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Chapter X
Dark Savior
Ashley had a relatively rough time dealing with the massacre at Ravencroft. Actually, it wasn't the massacre that bothered her. It was having seen Venom face to face the night of the incident. It was Eddie Brock in the symbiote costume, of that much Ashley was sure. She felt like a total fool since then, even worse that Shriek was in intensive care. Ashley had been told that Shriek wasn't expected to recover any time soon. Worse still was that Cletus Kasady had escaped as well. Ashley knew not of Kasady's recent change into the creature known as Carnage. Eddie was Ashley's biggest concern at the moment as she strolled through the parking lot of her apartment. So concerned was she that didn't see the unscrupulous pair of muggers following behind her. Coming up to the stairwell, a third mugger confronted Ashley. The other muggers closed in behind her.
"Hey there, sweet thing," the lead mugger said, pulling out a pocket knife. "How's about you share some of your cash with us?"
Ashley looked around, knowing full well she was surrounded. "Is this really necessary?"
"Hey, in this day and age, you got to make a buck somehow." said another mugger.
"So, be a good girl and fork over the money," said the lead mugger. "Before we do something very bad."
Granted, Ashley could partially agree that times were tough nowadays. These guys could find other ways to make a profit. Like get a job! That was obviously the last thing on the minds of the crooks. One in particular seemed more interested in getting an eye full of Ashley's buttocks. Pervert! There didn't seem to be much that Ashley could do, so she slowly reached into her purse. Going on a sheer gamble, Ashley quickly pulled out a canister of pepper spray and unleashed the contents into the leader's face. One of the other crooks tried to grab Ashley and Ashley surprised him with a swift elbow to the stomach. She followed was an even swifter kick to the third crook's nether regions. Ashley made a break for her car but the muggers gave chase after her. Any chance Ashley had to escape when the lead mugger tackled her to the ground.
"Not very smart, lady."
The leader whipped out his pocket knife and prepared to make use of it. Ashley didn't know what to do at this point. Then the leader was suddenly pulled by an unseen force. The other muggers immediately assumed it was Spider-Man, though it was hard to tell due to the shadows. The lot was dark but it appeared as if the shadows were moving. Then the victimized lead mugger was sent flying into one of his cohorts. Ashley lay petrified on the ground while the one standing mugger backed away from the goings on. He was a foot away from a support pillar and didn't see the large black humanoid clinging to it. Then he turned and came face to face with Venom. The mugger never stood a chance as Venom grabbed his head and drove face first into the pillar. The other muggers tried to make a break for it, but Venom hopped over and landed right in front of them.
Hissing and with his snake like tongue lashing to and fro, Venom callously muttered, "Boo!"
One mugger tried to run as quickly as he could, but Venom snagged him with a black line and yanked him. One second later, the mugger took a full force forearm to the back of his head. The lead mugger, still with pocket knife in hand, stabbed Venom directly in the grayish white emblem. Venom snarled at the pitiful effort and grasped the crook's entire face. The villain hoisted his prey off the ground, at the same time halting the crook's ability to breathe. A few more seconds and it would be death by suffocation.
"Stop!" Ashley finally shouted.
Ashley's plea of mercy caught Venom's attention. How could she possibly be defending these lowlifes after they tried to rob her and God knows what else? Something in Venom told him to do the right thing. But what was the right thing? If Venom let the mugger live, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't strike someone else. What did Venom care anyway? But then Ashley shook her head, clearly not wanting the man's death on her conscience. Venom glared at the hapless mugger and finally released the mugger, letting him collapse to the ground.
"She saved your life, punk," Venom snarled at the terrified crook. "Do it again, and we'll break you in half."
