Chapter 20

New York...

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Carnage laughs insanely at the utter chaos that has become the fight with the Sinister Six. Insane violence...that's like 2 of her favourite things put together like in a scrummy sandwich and that's before she even gets to the extreme property damage and cowering civilians. It's like it's her birthday or something. Oh wait. It is her birthday! Well rebirth-day.

And thanks to the anarchy Brainiac's virus caused there isn't really anyone who is going to stop this because everyone else from First Responders to other heroes are all fighting their own battles to rein in the chaos that has been unleashed across not only the United States but the entire world.

With her lover currently keeping Vulture and Sandman busy, Mysterio currently unconscious, sprawled out over a car and Kraven at least temporarily out of it that leaves her currently tackling Doctor Octopus. "Ya know We heard that in some places in the world Octopus soup is considered a delicacy," she drawls in a raspy tone. "But personally We prefer chilled monkey brains...and you're sort of a monkey right? We mean humans are primates after all."

Doc Ock's tentacles fly at her and she stands there and lets them phase through her.

"Uh rude much? We're talking here!" she complains.

Once tentacles swings at her and this time she chooses to catch it and showing off just how strong she is she starts to spin round and round, faster and faster, swinging the deranged scientist around with her.

"You swing us right round, baby, right round, like a meat grinder, baby. Right round, round round. You spin us right round," she croons joyfully.

"Electrooo! Now!" Ock yells.

And with Carnage having to be solid to grip the Doc it makes her all too vulnerable to the electrical attack. She screams, the symbiote rippling and spasmming.

Yes the energy does travel along the tentacle but it does get Ock what he wanted; Released.

Recovering his senses as quickly as he can he grabs his strange foe and starts to slam her over and over into the ground, cars, street lamps, anything and everything before he brings the stunned foe to dangle in front of him. "I do not know what this...substance covering you is but I will enjoy dissecting you to find out."

SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!

Suddenly Doc's face is covered by bits of symbiote Carnage literally spat out.

"AUUGGHH!" are the muffled cries as man tries to rip the goop of his face.

Carnage gracefully lands on her feet before turning her murderous glare on who shocked her. "We are going to pluck your fucking electrons off one by one you sorry excuse for an Electrophorus electricus! We are going to rip off your dick and short circuit it right up your ass! And then...and only then will We get mad!"

Electro powers up. "Did anyone tell you you talk far too much," he tells her, utterly fed up of the coarse threats.

Carnage actually growls in response.

When the attack comes it hits nothing as Carnage phases downward into the ground.

"Where did you go you insane bitch?" Electro mutters, looking around for her. Not seeing the hand phase out of the ground and grab his leg and yank him downward. A few moments later there is a scream of pain and a huge electrical discharge that erupts out of the ground, blasting a hole. Looking down you find Electro lying amongst the remains of a shattered waters main into which Carnage had phased him.

With a casual heave she throws him back up on to street level before leaping upward and landing back on the street. She addresses her fallen foe. "You know you call us insane like it's an insult. We take it as a compliment. We don't suffer from insanity. We're enjoying every second of it! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ugk!" she is stopped mid-laugh by a knife being rammed into her side...by Kraven.

"Die, creature!" Kraven snarls angrily.

Carnage seems to sway on the spot. "Oh no! You got us! It's all fading away...getting dark...nah! Didn't even tickle," she declares with a chuckle as the symbiote wraps itself tight around Kraven's hand, holding him in place as she smashes an elbow into his face. The force enough to shatter the hunter's nose easily. She then grabs him and tosses him over her head and to the ground before deliver blow after blow after blow to him but just before she knocks him into next month she stops, raises her right hand and her talons change into thinner, more needle like appendages which she then rams deep into Kraven's shoulder, choosing to deliberately avoid the major organs. After all she doesn't want him dead yet. "Scream for us," she says, almost salivating for it as she twists her fingers in his flesh.

Kraven doesn't of course.

Carnage takes her left hand and extends her index finger into a long point which she aims right for the man's right eye. "Scream or We'll pluck your eye out," she threatens.

"Do your worst!" Kraven spits in her face.

"Our worst eh?" she says back, amused. "Ok, you poor man's Elmer Fudd. Tell you what you can keep your eye. We'll just just go ahead and eat your brains!" she says with a great deal of relish for that idea. Carnage's maw opens wide, ready to engulf Kraven's entire head...

THWIP!

...when a webline sticks to her back and she gets yanked away.

With a tumble and a roll she gets back to her feet and find herself face to face with her lover boy.

"Hey! Whatcha doing?! We were just getting to the good part!" she yells at Spider-Man, outraged at his interruption.

