CHAPTER 25: THE LAZARUS EFFECT, PART 10
Not longer than an hour ago, the infamous 'Little' Nicky Russotti cleansed the city of its leadership over its various crime organizations, and claimed ownership over all territories in one swift hostile takeover. Though he was given a strong resistance from the Green Eye, 'Little' Nicky's plans were unfolding just perfectly as he planned; his enigmatic mind working out every detail in full.
For this moment, he has naught to do but wait here, in an undisclosed hideout somewhere in Hillwood, away from the reach of the law or the Green Eye.
While he has placed his faith in his employer for many years, Weston is still not without his own skepticism over his ideas, being only human. Even having the job of being his right-hand man does not ensure his full knowledge of the scenario, and he is ultimately left to inquire what their next move entails.
So, he does just that.
"Sir, I can't help but ask: Was it really necessary to stay so long and allow the Green Eye to make us lose some of our men?" Weston asked.
"Of course it was. I wanted to see what kind of fighter he was, how he handles himself. The goal is to keep him removed out of the way until we do what needs to be done. I can't leave anything up to chance. After all, hearing all the talk that goes around about him, I wanted to see him in person myself." 'Little' Nicky said.
"I understand that, sir, but I simply cannot endorse or approve it so easily, much less the plan."
"You don't have to. When the job is done, then we go back to business. We'll deal with the Green Eye however we need to later, but we must get things in order for what I need first. Which reminds me, where's Mr. Rodriguez?"
"Well, sir, Mr. Rodriguez, or, er, El Cucuy, as he's calling himself... hasn't gotten back yet."
"No?"
"No, sir. Could the Green Eye have dispatched him, perhaps?"
"Don't count on it, white boy." A voice said.
Entering the room with a series of half-burnt clothes on his back, Lars Rodriguez, now known by the name of El Cucuy, entered the room by laying a hearty and borderline forceful pat on Weston's back, giving a smile on his stitch-heavy and scarred face. Though a slight startle was brought out of Weston, 'Little' Nicky only looked at El Cucuy in a mild show of disappointment.
"What, you guys count me out already?" El Cucuy asked.
"Not just yet. I know your reputation of surviving deadly situations, I figured you would be alright." 'Little' Nicky said.
"More or less. I just got a few burns, but that Brown Eye asshole burned my favorite shirt."
El Cucuy held up his partially burned t-shirt; his article of clothing just barely holding on by the burnt scraps of cloth composing it. Though the majority of the top was destroyed beyond repair, 'Little' Nicky could make out the gist of the t-shirt's artwork, scoffing at the joke.
"Right. Is that what took you so long?" 'Little' Nicky asked.
"Kind of. I stopped for tacos on the way back." El Cucuy said.
"...You stopped for tacos?"
"Yes, sir. There is a hella good fast food place called El Taco, and they just happen to have one here. They are the best goddamn tacos you get get for less than a dollar. The meat tastes like God's diarrhea, the tortillas taste like Jesus' foreskin, and the cheese tastes like the Virgin Mary's smegma freshly scooped out of her tight teen twat."
Upon hearing his vulgar description of his meal, even the heaviest of stomachs heaved at his sentence, gagging where they stood in attempts to keep their own lunches down. 'Little' Nicky, however, appeared mostly impartial to the joke, looking back at El Cucuy with a blank stare.
"Thank you for that mental image. Now, you didn't kill the Green Eye, right?" 'Little' Nicky said.
"Man, why the hell are you so hung up about letting him live? Why not just kill the honky-tonk and you do whatever you gotta do?" El Cucuy asked.
"He has a family. I don't destroy families if I can help it."
"Pfft. So, you're one of those guys, huh? Who gives a shit about family and shit? The only time it matters to me is if I'm in the middle of a mother-daughter sandwich. This one time, I had, like, this old divorced bitch and her punk rebel teenage daughter on my D, but they were just on each other more than me half the time. I swear, there was some serious issues between those two, but seein' those two do a full 69 on each other while I was in the daughter's ass, I'm more than thankful there were some-"
Growing annoyed with El Cucuy's obnoxious and vulgar speech, 'Little' Nicky grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up into the air as he hung in place and choked.
