Part 57

Life, The Universe, and Why Morality Sucks

By BobCat and Ash the Wanderer

Disclaimer: Disclaimers? We don't need no stinking disclaimers! (Best read with phony Spanish accent.)

Ecks had fully expected to see Erik brought back in chains and a bloody ruin, a shadow of his former defiant self who had finally tangled with something even he couldn't understand. Chief O'Connor, Jacob, and a good many others had expected the same thing, and had been waiting expectantly. Ecks had barely had time to tell her teammates she was all right before they had run off to finally catch Erik, and she looked forward to catching up with them. Did she have a story to tell!

But when Phil, Ralph, and the girls had emerged, glum and Erik-less, that story didn't seem so important. Indeed, what seemed more important was if Phil was going to even have a position to catch Erik in a few minutes.

O'Connor was strangely calm as he walked up to the four.

"Where is the target?"

Phil didn't want to say the three little words, but in the end he had no choice.

"He got away. Again." OK, four words.

O'Connor seemed to digest this, but Phil knew it was just the calm before the hurricane.

"Let me get this straight. You have the power of some of the mightiest races in the universe. This man is little more then a cyborg. Not only that, but you have three others with almost the same amount of power, as well as a well-trained Jedi with an Ion Cannon, and HE GOT AWAY…"

Chief O'Connor was cut off in mid-bellow but a sudden high-pitched shrieking noise, "Nails On A Chalkboard's" bigger, nastier sister. He stopped as everyone winced and turned towards the noise.

Celeste was leaning against the wall, rubbing one dagger along the other. Once she saw she had everyone's attention, she stopped.

"Jaws was a great film, wasn't it? Now, are you ready to listen, or do you people want to keep beating your heads against a wall?"

"How did you get away from your guards?" O'Connor growled.

"Acting sweet, asking for a tour, and locking the poor saps in a closet when they let their guard down. Not very hard. No wonder my husband keeps giving you the run-around."

"LISTEN YOU…"

"NO, YOU LISTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!" Celeste suddenly roared, somehow out-intimidating Chief O'Connor. "My husband is a hard foe to beat by himself, but the path you just followed is never going to lead to victory. Only to ruin. I thought maybe you would understand after this latest failure, but I could tell immediately you weren't. Pride goeth before a fall, well you people are not only content to fall, but you pull out a shovel every time you hit bottom. Now you are going to listen to someone who actually knows what she is doing."

"Don't you dare…" Jacob said. Celeste turned her gaze to him.

"Ah yes. You. The genius who decided brute force would work in the face of this adversity. Now, I suppose I can't blame you. Fathers and sons are like that. But I have no position to worry about here, so I will be brutally honest. Your son is an incompetent, idiotic horndog who seriously needs some help to address his issues against women. I took a look at him to see what this was all about, and I can say he got what he deserved. He didn't want to arrest my husband for the sake of controlling chaos. He did it because he thought he could meet me and his so-called "charms" would somehow get me to throw himself at him and he could use me as a vessel to masturbate in. You should be lucky my husband didn't castrate him. I certainly wanted to, the disgusting pig. Men like him have no use or worth to this world. If I was you, buddy, I would give him some serious re-training, or better yet, dump him and let him live his wasteful life someplace where he won't hurt good agents like these four. CAPICE?"

Warren's father was struck speechless. No one had ever dared hit him the way Celeste had. Celeste, on the other hand, was back to addressing the group as a whole.

"I also took a look at my husband's files, and again, you disappoint me. You get mad, Mr. O'Connor, that your agents, despite having far more power, cannot seem to capture my husband. If you took a close look at those files, you would see exactly why. I will give you five seconds to figure out why."

Celeste looked at an imaginary watch and hummed a bit of the Jeopardy theme.

"Um, does it have something to do with Agony?" Ecks volunteered.

