For the entire battle, Ben had never tried to communicate.
He saw Venom as just another beast.
More intelligent, yes, but still another monster to put down.
Any words he spoke were taunts.
Every action focused only on killing.
Venom was different.
Among the Elemental Ravagers, he was the smartest.
He could think beyond instinct and survival.
While Ben had been testing his limits, Venom had been learning.
From the moment he approached Ben's base, curiosity had taken hold of him.
The walls, the weapons, the way the Krell moved with coordination, the traps, all of it was new.
He could have avoided most of the pitfalls and moved around the defenses, but instead he let the other Ravagers trigger them.
He watched and studied.
He adapted.
Even now, during their fight, he kept absorbing information.
He wondered what was possible and what was not.
He considered how to evolve his own army.
