CHAPTER 34: RETURN OF THE FREAK, PART 4
Though the bright of day is meant to bring about more activity from the people as day comes to a start, the nighttime of Hillwood is not sold short in its own liveliness. On the streets, there are movie theaters playing old and new films alike to enjoy, various clubs to drink and party with other young people with, and green and luscious parks for people to enjoy a more quieter and peaceful evening out, if they so desire.
Tonight, however, there is no room for peace or quiet in the city of Hillwood. Arriving at the main building of Channel 96 in a police car was the original supervillain to set the Hillwood Effect: Thaddeus 'Curly' Gammelthorpe, known infamously to the world as 'The Freak', while accompanied by Dr. Scott and Dr. Yuzna. The name of the Freak ring infamy across the nation with nothing but scorn in the mouths of most citizens, but, tonight, there is a different reaction to this killer.
Disobeying the curfew were a huge crowd of fanatics of the Freak, all dressed in his makeup and costume. Only a minority were comprised of males; the vast majority of his followers being young women, all holding up signs like 'MARRY ME FREAK', 'LOVE THAT FREAK', 'FREAK MY BODY', 'RAPE ME LIKE RHONDA', just to name some of the depraved messages that his fans sent to him.
Most of the fans were being held back by the combined efforts of the Hillwood Police alongside the National Guard, but even their efforts seemed to not be enough to keep the fanatics back and away from their idol. On his way inside the building, one fan drew the Freak's attention away from the entrance, whistling at him.
"Hey, murderer! Murder these!" The fan shouted.
The fan then flashed her breasts to the Freak, giving him a jolt of excitement out of the dedication his fans. However, she was quickly swept away by a police officer, covering her modesty with his jacket. Another of those watching him were not so enthusiastic about seeing him, at least not in a positive way. This man was one of the policemen, charging up to choke the Freak himself.
"Scumbag! Killer! You should get the damn chair!" The policeman shouted.
The policeman was also quickly pulled away, brought back by his own colleagues, though each and every one of them felt the temptation to let them continue his work, or even join in themselves. Nonetheless, the guards all kept their calm, each holding back to let them pass through.
The compassionate hand of Dr. Scott laid itself upon the Freak's shoulder, trying to offer him some comfort from the hostility he was facing.
"Don't feel afraid, Curly. I'm right here for you. You don't have to be afraid." Dr. Scott said.
"Afraid? I'm not afraid. I've never felt so excited in my life." The Freak said.
As the group all continued their way inside, reporters continued their work on the ground, documenting every event as it unfolded on this night. Always sharp on her job was Lisa Bartholomew, the #1 news reporter in Hillwood known for getting down to business and getting her questions answered. Such is the case now, in which she gives an interview to a fan of the Freak.
"Good evening, I'm Lisa Bartholomew, standing outside our very own Channel 96 building in which the news station has landed an interview with the country's very first supervillain: Thaddeus Gammelthrope, known as 'The Freak'. Anticipation for the television event is unlike anything the country has ever seen before, with hordes of fans of the Freak gathering outside the building just to get a glimpse at their hero; a story in and of itself just before we get to the main event. I'm standing here with one of his fans, now, can you answer me just what is the whole obsession with a supervillain?" Lisa asked.
"Yeah, well, you know, it's just, like, really cool to see a real-life supervillain and stuff. I mean, you only used to see that kind of stuff in the movies or comic books. It's just really neat to see that in real life, you know? It's like, I don't know, being in the movies and stuff." The fan said.
"But surely you understand that this is the real world that you, I, and the Freak live in, and there are real consequences to his actions. A year ago, this man held an entire school hostage and sent the city into riots, and ended the life of a little girl live on TV. Are you supportive of such violence?"
"No, no, I, like, respect life and all that stuff, but, you know, there's just something about the Freak that I just can't get over. You could almost say he's... godlike."
"I see. Well, we've gotten a word from the fans, it looks like we might have an opportunity to speak to the Freak himself as he comes around the corner, but we might have time for only one question with the rate they're going."
Rushing to get one question answered from the Freak before his television appearance, Lisa Bartholomew ran to the supervillain, trying to catch her question as quickly as possible. Her inquiry was brief, but far from an easy question, asking the Freak a simple singular sentence of...
"Mr. Gammelthrope, Lisa Barholomew of Channel 96, what do you have to say to your fans?" Lisa asked.
Seeming to be eager for this question, the Freak gave a smile, sneering gladly right at the camera as it pointed at him.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet." The Freak said.
From above the events, the interviews and the crowds were observed by the Green Eye and Valiance, both taking command of the Hillwood Heroes to properly coordinate the operation and ensure that the Freak did not escape. The two shared their task in peace, but in uncomfortable silence; all that occurred between the two bringing their relationship to a cold state.
What did not lie cold, however, was the worship of a killer, worse yet, a child killer, down in the crowd in the mind of Valiance. The very idea of idolizing a killer made him sick to his stomach, and flaring at the nostrils, more than ready to exact his own kind of justice on the fans of the Freak.
The feeling was well-hidden from his expression, in turn hidden by his helmet, but did not go unnoticed by the empathic Green Eye.
"I know what you're thinking. Just remember what our job is." Green Eye said.
"I haven't forgotten." Valiance said.
"Good. Because, seeing all those people, I'm starting to forget myself."
Inside the building of Channel 96, much work was underway and spared no detail for perfection; a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity such as this leaving no room for mistakes. The TV crew worked tirelessly and restlessly to make sure that even the most negligible of details were not overlooked, making sure that all would go well in this very special and most important production.
One man who was not so hard at work was the host of the show: Jimmy Fallacy. During his time as a member of the world-famous comedy show Friday Night Live, he was often considered the least talented cast member, often breaking character or laughing at the wrong moment, as well as just simply not being funny.
Nonetheless, through some means other than hard work, Fallacy had found his career set firmly in being the host of the national program 'Pillow Talk', taking over duties from past host Jake Reno. Still never having procured any talent or charisma at all, his poor performance has led ruin to the show, leaving it often mocked by others.
