A moment later, Ashley gasped for air and turned onto her side. Coughing and spitting out some blood, Ashley shivered as she coughed. Pushing herself to sit up, she leaned against some of the broken concrete. Catching her breath in between coughs, she tried to standing up. Feeling weak and dizzy, Ashley sat back down and held her head as the room spun in a circle. Lying against the wall, Ashley's vision became clearer and she could see the debris surrounding her. Then she felt her side and could feel her clothes wet. Looking down, she moved her hand and saw that it was covered, along with her shirt, with blood.
"That's right," Ashley thought. "Dr. Osborn shot me here… and then I fell…" Ashley looked up and could barely see the lighting coming from the ceiling. "From up there…and I survived…?" Noticing how far down she fell, Ashley couldn't believe that she was alive. Ashley then notices that she didn't feel any pain coming from her side where Dr. Osborn shot her. Her shirt was stained with blood, but she felt no pain coming from the area. Lifting her shirt up, she saw the wound was almost healed!
"Whoa." Ashley said, feeling the area around it. "It's healed. But how?" Ashley also noticed that she had cuts on her legs and arms that were basically healed as well. Then Ashley saw a red and black bracelet on her right arm. "What the hell?" She pulled on the bracelet and tried to take it off but it wouldn't come off.
"If you try to take me off," a voice said. "You'll end up dying, again." Ashley let her arm go and looked around.
"Who said that?" Ashley said. "Whose there?" Then she felt her arm moving on its own as she looked around. Looking at her arm and saw the bracelet changed into a red and black snake with white eyes.
"Sup?" The snake said. Ashley just looked at the snake with wide eyes. "I know what you're about to say, so don't speak. I'll explain everything in just a minute. What is your name anyways?"
"Ashley," Ashley said. "What's yours?"
"Names Carnage," the snake said. "I am a symbiote created by Dr. Osborn a few weeks ago."
"You're a symbiote?" Ashley said in shock.
"Yup," The snake nodded. "I was used in tests that Dr. Osborn has done to people, but most of them didn't survive the tests." Ashley felt sick as she could imagine how Dr. Osborn's testing would go.
"Do you remember how many tests he did?" Ashley asked.
"Unfortunately no," Carnage said. "He did it to a point where I even rejected the test subjects." The snake shook its head in disgust. "I escaped a while ago, even though he thinks I died. I got to say, he's a crazy psychopathic man."
"I have to agree with you on that." Ashley said. Then Ashley thought of something. "Wait, you said that if I take you off I'll die again? What do you mean by that?"
"Yeah, about that…" Carnage said. "You see, you have already died from the gunshot wound and the fall from up there." Carnage looked up towards the ceiling. Then Carnage looked at Ashley. "I myself was dying and was in need of a host. So once I saw you, which to me was luck, I basically brought you back from the dead."
"Uh…thanks?" Ashley said. Ashley pulled her knees close to her and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Carnage said. "Are you not happy that you are alive?"
"I am," Ashley said. "But I can't return to my normal life."
"Why's that?" Carnage said. "You now have new abilities and power. What's stopping you?"
"Fury," Ashley said irritated. Carnage looked at Ashley with a look. "You don't know him, but he sent me on this mission to infiltrate Dr. Osborn's office because his employees began to go missing. He knew that this mission was dangerous, but he sends us off anyways." Then Ashley noticed something different as her hair fell in front of her. Looking at it, she noticed that it was a different color! "What the hell?! What happened to my hair?"
"That was me." Carnage said sounding a bit uneasy. "As a symbiote, I have to make some changes to my host."
"Oh," Ashley said, sounding a bit upset. "Well, we might as well head on out of here before anyone finds us." Gathering all of her strength, Ashley stood up and leaned against the wall. Carnage formed back into the bracelet as Ashley got up. Then she began to walk down the tunnel, finding a way out.
Ashley walked until she made it to an opening where the subway tracks cross paths. Then she followed one path of tracks heading down hill. Ashley and Carnage talked along the way and got to know each other. While they were walking, Ashley admitted that she liked the way Carnage changed her hair color. Even though Ashley didn't like the fact that Carnage has a blood lust, she decided just to go with it. Carnage even gave her thoughts of what she can do now.
Then Ashley came across a door on the wall in the middle of the pathway by the tracks. Opening the door, she saw the hall was long and dark. Going in, Ashley walked the path until she came to a room that had a low light on.
"What's this place?" Carnage asked as Ashley grabbed a towel from a cabinet.
