CHAPTER 20: THE HILLWOOD HEROES
In a secret base that acts as the base of operations for the armored vigilante known as Valiance, the aforementioned hero meets back in his base with two unexpected guests, The Green Eye and Elite, also known as Arnold Shortman and Rhonda Lloyd, the latter being his daughter.
For several days now, Rhonda was believed to be trapped in a coma after a violent encounter with a man known as The Freak, formerly the disgruntled child named Thaddeus 'Curly' Gammelthorpe, but, with the power of will and determination, she has awakened with one mission: To kill The Freak.
Valiance, it seems, had much of the same idea, but, after the two nearly killed each other to complete their goals, they were left with no choice but to return to base, with the help of The Green Eye.
Now returned to their base, the heroes find themselves patching up their wounds, recovering from their rushed and botched assassination mission. Valiance, unmasked as Buckley Lloyd, took to attention to bandaging his daughter's legs, after she had finished bandaging his shoulder wounds.
"I can't believe you came back, Rhonda. How did you do it?" Buckley asked.
"I don't know. I think that most of it was just pure determination. After seeing The Freak make his demands on TV, I just felt this burning desire to kill him, and that just snapped me out of my coma." Rhonda said.
"I may not know how exactly you came back, but I promise I'll never leave you alone again. Not after what happened to you."
"Dad, it's okay. That night was Curly's fault, not yours."
"No, it was my fault. I should've been there to protect you. I was too busy living hedonistically to see what mattered most. Brooke, your mother, was put in an insane asylum after seeing you on the floor. I was alone, unable to live with my mistakes. Now, I'm never letting you go. I'll make every second count, whatever it takes."
Rhonda, moved by her father's sentimental words, shed tears of joy and gave her father a hug. Buckley, happy to have his daughter safely back in his arms, returned the hug, giving joyful tears of his own.
Arnold, watching the altercation from across the room, gave a smile at the warm moment, happy to see a family reunited, at least partially. Still, the warm moment was not enough to overcome the sharp, stinging pain of his stab wound, inflicted by Elite to keep him out of an attempt on The Freak's life.
Soon, both the warm father-daughter moment and the focus of Arnold's stab wound quickly come to an end, as the video feed interrupted on Valiance's TV screens. On every channel was The Freak, filming himself on top of P.S. 118 with 3 hostages particularly important to Arnold.
"Greetings, Citizens of Hillwood. No more games and no more bounties, this is a straight-up ransom." The Freak said.
The Freak turned his camera to his hostages, Helga and Arnold's parents, all tied up and gagged and protesting to be let go.
Arnold, unbelievably stressed by the sight of his significant other and parents at the hands of an insane killer, felt his blood pressure rise, causing his wound to bleed more profusely, with heavy drops of blood hitting the ground.
"No! Helga! Mom! Dad!" Arnold yelled.
"For those of you who noticed their children didn't come home from school today, I am standing atop the public school known as P.S. 118. All its students and its faculty are under my imprisonment, with the exception of Principal Wartz, who I killed. I do not want your money. I do not want your possessions. I don't even want the key to the city. All I want is The Green Eye. To The Green Eye, if you wish to save yourself the trouble, meet me on the rooftop. Let's duke it out. Mano y mano. Good vs. evil. For every hour that you're not here, I will take a random child from the school, bring them up here on camera, and blow their goddamn brains out for everyone to see at home." The Freak said.
The Freak pointed his gun as his prisoners, causing them all to scream and squirm in any way they could to plead for mercy.
"When I run out of kids, l'll kill these three, burn their bodies, and piss on their ashes. Should any of you parents of these brats or bleeding hearts for kids wish to bring The Green Eye to me, feel free to do so, but bring him alive and unharmed. Oh, and the clock is ticking, so if you don't show, Mr. Green Eye, someone may try to make you show up." The Freak said.
The Freak shut off his camera, ending his video transition and reverting the channels back to their original programming. Arnold, too distraught to make any rational decisions, began to succumb to his blood loss and began to pass out.
"No... Helga..." Arnold said.
