MAXIMUM CARNAGE! Part 3 - A Big Reveal and a Break-In
The situation at the school was unchanged. The red vines covered every window and doorway. Nobody inside had yet to come out.
The police set up a command post outside the building, but it was a standoff. This was a hostage situation with an unknown enemy. All they knew was what came from a single text message, sent from a student's phone inside the building.
Subject: _
IM CARNAGE
I TOOK THIS PHONE 2 TELL U DO NOT ENTER
ONLY SPIDERMAN ENTERS
IF ANY1 ELSE COMES IN THESE PPL R DEAD
Behind the police, behind the yellow tape closing off the scene, students and teachers watched the spectacle in fear and confusion. Gwen separated herself from the crowd and returned to Peter's side.
Peter was standing off by himself, staring intently at the damaged building. He wasn't watching in fear or confusion, but frustration.
Gwen quietly said, "I told dad that Mary was one of the students still inside, but nothing else." Gwen's dad was one of the policemen at the scene. "He wouldn't expect me to know anything, anyway."
"This is all my fault," Peter said, still staring ahead.
"Stop that," she replied sternly. "It's Carnage's fault."
"I shouldn't have provoked him."
"Well, kicking yourself won't fix it. So let's try to think productively."
Peter looked past her. Gwen turned around and followed his gaze. Far down the street, past the police car barricade, a car parked and two people stepped out: Backyard and Quarter. They gestured to the boy.
"You know them?" Gwen asked.
"They're the guys at Oscorp that Spidey knows. I'll try to switch with Spidey and send him over. If we're lucky, maybe they'll have some answers..."
While Peter/Spidey were trying to get answers, another group was doing their own investigating.
"We'll give this list to the police as soon as we're done," Debra said. She, Flash and Kong were fortunate enough to have been outside the building when the crisis started. Since then, they were working on a precise list of names of the people still trapped. "The problem is, just because someone hasn't been seen yet, we can't be absolutely sure they're still inside."
"Yeah, no telling who's just playing hooky," Flash mumbled as he re-checked the roster on his laptop. "I noticed Harry wasn't in his morning classes. But he's not answering his cell either..."
"Maybe we should tell the police about the tunnel too? It doesn't seem like they know."
"Hey, Debbie, check this out." Kong was watching the school through binoculars. He handed them to Debra and pointed. "Take a close look at that red gunk clogging up the windows."
Debra put the binoculars over her glasses. "I've seen that before... It's the same as the tentacles from that person who attacked us on the rooftop. Gwen called him Carnage."
"Gwen called him?" Flash repeated.
"Wasn't Carnage that guy with the bomb who caused all the trouble downtown?" Kong asked. "The news didn't mention anything like this back then. What made Gwen think they were the same person?"
The three investigators looked at each other.
Flash closed the laptop. "We should go ask her."
Spidey examined the gadget in his hand.
"So let me get this straight," he asked Backyard and Quarter, "you just attach this gizmo to a bio-suit and it gets rid of one side of a split personality?"
"That's right," Backyard answered. "We found out that Carnage is actually a student named Cletus Kasady-"
"Yeah, I already know that."
He blinked. "Oh... But, you see, they're not exactly the same person. He has a condition called dissociative-"
"Know that too."
Quarter spoke up. "It turns out Norman Osborn knew Carnage from the beginning and-"
"Figured that too."
They stared at him.
"What else do you know?!"
"Carnage has secretly bought most of Oscorp's stock and his master plan is to use its weapons to start an international war," Spidey deadpanned.
"Really?!"
"Nah, I'm just messin'."
They weren't amused.
Spidey looked over his shoulder, back to the disaster area that used to be a school. "Although, that little prick probably would start a war if he could."
He looked back to the device. "A way to stop only Carnage while saving Cletus... This is exactly what we've been hoping for."
"It's a double-edged sword, Spider-Man," Quarter told him. "This process can only erase the personality that's awake at the time. If you try to use it on Carnage, he might switch with Cletus at the last second... And it can only be used once."
"And this is assuming that it works at all," Backyard added. "It might not be able to erase either personality. Something like this has never been attempted before."
"We'll just have to test it now. Not like I'm gonna wait until New Year's." Spidey slipped the device into his pocket. "I'll take of things from here. You go report to your boss. And after that... maybe find a new one. A non-mad scientist."
Spidey ran down the street and back to where Gwen was waiting. They were away from the barricade and the crowd of people. With the chaos going on at the school building, no one would notice them or care enough to listen in on their conversation. Spidey explained the situation to Gwen.
