Chapter 31: Einstein's Time Machine

(San Francisco California: The year is 2126)

           Samantha and Chase, now in their 70's owns a two story house. This was a very important day in their life, they were to send a message 40 years back in time using Einstein's Time Machine, in order to alert Grey and prevent him from getting into a car accident that will paralyze him from the neck down.

         As Samantha and Chase sat at the edge of their bed, they held hands as they thought deeply of what they were about to do. "Father never did use the ETM in bringing mom back, and now the US government is giving us this opportunity to use it....", says Samantha, "But I'm scared Chase, if we save Grey from getting paralyzed from that car accident, then I know that my younger self would want to marry him. But then, what will happen to us?....The children, our grandchildren, If my younger self marries Grey then our being together for the last 40 years will vanish from existence....".

       Chase folds Samantha into his arms then says, "This last 40 years of marriage has been wonderful, and I would not trade a single day of being with you for anything in the world.....But I do owe Grey my life. He deserves to live a full and normal life. I just hope that with the letter and pictures you'll send your younger self in the past that it convinces her to marry me instead, and if she doesn't then I still believe that our 40 years of marriage will still be as real to me and that nothing can take that away from us.....".

      An hour later there was a knock on the front door. As Chase opens the door, three US government agents in black suits appear. "Good morning Mr. Brassman...", say's the lead agent,"We're here to pick-up the messages your wife wishes to send to the past....". Chase then retreats to the living room, then returns with two large manila envelopes that he hands to the lead agent. "Make sure you remind those scientists at Area 51 to send these messages at the exact dates that's written on the front page of each message....". The lead agent nods then says, "Yes sir, we'll make sure it gets to the right year, month and day....".

          (Grey's house, Vallejo, California: Date: June 24th, 2086)

        It was 11:00 pm and Grey was getting ready to work his graveyard shift, "I'm heading to bed...", says Ritchie, "Have a quiet night at work...". Grey in his hospital scrubs nods when all of a sudden, three police cars and two black suv's arrive at Grey's house. Looking out his window, Grey was surprised to see Samantha getting out of one of the black suv's as she rushes to Grey's front door. Opening the door, Grey was surprised to see Samantha hug him tightly as she say's, "Grey! you're not going out tonight....If you do, you'll get into a car accident that will paralyze you from the neck down and will shorten your life. And as Grey looks out to the street, "What's with the cops?....", asks Grey, "Am I in trouble with the law?....". Samantha then explains to Grey that she needed the help of the police to get to him in time before Grey leaves for work. And as they stepped inside and sat on the couch, Samantha then explains to Grey that she received a message from herself, forty years into the future. She then takes out the letter and photographs from her bag as she shows it to Grey.

       Grey then, starts to read the letter from the future:

         (Samantha's letter to her younger self)

    Dear Sam, this letter is from the year 2126. Forty years into the future, and I am your older self who is writing this to you. (Look at the photographs enclosed with this letter). I am able to send you this letter through the use of Einstein's Time Machine which you are aware of. The reason I sent you this letter is for you to save Grey from a car accident that will paralyze him from the neck down. It's imperative that on the eve of June 24, 2086 that you go to his house and prevent him from going to work. Another important topic you should know is that in the future you will be a US senator and you will be married to Chase, that's because Grey's paralysis will shorten his life. But if you're able to save Grey from getting paralyzed, I know that you would want to marry him and not Chase. Please re-consider, marry Chase instead. Just look at the photographs of your kids with Chase, your grandchildren. I've been married to Chase for the last 40 years and I've been very happy with him. If you marry Grey, then my last 40 years with Chase, your kids, your grandchildren will all vanish forever. Please marry Chase instead, and I promise that you'll be very happy with him. But the decision is still yours to make. I can only hope and pray that you'll make the right decision....


        After reading the letter, Grey looks through the pictures of Samantha, Chase and their family. Remaining quiet, Grey hands back the photographs to Samantha as he looks downcast. "You look sad but not surprised...", says Samantha, "She got to you didn't she?.....My older self got to you.....She sent you a letter too, didn't she?....". Grey sigh's deeply, then gets up and grabs a manila folder from the dining room table and hands it to Samantha. "I received it a week ago...", says Grey, "I wasn't supposed to tell you because your older self wanted me to break up with you....". Samantha opens the large envelope as she pulls out copies of the same photographs she had and a letter which read:

      Dear Grey,
         This letter is from the year 2126, forty years into the future. I am the older version of Samantha, 71 years old to be exact. I know that this seems really weird, but there is technology that can send messages through time. And I am sending you this message in order to warn you that one week from this day, on June 24, 2086, you will get into a car accident that will paralyze you from the neck down. This injury will also shorten your life. It's important that you don't leave your house on this date. Because of your death, I will end up marrying Chase instead. Please look at the photographs of me and Chase, our children and grandchildren. I've been married to Chase for the last 40 years, and my life with him has been great.
        But now that I've warned you about your accident, you will live a full and healthy life. And my younger self would want to marry you. If you love me, then don't marry my younger self, or my life with Chase, our kids and our grandchildren will vanish from existence. Another reason that I need to spend my life with Chase is that he will be a pillar of support in my life. I will be a US senator in the future and I will broker peace negotiations between nations, preventing nuclear wars. I need Chase by my side, he will be vital to my success as a peace negotiator. I loved you and I still do, but my destiny is with Chase, I need him in helping me preserve peace around the world.
       Under no circumstance should my younger self know about this letter. Break up with her, and make it appear that you're in love with someone else. But before you say your final goodbye to her, do me a favor. Slow dance with her one last time. Use our favorite song, "Can't Help Falling In Love", by Michael Buble. Let me just remember how it feels to be in your arms for one last time. Thank you and goodbye......Samantha

        Samantha's eyes were red as she swipes tears from her face. "This isn't fair...", says Samantha, "But why?....". Suddenly, music fills the living room as they start to listen to Michael Buble's song "Can't Help Falling In Love". Grey stands and takes Samantha by the hand as they start to dance slowly while Samantha starts to sob knowing that this was to be the final time that they were to be with each other. And after their dance, Grey walks Samantha to the waiting suv as they hug one last time knowing that even though they loved each other so much, that they were not destined to share their life together. (The End)




                

Chapter 30: To Die For

(Mob Headquarters: Black Lake Ranch, Sunday 09:00 pm)

.
       Gathered on the front lawn of the mansion, Dr. Courtest and 30 of his men together with John Layer, Dr. Marcos, Bionico and Dr. Kinesis  all gathers around Samantha who was bound on a steel chair with her mouth taped shut. "This could be the start of a great union between us all...," says Dr. Courtest, "With our capabilities joined together, we could rule the world!....". Everybody smiles as John Layer says, "First thing's first...I want Miss Peters, Chase Brassman and Grey dead before the night is over, before I join forces with you all!....". Dr. Kinesis frowns and says,"I don't want Grey killed, we can still use him and his super powers if we could turn him or convince him to join us.....But I do realize that some persuasion will be needed before he joins our group....". And as they discuss their plans for the future, Grey finally shows up in his knight's armor as all 30 of the mob's men draw out their guns and points them at Grey.

         Seeing Samantha bound and tied on a chair, Grey yells, "Here I am, now release her!....". Still twenty yards away from Grey, the group breaks up the circle as they all face Grey in a straight line.
"Nobody shoot!....",shouts John Layer, "I want that knight to fight Bionico one more time!...". Then signaling Bionico, Bionico starts to run towards Grey as Grey raises up his Alemdronite shield for protection, as he plants his feet firmly waiting for Bionico to attack him viciously. Then upon reaching Grey, Bionico starts to unleash forceful blows at Greys shield as he goes on a rampage. With a barrage of Bionico's super fast and powerful punches and Grey's diminishing strength due to the toxicity in his system and his worsening liver failure. Grey was unable to maintain his defensive stance as Bionico was able to grab Grey's shield and hurl it away from him. Then without pausing, Bionico starts to batter Grey repeatedly, and with the forceful body blows, Grey was knocked to the ground in a matter of seconds. Gasping for air, Grey suddenly feels the pressure of Bionico's foot on his breastplate. And as he looks through the slit on his helmet, he see's Bionico retracting his daggers as he hears John Layer say, "Go ahead Bionico, you can cut off his head!....", as he hears laughter and jeering from the crowd who were watching.

         But before Bionico could raise up his dagger to deliver the final blow, the whole crowd starts hearing loud rocket sounds from the sky. And before anyone could react to it, the Protector suddenly lands directly at Bionico kicking him on his iron mask as Bionico tumbles and rolls on the lawn. The Protector then turns towards the crowd shouting "Let Samantha go! and you Dr. Kinesis, where did you hide the nuke?...". But before the Protector could wait for an answer, Bionico attacks viciously as he rushes and tackles  the Protector from behind. Falling to the ground, they start to jostle as they start to pummel each other with no one gaining the upper hand. With both having super speed and super strength, they start taking turns striking each other. But due to the Protector's advanced combat technology, Chase was able to turn the tide as he uses his superior martial arts skills with a combination of open and closed hand strikes to knock Bionico off his feet. Then after another minute of fighting, Bionico was finally battered and beaten as he tries to crawl on the ground,  trying to distance himself from the Protector.

        Seeing that Bionico was beaten, the mob's gangsters starts shooting at the Protector. But with the Protector's force shield on, the mob were shocked to see their bullets ricochet off the Protector's force shield without any harmful effects to the Protector. Then seeing that their guns had no effect on the Protector, the gangsters start to slowly back away in fear as Chase starts to walk towards Samantha in order to free her from her bondage. But before the Protector could reach Samantha , John Layer grabs the electronic iPad from Dr. Marcos as he penetrates into the Protector's CPU and turns off his central defense systems therefore shutting off the Protector's force shield. Stopping in his tracks, Chase suddenly realizes that his force shield had  suddenly shut off as he see's John Layer point a gun at him then "Bang!....Bang!..", the Protector suddenly gets shot at his chest and abdomen as he falls to the ground bleeding. John Layer then unties Samantha's bonds as he lets her loose saying, "Go ahead!...go to your dying best friend!....That's what you get for illegalizing cigarettes and smoking in California....It's payback time Miss Peters....."

      Pulling the tape off from her mouth, Samantha rushes towards Chase with tears in her eyes. "Help please!...Somebody call an ambulance!....". But all she heard in return were more laughter  and jeers from the crowd surrounding her. 

     Less than a minute later, a red Ferrari suddenly arrives swerving uncontrolled towards the front of the mansion. With everyone watching, Richard Sambrolini suddenly gets out of the car looking disheveled and drunk as he staggers to the front lawn while holding a bottle of whiskey. "What's with all these people doing here...", says Richard, "I'm so drunk, my world is spinning....". Dr. Courtest blurts out saying, "This is my nephew Richard who is the head of our organization, please forgive him for being drunk.....".

      Dr. Kinesis suddenly gets mad as he says, "You're nephew has been driving drunk?....I hate drunk drivers!....". Dr. Kinesis then points a finger at Richard as an invisible force starts to clamp around Richard's neck as he starts to suffocate. Seeing that Richard was holding to his neck as he gasps for air, Dr. Courtest quickly shouts, "Stop this!....Let him go Dr. Kinesis!....". And when no reprieve was given by Dr. Kinesis, Dr. Courtest yells at his men to shoot Dr. Kinesis. But before anyone could open fire at the mad scientist, they all suddenly felt the same suffocating pressure around their necks as Dr. Kinesis uses his telekinetic powers to strangle all of the gangsters present. And as the seconds turn to minutes, not one gangster was remaining standing. Most had passed out from lack of oxygen.

       A few feet away, Grey see's Samantha holding Chase in her arms as she was swept in tears panicking and not knowing what to do. Grey then gets up and staggers towards Sam and Chase. "Sam, go inside the house and use their phone to call 9-1-1, also get some clean towels, we need to stop his bleeding. And as Samantha runs towards the house, Grey takes off his backpack as he takes out the Holy Flask. He then turns towards Chase, takes off his helmet as he asks, "I have a way to save your life Chase, but I need to know if you have faith in Jesus Christ?....". With blood sipping out of his mouth, Chase nods as he falls in and out of consciousness. Then without hesitating, Grey pours the contents of the Holy Flask in Chase mouth as it starts to have a bubbling effect. Unzipping Chase's flight suit, Grey witnesses that the wounds on Chase's chest and abdomen were slowly starting to heal as the bullets themselves were surfacing until it comes out of the wounds.

      And as Chase falls unconscious, Grey whispers in  his ears saying. "Someday you'll thank me for this....Just promise me that you will love and care for Samantha forever....". And as Grey continues to get weaker by the minute, Samantha returns with towels as she suddenly see's Grey's empty Holy flask lying on the ground. Then seeing Chase's chest wound and abdominal wound progressively heal, Samantha asks, "You used the Holy Flask on Chase?....", and as Samantha's eyes start to get misty she asks once more, "But what about you?.....". Grey forces a smile as he whispers saying, "It has to be this way Sam.....I will always love you, remember that....". But before Samantha could hug Grey, Dr. Kinesis shows up behind Grey as he puts a hand on Grey's shoulder, then "Poof!...", they were gone.

     An hour later, Grey who was unconscious slowly wakes up from the sounds of multiple gunfire. With his vision still hazy, he blinks a few times until he see's Dr. Kinesis in his white lab coat standing before him. Weakened and confused, Grey asks, "Where am I?....And what's with the gunfire?....". Dr. Kinesis folds his arms across his chest as he looks down at Grey then says, "We're still inside the mob's compound, and you're inside my RV .....And the gunfire you hear are the FBI, police and the National Guard who are battling against the mob's men, It's chaos out there...". Not wasting time, Dr. Kinesis points a finger at the back of his RV, and as Grey looks back, he see's a metallic cylindrical mechanism that has a timer that was counting down to three minutes. Getting up on his knees, Grey quickly asks, "That's the bomb, Isn't it?....". Dr. Kinesis quickly nods and says, "Only you can stop this bomb from detonating, give me your word that you'll team up with me in killing drunk drivers and I'll dispose of this bomb, no one dies....Hurry you got two minutes and change.....".

    Wincing from  severe abdominal pain due to his liver failure, Grey responds saying, "You just don't give up do you?....I 'm telling you once more, I'm not gonna kill drunk drivers!....". Dr. Kinesis sigh's heavily then says, "You better reconsider, the fate of millions of people are now in your hands, you got a little over a minute left......". Grey closes his eyes and remains silent as Dr. Kinesis counts down the seconds, and when there were thirty seconds left, Dr. Kinesis grunts in anger then says, "You're the most stubborn, selfish person I've ever met!...". Filled with dismay, Dr. Kinesis then walks over to the cylindrical bomb and puts his hand on it then "Poof", Dr. Kinesis disappears with the bomb. Then after fifteen seconds had elapsed, Dr. Kinesis reappears as Grey asks, "What happened to the bomb?!...". Dr. Kinesis dusts off his lab coat then says, "I might have the determination to kill drunk drivers, but one thing I'm not is a mass murderer.....The bomb's at the bottom of the Pacific ocean as we speak....". And before Grey could respond, several gunshots penetrate the hull of the RV as Dr. Kinesis quickly disappears. And as a group of SWAT police officers penetrate the RV looking for the bomb, the only thing they found was Grey unconscious on the floor. Taking his helmet off, one of the officers puts a finger at Grey's neck to feel for a pulse.
"I feel no pulse!...", says the officer, "This man's dead...".


           (Travis Air Force base hospital)

       Two days later, Chase was still confined at a medical surgical ward. And as a nurse enters his room, "Nurse, can you tell me what's the delay?...", Chase asks, "I've been here for 48 hours and I'm fine and healthy...So why can't I get discharged yet?...". The female nurse folds her arms across her chest and says, "I'm sorry Captain Brassman, but the doctors need to do more tests which was ordered by the Pentagon.....They want to know how you miraculously healed from your gunshot wounds....Just be patient and you'll be out of here in no time....". And as the nurse steps out of Chase's room, Chase decides to turn on his bedside TV as he focuses on the news.

           [USNN News] "And now for our top story, The nuclear bomb that exploded in the Pacific ocean was believed to be the bomb that was smuggled in our country by a terrorist group headed by the Al Queda leader Sirha Uhlo who was arrested together with escaped bomb maker Mukhang Mahasim. The government is grateful for CIA agent Zhiad Marwan who spied against the Al Queda organization and who is responsible for alerting the authorities about the existence of a nuclear bomb in American soil. Meanwhile, authorities are still investigating the connection of Dr. Kinesis to the nuclear bomb. Dr. Kinesis is still wanted for the deaths of drunk drivers in California. On other news, the FBI had arrested the mob at their headquarters the Black Lake Ranch. FBI agents found mob boss Richard Sambrolini dead at the scene from  possible strangulation. Second in command Dr. Luigi Courtest was taken into custody together with Macrostrength CEO John Layer, Dr. Marcos and their super assassin Bionico. We believe that this was due to an attempted murder against the Protector and possible sabotage of the Protector. Lastly, another wanted criminal called the Mysterious Knight was found dead inside an RV that belongs to Dr. Kinesis, autopsy reports shows that  the Mysterious Knight died of liver failure...And now for other news, the city of...(Click)

       Chase turns off his TV as he see's Garfield enter his room as he appears in his green army uniform. "Hey there buddy!...What's with the sour look on your face?....".  After Chase explains to Garfield his frustrations, Garfield starts to change the topic saying, "Hey I'm glad that you're ok....I just finished speaking to Sam over the phone, she said that she's on her way to see you. She and her dad were just finalizing the burial arrangements for Grey, her ex-boyfriend. By the way, the FBI had arrested John Layer and Dr. Marcos. All this time, they have been sabotaging the Protector suit because they wanted you dead as a revenge against Samantha for illegalizing cigarettes in California. I guess it's why his cigarette company had closed.....".       
  
        An hour later after Garfield had left, Samantha arrives wearing a black blazer and black slacks.
With her eyes puffy and red, she smiles at Chase, "How are you?....", asks Sam as she reaches for Chase giving him a tight hug. "I'm sorry about Grey...", says Chase, "I know that he saved my life by using the contents of the Holy Flask on me....I wish that there was something I could do.....". Samantha lies beside Chase on the bed as they start to cuddle up, "I talked to the police....", says Samantha, "Grey was innocent of the murder charges....The police found a video disc inside the mob's safe, and it showed how the mob framed Grey for the murder of the Vallejo police officer....Sgt Holt who was released by the police also told me that they found enough evidence to convict Dr. Kinesis for the murder of another police investigator and that Grey is blameless for the inspector's death....".  

