Chapter 1: The Whistleblower
Midnight...
A man wearing what looked like a suit under a trenchcoat and wearing a hat tugged low to hide his face was tucked in an alleyway and waiting for someone to arrive for him; once he heard footsteps, he himself stepped into the light to liaise with the new guest. "Do you have what you talked about?" The man said with careful tone in his voice, his hat's brim disguising the man's face. Aside from the fact that his guest was dressed like someone who lived under an overpass, he looked like he had seen his fair share of problems; his murky blue eyes had dark bags under them due to lack of sleep along with a crop of dirty looking dark red hair that looked almost black in the light where it wasn't hidden by his hood, matching this with pale looking skin made him look vampiric in the dark.
"I had to search through all kinds of wreckage in that place just to find what I did. Though I must say that whoever was still at that building had no intentions of leaving anything behind...I think that Oscorp must've gotten wind of something and decided to make this whole thing an "Accident"...It wouldn't be the first time, anyway." The dirty man would say as he was wearing a dirty looking hoody, pants and sneakers.
"So this has it all...all that info on what they were doing?" The taller man would say as he watched the dirty looking man pull out what looked to be a tape recorder and a small, beaten up jewelry box.
"I have to warn you, the person on this was real jittery about all this...so whoever you're going to give this to; make sure you TRUST them, because this isn't something like a mob that'll stop at giving you concrete shoes...These people are literal ghouls. They are the type of people that'll stalk you day and night, make you think you're going crazy and then when they finally pull the trigger on you, they'll make it so you NEVER existed at all." The dirty looking man warned them as he took one of the tapes out of the box and slipped it into the recorder; "I've had to look over my shoulder a few times since I got this box...but listen for yourself." He would say before pressing the play button.
"My name is Dr. Arthur Mitchell, I am a lead biologist from the military's science branch, I have been contracted by my superiors and the government in order to conduct a series of tests at their discretion here in New York City. I will be working with scientists from a company called Adams Biotech and Oscorp to be conducting a research program on Symbiotes. This tape was made following the most recent attack in an abandoned industrial complex with Eddie Brock otherwise known as Venom and the renowned serial killer Cletus Cassidy aka Carnage."
"Adams Biotech? I thought that company researched into biomechanical prosthetics...They were meant to aid those who had lost their limbs in wars or from disease." The dirty man mentioned as it looked like he recalled the name briefly.
"On the surface, that's what they do...but if you look deeper, they were looking into Symbiotes since they first documented Spider-Man's first donning of the Black Suit." The taller man would explain; "Though for what purpose I don't know...Oscorp is definitely in this for profit since they can't risk another controversy of an alleged chemical weapon." He said before the tape resumed.
"Whoever finds these recordings must be warned; This information is breaking all kinds of NDAs, even speaking about what we've done goes against every Animal and Human rights charter, Ethics decree and Morality act that could be found in a book of law! If my superiors or the people I work with find out I'm a whistleblower, I will be…"dealt with"…But I have accepted my part in all of this and these tapes contains all of my research notes on the experiment and conversations that can put away every person who's involved in this."
"Oscorp and Adams...What could they possibly want with a Symbiote?" The dirty man would say. His thoughts trying to form a theory on why this was but the more he thought about it, the quicker that he realised that Oscorp wasn't above being morally bankrupt.
"You said that on that burner phone of your's that you had an idea on what they were doing...You do know what they were doing, right?" The taller man questioned as he lifted his head up; under his hat were tufts of black hair and brown eyes, he looked like a mobster or a well off corporate board member "If you're lying to me just so you could make a few bucks..." He warned with a growing snarl.
"I-I worked security for the building before...Well...When everything happened." The dirty man mentioned as he justified himself, "I know SOMETHING happened but not what specifically."
"Keep it playing, that "Incident" is far too convenient to be just a freak accident." The taller man ordered as the dirty man played the tape.
"Dr Arthur Mitchell, October 10th at 2200 hours;"
"This is the start of our new experiment program labeled as "Project Vaccine"...A few days ago; Cletus Cassidy had attacked and killed a woman following his release from prison, the warden explained that he had given up all of his killer urges and could be let free into the public, should he pass the medical board to prove he is sane."
*Attached Voice Clip*
Dr. AM: "So you're saying that Mr. Cassidy was allowed to go free…after all of his crimes and acts of violence?"
