When the unexpected happened

His mother set her purse down with deliberate slowness, still holding the newspaper. She was still in her scrubs, dark circles under her eyes from too many double shifts, but her gaze was sharp as ever. The headline "ANTIVENOM: NEW YORK'S MYSTERIOUS SAVIOR" glared from the front page.

"The library," she repeated, pulling out a chair. "The one that was evacuated four hours before the invasion started."

"I... might have left out some details?"

She unfolded the paper, pointing to a particularly clear photo of Antivenom directing Doctor Octopus and Reed Richards during the evacuation. "Some details. Like being forty stories up, giving orders to superheroes and supervillains?"

The symbiote stirred uneasily beneath his clothes. *Maybe we should show her.*

"Mom," he started, standing up. "I can explain everything-"

"Please do," she said, but then her voice cracked slightly. "Starting with why my baby boy was fighting aliens instead of being in the shelter like I thought he was."

The pain in her voice hit him harder than any Chartori warrior had. The symbiote emerged slowly, forming a gentle white ripple across his shoulders. His mother's eyes widened, but to her credit, she didn't scream or run – she just gripped the edge of the table tighter.

"Mom, this is Antivenom. My partner. And... well... we've kind of been helping people for the past year."

The symbiote formed a small face, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. *Ma'am. We've been protecting him. Always.*

She took a deep breath. "A year. My fourteen-year-old has been running around with a... a..."

"Symbiote," he helped. "And we've been careful! Really careful! Today was just... different. The city needed everyone it could get."

His mother stood up suddenly, and both boy and symbiote flinched. But instead of yelling, she walked to the window, looking out at the city – still smoking in places, emergency lights flashing in the distance.

"I treated seventeen people today," she said quietly. "They all talked about how Antivenom organized the evacuation routes. How he got heroes and villains working together to save civilians." She turned back to them. "That was my son? My little boy?"

"Mom-"

"The same son who still can't remember to make his bed or do the dishes?"

The symbiote made a sound that might have been a chuckle. *She has a point.*

"Not helping, partner," he muttered.

His mother walked back to the table, sitting down heavily. "I need to know everything. From the beginning. And don't you dare leave anything out."

So they told her. About finding the injured symbiote in the alley behind their building. About learning to work together, to trust each other. About their first rescue – stopping a purse snatcher. About late-night patrols and homework sessions on rooftops. About watching over their neighborhood when the bigger heroes were busy elsewhere.

As they talked, his mother's expression shifted from worry to disbelief to... something else. Pride? Fear? Maybe both.

"And today?" she asked finally.

"Today we did what needed to be done," he said simply. "Someone had to protect the streets while the Avengers handled the big threats. We knew how to talk to both sides – heroes and villains. We knew what the regular people needed."

*We kept him safe,* the symbiote added. *We always will.*

His mother was quiet for a long moment. Then: "Nick Fury was here?"

"Yeah. He... uh... offered us some help. Training. Support."

"Good," she said firmly. "Because you're going to need it if you think you're continuing this... this hero business."

Both boy and symbiote stared at her. "You mean...?"

"Rules," she said, holding up her hand. "Many, many rules. Curfew on school nights. Grades stay up. You text me your location. You train properly. And..." she took a deep breath, "you tell me the truth. Always. No more secrets."

"Mom..." he hugged her tightly, the symbiote forming a gentle embrace around them both.

"Also," she added, wiping her eyes, "you're grounded for two weeks for lying about where you were today."

*That's fair,* the symbiote agreed.

"But what about protecting the city?" the boy asked.

His mother smiled tiredly. "I think New York can survive without Antivenom for two weeks. Except..." she glanced at the clock, "you both have about ten minutes to explain to your Aunt May why you missed Sunday dinner during an alien invasion."

The boy's face went pale. "Oh no. Aunt May is scarier than the Chartori."

*Much scarier,* the symbiote agreed.

His mother finally laughed, the tension breaking. "Go. But be back in an hour. And..." she touched the symbiote gently, "thank you. For protecting my son."

As they swung through the city toward Aunt May's apartment, the boy couldn't help grinning. "That went better than expected."

*Your mother is strong. Like you.*

"Yeah," he agreed, looking at the city – their city – spread out below them. "Now we just have to survive Aunt May's lecture about missing her meatloaf."

The symbiote shuddered. *Perhaps we should have stayed to fight more aliens.*

Their laughter echoed across the New York skyline as they swung toward their next challenge – facing a worried aunt with a cold meatloaf and too many questions.

Some battles were easier than others.