CHAPTER 38: 3 FROM HELL, PART 2
A trip into the Danger Zone of Hillwood is an ill-advised action. Its high rate of crime, brought upon by poverty and wealth inequality, has made this sector nothing short of a demilitarized zone; a ghetto on the brink of war at every turn. Even the National Guard, set to search out and find the escaped 'Little' Nicky Russotti in every corner of the city, dare not search in this circle of Hell.
The Freak and his newfound partner in crime, the Jolly Olly Man, however, do dare, and do as they please by heading into right into the Danger Zone. Driving right in the Danger Zone in a stolen ice cream truck, the two supervillains move in search of the next member of their group: Wolfgang.
"So, you're telling me that you haven't seen this guy in a year, but you know where he lives somehow?" Jolly Olly Man asked.
"More or less." The Freak said.
"How?"
"Part of the Green Eye's powers. I can feel other people's feelings. Right now, I'm on the search for the most racist son of a bitch in the city, and I think I've got a good lock on him right about now."
"How good a lock?"
"Like 'take a left right here' good."
Taking a left as ordered, the Jolly Olly Man drove down a new set of houses, heading down the avenue that would lead them to the next member of their new team of supervillains. Contemplating on how this one will be a valuable asset to their group, the two approaching now ponder on what the man named Wolfgang currently does now.
What they imagine for him is a grand set of ideas, but the reality is far from anything of glamour.
Laying in his bed, left with nowhere to go and little to do as usual, Wolfgang is left alone and stuck in his own mind. Many of his thoughts are feelings of hatred and rage; stemmed from a traumatic past, and misguided down a path of bigotry and racism. Left with his legs and one arm absent, phantom pains eat away at his consciousness, fueling fire to the hate in his heart.
However, despite having all the reason to hold onto his rage, there is one factor that still keeps him somewhat sane and reasonable: His caretaker, Edmund. During their days as children and teenagers, they took pleasure in harassing and bullying others in lower grades, but time has brought change to both young men.
Wolfgang's changes have been made quite visible; his own familial problems blended with biases against those who look different from him led him down a darker path, including a long stint with 'Big' Gino. Edmund, without Wolfgang to stay around him as a bad influence, has conversely come around to a responsible life, if only one with traces of adolescence.
Out of the changes in his life, Edmund has learned to be more patient and understanding of others, especially with Wolfgang now dependent on him. In most recent days, that patience has been stretched thin and very near its breaking point, leaving a strain on both Wolfgang's relationship with his best friend as well as the ability to have a home for himself.
Stuck within his thoughts, he runs over the beliefs he holds again and again, debating on whether he still indeed holds them. He reflects particularly through the pages of the graphic novel Maus, gifted to him by Arnold Shortman. Its story is a dark tale of surviving the Holocaust, told through the eyes of one who truly lived through the genocide and lived with the aftereffects.
Before, he found a sick sort of amusement out of the deaths of the Jews, cheering in his mind at every life taken in Auschwitz and sent up its chimneys. The eccentric behavior and violent outbursts of Vladek Spiegelman towards his family were all the more reason to hold beliefs that Jews are but animals.
Following more re-readings of the book, brought upon many times throughout his days from his immobility, his thoughts are not quite the same.
Desensitized to the violence, hatred, and killings from his first read-through, watching the odyssey of Vladek and his confederates run in fear gives him now a sense of pity upon this Jew; a man he swore to be his enemy. His desire to see them captured turned to a desire to see them escape, even though he knew this story all too well by now.
What especially changes for him now is how he views the extermination camp Auschwitz. Watching people thrown into gas chambers and choking to death on Zyklon-B, their bodies burned and their remains shoveled away, his stance is not so much the same. For a moment, watching these people being murdered for the simple sake of being of the wrong religion, Wolfgang even seems to...
...cry.