"Don't make the mistake that being my employee equates to some kind of friendship. After hearing about half your record, including trying to rape a 14-year old girl after you killed her father in front of her in that Good Burger shootout, the second-most pleasing thing to me right now would be twisting your puny head around in a 180. I don't care how many close encounters you've survived, you won't recover from a broken neck. Now: Did. You. Kill. The Green Eye?" 'Little' Nicky asked.
"Ugh... No, boss, he ditched the place... I swear, I didn't kill him, he woulda killed me!" El Cucuy said.
Satisfied with the answer given, 'Little' Nicky dropped El Cucuy on the ground, allowing him to catch his breath once again through his coughs and wheezes. Noticing that the tie on his suit had become loose from his action, 'Little' Nicky gently and calmly tightened it, straightening his attire.
"Good. You're not to make another move on him or do anything else unless I say so. For now, you are to lay low. You will not even make so much as another taco run. Is that clear?" 'Little' Nicky asked.
"Yeah, yeah, man, I got it. I'll stay right here." El Cucuy said.
"Yes, you will. Continue to obey me, and you'll receive your payment in due time. If you defy me again in even the slightest way, give me even the slightest reason to kill you, and I'll do it. I know for a fact your family will not grieve your loss, so don't give me any reason to break my own rules."
Leaving El Cucuy to linger in place to continue to catch his breath, 'Little' Nicky looked out a window to the building, giving himself a view of the city of Hillwood. Taking a look upon the metropolis before him, his many plans continued to play about in his head, carefully plotting down each detail and answering for every contingency.
"Sir? What comes next, then?" Weston asked.
"We let the message get sent through to the other factions that we own them. We give a day to let the news break, then we call a meeting to discuss the next plan." 'Little' Nicky said.
"And what exactly is the next plan, sir?"
Taking one final gaze upon the city that he once held under siege, 'Little' Nicky tightened his eyelids; sharpening his gaze onto his home for one last time.
"Go to war." 'Little' Nicky said.
Since it was first put into use, science has been like a double-edged sword to humanity; beneficial when used right, but dangerous when misused. On one aisle of its creations, it has brought about electricity, automobiles, vaccines, and other utilities to advance human society. On the other, it has brought about destructive forces such as Zyklon-B, Agent Orange, and the Hiroshima Bomb, among other stains on human history.
The intent of the pursuit of science is almost always for the good of fellow man, but even the best intentions can pave the road to Hell before anyone can stop it. Now, the pursuit of science here, at Membrane Labs, is to find a way to raise the dead, and bring about a cure for death itself.
Some would call this an amazing accomplishment and great feat of human power, but others would quickly vilify and demonize it as a perversion against the very laws of nature itself. There is one mind that has neither of these states of mind, however, and is only concerned with putting this experiment to an end.
This mind belongs to Arnold Shortman, known by night as the Green Eye. His one and only concern is the misuse of his own blood to bring back the dead, misusing the powers of the Spirit Master in ways they were not meant to be used. He cannot and will not permit such use of his powers, and has taken a sworn oath to use them for good.
Stepping outside of Membrane Labs, the Green Eye looked his way in through the locked glass door. From his empathic extrasensory perception, he can sense at least two other souls with the power he possesses, meaning there are two more Spirit Masters in this building. His goal now is to prevent a third from coming about; a third of the name of Rhonda Lloyd.
With a running start back, the Green Eye jumped through the glass, breaking straight through.
On a higher level of Membrane Labs, the procedure that the Green Eye aims to put to a stop continues to go underway, under the pressuring force of Buckley Lloyd, better known now by night as Valiance, the white knight of Hillwood. Though he forces the scientists to continue their work by gunpoint, his treatment over the body of his daughter is far more careful.
Looking on the body of Rhonda Lloyd as the scientists continue their work, Valiance holds her cold hand in his own, eagerly awaiting the moment in which his daughter will come to life once again. His sense of expediency is outmatched only by his anxiety; not knowing how to explain his daughter's own resurrection to her.
