A group of people arrived at the Life Foundation's research division. Riot saw something that enraged them. "Why? Why has one of my kind died?"
Riot's Symbiote head extended from Carlton Drake's body, glaring furiously at their host.
Carlton Drake showed no fear, remaining calm and composed. "This is Earth's first contact with extraterrestrial creatures like you. When we knew nothing at all about your physiological makeup, such mistakes were the price of learning.
"I regret it, and I can apologize. But before this happened, no one knew what would happen. Not a single one of your kind was willing to communicate with us. You can't blame us for that."
"Damn it!" Riot cursed, withdrawing into Carlton Drake's body.
The sight was terrifying, but Carlton Drake, the man at its center, paid no heed to the looks of those around him. He merely beckoned disdainfully to a researcher nearby. "Come. Open the laboratory door."
Of the three Symbiote specimens possessed by the Life Foundation, one had already died. The slime-mold-like Symbiote had lost its vitality and lay scattered across the floor. Anyone who touched it would discover that only its surface had hardened; inside, it was just a disgusting mush.
Another Symbiote had parasitized a suitable host the Life Foundation had struggled to find. This person had merely avoided being eaten to death by the Symbiote immediately, but they would not survive for many more days.
The last Symbiote remained in its primitive form inside a specially made glass tank.
Carlton Drake entered first, walking into the laboratory holding a female parasitized host who looked sickly, drenched in cold sweat, and pale-faced.
She hugged her knees and curled up in a corner against the wall.
Carlton Drake lifted the person sitting on the floor with one hand, displaying astonishing arm