Chapter 5
Bianca Barclay.
The name echoes around the walls of Enid's seedy little hideout, Wednesday still staring at the paused laptop screen.
"I don't get it. It doesn't make sense," Enid mutters, staring at her corkboard of evidence with her hand gripping her chin in thought. "She said she wanted nothing to do with MorningSong. Why would she be involved in all of this?"
"I don't think she's doing it by choice."
Enid stops and squints at Wednesday.
"You think she's being mind controlled too?"
"At this point, it wouldn't be surprising at all."
"Using mind control on your own daughter," Enid sighs, running her hands through her hair, "But I guess we start with finding Bianca and see where that goes."
Enid goes back to grab her laptop and starts typing away. The light from the screen lights her face up and Wednesday watches how she's sticking her tongue out as she tries to concentrate, brow furrowed as her icy blue eyes dart back and forth.
It reminds Wednesday of those late nights in their dorm room, Wednesday taking notes with her typewriter while Enid would work on her gear with her music blasting through her headphones.
And then Wednesday notices the dark circles under Enid's eyes, and how there are faded bruises on her cheek, and she knows that whatever is going on now makes that almost seem pale in comparison.
"So are you and Venom gonna make yourself useful or what?" Enid jokes, grinning at Wednesday from behind her laptop, and she grabs a tablet from her desk and slides it over to her. "You should know how to use it, it's just a bigger version of your phone."
It seems Enid's gotten sassier in our absence, Venom quips, I like it. Wednesday just ignores Venom and gets to work.
Wednesday doesn't know what time it is when she wakes up, but there's a faint glow of light coming from the windows that tells her it's early in the morning. She doesn’t even remember falling asleep.
She hears snoring too, and for a moment she just thinks it's Venom in her head, until she feels something laying up against her side.
The snoring is coming from Enid, who's curled up next to her fast asleep.
She soaks in the image of how peaceful Enid looks. There's the slow rise and fall of her chest, each exhale rustling the stray hairs hanging around her face. The bright blues and pinks are a bit faded, but somehow she just seems as bright as ever. Wednesday wonders if this is the best she's slept in weeks.
Then they're interrupted by Enid's phone going off, and Enid springs up, getting into a fighting stance until she realizes where she is.
She reaches for her phone and shuts off the ringer, much to Venom's relief.
"Who is trying to contact you so early?"
"It's Eugene," Enid squints at the brightness of her phone screen, "He's been sending me a status report every morning."
Venom chuckles in her head, remembering Eugene and his giant glasses.
"You're still working with him?"
"Of course. He's great."
Enid scrolls through her phone, nothing of interest to her in Eugene's text. As much as she appreciates Eugene's help, sometimes he's a bit too eager.
"Do you suppose he might have an idea of where Bianca might be?" Wednesday asks, getting herself up off of the floor and smoothing down her shirt.
"He definitely could. I’ll ask."
Enid dials for Eugene and puts it on speaker, and he answers within seconds.
"How can I be of service today, Ghost-Spider?" Eugene greets them, so cheery when the sun's barely in the sky.
"I have a new mission for you, Eugene. We need to know if you know where we can find Bianca Barclay."
"Bianca?" He sounds surprised hearing the name, "She hasn't been around for the past few months."
Enid raises an eyebrow, glancing over at Wednesday who's also listening closely.
"Really? What was she doing there before?"
"Not too sure. I think it had to do with legal stuff regarding who was taking over the company," Eugene explains, "Meeting with the lawyers and everything."
Wednesday watches as the gears turn in Enid's head. It's not much info to go off of, but it's still helpful. Venom seems to purr inside of her head.
"Hmm," Enid hums as she thinks, "Does MorningSong keep track of people who visit the building?"
"Of course they do! Every guest has to sign in and every employee scans in with the badges. It's all recorded."
"Cool," Enid nods excitedly, "You let me know if you see or hear anything about Bianca, okay?"
"Affirmative."
"Thanks Eugene. Talk to you soon."
