CHAPTER 42: SHOOT THE MESSENGER, PART 3

The streets of Hillwood grow with distress; a cancerous negative emotion that eats away at its residents that erode their own senses of reason and humanity. With the threat of the escaped Thaddeus Gammelthorpe, better known as 'The Freak', loose in the city, and the entire city under martial law with soldiers roaming the streets to keep the citizens safe, the people of Hillwood do not feel safe.

Though their sense of reason tells them that the many armed men in uniform on the streets are fellow citizens as they are, and they are there to protect them, their most basic traits tell them that they are not safe, as there are armed men that they do not know at every turn of their head. Already under a state of fear from the escaped Freak casting a looming shadow of the threat of death over their heads, the Guardsmen that are sent for the purpose of safety have paradoxically increased this sense of dread.

Nonetheless, there are the select few that hold onto what distractions they have to forget the troubles outside, and their vices work just long enough to escape from this confusing and cruel real world, if only for a moment. A selection of these few are Marty Green and Harold Berman; the owner and employee of Mr. Green's meats, respectively.

As Harold Berman keeps to his strong work ethic, preparing many cuts of meat for pickups to be made the following day, Mr. Green looked outside at the Guardsmen outside the shop, focusing his attention on a pair of soldiers relaxing on a tank. A small girl walked up and greeted the Guardsmen, who both kindly returned the greeting, with one gifting the child with a piece of candy.

The exchange gave Mr. Green a slight smile to his face, but it subsided with her mother snatching her away in fear and quickly walking away.

"Man, wish I'd had stuck with being a councilman. I coulda done somethin' to stop the city from bein' a war zone." Mr. Green said.

"You don't think the Army's here to help us?" Harold asked.

"National Guard, son, not the Army. I was in the Army back in 'Nam, got drafted. I remember how bad it was back then: We were shipped off to their country, supposedly fighting off the Viet Cong so communism wouldn't come to Nebraska, or whatever kinda stuff Nixon and the rest were pushing. I remember seein' my own guys killing civilians and raping women, the whole nine yards. Things were simple to them: 'We're the good guys, they're the bad guys.' According to them, anything the did, they were in the right no matter what."

"What are you trying to say? You don't think they're gonna do that here, are you?"

"No, of course not. But it does make me think. How many times have you heard the customers say how they don't feel safe just today alone? They're less like guardians to them and more like an occupying force. Back in 'Nam, we were the occupying force. We put a lot of fear in Charlie, but also a lot of innocent people as well. And the whole damn country fell to the commies, anyway. I can only wonder what kind of damage we did there, and what kind of damage all this is doing now."

"So, what's your point, Mr. Green?"

"Ah, ain't no point. I'm an old man, I'm too old to make a point. Just rantin' on 'cause I'm too stubborn to give up this job. At least I got you, right?"

"Heh, you can say that again. I love it here."

"Don't I know it. Besides, I told you, just call me 'Marty', why don't ya?"

"Well, sorry, it's just force of habit, you being my boss. Just trying to be respectful, and all."

"Heh-heh. Well, you're certainly one of the few young men left with some real manners; a true gentleman. Hey, speaking of which, how'd your talk with your lady-friend go?"

"Oh, I... uh..."

"Didn't go so well?"

"Well, no, I, uh... Uh..."

"Oh, I see. You chickened out, didn't ya?"

"...Yeah."

"Ah, Harold, Harry, man, you don't do something, you're eventually not gonna have a shot like you do now. You keep up this 'cold feet' act, you're gonna be spending a lot of your time goin' on and on about her as 'the girl that got away'."

"I know, I know, I just... I just can't bring myself to do it yet. I don't feel right for it. I told you about my past."

"And I told you that doesn't matter, kid. You just gotta put yourself out there an' let her know you're alive."

"Yeah, I just... This is just really hard. I wish there was some easier way to do this."

"Ain't no easy way to do it, kid. Feelings about girls never are."

Putting a brief pause to the conversation, the front door of the shop rang, with two individuals walking inside. Turning their attention away from each other and their conversation, Harold and Mr. Green were treated to the sight of Sid and Stinky walking inside, with a marijuana joint in Sid's hand.

"Hey, didn't I tell you not to smoke that in here?" Mr. Green asked.

Complying with Mr. Green's wishes, Sid flicked the cigarette outside, letting it burn on the ground.

"Sorry, dude, in a bit of a rush. It's the night job." Sid said.

"Already? It's barely even dark yet." Harold said.

"Somethin' big came up, we need everybody back at work. It's big; real big." Stinky said.

Harold looked to Mr. Green for approval, never wanting to abandon him in the middle of a shift.

"Go ahead, kid. Ain't nobody gonna be 'round the shop this time, all those Army guys out front. Sounds like they really need you." Mr. Green said.

"Looks like it. I'll see you next time, okay, Mr. Green?" Harold asked.

"Sure, kid. See you tomorrow."

Taking off his apron and tossing it to the rack, Harold walked out of the door with Sid and Stinky, preparing a long walk back to Lloyd Manor and the Hillwood Heroes' base. With a long walk back ahead of him, Sid took out another marijuana cigarette and ignited his Zippo lighter, taking in puffs of hemp smoke to relax his mind for what would soon come when they arrived back.

"Ain't you just had a smoke already?" Stinky asked.

"Yeah, but this is a hell of a big vote, and I want my head crystal-clear when time comes to vote." Sid said.

"Why? What's the vote?" Harold asked.

"Word is that 'Little' Nicky wants an alliance... and Arnold wants to put the choice in our hands."

The Hillwood Heroes have followed the Green Eye as their leader for the entire year they have been in existence; following his leadership to a 'T' and never straying from his direction for the team. Such a blind trust is dangerous to put in the hands of any figure of authority, but the Green Eye is a rare exception to this case.

Since the days whence they had known him as Arnold Shortman, he has consistently gone out of his way to improve their lives or find ways to help them through their struggles, showing and proving that he has the right heart to lead with. Being the only man among them who holds any true supernatural powers as well, it seemed that there was no reason to doubt his authority on any debacle they may face.

