Chapter 25: When It Rains It Pours

           The next day, Grey and Ritchie watches TV and waits for the news to come on as they eagerly await to find out the latest development on the killing of the young cop inside the bottling factory last night. "Will you try and calm down?!...", says Ritchie, "You've been floating back and forth for hours when you should be in bed right now. You're just wasting more energy, and not to mention more of your JK4 drug by remaining in your armor....". Grey floating upside down as he was leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest nervously grunts then says, "Ahhh!, I just can't seem to find any peace of mind. One of those cops killed that young cop last night and was putting the blame on me. I've been framed Ritch!.....That dirty cop accused me of murder which he himself committed, how would you feel if you were in my shoes?....".

          Ritchie was speechless as he sits and leans on their sofa with a look of worry on his face, when suddenly the news on TV comes on, "Good morning America, thanks for tuning in to USNN News.....And now for our top story of the day......Last night a twenty year old Vallejo police officer was slain inside a bottling factory in the city of Vallejo in California. Police investigators say that Officer Alan Francis, a rookie police officer was shot behind his head at point-blank range by a suspect who is known as the "Mysterious Knight". And who before last night was regarded by the public as a super hero crime fighter, we interviewed Officer Dodge Cheney who was in tears and had refused to go on camera about the details of the murder. In between sobs, Officer Cheney detailed to us how while they were investigating a possible break in inside the"Busche Bottling Factory", he saw the "Mysterious Knight" suddenly appear out of nowhere as he aimed a gun behind his rookie police partner's head, then quickly pulled the trigger, killing his partner execution style. Officer Cheney also says that the sudden ambush shocked him and that by the time he came to his senses, the "Mysterious Knight" had disappeared. Officer Cheney also mentioned that he and another police officer named, Officer Dumbspell searched the whole factory after they called for more backup, but could not find the killer. The Vallejo Police is asking for your help, if you know this suspect and his whereabouts, please contact the number on the bottom of your TV screen.....And now for other news, the....". (click)

        Ritchie turns off the TV as he stares out their living room window, "What are we gonna do?....", asks Ritchie, "We're in deep trouble....That's it for me!....I'm done playing super hero, I got to find a way to burn my Batman costume without leaving any traces of ashes.....What about you, what are you gonna do?!...". Grey floats back upright as he gently settles into a chair, "First thing's first...", says Grey, "I'm down to my last inhaler, I need to get more from Dr. Kane....". Not having the courage to inform Dr. Peters yet about the trouble that they were in, Grey decides to first give Dr. Kane a phone call in order to ask for more JK4 inhalers and to also ask for his advice. And after Grey tells Dr. Kane of everything that had happened the night before. Dr. Kane reassures Grey that everything will be alright and reminds Grey to practice the art of being "Stoic" at all times, no matter how bad the situation was. He also tells Grey to meet him at his Oaknoll Research laboratory in Oakland California before midnight so that they can discuss and assess Grey's situation and hopefully find a solution.

       (Budget Motel, Denver Colorado)

        It was later in the afternoon when Sgt. Nick Holt saw the same news about the assassination of his rookie partner, Alan Francis. With an overwhelming feeling of emotional numbness encompassing him, it became a struggle to enjoy the elegant dinner he shared with his ex-wife and kids in celebrating his son's college graduation the following day. After returning to his motel that night, he stayed up thinking for hours and was trapped in a deep dilemma.

       As he lies in bed and stares at the ceiling, he recalls the news report detailing how Officer Cheney was in tears after the murder of Officer Francis. Having known and worked with both Officers Cheney and Dumbspell for 27 years in the Vallejo Police department, he was well aware that both officers were two of the most notorious, dishonest and corrupt police officers he had ever known in the police force. Hearing that Officer Cheney was in tears while giving an interview infuriates Sgt Holt knowing that Cheney's weeping was nothing more than an act. Officer Cheney was the type of person who did not care about anybody but himself. He loved water boarding innocent civilians and making them confess crimes that they never committed, while Officer Dumbspell was the most distrustful and manipulative person he ever knew, always enjoys torturing innocent civilians because he doesn't think that torture is illegal under the United States Constitution.

