls out, running about as fast as he can before the man, giving a gasp as he whips around cries out "UNHAND ME CUR!" 

    And with a sense of self preservation tries to pull his arm back. 

    Up above, on the rooftop, a figure in a black hood crests over the ridge, pausing a moment at the stack of a chimney as she whispers: 

    "That's Silas, but what.. in the devil..." she whispers, watching the black tendril grasp and pull the poor soul to Eddie. 

    Evie Frye, only recently arrived home, narrows her eyes at the scene below her.

The same black material envelopes Eddie's body, causing him to grow a couple feet and bulk up into a large dark monsterous body builder that grinned toothily at the man. When it spoke again its voice could almost have been the same man's ave for being far lower pitched, rumbling, purring almost. "We are displeased with how you motivate those beneath you..."

A large hand clamped down on Silas's shoulder to lift him closer to eye level, allowing him to see the large white patches in the tar-black creature's face as a long serpintine tounge snaked out, taisting the air. "Normally there is a rythm to these things, but we are so... very... Hungry."

Then a moment later any onlooker would see a headless body fall to theground. No blood, no torn clothing. One minute Silas was alive, the next. Not.

Then the black material would start to receed, showing Eddie's face for a moment, then would reform into the monsterous face that Silas spent his last minutes with, and the milk-white of its eyes looked up at Evie. "We hope you are not here to avenge this walking pileof filth stuffed in human skin." It stoodwide, open and unguarded. Almost as if it had no fear of whtever reprisal may come.

    Evie simply had no words for this situation. For one thing, it wasn't often she was bested on her way to a target. And for the second... 

    ... just what *was* that thing? 

    She stays on the rooftop, her lips pursed, her hood up as she blows a breath out, her eyes wide as she looks at the monstrosity, before she steps off the rooftop, drops to a ledge and then tot he cobbles of the backstreet. 

    She has a cane herself. She's circling, giving Venom a wide berth as she watches him with a critical eye, adn tries to use her Sight on him. Friend or foe? What would this person be? 

    "Avenge? No. Far from it. It's not often I am beaten to a punch." she states, with honesty. "Might I inquire as to whom I address tonight?"

Venom purred, literally making the same noise a house-cat might, as it looked at Evie, seeming to nod approvingly at the fact she recognized it as a threat. "We... are Venom." It smiled, this time only showing a hint of tooth rather than the fullness of its fangs. "We are far from home and our usual foodsources unavalible...." It then looked down at the ground, almost shuffling in embarassment as it shrank, literally losing a foot of height as its bulk semingly melted. "Eddie has asked that we only go after... Bad... people," It clarified, though Venom itself sounded confused at theterm. "That one there seemed like one this world would be best without."

    "'Eddie' would be correct. That was Silas Elias Thatcher. The foreman of a bottling company for Starrick's Syrup, known for his use of inhumane encouragement and use of child labour." Evie states. Oh, she is recognizing Venom as a threat. Shapeshifter. Weird. "This world will undoubtably be better for his absence." she replies quietly. 

    "Who is 'Eddie'?"

The black goo receeded, Venom's jaws opened wide... impossibly wide... Wider until its whole head seemedto foldaway revealing a human's beneath... somehow, in spite of the fact venom's was shaped entirely difrently. 

THis man looked like he's seen better days, thin cheeked, dark circles beneath his eyes, yet he sounded relatively healthy as he gave a weak smile to Evie. "Hi, I'm eddie, bit of a long story and unlessthe copshere are totally bought and or just plain don't care maybe time to go somewhere else if we're gonna sit around trading life stories? I get thefeeling you'drather not be around when people realize guy got a haircut from the neck up."

    "... not the strangest thing London's seen in the past few weeks, I assure you. If your friend wouldn't mind retracting the rest of the way, I know a place where we can talk undisturbed." Evie replies, her hood still very firmly up, and she looks Eddie in the eye. "You look like you could use some actual food."

Eddie Brock took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "You heard the lady, everyone back i nthe bus." There was a joking tone to the words as the black substance retracted, leaving Eddie in clothes that marked him as someone most decidedly not from here along wit hthe fact he sorely needed to get cleaned up. Then when his eyes opened he shrugged. "This is the first decent sized city I've come across since getting dumped out of bed." Annoyance crept into his voice annoyed as he fell in step beside Evie.

"Turns out both of our worlds are part of some bigger.... tree is the metaphore people keep using, of worlds." His head shook as he put his hands in his pockets to try looking non-threatening. Yet a black tendril formed through his shirt to flip the hood of his shirt up and then snaked around to adjust it before retracting, which caused Eddie to smile, "Thanks Vee." Then to Evie, "Food would be nice yea. Vee's got a lot of weirdn utritional quirks but mostly it's shovel as much in as possible to deal with having a metabolism for two."