Why he sheds tears for the Jews that he swore he hates, he is not sure. He has his reasons: Perhaps he has found some empathy on the victims of Auschwitz through his own sense of helplessness, perhaps he has grown so tired of this book that he cannot stand to look at it anymore, or perhaps it is merely the effects of some form of Jewish propaganda affecting him; his reasoning is vast with some justifications being more reasonable and believable than others.
In the midst of another one of his readings, the door to his room opened, with Edmund stepping inside.
"Hey, Wolfgang? Time for your exercise. You told me to come get you." Edmund said.
"Hmm? Oh, uh, yeah. Right, thanks." Wolfgang said.
"What's wrong? You looked kind of upset there."
"No, no, I'm not; it's nothing. Just reading."
"Whatcha reading?"
"This comic book called Maus. Arnold gave it to me."
"Oh, yeah, I think we had to do a report on it in high school, didn't we?"
"Probably. I don't remember. I was probably off selling drugs or something during that time."
"Pssh. Yeah, probably. I don't think I even saw you in school half the time."
"Yep. I've been a real piece of shit most of my life, haven't I?"
"Oh... Uh... Well, Wolfgang, I wouldn't say that, you're a pretty cool guy when it comes down to-"
"Don't bullshit me, man. We were all assholes back in the day. I remember how we used to screw with all the kids, beat 'em up and shit, all for fun. We tied up all the kids in 4th grade up at their baseball field, we taunted that junkie, Chocolate Boy, threw everyone in trash cans because of some stupid 'tradition' in school, what the hell kind of people were we back then?"
"Wolfgang! Look, man, that kinda talk's not good for you. I think you've just been sitting around in bed way too much. Whaddya say we just get you exercising? It'll probably do your head some good to get the rest of you moving."
"Heh. Get 'the rest of me' moving. Fitting wording."
"No, I didn't mean it like-"
"Forget it, I know that's not what you meant. But yeah, you're probably right. I do need my exercise. Let's go."
Stepping next to Wolfgang, Edmund allowed him to throw his right arm around his neck, allowing him to grab at his friend's torso. Picking him up off the bed, Edmund carried Wolfgang into the living room, bringing him to his exercise equipment to begin his daily workout.
Grabbing onto his pull-up bar, Wolfgang began his first exercise.
"1... 2... 3... 4..." Wolfgang strained.
Just outside the home of Wolfgang and Edmund, the Jolly Olly truck parked itself near the sidewalk, arriving at its destination at last. With the sounds of the Jolly Olly truck's jingle coursing through the air, the children of this neighborhood in the Danger Zone immediately flocked to it, readying their money to buy delicious frozen treats for themselves.
"I want a rocky road!" One kid said.
"Gimme moose tracks!" Another kid said.
"Orange sherbert!" A different kid said.
Giving his hat a tip, the Jolly Olly Man smiled at the children; his reasons to smile quite different from mere satisfaction from his job. Nonetheless, keeping his own intentions well-hidden, he continued onto his job, taking the first order in line and scooping out their order of ice cream.
"You look a bit busy here. I'll leave you to it." The Freak said.
The Freak snuck out the back door, making his way into the house and leaving the Jolly Olly Man to handle his customers. Keeping his grip tight onto his newly acquired revolver, he kept a steady finger on its trigger, preparing himself to face some form of resistance inside.
As the Jolly Olly Man continued his work, he soon served the vast majority of the children, leaving them all walking away to lick at scoops of delicious frozen treats. With but one last customer in line, he prepared to retrieve the order for this final patron, but, upon seeing them, gained a different idea.
The last customer was a young black girl at an age no more than 7, with a mostly slim body with decent amounts of muscle and fat. As this customer desired a sweet frozen treat for herself, the Jolly Olly Man desired a dark and meaty treat for himself. Leaning down to the final customer, he gave a warm smile towards the girl, eagerly patient to take her order.
"Hi, there, sweetie. What can I get for you today?" The Jolly Olly Man asked.