        As Sgt Holt's thoughts shift to the "Mysterious Knight", he believes that the chance of the knight killing a police officer was rather improbable if not impossible. Given the fact that with the surveillance photographs he studied showing the mysterious knight battling criminal gangs, not once did he see the knight use his sword or any other type of deadly weapon in delivering lethality to his enemies. "If he refrains from killing criminals even when he was outnumbered ten to one, then it just wouldn't make sense for him to kill a cop, specially a conscientious, diligent and an honest cop like Officer Alan Francis....", he thought to himself. Turning in his bed as he faces the lamp stand, he sadly begins to realize that he'll need to cut his vacation short. Knowing that he needs to get back to work in order to start his own investigation before the police finds and kills the "Mysterious Knight", whom he thinks might be innocent in the murder of his rookie partner. Turning his thoughts to his ex-wife and kids, he starts to feel some heaviness in his heart knowing that leaving them abruptly would once again open deep scars of abandonment which was the original reason for their family's  past break up.

       (Oaknoll Research Laboratory, Oakland California)

      Later that night, it was close to midnight when Grey and Ritchie finally meets up with Dr. Kane in his laboratory. After parking in the building's basement parking garage, Ritchie who was wearing plain clothes,  decides to just stay in the truck in order to hasten their escape if ever the police shows up. As Dr. Kane welcomes Grey inside his laboratory, he quickly asks, "I know what the red cross on your shield stands for, but what's with the red "X" mark on your breastplate?...". Grey rolls his eyes and sigh's deeply as he says, "Don't ask....".

       After entering through the laboratory's main doors, Grey looks around at the total disarray of the facility's appearance. "I'm sorry for the mess...", says Dr. Kane, "I'm in the middle of refurnishing the whole place with new lab equipments and state of the art electronic research computers, not to mention the fresh new coat of paint on the walls....I recently received a large monetary grant, so I decided to do a total renovation of this place, I gave my staff a two week paid vacation while the renovations are ongoing...". Looking around at the clutter, Grey takes off his knight's helmet and says, "So this is why you've been so busy lately....You've been doing some redecorating huh?!....". Dr. Kane glances at Grey's mud stained crimson colored cape that had several bullet holes on it as he asks, "Are those bullet holes?, Are you hurt?....". Grey sigh's then says, "I'm Ok, bullets don't penetrate this titanium armor.....Hey listen, can I have more of your inhalers?....". Dr. Kane starts to walk towards his office while he unbuttons his white lab coat and as he pushes up his eyeglasses to his face quickly says, "Sure, of course.....I'll give you five more, that should last you a couple of weeks at least.....".

       After two minutes had passed, Dr. Kane comes out of his office and hands Grey five JK4 inhalers. And as Grey was putting them inside his back pack, Dr. Kane pulls up two chairs, "Grey, we need to talk....", says Dr. Kane," I know that you said that you were framed by a dirty cop.....What's your plan?....You can't run forever you know....". Grey sits on a wooden chair looking discouraged and hopeless as he replies, "I don't know Doc.....I'll figure something out as I go, I guess....". Dr. Kane stares at Grey, then after a few moments, he closes his eyes, and as he stands erect, he lifts his arms to his sides, parallel to the ground and takes a deep breath. And to Grey's surprise, everything around them starts to levitate in the air, including the chair he was sitting on. Looking around the laboratory, Grey was astonished at the hundreds of objects that were floating in the air, both large and small, heavy and light. "Wow!, that's amazing Doc....I didn't know you had this much power in you?!....". Dr. Kane slowly opens his eyes, and as he gently lowers his arms, it makes all the objects that were floating slowly and gradually return to the ground.