    "Mm." Evie replies non-comittally, and she moves with ease through the city, keeping to back alley ways and side streets, familiar with the place. A few people wearing green jackets with yellow sashes around their middles occasionally walk by, a few tipping their hat to Eddie's hostess as she walks with purpose. 

    "I know. I accidentally... fell out of my London, and surfaced in the Thames of a London from the future. Very confusing, I promise." she states, and then looks at the tendril as it adjusts Eddie's hood. Her lips curl in amusement. 

    "So, before we get to the establishment, might I ask precisely what your associate is?"

Eddie Brock raised an eyebrow at the jacket and sash wearers, mentally figuring they were some part of a gang Evie was either a member of or judging by the apparent time period more likely the wife of someone who was. He moved with surprising ease at the sudden direction changes, switch backs, double-crosses, and other ways to evade tails and even chuckled, "Huh, I've gotta say you'd be a hard lady to keep up with." His tone was either amused or approving and mos t likely both.

then when they stopped and Evie point blank asked for an explaination Eddie shrugged, "OK...I'm kinda trying to figure out how much of what I'm going t otell you will make sense and hwo much will have you needing explainations for the explaination since here looks about a century and a half back in my world's history." He held up a hand before continuing. "I'm not saying that akes you somehow stupid just that the short explaination might leave too many holes that need filling in." He made no move to either get around Evie or leave. Instead he leaned against a wall.

<Just tell her.>

Eddie looked from Evie to where a person might have been standing beside him andgave a helpless shrug anda theatrical sigh, "Vee I get it, you're impatiant but we're apparently near one of the lady's safe houses so it's fair she gets some answers and I'd rather not come off like some high handed jerk acting like 'hi I'm from the future bow to my big bain heathen.'"

Then a tendril formed before snaking out from behind eddie and slowl yexpanded, forming a rudimentery face with milky white overlarge yees, and a tooth filled maw. "You worry too much." The face then turned from Eddie to Evie, "I was part of an expeditionary force that was intent on invading Eddie's world to strip it of everything edible before moving on."

Eddie gave a weak smile before looking from the face to Evie and rolled his eyes in exasperation, "It... uh... I tend to use 'he' since we're sortof a package deal... but yea We kinda stopped the whole invasion thing from happening, or at least stopped Riot from going back to tell the rest of them how we're all lunchboxes with legs."

    The lady's lips curl slightly, as Eddie compliments her. "I know my city well," she replies to the comment, "just imagine if we were running." she adds, and she turns, one green eye settling on Eddie's face from beneath her hood. A little brown hair drifts into her freckled face as she listens to the somewhat one-sided conversation between Vee and Eddie, and then Venom makes his appearance again. 

    Thank goodness the yellow-sashed folks already passed by. Even Evie was a little unnerved by the action, and she looks to Venom with an appraising look, then back to Eddie. 

    "So it's a bit like the Mongol Empire, except less conscription and more mastication." she replies, and her lips purse. "That's absolutely fascinating, if utterly... horrifying." she finishes, and then she rounds a corner. 

    The pub opens to the street, a couple of drunkards making their exit before Evie steps in, not waiting for someone to open the door. The pub is currently in full swing, full of yellow-garbed revelers celebrating some new turf fight.

As the pub door opens Venom's face sinks back into Eddie's body. As Eddie falls in step behind Evie, "Yea well you're taking it better than Idid," In fairness he had to deal with that news while he had to deal with the whole 'sudden symbiosis' situation crop up. the merriment and rowdiness cause Eddie to smile, waving to a random patron before fishing out his wallet. "No wonder you guys keep this place to yourselves, the atmosphere's pretty lively. Just throw a jukebox in the corner on with music and it could be anywhere back home."

He frowned at his wallet, or rather the money. "Yea even back home american money wouldn't really be good in london.. Add in the whole 'multiverse' thing and.." he huffed before pulling out a heavy gold band he had in his pocket set with a series of emerald stons around a sort of crest or symbol. "Picked that up a few hops back off a guy a lot like whoever that fella was back there. Dunno if the stones are real but I don't want it." this said just before flicking the ring onto the bar top.

    "Put your wallet away." Evie states plainly, giving a wave to the bar tender as she occupies a corner table. It's a little harder to hear in here, certainly, but the woman seems right at home. 

    The barkeeper looks to the ring, then looks to the hooded woman, and then slides the ring back to Eddie. 

    "Yours is taken car'uv." he states, and then he sets a pint full of something dark, and a bowl full of trotters in front of Eddie. 

    "... what's a 'juke box'?" Evie questions conversationally. She's not partaking in any refreshments, she just looks a little tired.