The crook was certain to take the warning to heart and bolted out the area. Venom seethed as Ashley, seemingly unafraid of the villain, slowly walked toward him. With only inches between them, Venom reared his massive head toward Ashley, giving Ashley an up close and personal view of the alien bug eyes. Venom felt tempted to grab the woman, and shake her relentlessly like a rag doll. Perhaps out of woman's intuition, Ashley knew that Venom wouldn't attack her. She was right! Venom snarled and sprinted away to the edge on the lot. Ashley's pleas fell on deaf ears and in a flash, Venom was out of site. Ashley gazed over the edge to find some sign of her dark savior but alas, she found none.
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Spider-Man didn't have a great night of sleep. Hell, a mere four hours of sleep hardly did anything for anyone. What could make matters worse? One word: Carnage! Venom was bad enough, but Carnage was at a level that even Spider-Man couldn't match. He was similar in many ways to his counterpart, but was all too different in other ways. The most intriguing, if not disturbing, difference was the personalities of the hosts. Venom always, or least recently, referred to himself in the plural sense. It was Eddie Brock and the symbiote: two separate entities. Cletus Kasady on the other hand, referred to himself in the singular. How and why? The only logical hypothesis that Spider-Man could find was that symbiote somehow had merged with Kasady's blood. It was all Kasady. It worried Spider-Man, knowing that Kasady was running around, indiscriminate of his victims.
Spider-Man heard a faint ringing sound in his mask. "Hello?"
"Peter, are you okay," asked Mary Jane from the other end. "Did you ever come home last night?"
"Yeah, but I didn't want to wake you," Spider-Man said, moments before he was distracted by police sirens. "MJ, I'm sorry, but I have to go."
"Wait a minute, Peter," MJ pleaded. "There's something you really need to know."
Spider-Man had a gut feeling he knew what was happening downtown. "I'm sorry, MJ. We'll talk later. I promise."
Spider-Man hung up before Mary Jane could say anything and started swinging after the police cruisers. Screw that gut feeling! Spider-Man knew right then and there that Carnage must've struck again. At the same time, Spider-Man was kind of hoping for Rhino or Shocker. Maybe even Sandman or, God forbid, Venom! Also at the same time, he wondered what Mary Jane had to tell him that put her on edge lately. Spider-Man was bound to find out eventually; provided he survived the forthcoming battle.
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Anarchy reigned supreme in downtown Manhattan. Squad cars, fire trucks and ambulances lined the streets, as did the mangled remains of citizens and cops alike. Any surviving cops were doing their best to deal with the situation. It was a losing battle against Carnage. Carnage was having the ultimate field day, slashing and slicing cops and pedestrians left and right. Needless to say, Jean DeWolff was losing officers fast. She had taken cover behind a cruiser along with Stan Carter and five other officers. Carnage was proving to be an extremely hard target to hit, as he willed his symbiote arms into a shield and deflected random gunfire. It irked Jean to no end, that her officers were barely making a dent in the villains' defenses.
"We're not getting anywhere with that thing," Jean shouted. "We need a little extra firepower."
"I've got a rocket launcher in the trunk of my cruiser." Stan said.
Jean looked at Stan as if his head expanded. "You scare me, Carter. You want to blow us along with that freak?"
"That freak isn't leaving us with a lot of options, captain," Stan retorted. "It's now or never."
Jean hated the thought of using a heavy weapon in a crowded street, but what other choice did she have? She nodded her reluctant approval and Stan rushed toward his cruiser for the heavy weapon. Jean and the rest of the officers did what they could to keep Carnage at bay until Stan returned with the rocket launcher. Stan aimed the weapon and took his shot. The projectile impacted Carnage in a cloud of fire and smoke and the NYPD ceased fire. Most of the officers believed the day won, but Jean wasn't as enthusiastic. Then a series of red and black tendril shot out from the smoke, taking out several officers until Carnage emerged unscathed.
"It ain't nice interrupting my snack time," Carnage said and hopped over the fire onto the car Jean and company hid behind. "Hey Jeanie; you miss me?" Carnage will both arms into axes and prepared his next attack.
