Maximum Carnage, Year 2
Issue 18 - "The General's Daughter's Savior"

by Justin Anderson


 

Monday, April 25th. 1:10 PM

 Cletus stood beside the couch, watching out the window as the vehicles pulled
up. Two black cars, and a limousine. His boss. He watched as the doors opened
and the men exited. Three NSA agents, and a lone general. He stood as the front
door opened. He knew he was about to be sent on a mission. Whatever it was,
he was on his own. Jack had been sent off earlier that morning on his own assignment.
Crime must be having a field day today to split the team.

"Cletus. I hope you're ready for your mission briefing"

 It was General Peterson, the secret head of the NSA. The one who had asked the
two to become "unofficial" agents. In other words, to take care of situations
the law couldn't touch, and bring a more immediate end, regardless of how
many people died. Deep down, Cletus didn't trust this guy. 

"Yes, sir....what slime do I get to crawl through this time?"

"Oh, Cletus, nothing like that. No, Jack is handling that right now. No....
you are needed for something a little more.....delicate. You see, my daughter
and I have not had any contact in 20 years. However, I still love her, and
I still consider her close. And right now, I suspect her husband is abusing
her and her daughter. Her doctor sent me some x-rays of her broken arm a few
months ago. She claims she tripped, but he says otherwise. But she refuses to
admit anything."

"And....you want me to get the guy"

"Not exactly. No, I can't risk her finding out what I do. She would hate me,
possibly expose me. But you can come in useful. She hasn't heard about her
brother Jacob's death yet. You will drop by her home to deliver the news. Official
business, more or less. You'll be going in with your official military rank, 
and your official alter-ego, William Meyers. The one I supplied you with not
long ago"

"Riiiiight. Okay, where, when, and how fast?"

"Los Angeles. Immediately. By tonight. You will arrive at LAX, military jet.
You will be accompanied by a corporal, who will take you to her home. You will
arrive before her husband does. Make sure you stay. Stay for dinner if you have 
to. I will give you extra papers to delay your stay if necessary. But make 
sure you watch him. As soon as he makes a move, either a slap, a smack, a
rude comment, rough him up. Get her out of the room. Make sure my granddaughter
stays safe. But I want him. Alive. He's my business now. No one messes with
the children of Robert Peterson and gets away with it!"


4:56 PM, Los Angeles

 Cletus exited the car outside the suburban home. A two-story home, painted
yellow, nestled among similar homes. Trees and yards adorned the area. A
peaceful scene. He straightened his green uniform, the rank insignias and
badges catching the sun. The ones he didn't earn, but were issued to give
him believable status. His hat blocked the sun from his eyes. For now, he was
William Meyers, Army Lieutenant. And he had an assignment. He checked over the
initial papers on the matter just so he knew some minor details. He turned to
the Corporal.

"Corporal....find a spot to park. Come back here and stand outside the door.
Move only if I say so"

"Yes, sir!"

The car drove off, leaving Cletus to walk up the stone walkway. Climbing the
steps, he rang the doorbell. Seconds later, the door opened. A woman in her
forties, blonde hair, answered.

"Mrs. Michelle Conner?"

"Yes?"

"Can I come in a second?"

"Yes, of course"

She let him in the home. She could see by his uniform, he was here on official
business. He was led into the living room.

"Mrs. Conner, I am Lieutenant William Meyers, US Army. You have a brother,
Jacob Roberts, correct?"

"Yes....I haven't seen him in five years though. Why, he in trouble?"

"He's dead"

She dropped into the couch. The news had hit her like a sack of falling
pianos.

"But....I knew he was a Federal Agent, but....how?"

"Yes. He was on a mission. Small criminal operation in Arizona. Man selling
kidnapped children. He was shot while investigating. You may have heard about
the incident. Some vigilantes moved in and blew up the area before we could
regroup"

"Right....well..."

She stopped her sentence as a man entered the room. He was fairly tall, with
thinning black hair. Middle-aged, not in near the physical condiiton Cletus
was.

"Where's dinner? And who's this?"

"Larry, this is Lieutenant-"

"Let him speak up for himself"

Cletus turned to face the man. He could see the Corporal moving up the porch.

"Lieutenant William Meyers, US Army. I was asked to come by to..."

The man stepped forward, his right arm out, pointing a finger forward.

"I don't care who you are, you get- AAAH!"

He let out a growl as Cletus grabbed his wrist and squeezed.

"Mister, I am trained in military combat. I could kill you without trying.
But I wouldn't need to. There is a Corporal outside the door. The both of
us could hold you and drag you out of here if necessary. Understand?"

 Larry simply shook his head. Cletus let go. Cletus knew he was lying, but
then again, so was his costume and his current name. A deception General
Peterson had set up. To save his daughter. Cletus decided he had to go with
it, make this believable. If he was to correct his mistakes as Carnage, long
ago, he had to save this woman. Cletus turned as he heard footsteps along
the staircase. It was a young girl, roughly eighteen. She had black hair,
held in a ponytail. 

"Mom...what's going on?"

