Maximum Carnage Issue 23: Warzone by Justin Anderson Tuesday, April 30th, 2002. 10:24 AM, Phoenix "All right. All we know is somehow, someone or some... THING... has managed to supply orders to have Carnage transported into this state. And I know that was not me. But whatever it was convinced everyone it WAS me giving the orders. All we know is an unmarked semi has been used for transport." General Peterson stopped his briefing for a second to catch his breath. The situation was bad. He watched as the techs hooked up the cables. No way would he get Maximum Carnage into Phoenix in half an hour. A video conference would have to do. He eyed the NSA agents in the room. "We have no idea which truck was used or where it is," he continued. "We know Screelaks can take human disguise, so we can either assume the truck is being driven by them, or the truck will be ambushed. We must try to intercept the truck before that happens... is that almost ready?" The techs backed away from the set and turned it on. The picture focused in. Cletus picked up a microphone. "Can you hear us?" General Peterson asked. Cletus replied, "Just fine!" "Okay... you say Carnage is entering the state soon, in an unmarked truck. And somehow, orders were faked to get him across country?" Jack asked. "That's right. We suspect Screelaks, possibly something else," he replied. "Listen, when we captured that one, it said they use a spell to mimic a particular human. Maybe..." Cletus slapped his hand over his face. "...I forgot. I saw another you! A few nights ago. You passed me and threatened me. Then I turn, and you're talking to a few people..." "That would have been good to know a little sooner, Cletus," Jack scolded. General Peterson removed his hat. It suddenly made sense. "All right. From now on, my location will be made known to all involved. If I'm seen somewhere else, it is to be reported and the imposter captured," he ordered. Jack left the room. Cletus moved closer to the camera. "What do we do?" General Peterson placed his hat back on his head. The tension was wearing away at him. "For now... you wait." 11:23 AM, Interstate 40, due south of Dinosaur Caverns It was a mess. the semi had been toppled on it's side, the drivers ripped from the cab and torn apart. The back end of the trailer was ripped open like tissue paper. Broken glass littered the inside. The remains of the VCU, almost indestructible. But somehow, they smashed it open. No signs of the symbiote anywhere. The road had been blocked off, but that made no difference. Carnage was free. "General, this is Agent Leroys. Do you read?" "I'm here," the answer came over the radio. "Bad news. The truck was attacked, like we had expected. It's totaled. The VCU is also smashed. Carnage has escaped." "Understood." 10:27 PM, Maximum Carnage residence Cletus loaded another clip into the AK-47. They had been doing this all day. The government trucked several weapons in. Explosives as well. Grenades, remote detonators, even a few smaller versions of the area detonation devices. Carnage hadn't been seen yet. The only sign of him being here was the fact his transport truck had been torn apart. Not far south of their location. And presumably with a pack of Screelaks as well. The thoughts flooded his head. All he had tried to escape, tried to forget, was soon to come back. Domientius, the Dark God, was irrelevant. The name pierced his brain- Carnage. It was his evil side. The one that was out for most of his life. And when he thought he had changed, his evil side simply separated from him. When he thought he had killed it, it came back stronger than ever. And now... when he had LOCKED IT AWAY... it escaped. And worse... would all he had done be erased? "Cletus!" He looked up from the pile of bullets on the couch to see Jack standing above him. "Hey... you with it?" he asked. "Yeah... Jack, these are loaded." "Good. I'm taking them to the car," he replied. Jack picked up a handful of loaded clips and walked out the front door with them. Cletus had to give Jack credit- where he was deeply afraid to face Carnage, Jack welcomed it. Jack was the kind who lived to take on evil. He was one of the heroes who wanted an excuse to fire a gun, too. "Hey!" He looked up again. "Where's that bag of grenades?" Jack asked. "Sitting on my bed. I'll go get 'em," Cletus said. "Okay. I'm taking the rest of these clips out." Jack carried the rest of the ammo outside. Reaching his room, he found the bag. Filled with live hand grenades. Picking it up, he walked out. But he could feel a set of eyes upon him. Behind him. "...Jack?" "NO...." The voice was deep, inhuman. Unfamiliar. But familiar at the same time. He slowly turned. The shape was barely visible in the darkness. But he could make it out. Large. Eight feet, maybe. Built heavily. Reminded him of the Hulk. Not near the bulk, but muscular. No body fat, all muscle. Some sort of suit on, with boots. The hands had spikes coming back off the fingers. Gloves, maybe. The shape moved closer, step by step. Cletus was too frightened to move. Part of it was the fact he didn't know what this was. Carnage was only about his size. "Cletus, what the hell is keeping you?" He could hear the footsteps behind him, coming up the stairs. It was Jack. "And dammit, turns some lights on!" Jack flipped the hall light on. The creature came into full view. Solid red, black swirls and highlights all over the body. Two large, white eyes. A mouth of exposed, sharp teeth, in an almost emotionless expression. It was Carnage. "Ohhhhhhh, shit!" Jack snuck up beside his partner. He reached in the bag and took out one of the explosives. "Cletus... go." "JACK..." "GO!" Cletus ran off as Jack pulled the pin and threw the grenade. It flew right down Carnage's throat. Jack ducked in his room and slammed the door as the explosion decimated the creature's head. '...he ain't done yet. Think!' Jack ran to the closet and pulled the gun and sword out. Stuffing the sword in his belt, he ran to his drawers. Opening the small top drawer, he grabbed the book and pendant, shoving them in his pockets, along with a wrapped cloth, just as his door was torn down by a large axe blade. It was Carnage, head intact. "MY ARTIFACTS! NOW!" he shouted. Jack reached in his pocket and produced the small gray Zippo lighter which he often carried with him. Carnage simply smirked as he flipped the top open. "If you think that trick will work again, you can forget it!" Jack could hear gunshots from downstairs. He could only guess how many Screelaks