The sleepiness leaves Enid's face, replaced by an eager smirk that makes a rare feeling of excitement creep up into Wednesday.
"Alright Wednesday. Time to check those logs."
---
Enid does her best to try and get into MorningSong's servers, but to no one's surprise it's locked down tight. Enid says it's probably because of their last break in, but Wednesday doesn't really understand any of it. She just listens to Enid's cursing each time something she types or clicks on doesn't work.
"I think I've figured out the problem," she huffs after what seems like ages. She shuts her laptop and tucks it under her arm while Venom sighs in relief after the clicking of keyboard keys has stopped.
"We need to get closer," she explains, going to grab her backpack, "I can't get into their servers from this far away. Seems like some weird location-based security."
"So you're going to break in," Wednesday states, trying not to think about how risky that would be, especially right now in the middle of the day.
"Nah," Enid replies nonchalantly, "There's a cafe across the street. It'll be the perfect place to sit with my computer and not look suspicious."
"Of course," Wednesday replies, a bit embarrassed for overthinking it all. She stays put as Enid stuffs her suit into her bag, not sure if she's invited or not.
"You coming?" Enid chimes, nodding her head towards the door with a grin, "I'll need a lookout."
Wednesday nods, a bit hesitant, but all her worries melt away when Enid grins back at her, looking as confident as ever.
---
It's uncomfortably hot out, the sun beating down as they walk through the streets of New York. Enid's whistling and acting like she doesn't have a care in the world, but Wednesday can see her head turn at every little noise.
Venom is getting antsy as well, snapping in her head at each person they walk past. Wednesday just hopes this works, because she does not want to lose any of the momentum they've been gaining. Enid's explained to her that Yoko works at this cafe, and if she doesn't threaten to stab her, maybe she'll give her free drinks. Wednesday keeps Venom quiet when it tries to bring up what happened the last time someone gave them free drinks.
As they round the corner, Wednesday eyes the building like it's about to explode, but it looks as normal as ever. The giant MorningSong logo sits up top, glowing red, and as she stares at it, she feels herself growing sick.
Enid brushes past her to cross the street, and she follows quickly. As she pushes the doors of the cafe open, Yoko is behind the counter to greet them.
"Enid! Nice to see you," she chimes, eyes going wide behind her glasses. Then she glances over at Wednesday, her face a mixture of confusion and a tiny bit of fear.
"And Wednesday, you're back!" she gulps, "How was Paris?"
Wednesday squints, and Enid nudges her with her elbow. She looks up at her, and her head is tilted, the expression on her face telling her to play along.
"Lovely," Wednesday replies, "Especially the catacombs."
"Uh, cool," Yoko nods awkwardly, "So what can I get you two?"
"Just a water, thanks," Enid smiles, glancing down at Wednesday whose glaring eyes stay locked on Yoko.
"I'll take a hot chocolate. The largest size you have."
"Gotcha. I'll have that ready in a sec."
She disappears behind the counter, and Enid turns to Wednesday with a confused look on her face.
"Hot chocolate? It's like, a hundred degrees out."
"Venom needs to be fed if you want us to stay focused," she replies hastily, "Especially when I need to play along with your lies."
"Look, I just needed an excuse for why you weren't around," Enid explains, keeping her voice down, "And you talked about wanting to go to Paris once."
Enid just shrugs back at her, ignoring Wednesday's lack of a response after that. Wednesday's busy thinking about how Enid remembers something she mentioned months ago with no real thought.
It's normal for people to remember things about those that they care about, Venom reminds her, tone smug, and Wednesday just huffs.
"Here are those drinks for you two," Yoko finally announces, and Enid grabs them with a grin. She leads Wednesday to a booth in the back corner of the cafe, quickly pulling out her laptop and spreading out her things over the table.
"Okay. Keep an eye out for me alright? Hopefully this won't take long," Enid cracks her knuckles and her fingers take off, typing at the speed of light.