"This is my secret room." Ashley said. "I've had it built a while ago while I was at S.H.I.E.L.D." Ashley went to a computer and turned on its power and wiped the screens with a towel.
"Why do you have so many computers?" Carnage asked. "A little too many computers, no?" Ashley shook her head.
"Let's just say that I stole a few from Fury." Ashley said snickering. "And he doesn't know about it."
"And I thought you were good?" Carnage laughed.
"We all have a dark side." Ashley said smiling. Then the computer screens began to illuminate. "Janis, are you there?"
"Mrs. Ashley?" a voice said as a figure began to appear on the screen. "Is that you?" Then a woman with purple hair and eyes appeared on the screen. "Oh my god! You're okay!"
"Yeah, I'm doing okay." Ashley said.
"Thank goodness," Janis said. "I'm so glad to see you okay. I tried to contact you during your mission, but there was no signal."
"That's because I cut the signal." Ashley said. "And don't ask why. It's complicated."
"Understood ma'am." JANIS said. Then Janis looked around. "Why am I picking up another form in the room, but I don't see anything?"
"That's because Carnage doesn't have a form yet." Ashley said. Before Janis could speak, Ashley held up her arm with the bracelet. "She is a symbiote that is now a part of me. I'll explain everything later." Janis only nodded.
"Ma'am," Janis said. "Do you want to contact your sister or Becky?" Ashley shook her head.
"No," Ashley said coldly. "Right now, I'm going to rest. Wake me up in ten hours."
"Yes ma'am." Janis said as Ashley walked to a bed. Lying on the bed on her back, Ashley let out a sigh.
"Things are going to get interesting," Ashley said looking at her right arm. "Don't you think?"
"Of course," Carnage said. "And I can't wait to see what you have planned." Ashley smiled and then fell asleep.
(J.A.N.I.S. stands for Just A Nice Intelligent System)
Two weeks have passed since the failed mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the disappearance of Agent Ashley. Since then, Fury has sent out several agents to try and find her. But every time his agents returned, they come back empty handed. Fury knows that Ashley's sister will be questioning him soon, but Ashley has yet to return. Within those two weeks, a new hero has also appeared in New York, causing Fury to have his attention focused on her.
"Her name is Spider-night, according to some civilians." Agent Coulson had explained to Fury. "From what we know, she had red-orange hair and is about 5'7". Her suit is mainly red with a few accents of black. She has a belt that is similar to Deadpool's belt. It also has a black spider on the front on the chest area. She has red claw-like gloves, and a black/white mask that covers her eyes. Though some have seen her with her mask covering her face completely, she mainly has just an eye mask." Fury saw her in action for the first time, about five days ago, and noticed that she is very flexible and agile when it comes to attacking an enemy.
One hazy Friday afternoon, standing on the bridge of the Helicarrier, Fury had Agent Hill and Coulson come and talk to him about Spider-night.
"I don't know much about this new hero," Fury said as he talked to Agent Coulson and Hill. "But I want to find out where she came from and what she is capable of." Then he turned towards Coulson. "I want you to try and see if you can track her. While Agent Hill." Fury turned towards Hill. "I want you to keep an eye on her from a distant. And keep me posted."
"Yes sir," the two agents said.
Then the elevator by the bridge began to lower its platform as Fury went to his computer. Looking up, Fury saw Tony and Thor on the elevator. Fury felt uneasy when he saw Thor, but kept his cool. Thor and Tony walked over to Fury.
"Fury," Thor said. "I just returned from Asgard and was supposed to meet up with Ashley at our favorite restaurant. But Tony was there and told me that you have news for me?" Fury looked at Thor and slowly nodded.
"Two weeks ago," Fury said. "I sent some agents on a mission to infiltrate Dr. Osborn's labs due to a recent discovery. Unfortunately, during the mission, Ashley was hurt and has now gone missing."
"What!?" Thor said. Thor grabbed Fury's collar and held him up. "How is that even possible? She is your best agent. How could you lose her?!"
"Calm down Thor!" Fury said, trying to get free of Thor's grasp. "We have been searching for her since then, so please calm down."
"But you have yet to find her?" Thor said with rage behind his voice. Fury only sighed as the God of Thunder held him.
"We have not given up the search," Fury said. "I have agents on a 24-hour lookout since her disappearance. We have left no stone unturned, okay?" Thor didn't speak. He let Fury go and turned away from him.
