The bus drove for what seemed like days on different roads headed towards their destination. Over the course of their trip, Cole had gotten to know more about her fellow passenger and the driver of said bus.

Larry Trainor and Niles Caulder.

What an interesting pair.

Larry was a kind man with a lot of regrets. Cole learned the baseline of his past and how he had come to be the man he was today, but they knew there was something deeper. There always was. They wouldn't pry though, people deal with their issues the way they wanted to, and whenever Larry wanted to open up more, then they would be there to listen.

Niles on the other hand was very secretive, to manipulating extent. They had worked for and with his type. The type that would mask their intentions with half-truths, redirection and a show of kindness. They were cautious of him, but desperate times didn't allow them to be picky with who they'd be around. Niles sought them out to help them and whatever motive they had for such a decision would be revealed eventually. He knew more than he was letting on, that much was for sure.

And then there was them. Cole Winters. Possibly the most wanted woman in all of America and a disgraced reporter that had a parasite called Venom as roommate in their own goddamn body.

Parasite!?

Shut up.

They went through a lot together and even though they would consider each other parasites that leeched off the other. They were also each other's lifeline. They were a team now. One being against a world, y'know what? Scratch that, they fought an alien. World(S) that were ready to bring them down.

They could try. They could all try. Cole and Venom would be there ready to fight and survive.

~

Cole tampered with the bus' radio, switching between stations for some tunes to entertain them for the rest of the way. It took a couple of tries, until they landed on one of their more favored artist's songs playing midway through.

Larry turned to her, "Eminem? Seriously?"

"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment. You own it, you better never let it go." Cole rapped along, looking at Larry with a smirk and he sighed and shook his head, "It's good music."

"I mean, sure, but it's just not my type of sound." Larry said with shrug.

"Too each his own." Cole said with a nod as they continued bobbing their head to the song.

Larry took notice of this, "You're really a fan huh?"

"Oh, yeah. For a while now." Cole said, "There was this one time when I almost got the chance to actually get an interview with him, but that bitch Christina Fuentes got it instead. And you know what was the reason?"

"What?" Larry asked.

"She had a bigger rack!" Cole exclaimed angrily.

"We hate and will personally devour Christina Fuentes!" Venom said to her.

"Fucking agreed!" Cole exclaimed, high fiving herself.

Larry gave her a perplexed glance as Niles amusedly shook his head.

The bus continued to drive and eventually reached their destination. Cole's jaw was slightly agape at the sight in front of her.

The gates opened and let them in, giving them a better view of their humble abode. It was a mansion, a manor to be more precise. It looked like it had been there for a while, but that somehow didn't detract from the impressive architectural design.

The bus came to a stop and Larry opened the doors, getting up to go and help Niles out while Cole stepped off and looked up at their new supposed home.

"Well damn..." Cole muttered with an admittedly impressed nod.

"You think they have livestock?" Venom asked.

"Is food always the only thing on your mind?" Cole asked as Larry and Niles finally got off the bus.

"Of course not." Venom said with a growl, "I also enjoy hunting."

"Hunting?" Cole asked amusedly with a chuckle that slowly turned into a sarcastic laugh.

"Yes! Hunting!" Venom said laughing as well.

"And what are you hunting for?" Cole asked as she continued to laugh.

"..." Venom stayed silent and she continued to laugh.

"Hunting for what, bud?" Cole asked.

"...Food." Venom let out.

Cole abruptly stopped laughing with a neutral face, "That's what I fucking thought."

"You're a dick." Venom stated.

"You're a parasite." Cole retorted with a sickly sweet smile.

"Fuck you!" Venom shouted and Cole just smirked in amusement.

"Uh..." Larry let out, him and Niles having watched her talk/insult herself, "Are you okay?"

"We live here now, Larebear." Cole said, walking to the entrance and looking over her shoulder at him, "The answer to that should be pretty clear."

Cole was about to open the doors to the manor, but then they opened by themselves and on the other side stood a woman with a smile that they could immediately register as fake.

She was a pale woman with a thin frame and her face was covered but by pristinely placed makeup. She was a brunette with hair stylized in an early 90's fashion with brown eyes. She wore a red sun dress, with a black belt and black heels.

"Well then," The woman said as she looked Cole up and down, "Aren't you a pretty one?"

"Rip her eyes out!" Venom shouted.

