BLACK WINGS Chapter 1- Learning To Fly by Justin Anderson Wednesday, June 26th, 2002. 7:41 PM Well take an eye for an eye... A tooth for a tooth... Just like they say in the Bible... He rolled over in the small bus seat, his head pressed to the corner of the window, watching the road roll by. He forgot the blood, the stench, the cries of the dead he had left behind. The pain, misery, and hatred were behind him. He ignored it, rolling it from his mind as the road slipped away, the memories passing with the trees and signs. He ignored what was to come. The thoughts would have served to keep him awake, the thoughts of those he must hunt, the thoughts of what he must do. But those would have to come later. Right now, he just wanted to rest. He stirred as the bus hit a light bump, enough to jar him from his spot. "Oh, excuse me, my son. I thought you were asleep." He turned to see an aged man sitting beside him, reading a thick book. One look at the black suit with the white collar, and he didn't need to be told the man was a Priest. "No... not really. Long ride though," he said. "Yes, it is. I'm returning home. My father fell ill last week. I thought you looked familiar when I saw you. You were in the newspapers." He replied with a simple, "That'd be me... Everything in the papers and on television was true. They just... left a few things out, altered a few others. I'd rather not talk about it now..." He felt the bus come to a stop. They were on the outskirts of Tulsa. "This is my stop. I hope you have good luck, mister..." "Name's Cletus Kasady. I think I'll take a rest in this city, too." Outside the bus, Cletus looked down the road. He was unfamiliar with the town. He figured he would find a motel, call his superiors, and leave in the morning. "If you're spending the night here, I'd suggest you find a nice motel inside the city. You'll rest easier in a larger place. And if you want to confess anything, you can find me two blocks from here." "Church?", he asked. "Yes. Feel free to stop in anytime." 9:01 PM Cletus walked down the street, the street lamps reflecting off the long coat, the lights marking the small patches starting to wear from constant punishment. Unlike him, the coat would not last forever, no matter how many attacks it may deflect. If anything, he wore it solely as a personal shield. It didn't matter if he was shot. And in this heat, the coat did more harm than good. He paused outside the old church, knowing it to be the right one. He simply hoped the Priest would be there tonight. Looking through the window, he saw the man was there- being held at gunpoint. Two men were robbing the place, looked to be no more than seventeen. Both in street clothes. Drawing a pistol from inside the coat, he stopped himself before running in. Heading in the front door could be a bad idea. Looking through the building, he saw a large beam hanging in the rafters, leading from wall to wall. An open window sat at each end, just close enough to reach the beam, if he could get to one of them. Looking in the alley, he saw a drain pipe running up the wall, passing one of the windows. Grabbing it, he hoped it was secure. 'Now... let's hope I can scale this thing' Jumping, he pulled up with his hands while his shoes gripped the wall, his speed and light weight enough to pull him up the wall silently. Leaping in the window, he managed to jump to the beam without making a sound. He watched below as the two hoodlums grabbed money from the broken cash box, roughing up the old Priest. Crawling along, he stopped above them. One of the boys looked up. The statue of the angel above, wings spread, was shadowed by something. Without a sound, the shadow jumped down. The Priest saw the angel appear as the shadow fell, the long coat flaring out as the man fell, tackling one of the two thugs. Without hesitation, the attacker stood, leaping again, tackling the second. Both men were unconscious. Cletus headed for the front door, out to the streets, and to a payphone on the corner. He placed a call to the police, running into the night as he hung up. Thursday, June 27th. 11:02 AM, Tulsa Cletus took the newspaper from the vending machine. He'd heard a story written by a former acquaintance was to appear in today's New York Times. Flipping through the pages after returning to his motel room, an interesting article caught his eyes. BLACK WINGS SAVES CHURCH Last night, the First Catholic Church on 91st Street was being robbed by two young men. When police arrived, they found both men unconscious, Father James Thompson unharmed. Father Thompson claims the men were disabled by a strange attacker he dubs "Black Wings", a name he picked from a song he had heard earlier in the day, "Black Wings" by artist Tom Waits. It is unknown who the man was. It seems the media has a new name for him. But they don't know who the "Black Wings" is, yet. He wanted to keep it that way for now. But he liked the name. He dug out the laptop he'd been given. Plugged into the phone line, he found the lyrics to the song rather quickly. He thought they were interesting, somewhat fitting. Disconnecting the line, he switched the computer off, pulling his cell phone. He dialed up his employers to check on the Black Wings case. Nothing had been said about his involvement yet. And no one would, it seemed. He listened to details on a mission they wanted him to go on. Figuring it best to leave the city immediately, he packed his things and left the room, headed to the nearest airport. Father Thompson never mentioned the man's name, even though he knew it was the same man from the bus. He only told the same story. The angel turned dark from above, something jumping down. All he could see was a black form, and what could have been wings pushing through the air. He had remembered the song. Whoever it was, he had been saved by something from above. And after listening to the stranger on the bus, it was the only name he could attach to his savior. Notes: Set within the Marvel universe, I will be using my own continuity, mixed with new characterizations for some established characters from Marvel's story universe. These stories are a sequel to my fiction series Maximum Carnage. Cletus Kasady, Carnage, and others are copyright Marvel Comics. Jack Arden, Raicaak, and others are copyright myself. Other characters appearing may be owned by separate parties. I make no claim of copyright on any character I do not own, only on these stories and those I do own. 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. Black Wings song and lyrics copyright Tom Waits.