Staying true to his lack of work ethic, all that Jimmy Fallacy does to be ready for the show is sip on a coffee spiked with whiskey, and snack on donuts before the airing; his preparation rituals having just as much substance as most of what he markets off as his own comedy. However, his consuming of unhealthy goods are soon interrupted by his assistant, bringing him news regarding his personal income.
"Mr. Fallacy, sir? Your tax reports are starting to show that you might not be eligible for a refund." The assistant said.
"Oh, goddammit, Marsha, what the hell am I paying you for?! Just throw a couple thousand dollars towards one of those cancer kid charities or something, that'll chalk up some points." Fallacy said.
Picking himself up from his chair, Jimmy Fallacy reached under his dress shirt to tighten his corset, ensuring that no fat would be visible from all the junk food and other unhealthy products he constantly ate. After giving his nose a thorough picking, Fallacy also let out an elongated gust of flatulence; its stench smelling like something from the pits of Hell.
Finally making their way up to the proper floor, Dr. Yuzna, Dr. Scott, and the Freak arrived at the studio, ready to begin their interview and eager to meet Jimmy Fallacy before the show. When they managed to get their first impressions of the man, however, their eagerness soon dwindled to naught in seconds.
"Uh, pardon me, Mr. Fallacy?" Dr. Yuzna asked.
"WHO IS THIS INTERN AND WHY IS HE TALKING TO ME?!" Fallacy shouted.
"Uh, sir, that's your guest. Dr. Ryan Yuzna. He's the one who developed that new surgical procedure." The assistant said.
Instantly upon receiving the news, Jimmy Fallacy turned around to face his guests, changing his disposition to a cheerful smile with overly straight teeth; giving off a facade of overtly-expressed friendliness. Reaching out his hand, he offered the doctor a handshake to welcome his guest.
"Oh, hi, there, how ya doin'? You must be the doctor guy I'm supposed to interview." Fallacy said.
"Um... Yes, Dr. Yuzna, if you don't mind. I'm the one who came up with the Sahelanthropus Procedure, where I reconstruct a patient's spinal cord by-" Dr. Yuzna began to say.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, but where's the man of the hour? The Freak? You know, the big supervillain guy that really changed things around?"
"I beg your pardon, sir, he's-" Dr. Scott began to say.
"Right here, buddy." The Freak said.
Excited to meet the maniac himself, Jimmy Fallacy extended a handshake to the Freak, eager to meet him personally.
"Ah, yes, sir, great to meet you. Jimmy Fallacy. Comedian, talk show host." Fallacy said.
"Thaddeus Gammelthorpe. Rapist, mass murderer."
Jimmy Fallacy let out a loud and obnoxious laugh; giving a slap to his knee and irritating his guests with his attitude.
"Oh, man, you, sir, are gonna be a riot on TV tonight." Fallacy said.
"You have no idea. Say, uh, is there a place I can get, y'know, changed and everything?" The Freak asked.
"Absolutely. Kid, you need anything at all, you just let me know." Fallacy said.
Taking his most prized guest and his guards to a nearby changing room, Jimmy Fallacy left the two doctors behind, leaving Dr. Scott frustrated at his treatment. Wanting to stay by his patient's side, the doctor tried to call out to Fallacy to express a desire to stay with the Freak, but was left unheard.
"Uh, excuse me, Mr. Fallacy!" Dr. Scott said.
"Oh, yeah, there's, uh, some snacks around here somewhere. Feel free to help yourselves." Fallacy said.
"Relax. Just let him do his thing. I was expecting this." Dr. Yuzna said.
"What do you mean, 'expecting this'? What exactly did you arrange?" Dr. Scott asked.
"Well, more or less, it was going to be difficult to arrange an interview on my own. I had to really sell that they would interview the Freak, otherwise they wouldn't listen to me."
"WHAT?! Yuzna, you bastard, do you have no shame?!"
"I told you, relax. He's completely surrounded by police and National Guardsmen. If he tries anything at all, he'll get shot to pieces."
"I'm his doctor. My goal is protect him. That means I ensure he doesn't get shot to pieces! God, do you realize how much this could throw off his mental state? Undo years of work I've been doing to try to help him?"
"Throw him off? I don't know if you've noticed or not, but, not only is he getting the golden boy treatment, but he's been doing nothing but enjoying all this so far. He's been cooped up in that hospital bed for a year, don't you think he could use a little outside time?"
Unable to retort Dr. Yuzna's point, Dr. Scott groaned in anger, walking away to vent out his own frustrations. With all going well to his own plans, Dr. Yuzna gave out a content smile, knowing all was going well along to further his own career. Though, there still laid one more concern in his mind, leading him to ask Jimmy Fallacy's assistant for help.
"So, did I hear something about snacks?" Dr. Yuzna asked.
Going to a dressing room at another end of the room, Jimmy Fallacy led the Freak inside, giving him plenty of room and clothes to change with. At the request of the host, the guards agreed to stand outside the room, giving the Freak his privacy to change his clothes.
When stepping inside the room, the Freak was pleased to see a large and luxurious room set aside for him, making him feel truly welcome to the studio. To his surprise, the clothes laid out for him were all black trench coats and other similar clothing articles, as well as having many black makeup items left for him.
"We had a feeling you'd want your old clothes back, or something similar to it. Like what you see?" Fallacy asked.
"Oh, yeah. I like it a lot." The Freak said.
"Great. You need anything at all, just call one of the guards, they'll come get me, and I'll get you anything you need. Good?"
"Good. Oh, and, Mr. Fallacy, just one more thing."
"Yes?"
"When you announce me out there, please, call me 'The Freak'. Not 'Thaddeus' or 'Curly' or anything like that. It's my real name."
"Oh, of course. Wouldn't want to get your name wrong. Well, again, anything you need."
Stepping out of the room, Jimmy Fallacy left the Freak in peace in order to change. Excited at last to have his television event on the way, the man gave out a genuine smile, the first one he had given off for the entire time since his guests arrived, this time having a true motive behind its existence: Greed.
"Yes. Today, 'Pillow Talk with Jimmy Fallacy'. Tomorrow, 'The Jimmy Fallacy Show'." Fallacy said.
Having been fitted in a full suit and tie the full time, the Freak stripped the garments off in an instant, having no taste for the formal wear he was given. Instead, he was more than eager to move onto his old clothes, preparing to dress himself back up as when he made his debut.