'Why?' Cole asked in her mind.

"She objectified us! The lack of consent is vivid!" Venom growled.

"At this point we'll take what we can get." Cole said and she could feel Venom rolling his symbiotic eyes inside her.

"Sorry?" The woman asked confusedly.

"You're forgiven." Cole replied, "Who are you?"

The woman blinked and shook her head, regaining her composure, holding her hand out to Cole, "Rita Farr, a pleasure."

Cole slowly shook her hand and tilted their head at the name, "Like the actress?"

Rita beamed at that distinction, "You know of my pictures?"

"Covered a few when we started off at the Bugle." Cole explained, pulling their hand back and putting them back in their hoodie pocket, "We thought you were dead."

Rita's beaming smile slightly faltered and she cleared her throat, "Well, here I am as you can see. Standing in all my glory."

"A living legend. Now that's scoop worthy." Cole commented.

Rita smiled brightly again at that, "I like you. You've got spunk."

"Kill her!" Venom shouted once again.

"Why?" Cole asked.

"Oh...well, because you recognize my efforts." Rita explained, confusing the question to be directed at her.

"No, not you, shut up." Cole said, walking past her and entering the manor.

"She said we had this 'Spunk'! That's clearly some kind of STD we've never heard of!" Venom explained angrily, "We shall not take such an insult!"

"How the hell did you even come to that conclusion!?" Cole asked, confusing Rita even more.

"The word spunk sounds like an STD..." Venom explained.

"Well it's not. So shut the fuck up if you don't understand what words mean!" Cole shouted which outright baffled Rita since she was just watching an apparent crazy woman scream at herself.

"Hey Rita," Larry said, helping Niles up the stairs and entering the manor with him. Rita gave him a perplexed look as she pointed at Cole and he sighed, "Yeah, she talks to herself. We're gonna have to deal with it."

"S-So...she's sort of like Jane!?" Rita asked in surprise.

Both Cole and Venom perked up at the mention of that name again and they turned to look at all three of them with a curious glare.

"Who the fuck is Jane/Who the fuck is Jane?" They both asked in unison.

Niles smiled in amusement as Rita and Larry looked at each other with concerned gazes.

"Rather than us tell you, why not meet her yourselves?" Niles asked as he looked at Rita, "Where might she be, Rita?"

Rita sighed with an eye roll, "Hammerhead was craving some fast food as well as seven more of them so she went out to get some. I mean, I tried to stop her, but you know what she's like."

"She insult you again?" Larry asked and Rita nodded.

"They were a creative variation of slurs this time, I'll give her that." Rita added.

"Oh, well, unfortunately Cole, you will have to meet her at a later time." Niles informed and Cole just shrugged uncaringly, "In the meantime, why not get yourself situated, yes? Rita, could you direct Cole to her new room, please?"

"With pleasure." Rita said as she regained her composure and looked at Cole with a smile, "Right this way, miss...?"

"Cole." Cole simply responded, still looking around the manor.

"Cole...?" Rita drawled out, waiting for a last name.

"I know; it rolls off the tongue. You don't have to drawl it out though." Cole said, understanding that she wanted a last name, but that info was on a need to know basis for a while now.

Rita nodded with an amused smirk, "That spunk comes in strides, I see."

"GRRR..." Venom growled and Cole smirked.

"I like you." Cole said, pointing at Rita, mostly because she was able to annoy Venom and he didn't take a liking to her.

"Hard not to." Rita said, flipping her hair back and Cole just enjoyed the low guttural hiss Venom let out in her mind.

Rita started walking forward, past Cole and gesturing for her to follow as Larry and Niles watched the two walk down the hall.

"You sure bringing her here was a good idea?" Larry asked.

"Absolutely." Niles said with a smile.

~

They continued to walk around the manor towards Cole's new room with Rita giving Cole a sort of mini-tour on the way.

"...And the back gardens are quite the sight. Large, spacious and vibrant enough for afternoon tea. I'll be sure to arrange a time in which we can enjoy it to its fullest potential." Rita said, looking over her shoulder at Cole, "That is if you want to, of course."

"No!" Venom shouted.

"It's a date." Cole responded and Rita beamed.

"RAARGH!!!" Venom raged, the sound of his frustration sending a little of euphoria into Cole.

"So, what's your problem? Did Niles find something wrong enough with you to get you to stay here? Hell, how are you even alive?" Cole asked.