"You just hold on, honey. You'll be back alive in no time. I've finally done it. After all this time, I've finally-" Valiance began to say.
Before Valiance could revel in his impending victory any longer, an alarm began to sound; blaring a siren in the room. In place of his feeling of success was a new sense of anger and frustration; wanting this new interruption removed from the scenario as quickly as possible.
"What the hell's going on?!" Valiance asked.
Pausing his work from Rhonda, Dr. Combs moved to a computer, viewing the call of the alarm. Viewing the security camera footage, Dr. Combs and Valiance gained a view of what sounded the alarm. Feeling a sense of rage come over him, Valiance clenched his fist, muttering the intruder's name of...
"Arnold. Damn you." Valiance muttered.
Stepping back to his helmet, Valiance placed it back on, making his way to face the intruder himself.
"You keep working. I find you not working when I get back, and you'll be joining him." Valiance said.
Letting his threat sink into the minds of the rushing doctors, Valiance began making his way down the stairs of the building, ready to face off against the Green Eye to see that his daughter be returned. Not wanting to see the consequences of failing to follow their orders, the scientists continued their work on using the blood of the Green Eye to bring Rhonda back to life.
Continuing his way through the halls of Membrane Labs, working his way up the next floor of the building, the Green Eye continued his search for Rhonda Lloyd, aiming to ensure that she would not be brought back as a Spirit Master. His clues to find her are low; driven only by two presences felt within his soul.
These two presences are Spirit Masters. Though he does not know who these Spirit Masters are, he knows they are very close, and each step he takes down these halls are a step towards them. In search of these two presences, the Green Eye believes that he will find Rhonda as well with them, or at least the right direction to find her.
Soon, his search brings him to the outside of some sort of scientific machinery, something that could be only described as a kind of large oven or processor. The presence now grew as strong as it possibly could, signalling that he was at the end of his search.
Looking inside of the glass of the machine, the Green Eye found two people within in an embrace; one a black man, the other an Asian woman. They joined hands and held each other tightly, with each wrapping their legs around one another and holding their heads over one another's shoulders.
The Green Eye has never met these people before, but he can feel a sense of peace between them like no other; an emotion far surpassed from kinship or family and far removed from anything so malleable as love. There is a sense of oneness between the two, as if they had a complete understanding of each other.
The Green Eye does not endorse the method in which these people have returned, but he cannot deny the feeling that he can sense from the connection they share. He, too, feels this bliss, and the others notice it; turning to him as he looked on the two in the machine.
Stepping up from their place on the ground, the two began to approach the Green Eye; recognizing him as someone like them, and sharing the special emotion only they had.
"What are your names?" The Green Eye asked.
"Frank." The man answered.
"Ono." The woman answered.
As Frank and Ono continued to hold their hands from behind the door, both reached their own hands to the glass, inviting the Green Eye to do the same. Still feeling this sacred and unbreakable connection with the two, the Green Eye placed his hand over the glass, sharing as close a physical connection with them as he could.
But the connection they share does not last. Away from the Green Eye's immediate sight, Valiance moved his hand towards a control panel to the machine, pressing a series of buttons to activate the machine holding Frank and Ono behind its glass.
Once the Green Eye noticed the controls being pressed, he realized that he was too late to put a stop to what Valiance was doing. With one simple push of a button, Valiance activated the machine, beginning to power it on. As the walls of the machine began to light up and activate, the Green Eye tried to break through the glass in an attempt to save Frank and Ono, but his efforts did not see fruit.
Heat began to sink into the machine, and the flesh on Frank and Ono's bodies began to crisp and wilter under the heat, just barely healing the injuries given. The few winces of pain they cried were quickly put to a silence in each others' arms; giving each other a safe place to put their minds during the affair.
The heat eventually turned to flames, and the bodies of Frank and Ono were swept away in a wave of fire; erasing any semblance of the two from the Earth and leaving their presence forever gone from the Green Eye's mind. For them, their passing was quick and fast, with no pain. For the Green Eye, it was not so passing.