Having lost too much blood for his healing factor to repair, Arnold passed out on the floor, falling flat on his face and helpless to save his family.
Buckley and Rhonda, taking notice of his critical condition, picked him off the ground and put him back in his hospital bed, allowing him to heal properly.
"What do we do, Dad? Arnold's in no shape to fight Curly, and he'll kill Helga and his parents, along with that whole school!" Rhonda asked.
Buckley thought for a minute on what to do, not having very many options to stop this immediate threat. One idea popped into his head, but it was a far from suitable one to any rationally thinking person. No sane, moral being would even consider this alternative if other options were available.
But, as the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures.
"I have a plan. Do you have any friends who could help us?" Buckley asked.
In the late night in the city of Hillwood, several students from the high school of P.S. 1018; Gerald, Phoebe, Harold, Sid, Stinky, Eugene, Nadine, and Sheena all gathered at the baseball field known as Geraldfield, where each had been summoned via text by Rhonda. As none of them were aware of her escape from the hospital, no one knew whether this was something serious or perhaps some kind of practical joke.
Not knowing where else to look for answers, the kids turned to each other to investigate.
"So, what do you think this is all about?" Pheobe asked.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, it better not be some dumb prank Harold set up." Gerald said.
"Hey, I didn't do this! Why would you think I would?" Harold asked.
"Uh, Harold, you and us do stuff like this all the time." Sid said.
"Yeah, but we never did it while pretending to be dead people before."
"Uh, what about that 'Ghost Bride' thing we all went through as kids?" Stinky asked.
"That was Helga that did that, but it was just some dumb ghost story, not somebody that we knew."
"Besides, Rhonda's not dead, she's just in a coma. Do you think this message means that she came out of it?" Nadine asked.
"Bingo." A voice said.
The kids all turned to the source of the voice to face a mysterious woman wearing a silver mask, giving the group a slight startle. The woman removed her mask to reveal that the woman underneath was indeed Rhonda, revealing herself to be alive and well.
"Rhonda!" The group shouted.
"Why are you wearing that mask and costume?" Phoebe asked.
"And who designed it? It's fabulous." Eugene asked.
"Sorry to be rude about this, but we don't have time to stand around and talk now. I need you all to come with me. Right now." Rhonda said.
"And why do we need to do that exactly?" Gerald asked.
Out from the shadows stepped a new figure, one clad in a knight's armor and a cape, all while heavily armed to the teeth. This man was Valiance, the knight of vengeance.
"There's a war going on, and you've all been drafted." Valiance said.
Meanwhile, through the eyes of Arnold Shortman, the dark avenger suddenly found himself back in San Lorenzo, in the ancient city of the Green-Eyed People. The city had reached its nighttime, and the city lit up beautifully with the sights of torches surrounding the city and the stars of the night sky beaming their light down upon the city.
Despite the sight being beautiful to gaze upon, Arnold had no time to stop and admire the sky, as he was faced with a more important question: Why was he here?
With a familiar greeting from a friendly face, his question was found to be answered very quickly.
"Hello, Arnold." Luz said.
"Luz?! How am I here?! I have to get to Hillwood and save-" Arnold began to say.
"You are physically in Hillwood, Arnold, but your mind is here, in our city. I have brought your consciousness here to speak with you."
"Now? What is it?"
"I have been watching you through the astral plane. You seek to save your soulmate from the being known as 'The Freak'. I will assist you in your fight."
"Assist me? How?"
"I did not believe it when I saw it, but the person you fight is someone I had hoped you would never encounter during your time on this Earth. You have a Heart of Gold, Arnold, but he has a Heart of Darkness. He was born blind to love and good, and sees any form of it as having no place his life. For years he has tried to save himself with his undying affection to your friend, Rhonda, but his love was left unreciprocated, and he was alone. He is someone that cannot be helped like you have helped others in your past, your only choice is to capture him and hope he dies of old age."
"I don't believe that, Luz. You know I do."
"I know you do not believe me nor do I expect you to, but I tell you this only as a warning if you fail to help him, as I know you will try. To answer your question, I will show you."