Before doing so, however, he took a look at himself in the mirror, looking at the scars written on his chest when he had initially made his debut as the Freak. The scarring on his chest read as 'NO TEARS'; regarding a promise made from a promise based upon nothing but his own delusions. He desired a change in the wording, but knew there was no way to do so.
At least, before now.
Through means he had no idea how, he manifested his own energy towards the scar tissue, focusing his thoughts all towards this area of his body. Remembering a t-shirt he once saw of Marilyn Manson, he tried to emulate a lyric written across the back of the shirt.
By nothing more than the concentration of his thoughts, the scar tissue began shifting and moving across his chest, rearranging to form a new sentence entirely. Taking the lyric from his mind, originating from Marliyn Manson's song 'Cake and Sodomy', the scar tissue rearranged to say: 'I AM THE GOD OF FUCK'.
Taking great interest in his new abilities, the Freak gave a smile.
As the Hillwood night began to draw near its adolescence, every eye of the city laid itself upon their TV screen, each one filled to the brink with anticipation of the night's most important event, and perhaps one of the largest events in television of all time, something that could only exist once in a lifetime:
An interview with the country's first supervillain and main component of the Hillwood Effect: The Freak.
Individual and family all came to their television sets in anticipation for this event, but none knowing what to fully expect. Most minds watching the televised event harbored mostly content and hatred for the supervillain, a deranged and misguided few held cheerful and happy feelings for seeing their idol on TV, but none truly knew what would unfold on this show.
One specific man watching the TV, the massive mafioso named 'Little' Nicky, harbored a hatred for the Freak like no other, but, unlike anyone else in the country, he had a very good idea of what would happen, or, at least, what would follow later. Taking a puff of his cigar in his hideout, he waited patiently for his moment to come.
When the advertisements ended, the TV feed moved to the intro for 'Pillow Talk', starting with a shot on the host of the show: Jimmy Fallacy, followed by the sound of laughter.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tonight's episode of 'Pillow Talk', I'm your host, Jimmy Fallacy. Now, most episodes of the show, I receive guests from Hollywood, from the music scene, from NewTube, from a lot of more conventional places you might find the general weirdo. Tonight, I don't just have a weirdo as my guest. I've got a Freak as my guest. No, really, I mean it. He's a total Freak. He's a super Freak, super Freak, he's super Freaky. Now, please, everybody, give a warm and hearty welcome for tonight's guest: The Freak!" Fallacy said.
On the host's cue, the Freak was brought onto the stage, dressed back in his attire of a black trench coat and pants, along with Dr. Yuzna and Dr. Scott accompanying him to the set. The applause of the audience was not accompanied by any cheers or true praise; their clapping only done out of financial incentive, and their faces sneering at the Freak as he smiled his way down to the stage.
The two doctors accompanying their patient also had strange looks on their faces, but their faces held instead a degree of uncertainty regarding the Freak's chest.
"Hey, didn't his scar say something else?" Dr. Yuzna whispered.
"It did." Dr. Scott whispered.
As the applause subsided to a silence, the Freak and the two doctors took their seats at next to the host: The Freak sitting on a chair to himself, Dr. Yuzna and Dr. Scott on a couch, and Jimmy Fallacy behind a desk to himself. Getting his guests comfortable and ready, the latter asked the first question to begin the show.
"Now, Mr. The Freak, I guess the first question on everybody's mind is: How does it feel being the most infamous criminal in America? I mean, bigger than John Wayne Gacy, Ed Gein, Harris and Klebold, and Martin Shkreli?" Fallacy asked.
The audience got some laughter at the mention of a lesser criminal clumped with the rest, but Dr. Scott was not amused in the slightest, protesting to his patient's treatment.
"Now, you hold it right there. I don't know what kind of sick games you had in mind tonight, but you can forget about it. Curly's my patient, and I won't treat him as less than human, unlike some of you people. I want you to treat him with respect." Dr. Scott said.
The Freak kindly urged off his doctor's urges, calming down the person meant to keep him civil and calm.
"It's okay, Doc. I was expecting some kind joke to be played on me here. It's cool. You gotta learn to laugh at yourself once and a while. Besides, Jimmy can ask me whatever he likes, because I'm going to assrape him and skin him alive once I answer his questions." The Freak said.
The audience let out some frightened gasps from the Freak's threat, but Jimmy Fallacy gave out a forced and annoying laugh, slamming his palm on the table.
"Oh, man, that's a riot! I just knew you were gonna be a good guest for this show." Fallacy said.
"Well, what can I say? I'm a real crowd pleaser." The Freak said.
"Definitely. But, seriously, how does it feel being regarded as the very first supervillain?"
"Pretty good. I was pretty much considered the 'weird' kid throughout school that nobody liked, and, now, I'm considered more influential than most of the grade-A students I know. Never let people tell you high school actually affects your life."
This time, the audience seemed to get a more genuine laugh, as did Jimmy Fallacy.
"Ha-ha! Ain't that the truth! I was pretty much the same way, you know. I was probably the least popular kid in my school." Fallacy said.
"I can't imagine why." The Freak said.
The crowd once again gave out a genuine laugh, this one less reserved, but Jimmy Fallacy did not seem to share as large a laugh with this joke.
"Oh, uh, that's good, kid. That's really good. So, tell me, uh, where did it begin for you to become the Freak? You know, were you bullied or anything like that? Abusive parents? What was the origin story of the Freak?" Fallacy asked.
"Heh. Funny you should that. I used to think it was those thing, but it really began for me the day I was born." The Freak said.
"The- The day you were born?"
"My brain didn't quite come out right. Apparently, I don't perceive reality 'correctly'. I used to think my parents were complete monsters, and I was tortured by them every single day of my life. But, nope. They were actually some real sweethearts who were really good to me. No abusive parents there. I used to think my school was full of devils; people who were out to get me specifically and hated me. Most people in school pretty much ignored me. I mean, there were some pricks like Wolfgang and his 6th grade goons who'd screw with us a lot, but, other than that, nobody bullied me specifically. It was just your typical, low-income, ghetto school bullying. Nobody specific got anything or was spared. So, no bullying there. The start of the Freak was a real rocky one, but, in recent days, I've had a bit of a... rebirth."
