1/28 Instance: The Hero they Need You to be

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: current


Laura: Laura glanced around the busy platform as she stepped up near the tracks to wait for the train, frowning down at the painted border. Too close to the tracks. With a sigh, she took a few steps back and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to pull her jacket tighter to guard against the cool, evening air as she blocked out the white noise of people chatting, heavy footsteps, clothes rustling, and teeth chattering.

Laura: She shot an impatient glance down the tracks, despite knowing the train wasn't coming yet, and looked back out at the city, studying the lights that were beginning to illuminate the darkening sky. Her attention was quickly pulled to the space next to her, which was being invaded by a tiny human, no older than seven, with a Venom t-shirt peeking out from under his open coat, followed by his mother.

Laura: A slight smile tugged at her lips as she looked back out over the city, even though she didn't care for either of them crowding her.

Venom: "Hey Mom.", the little boy turned to his mother, "Can I have my mask now?"

Venom: Reluctantly, his mother sighed, reaching into a plastic bag and withdrawing a plastic mask fashioned after Venom. The boy jumped up, pulling the mask out of his mother's hands and slipping it over his face, pulling up his sleeve and revealing a little nerf-dart wristwatch.

Venom: His mother smiled a little, "Now be careful, alright? Don't get too excited and run off!", she looked up at Laura, wryly grinning at her, "Kids, huh?", she laughed.

Laura: Realizing the question was directed at her, Laura kept the smile in place and nodded as if she knew what the woman meant, looking to the child in question again. She would have to tell Eddie about this later.

Venom: The boy pointed his dart shooter at Laura, laughing as his mother protested before running around as if he was shooting webs from his hands. His mother laughed, shaking her head and blushing, "He loves Venom...", she murmured.

Venom: There was some commotion near the stairway...

Laura: "Well, he is cool..." Laura muttered back, glad Cecilia had taught her some slang. Her smile dropped at the ruckus near the stairway, and she glanced over her shoulder to see what was going on.

Venom: The commotion reached a peak when there was a loud gunshot, startling the crowd and causing the mother (along with many other people) to scream and stand aside. The gunman pointed his snub nosed revolver around at the crowd,

Venom: "Alright, listen up, assholes!", he cursed, throwing down his hat, "Wallets, phones and valuables in there! Right now, or I start shootin'!"

Venom: The mother called out to her little boy as he stepped forward out of either fear or bravery, mask still covering his face.

Venom: "....what the fuck is this; he think he's some kinda hero or somethin'!?"

Laura: The gunshot caused her to flinch, and she turned to face the man, fists clenched as her arms dropped to her side. She could take care of this before anyone had to give up any of their possessions. Without killing the man, even. Laura began to take a step toward the gunman when the movement from the kid caused her to freeze and try to quickly reassess the situation.

Laura: Did she keep going and hope he shot her, or did she keep going and hope he didn't grab the kid?

Venom: The gunner made the decision a little more complicated, reaching for the child and growling as he was hit in the face with the wrist-mounted nerf dart, "Right, c'mere you little bastard!", he grabbed the child by the neck and rammed the gun against his back, "Anyone tries to be a hero, the little 'Spider Man' here gets shot!"

Venom: The boy's mother screamed, falling to her knees and begging for her son's life. The brave child tried to shake free, to no avail.

Laura: The rumbling of the incoming train wasn't really a distraction Laura needed, nor did she want to deal with people walking off the train into this. This had to be taken care of, but how? She didn't want to be responsible for the death of a little kid. As she blew out a breath, an idea occurred to her, and she reached into her pocket to pull out her phone and some cash, holding it up as she slowly approached the man.

Laura: If she got in close enough, she could take care of the gun...

Venom: "See? This bitch fuckin' gets it. Jesus Christ...", the gunman kicked his hat over, "Go on, and the rest o' ya!", he clicked back the hammer on the gun, waving it at the crowd and turning and backing off towards the train tracks - the crowd followed suit with Laura, the air ripe with fear.