"I want a scoop of strawberry ice cream, please." The girl said.
"Ooh, I actually have a little problem. See, I just ran out of strawberry, so I need to get it out of the back. Think you can give me a hand? If you do, I'll not only give you one scoop, but two whole scoops, for free."
"Really?!"
"You bet your bottom dollar, sweetheart. Why don't you come on inside? You'll get to see where the magic happens."
"Cool, be right there!"
Opening the door to the Jolly Olly truck, the Jolly Olly Man invited the young girl inside, promising her a taste of a delectable red treat in reward for her efforts. She would soon realize that her efforts were not to retrieve any sort of ice cream, but instead serve herself as a treat to this seemingly friendly man.
Inside the house...
"98... 99... 100!" Wolfgang strained.
Letting himself hang limp from the pull-up bar, Wolfgang awaited Edmund to set him back down, which he quickly did. Seating Wolfgang down on the couch, Edmund passed him a workout shake, giving his body much-needed protein after the strenuous exercise he put himself through.
Downing the whey mixture through a long chug, Wolfgang let out a loud exhale following his drink, taking a moment to breathe.
"You know, I think that was, like, the first time you've hit 100. You're really getting better." Edmund said.
"Yeah... I do kind of feel better. I just..." Wolfgang began to say.
"Just what?"
"I just don't know what to do, man. I've always been into some shit, but look where it's gotten me. I'm just gonna be a stump for the rest of my life. I could've avoided all this if I didn't make such bad choices."
"Well, dude, you can't linger on the past like that. I mean, I screwed up some, too, but I still learned from it all."
"Yeah, easy for you to say. You're not the one missing an arm and both his legs. This shit happened to me because I ran in with Gino and his damn crowd. Then, the Hillwood Heroes happened and I got what was coming to me."
"C'mon, dude, you shouldn't be so hard on your-"
Taking a look at one figure standing in the hallway, Edmund's eyes widened and a stifled scream left his mouth; stuck in an expression of fear upon seeing what looked back at him. Confused at his friend's expression, Wolfgang, too, looked to the hallway, laying his eyes upon the horrific sight that befell them both.
"Hi there." The Freak said.
Casually stepping over to Wolfgang and Edmund, the Freak kept his revolver close in his hand, pointing it at the two friends on the couch. Not wishing to provoke him, Edmund raised his arms in the air, as Wolfgang raised his one with him. Having not seen Wolfgang in nearly a year, the Freak felt himself nearly jump back at his appearance, not expecting him to be left with 3 missing limbs.
"Whoa. I knew that Valiance messed you up pretty bad, but... damn. How'd you make yourself a cripple?" The Freak asked.
"I don't know, how'd you make yourself not a cripple?" Wolfgang asked.
"Long story. Basically, I now have all the Green Eye's powers, and I'm gathering a handful of shitheads to raise hell all over Hillwood. You're one of the 3 people I need."
"Well, sorry to disappoint you. Even if I was interested in that, I'm obviously not gonna be much help to you. Just take a look."
"Oh, don't worry about that part; I can see that we get you fixed up better than ever. On top of having a new legs and an arm, how does the idea of getting to wreak your very own one-man war against all minorities sound to you? You get to make Hillwood a purely white city; clean it all up. If there's one thing I remember you from school, you always hated anybody who wasn't white, got real deep in your Nazi shit. You want to kill 'em all, do a little welfare reform? Now's your chance."
On top of the threat of a gun pointed in his face, and the promise of having a chance to at last kill minorities for himself, the choice of joining the Freak on his crusade became all the more tempting with each second he contemplated it. Unable to let his friend come to such a decision, Edmund stood between him and the Freak, pleading with him not to accept his offer.
"No, Wolfgang, you can't do this. You know that this isn't right. Please." Edmund begged.
Placing his revolver to Edmund's head, the Freak led him to sit back on the couch, not allowing him to interfere with his work.
