Carnage Part 8 - Lay All Your Cards on the Table
"I'm home. Sorry I'm late," Peter announced as he walked through the front door.
"Hello, Peter!" He heard his aunt's voice from another room, followed by footsteps. "Ben's not home yet, either. He got held up at work."
"I, uh, I brought some friends."
"Hi, Mrs. Parker," Gwen called from behind Peter.
"Hi, May!" Mary Jane called from behind her.
May Parker, Peter's aunt, entered the living room. The older woman wore a warm smile. "Nice to see you all again. It's rare for Peter to ever bring his friends over."
"Should I have called first?" Peter asked. "We can go if-"
"Don't be silly," May admonished. "Your friends are always welcome here. Oh... Who's this?"
She noticed the fourth person in the group, lingering in the entryway. His meekness made him look much smaller than he really was. The redhead's large eyes showed he was uncomfortable in the new environment.
"This is Cletus," Peter said. "He's... new."
"This is a rare occasion. There's almost enough for a party," May said. "Is Harry coming too?"
"N-No... He's not."
"We're just gonna talk for a little while," Mary Jane said. She quickly left the room and ran up the stairs, totally at home in someone else's house.
"Would you like some drinks?" May offered. "There should still be some soda left."
"We're fine, Mrs. Parker, thank you." Gwen nodded and walked after Mary Jane. Peter casually followed.
Cletus was a little slower. He quietly closed the door behind him, and then he stepped past Peter's guardian. But he stopped and turned to look at the woman again. May never stopped smiling. She met his gaze and smiled even brighter.
Cletus was confused. "Did something good happen?"
She simply said, "You're here, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
May looked towards the staircase, where Peter was last seen. "You see, Peter hasn't had a friend since he was a little boy. He was always alone after that. But last year he met Gwen. And through Gwen, he made friends with Mary. Then Harry came along. And now he has you, too. I'm glad that he has so many people in his life now."
She smiled at Cletus again. "It's a wonderful feeling to have friends, especially after you've been alone for so long... You think so too, don't you, Cletus?"
"Yes..." Cletus nodded slightly. "Yes, it is..."
"Cletus?" Peter came back to the top of the staircase, looking for the other boy.
"I'm coming!" To May he said, "It was nice meeting you." And then he hurried towards Peter.
Once everyone assembled in his bedroom, Peter closed the door securely. "Remember not to talk loudly."
"I know," Mary Jane said.
It was normally a taboo to talk about Peter's other life with a relative - or anyone, really - nearby, but Peter didn't want to wait for a conveniently empty house this time. This was important.
Peter faced Cletus. "Spidey already told Gwen and Mary Jane the details, so now they'll relay it to us." They turned to the two girls. "So, what happened this afternoon?"
"Well..."
Some Hours Earlier.
Carnage and Spidey, each in full costume, stood on the rooftop facing each other.
"Do you have any idea how big a pain in the butt you're being?" Spidey asked. "My friends are all pulling their hair out trying to find a way to deal with you."
"A pain? I just got whacked in the head with a cinderblock," Carnage deadpanned. "If you want pain, wait 'till I pay back those nitwits... Yeah, throwing them off a building is too good for them now."
Spidey shot back, "You had it coming. You started it after all. Why did you bring them here, anyway? How does kidnapping and scaring people help your big plan?"
"This had nothing to do with my Grand Master Plan," he answered. "Man, you haven't been paying attention. I scared them 'cause I thought it'd be fun... But I never expected them to fight back. It wasn't fun after that."
"You think everyone in the world is just gonna roll over and let you kick them around? You think Cletus is going to do that?"
Carnage flinched. Spidey continued. "Your so-called master plan is to get rid of Cletus' personality, so you can be alone in that body. Is that right?"
Carnage recovered and spoke honestly. "Yep."
"Are you trying to integrate your personalities together?" Spidey asked.
He snorted. "Don't be stupid, Spider-Face. I JUST told you I'm trying to get rid of Cletus... I'm trying to KILL Cletus... If we become one, that's not really getting rid of him, is it?"
"But that's the only 'cure' I've heard of for D.I.D.," Spidey replied. "If not that, how are you going to do it? How does your plan work?"
"What you're really asking is, 'how do I stop it?' Get real, Spider-Face. If you think I'm gonna tell you that, you're much worse than stupid."
Spidey didn't respond, so Carnage kept talking.
"But I WILL tell you this much, if you like. My Grand Master Plan is already set up. It's like a boulder I pushed off a mountain. It'll take a while, but I don't have to do anything but wait 'till it hits the bottom... And then Cletus will be nothing but a smear on the ground. You probably couldn't stop it even if I DID tell you how it worked."
"If it really does get rid of Cletus, I suppose you'll keep being a supervillain."
"Of course, man," Carnage said like it was the most natural thing ever. "It'd be like getting promoted to full-time. Without my container locking me up half the day, I could have my special kind of fun twenty-four seven...