For a moment Eddie tried to find words, his gaze focusing on a spot between Evie and the bar, "OK imagine being able to record any sort of music you want, favorite band playing whatever. Then being able to hear that whenever you like. Could exlain details but pointis you put money in, hit buttons, you get the music you picked, then the next guy's song turns on."

He slid his hand across to pocket the ring when it wasn't taken. He hated robbing the dead, but the past week had let Eddie in a more pragmadic than usual midnset.

"Alright," His attention turned to the bartender. "Potatoes, friedwith whatever you like. If you've got hamburgers two of those, if not... Any sort of meat would be great, and a beer."

Each sentance punctuated with eating one of the pickled pig bits put out in front of him. Then as if emphasizing thefact Eddie was practically starved he finished the bowl off. At no point in any of this did Eddie chew. Pickled thing simply went into his mouth and... vanished. Though in Eddie's defense he did look embarassed after the bowl wasfinished. "yea.. uh, ada towl. Sorry for the mess."

<Disgusting... but as they say, beggers cannot be choosers.>

    The bartender, who's big, leans over slightly as Eddie puts an order in. He looks to the lady, and raises his eyebrows. "And I thought yous bringin' the odd ones in..." he begins, and Evie holds up a hand. 

    "American." she states, as if that explained *everything*. The man gives a nod, and then just pushes the dark colored pitcher to Eddie with the back of a hand. "Thought the Blighter's're'ad." he mutters. 

    Evie leans back, considering a moment the idea of music coming -- at will -- from a box. "Alex would be fascinated by the concept." she replies quietly, and then her hood is pulled back. 

    Evie is young. Hardly out of her teens. She has a round face that's kissed with freckles, her brown hair braided in a crown about her head, though some fly-aways are present. Her lips are still slightly pursed in thought. 

    "And what's a 'hamburger'?" she questions.

Eddie Brock looked at the echange between Evie and Bartender, not quite figuring out what was going on but instead shrugging, "Yea whe n Iend up figuring out where Home is you're free to visit. Bit loud and half the cops are bought and paid for, but." He made a gesture to encompass the bar itself, "Home is home no matter. Plus my editor's gonna love getting his teeth on the material I've been collecting." Beat, then hs shoulders slumped. "Assuming he hasn't just gone with the idea Im dead for poking the wrong people wit ha stick."

    "Oh? You're a writer then?" Evie questions, leaning back on her stool, and fixing her jacket a bit as she regards Eddie with curiosity, crossingo ne leg over the other. Her eyebrows rise up, her head drawing a bit to the side. 

    There's a big plate of some sort of pastry-covered pie. It smells both beefy and herby. There's gravy bubbling up the side. 

    "Dun' 'ave 'amburgers." he states gruffly, looking to Evie again before he retreats to yell at another patron for *getting blood on the damn chairs again*.

"Journalist actually," Eddie grinned as he clarified. "One of the few that bothered loooking into how a big outfit was snatching up the homeless to experiment on." He then turned, almost as if he were on marionet strings, when the plate was sat down.

<That looks delicious!>

Eddie grinned, but paused to look at the bartender, "Buddy you're a life saver regardless." And then eh started eating. the observant would perhaps notice the occasional flecik of black snaking through as he ate, looking reminicent of black veins that would occasionally snake out to grab errant bits and crumbs to funnel int oEddie's mouth as he ate. there was... Zero grace in the man as the plate was cleared. Yet when he leaned back he looked visibly better, his cheeks more filled out, his color less pale. Amazingly enough there wasn't a spot on him as he leanedback, lookingat Evie, "Just got an interview in last week with a killer. Sent me in because they thought maybe he'd sit and give me hints on where he hid the bodies, cops might've gotten done pickin through my notes by now." Personally he' rather have let Venom eat the guy, but then the dead would never be found.

    "So crime journalist, or just anything that suits the fancy of your institution?" Evie inquires politely. She makes a slight grimmace, watching as Eddie and Venom eat. It's caught the attention of another one of the patrons -- a lady with scraggly hair, in a yellow blazer with a bowler cap -- but she gets her grink, and moves to a table from the bar. 

    The bartender then brings out a giant, greasy plate of fried potatoes. They're thick cut, bit thicker than steak fries, and they smell like they've been in a vat of cheap beef tallow -- which is probably what they were fried in. Or lard. 

    The brunette purses her lips again as she listens to Eddie spin his yarn, and she gives a more gentle look to the journalist. 

"Did he?"

Before Eddie started on the second plate his head shook, "They wanted to put a hopeful spin on maybe finding something in the material, but honestly felt like he was yanking my chain and gloating the whole time." Eddie frowned, then shrugged. "As for what I focus on?" His tone lightened, "Right up until me and my.. .friend met I was trying to kick up answers on why nobody seemed to care about tehe homeless. Before then it was how rich were pushing normal people out oftown and causing cost of living to go up through the roof, before then it was dumping toxic runoff from manufacturing in the crop water." Gross simplifications but simplifying helpedeven when your audiance might know more details since it did grab attention.