"You shut up. Let mommy and daddy talk." The Freak said.
"Hey, leave him alone! He's my friend!" Wolfgang said.
"Is that so? I remember nobody wanted to be around you anymore when you started to get so hateful, running drugs for 'Big' Gino. I don't think you and Edmund were friends for years after that."
"He took me in when nobody else would. He gave me somewhere to live. I won't let you hurt him."
Watching Wolfgang become so defensive of his friend, the Freak took a brief glimpse into his emotions, searching for an angle to exploit him through. Wading his way through hate and anger, there was a core of belonging deep within his heart, something that eroded away at the negativity. At this core was a friendship in Edmund; this friendship giving him one final anchor in positivity that still kept him sane.
Gaining an idea out of this piece of emotion, the Freak gave a smile, concocting the scenario in his own mind to place in Wolfgang's.
"So, you really care about your buddy that much? He gave you that whole 'coming to Jesus' moment you needed? Well, what if I told you that your friend wasn't the person you thought he was?" The Freak asked.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Wolfgang asked.
"Take a look for yourself."
Placing his hand upon Wolfgang's head, the Freak fed it a delusion that would easily lead him to his side. Feeling a strange sensation come over his mind as he was forced it by the Freak, Wolfgang's mind began splitting in two; the efforts to fight off this feeling nearly tearing his head apart, leaving him screaming in pain.
"Ugh... What the hell did you-" Wolfgang began to say.
Upon opening his eyes again, Wolfgang's concern no longer laid upon whatever was done to him. Instead, it was laid solely upon Edmund, and what was distinctively different about him. On his forehead was a blue star of David, a symbol meant to identify anyone of the Jewish faith.
"What? Wolfgang, what's wrong?" Edmund asked.
"Edmund... All this time... You were a Jew?" Wolfgang asked.
"Huh? What's that supposed to-"
"Edmund, answer my question. Are. You. A. Jew?"
"W-Well... My grandma's Jewish, but I never really saw myself as Jewish. I was raised Christian, so-"
[Soundtrack Cue: Stormtroopers of Death - Speak English or Die]
Before Edmund could speak anything else, Wolfgang grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled himself in, taking a large bite into his neck. Not expecting his friend to react so suddenly or violently, Edmund screamed in pain; blood spurting from his neck and splattering against the window.
Releasing his grip from his shoulder, Wolfgang took out a piece of Edmund's neck, spitting it out on the floor. Holding his hand to the exposed wound of his neck, trying desperately to keep his blood from pouring so fast out of his body, Edmund crawled along the floor, trying to escape his attacker. More than ready to end his life, Wolfgang crawled right back after him, cornering him against the wall.
"Wolfgang, what are you doing, man?! I took care of you all this time, why are you doing this?" Edmund gagged.
"Because you're a goddamn Jew, that's why. You were a mischling all this time. You were trying to brainwash me, to stray me from my mission. Well, that was a damn good try. You almost had me for a moment, but not now." Wolfgang said.
"Wolfgang, please... I'm your friend... Don't do this..."
"I'm not friends with Jews, especially not a bastard mischling like you. You know, back in the Großdeutsches Reich, you were at least allowed a few certain privileges, even allowed to serve the country. Not on my watch, though. You're going to join all 6 million of your ancestors in Jewish hell. Tell 'em Wolfgang sent you, and he's sending more your way so you won't get lonely."
Finally reaching his target at last, Wolfgang lifted up his muscular remaining arm, subsequently driving it into Edmund's face. Taking chunks of teeth and blood with the blow, Wolfgang continued to throw more punches to the dying Edmund, making sure that his departure from the land of the living was swift and brutal.
