Maximum Carnage, Year 2 Issue 23 - "What it's Worth" by Justin Anderson Monday, April 29th. 1:12 PM, Washington, D.C. Jack sat opposite the General. It was a quiet spot to meet and talk. A pleasant room. After all, it wasn't every day you got to have a peaceful conversation in the White House. "Well, Jack, what do you think?" "Hrm...?" Jack lowered the bottle of water from his lips. No point trying to answer his boss with a plastic bottle in the way. "Of the room..." Jack looked it over....for the ninth time. A nice room. White walls, blue carpet. He could see why it was called the 'Blue Room'. "Nicer than my room, I'll give it that" Circumstances for today were unusual, Jack knew that. President Bush was in the United Kingdom on a diplomatic visit. And it wasn't just anyone who could use the White House for private entertaining while the head man was away. Only General Robert Peterson could get that privilege. Besides, aside from one Secret Service and one NSA agent by the door, it was just the two of them. "You don't get out much, do you, Jack?" "Not particularly..." The General sat his coffee down on a small table which was sat near his chair. "Well, you have a nearby town in Arizona, and you can fly anywhere. Just let me know... no friends either, I assume?" "Nope....just Cletus, and he's more of a 'partner' than a friend. We exchange maybe.....forty words a day" General Peterson sipped his coffee and sat the cup back down. He waited for Jack to finish his bottled water before speaking again. "No girlfriend, either...." "No time. Last thing I need is another responsibility, or someone worrying about me when I'm on a job. Even if I can't....well, even if I did get a girl, she may not want the drug. And the eventual age difference..... no, I'll keep to myself for now. Way it's always been, and the way it's gonna stay for now..." "Well, you'll meet someone, someday.... just when you do, never let go. And if she'll become....the way you are, then let her. Otherwise, you end up losing it all in one fell swoop when your back is turned. Something I know all too well..... so, you want to see anything in particular while in the city?" "Hadn't given it much thought... aren't we overdue for another job?" "Not particularly. Nothing major is happening right now...nothing the established agencies can't handle just fine, anyway. Besides, the less you act, the better for public image. It helps that..... your physical descriptions were altered in the media. Most know 'Maximum Carnage' as a large, unshaven brute in a black coat and as a short, fat guy with a shotgun....and that's an advantage. But the less you work, the less attention will be drawn" Jack stuffed the empty bottle in his inner coat pocket. "And, Cletus wanted some time off too.... plus I imagine you could use the rest as well...." General Peterson was thankful Jack had no recollection of the incident with the drugs recently. But letting Jack sit around was not good, either way. Besides, Jack was closer to him than his own children were. Jack also reminded him of Jacob. If only he hadn't sent Jacob into that phony town to take out Keegan Voorhees.... but nothing he could do now. Jack had seen to it that Keegan lost his head, in the worst way. "Okay, General....where to?" "Fort Meade isn't too far from here..... my son Arnold is there, I think we may stop in and see him. 1:56 PM, Fort George G. Meade The men marched. Standard exercises for today. Not too hot today, thankfully. At least for the troops marching along the road. They did this often, along the outskirts of the area. Five miles. A lot for the average man, but for those in training(training for what, is anyone's guess right now), especially with new regulations passed since last year..... last year, after Carnage tried to take over. With new threats, came more preparation. And while THAT threat was sealed away, with even the hint it could happen, the human armies had to be prepared for anything. Human or not. But it could get hard. Especially for one Private. His name is unimportant, but his condition is a matter of attention. He's been marching on a bad ankle. And it got too much. Not good news for the Sergeant in charge. Sergeant Arnold Peterson. Drill Sergeant over these men. "Get to your feet, we have three more miles to go!" "I can't....I think it's broken...." "I don't have time for COMPLAINTS! You'll whine when I say you can! Now MOVE IT!" He was about to give up and drag the man to his feet when he saw the rest of the line stop and raise their arms in a salute. He turned to see the reason. "....dad!" General Peterson didn't stop. He passed his son and looked down at the injured man. "Just hold on" He motioned for two nearby troops to walk over to the injured Private. "You two....get him back to the base. And be careful with him" The two men complied. As they lifted him up, the General spun and walked over to the Sergeant. Before either could say a word, the General grabbed his son by his shirt and pulled him away so hard, his hat fell off. They stopped several meters away. General Peterson looked his son over- short hair, thin face. Not a tall man, but not short. Rather muscular, but not terribly big. "Just what the HELL is wrong with you?" "They need to learn to-" Arnold was silenced as a fist was brought across his face. "YOU.....need to learn some manners. That is not how a superior officer treats men under his command!" He rubbed his face, hoping to cut down on the sting. "I'm just trying to follow your example. We need to be strict or they won't learn" "My