"Nothing, sweetie. Dinner will be ready soon"

"Okay. Oh, who's this?"

Cletus had just remembered to remove his hat.

"This is Lieutenant William Meyers. He was here to pass something on"

"Oh, okay. Call me when dinner's ready"

 The girl went back up the stairs. Cletus could see why the General was so
disturbed. This family was on a powder keg named Larry. And he had to do 
someting, orders or not. He removed the envelope from his jacket.

"I have more details on your brother's death, if you'd like explanations
or anything cleared up"

"Oh, yes....listen, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Well, I don't..."

"Just a second. Larry, do you mind if the Lieutenant stays for dinner?"

The man was still rubbing his wrist.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I just want him outta here in an hour, or else!"

Cletus almost laughed at the threat. He thought it, but didn't say it-

'Or what? I'll snap you in half, you piece of human garbage?'

 He simply sat and watched the woman enter the kitchen. She hid it well, but he
knew she was afraid. It wasn't something an abused woman showed in front of
a stranger, especially out of fear that stranger might take away the abuse,
which, in their abused mind, the person abusing them is seen as a special person.
Cletus had seen enough of these abusers in his days in the asylums. They thought
they were doing nothing wrong, and often, the wife refused testimony. The thought
of losing their 'provider' proved more painful than the beatings. If not for
the integrity of this mission, Cletus would have drawn the pistol from his belt 
and shot this man right where he stood.

 As he thumbed through the contents of the large envelope, preparing himself
in case he needed to explain anything on the documents, he heard some noises
in the kitchen. A loud smack, followed by a scream of pain. The arguments cut
through him.

"FASTER! I'M HUNGRY!"

"Please....no...."

 It was loud. Loud enough to send their daughter rushing down the stairs. Cletus
couldn't take it anymore. The more he heard, the worse it got. It was happening
again. The Alt-World wasn't this bad. He wished he was still there. But no
twisted imagery from a Dark God could compare to the evils of man. 

He really wished Jack was here.

"Please....help her!"

Cletus looked up.

"Stay here!"

 He drew his pistol and pulled back on the hammer. He bolted towards the large
swinging door and crashed through it. He rose his pistol. He had picked up a
large knife and was moving towards her. Whether or not he would kill her didn't
matter. To Cletus, he was fighting Carnage again. Not the physical being, but
an idea. He almost emptied his clip, but reality snapped him out of it. This
would stop, but not in blood.

"DROP THAT KNIFE, OR I DROP YOU!"

 Both of them stopped, the woman in a daze. Her husband stood still, knife in
hand. He looked down the barrel of the gun.

"Come on...you don't really think I was-"

"I said drop it. Move so much as an inch the wrong way, I'll turn you into a
new paint color" 

He faced Michelle, not moving his gun or his focus.

"Get out of here"

She hesitated, but seeing she was safe, she made her way across the floor,
over the dropped pans and into the other room.

"Just you and me.....play nice, and you may get out of this a winner"

"You don't have the guts-"

 Larry never got to finish his sentence. He fell to the floor, unconscious.
Cletus saw the reason. Three small silver darts in his back. The head of one
of many NSA agents visible in a nearby window. The agent waved for Cletus to
get the man out of the house. Cletus had one thought-

'Dammit....'

 Holstering his pistol, he pulled the darts out and shoved them in his pocket,
being careful not to stick himself on the needles. He ran out of the room.
Moving to the front door, he opened it andbrought his escort in. 

"What's going on?"

"Ma'am, your husband is under arrest for assaulting a military officer. He
came at he with that knife. I knocked him out. Corporal, help me carry him
outside"

"Yes, sir"

"Is that all you can say?"

"No, but as of now, I'm on duty, assigned to aide you, so I will not speak out
of turn, sir"

"Stop that! Just....help me"

They entered the kitchen and carried the unconscious heap outside. Cletus sat
him on the porch swing.

"Corporal, get the car"

 The man saluted and stepped onto the walkway. Moving down the road to the 
dark green car, he entered, turned the key, and backed down the road, finally
pulling into the driveway in front of the house. He existed, helping Cletus
stuff the man in the back seat.

"Where are you taking him?"

Cletus turned to face the General's daughter.

"Classified. He'll be held until he regains consciousness, then questioned.
We'll notify you. I left the envelope on your brother inside so you can
look over it"

"But...but..."

Cletus walked over to the passenger's side and entered. The Corporal backed out
and drove down the road. Turning a corner, they were waved down by a man in a 
black suit. 

"Corporal, stop the car"

 The car came to a halt. Cletus identified the man as the same Agent who had
fired the darts. The man entered the back seat, stuffing the prisoner to
the other side. The Corporal removed his helmet and unbuttoned his shirt.
he wore a brown suit underneath. 

"I'm not really a Corporal, so I decided to underact rather than overact"

"What the hell? I'm not a real Lieutenant! I just hope she didn't suspect this
was some sort of sting"

"Don't worry, you did fine. We did fine. Right, Arkin?"

The agent in the back seat had just removed his glasses.