        And as time passed, five years later, Samantha and Chase were finally married. A year after they were married Samantha gave birth to their first born son who they named "Grey". As years passed by, Samantha was finally voted as a California senator in the US Congress. She was able to help pass laws that dismantled nuclear arms world wide. She also became one of the most important peace process negotiators between countries that were threatening to use nuclear arms against each other. At age 55, she won the "Knight of Peace" award which was awarded to her by the United Nations for her importance in promoting peace and preventing nuclear wars between nations. The "Knight of Peace" award was a combination of being knighted and being awarded the "Nobel Peace Prize" for her work in securing peace around the world. (End Of Chapter)

Chapter 29: Digging A Deeper Pit

(Holy Cross Cemetery, Underground Mausoleum Hideout)

             Three days later, it was 05:00 pm when Ritchie had finally arrived back to their hideout after a one hour meeting with lead terrorist Sirha Uhlo. They discreetly met inside a small cafe to discuss the details of Samantha's return in exchange for Mukhang Mahasim who needs to be free'd from the Dublin California  Federal Prison. Looking nervous, Ritchie walks down their secret staircase as he gazes at Grey's paralyzed body that was hooked up to the dialysis machine. Turning his head to meet Ritchie's eyes, Grey quickly asks, "So what happened?....". Ritchie looking unsettled quickly takes a seat as he takes out his cell phone and looks back at the text message he got on the way to the cemetery. "Grey I've got bad news.....Dr. Peters and Sgt. Holt have already been arrested.....I just got the message from Sgt. Holt.....He says It's his last message and he wants us to be careful, now that we're on our own.....".

            Grey grimaces as he turns away from the bedside TV in front of him and looks at a blank wall. After a minute of silence, Grey then takes a deep breath then asks, "How many bottles of Dr. Peters toxic serum do we have in store?...". Ritchie goes and opens their small medicine cabinet then says, "We have eight bottles, though I remember Dr. Peters saying that you'll probably die of liver failure between the fourth and the fifth bottle.....What should we do?....". Grey takes another deep breath then looks sternly at Ritchie as he says, "What else, let's plan how I'm gonna get inside that Federal Prison in Dublin.....Did you get the details from the terrorists on who am I supposed to free?....". Ritchie then takes out a large brown envelope as he opens it in front of Grey, showing Grey a photo of Mukhang Mahasim and a blue print map that includes the location, building number, and prison cell where Mukhang Mahasim was being held at.

           But before they could study the map, Ritchie starts having second thoughts about freeing Mukhang Mahasim. "Why do you look so worried?....", Grey asks. Ritchie wrings his hands together as he nervously  says, "Think about what you're gonna do Grey.....You're about to free a terrorist who can assemble a nuclear bomb and detonate it here in San Francisco and the bay area. Have you ever thought of the consequences of what you're planning to do?.....". Grey starts to feel distressed as he answers, "Samantha's life is in danger....And what would you have me do, just let her die in the hands of terrorists. How do we know that this Mukhang Mahasim guy is really a bomb maker anyway, for all we know, this could be just one of Dr. Kinesis's ploy to get me to join him in killing drunk drivers....Besides if there was a real nuclear bomb here in San Francisco, what prevents these terrorists from going out and hiring another bomb expert and detonating it  ....". But after a few more minutes of debate, Ritchie finally makes up his mind and decides to not participate in freeing Mukhang Mahasim. "The terrorist I met tonight told me that once Mukhang Mahasim is free that it will only take him a few hours to assemble and detonate the nuke.....I can't be a part of this Grey, I'm sorry but I have to go. Driving to Nevada is the only safe thing to do. The terrorist I met tonight said that the nuclear blast will consume San Francisco, the whole bay area and will even reach as far south as Los Angeles.....I'm sorry but I can't be apart of this genocide that's about to happen.....".

        The next evening, it was close to midnight when Grey, who was now all alone in his quest to free Mukhang Mahasim in exchange for Samantha was riding in his self driving white mustang as he finally arrives at the outskirts of Dublin Federal Prison. Still 400 yards away from the perimeter fenced prison, Grey takes out a bottle of Dr. Peters toxic serum from his back pack, opens the bottle and drinks all of it's contents. Feeling an increase of strength, Grey decides to levitate stealthily with the only noise coming from his cape that was flapping in the wind. The Dublin Federal Prison, a five acre federal prison which housed high security prisoners. The prison was fenced in with 200 feet high wired fences with an inner and outer fence. There were six watch towers which forms a hexagonal shape perimeter. In the inner area was four buildings that were about eight stories high with each building housing 120 prisoners each.

         And as Grey continues to approach the fenced prison, he could feel his pulse rate speeding up due to the fear that he might get noticed by the tower watch guards. But when he finally reaches the outer perimeter fence, Grey tries to avoid being noticed by kneeling on one knee. Then pulling out his Alemdronite sword from it's scabbard, he slowly cuts a rectangular hole through the fence as smoke appears from the scorching heat emanating from his sword as it cuts through the metal wired fence. With darkness as his ally, Grey passes through the hole undetected and proceeds to the inner wired fence as he does the same, cutting through the wired fence. And once he finally penetrates through the inner fence, he starts to levitate once again at a distance of another 100 yards until he reaches the south building where Mukhang Mahasim was supposed to be locked up. Looking up, he was quick to locate where Mukhang Mahasim was imprisoned due to a red bandana that was tied around one of the window's cross bars. But being on the eight floor with an elevation of 200 feet, Grey knew right away that because of his fear of heights that it would be a challenge to levitate that high. But not wanting to waste precious time, he starts to levitate with his hands holding on to the wall, but whenever he reaches a height higher than fifty feet, his fear of heights would start to overwhelm him, causing him to loose his concentration as he falls back to the ground.

       Trying to be stoic in order to preserve his strength, in the midst of this dilemma, Grey tries again and again, but he was still unsuccessful. And when he was about to use his fists to blast through the building's wall in order to break in to use the stairs,   Dr. Kinesis suddenly materializes beside him as he says, "I wouldn't do that if I were you.....There's over a hundred prison guards who will be storming here once you punch a hole through this building's wall.....". Grey getting caught off guard, starts to feel disgusted as he quickly asks, "What do you want now Kane?.....". Dr. Kinesis in his white lab coat, crosses his arms as he leans on the building's wall then says, "I just came to check in on you.....Is it really worth freeing Samantha for this bomb maker who's about to detonate a nuclear bomb and kill millions of people, even if you free Samantha, how do you know that you won't die from this nuclear explosion that will happen once you free Mukhang Mahasim......Why don't you stop being so stubborn and just join me in building a team with super powers, together we can rule this land, you'll have Samantha back in your arms, I'll give you an endless supply of my JK4 serum and this bomb maker will stay where he truly belongs....in jail....".

        Grey feeling dismayed, stares at Dr. Kinesis then scowls at him saying, "It will be a cold day in hell before I would ever team up with you Kane....Now get lost!....". Dr. Kane sneers as he looks up at the red bandana that was tied to a window's cross bar then says, "Tell you what, since I'd hate to see your girlfriend die in the arms of terrorists, just wait here and I'll get Mukhang Mahasim for you....". "Poof!...", Dr. Kinesis suddenly vanishes for a few seconds then "Poof!...", he reappears again, this time with Mukhang Mahasim by  his side wearing orange prison garments. Grey looking surprised quickly asks, "What's the catch?!....". Dr. Kinesis pushes the bewildered prisoner towards Grey as he says, "There's no catch!...But may I warn you that once you free this bomb expert, you not only jeopardize the fate of millions of Americans but you'll also be hunted down as an International terrorist. This time, the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security and NSA will all be searching for you, so good luck!....". Suddenly, "Poof!...". Dr. Kinesis disappears just as the prison alarm sounds signalling an escape had just happened.

        In less than a minute, Grey and Mukhang Mahasim were running outside the fenced walls as they start heading towards their get away car. And before the sheriff's deputies could locate them, they were able to  get into the car and make their get away. Twenty minutes later, they were on their way to a secret meeting place where the exchange was to take place. It was 02:30 am when Grey finally reaches the meeting point. It was a dark road in Golden Gate park near an abandoned horse stable. With two cars facing each other thirty feet apart. Samantha was led out of the car by Sirha Uhlo himself who was holding a gun to her head. Samantha's hands were bound and her mouth was taped shut. Meanwhile Grey leads Mukhang Mahasim out of his white mustang as they face each other. "Release him and you'll have your girlfriend back...", Sirha Uhlo says. Grey seeing the gun yells back, "How do I know you're not gonna shoot her once I release this convicted criminal friend of yours!...". Suddenly a third voice coming from inside Sirha Uhlo's car yells, "Tell him to throw the gun away!.....". Sirha Uhlo  feeling infuriated looks inside his car and looks at Zhiad as he yells, "Zhiad! who's side are you on anyway!....". Zhiad nervously stammers saying, "I-I-I wa-was just trying to hasten things up a bit master!.....". Rolling his eyes while sighing deeply, Sirha tosses his gun away in the darkness as he pushes Samantha forward. Seeing Samantha walking quickly, Grey does the same as he releases Mukhang Mahasim as they both walk past each other towards their rescuers.

        And as soon as Samantha was close to ten feet away, Grey runs towards her and hugs her tightly. Taking off the the masking tape from Samantha's mouth, Samantha starts to cough as Grey unties her hands as he asks, "Are you Ok!.....". Samantha quickly nods when suddenly they hear Sirha Uhlo's car speeding away. But just when they were about to board their car, they start to see flashing red and blue lights and hear loud sirens blaring from a close distance as numerous police cars where approaching them from both sides of the road. Knowing that they were trapped, Grey abandons their car and carries Samantha in his arms as he  quickly levitates into the thick forest making their escape from the police.

       Fifteen minutes later, Grey and Samantha had finally escaped from the clutches of the police and were now travelling at a speed of 35 miles per hour along 19th avenue in San Francisco. Being carried in Grey's arms, Samantha was now wondering why Grey was still flying at ground level. "Pardon me for asking...", Samantha says, "But aren't you supposed to fly me higher....Like way up in the sky, like how Superman flies Lois Lane....". Grey glances briefly at his passenger then says with a frown, "I'm acrophobic...Can't fly any higher than ten feet!....When I get scared, I lose my powers and I fall back to the ground....". Samantha stares at Grey's eyes then says, "Are you kidding, you expect to get me to safety flying this low and this slow?!.....Geez! I wished Chase was here, he'd fly me up in the sky like he was Superman....". Feeling perturbed, Grey blurts out saying, "Why don't you just be grateful for the fact that I just rescued you from terrorists....If Chase were like Superman, how come he's nowhere to be found when you were in danger huh?!.....". Getting upset, Samantha demands that Grey drop her to the ground immediately. "Put me down, I'm better off just waiting for a taxi!....". Stopping and assisting Samantha to her feet gently, Grey continues to argue saying, "Samantha, all I'm saying is why are you so fascinated by Chase? I was the one who rescued you from danger!....".

        Crossing her arms across her chest, she looks around trying to find a taxi as she says, "That's because Chase has always been there for me, he's my bestfriend....We go skiing together, skydiving....We even go rock climbing together scaling "El Capitan" in Yosemite....It took us three days but we made it to the top....". Looking emotionally shocked, Grey asks, "You and Chase climbed "El Capitan?"....where did you sleep?!.....". Samantha feeling a little distraught glances at Grey then says, "Where else, on a ledge....". Grey's eyes gets wider as he asks, "The same ledge.....What happens when you have to pee?....". Samantha grunts from Grey's insecurities as she walks ahead with Grey trailing her. And just as she reaches the end of the block, a taxi suddenly appears which Samantha was able to hail to it. But before Grey could get into the taxi with Samantha, the taxi suddenly speeds away leaving Grey behind.

      It was Saturday morning, 05:00 AM, when Grey finally reaches his mausoleum hideout. Walking down the secret stair case while taking off his helmet, he was surprised to see Ritchie. "Where have you been?....", asks Ritchie, "You've been gone all night, Are you ok?". Grey then told Ritchie of everything that transpired the night before and how he got into another argument with Samantha just after he rescued her from the clutches of the terrorists. "I thought you were driving to Nevada to escape a nuclear detonation....What made you change your mind?...", Grey asks. Looking dismayed, Ritchie did not want to admit that he felt guilty leaving his best friend behind as he responds saying, "I couldn't leave you by yourself....We're in this thing together....We're superheroes, remember?....Besides, I'm the only one who can do your dialysis....". But before Grey could respond, he hears his cell phone ring. Taking off his back pack, he unzips his bag and grabs his cell phone, "Hello...", says Grey. A man's deep raspy voice on the other end starts saying, "Listen up hero!...If you want to see your girlfriend Samantha Peters alive, go to the Black Lake ranch tomorrow night 10:00 pm and bring Chase Brassman with you....And if you tell the police, Miss Peters is as good as dead...." (Click)

       Grey's heart rate starts to speed up as he starts looking frantic as Ritchie asks, "What's wrong, you look like as if the world's about to end...". Feeling his knees weakening, Grey pulls out a chair and sits on it. "They have her Ritch....", Grey says, "The mob has Samantha....And they're threatening to kill her unless I and Chase show up tomorrow night at the Black Lake Ranch....That's the mob's headquarters...". Ritchie looking surprised quickly asks, "Again?!....She's been kidnapped again?!.....". Then after a few minutes in deep thought, Ritchie blurts out saying, "I've got it!....I have a plan on how to bring Chase here.....I'll need to speak to Maria first.....As for you, let's get you dialyzed again....You're not looking good, your skin is turning yellowish and your face is slightly swollen....Must be the side effects of the toxic serum....".

       (Sirha Uhlo and Zhiad Marwan's Rental house in Castro street, San Francisco, California)

      Later that Saturday morning, it was 09:00 AM when Sirha Uhlo, Zhiad Marwan and Mukhang Mahasim finally inspects the nuclear bomb that was stored in their basement. Pulling off the blanket that was covering it, Mukhang Mahasim quickly kneels and inspects the metallic cylindrical bomb that had a diameter of four feet and which weighed about 4500 pounds. "I think I can assemble this...", says Mukhang Mahasim, "It's been awhile but I still remember how to activate this North Korean made nuke.....It will take me several hours and I'll need tools that we can buy from a hardware store.....". Flashing a sinister smile, Sirha Uhlo says, "Well what are we waiting for, let's go to the nearest hardware store and buy the tools we need....I can't wait to detonate this bomb as soon as it's assembled....". Mukhang Mahasim suddenly stands up and protests saying, "You need to give me time to make my escape before you detonate this nuke.....I need at least ten hours to drive to a different state....I can help our brothers in arms in other states assemble more nuclear bombs.....". Zhiad looking nervous quickly says, "He's right Master, he needs to assemble more nukes in order to fully destroy this country and the only way out of this state is by driving. He'll be arrested if he tries to board a plane out of San Francisco.....". Sirha rubs his chin and strokes his beard while thinking then says, "I guess your right, I'll give you ten hours to drive away from this state once the nuke is assembled...".

     But before they could finalize their plans, they suddenly start to feel a strange presence around them. Then in an instant Dr. Kinesis suddenly materializes in front of them wearing his white lab coat and his black reading glasses while holding a video camera in his right hand. As the three terrorists were all  startled, Dr. Kinesis quickly says, "Relax boys, It's just me....". Then staring at the round nuclear bomb, Dr. Kinesis sneers, crosses his arms in front of his chest and says, "So this is the nuclear bomb you've been hiding....". Then before any of the three terrorist could speak, Dr. Kinesis announces saying, "Listen up!....I changed my mind...Instead of you writing a letter to the Pentagon, I've decided that it's better to do a video recording of this bomb while you explain to the public your plan of detonating it here in San Francisco....I also want you to mention the Mysterious Knight as a member of your terrorist group and thank him for freeing Mukhang Mahasim from Federal prison.....Tell the public that it's because of Grey who is the Mysterious Knight, that Mukhang Mahasim is able to assemble a nuclear bomb, and don't forget to tell them when you plan to detonate the bomb.....I'll send this video recording to the press in time for the evening news.....There's gonna be so much chaos in this city that it's gonna have the feel of Armageddon.....". Everybody starts laughing except for Zhiad who looks worried as he forces a smile on his face.

        (Macrostrength Industries, Headquarters, Treasure Island, San Francisco, California)

        Two hours later, it was 11:00 AM Saturday when Dr. Marcos reports to John Layer's office. Entering the CEO's office, "You called me Mr. Layer?...", Dr. Marcos asks. John Layer extinguishes his cigarette on his ash tray then says, "Sit down Marcos.....I've got some fantastic news.....I will finally get my revenge on Samantha Peters.....". Dr. Marcos quickly sits on the edge of a chair as he waits for his boss to explain further. "I just got a call from the mob's number two man, Dr. Luigi Courtest and he told me that they kidnapped Samantha Peters and are holding her hostage at their Black Lake ranch.....The mob is inviting us to watch Samantha Peters execution tomorrow night together with her ex-boyfriend Grey. They're also expecting the Protector to show up in an attempt to rescue Samantha Peters, and the mob wants us to find a way to destroy the Protector so that they can start receiving shipments of illegal drugs from Mexico's drug cartels once again.....". Dr. Marcos shifts uneasily in his seat as he asks, "What's your plan Mr. Layer....". John Layer looks out his window and sneers then says, "We will sabotage the Protector's defensive capabilities....Once he arrives at the Black Lake ranch, we'll shut off his force shield so that the mob can shoot him dead....I want you to program the Protector's control system on your iPad and bring it with you at the ranch tomorrow night....I don't care if the Pentagon traces the death of Captain Brassman on us. We'll just create an alibi and say that a malfunction occurred with our control system.....And further more, if Bionico is 100% fit and ready, we'll take him with us for security.....". Then after a few more minutes of discussion, Dr. Marcos finally leaves John Layer's office to prepare their plan of sabotaging the Protector.

       In the meantime, back at Grey and Ritchie's mausoleum hideout. Grey is on his hands and knees from consistent nausea and vomiting. "I don't understand this Ritch...", says Grey, "I already had my dialysis and yet I still feel weak...What's wrong with me?....". Ritchie assists Grey off the floor and into his bed as he starts to take off Grey's armor. "You're a nurse and yet you don't see what's happening to you?...", asks Ritchie, "Just look at yourself...Your skin and eyeballs are all yellowish, you've got swelling all over your body, you've got pain to your abdomen, nausea and vomiting and weakness....They're all signs of liver failure....What you need is either a liver transplant or for you to ingest the contents of the "Holy Flask".....".
      Grey winces once more then replies saying, "I told you that if I ingest the contents of the Holy Flask and get completely healed, I'll lose my super powers too.....And I need to rescue Samantha....Now give me another bottle of toxic serum so that I can get going.....There's so much things I need to do and so much to prepare for....". Ritchie shakes his head vigorously saying, "Right now all your gonna do is rest....You can ingest the toxic serum when it's time for you to meet Chase on your way to freeing Samantha from the mob...". Then without waiting for a response, Ritchie turns on the TV before heading to their kitchen to make their meal.

     And as the TV comes to life, Grey focuses on the news that was being reported. "Welcome to our noontime edition of USNN news....Today we will report to you a chilling and frightening report about a video disc that was sent to our news station by an Al Queda terrorist group based here in San Francisco. Due to the immense gravity of the threat, we decided not to show the public the whole video which is now in the hands of the FBI. In the video recording, the terrorist group shows that they have in their possession a nuclear bomb which they plan to detonate tomorrow night at 11:00 PM. Nuclear physicists we've talked to claim that the nuclear bomb could be compared to ten Hiroshima bombs and could kill millions and destroy much of the state of California....Al Queda leader Sirha Uhlo and his assistant Zhiad Marwan said on the video that they are grateful to fellow terrorist the Mysterious Knight for freeing Mukahng Mahasim who is a nuclear bomb expert and who has assembled the bomb which will detonate tomorrow night. We've also learned that the identity of the Mysterious Knight is one of Samantha Peters ex-boyfriend named Grey. Police and the FBI believe that this is the same person who killed two police officers in the city of Vallejo a few months ago.....Meanwhile, the Governor of Califonia is calling for calm, peace and order in all of the towns and cities....The police, FBI, CIA, NSA and Homeland Security are all searching for the whereabouts of these terrorists and are asking the public's help to contact 9-1-1, if they see or are aware of the whereabouts of these terrorists. (Photos of Sirha Uhlo, Zhiad Marwan, Mukhang Mahasim and the Mysterious Knight  showing on the TV screen). And due to the sporadic panic and fear that's permeating in Califonia, the Governor has now activated the National Guard in order to facilitate the start of a mass exodus of people in their cars who are flooding the freeways as they try to drive to another state to flee from the upcoming nuclear blast which will devastate the whole state of California.....".(Click) Ritchie turns off the TV then stares at Grey, "Great, now a terrorist group is accusing you of being a part of their organization, and just when you thought things couldn't get any worse....".