Watching the spectacle of violence unfold in pleasure, the Freak began to chuckle at the senseless and insane brutality before him. Moments ago, these two were good friends, perhaps the closest thing to best friends there could be, with one caring for the other. Now, the one in care kills the caretaker; biting the hand that feeds and laying his own vengeful hand upon him.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Eventually, after several beatings, Edmund's head was nothing more than a splatter of brains, eyeballs, skull, and skin spread upon the wall; Wolfgang's strong arm beating him into something that could no longer even be reconstructed into a human face. Leaning back after the affair was done, he let out a long series of deep breaths to recover.
Amazed at the sight of a one-armed man single-handedly (no pun intended) beat a man to death in such a way, the Freak gave an applause to the show; his smile wide as ever.
"Beautiful. Just so beautiful." The Freak said.
"The one person I thought actually cared for me... just another goddamn kike. Pal, you want me in your group? I'm all in. I'll put them all to death myself. Kike, nigger, spic, chink, kebab; I'll kill 'em all until it's done. I'll fulfill the promise that the führer tried his best to keep." Wolfgang said.
"Exactly what I was hoping to hear. Well, now that I've got you on board, I've got one last friend to pick up. Need a hand?"
"Yeah, pick me up."
Kneeling down next to Wolfgang, the Freak wrapped an arm around him, while Wolfgang did the same. Picking up his whole body, the Freak casually carried him out the door, taking him back to the Jolly Olly truck. Though having much less weight with only one arm, Wolfgang's muscular structure made him difficult for most people to carry, but the Freak did so with much ease.
"How are you carrying me so easily? Edmund had to struggle to pick me up most of the time." Wolfgang asked.
"It's the cool-ass superpowers. They come with a lot of perks." The Freak said.
"Damn. But, tell me, what's with the Jolly Olly truck? You couldn't get a better car?"
"Belongs to my other buddy; he's another friend on our little mission."
Stepping inside the Jolly Olly truck, the Freak introduced Wolfgang to the Jolly Olly man, acting cordial as he made his introductions.
"Wolfgang, meet the Jolly Olly Man. You might remember him from the old days." The Freak said.
"Oh, yeah, I remember him, how you doin'-?" Wolfgang began to say.
Upon seeing the Jolly Olly Man for himself, Wolfgang's friendly greeting suddenly stopped short. His first impression of the new Jolly Olly Man was given with the image of the aforementioned man chowing down on the half-eaten corpse of a young black girl; her facial expression holding a shocked and terrified expression with a pair of dead eyes accompanying it.
Taking notice of Wolfgang entering the truck, the Jolly Olly Man greeted him with a smiling mouth full of human meat.
"Hey, how's it goin'?" The Jolly Olly Man asked.
Unable to fully process the sight in his eyes, Wolfgang went dead silent, leading the Freak to check on his state of silence.
"You alright there?" The Freak asked.
"I, uh... You didn't tell me he ate people." Wolfgang said.
"Correction: I eat kids. I ate my father; he didn't taste so good. This girl tastes way better. Is there a problem?" The Jolly Olly Man asked.
"No, just not used to seing a person killed like that. But, it's just a nigger, so, whatever."
"Olly, dump that bitch and get driving. We've got one more buddy to get."
Carelessly tossing the partially-eaten remains of the child out of the window of the truck, the Jolly Olly Man headed to the driver's seat to follow his orders. Before making his way to front, Wolfgang stopped him for a closer look at his face, analyzing his skin tone closely.
"Hmm. There just might be a problem after all. You a spic?" Wolfgang asked.
"Half-Italian, from my mother's side." The Jolly Olly Man asked.
"Oh, okay. That's cool. Be nice to fight alongside an Italian, like my people used to do. As you were."
"Hmph, right. 'As I was'."
Disregarding the interaction with Wolfgang, the Jolly Olly Man headed to the driver's seat, beginning to drive down to the next location on his list.
"So, where to now, boss?" The Jolly Olly Man asked.
"The First Baptist Church of Hillwood. She'll be there soon." The Freak said.
"'She'?"