This time, however, the Hillwood Heroes have entered a gray area which they have never come to before. After all the years of consistently putting criminals and others who would harm their fellow man behind bars, they were faced with the opportunity of aligning themselves with one of the most dangerous men in this category, all for the common goal of defeating a foe that posed a greater threat than any other enemy combined and multiplied.

With one comrade he does not trust pushing him to accept this offer and one comrade he does pushing him to reject, the day in which the Green Eye could no longer make a decision of leadership on his own had arrived. Unable to cross this moral line of working with a known criminal, it fell onto the hands of the Hillwood Heroes to democratically make a collected decision on their own.

Following a long waiting period for those already in the base, the Hillwood Heroes each arrived to call the vote. All coming round to a large table, each sitting down across from one another, the time came to discuss the proposal and see the unholy alliance with the crime lord 'Little' Nicky Russotti formed or not.

Growing all the more impatient by the minute with the process, Lars Rodriguez, still trying to keep up his newfound name of 'El Cucuy' voiced his annoyances with the slow discussions.

"Yo, I'm really digging the whole faggy 'Knights of the Round Table' shit, but you think we can speed things up a bit? I'm starting to get hungry now." El Cucuy asked.

"What you're asking us to do is make a decision that completely goes against half our beliefs. This isn't an easy choice to make, even with Curly on the loose. We need to talk this out and see if this really is the best course of action." Green Eye said.

"Fine. You at least got some snacks around or something?"

"There's some Good Burgers in the fridge. Go eat that and shut up." Valiance said.

"Hey, wait a second, those are my burgers!" Star of David said.

"I'll buy you some more burgers; stick to the topic at hand."

"Yeah, we got a big vote to put up. You mind taking it seriously?" G-Funk asked.

"Okay, okay. I just like my burgers." Star of David said.

"Fatass." Bad Boy said.

"Hey, screw you, Bad Boy!"

Frustrated with his team's immature attitude, the Green Eye slammed his fist onto the table with an annoyed grunt, instantly silencing the minor feud and putting all focus back to the discussion.

"Look. None of us are happy to be here right now, much less discussing this vote, and none less interested in it than me. But what we're dealing with here is a spot between a rock and a hard place. Curly's capable of absolutely anything, and he's already been at best, responsible for the deaths we've already dealt with, and, at worst, carried them out himself. I don't like 'Little' Nicky anymore than anyone else here, but he's undoubtedly the lesser of two evils in this scenario. The question is: If he is the lesser of two evils, is it the right thing to do to align ourselves with the lesser of two evils to stop the greater evil? Valiance is on the side of 'yes', and G-Funk is on the side of 'no'. I'll let each side make their points, starting with G-Funk. G-Funk, go ahead." Green Eye said.

G-Funk stood up from his place at the table and cleared his throat, preparing to make his case. The Hillwood Heroes all leaned in to listen to his argument, each one listening in carefully to hear him out and determine if he is in the right or not. El Cucuy, having just retrieving his hamburgers, merely snoozed upon the following speech, caring only for his snack.

"First off, let's be clear about something. The Green Eye's right about one thing: 'Little' Nicky's the lesser evil for sure. He's not capable of doing half the shit that the Freak's done, but he's already done a lot of bad things already on his own. Just take a look at how he got out of prison. He ripped prison guards to pieces, and shot his way through dozens of others. He slaughtered all of the gang heads just so he could take over and attack us. God knows how many more people he's killed over the years to get where he is now. 'Little' Nicky may be the lesser evil, but that doesn't make him not evil. Evil is evil, and if it's 'less' evil, that doesn't make it good. The reason why we don't kill people is because that would just make us no different from the bad guys we fight. That's not my words, that's the Green Eye's words, hence why he can't make this decision on his own. My vote is a strong 'no', and I hope you guys see it the same way." G-Funk said.

Concluding his case, G-Funk sat back down, letting Valiance take his turn to make his own. Standing up from his seat, the white knight spoke his piece to settle this debate, in hopes that the Hillwood Heroes would see it his way. With all of his misdeeds making them biased against his favor, the case would not be an easy one to make, but he prepared himself to give it his best shot.

"I know all of you still hate me for putting us in this situation. If it wasn't for me, Rhonda wouldn't have given the Freak his power, and we wouldn't be here. You can dislike me or disagree with me all you want, but there are some facts that we cannot ignore. As far as G-Funk's argument goes, I completely agree with everything he just said. 'Little' Nicky is evil, and we can't forget about that. I certainly haven't. But what a lot of people here have seemed to forget is that 'Little' Nicky is also human, just like all of us. He might have made the choices that led him to where he is now, but he's also a man who has loves. One of those loves was for his son, 'Big' Gino. You saw him cry over his son's grave, just like I did. You saw it in his eyes that he really cared for his son, and felt the grief in him. Why did he break out of prison and come all this way? So he could avenge his son. Everything he's done so far was for the purpose of avenging his son and giving himself some peace of mind. I disagree with his methods just like you do, but we can't deny that his reasons are as human as can be. Each one of us would have made the same mistake, and I myself have made it. Those are the facts of this situation, and the fact remains now that the Freak is still out there, and still killing people. We barely have enough manpower and focus to be able to stop him on our own, and we can't possibly hope to fight him when we're also fighting 'Little' Nicky at the same time. That is why I, the man who personally fought 'Little' Nicky himself, call for you to vote 'yes'. Not because I personally want anything to do with this man, because I don't, but because it's for the good of everyone else." Valiance said.

Seating himself back down, the Hillwood Heroes all seemed to be heavily swept by the argument, moreso than they thought they would be. With both parties and making their sides heard, the Green Eye stood up, calling upon his team to make their votes regarding the decision.

"That's both sides of the argument. Personally, I don't like either option at all. Even if I did prefer one or the other, it's not my place to make this big a choice without you. We work with 'Little' Nicky to stop Curly, or we work against him to do it. It's up to you." Green Eye said.

As discussions came round for the Hillwood Heroes on the vote, the towering Membrane Labs building fell into sleep as its main scientists vacated the building, clocking out and proceeding to head home after a long day of work. With the scientists leaving and out of sight, a pair of National Guardsmen were placed at the entrance of the building, keeping watch over the tower for any intruders.

