C 19

After Eddie and Dora separated, Eddie gazed towards downtown San Francisco, his expression thoughtful, before turning and heading toward the suburbs. Moments later, his face contorted as he felt his body twist involuntarily.

"Hungry... I want to eat!" a deep, alien voice echoed within his mind.

"What?" Eddie's eyes widened, finally certain that the voice wasn't a hallucination. There really was someone – or something – inside him.

"What do you want to eat?" he asked sarcastically, holding out his hands helplessly. He recalled with horror the moment he had bitten someone's head off while escaping the experimental base. His stomach churned, and he grimaced, muttering, "Don't tell me you want to eat people..."

Before he could finish his thought, his body moved on its own, accelerating with unnatural speed.

"Aw, hell!" Eddie cursed under his breath as he realized he had lost control.

Meanwhile, in New York at The Daily Bugle, Anton received an email containing critical information. He promptly contacted Phil, instructing him to head to a location in San Francisco to meet a woman named Dora Skirth.

Dora, grateful to finally find allies, shared everything she knew about Carlton Drake's unethical experiments. She detailed the cruel, inhumane methods of the Life Foundation and the experiments that preyed on the homeless.

Phil, under Anton's guidance, crafted a thousand-word article revealing Drake's twisted ambitions while carefully referring to the alien symbiotes as "mysterious experiments."

In his writing, Phil portrayed Drake as a ruthless villain, focusing on how the Life Foundation manipulated vulnerable individuals and exploited families of researchers to secure compliance.

Once published on The Daily Bugle website, the article spread like wildfire. In no time, it became one of the most-read pieces on the site, garnering millions of hits. The Daily Bugle quickly gained a reputation as a crusader for justice, praised by the public as "the last conscience of journalism."

Over at Oscorp, Norman Osborn saw the public outrage and knew this was the perfect opportunity to strike. Pleased with Anton's initiative, he called in his secretary, instructing her to formally submit an acquisition proposal to the board.

Oscorp would soon take over the Life Foundation. Leaning back with a triumphant smile, Norman muttered, "Symbiosis... I must have it."

Norman then ordered his bodyguards to find Eddie in San Francisco before the Life Foundation could capture him, threatening that failure would not be tolerated. The race was on.

Back at The Daily Bugle, Anton sat in his office, looking out at the night sky and reflecting on how much the last few days had taken out of him. "These have been the most exhausting days of my life," he muttered, though a hint of satisfaction lingered in his voice.

The newspaper's recent articles had sparked enormous public backlash against the Life Foundation, with every new release stirring even more outrage.

Despite the seeming lull from the Life Foundation, Anton knew they were hunting Eddie relentlessly. He wired a significant amount of money to Eddie to support him while he was on the run, knowing that it was the best he could do for now.

Meanwhile, the Life Foundation had finally uncovered Eddie's identity and tracked his escape route. Carlton Drake's fury was palpable, but instead of retaliating publicly, he ordered his team to release Dora's family as a facade of goodwill. It was a calculated move to appear cooperative and avoid further bad press.

In the midst of this chaos, Anton finally received some good news: the filming for Batman Begins was complete. After nearly three months, the film had entered post-production. Drawing on his prior knowledge, Anton had prepared many of the special effects shots in advance, speeding up the editing process significantly.

Working with the editor for three intense days, Anton cut the footage down to a thrilling 140-minute blockbuster.

When Jim, one of the producers, saw the finished film, he was visibly impressed. "Anton, this is incredible work. I never thought a film made on such a tight schedule would look this polished." Jim's initial reservations vanished as he marveled at the cinematic quality.

With production wrapped up, the focus shifted to distribution and marketing. The Batman novel, serialized in The Daily Bugle, had already gained a devoted readership, especially in New York. This initial popularity gave Anton the idea to host the film's premiere in the city.

"If we can invite Tony Stark to the premiere, it would be a game-changer for publicity," Jim suggested.

"Don't worry," Anton replied with a knowing smile. "This is Tony's investment, after all. He wouldn't miss it."

…

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