CHAPTER FIVE: A Message
Peter Parker sat in the middle of an aisle in a crowded movie theater. To his right were several screaming children. To his left was a rather large and foul-smelling individual. The large individual repeatedly spilled popcorn on Peter, while the children screamed directly in his ear.
It was Friday, February 14th, 2003. Another term for this day would be Valentine's Day. Of course, Valentine's Day was a celebration of love for most people. For poor Peter, however, it was simply the day that he went to the movies to see the highly anticipated film, "Dareangel".
The hero onscreen was a deaf-mute, wearing pink tights with white frilly wings on the back. He was busy fighting the movie's badguy, Ratsass. Ratsass was busy throwing flaming feces at our hero, who dodged the fiery crap effortlessly. Then Dareangel tossed Ratsass through a window. Ratsass fell several stories before falling into a nearby car's sunroof.
"That's it, I'm outta here," said Peter as he rose and left the theater.
Peter found himself walking home with his head hung low. This day he was not his vibrant self. Aside from the nasty business with Carnage, Peter still had to go home to an empty house. He walked very slowly, and he barely noticed his Spider-Sense when a man approached him from the side.
"Gimme yer' wallet," the man demanded.
"You don't want it. There's no money in it," Peter replied without looking up. He continued walking.
"You think I'm playin', punk? I said gimme yer' wallet, now!"
The man lunged at Peter. Peter simply swatted him away with the back of his open hand.
"Shoo," said Peter.
The would-be assailant flew into a nearby alley. It would be twenty minutes before he regained consciousness.
********
"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" screamed Carnage.
He was hiding in an abandoned warehouse, knowing very well that the police would be looking for him. Not that he couldn't slaughter the lot of them, but fighting the cops would only complicate his plan. Carnage needed to think up another plan. He needed to unwind. He needed to relax.
"Mark, fetch me a beer!" Carnage screamed over his shoulder. Then he scratched his head in thought. "Wait, I killed him..."
Carnage sat against a wall and let his mask retract. He looked to the sky, as if searching for guidance.
"Well, what now, Ma? I don't wanna fail again. I'm really tryin' this time. I had the whole plan set up. But then Spider-Man got involved...AGAIN! I don't even have that stupid flunkie Mark anymore. So now what?"
Carnage lowered his head. Thoughts circulated throughout his mind. Eventually he would fall asleep. And when he awoke in the morning, he would continue to think.
*********
The next morning, Jennifer woke up around 9 o' clock. She walked outside of her building to take in the morning air. As soon as she stepped outside, however, she felt a chill. She was about to step back into the building when something caught her eye. She saw three people fighting down the street. This was nothing new to her, but what astonished her was the result of the fight.
It was two on one. The smaller attacker lunged at his victim's knee and bit into it. The taller attacker grabbed the victim's left arm and tore it out. Then he grabbed the victim's face, and a second later the victim began to shake. Then his body hit the ground. Seconds later he would rise to his feet alongside his attackers. They all turned toward Jennifer, with the tallest one leading. As they moved toward her, Jennifer came to recognize the tallest one.
"Steve?" Jenny asked.
Her brother showed no signs of comprehending. He only moved toward her with increasing speed. Instinctively, Jennifer turned and ran down the street. Steve stopped, turned, and walked into the building, with his partners close behind him. There were several homeless teens that would make good victims for the trio.
*********
Spider-Man was busy moving between the various buildings of New York City, using only his hands and feet. He had gotten so good at this, he really didn't need any weblines to dash between these buildings, which were all very close to each other. He stayed in the shadows while staring down at the street below, searching for any criminal activity to put a stop to. There wasn't anything important, though. That is, until he came upon one block in particular.
A group of teenagers were treading down the street. They moved in an almost zombie-like manner. Peter decided to investigate, so he lowered himself to the ground while still staying in the shadows. Eventually he reached the ground. The group of kids, which was a total of twelve, stopped as they passed the alley that he was in. One of them turned toward the alley and leapt into it. Spider-Man leapt over him and landed on his feet outside of the alley.
'How'd he know I was there?' wondered Spider-Man.
"Any particular reason you're trying to hug me, buddy? Valentine's Day was yesterday. Love ain't free no more," said Spider-Man.
Suddenly Peter felt a tingle on the back of his neck. He ducked and avoided a punch from another of the teens. Soon all of them had converged upon Spider-Man. He managed to break free of the crowd and leapt over them. He landed on top of a nearby car.
"Celebrity status sure has its downfalls. Everybody wants a piece of..." Spider-Man stopped and stared at one of the teens. It was a girl, and her eyes had a blank look to them. The same look that was in Mark's eyes.
"No way..." Peter said aloud.
Suddenly the group pounced on Spider-Man and beat him to the ground. Fists, feet, and nails all made contact with him. Peter rose both hands and managed to knock a few of them away, but they stayed on him. Eventually he fired a webline to a nearby building and yanked himself into the air. He landed on the building and climbed to the top. Then he stopped and stared down. The teens all watched him go, and then they continued walking down the street in search of more victims.
Peter looked down on himself. Parts of his uniform were ripped, and the cold February air was getting to him. He needed to think. Peter leapt from the building, fired a webline, and began his journey back to his apartment.
*******
Carnage was still deep in thought. He was pacing back and forth in the abandoned building. His plan, and its subsequent failure, was still fresh in his mind. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps.
Carnage looked in the direction of the noise. There were three people, each of them slowly shuffling towards him. Carnage's right hand formed a mace while his left formed a long pitchfork.
"What, are you crazier than I am?" Carnage exclaimed.
The three people didn't answer. They only continued moving forward.
"Your funeral," Carnage said smugly.
His pitchfork arm impaled one of the assailants. His mace arm decapitated the other two. Their bodies hit the ground quickly. That's when it happened...
The bodies shook for a few moments. Then, suddenly, their foreheads tore open, and red spikes protruded from each of them. The spikes all flew into Carnage's symbiote. Carnage stared down at himself, and then at the bodies. Then, a devilish grin crept across his face. He looked up into the sky and smiled.
"Thanks, Mom..."
END OF CHAPTER FIVE