The Intelligence laughed at his feeble efforts, and rubbed out each name as the squiggles flayed them from his mind and incorporated them into the Intelligence’s psyche.
Cookie Velasquez Heckler Koch Sydney
Cookie Velasquez Heckler Sydney
Cookie Velasquez Sydney
Cookie Sydney
Sydney
Sydney
Sydney
He didn’t know why, but his mind wouldn’t give her up. Perhaps it was because she was still there where he could see her. Perhaps it was something else. Perhaps it was those persistent white strands. The squiggles poured in closer, and some of the white strands disappeared. But the few that remained kept pumping thoughts into him. They repeated her name louder and louder in his head: Sydney Sydney Sydney!
Karnage caught the tip of the energy spear in his vision. And suddenly he knew everything about it. He knew how it worked. It wasn’t a weapon at all. It was a teleportation device. Any target shot with it would be taken to central processing on the main ship where it would be analyzed, filed, sorted, and then put into storage before being pulled out whenever the Intelligence saw fit to do so. Karnage grabbed hold of the spear and flicked it on—it was so easy to do now. How was it that he had never figured it out before? He aimed a crackling ball of energy at Sydney and fired. She disappeared, leaving a smoking crater behind. Karnage knew she would be safe in central processing. At least for a while. Until the Intelligence was done with him. Until he could figure out what to do. Until he could figure out if he could do anything.
The white strands pumped more thoughts into his emptying mind: Good work, old man. We’re not beat yet. Remember what Cookie told you. It’s already in you. You just have to—
Karnage felt his vocal cords vibrate with laughter. The Intelligence forced him to speak words. “My, my, Major. You are surprisingly resilient. I haven’t had this much trouble absorbing a mind in quite a while. But I grow tired of this game and, really, there are just so many more interesting things for me to be doing, so…”
Karnage’s vision clouded over completely, his world filling with frenetic squiggles. The last of his consciousness was being stripped away; only a single strand of white remained. It grew taut as the squiggles moved in, trying to rip apart his last connection. But it held fast, vibrating like a plucked guitar string. It pumped as many thoughts into his mind as it could.
…come on old man don’t let that monkeyfucker win don’t make all our sacrifices useless remember how we took out General Mayhem it’s your only chance now old man remember what Cookie said remember what Uncle said come on old man come on…
The strand snapped, curling up into the core of Karnage’s psyche, hiding within the last chunk of himself that still remained. A tiny vault, firmly held shut, stuck away in the darkest corner of his mind. The remains of the strand leaked out, but without the glue that held them together, they cluttered together into a collage of random thoughts with little meaning.
…I have learned to work within my limitations you just gotta use your head you should learn to do the same I have learned to work within my limitations you just gotta use your head you should learn to do the same…
The squiggles found the vault—little more than a safe deposit box—and Karnage felt fingers pulling at its seams, trying to force it to give up its secrets. It leaked the rest of the strand fragments, like radiation from a leaky nuclear reactor.
…I have learned to work within my limitations you just gotta use your head you should learn to do the same I have learned to work within my limitations you just gotta use your head you should learn to do the same…
The squiggles tore deeper and harder at the safe deposit box, slipping into the cracks, trying to pull it open. It leaked wisps of feelings and emotions, so powerful and terrifying that Karnage could almost remember them. But it wasn’t him that was remembering: it was his lizard brain. The primal beast inside that lay dormant, that only emerged when it could break free. There was something that would let it go, but Karnage couldn’t remember what it was. He tried to concentrate on the words leaking from the box, tried to decipher their meaning:
…I have learned to work within my limitations you just gotta use your head you should learn to do the same you just gotta use your head…
And then it hit him.
…you just gotta use your head…
Karnage stopped fighting. The squiggles tore apart the last of his mental blocks, ripping open the black box, releasing the lizard brain, and revealing Karnage’s locked away memories of…
THE WAR!
Bullets and brains and smoke and death poured out into the squiggles, overwhelming them. The squiggles pushed back, twitching in fury, trying to sift through the chaos, put it all back in the box, but they were thrown into disarray again and again, as the vestiges of Karnage’s lizard brain overwhelmed them with its primal rage—and with them, the Intelligence.
What’s going on? It cried. What’s happening?
You’re supposed to be smart, Karnage thought. You figure it out.
Somewhere through the noise, Karnage could feel his Sanity Levels rocketing upwards, faster than they had ever gone before, each level upgrade truncating the next. He could feel the Intelligence’s panic—its dread as the levels rose higher and higher.
You know what happens when I hit Tricycle Red, Karnage thought.
It won’t affect me! The Intelligence screeched. You’ll just kill yourself! I’ll still live! I’ll still live!
Sure you will, Karnage thought. But it will hurt like hell, won’t it?
It doesn’t matter! It cried. I will return! I always return! Your death will be meaningless.
Yeah, but I’ll give you one hell of a bloody nose in the process, won’t I?
You won’t do it to yourself! You can’t! The Intelligence started to panic. You won’t let yourself die like this! You’re a fighter! A warrior! It’s not your way. YOU CAN’T!
Karnage heard his Sanity Patch hit Strawberry Shortcake. He grabbed control of his face and forced his mouth into a manic grin. “Wanna bet, monkeyfucker?”
NO!
Karnage’s head burst, and everything went black.
CHAPTER NINE
Karnage’s vision cleared, and he found himself kneeling on the floor, panting for breath. The squiggles had disappeared. The presence in his head was gone.
He looked over at the Nucleus resting on its lone tendril. It throbbed with green energy. The Intelligence had returned to it. But something was wrong. He could hear it screaming in his head. “THE WARRR! THE WARRR!”
Karnage winced, ready for his lizard brain to launch into fury. But it didn’t.
He could still remember The War, but the rage he had long associated with those memories was gone. It was as if it had been ripped from his brain when the Intelligence had pulled out of his mind.
“THE WARRR! THE WARRR!”
Karnage could still remember being the Intelligence. He knew that his lizard brain wouldn’t preoccupy the Intelligence for long. It would be like a cold, or a chill. Eventually the squiggles would figure out how to route around the damage, and the Intelligence would return stronger than before.