Luz put his hand on Arnold's chest, closing his eyes and concentrating deeply. Arnold began to feel a strange sensation within himself, as if he was being filled with some raw, unrestrained form of energy. Feeling fully invigorated from the energy boost, Arnold stepped back in shock, not knowing what had happened to him.
"What was that?" Arnold asked.
"I have focused my life energies into you. Your strength will be tripled throughout your coming fight, but only for the time being. Giving you such an amount of power takes not only a toll on myself, but on you as well. Use it well." Luz said.
"Why are you helping me, Luz? Now, I mean?"
"Once again, child, you question the smaller details. But, if you must know, you are not the only one with a soulmate. I have lost mine decades ago, to a spirit much like the one you must face now, and I refuse to stand by and let my best student lose his."
"You lost your soulmate? But what-"
"There is no time to tell this tale, Arnold. You will return to your body soon. I wish you the best of luck."
Fighting back his curiosity on Luz's words and his hunger for knowledge, Arnold let out a frustrated sigh, settling to be content with the answers he was given for the time being.
"Thank you, Luz. For everything." Arnold said.
Arnold's view of the city began to turn to a whiteout, and Arnold felt himself being pulled out of the presence of the city, feeling his consciousness returning to his body.
Inside Valiance's base, the kids, having spend as little time as they could afford to marvel the size of the base, began selecting their armor and weapons to prepare themselves for the coming fight in the school known as P.S. 118.
Gerald, looking through several experimental weapons, picked up a large fork-like weapon, the strange weapon catching his interest from its unusual look.
"Whoa, what do you think this thing does?" He asked.
Phoebe, trying a pair metal gauntlets as her own weapons, looked at the weapon's instruction manual, hoping to find any useful tips on how to use the strange weapon.
"According to the manual, this weapon, called a Sonic Fork, emits sonic waves that can force back large objects with brute force. It is activated by swinging the fork at an object while pressing the charging button which-" Phoebe began to say.
Phoebe's lecture was soon interrupted by Gerald carelessly following her instructions, accidentally causing the Sonic Fork to knock back a nearby car, launching it several feet away. Not expecting the strange object to have such a powerful force to it, the display of power left both of them looking at the feat in shock and admiration.
"So it hits things with sound. Okay." Gerald said.
Gerald gave the Sonic Fork a swing, attempting to show off with it.
"Just call me G-Funk." He finished.
After the kids had selected their weapons and equipment, now fully prepared for battle, Valiance stood on top of his car, facing the kids to give a briefing in the form of a speech. Upon gaining their attention, Valiance uneasily began, not prepared to recruit so many soldiers in his private war against crime.
"Children. The last thing I want to do is to draft you into a fight that I wouldn't dare ask anyone to unless it was absolutely necessary. I would ask adults who are more aware of the risks, but, unfortunately, I have no time for such ethics-" Valiance began to say.
"Hey, Mr. President! We get the idea! Can you just tell us what we have to do?" Gerald interrupted.
"Fair enough. A dangerous psychopath known as The Freak has captured three VIPs and an entire school of children with the aid of numerous seasoned mafia enforcers, demanding that he gets to fight The Green Eye. Due to a serious injury, The Green Eye is out of commission and we must take it upon ourselves to defeat this enemy and rescue the VIPs. We-" Valiance began to say.
Valiance's speech came to a slight pause upon seeing what came onto his TV screens. The video feed cut from its regular programming to The Freak, now standing with the children in the auditorium, holding a young girl in his arms with a gun in his hand.
"Hello, citizens of Hillwood! I'm getting very impatient with our friend, Mr. Green Eye, and our first hour is up, and you know what that means!" The Freak said.
The Freak pointed his gun at the young girl's head, making her scream and cry in despair. The sight of the young girl in panic, knowing what was coming next, the group in Valiance's base all braced themselves for the worst in whatever way they could.
"Whoever shat this little brat on this Earth, I suggest you prepare my 'thank you' note for saving you child support money." The Freak said.