"So this was his 'master plan' all along," Gwen said as she examined the brain pedometer. "A part of me was sort of hoping that destroying Cletus was just a bluff, but with this he may actually pull it off." She handed it back to Spidey.
"He'll use this on Cletus unless we use it against him first. It's sink or swim, plain and simple." He put the device in his pocket and looked towards the school. "The problem is, how are we supposed to get to him?!"
"If you show him that you have what he wants, Carnage will probably just let you inside."
"That's what I did in the last hostage situation and he beat me. I need to sneak in this time. I need to break his rules and take him by surprise... Ugh, but it'll take time to rip through that red goop and I don't think the cops are just gonna ignore me."
"Maybe you should switch back with Peter and we can think up-"
"There's no time to keep switching back and forth... Besides, I can think of a plan! You think I can't? This is my brain too, you know."
Spidey sighed and thought for a few moments. "Couldn't you just distract the cops or something while I rush in?"
"Spidey, it would take a big distraction," Gwen replied.
"There you are!"
They turned and saw Debra, Flash and Kong heading towards them.
"Are three extra people big enough?" Spidey asked.
"Don't even think about it!"
The trio stopped in front of Gwen and the person who looked like Peter. "Okay, Gwen," Debra started, "what exactly-"
Kong pointed dramatically and yelled, "The jig is up! You can't hide it any longer!"
All four of them turned and stared at him.
"I just... always wanted to say that," he answered with a sheepish smile.
Debra ignored him and turned back to the other girl. "Gwen... Actually, maybe we should have this talk alone," she added with a look at the brunette boy.
"I can't leave." He pointed a thumb at Gwen. "The warden always gets mad when I take off my ball and chain."
"Don't talk to them," she hissed. She was scared they would notice that this wasn't the same Peter as usual.
"Then he can just listen," Flash said. "You know something about what's happening to the school, don't you?"
"I don't know anything about that," Gwen answered calmly.
"But you know Carnage - the person who attacked us the other day," Debra said. "You called him by name and he responded."
"That's..." She struggled to think of an excuse, but words were failing her.
"You know something important," Flash accused. "And if you don't start leveling with us, we're gonna go to your police officer dad and tell him you're keeping secrets. Then you'll have to talk."
Gwen kept her face composed, but internally she was panicking. She stopped thinking of how to lie to them and started thinking of how to stop them.
Spidey put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I can explain."
"NO!" She looked him in the face and begged. "No, please, don't do anything! Don't-"
He put both his hands on her shoulders. "Stacy... Gwen... Don't worry. I will take care of this." He leaned over to her ear and whispered, "I'll protect Peter's secret. I promise."
Gwen was still nervous, but she nodded her head.
The person who looked like Peter turned to the investigation team and cleared his throat. "She learned about Carnage from me. And I knew because I'm Spider-Man. Stacy wants you to think this is a joke or a trick, but it's not, so don't listen to her deny it. I'm honestly, literally Spider-Man."
He turned back to Stacy and gave her the peace sign. "Okay, they know. And it's too late to undo it. You don't mind, right?"
Gwen gave him a perfectly executed Brazilian-style kick upside his head. He crashed to the ground.
"I should have known you wouldn't help!" She reached down and grabbed him by the collar. "This is how you take care of things?! You said you'd keep it a secret!"
"I didn't say forever," he cheerfully countered.
"You... You...!"
"Oh, give me a break, Stacy! This is an emergency!" Spidey broke out of her grip and stood up. "We have enough problems to deal with, so we might as well let them in on the secret and ask for help."
"There had to be a better way."
"I didn't see you thinking of one. This is technically your fault anyway, Miss I-don't-know-anything."
"Uh, guys," Flash held up his hand. "Sorry to break up this little lovers' quarrel-"
"IT'S NOT A LOVERS' QUARREL!" they both said.
"-But can we get back to the part where Peter expects us to believe he's Spider-Man?"
"It's true though," Spidey said nonchalantly. A quick look around confirmed everyone else was too far away and too focused on the school to even notice their shouting. "As proof: Check this out!"
Gel suddenly appeared and wrapped around his right forearm, forming the glove of his costume. He shot a line of web directly into the ground. The trio stared at it.
"I feel like I'm watching a train wreck," Gwen mumbled to herself.
