Maximum Carnage, Year 2
Issue 24 - "Back Home"

by Justin Anderson



Sunday, April 28th. 3:00 PM, Queens

 Cletus walked through the front area of the airport. La Guardia, to be 
exact. He had enjoyed a nice flight on a private jet courtesy of his employer,
but he wanted to be on his own while he was here. It had been a long time,
but he was back. Home. New York, his old home. Arizona was nice, but they were
in a desert. Besides, he wanted to give Jack some peace. And he needed it
himself.

 He made his way through the crowd, managing to hold onto his bags as he pushed
through. Crowded as ever. He was too busy looking downward at the mass of feet
to notice the man in front of him. At least, until they collided. He looked
up to see who had blocked him.

"....PARKER?"

He couldn't believe it. Spider-Man. Of all the people in the city, let alone the
airport, he had to run into Spider-Man.

"...Cletus? But.... I thought you left?"

Cletus looked around as he picked up his bags.

"Tell you what. Let's get out of here before we catch up on old times"


3:17 PM, Manhattan

 They sat a small table in a local diner. Cletus had not planned on meeting
any old friends while in town, but since he had, he may as well engage in
a conversation.

"Any reason you came back?"

Cletus put down his coffee.

"None in particular. I just wanted to see the old home once more. Hadn't
planned on staying long"

"Oh.....been up to anything in particular?"

"Not really. Just moving from small job to job....state to state...."

"Yeah...."

Cletus finished his coffee and sat the cup down. he could tell Parker was
interested in something.

"No, Maximum Carnage hasn't been active"

"Oh....I'd heard about it, but the two men were different. Speaking of which,
whatever happened to the other guy?"

"Jack? We still stay together. Not much of a friendship anymore, though....
I guess not having much in common can do that.....we kind of live in different
worlds, I guess"

Parker looked around. There were a few people in the diner with them.

"We should continue this somewhere else. You have anywhere to stay?"

"Huh....no. I was going to get a motel or somethin'"

"Listen, I have plenty of room....."

"Oh, no. I imagine you have a family, and I'm the last thing they should put
up with. I can find a place"

"Mary Jane knows you've changed. I don't think she'll have a problem with it"

"Well....I'll go, but if she isn't okay with it, I'm leaving"

Peter waved for the waitress. Both reached for their money. Cletus looked the
bill over to see only Parker's coffee on the list.

"Oh, we had two coffees"

"Yeah, but you're being charged one. I can't charge a national hero!"

Cletus looked down from the waitress to Parker. He mouthed the words. Parker
winced. He had hoped Cletus would have found up by now.

"You still have that clipping on the wall, don't you, Jane?"

She pointed to the wall by the door. A framed newspaper clipping hung on the
wall. Cletus walked over and read it.

".....'Carnage Captured!'....'Cletus Kasady, once reported to have actually
been the symbiotic killer, was actually working for the government to hunt
the alien and incarcerate it. This reporter apologizes for not checking the
sources, even if they were his own eyes. He should have realized the man wrapped
in tendrils didn't mean for sure he was Carnage.'.....'story by Peter Parker'"

Cletus looked up at Parker, who had just walked over himself. 

"Lucy, you got some serious splainin' to do...."


3:39 PM, Parker residence

 Mary Jane looked out the window at the man standing on the sidewalk. She
didn't know what to think, let alone say. Was she about to let this man in 
her house? He had tried to kill her husband so many times. But he had also
saved the lives of so many when he defeated his alter ego. Besides, it wasn't
HIS idea. It was her husband's idea. And if he was willing to trust the man,
then maybe a chance wouldn't hurt.

"Peter....tell him to come in..."

Parker walked to the door and opened it. Cletus stood with his hack to the house,
his luggage resting on the concrete. 

"Cletus, come on"

He picked up his stuff and slowly walked up to the house. He stepped inside
as if he were entering a trap- very wary of what may happen. But it was all
emotional. And he knew he had to do this. Mary Jane managed a slight smile,
hoping to ease his nerves. 

"C...come in"

 Cletus simply looked around. Spider-Man was doing rather well for being a
reporter. Certainly nicer than he was used to on his own. Not counting the
fact his current residence was government supplied.

"Listen, maybe I should find another place. I can't put you out...."

Parker walked over to him and urged him further inside.

"It's no trouble. Come on"

He made his way inside the room and set his stuff down.

"Mary Jane, why don't you order some dinner for us. Cletus, anything you
want?"

"Huh?....oh, well, no steak or burgers. I keep away from meat. But whatever else
is fine with me"

She walked off to leave the two alone to talk.