"Spider-Face," he continued, "even if I don't tell you EVERYTHING, I do tell you a lot about myself whenever we meet. I think it should be your turn now. Why are YOU here, right now?"
After some hesitation, Spidey answered, "I'm not sure myself... I want to stop you, like any other supervillain. But my friends want to save Cletus. None of us are sure of a good way to do both... But thanks to your trouble-making, we don't have the luxury of sitting around, waiting to think of a plan. I have to act now, even if I'm not sure what to do."
"In other words, you're just winging it," Carnage said with a laugh. "I've got another question. See, I can't see all of my container's memories, but sometimes the important ones slip through... It seems Cletus met someone who's 'like him'... And YOU seem to know a lot about split personalities..." He trailed off.
So Carnage did know, or at least suspect, Spidey thought. But that's fine. Even paranoid Peter knew we'd probably have to tell him eventually. It'd be easier if all of us were in on it.
"That's right," Spidey admitted. "I haven't actually met Cletus yet, but the other me, Peter Parker, has. He's the one who wants to save Cletus from you most of all."
"I see... It's just as I thought... Spider-Man and Peter Parker... Heh heh heh... Aha ha ha ha ha!" Carnage threw his head back and laughed from his gut.
"Care to let me in on the joke?"
Carnage soon calmed down. "No, it's nothing... I bet Peter TOLD you to save Cletus, but maybe I have a better offer."
"What are you talking about?" Spidey asked.
"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it. I'm going to kill Cletus VERY soon. If you stay out of my way, I'd be more than happy to do it again on Peter."
"...You're serious, aren't you?"
"Dead serious." Indeed, there was no laughter in his voice anymore. "Think about it. If 'Peter' were gone, you'd be a real person, not just Peter's other self. Alters like us, who never had anything of our own - no name, no history, no body, not even a full existence - we can steal EVERYTHING from our other selves! That body would be yours to keep! Don't tell me that isn't tempting."
Carnage stepped towards Spidey. "I THOUGHT you were my enemy, but it turns out we're the same. We're the only ones in the world who understand each other. So even if you can't admit it out loud, I KNOW how desperately you want that body for yourself... Seriously, man, can you reject my offer?"
Carnage stared at Spidey, enormously enjoying his victory. Spidey stared back at him silently for a moment or two. The gel that formed his costume split at the neck, allowing Spidey to pull his mask up just far enough to expose his mouth.
Then he said, "In a New York minute, loser." And he stuck out his tongue.
Carnage reeled back like he was punched. He could have been struck by lightning, and it would have been less of a surprise.
Spidey pulled his mask back down. "I don't want to get rid of Peter. On the one hand, I admit there would be some perks. I'd have more time out each day, and I wouldn't have to put up with Peter's nagging. But I don't need that. I'm plenty happy with my life the way it is now... And Peter may be a nerd and really bossy, but I don't hate him. I wouldn't want him to disappear just so I'd have more free time."
He pointed a finger at Carnage. "Oh, and one more thing. That nonsense about how we're the same just because we're alters - How stupid is that? I'm not even the same as Peter and I share a brain with him. Why would I be the same as a psycho like you? ...No, you don't know me at all."
Carnage listened to him carefully. Then he shrugged and shook his head. "I guess not. Man, today was certainly my day for surprises... Oh, well. If you won't help me, I guess I'll just have to kill Cletus anyway - and watch you agonize in your bitter failure to stop me."
"You talk big, but you don't realize how badly outnumbered you are," Spidey confidently shot back. "It's not just me and Peter. It's us, our friends, MJ and Stacy, and Cletus too. We're all working together to stop you. Did your 'Master Plan' take all five of us into account?"
"Big deal, man. One spider and four even smaller bugs versus a weapon of mass destruction. I told you the first night we met: you don't stand a chance." Carnage brandished his claws. "But if you want a reminder, we can brawl it out right now."
Spidey shook his head. "I can't stop you today, but I will stop you. I promise, the next time we meet, I'm gonna give you a total thrashing."
He walked to the edge of the rooftop. But before he jumped over, he looked back over his shoulder and said, "You picked the wrong superhero to mess with."
And then he was out of sight. Carnage ran after him and looked over the edge, but Spidey was already gone.
"Go ahead and run," Carnage shouted into the empty air. "That's all you're powers are good for! And remember what I said: NOT! A! CHANCE!"
"Spidey couldn't really get any useful information out of Carnage," Mary Jane explained.
Peter frowned. He wasn't expecting much, but it was still depressing to hear.
Eager for good news, Mary Jane added, "But - But at least he hasn't erased Cletus yet. We still have time."
Cletus was very quiet throughout the entire meeting.
"Spidey was talk-"
Peter was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. It read "Harry."
Peter grimaced and hung up. "I was saying, Spidey was talking big but in a one-on-one fight, I really don't think he can beat Carnage. We can't get Protoform X away from him by force."