           (Terrorists hideout, Castro street, San Francisco, California)

            The next day, it was Sunday 10:00 AM when Mukhang Mahasim had finally finished assembling the nuclear bomb. "There, it's all ready and activated, I've set the timer on the bomb to explode at 11:00 PM tonight...", says Mukhang Mahasim, "And I've created a manual trigger out of this black cell phone....", Mukhang Mahasim hands Sirha Uhlo a black cell phone then says, "If ever the police finds out that the bomb is hidden here, just press the "send" button on that cell phone and the bomb will explode....That way the cops can't get anywhere near you....". Sirha holds the cell phone above his head like a precious jewel as he sneers in ecstasy from the thought of California's nuclear annihilation. Meanwhile, Mukhang Mahasim grabs his bags and takes the keys of Sirha Uhlo's car. "I have to go and get clear of this nuclear blast...I guess you won't be needing your car since you both are prepared to die as heroes....I just hope the traffic isn't that bad on the way to Nevada....". Then a few minutes after Mukhang Mahasim leaves, Sirha Uhlo holds on tightly to the bombs manual trigger as he excitedly sit's on their sofa and turns on the TV to check out the latest news.
Zhiad on the other hand slips away quietly to make a very important phone call.

      (Holy Cross cemetery, Colma city, California, Sunday 01:00 pm)

       Grey in his armor waits outside the mausoleum, minutes after ingesting another bottle of toxic serum. While waiting for Chase to show up, Grey starts to worry why he was only at half strength.
The armor he was wearing felt heavier, feeling as if gravity itself had doubled. Lifting his Alemdronite shield with his left hand, he starts to adjust his sword in it's scabbard making sure it was well secured. Pushing up his helmet's visor, he starts to squint from the bright rays of the sun when suddenly he hears his ear's comlink come to life. "Has Chase shown up yet?...", Ritchie asks, "Maria told me that she informed Chase about Samantha's kidnapping and that he agreed to meet you there at the cemetery today at this time....I'm still here at the pharmacy buying your medications.....I'll return as soon as I can....". (Click) Ritchie hangs up the phone.

        Then, after another five minutes of waiting, Grey starts to look up as he starts to hear loud rocket jet sounds coming from the sky. But before he knew it, the Protector suddenly appears out of nowhere as he descends from the sky. Landing in front of Grey, the Protector kicks Grey in his breastplate as Grey tumbles and rolls backwards crashing and destroying multiple headstones as he ends up lying on his stomach. And as the Protector touches down to the ground, Chase slides up his helmet's visor and says, "What are you now up to?....", Chase asks, Breaking Sam's heart by  faking your death, killing cops, freeing a terrorist from prison....Now look what you've done.....People are panicking trying to leave this area....When will you stop your evil deeds?.....".

     Ten feet away from Chase, Grey winces in pain as he slowly gets up on all fours while trying to get to a standing position. "You don't understand Chase...", says Grey, "I was set up, this was not my fault....". Not wanting to hear Grey's excuses, Chase attacks once more with his super speed as he delivers a crashing blow to Grey's breastplate as Grey falls backwards once again with his armor scarred, dented and covered with dirt. Struggling to get up, Grey tries to reason out once more as he says, "I'm not here to fight you Chase, I need you here because Samantha's life is in danger.....We both need to show up at the Black Lake ranch tonight in order to save Samantha from the mob....".

     But just before Chase could answer, he gets a call from the Pentagon informing him that one of their spies had told them of the location of the nuclear bomb which was being hidden inside a house at the Castro district in San Francisco. The Pentagon's officer in charge informs Chase that the bomb has a manual trigger which could be activated in a split second, and that the Protector's super speed is needed in penetrating the terrorist's home and deactivating the bomb before the terrorist Sirha Uhlo could press the bomb's trigger. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Chase acknowledges his new mission as he informs his command that he was on his way to the bomb's location.

   Chase pointing his finger at Grey says, "You...I will deal with you later, for now I need to find and deactivate this nuclear bomb that's about to detonate.....". Looking appalled, Grey quickly yells saying, "What the hell are you talking about....You can't just leave right now, Samantha's life is in danger...you're supposed to help me free her....". Chase sliding down his tinted visor says, "I'm sorry, but deactivating the bomb is my priority, I wish I could come with you but I can't.....You'll have to free Samantha by yourself while I take care of this nuclear bomb threat....". And as the Protector starts to ascend with loud sounds from his rocket boosters. Grey starts to yell saying, "You can't do this Chase!...Let the military deal with the bomb....I need your help to free Samantha.....I thought that you love her, why are you abandoning her now.....". Chase looking back down at Grey from a height of thirty feet, slides up his helmet's visor then says, "I would sacrifice my life for Samantha but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, I hope you can understand this....". And as the Protector flies off to the sky, Grey was left still yelling, "Noooo! Don't do this Chase.....".

      (Sirha Uhlo and Zhiad Marwan's Castro district hideout- 05:00pm Sunday)

     For the last three hours, Chase and dozens of government agents had been planning on how to safely penetrate the terrorists hideout and how to obtain the nuclear bomb's manual trigger from the hands of Sirha Uhlo. Zhiad Marwan who is a CIA spy had informed the CIA about the bomb several hours ago and was assisting US federal agents on how to steal the manual trigger from his master. With hidden video cameras penetrating every room in the Castro hideout, US federal agents are able to secretly watch Sirha Uhlo's every move as they wait for Sirha uhlo to fall asleep in his sofa. Then after another hour of waiting, they start to witness Sirha Uhlo lie down on the couch to take a nap.

     Given the go ahead signal, Zhiad opens the back door  as he lets the Protector inside the house. Then with stealth and speed, the Protector heads towards the living room as he grabs hold of Sirha Uhlo's wrists, as the manual trigger falls from Sirha's hand and lands on the floor. Then within seconds, the house is filled with US federal agents as Sirha Uhlo gets arrested. Meanwhile, Zhiad leads the Protector to their basement to show where the nuclear bomb was hidden. But to their surprise, the nuclear bomb was missing. "This is impossible!....", says Zhiad, "How could a 5,000 pound nuclear bomb just vanish from our basement?....". Surrounded by dozens of US federal agents, Chase quickly asks, "Besides you and your master, is there anyone else who knows that the bomb was hidden here at your basement?.....". Then after thinking momentarily, Zhiad's eyes grows wider as he blurts out saying, "There's just one other person who knows about the nuke....His name is Dr. Kinesis!....".  (End of Chapter)

(Author's Note) If you've enjoyed reading this chapter, please donate to the needy, sick and the poor in your respective country. Thank you.
   



   

Chapter 28: The Aftermath

      (Mausoleum Underground Hideout, Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma California. )


              Two days later, It was around 09:00 pm when Dr. Peters, Sgt Holt, and Ritchie all gathered around Grey who was in bed and was hooked up on a dialysis machine. "The whole procedure takes about four hours...", says Dr. Peters, "I can't blame you for drinking the second bottle of the toxic serum. Good thing you only drank half...Drinking the whole bottle would have killed you....". Grey sigh's deeply as he lays motionless on his hospital bed but then asks, "How's Samantha doin' Doc?....Have you spoken to her yet?....". Dr. Peters looks at Sgt. Holt then answers, "I've been avoiding her for this last two days, I just don't know what to say. I've always been honest with her ever since she was a child, I'm just at a loss for words right now, I guess....".

             Sgt Holt takes his right hand out of his pocket as he grabs the TV's remote control and clicks on it as their TV comes to life. "Right now, Samantha's the least of our problem....", Sgt Holt says," Now that the police knows that Grey is alive, it's only a matter of time before I get implicated for making Grey a false driver's license and you for signing Grey's fake death certificate. But for now, let's watch the news and see what the public knows about Grey!....". Then after changing a few channels, they finally stayed on USNN news as a reporter starts announcing the news. "Good evening America, Thanks for tuning into USNN news, and now for our top story....Police investigators are still searching for more clues at the mansion of Dr. Mark Peters. This is due to the massacre that happened at the mansion during Samantha Peters birthday party on Halloween night. With the death toll now exceeding 60 and with the injured exceeding 75, we are now aware that the perpetrator of these gruesome acts is a masked man named "Bionico". Police detectives have not told us how they got the name of this mass murderer but that he's on the loose and is extremely dangerous. Anyone who comes across this person should quickly call 9-1-1 (Still picture of Bionico showing on TV screen). Another suspect who is being investigated is believed to be the "Mysterious Knight" and is also suspected to be one of Samantha Peters ex-boyfriends named Grey, who is also wanted by the Police. Though Grey is not yet implicated in the deaths of the security guards and police officers at Samantha Peters party, he is still wanted for the deaths of other police officers from a different incident.....On other news, more charred corpses of convicted drunk drivers are turning up. Police, together with the FBI are still searching for the scientist turned vigilante, Dr. Kinesis who is believed to be the killer of all these drunk drivers who were all burned alive inside their homes. Police now say that Dr. Kinesis had already killed close to over a hundred convicted drunk drivers here in Norhtern California alone.....".

           The TV camera pans over to a different reporter who continues to report. "And now on other news...", says the TV reporter, "Captain Chase Brassman who is popularly known as America's first ever  super hero has been assigned at the Arizona-Mexico border. Today was his first day on the job, wearing his Protector suit and flying on patrol in order to prevent shipments of illegal drugs that are coming into our country from Mexico's drug lords. And while the crime rate in our cities and states have jumped up at another 4%, the public is starting to question whether the Protector should be reassigned to fight crime in our communities, instead of patrolling our country's borders.....". (click) The TV turns off as Sgt Holt addresses everyone as he says, "Well, there you have it folks....With Grey's identity revealed, it will only take a few days before I and Dr. Peters will be arrested for assisting and harbouring Grey who's a fugitive and a wanted criminal. Dr. Peters then clings tightly on the hospital bed's side rails as he looks down at Grey then says, "I'm sorry Grey....Soon I'll be arrested together with Sgt Holt and we won't be around to assist you any longer.....With your kidney failure and worsening liver failure, the hope of proving that you're innocent of those crimes is fleeting by the minute....The only person left who I know can help you is Samantha....I think that it's about time to come clean and tell her everything....".

          Grey in his paralyzed state gasps deeply then says, "But I feel fine Doc!...Just a little bit weak. But once I'm done with this dialysis, I'll get stronger again right?!...". Dr. Peters glances at Ritchie then responds saying, "Dialysis will help with your kidneys but not with your liver, all your liver enzymes are abnormally high, you're starting to show signs of liver failure like edema or swelling due to a decrease in your albumin levels, your skin and eyes are now turning yellowish due to increased bilirubin in your system....If you keep ingesting my toxic serum, very soon your fibrin levels will decrease which means that you'll be susceptible to  increased bleeding and internal hemorrhage specially if you get into fights....". Grey looks away as he focuses on a blank wall then says, "I'm sorry Doc, but there's no turning back now. I need to prove that I'm not a criminal, even if I die trying!...".  

         (Castro street Fruit Stand, San Francisco, California.)

        The next day, it was 09:00 am when Sirha Uhlo and Zhiad Marwan starts to receive a new shipment of fruits. While opening each box, Sirha starts to murmur to himself his displeasure about their present predicament. "It's been months and I'm still selling fruits here in the land of fruit cakes, when will I ever get to detonate my nuclear bomb?!...", Sirha asks himself, "I feel so hopeless, I should have destroyed this city months ago and I should have been enjoying time in heaven by now....". Suddenly, he hears Zhiad saying, "Are you talking to yourself again master?..... We still have 20 more boxes of fruits to open, wash and clean before lunch. You do want to have lunch today don't you?....". Sirha suddenly looses his patience as he grumbles and yells saying, "I don't care about lunch and I'm tired of selling fruits Zhiad, What I want is to finish my mission here on earth, so why on earth can't we find a North Korean bomb maker!....".

         Suddenly out of nowhere, Dr. Kinesis materializes in front of them which startles the two terrorists. "Who are you?....",asks Sirha, "And how did you do that?!....". Zhiad feeling extremely frightened hugs Sirha tightly then asks, "Are you a ghost?!....". Trying to act in an unconcerned manner Dr. Kinesis glances at a box of apples, gets one and bites into it, hoping that this gesture will take the fear out of the two men who were in each other's embrace and were both shaking in fear. "I'm not a ghost....", Dr. Kinesis says as he straightens out his white lab coat and adjusts his eye glasses, "But I do have some powers just like a god!....". Sirha and Zhiad suddenly looks at each other as Zhiad says, "You see I told you master, Allah is Caucasian!...". Sirha looking down at his minion suddenly gets dismayed as he yells at Zhiad saying, "You fool!, he said "Like a god" not the "God" ....he's not Allah!". Dr. Kinesis quickly clarifies saying, "Oh no!...I'm not Allah, nor am I a god, what I said was that I have super powers just like a god.....". Then after a few more minutes of conversation, Dr. Kinesis was able to win their trust and confidence as he says, "I know what your problem is and I want to help....". Sirha and Zhiad glances at each other while remaining silent when they hear Dr. Kinesis say, "For weeks now, I've been listening to your prayers and complaints on how you can obtain a North Korean nuclear explosive expert named "Mukhang Mahasim" who's in a federal prison.....".

        Sirha nervously asks, "Ar..Ar..Are you gonna ha..hav..have us arrested?...". Dr. Kinesis smiles then says, "No not at all, just like I told you, I want to help.....I know that you want to detonate a North Korean made nuclear bomb here in San Francisco, and I too share your wish. This city's moral code has degraded so much that, it has lost it's moral compass on protecting the weak and the innocent. Maybe by destroying this city, and starting again, maybe survivors can create a better culture were no innocent man, woman and child will ever be victimized by drunk drivers ever again.....I will help free your bomb expert but in one condition...". Sirha's eyes suddenly lights up as he excitedly asks, "What is it, please tell us, we'll do anything in order to have our bomb expert free'd from federal prison....". Dr. Kinesis due to his pent up rage then grabs an orange and slowly squeezes it as it gets squashed with it's juice spilling on the ground. "I want you to furnish a letter depicting the Mysterious Knight named Grey as one of your henchmen...I want this man named Grey to be labeled as an "International Terrorist".....I want the CIA, FBI, Homeland Security and the whole US government to go after him. I want the whole world to know that he is partly to be blamed for the destruction of the city of San Francisco....".

       Meanwhile back at Dr. Peters mansion, It was around 11:00 am when Samantha barges into the library after learning from Maria that her father was finally at home after two days of being gone. "Dad we need to talk!...", says Samantha in a demanding tone of voice. Seeing her father seated by the window reading the morning paper. "I need to know why you lied to me about Grey's death....You've never ever lied to me ever!....". Dr. Peters drops the newspaper gently at the coffee table as he apologetically responds saying, "Honey, we decided to fake Grey's death because we believed that you should get a chance at living a normal life and not be hindered by Grey's paralyzed state.....". Dr. Peters then starts to fully explain everything that had happened to Grey including the super powers he'd possessed from the JK4 serum and how he was framed by dirty cops and by Dr. Kinesis for murders he did not commit. "And now since Grey refused to join Dr. Kinesis in killing drunk drivers, Grey has no choice but to drink my toxic serum which is killing him slowly.....We did what we did for your own good Samantha...".

      Samantha crosses her arms over her chest, then switches her weight from the right leg to her left as she answers, "My own good?....Dad, I'm not a child any longer. Don't you think that I could decide for myself who I should love or whom I shouldn't love?!....And this is not the first time you've lied to me, I know about your secret plans of bringing mom back to life!....". Dr. Peters suddenly starts getting nervous knowing that if there was anyone who could impede on his plans of using Einstein's Time Machine, it would be his daughter. "That's right Dad!....I know about the $20 billion you've given the government to help them build a Large Hadron Collider under the Nevada desert....I know that you're helping our government build a powerful particle accelerator that could hopefully do the same thing that Einstein's Time Machine does, which is to have the ability to send messages in time, past and future.....".

     Dr. Peters sigh's deeply as tears start to appear in his eyes, "I'm doing this for your mother, Sam....We can bring her back you know. All I have to do is to send my earlier self a message on when to catch the cancerous tumor at it's earliest stage.....We can be a family again honey!.....Isn't that what you want?....".
Remembering her mother, Sam starts to swipe tears away from her face as she says, "Dad what you're planning is not right....Mom is dead and I was there beside her through her dying months, weeks, days and hours.....Einstein's time machine was built for one purpose and one purpose alone, and that's to undo nuclear holocausts. It was never built for personal use!....And besides, if you do save mom's life and alter the past, then what about the millions of people we've cured around the world of their cancers. You would have never have gotten into cancer research if mom did not get cancer.....What about those people who will need the cancer cure Dad, what about them?!.....". Moving restlessly and walking back and forth, Dr. Peters says, "That's not gonna be a problem honey, cause when the time comes for me to send my earlier self that message to save your mom's life, I plan to include the formula for cancer's cure, therefore saving your mom's life and acquiring the formula on cancer's cure. It's a "Win-Win" situation honey....".

     Samantha gasps in surprise as she responds saying, "Dad, what you plan to do is unethical.....It's just like sending yourself the winning numbers for future lottery contests. It's nothing more than like hatching a "Get rich quick" scheme. You yourself said that discovering the cure for cancer was a labor of love.....Dad I know you, you're not that type of person....You're one of the most honest persons I know, and I'm sure that deep in your heart that you won't go through with this.....". Then after a minute of silence, Dr. Peters turns towards the window as he looks out at the garden in deep thought, then placing his hands inside his pockets, he sigh's deeply once again as he softly says, "You're right honey....What was I thinking?....". Samantha then approaches his father as she slips her arms around his waist and leans her face against his chest. "I miss mom too you know...", Samantha says, "But we will see her again in heaven, someday....".

      Then after another five minutes of talking, Dr. Peters tells Samantha that he soon will be under police custody for harbouring Grey who's a fugitive from the law, and that he already has his lawyers preparing his and Sgt. Holt's defense in a court of law. "Where's Grey Dad?...", asks Samantha, "Where can I find him?....". Then without hesitating, Dr. Peters tells Samantha where she could find Grey and Ritchie. But before Samantha could leave, her father gives her a wooden box that was the same size as a shoe box. "Here honey, give this to Grey...Inside this wooden box is the "Holy Flask", it's liquid contents has the ability to miraculously cure Grey of his paralysis. He's been waiting for this for a long time, and before you head to the cemetery, it's better that you go alone. Your security guards will tip off the authorities if they see Grey with you, here are the keys to my car, go through the library's back door exit. I'll create an alibi for you when your body guards start to look for you.