"Rebirth?"
"See, when I realized that all my memories were fake, I started to think more about myself. I know I'm a super-crazy killer, but the whole reason I am is completely false. I could just be somebody completely different if I wanted, but I decided to dig deeper instead. I thought mainly about my connection to the Green Eye. I know him in real life, you know. His real identity and all that."
The audience all gave surprised gasps, none expecting the Freak to actually know such information.
Outside the Channel 96 building, the aforementioned Green Eye himself continued his observation of the event, keeping one view of the studio and one on his smartphone, watching the event live as it aired. The mention of the Freak knowing his true identity gave some slight concern, gasping lightly himself.
"You do?" Fallacy asked.
"Yeah. He was a kid I went to school with. Real saint; too nice for his own good. Oh, and don't think I'm gonna tell you his real name. That's for me to know only." The Freak said.
Hearing that the Freak was keeping his identity secret, the Green Eye gave a sigh of relief, knowing that his friends and family were still safe.
Back in the Channel 96 studio...
"Anyways, I thought about him a lot. Ever since he was a little kid, he'd been helping people, always wanting to make sure that you were okay and help you with any problem you had. I always thought about that, for some reason. I didn't understand why anybody would give enough of a damn to do crap like that. My childhood consisted of chronic masturbation and pushing sewing needles through neighborhood rats." The Freak said.
Disgusted by this revelation, the audience let out disgusted gasps, one giving out gags.
"Pfft, no, no, I didn't do anything like that. At least, not that I remember. Maybe I did and I don't remember it correctly. The whole 'not perceiving reality right' thing. No, anyways, I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I always thought that it was more fun to just screw with people. I got all mad at this one kid for sharpening my pencil down to the eraser, and then I got him blamed for pulling a false fire alarm. I almost got away with it, too, if it wasn't for that meddling Green Eye and that dumb dog. Then, I tried blackmailing some stupid girl by cleaning one of her mother's... uh, I guess it was a dress or something, some rich people thing... but, then I tried to make her my girlfriend. She dumped me anyways. You might remember her as 'Rhonda', that stupid rich bitch that I raped. And before you ask, the sex was terrible." The Freak said.
The audience once again let out disgusted groans at his acts; their paid praise of the supervillain beginning to dwindle in enthusiasm.
"Okay, as much as I'm enjoying the whole, uh, storytime thing you got going on, you mind actually answering my question?" Fallacy asked.
"Getting to that, Jimmy 'Faggotry'. Anyways, it left me wondering; 'Why am I still the Freak'? What's the point of being me if there is no real origin to 'me'? The answer? I don't need any origin. I'm completely self-begotten. Just like the Green Eye. He's always been someone who does right and helps people, I'm always the someone who does wrong and screws up people. For someone born with that innate goodness, there's got to be somebody born with in innate evil. For someone on one end of the spectrum, there's someone on the other. I'm not who I am because I just thought society treated me wrong. I'm not who I am because I never had a decent shot at having a nice life. I am who I am because I choose to be. I am what I am. I exist to be his opposite. I exist to be his bane. I exist to be his downfall. I'm just a... natural born killer." The Freak said.
The audience all went dead silent upon hearing the Freak give his speech, and, for this one moment, the entire nation, perhaps even the entire world, seemed to go silent just as well. Among those remaining silent was the Green Eye himself; always had he known the Freak to be an unsympathetic killer, but to hear such a speech let out was something beyond mesmerization and horror, but evenly balanced in the middle.
Upon finishing his speech, the Freak laid back in his chair, acting extremely casual to break the silence. Taking a cup of coffee set aside on Jimmy Fallacy's desk, he began sipping on the beverage for himself, taking the host's drink for himself without any thought or concern.
"Well, now, that's enough about me. Dr. Yuzna here's been dying to tell you how I started to walk again. Haven't ya?" The Freak asked.
"Uh... Yes, it's actually quite interesting, how the procedure worked out." Dr. Yuzna said.
"Uh, yeah, right, right. You wanna go over it a little?" Fallacy asked.
"Yes. Well, it's a very invasive procedure, in which I have to go and use stem cells to repair parts of the spinal cord, as well as replace any broken spinal bones via transplant. With Curl- Uh, the Freak, I had to start with the lumbar, working from the ground up to-" Dr. Yuzna began to say.
"Oh, oh, wait, I forgot to ask: Do guests get to keep these? I want a souvenir." The Freak asked.
"Uh, yeah, sure. We got a whole closet full of those things. Do whatever you want with it." Fallacy said.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Taking the coffee mug in his hand, the Freak smashed it against Jimmy Fallacy's desk, breaking it in half and leaving the edge serrated and sharp. Grabbing Dr. Yuzna by the head, he then drove the broken glass into his neck, slicing it open and spilling blood across the wallpaper of the set, which was a shot of Hillwood by nighttime.
Releasing Dr. Yuzna as he fell to the floor, bleeding out from the neck and choking on his own blood, the Freak sent the studio audience in a total panic; all instinctively running towards the exits. The remaining two at the set were Dr. Scott and Jimmy Fallacy; both too terrified and shocked over what they viewed to move.
"What? You said 'do whatever you want with it'." The Freak joked.
Overcoming their initial act of fear, the security guards in the studio all rushed to the Freak, all drawing their firearms to subdue and capture him. While most were under the impression that they would be facing against one man with little troubles, they did not understand that the man known as the Freak was no longer simply a man.
Feeling the powers of the Spirit Master still running through him, the Freak began to plan out his counterattack; his body moving just as quickly as the thoughts came to his head. Still holding the broken mug in his hand, he tossed it to the nearest guard, throwing it into his face, shattering instantly against it and sending shards of glass into his eyes.
Bleeding out from his eyes and screaming in agony, the guard was unable to see the Freak approach him, running up to snatch his gun from out of his hands. Though he blindly put up a fight on keeping hold of the gun, the guard still found his gun turned on himself, and only able to discern that from a bullet from it entering his head.
Wasting away the first guard, the Freak was now left with his own firearm, leaving him able to handle his issue of the guards still left. Though only having used firearms a few times in his life, and that from a whole year ago, with plenty of muscle atrophy seemingly leaving him unable to use one efficiently again, his reflexes and aim were quick and sharp enough to land headshots in each guard, leaving no bullet wasted or any lives spared.