"So, Cletus... before we start any long discussions....."

"Right. Listen, your business as Spider-Man is none of my concern"

"Well.... you have to be a little curious, I guess"

Cletus shoved his hands in his pockets. He wanted to know EVERYTHING. How
Spider-Man worked, what actual powers he had, everything. And it was eating
at him.

"Okay, you shoot webs from your wrists, or is it some gimmick?"

Parker walked to a nearby closet and opened it. Inside hung an array of equipment,
surrounding a Spider-Man suit hanging in the middle. Cletus eyed the goods
like it was a museum display.

"I can stick to walls on a natural ability. The enhanced strength and warning
senses are also natural. These..."

Parker grabbed a small wrist piece off the shelf.

"....are the web shooters. They use compressed chemical pellets. The button
is this piece which fits in the palm"

Parker took his finger away from the switch and placed the piece back in its
storage spot.

"Oh, yeah.....well, I didn't think you were 'born to rock' all the time... let's
save the rest of the gadgets for later. I need to know about that article!"

Parker slowly closed the door, hoping to avoid that topic. But he had no choice.

"Some government guy wanted us to publish that. My name was tacked on to make
it look real. Venom nearly had a heart attack over that!"

"I bet! What about Doc Kafka?"

"She suspected something was up. The Army being around kind of tipped her off"

Cletus wished he could tell Parker the absolute truth, but figured it best not to.

"Yeah.... I guess they wanted me to lead a normal life after helping stop him.
No one has really bugged me. I think most have forgotten by now.... I almost
let go myself at times"


4:05 PM

 They sat at the table, the boxes of Chinese food distributed to the three.
Cletus picked at his food. He had tried to pay his share, but they wouldn't
accept it. He also tried his best to ignore Mary Jane. He wasn't sure if he 
made her uncomfortable, or if she made HIM uneasy. He finally decided to speak
up. The silence was killing him.

"Parker..... you've got a nice family going"

"Oh...thanks. Except for the mutant baby.....things have been fine"

"Sorry. Didn't know"

Mary Jane looked up at him.

"It's all right, Cletus... so, you have anyone special?"

"No. I've been too busy. Jack....Jack is kind of having some bad personal issues.
And after what he helped me accomplish, abandoning him would ruin everything
I've tried to build. Even if he thinks he's just fine. He...."

Parker sat his own food down. 

"I've only talked to Jack a little, last year. He seems like an okay person.
Maybe a little messed up due to his past, I guess.... well, we're not discussing
him, so....what about you? Anyone you've thought about? Not that it's my business,
but I can't believe you've distanced yourself from everyone else"

"That's okay. It's a fair question. No one recently. Sometimes, I remember...
well, that's unlikely anyway"

"Why?"

Cletus looked around the room. Mary Jane took the hint Cletus wasn't interested
in talking anyway, and figured if he did, he'd be better off telling someone
he halfway knew than a total stranger.

"Excuse me..."

She got up and left the room.

"Okay, Parker.... Shriek. Not that I'm obsessed with her, but I feel sorry
for her. She's been mistreated quite a bit. And that virus can't be good for
her. But I guess she's a lost cause"

"What about Dr. Kafka?"

"Heh....yeah, right..... Doc Kafka is nice, but I think her interest in me
was ultimately related to her career. If she could cure me, she could get out
of those mental barns and into a real field. If it wasn't me, it'd be Doc
Ock or one of the other crazies. I was just more dangerous than the rest"

"She does a lot of good.....but deep down, I almost believe that myself. But
she is more human than some in her field"

"New topic. My personal life is boring. I bet you want to know WHY I changed!"

Peter almost spat out his food. He had thought about it, but didn't want to
ask. He didn't think it was any 'far out' reason. After all, he had the symbiote
when he changed. And it had left him before, leaving him the same. 

"I'm guessing what you saw in those labs were too much..."

"No..... you may not believe it anyway..."

"Try me. I've seen lots of things. Trust me, I'll probably believe it"

"Okay, here goes...."


5:12 PM

 Parker was still trying to take it all in. Immortality drug, experiments,
kidnapping....followed only by an evil entity which had controlled the man
most of his life! Not just any entity- the spirit of Earth's first life form!
And it almost wiped out humanity.... if not for Cletus and the new guy mopping
the floor with him. And all those years....he had been duking it out with
a Dark God....the name echoed in his head. The one word which spelled uncontrolled
evil....Carnage....no, that wasn't it. Far worse....Domientius.