"Give the woman a prize! Yes! For some reason, I couldn't access Agony's files, but there was enough info on her in my husband's files to give you the key. And here it is: you can't beat my husband because, well, quite frankly, you aren't crazy enough."

Everyone stared at him. Phil wondered if Celeste was really the crazy one.

"Let me explain. If you looked at Agony's information, you would have an idea just how crazy she was. She only had two sure desires: to kill people, and to hurt Erik. Besides that…anything goes! Can you imagine trying to keep track of a female who kills people and can utilize virtually any method her mad mind dreams up to do it? Especially considering how hard Erik tries to protect innocent people? Agony's utter unpredictability was one of her greatest weapons, and Erik, in order to save lives, had to try and stay three steps ahead of her, even as she became more and more depraved. By the time it was over…well my friends, the proof is in the pudding. After trying to outwit someone who doesn't even have ANY wits, well…the sane are no challenge. Erik's life has allowed him to outthink people like you before you can even begin to come up with a plan. That's why you keep losing. And why you will KEEP LOSING. Oh, maybe if you send in an army, or two armies, or ten thousand, eventually you'll get my husband through sheer weight of numbers. But let me tell you: people like you, the sane, the Pure, you may win, but it will be a victory King PYHRUS would lament. And that, as Steve Williams might say, is the bottom line."

The group was silent. Finally, Chief O'Connor blinked.

"I guess…we could give it some thought, since you seem to be so…passionate about it, miss."

A ruckus suddenly broke out at one end of the room, distracting O'Connor and the leaders. Phil looked over to see what was going on.

"Hey Chief! We caught this one after a mistake dumped him in the Image Universe! Where should we put him?" a Physics Policeman said, even as he and three companions used Reality Checkers and various sound/heat weapons to try and keep their prisoner under control: Cletus Kasady, AKA Carnage, a usual foe of Spider Man.

O'Connor waved the officers away. "Just put him in one of the cells until we have some more time. I want four men on guard, and make sure the Reality Checker fitted into his cell is working correctly."

The man nodded. "Yessir."

Carnage chortled madly, his bright, green eyes glinting madly. "Aw, c'mon coppers! I was only goin' 25!"

When Phil turned to see the source of the noise, he saw Kasady for a brief moment. Then, his vision swirled for an instant, and he suddenly felt as if he had taken a blow to the gut.

Whereas Omi had been surrounded by a small cloud of tiny black specks, Carnage's x-ray was instantly swallowed up by a black shadow. Phil could hardly tell where one section began and the other ended. Then Phil realized there was no different sections. Carnage's whole essence was as black as pitch.

Then came the visions. Young Cletus killing his own parents. Later, sent to a home for troubled boys, burning it down with many of the inhabitants trapped inside. Tears ran down Phil's cheeks as he saw not only the seventeen murders that Kasady had been accused of, but also the dozens of others. Young, old, male, female… Kasady didn't care. Unlike many serial killers, there was no pattern. After all, he was a self-proclaimed servant of Chaos. He believed that law was a joke, and order was a lie. Phil slumped to his knees, clutching the sides of his head in an attempt to drown out their pleas for mercy. It didn't work.

And that was BEFORE he had been bonded with his "other." Sharing a cell with Eddie Brock, AKA Venom, Brock's symbiote had reproduced, and the newborn alien had bonded with his very blood. Then, the new string of killings had begun, even more horrible than the first. The first had been a guard at the prison that had been pulled through the bars of his cell. Next had been a man randomly selected because his name had been "so stupid." Years later, the event known as "Maximum Carnage" had ripped through New York with a devastation greater than the September 11th attacks, reaching the point where Carnage's insanity was spreading to the general populace.

And Phil saw it all.

Then, Phil almost thought he heard a clicking noise. And suddenly, the barrage of images stopped.

Phil blinked as the horrible things he had seen faded away. He looked at a concerned Ralph. No more rapid on and off partial x-rays. It was finally over, but his sick feeling persevered.