Wednesday just takes a sip of her hot chocolate right away, not even feeling the sharp burn on her tongue.
Deliciousss, is all Venom says, finally quieting down and quickly helping Wednesday feel less on edge. She watches the entrance to the MorningSong building from the corner of her eye, but once again nothing seems out of the ordinary. But she can still feel the dread pouring out of it like an open faucet, knowing that something in there is working against them somehow.
She then turns her attention away from the building and to the people on the street outside instead. Venom has to say something about each one, like how the old lady on the street corner is wearing an ugly hat or that the businessman waiting for a taxi needs to tailor his suit better. She can tell it's itching to do something, anything, but sit in a cafe on a weekday afternoon.
Wednesday starts tapping her fingers impatiently on her already empty cup of hot cocoa. Enid's still typing away frantically, eyes glued to her computer screen with her tongue stuck out in concentration like she always does. The clicking of the keyboard rattles throughout her head, each key being pressed feeling like a nail being driven farther into her skull.
We shouldn't be here, Wednesday, Venom hisses from somewhere deep inside of her mind, We left to keep Enid safe. Yet we've come back to her so quickly.
Wednesday doesn't say anything out loud, but she knows Venom can hear what she's thinking. We promised her to answer if she called, she retorts, and Venom groans.
And you did. But now every extra second you're with her, you're putting her in danger.
You could care less about her, Wednesday wants to shout. You just know that if I choose to stay with her, I'd think about getting rid of you.
You say you'd get rid of me. But You like these powers. You like how powerful you've become. How you can achieve everything you've always dreamed of with ease. Nobody can stop you, Wednesday.
Wednesday can't argue. It's true. She's never felt more stronger than she has with the symbiote. She feels like she hasn't even reached her full potential with it.
Who's to say you and Enid don't work out? Then what happens Wednesday? In the end you can only trust yourself.
Wednesday doesn't want to think like that, and she can tell her Venom's feeding off of her own worries. That there's a possibility after this is all over, no matter how much they've been through, it just won't work out, and her and Enid will go their separate ways for good.
We just need to figure out whatever's going on and eradicate the mind-controlling substance, Wednesday says, Then, we can coexist safely.
Venom is silent, but then it laughs.
It's funny you don't see that you're still a threat all on your own, Wednesday.
She doesn't want to listen to that. She knows that Venom is a parasite - it needs a host to survive, and Wednesday has been perfect. That's why Venom is trying to convince her to leave. To preserve itself. It knows Wednesday's too far deep with Enid that she'd do whatever it takes to keep her safe. It's just doing what it needs to do to survive.
It is ultimately up to you, Wednesday. I'll have to deal with whatever you choose, but don't say I didn't warn you.
"Bingo! I'm in!" Enid shouts, breaking the tension she's not even aware of, and Wednesday freezes, noticing that she's crushing her empty cup in her hand. Venom slithers away to the back of her mind, knowing it's planted the seeds to get her thinking.
"What did you find?" Wednesday asks, clearing her throat and sliding the cup away gingerly. Thankfully Enid's eyes don't move from the computer screen.
"Looks like Bianca did visit multiple times a few months ago," she quickly explains, "I'm gonna see if there's any security footage."
She clicks and types some more, pausing to squint at her screen.
"She came here," she says, sounding puzzled, "Wait. Wait a second."
Wednesday leans closer, across the table, eager to hear more as Venom hums in her head.
"I remember Yoko told me she left work here early one day because a red-eyed person attacked the cafe. It was the same day as this footage."
She flips her laptop around to show Wednesday, who watches closely. It's clearly Bianca walking out of the doors and across the street, a blank look on her face. She enters the cafe and is in there for a few minutes before leaving. And then it doesn't take long for the commotion to start, a man tossing a table through the very same window they're sitting at.
"Bianca must have been going to MorningSong to get more of that substance to spread around," Enid says, a look of wonder on her face. It makes Wednesday buzz inside, the feeling seeming to spread to her as she connects the dots in her head.