That sweet and sacred moment of bliss that he felt from the two had vanished in an instant, leaving behind emptiness that he would know and feel forever. He knows how sweet and precious that feeling was, and it has been his goal to let all humankind share it someday in the future.
Now, that feeling is gone, and he will not feel it again for quite some time.
Now, there is only rage and anger towards Valiance, and the desire to put him down like a mad dog. He has taken his obsession with bringing his daughter back too far, and it has costed both lives and misery. It is time to put his mad experiments to an end, and cease any more tampering with the powers of the Spirit Master.
Taking out his staff, the Green Eye took a fighting stance against the metal knight, scowling at the madman behind the armor while clenching his teeth at him. To show a degree of mercy, Valiance drew his sword, keeping his fingers tightly wrapped around the handle of his cold steel.
"I just want my daughter back, Arnold." Valiance said.
"I don't care. You've gone too far. You destroyed lives to bring her back." Green Eye said.
"They were already dead. They were expendable."
"So is Rhonda. What makes her different from the rest of the people you've destroyed?"
"She's my daughter."
"Everyone's a daughter or son to someone. What gives you the right to tamper with the laws of nature?"
"Because I've already failed her once as a father. If I can have another chance to fix that, then I'll take it. Besides, I have the capital and means to do so. Of all my years on Earth, there's not been anyone who's told me 'no' to anything, and I aim to keep it that way."
As Valiance completed his sentence, he took a fighting stance as well against the Green Eye, needing to keep him out of the way in time for Rhonda to be brought back to life. Not able to afford any interruptions, the Green Eye lowered his stance and held his weapon tighter, preparing to make his attack.
"We've done this dance once before. You know you're not going to make it against me." Valiance said.
"I can sure as hell try." Green Eye said.
Finally, the Green Eye and Valiance made their attacks; both running towards one another as unstoppable forces meeting with one another. As Valiance continued a simple run towards his opponent, the Green Eye made a leap into the air, sending his knees straight for Valiance's head by way of Tony Jaa.
The impact did not cause any serious injury to Valiance; only feeling a sharp pain on his forehead. He could not afford even the slightest pause in his own attacks with his opponent being the Green Eye, so he did not place his full focus on the pain. Instead, his thoughts were upon his next strike.
Taking his sword and preparing another slash with it, Valiance's swing did not end with his weapon being embedded in his enemy, but ended up blocked by the Green Eye's staff. Keeping his staff blocking the sword, the Green Eye set the other end of the staff to the ground, lifting himself off of it and throwing a kick to Valiance's face.
Landing on the ground as his opponent stepped back in pain, the Green Eye, with his hands to the floor, threw his legs towards Valiance's face with a pair of kicks from each foot landing right into his forehead. Before Valiance could overcome the strikes that were being landed into him, the Green Eye stood upright again, continuously hitting him in the face with spear-like strikes from his staff.
Soon, Valiance could no longer focus on fighting his opponent, only dealing with an intense headache and trying to bring the pain to an end. Bashing his fists against the sides of his helmet, he tried hard to try to make the pain stop for just one second, but it was not healing any faster than normal. Instead, he was left with a new problem by way of the attacks.
His vision began to turn red, and his face began to feel wet; a strange feeling to have now in the middle of a battle. Following all the strikes that he had faced to the head, however, Valiance quickly deduced that he was bleeding from his forehead, a new problem in the way of defeating the Green Eye.
Unlatching his helmet and taking it off, Valiance wiped the blood from his forehead and face, clearing his eyes to have nothing obstructing his sight. Now, with his helmet gone and his blood seeping into his eyes, he would have not only a blinding disadvantage, but also a lack of protection to his head.
"Just the right kind of wound above the eyes. The kind that bleeds." Green Eye said.
"Very clever." Valiance said.
To make their battle all the more equal, the Green Eye removed his harlequin mask, showing his uncovered face to Valiance. Just as Valiance's dark eyes looked on his opponent in a fierce scowl, the Green Eye's glowing emerald irises pierced right back at his enemy; the mind behind the eyes planning out the body's next move.
