Chapter Text
The first thing that the Avengers heard when they stopped on the interrogation- or really, the basement- floor was banging. It was low and somewhat quiet, but it grew louder and louder the closer they got to it. By the time they reached the door, it had escalated to loud banging, resembling the sounds of fists against a hard surface.
Tony was the one to open the door. As soon as he swung it open, the banging stopped, as though on command- in sync with the door. When he stepped into the room, he turned his head to glance at the source of the sound. It wasn’t anyone’s surprise when they saw that the noise had been caused by Cletus, who sat bored in his cage, his hand raised against the glass.
Cletus cocked his head and sat forward, glancing with an amused expression towards Tony and the few others who had stepped into the room. Cletus rolled his head back and exhaled, pressing a few fingers against the glass that he had been banging his fists against just seconds prior. Despite hitting the glass for half an hour straight with his fists and the force of Carnage on his side, he hadn’t even made a single crack in it. Looks like Shuri hadn't been lying when she said not even Thor could break it.
“Well lookie there, it’s the goody-two-shoes heroes.” Cletus drawled, letting out a wry laugh as he rolled his head forward to look at them. His eyes seemed to follow all of them with an obvious look of both amusement and hatred. As the few in the room walked closer, they also noticed Carnage was tangled up in Cletus’s curls, swirling amongst the tight red strands of hair, moving in and out as though they were swimming.
As the group walked closer, they saw Carnage watching all of them pointedly, their eyes narrowed in a sign of obvious distrust. Carnage didn't like them one bit. Not that they really cared.
“The cage fitting you well?” Tony asked, ripping through the momentary silence of the already eerily quiet and empty room. The question hung in the air for a few seconds before Cletus let out a low, dry laugh, rolling his head back.
“Oh yeah. I’m impressed by how strong the glass is.” He banged his fist against the glass yet again with a shattering loudness, but not a single crack appeared in the perfectly untouched glass. Cletus bit his lip in obvious frustration, anger welling in his piercing blue eyes. “What is this glass even made of? It's much stronger than anything I’ve seen.”
“Oh, a little polycarbonate and a little vibranium.” Replied Tony cockily, tilting his head to the side as a smug grin rested on his lips. What he said was true; Shuri had managed to somehow pour in just a tad bit of vibranium into the mixture when she was making the glass. Many would've thought that impossible, but impossible was Shuri’s strong suit.
“Vibranium?” Cletus cocked his head in curiosity. “What's that?”
“It's only the strongest mineral in the known universe.” Replied Natasha, peering at her freshly clipped nails in boredom, as though the sight of Cletus bored her. “Cap’s old shield was made of it. Haven’t you heard of it?”
Cletus rolled his eyes and leaned back his head. Of-fucking-course. Vibranium. He’d heard of it as a kid, but he’d dismissed it as some random square in the periodic table that he’d never care for.
He’d heard guards outside his cell talk about it through whispers, gossiping about someplace called Wakanda and vibranium and so much else that Cletus had just drowned out over the years. He’d never paid much attention; perhaps he should have. He wasn't sure.
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it by now.” Murmured Loki, who was standing off to the side, away from the others. He was dressed in his usual attire, clad in green and black and dark olive green. Something flickered in his green eyes; anticipation, maybe, or perhaps it was cautiousness- Cletus couldn’t tell which. Loki stood straight, taking a single step forward as their eyes stared pointedly at Carnage, a calculating look burning in them- a look that made Cletus feel as though Loki was planning something; what more could he plan?. “Well, I do suppose that one does not hear much news when locked inside a jail cell. The outside world becomes quite irrelevant, doesn’t it?”
“You talk as though you’ve been locked up,” Cletus growled, rolling his thumb against his index finger, “But you don’t know a thing.”
“Don’t I?” Loki took a few steps forward, tossing a glance to the others. All of them glanced at Cletus, who had his brow furrowed, then back to Loki. All of them nodded. “Ask them. They tried to lock me in a cage very similar to your own, just a few years prior. I was once locked in a cage for weeks. It’s quite rude that you assume I know nothing of what it’s like to be locked up.”
Before Cletus could say anything in reply, Steve interrupted. “We’re sending you to a supermax facility, one made specifically for supervillains. For people who are special cases, who are superpowered or not altogether human. You’ll spend the rest of your life there. Both of you.”
The words sunk into Cletus’s skin, and both he and Carnage took them in.