"And I bet if we were to look up reports of attacks around the city, they'd match up with the dates of her visits."
"Right, yes! Oh my god Wednesday, this is the breakthrough we've been waiting for!"
Enid's practically jumping out of her seat, hands slamming on the table so hard she almost dents it.
"You okay over there? What's so exciting?" Yoko shouts from around the corner, and Enid quickly sits back down and collects herself.
"Oh, uh, I finally got Taylor Swift tickets!" she yells back, hoping it sounds convincing enough as Yoko screams from the other side of the cafe.
Enid takes a deep breath, looking more hopefully than ever, and then a devious grin spreads across her face that makes Wednesday feel like she's melting in a pot of lava.
"Time to finally find Bianca."
---
They spend the next couple of days matching all of Bianca's visits with attacks around the city and checking in with Eugene on Bianca sightings. Some of the attacks aren't linked, and they figure Bianca can't be the only person distributing the substance. There are likely others, like the men they fought in the warehouse all those nights ago.
Meanwhile, Wednesday can feel herself going crazy holed up in Enid's hideout. There's not much space, all of their papers and notes overflowing from the cork board to the rest of the walls. Enid's insisted on Wednesday sleeping in her bed while she stays curled up in the ceiling corner in a hammock made out of webs.
"I promise you, it's comfortable," Enid tells her, yawning and turning over so her back is to Wednesday.
Wednesday doesn't say anything. It's just another night of her staying awake and thinking about her conversation with Venom in the coffee shop. She's never been so uncertain of what to do before, and it's driving her insane in a way she doesn't enjoy.
Venom is right in that her hanging around feels like a dangerous game. She declines going out to explore with Enid in case she gets hit with the substance again, saying it's because she wants to stay in and analyze their evidence. Then she stays awake all night to make sure Enid's okay, the snoring almost having become music to her ears because it means she's alive.
Meanwhile, Enid seems as cheery as ever. She's always got a smile on her face, which isn't unusual, but to Wednesday she can just tell she's happier than she's been in a while. The dark circles under her eyes have faded away, and she's cracking jokes and teasing Wednesday like old times.
Wednesday hates how radiant she is, how Enid grinning at her with excitement every time she climbs in through the window with a new lead makes it hard to catch her breath. It's utterly stupid how Enid Sinclair is making the choice of having superpowers and a brain-eating alien parasite at her disposal seem so difficult.
If you are going to fawn over Enid again, can we at least do it somewhere less... congested?
Venom groans as Wednesday pins up some more papers to their ever-growing wall of evidence, removing one of Enid's K-Pop posters to make room. Venom is right, the hideout has become a mess, and if she's going to be cooped up somewhere, it might as well be somewhere a bit more spacious.
All it takes is a quick call to her parents. And when Enid comes back from her latest stakeout, she's greeted by an empty hideout, save for one sticky note on the wall.
She's about to have a full-blown panic attack when her phone buzzes.
I have all of our things. Meet me at this address ASAP.
- WA
Enid breathes a deep, deep sigh of relief. She has no idea about what's going on, but she knows it's Wednesday texting her because she's the only person who signs off their text with their own initials. And Wednesday wouldn't lose everything they've been working so hard on.
She heads back out of the window and follows the directions to the lobby of a very tall apartment building in a nice part of town. Wednesday is waiting for her near the elevators, looking as unbothered as ever.
"Wednesday," Enid calls, a bit frazzled, "You scared the shit out of me! Where is all of our stuff?"
"I apologize if I scared you," Wednesday replies calmly, "But I promise you, it's all safe. Follow me."
She heads to press the elevator button, but Enid doesn't move, just staring at her with a puzzled look on her face.
"Uh, this isn't like, a trap, right?"
Wednesday rolls her eyes.
"You followed a mysterious text to an unknown address after all of your belongings were taken and now you're asking if this is a trap?"
