Maximum Carnage
Issue 1

by Justin Anderson



Notes: Basically set in the Marvel Universe, I will be using a lot of my
own continuity for this series, and generally focus on the main characters.
Appearances by Marvel's universe will be special occurrences. Crossovers with
characters/titles from other companies will be treated as "single universe",
not as "2 universes crossing temporarily". I will also try to ignore major
Marvel comic story arcs. Cletus Kasady, Carnage, and other Marvel characters
are copyright Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Other characters are either
my creation(copyright myself), or copyright their specific owners if non-
Marvel licensed characters. Characters used without permission/not for
profit. These are strictly fan stories. Permission to reprint extends to
placing this text, unaltered, elsewhere online. It may not be altered,
and especially NOT TO BE SOLD, unless Marvel wishes to license this series
from me.



 Our story begins in February, the year 2001. It is Tuesday the 6th, 
approximately 7:30 in the evening. All that can be seen is a dark room,
lit by the windows in the large double doors. All we can see are the tables
inside, covered with various pieces of lab equipment. This is one of the
laboratory facilities in the 19th floor of the Jacobs Research Labs, a large
facility on the outskirts of Manhattan. This lab is responsible for genetic
research- study of genes, their structure, purpose, and other areas-
classified areas. The public only knows so much; after all, only floors
1-5 are open to the public. Not even the FDA knows everything about what
goes on here.
 
 Only one man knows that- he is Aram Wilson Jacobs, one of the world's
most intelligent scientists. Rich beyond what most of us will ever earn
in our lifetimes, his 258 IQ has brought about numerous discoveries in the
field of genetics. Including one field that is of interest to him. And if
he's on the right track, this field could lead to one of the greatest 
discoveries of mankind's history. But he doesn't care about helping mankind.
Only he knows why he works. And shortly, his plans will erupt into this
world.....and many lives will be forever changed.

 Jacobs stood in the dark lab, waiting. The wait was over. The doors flew 
open. Two of his loyal security guards marched in, carrying a man bound in
several restraints. Thrown to the floor, the cloth over his head was pulled
off. Now things start to get complicated- the man is Cletus Kasady; aka
Carnage. But not even Kasady is a danger. The marks on his face and torso
indicate why. He's been beaten within inches of his own life. The drugs
have also seen to keeping him still.

"Welcome"

Kasady looked up.

"Who....the hell..."

Jacobs walked into the light. He wasn't afraid. Kasady was drugged and beaten.
His guards had their rifles pointed at the killer. And even if that failed,
he doubted even one of the sharp symbiotic blades could pierce his long black
coat- a long, black coat made from a bullet-proof polymer. Jacobs always 
took strict measures to ensure his safety.

"Mr. Cletus Kasady. You are soon going to be part of something....grand.
You are going to help me achieve something that man has hoped for- eternal
life"

"Why...should I...."

Before he could finish, Jacobs smashed his fist across Kasady's face hard.
The force knocked Kasady back several feet, onto his back. He could barely
move. Jacobs took the chance to clamp a large bracelet onto the dazed
killer's wrist. Kasady managed to pull himself up to his knees within a few
minutes.

"Hey....what's with the-"

Jacobs pressed a button on a small remote. An electric shock pulsed through
Kasady's body. The killer fell unconscious.


ZZZAPP

"......wake up..."

Kasady came to. He was strapped to a table. A defibrillator sat on a cart next 
to him.

"Now then.....now that you know what your wrist gauntlet can do, it would
be advisable you do as I say. The next time, it may be too late to give
you a shock. And don't ever think of trying to remove it. Breaking the
connection will be worse than if I press the button. And in case you're 
thinking of killing me for the remote, several of my guards have duplicates.
Besides, only I can remove it. Understand?"

Kasady shook his head meagerly.

"Good"

Jacobs turned to several doctors nearby.

"Give him stimulants and treatment. I want to prepare him in an hour"

Jacobs left to prepare the 'grand tour'.


8:45 PM

 The elevator door to the 20th floor opened. Two guards forced Cletus out
at gunpoint. Jacobs stood several feet away, watching the men. 

"Welcome to the top floor of Jacobs Research Labs. Here is where I hope...
no, await the day all this hard work pays off. Come"

The guards pushed Kasady forward. They walked up to a locked door.

"Put this on"

He threw each man a filtration mask.

"Wouldn't want to catch anything nasty, would we?"

Jacobs swiped a key card through the lock. The door opened.

"Leave us. You don't have a reason to see what's inside"

The guards lowered their weapons and left. After they were out of sight,
he pushed the door open. Both men entered. Inside was a long corridor. Lining
the sides were rooms with large lexan doors, each locked. Inside were various
genetic freaks. 

"Big deal, you have a mutant zoo"

"No, not a zoo, Cletus. Experiments. These are the failures"

Kasady noticed that as the hall went on, the mutations were fewer for each
individual. The worst was a writhing pile of animal parts. The least severe 
was a man with octopus tentacles for arms, and a sickening white skin.

" 'Failure' would be putting it lightly. What kind of 'experiments',
anyway?"

"You'll soon find out"

They continued on. Cletus saw a lot of empty rooms. He figures the experiments
weren't quite over. He also figures this is where he fit in. At the end,
more double doors. Inside, numerous lab technicians were hard at work. Both
men entered.