Then without a word, he slammed his fist loudly against the glass, with more force than he’d ever had. The noise startled a few of them, even knocking Bruce to the ground. He was immediately helped up by Thor, who held onto his arms carefully while shooting a tense glare at Cletus. Cletus just glared at all of them, hatred radiating from both him and Carnage, who was still tangled in his curls.
That’s when they noticed that Eddie was standing in the corner, a mere foot from the door.
Eddie had crossed his arms, pressing one hand into his arm, thumb digging into his skin as he watched tensely. Venom was stroking his hand with a tendril as they perched on his shoulder, also watching Cletus and Carnage with a sort of tenseness. They didn’t say anything, just watched both Cletus and Carnage with cautious, wary eyes. And in their eyes was a mixture of cautiousness, regret and despair; Eddie’s blue eyes and Venom’s white eyes were both like panes of glass, so close to shattering from pain.
Carnage couldn’t help but grin a little at the pain they had so clearly caused their parents.
Without another word, those in the room began to slowly trickle out, one by one. After a few minutes, the only ones left were Loki, Eddie and Venom. Loki took Eddie by the shoulder and they walked out of the room, shooting Cletus and Carnage one last fleeting glance. As soon as the door closed, Cletus’s mouth spread into a sadistic grin.
~~~~~
Tony was the first to reach the medbay of his estate. It was full, with quite a few people who had fought against Carnage earlier that day lying in hospital-like beds.
Strange, who was almost completely unharmed except for a few scratches, was tending to Valkyrie, who had been stabbed through the arm by a knife-like tendril- it had ripped through her muscle and caused quite a bit of damage, but she didn't seem too bothered by it. Her arm was wrapped in a bandage, and she was lying rather listlessly on the white bed, begging for alcohol. Strange continuously refused her request, taking the time instead to check her wound, making sure she wasn't aggravating it. Valkyrie grumbled and laid on her side. Clearly, she wasn't used to being tended to.
Bruce, meanwhile, was tending to Peter, who had been cut up by a tendril that shot past his hip. Bruce was padding some gauze on Peter’s hip as Peter hissed in pain. Bruce heard the hiss of pain, and began to tenderly wrap a bandage around Peter’s hip, trying his best to not cause further pain to the teenager.
When the door opened, a few of those lying down on the beds looked up, including Clint, Thor, Sam, Hope and Wanda. A few others, like Scott and Bucky, kept their heads down, choosing to stay supine rather than sit up.
Peter was one of those who looked up, and his eyes widened a little at the sight of Tony. Regardless, he remained still as Bruce continued to wrap a bandage around his hip as though there had been no interruption. Bruce was careful, methodical, as he wound the bandage around Peter’s hip, doing his best to not graze the aching skin too much. For his credit, Peter was being very calm about the whole thing- albeit, he was whimpering just a tad in pain, squeezing his eyes shut and biting his lip- but he remained pretty still throughout the whole thing.
As soon as Bruce cut the bandage and put the unused bandage away, he pressed the bandage into Peter’s skin and padded it down. After a few seconds of Bruce padding the bandage, making sure it was stuck and wouldn't budge, he finally released Peter from being bandaged up, allowing him to finally greet Tony.
Peter was smart- he knew moving too suddenly would rupture the wound and/or just cause a whole lotta problems, so he settled for something easier- he held his arms up and cocked his wrists, beckoning Tony to come to him. Tony caught the hint and took a few steps forward, walking until he met Peter’s bed. Once he reached Peter, he gently hugged him, careful to not aggravate his condition.
“How’re ya feeling, kid?” Inquired Tony. He relinquished his arms, stepping back just enough to take Peter's full appearance into view. He was shirtless, a bandage wrapped around both sides of his hip and a little blood on his arm where he had been scratched.
“I’m good.” Peter murmured in reply, glancing briefly down at the bandages wrapped around his hip. In addition to the small gash located on his hip, there were a few lingering scratches, so faint that they were barely visible. A bruise laid on his left arm, up on his upper arm. Three bruises decorated his torso, and a final bruise laid on his mid-back- one that was almost the size of Peter’s palm. Other than the few scratches, the bruises and the gash, Peter was pretty much unharmed.
“Not in pain?”
Peter sat up a little, biting his lip so as to not hiss in pain. “No, I am. But it doesn't hurt too much. Really.” He sat up a little straighter and smiled, in an effort to show he was feeling alright and wasn't in much pain.
“Peter's very tough.” Murmured Wanda as she sat up in her bed. Despite the fact that she had been the main one to put Carnage away, she had actually been pretty injured while doing it. A tendril had pierced right through her side, piercing her skin and flying out through her back. It grazed just past some vital organs, but had sent blood cascading down her body. She had been one of the first tended to.