example....MY EXAMPLE! ..... I never mistreated anyone. You will treat people with respect and as how you would want them to treat you! You're following your own example and trying to blame someone else when you're found out to be wrong!" "Dad..." "You will refer to me as 'GENERAL'!" General Peterson pulled his sunglasses off. "....and if I EVER find out about you mistreating ANYONE like that again.... you will be in Leavenworth so fast your head will SPIN! Now.... I am going back to my transport. And I will be letting the Colonel in charge know what you did. Now, you will go back to those men and finish the march. And you had better not screw up. Because I will find out. The Army doesn't need a hothead like you. No one else on this base is like you..... thank God for that!" The General turned and marched back to his Jeep. His son just stood there. 2:05 PM The door to the limo opened, the General climbing in. "My son is....busy. You'll have to meet him another time" "Okay. I just wanna see a few sights, then go home" "Sure. Vietnam Memorial a good place to start?" 5:34 PM The two sat on the plane, headed back to Phoenix. Jack had seen all the major sights, and while he found it wonderful to see them, he didn't feel like hanging around longer than necessary. Neither did the General. He had work to do, which he probably should have been doing. But sitting around meetings all day wasn't his idea of fun....no matter how necessary they were. And he had no desire to listen to the captured Screelak threaten him, which he'd have to endure when he checked all the lab reports on the bodies that were analyzed. "....I hate that Screelak...." Jack looked up. "Say wha...?" "Oh, nothing....just thinking. So, enjoy the day?" "Yeah, pretty much. And Cletus wasn't there to ruin it" General Peterson removed his hat and sat it in the empty seat next to him. "Cletus has his own way. He's been through a lot, and he needs to adjust. Give him time" "He's fairly bright. I give him a lot more credit than I did back when he was a guy in the news. Never would have expected him to come to ME for help...." "I imagine turning good all of a sudden kind of shocked him...." "Probably... he doesn't talk about his past much. He's kept a lot buried. Aside from him telling me about the....well, the ORIGINAL 'Maximum Carnage' team...." "You mean...?" "Carnage, Shriek, Demogoblin, Carrion, and a six-armed Spider-Man monster.... hard to believe" "Ever thought about what a fight would be like?" "Well.... I doubt it will happen. Shriek is the only one left, and she has the Carrion virus. She's stuffed in the remains of Ravencroft. Carrion...well, obvious he's cured. The other 2 are dead. Carnage....well, he's not going anywhere!" "Still.... ever wonder?" "Oh, I've thought about it. Carnage, well, we took him out. Shriek.... she may have a nice body, for a drugged out psycho, but she's a crazy bitch. She's goof and walk right into the line of fire. And her mutant power isn't much. I survived Shocker, I can survive her. 'Bout the same, really. Doppelganger... idiot. Throw him an explosive. Demogoblin....heard he has a good streak. Carrion is death incarnate, but one track mind all the way. He's slow, too. Moving target. At least, that's what Cletus says on them. I think Shriek is fairly ugly, truth be told.... but I've never seen a picture, just heard descriptions. I think Cletus has a....'thing' for her....at least, he would if he didn't despise her" "Well....she's one of two women to get near him and not end up dead...." Jack straightened his shirt. "New subject. I have no desire to discuss Cletus's taste in women" "Okay.... maybe..." The General stopped. He decided not to bring up Jack's personal life. "...let's just sit back and relax" "Sounds like a plan, boss!" They remained silent for the rest of the flight. The General felt closer to Jack than he did to his own children. Almost as if Jack was one of them. But he wasn't. It wasn't his business to pry in to Jack's personal life. And he was bored. He suddenly felt glad to be getting back to meetings. He didn't say a word as Jack slipped one of the pills into his mouth, especially since Jack tried his best to disguise what he was doing. He hated seeing Jack take pills to avoid a situation, but it wasn't his place to interfere. He missed Jacob. His remaining children were lost to him. In protecting the country, he ruined his family. He sat back and thought. 'Jack.... get a family and leave this business behind! Meet a nice girl, be happy. Stop lying to yourself. Don't do what I did!' But he didn't say it. He knew Jack would only get angry with him. And no matter how powerful he was, how much influence he had.... an immortal was not someone he wanted to cross. Maybe....maybe being immortal altered your view of life. Humans become lesser creatures on the evolutionary scale. But Robert Peterson would have noting to do with it. The inner pain must be unbearable at times. Suddenly, he didn't blame Jack for taking the pills. He didn't blame Jack for anything. It was his way of life, and any change would be his choice. Nothing less. THE END Author's Notes: Well, no action, no foul language. As I said, issue 25 is gonna be BIG! We need a calm before the storm. Also, yeah, I made up the part at Fort Meade. I don't know if troop marching goes on or not. And no, Arnold is not a typical representative of an Army officer. He's one of the phonies Fox and SJR use in their specials. The "pro wrestler" rejects who overact. 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.