"Right." Enid's face goes red in embarrassment, and she steps into the elevator with Wednesday. It was a rookie mistake, and with everything going on she should have definitely been more cautious. But having Wednesday back has had her so excited lately that she's been a bit more careless. She just stares at the ceiling, watching the floors go up until they've reached the top and telling herself that if this was something bad, she'd know.
"So where are we going exactly?" Enid asks as they step out into a hallway. There's only one door, and so she figures this must be the penthouse.
"To your new hideout."
Wednesday stops at the door, waves a keycard, and it clicks open. Enid follows her inside, jaw dropping at the sight.
It's giant, first of all. Bigger than anything Enid's ever been in. There's all kinds of art on the walls, giant windows, and kitchen that's probably bigger than her last hideout.
"How the hell did you get this place?" she asks as she peeks her head into each of the rooms, "Did you do this legally?"
"Why of course, I would never break the law," Wednesday replies sarcastically, "It belongs to my family."
"Wait, so this whole time you've been filthy rich and you weren't gonna tell me?" Enid scoffs, although playfully.
"I'd prefer to say we're comfortable."
"That's exactly what a rich person would say," Enid's annoyance quickly turns to laughter, and she heads out to the balcony, Wednesday right behind her.
"There's much more space for you to work on your gadgets," she explains, coming up to the railing where Enid's leaning over, "It's also more secure, and the balcony provides a great vantage point for surveying the city."
Enid's busy taking in the views, hair ruffling in the wind. She takes a deep breath.
"Okay. I didn't wanna admit it, but this is such an upgrade."
"It's what you deserve. Especially if you're putting so much of your time into saving this city."
It's quiet for a moment, just the noise of the city below. Wednesday stares out into the distance, not phased by the height anymore. If she's not going to stay, then she might as well set Enid up as best as she can. Then, it's like Enid seems to read her mind.
"So does this mean you're sticking around after we're done with all of this?" she asks quietly.
Wednesday doesn't say anything, Venom loud in her head. She can feel Enid staring at her, waiting for a response that she doesn't have.
"It would just be nice to know ahead of time."
Wednesday can't look at her. She looks down at her feet instead.
"I believe that is something to decide later."
Enid sighs, running her hands through her hair before crossing her arms in disappointment.
"Wednesday, what's the holdup? You can't just keep-"
She stops talking suddenly, and that finally gets Wednesday to look up at her. Enid's face is pale, her eyes wide and her jaw clenched.
"What is it?" Wednesday asks, noticing the dread Enid must be feeling, her senses telling her something is wrong.
Enid shakes her head, looking around frantically. She can feel the tingling in her fingers, the ringing in her ears, the taste of metal in her mouth.
"Something's about to-"
BOOM!
There's an explosion in the distance, so strong it almost knocks the two of them off of their feet.
"Oh shit, it's the Raft," Enid stares out into the river from the source of the explosion, smoke quickly filling the air.
"The prison?" Wednesday confirms, remembering Enid telling her about it and how it was where the most dangerous of criminals were put once she had defeated them. She had always been interested in visiting somehow, but Enid wouldn't allow it.
"Yeah. Oh god, this is not good. We do not need this right now."
She runs back inside, grabbing her bag to dig out her suit.
"We need to get over there and see what the damage is."
"It seems like someone planned a breakout," Wednesday mutters, trying to figure out what she's supposed to do. Enid bursts back out, fully clad in her suit.
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, it's bad. Most of the people in there are in there because I put them there. And I do not want them back out."
She pulls her mask down over her face and hops up onto the railing before turning back to Wednesday.
"Well, c'mon!"
---
Wednesday doesn't exactly have a choice, so she follows Enid along. They land at the edge of the river, the sound of sirens wailing in her ears and helicopters flying overhead.
Venom's itching to get out and do any kind of damage, but Enid grabs her by the shoulder before she can fully transform.
"Listen to me, Wednesday," she says sternly, "We just need to stop anybody in an orange jumpsuit. Use your goo, or whatever, to stop them, just don't eat anyone."