"Sorry, sweetie but you're on a brain free diet, remember. And I did promise to keep you from falling off the wagon," he says.

"You're no fun! Why the hell are We dating you again?"

"My hot body?"

"Well there is that."

"My killer personality."

"That too. Though We'd be much more attracted to you if you embraced that 'killer' part a little more."

"Oi, oi, oi," Spider-Man laments. "Kitty, please. I know you're in there," he pleads with her.

"Of course We're in here," she replies like she's talking to an idiot. "Spidey-bear, We had this conversation last time. Everything that was Kitty Pryde is part of us. It's utterly amazing how the first person to ever be bonded to a symbiote understands so little about how this works," she slightly mocks him.

"I do understand, Kitty," Spider-Man says with an unusual seriousness about him. "I know what it does to you. I wish to God I could forget," he expresses a deep desire. Unfortunately he can't forget.

Carnage cocks her head, assessing him. "You miss it, don't you? You miss our dear old daddy; Venom."

And that is Peter's shameful secret. On some level he does. Being bonded...it's like an addiction. It feels so, so good but like any addiction it's wrong. Especially when it turns you into someone you're not. That's why Venom had to go. It's also why he has been so desperate to get rid of Carnage before he lost the girl he loves forever. He's trying real hard not to think that that might have already happened. "Can we talk about this after we've stopped the Spider-Man's Rogue's Gallery of Losers Support Group?" he requests.

Carnage grins. He does miss it and to think last time he actually turned down her offer to get him a new symbiote...oh wait. She gets it. He doesn't want just any old symbiote. He wants the old man back. That's why he turned her down last time. God, she's an idiot. Hmm...now what to do about it?

Both suddenly move out the way as Sandman tries to squash them.

"Oh for the fucking love of God!" Carnage exclaims.

"That has to be blasphemous," Spider-Man comments.

Carnage shoots him a snide look before turning her focus back on the man of living sand. "Can't you see that we were having a conversation here?! Seriously, do you have something against romance?"

"What part of any of this is romantic?" the webbed-hero wonders.

"The violence, the rage, the property damage, the chaos, the citizens cowering, fearing for their lives. This is like, totally, our dream date!" she proclaims, her voice almost dreamy sounding.

"Wow, have I been doing it wrong up to now," he has to say.

"True but the great sex compensates."

"Well it's nice to know I'm good for something."

"Oh honey, you're good for lots of things. Well one part of you is good for one thing anyway," she snickers.

"It's amazing how quickly you went from compliment to insult."

"That's because We're the Amazing Carnage!" she says without a flicker of remorse at stealing that bit.

"At least she didn't say 'Spectacular'," he mutters in a huff.

"We save 'Spectacular' for the bedroom."

"I completely walked into that."

"You totally did."

"You two are crazy," Sandman reflects. He has just been standing there, dumbstruck at listening to these two bicker back and forth.

"Crazy in love, yeah. What's your point, Grit-for my-drive-Man?"

"That's even lamer than me," Spider-Man bemoans, holding a hand to his head in an over-theatrical manner.

"No-one's lamer than you, sweetheart. Surely you can't not realise this?"

"No amount of revenge is worth this!" Sandman cries as he wipes his hands with the both of them, turns around and leaves, leaving behind two dumbstruck heroes...well one hero and one 'slightly' unhinged symbiotic mutant.

"Did he just leave?" Carnage asks, stunned.

"Yep," her partner confirms.

"I didn't even get to rip his balls off!" she complains, outraged.

"Not sure he has any, being completely composed of sand and all."

"We were speaking metaphorically."

"Either way can you not mention things like that?" he requests. "Makes me wince."

"Aw, we would never do that you," Carnage assures him, while she gives that 'package' a squeeze making him jump and yelp and making her cackle in joyful amusement. "Anyway if he's gone We can get back to our snac-motherfucker!" she curses at the fact that Kraven is gone, only leaving behind a small patch of his blood. "We didn't even get a nibble!" she whines.

"In-between meals' snacks are not good for you anyway."

"Oh, bite us!" she complains childishly, sticking out her long, slobbery tongue to blow out a raspberry for good measure. "Ok, if he's gone how about Vulture?" she asks, looking around for the old man.

"Nope," Spider-Man has to tell her that the old man is gone as well.

"Mysterio?"

"Saw him vanish in his puff of smoke about 5 minutes ago."

"Electro?"

Spider-man shakes his head.

"Ock?"

"I guess they decided we were too much for them," he says because the six have in fact bugged out.

"But-but We're hungry!" she whines childishly.

"Try some chocolate," he suggests.

"Depends. Can We spread it on your abs and lick it off?" she asks as her own long, slobbery tongue emerges and licks her lips.

