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Break Room.
There was a modest table with several chairs around it. Machines like a coffee maker lined up against the wall, and a fridge stocked with various drinks.
Arthur poured a glass of warm water for Brock and sat down across from him.
"How are you feeling?"
"That prince was right," Brock said slowly. "The impact was… intense."
He added, "You know, Venom is actually really excited."
"Oh?" Arthur smiled. "And what does he think?"
"He says he likes it here, he senses a lot of food." Brock shrugged. "In a way… he might just be an alien foodie."
'Well… he's not exactly wrong.'
Arthur chuckled, then looked at Brock seriously. "And what about you?"
"Me…" Brock frowned. "Do I even matter that much?"
It was obvious by now what Arthur wanted, he hoped to recruit Brock into this base, into this team. To become one of them.
The enemies they faced were clear, not just threats on Earth, but enemies beyond Earth. Unspeakable horrors from other dimensions… terrifying entities from the unknown cosmos.
Arthur's team, every single one of them, was no ordinary person.
Superheroes.
Billionaires.
Agents.
Princes.
Geniuses…
And he?
He was just a regular guy. A livestream host. An unemployed livestream host, at that!
So on what basis could he join a team like this? In truth, they probably didn't want him, they wanted Venom. If Venom could safely bond with someone else… would it even matter if Brock was around at all?
"If this is about saving the world," Brock said carefully, "then I'm honored, truly honored, to be invited."
He hesitated. "But I just don't think I'm qualified to be part of your team. I'm… I'm just a regular person."
Arthur leaned back in his chair. After a moment of silence, he smiled.
"Every person starts off as a regular person. Is Iron Man impressive? Sure. But without his armor, he's just a guy. So ask yourself, am I only after the armor? Because if that were the case, Tony could just stay in the background and hand it over to a more combat-savvy replacement. Someone else could wear the suit, strike a pose, and pretend to be one of us."
Brock paused, caught off guard by the logic.
Arthur continued, "What matters most… is what's inside. Strip away all the tech, all the titles, what's left is your heart. So tell me: what's in your heart? What do you think about us? What do you want to fight for?"
Brock shook his head, dazed, unsure.
Arthur smiled. "Let's change the question, then… If Venom came to Earth with millions of his kind, and you had the chance to stop him… would you?"
"Yes."
The answer came instantly, without hesitation.
"That's what I'm talking about." Arthur nodded. "That's what we want too. Maybe our methods differ, but our goal is the same."
He stood up.
"You can stay here and think it over for a couple of days. Or I can take you back, give you space to clear your head. Either way, I'll give you three days. Because after that, I have to leave Earth to handle… something else."
"If, by then, you still haven't made up your mind, I'll help you return to your old life.
You'll get a good job, and maybe even win back your girlfriend."
Natasha's intel really was top-tier. Standing before Arthur now, Brock was practically transparent.
Flawed? Sure. But at least his core values were solid.
Brock blinked, then asked, "What are you going to do?"
"Now, or three days from now?" Arthur shot back with a small grin.
"Uh… both, actually."
"I'm heading down to sublevel five," Arthur said. "There's something important I need to take care of."
"Can I come with you?" Brock asked.
"Of course."
Sublevel Five, the newly built medical bay.
When Arthur arrived, the facility was already fully operational. However, since Arthur and the others rarely got hurt, and even if they did, they had their own ways of dealing with it, the place had been eerily quiet. There hadn't been any serious incidents recently, so unexpected injuries were few and far between.
As a result, the room was pretty much deserted. Princess Shuri was so bored that she'd resorted to lying on a chair and counting her own hair strands for fun.
But when she saw Arthur walk in, a bright excitement immediately flashed across her eyes.
"You're here to tell me the secrets of space-folding tech, aren't you?"
"Absolutely not," Arthur replied, exasperated.
Then Shuri looked toward Brock. "Oh, so he's the one who needs treatment? Those eye bags are brutal. Dark circles, too. Is he sleep-deprived… or just suffering from too much debauchery?"
"…No, I just have a parasite."
Brock's response instantly triggered another round of bickering with the Venom inside him.
Arthur ignored the two of them. He grabbed the now-curious Shuri and led her to one of the treatment beds. From his Disassembler space, he took out a person.
A blonde girl with bright blue eyes, currently unconscious. She lay there, eyes shut, breathing faintly.
Shuri's expression changed instantly.
"What happened to her?"
"She went through something… horrible," Arthur said. "I won't go into the details. I just need to know, Can she be saved?"
"I'll need to run some tests first," Shuri replied. "I can't give you any answers right now, not without data."
"Alright. I'll wait outside," Arthur said as he turned and left the room.
Brock followed, asking as they walked, "Who is that girl?"
"No idea," Arthur shook his head. "She was one of the hosts infected by Riot."
Brock paused, then glanced back, only to see Shuri already closing the door.
"What kind of abilities does that girl have?" Brock asked.
"Who?" Arthur turned to glance at him. "Shuri? She's T'Challa's sister. As far as we know, she doesn't have any special powers, just a little genius when it comes to science and tech. It's a shame Wakanda still has their tech sealed off. If we had access to everything they've got, this base could be on an entirely different level."
Brock nodded, then asked again, "What if… the girl can't be saved?"
Arthur looked at him, puzzled. "What else? We'll find out who her parents are… and send her back to them."