Maximum Carnage, Year 2
Issue 22 - "Triazo-mean"

by Justin Anderson



Friday, April 26th. 8:34 PM
 
 Jack was starting to have slight regrets about leaving the Red Dwarf. At
least there, he had stuff to do. Here, it was sit and watch television. That
is, when they weren't being trucked around to do vigilante work. He already
missed Zero Gee Soccer. And did programming suck today. He flipped through the
channels. He stopped on what he thought was a music video......no such luck.

".....when you love her with all your heart, show her you mean it...with a
dia-"

Jack raised an angry middle finger as he flipped through the channels once
more. He stopped on what looked to be a promising movie. Promising, until he
found it to be a romantic film. Jack saw the couple kiss. He started feeling
slightly depressed as he kept watching. He flipped the channel again. Finally.
A "Whole Line" marathon. Jack had one thought though, one which he couldn't
ignore-

'....damn drug's wearing off again....' 

 It was common for Jack. He could tell when the drug was wearing off. And
he did what he always did when he could feel it wearing off- get up and get the
bottle. He crawled off the couch and made his way up the stairs to his room.
He dug around in his top drawer for the small bottle, but couldn't find it.


 Cletus entered the front door. He had just finished his final inspection of
the Harley Davidson that sat outside. He had learned to ride during the
retirement, but never had the cash to get a bike. Now that he was covert
government material, he could get one with no cost to him. He was starting
to like the arrangement. As he reached the top of the stairs, he could hear
Jack rummaging in his room. How could he miss it? It was loud. He moved to
the door.

"Jack......tell me, what is triazomine?"

Jack stopped digging through the mess on the floor, but didn't turn his head
yet. He had one thought to get to first.

'....shit!'

He began digging again, slowly. He didn't turn his attention away as he answered.

".....vitamins......why?"

"Forget it, Jack. I looked it up. Now, why are you taking drugs?"

"I feel like it! If you took 'em, give 'em back!"

 Cletus straightened his shirt, looking for an excuse not to answer. But he
had no choice. Jack had been with him a long time. He always knew what to do
out in the field, against whatever they may have been facing at the time. It
was Jack who had helped him on the road to redeeming himself. And he owed
Jack a lot for that. And he had no choice but to answer, no matter how much
it would piss his partner off.

"I tossed them. Listen, Jack, I know you're not sick. If the drug caused any
side effects, I'd be feeling them too, and-"

"SHUT UP!"

 Cletus straightened up as his friend sat on the floor, looking the other way.
He almost jumped as he heard a familiar clicking noise. And he didn't know what
to think when Jack turned, a pistol facing him.

"Clete......you goofed...."

 Cletus jumped in time to miss a hail of bullets. But his jump landed him at the
top of the stairs, with enough forward momentum to fall to the bottom floor.
He pulled himself up as he heard the footsteps above. And just his luck, he
was rather far from the front door.....and that thing had to open INWARD, didn't
it? He ran as fast as he could, the door mocking him a she tried to get it
open. He did, in time to miss more gun fire. And was he ever glad he left the
keys in his Harley. Jumping on, he hit the ignition. Starting the bike, he finally
sped down the strip of pavement, away from the house..... and from a friend,
who he had just turned into a complete lunatic.....


8:59 PM

"....yes, General. Right. Triazomine. I looked it up...... Yes, that's what
it does. Okay.......right. Well, please hurry....."

 Cletus closed the cell phone. He could have stopped some time ago and used it,
but he was too concerned with the mess Jack had become- a drug-crazed maniac
who would do anything for a fix. Even kill his only friend. One of those types
he'd adored as Carnage. Now it just made him sick. He heard the second bike approach
as he stuffed the phone back in the pouch on his own hog. He turned, expecting
a Corporal or an NSA agent. But it was neither. For once today, things were
starting to look up.

"....YOU?"

 Cletus looked him over. Blue suit, red and white striped, little wings on the hood...
how could he forget? This man was there once before when they needed help. Now
he was needed again. And Cletus knew this man could be a big help. Jack had a lot of
respect for this man. A man....known as Captain America.

"Cletus....I was in the area, and I figured I would stop in for a quick visit.
But......something's wrong, I can tell...."

"....yeah. Jack's lost it. He was popping some pills. I took his bottle and pitched
them. Then he went insane and tried...to shoot me"

"Where is he?"

"Back at the house.....it'll take us about twenty minutes to get there"

"We'll try to make it fifteen"


9:16 PM

 Cletus snuck around the side of the house. Jack had no doubt heard the bikes
pull up. But he hadn't shot at them yet. Cletus eyed the damage inside. The 
television was destroyed, as was the computer. The lights were off, making
a full survey impossible. But he could see Jack. Barely, since he was huddled
in a corner, his black coat over him. He could hear the mumblings.