Debra took a step back and let the revelation wash over her. "Oh my gosh... I was right. I was absolutely right all along. Everything makes sense now! THIS is why we couldn't find Spider-Man. We eliminated a suspect we shouldn't have!"
"Wait, no, no," Kong protested. "Peter can't be Spider-Man, because Mary Jane said she saw him and Peter in the same place at the same time!"
"She lied. She's in on it," Spidey explained.
Kong blinked. "Oh... But that still doesn't make any sense! You don't even like Spider-Man. You were on our team because you wanted to expose his identity. And saying stuff like you would punch Spider-Man in the face if you ever met him. Was that all just an act? 'Cause you deserve an Emmy for it!"
Spidey scratched his head with his still-gloved hand. "It wasn't exactly an act... It's kinda complicated and I don't even know if you'll believe me but... We're not the same person. I'm Spidey, Peter is not."
The trio stared at him in confusion.
Spidey turned to Gwen. "Did he say 'punch Spider-Man in the face'?"
"I feel like I'm watching a train wreck burst into flames," Gwen mumbled to herself.
"Let me get this straight," Flash finally spoke up. "You're Spider-Man - the real Spider-Man - but you're not Parker. You just happen to look like him?"
"You're not a shapeshifter, are you?!" Kong asked.
"Yes!" Gwen saw a glimmer of hope.
"No." Spidey crushed it. "The body's the same. It's just the mind that's different. I'm a split personality. But I don't wanna talk about that, I wanna talk about-"
Gwen threw up her hands. "Why fight it?! If I can't stop this disaster I may as well control some of it."
Spidey slowly and calmly said, "I want to talk about the time Peter wanted to punch me in the face."
"Later." She turned back to the trio. "Yes, I admit it. Peter has a multiple personality disorder and his other self is Spider-Man. We call him Spidey. No one's supposed to know - not even Peter knew in the beginning - so please, please, please don't tell anyone."
"Oh, I get it!" Kong nodded his head enthusiastically. "It's like schizophrenia."
A moment of silence passed. Spidey's eye twitched.
"No... Not like schizophrenia. Dissociative Identity Disorder. It's a totally different thing. I mean, I don't want to sound insensitive to people who really are schizophrenic, but why would you even think-"
"Spidey, let it go." Spidey turned his head away and pouted. Gwen continued. "You all know how Harry acts different in reaction to the people he's with. He calls them 'personas'."
They nodded. "Yeah, but that's not like this," Debra said.
"No, he and Peter are on opposite ends of the continuum. Harry intentionally changes his personality. Some people do it subconsciously. And sometimes, personas are so different and so strong, the brain can't consider them the same person... I don't completely understand it myself, but 'Peter' and 'Spidey' are different people. Please believe that."
"It sounds totally ridiculous," Flash said. "And yet, still easier to believe than the fact Puny Parker is Spider-Man."
"Carnage is a split personality too," Spidey said. "His other self is Cletus Kasady."
"The new kid? The wallflower?!"
Spidey shrugged. "It's always the quiet ones."
"Carnage is the enemy. But he's using Cletus' body to cause all this trouble. Cletus is just another victim," Gwen explained.
"That's why we don't want the police getting involved and blaming Cletus. Besides, they couldn't defeat Carnage anyway. This is personal between me and him... I mean, us and them."
Debra was quietly absorbing all of this. "Let me make sure I understand this... 'Peter' didn't know he was also 'Spidey' back when he agreed to join our team? So he doesn't remember anything you do?"
"Sometimes we remember stuff, especially if we switch while we're still conscious... I think Carnage remembers a lot of what Cletus does too, but not the other way around."
"If they could remember all of it, then you couldn't tell they were different people."
Debra meant it nonchalantly, but it struck a chord in Spidey.
"A-Anyway, I broke the rules to let you in on the big secret. I'll be glad to tell you anything else you want to know when this is all over, but I don't have time to dawdle right now. I need to stop Carnage. So if you can help me sneak into the school, without Carnage or the cops noticing, I'll call us even."
"Sounds fair. And as a matter of fact," Debra mused, "we know the perfect way to sneak you inside."
That surprised Gwen. "Really?"
"Yeah, everyone's so focused on the main building, nobody will notice if we go somewhere else on campus," Flash added.
"Where else would we go?" Spidey asked.
"A secret tunnelway?!" Spidey repeated.
The group walked across the football field. The investigation team was leading Spidey and Gwen away from the school and towards the sports building.
"Why does our school have a secret entrance?" Gwen asked.