 Cletus made sense to him now. The withdrawn man afraid to interfere with
the demons of his past. Willing to step on anything that was Carnage. Better
yet, deny it happened. And he was immortal. He did it to stop a mad man. He
wanted to die, but he became the way he was for the rest of the world. And
he was paying for it in mental suffering. His train of thought was broken
though when Cletus entered the room.

"Feeling okay?"

"Yeah.... I believe it, but I just don't BELIEVE IT!"

"Neither do I. But it happened, and no way to change that. Anyway, I'm going
to a movie. I may be out till late"

"Oh....okay. I'll fix a bed for you tonight"

"Couch will be fine"

 He watched as Cletus opened the door and left. Mary Jane walked in and sat down 
on the couch beside him.

"I heard his story through the doorway"

"I wouldn't call that a story.... an epic, maybe. Funny..... the one man who used
to exist by murder saved everyone from what he used to be. And he has to
pay for his past every day since he chose to save others over death for what
he did"

"You think he's changed permanently?"

Parker looked at his wife.

"Forever is a long time when you can't die. But he's not the same man he used
to be. He's his own man now. Not a mistreated piece of garbage used by something
to try and wipe out the human race. Ultimately.....we'll see. But he's been
tested, and he's passed in my eyes"


Monday, April 29th. 3:02 PM

 Cletus stood near the front door, the two standing there, having a final
chat before he left.

"Well, thanks for your hospitality. I give you a lot of credit for having
faith in me"

"It's no problem. Mary Jane?"

"Oh, yes....well, you changed for the better, and regardless of the history
between you and Peter, you need a chance"

"Right. Well, if you two ever need me for anything, just pass the word along.
I'm sure some super hero will pop in and deliver it"

Before anyone else could say a word, a horn could be heard outside. Cletus
turned and opened the door.

"My cab"

He grabbed his bags and left the house. Parker closed the door behind him.

"Mary Jane....he's going to do just fine....I just hope his friend can get
over his problems"

 Mary Jane didn't say a word. She simply nodded in agreement. As she walked to
the couch to sit and watch television, she noticed something stuck between the
cushions. A few small pieces of paper. Pulling them out, she thumbed through
the stack. It was money.

"Peter....there must be at least a thousand here!"

 Parker's eyes widened. He knew Cletus had left it behind. Opening the door
to yell out for him, his heart sank as he saw the can was already gone. 

"I do no believe it. Mary Jane.... he was paying us for what we did. Maybe more.
But....where's he get that money to just give away?"


8:45 PM, Maximum Carnage home

 Cletus opened the front doors. The lights were on, but Jack wasn't in sight.
He could hear sounds in the kitchen. Throwing his luggage on the floor, he rounded
the corner into the small kitchen. Jack was holding a container of chocolate
frosting, eating it with a spoon. Jack pulled the spoon from his mouth as he
saw Cletus.

"When'd you get in, man?"

"Just now, Jack....what are you doing?"

"Eating dinner!"

"Yeah, well....while you were cramming junk food down your throat and hanging
out with the General, I had a nice time with Spider-Man and his wife in 
New York"

"Spider-Man! Oh yeah. Peter....Peter....I know this one too..."

Cletus shook his head in disgust.

"Never mind. I'm tired. Turn off the lights when you're done"

Jack resumed his 'meal' while Cletus grabbed his stuff and went upstairs.


Tuesday, April 30th. 10:01 AM, Phoenix. Basement labs

"...yes, General. Okay....no, I didn't expect THAT to be sent here...but
I will get preparations underway for storage....right..."

The scientist on the phone nearly fainted as he saw General Peterson enter the
room. 

"...yes, General.. I have to go prepare for storage. right....bye!"

He was stunned. General Peterson saw the look on the man's face. He walked
over.

"Dr. Bartley, is something wrong?"

"General..... General Peterson.... how could you be here....when I just got off
the phone with you, after you entered the room?"

 The General almost fell backwards. This man was a brilliant scientist. And
there was no way he was cracking up. Before he could say a word, he looked over
at the Screelak in its holding cell. It wasn't trying to break the lexan wall 
any more. It just stared at them.

"Dr. Bartley....this is important....what did the other 'me' say? And no, it
was not me...."

"Well, they said to expect.....expect delivery of...."

"Of what? This is important!"

The General's pulse was racing. And at his age, that was not good. 

"General... Carnage will be entering the state within an hour!"


THE END


Author's Notes: The resting time is over. No more sitting around relaxing.
Year 2 is done. Year 3 will be the final saga of Maximum Carnage. Don't
expect the stakes to be even remotely small!


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.