Blasting away his enemies, the Freak was left with one bullet remaining in his pistol, leaving him to think over who to use it on next. Turning to the remaining members of the show, Dr. Scott and Jimmy Fallacy, he decided to think over the idea of using it on the former.
Taking his gun and pointing it at Dr. Scott, the Freak smiled in anticipation, leaving the doctor with a betrayed and defeated look on his face in return. Having spent nearly a year trying to help this young man reach mental health again, his efforts had been not only for nothing, but have only served to be his death sentence at this point.
Then, Dr. Scott found that no such fate awaited him. Taking his gun and pointing it in the air, the Freak fired his last bullet to the ceiling, subsequently tossing away the firearm. Approaching the doctor and patting him on the shoulder, the man who showed no signs of mercy or empathy moments ago showed some out of the blue; sparing his therapist's life.
"You can get out of here. I like you enough." The Freak said.
A moment of hesitation came over the doctor over the Freak's command, part of him wishing to stay and try to talk him down and not continue his attacks any further, but his own basic human survival instinct drove him to obey and leave all the same. For some time, he won't be sure if he made the right decision or not.
Trying to flee like the coward that he was, Jimmy Fallacy tried to escape as well, following behind Dr. Scott to escape the studio. Before able to make his escape, however, he was quickly caught by his suit collar by the Freak, preventing him from making any flight from his studio.
"Not you. I already told you what I'm gonna do when I'm done answering your questions. Pucker up... and I don't mean your lips." The Freak said.
Carrying him to the desk, the Freak bent him over it, pulling his pants and underwear down soon after. Drawing out a knife, he stabbed it into the desk, keeping it ready for the next part of his threat. Though he was mostly ready to commit his torture on Jimmy Fallacy now, there was one last task to complete.
Walking to one of the studio camera, the Freak grabbed it and held his face up to it, using it as an opportunity to address the Green Eye specifically.
"Hey, Green Eye. Hope you're enjoying the show so far. I've got a whole lot more after this in store for you. This is just gonna be a little taste to come. Oh, and speaking of 'come', I've got a whole year's worth of semen making my balls about to burst. If I don't cornhole this moron now, I'm gonna lose my mind. Excuse me." The Freak said.
Releasing his hold on the camera, the Freak walked back behind the desk, preparing himself for the waiting Jimmy Fallacy sitting leaning on the desk. Fearful over what would happen to him at the hands of this sadist, the coward began to cry, silently praying for his life to be saved.
"Relax, baby girl. It won't be anything different than how you got this job in the first place. Except you don't get any lube. I don't want you to enjoy this. So bite down." The Freak said.
Bringing his hands to his own pants, the Freak unzipped his fly, preparing to take advantage of his victim.
The TV feed instantly cut short to the traditional Indian-head test pattern card, citing technical difficulties, and playing the cheerful pop song 'Spanish Flea' by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass; an unfitting end to a travesty of a broadcast. In an instant, news media stations were going ballistic over the events that unfolded, with the unanimous attention of the nation going towards the broadcast going straight to the news for more.
One man who did not divert his attention away from the event was the Green Eye, knowing that now he had a job to do to prevent any further loss of life. Unable to face the threat of the Freak alone, however, he turned his attention to his communications unit, talking over a headset to alert the other Hillwood Heroes.
"Hillwood Heroes, this is the Green Eye, we have to move in now! I repeat, we have to move in-" Green Eye began to say.
"FREEZE!" A voice shouted.
Before able to continue his transmission, the Green Eye turned to face multiple National Guardsmen, with each one of them pointing their rifles straight at him. With no way out of this situation other than fighting his way through innocent people, his path to reaching the Freak was hit with a serious roadblock.
"Hey Arnold? What'd you say? What's going on? Arnold? Hey Arnold?!" G-Funk shouted.
With his team not properly receiving the message, the Green Eye was left to face his enemy alone, and left on his own to handle the new issue of the National Guardsmen. Having too many people in his way to try any of his powers of mental influencing, he instead tried for a verbal solution to his problem.
"Listen to me. You have to let me get inside. There's trouble going on." Green Eye said.
"Shut the hell up! Nobody gets inside the building." The commanding Guardsman said.
"Please, listen! The Freak's inside, and he's killed a bunch of people already! If I don't get in there, then nobody can stop him!"
"I said shut the hell up, you Halloween-dressed freak! We're dealing with this without your help."
"Hey Arnold, you gonna talk to us, man? What's going on?" G-Funk asked.
Inside the Channel 96 building...
Moving in as quickly but also as carefully as possible, several National Guard members began surrounding the outside of the studio doors, each holding their rifles in hand, ready to face off take the Freak down if they could not bring him in. Standing outside the doors, two Guardsmen held the doors tightly, awaiting the orders from their commander.
With the remainder of the Guardsmen holding their rifles at the ready, the commander gave his orders.
"1... 2... 3... mark!" The commander said.
Pulling as quickly as the words exited the commander's mouth, the two Guardsmen swung both doors wide open, leading the way for the rest of the squad ready to move in. The instant that they pulled the door open, however, the troops all stopped short in a mixture of shock and disgust at what awaited them outside the doors.
Limping his way towards the soldiers was Jimmy Fallacy, identifiable only by his face and everything from the neck up covering his body. The rest of his skin was completely flayed off; his body completely degloved. His muscles were all completely exposed to the air, with drops of blood falling off of his body and drops of semen falling from his behind.
"Help me... Help me..." Fallacy gasped.
Falling to the ground, the talk show host dropped dead before the National Guardsmen, killed by the hands of the Freak. Every Guardsman in the room all gave out shared gasps and gags, leaving many stomachs heaving and several expunging their contents out on the floor.
Then, there was one who felt the need for a joke.
"Oh, well, I think we've all wanted to do that to him." One Guardsman joked.
Predictably, all his teammates returned his comment with a series of scowls, as well as a punch in the face by his commander. Preparing to move in after the Freak, the squad all readied their weapons once again, all moving in after their target. The joker Guardsman was left behind as he laid against the wall, groaning at the pain of being punched square in the nose.
