Chapter 5

Descent into Savagery

Spiderman dodged Carnage's leaping attack, kicking out ferociously. His leg buried itself in Carnage's stomach, and launched the insane monster off the end of the bridge.

C'mon!

By now, the oncoming train was just thirty seconds away. Spiderman focused on his Spider-Sense, trying to find a way to stop the train…

There!

The wall-crawler raced to one end of the bridge, and reached the wall next to the train-bridge. On the wall, there was a small steel box, with a metal lid screwed on with nuts and bolts. Spiderman ripped the bolts off without hesitation, and the opened box revealed a large level, labelled 'Emergency Stop'.

Spiderman grabbed the lever, and wrenched it down. His Spider-Sense instantly confirmed that the train was slowing down, and would stop a long way short of the bridge.

"Now to keep it that way…" muttered Spiderman, as he pulled the lever off and threw it away.

Carnage grinned maliciously, revealing his yellowed teeth, and cackled loudly. He saw Spiderman whirl, looking for the unseen threat, and his grin widened. He had the Spider outmatched in every aspect; the fact that Spiderman hadn't been totally and soundly beaten was because that Carnage wasn't even trying; he was gauging his enemy's strength, like he'd done in the past, when he was just Cletus Cassidy, stalking his prey before killing them.

Spiderman whirled again, frantic with fear. The wounds he'd sustained in the fight suddenly seemed to crash into him, and his body at once felt both incredibly numb, and burning with fiery pain. The injuries from his fight with Venom and Sandman also weighed heavy upon him; a cracked rib, and multiple large and deep wounds on his upper body and arms, many of which had been ripped open by Carnage and emitted small trickles of crimson blood. The agony was enough to freeze him in place for a few seconds, his hands moving to grip his stomach as he doubled over in pain, his eyes watering.

Whump.

Carnage swung towards Spiderman and kicked out in one smooth motion. The superhero was in too much pain to avoid the silent but deadly attack.

Screaming horribly, Spiderman was knocked off the bridge. He fell back, and slammed into a wall with a horrific bang. The bricks of the wall crumbled and collapsed, some so beaten they turned to dust, and darkness appeared at the edges of Spiderman's vision, slowly closing in to blind him, His body was totally numb now, and his head lolled. With his last sight, he saw Carnage leap towards him, cackling menacingly and pulling his fist back.

The blow was enough to embed Spiderman into the wall totally. The wall-crawler was too weakened to move, and his suit was ripped all over, revealing cuts and scrapes, both old and new. Carnage's fist struck forward again, and Spiderman felt the pain more acutely than ever before. There was nothing else: no Spiderman, no Peter Parker, and no Carnage, nobody, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing… Just pain!

Carnage struck again, whacking Spiderman's head with a whirling kick. The superhero took the blow, and then slumped forward. Carnage gleefully stepped out of the way as Spiderman uncaringly slipped towards a lethal fall. But the monster hadn't had all of his fun yet. It gently reached out and caught Spiderman with one hand, stopping the hero with what seemed like remorse. That hint of remorse disappeared almost immediately though, as Carnage slammed Spiderman back into the wall. He struck forward, again and again and again, until Spiderman's head was surrounded by blinding pain. He prayed for the merciful coolness of unconsciousness, but the constant jolts of his torture prevented him from sliding into the dark embrace of the coma that threatened to overcome the battered web-swinger.

Carnage suddenly stopped slamming the wall-crawler into the wall. He leaned forward; lips peeling back to reveal the needle-teeth which dripped with green saliva.

Carnage's voice was a gleeful whisper into the battered and bleeding ears of Spiderman. "Hello, Spiderman. Were we not good enough for you? We are the sample that you took to the laboratory in the University… You should've disposed of us when you had the chance. We found the remnants of our father, Venom, at the construction site were you killed him. We have his memories now, of how you tried to kill our cousins. But most important of all, we learned how to hurt you. Tell us, when Harry Osborn died, did he cry? Did he weep, begging for another shot at life? Well, remember, that it was your fault. When you controlled us, in your black suit, it was you who allowed us to bond to Eddie Brock in the church tower, you who didn't care if it caught some innocent bystander?" Spiderman's vision suddenly cleared, just in time to see the mask of Carnage peel itself back, the tendrils of the mask slithering back into the neck of the monster. Cletus Cassidy, his narrow face split by a horrific grin of monster needle teeth, his eyes, tinged red from Carnage's corruption, dancing with an infernal joy, his red hair hanging lank over his eyes. "We're here to educate you for your mistakes. You will die first; then it will be your precious friend's grave, dug up, and Harry Osborn's body mutilated. Then it will be Aunt May… I wonder if she shall scream at the moment of the most pain? Perhaps when I sever her final toe, or perhaps when I begin to eat her entrails," Spiderman's hands slowly curled into fists… "And then Mary Jane…" Cletus Cassidy's long black tongue flicked out to lick his needle teeth, just as the mask of Carnage once again folded over him. Spiderman, filled with rage, was reminded of Eddie Brock, when telling Spiderman about how he was going to extract revenge on the superhero for his humiliation.

Carnage exhaled, his putrid breath filling Spiderman's nostrils. "Mary Jane… Oh the pleasure that I'll get from her!"

Spiderman looked up sharply as Carnage giggled. Suddenly, his emotions took over. The human side of him suddenly disappeared, became second to that of the Spider. With an inhuman scream, Spiderman punched out, his fist connecting to Carnage. The punch was incredibly strong, enough to a metre-thick steel plate, but carnage absorbed the blow and laughed.

Spiderman continued to scream, and kept his fist pressed against Carnage's belly. Sonic waves poured from the mouth of Spiderman, and Carnage suddenly screamed, the monster's skin/suit beginning to writhe in pain as Spiderman's cry weakened it. And, with a horrendous yet satisfying ripping sound, a long 'spike', protruding from Spiderman's wrist, ripped into Carnage's flesh. The Spider-Stinger, its growth triggered by Spiderman's sudden surrender to his inhuman spider-side, shot out, shooting a paralysing toxin into the bloodstream of Carnage. Spiderman continued to roar and pushed the stinger deeper into Carnage's stomach, twisting his wrist to increase penetration and damage.

Spiderman's mask ripped at the mouth, revealing four glittering white fangs where Spiderman's canine teeth had once been. The teeth glistened with deadly crimson venom. Carnage emitted a high-pitched shriek as Spiderman's own roar ended. The superhero bucked his head forward as Carnage tried to escape. His efforts were futile, as Spiderman plunged his teeth into Carnage's neck, and the poison set in. The paralysing effect of Spiderman's stingers had prevented Carnage's escape, and the monster could do nothing to pull away from the bite.

Spiderman ripped his head back, pulling away a chunk of flesh, and Carnage silently fell backwards, disappearing into the shadowy depths below.

Spiderman sagged backwards, exhausted and in excruciating pain. The stingers slowly receded into his wrists, and his fangs steadily turned back into normal teeth. Spiderman was a physical wreck, but that didn't worry him. What truly worried him, was how he'd just let himself go, how his powers had suddenly manifested themselves in a horrible way.

There was only one thing Spiderman knew; it hadn't been Spiderman, or Peter Parker, or even a human that had bitten and killed Carnage.

It had been a spider. Nothing less. An animal, something that reacted only to instinct.

Spiderman shuddered, and straightened up slowly. Now he had to go and make sure Mary Jane was alright.

Spiderman leapt onto a subway bridge, and raced towards a manhole-ladder, not noticing the slight movement of the convulsing monster a hundred feet below him…