Warden Park: "We've had him monitored in Solitary for a good month or two, the guy was a borderline catatonic and he was barely responsive to anything...The prison doctors had suggested to have him enrolled in either a rehab or a psychiatric hospital until he's considered sane."
Dr. AM: "I see, so there were no indicators that he was going to revert back to his old ways, should he be released?"
Warden Park: "Doc, with all due respect; when I looked at Cletus in his cell...he was practically a vegetable, with the likes of Spider-Man bringing more and more criminals into our prisons; I had to do something, I spoke with some of the officials that were working on the Raft but they took a look at his current record and considered him too low priority for a "Potential" threat when they were already dealing with the likes of Rhino or Scorpion...Bunch of horse crap if you ask me..."
The taller man pressed pause on the tape; "So let me get this right, NYPD's own super-prison couldn't be bothered to pick up a notorious serial killer because he was non responsive? This kind of dirt could put someone's balls in a vice." He chuckled as he then fast forwarded the tape for more details.
"Dr Arthur Mitchell, October 24th at Midnight. We began our first test on our "subject" today, a small fragment of both Venom and Carnage's symbiotic matter had been forced to meld by Adams Scientists...Well...Not so much melded as...spliced together; I had been tasked to oversee the experiment and to ensure that the subject does not perish, though of all the times I had viewed both Symbiotes on Security feeds and live footage: the result of this splicing made it look...off, the black and the red overlapped each other and its forced bonding had given it a new colour. I saw it moving about in it's glass box; it had a blue hue to it with a red core...From an outsider's perspective, it almost looked like blood flowing through a vessel."
In between sentences, the two men could hear the sound of chittering, squealing and the sound of a solid object bouncing off of glass from the speaker.
???: "Commencing Vaccine Fortification test Number One: Sonorous resistance building."
The sound of whirring could be heard in the background followed by a high pitched whine ringing through the speakers, the dirty man winced and held the recorder away from them both as there was also the sound of a distorted screaming in the blaring white noise.
"Sonorous Resistance...What exactly is that?" The taller man asked as he paused the tape and started skipping forward past the screaming.
"It's sound resistance, from what I had heard...The Symbiotes are weak to sound as it forces them to separate from their host...I remember hearing it while I was on patrol." The dirty man explained as he heard the screams stop and the tape continued.
"Dr Arthur Mitchell, Same Day at 0700...We've concluded our first experiment after...going on four hours, the test will finish for now as the risk of tinnitus and hearing loss could've affected the testers but prolonged exposure to this sound would cause the subject to permanently dissolve due to it's weakness to sound. Following that, we have also attempted the alternative of subjecting it to Pyrotechnic resistance for the other three hours. I must admit, as a scientist; this is for the greater good in the future but the methods that were implemented for this...On and Off exposure for the subject's vulnerabilities is borderline Pavlovian, maybe some sleep will help clear my head...Dr Arthur Mitchell, Signing Out."
With that; the tape clicked as it concluded the reel and gave room to deafening silence.
"Bombarding that thing with it's own weaknesses...it sounds almost torturous." The taller man would say as he gave the recorder back to the dirty man.
"Because it is...The only reason that the scientists had stopped the experiments was so that the thing in there didn't succumb to it's own weaknesses, keeping it alive so that it builds a resistance." The dirty man explained as he looked almost shellshocked from the tape.
The taller man straightened himself up as he then pulled a card out from his coat pocket; "Keep the tapes for now, you keep bringing more back to me and I'll add more to the price that I'll pay for the more you bring me." He explained as he held out the card that showed his name and number to call on.
"Lucas Schrift, you work for the Kingpin..." The dirty man said once he recognised the name and the Kingpin's symbol on the card; "So that's why you want these tapes?"
"You keep quiet about this and I'll make sure that you have enough money to live in an actual house...otherwise I could just pop you in the head when I'm done if you blab to the press." Lucas remarked as he left the alleyway and climbed into a cab nearby to leave.
The dirty man mulled over his words as he pocketed the tape recorder and left, while the sound of a new broadcast played over in the background.
"In other news, Local Authorities are still on the lookout for the culprit behind the mass murder at a local government facility. Police are still suspecting this to be the notorious serial killer known as Carnage but evidence indicates that this could be the result of a disgruntled employee or foul play, more news as it comes through!"
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