Following through on his move, the Green Eye lunged at Valiance with a dropping swing of his staff, but the intended target scooted to the side, allowing no harm to come to himself and leave the attacker open for a strike. Swinging his own sword back towards the attacker, Valiance landed a slash into the Green Eye's arm.
Yelping in pain from the cut, the Green Eye moved back, giving himself a moment to recover from the attack. Just as he did not allow Valiance to recover from his own attacks, however, the sword-wielder did not allow the Green Eye his moment to recover, either.
Valiance continued to make his runs and attacks with his sword, with the Green Eye blocking each blow with his staff. Each attempt made to try to move his own attack into the white knight was only met with a block from the enemy, leaving the two opponents within a standoff.
Though the standoff went nowhere in terms of attacks, the Green Eye managed to push Valiance back, moving him back up against a wall. Realizing the tight situation that he was being forced in, Valiance increased the intensity of his sword strikes, disregarding his own need for a defense to his offense.
Moving his sword forward in a lunging strike, Valiance sent the Green Eye leaning to the side; just barely missing the piercing move and sparing himself a nasty wound. Acting as quickly as he noticed the dodge, Valiance drove his elbow into the Green Eye's face, sending him back to give him room to move from his place against the wall.
Utilizing the strength that his powered exoskeleton provided, Valiance threw a kick to the Green Eye's back, sending him briefly flying into the air. Taking advantage of this one aerial moment, Valiance spun and threw another kick towards the Green Eye, sending him flying across the room.
As the Green Eye landed on his back, he tried to pick himself back up once again, needing to finish his battle with Valiance and stop the resurrection of Rhonda Lloyd from taking place. His attempts to get up, however, were put to a quick end with the feeling of metal beginning to wrap around his neck.
Taking advantage of the downed Green Eye, Valiance took out a wire from his belt, tied it into a makeshift noose, and wrapped it around his head, tightening it as tightly as he could. The Green Eye gasped and choked from the sudden surprise suffocation, trying to reach Valiance to get the rope from him, but had no success.
Instead, Valiance threw the rope around a beam on the ceiling, giving it a tight and hearty pull to lift the Green Eye into the air. Hanging into the air with the feeling of metal wire begin to wrap around his neck, the Green Eye not only felt his air supply begin to deplete, but also felt the wire begin to cut into his neck as well.
Though his first thoughts were to try to get the noose from off his neck, his thoughts were quickly overcome with feelings of pain from Valiance beginning to punch his hanging body senseless with his armored fists. Having only a limited supply of air, each strike aimed to draw more breath from the Green Eye's lungs, making his chances of survival weaken by the second just as his body did.
In a quick attempt to free himself, the Green Eye swung himself back, being soon sent forward, and allowing him to land a striking knee into Valiance's uncovered face. Without the protection of his helmet in place, and combined with the open wound on his forehead present, Valiance paused for a long time in his attack, holding his head while screaming in agony.
Placing his feet atop Valiance's shoulders, the Green Eye stood up firmly on top of his compromised platform, giving him enough height to remove the wire noose from his neck. Taking in one desperately needed gasp of air, the Green Eye prepared another attack to make on the white knight.
Valiance soon removed his hands from his face, but his timing was all too poor. Leaping off of Valiance's shoulders and hanging onto the wire, the Green Eye delivered a double-kick to his face, making him scream yet again from the bleeding gash on his head. With the kick he had sent, the Green Eye began to swing back on the hang of the noose, preparing him for the next strike.
Swinging back forward, the Green Eye spun into the air, delivering a corkscrew attack to Valiance's chest, sending him to the ground just as he was once sent down. Moving over to his staff, the Green Eye picked it up once again, heading back over to Valiance to place it onto his neck.
"Call off the experiment now." Green Eye said.
"Never! I've come far too close for you to come and ruin everything!" Valiance said.
Throwing his armored legs towards the Green Eye's back, Valiance kicked the man without pain off of his chest, freeing him to rise up once again. The Green Eye landed gracefully back on his feet, allowing him another look upon Valiance as he stared back at his enemy. Blood still continued to seep from the gash, only further blurring and reddening his vision.
