BLACK WINGS Chapter 12 - Strange Days by Justin Anderson
October 16, 2002. Manhattan, 10:01 PM "Isn't this nice? Not only can this Dr. Screl clone people, he can revive the dead! I've had enough of this, I want all of you out of here, right now!" Octavius shouted. Carnage flared his claws, aiming them at him. "You ain't in a position to give orders, old man!" he screamed. "Are you going to kill me? Go ahead, it didn't do anyone any good last time!" Electro and Scorpion took stances, waiting for Carnage to make a move. The Hobgoblin stood between them. "All right, enough! I don't know why Screl chose me, but let me make one thing clear- there will be NO fighting here. In case you morons forgot, you have a do-gooder copy of Carnage, Spider-Man, Venom, terrorists, and probably others after you! If you want to live, you'll need help. And here I am," he said. Carnage backed off, but kept his attention on the Hobgoblin. "Fine, you're our savior," Carnage said. "Load of shit, if you ask me. And what did Screl promise YOU?" he replied, "A shot at both Spider-Man and Kingsley. All I have to do is keep your little preschool operation in line!" "Spider-Man? Stand in line, pal! Kingsley offed you once, what's ta keep him from doin' it again?" Carnage asked. He reached into the pouch hanging from his hip, pulling several bombs. "I can handle myself!" he said. "Now, I'd suggest we lay low. If your prisoner decides to talk, someone might believe him. How many exits you got?" "Just three," Octavius replied. "The main elevator and two alternates. I've covered the main elevator already, they won't find a thing. Now, Electro, go above and keep a watch for anyone approaching. Scorpion, show the Hobgoblin around. And Carnage... come with me." 5:23 AM, Upstate New York Screl took notes of the tank's contents. Everything appeared to be in order. This second experiment was taking a little longer than usual, the DNA he had to work with required more attention than most samples would. But if everything worked, then he would have an advantage. Not only eliminating the Black Wings, but someone to wipe out Carnage, as well. And this time, he wasn't sharing. 9:38 AM The creature rose from the tank, letting out a scream. It was awake, a new life unaware of what was going on. Screl injected drugs, calming it. "Calm down. I'll explain everything, and then, you'll have a job to carry out for me." October 18, 2002. 5:23 PM, Manhattan "Okay, good. I'd also like a box of nine millimeter handgun ammunition and a box of twenty-two ammo," Cletus said. "That's a lot of ammo!" the cleark replied. He answered, "Yeah, big hunting trip this weekend." He pulled a wad of cash, and a driver's license. "Okay, mister Jackson, that'll be thirty-two dollars and seventy three cents." He paid, taking the boxes with him. He didn't even wait for his change. Stepping outside the small sporting goods store, he ducked into a nearby alley, drawing a pistol. Someone had been watching him. "There he is. Cletus Kasady. The hero of the two. You remember what to do?" The man behind Screl in the car simply nodded. "Good," he said. Cletus carefully loaded the clip, sliding it in place and securing it in his coat. "Cletus Kasady?" He turned. He recognized the man instantly. "Jack?" The man drew a gun, aimed right for him. "I've been sent to kill you," the stranger said. He barely dodged a hail of gunfire meant to take him down. This was definitely not Jack Arden. As the imposter paused to reload, he sprang, knocking the man out into the streets. The two wrestled, trading punches and kicks. "Cletus Kasady, this is pointless. You cannot stop me." He was barely alive, Cletus thought. Another clone? Barely intelligent enough to speak as anything but a robot. No personality. But definitely a brute. Whoever cloned him made sure they had a good copy. Cletus was kicked backwards, the clone grabbing a bench. Lifting it over his head, he threw it. Cletus barely managed to avoid being crushed by it. "You have a symbiote, use it. If your life matters," the clone shouted. He couldn't. He didn't have the symbiote, but he wished he had. Strange, though, the clone ignored everyone but him. It was definitely following a mental program, one which said to kill him, but only him. The big question, who sent it? More importantly, why warn him? Answers would have to come later, stopping his attacker was the only thing that mattered. Cletus slammed