"What? What did I say?" The Guardsman asked.
As the Guardsmen all entered the studio, they found their target, the Freak, sitting alone at the desk formerly belonging to Jimmy Fallacy, acting extremely casual following the violence he had inflicted. Wasting no time to get to their target, the Guardsmen all surrounded him, pointing their rifles square at him.
"HANDS IN THE AIR! DO IT NOW, ASSHOLE!" The commander shouted.
Complying with the armed men, the Freak slowly raised his hands in the air, surrendering and putting up no signs of a fight. One Guardsman approached him from the back, putting his hands behind his back, subsequently placing handcuffs on him and holding him close.
Now, with their target secured, the Guardsmen continued on their objective as ordered.
"Good work, men. Now, get to building sublevel 'B'. The package will be picked up there." The commander said.
"Yes, sir!" The Guardsmen shouted.
Having the Freak secured tightly, the Guardsmen began escorting him to sublevel 'B' as ordered, taking a route to a service elevator. Stepping inside the elevator and selecting their desired level, the Guardsmen began their descent to the level. With the first portion of their mission underway, the commander selected a specific channel on his radio, informing another party of their status.
"Package has been picked up. Arriving in approximately 5 minutes' time." The commander said.
A number of ways away, in the current hideout of 'Little' Nicky Russotti, the aforementioned mobster received the transmission, giving a smile as he received the news.
"Good work. My delivery boys will be there for the package." 'Little' Nicky said.
Placing away his radio, 'Little' Nicky signaled to a group of men, ordering them to head to the Channel 96 building for their target. Cocking their weapons and heading outside to a car awaiting them, the men began driving down to the building, all ready to pick up their target.
Inside the Channel 96 building...
Reaching the sublevel 'B' of the building, the National Guardsmen stationed themselves in the room, taking wait for the arrival of 'Little' Nicky's men to arrive and pick up the Freak. The room was only dimly lit; the room itself having only poor lighting to illuminate the underground area, but it should not have mattered to those occupying the room.
Though the squad were alone at last, there was still an uneasiness about the Guardsmen, particularly with the moral grounds of their actions... and being alone with the Freak. Whether the deeper questions of the former or the survival instincts of the latter were stronger was hardly able to be told.
"Sir, you still think this is a good idea? Handing him off like this?" One Guardsman asked.
"Secure that, private. We don't need to be announcing it to the whole world." The commander said.
"There's no one down here but us, sir."
"No reason to get loose-lipped."
Taking interest in the conversation, the Freak approached the private and commanding officer, wishing to know his fate as being discussed. While getting the attention of his captors, his hands also began fiddling around with the handcuffs around his wrists; attempting to pull out of them.
"Did I hear something about me?" The Freak asked.
"None of your concern." The commander said.
"Oh, but you guys are gonna take me out of here and send me somewhere far away, that sounds an awful lot like my concern. Besides, looks like you're gonna be stuck with me for a while, might as well make some friendly conversation."
"Fine. We're going to hand you off to 'Little' Nicky so he can bash your skull in and rip out your brains, like you deserve. Happy with that explanation? I hope so, because that means you don't have a lot of time left on this Earth. Enjoy it while you can."
Hearing the words come from the mouth of the commanding officer, laughter became to fall from the Freak's; taking humor in the threat given. As a result, the National Guardsmen all became uneasy with his taking lightly of the situation; all looking to each other in hopes of finding how to react, but none getting the answers they sought.
"What's so funny?" The commander asked.
"I was actually just about to tell you the same thing." The Freak said.
Holding his hands in front of the commander, the Freak revealed that he had released himself from the handcuffs, holding them up in front of the squad to prove the fact. Consequently, the National Guardsmen all pointed their guns right at the Freak, preparing to fire upon him.
Before any shot could be fired off, however, the Freak broke the handcuffs in half; snapping the chain by pure brute strength. Taking the two halves of the handcuffs, he threw them to a control switch to the lights to the room, damaging it and causing the room to go pitch black in an instant.
Unable to see their target or discern each other in the dark, the Guardsmen began panicking under the new threat, with command and composure quickly dwindling down to naught. Still trying to keep his control of the situation at hand, the commanding officer ordered his soldiers to fall in line, to little success.
"Hey, all of you, get it together right now! He's just one man! He can't take all of us-" The commander began to say.
Before he could finish his sentence, the first set of lights that came about in the room were a pair of glowing green eyes, catching his attention as well as the attention of the rest of the Guardsmen. Having heard stories about one particular man with green eyes, there came some semblance of relief among the Guardsmen.
"Oh, thank god, the Green Eye's here. Hey, buddy, you wanna help us out?" One Guardsman asked.
Coming from the direction of the green eyes was a sinister laugh; one clearly not belonging to the Green Eye they knew and fitting more to someone else they had come into contact with. Upon hearing the voice in the laughter, the Guardsman had all suddenly came to a collective conclusion:
"Private... That's not the Green Eye." The commander said.
Then, the green eyes began to turn to a bright red, with the laughter still continuing.
All that was heard next was a series of loud and agonized screams.
Back on the rooftop holding the actual Green Eye, the aforementioned superhero was left at a point unable to act on the threat inside the building, still surrounded by armed National Guardsmen and stuck with no ways of escape. It seemed that not only would the Freak go free, but he would also face capture himself, taking the protection of Hillwood away for good.
With one streak of fortune, the commander's radio began to take a transmission, one that urged his attention away from even someone as important as the Green Eye.
"Mayday, mayday! This is Unit 1, we are under attack! I repeat, we are under attack! The primary threat is killing us all, he's- BLEGCH!" The radio called.
The transmission concluded with the sounds of bloody coughs and groans, followed up with a dead silence. Needing to find out what had happened to the other men on the line, the commanding officer took to his radio, slightly pointing his gun away from the Green Eye.
"Unit 1, what's going on? Unit 1, respond!" The commander asked.
Taking advantage of this opportunity to escape, the Green Eye lunged and punched the commanding officer in the face, knocking him down to the ground in an instant. Just as he managed to pick himself up, the first thing in his sight was the Green Eye fleeing from multiple gunshots heading his way, with his men chasing after him.