Nonetheless, Valiance continued to fight back against the Green Eye, intent on finally seeing his daughter walk the Earth again. Having dropped his sword during his attempt to hang the Green Eye and beat him like a punching bag, he thought of a new weapon to use instead.
Moving back to his metal noose, Valiance snatched the wire, untying the knot and grabbing the wire by the end to use as a whip. Making a whipping motion with the wire on the ground, the white knight readied the weapon against the Green Eye; taking a defensive stance with his compromised whip.
The Green Eye made a blind rush for Valiance, but quickly found that he was more capable with the weapon than he thought. Making a throw of the whip around his staff, Valiance whipped the wooden stick out from the Green Eye's hands, disarming him in their battle and leaving him exposed for the whip to strike.
Having his opponent without a weapon to attack back with, Valiance proceeded to do exactly that, and not a moment too late to react. Throwing another crack of his whip, Valiance landed a strike into the Green Eye's chest, cutting a mark deep past his costume and into his flesh, drawing blood.
Valiance threw another strike of his whip to follow, but the Green Eye caught the whip in his hand in preparation of the next attack. However, even though he was able to grab the weapon for himself, the whip had wrapped around his hand and arm tightly enough for Valiance to exploit; a mistake he would soon learn the hard way.
Tugging against the metal wire, Valiance began tightening the wire around the Green Eye's hand and arm, sending the wire cutting deep into the flesh and muscle of his arm. The Green Eye groaned and screamed in pain at the mutilation he was being forced through, but did not cease in his own attack. Instead, he grabbed onto the whip, preparing to take it away from Valiance and disarm him as well.
With one hearty tug, the Green Eye swiped away the whip from Valiance, snatching the metal wire right from out of his hands. Acting on the Green Eye's one moment of focus on the whip, Valiance rushed straight for the man without pain, ramming a head-butt into him.
The Green Eye caught the full blunt of Valiance's crude attack, slouching over his back from the blow delivered to his stomach. Reaching up and grabbing his opponent, Valiance tossed the Green Eye over his back, sending him falling to the floor face-first with the rest of him joining the impact after.
Taking advantage of his opponent's downed position, Valiance turned back around and rushed to the floored Green Eye, jumping up to land atop of him with a people's elbow. Catching his mind fast enough to notice the coming attack, the Green Eye rolled out of the way of the strike, but not before throwing up one of his legs to kick Valiance in the face during his roll.
Running to Valiance as he landed to the ground, the Green Eye grabbed him by the back of his head, throwing his own punches to the base of his skull over and over again in an attempt to make him stop. Any lesser man would be down and out within just a few of these blows, but Valiance proved to be far too stubborn to stop; pushing his mind to keep going, his paternal instinct overriding all bodily pain.
Throwing an elbow to the Green Eye's face, Valiance ended his punching spree with his strike, allowing him enough freedom of movement to move and remove him from his back. Turning on his back, Valiance threw the Green Eye to the side, delivering a kick to his face upon sending him down.
Valiance struggled to pick himself back up once again; barely standing on his own two feet in this battle. The Green Eye had much of the same problem; breathing heavily to catch the rest of himself up to his mind's demands, with his legs beginning to wobble from the exuberant pressure they were under.
"You won't be able to keep this up forever. You're bound to drop anytime now." Valiance said.
"So are you. If I can stop you from misusing my powers for your own purposes, then I'll take whatever I can get. Besides, you know that I can heal from anything, and you can't. I'll put you down eventually." The Green Eye said.
Realizing that he would not get much farther in this fight, Valiance slowly moved his hand behind his back, reaching for another weapon that would turn the tide of the fight in his favor once again. Wrapping his fingers around the hidden weapon, Valiance tightened his grip and readied his hand for the strike.
"Don't be so sure." Valiance said.
Once again, the Green Eye and Valiance began rushing towards one another, each readying towards one another a strike to put them down for good. Both were without any means of weapons this time, so their rushes were armed with nothing more than their bare hands; battling each other in the old-fashioned way.
