Chapter 7:
He gazed up in awe and fear. His reaction was both one of joy and of fear. On one hand, Kara was safe. On the other, she was now playing host to the Carnage symbiote, easily his most dangerous and psychopathic opponent ever. He could feel his Spider-sense go on high alert as Carnage looked down on the scene, and a gleeful smile crossed it's face.
"RUN!" Peter shouted towards the crowd, seconds before Carnage wrapped it's arms around his neck.
"Well if it isn't my old friend, Spider-man!"Carnage cackled as the portion of the symbiote covering Kara's face peeled back. He tried to avert his gaze from her wonderful features as Carnage soaked in all it's glory. "Fate really has dealt you quite a hand, hasn't it, Parker? Out of all the people you know who could have been saved, Your Aunt, Your Girlfriend, The Avengers, in the end, it's me! HAHAHAHAHA!" A supersonic boom erupted from the side as Superman tried to rush Carnage from the side.
"Not so fast!" Carnage jeered, "Thanks to my Father, I inherited someone's powers...If only he could see me now..."
"How...are you alive...?" Peter choked as he struggled to escape the iron grip.
"Oh...that old story...!" Carnage cackled menacingly, "I'm sure you recall our last battle, when you threw me and Cassady in Rykers prison?"
"I..." Peter choked his reply.
"I latched myself to your foot and waited for the chance to strike," Carnage laughed as it squeezed tighter. "But that plan worked out better than I expected. When we arrived on that beach, I knew something was wrong. I couldn't feel my father anymore, so I set out to find a new, more capable host. And now..." Carnage finished as Peter was tossed to the side like a rag doll. "And now I have more power than ever!"
Peter felt his side trickle with blood. Not a crippling injury, but it would require later attention, once the present issue was dealt with.
"Why are you doing this, Kara?" Superman shouted.
"Kara can't hear you," Carnage gloated before throwing him into the air and turning it's attention to Peter once more. "I'm surprised that she's trying so hard to stop me from hurting you," Carnage snarled, "did you tell her about what happened to Gwen?" Carnage grabbed Peter and lifted him into the air, "I could blow your head off with a single thought. I could crush your spine with a squeeze of my hand. By flexing my arm I could send you into space. So many choices..."
"Come on, Kara," Peter pleaded, "fight it!"
"She can't" Carnage snickered, "I don't think I'll kill you yet. I think I'll simply take over the planet." Carnage continued before leaning in close to Peter's ear, "for starters." Peter flew through the air and impacted what remained of a wall, and his vision faded into blurry colours. It was several hours before it returned.
He found himself in the watchtower once more as his vision finally cleared. He rose to his feet from the bed he had been placed one and headed for the hallway, where he could hear several distinct voices in a heated discussion.
"...the inter-dimensional phone? Clearly there is a greater threat here..." The Flash asked as Peter entered the observation deck. In addition to the Flash, four other bodies where gathered around a holographic map. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a man dressed in black body armour similar to Batman's, but with a bird emblem across his chest.
"I don't think so," said Batman, "If it was an invading army, there'd be more. I think whatever that thing was piggybacked on Spider-man."
"Can we be sure they aren't partners?" Superman asked, "If they arrived together..."
"Would you throw a partner of yours through a wall?" Batman asked skeptically.
"You would," said the man with the bird emblem, "remember?"
"I'm not his partner," Peter said, clearing his throat so that all present turned to face him. "I'd sooner kill myself than work with that monster." He finished as he approached the display.
"What can you tell us about him?" Batman asked bluntly.
"There isn't much to tell," Peter replied, "The Carnage Symbiote is psychopathic organism that takes over a host body, usually by force."
"So basically we've got Joker with Kryptonian powers," the man with the bird emblem remarked as he placed a hand on Batman's shoulder. "This'll be fun, you still got that Kryptonite in your belt?"
"Out of the question," Superman stated, "Kara is still in there."
"Do we know that for certain?" the Flash asked, "I mean, she did throw you into space. Just saying."
"She's still alive," Peter replied, "It is possible to fight the symbiote off."
"Are you sure?" Superman asked in a pleading voice, "have you seen it done?"
"I was the first," Peter muttered softly, "Super-sonic waves, high voltage and extreme heat also help repel the symbiote."
"Then we blast it with all three," said Superman as he straitened himself. "I'll be back in an hour."
"Not so fast, Clark," Batman injected, "It won't have any inhibitions about using Kara's full strength against you. We need to use Kryptonite, in order to level the playing field."
"Nev..." Superman began to shout angrily, waving his arms as he did so.
"We'll only use it long enough to slow her down enough for the sonic devices to take effect. But it still means you can't be anywhere near there." said Batman sternly, meeting the man of steel's eyes dead-on. Their silent confrontation lasted for several minutes before Superman gave way.
"Fine. If that doesn't work though, I'm going in." Superman stated clearly, "and he's going with you." He finished as he pointed to Peter.