"...can't....get a girl.....must save country....from demons....yeah, THINGS
THAT DON'T EXIST.....must be stopped...."

He made his way to the hero. 

"I don't know how long he's been taking those pills. But the fact I took them,
combined with the work we do, and have done.....he's out there. I don't think
he'll listen to me"

"Then let me talk to him"

"....right....just be careful. He's probably armed"

Cap made his way to the front window.

"Jack?"

The form inside stirred, but didn't get up.

"Jack, it's Captain America....can we talk?"

Jack stood. He stepped out from the shadows.

"Oh, Captain America..... the figurehead"

"Jack, you don't need to do this...."

Cap barely had enough time to raise his shield. If he hadn't seen Jack pull
his shotgun, he would have caught the full blast. The pellets bounced off.

"Well, CAPTAIN America, I have news for you. You're useless. You exist as a
public icon. You serve no other purpose. You don't make the country run....
I DO!"

Cap jumped out of the way as several more bursts were fired. He ran back to
Cletus.

"He won't listen.....either he's suffering terrible withdrawal....or..."

"Listen, he's just pissed off right now. I'm sure he didn't mean it. But all
we can do now is wait for our boss to show.....maybe he knows what to do..."


10:45 PM

 Cletus and Cap stood beside the General's limo as it stopped. Cap gave a
salute as General Peterson stepped out. 

"Please....at ease, Captain America....now, where is Jack?"

"In the house. He won't listen to me, and he shot at Cap here"

"Right....only one thing I can do right now...."

Cletus was worried. Would the General try to take Jack out? Or worse? He watched
as the man neared the window.

"Jack....it's General Peterson....I have something for you"

Jack stepped forward as the General reached inside his jacket. Jack expected
a raised pistol. Instead, he saw a calming sight. Two small pill bottles.

"Jack....it's Triazomine. All you could ever want"

 He threw one of the bottles through the window. Jack caught it. Opening the
bottle and examining the pills, he poured several down his throat and swallowed
them. Sitting on the couch, he dropped his shotgun, let out a chuckle, and
passed out. The General turned and moved away from the house. Cletus couldn't
believe it.

".....WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?"

"Listen Cletus.....he's an effective warrior. Intelligent and quick. I know
there's no excuse to support his habit, but he'll have to work out his
problems on his own. You're his friend, not his father. Please.....let him
handle it himself. He'll do it someday. Meanwhile, if those drugs keep him
in a state to make this country a better place, he will take them. It will
be his choice....not yours. Now....we'll discuss it later. Meanwhile, he probably
won't remember any of this when he wakes up. I'll have my men inventory what 
was destroyed and bring replacements. I'd suggest you don't bring it up!"

General Peterson walked off to give instructions to the agents who had come
along. He nodded to Captain America as he passed by.

"....nice guy. Your boss?"

"I'll explain someday. Thanks for your help, even if it was useless. But the
General is right.....if I hadn't interfered...."

"Cletus, you're a much different person than you once were. I don't know why,
or how, or how Carnage became separate from you....but you did what you had
to. If you hadn't interfered, you may as well have just stopped talking to him"

"Yeah....well, all I can do is continue working with him. He helped me redeem
myself....even if he isn't why I changed. And I owe him"

"Well, I should head out. Dr. Doom was believed to be moving some weapons in to his
country....."

"Yeah, you take care of him. Almost wish I could.....he'd probably be a light
case compared to the stuff we've gone against"

Cap saluted and walked off to his bike. Cletus at least got the knowledge he
hadn't screwed up. And while it didn't help Jack in any way....it helped
him. He was glad he had erased the former self. He straightened himself as the 
General passed by once again. He had a mean look on his face as he moved past.

"....I'll deal with you later, you insignificant worm...."

The General moved faster, around the corner of the house. He couldn't believe
it. as soon as no one else was around, he was threatened. He turned around,
almost ready to explode at the nearest agents. But his anger quickly subsided
when he saw General Peterson....talking with the same agents he was with seconds
ago. The General noticed Cletus staring blankly at him.

"Cletus.....you look like you've seen a ghost"

He turned his head back and forth from the General and the house.

"uhh.....I'm just tired"

"You've had a rough time here tonight. Go get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow"

Cletus turned and walked back to the house. Had he imagined it? He could only
hope so.


THE END

Author's notes: Yes, we're building up to the big year 3 story line. While
this was a simple, short part, the end should give a hint of bigger things
to come. Only 2 more issues until MC is thrown into another big fight, and
they will need all the light jobs they can get before that happens!


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.