However, when the Green Eye collided with his enemy, he soon found that his opponent was not so honorable as he appeared. Their collision came with a brief pause; putting both near each other, with the Green Eye feeling a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he soon found the reason behind this pain.
Embedded in his chest was a large syringe, delivered by Valiance himself, all the more evidenced by his hand being around the syringe. Having used his weapon against the Green Eye, Valiance calmly stepped back from his enemy, giving a smile as he made his last strike.
Pulling the syringe out from his chest, the Green Eye looked to the object, inspecting to see what laid in its contents. Soon, he was given a taste of the contents firsthand, starting with a sharp pain in his head and sudden fever, causing him to grow dizzy under its effects.
"What did-?!" Green Eye asked.
"Ebola. That's about the first part of the infection. Don't worry; it's not a contagious variant, I made sure of that when I had this whipped up. I figured, with that healing factor of yours, killing you's a challenge, but subduing you's probably next to impossible. So, with a whole laboratory under my employment, I figured something along the lines of bioweapons would be the only thing to work on you." Valiance said.
Soon, the Green Eye's headache and fever were combined with a stinging joint pain and stomachache, sending him down on his hands and knees. His stomach felt as if a thousand rats were eating it from the inside out, making him screech in agonizing pain at the biological attack he was under.
"It usually takes a few weeks of intensive care to overcome the virus. I figure, with your super-healing, you should start to beat it in about a few minutes... so feel free to push yourself as much as you can and give me more time." Valiance said.
With his opponent downed and unable to fight back any longer, Valiance proceeded his way back upstairs to the laboratory, ready to see the final results of his project coming underway. As the white knight left to check on his own affairs, the Green Eye was left to continue suffering the effects of the killer virus, groaning and struggling to get off of his hands and knees.
His efforts to rise once again were strong, but the effects of the virus were stronger than any test of will; forcing him to vomit up blood and sending him on the floor to churn in pain. Laying on the floor as his body continued to fight off the virus, the Green Eye curled himself into a fetal position, trying to rest himself to heal as fast as possible.
Back up to the main laboratory, the scientists in charge of Project Lazarus continued their work on Rhonda; ensuring that every detail was set right regarding bringing the girl back to life. Their minds were under much pressure from the threat of Valiance, but it did not stop them from taking enough time to ensure safety. With such an unstable formula and only one shot to make it work correctly, there was no room for failure or mistakes.
Though any man or woman of science would do their best regarding the issue of safety and ensure no mistakes, Valiance was of no mind caring for such precautions. Returning from his fight and not seeing his daughter alive once again, he made his own anger made known to the scientists.
"Goddammit, I buy you all that time, and she's still not back?!" Valiance yelled.
"Please, Mr. Lloyd, we're doing everything we can to make sure the formula's right! If we do this wrong, we could destroy your daughter's body, and ruin any chances at success!" Dr. Combs said.
Valiance took notice of a syringe of blood across from Dr. Combs, presuming it to be the formula.
"Is that it?" Valiance asked.
"What?" Dr. Combs asked.
"Is that the formula? The one you used before?"
"Yes, sir, it's the same formula and same components, but-"
Not listening to any more of his protests, Valiance snatched the syringe from its place, moving straight to Rhonda's body to inject it. Not able to allow his employer to misuse the formula, Dr. Combs grabbed onto Valiance's arm, tugging at it in a futile attempt to stop him.
"No, please, Mr. Lloyd! I'm telling you, it's not ready! Don't use it!" Dr. Combs shouted.
Ignoring all warnings from the doctor, Valiance shoved him aside, preparing to drive the syringe directly into his daughter's heart; bringing her back to life at last.
On the lower floor of the building, the Green Eye continued to writhe in pain; his body under the assault of one of the deadliest viruses known to man. Blood hemorrhages into every part of his body, wetting his organs with the very fluid meant to give them life, coming out from his mouth and nose with no place left to go.