"Phil? Are you OK?" Chibi Ryoko said.

"I…think so."

"Not so easy is it?"

Phil glanced up at Celeste. She nodded knowingly.

"Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, or perhaps, seen the world through his eyes. It's hard to argue the right to live when the reasons are so obvious, isn't it?" Celeste said. She looked at Carnage with clear disgust and anger, and the fact she was probably seeing what Phil had seen with even more clarity shocked Phil even more. She barely looked effected at all. All he could see was rage.

Carnage kept chortling as the guards tried to drag him away. He looked at Celeste. Celeste's eyes arched, and Ralph realized she could see what Carnage was thinking. UH oh.

"Don't like high-frequency sound, eh?" Celeste said, and inhaled. Ralph saw the writing on the wall and quickly sealed Phil in a soundproof Force-bubble while sending a mental warning to everyone else to cover their ears.

And then Celeste screamed, focusing her power through her vocal cords to amplify and augment the cry to far beyond what her vocal cords were capable of. While Ralph had warned everyone, he had not done the same to Carnage, and he reacted immediately and violently, throwing himself on the floor and banging his head as his symbiote went absolutely berserk. Celeste stopped after about ten seconds, and smiled contentedly as the guards dragged the semi-comatose Carnage off. She looked back at Phil.

"Now after what you've seen, tell me he didn't deserve that. And a whole lot more."

Phil couldn't think of a reply. These last minutes had been some of the worst he had had in recent memory. And to think his target and his wife had to live with that…vision…all the time until they were dead…

"Sergeant Phil! Are you OK?" O'Connor was suddenly saying.

"Uh yes! I just felt dizzy for a moment! I'm fine now!" Phil said.

"Good. Well, it had been decided to give you ONE LAST CHANCE. This time, you bring the woman! But I warn you, if you fail this time…well, let's just say we need someone to guard the Tellytubby Universe." O'Connor said.

"Yes sir." Phil replied.

That was when the alarm went off.

Roland Desmond sat at the desk in the building he was currently residing in, one which had belonged to one of his associates before his unfortunate demise. Fortunately, his men knew that it was always a possibility he could be dropping by and had chairs in his size. Staying in one place had blown up on him, but moving around had failed as well (although that was partly his fault. If he hadn't wanted to see Vengeance's death with his own eyes…) and hence he had decided on the new tactic of hiding in plain sight. His fingers were laced together and he was deep in thought, staring out into space.

He hated to admit it, but he was at a bit of a loss. He had thought Nightwing would be his greatest problem while he seized control of Bludhaven and used it to build an empire. And Nightwing had proven to be very annoying, but the fact was, he tried to follow the law. And in Bludhaven, he owned the law. All it took was enough money in the right places and whatever problem he had was solved. Nightwing was a pest, but one he could deal with.

But this Vengeance…was something else. He followed no law other then his own, and he had proven it. He had bested his assassins, he had destroyed all the would be bounty hunters, and in the process he had done severe damage to his empire. He had even taken him on in a fight and lived. He had the skills of a surgeon, the cunning of a rattlesnake, the ferocity of a wild bear, and more tricks then an army of prostitutes. Worst of all, he was angry. Roland could tell when someone was motivated by rage, and whatever motivated Erik gave him a fury like Desmond had never seen.

He had to be stopped. If this continued, in a few days he wouldn't have anything left in Bludhaven. Hell, there might not even BE any Bludhaven left.

But…despite the aggravation of seeing his grand plan fail, he thought he had a new answer from it. While Sai's trap had ultimately been thwarted by Vengeance's sheer savagery, the lure had worked like a charm. The vigilante had thought someone was in trouble and had come running to investigate, only realizing his mistake when the trap had closed.