She had a thick bandage wrapped around her waist, and it was practically suffocating; she didn't seem to mind. She just grinned and beared it.
Vision was sitting right next to her bed, his hand pressed gently on her leg, rubbing soft circles into her skin with the pad of his thumb, avoiding a bruise that rested just past her knee, on the inside of her thigh. She ran her fingers absentmindedly along his arm, a saccharine look in her eyes as she gazed at Vision.
Peter cocked his head, his hair bouncing ever so slightly as he turned in his bed and faced Wanda. “You're even tougher.”
A smile found its way to Wanda’s lips, curving upwards. She held her head back, letting her reddish brown hair fall onto the bed. “I think you are tougher than I am, Peter.”
Bruce turned to tend to Wanda, holding up some gauze and a fresh bandage. His eyes seemed to land on the bandage she had on, which has a patch of blood on it.
He moved towards her, and she obediently sat up, sitting straight as Bruce grabbed at her bandage. Once his fingers found the end of her bandage, he clasped onto it and tugged at it. The bandage didn't budge at first, but it soon came loose, and fell away as Bruce pulled it off. Once the bandage finally came loose, he pulled it completely away, exposing her wound to all in the room.
The wound Wanda had received was stitched up, rather neatly in fact, courtesy of Strange. It was, however, still bloody, with a bruise almost eclipsing it. A few bruises also decorated her torso, similar to Peter- one on her sternum, one on her left hip and two on her back. There were also two on her inner thighs, but that was it. She let her fingers brush over them, not touching them enough to aggravate them, but just enough to lightly touch the skin.
As Bruce prepared the bandage and gauze, Shuri walked into the medbay holding a small bead in her hand.
“May I?” She inquired, holding the bead up, presenting it as she stood next to Bruce. Bruce nodded and moved out of the way. With that, Shuri stepped forward and pressed the bead against Wanda’s skin, digging it against the stiches, careful to not rupture them.
Wanda bit her lip, holding her head down as she forced herself to stay silent and not make a sound. A few minutes more and the bead helped to clean up Wanda’s wound, removing all the blood and leaving the wound clean.
“Thank you.” Spoke Wanda in relief, holding her hand out. Shuri took it, smiled, nodded, and walked off with the bead still in hand.
“Hey Wanda, you doing alright?” Inquired Steve as Bruce stepped forward with the fresh gauze and bandage clenched in his hand.
Wanda tilted her head, letting her hair fall onto her shoulder as she moved barely an inch forward. “Yes. I’m doing as good as can be expected.” She let her hand hover over her wound, showing it off to the group standing there. “It hurts, but it's healing. I should be back in business in four days or so. With Shuri’s help, though, I may be back within only one or two days.”
Bruce nodded in agreement with the statement, pressing the gauze against Wanda’s wound. She hissed a little, biting her lip to withstand the pain. He padded the gauze down gently, having Vision hold it in place as he began to wind the bandage around Wanda’s waist. She sat completely still, not complaining at all as Bruce wrapped the bandage around and around her waist, winding it tighter and tighter and tighter. And yet, it didn't feel suffocating, which she was grateful for.
As soon as Bruce deemed the bandage suitable, he grabbed the pair of scissors nearby and snipped the rest off. He padded the bandage down, pressing gently into it with the pads of his fingers until it stood in place, not moving. He taped it down and set the discarded bits of bandage down onto a nearby table.
“I think all of us here will be ready to fly back by tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest.” Bruce remarked, clapping his hands together. He took a wide, sweeping look at those in the med bay of Tony’s estate; pretty much everyone had been tended to, spare for Hope, who was being tended to by Strange at that very moment, and Clint, who was being bandaged up by Dan. “Those who are injured right now should be well enough by tonight, though. And then, when everyone is well, we can fly.”
Tony nodded, turning to face Bruce. Bruce, in turn, glanced over at Tony, briefly locking eyes with him. “I’ll get the plane ready, and I’ll make sure it has a holding bay that's suited for Carnage’s cage.”
Bruce nodded in understanding; to one, it might have also been agreement. Whichever it was, Bruce didn't say, but let his body language give clues as to which was his answer.
And with that nod, Tony left the medbay, turning to stride out of the room. Those who had walked in left with him, bidding goodbyes and waving hands to those lying on the medical beds.
~~~~~
“You’d think getting cast as fuckin’ Pikachu would give me a stroke of good luck, but nooo.” Cried Wade in frustration, banging his palm against the coffee pot. The coffee pot was malfunctioning, and refusing to work.