Not suspecting any such threat to come to the building, these Guardsmen did not take their job all that seriously, seeking to pass the time through simple conversation.

"Hey." One Guardsman asked.

"Yeah?" The other Guardsman asked.

"You ever wonder why we're here?"

"It's one of life's biggest mysteries, isn't it? Why are we here? I mean, are we the product of some cosmic coincidence? Or is there really a god, watching everything? You know with a plan for us and stuff? I don't know, man, but it keeps me up at night."

Not expecting a sudden philosophical question out of his fellow Guardsman, the first Guardsman looked to his comrade with a look of confusion on his face.

"What? I meant, why are we out here, watching this stupid tower?" The first Guardsman asked.

"Oh, uh... Yeah." The second Guardsman asked.

"What was all that stuff about god?"

"Uh... Hmm? Nothing."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Seriously, though, why are we out here? I mean, there's a super-powered serial killer out there in the streets, on top of a ruthless crime lord that just broke out of prison, and, yet, they stick us all the way out here in front of a stupid science... building? Like, the Freak alone, he's just a crazy dude who kills people. Last I heard, he killed some dude in his house and ate a little girl alive."

"I heard that it wasn't the him that ate the little girl, you know."

"Whatever. The point is, there's all that crap going on out there, but we're stuck all the way over here and guarding a science lab or something. We should be getting out there and kicking some ass, you know what I mean?"

"Honestly, considering what I've heard about the Freak, I'd much rather we didn't encounter him. Don't be so headstrong, will ya? I'd like to not get my guts ripped out like that one platoon he did."

"All the more reason I wanna go after him. He killed some of our guys, doesn't that piss you off?"

"All the more reason I don't wanna join them. I only took this job because I thought you wouldn't have to actually do anything. Next thing I know, this Green Eye dude comes out of nowhere, and the whole damn world's turned inside-out."

"You idiot. Well, you got your wish. If there's one place we can be sure that he's not coming, it's here."

As the Guardsmen concluded their conversation, they took notice of a pair of headlights approaching the building; the diversion attracting their attention away from their boredom enough to keep their focus right on it. Looking closer to see that the approaching vehicle was a school bus, of all possible cars to come this way, the two Guardsmen were confused by its appearance.

"Hey, school buses don't usually run this late, do they?" The second Guardsman asked.

"They don't... especially not out here in the industrial area. Something's not right." The first Guardsman said.

"Maybe it's some old bus somebody bought?"

"I don't think so."

The bus came to a stop a distance away from the tower; its engine idling and continuing to churn as the ignition was given a few revvs by its driver. With the obvious sight that the school bus was aimed right at the front of the tower, the Guardsmen soon realized their night was not one to be full of boredom.

"Uh... Is he gonna do what I think he's gonna do?" The second Guardsman asked.

"Yep. Get on the horn, call for some backup. Do it slowly." The first Guardsman said.

Following his comrade's request, the second Guardsman slowly reached for his radio, carefully making his hand to his belt and back to his face without a sudden movement, as not to provoke the idling bus in some way. Pressing his finger down on the 'Push-to-talk' button, the Guardsman summoned backup as quickly as he could.

"This is Private Ramsey with Private Sorola outside Membrane Labs. We have a threat just outside Membrane Labs and we need backup immedia-" The second Guardsman began to say.

Before able to finish his request, the bus suddenly began driving straight at the building, soon to crash through the front and possibly through the two Guardsmen. Trying to put a stop to the oncoming bus, Private Ramsey aimed his rifle at the bus, but, as Private Sorola caught a glimpse of multiple children onboard the bus, pushed his comrade's rifle aside.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Private Ramsey asked.

"There's kids onboard that bus, you'll hit one!" Private Sorola said.

"Then what do we do?!"

With the bus seconds from colliding with the front of the building, the obvious answer of flight came to the Guardsmen, leading them to both leap away from the door as the bus crashed straight through the front. As the bus came to a sudden stop with its collision, a body was launched out from the front of the windshield, bursting straight through it.

As the two Guardsmen overcame the panic and confusion that arrived with the crashing bus, the pair rushed inside the building to investigate, holding their rifles to the ready. Private Ramsey started with inspecting the inside of the bus, believing that he would find whatever culprit was responsible for the attack, but found something far more horrifying in its stead, leading him to step back and gag.

"What, what?" Private Sorola asked.

"It's... It's the kids..." Private Ramsey said.

"What about them?"

"They're all dead, man."

"What, they died in the crash?"

"No, man. No crash would do that to them."

Taking a look inside the bus for himself, Private Sorola witnessed the same sight that sent his comrade sick to the stomach, finding himself growing queasy as well upon looking. The children that he had stopped his fellow Guardsman to save were not already dead, but appeared to die in the worst manner imaginable, with chunks of flesh seemingly bitten off of their bodies and little remaining on them.

"Oh, Jesus Christ... Jesus Christ! What the hell could do that to a group of kids?! What the hell would do that to a group of kids?!" Private Sorola asked.

"Wait, over there, there's something else." Private Ramsey said.

Directing his comrade's attention to a body resting some feet in front of the bus, Private Ramsey led the two of them towards it, investigating its origin. The front windshield of the bus had a large hole in the front of the driver's seat, leading the two to believe that the body on the floor belonged to the driver.

"Looks like he's dead. Who the hell'd kill themselves like that with a suicide run?" Private Ramsey asked.

"Let's turn him over and find out." Private Sorola said.

Private Sorola let his rifle hang limp in his hand, taking the other to flip the body over and discover its identity. Before able to discover the body's identity, it unexpectedly threw its hand out and slashed both Guardsmen in their throats, leading them to bleed out on the ground.

Standing itself upright again, the body revealed itself to be none other than the Freak, holding a bloody knife in his hand.

"Hi there." The Freak said.

Heading back into the bus, the Freak returned with a large duffel bag, taking the Guardsmens' rifles and ammunition, packing it all in the bag.