"Fury," Tony said. "You do realize that her sister is also worried that Ashley has yet to return. I have been telling her what you have told me, but I think she is not going to believe the next excuse."
"I kind of figured that," Fury said. Then an alarm went off. "Hill, what's going on?"
"There's been a bank robbery at the local bank," Hill said. "It's Doc Ock." Fury looked at Thor and Tony.
"You two, go." Fury said. "I'll send a few agents in a few." Thor and Tony left the Helicarrier.
"Sir," Hill said once Thor and Tony left. "Spider-night is already there!" Fury looked at the screen and saw the heroine tackle Doc Ock, who was caught off guard from her attack.
Down on the streets, Doc Ock got up and wiped some debris off his shoulder. Three of his robotic arms still had a bag of money while the fourth one was broken. Spider-night hung from a light pole as Doc Ock got up.
"I don't recall a spider-girl in New York." Doc Ock said looking at her.
"That's because I'm new." Spider-night said. "My name is Spider-night, not spider-girl. So get it used to it." She used webs and grabbed the bags from his arms. Doc Ock's robotic arms went after Spider-night as she swung around him.
"Stand still so I can hit you!" Doc Ock said. Then he was able to grab Spider-night by the leg. "Gotcha!" He pulled her out of the air and threw her across the street. Spider-night crashed into a few cars and didn't move for a moment. Doc Ock came over to her and picked her up off the ground.
"I'd figure you'd be weak." He said bringing her closer to him. "You may be new, but you have no chance against me." Spider-night looked up at Doc Ock with a grin.
"Oh, I think I can take you out." Spider-night said as she grabbed one of his arms. Holding a grip on it, Spider-night broke the arm in half. Doc Ock immediately let Spider-night go and held his arms as pieces of metal fell.
"Damn you." He said as Spider-night jumped back. Sticking her tongue at him, Spider-night used her webs to hold down Doc Ock's broken arms. Before Doc Ock could attack Spider-night again, a rocket from behind hit one of his arms. Turning around, Doc Ock saw Iron Man and Thor coming towards him.
"Oh great," Doc Ock said. "More heroes'."
"You're out numbered, Doc Ock." Iron Man said aiming his rockets at him. "Give it up." Doc Ock looked at the two heroes' and then put his hands up in defeat. Spider-night used webs and held the rest of Doc Ock's arms as Thor and Iron Man landed by them.
"Thanks Iron Man," Spider-night said tying up Doc Ock.
"Actually, we thank you," Thor said. "You were here to stop him before us."
"Just trying to be a hero," Spider-night said smiling. Less than 2 minutes later, cops came and took Doc Ock away.
"So, your name is Spider-night?" Iron Man said. Spider-night nodded
"Nice to meet you for the first time, Iron Man." She said holding out a hand. Iron Man shook her hand. Then she turned to Thor and smiled. "Nice to meet you too, Thor." Thor shook her hand as well.
"Pleasure to meet you as well," Thor said. "We heard that there was a new hero in our city."
"And we finally get to meet you," Iron Man said. "You a bit of a tough cookie to find."
"So I've heard." Spider-night said snickering. "I'm just trying to keep the city I love safe."
"We could use an extra hand at S.H.I.E.L.D." Iron Man said. "I'm sure Fury wouldn't mind." Spider-night looked at Iron Man and shook her head.
"Sorry, but I'll have to decline your offer." Spider-night said. "I prefer working on my own without someone giving me orders." Thor didn't say anything to oppose Spider-night comment as Iron Man only shrugged.
"I respect your answer," Iron Man said. "But if you ever have a change of mind." Iron Man handed Spider-night a small card with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on it. "Give us a call."
"I'll keep that in mind." Spider-night said putting the card in her belt. "Thanks."
"Well," Iron Man said. "I guess we will see you around then?"
"You bet." Spider-night said smiling. Then she used a web and swung off into the city. Thor and Iron Man watched her leave.
"She seems nice," Iron Man said. "Kind of naïve though." Thor didn't say anything as the two headed back to the Helicarrier.
Swinging around the city and landing on a rooftop of a building, Spider-night stood at the edge of the roof and looked at the city. Then she sensed something behind her as she stepped back.
"Are you going to stand there and wait for me to attack you?" She said turning around as Deadpool came out from behind a door.
"Aw, damn you found me." He said laughing. Spider-night smiled and hugged her best friend. "So how are you doing?"
"Doing alright." Spider-night said as they both sat on the ledge. "Saw Iron Man and Thor after defeating Doc Ock."
