BLACK WINGS Chapter 25 - Showdown by Justin Anderson
Sunday, March 2nd, 2003. 1:01 AM, Manhattan Cletus reloaded the Ingrams. He waited for his Harley to be delivered. "I say we all go after this woman, right now!" Logan said. "Did you NOT hear me?" Cletus replied. "Number one, there might be more of those cyborgs. Number two, I doubt she'll head to her office, it'd be the first place we'd look. She'll hide. She might have some backup ready, I'd be ready for anything." "It seems you're correct," Fisk said. "My men just spotted a helicopter taking off from the rooftop at Omnitech." "Okay. Good. I want at least one of you to track the damn thing, let's not lose her. Keep an eye on the building too, could be a decoy." He mounted the Harley, driving away. General Peterson found General Powell among the mess. "Looks like it's come to this," he said. "I know, Robert. What exactly did the Black Wings do in Washington?" General Powell asked. "A favor," Peterson replied. "A few Bush loyalists were meeting to decide what to do, it would've been genocide." Above the city, the weary heroes sat. "I sometimes wonder how I managed to stop drinking," Stark said. "Because we know better," Parker replied. "The city needs us, whether they show it or not." "You heard that Colin Powell arrested Bush for attempted murder, right?" Iron Man asked. "Yeah. He said Bush knew about Omnitech, so did Clinton. They let it happen just to further their careers." The Chameleon approached General Peterson. "I believe you still have Omnitech spies in the government. I would assume others who you'd rather deal with, correct?" "Your point?" Peterson asked. "Espionage is overrated. And how can I spy if corrupt politicians are destroying everything?" "Hmm... give me one second. Colin? What do you think?" "Give him a chance," General Powell said. "All right. Maybe we can work something out," Peterson answered. 4:43 AM "I believe you may want to hear this," the stranger said as he approached the Black Wings. Ripping off the mask, the Chameleon handed him the photographs. "The woman's clever. She went to JFK by helicopter, meeting two limousines. Each carried a duplicate. Poor jobs if you ask me, I could spot them easily. Anyway, one duplicate boarded the helicopter, another took the limousine, and Miss Hensley boarded a private jet. I took the liberty of planting a tracer. The signal disappeared somewhere in Oklahoma." "Oklahoma?" Cletus asked. "Hmm... west. Ten miles south of Phoenix." "You know something," Chameleon remarked. "There's a large facility Omnitech uses ten miles south of Phoenix. She'd expect us to check her head offices, but she might think we'd miss that. Then again, she might be headed anywhere," Cletus said. "True. But I'd say it's worth checking out. I assume you'll want to go alone," he said. "Yeah, I started this, I'll finish it. It's still dark out there, as I said, she won't see the sun rise. 8:32 AM, Arizona He's forgot to adjust his watch. Daylight in Manhattan, but still dark out here. The sun would rise soon. Pulling up outside the facility, he spotted an empty limousine. 'All too easy.' He took stock of his equipment. A bag containing a number of remote explosives, useful for destroying the place. Two pistols, his Ingrams, and the Crater Maker. He'd need it if she still wore her body armor. He cursed the fact he only had three shells for it, though. The only three the government had. He loaded everything into his coat, shouldering the explosives. He drew both Ingrams, busting in through the front gate. Sniper fire pelted the dirt. Two gunmen, he guessed. Pointing the Ingrams, he steadied them, aiming for the source. He was best guessing. He fired. He wasn't sure if he'd hit them, but it bought him time. He ran to the nearest door, kicking it in. He made short work of the men waiting for him. "Come out, you bitch!" he shouted. He continued killing her guards until he could find no more. "Just you and me now..." "That's right, Mister Kasady," she shouted. It echoed through the building. He began planting explosives, setting them to wait for the timer on the remote to activate. He dodged the bullets. She'd found him. "You can't kill me," he shouted. "I know that. But I can chain you down, torture you, and keep torturing you," she replied. "Tell me something I haven't heard before!" He fired the Ingrams upward, emptying the clips. She'd ran. Drawing the Berettas, he climbed the stairs, walking along the upper level. "You know, Mister Kasady, I have allies. Bin Laden and his group owe me, they'll hit this country hard!" "I hope they do show up. I'd love a crack at 'em!" he shouted. Shots rang out. He dodged, returning fire. He took to the ceiling, crawling along as fast as he could, placing a few bombs on the way. "I'll send this place airborne," he shouted. "You can't run!" He jumped down, kicking a steel door in. He grabbed the Crater Maker. Natasha punched keys, hoping to bring the building's security cameras up. 