"You fine gentlemen don't look like you'll be needing these anymore. Allow me to take them off your hands. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got expensive stuff to steal." The Freak said.

Back within the Hillwood Heroes' base, much discussion took place between the team of superheroes, still trying to come to a decision regarding the proposal of aligning themselves with 'Little' Nicky to fight against the Freak. Both sides of the argument were made well and clear, but neither seemed to win any ground over the other.

Anxious to see where the consensus would lie, the Green Eye ever-so easily peered into the minds of the Hillwood Heroes to see where the votes would lie. For the sake of his friendship with Gerald, known here in his guise as G-Funk, there is a slight hope that the votes would fall to a 'no', if only for an easy way out of this debacle and path to save their friendship.

However, as many of the minds came to their mutual agreements, it slowly inched its way to a unanimous 'yes'; Valiance's argument ironically winning over the same people that no longer trust him. The following event was inevitable at this point, leaving the actual votes merely a formality.

"I've put some thought into it, and I vote 'yes'. 'Little' Nicky's the bad guy, but the Freak's the worse guy." Insect Girl said.

"I'm with Insect Girl. We need everyone we can work with to fight against the Freak with, and working with him's our best bet." Flower Child said.

"I vote 'yes'. We've already got the National Guard against us, we don't need anyone else against us right now." Mauve Avenger said.

"It's a 'yes' from me. I don't like 'Little' Nicky either, but we need him." Bad Boy said.

"I'm votin' 'yes'. We've seen him when he's against us, don't need him fightin' us again when we could be fightin' the same bad guy together." Dirt Man said.

"I'm for stopping the Freak at all costs. I vote 'yes'." Star of David said.

Seeing his friends one by one all come to agreement of the proposal, G-Funk laid his head down in anger, clenching his fists in a sense of betrayal. Wasting no time to confirm the vote, Valiance stood up and called the decision, with all backing up his position.

"So, it's settled. You tell 'Little' Nicky he's got an alliance... for now." Valiance said.

"Yeah, dog, got it. We done here now? I got a big, scary boss who wants to rip me to pieces that wants the message, and two hookers to pump full of cum." El Cucuy said.

"Yes, we're done with you now. Get out of here and share the message. Bad Boy and Dirt Man will see you out."

Placing a black bag over his head, Bad Boy and Dirt Man began walking El Cucuy out of the base, taking him outside to head back to his own base.

"Hey, hey! Alright, I'm coming. Don't know what's with this stupid-ass bag, anyway. I already know it's at that rich dude's house, not much else left to mystery there." El Cucuy said.

Still angered over the decision of his team, G-Funk stood away from the rest, facing away from his friends in shame. Trying to bring his best friend to reason, the Green Eye placed a hand on his shoulder, lending whatever kind hand he still could offer him.

"Gerald, I'm sorry. You saw it, it was unanimous. There was nothing I could do." Green Eye said.

Enraged further by the Green Eye's attempts at sympathy, G-Funk threw a punch to his face, sending him falling on his back.

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up! I expected better out of you, Arnold! You were supposed to be better than this!" G-Funk said.

"What?! 'Better than this'? What are you talking about, Gerald?" Green Eye asked.

"All my life, I've known you as a guy who stands up for his own principles. Now, you wanna throw it all away for this?! To work with one of the worst crime bosses ever?"

"You saw the team vote on it, Gerald. They were all in-"

"You are not passing the buck here, Arnold! You wanted them to say yes!"

"No, I didn't! You think I want to cross this line? You think I want to put this on our friendship?!"

"Oh, what was that? 'Friendship'? Is that what you call it? You pulled my arm to stay here and let my girlfriend get paralyzed, you let the guy who did it go free, refuse to tell me my niece died, and, now, you call what we have here 'friendship'? Is that what you think it is?"

"I'm not happy about what I've done anymore than you are, Gerald."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because it was the best possible outcome I could work out. I try to help everyone, don't forget. Sometimes we have to make some sacrifices for the greater good."

"But not you, apparently. You've just been fine and dandy this whole damn time, haven't you?"

Having endured his own traumas and had his own moments of guilt, the accusation brought anger to the Green Eye's heart, but he tried his best to hold it back.

"Gerald... I'm warning you, don't go there. You don't know what I've been through these past few days." Green Eye said.

"Like what? Going home to parents that love you with a fiancee that'll do literally anything for you?"

"Rhonda raped me!"

The sudden blunt admission left the remaining people in the room all gasping at the statement; none taking this damning fact in stride.

"She... She did it to me before she came all the way back. I didn't know what to do afterwards, and it made me... I made a mistake. I almost didn't tell Helga, and I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want you to think any less of me." Green Eye said.

Following this brave admission of grief and guilt, the Hillwood Heroes unanimously looked upon their leader with looks of sympathy and understanding. That is, except for G-Funk, who, in his own state of anger, dismissed the fact, believing own reasons for anger were more justified than his own.

"Oh, boo-fucking-hoo. You got to bang a chick that most guys back in school wanted to anyways." G-Funk said.

Not expecting such a cruel response from G-Funk, the Hillwood Heroes all collectively gasped, in almost complete disbelief that he would even say such words. Equally as shocked, the Green Eye looking at his best friend with a look of betrayal and anger; both emotions fighting over one another for supremacy.

"And so what if it 'made you' make some mistake? If you made a mistake, that's on you. Don't try to push that on me when you've already pushed enough on me. What you did is your own fault." G-Funk said.

Enraged at his statement, the Green Eye blindly rushed at G-Funk, grabbing him while screaming in rage. Pushing him against a wall, he began throwing punches right to his face, leaving him heavily bruised in seconds. Fighting back against his attacker, G-Funk threw a headbutt to the Green Eye, kicking him off and throwing his own punches back.

As the two began brawling with each other in a dirty fistfight, the remainder of the Hillwood Heroes all rushed to separate the two, with Valiance grabbing the Green Eye, the Star of David grabbing G-Funk, and Flower Child and Insect Girl standing between the two.

"STOP IT! We're all supposed to be a team here, is this how a team is supposed to operate?! For people who call themselves best friends?!" Insect Girl reasoned.