"My goo?" Wednesday asks, Venom's metallic voice jumping out in offense.
"I don't know how it works!" Enid retorts, "Here, just- take a spare webshooter!"
She takes one from her belt and tosses it to Wednesday, who examines it with a confused look.
"I thought you said these people were dangerous criminals? Why waste our time subduing them when we could just-"
"They are! But you're not killing anyone, alright? Unless you absolutely have to, I guess, but-" There's another explosion in the distance, "-just go!"
She points over at the raft, and then shoots her own web at a passing by helicopter and latches on, flying away in a flash.
We should follow her, Venom urges, But we don't have to listen to her. Wednesday nods, letting the thought sink in, and then she attaches the web shooter to her wrist and lets Venom take over.
---
Everything is an absolute and utter mess. Enid doesn't get why out of all times someone has decided to orchestrate a prison break now. She wonders if this could be connected to everything somehow, but she doesn't have much time to think about it when someone is launching a piece of concrete at her. She dodges it with ease and shoots a web at the person who throws it at her, taking a quick moment to catch her breath.
She's webbed up a good number of people. She recognizes a lot of them, but they don't seem to notice her. She can't complain though, because she needs to concentrate.
She knocks out another guy. Webs him up. Dances around another and sticks him to the wall. Quickly refills her web canisters and saves one of the security guards from getting his head bashed in with another skillfully placed web.
She's getting tired though, and there are more prisoners on the loose than she expected. Has she really put this many people away? Some catch her off guard, and she takes a few punches here and there, and gets thrown into a ceiling a couple of times, but she feels like she has to be making progress.
She has no idea where Wednesday is. She knows she's around, she's heard several people scream 'What is that thing?' but she hasn't seen her yet.
Then there's a blur flying by her, and she looks up to see Wednesday - well, Venom, grabbing a prisoner by the throat and slamming him against the wall.
For a moment, Enid's frozen. She had forgotten how terrifying Venom was, with its razor sharp teeth and menacing eyes, and how that thing had attacked her that night in the laboratory, just like how it's doing now.
And then Enid's knocked to the floor into a puddle, her cheek stinging as she coughs and shakes the water off of her.
She turns around to see a familiar face staring back at her. And his eyes are a bright red.
"Xavier?" she chokes out, forcing herself back up even though her body feels like it's on fire.
Xaiver Thorpe. Her old classmate turned supervillain after trying to develop his own powers and things went wrong, turning him into a giant lizard. He was one of the most dangerous threats Enid had faced, and he'd been locked in the Raft ever since. While he was able to be turned back into a human, it's obvious he still has his powers with how hard he had just hit Enid, and they're only enhanced now that he's been exposed to the red substance.
She doesn't have time to reminisce, because Xavier's lunging at her again. She dodges him, almost skidding off of the roof they're on. His eyes are glowing, and Enid shoots her webs at him, but with his strength, he just rips them off.
Enid stumbles out of the way, dodging another attack. She trips, losing her footing in another puddle, and it looks like Xaiver is going to get her when there's a flash of black.
It's Wednesday, throwing him to the ground. Enid's able to get up and out of the way, leaping up and grabbing onto a telephone pole that's wires are sending sparks everywhere.
She watches as Wednesday and Xaiver go at it, Wednesday only having the upper hand. A spark from the wire snaps next to her, and she gets an idea.
"Wednesday!" She shouts as loud as she can, "Get him into the water!"
Thankfully Wednesday's heard her, and as soon as she gets the upper hand on Xaiver, she throws him into the puddle as Enid swings down with one of the wires.
There's a burst of light, and Enid shields her eyes until the noises die down.
When the smoke clears, Xaiver's not moving. For a moment, she thinks he's dead, until he coughs and opens his eyes, staring up at Enid.
"Ghost-Spider?" Xaiver croaks, "What's going on?"
The red is gone from his eyes, and she can tell he's genuinely confused about the commotion around him. He pulls himself up, and Wednesday's about to move towards him, but Enid quickly stops her. He doesn't attack them, just staring back and forth between the two of them before passing out.