"Oh, yeah. If you think you like kids, just wait until you meet her. Get drivin'."
Leaving the Jolly Olly Man to drive to their destination, the Freak moved to the back of the truck, joining Wolfgang as he waited to reach the next destination.
"Heh. The First Baptist Church of Hillwood, huh? You know, I was planning to go there when it opened in a couple of days. Guess I get to go just a little early. Just funny how things work out." Wolfgang said.
"Indeed they do." The Freak said.
"So, how about the new arm and legs? I can't do that much for you like this."
"Don't worry, I've got a plan. All you gotta do is take it easy for the next couple of days, and you'll have your limbs again. Just think of it as a way to build up anticipation for your big genocide."
"Fair enough."
"While we're waiting, though, we need to think of a cool name for you. The Hillwood Heroes have their own names, and we've got ours, but you need one, too."
"Is that so? Okay, call me..."
After a moment of contemplation, Wolfgang thought over all possibilities for a new name, soon coming to one that he found satisfactory.
"...Wolfenstein." He said.
Phoebe Heyerdahl has led a long and fulfilling life, even if she has not even entered her 20s as of yet. Finding a trusted significant other in Gerald Johanssen at an age that many would not even articulate such feelings yet, leading a successful time in school despite declining to skip a grade, and even adventuring with her class to the country of San Lorenzo, things seemed to hit their peak at this event.
That is, until she had become Lady Tetsu of the Hillwood Heroes. Wielding a pair of iron fists, muggers and criminals would face her deadly blows, no longer able to carry on their ways of crime with her standing in their way. Paired together with G-Funk, the alter-ego of Gerald, it seems that she was an integral part of the team; invulnerable among this pantheon of heroes.
That is, until she had been shot in the spine and paralyzed from the waist down. Despite the best efforts of the best surgeons money can buy, Phoebe shall never walk again, and it seems that her days of fighting crime as Lady Tetsu are gone forever; the days of glory past her now.
Now, confined to a wheelchair, her efforts are now placed into searching for the Freak at the Hillwood Heroes' central computer. Through the terminal, she can hack into any portion of the city, and, with her high level of intelligence, gain any clue she needs to complete her task.
The pain of not being able to walk anymore eats at her mind. Unable to move about her surroundings, complete daily tasks, or even use the bathroom as she used to, she finds her dignity gone, and feels as if she is no longer desirable as a woman. With the lives of everyone in Hillwood depending on her, she stays focused on the job at hand, soldiering on the fight to stop the Freak.
Feeling a warm hand on her shoulder, she stops in her tracks from a small sense of fright, but her fears are relieved when she finds that it was simply Gerald who touched her. Giving her shoulders a light massage, she finds some relief in his touch, if only just being able to feel a sense of touch when she has lost some.
"Hey, Pheebs. You doin' okay?" Gerald asked.
"Yeah, sure, Gerald. I mean, I'm paralyzed from the waist down and I can't walk anymore, I've got all the reason to be fine." Phoebe said.
"Hey, don't talk like that, babe. You know everything's gonna be okay. We'll find a way to get you all fixed up, and-"
"No, Gerald, I'm not gonna 'get fixed up'! I'm broken! I'm a cripple! I'm not even a woman anymore! I-"
Taking off her glasses, Phoebe began crying in her hands, leading Gerald to swiftly hold her head in his chest and comfort her.
"Hey, no, no, no, don't cry. I don't care what anybody says, you're not broken. You're my girl. That's all I need. You don't need to feel like less of a person. I'm here for you, and I'll always be here for you." Gerald said.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Gerald, I just... I can't get used to this. I didn't mean to lash out at you." Phoebe said.
"It's fine, that's what I'm here for. If you just need to let it all out, just do it right on me. I'll be there for you."
"No. I don't want to do that to you. Just let me deal with this my way. Please."