"Your questions are quite intrusive." Rita comments.

"So we've been told." Cole responded, having heard that a million times, "You didn't answer any of them by the way."

"We all have our reasons for ending up at this place." Rita said with a reminiscent look, "Niles came to my aid just as I assume he did for you. We need help, our lives need help. And if you couldn't tell by now..."

"Niles is the best help we can get." Cole finished for her.

"Exactly." Rita replied with a smile as they stopped in front of a door, "Here we are."

She opened the door for them and they entered the room. It wasn't grandiose or too minimal of a room. The defining factor was the fact that the bed was king sized, but other than that it was a standard practice guest room at best with a much need personality to be added to it.

"Not much to be offered, but with some work and a touch of your own je ne sais quoi, I believe it shall be your safe haven in no time." Rita said as Cole immediately went over to the bed and flopped onto it.

Cole groaned in satisfaction as she sank into the soft mattress, "I love you already."

Rita chuckled in amusement, "Well, it seems like you are well situated so I shall take my leave and leave you to your own devices. If you need us, we'll be around. Just do some exploring, believe me, this place is smaller than it looks."

Rita said as she started to leave, and Cole sat up, watching her head to the door.

"Rita," Cole said and Rita turned around, "You're a legend."

Rita smiled, "You're sweet."

"Farr from it." Cole said with a smirk, amused at her own pun.

"Haven't heard that one in a while." Rita said with laugh, leaving the room, "Goodbye, Cole."

"Yeah, yeah." Cole said, lying back down on the mattress as Rita closed the door.

"That was corny." Venom finally let out.

"You're just mad you don't have any game." Cole said with an eye roll.

"If that was you flirting then the chances of us having offspring are terribly low." Venom said.

"I wasn't flirting." Cole said with a sigh, shutting her eyes with a yawn, "After what happened with Maria, Cole Winters is done with the dating game."

"Good. We don't need companionship when we have each other." Venom stated.

"Damn...straight..." Cole muttered tiredly as the exhaustion of the new transition of her life had gotten to her and she drifted off into a much needed slumber.

~

Cole's nap lasted quite a while. All had been peaceful and quiet within the manor, until it suddenly wasn't. Their eyes burst open and they shot up from their bed, having heard the muffled shouts and yells as two people argued in another part of the manor.

"You hear that?" Cole asked.

"Two people. They're arguing." Venom informed.

Cole sniffed the air, "Larry's there...Rita's agitated...and an unknown smell is with them."

"I like this unknown person." Venom stated.

"Why?" Cole asked with a confused expression.

"They're making Rita mad." Venom said with a devious laugh.

Cole rolled their eyes as they got up and left their room, following the sounds of the argument and the scents. This trail eventually led them to the manor's kitchen, immediately identifying the originators of everyone's scent.

Larry sat at the counter as he nonchalantly read through a newspaper with a cup of coffee sitting in front of him. Across the counter, by the fridge, stood Rita and another woman arguing. Well, the unknown woman in front of Rita was doing most of the shouting while Rita was trying to calm the situation although she did look frustrated.

She was a shorter woman with slightly tanned skin, wavy dark-brown, almost black, hair, black eyes, and full lips. She wore distinct black eyeliner, a black hoodie, a dark blue punkish shirt with different necklaces around her neck as well as a few rings on her fingers, a black skirt with black tights underneath, mismatched socks and combat boots.

"All I'm saying is, when the chief's gone, we have to stay here or at the very least not leave for hours on end-" Rita argued, but the woman cut her off.

"I don't have to do anything! This isn't a fucking prison! I can go where I want, whenever I want! And some failed cockney actress cunt sure as hell won't stop me!" The woman insulted.

Venom laughed as Cole folded their arms, watching as the two bickered, everyone in the room seeming to have not noticed them.

"Hammerhead, please-" Rita implored, ignoring the jab at her, but the woman, now identified as Hammerhead, held up her hand in her face.

"I don't wanna hear it, freak!" Hammerhead shouted.

Cole chuckled, letting the room know of their presence and they all turned to look at them. Larry merely took a glance at them as he went back to his paper, Rita looked slightly relieved to see them, and Hammerhead glared at them angrily.

"What's so funny, bitch?" Hammerhead asked.