           (Macrostrength Office, Treasure Island, San Francisco, California)

      In the meantime, Dr. Marcos hurriedly reports to John Layers office. "Come on in Marcos...", says John Layer as he smokes a cigarette, "I just got a call from crime boss Richard Sambrolini....He wants me to destroy the "Protector" and wants Captain Brassman dead!.....They said that Mexico's drug lords are not able to smuggle illegal drugs through the border because of the Protector's presence......I told Richard that I'll draw up a plan on a way that we can eliminate Captain Brassman for good!...."What's your suggestion?!...". Dr. Marcos nervously sits across his boss as he tries not to inhale the noxious smoke coming from John Layers cigarette. "Mr. Layer, I'm sorry but just like I told you before, the Pentagon now gives direct orders to the Protector while the FBI are monitoring all our Macrostrength computers. If we attempt to sabotage the Protector, the FBI will know and they will arrest us. We'll rot in jail.....". John Layer extinguishes his cigarette on his ash tray as he thinks deeply, crossing his legs and placing his right hand on his lap. "What about Bionico?...", asks John Layer, "What's his status?!....".

      Dr. Marcos swallows hard then says, "He's deeply sedated right now, and we're just about to replace his bionic arms with a new pair.....Police investigators came by yesterday, and I told them that, the broken pieces of bionic limbs that were found at Dr. Peters mansion was ours and that they were stolen from our Vyonicks laboratory months ago. So far, the police does not suspect us of being involved with Bionico.....The only thing that Bionico did was to write his name on the mansion's walls with blood that came from his victims.....It was his way of introducing himself to society".

           (Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, California)

       Later that evening, it was close to 08:00 pm when Samantha parks her dad's car in front of her mom's mausoleum. Feeling deeply emotional about entering her mom's mausoleum, the fact that her dad told her that her mom's remains were transferred to a different burial site did not give her any emotional relief. Stepping out of her dad's car while carrying her shoulder bag that had the "Holy Flask" and approaching the mausoleum's entrance. She hoped that Ritchie remembered to turn off their security video cameras. On her way to the cemetery, Dr. Peters phoned Ritchie telling him to turn off all security cameras knowing that Grey would flee in an instant if he saw Samantha approaching the mausoleum.

      Approaching the double doors, she grabs the door's latch hoping that Ritchie had not forgotten to unlock it. Squeezing the latch gently, the door opens easily as she enters into the small external free standing building. Looking up at the ceiling, she glances at the circular and equally spaced lighted candles, when all of a sudden, she see's the marble tomb start to move sideways as she hears the sound of heavy stones grinding against each other. Then behold, she see's an opening under the floor with green LED lights lighting the steps of a spiral staircase that leads into Grey and Ritchie's underground hideout.

      And as Samantha starts walking down the staircase, she could hear Grey and Ritchie chatting casually. And while she descends further down she could see Ritchie strapping on Grey's right pauldron which is the armor that protects the right shoulder. With Grey standing straight and with his back turned against Samantha, Grey continues to direct Ritchie on how tight he wants each piece of his armor strapped on him. "Hey Doc I'm glad you could come over...", says Grey not knowing that it was Samantha that was behind him and not Dr. Peters, "I can't wait any longer, I'm going to get that disc from the mob tonight!....".

    But suddenly Grey notices that Ritchie had stopped performing his tasks and was staring behind him. Grey turns around and suddenly sees Samantha instead. Feeling panic stricken, Grey quickly grabs his knight's helmet and heads towards their underground escape exit when he suddenly hears Samantha say, "Please Grey!...Don't run away!....I'm not here to fight!....I just came because I wanted to see you....I miss you....Please stay....".

      Grey stands frozen with his heart beat racing, then turns towards Ritchie asking, "How did she get in Ritch, weren't you paying attention to our security cameras?!....". Ritchie nervously stammers saying, "I uhm..ahh...It wa...was...Doc...Doctor Pe...Peters idea for her to come. He called me up and said that the two of you should talk. He had me turn off the security cameras so that you won't see Sam coming.....".

      Samantha fidgets as she takes a seat while she wrings her hands restlessly, "Please Grey, let's talk....Dad told me everything that had happened to you and why you did what you did...It's ok, I'm not upset, I know that you did what you did for my own good. But now I'm here, we can talk about us, It's not too late Grey we can still make this work.... Let's talk....". Feeling distressed and hopeless Grey breathes heavily then says, "There's really nothing to talk about Samantha, there's no future for us because I'm paralyzed from the neck down, and I'm dying...I'm dying....".

    Samantha then slowly pulls out the wooden box from her clutch bag and hands it to Ritchie who hands it to Grey, "Dad told me that inside that box is a holy flask that has the ability to miraculously cure you of your paralysis. Grey looking surprised quickly opens the wooden box and touches the old worn down wine skin that held the miraculous liquid which could heal him completely. Feeling excited for a short time, Grey quickly closes the box and says, "Even if this holy flask could cure me of my paralysis, I'm still a fugitive that's wanted for a crime that I never committed. I'm a wanted criminal Samantha, I'll be lucky if I get thirty years to life and not the death sentence....".

     Ritchie suddenly excuses himself and walks upstairs for some fresh air and to leave Samantha and Grey alone to themselves. Meanwhile Samantha knowing that crying usually makes Grey uncomfortable tries to hold back her tears as she suggests, "Believe in love Grey, some say that love conquers mountains. Surrender yourself to the police, and I'll hire you the best lawyers, I also have powerful friends in the government who can help us....".

       Grey feeling some tightness around his neck, quickly pulls down on his gorget which is a piece of titanium armor that surrounds and protects his neck as he says, "Sam it's not that simple, even if everything that you're saying does come true, but what if the holy flask does not work and I remain paralyzed how....". Samantha suddenly cuts in mid-sentence saying, "We'll cross that bridge when we get there...I'll still love you whether you're paralyzed or not....". Facing Samantha Grey gazes at Samantha's beautiful face then says, "If I remain paralyzed, then I won't be able to use my arms to hold and hug you, without my legs and feet, we won't be able to go dancing and on go on long walks by the beach....I'll be a piece of vegetable to you....".

        Samantha then stands up and approaches Grey as she slowly wraps her arms around Grey's waist, ignoring the coldness of his armor then says, "I don't need your arms to hold me or your legs to walk with me....All I need is your heart...All I want is for your heart to love me......". And as they gaze into each other's eyes, they quickly get drawn to each other until finally they kiss.


        And after a few seconds of kissing, their lips part as Grey hears Samantha whisper "I love you Grey, somewhere....some place deep in my heart still has a flicker of hope....I could feel you in my dreams,  something deep in me told me that you were still alive, I wake up crying in the middle of the night sometimes, knowing that you couldn't be dead....Even when I'm with Chase, the thoughts and memories of us invades the recesses of my mind.....It's as if my heart struggles against my mind to never give up on you....And now you're here with me.....Please Grey, don't ever leave me alone ever again......".

      And as they continue to hug, Grey could feel the over powering waves of emotions as tears start to flow out of his eyes blurring his vision, and even though he knew that this was draining him of his super powers, he was totally helpless feeling his heart pounding in extreme joy of having Samantha back in his arms. But just when they both thought that they were ready to start a new beginning, Grey's strength suddenly betrays him as he falls on one knee feeling weakened by the decrease of the serum's concentration in his blood stream. Kneeling beside Grey with her arms around him, Samantha calls out for Ritchie a few times but without any response.

      And just when they both thought that things couldn't get worse, Dr. Kinesis suddenly materializes in front of them which shocks Samantha and distresses Grey even more. "Well, well, well...", Dr. Kinesis says as he straightens his white laboratory coat and adjusts his glasses, he then looks around at Grey and Ritchie's hideout, "Not too shabby...A nice and cozy hiding place that even has a dialysis machine in it.....A knight in shining armor, robbed of his strength and his lady in waiting by his side, how romantic....Touching, very touching if I might say so!....".

     Grey still kneeling on one knee pants rapidly then asks, "What is it that you want Kane?...If you came here to ask me to join you in killing drunk drivers, then for the hundredth time, the answer is "No" I will not join you in your crusade to kill drunk drivers, you might as well kill me now and look for somebody else who's as crazy as you are!....". Dr. Kinesis suddenly grabs Samantha's right arm as she struggles hopelessly,  Dr. Kinesis then pulls her to him then says, "Killing you would be too easy, besides, I need you more than you think.....So for now, I'll be kidnapping Miss Peters here and I'll give her to a bunch of International terrorists who wants to detonate a nuclear bomb here in San Franciscio....".

      Still weakened and kneeling on his knees, Grey quickly asks, "What are you trying to do Kane?...Just leave her alone, she has nothing to do with us....". Dr. Kane snickers as he forcefully holds Samantha by her upper arm and says. "Here are your three choices Knight....First, If you really care for Miss Peters then I'll need you to free a North Korean nuclear bomb expert who's imprisoned at the Dublin California Federal Prison which is about 35 miles away from San Francisco. Break into that Federal prison and bring back Mukham Mahasim in exchange for Samantha Peters life.....The problem with that is that once Mukhang Mahasim goes free, it will only be a matter of hours before he could correctly assemble a North Korean  made nuclear bomb and detonate it, which brings me to your second option....Your second option is simple, If you don't want to see a nuclear bomb detonate here in San Francisco then I suggest not freeing Samantha Peters and letting her die in the arms of brutal Al Qaeda terrorists......So my friend, it's choosing between Samantha or preventing a nuclear explosion that will kill millions of American lives.....Which brings me to your third and last option.....Join me in killing drunk drivers, and if you serve under me diligently then I can guarantee you that no one will be able to touch or arrest you.....Not the local police, not the FBI, not Homeland Security or even the military....With our super powers combined we will rule society and mold it the right way.....It's not too late, I can give you the JK4 serum which will prevent you from dying if only you decide to join me....It's your call Grey....".  Then before Grey could respond, "Poof!", Dr. Kinesis and Samantha disappears. (End of Chapter)

(Author's Note: For every chapter that you've enjoyed reading, please donate to the poor, the sick and the hungry in your respective country. Thank you...)



   

Chapter 27: Halloween Masquerade Ball And Brawl

             (Mausoleum Underground Hideout, Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma California )


             ( October 31st,  05:20 pm )  Dr. Peters and Sgt Holt visits Grey and Ritchie in their underground hideout. Walking down the spiral staircase, the two elder gentlemen see's Ritchie fixing Grey's dinner by their kitchen while Grey was in bed in his usual paralyzed state, watching TV. "They just reported about Samantha's big birthday bash on celebrity news, Doc...", says Grey without taking his eyes off the TV screen. While Sgt Holt checks out what Ritchie was cooking for dinner, Dr. Peters approaches Grey directly with a worried look on his face. Carrying a large duffel bag with his left hand, Dr. Peters reaches out and turns off Grey's TV in order to get Grey's full attention. And as Grey gazes at Dr. Peters worried facial appearance, he see's Dr. Peters unzip his black duffel bag, then pulls out two white plastic 120 ml. bottles. Placing them both at Grey's bedside table, Dr. Peters stares intensely at Grey saying, "I brought you an extra bottle of the toxic serum, just in case something goes wrong tonight. Once again, I know for a fact that there's gonna be a lot of guys wearing the "Mysterious Knight" costume, so you should blend in without any problems. Be always aware of your emotions, stay stoic at all times specially when you see Samantha. Under no circumstance should you ingest the second bottle within 24 hours of ingesting the first one....Because if you do, you'll probably die of liver failure....".

          Grey nods at the worried doctor as he watches Dr. Peters insert the second bottle of his toxic serum into Grey's back pack. And as Dr. Peters looks back at Grey, his face finally relaxes as he smiles and says, "I have a surprise for you...". Dr. Peters then bends down to pull out Grey's titanium breastplate from his large black duffel bag. He then shows Grey the front side of the breastplate which now has a red cross spray painted on it. Seeing Grey's pleasant smile, he quickly says, "I took the liberty to take your breastplate home to erase the red "X" mark on it with a chemical paint remover which I bought from the hardware store and spray painted this red cross on your breastplate....I hope you like it....". Grey nods as he sustains a smile in his face. "Wow!...That looks a lot better Doc....Now I can really look like a "Knight's Templar....", says Grey, "Thanks for correcting Ritchie's mess...". And as Dr. Peters sets aside Grey's titanium breastplate, he stoops over and whispers saying, "I want you to be more patient with Ritchie, cut him some slack....The guy really cares for you and works really hard. I don't know of a lot of people who would care for a quadriplegic 24 hours a day, seven days a week.....Try to focus more on his good qualities, we all make mistakes you know....". Grey sigh's deeply and with a clear sign of understanding says, "I guess you're right Doc....".

        And just as they were ending their conversation, Ritchie and Sgt. Holt approaches Grey while they both were holding a bowl of beef stew. And with his mouth full, Ritchie asks, "So what's your costume for tonight's party gonna be Doc?...". Dr. Peters was caught off guard for a second then says, "I've been so busy, I haven't even had the time to buy one.....I might just have to search my closet and find one that I've used from previous years....". Ritchie then munches on his beef stew once more as he turns to Sgt Holt who had his mouth full of food asking, "How about you Sarge....What costume are you gonna wear for tonight's party?....". Sgt. Holt swallows his food quickly as he gazes at Grey's paralyzed body then says, "I'm not going.....I have to meet with an informant tonight who will give me a detailed sketch of the mob's Black Lake ranch mansion. The guy just got out on parole, he's one of Ritchard Sambrolini's thugs and he knows every square inch of the Sambrolini mansion....", Sgt Holt says, "We'll need a rough type of blue print if we are to succeed in stealing that video surveillance disc from the mob....".

       Ritchie suddenly fidgets excitedly as he announces saying, "Well, if no one's gonna ask me, then let me just tell all of you that I'm going to Sam's Halloween birthday ball dressed as the late Vice President Dick Cheney, I even bought a slightly used pinstripe suit at the Salvation Army store earlier....". Ritchie then pulls out a "Dick Cheney" rubber face mask from a plastic shopping bag as he wears it over his head to show it  to everybody. Sgt Holt looking puzzled asks, "Why would you wanna dress up as Dick Cheney anyway?....The rubber mask doesn't even closely resemble him at all.....". Ritchie quickly takes off the mask,  looking disappointed then answers, "Actually, what I ordered in the internet Halloween costume store was a complete Darth Vader costume, but since they were all sold out, they said that the only thing closest to a Darth Vader costume that they could sell me was a Dick Cheney rubber mask.....I, personally don't see a resemblance either,  but they said that everybody born in America knows for a fact that Darth Vader and Dick Cheney are one and the same, and that I should not have any trouble scaring people tonight, specially Arabs and Muslims....". Everybody starts to glance eerily at each other, not wanting to comment on Ritchie's taste for Halloween costumes.

      Then just before Dr. Peters and Sgt Holt decides to leave, Dr. Peters turns around to remind Grey as he  says, "Oh! by the way, there's gonna be around 1,200 to 1,400 guests tonight, all wearing masks and costumes. Maria told me last night that Sam and Chase are gonna be dressed up as Lady Guinevere and a young King Arthur. That should make it easier for you to locate Samantha....". Ritchie quickly rolls his eyes then blurts out saying, "Great!...Sam as Lady Guinevere, Chase as a young King Arthur, and Grey will be there wearing a replica of Lancelot's titanium knight's armor.....I think I have a feeling where this story is heading to....". Dr. Peters and Sgt. Holt chuckles at Ritchie's comment while Grey stares at Ritchie with displeasure.

        (Macrostrength Industries, Corporate Office, Treasure Island, San Francisco, California)

       Two hours later, Dr. Marcos was fiddling around with a new computer system which had been set up inside CEO John Layer's office. "Are you sure that will work?...", John Layer asks, "I want a clear and full view of the whole event!...". Dr. Marcos fiddles around at the computer's connections as he reassures his boss saying, "Yes sir!, Mr. Layer.....While Bionico was completely sedated, we took off his rusty iron mask and drilled a small hole on it's forehead. We then inserted and connected a fiber optic camera through the small hole so that we can see everything that he see's from our computer monitor, we're like his third eye. I just need a few more minutes to finish hooking up the electronic circuitry....We also installed an audio device at each temporal area of his iron mask so that we can hear everything that Bionico will be hearing, he can also hear us from two small speakers we've attached near his ears......". And as Dr. Marcos continues to make his last minute technical adjustments, he shows John Layer the keys he'll need to press in order to control Bionico's actions. "Ok Mr. Layer, in order to control Bionico, I assigned the "F" keys on your computer keyboard. If Bionico is not following your command and you want to zap him with 50,000 volts of electric shock in order to temporarily disable him then just press the F1 key. That automatically activates the "Electro Muscular Disruption Device" that's implanted in his body and head. If you want to talk to him or give him orders, just press and hold down the F2 key as you speak into the computer's microphone, he'll be hearing you loud and clear from the speakers attached inside his iron mask. The F3 key is for checking his telemetry, since he is so volatile and unpredictable, we can know ahead of time whether he's about to get violent by a spike in his pulse rate and blood pressure readings. The F4 key controls the fiber optic camera. Press the up arrow to focus and the down arrow to expand your view, and lastly, the F5 key controls his audio device, just press the up arrow if you want to increase the volume of sound so that you can better hear conversations around him and the down arrow to decrease the volume....".

        John Layer nods as he takes out a cigarette and lights it up. Then after inhaling it's toxic fumes, he quickly asks, "So where is Bionico at this time?....". Dr. Marcos flashes an excited smile as he says, "He is presently sedated right now as he's being transported in an ambulance which is headed for Dr. Peters mansion. They just left ten minutes ago, they should reach the mansion at around 08:30 pm. The carnage should be starting at around 09:00 pm.....And I did what you instructed, I took away Captain Brassman's Protector suit from him, so he should be no match for Bionico....". Dr. Marcos suddenly coughs from the noxious cigarette smoke that was blown directly at his face by his boss as he hears John Layer say, "Well done Marcos....Well done....Now I can't wait to see the look on Samantha Peters face once Bionico shreds her father and her bestfriend to pieces!....", as they both joyfully laugh at their sinister plan.

        (The Peters Mansion, Hillsborough, California )

        Thirty minutes later, Maria come's to confront Samantha in their gym, while Samantha was running on the treadmill in her sweat gear. "Why won't you tell me what's going on between you and your father...", Maria asks, "For weeks now, you two have been drifting apart....At first, I thought that maybe it was because you were still grieving from Grey's death or maybe you and your father were just both busy with work. But after watching the two of you not speak to each other during last night's dinner, that convinced me that there's really something going on between the two of you....". Samantha suddenly stops the treadmill as she grabs her white towel and wipes the sweat off her face and neck. "I don't know what you're talking about Maria, we were just both tired that's all....", says Samantha knowing that Maria knew her too well to know when she's not being truthful to her. Maria then folds her arms across her chest and stares  intensely at Samantha, as she goes into the offensive using the silent treatment, knowing that this always made Samantha feel, uneasy, guilty and remorseful about not being truthful.