The Green Eye and G-Funk began to calm themselves from Insect Girl's statement, leading their teammates to release them to the floor. Reflecting on her words, the two looked directly at each other with deep eye contact; a sense of irreconcilability still lingering behind them.

"You're right. This isn't how best friends work, or a team. But guess what? I'm not part of either anymore. I'm through." G-Funk said.

This revelation once again sent the Hillwood Heroes into a state of shock, with the Green Eye himself joining him in this collective confusion. Standing up off the ground, G-Funk removed his mask, throwing it to the ground, and shedding his identity back to Gerald Johannsen with it.

"Gerald, wait, no! You can't leave! We need you here! I need you here!" Green Eye said.

"Forget it, Arnold. I've already given more than enough to this team. Phoebe lost her legs because of this stupid rag-tag group. I even had to leave her behind so I could make this-" Gerald began to say.

As he said the words aloud, Gerald soon realized what kind of implication he had left behind because of it. With Phoebe unable to tend to herself, and being left all alone at their apartment, he had unintentionally abandoned a paralyzed woman on her own, and potentially endangered her by way of neglect.

Just coming into realization of this fact, Gerald suddenly felt a great deal of distress, nearly going nauseous where he stood.

"Oh... Oh, Jesus, I left her. I left her! How could I leave her?! Goddamn you people! You see what you made me do?! I had to leave my paralyzed girlfriend behind because you didn't tell me what I should've known already about Chloe and Hannah!" Gerald said.

"If you made a mistake, that's on you. Don't try to push that on me when you've already pushed enough on me. What you did is your own fault." Green Eye repeated.

Unable to argue against his own words, Gerald simply threw up his hands in frustration, preparing his way out immediately in anger. Before able to leave the Hillwood Heroes' base, however, an alarm began to sound, catching everyone's attention away from the debacle and towards the central computer.

Heading to the computer, Valiance viewed what the alarm was for, finding it to be warning of an attack on Membrane Labs, with security footage showing the Freak inside.

"It's him. He's attacking Membrane Labs." Valiance said.

"Membrane Labs? What would he be doing there?" Green Eye asked.

"I don't know, but, whatever it is, it's obviously not good. Grab your stick, we're heading there immediately."

Though Gerald was merely paused from leaving from the alarm, the reasoning brought him no reason to stay behind, causing him to continue his departure. However, this departure was put to a pause one more time with Valiance, calling upon the Hillwood Hero not to turn in his cape and mask yet.

"Wait. Regardless of your issues with the Green Eye, you can't just go. There's still a threat out there, and we still need you to help us. This is the same man responsible for the death of your niece, don't forget. You walk away, you're throwing away the chance to take him down." Valiance said.

This one last reasoning seemed to resonate somewhere in Gerald's mind, preventing him from walking out the door just yet. Stuck between the decision of remaining with the Hillwood Heroes to help stop the Freak and trying to salvage the remainder of his future with Phoebe, these two unstoppable forces pulled him apart in indecision.

Stuck deep in a train of thought, Gerald reconsidered his options.

Back at Membrane Labs...

Collecting the last of the ammunition from the two dead Guardsmen, the Freak stuffed it all inside his duffel bag, preparing to make his way further into the building and collect the equipment he needed. So far, the operation that he planned out seemed to play through easily enough, leaving him feeling relaxed regarding in his efforts.

Although his attack against the two Guardsmen worked flawlessly, however, he did not find out about the emergency transmission that was made earlier. As such, it came as a surprise that he discovered two trucks full of National Guardsmen rushing to the scene, all hopping out immediately and pointed their rifles right at him.

With his sight just barely blinded by numerous flashlight pointed at him, he soon realized that he would soon be under fire.

"That's him, shoot him!" One Guardsman said.

Opening fire upon the Freak, the National Guardsmen sent him running back for cover, but not before landing a few shots into his body. Groaning in pain at the bullets as they pierced through his body, the Freak fell straight to the ground upon reaching his cover, leaning against a wall for cover.

Looking down at his body, he found that numerous bullets had made their way through him, leaving him bleeding out on the floor. With the pain overcoming his mind, it seemed that he had at last met his untimely end, and all too soon in his mission. Unaccepting of this fact, the Freak fought back against every temptation to give in, struggling to stay conscious over the pain.

To his amazement, this strive for survival seemed to not only end his bleeding, but also push the bullets out of his body, leaving them clattering on the floor. Within mere seconds, his bullet holes were closing themselves up and healing completely, as if they were never there.

All too happy to find this new ability, the Freak gave a smile at his miraculous survival.

"Well, hot-damn. I'm immune to bullets." The Freak said.

Reaching into his duffel bag, the Freak pulled out a rifle, wielding it in just one hand.

"Too bad these pricks aren't." The Freak said.

Taking a peek out of his cover, he found the National Guardsmen slowly walk their way up the hallway, holding their rifles high and close. Showing a sign of dominance over their attack, the Freak nonchalantly stepped out from the hallway, letting the rifle hang limp in his hand.

"Put down the weapon and get down on the floor with your hands behind your head!" The commanding Guardsman said.

Taking no heed to the Guardsman's command, the Freak continued to walk forward without a simple care in the world.

"Okay, drop him!" The commanding Guardsman said.

Complying with their orders, the National Guardsmen opened fire upon the Freak, continuing to lay bullets into him where he stood. Though each round drove more and more pain into him, the Freak continued to take the rounds, continuing his act of defiance against the Guardsmen.

Taking aim with his own rifle, the Freak one-handedly began shooting at his attackers, firing single-shot rounds into each of their heads with expert precision. One by one, the gunmen all continued to go down with bullets flying straight through their heads, all dying instantly from his shots.

"John Woo, eat your heart out." The Freak said.

Laying all the Guardsmen down with his expert shooting, the Freak once again healed up against the various rounds he had taken, standing as if he were never injured at all. Now, with many more Guardsmen dead, each one had left behind a plethora of ammunition behind, leaving more for him to collect.

Taking magazines away from the first one that laid dead before him, he eagerly loaded them in his duffel bag.

