| Mister Fantastic |  Brock is in a holding cell on level six...I've been monitoring his condition and I've noticed that there is a small aberrant growth on his frontal lobe--  |
| Nick Fury | He's got cancer? Good. |
Appearing in "Patterns: Part 2"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Fantastic Four
- S.H.I.E.L.D.
- ⏴ Colonel Nick Fury ⏵
- Unnamed agents
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Alfonse Poina (First appearance; dies)
- Eric Moody (First appearance; dies)
- Perry ⏵ (First appearance chronologically)
- Eddie Brock (Mentioned)
Locations:
- New Mexico
- New York City
- S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Research Facility 409
Items:
- Venom symbiote
- Venom symbiote clone (First full appearance)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Patterns: Part 2"
Nineteen months prior to the Christmastown Incident, the scientist Vic and Frankie observe the fruits of their research: a clone of the Venom symbiote created from the original's tongue. Frankie comments at the symbiote's lack of interest in bonding to a host, watching as it brutally slaughters the test subject they placed in its chamber. Vic asks if the symbiote is eating the bodies, but Frankie remarks that it isn't despite her being convinced that hunger is what compelled it to attack. Vic asks Frankie why it would attack its prospective hosts but not eat the bodies, and Frankie speculates that the symbiote is a sadist who derives pleasure from killing. She presses a button that unleashes an acidic mist into the room, dissolving the corpse but leaving he symbiote unaffected due to its inorganic composition. Vic complains that Frankie's department gets all the cool toys, but Frankie notes that all she gets to do is observe and document while Vic gets to be hands-on with the experiments. Vic notes that the symbiote's tongue seemed to have a mind of its own and getting it to develop into the clone was remarkably hands-off. Bob interrupts their conversation and is told that it's not eating. He suggests introducing two prospective hosts to see what will happen, surprising Vic and Frankie, and saying that he wants to watch.
Eric Moody - a convicted murderer - is led into the symbiote's chamber, loudly complaining that he only signed up for drug tests. Entering the chamber, he encounters Alfonse Poina, a mentally-unstable elderly man. Observing, Vic and Frankie disparage Eric, and are shocked when Bob informs them he killed six people - four while in prison. Bob jokes that Alfonse killed 27 people before stating that he has a severe nervous disorder coupled with debilitating paranoia. In the chamber, Eric aggressively confronts Alphonse, but is distracted when the symbiote clone looms over him. The symbiote grabs them both with tendrils, Alphonse having a fear-induced heart attack while Eric lashes out in rage and breaks free from the tendrils, attacking the symbiote. The symbiote abruptly vanishes, Vic and Frankie wondering where it went while Eric trash-talks it. Alphonse abruptly sits up and reveals that the four men who Eric had killed while in prison had raped him in the library. As Eric protests that's not what happened, the symbiote takes over Alphonse and gleefully tells Eric that it's going to happen again. Watching as the symbiote grabs Eric and kills him, Bob smirks and states that it's finally ready. Frankie protests, saying that this is all new behavior and needs to be studied, but Bob replies that this was the expected result. Bob shuts down her protests, saying that it's time to move on to the next stage and that they want it to be hungry.
After twenty seconds, the symbiote expels Alphonse's drained corpse, Frankie asking Vic how Bob can be so sure it's ready. Vic states that worked on the original sample for four months with no progress, and it only took Bob three hours to extract the symbiote's genetic material and completely map it. Frankie asks Vic how that's even possible, but Vic simply states that's just one of Bob's secrets. In the Ararat Corporation's head office, the two Bobs communicate with each other and arrange for the symbiote to be transported to the Arctic facility, and the scientist Bob transforms his lab coat and turtleneck into a business suit - revealing himself to be a colony of cybernetic spiders.
At the Four Freedoms Plaza, Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman watch their cybernetic spiders interact with the Venom symbiote, Sue complaining that while Reed has been in scientific nirvana she's been feeling neglected. Reed apologizes and Sue acknowledges that he likes to throw himself into scientific quandries, but says that it would be nice for them to be intimate more often. She's interrupted by an alert that S.H.I.E.L.D. has arrived to take Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote into custody. A dismayed Reed greets Nick Fury and his platoon of S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers, informing Fury that Eddie Brock has a tumor in his brain. Fury grimly remarks that Brock deserves it and orders his troops to deep-six him in the Vault. Reed notes that he doesn't think the tumor is cancerous and could explain Brock's psychosis, but Fury dismisses this as irrelevant and contemplates just killing him in cold blood. As Fury moves to scrutinize the symbiote, Sue is disgusted by his callousness; Fury bluntly accepting her remarks and saying he's crass towards women as well before saying he hates aliens more than anything else. Noticing the cybernetic spiders, Fury demands that the Fantastic Four get them out of the symbiote's container, Sue extracting them with her force field. Disregarding Reed's explanation of the cybernetic spiders' origins, Fury orders his men to extract the symbiote.
As S.H.I.E.L.D. departs with Eddie and the symbiote, Reed sarcastically thanks Fury for helping. As his helicoptor takes off, however, Fury notices one of the cybernetic spiders has latched onto him. Later, at S.H.I.E.L.D. Research Facility 409, Fury and a scientist observe the Venom symbiote; the latter complaining about not being given an opportunity to study it despite them knowing almost nothing about it. Fury remarks that he couldn't care less, but tells the scientist that the cybernetic spider knows all about the symbiote and is willing to share this information. When the scientist incredulously asks how the cybernetic spider communicated with him, Fury pulls out his cell phone and says it called him.
At the Mesa Verde Ararat Corporation facility, Vic and Frankie notify Bob that the transport team has arrived to take the symbiote clone to the Arctic facility, assuring him that the cell unit's security systems are in place. When Frankie states she has compiled all hers and Vic's research on the symbiote clone into a folder to present to the Arctic team, Bob instructs them to not only destroy it, but purge all data pertaining to the symbiote clone from their systems. When they incredulously asks why, Bob tells them there's no need for the Arctic team to be able to replicate or continue their research and that he's already complied a heavily redacted file full of misinformation. Bob thanks Vic and Frankie for completing their objective, but says he has more work to do that doesn't involve them - namely liberating Eddie Brock and the original Venom symbiote from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s custody.
Topside, Bob greets Mr. Perry, the Arctic facility's representative, and says that he's interested in hearing what their findings will be.