         Unable to handle the increasing pressure of Maria's excessive motherly prying, Samantha steps off the treadmill feeling flustered then says, "Yes!, there is an issue that's causing a rift between me and Dad, but it involves top secret government information that I can't talk to you about, even if I wanted to....And besides, the issue deals with mom's death, and things that are so complicated that you won't be able to understand, even if I told you....". Maria's inquisitive stare starts to transform into a look of helplessness and dread as she hears Samantha say, "If you really want to know, go ask Dad!...", as she tosses her towel to the floor, then with tears around her eyes, she starts to walk away feeling deeply emotional and agitated. And as Maria watches Samantha wipe her tears with her forearm as she was leaving, she hears her say, "I'm sorry for being upset...I got to take a shower, It's already six-thirty and I need to get ready for my party....". And after Samantha disappears, Maria wrings her hands feeling concerned and saddened that this is the first time she has ever seen Samantha and her father act like strangers to each other on her birthday.

        An hour later, Grey and Ritchie were riding in their self driving 1999 vintage Ford Mustang. In the front passenger's seat was Grey in his full titanium knight's armor, while Ritchie was in the back seat changing into his used pinstripe suit with his Dick Cheney rubber mask by his side. "You're not going to attend Samantha's party!...", says Grey, "How many times do I have to tell you that I need you to wait in the car, just in case something goes wrong and we need a quick get away!.....". Ritchie grudgingly reasons back saying, "Why do I need to stay in the car when this thing drives itself anyway.....". Grey looks at Ritchie's distraught facial expression through the car's rear view mirror then says, "I know you're aware that this car's self driving mechanism can not outrun a police car that's chasing us, and that's why I need you in the driver's seat waiting, just in case we have to leave in a hurry!. Besides, I just want to get a glimpse of Samantha, that's all. I'll be back in no time, I promise....". Still refusing to be left waiting inside the car, Ritchie starts to grumble like a little child as he groans and says, "Ahhh!...That's just not fair, I was really looking forward  to be wearing  my Darth Vader costume at Sam's birthday party, and you're spoiling the fun!....". Grey seeing that they were just a block away from Dr. Peters mansion, sigh's deeply then says, "First of all, what you bought was a Dick Cheney rubber face mask, and no matter how much you fool yourself into believing that it's a Darth Vader costume, people will still recognize Dick Cheney and not Darth Vader....". And as their car automatically parks on the side street opposite Dr. Peters mansion, Ritchie reluctantly accepts his fate to just wait inside the car. But just before Grey gets out of the car, Ritchie reminds him saying, "Hey!, don't leave yet, I still need to prick your finger and get a few drops of your blood into this "CBC Analyzer", Dr. Peters said that I need to test your kidneys and liver an hour after you had ingested his toxic serum....". Grey quickly gets out of the car as he shakes his head just before he puts on his knight's helmet, "Let's just check it when we get back to our hideout later tonight....", says Grey, " I don't want any added anxiety at this time....". And before Grey closes the car's door, Ritchie quickly hands him his invitation as he says, "Here's your invitation, Dr. Peters assigned you a fake name. Tonight, your name is "Gregory Elie" , there's also a fake California driver's license there with your photo and your fake name. Sgt Holt arranged that fake California ID for you, he said that you might need it, security is tight tonight, they're checking everyone's ID before they let them into the party....". And right after Grey levitates away, Ritchie sinks back at the back seat of the car sulking away.

          Grey gently touches down on the ground after levitating half a block towards the main gate of Dr. Peters residence. Seeing a trail of cars that are slowly entering the main gate, Grey decides to walk the rest of the way towards the iron gates that were guarded by six security personnel all wearing black tuxedos. Two guards were checking everyone's invitations and ID in each car, while another guard checks each car's trunk as a fourth one holds a bomb detector that he slides under the car checking for any explosive devices. Reaching the smaller gate's entrance, Grey pushes up his helmet's visor as he hands his invitation and fake California driver's license to a guard while the second guard checks Grey's name in his electronic pad. One of the guards scans the invitation for authenticity while the other one compares Grey's ID photo with a photo they have of him in their electronic pad's data base. "Take off your helmet please...", one of the two guards asks Grey. Trying to act composed, Grey takes off his helmet as the two guards stares at his face then at his ID's photo. Seeing the black back pack straps over Grey's shoulders, one of the guards asks Grey to take off his backpack for a thorough inspection. Taking off his black backpack, he hands it to one of the guards who unzips the bag and searches it's contents. Seeing that there was no hidden weapon in the bag, the guard hands Grey back his back pack as the other guard says,"You may enter sir....". Grey takes his back pack  and wears it over his shoulders as he adjusts his crimson colored leather cape to conceal  the back pack over his back. And as Grey walks past the two guards, he suddenly hears one of the guard yell, "Hold on sir!...", Grey suddenly freezes as his heart rate starts to speed up. Turning around to face the guards, he see's his ID and invitation being handed to him. "Don't forget these!...", one of the two guards says, "I noticed you have a few holes on your cape...Are those bullet holes?...". Grey nervously smiles as he stammers saying, "I..I..do don't know...ju..just got this cape from a garage sale...". One of the guards says, "When you get to the mansion, go to the nearest bathroom and clean the old mud stains off of it, that way it won't look too cheap...Have a wonderful evening sir....". Grey nods as he turns around and proceeds to walk calmly on the sidewalk.

         Due to the traffic moving at a snail's pace through the long winding road that leads to the mansion, some of the guests watching Grey walking on the sidewalk, decides to do the same as people in their respective Halloween costumes start to get out of their cars at random, leaving their drivers who were patiently waiting for the flow of traffic to inch forward. And as Grey glances at the beautiful gardens surrounded by mature lush landscaping at both sides of the road, he could see a great number of security personnel in their black tuxedos, each wearing ear pieces for communication as they were all scattered within 20 to 30 feet of each other, patrolling the surroundings around the mansion.

        After another five minute walk, Grey finally reaches the main entrance to the mansion, as he falls in line behind a long trail of people wearing their own respective Halloween costumes. And as Grey waits in line together with others who were all waiting to enter, he looks forward and back as he see's everyone in line dancing to the beat of loud dance music that was reverberating from inside the mansion. Feeling a little tense from the anticipation of seeing Samantha again, Grey starts to feel inclined to imitate the crowd by dancing, as he sways his hips from side to side awkwardly in order to loosen the tension and nervousness he was feeling. And as he starts to sway his hands up in the air, the man in front of him wearing a robin hood costume, turns around and stares at Grey's breastplate. He starts to laugh as he points at Grey's spray painted red cross on his knight's breastplate saying, "Ha! ha! ha!....You got it all wrong bro'....The Mysterious Knight's symbol is a red "X" mark, not a red cross....". And as Grey suddenly stops dancing, he watches as the Robin Hood guy tell his friends who were all standing ahead of him in line, how stupid Grey looked for spraying the wrong symbol on his knight's breastplate. And as other people starts to stare and laugh at Grey's breastplate, all Grey could think about was how he would like to strangle Ritchie's neck at that moment. And as Grey's excitement turns into humiliation, he decides to stop dancing as he crosses his arms over his chest to hide the red cross symbol on his breastplate, he then shifts his weight on his left foot as he taps his right foot on the ground in synchronization with the music's beat.

        Then after another ten minutes of waiting in line, Grey finally gets to the door as he takes off his knight's helmet. And as he hands his invitation and photo ID to the three guards wearing black tuxedos, the three guards start to stare at Grey's breastplate. And as they were checking Grey's identification, Grey could notice the guards chuckle as they all took turns glancing at his breastplate. Realizing that they were snickering from the red cross on his breastplate, Grey starts to feel self conscious. Then after he was told to take off his back pack for inspection, he suddenly hears one of the guards tell him, "Hey dude!..The Mysterious Knight's symbol is a red "X" mark not a red cross!...", as the three guards starts to laugh louder together with the other people waiting in line behind Grey.

        And after Grey was finally cleared to enter the mansion, he goes to the nearest bathroom. Entering the bathroom and locking the door, he quickly takes off his crimson colored leather cape as he grabs a washcloth and starts to soak it in the sink's running water. And after a minute of washing off the old mud stains off his cape, he starts feeling upset at himself for not obtaining a new cape. Staring at the bullet holes on his cape, he knew that this could arouse suspicion if he keeps getting scrutinized by the security personnel inside and around the mansion. Sighing deeply, he takes off and unzips his back pack as he takes out his cell phone. Dialing Ritchie's number, Ritchie quickly picks up on the other line saying, "So have you seen Samantha yet?!....". Grey feeling a little disconcerted replies, "Ritch!...Why the hell did you not replace my cape that has bullet holes on it....This makes it so obvious that I was in a gun fight!....". Ritchie groans saying, "Ahhh!...Am I also supposed to be your fashion designer too? Buy your clothes for you?.....Everyday, seven days a week, I do everything for you!...I'm so overworked and under payed.....You know what?,  I'm starting to feel like a Walmart employee!...You know that?.....I'm sorry, but changing your smelly diaper is where I draw the line buddy!....".

     And as Grey remembers Dr. Peters advice to take it easy on Ritchie, Grey apologizes saying, "I'm sorry, It's just that I feel a little tense with all the security guards in black tuxedos roaming around....Plus, people are laughing at the red cross on my breastplate, they all think that it should be a red "X" mark instead....".
 A brief silence ensues as Ritchie blurts out saying, "Well don't blame me, it was your idea to erase the red "X" mark I spray painted on, and instead you had Dr. Peters replace it with a red cross. If you would have just left the red "X" mark alone, then you wouldn't be embarrassing yourself right now!....". Grey remained  silent as he knew better than to start arguing with Ritchie's absurd reasoning. Not wanting to further escalate the tension between them, Grey decides to change the topic as he says, "I think I better go and start looking for Samantha...". Another few seconds of silence ensues, then Ritchie finally says, "Ok then, but be careful, don't get yourself into any kind of trouble, Dr. Peters mentioned that he has between 200 to 300 security personnel for Samantha's birthday party......". Then just before Grey leaves the bathroom, he tells Ritchie that he was going to switch to his in-ear comlink in order to keep their communication open at all times. "Ok, got ya!....", says Ritchie, "My cell phone's in speaker mode so you can talk to me and tell me everything that you're hearing and seeing over there....".

        Meanwhile, back at Macrostrength Industries main office, John Layer's office was filled with doctors, scientists and engineers due to the report they received ten minutes ago that the ambulance that was transporting Bionico towards Dr. Peters mansion had crashed. "Mr. Layer, our latest report shows that the ambulance was able to exit the freeway at Trousdale drive in the city of Millbrae, which is about 15 minutes away from Dr. Peters mansion....", a scientist explains, "Our security team reached the site and reported that the ambulance was totally decimated to pieces, everyone inside the ambulance were all shredded beyond recognition and Bionico is missing....Our team had to leave right away because the Millbrae police were on their way at the scene. John Layer fumes in anger as he remains motionless, sitting behind his office desk as he suddenly yells, "Marcos!...How the hell did this happen!....". Dr. Marcos looking terrified gazes at one of the medical doctors present who responds saying, "The sedative we gave Bionico must not have been strong  enough....I believe that he awoke and started to ravage everything around him....He's still probably groggy, confused and disoriented right now, unsure of where he is....". Dr. Marcos then hurries his computer engineers to get their computers working in order to activate Bionico's fiber optic video camera that was installed on his iron mask's forehead. And after another two minutes of waiting, their computer monitor comes alive as they start to view images of what Bionico was seeing.  Not seeing anything but shadows in the dark from the pitch black computer monitor, one of the engineers decide to turn on Bionico's audio sensors.

        "Where is he?!...What's he doing?!...", John Layer asks. Hearing intermittent rustling of leaves, Dr. Marcos says, "I think he's hiding in a woody area, looks like he's behind some tall shrubs....". Then another engineer starts to access Bionico's exact location by typing another command in the computer. Then after a few seconds had passed, "Mr. Layer!...We have Bionico's exact location....", says the engineer, " Our main GPS shows that he's at Mill's Canyon Park....It seems that after he massacred our men and destroyed the ambulance, he started walking around aimlessly until he reached the park....What are your orders sir?....". Feeling his stress level rising, John Layer decides to dismiss the 20 scientists, engineers and doctors, leaving himself and Dr. Marcos alone in his office. Staring at the pitch black computer monitor screen, John Layer pulls out a cigarette from his shirt pocket as he lights it up. Inhaling it's carcinogenic smoke, he bends closer to the computer screen as he blows the noxious cigarette smoke directly at Dr. Marcos face who was sitting directly by the computer monitor, making Dr. Marcos cough incessantly. "What should we do Marcos, how are we gonna get him to Dr. Peters mansion?....".

          Dr. Marcos thinks for a few seconds then says, "Well, I think the primary thing to do is to start communicating with him. If we talk through the built in speakers inside his iron mask, maybe he'll listen, and if he does, then we can direct him on how to get to Dr. Peters mansion which is only a few miles away from where he's at.....". Then without any warning, John Layer presses down on the F2 key on his computer keyboard as he gets his face closer to the computer's microphone.

         Then while Bionico was crouching down, hiding behind a collection of tall shrubs growing together, he suddenly gets panic stricken when he hears John Layer's loud voice from the speakers inside his rusty iron mask. "Listen to me you creature, I'll only say this once....I am your master and you are my slave!....You will follow everything that I will tell you to do or you will get zapped by 50,000 volts of electricity....Do you understand?!...". Feeling greatly distraught and deeply agitated, Bionico quickly flees from his hiding place as he staggers unsteadily. He then tries to pull off the rusty iron mask that was encasing his whole head, when he suddenly hears John Layer's voice say, "Don't even think about taking off your helmet creature!...There is a built in explosive device that will automatically explode if your helmet gets separated from your head, so if you want to stay alive, then listen carefully and follow all my orders!....". Feeling enraged from his horrendous predicament, all Bionico could do was to growl like a raging wild animal as he was still refusing to accept orders from John Layer. Realizing that Bionico was still non compliant, John Layer quickly presses the F1 key on his computer keyboard, activating the "Electro Muscular Disruption Device", that was implanted into Bionico's body and scalp, zapping Bionico with 50,000 volts of electric shock. And as Bionico is thrown down into convulsions, Dr. Marcos could only watch as his boss continues to torture Bionico with thorough pleasure. Then after 20 seconds of continuous electrocution, Dr. Marcos reminds his boss that Bionico will  soon die if he does not stop the continuous electric shock torture. Realizing the 40 million dollars he'd invested in molding Bionico to what he'd become, John Layer finally takes off his finger from the F1 key, ending Bionico's electric shock torture. And as Bionico lies on the ground unconscious, John Layer sits back behind his desk as he reclines back in his leather chair. He then raises his feet and crosses them up on his table as he asks Dr. Marcos, "So how long do I have to wait before that creature wakes up?....I don't have all night you know!....". Dr. Marcos starts scrolling down through Bionico's telemetry readings then says, "Let's give him at few minutes to rest sir....", Dr. Marcos says, "Then I can shoot him with some adrenaline which is implanted into his bionic limbs, that will wake him up instantly....".

         Meanwhile back at Dr. Peters mansion, Grey starts to roam around through the house. Knowing for a fact that Samantha would be with Chase and with the knowledge that Chase did not like to dance, Grey decides to make the ballroom the last place he would search for the two of them. But with the exceedingly great size of the mansion, he knew that finding Samantha and Chase would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Looking around feeling lost and confused, Grey tries his best to discern the people in their different costumes and masks. Their were people wearing different adult animal costumes, people dressed as 1950's gangsters, cops, prisoners, vampires, zombies, clowns, pirates, witches and warlocks, women dressed as Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Cinderella , men and women in renaissance costumes, people dressed as  Cowboys and Indians, Marvel and DC superhero costumes, ninja costumes, people dressed as priests and nuns, then there were a lot of men wearing the "Protector" costumes with a red motorcycle helmet, green naval aviator flight suit and red boots which was the most popular and the most common costume in the party for both adults and kids. From time to time, Grey would meet someone dressed as the "Mysterious Knight", wearing fake hard plastic knight's armor, with an  "X" mark painted on their breastplate. Each time Grey comes across a "Mysterious Knight" wanna be, he would always be ridiculed for having a red cross on his chest and not a red "X" mark. One of the guests wearing a "Mysterious Knight", outfit even corrected Grey saying, "The Mysterious Knight's symbol is not a red cross dummy!...It's a red "X" mark, like that "X" sign you see whenever you pass through a railroad crossing!....". Realizing that most of his critics were already drunk, Grey tries to be polite and not argue at the criticism he was absorbing throughout the night.

         Trying to assess the complexity of his task, Grey realizes that the only place that was off limits to the guests were the eight bedrooms on the second floor which were guarded by the security personnel in their black tuxedos. The 1,400 guests were scattered throughout the mansion, the music room was transformed into a relaxing piano lounge were people in their Halloween costumes could relax and stay away from the loud music coming from the ballroom, giving guests a chance to socialize. The 40 seat theater was also open to the guests as it was showing different scary movies for the children and adult guests. The library was transformed into a dark and scary crypt, with scary Halloween decorations everywhere and a thick heavy mist coming from fog machines that made the place even scarier. And with some of the house staff dressed as ghouls, they would hide between the aisles and suddenly pop out in order to give their brave guests a good scare. The three separate living rooms and four separate dining rooms were all filled with guests and tables of food. Each room had long rectangular tables that served Halloween themed snacks and finger foods like, amputated fried chicken wings, tortured tortillas, Frankenstein's frankfurters, zombie salami sandwiches, guts galore Italian pasta, damned desserts and pastries, axed finger foods and killer candies and chocolates. For drinks, there were different choices to choose from like, wizard's brew, witches strawberry punch. There were also some non-alcoholic drinks like the bloody Mary concoction and the Margarita murder mixed drinks.

         And as Grey slowly makes his rounds, he makes sure to be careful in trying to locate Samantha. And in the process of his search, Grey was suddenly surprised to notice that guests were now spilling out to the tennis courts, basketball courts, playing fields and some of the beautiful gardens that surrounds the mansion. Even the indoor and outdoor heated swimming pools were now filled with both children and adults who were swimming to their delight.

        Meanwhile, inside the ballroom, Chase and Samantha who were both dressed in their costumes as King Arthur and Lady Guinevere were happily watching people dance on the crowded dance floor. The mood inside the ballroom was exhilarating and breathtaking. People danced as they overcrowded the dance floor, while the DJ kept on playing non-stop space age dance music to the delight of the crowd. The music was blaring all over the place from 16 high powered concert speakers that reverberated throughout the mansion together with some heart thumping and thunderous beats that were coming from eight large subwoofer speakers. With the ballroom's main lights turned off, the whole place was dark but was filled with a dizzying array of DJ lights. There was an impressive display of multiple Scattermoon and Moonlight LED lights that were in rows that hang from the ceiling. Their multicolored beams constantly shoots out patterns of red, blue, yellow, purple and green LED's that bounces off the walls and into the dance floor. There were also several blinding strobe lights that often flashed, creating a visual aura that added to the magic and the excitement that covered every square inch of the entire ballroom.

        Samantha realizing that she would never be able to lure Chase to the dance floor, decides to lead him  out to the veranda. Holding hands as they walk out into the roofed patio, Samantha turns around and closes the double glass doors in order to drown out the music. Realizing that she and Chase will soon be apart, Samantha finally makes a decision to start anew. She consciously decides that her birthday was the start of her new life with Chase and to finally end her grief over Grey's death. "Why did you lead me out here?....", asks Chase, "I thought that you wanted to watch everyone dance and have fun?....". Samantha smiles as she holds hands with Chase, "The music's too loud in there, It's too hard to have a conversation...", Samantha says, "This might be the last time we'll see each other for awhile, I just want to talk about us and our future together....".

