In the Caribbean Sea off the coast of the Isla de Huesos, a surviving piece of the Dark Carnage symbiote separates from the remains of its host - devoured by the Symbiote Hive at the command of the newly apotheosized Eddie Brock - and bonds to a nearby butterflyfish. Coming across a great white shark, the symbiote transfers to it. Sometime later, the reborn Crimson Leviathan encounters a Somali pirate on a ramshackle boat and lunges out of the Indian Ocean at him. Washing ashore, the pirate - taken over by the symbiote - makes his way to a meeting between a Somali warlord and an American arms-dealer, smiling menacingly as red-and-black tendrils creep across his eyes.
At a political rally, Senator Peter Krane delivers a speech to a crowd of supporters about how humanity must assert its place as the dominant species on Earth against threats such as mutants and symbiotes, and the deportation of any and all extraterrestrials currently residing on Earth. Mocking the President's dedication of a memorial to the lives lost during Knull's invasion, Senator Krane announces his partnership with the Friends of Humanity. After the rally, Senator Krane meets with his advisors, who tell him that his streaming numbers are unprecedented. Krane's son Arthur objects to the hardline anti-extraterrestrial stance, asking if his father really wants to be known as the man who deported Thor or Hyperion. Senator Krane calmly tells his son to never express those sentiments out-loud again, saying that he just became the face of the anti-alien movement and is one extraterrestrial genocide away from becoming the next President.

Stepping off an airplane, the arms-dealer who had attended the meeting in Somalia is hailed as "Doctor Millar" by a young man with blond hair, who remarks that he's younger than expected. The driver escorts "Doctor Miller" to his car, asking if he has any luggage. Replying that he doesn't, Doctor Miller remarks that he's ravenously hungry. As the driver pulls out of the airport parking lot, he asks if "Doctor Miller" didn't eat on the flight over, "Doctor Miller" remarking that some of the flight attendants' brains got in his mouth but that he'd hardly call that a meal. Turning on some music, "Doctor Miller" ignores the unnerved driver until the driver gets a text message, asking if something is wrong. The driver replies that the message is from the real Doctor Millar, the arms-dealer turning up the volume on the music, his teeth lengthening into fangs as he says in a distorted voice that that's bad news indeed. Blood spatters the windows of the car and the bloodied driver throws open the door and desperately tries to jump out, but is pulled inside by red-and-black tendrils. As the car's door slams shut, blood pours out onto the road.

In Manhattan, the recently-resurrected Flash Thompson has secured employment helping unload supplies for a local shelter from a truck. Flash asks one of his coworkers, a fellow vet named Hank, how his wife Tessa is doing. Hank replies that Tessa never liked his military service and is glad to have him home, adding that while he likes working for the shelter he doesn't find it very fulfilling and is thinking about going into the security sector. Prompted by Flash, Hank remarks that while the military wasn't for him he got used to the intensity and finds unloading boxes boring by comparison, saying he wants to feel like he's doing something that matters by protecting people. As Flash says he'll keep an eye out for any job openings, he suddenly staggers as he hears the song "Doctor Miller" had been listening to in his head. Flash suddenly finds himself in a blood-soaked car being driven by "Doctor Miller", who speaks to him in Cletus Kasady's voice. Flash protests that Cletus is dead, but "Doctor Miller" laughs and says there's only dead men in the car. Glancing into the back seat, Flash is horrified to see the mostly-eaten corpse of the driver. "Doctor Miller" mockingly says Flash knows better than any

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