Maximum Carnage Issue 22: Back Home by Justin Anderson Sunday, April 28th, 2002. 3:00 PM, Queens Cletus walked through the front area of the airport. La Guardia, to be exact. He had enjoyed a nice flight on a private jet courtesy of his employer, but he wanted to be on his own while he was here. It had been a long time, but he was back. Home. New York. Arizona was nice, but they were in a desert. Besides, he wanted to give Jack some peace. And he needed it himself. He made his way through the crowd, managing to hold onto his bags as he pushed through. Crowded as ever. He was too busy looking downward at the mass of feet to notice the man in front of him. At least, until they collided. He looked up to see who had blocked him. "PARKER?" He couldn't believe it. Spider-Man. Of all the people in the city, let alone the airport, he had to run into Spider-Man. "...Cletus? But... I thought you left?" Parker asked, rather surprised. Cletus looked around as he picked up his bags. "Tell you what. Let's get out of here before we catch up on old times!" 3:17 PM, Manhattan They sat a small table in a local diner. Cletus had not planned on meeting any old friends while in town, but since he had, he may as well engage in a conversation. "Any reason you came back?" Peter asked. Cletus put down his coffee. "None in particular. I just wanted to see the old home once more. Hadn't planned on staying long." "Oh," Parker said. "Been up to anything in particular?" "Not really. Just moving from small job to job... state to state." Cletus finished his coffee. He could tell Parker was interested in something. "No, we hasn't been active," he said. "Oh... I'd heard about it, but the two men were different. Speaking of which, whatever happened to the other guy?" Parker asked. "Jack? We work together, mowing lawns. Not much of a friendship anymore, though... We kind of live in different worlds, I guess." Parker looked around. There were a few people in the diner with them. "We should continue this somewhere else. You have anywhere to stay?" "Huh... no. I was going to get a motel or somethin'," Cletus replied. "Listen, I have plenty of room-" "No!" he shouted. Calming down, he said, "I can find a place." "Mary Jane knows you've changed. I don't think she'll have a problem with it." "Well... why not? But if she isn't okay with it, I'm leaving!" Peter waved for the waitress. Both reached for their money. Cletus looked the bill over to see only Parker's coffee on the list. "Oh, we had two coffees," he said. "Yeah, but you're not being charged for yours. I can't charge a national hero!" Cletus looked down from the waitress to Parker. He mouthed the words. Parker winced. He had hoped Cletus would have found up by now. "You still have that clipping on the wall, don't you, Jane?" She pointed to the wall by the door. A framed newspaper clipping hung on the wall. Cletus walked over and read it. "Carnage Captured!... Cletus Kasady, once reported to have actually been the symbiotic killer, was actually working for the government to hunt the alien and incarcerate it. This reporter apologizes for not checking the sources, even if they were his own eyes. Story by Peter Parker" Cletus looked up at Parker. "That son of a bitch. Who told you to write this?" 3:39 PM, Parker residence Mary Jane looked out the window at the man standing on the sidewalk. She didn't know what to think, let alone say. Was she about to let this man in her house? He had tried to kill her husband many times. But he had also saved the lives of many when he defeated his alter ego. Besides, it wasn't HIS idea. It was her husband's idea. And if he was willing to trust the man, then maybe she should. "Peter... tell him to come in." Parker walked to the door and opened it. Cletus stood with his back to the house, his luggage resting on the concrete. "Cletus, come on," he shouted. He picked up his stuff and slowly walked up to the house. He stepped inside as if he were entering a trap- very wary of what may happen. But it was all emotional. And he knew he had to do this. Mary Jane managed a slight smile, hoping to ease his nerves. "C...come in," she said, shyly. Cletus simply looked around. Spider-Man was doing rather well for being a reporter. Certainly nicer than he was used to on his own. Not counting the fact his current residence was government supplied. "Listen, maybe I should find another place. I can't put you out," he said. Parker replied, "It's no trouble. Come on." He made his way inside the room and set his stuff down. "Mary Jane, why don't you order some dinner for us. Cletus, anything you want?" Parker asked. "Huh?... oh, well, anything is fine," he