          Slipping her arms around Chase, Samantha looks up and gazes at Chase's deep blue eyes and blonde hair as she asks, "So when are you starting your new assignment in patrolling the Arizona-Mexico border?...". Chase stares down at Samantha's beautiful face then answers, "I'm leaving this Monday, my flight's scheduled to leave at 10:00 AM....How about you?....What are your plans?....". Samantha leans her head against Chase's chest as she listens to his heartbeat then says, "I think that I'm staying here in San Francisco for awhile. There's an important issue that's causing a rift between me and my father and I need to somehow find a way to resolve it....". Chase looking surprised, looks down over Samantha's head asking, "Is there anything I can do to help?....". Samantha just shakes her head then closes her eyes and says, "Just hold me Chase, hold me tight....". And as Chase folds Samantha into his arms, he starts to feel worried as he says, "I wish we could be together for all time Sam, I love you so much....". And with Samantha's knowledge of her future with Chase, she pulls a few inches away as she stares at Chase's worried face. She smiles and says, "You don't have to be worried, I told you before and I'll tell you again that we'll have a wonderful life together, we'll have kids and grandchildren, we'll grow old together....". Chase looking puzzled quickly asks, "Aren't you being a little bit presumptuous?....How can you be so sure, everybody knows that life can turn on a dime....". Looking up at Chase, Samantha starts to giggle as she says, "Would you believe me if I told you that I already know what the future holds for the both of us?...". Chase feeling skeptical carefully asks, "Annnnnd, how would you know about the future?....". Samantha snickers while thinking then says, "Would you believe me if I told you that a fortune-teller told me about our future?....". Chase quickly touches Samantha's forehead using the back of his hand to feel for any signs of fever then teasingly asks, "Have you been eating too much Halloween candy again?....". Samantha laughs then says, "Ok, if you don't believe that then, what if I told you that a CIA agent friend of mine has access to a time machine, and from time to time, he gets messages from the future, and it just happens that one of the messages he received informed him that thirty years from now, I'll be known as Samantha Brassman....". Chase's worry suddenly turns to fear as he  quickly suggests that he take Samantha to the nearest hospital's emergency room to have her head examined, "I'm Ok Chase, there's nothing wrong with me....", says Samantha, "But if you won't believe me then let me reassure you of this fact....That I love you and will always love you forever....". And as they gaze into each other's eyes, they start getting drawn to each other until finally, they start to kiss.

             Meanwhile, inside the ballroom, Grey was feeling hopeless as he sits on a chair listening to the loud dance music.  Looking through the slit on his knight's helmet, he stares blankly at the different flashing colored lights when he suddenly hears Ritchie through his in-ear comlink ask, "So have you seen Sam yet?...". Barely hearing Ritchie's voice due to the loud music, Grey yells saying, "You have to speak up, I can't hear you, the music's too loud!....". Ritchie then repeats his question in a louder voice as Grey responds saying, "No!, I haven't seen her at all, and I've been everywhere except her bedroom upstairs which is off limits to everyone...". Then without missing a beat, Grey suddenly hears Ritchie suggest, "Well, you better get yourself upstairs and check her bedroom, She's probably there right now with Chase having passionate raunchy sex, the guy's six feet five you know, I'm sure he's got a really large...", Grey suddenly interrupts Ritchie as he angrily shouts, "Shut up Ritchie!....". Starting to feel incensed at Ritchie's disgusting comments, Grey starts to ponder whether it was best to disconnect their comlink for a short while, when suddenly he hears Ritchie again, as he asks, "Why are you getting mad at me?....It's not Chase's fault that he's six feet five in height and you're only five feet four inches tall, so for sure he'll be more sexually endowed than you are, it's just like comparing "Barney" to "Godzilla"..... Now if you only listened to me several months ago when I told you to come with me to the Philippines to have a male enhancement procedure, then we wouldn't be having this argument at all, and you wouldn't be feeling so sexually threatened by Chase!...". And just before Grey was about to lose his temper, a tall man in a clown's costume suddenly sits on a chair besides Grey as he loudly asks, "Is everything Ok, sir knight?....Even with your helmet on, I can sense that you seem very upset, you seem to be in a bad mood..... What seem's to be troubling you, maybe I can help!....".

             Reminding himself to stay calm, he yells at the clown's ear saying, "I've been trying to find Samantha Peters, the birthday celebrant. I've searched everywhere, but I can't seem to find her!....". The clown suddenly points his finger behind him at the translucent glass doors that leads to the veranda as he yells back saying, "She's twenty feet away from you, out in the veranda with her boyfriend, America's first ever real superhero who wears that super suit!....I saw them head out that way ten minutes ago, they might still be there!....". Grey's heart rate starts to speed up as he gets up from his seat and quickly walks towards the doors to the veranda.

             And as Grey opens the translucent glass doors and steps out onto the veranda, he was shocked to see Samantha and Chase, as they stood in the loving comfort of each others embrace. Samantha noticing that the glass doors opened, quickly pulls away from Chase's embrace, feeling slightly embarrassed as they both stare at a costumed knight who was gazing at them. Meanwhile, as Grey freezes in his tracks from seeing Samantha and Chase embrace,  he suddenly starts to feel an emotional upheaval from the violent unexpected blow of seeing the love of his life in the arms of another man. And as the three of them stood motionless, staring at each other for what Grey felt was an eternity, Grey suddenly hears Chase ask, "Hi, can we help you with something?...". Unable to speak due to his emotional state of intense sadness and turmoil Grey suddenly feels his strength dissipate, and after a few moments. his knees suddenly buckles and gives way. Seeing Grey fall on his hands and knees, Samantha and Chase quickly runs to his aid. "Are you Ok?....", Samantha asks as she and Chase grabs a hold of each of Grey's arms. Feeling a sudden surge of anxiety but still in a weakened state, Grey lowers the tone of his voice to make himself sound unnoticeable to Samantha  as he lies and says, "I..I..I must have had too much red wine...I'm just drunk that's all...".

              Hearing the knight speak suddenly sent shivers down Samantha's spine. And to her great and unexpected surprise, the pitch, intonation and the slight Filipino accent of the stranger in the knight's costume sounded exactly like Grey's. And as Samantha visually sweeps at the knight's physique, Samantha's heartbeat starts to race faster, realizing that this stranger's bodily structure, size, shape and appearance would be identical to Grey's if the stranger did not have his suit of armor on. But then, just before Samantha and Chase were about to help Grey up off the ground, Grey suddenly hears Ritchie's annoying voice over his in-ear comlink as he asks, "Hey, when you're all done there, and before you leave, could you maybe wrap me up some food to go?.... I'm really starving over here waiting for you in the car....". Still feeling dismayed at Ritchie and without thinking, Grey suddenly snaps and yells, "Shut up Ritchie!...". And while he tries to focus on the remaining strength that's left in him, Samantha was suddenly taken aback at hearing Ritchie's name, as she squints, pulls away slightly then asks,  "What did you just say?!.....". Grey suddenly realizing his serious mistake of saying Ritchie's name, starts to nervously stammer saying, "I ahhh, I mean't to say uhmm...What I said was "Wuz up Witchy!"...I sometimes talk to myself you see, Witchy is an imaginary friend. I sometimes hear voices in my head...My doctor told me that I have schizophrenia....". And as Grey looks through the slit on his knight's helmet, he see's Samantha's eyes start to turn red, her lips quivering and her hands trembling. "Are you Ok Sam?...", asks Chase, "You look as if you just saw a ghost!....". And as Samantha intensely gazes at the stranger in a knight's armor, she suddenly asks, "Please sir, whoever you are....Will you please take off your helmet for me?.....".

             Feeling the need to escape from Samantha's presence, Grey suddenly pushes himself off the ground as he stands up unsteadily with Samantha and Chase standing by his side, ready to assist just in case he gets off balance. Once again, pretending to be drunk Grey says, "I need to get out of here, I need to find my imaginary friend "Witchy"....". Then without hesitating, Grey quickly turns around as he staggers back inside the ballroom and disappears into a crowded sea of people dancing and partying. And as Samantha stands frozen in deep emotional shock, she suddenly hears, Chase ask, "What's wrong Sam, you look really pale and frightened....". And just when Chase tries to pull her back into his arms, Samantha gently pushes him away looking upset. She stares up at Chase, swipes tears away from her face and says, "I'm sorry Chase, but I need to go!...I need to find Maria, I'll catch up with you later....I promise...". And as Samantha quickly heads into the crowded ballroom, she accidentally bumps into Garfield who was in his green army uniform as she hears him say, "Happy birthday Sam!....How's it...". But Samantha quickly slips past Garfield fully ignoring his presence and greeting. Looking confused, Garfield then steps out onto the veranda. Seeing Chase, Garfield asks, "What's up with Sam?......Why is she crying?...Did you guys have a fight?....".

          Massaging his forehead and feeling confused, Chase responds saying, "No!, she was perfectly fine until.....". Chase pauses for a moment, thinks then says, "There was this stranger wearing a "Mysterious Knight" costume, who suddenly came out here to the veranda. He must have had too much alcohol to drink that he lost his balance and fell on his hands and knees. It was when I and Sam tried to assist him back on his feet that Sam's demeanor suddenly changed, something about that guy really spooked her. His presence made her very nervous and upset.....". Looking back towards the dark and crowded ballroom, Garfield quickly asks, "Did you get a look at the guy's face?....". Still in deep thought, Chase shakes his head then say's, "He would not take off his helmet, even after Sam asked him to...". Feeling deeply troubled, Chase looks at his best friend then says, "I'll need your help in finding that guy, I need to know who he is and why his presence startled and frightened Sam so much....". With a deep sigh, Garfield frowns and says, "Do you know that there's over a hundred guys in this party wearing a "Mysterious Knight" costume, how can we find the right one?....".

         Chase looking confident and determined says, "Well, for one thing....he's height is around five feet four inches tall, secondly, he has the wrong symbol on his breastplate....Instead of a red "X" mark  on his chest, he obviously made a mistake, and spray painted a red cross instead....". Garfield suddenly chuckles then asks, "Who could be so dumb enough to spray paint a wrong symbol on a very popular Halloween costume such as the "Mysterious Knight" costume? That's like misspelling the "S" on "Superman's" chest....". Chase glances at his best friend's smiling face then says, "Let's not be too quick in judging people....Let's not think of him as being dumb, let's just say that he's not that smart....". Garfield snickers again as he stares at his bestfriend's concerned facial expression then asks, "Is that it, is that all that we have to go by in uncovering the identity of this stranger?....". Chase eyes suddenly becomes wider as he remembers seeing more clues then says, "His suit of armor, it's real.... When I tried to hold on to his arm to assist him up to his feet, his armor felt really sturdy, not like the cheap imitations made from aluminum, fiberglass and hard plastics.....Then when he turned around to leave, I noticed some bullet holes on his cape. Looked like bullet holes from a small caliber handgun.....". Garfield shrugs his shoulders then says, "Ok then, what are we waiting for....Let's dive in and start searching for this not so smart "Mysterious Knight" with a red "Plus" sign on his chest...".

      A few minutes later, at the same time that Chase and Garfield were both thoroughly searching the dark and extremely crowded ballroom for the man in a knight's costume that startled Samantha, Grey on the other hand, still feeling light headed, roams around the mansion until he finally reaches one of the living rooms that had comfortable sofas with only a few people conversing and socializing. In dire need of a place to rest and recuperate from the substantial loss of more than half of his strength, Grey quickly sits on one of the sofas as he hears Ritchie over his in-ear comlink ask, "So who were you talking to just now?....", Ritchie asks, "You said someone named "Witchie", who the heck is that person?...". Taking a few deep breathes before answering, Grey looks around the living room through the slit on his helmet then says, "That was Samantha....I finally found her...I thought that seeing her in Chase's arms would make me happy, knowing that she's well taken cared for and loved. But watching them in each other's embrace somehow affected me negatively instead. It felt like a sharp knife slashing deep into my heart.....I got too emotional, and it weakened me. I must have lost about half my strength....I just need to rest and focus, need to stay stoic once again......". A brief time of silence ensued then Ritchie says, "Once you've recovered, hurry back to the car and make sure not to get into any trouble. Remember what Dr. Peters said...That you're not supposed to drink the second bottle of toxic serum that's inside your backpack, drinking it too soon will destroy your liver and kidneys and you'll die!....". Grey closes his eyes as he focuses on his relaxation techniques as he replies, "I know....I just need to rest....".

         Then, at the same time that Grey was resting, Bionico was finally wide awake running at a speed of 60 miles per hour through the dimly lit side streets and avenues that leads to Dr. Peters mansion. "Mr Layer, Bionico needs to slow down or he might miss a turn...", says Dr. Marcos, "He's just running too fast!....". John Layer looking incensed slams his right hand on his office table then yells, "Shut up! Marcos!...It's already past midnight and our creature has still not reached it's destination!...I want to see bloodshed!....I want Samantha Peters father beheaded in front of her!...I want her to suffer greatly for ruining my cigarette company!, and causing me to lose millions of dollars in revenues....How far is he from Dr. Peters mansion?!...". Dr. Marcos feeling nervous thinks for a moment then answers, "Well sir, because he's running so fast, he already had made a few wrong turns...It's hard for him to see the street signs when he's running at 60 miles per hour. If we tell him to slow down to around 20 miles per hour, he'll be able to take the correct  turns and arrive at his destination probably even a little sooner....". John Layer lights up another cigarette to calm him down then yells once again asking, "How long Marcos?!....". Dr. Marcos wrings his hands then stares at the computer video monitor and says, "Approximately fifteen minutes sir...". Looking disgusted, John Layer inhales then quickly exhales out more of the carcinogenic smoke from his cigarette, as he points a finger at Dr. Marcos's face then yells, "Instruct him to run full speed at 80 miles per hour, I wanna see what I'm getting for my money!....". Dr. Marcos nervously nods at his boss, he then turns towards his computer system, presses the F2 key in the computer keyboard, then speaks into the microphone as he instructs Bionico to run at his maximum speed of 80 miles per hour.

         Meanwhile, back at Dr. Peters mansion, inside Samantha's bedroom, Maria who was wearing a "Fairy godmother" costume was consoling Samantha. With her face buried in Maria's chest, Samantha continues to cry inconsolably. And while they were both sitting at the edge of Samantha's bed, Samantha's bedroom door suddenly bursts open as Betsy shows up wearing a "Snow White" costume, as she argues with one of Samantha's personal bodyguards who was standing guard outside her door, "I told you, I am her best friend!...", Betsy yells, "And the next time you give me a hard time, I swear!...I'll have you fired so fast, your head's gonna spin!, you got that?!....". Finally entering inside the bedroom, Betsy slams the door shut as she stands staring at both Maria and Samantha with her hands on her hips looking upset as she asks, "Ok, who's wise idea was it to text me and ask me to come here right away...Just when I was about to finally kiss the man of my dreams who was in a "Kermit the frog " costume, I suddenly get this text. Now thanks to the both of you, I was not able to kiss the "frog of my dreams", oh! I mean't to say, the "Prince of my dreams".....". Suddenly seeing Samantha sobbing uncontrollably, Betsy suddenly becomes worried as she quickly sits at Samantha's left side while Maria was at Samantha's right. "What's going on!....", asks Betsy as she stares at Maria, "Why's she crying?....". Maria looks down at Samantha's teary eyed face that was buried at her left shoulder then whispers to Betsy saying, "She thinks she saw Grey tonight....She might be having a nervous breakdown!....". Samantha quickly blows her nose using a few thin pieces of toilet paper she was holding, then grumbles and says, "I heard that!...And I'm not having a nervous breakdown!....It's him...It's him, I know it's him......". Maria then starts giving Betsy the details about what had happened and how Samantha believes that the man she met at the veranda, who was wearing a "Mysterious Knight" costume was Grey. "Did you get to see his face?...", asks Betsy. Samantha blows her nose again, wipes the tears flowing down her eyes as she shakes her head then says, "No, but the man's voice, his Filipino accent, the way he nervously stammers whenever he knows he did something wrong, his size, his body frame, his height.....I even had a whiff of his cheap cologne when he was about to stand up. It's the same cologne that Grey buys at the dollar store....the exact same one that always makes me gag and makes me nauseaus....I'm telling you both it's him!....".

           Both feeling helpless and skeptical, Maria and Betsy stares eerily at each other when Samantha suddenly stands up and heads over to her bathroom to grab some more toilet tissue to replace the tear soaked one's she was holding. And while Samantha was in the bathroom, Maria and Betsy starts whispering to each other about Samantha's incredulous story as they both wonder if Samantha was truly having a psychotic break. With Samantha's keen sense of hearing, she grumbles once again in between sobs as she yells, "I can still hear the both of you....And I'm not going crazy!....". Coming out of her bathroom with her eyes both puffy and red, she heads towards the bed as she sits at her original position, in between Maria and Betsy. She clears her throat, sniffles and remains quiet, "Oh honey, I know that nobody wants to admit that he or she's having a mental breakdown, but the facts speaks for itself....", says Maria, "You've been going through a lot of emotional turmoil lately. There's that issue between you and your father, you're both not speaking to each other.....". Betsy looking surprised quickly asks, "They're not?!....". Ignoring Betsy's inquisitive prying, Maria continues saying, "Then you told me this morning that you're making a conscious effort to end your grief over Grey's death in order that you may be able to shower Chase with love, care and affection.....My dear Samantha, you just can't do that. You have to go through the whole grieving process, and it takes time to heal. You can't turn off your grief for a loved one just like you're turning off a light switch....What you're doing is you're suppressing your feelings, and eventually, those repressed feelings will surface and cause a nervous breakdown....". And while Samantha was looking downcast, Betsy quickly blurts out saying, "That's right!, you know....I've seen these incidents a lot where the woman gets a nervous breakdown because of too much stress....". Samantha wipes her nose once again as she glances at Betsy and asks, "Oh yeah! where have you seen these incidents happen?....". Betsy sigh's deeply, grins and says, "Where else....at work, every time I watch my daily noontime TV soap opera "As The World Burns"....". Samantha starts to laugh together with Maria and Betsy, even though Samantha was still wiping traces of tears from her eyes.

        Holding Samantha's left hand tightly and squeezing it gently, Betsy tries to make sense of Samantha's painful and difficult experience as she says, "Look, the guy you saw wearing that knight's costume was probably a Filipino guy that had the same built, same height and the same Filipino accent like Grey's ........And that scent of cologne you smelled was probably a product of your imagination, it's a form of hallucination....Your heart wanted you to perceive what your eyes couldn't....Maria is right you know, you just can't turn off your feelings for Grey just because Chase is leaving soon. You just have to tell Chase to wait....Psychologists says that it takes at least a whole year for the whole grieving process to end....". Then after a few moments of silence, Samantha suddenly feels the warm embraces of Maria and Betsy.

                  Meanwhile, back in one of the mansion's living rooms, Grey was now being continuously badgered by a drunk narcissistic man wearing a "Mysterious Knight" costume. Trying to remain calm and stoic in order to preserve his remaining strength, Grey tries to understand why this drunk "Mysterious Knight", "wanna be", keeps on comparing the quality of his "Mysterious Knight" costume to his. "Do you know that my knight's armor is made out of the finest aluminum sheet metal that one can buy...", say's the drunk man boasting, "I made it myself...". Grey remains motionless as he hears Ritchie who can hear the whole conversation start to laugh through his in-ear comlink. Trying not to get all riled up, Grey decides to stare down at the floor, in order to not escalate the tension that was starting to build between him and the drunk man.

