Eight Months Ago

A team of scientists are engaging on space-based space surveillance when they detect a large piece of unknown space debris that will damage the satellite they are monitoring. When they are ordered to change the satellite’s trajectory to intercept the debris, one of the scientists points out that this would knock out television broadcasts of the Super Bowl. The man giving the order, Michael Hall, okays this anyway because it’s his name on the satellite. The satellite is sent on a collision course with the debris sending it on re-entry to Earth. This debris turns out to be the remains of Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage.[1]

At that moment, at the Ravencroft Institute, Shriek begins going berserk, screaming that he’s coming back. The guards inject her with sedatives and taser her to get her under control. This inhumane treatment is protested by Shriek’s doctor, Tanis Nevis, who wants her patients treated humanely.

Now

Tanis Nevis is in the hospital after having her arm shot off trying to prevent Shriek from being transported to another facility. It has taken three weeks for Spider-Man to locate her for questioning as she was moved to a private medical facility immediately after she was brought to the hospital. Spider-Man has come because he feels responsible for Nevis losing her arm and has come to tell her that Tony Stark will design a cybernetic replacement free of charge.[2] That’s when she reveals that he is too late, showing off the new prosthetic provided to her by someone else.

Without naming who “they” are, she explains that they are the company that currently owns Ravencroft. On top of that, she didn’t ask for this prosthetic limb, they put it on her without her consent. Spider-Man is also concerned about how “they” could have transferred Shriek without her say so. Tanis explains that they did it on one of her days off. Before Spider-Man can learn who owns Ravencroft when a lawyer comes barging in reminding Tanis that she is legally bound from talking to any super-heroes and orders Spider-Man to leave immediately. Tanis complies because this is the only way she will be allowed to continue treating Shriek.

As Spider-Man leaves the facility, he gets a call from Tony Stark. Iron Man had run the names of Royal Blue and Firebrick on the Avengers database and found nothing on them. The only clue left at the scene of the armored truck attack are the remains of the organic netting that Royal Blue used to contain the mob. Stark is still examining it but it reminds him of a symbiote. Spider-Man begins to not like where this is going, particularly since Shriek and the Spider-Doppelganger are involved. Stark then informs Spider-Man that the substance is highly sensitive to sound.

Meanwhile, Dr. Nevis is being transported in a limo back to where they are keeping Shriek. The lawyers remind her that the non-disclosure agreements prevent her from speaking about what happened in exchange for her being allowed to continue treating Shriek. As they talk, Tanis suddenly hallucinates that she is talking with a pair of corpses. She tells them that she feels a little strange and the lawyers write this off as biofeedback from her prosthetic.

Back at Avengers headquarters, Spider-Man is getting antsy about the organic sample they have and insists that they destroy it. When he tells Tony about Tanis’ new prosthetic, Stark suddenly realizes who it was that provided it. Glad they don’t need the organic sample any more, Spider-Man pushes the button to destroy it.

At Hall Industries R&D facility, Tanis Hall is allowed to observe Shriek who has been placed in a room near the Carnage symbiote. Tanis insists that they allow her to see her patient, however, her request is declined. This is because they need her to constantly feed the symbiote with the negative emotions it thrives on. As they explain the situation to her, they have to keep telling Tanis to stop putting her prosthetic hand on the glass window that looks out onto the lab area. Suddenly her arm stops responding to her mental commands.

Meanwhile, five miles away, Spider-Man and Iron Man are heading to the Hall Industries building. Iron Man has pieced together that Hall is behind this because he recently showed off new prosthetic limbs that are ten times more advanced than anything else on the market. A check with the patent office discovered that he hadn’t filed any, suggesting he has a monopoly on the process to create his devices. Even more disturbing are Royal Blue and Firebrick, whose names sound more like something that a marketing team would come up with and fears that they are dealing with a production line.

Stark’s concerns are valid since at that moment, their approach has been detected by Hall Industries and they have activated their operatives to intercept them. Joining Royal Blue and Firebrick this time are three more soldiers named Paris Green, Burnt Orange, and Gun Metal.

Back in the lab, Tanis is horrified when her prosthetic limb starts attacking and killing the other scientists. With them dead, the hand points at the room where the Carnage symbiote is being contained. Outside, Spider-Man and Iron Man are confronted by the Iron Rangers. Stark orders them to surrender the alien technology they are using per United States law. However, they insist that their technology is legal because it was acquired during a space salvage operation. Realizing the Rangers won’t stand down, the two Avengers realize they are going to have a fight on their hands. At that same moment, Tanis is in the main lab and her mechanical arm punches open the containment unit containing the Carnage symbiote. The alien creature then merges with the prosthetic before bonding with Tanis.

When word gets back to the Iron Rangers, they abruptly break off the attack to try and contain the situation back at the lab. Spider-Man doesn’t know why they are retreating but figures it must be something huge to get their attention. Spider-Man' isn’t understanding things as at that moment Tanis has fully bonded with the Carnage symbiote and is now slaughtering the guards in the lab.

Recurring Characters

Carnage, Spider-Man, Iron Man, Michale Hall, Iron Rangers (Royal Blue, Firebrick, Paris Green, Burnt Orange, Gun Metal), Shriek

Continuity Notes

1. Carnage’s was ripped in half and left in Earth orbit by the Sentry in New Avengers #2.

2. Spider-Man mentions how the Spider-Doppelganger had recently come out of hiding. The creature was last seen in Spider-Man #37 during the Maximum Carnage event. It was seemingly killed by Carnage at the time. It turned up alive last issue.