Laura: After reluctantly tossing the valuables into the hat, Laura seized her chance and lunged at the criminal as he tried to back away while swinging the gun around, claws bursting from between her knuckles of her hand that was slicing for the weapon. Disarm, and get the kid.

Venom: With a scream as the blades entered his arm, the gun fell from his hand. He released the child, who ran into his mother's arms, as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled a second weapon free, pulling the trigger and blasting a hole in Laura's stomach.

Venom: The crowd screamed as they saw and heard the shot, the gunman stumbling back and holding his bleeding arm against his coat, weapon raised, "I fuckin' warned you, ya dumb bitch!"

Laura: Letting out a strangled cry as the bullet tore through her abdomen, Laura dropped to her knees and hunched over, one hand clamped over the bleeding wound while her clawed one braced herself against the platform. Get back up, disarm him again. Willing herself to heal quickly, her ragged breathing rapidly began to improve, and she could feel the entry point closing under her hand.

Laura: She looked up to the gunman as she got back to her feet, snarling, "Now, I am warning you to put the gun down before I make you."

Venom: "Oh, Jesus, you're a fuckin' mutant!?", the gunner raised his weapon for her head, "I swear to God if you don't sit the fuck down I'm blowin' your brains out!"

Venom: Across the platform, a tall, dark silhouette of a man stood, watching the panicking criminal with a keen intent. The shadowy figure waved at Laura.

Laura: Laura's eyes darted toward the waving figure and over to the mother clutching her child, smile playing on her lips. She could easily take the man, even after taking a bullet to the head, but she may as well let the kid see his hero in action. She focused her gaze back on shadowed figure, giving a slight nod to the gunman, as she slowly lowered herself to the ground.

Venom: "You're damn right! Fuckin' asshole...", the gunman spat, looking around and beckoning people forward with their belongings. He paused, turning slightly and screaming out of the blue as the shadow from the other platform leapt across in a fluid motion, pulling his weapon off of him with a flash of black webbing and slamming a fist into his face.

Venom: Rolling and landing before Laura, Venom waved her a little salute, standing, spinning around and kicking the nerf dart up and into his hand, "Mugging. Are you serious? What, did you think I'd be asleep this late or something?", he scoffed.

Venom: The little boy bounced up and down, even in his mother's arms, "Momma look! It's Venom! He came! He came to save us!"

Laura: "Police, and the next train aren't that far off," Laura informed him with a grin, retracting her claws before getting to her feet and going to retrieve her phone. For once, the silly device had actually come in handy, and she wanted it back just in case she could use that trick again.

Venom: Venom nodded, "I'll keep this quick.", he assured Laura, approaching and lifting the startled criminal by the throat, "Drop the gun or I'm gonna break BOTH your arms...", he half growled in a distorted, night sub-human voice. The gunman did as instructed, whimpering as the pistol clacked down against the floor.

Venom: "Who's a good boy, eh(?)", Venom smirked behind his mask, delivering a 'Glasgow Kiss' he was sure the entire UK would have been proud of before casting the criminal down before the crowd and webbing him down onto the platform, "Tick-tick: boom.", he laughed, standing up straight and shrugging at the crowd, "Frickin' tourists, am I right?"

Laura: Easily locating the phone, Laura checked it while Eddie dealt with the guy. Stuffing the cell in her pocket, she moved back over to him and nodded to the bouncing child, "You want to deal with that now?"

Venom: With an almost quizzical look, Venom turned to the child, "Oh, snap! Check it out, I have a sidekick?", he laughed, approaching the kid and knelling down, "Hey bud!", he looked at the mother who was wiping away hear tears, "Is your Mom ok?"

Venom: The boy nodded, "Yeah, she's fine 'cause you totally came outta nowhere and kicked that guy's butt!", he laughed, pulling up the mask to show his rosy smile. His mother tightened her hug around his body.

Venom: "God bless you, Venom.", the mother sniffled, wiping her eyes, to which the hero shrugged, pointing back at Laura.

Venom: "She was here first.", he turned around, "Hey, you wanna take some credit?"