Jean's eyes widen upon hearing the pronunciation of her name. "Jesus! Kasady, is that you?"
The symbiote maw stretched to reveal the face of Cletus Kasady. "You guessed," The maw shut over Kasady's face, replaced with a monster's face. "It's Carnage now, and I'm gonna make a meal out of you, Jeanie."
Out of nowhere, Spider-Man came kicking Carnage off the car and to the ground "I'm ready for that rematch, Carnage."
Carnage picked himself up from the ground. "That suits me just fine, man. I was getting bored with these play things anyway."
Spider-Man hopped off the car and charged right at the oncoming Carnage. Inches from each other, Spider-Man blinded Carnage with webbing and then literally slid underneath the villain. From behind, Spider-Man webbed Carnage's legs and tripped him up. Even blinded, Carnage almost immediately shot a tendril from his arm, missing Spider-Man by inches. Carnage yanked off the webbing from his bug eyes and actually ate it.
"Yum! Tasty!"
Spider-Man fired a series of web spheres, many of slamming into Carnage with intensity. Carnage responded with a series of blood darts, which Spider-Man avoided while staying airborne. At least the hero had much more room to maneuver than back at the orphanage, though that wouldn't stop Carnage from trying to take his head off. Spider-Man swung around and aimed both legs at Carnage, only for Carnage to snag him with a blood tendril. Carnage swung Spider-Man around much like he did last time and then tossed him through a second story window. Carnage hopped up and clung the wall just outside the shattered window, finding only a terrified mother and her child instead of Spider-Man. The monstrous villain let out an ear shattering roar and was met with a double kick to the face Spider-Man, who'd been hiding on the ceiling. Spider-Man and Carnage tussled as they fell two stories back to the ground, with Spider-Man taking the brunt of the fall. Carnage willed his right arm into a lance but Spider-Man kick flipped him away. Carnage landed hard but was upright just as quickly and shot more blood darts at Spider-Man. Spider-Man hopped over the darts and shot more web lines and Carnage answered by extending his fingers to an inhuman level. The finger spikes literally shredded through the web lines and continued for Spider-Man. Spider-Man leaped up onto the wall and dodged the finger spikes with some effort.
"This guy makes Freddie Kruger seem like a lightweight." the hero quipped rather unintentionally.
Carnage didn't seem to hear Spider-Man's little joke and just kept attack with his finger spikes. Spider-Man responded with an ongoing stream of web spheres. Carnage blocked the spheres with a symbiote fashioned shield and then fired back with a tendril. Spider-Man just barely avoided the tendril and leaped over Carnage, landing atop a streetlight. Spider-Man webbed up Carnage but Carnage simply ripped through the webbing and shot out two tendrils. The direct approach didn't seem to be working for the web slinger all that well, so he went to Plan B. Spider-Man landed atop the hood of a police cruiser and dared Carnage to come at him. Carnage was more than happy to oblige and leaped into the air and right at Spider-Man. At the last second, Spider-Man hopped out of the way and let Carnage cave in the hood of the car and set off the car horn. Knowing the symbiote was vulnerable to sound, Spider-Man expected Carnage to double over in agonizing pain. But to the web head's horror, Carnage was only barely phased by the shrill sound of the car horn. The noise did stun the villain but for only a moment, and not nearly as much as it would've affective Venom.
"Okay, that's not good." Spider-Man muttered to himself.
Carnage glared at Spider-Man, almost smiling an inhuman smile. "What did you expect to accomplish, man?"
Spider-Man was screwed. Was Carnage so different from Venom that sound had little, if not no effect whatsoever? Carnage went right back on his attack, shooting blood dart and tendrils at Spider-Man. Spider-Man needed a new plan as he tried to avoid every attack from Carnage. Carnage managed to snag Spider-Man leg and attempted to toss him. Spider-Man still managed to snag Carnage and pull up into the air with him. They fought and tumbled in the air for a few moments until Spider-Man kicked Carnage right down and straight toward the ground. Carnage landed in the fiery blaze left by Stan Carter's previous rocket attack. Spider-Man landed across from his and was astonished by the sight of Carnage flailing wildly in the flames, screaming in pain.