answered. She walked off to leave the two alone to talk. "Listen, your business as Spider-Man is none of my concern," Kasady spouted. "Well... you have to be a little curious." Cletus shoved his hands in his pockets. He wanted to know EVERYTHING. How Spider-Man worked, what actual powers he had, everything. And it was eating at him. "Okay, you shoot webs from your wrists, or is it some gimmick? Wait, never mind! I need to know about that article!" Parker hoped to avoid that topic. But he had no choice. "Some government guy wanted us to publish that. My name was tacked on to make it look real!" Cletus wished he could tell Parker the absolute truth, but figured it best not to. "Yeah. I guess they wanted me to lead a normal life after helping stop him. No one has really bugged me. I think most have forgotten by now. No... it's time you knew what happened." 5:12 PM Parker was still trying to take it all in. Immortality drug, experiments, kidnapping, followed only by an evil entity which had controlled the man most of his life! And it almost wiped out humanity. If not for Cletus and the new guy mopping the floor with him. Cletus made sense to him now. The withdrawn man afraid to interfere with the demons of his past. Willing to step on anything that was Carnage. Better yet, deny it happened. And he was immortal. He did it to stop a mad man. He wanted to die, but he became the way he was for the rest of the world. And he was paying for it in mental suffering. His train of thought was broken though when Cletus entered the room. "Feeling okay? I mean, you get all of it?" he asked. "Yeah," Parker said. "I believe it, but I just don't BELIEVE IT!" "Neither do I. But it happened, and no way to change that. Anyway, I'm going to a movie." He watched as Cletus opened the door and left. Mary Jane walked in and sat down on the couch beside him. "I heard his story through the doorway," she said. "You think he's changed permanently?" Parker looked at his wife. "Forever is a long time when you can't die. But he's not the same man he used to be." Monday, April 29th. 3:02 PM "Well, thanks for your hospitality. I give you a lot of credit for having faith in me." "It's no problem," Peter replied. Cletus said, "Right. Well, if you ever need me for anything, just pass the word along. I'm sure someone will deliver it." A horn soudned outside. "My cab." He grabbed his bags and left the house. Parker closed the door behind him. "Mary Jane... he's going to do just fine. I just hope his friend can get over his problems." Mary Jane didn't say a word. She simply nodded in agreement. She noticed an envelope on the floor. Picking it up, she pulled a few small pieces of paper. It was money. "Peter... there must be at least five thousand here!" she shouted. Parker's eyes widened. He knew Cletus had left it behind. Opening the door to yell out for him, he saw the cab was already gone. "I don't believe it. But....where'd he get that much money?" Tuesday, April 30th. 10:01 AM, Phoenix. Basement labs "...yes, General. Okay... no, I didn't expect THAT to be sent here... but I will get preparations underway for storage... right..." He nearly fainted as he saw General Peterson enter the room. "...yes, General... I have to go prepare for storage. right....bye!" He was stunned. General Peterson saw the look on the man's face. "Dr. Bartley, is something wrong?" he asked. "General Peterson? But.. how could you be here... when I just got off the phone with you, after you entered the room?" Before he could reply, he looked over at the Screelak in its holding cell. It wasn't trying to break the lexan wall any more. It just stared at them. "Dr. Bartley," he said, "this is important... what did 'I' say? And no, it was not me..." "Well, they said to expect... expect delivery of..." he hesitated. "Of what? This is important!" the General screamed. The General's pulse was racing. "General... the Carnage symbiote will be entering the state within an hour!" Notes: Basically set in the Marvel Universe, I will be using a lot of my own continuity for this series, and generally focus on the main characters. Appearances by Marvel's universe will be special occurrences. Crossovers with characters/titles from other companies will be treated as "single universe", not as "2 universes crossing temporarily". I will also try to ignore major Marvel comic story arcs. Cletus Kasady, Carnage, and other Marvel characters are copyright Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. Other characters are either my creation(copyright myself), or copyright their specific owners if non-Marvel licensed characters. 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.
