Brooks

Chapter 13: The conclusion

As Tom's entire life continued to burn, Brooks & Musgrove prepared for their final battle. "Brooks! Are you ready to die?"

"I'm not dying today, Musgrove. I've come to far to quit now." Brooks responded.

Musgrove snickered. "Too bad kid. This is where your story ends." The doctor suddenly injected himself with a syringe & started laughing. "I've injected myself with Venom X. Once it spreads, my muscle tissue will begin to grow until my body is maxed out. In short, Im unlocking humankind's full potential with this new & improved serum I have created."

Brooks watched unable to move as Musgrove's body transformed in front of his eyes. Musgrove yelled in pain as the transformation took place & he was quickly unrecognizable.

"You're making a mistake Musgrove! Damn it." Brooks got ready as Musgrove charged towards him. Brooks charged back & slid between Musgrove's legs. He hopped onto his back & hit Musgrove in the head as he rampaged around the burning place.

Musgrove let out a roar & grabbed Brooks' slinging him into the ground. A sharp pain echoed throughout his body as he forced himself to stand back up. He's strong. I'm already a little worn down from earlier. This may be bad. Brooks thought to himself. Musgrove picked Brooks up & started squeezing his body, crushing him.

"Ack!" Brooks let out as he turned to air & escaped. "I don't want to fight damn it!" Musgrove grabbed a chair & threw it at Brooks in response. Our hero melted the chair in half as it came towards him & knew he had no choice but to fight.

Brooks concentrated & charged for Musgrove. Before his punch connected, he quickly turned his fist to stone & connected with Musgrove's stomach. The mutated monster stumbled backwards & roared angrily. Although he had injected himself with Venom X, he was still taking damage. The serum made him unbelievably strong & unable to feel the pain but it was there.

"Musgrove! Can you hear me? Snap out of it. You've made a big mistake. Just calm down." Brooks urged to no avail. It seemed as if Musgrove's entire humanity was stripped from him when he injected the Venom X. It's useless. Looks like i'll have to kill him after all...

Brooks shot an ice needle into one of his eyes. He let out an annoyed roar & continued to fight. Musgrove kicked Brooks' wounded leg with a large snapping noise coming from his bones. Brooks grunted as he suppressed his painful screams & wrapped it in a stone cast.

Brooks managed to dodge the next punch just in time & burnt Musgrove's arm while punching his side with the other fist made of stone. He's so fast. But he's sloppy. If i can blind him maybe I can take advantage even in my current state. Brooks blasted himself backwards with a gust of wind & aimed for Musgrove's other eye. He shot another ice needle & blinded the monster. Musgrove panicked as he lost his vision violently flailing his arms in anger.

"Musgrove! Just quit. Its over now." Brooks said as he leapt for the mutated man's face. He kicked him into the ground with his feet & beat him with stone.

The facility crumbled around them as the entire place burned. Debris fell as he continued to fight Musgrove.

As Brooks fought, he noticed Musgrove was changing again. Brooks stopped to see what was happening. Suddenly, Musgrove was returning to normal. He was scarred & frail but at least now he was human again. He coughed as he regain his humanity & Brooks stood up over him not taking down his guard.

"Damn... The serum didn't last for as long as I had expected. I thought that I'd be able to finish you before it wore off..." Musgrove said weakly.

"You made a mistake taking the serum. You'll never truly be the same again." Brooks replied.

"It doesn't matter." he said as he tried to move. He froze as the pain surged within him. "I'm not going to be around for long anyways. My time is nearing its end. Your punches hit hard. My insides... are scrambled like eggs. Its over for me." he coughed again, wheezing.

"That's your own problem, Doctor." Brooks told him. Musgrove smiled.

"I know. Before i die, what happened to Sarah? I know she helped you escape." Musgrove told him.

Brooks fell silent for a moment. "She.. She died. Zero killed her. Your assassin killed her." Brooks gritted his teeth.

"What?! I didn't order her to harm Sarah. I specifically told her not to. Why would I want to kill my own granddaughter?" Musgrove asked himself as he fought back tears.

Brooks was unable to respond to that. He hadn't realized that they were related until just now. This was big news. "She died happy. At least know that much in your final moments." Brooks told him out of respect. The man had made bad decisions but he wasn't completely evil.

Musgrove smiled as tears slowly streamed down his cheeks.

"Thank you, Brooks. I know I've hurt you & ruined your life, but I can return you to normal." he reached into his pocket & pulled out a vial of Venom X. "H-Here... just take this & the Venom X will neutralize all of the Rex cells. They'll be dormant inside you. You won't have your powers anymore but at least you can have a normal life with this.

Brooks' heart skipped a beat at the words he was hearing as he grasped the vial in his hand. "That is my parting gift. I apologize for my actions before. I was wrong to assume you were the enemy. You're a good man. I know that now. I understand if you hate me for my mistakes."

"Shut up damn it." Brooks said as he cried not because Musgrove was dying, but because he had a chance to be human again. "I... I don't hate you. A few months ago I would've hated you more than my own existence. But now, I know I can make something out of misfortune. You turned me into this but at this point I've accepted my role in this world. Thank you for giving me a purpose Musgrove." Brooks looked down only to see that he had died earlier with a smile ln his face. He looked at peace. That was good.

Brooks put the Venom X in his pocket & began making his way out of the facility.

Suddenly he remembered the lion was still in the pit. Brooks sighed & quickly got the lion out escaping together. Brooks had accepted himself for who he was & was happier for it. The battle was over & he had a purpose in life once again. He was truly happy for the first time.