Peter sighs. If those six truly are gone and his spider-sense says they are then it's time for the thing he doesn't want to do. It's time to try and subdue his beloved. "Kitty. It's time for that talk."

"No. You mean it's time to try and rip us in two again!" she knows. "We're not going back to being only half of ourselves!" she warns him.

"I don't want to fight you!" he almost yells. "But I can't leave you like this either. It isn't who you are!"

"It is who We are!" she screams back at him.

"The Kitty I know wouldn't even suggest half the things you said."

"The Kitty you knew was living in denial almost right up to the end. It was only when faced with death that she came to understand and accept the truth."

"What truth?"

"That this," she gestures at herself, "is not only who she truly was but it's actually who she wanted to be."

"I'll never believe that. You want to know why?"

"Oh, please do enlighten us," she snarks, rolling her eyes.

"Because you keep saying 'We'. Not 'I', like last time. We," he emphasises a difference he had noticed and an important one as far as he is concerned.

Carnage raises a talon and opens her mouth as if about to argue and then stops. Then to Peter's surprise, the mask retreats, revealing Kitty's face, puckered up in a frown.

It looks like, if he is guessing correctly, that his point has hit home. Maybe it's not too late. Maybe he can still reach her. Peter pulls his mask off, secret identity be damned right now and takes her by the shoulders and searches into her face. "Kitty. I love you. I really hope by now you know that without me having to say it. I can't even begin to list all the things I love about you but I'll try. You're smart and kind and brave and clever and compassionate. You're so much more than I deserve. You have to see that this is not you. You don't revel in violence and chaos. Heck, the sight of blood makes you queasy. You're the girl who can literally shop until she drops and do so with a smile and admittedly I never got that and probably never will it didn't matter because it made you happy. That is all I want Kitty. For you to be happy. You will not be happy as this. Not really because it will hollow out your soul. Everything light and decent will be replaced with something dark and twisted and I can't standby and let that happen to someone as wonderful as you. You have to realise that I'll never stop fighting to save you."

Carnage's gaze doesn't quite meet his and her expression is one of someone having an internal debate with themselves. "Pete," she starts to say and does so without the echo of two-people speaking at once. "You have to understand..."

But before she can get any further the sound of approaching sirens distracts them as the police finally show up and a small convoy of New York's finest screech to a halt in the street and a heavily armed SWAT team takes position.

In an instant Spider-Man has his mask back on and unfortunately as far as he is concerned the symbiote recovers Kitty's face.

"What is it?!" one of the cops can be heard yelling as they train their weapons on Carnage.

Spider-Man steps into the line of fire. "Stay out of this!" he shouts at them and looks at the man in charge; Captain Stacy.

Captain Stacy knows what it is. He recalls Venom all too well. He also knows from getting told what happened when Osborn was revealed as the Green Goblin and captured. What happened to Peter's girlfriend Kitty. Ever since then he has been pretty close to the Parker family. Especially May, much to his daughter's chagrin but that's an aside. Point is he is pretty much in on all the secrets these days so while he he had never personally seen it he can guess this is Carnage.

And if Venom is any indication they are way, way out of their league. Carnage could easily wipe the floor with them so Captain Stacy orders his officers to hold off.

Spider-Man spins round to face Carnage and can see her tensed and ready to explode any second. Worse timing ever. Just when it looked like he was reaching her. Damn Parker luck. "Kitty, don't," he appeals to her. "They're just doing their job. Don't give into the rage. There is still a way out of this. You can choose," he tells her. He reaches out with his hand. "Just take my hand and we'll go home."

Carnage's hand reaches up but stops just short. "We...We...need time to think," she says in a soft raspy voice, missing the usual rage and undertone of thinly controlled violence. She then turns and sprints for it.

"Damn it!" Spider-Man cries as he chases after her. "Kitty!" he calls out after her.

She makes a leap and Spider-Man leaps after her, thinking she is about to swing away but she's deceiving him. Instead of going up, she goes down, phasing into the ground and making it impossible for Spider-Man to follow her.

"Kitty! No!" he screams after her as he lands on the ground, thumping the spot she vanished with his fist, his mask hiding the fact tears are streaming down his face as he faces up to the reality he may have just lost the girl he loves forever.

Boston, Massachusetts...

More specifically Emma's town house. She checks the time. Where the hell are the X-Men?

Yes, if you're wondering. Yes, she deliberately sent out that telepathic call to...ugh, Grey of all people. She'll never live that down.

After Zod had dumped her off here, it left her alone for the first time since this all began. Left her time to think. Left her time to realise just how angry and betrayed she felt. They had taken Scott from her. After all these months of trying to work her way back into his trust and in an instant it had all been taken away.