him against a wall, punching him repeatedly. It was having a noticeable effect. He was slowing down, but still strong, as he grabbed Cletus by the arm and began twisting. The clone was intent on ripping it off, if necessary. Cletus wasn't going to let that happen, and he wasn't going to let this creature go on a killing spree. Pushing his foot against the wall, he managed to spin the clone outward. Before it could turn back to him, he drew his gun and fired. Several slugs took it in the back. It dropped to the sidewalk, bleeding profusely. "Everybody get back! NOW!" he shouted. Prowl cars were pulling up, and he didn't feel like explaining who he was. He ducked into the alley, using what skills he had left to climb the nearest pipe and hit the rooftops. 'Good luck finding me now. Now, where's that- what?' He watched the body being drug into a car, which sped off in a hurry. The clone had help. "What's going on here?" He didn't budge. He expected Spider-Man to show up, and his expectations were met. "A clone of Jack Arden just tried to kill me. And I don't think it was Carnage who was helping him. As far as I remember, Carnage barely remembers who Jack Arden even IS! So, who... who else wants me dead?" 7:47 PM, Upstate New York Screl operated quickly, sewing tissue and removing the bullets. He was not going to let his weapon die, especially after the troubles getting the DNA to clone properly. The immortality of the genetic strands prevented clone growth, but he was able to replace certain pieces of the DNA to allow for a successful cloning. And he was unsure if he could replicate the process. 'This is no use, his lung is almost completely useless... hmm, maybe it's time I expanded my surgical expertise.' 8:22 PM, Washington, D.C. "Are you sure these fingerprints match?" General Peterson asked. "Yes, sir. They match perfectly." General Peterson nearly shoved his desk over. No doubt the man who had attacked Cletus was a clone of Jack Arden. "Well, looks like I have no choice then. I want Jack Arden and Sandra Deel on the phone now!" 8:33 PM "Jack, this is General Peterson. I'll need you and your wife to return to Washington, immediately," he said. "I'll explain in full when you arrive, but I'll give you a brief rundown. You remember the news reports of Carnage returning over the summer, right?" October 19, 2002. 9:02 AM, Washington, D.C. "All right, I gave you a brief explanation yesterday..." General Peterson knew that Jack was not too happy about this, and Sandra looked somewhat angry as well. "... Carnage is bonded with a clone of Cletus Kasady. He's working with Electro and Dr. Octopus, we know that much. We suspect the fourth member of their group may be the Scorpion, but we're unsure. And we have no idea where Cletus is," he explained. He grabbed another sheet of paper from his desk. "I'm afraid Cletus is too obsessed with Carnage right now, so I'd like to ask you two to help me with this," he said. "We might be interested. Any idea who did the cloning?" Jack asked. "We know who he is. Jonathan Screl, a scientist. We know he cloned Cletus, we found papers on him covering the experiments. How he's cloning people, or where he's located, we have no idea. If we could capture a clone, we may be able to find out, but... the odds are small. We don't know where Carnage is, and the clone of you, Jack, is believed dead. The part we don't know is whether or not Carnage and Screl are working together, or if they're working separately." Jack motioned for Sandra to join him in the hall. "Okay, what do we do?" she asked. "I don't know. We can't have clones of us running around killing people. And this could really wreck Clete's mind. I say we help out," he said. "Well... okay. Dammit, all I wanted was to get away from this. I hate this." They entered the room, taking their seats. "I'll start by saying that I'm not happy with this at all. You should've killed Carnage when you had the chance long ago. You took me and my wife away from our peaceful lives to be your super-soldiers. We'll do this, but no more. Unless we're under personal threat, we're staying out of the next big problem you have. Am I quite clear?" "Yes. Trust me, if I had believed there was another way, I wouldn't have called you. But I'd rather you find out from me than the news... and you're right. We should have killed Carnage when he had the chance." 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.