"Thanks for the reload, sucker." The Freak said.

Back at the Hillwood Heroes' base...

Stuck inside a difficult decision, Gerald is stuck with a choice with appeals that split down the middle: One one hand, he must return to his home so that he can tend to Phoebe, abandoning her in a rush for a piece of truth he was entitled to. On the other, there lies a chance to catch the Freak at last, and see that his deceased niece is avenged and the threat to Hillwood is ended.

The past events of the moment have changed his outlook greatly on both the Hillwood Heroes and the Green Eye, leaving him wishing to end his connection with both for good. To make a significant decision so rashly is not a choice one could easily recommend, but rising tension between him and the Green Eye has clouded his better judgement.

In doing so, he is left to make the decision that would lead to more ruin.

"I'm done with this shit. You play the hero if you want. I'm out for good. Before I lose something else important." Gerald said.

Leaving the Hillwood Heroes' base, the Green Eye watched someone that used to be his best friend leave his life for good, and leave him without a close acquaintance to confide in. Wishing nothing more than to reconcile their relationship, he was tempted to step forward and plead for reason, but a glimpse into Gerald's mind knew that such efforts would be wasted.

"Time to go. Are you coming or not?" Valiance asked.

Putting aside his own frustrations to give way to the priority of stopping the Freak, the Green Eye continued with Valiance on the way to his armored vehicle, stepping inside to rush to Membrane Labs. Unknowning of what to do without them, the remainder of the Hillwood Heroes asked for orders.

"What do we do in the meantime?" Mauve Avenger asked.

"If 'Little' Nicky gets our confirmation and contacts us, tell them to go to Membrane Labs. We'll need everyone we can get on him." Valiance said.

Sealing the cockpit to the vehicle, Valiance and the Green Eye blasted forward to Membrane Labs. With much ground to cover and little time to get there, neither could afford any more interruptions in the course of reaching the building in time. As such, they keep their focus on the task of arriving as quickly as possible.

Though, the Green Eye is not so good at it; his mind still wandering to Gerald.

Back at Membrane Labs...

Collecting much the supplies he was looking for, the Freak began double-checking for whatever else he might need from this robbery. Having already collected a multitude of weapons from the downed National Guardsmen, there laid little else in the way of finishing the job, but he still wished to ensure he had exploited his attack thoroughly for his own purposes.

"Well, let's see... Milk, butter, eggs, what am I missing?" The Freak asked.

Taking a look to a specific object laying behind a sheet of bulletproof glass, he soon found that there was one last item that he wished to retrieve, finding great interest in what laid behind the glass. While the issue of working through the glass one was a difficult affair, the lock around it was not; easily shot off with a shotgun blast.

Pulling the pane out of the way, the Freak reached out for his last item, eagerly awaiting the moment to hold it in his hands.

"Hello, nurse!" The Freak said.

Finally arriving back home in a rush, Gerald busted right through the front door, frantically searching around for Phoebe. Heading to her last known location at the couch, she was nowhere to be found here, leading him to search the rest of the apartment for her, hoping that she would be alright.

"PHOEBE?! PHOEBE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Gerald shouted.

Eventually, Gerald made his way to the kitchen, finding Phoebe on the floor with an empty bag of chips to her side and a broken glass of marinara sauce on the floor, with Phoebe herself seemingly complacent in her spot. Trying to bring whatever apologies he could to her while he still could, Gerald grabbed Phoebe's hands and held them tightly, begging for forgiveness.

"Oh, Jesus, Phoebe, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I left you here. I got so caught up and angry that I wasn't thinking straight and-" Gerald began to say.

"No, no. It's fine. It's okay." Phoebe said.

"What?! No, it ain't fine, Phoebe, I just totally left you here on your own. God, I can't believe I didn't think about it at all. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No. I dropped the jar of pasta sauce trying to get the chips, but that's it. I crawled from the couch and crawled my way up to the cupboard, but then I just decided to lay here for a while. It didn't matter that much."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, there's not much left for me now, Gerald. After all, I'm not the fun girl that you got to hang out with in school anymore, I'm just a... a sack of dead weight sitting around your house. You had to go somewhere else and I would just hold you back. If you just wanna leave me here, I completely understand."

Phoebe's voice began to choke under her own words; her appearance of content and calmness collapsing down to nothing, giving way to hysterics and depression. Offering his support to her once again, Gerald shushed her cries and dried her tears, picking her up off the floor and carrying her to the bed.

Laying her down on the bed, Gerald managed to calm enough of her tears, leaving her open for conversation again; an opportunity which he quickly took to try to fix affairs.

"Pheebs, listen to me. You aren't dead weight. It doesn't matter to me that you can't walk anymore. The way I see it, that just gives me another excuse to be with you more." Gerald said.

"You don't get it, Gerald. I can't do anything that I used to anymore. I was always one of the top students in class, then I was Lady Tetsu, and we were a team. Now... we're not a team anymore. I can't support you. All I can do now is take from you." Phoebe said.

"Phoebe, you're not thinking clearly, I-"

"No, Gerald, I'm thinking perfectly clearly now. Just being alone like I was, I only see it clearer now. I'm nothing to you anymore."

"That's not true, and you know it. I love you, no matter what."

"Oh, god... Just leave me, Gerald. Just throw me out and leave me behind. I don't care. I wouldn't blame you. I'm not strong anymore. I'm nothing. I'm just a parasite."

Drawing Phoebe's face to his, Gerald met her lips with a kiss, giving a physical sign of affection to disprove her rantings.

"Phoebe. I love you. I'm not gonna leave you again, and I never will." Gerald said.

"Gerald..." Phoebe said.

"You're the girl I've always loved the most, and nothing's gonna stop me from doing that. I'm through with Arnold and the Hillwood Heroes. I quit. Not because I have to take care of you, but because they've destroyed our lives far too much, and I'm not going to let them destroy them anymore."

Kneeling himself down on the ground, Gerald continued to hold Phoebe's hands in his, putting himself in a position reserved for only asking one particular question between significant others. Realizing that he was indeed actually about to ask what he was going to ask, Phoebe felt her heart skip a beat.

