Chapter 6

Kidnaping



Travis Carpenter usually had dreams as he slept. He would dream about any number of things that were going on his life and what he like them to be. He found the one he was having now was certainly the most vivid he had ever experienced.

It was quiet and everything seemed to be shrouded in fog. From what Travis could see it appeared the area looked pretty much like suburbia. Where the houses looked similar and everything was nice and even. It reminded him of where he used to live before his parents went back to the city after getting new jobs.

The only sound he could hear were his shoes slapping the concrete. There were no birds chirping or cars passing by. It was just him walking the streets of the suburbia.

"Hello!" He called out and waited for a response. But there wasn't any and Travis kept on walking.

He went up and down hills, moved along curves and straightaways. It appeared there was no point to what he was going through. This dream was as confusing as a college essay.

He continued to walk up another hill, when something far out in front of him caught his eye. It was a figure he had never seen before. It almost looked like a flame standing out in the distance.

Travis was intrigued and he ran up the hill towards the flame. He hoped he would that it would give some meaning to what he was going through.

As he got closer, Travis didn't feel any heat and when he got close enough. It wasn't a flame at all.

It looked the like creature or symbiote that allowed him to move through the streets quickly. This was what Spider-man called "Vengeance". Although from what Travis could see, he couldn't tell what it was feeling due to its expressionless face.

He just looked at it and wondered where this thing was from. Did it have a name? Could it do other things than allow him to run fast? A million questions just came right into Travis's head. He felt anxious asking the first question but curiosity won him over.

"Do you have a name?" Travis asked pleasantly

The symbiote stared and shook his head meaning no.

"All right, is there anything else you can do?"

The symbiote nodded and turned to one of the homes. A scythe formed on its right side and then it several feet before sinking into the house's roof. It then went flying several into the air. Another hook sunk into the grass and the symbiote returned to its spot.

"Is that it?"

It shook its head, no.

"Would you show me?"

It nodded, yes.

"Why did you choose me?"

The symbiote made a gesture Travis figured was basically "I don't know."

"You mean you and I just came together by chance?"

It nodded, yes.

"You aren't going to make me crazy are you?" Travis hoped he wouldn't end up like Carnage causing destruction to anyone who came in contact.

The symbiote shook his head, no.

"You sure?"

It nodded, yes.

Travis stood there and I tried to figure out what it all meant. Why would this symbiote not try to fight him. It appeared that it just tagged along. That it didn't know its purpose or even why it existed. As he tried to get questions asked, more questions would come from the answers and it was difficult for the fact that it didn't understand English and human language for that matter. That's what Travis thought anyway.





"You think he'll show up?" Mary Jane asked

"We agreed on a time." Peter Parker said to his girlfriend as they waited for Vengeance to show. It was getting close to time they agreed on.

It was quiet at the George Washington Bridge as the only sound came from the bridge. The spot did offer a nice view of the other bridges and of the river itself.

Both Peter Parker and Mary Jane waited in their "Regular clothes" which could change in seconds to their actually symbiote forms.

Peter sighed. "I'm going to go out there and wait fifteen minutes. I want you to stay here and if things go well. I'll introduce you to him."

"How do you know it's a he?"

"Well the voice was a dead giveaway and there was I guess I call a more male build."

"I get the idea."

"Good"

"Remember if something happens I want you to stay behind."

"Are you expecting trouble?"

"Being Spider-man, that's a given."

Mary Jane nodded and Peter allowed his clothes to change. Now he was in his symbiote form. The black alien costume with the strange logo on the chest and back. It was later found to be the design of a spider. Peter figured that was coincidence at least he hoped it was.

"Stay here and I'll let you know to come." He instructed her

"I got it."

"Good"

Spider-man came from his hiding place and then went out to the meeting area. He stood and waited. When suddenly his spider-sense went off. He then braced himself for anything.

"What is it?" He said out loud. "Who's there?"

From where they were the only sounds were the traffic coming onto the bridge. Spidey couldn't figure out what cause his spider-sense to go off like that.

"False alarm?" He said to himself

Then out of nowhere a small object appeared from the darkness. Spidey turned to look at it when the object exploded into a blinding white flash. He had just been caught by a flashbang grenade.

The shock disoriented him as more grenades came at him. But instead of explosives the grenades released gas. Spidey tried to fight it but was soon overwhelmed and as he succumbed to the gas. He tried to tell Mary Jane to stay back.

Mary Jane changed into her symbiote form and her emotions ran high. She tried to contain herself so she could see what was going on.

Several figures came and enveloped Spider-man. They wore body armor, Mary Jane wondered if the government was trying to get them again. But something made her think otherwise.

"Let's get this thing in containment." One of the men said.

"Yes, sir" Another called out

"Team Leader Hayes, HQ is calling for you." The same one who just said about containment.

"Tell them we'll reach the Stafford line at about 0100." Hayes said to technician

"Yes, sir"

"The gas has a time limit, let's move!"

The team moved quickly and in only a couple of minutes they were gone. Leaving nothing behind.

Mary Jane couldn't believe what had just happened. She understood why Peter wanted her to stay back. Now she was the one who had to save him. But she didn't know who they were and why they wanted him or the symbiote for that matter.

The only clue she had was that the trip was going to take about four hours and then they were going to a Stafford County. She knew she had to act fast but this was her time to shine and to redeem herself and the Carnage symbiote.







To Be Continued