"We Just find it funny that the lunatic screaming her head off because she's mad that she has a bed time is calling other people freaks." Cole explained, slowly stepping into the kitchen from the entrance, "Just something to laugh at."

"Oh yeah? If I'm the lunatic, then what the fuck are you?" Hammerhead asked.

Cole smirked, "Venom."

"I love you." Venom said and she could feel his wide grin with her.

Hammerhead clenched her fists as she turned her glare back at Rita, "Who is she!? WHO THE FUCK IS SHE!?"

Rita stiffened slightly at the yelling, "Hammerhead, Cole. Cole, this is Hammerhead, one of the personalities inhabiting Jane's body."

'DID.' Cole immediately recognized from the way Rita explained it.

"What?" Venom asked.

"It means the lunatic we're speaking to right now isn't actually the person we're looking at." Cole explained.

"The fuck you say to me!?" Hammerhead asked, walking around the counter towards Cole.

"She's feisty." Venom said, finding the angry display cute.

"Like a fucked up honey badger." Cole said.

"Exactly like a fucked up honey badger." Venom laughed.

"Listen, emo bait! I don't give a fuck how many voices in your head speak to you! I don't know who you are and I don't give a fuck, so this one time I'll let you off with a warning!" Hammerhead shouted jabbing her finger on Cole's chest, "Throw any kind of insult at me again and I'll snap your twig shaped ass in two! Fucking got it!?"

"Ok, let's break her." Venom said with a growl.

"If she's letting me off with a warning then we will too." Cole said uncaringly at her threat, confusing Hammerhead again as they walked past her towards the fridge. They picked up a juice box and shook it, feeling that it was almost empty so they just took the whole of it and kicked the fridge shut, "Rita, you're out of juice."

"I'll be sure to add it to our list of groceries." Rita said, calming herself down and Cole hummed with a nod as they drank the juice.

"Hey!" Hammerhead shouted, stomping towards Cole, "I was talking to you, asshole!"

"Where's Niles?" Cole asked, spotting a half-eaten big mac on the counter and purposefully ignoring Hammerhead. She didn't care for a grown woman's temper tantrums.

"Don't mind if we do~" Venom said hungrily and eagerly.

"In his lab." Larry answered and Cole looked at him for an elaboration, "It's downstairs."

Cole nodded as they took the big mac and started eating it with Rita looking mortified at that decision, Larry this time was genuinely surprised and Hammerhead watched on in shock as Cole continued to eat the big mac and drink the juice without a care in the world.

They finished eating the big mac whole and drinking the juice, placing the carton on the counter top and licking their lips for any excess sauce. They looked at the others, noticing their shocked faces and adopted a confused one.

"What?" Cole asked.

Hammerhead roared in anger as she grabbed Cole by the back of their head and forced it down to slam it onto the counter. Cole immediately reacted by putting their hands on the counter, before meeting the impact.

They twisted around and used their right hand to move Hammerhead's arms away, using their left hand to grab Hammerhead by the neck and slam them against the fridge.

"You done?" Cole asked, narrowing their eyes at Hammerhead.

Hammerhead grit her teeth and moved her left hand to grab Cole by the neck this time, the other arm trying to move Cole's against hers. Much to her surprise, her strength was matched, hell, even overpowered.

Cole twisted them around they choke slammed Hammerhead onto the counter, leaning over them to keep them pinned. Now looking deep into her eyes with a glare.

"You done?" Venom's voice mixing in with Cole's this time.

Hammerhead widened her eyes as she stared up at Cole surprised by many things about the woman. She was strong, too strong. Strong enough to keep her pinned down, to make her feel for the first time in a long time, helpless. This woman didn't care. She didn't care about how strong Hammerhead was, she didn't care about her attitude or threats, hell, she was the only one willing to bite back when she barked. That was dangerous. That was scary. That was hot.

"I can see the sparks fly." Larry commented dryly.

Cole looked up at him and Hammerhead twisted her head to glare at him.

"Shut up, Larebear." Cole said to him.

"Shut the fuck up!" Hammerhead shouted.

They untangled themselves from each other with Cole letting go of Hammerhead, and Hammerhead sitting up on the counter and fixing herself up.

She stared at Cole with a newfound respect and Cole just rolled her eyes at her, putting their hands back into their hoodie pockets.

"We're going to see Niles." Cole announced, leaving the kitchen with all three of them watching her leave.