BLACK WINGS Chapter 11- Dark Corners by Justin Anderson
October 14, 2002. Manhattan, 11:32 PM Carnage dodged the hail of gunfire as if it wasn't even there. He found his fears dissolving, the threat of his counterpart dissolving onto nothing but disgust. "Is this the BEST you can do? I'm not impressed, hero!" He charged, prepared to cut the man's head off. He barely noticed the shotgun being raised, the blast just missing as he moved back. "NiiiIICE!" He swung the blade again, slicing the barrel off. The Black Wings met the challenge with a blade of his own. The two were locked in a conflict, both eager to win. And it seemed the Black Wings would, as he shoved Carnage back. It gave him a chance to draw a pistol, aimed for Carnage's chest. Before the trigger could be squeezed, he fell in pain. The electrical energy subsided as he passed out. "Well, that solves THAT problem," Electro said. Octavius grabbed their prisoner in his steel arms, using his free tentacles to confiscate weaponry from the man's coat. "Electro, check the area. Make sure he didn't bring help. Now, Carnage, come with me." October 15, 2002. 1:21 PM The lights came on, waking him. He hung by chains, unable to move. He was too weak. His captor walked into the room. "Awake already? Good. You look like crap. And I'm saying it to be mean... but really, you've taken this WAAAAAY too seriously," Carnage said. "Not talking? Good. Your symbiote can't help you. We have it in a tank! We're gonna do experiments on it! Now, don't even think of escaping. Those are solid titanium chains. I'll be baaaAACK!" 8:44 PM Carnage wheeled a cart into the small room. He grabbed a scalpel and held it to the man's throat. "Now... hero. I'm going to do myself a favor and get rid of you. Looks like Jacobs succeeded... hmm, I bet he did this to you to screw me out of that drug. Anyway, I'm going to keep you doped up for a long time. I'm going to use you as my personal anger management device. And tonight, I'm going to start by cutting pieces out of you. And them I'm-" "CARNAGE!" He threw the scalpel down. Octavius was watching him. "You may do as you wish to your puppet, but it will be done outside! I will not have a mess in my labs! Especially not blood, I have too many sensitive chemicals for contaminants to be spread around!" Octavius ordered. "Okay. Fine. Outside then!" Carnage said. 8:53 PM Carnage kicked the crate door open, tossing his prisoner onto the cement warehouse floor. He pushed the cart in front of him. He hammered spikes through the chains. "Now... well, since I had to rush this, why not? You remember growing up?" Carnage asked, grabbing a drill from the cart. "Oh, yes. Remember the poodle? And our favorite toy. Well, I don't get to play with toys much, anymore, so I'm going to relive my childhood." He pressed the trigger, the bit spinning as he positioned it directly over his captive's forehead. "Carnage!" a voice shouted. "Oh, give me just a tiny break!" Electro was approaching. Another inconvenience in his plans. "YES?" Carnage asked. "While you're fooling around, I'm going to watch the perimeter. Scorpion's helping Ock. Try not to drag everyone in the city here with all the noise," Electro said. He grabbed the drill once again, contemplating other uses for it. There would be time for that later, however. He resumed his current activity. Electro leaned into a corner, ripping the cover off a circuit box for the next building. A quick recharge. He was actually bored out of his mind, but Carnage made running an effective operation difficult. The man didn't play by the rules. And they'd have to wait him out before they could do much anything. As he grabbed the wire, a web line took his wrist, drawing him out of the shadows. Carnage held the drill an inch from his victim's face, ready to pull the trigger and press downward. But he held off. Instead, he reached under the cart and grabbed the leather coat. "Before I scramble your brains, I want to know if I should keep this. Jacobs said it was bulletproof, I wonder if he was-" He heard the commotion outside. He knew what was going on. "Oh, this is BULLSHIT!" Spider-Man tangled with Electro, keeping him busy. Carnage sprang, only to be ambushed by Venom. The heroes engaged the two carefully. "Come on, pops! You can do better than that!" Carnage shouted. Venom slammed a garbage can into his face. He felt it, too. "You need weapons now? Boo hoo!" The fight continued, Carnage and Electro busy fighting their adversaries. They never expected the bright lights and heading for them as Spider-Man and Venom quickly fled, along with the van that had interrupted them. "Where'd they go?" Carnage asked. "I don't know! They came out of nowhere! I didn't even SEE Venom, and-" "WAIT!" Carnage ran inside. The Black Wings was missing. "No... we were set up! Get Ock out here NOW!" 9:03 PM The van stopped down the road, the driver exiting. Spider-Man and Venom jumped down to meet them. "How is he?" Parker asked. "Considerably well," Captain America answered. "He'll be fine. Who knows what Carnage did to him. There was a cart with a few surgical supplies near the chains. One guess what Carnage was up to." "Good. I'll take him with me. Venom, you coming?" Parker asked. 9:04 PM Carnage kicked in the door the main labs. Octavius seemed surprised by his outburst. "Did you not hear us up there? Were you not watching the cameras? WELL?" Carnage asked. "What are you babbling about?" Octavius demanded. Carnage shouted, "OH? Really? You don't know? Electro, tell him. I'm going to go outside... before I KILL HIM!" Carnage left, leaving the two alone. "What's he complaining about?" Octavius asked. "Spider-Man and Venom just took our hostage," Electro explained. "WHAT? Did they find the entrance?" He simply shook his head. "No, but... we think they had allies. They kept us busy while someone grabbed him." "That's too bad... for Carnage. What do I care? I have the symbiote, so why tell me?" Octavius said. "Yeah, and what about the Black Wings? What if he talks?" 