Gord Zajac - Major Karnage

Karnage found the suit disconcerting, like he was walking through the world in a dream; his only real companion was his own steady breathing.

He repeated his mantra in his head, reciting a name for each step forward he took: Cookie, Velasquez, Heckler, Stumpy, Koch, Sydney. Cookie, Velasquez, Heckler, Stumpy, Koch, Sydney. Cookie, Velasquez, Heckler, Stumpy, Koch, Sydney.

The tunnel flashed as the occasional burst of green shot through the pipes. Curls of yellow mist hung in the air above him.

He came around a curve in the tunnel, and saw a figure draped in shadow sitting on the floor, a gnarled energy spear resting on its shoulder. Its torso was curled forward, head bent down. It cocked an ear towards Karnage and nodded approvingly to itself. “Oh! Hello, John.”

Karnage froze in his tracks. He recognized that voice.

“Flaherty.”

The doctor looked up. A burst of green highlighted his face, giving Karnage a quick glimpse of squiggly pupils. “It’s good to see you again.”

Karnage pulled his goober rifle off his shoulder as Flaherty shakily rose to his feet, leaning heavily against his spear with one hand. His other arm ended in a stump. An extra set of arms emerged from Flaherty’s armpits, and they gestured towards Karnage. “I must apologize for not believing you. ‘Unidentified Flying Objects of Death.’” Flaherty chuckled. “Who would have thought it was true?”

Karnage held the goober rifle in front of him. “I did,” he said.

Flaherty nodded, staring at the floor. “You did, John. You did. And you were right, weren’t you? You were right about so many things.” He looked up at Karnage with his squiggly eyes. “And yet, you were wrong. As you can see, there’s been no death. I’m still here. They haven’t killed me. In fact, they’ve rewarded me.”

A pair of tentacles unfurled from Flaherty’s back. “They’ve made me so much better than before. It’s a reward, you see. For all of my hard work.

“You know, John, on some level, you were right about me. I didn’t know about the invasion. But they were talking to me. In their own way. Much as they were talking to Charles, but differently. They… encouraged me. Helped me with my work. Provided me with insights. But I’m afraid I didn’t get it all right. Not all of it. Not you.

“I’m afraid I must apologize, John. For the Patch. It’s not what they intended. I was misinterpreting.” Flaherty’s skin filled with colour, changing from white to yellow to orange to red and back again. “I didn’t quite get it right, you see. It was… an error in judgement on my part. A misunderstanding. There was so much I did right. But you… you I have done wrong.

“Please understand. I’m not a violent man.” Flaherty pointed the spear at Karnage. Green energy crackled from the end. “I must rectify that mistake, you see. Undo what has been done. This is absolutely not personal. I hold you no ill will at all. It’s just that I mustn’t let this mar my perfect record. The mistake must be removed, John. Do you see? Do you understand? The mistake must be removed.”

Karnage threw himself against the wall of the tunnel as the crackling energy ball shot past him. Karnage aimed his goober rifle at Flaherty and fired. The pink globule took Flaherty full in the face. It knocked him back against the tunnel wall, covering his upper body. The tips of his tentacles quivered violently at the top of the expanding ball. His energy spear clattered lifelessly to the ground.

Karnage picked up the spear and squeezed past the mound of quivering goober.

“See you around, Doc.”

The air grew heavy with yellow mist as the tunnel opened up into a large chamber thick with squiggling tubes. A number of branching tunnels ran off on all sides, each spilling their mass of tangled pipes into the chamber. The pipes hung down from the tunnels above like twisting jungle vines. Karnage felt like he was walking through a giant junction box.

Green light flowed and coursed through the pipes in all directions. The white lights danced into the chamber, and dipped and dove into the maze of pipes. Karnage picked his way through, trying to keep pace. The flickering white lights flitted like fairies through an otherworldly forest burning bright with angry green flame.

Karnage felt the floor beneath his feet rumble. He twisted his body around, and barely caught sight of something large and black barrelling towards him through the edge of his helmet visor. Karnage jumped out of the way as the mass hurtled past, smashing through tangles of pipes before colliding with the wall. There was a sickening crunch followed by a far too human scream.

The mass rolled over. It looked like a giant maggot with human limbs sticking out from its body. The remains of a face were just visible on its snout. Karnage recognized the features.

“Riggs?”

The maggoty creature struggled up, turning to face Karnage. “I’m surprised you still recognize me, Major. There’s not a lot of me left to remember.” It’s face scrunched up into a grimace as it let out a series of rhythmic noises that Karnage thought might be an attempt at laughter.

“How do you like it?” Riggs rasped. “My big promotion. They told me I was moving up in the organization. That they wanted my brain. And they got it. Oh god help me, they got it. My great reward for all my loyal years of service.”

Riggs’s face contorted. His nose flattened out, pushing his eye sockets out to either side of his head. He let out a strangled scream as his lips split. Jagged teeth poked through the gaps.

“You were right, Major,” Riggs wheezed. “I should have died that day in Kandahar. Should have gone down giving my life for my buddies.”

“Yeah,” Karnage said. “You should have.”

“It would have been better than this. This isn’t living. This is hell!” Riggs rolled towards Karnage, gasping. “Please, Major. Put an end to this. Finish the job I didn’t have the guts to do back in Kandahar. Please. I can’t live like this anymore. I just can’t.”

Karnage pulled his rocket launcher off his shoulder. He looked down at the rocket glimmering in its tube, the spare one tucked against its side. Riggs moaned in agony, rocking back and forth against the wall.

Karnage shook his head. “Sorry, Riggs. You’re not worth it.”

Riggs started. “What?”

“I can’t afford it. I’ve only got so many Sanity Levels. I’m gonna need ’em all for the battle to come.” Karnage’s eye caught a streak of white light dancing near the corner of his helmet. It darted down a mist-shrouded tunnel. He moved to follow it.

Riggs twisted his body, screaming. “You can’t leave me here like this!”

“I have to.”

“How can you do this to me?!”

“I didn’t do anything to you, Roach,” Karnage said. “You did it all to yourself.”

Riggs snarled. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you? Watching me suffer? Enjoying my pain?!”

Karnage turned back to Riggs. His face was fixed into a snarl. His body rippled and undulated like an angry worm. Karnage slowly shook his head. “You know, Roach, there was a time that I wouldn’t have hesitated to pull that trigger. I’d have told myself I was doin’ the right thing—that I was takin’ the high road. Bein’ the hero. But that would be bullshit. The truth is I want nothing more than to spray your guts all across the goddamn universe.” Karnage tapped the side of his helmet. “But that’d be givin’ in to the lizard brain. Lettin’ my primal urges run the show. I’m thinkin’ big picture now. Got to put that primal shit aside and get that lizard brain to take a powder. Got to remember my long-term goals. My reasons for bein’ here. And they sure as hell don’t involve you.”