Maximum Carnage Issue 25: Final Claim by Justin Anderson Monday, May 6th, 2002. 9:32 PM, New York Carnage pushed past the crowds. He was desperate. He was, after all, losing. The symbiote simply could not take the abuse. The effort needed to hold it in this shape was draining energy rapidly, and the effort required to heal it every time it was shot only drained him further. The car sped around the corner, nearly taking out two oncoming vehicles in the process. Domientius had few options. He ducked down the closest alley. The car stopped only seconds later. Carnage heard the rattle of something landing near him. The grenade went off, shrapnel tearing into him. Another went off, blasting a massive hole in the wall and sending him flying in the process. Jack now stood not too far away. He was dangling the pendant. "Want this?" Domientius knew he was being baited. Still, what choice did he have? Without the pendant, he would continue to weaken yet further. Jack saw the sparking wire hanging from the hole. Dropping the pendant, he grabbed the wire, careful to get ahold of the insulation. An idea had struck him. The wire touched the pendant, current flowing through it. Domientius screamed in pain, feeling the electricity through a spiritual bond he had with the chunk of metal. Jack drew a remote explosive from his pocket. Peeling the backing, he stuck it onto the pendant, shouting, "RUN!" The explosion was far too much for Domientius. He was forced out of the symbiote. The pendant landed at Jack's feet. Grabbing it, he watched. Domientius, barely visible, hovered in the air. He looked directly at the symbiote, still alive on the pavement below. He headed for it. Jack ran, reaching for another explosive. He tripped. A loose brick in his way sent the pendant flying out of his hand. It flew into Domientius's path. Before he could even reach the symbiote, he felt himself drawn inside. In desperation to possess the symbiote, he had inhabited the steel pendant his soul had been bonded with over a thousand years ago. The chunk of metal hit the ground. Cletus ran into the alley, hauling a VCU. He immediately sealed the symbiote inside. Jack took the pendant, shoving it in his pocket. The crowd had gathered around the alley. Cletus shoved the VCU in the trunk, while Jack tossed his weapons in the back. 11:41 PM Jack sat on the steps of the apartment, police barricade still surrounding the place. The crowd had disappeared. Two officers remained, questioning Jack and Cletus. They refused to answer anything, for now. A large limousine pulled up, General Peterson exiting the rear. "You have Carnage in custody?" "Right here..." Cletus said as he pulled the Vacuum Containment Unit from the trunk of the small green Military Police car they had been traveling in. "Good. I'll take him with me," General Peterson replied. "Take this one, too," Jack said, tossing the pendant towards him. "Domientius. Signed, sealed away forever, and delivered!" Tuesday, May 7th. 10:23 PM Cletus sat on an old roof, watching the city. He hadn't left the city since they'd finally put Carnage away the night before. He was waiting for someone. He didn't look awa as he heard them arrive. Spider-Man said, "We heard. Carnage is..." "But how?" Venom asked. "Simple, Venom... look down in the alley below. See all those scorch marks?" The two jumped to the other end of the rooftop. Looking down, they saw the blackened stains and debris. "We hadn't planned on it. Just coincidence. So... job's done. Carnage is in DC again. Nothing left to do, I guess." Venom had been effectively useless since arriving in the city, and he was growing impatient. "Good... Now, to OTHER MATTERS!" he shouted. "Spider-Man! You... if not for YOU, Ann would still be alive! Not to mention the countless other things you have done to me! WE SHALL TEAR YOU AP-" Venom heard a familiar click. Looking back, he saw Cletus pointing a pistol at him. "Sit down, Venom... I am not in the mood. You two can argue on your own time. In fact, while you're here, you get to listen to ME! First, Venom, I'm sick of how you claim to be a protector but show little concern for others! You kill people as if it's FUN! WELL IT'S NOT! I've shot those who clearly DESERVED IT! ... but it's never fun... never easy... you look for other ways but it would take too long... "And you, Spider-Man... you can't see the real world for what it is! You're just like Doc Kafka! Everyone is good and can be redeemed! How many more times will Mysterio, Electro, Doc Ock, Scorpion, and the others have to break out and be locked up again before you realize some people can't be stopped with kind gestures? You can't just stop the Green Goblin, you have to try to cure him in the process! Well, some can be cured... I was, no thanks to you.... but some can't. Will Vulture ever give up? Tell me that..." The two heroes looked at him with wide eyes. Parker was shocked. "...who would have ever though Cletus Kasady would be the voice of truth between us?" "... he is right," Venom said. "I blame you... but sometimes, I'm as much at fault as you are. Ann may even be alive if I had acted more... human." 10:41 PM Across town, Jack Arden sat in the head of the Statue of Liberty, looking at the sky. The city had gone back to normal. The world had gone back to normal. His entire career was reflected upon him. From those first minutes of running around those labs.... to being in another dimension... hired by the government, meeting legends, fighting more demons, all of it. His personal issues took a back seat to all of it. But it was over. Friday, May 10th. 5:10 PM Jack walked down the halls of the Pentagon. he had been helping out in the labs for the past three days, aiding in the experiments on Carnage and the artifacts. He was finding it to be a nice diversion to the stuff he was used to, even if he had no idea what he was doing. He passed Cletus in the hall. "Where ya going?" Jack asked. "Oh... I'm leaving." "Oh, that's- LEAVING? Why?" Jack demanded. Cletus shifted his head around. He didn't want to make eye contact. "Yeah. Listen, I was walkin' back here tonight from the movies... and saw a man beating a kid in an alley. People just walked by... I had ta stop him. You'd think with this city crawling with police and military this shit wouldn't happen." "Oh... I understand. Have fun." Jack left. Cletus wondered if he was making the right decision. Wednesday, May 29th. Manhattan, 3:12 PM Jack was walking a quick pace down the hall. He'd been placed in an expensive hotel while he remained in the city. He still aided government scientists in their research on Carnage, though General Peterson left him plenty of time off, plenty of money. Reaching his room, he saw Cletus beside his door. "Hey, man!" "Jack," Cletus said, "just came by to see if you'd be interested in doing a job for us. Doc Kafka needs some help with a patient." "I don't know. What kind of help?" he asked. "An interrogation," Cletus replied. "They've been having trouble, I figured you might have a chance with this one." Jack was growing suspicious. "Who?" Cletus answered, "...Shriek." 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.