"Yeah. Let's get to LAX. There's a jet waiting for us. This package has
someone waiting on it"


8:01 PM, Phoenix

 The room was dark, aside from the few dim lights from the ceiling. A small
metal chair sat near the back wall, a man tied down to it. It was Larry
Conner, the abusive husband. Except someone was about to use him as his own 
whipping boy.

 The crowd stepped in. Three men in black suits, a US Army General, and one
of our heroes, Clets Kasady. He was no longer in his phony uniform, but his
standard shirt and jeans. They moved towards the man, still woozy from his
drugging. He looked up to see his worst nightmare about to come true. General
Peterson moved right next to him.

"Hello, Larry. Remember me?"

"...y..you....I should'a known, you frightening bastard..."

"Oh, really?"

The General brought the back of his left fist across the man's face, hard.

"Cletus, hand me the syringe. We're going to find out who the real 'creepy
bastard' is here!"

Cletus handed him the syringe and bottle. The General filled the device with
a mild amount of the liquid, and pulling the needle from the rubber top,
stuck it in the man's arm and injected it.

"Now....let's see how you do with some sodium penathol in your system. You
see, Lawrence, I know what you've been doing. And I don't like it. Just
because I live so far away doesn't mean I can't find out. I can find out
everything about anyone given the resources. Agent Arkin, hit that recorder
for me...."

The Agent pressed the record button on a small pocket-sized tape recorder.

"Now then.... did you hit my daughter?"

"....y...yes.."

"You can't lie to me. Not with that drug in your system. Now, did you break
her arm five months ago?"

"..yes"

 General Peterson continued the questions, each becoming more graphic and severe.
And the answers varied. 'Yes' to most, 'no' to just a few. The conversation
was recorded the entire time for record keeping purposes. Finally, after fifteen
minutes, he was done.

"Larry, Larry....you really did yourself in. And in the worst way, too. Now,
you have to be punished. But don't worry.....you'll live"

Cletus took a step forward. The light caught his clothing.

"I...knew you....were phony...."

He turned to the small chair.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter now, asshole. Oh, and since you won't be telling
anyone....I'm really Cletus Kasady, the former insane murderer! HA HA HA HEE
HEE HAHAHA!"

 Larry let out a loud, terrifying scream. Not that it would do him any good.
They were several floors underground. No one but NSA Agents could hear him
at this point. The few in the area. General Peterson flipped on a light switch.
This was nothing more than a small room, no decorations other than ugly green 
tile. A secret interrogation room. By current knowledge, the US didn't know
this place existed. Meaning, laws didn't apply. Pumping a suspect with truth
serum was allowed here. No 'going by the book'. Cletus wondered how many people
were brought here, how much history centered on people spilling their guts
in this room.

 The two Agents uncuffed Larry's arms and untied his ankles, and carried the
weak man out of the room.

"Where are they taking him?"

"Cletus, remember that chip put into your brain to calm you down, the time
you went to Gotham City?"

"How could I forget? It's still there! Symbiote shorted it out after it was
put in, but it did work on the other guy!"

"Exactly. We've licensed that technology on a smaller scale, secretive basis.
He will be getting one of those for himself. I can't kill him, otherwise Michelle
will know it was me. And Melissa, my granddaughter, I can't have her hating me
the rest of her life"

"Well....it has to be done"

"You've had a long day, Cletus. You should get home and get some rest"


11:54 PM

 Cletus stepped in the front door. He looked around. No lights.

"JACK?"

General Peterson entered after him.

"Jack isn't back yet. He's still on his mission"

"Just what was his mission, anyway?"

"Oh, that. Well, to put it simply, soemthing that may, or may not, be a living
Screelak has been sighted. He's been sent to try to take it alive. It was a
one man operation. And I had the other assignment anyway, and...."

"...and, you wanted to see how I'd do"

The General removed his hat.

"Yes. You see, Cletus, I needed to make absolutely sure you were a murderer 
because of a spiritual influence, and not because you had some hidden desire.
But I think this settles it for me. If you were really an insane murderer, 
deep down, you would have shot him immediately today. But you didn't. You did
as I ordered. As far as I'm concerned, and as far as I'm outting on your
records, Cletus Kasady is innocent of all crimes. Carnage was the criminal
in all cases, and that entity is currently separate, and incarcerated"

"Really? But....I don't care if I was posessed, I was-"

"No. Not as far as anyone is concerned anymore. Everyone else has accepted
this. Do it for yourself. Oh, yes, one more thing. Would you like to do
any tests on the immortality serum?"

"What? Well, it has crossed my mind. But Jack keeps it hidden, and I don't
think..."

The General pulled a cell phone from his pocket.

"Call him tomorrow morning. Get his okay, and call me. Just say our names.
You will have full lab facility access. Now...I have to be going. I have a 
meeting in Washington tomorrow. Good night"

Cletus watched as the General left the house and went back to his waiting
transport. He only thought one thing-

'Good night yourself.....and thanks, you "creepy bastard"'


THE END


Aothor's Notes: What was Jack up to all this time? Find out next issue.



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 occurences. 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.