9:08 PM Carnage smashed crates, splintering them under a large blade. He had to cut something, and unfortunately, he still needed the other three. He heard someone approaching. "Oh, goody! Fresh meat!" he shouted, jumping towards the sound. He grabbed the man by his shirt collar. "Are you Carnage?" the man asked. "Who do I LOOK like?" he shouted. "Allah be praised! I have been searching for you. I have an offer for you, if you will hear me out!" Carnage considered the request. He knew who this was, who he worked for. "Hrm... wait here." 9:11 PM Octavius considered crushing the intruder. Electro and Scorpion also considered ways to kill the Al-Queda member. Carnage wanted to kill him regardless. "I wonder why he is asking for an audience?" Octavius asked. "Simple, Ock," Carnage said. "These idiots think I'm their hero." "So he's probably not alone, then," Scorpion said. "Doubt it," Electro added. "So? What shall we do with him?" Octavius asked. "I know..." Carnage said, walking towards him. "You want a meeting, you got it. You tell anyone about this place, I'll kill you," he said. "I understand. This piece of paper tells you where we shall meet, and thank you, the American devils shall certainly fall with your help!" he said, running off. "What are you doing, Carnage?" Octavius demanded. "Simple, Ock. I figure they plan on sending a message to someone. I'm gonna end all this hero crap, take out a few more on the process!" 10:01 PM Carnage knocked on the door. Once let inside, he changed into his symbiotic form. "Thank you for coming. It is great to know you will fight for our cause, that you have turned on the Americans. We wish to record this meeting so we can take your own words back with us," an older man greeted. "Okay, that's fine. But why me?" "You kill Americans! You realize they are all sinners!" "That camera rolling?" Carnage asked. "Yes," came the reply. Carnage stabbed the first man. The other two drew their guns, never given a chance to fire as Carnage picked them both up. He killed one, leaving the other alive. "I'm gonna leave you breathin' so you can take that tape back wit' you! You want my message? You're all dead! I'm not your hero, after I'm done HERE, I'm comin' after the rest of you." He threw his hostage to the floor, walking up to the camera. "You hear me? I won't stop. Everyone's gonna die! No cleansing, no God, only Carnage! You hear me? God doesn't exist, but I do! And all I want is to kill. Unlike YOU, I don't need an excuse!" Carnage jumped out the window, hitting the street and heading off. 10:23 PM, Washington, D.C. General Peterson grabbed the phone. "Yes? WHAT? All right... just great. Contain the crime scene, I'm sending someone out now..." He sat the receiver down. Opening his office door, he found Agent Henry Johnson at his desk. "Johnson, get in here!" he ordered. Agent Johnson took a seat in front of Peterson's desk. "This is getting worse by the minute. A crime scene in Manhattan, looks like Carnage. Two victims, already been identified as suspected terrorists. There was evidence of a third, gun with fingerprints and a camera tripod. Get up there, I'll call the flight in." "If this is Carnage...?" Agent Johnson asked. "If it is... and he let someone live with a video tape of what happened..." Octopber 15. Washington, D.C., 12:14 PM "Well, it's happened..." General Peterson knew it had hit the fan. The tape had aired on Al-Jazeera television. It was quickly being circulated around the networks. President Bush was not happy. "How serious are his threats, Robert?" "Very," General Peterson replied. "And now it's spreading. Not only his threats, but it'll make us look bad for not killing him when we had him in custody." "And why didn't we?" Bush asked. "Dr. Kafka stood in our way. She fought his execution, she always has. I'm having her license revoked, she knows how many lives will be lost. All because she didn't want one man to die," Peterson replied. Bush asked, "and this Black Wings? Your top agent?" "Missing," Peterson said. "Carnage probably has him." 1:08 PM, Manhattan "I can't believe this!" Octavius screamed, turning off the monitor. "That fool! He allowed himself to be taped! And that tape has aired on international television!" "So?" Electro asked. "Yeah. Does it really matter?" Gargan inquired. "Not to us, necessarily," Octavius replied. "But there is no doubt that these terrorists will be after Carnage. I'd perfer to not be caught in the crossfire. And with the other symbiote in our-" "You talkin 'bout me?" Carnage said. "I don't care what you think. The tape's aired, the whole world knows I mean business. And if you three don't like it, we can end this now..." "Perhaps," Octavius said, "we should keep our agreement in place, for now." Carnage left the room. October 16, 2002. 3:21 PM Cletus woke. He checked his surroundings. It was Peter Parker's house. "Hello?" he called. No answer. He checked himself over. Spotting his coat, he checked it. He had one Beretta, and a wad of cash he'd hidden. 'I'll need to buy some ammo...' Opening the window, he tried to fire a tendril. 'Great... bet Carnage took my symbiote.' He jumped to the ground. Manhattan, 9:41 PM Carnage sat on the warehouse roof, brooding. Should he just kill the entire city now, or wait until he recaptured the Black Wings, THEN kill the city off? Or just kill Octavius and the rest, THEN kill the city? He heard something in the sky, flying towards him. He could see a streak of flame, growing larger as it approached. He eventually recognized the shape, as it landed on the roof, the figure jumping from the glider. "Wonderful, the Hobgoblin! Get outta here before I cut you apart!" "Oh, I think you'll want me around," the Hobgoblin replied. "Listen, Kingsley, I don't have time for your crap right now, I'll slice you-!" He reached for his mask, pulling it off. It was not Roderick Kingsley. "Macendale? You're dead, aren't you?" "I was," Macendale replied. "But Screl thought you could use competent help." 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.