"Nice." Deadpool said taking out snacks. The two ate their snacks and talked for a few minutes on the buildings' roof top.
An hour passed as they snacked. Then Spider-night finished her snack and got up. Deadpool saw her getting up and was still working on his snack.
"Leaving already?" He asked. Spider-night nodded. "You got plans?"
"Always." Spider-night said smiling. "See you around!" She jumped off the building and swung away.
It's been about three days since Spider-night ran into Thor and Iron Man at the bank and it's been fairly quiet in the city, just a few occasional robberies or chases. One day, Spider-night swung around the city while the sun set, she landed on a low building roof top near an abandoned alley way. Staying hidden in the shadows, Spider-night held out her right arm.
"Alright," She said. "Time for some fun." Her suit began to change colors as she held her arm out. Her suit changed from being dark red and black to a blood red with black markings. Her hair had black streaks form in it as her face was getting covered by the symbiote. Then a pair of white eyes opened and a white sharp toothed mouth opened as well. Looking at herself, Carnage laughed a bit.
"Not bad," Carnage said, smiling. "Now it's time for me to create a little chaos in this city." Using a web, Carnage swung out of the alley and went into New York City's night life.
The next morning, on the Helicarrier, Fury got an alert about a killing that happened last night. Once on the bridge, he pulled up a screen with the news headlines reading: "A deadly incident happened last night near the Daily Bugle." Fury unmuted the screen and watched the report.
"Two men were killed in the alley way just outside of the building." The news reporter said. "One witness was on scene and claimed that she was actually a victim of the two men. We have Barbara Sims on scene." The camera showed another news reporter in front of the Daily Bugle that had police rope and cops everywhere.
"Thanks Steve," Barbara said. "Behind me is the Daily Bugle, a known building that prints our papers every day. No one would think that anyone would do anything here at the building. But after last night's incident, everyone has different opinions. The incident occurred late last night; possibly around midnight. No one is usually around that time, but one woman was. She said she had just got off of work and that that two men approached her from behind. They threatened her and pushed her down the alley near the Daily Bugle building. The woman claimed that the men were about to attack her, when a figure dropped down onto one of the men." The camera showed a young woman, who was still shaken up.
"It was out of nowhere," The woman said. "A figure came down and knocked one of the men away from me. I thought it was a hero at first, but then the thing grabbed the man by the throat. The next thing I know I passed out. All I remember was seeing lots of blood."
"This morning," the reporter said. "The bodies of the two men were discovered by a worker of the Bugle. They saw the woman knocked out and immediately called the cops. The men's bodies were in a very nasty state that it took paramedics a few moments to identify the men. Their names will not be revealed at this time. More info on the attack will be coming in later this morning."
Fury saw the images as the reporters continued on with the headlines. Fury notices that there was several screen shots of the area covered with, what looks like, blood. Fury had already sent agents out to the area to obtain information about the incident.
"Sir," Maria said as she came into the bridge room. "One of our agents is reporting back on two security cameras that were by the building."
"Let's see it." Fury said as she went to a computer. Maria pulled up a screen and sent the images to Fury's screen. Fury played the video.
He pulled up multiple screens while the videos loaded up. Fury watched all the screens just minutes before the incident happen. (Unfortunately for Fury, the video was in black and white) Two men did corner a woman into an alley way, and both men had large knives. Then a figure landed on one of the men and knocked the other man away. The one man, that was knocked away, was in the cameras view. Fury then saw him backing up as his friend fell down. Fury looked closely and could see the fallen man was cut up and bleeding. Then the figure came into the camera view, shocking Fury.
"What the hell is that?" Fury said. In the screen, a figure with dark markings and white eyes standing above the man. He saw the figure also have long claws and a grin with white sharp teeth. The figure raised one hand as the man, from the looks of it, tried to beg for mercy. Then Fury paused the video so he can get a better look at the figure.
"Director Fury," Maria said. "What in the world is that?"
"Whatever it is," Fury said. "It has now become a threat to our city." Fury noticed that the figure had a woman's body with long red and black hair. Fury didn't want to watch the rest of the video, so he turned it off.
"I want to see if we can track down this thing," Fury said. "Before it strikes again or makes any moves in this city. And give me updates every two hours, if not every hour if you have too."
"Yes sir." Hill said. Fury took some still images of the mysterious villain and kept a few on file. Then Coulson came into the room.
"I want agents to know about this villain," Fury said to Coulson. "If you find or see this villain, either capture her or take her down." Coulson nodded in understanding and left.