"Who built this school, Agatha Christie?" Spidey added.
"It's not exactly a secret entrance. It's the entrance to an underground bomb shelter," Debra answered. "The building was built during the Cold War, after all."
"That's when everyone was all paranoid about getting blown up even though nothing ever happened," Kong leaned down right next to Spidey's face and explained.
"Thank you, Mr. Know-It-All," he dryly replied.
Debra continued her explanation as they walked across the grass. "There's one entrance inside the school, in the boiler room. Then there's a tunnel that connects to the second entrance, which comes out here in the sports building."
"Is it normal for bomb shelters to have a front and back door?" Gwen asked.
"Of course. It's important in case one entrance got blocked by debris. They were probably planning on evacuating the students in case of emergency too. But like Kenny said, it was never needed so it simply sealed off and forgotten. It's not a secret per se, but not many know about it."
"It's supposed to be off-limits," Flash spoke up, "but the lock in the boiler room's busted and some people still sneak down there. It's a great hiding spot when you're ditching class."
Debra raised an eyebrow.
"N-Not that I would know... I just heard it from the other guys... Since I take my studies so seriously... now..."
Debra turned back to the building. "The point is: Carnage wouldn't know about the bomb shelter because Cletus Kasady never talks to anyone, so he wouldn't have blocked it off."
"Definitely the perfect way to sneak in. And you thought we shouldn't ask for their help," Spidey smugly told Gwen. She didn't respond.
The door was unlocked. The five teens entered the building and Flash quickly led them down the hallway.
"It's this way. This entrance is still locked, but we can break past it easy, and then we're home free."
Flash stopped in surprise. The other four looked past him and saw the door was already open. A broken padlock and bolt cutters were on the floor.
"Did Carnage sneak out?" Kong asked.
"It was broken from this side, genius," Flash answered.
"Then... Did the police beat us here?"
"I don't think so," Gwen told him. "But then again, who else would want to go after Carnage?"
"...Harry?" Spidey guessed.
No one answered.
"Well, it doesn't change what we have to do," Flash said. "Let's get going."
"You're not going," Spidey said incredulously. "I'm going in alone."
"What? Why?" he demanded. "That creep put my friends through hell. I have a score to settle with him!"
"Oh, and I don't?" Despite being significantly shorter than Flash, Spidey could look up at him with a decently intimidating stare. "In case you forgot, you slammed him with a cinder block and it barely fazed him. Only a superpowered-guy like me can fight him."
"So, what? We help you out and then you ditch us?"
"I think Peter - I mean, Spidey - is right," Debra said. "If all of us rush in and something unexpected happens, there'd be no cavalry. It'd be better for us to strategize here as he sends us info on what it's like inside."
"So it's settled. You guys stay here and-"
"I am not staying," Gwen firmly said.
Spidey stared at her blankly for a moment. "Of course. It's too dangerous for this hulking football player, but not you... One second thought, you probably are a better brawler... Still-"
"While you're keeping Carnage busy, someone's got to show people this escape route, plus keep an open phone line with them," she gestured to the investigation team. "Besides, Mary's my best friend and if Carnage finds out she knows you, she'll be in a lot more danger than the other students. I won't leave her."
Spidey tried glaring at her, but Gwen gave him "The Look." He was no match.
He groaned. "Fine! You can come! But I won't be responsible for what happens."
"She's got you totally whipped," Flash muttered. "You sure you're not Peter?"
He grimaced.
Kong pointed at them. "We'll hold down the fort but you gotta call us the minute you need help!"
"And be careful!" Debra added.
"Promise," Gwen said.
"Okay..." Spidey concentrated, and a few seconds later the bio-suit washed over his skin and clothes, forming his Spider-Man costume. "Let's go!"
Spidey and Gwen ran down the staircase.
To be continued...
Author's Notes: (10/25/2013) I didn't have a lot of free time to write this month, and to be honest, I think this chapter could have been a lot better. But I already have a plan for the rest of this arc and I wasn't going to change anything major this late in the game.
So now the Investigation Team knows the secret, since I just couldn't keep them clueless forever. It seems they believed Spidey too quickly, especially about the multiple personalities, but like he said there wasn't time to dawdle. They'll give him a much more thorough interrogation once the crisis is over and the surprise wears off.
In Other News: Congratulations to me! This fanfiction has exceeded 50,000 words! It's amazing to think how far I've come... and how long it took. The story's winding up for the big climax, so stay tuned.