Laura: Laura considered that for a few moments and stepped up next to Eddie. With a nod, she smirked slightly and gestured to herself, "Maybe a little. Might make me feel better about my favorite jacket."

Venom: Scratching the back of his head, the black-clad hero laughed nervously, "Yeah, sorry about that...you should sue!",

Venom: The crowd were already taking pictures as the police arrived on the scene. The young boy whispered to his mother, being granted a nod before jumping up beside Venom. With a laugh, he scooped the boy up and onto his shoulder, waving for the cameras and gesturing the police to lower their weapons.

Laura: "Better me than anyone else," Laura replied with a shrug. As she glanced around, she asked, "How long do we stand here and let people take pictures of us?"

Venom: "Why? Fancy lunch?", Venom asked over his shoulder, "We can always scoot in a mo.", he flicked around the nerf dart idly, posing for a few more photos with his enthusiastic 'sidekick' on his shoulder.

Laura: "Just curious," Laura answered, pulling her gaze back up to him. "Though, I could go for coffee or something."

Venom: With a nod, Venom lifted the child up and placed him back beside his mother, "Alright, bud; my friend and I have to go now ok?", he patted the kid's head and handed him back his nerf darts, "And don't be crazy like that! Remember: as a hero, you need to keep your Mother safe first, yeah?"

Venom: "Yeah! I-I will!", the boy nodded, waving at Laura, "Thanks lady! You must be super cool to be friends with Venom, huh?"

Laura: "Definitely," Laura smiled down at the boy and looked over to Eddie, "Ready?"

Venom: --- Time Passes ---

Eddie: "....I fucking love this job.", Eddie grinned, biting into his bagel and idly kicking his feet in the air over the city below, "I eat bagels on skyscrapers! It's bad-fucking-ass!", he laughed, looking over at Laura, "Also, you did good today, kiddo."

Laura: Laura stared down at the street below, able to make out a lot more detail than most with her eyesight, as she sipped her coffee. Pulling her gaze up from the ground, she looked out over the city, somewhat disappointed one couldn't see the stars with all the city lights. "Thanks. It was... rewarding. I can see why you love it."

Eddie: With a nod, Eddie followed her eyes up, "Yeeeah, it's really something.", he affirmed, looking back at her, "It's more than just fighting bad guys though. It took someone special to explain that to me...", he blushed a little, thinking about his girlfriend, "...see, we're bigger than just what we are: like...you know, I'm not just 'Eddie Brock' who's a cop and a student. The X-ers aren't just a super hero team."

Eddie: He waved a hand out over the city, "Out there, we have a huge number of people who count on us to do the impossible. We make them believe in something better, when everything seems lost, they look to us to save 'em."

Laura: "We give them hope," Laura summarized, shooting him a small smile as she reached for her bagel, "Like that kid."

Eddie: Eddie gestured to her with his own, "Exactly. Like that kid.", he laughed, shaking his head and looking back out at the city below, "I still can't believe I'm an action figure...I have to be honest it's....i-it's really amazing.", he smiled wide just thinking about it.

Laura: "He was... super cool," Laura stated before trying a bite of her bagel. She pulled her gaze from Eddie to look back out to the city, "Disregarding any potential action figures, giving people hope is..." she paused as she tried to come up with the word, "Inspiring. I guess it goes both ways."

Eddie: "See? You totally get it.", Eddie smiled at her, sipping at his coffee, "Dayum...tastes like justice..."

Laura: "It doesn't seem like it'd be a hard concept to grasp," Laura commented, returning the smile. "Think we could find anyone else to help after we finish?"

Eddie: Looking around, Eddie raised both his hands, "Can do, if you're feeling badass?"

Laura: Her brow furrowed, "What exactly is badassery supposed to feel like?"

Eddie: Eddie shrugged, "Erm....I don't know, it's just a phrase for feeling cool and ready to win at life.", he grinned, "Yeah....you feel like that?"

Laura: A grin spread across her face as she nodded, "I like winning."

Eddie: "Yeeeeah, boy: that is badass.", Eddie waved his bagel at Laura, "Right, come on: finish this, and we'll get back on the job!"