Dodging his way through bullets, the Green Eye was forced to punch his way through more National Guardsmen, having no other choice than capture in this situation. The very idea of harming innocents did not bear well on his conscience, but the idea of never being able to protect Hillwood any longer bore worse, leading him to carry on.
Having too many numbers of Guardsmen against him to fight on at once, the Green Eye tried to escape to the edge of the building he stood on, hoping to jump off and escape the reach of his opponents. Realizing his idea before he could achieve it, the Guardsmen all lined themselves up at the edge, preventing his escape.
Needing to think on his toes once again, the Green Eye pulled smoke bombs out of his utility belt, throwing them on the ground and surrounding the roof in a haze of smokescreen. Taking his new advantage to his use, he used his smokescreen to rush and subdue the Guardsmen, taking them out one at a time to ensure they would be out of his way and out of harm.
Unfortunately, his smokescreen did not provide for long, as a helicopter began flying over the rooftop; its fast-spinning blades blowing the smoke away like a giant makeshift fan. Though the Guardsmen were out of the way of the ledge now, he now had a military helicopter in front of him, with a sniper pointing a rifle aimed right at him.
The new threat, however, proved itself to be a blessing in disguise. Running straight at the helicopter, the Green Eye jumped off the ledge, landing right in the passenger area of the helicopter itself, landing right next to the sniper. Keeping his momentum up from his run, the Green Eye then jumped back out of the helicopter, aiming himself right for the Channel 96 building straight forward.
Having a distance between his past position and the Channel 96 between him, even with some of that distance eliminated with the presence of the helicopter, his jump quickly began to turn to a descent, leading him to need to land at one of the lower levels of the tall building.
Blasting straight through a pane of glass, the Green Eye got a rough landing on the lower level, tumbling on the carpet and landing against the wall. Although he had sustained many cuts and heavy bruises out from this landing, his healing powers would mend any wounds soon enough, leaving him more than able to handle the threat of the Freak.
Before making any such progress towards that target, however, he noticed two half-dressed people in the same room as him, both obviously appearing to have engaged in coitus in this secluded area of the building. Not too impressed with their recent life choices, the Green Eye chastised the two.
"Don't you know that the Freak's loose in the building?" Green Eye asked.
"Uh... No, we, uh- We just-" The man stammered.
"We just thought that nobody would notice- I mean, we didn't have anything else to-" The woman stammered.
"Will you two just get out of here?!" Green Eye shouted.
Taking his order, the man and woman quickly gathered their clothes, both proceeding to leave the building as quickly as possible. Having evacuated two civilians from the area, the Green Eye still found himself giving a scoff at their decision, shaking his head in embarrassment.
"And I thought Helga and I were naughty." Green Eye said.
At the sublevel 'B' of the Channel 96 building, the pickup men of 'Little' Nicky Russotti arrived at the meeting point established by their boss and the head of the Hillwood National Guard troops, only to find that their meetup had not quite gone as planned. Stepping inside the sublevel, the men found themselves surrounded in pitch black; none able to see anything.
"What the hell's this? The army just like to sit around in the dark or something?" One man asked.
"They're not the army, they're the National Guard. Their job is to fight guys here in the country. Army fights guys overseas." Another man said.
"Who the hell cares? Where are they and where's the Freak?"
"Maybe we outta get some lights on. They've gotta be around here somewhere." A different man said.
"No shit, Sherlock. How about instead of talking about it, you actually do it?"
"Alright, alright, chill. I'm on it."
Taking out a flashlight, the pickup man searched around for a light switch, hoping that there would be some way to activate the lights again. Unfortunately, the one switch that he found happened to be completely destroyed, but, interestingly, was destroyed with a pair of handcuffs embedded in the electronics.
"Hey, uh, boss? They broke the light switch. And they did it with handcuffs, for some reason." The man said.
"The hell do I care what they broke it with?" The leading man asked.
"Well, why the hell would they break it at all?"
"I dunno. Look, there's probably another one around here somewhere. Look for it."
Taking his order, the man with the flashlight began looking about for another light switch, stepping carefully through the dark room to avoid tripping on anything. Trying to search about the room for himself, the leading man carefully stepped his way through the dark, hoping for some clues for the National Guardsmen.
Stepping in something wet and gushy, hearing a squelching sound that went with it, the man found his clue, but not having much idea as to what kind of clue it was.
"Hey, I stepped in something weird here. What do you think's-" The leading man began to ask.
"Found a switch, boss, here's the lights!" The man with the flashlight said.
Completing his task at last, the man flipped on the light switch, illuminating the underground sublevel at last. When he had finally brought light about the room, however, the group had all suddenly and quickly wished that the lights were never brought on in the first place.
The wet object that the leading man had stepped in had turned out to be an intestine, one of many organs scattered across the floor along with more remains of the National Guardsmen. Instinctively, the men employed by 'Little' Nicky all began shouting and gagging at the massacre that stood at their feet, vomiting at the sight of gore laid about the room.
"Oh, Jesus Christ!" One man shouted.
"Son of a bitch, that's rank!" Another man shouted.
"God almighty, what the hell happened?!" A different man shouted.
"Shut up, all of you! Obviously, something did this to them, and they did it for a reason. Somebody must have sold us out." The lead man said.
"Somebody who'd do this shit?!" The second man shouted.
"Somebody who wanted the Freak this bad. He's obviously not part of this mess, so he's still out there somewhere. Somebody must have gotten to him before we did. Spread out and find him."
"Oh, no, I'll save you the trouble. I'm right here." A voice said.
Appearing seemingly out of nowhere, the Freak stood between all the gangsters sent by 'Little' Nicky; surrounding himself by them. Instinctively reacting in fear, the men all backed away from him, with all pointing their guns straight at him, and two standing close enough to him to ensure he did not move.
"What the hell did you do to those people?" The leader asked.
"I had a little fun with them... but it wasn't quite that satisfying. Once you kill them, they're really not a lot of fun afterwards. I was tearing them to pieces and pieces, making a nice big mess, but it's just not as fun after they're dead. I can do all this cool stuff now that I'm back, and I haven't gotten to see how much other stuff I can do." The Freak said.
"Yeah? Well, try it now and see what happens, asshole. I'll pump you full of lead." The man to his left said.