                  Feeling a sense of envy at seeing the high quality of Grey's titanium armor, the drunk man then tries to insist that his aluminum sheet metal knight's armor was far more superior in quality and design than the armor that Grey was wearing, and that even though Grey's crimson colored leather cape was a better quality than the cape he had on, the drunk man still insists that his crimson colored cape which was made from a plastic picnic table cover still looked better than Grey's, because his did not have any holes on it.
     
             Then, seeing that belittling Grey's armor had no effect on him, the drunk "Mysterious Knight", "wanna be", starts to inflate his ego by taking a different approach. He then tells Grey that he is the foremost expert on the knowledge of the "Mysterious Knight". He then brags to Grey that he has amassed hundreds of clippings of newspaper and internet photos of the "Mysterious Knight" in action, and telling Grey that he has studied every behavior pattern of the fugitive knight. He even tries to convince Grey that if he ever came  across the real "Mysterious Knight", that he'd recognize him right away. He also tries to boast that if the police and FBI would only hire him as a "Mysterious Knight", tracker, that he'd bring him to justice in no time.

             And as Grey tries his best to not listen at what he was hearing, He starts to feel bored as he yawns several times while he stares at the annoying human figure through the slit on his helmet. But still not wanting to give up from his persistent harassment of Grey, The drunk man then starts to lecture Grey on how clueless and ignorant Grey was for spray painting a "Plus" sign on his knight's breastplate instead of a "Multiplication" sign. Ritchie hearing everything that was being said, continuous to laugh out loud, which was starting to agitate Grey. The drunk man also tells Grey that he heard and saw Criminal Psychology experts on TV say that the "Mysterious Knight" was really bad in math, specifically, multiplication and addition, "And that's why he has a multiplication symbol on his breastplate and an addition symbol on his shield....", the drunk man exclaims.

           Then, between the insults he was getting from the drunk man and Ritchie's annoying laugh,  Grey finally starts to lose his patience as he starts to debate with the drunk man as he says, "Has it ever occured to you that if a person was really bad in addition and multiplication that maybe!....Just maybe.....That person would also be bad in subtraction and division?....And if that's the case, then why does the "Mysterious Knight" not also have the subtraction and the division symbols painted on his knight's armor?....". The drunk man was suddenly baffled and bewildered, together with Ritchie who suddenly stops laughing, as they both start to ponder the sense in what Grey just said. And as the seconds continues to "tick", Grey finally decides to leave to find another place where he can relax in peace. And as Grey was walking away, he quickly turns around and faces the drunk man who was still in deep thought about what Grey had said, "And just for your information...", says Grey, "I did not come here dressed as the "Mysterious Knight".......I came here tonight hoping to look like the mascot for the "Round Table Pizza Company"....... You know, that knight in shining armor you see in that TV commercial holding a pizza?!.....". Then right as Grey leaves the living room, more guests arrive to hang out and socialize.

            Two minutes later, Grey finally makes his way out of the mansion through an east side exit which leads him into a beautiful garden that had a french landscaping design. Staring at the well manicured lawn beneath his feet, Grey decides to recuperate further as he lies on his back, on the soft green grass while  looking up at the stars through the slit on his helmet. Then after a few seconds had passed, one of several roaming security personnel wearing a black tuxedo suddenly stands over him and says, "Are you Ok, sir?....You're not drunk are you?....". Trying to act calm, Grey spreads his arms to the side and his feet wide apart as if he was enjoying the night time breeze, "I actually haven't had a drink all night...", says Grey, "And maybe you can enlighten me about something..... Why are some of these guests drunk when, there is no alcohol being served in Samantha Peters birthday party?....".

            The security officer in his black tuxedo starts to look frustrated as he replies, "Guests, just have their own secret way of sneaking in their alcoholic liquors, even though we thoroughly checked each and every car that entered inside the mansion grounds....". Then after another minute of small talk, the security officer says, "Well, have a good evening sir, and if you need any assistance, there'll be a lot of us security officers roaming around enforcing safety and security for you and all the other guests....". And as the security officer walks away, Grey starts to finally relax, as he starts to feel the muscle tension he was feeling throughout his body lessen, he also wonders why Ritchie had suddenly become silent. Thinking that Ritchie may have fallen asleep in the car, Grey starts to focus on his relaxation techniques as he feels the fresh cool breeze of the night time air. Taking slow deep breaths, he starts to feel more comfortable as his pulse rate starts to slow down together with his breathing. Looking up at the night sky through the slit on his knight's helmet, Grey starts to gaze up at the beauty, magnificence and grandeur of the stars in the heavens that were shining brightly. Closing his eyes to meditate, he then starts to pray silently as he mumbles to himself saying, "Lord Jesus, savior of the world, son of the most high and living God.....Please look after Samantha.....May you bless her with joy and happiness in the loving arms of her best friend Chase.....Please protect them from all harm....This I pray, in your name, Lord Jesus, amen....".



         Meanwhile, fifty yards away from where Grey was laying, on the other side of the mansion's wall, Bionico, who was wearing a black "Hell's Angels", leather jacket, black leather pants and black leather boots, was looking up and surveying the height of the mansion's impressive concrete wall. Seeing what Bionico was seeing through their computer video screen, Dr. Marcos asks John Layer saying, "Sir, the wall is about fifty feet in height and has a probable thickness of two feet.....Our options are, we can have Bionico either jump over the wall or he can blast his way through the concrete wall....What are your orders sir?.....". John Layer then decides that Bionico was better off jumping over the fifty foot wall in order to not attract any attention from all the security guards roaming through out the mansion's grounds. But before Dr. Marcos orders Bionico to penetrate the premises, he orders Bionico to pull out the photographs of Samantha, Chase and Dr. Peters from his black leather jacket's right breast pocket, in order that Bionico may become familiar with the faces of the victims that he needs to target and kill. "Remember Bionico!, kill the younger man, that's Captain Chase Brassman, and behead the older man, that's Dr. Mark Peters.....", says Dr. Marcos," Then once you have the older man's head, find the woman in the picture then show her the bloody decapitated head of her father. But remember, under no circumstance are you to harm the woman. I want her alive and uninjured. Do you understand?!....". Unable to speak, Bionico vehemently growls like a raging wild animal from the unspeakable hatred he has for his slave drivers, together with his unquenchable need to kill again.

             Back inside the mansion, Samantha was finally able to gather herself together, feeling convinced that the mysterious knight she had encountered at the veranda was not Grey and was just someone who looked and sounded like him. Finally able to return to the party together with Betsy and Maria, they all start to go their own separate ways. Heading back downstairs as she was flanked by her four body guards, Samantha constantly moves from one crowded and noisy room to the next, as she constantly gets birthday wishes and praises for the elegant style of her lady Guinevere costume which was a full length gold crushed velvet gown, with an attached wine colored velvet sash. Trying to make her way back to the ballroom to find Chase, she moves slowly through a crowd of guests as she constantly smiles and says "Hi" and "Thanks" to all the greetings and well wishes she was hearing from friends, business acquaintances, CURE Corp employees and a great number of other well wishers who were cured cancer patients, politicians, sports legends and foreign dignitaries. Realizing that it would be almost impossible to find Chase in this crowd of over a thousand guests, Samantha slowly sneaks her right hand inside her gown's secret pocket to grab her cell phone, but then to her surprise, her cell phone was missing.

           Knowing that non of her bodyguards had Chase's cell phone number, she sigh's deeply as she continues to smile, trying hard not to look flustered from the loss of her cell phone. Chase on the other hand was still searching for the knight with the "Plus" symbol inside the dark and crowded ballroom where over 400 guests were still socializing, dancing and partying to loud dance music and spectacular DJ light shows. Garfield on the other hand starts to roam around from one crowded area of the mansion to another, specifically focusing on short men who were wearing "Mysterious Knight" costumes. Unable to find a knight with a "Plus", sign on his breastplate, Garfield quickly wipes off the beads of sweat on his forehead realizing that finding the right knight was becoming harder than he first thought it would be.

          Then back on the outer walls of the mansion, Bionico starts to pant harder and faster as his muscles tenses up while his bionic fists remained clenched. Testing his deadly weapons, he starts to draw his seven inch daggers in and out from the back of his forearms. Impatiently waiting for his orders to penetrate into the mansion grounds, he starts to walk heavily beside the high mansion walls, pacing back and forth with a forceful, frightful and menacing appearance. He then howls out loudly,  as a sign of the impending deadly human catastrophe that he was about to unleash. Then finally hearing the "Go", ahead signal from Dr. Marcos's voice from the speakers attached inside his rusty iron mask, Bionico quickly faces the wall, bends his knees and springs upward in the air as he leaps over the fifty foot high wall.

        Landing effortlessly on the east side lawn. He quickly scans around for signs of threat, but only see's sporadic movements from adults and children in costumes entering and exiting the mansion. Noticing the east side door at a distance of about thirty yards away, Bionico starts heading towards the entrance as he clenches his bionic fists once again which automatically protracts the seven inch daggers from his bionic forearms. But when he was just a few feet away from the entrance to the mansion, a group of security officers suddenly appears and surrounds him with their guns held out and pointed at him. Surrounded by about five men, Bionico hears Dr. Marcos say, "Look around first before you kill the guards, Bionico. I don't want any witnesses that could call the police with their cell phone.....". Surrounded by the armed guards wearing black tuxedos, Bionico starts to hear one of the guards yell, telling him to remove his iron mask and to hand over his invitation and his photo ID. Ignoring the guard's demands, Bionico starts to turn his head from side to side, scanning for possible witnesses that he would have to kill as soon as he finishes tearing apart the five guards into pieces of human carcasses.

        Meanwhile, twenty feet away, and still laying on the soft grass on the east side lawn, Grey has his head turned sideways as he watches through the slit on his helmet, the five guards who were surrounding and accosting Bionico for trespassing. Being spotted jumping over the high wall by one of the guards, Grey tries to listen in, finding the whole situation amusing. And as Grey continues to snicker, he whispers silently to himself saying, "It's past 01:00 AM and they're still getting a party crasher?...Oh boy!, this guy dressed as the "Terminator"  and wearing a mask must be really desperate in joining Samantha's Halloween costume contest....Too bad buddy, the contest was over two hours ago....".

       Then suddenly, to Grey's shocking surprise, he witnesses Bionico move with lightning speed, as Bionico  suddenly spins around with his arms outstretched, using his daggers to slash the throats of all five guards within a span of a fraction of a second.


       Feeling wildly distraught and panic-stricken, Grey stares at Bionico as he see's him retract his seven inch daggers, then pulls out the photos of Samantha, Chase and Dr. Peters to help refresh his memory of who his main targets were. Twenty feet away, Grey turns over to his stomach as he starts to pant rapidly, with his fists clenched and trembling in horror at the bloody gore that he had just witnessed. "Calm down, calm down, calm down...I need to control this fear before I lose more of my strength....", Grey mumbles to himself, "O Lord!...Please give me the strength and courage to act....I'm so scared!....I know that you had to send Goliath to fight David in order to test David's heart.....But why did you have to send me this demon from hell?!.....This just isn't fair!...". Then looking around the garden and seeing no other security officers roaming, Grey suddenly realizes that he has to do something in order to stop Bionico from entering through the east side entrance to the mansion where he would most likely kill more men, women and children.

      With his strength down to about one-third of it's full concentration, Grey closes his eyes briefly while taking a few deep breaths in order to calm himself down. Getting up on all fours, Grey starts to shift his focus on protecting the people instead of focusing on his fear. Watching from a distance as Bionico looks through the pictures he was holding, Grey starts to levitate stealthily and cautiously with his cape flapping in the night's  gentle breeze as he closes in on Bionico. Then trying to not feel intimidated from Bionico's height of six feet and weight of about 200 pounds, Grey finally goes on a surprise attack. Floating five feet in the air, Grey suddenly lunges and tackles Bionico from behind, as they roll around on the grass. Being more stronger than Grey, Bionico maneuvers himself away from Grey's choke hold as they separate and face each other within a distance of about seven feet. Facing each other like two boxers inside a ring, Bionico suddenly hears John Layer's voice shout, "What are you waiting for creature?!....Kill him quickly!...". Growling in angry defiance behind his rusty iron mask, Bionico quickly channels his full wrath at Grey as he starts attacking viciously. With his super strength and super speed, Bionico pummels Grey to the ground before Grey even knew what had hit him. Lying on his back from the fall, Grey gasps, squirms then winces in pain from the body blow he had just sustained. Staring at his next victim, Bionico starts to walk towards Grey as he clenches his bionic fists which automatically draws out his seven inch daggers. Mildly impressed at Grey's physical and mental fortitude, Bionico starts to wonder why his initial blow did not kill Grey instantly. Reaching Grey and standing above him. He pulls back at his right arm then quickly thrusts his right forearm's dagger into Grey's chest, "Clang!...", but to Bionico's surprise, his dagger did not penetrate through Grey's titanium breastplate and at best had only created a dent.

           Caught by surprise, Bionico's eyes grows wider from the unexpected invincibility of Grey's knight's armor. Meanwhile, John Layer and Dr. Marcos were both speechless and were both greatly astonished at what they just witnesssed. But before Bionico could make his move Grey bends his right knee, then with all his might kicks Bionico on his steel body armor with shear power and force that Bionico get's thrown ten feet up in the air as he lands on his back twenty feet away from Grey. And as they both get back on their feet, facing each other, Bionico growls with rage and fury as he starts to focus on all of his power and speed. Meanwhile, still feeling anxious and fearful at the monstrosity that was before him, Grey starts calling out to his in-ear comlink "Ritchie!...Ritch!...Answer me please!.....There's a demon that's trying to kill me!....". But there was no answer from Ritchie, then without any warning, Bionico engages once again as he runs twenty feet in a span of less than a second pummeling Grey back to the ground. And as Grey winces in pain once again, Bionico doesn't waste time as he carries Grey and lifts him above his head. Then with is super strength, Bionico tosses Grey 100 feet up in the air at a distance of 300 feet over the high walls of the mansion. Then Grey seeing that he was about to crash over a parked car, quickly does his levitation technique as he glides and floats just a few inches from a car, preventing further pain, loss of strength and damage to the parked car. Levitating back to a standing position, Grey starts moving quickly in order to find the main entrance back to the mansion.

        Bionico on the other hand, makes his way back to the east side entrance of the mansion, he stops and picks up the photos of Samantha, Chase and Dr. Peters as he stares at it for the last time. Staring at the door to the mansion, Bionico crumples the blood soaked photos he was holding. And as Bionico heads towards the entrance he tosses the crumpled pictures to the side as it rolls around beside the bloody carcasses of the five dead guards.

       Meanwhile Grey, seeing the main entrance, takes off his back pack and once again pulls out his fake driver's license and invitation as he continues to call out to Ritchie. Unfortunately, Ritchie had his in-ear comlink turned off as he was talking into his cell phone as he talks to a sales representative from the Internet Halloween store where he purchased the Dick Cheney rubber mask.

Sales rep: "Sir, I told you, we don't have a return policy. All purchases are final....".

Ritchie: "But you sent me the wrong costume!, I paid for a Darth Vader costume and you sent me a Dick Cheney mask instead!...."

Sales rep: "Well, we do have an exchange policy, we can exchange the Cheney mask for an Adolf Hitler mask or an Osama Bin Ladin mask....".

Ritchie: "No!...I want a Darth Vader costume, nothing  else!....".

Sales rep: "Have you tried wearing a black tuxedo with the Cheney mask?....".

Ritchie: (Thinks) "Ahhh! It's just not the same....Darth Vader wears a helmet and mask....".

Sales rep: "Actually we can sell you an authentic Nazi helmet and a chemical gas mask and a black cape. Just spray paint them black and it will look like Darth Vader's mask and helmet.....".

Ritchie: (Thinks for a few seconds) "Ok you got me all confused, if I'm gonna wear a nazi helmet and a chemical gas mask over my face, then why do I still need to wear  the Dick Cheney mask since it would be all covered by the helmet and gas mask anyway...".

Sales rep: "Haven't you seen the end of the movie Star Wars, when Luke Skywalker finally defeated Darth Vader.... He took off Vader's helmet. Did you not notice that the old Anakin Skywalker looks just like Dick Cheney without the reading glasses.....You have to wear the Dick Cheney mask to have the same effect whenever you have to take off your Nazi helmet and gas mask.

Ritchie: (Thinks for a minute) "Actually, I'm starting to see your point. Ok I'll buy the Nazi helmet, the black cape and the gas mask....".

Sales rep: "Ok sir, you're total will be $364.17.....Would you like regular shipping or overnight delivery since after tomorrow, there's only gonna be 363 days left before Halloween....

Ritchie: (Thinks really hard) "You know what, why don't you just send it by overnight express delivery. I don't want to take any chances....".

Sales rep: "Ok sir, that's an additional $50.00 and your total comes to $414.17 cents. How would you like to pay for this?....

Ritchie pulls out a credit card from his wallet then says, "Visa...".

Sales rep: "Can I please have the first name on the credit card?...".

Ritchie: "Sure...First name is Grey....That's G as in goofy.....R as in Rumplestilthskin.....E as in Egg and Y as in Young and the Restless....".


                 In the meantime, after Grey get's past the gate's security, he levitates quickly to the area where he had fought Bionico. Seeing that the door to the east entrance towards the mansion was left open, Grey knew right away that Bionico had already gone in. Standing on blood soaked grass and seeing the five dead bodies that Bionico had slain. Grey notices the blood soaked crumpled pictures that were thrown beside the human  carcasses. Picking up the crumpled photos, Grey discovers that they were the photos of Chase, Samantha and Dr. Peters. Grey then realizes that Bionico was sent to assassinate the three of them. Realizing that he now has to find, and prevent Bionico from harming anyone, Grey takes off his back pack right away and pulls out his extra bottle of toxic serum knowing that he needed to get stronger in order to defeat Bionico, even at the expense of losing his life.

               And as Grey was drinking the toxic serum, he suddenly hears security officers yelling, "Hey you!....Freeze...Stay where you are!....". Grey looks around and sees seven security officers, fifty yards away, in their black tuxedos running towards him with their guns held out. Realizing that he would be blamed for the deaths of the five security guards, Grey decides to enter the mansion quickly in order to blend in with the crowd as he starts to search for Bionico and to somehow warn Samantha, Dr. Peters and Chase that their lives were in danger.

            Five minutes later, while Grey was roaming from one crowded room to the next, he suddenly hears his in-ear comlink come to life as he hears Ritchie's voice say, "Hey!, Are you done there yet?....I'm really starving over here, can you wrap me up some food?....". Grey suddenly yells back as he nervously informs Ritchie of everything that had happened including the fact that Samantha, Chase and Dr. Peters lives were in great danger. "Ritch!, I need you to contact Samantha and Dr. Peters, tell them that an assassin is here to kill them, tell them to inform Chase....", Grey says, "And I need you to bring me my Alemdronite sword and shield, they're stored on the back trunk of the car. Hurry up!...Please!....I can't defeat this demon unless I have my full armor on me!.....". Ritchie quickly reminds Grey not to drink the extra bottle of toxic serum in his backpack. "Too late!...", says Grey, "I already drank half of the toxic serum, I have no choice Ritch. I need to defeat this monster before it kills more people.....". Ritchie quickly hangs up and starts to call Dr. Peters and Samantha's cell phones while Grey continues moving around the mansion searching for Bionico.