Gwen looked around the group, stopping on Cletus with an expression of guilt. Then she sighed and said, "Well, someone's got to play devil's advocate and it might as well be me. I'm sorry but this is something we really should think about."
"Think about what?" Mary Jane asked.
"Maybe... we should turn Cletus over to the police."
Cletus lowered his head.
"Are you joking?!" Mary Jane demanded.
"I don't like it either. But Carnage hides that suit every time he switches with Cletus, so that's when he's powerless."
"We can't lock Cletus up in a mental hospital or prison just to stop Carnage," Mary Jane shot back. "We're trying to save Cletus, remember?"
Gwen retorted, "Well, what if we don't lock Carnage up and he erases Cletus' personality anyway? It might be better to just cut our losses..."
"I think Gwen is right," Cletus spoke up suddenly.
"WHAT?!" Mary Jane whipped her head around to look at him.
"The most important thing is to stop Carnage. As long as we do that, I don't care about the consequences."
"Cletus," the other redhead whispered.
"Even before Carnage got superpowers, he used me to do a lot of horrible things... Unforgivable things... No matter what punishment I get, even if I'm tied to the stake and set on fire, I wouldn't complain."
He actually had a resigned, almost peaceful expression as he said that. It made the others very uncomfortable.
"I would complain," Peter said. His stern tone took the others by surprise. "I wouldn't want to be labeled a monster and locked up. So I'm not going to let it happen to a friend either. I promised myself I would save you, and I meant it."
"But what else can we do?" Cletus asked.
"We can't give up," Mary Jane said. "There has got to be a way to have our cake and eat it too. There's just got to be."
Gwen sighed again and said, "If only we didn't need to stop Carnage - If he gave up this supervillain idea on his own, it'd solve all our problems at once."
"Yeah, that'd sure be nice," Mary Jane mumbled. Then her eyes widened. It was just like that moment in cartoons when a light bulb shines above a character's head.
"Hey!" She looked around at the group with an excited smile. "Why not!"
"Why not... what?" Gwen asked.
"We'll just ask Carnage to stop being evil," Mary Jane said. "He tried to make Spidey switch sides. Why don't we do the opposite?"
"After everything he's done, there's no way he'll just conveniently agree to stop his plan." Curious, Gwen looked at Cletus. "Will he?"
Cletus shook his head. "He never listened when I asked him to stop."
Peter spoke up again. "And yet, Mary Jane's idea makes sense... We don't know when, where, or how Carnage is going to try this 'erasing' procedure, whatever it is. He has all the power now. So talking him out of it might be the only way... Next time he appears, instead of trying to get information out of him, we should make one real attempt at a peaceful settlement."
"But there's one more problem," Gwen said. "Spidey officially hates Carnage. He probably won't agree to talk peacefully."
"Oh, that's right," Mary Jane realized. "Even if he did agree, his heart wouldn't be in it. If Spidey can't convince Carnage to reform, which of us-"
"It has to be me," Peter said. "No, it should have been me, right from the start. I'm the one who understands Carnage, not Spidey."
That surprised the group. "Don't say that," Gwen admonished. "You're nothing like Carnage."
"No, it's true," he said quietly. "Don't you remember? When I first learned Spidey was living inside me, I hated it. I wanted to be normal again so badly. There was a time I would have given absolutely anything to be free of him... I still feel that way sometimes, deep down...
"But I chose coexistence. It took a while, but I was able to let go of my hatred. So I'm the only one who even has a chance of making Carnage do the same."
Peter seemed confident, but Mary Jane was worried inside.
While Peter's trying to reform Carnage, Carnage will definitely be trying to tempt Peter, just like Spidey, she thought. I want to trust Peter, but... Is everything going to turn out okay?
Late that night... After Peter and his friends decided their course of action, Carnage still had things of his own to take care of.
With nobody watching him, Carnage spoke into a cell phone. "My list of enemies just keeps growing longer. I never would have guessed so many people had the guts to stand up to me." He ran his fingers through his curly hair. "Ugh, man, Norman's getting real antsy too. I'm running out of hiding places for my stuff. I'll probably have to burn this phone as soon as I hang up."
"Carnage, it's called a burn phone, but you know you don't have to actually set it on fire, right?"
"Don't have to? Why wouldn't I want to?" Carnage asked.
"Never mind."
"So, yeah, I won't be able to talk to you for a while," he said. "Things are about to get VERY messy. I'll contact you again once Cletus Kasady is finally out of my life."
"Norman Osborn won't let it happen."
"He can't stop me," Carnage rebutted. "He can only help me. He'll have no choice."
"Okay, but even if he does, even if everything goes exactly the way you hope, it'll still take a miracle for your so-called master plan to work."
Carnage laughed. "Oh, ye of little faith! You're too pessimistic. You should think how wonderful it'll be if this turns out to be the one-in-a-million chance... And it WILL be. I will MAKE it happen."
"We'll see..."
"Just wait, my friend. Everything is about to hit the fan!" And then he hung up.
(Posted 8/18/2013. Please review!)