Taking a look around the room, the Freak documented how many of 'Little' Nicky's men were about the room, seeing how many he would be killing. Counting the two immediate ones to his sides, there was also the leader of the group as well as a collection of 5 men behind him. A total of 8.
"So, 'Little' Nicky sent you, huh? That guy must really want me dead, huh?" The Freak asked.
"Buddy, you have no idea." The leader said.
"Oh, I think I have one."
Quickly tossing his hands behind himself, the Freak swatted the rifles of the two men to his sides. The rifles were M4A1 rifles, full auto, with foregrips attached at the barrels, with the gunmens' holds on the grips making the rifles spin in place, sending the barrels aiming straight at their own faces and the triggers in the hands of the Freak.
"Oh-" One gunman said.
"...Shit!" The other gunman said.
Squeezing the triggers on his newly-acquired rifles, the Freak shot both of his enemies in their heads, emptying the entire magazines into their skulls until the stream of bullets left nothing of their skulls. Holding the two smoking rifles in the air, he looked back at the remaining 6 enemies standing before him, continuing to smile.
Overcoming his state of shock long enough to give an order, the leader finally commanded his men to do the most logical thing in this situation.
"FIRE, FIRE, FIRE!" The leader shouted.
[Soundtrack Cue: Ministry - Stigmata]
Dropping the magazine from his rifles, the Freak jumped into the air, aiming straight for the first person right in front of him. Kicking himself off of the gunmen in his way, he came to a stop upon reaching the last man in line, leaving him able to fulfill the first part of his attack.
Kicking off the last enemy, the Freak drove the two rifles into his eye sockets, sending the red-hot barrels piercing through flesh, tissue, and organs to penetrate his brain, killing him instantly. Landing on his dead body as it fell to the ground, the Freak moved onto the remaining 5 enemies, preparing to test the limits of his new abilities.
Catching a volley of bullets flying straight at him, the Freak dashed to the side, dodging all the rounds in a move as instant as a blink. Moving side-to-side as he approached the gunmen, he rushed to the nearest one in his sight, dashing up to him at super-speeds and throwing a series of punches straight to his throat, crushing it in an instant, killing him.
4 left.
Not wanting to kill the remaining gangsters so quickly, instead wishing to enjoy his kills, the Freak resorted to less lethal punches and kicks; aiming to injure, but not kill... yet. As each of the gunmen resorted to close-quarters combat with the Freak as their distance forced them to, none found any progress in trying to efficiently fight back against the Freak.
Throwing a kick to one gunman, the Freak sent him flying up against the wall, colliding with and sliding down it, but still managing to pick himself up again. Forcing another kick towards another gunman, he sent this one into another, leaving them both falling to the floor, but also to get up. Swinging a punch to the head of the remaining gunman, the Freak knocked him straight to the floor, temporarily knocking him out, but not dead yet.
Running back to the gangster that had fallen against the wall, the Freak prepared to finish what he had started on him, only to see that the remaining gunmen had all aimed their weapons straight at him. Dashing out of the way once again, sending his previous target spinning in place, he had left the gangster to be gunned down by his very own men.
3 left.
Rushing to one of the two standing gunmen, the Freak somersaulted over his shoulders, following up with sweeping his legs, and kicking him against the adjacent wall. His flight led him to land on his neck, breaking it and killing him in an instant, leaving him joining the majority of his comrades.
2 left.
The gunman who was previously knocked out managed to regain his consciousness at last, standing on his feet once again thanks to the help of his surviving colleague. Being the last two left alive, the gunmen held close to one another, both in search for their target. To their surprise and horror, the Freak was nowhere to be found, leaving both to ponder in fear where he might be lying in wait.
Then, appearing out of nowhere, the Freak appeared right between the two gunmen, causing them to reactively aim their guns straight at him. Jumping straight up into the air, the target was suddenly gone from the sight of the two gunmen, leaving them to only fire at each other, leaving both dead by each other's hands.
None left.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Landing back on the ground, the Freak looked about his handiwork once more, giving a smile at the capabilities he now possessed. Feeling a surge of the power of the Spirit Master move through his body, he let out some celebratory chuckles, enjoying the newfound power he had received.
"I'm going to have so much fun." The Freak said.
With no more reason to stay in the building, the Freak began making his way out, fleeing to get to the Green Eye another day.
Just outside of the sublevel 'B', the Green Eye rushed his way down to the floor, trying to search the building for the Freak. In this area of the the Channel 96 building, he had at last found a clue to where he could find his target, but the clue that he found was nothing that he was looking forward to seeing.
Piles of dead bodies and messes of mutilated ones laid about the floor of the sublevel; the pungent smell of death and decay filling the air of the underground room. Unable to bear the stench of the dead flesh, the Green Eye let out disgusted gags, but did not permit himself further shows of disgust; the priority of the Freak superseding any such emotions.
Rushing out of the sublevel into the outside, exiting through a ramp to the outside, the Green Eye quickly scanned his environment, hoping to find some trace of the Freak once again, but, once again, found no such clues to his whereabouts. It seems that he had failed his mission, leaving his sworn enemy on the loose throughout the city, and there was no way to find him now.
"Hey Arnold." The Freak said.
But, whether fortunately or unfortunately, it seems that the Freak wanted to be found. After gaining a short but familiar greeting from the Freak, the Green Eye soon found himself viewing the world from his eyes, getting a view of his point of view as he ran down the streets.
Picking up on the streets he was running down, he began to get a general idea of where to find his target, giving him some hope once again. The entire proposition sounded to be another setup, much like Rhonda had done to him before, and a quick stop in front of a glass mirror proved it; allowing the Freak to directly address the Green Eye.
"Hey Arnold. You want me? Come get me." The Freak said.
Then, the Freak's view was lost, leaving the Green Eye back in his own mind once again. Unable to let his target escape, he ventured out into the city, intent on catching and stopping him once and for all. Though the implications on how he would accomplish that task would mean a test on his moral code, he had no choice on testing it nor time to think about it.
Taking to his communicator, he at last summoned the help of the Hillwood Heroes, giving out the directions to find their target.
"This is the Green Eye. Curly got out of the building. I'm going after him." Green Eye said.