The Plot Begins to Go Off the Rails (Part Two)

"Originally, I wasn’t interested in this interview topic at all, because I didn’t understand any of the fields related to it, like biology, pharmacology, and so on."

"But I also knew that if I couldn’t complete this assignment, the editor-in-chief would definitely give me hell. My reports hadn’t been doing well for the past few issues, and if I wanted to salvage my professional reputation, I had to finish this job."

"I started looking up information about the Immortality Factor online. I read explanations of the drug from a lot of professional Doctors, but for some reason, I always felt like they were talking nonsense."

"It was strange. I obviously hadn’t studied medicine, but whenever I heard the terms they used, it was like a voice in my head was telling me that they’d made all of it up."

"As it happened, my girlfriend used to work at the Life Foundation. One morning, her computer screen lit up, and a message popped up. The contact was labeled as a Life Foundation researcher."

"You know, the next day’s interview was important to me. I desperately needed more information, so I wanted to see what that message said…"

"What I found was a file exposing the Life Foundation’s human experiments on homeless people and other vulnerable groups. It was utterly inhuman."

"So the next day, when I interviewed Drake, I demanded to know why he was conducting such monstrous experiments. I was blinded by rage and punched him right in front of everyone."

"I caused a huge scene. I lost my job, broke up with my girlfriend, got kicked out of my luxury apartment because I couldn’t pay the rent, and lost my wallet. With only a little cash left in my pocket, I could only move into a cheap apartment like this…"

Eddie covered his eyes and said, "I know I was impulsive, but you don’t know what I saw in those files. I…"

"Fine, I know I used to be a terrible person. I wrote false reports and often misled audiences with words and pictures, but I think I did the right thing this time."

Eddie drained the last sip of beer from the can, crushed it, and tossed it into the trash beside him. He was silent for a long time.

His eyes were bloodshot. Frowning in pain, he said, "What’s even harder to believe is that I seem to… have some kind of split personality. You might not believe me, but…"

"Can you imagine it? After Drake denied everything, I stood up and punched him…"

Thor raised an eyebrow and looked Eddie over from head to toe. "I couldn’t have guessed that. You don’t look like that kind of person."

Thor was telling the truth. Eddie was not especially tall or powerfully built, just an ordinary adult man. The way he spoke and acted suited his profession as a reporter. At a glance, he looked like someone who worked with words, not someone who would casually start punching people.

"That’s why I said I might be split…" Eddie seemed unsure how to describe the feeling. He gathered his thoughts, then said, "I always feel like that wasn’t something I could have done!"

"When I saw those files, I was a little angry at first, but then I became absolutely furious. I had no idea where that overwhelming rage came from, to the point that I did something so out of line during the interview."

"Just treat it as nonsense…" Eddie covered his forehead with both hands. "I feel like there’s something else inside me, controlling me, just like what you saw earlier. I…"

Suddenly, Eddie convulsed. His eyes flew wide open, and he let out a low growl at Thor. Thor clearly saw black veins spreading across his face.

Thor instinctively reached toward his side, only to remember that he was on Earth and had no weapon. But in that instant, Eddie suddenly returned to normal and shook his head as though nothing had happened.

Thor patted the coffee table. "You may be parasitized by something."

Eddie looked at Thor in confusion. He did not understand. He had thought what he’d said was crazy enough, yet this big man across from him had proposed something even more absurd.

But Thor was not joking. He said to Eddie with utmost seriousness, "I have seen this before. It was probably on… Pegasus. One of my subordinates was parasitized like this too. It has to be dealt with immediately, or it could lead to very serious consequences, because you don’t know what kind of thing is parasitizing you."

"If it’s one of those symbiotic organisms, it’s fine. You just need to separate it from the host. But if it’s the kind that breeds and lays eggs inside you, then you’re in trouble."

"You mean… you saw this when you were in the special forces?" Eddie immediately thought of human experiments, biological crises, alien invasions, and the like. Clutching at this lifeline, he asked Thor, "How did you deal with it back then?"

"Generally, we struck it with lightning. That solves most problems. And our constitutions are much stronger than yours, so even taking a few extra strikes wouldn’t be a problem."

"Struck by lightning? You mean electricity? But…"

"Oh, damn it!"

Eddie suddenly convulsed violently out of control, then stood up and slammed toward the door. He tripped over the boxes piled there, staggered back to his feet, swayed from side to side, and tried to run outside.

Thor hurried after him, intending to subdue him, but Eddie’s strength was unbelievable. With one swing of his arm, he shoved Thor straight to the floor.

"Damn it," Thor cursed. "What is wrong with humans? How have they become so strong?"

Thor got up and reached for Eddie’s shoulder again, but Eddie turned and roared at him. Thor saw a huge mouth full of sharp teeth appear for an instant, then vanish.

"So it was you!" Thor punched Eddie in the face. "Cosmic Symbiote! You dared to come to the Nine Realms again! I will teach you another lesson on behalf of the All-Father!!!"