"You were right. It's time we head out of this city and we moved on with our own lives, and started something new. Phoebe Heyerdahl, will you marry me?" Gerald asked.

A sense of both joy and sorrow overcame Phoebe's mind, sending her in a state of confusion like no other. Feeling both a low self-opinion with her state of paralysis, she was tempted to decline the offer, not wishing to burden Gerald's life any further. However, their love still persisted through the many years since they were mere children, proving their romance to be stronger than most.

As such, even though her temptation to say 'no' was strong, Phoebe, even with tears coming from her eyes, still replied with...

"Yes." Phoebe said.

Rising up off the ground, Gerald held Phoebe in a hug, letting her cry over his shoulder. Whether these tears were tears of happiness or grief, he is not sure, but the answer of 'yes' was enough for him to be satisfied. With this final step, the Hillwood Heroes would be but a thing of his past, and a better life for him and Phoebe would be ahead of them.

Releasing the hug but keeping him close, Phoebe brought the two to another kiss, leading them both down to the bed.

"Please... just take me now, Gerald. We both need this." Phoebe said.

Coming back to a kiss, Gerald and Phoebe began removing the necessary clothing for their act to continue, leaving them bare before each other again.

Back at Membrane Labs...

Having acquired all the weapons and tools he required, the Freak began making his way back down the stairs of the building, heading back to the front door to drive out with his bus. Once again, everything seemed to move swimmingly in his favor, with little in the way of trouble.

Once again, however, this belief was soon shattered with the arrival of more interferers. Approaching to the entrance was Valiance's armored vehicle, with the aforementioned white knight and the Green Eye soon exiting the vehicle as they arrived at the front.

"Damn it. Lackman and the Boy Blunder. Nowhere to go now but up." The Freak said.

Running back inside the building and heading straight up the stairs, the Freak soon gained the Green Eye hot on his trail, with Valiance following closely behind. Just before heading inside the building, however, Valiance's eye was caught by the inside of the bus, temporarily stopping him in his tracks.

Looking upon the half-eaten corpses of children in the bus, Valiance once again felt his rage building up; the sight tapping into his innermost anger towards any harm to children. To watch several of them perish so grisly and horribly, his eyes shot red and his fists clenched tight, making him more than ready for murder.

Heading back up the stairs to catch up with the Green Eye, he prepared himself to exact that anger upon the Freak.

Reaching the top of Membrane Labs, the Freak ran to the edge of the rooftop, hoping that there would be some manner for him to escape nearby. Alas, in search of a fire escape, a painter's scaffold, or perhaps even a short flight down, the height was too far up to attempt simply jumping down, even with his newfound regenerative power.

With the Green Eye reaching the top as well, he confronted the cornered Freak, drawing his staff in hand.

"Give it up, Curly. The only way you're getting out of this is if you surrender now or jump and turn into a street pizza, and neither of us want that last option." Green Eye said.

"Is that so? Damn, and I thought all those dead kids in the bus would've made you change that mind of yours at last. What's it gonna take to get your head in the game?" The Freak said.

"This isn't a game, Curly, and you're not going to get me to betray my principles. I've already pushed them far enough trying to stop you. I don't know who all you're working with, but I already know you've turned Willie and Wolfgang on your side, and we're coming for them, too."

"Oh, so you figured out that it was them? Not bad, not bad at all. Guess you're not as big an idiot as I took you for. After all, you're the guy who never put together that it was Helga that loved you all those years in middle school, now, aren't you?"

Angered at the last instance the Freak had met with Helga, the Green Eye clenched his staff tighter in rage.

"You stay away from her!" Green Eye said.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't want your cum-dump this time around. Once was enough. I wanna make sure I really get you this time. I got something much better in mind to finally make you give up your dumb little crusade of ending pain. Instead of taking her away from you, I'm gonna take something else you love away from you instead."

Catching up with his teammate, Valiance reached the rooftop at last. A slight sense of fatigue settled into his body, but the rage of murderous intent was far from gone in his mind.

"FREAK! YOU'RE MINE!" Valiance shouted.

Taking his duffel bag and setting it on the edge of the rooftop, the Freak threw up his fists with a smile, welcoming the fight to come.

"Finally, this guy gets me." The Freak said.

[Soundtrack Cue KMFDM - Lied und Elend]

Jumping towards the two enemies, the Freak readied a pair of handguns out from his sleeves, firing upon the Green Eye and Valiance. As bullets flew their way, the Green Eye leapt out of the flightpath of the shots, while Valiance simply relied on his armor plating to deflect the oncoming projectiles, heading forward to the lone gunman.

Throwing a punch his way, the Freak jumped onto his extended sword, leaping off it and jumping over Valiance, throwing a kick to the back of his head as he jumped away. Aiming his guns forward, the Freak fired off more rounds towards the Green Eye, leading him to deflect the bullets with fast movements from his staff.

Landing back on the ground, the Freak soon realized that his guns were depleted of bullets, as signaled by the clicking noises resulting from his trigger pulls. Throwing the pistols in the air, the Freak caught them by the barrels, preparing to use them as compromised physical weapons against his enemies.

Caught between his two enemies as they rushed to approach him, the Freak made good use of his new weapons.

Between Gerald and Phoebe...

Entering Phoebe as she was offering herself to him, Gerald began thrusting away inside her, taking out his own frustrations and anger through this carnal act. While the two are connected in body, they are not so together in mind; each separate in their own worlds and thoughts.

Inside the mind of Gerald, there was little in the way of romance in this particular act. On his mind was the many betrayals he had suffered over the the past few days with Arnold, the man who, until this point, he considered to be his best and most close friend. How things could have come to this is still a mystery to him.

Remembering the many times that the two had shared as children, from one of the very first adventures of finding their way through Hillwood dressed as a banana and strawberry, working at a flower shop as co-workers, finding an abandoned bag full of money, all the way up to their ultimate adventure in San Lorenzo; it all seemed to be for naught at this point.

With each thrust, he lets out more and more of this anger.

Back at Membrane Labs...