"There's something you don't see everyday." the web slinger quipped.
Carnage stopped flailing about rolled out of the fire to the ground, going motionless. Spider-Man was understandably wary, knowing his spider-sense was useless against the villain. It was probably against his better judgment, but Spider-Man had to know for sure if Carnage was defeated. Without warning, a bloody tendril emerged and tripped Spider-Man, causing him to face plant the ground. Carnage stood up with his tendril picking Spider-Man up by his one foot.
"That little bonfire was very unpleasant, Spider-Man," Carnage snarled, willing his fingers into spikes. "But that ain't nothing compared to what I'm gonna do to you."
Before Carnage could follow through with his next move, Jean DeWolff and the remaining officers opened fire on him. "You're not skewering him today, freak."
"Aw, you ruined my dinnertime, Jeanie," Carnage, glaring back at the defenseless Spider-Man. "You know what, Spider-Man; I think I'll save you later for dessert. Adios!"
With that, Carnage tossed Spider-Man right at the officers. Spider-Man crashed directly in front of Jean, who was at his side in a heartbeat. Carnage, in a manner mimicking Spider-Man, shot out a tendril and swung out of sight. Spider-Man was just at that moment regaining his composer, and too late to stop Carnage from escaping. Jean helped Spider-Man to his feet.
"You okay, Pe… Spider-Man?" Jean asked, stammering when she almost called the hero by his real name.
"I'll live, but at least... all the agonizing pain proves I'm still alive," Spider-Man unknowingly quipped, and then looked at Jean after realizing how dangerously close she was to blurting out his identity. "Did you just…?"
Jean knew where Spider-Man was about to go and cut him off. "Forget it. Our real issue is figuring out how we're going to stop that monster."
"Carnage is only one half of the whole problem," Spider-Man pointed out. "Venom's still out there and I have to find him."
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Unbeknownst to Spider-Man, Eddie Brock had been hiding in an alleyway and watching the entire event. It irked Eddie to see another symbiote running loose. For some strange, if not bizarre reason, Eddie felt almost compelled to aid Spider-Man. Why should he have? Spider-Man deserved to get his ass handed to him. At least that's what Eddie told himself. What about when he saved Ashley from those muggers the night before? Why? What compelled Eddie, as Venom, to actually help someone? As he contemplated the notion, Eddie heard a scream from the other end of the alley. Eddie rushed to other end and spotted a baby carriage rolling into traffic, along with the frantic mother going hysterical. What did Eddie care?
"My baby," the hysterical mother shouted. "Someone save my baby."
An oncoming tractor trailer was already barreling down the road and right toward the baby carriage. The baby inside the carriage was absolutely oblivious to its surrounding. Any onlookers present had to restrain the mother. Seconds later, the giant tractor trailer plowed right into the carriage, obliterating it. The mother sank to her knees in total horror in the belief that her child was lost. Her horror turned to astonishment upon hearing the sound of a baby's laughter. She and the other pedestrians turned to find the baby alive and well in some kind of black safety net.
"Jason, Jason, you're okay." the mother called out the baby's name and took him from the net.
The baby wasn't even crying, though the mother was. She stared at the net and then looked up toward the sky. Was it Spider-Man that saved little Jason? The safety net would've suggested as such, but why was it black? Clinging to the wall out of the sight of the onlookers, Venom glared down to the people without their knowing. The symbiote mask receded so Eddie's face was visible, and Eddie was visibly shocked by his actions.
"What the hell did we just do," he asked, and was then compelled to ask the same question. "What the hell did I just do?"
Author's note: A very interesting turn of events, wouldn't you agree? Tell me what you guys think of all the happenings and I shall return.