Maximum Carnage Issue 4 by Justin Anderson Thursday, February 15th. 9:34 PM Jack sat on his small bed. It had been over a week since he had been brought here. He wasn't sure of the day any more, or the time. He only had the white walls to stare at all day, aside from the occasional guard, bringing food or taking the trays away. And aside from trips to the bathroom or for cleaning, he never left. He had watched as one of the men brought in with him fall sick only a couple of days after they were brought in. It was bad- his skin turned white and his eyes changed a strange shade of yellow. The other man had been taken away in the same manner as the first, but nothing had happened to him yet. Upstairs Jacobs was studying a blood sample from the last test. Things were looking up for his research. His form stayed intact, and he gained the regenerative capabilities. But he wasn't that lucky just yet. The bond had broken after only three days. But it was promising. If he could keep the genetic bond permanent, then it would all pay off. The stress from another press conference today didn't do much for his patience, but he had to do those often just so the public would get the impression this facility was working for them. Besides, the government would breathe down his neck if they didn't show anything for the money they had given him for research. But he wanted this over with. He was determined to stay awake as long as necessary to finish this. He knew it was possible. He wasn't willing to believe otherwise. His greed was clouding his intelligence. This meant everything to him- everything. The world, it's people, power, and value. With an indestructible body, no one could stand in his way. He laughed at the other would-be conquerors. Dr. Doom, Cobra Commander....all fools. Even Hitler wasn't capable of winning. They were mortal men.....mortal men don't stand a chance. 10:03 PM, Peter Parker's home Parker and Venom stood in the room alone. His memories had returned within a few days, thankfully. But the assault was held off. He had sent Mary Jane out of town for now. He was afraid more attempts might be made. It was also why he avoided the press conference at the Labs today. But after he had failed in his attempt last week, he was not going back without more help. Sure, he had Venom.....but it was barely enough. He had called for another who might be able to help, but some problems had held off on that. Until now. A knock on the door prompted both men to put on their masks. Parker walked over and slowly opened the door. Seeing the sight, he opened it all the way and stepped back. The sight was one which inspired confidence- a blue suit, with red boots and gloves, and white details. A large shield hung off his right arm. "Hello, Spider-Man" The man stepped in. He was known as Captain America. One of the few signs of true patriotism left in the entire country. A man from an era when the stuff flowed heavily. Now, he served as one of the country's strongest signs of heroism. And he felt a need to answer any call of danger. But this especially. He remembered Carnage. Several years back, he was one of the team who had stopped Carnage and his group from destroying the city. Only now.... it seemed the stakes were higher. Just because he wasn't hacking people apart didn't mean he wasn't helping some terribly cause. And an insane genetic scientist made matters worse. "Cap, you know we could all die tonight. Even all of us doing this could not be enough" He looked over at the wall-crawler. "We have no choice, really. Spider-Man, Venom..... the world depends on us. I'm going. I will die if necessary so that others may live. If either of you want to back out now....do so. Otherwise, you can join me" Venom looked over at the hero. He was a hero of a much different class- brave, honorable, a sign if integrity. What was he? A twisted hero who would kill rather than allow trial. Deep down, he knew he wasn't half the hero Cap was. "We're in! Spider-Man?" Parker rolled down his gloves and checked his web cartridges. "We hit at midnight" 10:58 PM, Jacobs Research Labs "I've done it!!!!" Jacobs's voice resonated through the top floor. Carnage and several guards ran down the hall into the main lab area. "Get me the final subject. I believe I may have it. If so....then it all begins tonight. If not, we can always get more victims" The guards left the room. Carnage was about to follow, but Jacobs stopped him. "Cletus.... I have a reward for you" "Taking this idiotic bracelet off, finally?" Jacobs's enthusiasm level began to drop slightly hearing someone else so happy. "Uhh, no. Not yet. When I inject myself with the final drug, I will remove it. But, it's not a bad reward. I'm injecting you with my immunity booster. I figure you deserve it. You cooperated with me in this. I know you were forced to, which I have to apologize for. But I take no chances. But you didn't complain, which I respect. Therefore, hold out your arm. Display a bare patch. Your symbiote may contaminate the serum" "Couldn't it do that anyway?" "Not after it enters your system. I tested a sample of your blood. This is made for human DNA. Your symbiote shouldn't even know it's there" Cletus held out his left arm. His green eyes stared at the bare patch in his inner elbow as the needle entered and the fluid was pumped in. "Now...wait a few minutes. Don't eat or drink anything" Before he could say more, the guards walked in with Jack at gunpoint. His mouth had a piece of tape over it. "Strap him to the table. This may be the beginning of the end!" Jack tried to break free from the guards, but gave up when he felt the straps hold his wrists and ankles down. Jack knew fighting was useless now. He closed his eyes as he felt the needle enter his arm. Jacobs pulled the needle out. Removing the straps, he motioned for his guards. "Take him back" The guards grabbed Jack, who was feeling a bit weak. He hated needles severely. He was unable to fight as the guards hauled him off. "Cletus, my boy.... we'll know in a half hour if the bond is permanent" 11:36 PM, upstairs lab Jacobs looked over a blood sample taken from Jack only minutes before. He erupted into an insane laughter. So loud, in fact, Carnage ran in to see what the excitement was about. "Take a look!" Cletus walked over to the microscope and looked down the lenses. "So....?" "I guess your education level isn't up to grasping it. The bond is perfect. It's permanent. I've done it. Five years have finally paid off!" "Well.....inject yourself and get this piece of jewelry off me!" "Patience.....I have a few things to do first. And so do you. We need to do a few things...tie up some loose ends. GUARDS! In here!" A few guards poured into the room. "You two, come with me. You, go with Carnage. Now, Carnage.... I have a few papers to dispose of. I want you to kill all the test subjects. Then the boy. Tie him up securely. We'll dispose of him later. Then, take this key card and go to my office Unlock the holding safe and bring me the immortality gene. It is labeled. Get to it!" Jacobs and the two guards left the room. Cletus walked over and picked up the key card. Both men left the room. 11:41 PM, holding cells Carnage opened the first cell. Inside was a creature of various animal parts. Little human remained. The first test. An ugly mess. He looked the form over a second. Forming a sharp blade on the end of his left arm, he raised it, ready to swing, killing the creature. "Please....don't kill me....what did I do to deserve this...?" He held the blade up, to keep the suspense high. He wanted this... thing to be very afraid. He loved fear. 'This is wrong' Carnage looked around for the source of that voice. "You say something?" The guard shook his head. He hadn't said a word. Lifting his arm again, the voice interrupted once more. 'This is all wrong, and you know it' Again, he looked around. Someone was saying something to him, and he didn't know who it was. 'I know you can hear me. This is wrong. Stop it. Now!' His mad rage turned into a horrifying chill. He recognized the voice and where it was coming from..... it was his own voice, and it was coming from within his own head! The end..... is very near NOTE: Yeah, it's a bit short. Part 5 will wrap this all up though. 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.