Eddie seemed completely unwilling to fight Thor and only wanted to escape. He staggered toward the door, but after Thor caught up, Eddie convulsed again and crouched where he was, dry-heaving.

Whenever Thor approached, Eddie began convulsing all over. Instead, Thor was left unable to act freely, not daring to get close.

But they could not remain deadlocked like this. Thor stretched out a hand and said, "Listen, whoever you are, leave this human’s body. You cannot control him like this. It is evil!"

A hoarse voice came from Eddie’s throat. "Get lost. I’m allergic to you!"

Thor froze, then asked, "Allergic? What is an allergy?"

"It means I feel like vomiting whenever I see you. Bleurgh…"

"You are insulting me!" Thor shouted furiously.

"I’m not! I really am allergic… Help, I’m going to throw up, bleurgh…"

Seeing Eddie convulsing so badly that his eyes were rolling back, Thor quickly retreated several steps. "All right, Symbiote, listen. I know you kidnapped this human and want to use him to threaten me. We can talk. You cannot torment him like this. Human bodies are fragile. He will die…"

"I’m not joking with you!" The hoarse voice sounded close to breaking down as well. "I don’t fucking know what’s going on either! I thought this idiot had drunk too much! Bleurgh…"

Only then did Thor realize it was telling the truth. He stood there and thought for a moment, then said, "Could it be because of Asgardian lightning? It struck you terribly back then. Even your creator…"

"Bleurgh…"

Seeing that Eddie was practically foaming at the mouth, Thor raced to the corner of the room and said, "Then why was it fine just now?"

"How would I know?… Right, alcohol! Alcohol… Get some alcohol, quickly, or I really am going to throw up…"

Hearing that, Thor hurried around Eddie and returned to his own room. He brought back two bottles of beer, uncapped them, and poured them into Eddie’s mouth.

After one bottle of beer had been poured down, Eddie finally felt much better. Thor asked in great confusion, "I have seen plenty of Symbiotes during war. They fought me evenly enough. I have never seen one like you…"

"How would I know?! It’s been like this a lot lately! What, am I supposed to call an ambulance?!"

"What kind of mess is this?" Thor stood there, then continued, "Leave this human quickly. You’re going to kill him!"

"Not even close."

Eddie stood up, shook his head, and looked at Thor. "What happened? Did I have another episode?"

Thor stared at Eddie. He realized that he had no good way to drive out the Symbiote, because he had neither divine power nor Mjolnir. Otherwise, he would have called down a bolt of lightning long ago.

Just as Thor was about to think of another solution, several soft whooshes came from near the window. Thor lunged and tackled Eddie to the ground as several black throwing weapons grazed past their heads.

With two bangs, two clouds of black smoke became two figures in the room. Each held a dagger and stabbed toward Eddie. Thor blocked with his arm, and one dagger sliced a large gash into his forearm. Thor shoved Eddie hard, making him dodge the other dagger.

"What the hell are these things?" Thor asked, looking at the two black figures. Eddie saw them too and said, "What are those? Ninja? Why do they look so much like cartoon Ninja? How did they get in?"

The two Ninja gave them no time to think. They charged at them at once, and Thor swung a box from nearby and hurled it at them.

One Ninja vanished into smoke with a bang, then instantly appeared behind Eddie. A dagger gleaming coldly stabbed toward his heart.

Eddie did not react in time. Just as the dagger was about to pierce his body, a red-and-blue figure swung in through the window and kicked the Ninja in the head. The Ninja vanished again.

The arriving Spider-Man turned and threw another punch. The other Ninja also became smoke. Thor grabbed a piece of clothing from the side and wrapped it around his bleeding arm, then helped Eddie to the corner of the room and made him hide behind the dining table. He picked up a chair and rejoined the fight.

After a while, Spider-Man trapped one of them with webbing, while the other was struck by Thor’s flying chair. Seeing that things were going badly, the two Ninja turned into smoke and disappeared. Spider-Man let out a breath and walked over. "Are you two okay?"

Then he went to the window, brought in the backpack outside, took out a spray bottle, and sprayed Thor’s forearm wound. It immediately stopped bleeding.

Eddie, still not sober from the alcohol, shook his head hard, thinking he was dreaming. Spider-Man asked Thor, "What’s going on with you two?"

Thor found the strange man’s voice familiar and asked in confusion, "Peter? You’re Peter?"

Facing someone he knew, Spider-Man no longer hid his identity. He pulled off his mask, revealing Peter’s face. "I’d been tracking those two for a long time. I chased them all the way here from the Brooklyn District."

Then he turned his gaze toward Eddie. "Who is he? Why are you here too? Why would The Hand’s Ninja want to kill you?"

Thor sighed. "You can only ask him that. I just happened to move nearby."

At that moment, Eddie, who was lying on the floor, suddenly began convulsing again. A mass of black Slime erupted from his body. In an instant, a huge mouth full of sharp teeth covered his original face, and a black monster appeared in the center of the room.

Spider-Man’s eyes widened in shock. "Why is it you?!!"