He could use that. He would set up an apparent dilemma to lure Vengeance in. The man was no fool, so the trap would have to be a very good one. But he was Roland Desmond, and he was no fool either. He was sure he could think of something. Once he had, he would set the lure, and once Vengeance bit, it WOULD be the end of him. No chance to escape, no one to outwit or outfight. Just sudden and total oblivion. As much as Blockbuster wanted to rip the vigilante apart with his bare hands, he would settle for his death. Yes, he would soon be back in control…

The nearby phone rang. Roland glanced at it. Who could be calling him? Very few people had the number. Maybe it was one of the lookouts he had posted around the city, calling in to give him some info on Vengeance's whereabouts. That could be useful, it would give options on where to set the trap.

"Desmond." He said as he answered the phone.

"ROLLIE!"

Every single thought in Roland's head was suddenly obliterated by sudden panic at the screaming, frightened voice.

"Mother?"

"ROLLIE!" his mother screamed again. There was a bit of noise then, and then another voice came on the phone.

"Hello Blockbuster." Erik said. The fear was replaced by rage.

"As you may have guessed, your dear mother is serving as company to me. She seems to have gone a bit senile though. The only thing she seems to be able to say is your name. No, wait a minute. She knows how to say "Ouch." Too."

The phone groaned as Roland almost crushed it in his anger.

"You son of a bitch, you listen…"

"No, YOU LISTEN, Blockbuster, or I will find out how many variants of "Ouch" your mother possesses in her vocabulary!" Erik snapped. Blockbuster ground his teeth in rage.

"What do you want?" he growled.

"A million dollars and a Hawaiian Island!"

"Done. Now…"

"I'm not serious Blockbuster. Don't you ever watch the Simpsons?"

Blockbuster growled again.

"You know what I want, Blockbuster. I want you. At the 2nd Bludhaven Docks. And come ALONE. And I do mean, ALONE. You bring any gunmen, I kill your mother. You bring any thugs, I kill your mother. You bring any muscle other then the massive ones on your arms and legs, I kill your mother. Heck, you bring your PRIEST, he'll be conducting last rites. You and just you Blockbuster. You have an hour. No wait, make that 90 minutes. I'll give you time to make out a will."

Erik hung up, and Blockbuster took the phone away and stared at it for a few seconds. He wanted to give in to his incredible fury, but that would waste precious time. Vengeance had his mother…he would die. In agony beyond belief.

Blockbuster tossed the desk aside and stomped out the door. He wasn't writing a will, but he did have something he could do before he left.

"Your son will be heading here posthaste, methinks." Erik said to the elderly frail women in a wheelchair, blue clouds of smoke constantly hovering around her. Her eyes, however, were pure steel.

"You young hooligan. My Rollie is going to rip you limb from limb." Mrs. Desmond growled. Erik was in the process of crushing the phone, and he looked at her in amusement.

"Ah, mothers. No matter what they do, they always love their sons. No matter what. But your son has done a lot, Miss. He's hurt and killed a lot of people, and he plans to hurt and kill a lot more. It's time for him to pay for his sins, and I will play the part of the piper." Erik punctuated the last words with his talons pointing a few inches from Mrs. Desmond's face.

"Don't you dare touch me!"

"Oh I'm not going to, miss. You are far from Pure, but not quite corrupt either…but close enough. Perhaps it is my fate to be ripped limb from limb by your son. But that won't save you. Nothing can. I can already see it."

Erik plucked the cigarette from the holder Mrs. Desmond was holding it in. She sputtered as he stared at it.

"You think you can smoke these things day in and day out and expect nothing to happen?" Erik said. "Cancer is a very nasty thing, Miss Desmond. It's almost like nature's way of telling you you've lived long enough. Your own cells turning against you and devouring you from the inside out. And lung cancer is particularly unpleasant, as you slowly…ever so slowly…run out of breath. Forever. That, my dear lady, is as bad a fate as even I could inflict on you."

Now Mrs. Desmond looked frightened, as Erik stared into her eyes.

"But your son will leave the world a lot sooner. But his death will be as painful as yours. Mark my words. Vengeance will be served."

End Part 57