How dumb do they think she is?

That she can't work out that she had been lied, used and manipulated from the start. That Brainiac deceived her.

And just to top it all off Zod abandoned her students and despite it all, despite what it may seem like at times, Emma's rather heartless manipulations of her own students, she does care for them. She uses them, not because she enjoys it, but because in the long term, it's for their own good...or at least that's what she keeps telling herself.

This last year has been one disaster after another. Selene seizing control of the Hellfire Club and her own damn sister's involvement in the whole thing. Emma's banishment from the Inner Circle and subsequent loss of power and influence. The destruction of her school. Magma and Firestar's defection over to Xavier's. The loss of one of her most beloved students. Sophie of the Cuckoos, who had been injured during Selene's coup-d'etat. A head injury that put her in a coma. Well she never woke up from that coma. She slipped away a few weeks after Emma had had her moved into a medical facility.

Her 4 sisters had been devastated. Understandably so as they possessed a hive mind and now one part of that mind was gone. Emma was concerned about them...especially Esme who had become quite hard and emotionless.

Now usually Emma admires the ability to do that but she is concerned Esme is embracing those traits for the wrong reasons. Her thinking on the matter is interrupted by the return of Scott/Zod who places a bulky metal briefcase on the table.

"May I enquire as to what that is?"

Scott/Zod opens it to reveal some sort of computer equipment inside. "It grants access to your military satellites. Using Brainiac's hard drive I can use the satellites to initiate the pulse which will transform your world."

"Into your world. You're going to turn Earth into Krypton aren't you," Emma can guess from what was said between Ororo and Zod.

"Correct. You do possess above average intelligence for a human. It seems you will be worthy of standing by my side."

Ok, Emma is many things but the perpetrator of her own species' genocide isn't amongst them. Except she has done all she can in signalling the X-Men...hasn't she? Or has she? Perhaps if she was a bit more selfless a foolish action would be forthcoming but alas Emma is a bit too selfish and her instinct for self-preservation is too strong so she simply stands there, impotent(and God she hates that feeling) as Zod prepares to bring about the end of Earth and the end of humanity.

Of course Zod was well-known for being a strategic military genius and believe you him that his next action is only a beginning. For not only will he physically restore the planet Krypton, he will resurrect the race as well. The means to do so are on this planet. After the transformation he will have all the time necessary to seek those means out but for right now it is time to end humanity's possession of this world. The primitives never deserved it. And face facts they were destroying this world anyway and themselves along with it. Zod doubts humanity would have survived the next century. He's just speeding up the inevitable.

He places the hard drive upon the satellite's access and activates it. A pulse of white energy shoots upward into space and strikes the first satellite...which then transmits it to others who in turn transmit it to others until they form a web surrounding the planet.

Apart from the colour difference it is very reminiscent of what Apocalypse tried to do. Makes you wonder if it gave Brainiac and subsequently Zod the idea.

Difference here is though that this needs to effect the planet and not just the people living upon it so from each satellite a new beam shoots back down to the planet, striking its surface at key points along the tectonic fault lines. The ground begins to shake, not just in Boston, but worldwide as the energy begins to restructure the surface.

Just then the X-Men burst into the room...finally.

"You are too late," Scott/Zod sneers at them.

"We'll see about that bub!" Wolverine snarls back, popping his claws.

But before the fight can begin the window in the room shatters.

It is shattered by a ball of glowing fire that then strikes the hard drive, shattering it as well.

The pulse stops.

The shaking stops.

Everyone stops.

And then looks out through the window at a sight that makes Jean's hear swell in pure, unadulterated relief.

For floating there, arms folded across his chest is Superman. Not dressed as he was but in that suit he got from the Collector. The one of Kryptonian armour, blue in colour, his family crest in red and yellow on his chest with a red belt and red boots. Only this time something else has been added. Attached at the shoulders, fluttering in the wind is what was the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby, now repurposed as a cape.

Superman floats there, stern expression on his face before he addresses his family's enemy. "General. Would you care to step outside?"

Author's Note: Know what Sandman is totally right. No revenge is worth having to put up with those two crazy lovebirds and yep, Carnage is sticking around this time. Yeah so poor Sophie Cuckoo bought it I'm afraid. I'm certain there was a time I meant to make that a bigger thing. In the long run, sadly, I always intended the Five-In-One to become the Three-in-One. Mostly for the effect it would have on Emma when she discovers who they really are. Wow, Clark's timing is just perfect. Almost like it's a plot contrivance. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Graduation part 10.

AN1: Hope y'all are remaining safe and well.