          After another five minutes had passed, Chase gets a call from the head of security informing him of the five murdered security officers on the east side lawn. He was also informed of the suspect which was a man wearing a mysterious knight costume who was seen at the scene of the crime. Chase was also informed that blood soaked photographs of him, Samantha and Dr. Peters were dropped by the mysterious knight just before he escaped and entered the east entrance to the mansion. "I can't seem to get in touch with Dr. Peters and Samantha, both their phones were on voice mail....", says the head of security, "The best thing to do is to  calmly evacuate the mansion so that we can filter out and catch our suspect. We are going to start a controlled fire in the kitchen then alert 9-1-1. We'll pretend that the party is over because of a fire. This is the best way we can catch this killer. Chase then agrees as he hangs up his cell phone then contacts Samantha and Dr. Peters but his call forwards to voice mail just the same.

            Chase then contacts Garfield to inform him of the events that had transpired and the fact that Samantha and her father's lives were in danger. Meanwhile Bionico was roaming from room to room feeling frustrated that everyone was wearing a costume. "This is ridiculous Marcos!...", John Layer says while viewing the party through their video cam, "How the hell will our creature find and kill Dr. Peters when everyone's wearing a costume. Out of all the days you picked, it had to be Halloween!....". Dr. Marcos feeling nervous and scared at his boss's anger, felt like shriveling up at his computer terminal. Then without warning, John Layer pushes Dr. Marcos aside as he presses the F2 key on his computer keyboard then speaks into the microphone announcing, "Hey creature!...keep looking around, I want Chase Brassman and Dr. Peters dead before this party is over!....". Hearing the demeaning voice of his master, Bionico growls loudly which scares the people around him.

           Meanwhile, Samantha's four bodyguards were already informed about the five guards who were massacred, and the blood soaked photographs that were found at the east side lawn. Not wanting to waste time, Samantha's four bodyguards leads her out through a back entrance and out to the tennis courts at the northern part of the mansion's grounds were all the people where assembling. The fake fire was already started at the kitchen with all 300 security officers wearing black tuxedos converging from all entrances in order to stop the party and to assist and guide the people out to the tennis courts, while they were looking out for Grey whom they thought was responsible for the killing of the five guards. There were more than twenty police cars that converged at the north side's main gate while two fire trucks had entered the grounds in order to respond to the fire.

          The music and dancing had already been halted in the ballroom as the main lights were all turned on,  security officers were all escorting the more than 700 more guests who were men, women and children as they make their way out of the mansion forming two lines. There were mixed reactions from the guests, some were upset, some disappointed, some were still in a good mood while others were too drunk to even care.

         Fifteen minutes later at precisely 02:00 AM, Sgt Holt drives his police car together with four other police cars in order to barricade the crime scene. Upon reaching the mansion, Sgt. Holt calls Grey's in-ear comlink as Grey answers on the other line, "Hey! what's goin' on?!...", Sgt Holt asks, "I've heard reports that a mysterious knight standing five feet four inches tall was seen standing over five dead security officers!....Was that you?....". Grey quickly informs Sgt Holt of everything that transpired including the description of Bionico whom he had to fight against. Sgt. Holt then tells Grey to head to the south side by the pool house in order to meet him there for a rendezvous. After five minutes had passed, Sgt Holt drives his patrol car by the pool house where there were no people at all. And as Grey rushes out of hiding from some tall shrubs, Sgt. Holt opens the back door of his police car and lets Grey in. "Stay here, lay down and hide for awhile....", says Sgt Holt, "I'll cover you with this trench coat. Let me put out a report on the true killer, you say wears a rusty iron mask with a black "Hell's Angels" leather jacket, black leather pants and leather boots. Grey nods at Sgt Holt just before he gets covered with his trench coat in order to hide him from the authorities.

       Once Grey was completely hidden inside Sgt. Holt's police car. Sgt. Holt then informs all police units and security officers that an anonymous eyewitness had surfaced and had informed him that it was Bionico who was responsible for the slaying of the five security officers, as he starts to give detailed descriptions of Bionico to all police and security officers.

       Meanwhile as Samantha patiently waits at the tennis courts together with close to all the guests present, she suddenly sees a young mother being led out against her will by two security officers as she yells saying, "My son Paul!...my seven year old son is still somewhere inside the mansion, please let me go!, I need to find my son Paul!....". Then without warning, Samantha runs over to her and calmly informs her that she'll head back inside the mansion to find her son since she knew every square inch of her own house. Then together with her four bodyguards, Samantha starts to run back to the mansion to search for the missing boy.

       Another five minutes had passed when Chase receives word that Samantha had returned to the mansion to find a missing boy. Without delay, Chase starts running back 100 yards towards the mansion followed by Garfield. Meanwhile, Bionico who had blended in with the crowd at the tennis courts recognizes Chase's  facial features as he was running back to the mansion together with Garfield. Seeing his first target, Bionico calmly walks away from the tennis courts and back towards the mansion where he intends to kill Chase. But due to the chaos and disorder around the tennis courts, security officers were unable to notice Bionico leave as he makes his way back to the mansion.

   And at the same time that Bionico was heading to the mansion. Grey who was hiding inside Sgt. Holt's police car hears reports from the police radio that Captain Chase Brassman had gone back to the mansion in search for Samantha and a missing boy. So, with the knowledge that Bionico would be searching for Chase and Samantha, Grey decides to leave the safety of the police car as he heads back towards the south side entrance to the mansion in order to warn Samantha, Dr. Peters and Chase that their lives were in danger.

     Two minutes later, Bionico had finally entered the mansion. Walking through a narrow corridor, he finds himself entering the ballroom. Looking around for his target, he instead sees a group of security officers who were all bunched up together and who all notices him as the possible suspect in the killing of the five guards at the east side lawn. Drawing out their guns to arrest their suspect, the security officers were suddenly surprised to see Bionico leap up 50 feet through the air, at a distance of 30 yards as he lands in front of the group of security officers. Standing in shock from witnessing Bionico's amazing feat, all eleven of the guards just stood motionless as they remain dumbfounded, unable to believe what they just saw. Not wasting any time, Bionico draws out his seven inch daggers as he starts to swing them around, killing at will.

          At the same time that Bionico was slaughtering more security officers, Grey finds himself on the main hallway that leads to the ballroom. But just when he was about to proceed forward towards the ballroom, Chase suddenly shows up and accosts him. And as they stood five feet apart, facing each other, Chase aggressively demands for Grey to reveal his true identity and to take off his helmet. Chase also tells Grey to boldly explain to him why Samantha got so upset after meeting him earlier at the veranda.

       Realizing that time was of the essence and that a dangerous assassin was on a killing spree, Grey pretends to give in on Chase's demands. He then calmly walks towards Chase pretending that he was about to take off his helmet, but when he was at an arm's length away, Grey suddenly takes a swing at Chase who with his quick reflexes shifts aside making Grey miss. And while Chase transitions to a defensive stance, all Grey could think of was how he could knock out Chase in order to prevent him from getting killed by Bionico. With Chase's long reach, he counter attacks by throwing out kicks and combinations of open and closed hand strikes as Grey falls down, landing on his back. With Chase's knuckles bleeding and hurting from hitting Grey's titanium armor, Chase asks, "Who are you and why did you kill those guards on the east side lawn?!....". Grey winces in pain as he  slowly gets up from the floor saying, "I'm not the killer!...there's an assassin that's here to kill you Samantha and her father. You need to take Samantha and her father and leave this premises at once!...There's...".

      But before Grey could continue speaking, the door to the ballroom slams open as a bloodied security officer was screaming as he yells saying, "You both need to get out of here!, there's a killer with super speed and super strength who's brutally slaughtering people!....". But before Grey and Chase could react, the bloodied security officer quickly flees for his life. Not wasting any time, Grey and Chase runs towards the ballroom when suddenly, they start to hear multiple gunshots.

     Entering the ballroom Chase sees over a hundred security officers surrounding Bionico. With most of them pointing a gun at him, Chase and Grey suddenly witnesses Bionico's wrath as he suddenly moves with amazing speed as he fiercely swings his daggers around as he dismembers limbs from one security officer to another.

     Then after a span of 15 seconds, there were 20 dead security officers and another 15 who were laying bloodied and dying from external hemorrhage, as they all cried out in agony and pain. Seeing that the other 50 security officers were suddenly all backing away in fear, Chase quickly rolls up his sleeves as he starts to concentrate on his combat techniques. But at the same time that Chase was getting ready to fight Bionico, Grey who was beside Chase knew well enough that even with Chase's superior martial arts skill, that he had no chance of defeating Bionico due to Bionico's super strength and speed. And as Grey realizes that he had to protect Chase from getting killed by Bionico, he did the only thing he could think of in order to protect Samantha's best friend.

    Grey then stands in front of Chase, looks up at him and says, "You can't fight that demon!...It's too fast and too strong!....Leave this one to me....". Chase glances down at Grey looking annoyed as he quickly says, "Get out of the way mister, or I'll make you!...". Then without any warning, Grey throws a quick left cross at Chase's right mid section, followed by a right uppercut hitting Chase squarely on the chin as his head snaps back, and as he falls down on the floor unconscious.

      At this time, the ballroom was now littered with limbs from men who's arms and legs were severed by Bionico's savagery. There were dead bodies laying on pools of blood, the whole ballroom was now in shambles with most of the walls splattered with blood. The few security personnel who were still present and who were waiting for more police back up were now cowering near the exits. The only two that were still standing inside the ballroom were Grey and Bionico. And as they stood twenty feet away from each other,
Bionico notices that Grey was standing between him and Chase who was still on the floor unconscious. Realizing that he was close to killing his first target, Bionico growls fiercely as he hears Grey shout, "You're not gonna get to him, you beast!.....".

      Boiling with rage, Bionico starts to walk towards Grey as he retracts his daggers away, deciding that he'll give Grey a sustained beating, in order to make him suffer a slow and agonizing death. And as Grey looks through the slit on his knight's helmet, he looks around and wonders why Ritchie had still not shown up yet with his Alemdronite shield and sword.

     Then as Bionico gets closer, Grey starts to levitate a few inches off the floor with his fists clenched. But before Bionico could make his move, Grey quickly lunges at him as he throws a crooked punch that hits Bionico on his rusty iron mask. Unfazed by Grey's attack, Bionico grabs Grey and hurls him 30 feet across the hall as Grey falls on tables and chairs, overturning them. Bionico then howls like a wild animal that was in need to satisfy itself with human blood.

          And as Grey gets up on all fours, he peers through the slit on his helmet and sees Bionico standing right in front of him. Floating back in an upright position, Grey grabs Bionico's neck with his right hand as he yanks him up in the air, then with his left hand, he starts to pound at Bionicos iron mask several times. But just when Grey thought that he was gaining the upper hand in their battle, Bionico starts unleashing a barage of punches that were as fast as lightning and with a thunderous intensity.

          And after Bionico's onslaught was over, Grey finds himself lying flat on his back, on the floor once again, stunned with no movement. Not wanting to give up, Grey gets back up on his feet. His titanium knight's armor was now scarred, dented and stained by the battle as was the helmet on his head. And with his strength starting to diminish, Grey goes and attacks Bionico once again as he swings his fists wildly. Hitting Bionico on his iron mask and on his steel body armor but with minimal effect. And when Bionico finally decides to finish off Grey, he gathers all his momentum then swings a powerful strike as he tries to score a knockout punch on Grey.

         Bionico's punch was so powerful that when his fist hits Grey on the face, it makes Grey's helmet fly off of his face as Grey comes crashing back to the ground. Nearly losing consciousness, Grey tries to blink a few times due to his blurry vision which was caused by Bionico's powerful punch. And after Grey turns on his stomach, he starts to crawl on the floor in search of his helmet, a reinforcement of 75 security and police officers had entered the ballroom each with their own police body armor and shield as they start to fire their guns at Bionico. And when they realized that their guns had no effect, they start to attack and ambush  Bionico from all angles.

       Meanwhile, Grey's vision was still blurry as he continues to crawl, in search of his helmet when suddenly he sees a female's legs and feet standing right in front of his face. "Are you looking for this?!....", a female's voice asks. Grey sensing a very familiar voice, blinks a few more times and hopes that the female standing in front of him was not the woman he thinks she was. Still laying on his stomach, Grey slowly looks up and just as he feared, there was Samantha standing in front of him, nursing his helmet on her arms.

      Staring at Grey in disbelief and with her eyes red, "You're alive?!....All this time you were alive?!...You faked your death?!....", Sam asks as she bites down on her lower lip trying not to cry. Grey starts to get up on all fours as he nervously grins and asks, "Samantha uh!...Hi!....You've been standing there long?...". Samantha clutching Grey's helmet tightly asks, "You mean all this time you've been watching me suffer?...". Grey glances behind him momentarily at Bionico who was battling an army of police and security officers, then faces Samantha once again and says, "Can I please have my helmet back, you should leave this place, go with your body guards cause your life's in danger by you being here...".

     But even with the carnage that was happening all over the ballroom, Samantha was still focused on Grey, as she starts to feel a storm of emotions swirl inside of her. "But why?...Why would you do this to me?...I thought you loved me?...."Samantha asks, "Is that the kind of thing a normal and decent man would do to the woman he loves?....Make her suffer?.....". Grey now gets back up to his feet, feeling a sense of intense guilt from what Samantha was pointing out and deep frustration from not being able to get his helmet back in order to return to battling Bionico once again. Then seeing that Samantha was about to cry, Grey blurts out saying, "Samantha look around you, all hell's breaking loose and you're bringing this up now?!....".

          Still oblivious of the chaos happening around them, Samantha finally throws Grey's helmet back to him as she turns around and runs away crying, together with her bodyguards who were surrounding her with their guns drawn out. Putting his knight's helmet back on, Grey turns around and faces the battle that was being waged. With more police officers dying and some getting injured from Bionico's violent attacks, the remaining fifty police officers starts to back away, not having any answer from Bionico's onslaught.

        Knowing that his offensive capabilities were limited compared to Bionico's super speed and super strength, Grey discreetly floats behind Bionico then quickly rushes and tackles Bionico from behind as they both fall and roll around the floor. With Grey's left arm around Bionico's neck on a choke hold, Grey repeatedly pummels his right fist at the back of Bionico's head hoping to knock out his adversary. But with Bionico's iron mask, Grey's punches only produces little effects on Bionico.

       Growling in anger, Bionico slowly wrestles Grey's left arm away from his neck then quickly counter attacks by throwing Grey 20 feet away as he crashes on the wall. But just when Grey thinks that he could not take another beating, Ritchie suddenly shows up with Grey's Alemdronite shield on his right hand and a fried chicken wing on his left. And with Bionico staring at him 30 feet away, Ritchie swallows hard then yells at Grey, "I got your sword and shield!....". Grey getting up on all fours, sees Ritchie ten feet away as he yells back saying, "Quick toss me my shield!....". And as Ritchie tosses Grey's shield, Grey quickly levitates as he catches his shield in mid air. Then "Clang!.....", Bionico's seven inch daggers hits Grey's shield without damaging it. "Where's my sword!....", Grey shouts asking. Ritchie suddenly stares at his left hand and sees the fried chicken wing instead of Grey's sword then nervously shouts, "Ooops! I forgot it at the dinner table, I was so hungry that I had to grab something to eat....I must have left the sword at the dinner table. Just wait and I'll get it for you!....".

      And while Grey cowers behind the protection of his Alemdronite shield, Bionico continues to unleash a barage of punches so fast that Grey could do nothing but defend with his shield. "Hurry!, Go get my sword!...I can't defeat this demon unless I have my full armor on!.....". Then within less than a minute, Ritchie returns with Grey's Alemdronite sword as he yells, "Here's your sword!...I'll throw it to you!....". And while Grey was cowering behind his shield due to Bionico's continuous violent blows, Ritchie hears Grey yell back saying, "No!..Don't throw it...If you do, I might not be able to catch it!....Come here and hand it to me, I can't defeat this demon unless I have my sword!....".

     Ritchie looking terrified yells back saying, "That ain't no demon!....That's satan himself...You must be crazy if you think I'm going anywhere near you!....Tell you what, I'll just leave your sword here on the floor and you can come and get it!....I'll wait for you in the car!....". But before Ritchie could leave, he hears Grey yell out saying, "You told me that you always wanted to be a hero....Well, now's your chance!..Come and hand me my sword!....".

     Ritchie gasps deeply as he rolls his eyes, and with his heart beat racing, he slowly inches closer to Grey as he nervously hands him his sword while Bionico continues to pummel his bionic fists on Grey's Alemdronite shield. Then as Grey grabs a hold of his sword, he quickly swings his sword forward, striking with great precision as he cuts off Bionico's forearms. Shocked by the loss of his bionic forearms and bionic hands, Bionico freezes as he stares at the electrical sparks that were short circuiting from his amputated limbs. "That's impossible!...", Dr. Marcos says as they look through their video cam, "Bionico's bionic limbs are made out of carbon graphite composite material, which is stronger than steel and is lighter than aluminum. There's nothing on earth that can cut through those limbs!...Who is this knight and where does he get his strength from?!...".

     Seeing that Bionico was still in shock, Grey does not waste time as he swings his shield with his left arm hitting Bionico's chin as he falls down heavily. Then without missing a beat, Grey swings his sword cutting off another part of Bionico's remaining left bionic forearm. Now with a surge of confidence, Grey raises his Alemdronite shield like a hammer and brings it down on Bionico's iron mask , but the blow just glances off of it. Seeing that Bionico was now powerless without his daggers, Grey drops his shield and sword, then grabs Bionico, as he lifts him up above his head then slams him back down on the floor with a loud "Thud!". Bionico knowing that he was beaten,  delivers a forceful kick at Grey's breastplate that sends Grey hurtling 20 feet away as he crashes on more tables and chairs. Wincing in pain, Grey slowly opens his eyes as he looks through the slit on his helmet and sees Bionico running at full speed until he crashes through a wall in order to make his escape. And in a matter of seconds, Bionico instantly disappears.

    The whole mansion was now filled with chaos and pandemonium, as confused and scared guests were starting to learn about the massacre that had happened. Meanwhile, back inside the ballrom, the remaining police officers who were still present tries to arrest Grey but without success. Surrounded by police officers, Grey grabs his shield and returns his sword in it's scabbard just when he suddenly gets gang tackled by more than 15 security and police officers. But with Grey's super strength, he starts to grab one officer after  another as he hurls them ten to twenty feet away. And just when another group of law enforcement officers appears, Grey staggers away as he starts to run. Trying to make his escape, he then jumps and slams through a window pane as he runs and distances himself away from the mansion.

        The mansion and it's grounds were now filling up with police officers who were hunting down Grey and Bionico. But before the police were able to track him down, Grey escapes through a small gate that leads to the neighborhood street. And as he quickly levitates from one street to the next, he sees a manhole which he opens and slips into it on his way back to their mausoleum's secret hideout. (End of Chapter)

(Author's Note: If you enjoyed reading this chapter, please consider donating to the poor, hungry and sick in your respective country. Thank you....)