Carnage

Once upon a time, in the tall and glittering city of New York, a red streak went racing through the streets.

Now, you have already met Anti-Venom, our white hero who is made of healing. But tonight, dear one, you must meet someone very different. Someone the color of a warning light.

His name was Carnage.

Carnage was a symbiote, made of living goo — a little like Venom, and a little like Anti-Venom, but not gentle at all. His host was a troubled man named Cletus Kasady, and together they cared for only one thing: making noise, and mischief, and a great big mess wherever they went. Carnage's red tendrils could grow sharp, and he could throw little pieces of himself like darts that stuck to the walls.

When Carnage broke loose in Manhattan, even the bravest hero in the city stopped and worried.

That hero was Spider-Man. And Spider-Man, who had fought a hundred villains, looked at the red streak tearing through the night and said, very quietly, "I don't think I can stop this one all by myself."

But he did not have to.

Because far across the rooftops, Anti-Venom lifted his big white head. He had a special sense, you see — he could feel other symbiotes, the way you might feel a tiny splinter in your fingertip. And right now, that feeling was prickling and prickling.

"There you are," Eddie whispered.

WHOOSH! He leapt from the rooftop and swung across the sky on long strands of shining white webbing, following the red streak all the way to the heart of the city.

He landed on a rooftop — and Spider-Man spun around in surprise! "A symbiote!" he cried, for Spider-Man had learned long ago to be very careful around creatures made of living goo.

But Anti-Venom raised his hands, gently.

"Easy now, web-head," he rumbled in his deep, kind voice. "I am not the Venom you remember. Today, you and I are on the very same side."

Spider-Man looked at him for a long moment. And though a small part of him was still unsure, a bigger part of him knew this: against Carnage, he needed a friend. So he nodded. And the two of them turned to face the red symbiote together.

Oh, what a fight it was!

Carnage laughed and swung his red whips — THWACK! THWACK! — but Spider-Man's spider-sense sang out a warning, tingle-tingle, and he flipped up and over and away every single time. Flip! Somersault! Safe!

And then Anti-Venom stepped in close. Closer. And this, dear one, was the thing Carnage feared most of all.

Because when Eddie's white antibodies touched the red goo — softly, like a healing hand — the red symbiote hissed and shrank and curled away. You see, Anti-Venom was Carnage's cure. And no symbiote in all the world can bear to touch its own antidote. Wherever the gentle white light brushed him, Carnage grew weaker.

"No fair!" shrieked Carnage. "No fair, no fair!"

And then Carnage did exactly what every bully does when it finally, truly loses.

He ran away.

He peeled back into the shadows and slithered off toward a faraway place called Ravencroft, beaten but not broken, saving the rest of his mischief for some other day. And the moment he was gone, the lights of Manhattan glowed warm and steady once more. The city was safe.

On the quiet rooftop, Spider-Man caught his breath and looked at the strange white hero beside him.

"You're really trying to be one of the good guys," he said slowly.

It was not quite a thank-you. But it was very, very close.

Anti-Venom gave a small, happy nod.

Two old rivals — a man who once was a monster, and a hero in red and blue — had stood shoulder to shoulder, and together they had won.

And as Eddie swung home through the cool night air, the lights of the city twinkling far below him, he thought to himself that this was a very good beginning indeed. Because the best friendships, dear one, often start with two people choosing to be brave together, even when they are a little bit unsure of each other.

Eddie smiled behind his big white eyes. He had spent so many years being feared. And tonight, for the very first time, someone had looked at him and seen a helper instead of a monster. That felt better, he thought, than any battle he had ever won.

So close your eyes now, and rest. The city is safe, the lights are warm, and the good guys are watching over you.

Goodnight, Anti-Venom. Goodnight, Spider-Man. Sleep well.