"You can use your symbiote with that on. Go ahead"

Kasady displayed his symbiote, aside from his head, and the left wrist
gauntlet, which blocked the symbiote with its mild microwave radio
field.

"Cletus. You will be a part of all of this. You will be a large help to
me. How? As you could tell from our little walk, I am out of test subjects.
I need more. You will get them for me"

"........heh?"

"You heard me!"

"Why me? Shocker too busy?"

Jacobs straightened himself. He didn't want to lose his temper. Not at the
risk of breaking a tube of necessary liquids. 

"Erm, no. You are a known serial killer. Our phony prison transfer was
just a cover. Technically, you escaped. I need you to collect subjects
for me. As it is, missing persons reports are becoming too many. I can
no longer risk sending my men out. It's also the reason I have to keep
my failed tests. Nothing can get out about what I am doing! I can barely
allow my guards to leave the facility. I and the other scientists have
to live here to keep it a secret. If one of my men is caught kidnapping
people off the street, it could be traced back. And the experiments are
not finished.

 This is where you fit in. If a lot of people disappear because of you,
well, you gain all the suspicion. The police assume they're all dead, so
they won't look for these people. And I only need a few more. I'm close
to achieving my goals here. "

"You lost me..."

"Cletus, I should explain. I have found something....wonderful. I was
able to prove that aging could be stopped. That life could never end.
And even by study of mutant genetic, even tissue regeneration. However,
I have not perfected the change. The catalyst I need to attach itself
to the DNA strands is not perfected. If I were to use it now, I would
mutate, and die. I have perfected the DNA attachment, yes, but not the
effects. But I am close. Regeneration is achieved. The most recent test
even survived being shot in the head!"

Cletus was becoming more and more interested the more he heard.

"Now, all I must do is perfect the frozen aging and prevent mutation.
I anticipate only a few more weeks of work on this. Then...."

"....then? Well, I doubt you're going to market the stuff, but tell me
anyway!"

"....THEN.... I inject myself and my loyal servants. Then....this world...
this existence.... will all belong to me. Why don't I deserve it? I am
intelligent, rich, and have managed to unlock many secrets. I have not
received much for what I have accomplished. I think I deserve it. Even if
I don't....I'm taking it. And you...you play your cards right....you will
be rewarded"

Cletus was no longer upset. The beatings, druggings..... if immortality
was a possibility, with a chunk of the world attached, well, this guy
could smack him around all he wanted. 

"Now, Cletus. Tomorrow.....you go hunting!"



Wednesday, February 7th. 10:16 AM

 Jack Arden was below average. He had lost his family when he was only
eight. His grandfather, and only living relative, had died when he was
seventeen. For the past 4 years, he had been a professional drifter.
Part time jobs were his specialty. When you had a partial third grade
education, the high paying jobs were not asking for you. He currently
resided in an old apartment deep in Queens. A rat-infested dump he called
home.

 Today, he had some money. Money was a rarity to him. Low-paying jobs,
coupled with the fact he had been declared dead after the house fire, only
those who didn't ask questions were his bosses. His recent job was delivery
for a local drug dealer. He didn't use the stuff himself, but he wasn't
picky about what he did, as long as it wasn't perverted or involved killing.
Besides, he didn't ask questions. Shame his employer was hit in a drive-by.
Oh well, back to looking.

 He sat at a table in a small eatery in Manhattan. Munching on a ham
sandwich, he thumbed through the Daily Bugle. 

'More Spider-Man stories....more on Bush....Peanuts comic replaced with
stupid "Pokemon" strip....Daily Bullcrap is more like it"

His thoughts were the only thing in order today. That, and the semi-fresh
clothes he had just purchased. Shame his apartment had no running water, or
he could have bathed. Outside, he saw the bus pull up. Stuffing the sandwich
in his mouth, he got up, tossed the paper, and left. He crawled onto the
public bus and paid the fare. He didn't notice the driver. Sitting down,
he took his ride as a chance to rest for a while until he hit Brooklyn.
Hot tip about someone hiring to make deliveries. Deliveries of what, he
didn't know...nor did he care. It was a paying job.

 But not today. The bus didn't drive the usual route. It took Jack a few
minutes to realize something was wrong. It passed up the next stop. The driver
turned his head. His suit mutated into a red costume. Carnage.

"Okay, kiddies! We're going on a ride! No getting off, no stops. Enjoy
your ride! Hee hee!"

Jack knew who Carnage was. And with Carnage in the driver's seat, he knew
he wasn't getting that job. Nor was anyone else on board doing anything.
Oh well. he figured, at worst, he'd die. And even that had the advantage
of him not having to worry about getting through the day. Not that he wasn't
trying to figure out an escape. But the window would take too long
to open, and he's be speared before he reached the emergency door. He could
only hope a police car would follow in pursuit.

 But Carnage was driving the speed limit and had gone back to human. No 
way to send a signal either. Not without getting himself killed, anyway. 
And he didn't see the need to risk his own life for strangers. They'd 
never helped him, after all. He sat back in his seat and closed his eyes, 
knowing whatever happened, he still had to wait.....


END OF ISSUE 1