'Dammit, how do you work this thing?' She brought up lists, reports of the Sentinels. 'Enough to tear apart a small city,' she thought. She would have her revenge, she would not lose. She hit the button for the building's intercom. "That stunt with the tape's gonna cost you DEARLY, Mister Kasady. You, Peterson, the mutants, you'll all die for this!" The vibranium bullet tore into her back, cutting through the thick body armor. The bit exploded on the way out, tearing her chest to shreds. She slumped on the desk. Cletus held the gun steady. "Some of us earlier than others." He spent the next twenty minutes planting bombs. The final one placed, he punched the buttons on the remote. Running for the door, the rain hit him as he headed for the front gate. In seconds, the building was sent up in a cloud of flames. Debris rained down, flames extinguished in the downpour. 1:13 PM He sat at the kitchen table, waiting for the phone to ring. He grabbed it on the first ring. "General?" he asked. "Yes." "It's done. She's dead, no question. Vibranium bullet to the back, cremated when the place went up." "Excellent," Peterson replied. "We're going through her offices now as well as many other Omnitech facilities. It'll take us months to go through the records. But we got some new technology out of it, and cleaned out a few corrupt politicians." "What about Bush?" Cletus asked. "Incarcerated. Looks like half the cabinet's getting the boot, most were loyal to his cause. Colin Powell's going to be sworn in as President, until the next election anyway. I just wonder if we're doing the right thing." "Who knows?" he replied. "Like the Who said, same as the old boss. The masses protesting what we did?" "Of course," the general answered. "Calling it more unfair actions against corporate America. We toppled a company that was trying to commit genocide, and the population still thinks we should focus on Microsoft when they haven't done anything that another company hasn't done. What is it, the... Playstation? The video game, next they'll demand that Gates makes his system run the competitor's software. There's even a group protesting the execution of Carnage if we capture him again!" Cletus said, "makes you wonder why we bother? Sometimes it seems like we're working for the lesser of two evils. But leave 'em alone, they'd destroy themselves. Maybe it's why mutants are evolving, why a select few are given special abilities, the human race isn't fit for this world anymore, it's time for something better?" Peterson hesitated. "I'm needed elsewhere. We can discuss this later." Cletus hung up, grabbing a pack of cigarettes. He unwrapped the CD he'd bought, sticking it in the small stereo. He turned up the volume, leaning back as Tom Waits's Black Wings blared from the speakers. 'Too true...' Take an eye for an eye A tooth for a tooth Just like they say in the Bible Never leave a trace or forget a face Of any man at the table When the moon is a cold chiseled dagger Sharp enough to draw blood from a stone He rides through your dreams on a coach And horses and the fence posts In the moonight look like bones Well they've stopped trying to hold him With mortar, stone and chain He broke out of every prison Boots mount the staircase The door is flung back open He's not there for he has risen He's not there for he has risen Some say he once killed a man with a guitar string He's been seen at the table with kings Well he once saved a baby from drowning There are those who say beneath his coat there are wings Some say they fear him Others admire him Because he steals his promise One look in his eye Everyone denies Ever having met him Ever having met him He can turn himself into a stranger Well they broke a lot of canes on his hide He was born away in a cornfield A fever beats in his head just like a drum inside Some say they fear him Others admire him Because he steals his promise One look in his eye Everyone denies Ever having met him Ever having met him 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.