It's been quite a long hiatus for this tale. Having recently gotten into writing again, I wanted to come back and at least finish this. So I'll stop babbling and let you read the long overdue Chapter 4.

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Principal Kelly's Office

The principal was sat in his office, talking on the phone to a man with a distinct voice distortion effect.

"It seems the hypnotic therapy is working. The pawn is quite close to your location" the voice said. It continued "You have done as instructed?"

"Yes, yes. The two should be arriving any minute now" Kelly responded.

"Excellent. I shall pass the order to commence the operation. Just try to keep out of harms way…one human being killed is much more likely to bring investigation from the authorities than a mutant" the voice instructed.

"As you wish" Kelly responded before hanging up the phone.

At that moment, the two mutants from that morning entered the office and took a seat near the far wall. Clearly, they looked like they had something they would much rather be doing.

'That's too bad. Science is the more pressing matter here' Kelly thought.

"Nice to see you made it on time. It's kind of funny that you turn up on time for a punishment" Kelly said.

"We already apologised. Is there anything else that we're here to do?" Kitty asked.

"Not really. We just need to wait for the other to turn up" Kelly replied.

Bayville Sewers

A small trio had gathered beneath the streets of Bayville. Their leader, clad in silver-coloured battle armour and with sleek, long black hair, was shadowed by a distinctly larger figure, towering over both of his team-mates. The third was of a more slender physique than both, with medium length and darkened hair. The trio's leader was communicating over a small headset.

"We've reached the target, sir. Shall we begin?" he asked.

The same distorted voice began to speak. "Yes. I am informed that Xavier's 'children' are where they need to be".

With that said, the leader's armour began to morph around a small object he was holding. Eventually, it had formed a small firearm, not too different from the sort many street gangs had in their possession. He aimed it at the sleeping figure in front of them, followed by a bang that echoed through the lengthy tunnel system behind them. The creature steadily rose from its prone position as the female of the trio punched the wall, causing a small part of the ceiling to collapse, leaving an exit into the street above. By now, the creature had fully awoken and leaped to attack those who had invaded its makeshift lair. However, the bulky one grabbed him by the head, stopping him in mid-air before hurling him through the hole. He quickly boosted the female through the hole too, before looking for a more practical exit with the leader.

Back on the street, the creature known as Carnage lunged for the woman, but was stopped in his tracks by an amplified punch. She followed up with a kick, amplified in the same way, sending the creature down to the ground and also releasing shockwaves that shattered the windows of nearby buildings and cars. By now, her team-mates had re-entered the fray. Carnage webbed the leader and then pulled him towards him before slashing his face with his claws. To his astonishment, the man seemed to heal his wounds at an accelerated rate. So distracted by this development, Carnage did not notice the larger of the three had approached him from behind until he hit on the top of the head that hurt much more than a punch from his usual foe. Slightly stunned, the larger man swung him around by the legs before throwing him towards the school a short distance away.

"OK, we've done what we have to. Time to withdraw before any X-Men get here" the leader says.

"You've got it, Scalphunter. Blockbuster, let's move" the female, otherwise known as Arclight, says.

Together, the trio retreats back into the sewer system to make their escape. It was now up to fate whether the rest of the plan worked.

Principal Kelly's Office

With a loud smash, Carnage came crashing through the window and hit the far wall with a great thud, leaving a large indentation in said wall. Kitty and Kurt are quite taken aback at the sudden intrusion of such a monster, wondering what it was.

"Ah…right on time." Kelly says, before mysteriously collapsing onto his desk.

While Kurt and Kitty are even more confused, particularly at Kelly's strange behaviour, the monster before them has begun to regain its senses, becoming more aware of its location. Carnage looks around the room, and sees the two teens stood over Kelly trying to make sure he was still alive. Something in his head, however, clicks into place.

'These people…they seem familiar…and powerful…I must feast on them!' he thinks.

While not fully aware of why he has a strong desire to absorb the two mutants, Carnage could not turn down such an opportunity that had presented itself. Taking action, he leapt forward and pinned the male one to the ground before wrapping a tendril around his arm. Before he could begin feeding, however, the boy disappeared in a flash of light and smoke, and was kicked in the back of the head, sending Carnage lurching forwards into the wall.

"Get Kelly out of here, Kitty! I'll try and keep this monster out of the way!" Kurt ordered. Kitty simply pulled Kelly through the wall, not having the time or the nerve to question the order. Carnage once again leaped at Kurt, who this time managed to avoid being caught by leaping out of the same window Carnage entered through. Not stopping to wait for it to follow, Kurt practically ran up the side of the building onto the roof. Not the most secretive place to have a super-powered fight, but certainly out of the way. 'Just going to have to distract it until help arrives' Kurt thought, just as Carnage had followed him onto the roof as he hoped it would. With a series of acrobatic manoeuvres, Kurt leapt across several vents that were scattered across the roof, whereas Carnage just ploughed through them with brute strength, sending pieces of metal flying. Kurt once again tried a leap, but was caught in mid-air by a tendril, which Carnage used to his advantage by slamming the teen onto the ground.

Stunned and quite hurt, Kurt knew he was in big trouble if he didn't at least put up a fight with the creature. With a single bamf, he had once again escaped from the creature's grip. However, Carnage had sensed his move this time, ducking out of the way of another kick to the back of his head before clobbering the teen over the back of his head with a fist. As he wraps his tendrils around the young mutant, he is surprised to see his prey slip through the floor as if he were a ghost. Behind him, he heard a gruff voice call out to him.

"You picked the wrong kids, bub!"