Wielding his pistols like clubs, the Freak fended off his two oncoming attackers of the Green Eye and Valiance, beating them both back with speed and expertise unmatched. With each vengeful strike of Valiance's sword that would come his way, the Freak would deflect it and land a hit to his face. With each throw of the Green Eye's staff, the Freak would swat it aside and bash him in the head.

Despite the two seeming to share the same powers, the Green Eye could not comprehend how the Freak had managed to surpass him in speed. Knowing that Valiance's enhanced suit was enough to hold himself off, the fact that the Freak was able to fend off both of them brought confusion and fear to his mind.

Nonetheless, whatever the reasoning behind the Freak's newfound power was here, now was not the time to ponder where he got such power. With the villain in their grasp, the only thing that laid for him and Valiance to do now was to capture him at last, ending the threat to Hillwood.

Easier said than it was done, however, as evidenced by the Freak still managing to hold the two back.

Between Gerald and Phoebe...

Feeling Gerald inside of her, Phoebe let herself be open and available for her man, letting him release his own frustrations out on her through an act that was to both their benefits. Just as he let out his own anger on her, she allowed this act to release her own negative emotions.

Having a family expecting much of her as a youth, this expectation seemed to burden on her mind more and more as she aged, whether or not her parents seemed to physically push it on her or not. Housing such an intelligent and brilliant mind, a bright future laid ahead of her, and one all too fulfilling with Gerald to be by her side.

But this future would not come to pass for either of them. Deciding to stay to help his best friend defeat the greatest threat to the city, Gerald agreed to stay with the Hillwood Heroes, despite his own plans to leave made clear. This one decision had cost Phoebe her very ability to walk, brought upon by a dangerous encounter that could have easily been avoided with more care.

Now, she is left in the arms of her lover; a status that she viewed as dragging him down in his life. The same life that once completed a whole of a half has now become less than half a person, and unable to undo what has been done upon her, dooming her to a life burdening his.

What a sad, pathetic life, she thinks.

Back at Membrane Labs...

Continuing to fight off the Green Eye and Valiance both with naught but a pair of empty pistols used as clubs, the Freak proved himself to be more than a worth adversary for the two, and proving himself to be more than an archnemesis for the Green Eye. Having his powers for a mere few days, he has already gained his own mastery over it, with plenty of tricks up his sleeves.

Even with his own skills and tricks, there is no substitute for one thing in a fight, so long as there is plenty of it: Brute force. With Valiance wearing an armored suit designed to take any hit, his size was plentiful and useful against fighting the Freak. As such, he began to take most of the lead in the fight, managing to push him back near the edge of the roof.

Beginning to see what Valiance was planning for the Freak, the Green Eye made his attempt to stop him from enacting this plot.

"No, Valiance, you can't-" Green Eye began to say.

Not interested in his semantic arguments any further, Valiance knocked him aside with a blow to the face, leaving him out of the fight long enough to put the fight soley between him and the Freak.

"You stay out of this. This child killer is mine." Valiance said.

"Oh, be still, my beating heart." The Freak mocked.

Between Gerald and Phoebe...

Still locked in their early consummation of their marriage to come, Gerald and Phoebe grew near the end of their act, coming to a conclusion that would put the two out of any state of mind regarding their troubles. Preparing for the moment to come, the pair waited for the energy to be released, wishing to purge themselves of all anger and rage in their hearts, instead building it up towards something to let out their emotion all at once.

With Gerald digging his clenching fists into the bed and Phoebe scratching at his back, this moment was soon to come for both.

Back at Membrane Labs...

Deflecting Valiance's sword strikes with his depleted pistols, the Freak continued to hold his opponent at bay, keeping the two in a deadlock of speed against brawn. Though the Freak seemed to have just enough of an advantage against his enemy to start to gain an edge, this all changed with one simple move.

Throwing both his pistols down in a striking motion, the Freak found his strikes caught under the block of Valiance's sword, leaving the two fighting against each other in pure brawn once again. Once again, however, this all changed with one simple move, and once again made by Valiance.

Lifting his leg up, Valiance prepared to throw a kick to his opponent, which the Green Eye quickly took notice of. Unable to let the Freak be murdered, even with his atrocious misdeeds ending many lives, he quickly ran towards the two to prevent the kill from occurring.

Alas, his efforts proved to be too late, leaving him to watch as the Freak was kicked off the rooftop, sent flying down to suffer the same defeat as before, and the Green Eye was all the more unfortunate to watch this event unfold once again. Reaching down the rooftop, he tried desperately in vain to hope that the Freak would be saved in some way.

"CURLY!" Green Eye yelled.

[Soundtrack Cue End]

Between Gerald and Phoebe...

As the moment finally arrived and passed for the two lovers, Gerald fell to the side of the bed, with Phoebe having her own. Now, there was no emotion to be found between the two: No love for one another, or hate for anyone else. They simply focus on themselves, and they lull themselves to a senseless coma.

For just this moment, before they finally sleep, they nearly feel dead.

Back at Membrane Labs...

And, so, it seemed that the saga of the Freak had finally come to an end; meeting his own the same way he had done once before. With Valiance exacting his vengeance upon the being that had brought ruin to both his own life and the lives of many in Hillwood, the threat was finally over.

But, of course, it only seemed that way until the contrary proved itself.

Despite the lack of belief, despite any sane reason to believe that such an event would occur, the impossible had unfolded for the Green Eye and Valiance to see. The Freak had not fallen to his death, but, instead, something had become of the Freak that had changed the battle against him completely.

Despite all possibility, the Freak was flying in front of them.

"Well, what do you know? Wendy, I can fly!" The Freak joked.

Still not able to believe his lying eyes, the Green Eye stood in complete disbelief, unable to process how the Freak was able to obtain flight all on his own. As Valiance began to share the same thoughts with his comrade, the Freak grabbed the duffel bag full of his weapons and supplies, having his own affairs to continue on. Bolting across the night sky, the Freak made his way to his next destination.

Yet still not able to process what they had just seen, Valiance continued to stand in silence, with only the Green Eye speaking at last.

"That's... That's impossible. That's impossible!" Green Eye said.