Carnage in the Streets - Part 2

He tried shouting and clawing his way out, using his Quirk to increasing the size of his arms and thereby his strength. A mix of red and black goo was writhing together, with the boy tried in vain to fight his way out. But every attack failed. If anything, the monster seemed to be growing claws and thorns on his body, as if absorbing power of the boy.

"HOW DARE YOU PUT A CHILD IN DANGER!?" Screamed Thing, rushing towards the villain. The stony hero left his colleagues behind, leaping through the air and pumping up his fist. "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" He yelled as he fell toward the villain and threw a punch.

But his attack, so destructive at other times, had no effect when it came into contact with the symbiote. His fist was almost sucked into the villain and trapped.

"What the hell is this!?" The hero asked, seeing the composition of the villain, he was more solid before.

Before he could do anything else, the villain formed a huge red and black hand with claws, and smacked the hero away with all of his strength. Thing flew backwards, hitting his head on an iron gate and knocking him out.

"Thing!" Hellcat screamed, barely dodging another of the villain's attack. But no matter which way she dodged, the heroine was met with tendrils shooting out with bullet speed attempting to impale her.

"That's right! Don't get close!" The villain demands, observing the level of his power when facing professional heroes "Stay back, or I'll kill the boy!"

From the middle of the villain, Flash struggled with everything he had, trying to escape the clutches of the sticky villain. He managed to free part of his face from the tangle of red and black goo, the second arising from his own Quirk that was being used by the villain.

"RRAAAHHHH! LET ME GOOOOOO!" The boy yelled, using his power to cover his arms with black goo, increasing his strength and trying to stretch them out of the villain. "YOU'RE GONNA REGRET COMING OUT OF THAT SEWER!"

Unfortunately, what Flash didn't know was that his Quirk and that of Carnage were very similar. But the villain had much better control and used techniques still unknown to the boy. And by absorbing Flash, instead of the attacks hurting him, they were just making the villain bigger and stronger.

"HAHAHA, fool! With your power at my disposal, I can beat Iron Man with just one punch!"

A little away, but still watching the action, was a crowd of worried citizens, being kept back by the police who assisted the heroes.

"It's Carnage, but he looks stronger than usual…" Said one of the pedestrians.

"Look over there!" A woman in the crowd is filled with hope by the vision of the hero getting closer "It's the new Ant-Man! He can stop the villain!"

And indeed, the hero was approaching in his Giant Man form, looking to help end the conflict. But he stopped a short distance away.

"Aw crap, it's a one-way street!?" He said, trying to fit his feet in the street and his body between two buildings "I need at least a double-way to pass through! And now that I'm in Giant form, I need at least 4 minutes before I can shrink back to normal!"

Flash's two henchmen were still in the same place, frozen with fear. A falling piece of building would've been the end of them if it wasn't for a certain tree-like hero, wrapping his arm around the boys, lifting them off the ground and pulling them to a safe place.

"I am Groot!" He says while helping more people to get out of the damaged buildings. "I am Groot!"

"Don't look at me!" Mr. Fantastic, as if he understood what Groot just said. "I've got my hands full as well!" His arms and legs were stretched to secure the bases of posts or other structures, tying his own body so they didn't collapse into the crowd.

"Where's the rescue? How are you doing up there!?" He asked, referring to the other heroes.

"We can't hit him, his body's mostly liquid without a host," Said Thing, now back on his feet and analyzing the villain. "Beyond that, he's using the boy's Quirk to make all this damage, we've gotta take him out somehow!"

"Watch out!" Hellcat called, both barely dodging the tendrils of the villain.

"None of us have a quirk that can deal with him in this form!" Rocket said, analyzing the villain with his portable holographic viewfinder.

"Then for now, we minimize the damage until someone with the right quirk gets here," Hellcat replied, getting into position. The villain stared at the heroes, as if waiting for the right moment before the next attack.

Sorry kid, you'll just have to wait a little longer... Thought Thing with pity for the boy. "Dammit! If I had more power, I could send this guy away!"

Back with the crowd held by the police, a tired, breathless Tony reached the citizens. He keeps his glasses on and his hood up so he wouldn't be recognized. He stops, leaning against the nearest post in exhaustion. After catching his breath, he raised his head and observed the scene. He didn't imagine that things could get so bad.

"Friday, analysis." The hero said weakly, praying that the situation wouldn't get worse.

"Individual V0492 aka 'Carnage' seems to be restabilizing in spite of the lack of host," the A.I. replied. "He appears to be siphoning energy from the hostage..."

"The hostage, information!" The hero said, still trying to think up a way to help.

"Eugene Thompson, 14 years old. Quirk: Symbiote. He's capable of secreting an organic black substance that molds itself to the body in several formats. It gives him increased strength, speed and regenerative properties. Much like that of Carnage himself..." Friday added. "It appears the similar nature of their respective Quirks is what's keeping him stable, perhaps even strengthening him."

Stable? He looks out of control! Tony thought. The fluidity in the symbiotic format and the strength of having a host together. This was certainly one of, if not the worst possible combinations. Of course, it could be disintegrated with the wave disruptor; it showed to be quite functional before, but how would he use it?

He couldn't draw attention because he was without the armor, it would break the public's trust in him; he could wear the armor, but that was a long-term risk. His only option was to contact one of the heroes who knew of his condition, disassemble the disruptor and convert it into a portable device. But that would take too long and by that time it would be too late!

"I'm pathetic…" He said remorsefully. There was nothing in that moment he could do.