The Freak pulled the trigger, ending the life of the young girl, spraying out blood and brains for everyone watching TV to see, embedding the horrific, disgusting, painful memory forever in their heads. Everyone in the base gasped in shock, beginning to cry, with even Valiance shedding a tear as well.
"That wasn't even anyone in particular. I just picked that one at random. To The Green Eye, if you value the rest of these little rugrats, COME OUT HERE AND FIGHT ME!" The Freak screamed.
The Freak threw the camera on the ground out of pure rage, breaking it and ending the video feed. Needing a minute to process that a young child had just died by this madman's hands, the group took a moment of silence out of respect for her.
After the moment of silence ended, Valiance changed his speech, rallying his troops for blood.
"New plan. No mercy. We kill this son of a bitch. We hang him from the roof of the school. No one else suffers like that little girl. Tonight, WE END THE FREAK!" Valiance yelled.
The kids cheered in readiness, enraged and ready to kill the monster that stole the life of one of the most innocent of people. With anger in their hearts and rage in their eyes, the group rallied in support of Valiance's martial approach, wishing death upon The Freak and more than happy to see that it came to him.
One person, however, did not agree to the tribal approach. This person was someone who, despite when the world was against him, would always be the one to stand against it all, alone, always doing the right thing. Someone who would always stay true to his beliefs, never faltering nor failing in them.
Someone with a crusade for justice.
A mission to help those in need.
A passion to end pain.
That person is Arnold Shortman.
That person is The Green Eye.
Able to stand again with his wounds now healed, The Green Eye stood tall and made his voice heard, opposing the rally for bloodlust.
"NO!" The Green Eye shouted.
The Green Eye stood atop Valiance's car, taking his place upon the soapbox and gaining the attention of the group. Further gaining their attention, he took off his mask, revealing himself to the group and surprising the entire group, not expecting Arnold to be The Green Eye.
"Arnold?!" They unanimously asked.
"It doesn't matter how many The Freak kills, or who he kills. We are not killers. We will no one, especially not The Freak. We will stop him using our wits and our inner powers. With time, I will show you how to achieve this like I have. Until then, we do the best we can with what we have. We will stop The Freak, we will save those kids, we will save my parents, we will save Helga, and WE WILL SAVE HILLWOOD!" Arnold shouted.
The kids cheered louder, their former cries for death now turned to cries for justice, with even the vengeful knight known as Valiance joining, Arnold's influence reaching.
Arnold replaced his mask, once again assuming his identity as The Green Eye, holding his staff high to rally his newfound team into their fight.
"I am the dark avenger, I am the light, I am The Green Eye!" Arnold shouted.
"I am the crusader, I am judgement, I am Valiance!" Valiance shouted.
"I am revenge, I am Elite!" Elite shouted.
"I am the sound of soul, I am G-Funk!" Gerald shouted.
"I am the woman with the iron fists, I am Dragon Fury!" Phoebe shouted.
"I am redemption, I am the Star of David!" Harold shouted.
"I am bad luck for evil, I am the Mauve Avenger!" Eugene shouted.
"I am peace, I am Flower Child!" Sheena shouted.
"I am the one who goes bump in the night, I am Insect Girl!" Nadine shouted.
"I am the edge, I am Bad Boy!" Sid shouted.
"I am the ground which crumbles beneath evil's feet, I am Dirt Man!" Stinky shouted.
"Together, we are the Hillwood Heroes!" The team shouted in unison.
With the Hillwood Heroes rallied and ready for their attack on The Freak, Valiance led the team to a large transport plane, fueled and ready to fly the group to P.S. 118.
"What is that thing?" The Green Eye asked.
"It's a prototype Harrier-style jet that was developed by a big-name labratory." Valiance responded.
"How did you get it?"
"I bought the laboratory."
With the Hillwood Heroes seated inside and ready for takeoff, the roof above the jet began to open up, revealing Valiance's base to be directly under his tennis court, and the jet began its flight to P.S. 118, the heroes inside waiting in anticipation to save the children within. They only hope that they are not too late to save another life.