Spider-Man: Unmasked

Chapter Ten

"How are we planning on finishing this guy off?" Natasha said into her earpiece, now freed from Carnage's grasp.

"Pete said that his weakness is extreme heat," Tony recounted, shooting blasts at Carnage. "We need some extreme heat source."

"Let's see: we've got a million dollar suit," Natasha said, motioning to Tony. "We've got a man who has arrows you could potentially set on fire..." She motioned to Clint. "And you've got the actual God of Thunder."

"Um, yeah, that should do the trick," Steve said, clearing his throat. "Someone keep him distracted!"

"On it!"  Pete said, swinging in.  He was slower, being injured and all.  He tried to ignore the pain altogether.

"Peter, I don't think so," Tony shouted, looking up at Peter, exasperated.  He's too reckless, he thought.  He's going to get himself killed!  He tried to push that thought away.

He'd had nightmares about that before.  About him losing Peter.  On worse nights, both Steve and Peter.  He would never let that become a reality. 

"Come on!  You need someone to help distract him, don't you?"  Peter was desperate to help.  He wasn't going to let his dads fight without him.

Tony looked at Steve who just sighed and gave him a look that said let him fight now, ground him later.  "Alright," He said reluctantly.  "But be careful!"

So, Thor, Clint and Tony rushed to Carnage, Steve, Natasha and Bruce standing back.  Tony powered up his suit as Clint reached for an arrow and Thor got Mjolnir ready.

"Hey!  Clifford the big red slob!  Over here!"  Peter was swinging around Carnage, effectively distracting him.  He shot webs at Carnage's eyes, blinding him momentarily.  Carnage swiped blindly.

While Peter distracted Carnage, Tony yelled, "Now!" and Thor, Tony and Clint began shooting their various heat sources at Carnage.

Carnage let out a yell and twisted around, writhing in pain.  He hit Peter in his confusion, throwing Peter a ways.  He hit the side of a building with a thud and groan.  He curled up, in pain.

Tony noticed and hesitated, his fire weakening momentarily. Please let him be okay, please let him be okay.

"I'm on it!"  Steve reassured him, rushing to Peter.  Tony nodded and redirected his focus back onto his fire.

Carnage tried to get free, but was just stopped by the immense heat. He writhed in agony and howled.

After a long while, a raspy voice for the fire called, "you... will... never... defeat me! You... will never... defeat... us!"

"Oh?"  Tony spat.  "I think we just did."  He put all his strength into the final burst, and Thor seemed to do the same. "You see, this is for Peter!"

The rest was a blur to everyone.  There was a flash of light and soon there was a man - Cletus Kasady - on the ground, curled up.

Cletus was a skinny man with red hair and dark eyes. He was a sad sight to see, especially like this. He was shaking.

Tony glanced over at Steve and Peter. He longed to be over with them, making sure Peter was okay. But, he needed to focus on getting everything dealt with before he could check on Peter.

"Get the authorities," Tony said to Natasha and Bruce.  They nodded and rushed off.  "Clint, Thor, make sure he doesn't escape."  Thor and Clint nodded and went over to Cletus.  Thor grabbed the man and held him by the arms.

"Why, you'd never think a man like this would be a monster like that, would you?" Thor said, laughing tauntingly. "Not so powerful now, are you, Carnage?"

"Let go of me, you son of a-" Cletus was cut off by Clint elbowing him in the gut, making him groan and hang his head. He was still shaking. Tony thought he heard laughter coming from the man. He was insane.

The authorities arrived soon.  They dragged a thrashing Cletus away, him screaming all the way.  His eyes were bloodshot and dark and he wore a terrifying smile on his face. He had blood coming from a wound on his forehead.

"I'll be back!"  He screamed, kicking and trying to pull his arms away like a toddler being taken away from park.  They still managed to keep a firm grip on him. "You can't beat us!! Carnage will return!!"

"You think so?" Tony said, still keeping a reasonable distance. "I'd beg to differ."  He stepped out of his suit and shot Cletus a look to compete with the terror of his smile.

He looked around at the buildings around them as the authorities took him away. Buildings were burned and there were cracks in the road - mostly from the fighting done before they knew his weakness. Who knows how long this fight would've been if they hadn't found out? They'd never win.

Once he made sure that everything was being dealt with, he headed over to Peter, who had his mask off and eyes shut.  Steve was already sat beside him, trying to help him.  He seemed panicked.

"I think he got burnt, Tony.  By— by all the heat we had shot at Carnage and-"  Steve had tears falling down his cheeks.  "And then how he was flung and hit the building...He was already hurt bad enough before..."

"Steve?  Steve, what are you saying?"  Tony asked, worried.  He couldn't mean... As he got closer, he realized that Steve was doing chest compressions.  Steve then said the words that Tony had never wanted to hear.

"Peter's not breathing, Tony."