were crawling around. He reached down with his right hand, behind the edge of his dresser for a Molotov cocktail as he lit the lighter with his other hand. "Oh, no, Carnage..." Lighting the rag sticking from the end, he tossed the bottle forward. The glass shattered upon hitting the Dark God, spraying flaming liquid everywhere. Jack deflected what hit him. He bolted forward, wrestling his shotgun up, enough to hit Carnage with a shell as he ran past. It was enough for him to get out of the room. As he reached the stairs, he skidded to a dead stop. A Screelak blocked his way. Hunched over as usual, the thin yellow eyes stared at him. He pumped the slide and let the pellets fly. They took the thing in the shoulder. The bits of skin and hardened body shell flew off as a thick black blood ran out. The creature seemed to take little notice. But it did notice the next two shots, as they took the creature out, its last words sounding off in feverish hisses. Jack made his way down the steps. The front door was closed. Moving to the front window, he could see at least ten of the things outside. The gunfire still echoed in the back of the house. Looking around, Jack saw a few weapons laying on the couch. Two MP-5 submachine guns. Pumping the slide of his shotgun, he holstered it beside the sword and took the two weapons. Reaching the small back inner porch, he saw Cletus held down by two of the large creatures, both bleeding from small arms fire but still very active. A Krylakk was walking towards him. Jack rose both weapons and tapped their barrels against their backs. He opened fire. The bullets shredded their skulls in seconds. He dropped the Krylakk as soon as the Screelaks fell dead. 10:38, Phoenix General Peterson stood with the two scientists. They were looking over old reports on the studies performed on the Screelak remains. He didn't look up as the door to the room opened. But the dead silence that suddenly filled the room caused him to turn away from the reports. He looked up to see a mirror image of himself. "Well, General Peterson, so glad of you to JOIN US!" The last words were in an inhuman voice. The General, reaching for his own weapon, fired several shots into the creature. "Oh, really. You think that will be enough? No wonder Domientius hates you disgusting creatures!" the Screelak insulted. He reached with his left hand to his forehead. Grabbing the hair, he pulled downward. The skin peeled off. Underneath was a large yellow eye, and a sick reddish-brown skin. It was the features of the same monster in the large cell, but compressed. The General kept his weapon forward. But no one moved. Except for one man, sneaking up on the thing. But it failed. Quiet as the agent was, careful as he was, the thing turned its head. Before he could fire, the creature opened its mouth, wide enough to take a solid bite into the man's skull. The long teeth pierced brain and jaw. The man had no time to scream. His head was torn off before he had a chance. General Peterson stared on with anger. This thing had DARED to impersonate him, DARED to release Carnage, and now was eating his men. "SHOOT THE FUCKING THING!" he screamed as he again opened fire. The bullets shredded the half human creature as if it were made of tissue paper. It let out a few incoherent screams as it writhed in pain and finally died. He dropped his own gun as he looked at the fallen corpse. 10:41, Maximum Carnage house Jack and Cletus made their way around the house, firing at Screelaks as they went. It was not easy. Cletus had broken ribs, and needed help walking. Jack had trouble aiming. And these things were everywhere. The northwestern corner of Arizona had become a wild orgy of unholy warriors, hungry for human blood. Not to mention the Krylakks were hard to see in the dark. As they made their way to the front corner, a shadow blocked the light from the upper window. Jack stopped in time to miss the shower of glass as the thing jumped down. It was Carnage. "GIVE ME THE ARTIFACTS NOW! I MAY SPARE YOU!" he shouted, as if he expected them to actually comply. Jack tried to run, but the Screelaks surrounded them. "Leeeee... leave... me..." The faint words from his friend did not ease his mind. Jack was not about to leave Cletus here to die. Or at least, an eternity of immortal torture. He was also not about to let Carnage have the artifacts. But he had exhausted his MP-5 ammunition, and only had three shells loaded. He pumped the slide, simply saying, "Cletus, we fight to the end on this one." Before Jack could fire, something began grabbing Screelaks and pulling them away. "You are not taking those atrifacts!" Carnage was looking right in the eyes of one he thought he would never see again. A creature that rivaled him in size and shape. The solid black form blended in with the night, the large white eyes and strange chest emblem standing out. The large teeth and flicking tongue only served to finish the picture. "VENOM?" "YES, CARNAGE!" Carnage had no time to react as the symbiotic hero tore through his army and headed straight for him. Carnage found it hard to believe a mere human version of himself could be so powerful. Venom slammed his fists into the thing's face. Carnage barely flinched. "PATHETIC!" Carnage lifted his right arm, forming his hand into a blade. But he never got to use it. Venom tore the arm off. Jack, not stopping to drag Cletus away, watched the poor fighting skills Carnage displayed. He thought it all over. 'I knew it. Domientius isn't used to working that body.' Being in the clear, he shouted, "BROCK! Leave him and come on!" Landing one final blow, Venom leapt out of the way, using a Screelak as a boost, crushing its neck in the process. He headed towards Jack. They began to run. Carnage, recovering from his beating, saw an opportunity. The sword hung down from Jack's belt. And the man was standing still, trying to open his car door. Venom had stuffed Cletus in the back seat and crawled in the passenger's side. Before Jack took his seat, however, he reached in his coat and pulled out a small remote device. Domientius didn't have a chance to grab the sword. Before the tendril could reach, Jack flipped up a cover and hit the switch. The patch of ground on the western face of the house was destroyed in a cloud of flame and dust. The Screelaks caught in the blast were killed. Carnage was too close to the house to catch any of the blast, though. Nor did he seem to care his troops were dead. 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.