Every part of him wants to surrender to the disease; to give up his mission and just give in and die. Laying on the floor in complete misery, he comes very close to his death, just waiting for the moment in which it will all end. The concern of stopping Valiance is beginning to leave his mind, leaving only in place the desire for release from this complete Hell on his body.
But, no. He cannot accept defeat at a time like this.
Feeding his own internal strength, the Green Eye pushes himself to his feet, forcing all the energy he can muster to stand up once again. His willpower strengthens itself; driving his body on and fighting the virus inside him to continue on. Taking his first step forward, the Green Eye continues to the stairs.
He walks to the stairs with bleeding eyes; his vision turning a dark red. He does not let this stop him. He continues his way towards the stairs, eventually making his first step. With one foot firmly placed on the stair, the Green Eye put his foot on the next stair, then the next, and so on.
Soon, he eventually made his way up to the floor of Project Lazarus, with his whole body just barely holding itself together under the effort it was forced through. At last, his efforts had rewarded him with his effort; placing him at his intended destination to complete his mission.
"No, please, Mr. Lloyd! I'm telling you, it's not ready! Don't use it!" Dr. Combs shouted.
Alas, he found himself arriving far too late to make a difference. Watching Valiance hold the syringe in his hand, shove off Dr. Combs, and prepare his hand into a stabbing motion, the Green Eye could do nothing more now; all the energy in his body depleted, and left to only watch as he saw his mission come to failure.
"NO!" Green Eye choked.
Finally, with one swinging motion downward, Valiance drove the syringe into Rhonda's heart, sending the Spirit Master formula into her body. Watching the injection make its course into her body, all eyes watched on the corpse with all mouths going silent in observation; waiting to see what would come next.
A full minute passed. The tension and anxiety remained ever so strong, but none so more than Valiance; keeping his eyes and mind soley focused on Rhonda.
Another minute passed. It grew far past the time for a corpse to become reanimated from the formula, and the tension began to unwind, but no one dared to move.
Yet another minute passed. It seemed all too clear now that Rhonda would not return. The Green Eye took the moment to approach Valiance, finally breaking the stillness of motion within the room. Laying a hand upon the shoulder of the white knight, he gave his own assurance that all was over.
"Valiance. Buckley. Nothing's happening. It didn't work." Green Eye said.
"No, no! They come back from the formula, I saw it myself! It'll be any second now!" Valiance said.
"Buckley! I can't sense her at all. The others I could all feel, but I'm not sensing anything from her. It's over."
"NO! Combs, you prepared the formula, didn't you?!"
"Well... Y-Yes, sir, but we haven't had enough time to test it in full. There might be some other factor we don't know about; something that isn't making it work here. Think of it this way: The body's still intact, we might be able to make this work." Dr. Combs said.
"No, you won't. This whole game of playing god is over. Buckley. You're coming back to the base and you're freeing the others. It's over. There's no reason to keep fighting." Green Eye said.
Seeing all his last-ditch efforts come to an anticlimax, Valiance hung his head low in a show of shame, disgusted with himself over all his own actions with naught to show for it all.
"I just wanted my daughter back. I just wanted another chance to be a good father. You can read me, Arnold, you know that I'm telling you the truth, you know that's how I really feel." Valiance said.
"We'll take that into account when we decide what to do with you." Green Eye said.
Continuing to show his display of shame, Valiance voluntarily stepped alongside the Green Eye, following him to the exit of the building. Having caused so much damage to his own reputation among his own team and employees, he knew that there was much to answer for, and he would have no possible way to make reparations for his many and terrible wrongdoings.
Now, it all seemed over.
Until... the Green Eye felt a sudden flash of emotion come to his head.
He knew instantly what this emotion was, and where it was coming from. As such, he turned to the body of Rhonda Lloyd to witness what it would finally do next.
The tension and anxiety returned once again to everyone in the room upon seeing what came next: The EKG and neuroscanners all began to show activity, showing the once-dead organs in her body become active once again and start to bring functionality back to the body.
Finally, the body took in a deep gasp of air, taking in its first breath in its new life.
Rhonda lives again.