Makings of A Pirate

Note: A Tale Spin fan fiction focusing on the beginnings of Don Karnage. Every villain has his origin and Don's beginnings were particularly melancholy. Here we meet Don's parents, Fiore and Florence Karnage, immigrants from the "old country" doing their best to earn an honest dollar and struggling just to make ends meet.

Chapter 1—In Hopes of a Better Life

Fiore and Florence Karnage had lived in the poverty-stricken Europe and were looking forward to bringing their first child into the world. But, they knew that they had to move away from their homeland to give their baby a fighting chance in the world. Walking past many of the slums and alleyways they passed many stores that had ads posted for an idyllic location known as Cape Suzette. Florence eyes became bright and merry when she saw the posters.

Fiore had never seen her ice-blue eyes so hopeful or happy before besides the time when he proposed and married her. What they didn't know was they could only afford so much and they would have to exist in one of the shantytowns near the pier. But, it was so much better than what they had known.

Escaping the destitute living they had in Europe once they had earned enough money from their jobs working farms harvesting various vegetables, picking cotton and spinning spools of cotton into thread for weaving clothing.

They worked hard for their trip by sea to Cape Suzette, but were distinctly disappointed when they came to grips with reality. Although Cape Suzette was lovely in many aspects, Fiore and Florence were living in the slums once more.

Every day, they had to be wary of vagrants, looters, and most shockingly, pirates. Fortunately, they were able to survive from day to day and Don was introduced to the world. With the introduction of Don into the Karnage family, both parents were looking forward to better days ahead.

Chapter 2—Innocence Lost

Once Don grew older, he learned very quickly how to work hard and he was always assisting his family. He had three younger siblings to take care of, Eva, Yolanda and Paulo. He loved his siblings an awful lot, just like he adored his parents. The only sibling who couldn't work to put bread on the table was Paulo, who was the youngest. But, none of them minded that. Paulo was the most adorable and vibrant of the bunch amidst all the adversity they faced from day to day. No matter how difficult life was for the Karnage family, Paulo reminded them that joy was possible in any event.

However, the bliss that the family had was soon robbed from them. A rouge group of gangs had been on the loose in Cape Suzette and had eluded police time and time again. They had been responsible for multiple vandalized buildings, robbed stores and accidental deaths. One night while preparing for a typical family dinner, Fiore had come home from a long day at work and met Florence with a gentle but loving kiss. Florence had been working hard as well, and had been slaving over a hot stove to make a wonderful, delectable dinner as she always had. Right as they sat down to say grace before enjoying their food, the rouge gang entered and began ransacking the house for whatever "treasure" they could find. Guns fired left and right and Don stood there in shock, too frightened to move or take any course of action. He witnessed the horrifying death of his parents and his family. Before the gang had a chance to kill him, he had rushed away to one of the few closets that the Karnage family dwelling had.

There he could hear the gang members talking amongst one another, verifying if they had stolen everything that they could and made certain that no witnesses were around to call the police. The one thing they hadn't realized was that the Karnages weren't prosperous enough to own a telephone. But, then, luckily the sounds of sirens could be heard and the gangs were apprehended. After the police left, Don emerged to the gore once more. With tears in his eyes, cursing his cowardice, he decided to run away. He would have revenge on gangs like this one day although he wasn't certain exactly how that revenge would be exacted. If it took him his entire life, he would make those ruffians pay for what they had done.

Before he went too far away from home, Don returned to the small hovel he had known as his only haven from the outside world. There, his family still lay in cold blood, deceased. He realized that none would come to bury them and no one would morn for them because reality was cruel, but he would do that for them and with great honor and praise. Hiding the pain within his heart, he buried all of them, making simple markers from the garbage in the nearby junkyard. It wasn't the most appropriate for making tombstones, but it would have to do, and it was all he could find. The crosses were crude at best, but he paid them homage and recited a eulogy from heart. Once he was finished, he wiped some lingering tears from his eyes and told them how dearly he loved them, how much he would miss them, and how their memory would be forever with him for so long as he lived. He turned to face the open and a spring wind caught him a little off guard. He pulled his tattered coat around him to keep warm and continued to walk away from his sanctuary. He wasn't certain where he was headed, but he continued to have one thought in mind…revenge. The only thing that mattered was finding a new place to reside. In time, he would find that and perhaps others who were interested in his cause.

Chapter 3—The Beginnings of the Sky Pirates

Before long, Don found a place where he could live. It wasn't the most comfortable or tidy like the home he had grown up in, but at least there were people he could associate with and that understood him. One day, he came across two kids who were a little younger than him. They were both scruffily dressed and not exactly the sharpest people he had come across. However, he felt that he could use them toward his advantage and they could possibly become his followers and lackeys. Thus far, he liked where his thought process was taking him, so he decided to befriend the younger boys.

Mad Dog and Dumptruck were the names of the kids. He thought that these were very strange names for children to be born with, but once he had heard their stories, he understood why they had been named so strangely. These kids had experienced tougher times than Don had. They had been abandoned and orphaned at a young age and had known nothing other than stealing in order to survive. At that moment, Don's personality began to transform again.

He became more charismatic and bold. Together with these two, he would begin his own group and someday find the monsters that slew his family. In a matter of years, Don and his followers grew together and found more members to become part of the "family". In time, Don stood back and watched his toadies build airplanes and the impressive flying fortress he called The Iron Vulture. He had stolen all he needed, including a new look for himself and his crew. It was quite piratical and he liked how he looked as well as everyone else. The only matters left for him to take care of was renaming himself and his crew and revenge.

Chapter 4—The Scourge of Cape Suzette

In a couple of weeks, Don Karnage and his crew had been able to trace down the rouge gangs who had been responsible for the deaths of his parents. No one other than Mad Dog and Dumptruck knew his reasoning behind the search that had at last come to an end. Don had never murdered anyone before but he felt this murder was justifiable. The brutal killings happened in a matter of seconds and Don experienced the heightened ecstasy of destroying the leader who had been responsible for robbing him of his livelihood. With a look of madness in his eyes Don didn't care that there was still blood on his hands, or the fact that he felt no remorse.

"Boss…BOSS !", Mad Dog shouted before sirens could be heard.

Don came back into reality and gestured for them to leave. What the gangs had owned now belonged to them, and none were the wiser. They had left before the police could process the results. Karnage and his company had escaped without anyone knowing who they really were. It was the first crime they had committed, but they hadn't seen it as such. The image of the murders soon faded and all Karnage cared about was returning to the caverns and islands that he now called "home".

In the days that followed, Don heard of the crimes he and his group had been committing. They had been called "modern day pirates" and that's when he had an epiphany. From that day forward, he and his men would be known as the Sky Pirates and they would be feared throughout the land. Of course, every evil plot that Don had wouldn't always come to fruition. Yet, he had come to like where he was and had a feeling that somehow the souls of his family members were grinning from wherever they were. Revenge had been well worth the effort and he was finally being taken seriously. His future was secure and he had a standup crew behind him (although some of them weren't the most intelligent). Wherever this new life of villainy would take him, he was certain that he would always have the upper hand in whatever he did. One day, Cape Suzette would be his, and he wouldn't stop until everyone bowed to him. That day would come, but for now, he was pleased simply being a "king of the modern pirates, the scourge of Cape Suzette, the terror known as the Sky Pirates, making the skies no place for the timid."

The End

April 7, 2005