“You're pikachu?” Asked Anne, lifting an eyebrow.
“Detective Pikachu, thank you very much.”
Anne tilted her head and nodded in a yeah-sure way, as she turned her attention to focus instead on Eddie. Eddie was writing an article, his fingers flying across the keyboard with spectacular ease.
He had been quiet ever since the fight- Venom too. Eddie had a wistful look in his eye, one that he was hiding impeccably well- he had become decently good at hiding sorrow when he wanted to. It didn't always work, but it was working this time, to his delight.
“Eddie. Here, eat.” Anne placed a plate of food in front of Eddie, letting it land with a particularly loud clatter in an effort to snag his attention.
Eddie barely lifted his head at the loud clatter of the plate landing on the table. He held his hand out, grabbing the plate with disinterest. It was a hamburger with bacon, french fries and tater tots on the side. It was a plate that should have excited him, or at least Venom, but neither of them seemed particularly interested in it. The capture of Cletus and Carnage had left both of them in a state of stilled compunction- both of them waiting for a chance at absolution, but neither of them truly believing they could achieve it.
Venom seemed a bit more stable than Eddie- Carnage had been more of their child than Eddie's, biologically anyways- but they seemed to be doing a bit better than Eddie.
“Surely you are not still moping around, lamenting,” cried a voice, causing Eddie to look up, “and if you are, I shall be truly disappointed.”
Eddie bit his lip. “Yeah, I am, Loki.”
“Then you have disappointed me.”
Eddie let out a wry chuckle and turned his head, digging it into his shoulder. Loki pursed his lips, a bit unamused by Eddie’s emotional condition. He understood, by all means, but Loki wished Eddie would realize that Carnage was in no way his fault.
It was when Tony and a few of the others walked into the room that Eddie seemingly sprung to life.
“How is everyone?”
“They’re all good.” Replied Natasha, sitting down in a chair. “A few of them got grazed and others got outright stabbed, but none of them are critical and they’ll all survive. And, with Shuri’s technology, all of them will be fully healed within four days or less.”
Eddie very audibly breathed a sigh of relief- he was worried he’d have another death to blame himself for.
Anne immediately heard the audible sigh and tilted her head slowly to glance at Eddie. She held her hand out and grabbed Eddie’s hand, taking it into hers as his eyes raised to her face.
A somber smile tilted onto her lips as she clasped his hand. “Eddie, everyone’s fine. Okay?”
Eddie nodded and tore his hands away from Anne. As he tore his hands away, he stood and walked towards Tony and Steve. He briefly locked eyes with each of them in turn, before he cocked his head, almost beckoning them to follow him as he turned to walk off. They silently followed him, the three of them all walking out of the room, leaving the others to wonder where they were walking to- and why.
~~~~~
When Eddie finally slowed to a stop, he, Tony and Steve had reached a room that was almost halfway across the estate from the others- and far away from Carnage’s cage as well. When he finally stopped and turned around, both Tony and Steve turned to face him, both with puzzled expressions plastered on their faces.
“Why’d you bring us all the way here?” Inquired Tony, raising one of his eyebrows as his brown eyes bore into Eddie.
Eddie lowered his head and let out a somber sigh. “I wanted to tell you two, away from the crowd of the others, that Venom and I have come to a decision. On Carnage.”
Tony tilted his head just a tad to the side and folded both of his arms. “What decision would that be?”
“We want to tell you that if it comes to it, if there’s no other way,” Eddie paused, his lip trembling as he struggled to speak and not cry, “that you guys can kill them.”
A shallow silence filled the room for a brief moment after Eddie uttered the statement.
Steve raised both eyebrows, staring at Eddie with a shocked expression plastered on his face- he hadn't been expecting Eddie to even ponder the idea. “You’re giving us permission to kill Carnage? To kill your child?”
Eddie rolled his head to the side and then down, right as Venom formed above his shoulder, and they replied at the same time. “That’s not our child. Carnage is a monster, and they need to be stopped at all costs. Even… even if…”
Eddie bit his lip and let a tear roll down his cheek, as Venom quickly wiped it away, a contrite look gleaming in their eyes. Both of them held each other, trying not to cry as they calmed the other down.
Even Steve and Tony felt sorrow at the sight of Eddie and Venom nearly crying, holding the other tightly.
“If it comes to it, we will. We promise.”
Eddie glanced at Steve through tearful eyes, swallowed heavily and nodded.
“Thank you. Thank you.”
Steve only nodded.