Enid kneels down, exhausted, trying to catch her breath. Wednesday grabs her by the shoulder to help her stay steady.
"Are you alright?" she asks, sounding a bit worried, but Enid just shakes her head.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she shrugs it off and stands back up, even though she's sure she's got a cracked rib or two. But she doesn't care about that right now. She cares about what she's just realized.
"I think I found a way to stop the mind-control."
---
Enid feels like she's about to pass out as they get back to the apartment, and so Wednesday helps guide her to the couch. She doesn't look so well herself, her hair disheveled and blood spattered on her face, but it's not hers. Enid can't say anything before she disappears somewhere into the shadows of the apartment.
Enid just focuses on her breathing, trying to ignore the aches radiating all over her body. She wonders how many more punches she can take before it becomes too much. She's already died once, but she knows she has to keep going if she wants to keep everyone in the city safe.
Instead, she focuses on her new discovery - electricity.
Electricity seems to break someone out of their hypnosis. She's always wondered if she could make webs that were electric, and now seems like the perfect time.
She closes her eyes, trying to think about how she's going to do it, and how she's going to pick the right voltage so it doesn't hurt anyone and where she's going to get the materials and all of that when she feels Wednesday at her side.
"Enid," she says quietly, "You have some wounds that need attending to."
Enid groans, sitting herself up, and Wednesday hands her some painkillers. She swallows them quickly with a huff, Wednesday getting to work on her injuries.
"Stop moving," Wednesday scolds when Enid winces as she cleans up a cut on her shoulder.
"Sorry."
Enid sinks back down into the couch, making sure Wednesday can get to where she needs to. Enid stays silent, trying her best to keep her eyes open. Wednesday's face is stoic, her movements precise as she focuses on patching Enid up. The sight makes Enid's heart swell, knowing that she has someone to take care of her and would do anything to make sure she's okay.
"You know, I missed this," Enid says quietly after what feels like ages of silence, and Wednesday stops, looking up at her with her brow furrowed.
"You missed needing stitches?"
"I missed you taking care of me."
Wednesday's eyes are dark. She stares back at Enid, and it feels like time has stopped between them. Enid can see the slightest twitch of her lips, like she's about to say something but she doesn't know what.
"Stay Wednesday. Please?"
Wednesday hates how the crack in Enid's voice feels like an arrow shot through her heart. Her eyes seem as bright and hopeful as ever, and she squeezes Wednesday's hand so hard it hurts. But then she sees those scars buried under the hair falling around her face and remembers why she left in the first place.
"I don't think I can do that."
"You say you can't but I know you want to."
"I don't think I could deal with losing you again," Wednesday's voice is quiet, crackling like a fire that's about to burn out, "And I don't know how I'd live with being the reason why you're gone."
Enid's eyes linger on her for a second before they flick down and away from Wednesday. She takes a breath. She feels like this is her last chance to keep Wednesday by her side.
"I put my life in danger every day when I put this suit on. I know the risks. But I think you need to stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start thinking of what could go right."
She squeezes Wednesday's hand harder, and all of the memories they have together seem to rush through her head. All of the late nights studying and going out for pizza at the crack of dawn and walking through Central Park to see the flowers bloom. Enid's stupid music that she's grown to hate a bit less. Her colorful hair that Wednesday has to admit she loves. And that stupid grin of hers that seems to be brighter than the sun.
"I know you're dangerous. You've always been. But that doesn't scare me anymore."
The serious look on Enid's face fades into a tiny smile.
"We work, Wednesday. We do. And you know it."
Wednesday just stares. It's all she can do around Enid these days because Enid's always doing things that leave seem to leave her speechless. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Venom is cursing at her for even questioning whether or not she's going to stick around.
Instead, she decides to be the one to leave Enid speechless. She leans up to cup Enid's cheek in her hands and pulls her in for a kiss, and that's more than enough to tell Enid that she's made her choice.