He smiled almost fondly as he considered his career, "Got fired for confronting the head of that company involved withthe homleess kidnappings because he could've bought then mulched the place I worked for if they didn't." He sounded surprisingly OK with this, "Bit of a boneheaded stunt but they wanted some kind of puff piece on how amazingly awesome he was and... well... I tried telling them no and got shoved in anyway so yea, didn't like what happened but I put my boss in a bind. Guy's gotta look out for everyone else there too after all."

    Evie's eyes narrow, then she turns slightly, one arm folding against the bartop s she considers, her face turning downcast. 

    "It seems that the future is as dire as ever it was." she comments with bitterness to her voice, but she turns an eye to Eddie Brock, watching him carefully for a moment. 

    "So, they went after you for your honesty and trying to keep information free and true. Sounds familiar." she adds with a note of driness to her voice. "Disappointing. We recently had telegraph trouble in the city on a similar vein."

A humorless smile touched Eddie's lips, "Human nature. I have the power I'm going to do everything to keep it." There was a soft chuckle. "Funny thing is, at least if yoru future is gonna be anything like my history? THe telegraphgs get bigger, harder to monopolize. Sure the big naeme news outlets are bought and paid for, but you'll always have ways of getting information through."

Then he turned to the plate of potatoes, "It's thankless, and never ends, but imagine how much worse the worldwould be if you don't." Then he started eating. Like before it was not a neat or tidy affair, yet in theend not a crumb would be allowed to spill, not a drop of sauce went to waste.

"Human nature, I'm afraid, is a constant of humanity. In spite of such, I still beleive that within our better nature is to help others, should we be given such a chance. It seems your willingness to help others allowed you to change your friend's mind to some extent." she replies, regarding Venom even as he helps Eddie eat. Om nom nom. 

    "Surely there are those who work to be peacemakers in your time? ... oh, I've entirely forgotten, your name? I cannot simply address you as Eddie. Far too familiar."

Food eaten, Eddie blinked. "Uh... Right sorry, Eddie Brock?" He hated his full name. Two middle names and everything. This as he offered Evie a hand, "You met Venom already. He'll behave."

<You sound confident.>

Eddie let the comment go, "Well about as behaved as everyone around us let him anyway." He looked Evie over, still smiling. "I mean sure it's rough but ther'es a lot of good people out there. Good enough to convince my friend to have second thoughts on the whole invasion line of work anyway."

    Evie accepts the offered hand, her own clad in a glove as she shakes it, very professional. Not going to let him kiss her hadn or anything. 

    "A pleasure, Mr. Brock." she replies to him, and then gives a small smile. "How nice it is to find that our industrial era has not stomped out good will then... and I trust Venom will behave himself." she looks to the Bartender a moment, then back to Eddie. "For the sake of my bar tab."

"Yea about that. I'm gonna feel bad eating this place out of everything it's got," Eddie drained the beer he had been given. Where... precicely did all of that food go?

<THis is good stuff Eddie. We should come here more often.>

"So considering seeing what work I can find around here til I can get some leads." Then a rueful shake of his head, "At the very least til I've made enough for a proper bath, come clothes, and a chance to sort everything out." THen a thought occored to him, "I'm gonna have to introduce you to Miss CHen sometime. Runs a corner store near my apartment. Little blink and you'd miss it place. Real great lady especially since I had... words with the wide bodies that kept shaking her down." Given the state of the last person that annoyed Venom, it was fairly easy to guess how those talks went.

    "Around here? Ah... well." Evie blinks a moment. The wheels turn in her brain and she gives a soft puff of air "Unfortunately, your friend may attract the wrong sort of attention, I'd be very careful." Evie replies quietly. "I could show you the place where I was able to leave; it leads to a futuristic version of the city." she advises.

"Fair enough," Eddie's laughter was a mix of amusement and attempting to deflect the sting, "Been trying to work on getting more subtle approaches. You saw the kind of lines he throws around, I figureo ut how to use that ther'es a lot of getting around I could do." His brain had, not for the first time, pondered all the advantages that sort of mobility would bring either in getting a shot or even gettign the drop on someone.

"For all you knwo I'm just a con man with a /really/ weird situation going on," Eddie sat the pitcher of beer down now that it was empty, "Plus all the bits he spreads around? He can see and hear out of since it's all him. So spool a thread out, have a literal ear in the wall nobody notices." Another amused chuckle as he shook his head again, "It'd be real easy for me to find somewhere to set up shop and just rule the place, or just be some two bit thug strongarming for someone with him backing me. Pffft... I'd have to punch my own head if I ever caught me doing that."