Gerald gave a silent nod to his significant other's request, instead simply letting her cry in his arms to vent out her frustrations. Her tears seemed to go on and on for hours, if it was only for a few minutes. Each moment seemed to take just as much of emotion out of Gerald as it did for Phoebe in this experience; seeing the person he loved in such pain with him being unable to help her tearing him apart.
What makes this almost worse for Gerald than Phoebe is the fact that he has a way to help her, but the resource is out of his reach. The powers of the Spirit Master have been proven to work on the prospect of healing paralysis itself, but Arnold has refused to allow anyone else to take his powers, for risk of seriously betraying the trust of the Green-Eyed People with the responsibility of keeping the powers to himself.
Sharing a strong friendship with Arnold for as long as either of the two could remember, their friendship is under much stress, and reaches near its breaking point.
"I'm... I'm fine, Gerald. I need to get back to work. We need to make sure nobody else gets hurt." Phoebe said.
Putting aside the issue of her paralysis, Phoebe set Gerald aside, needing to return to her task of finding the Freak. Still not wishing to leave her, Gerald inquired onto her task, trying to get himself more involved into her new line of work. Watching her type away quickly and proficiently and scan through many articles of information so quickly was an astounding sight to see, reminding him of why he loved her dearly.
"So, whatcha doin' now? Scanning through police channels and stuff?" Gerald asked.
"And news feeds, and CCTV footage, and internet posts. I'm not leaving any stone unturned." Phoebe said.
"Damn. You just do it so fast. Half the time, I can't believe how good you are on a computer."
"Thanks."
"Find anything so far?"
"Not just yet. What I don't understand is why we haven't seen anything of the Freak at all. All those powers on his hands, you'd think he'd be tearing up the streets like a madman."
"Maybe he doesn't know exactly how to use his power yet. Arnold said he can do that kung fu shit, and some weird power where he can change people's perception of reality. How's that even work?"
"I don't know. He had some kind of disorder where he couldn't perceive reality correctly himself, maybe it's translated through his powers somehow."
"Man, I don't even wanna know how that works. That Spirit Master stuff's some crazy business. I just wish he would find a way to share that power with you so you can-"
Stopping himself in his tracks, Gerald retracted his statement, not wishing to speak that suggestion again.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to talk about that again." Gerald said.
Before Phoebe could give any reply to his apology, a sound of chatter came over one of the police lines, leading them both to snap to its attention.
"Officer Dixon here, I've got a 187 in the Danger Zone. The body belongs to a 7-year old girl, appears to be... half-eaten." The radio said.
The news brought disgust to both parties at the computer, but it immediately let Gerald and Phoebe know the situation at hand, realizing that involved in this scenario could be...
"The Freak. That's gotta be him." Gerald said.
"No, no, something's wrong. The Freak doesn't eat people. That's not his modus operandi." Phoebe said.
"Maybe not, but with all those new powers of his, who knows what he's up to? I gotta get Arnold and check it out."
"I'll get the rest of the Hillwood Heroes to follow you."
"Right."
Before leaving, Gerald paused in his flight for a moment, coming to a grave realization regarding the situation at hand. While every other mission he would gladly take on with Phoebe at his side, this would be the first time he would have to go without doing so, leaving her behind and alone.
"What's wrong?" Phoebe asked.
"It's... Well, you're... I'm going out, and you're..." Gerald stammered.
Though Gerald could barely let his sentence out, Phoebe understood well the sentiment, lowering her head in sadness.
"Don't worry about it, Gerald. Just go. They need you." Phoebe said.
Replying with but a simple nod, Gerald grabbed the rest of his costume, dressing in the garb of G-Funk and readying his way to the scene of the crime. Watching her significant other leave her behind to fight crime all on his own, she longed for the days when she would be by his side already, feeling down from the sight of watching him leave.
Feeling all the issues and dark thoughts continue to swarm her head, all she can do is pray that she will not one day watch him leave forever in such a way.