      Looking intently at Grey, Dr. Kane realizes that this was the perfect time to introduce Grey to his super  powers. "That's the secret power of the JK4 serum....", says Dr. Kane, " It has the ability to create a mind over matter effect which you're already aware of....Do you know that us humans only use 7% of our brain's capacity?....What the JK4 serum does is that it taps into the hidden powers that are dormant in the deep recesses of our minds......For you, you're able to suspend titanium metals in midair......It's different for everyone, for me, I have two super powers. The first is Psychokinesis, which is a phenomenon that  contradicts the laws of physics, with the power of my mind, I can control the physical world. As you just witnessed, I'm able to suspend objects in midair, I can also use my mind into bending metals. I can crush you inside that armor of yours if I wanted to....". Dr. Kane quickly smiles as he see's the terrified look on Grey's face as he says, "I'm just joking.....I'm not gonna crush you...".

          And as Dr. Kane paces the floor he continues saying, "The second super power I have is the power of teleportation....Now you see me...". Suddenly Dr. Kane vanishes from Grey's sight and as Grey looks around, he hears Dr. Kane's voice say, "Now you don't....". And after a few seconds, Dr. Kane reemerges behind Grey which startles Grey, "Geez!, don't ever do that to me again!....",shouts Grey as he places his hand over his breastplate, "You're gonna give me a heart attack!....". Dr. Kane sneers as he explains how he can instantaneously dematerialize from one place and reappear at a different place of his choosing. Grey scratches his head asking, "But how come I could hear your voice but not see you, are you able to be invisible too?....". Dr. Kane smiles once more as he explains that when he reappears at a location after teleporting, it takes time for his physical body to materialize even though he has reached his destination which explains his ability to verbally communicate even before his body becomes visible to the human eye.

          Dr. Kane sits back down at a wooden chair facing Grey. "You've heard the cliche that goes "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility".....", says a smiling Dr. Kane, "That's a bunch of bull crap....The truth is that "With Great Super Powers Comes Great Opportunities"....What I'm saying is if we join together as teammates and join forces, and add ten to twenty more members with super powers like ours, we can create a group of super heroes....Nobody will be able to stop us, not even the police, the intelligence community nor the military. Our goal will be to eliminate the scum of society, We will be society's judge, jury and executioner. We will put an end to the senseless crimes that plague our society, and we can start by killing all convicted drunk drivers....". Grey was aghast at what he was hearing as he was witnessing a darker side of Dr. Kane's personality that he never knew existed. "I don't think that we should be taking the law into our own hands....", Grey says, "That's why we have law enforcement in society....".

       Dr. Kane suddenly stands up looking visibly upset as he paces the floor with his hands clenched in fists of rage. "Law enforcement?!.....Then where was the police on the night when a drunk driver took the lives of my wife and daughter huh?!....The man who killed my family had a history of multiple drunk driving convictions!....If the laws in our society were efficient, then my family should still be alive right now!....". Grey starts to feel anxious as he watches Dr. Kane swipe at the tears in his eyes with his forearm and says, "You and I, we have something in common. And it is that we are both victims of drunk drivers!....". Grey looking puzzled by what he just heard shifts uneasily in his seat as Dr. Kane tells him everything he knows about the truth of Grey's accident. For the next twenty minutes, Dr. Kane details the whole deception that police detective Ted Cross did in order to evade a drunk driving conviction and instead made Grey appear to be the one who was driving drunk the night he got paralyzed from the car accident. Dr. Kane also played a secret voice recording that has police detective Ted Cross proudly boasting to a colleague over the phone about how smart he was in evading arrest from drunk driving, how he tampered with the evidence, even fabricating false laboratory reports showing that Grey had a high blood alcohol level, and finally how he made money off Grey by suing him for being the one who was driving drunk.

         Grey looked frantic after he finished listening to the secret tape recording, with his heart rate racing, he started to feel a surge of different types of emotions that started to swirl inside of him. And in a matter of seconds he suddenly realizes that he was already hyperventilating. He was starting to feel as if his world was suddenly turned upside down, with all of the peace, acceptance and rationality in his mind have now came crumbling down. He was now in the eye of an emotional storm, a storm that was ready to destroy without limits nor mercy. And just when his anger was about to surge uncontrollably, Grey suddenly felt Dr. Kane's hand grasp his right gauntlet. "Control yourself Grey!...get a hold of your emotions.....stay stoic.....". Dr. Kane then reminds Grey that he still had much to learn in controlling his emotions which was his weakness. "Join me Grey, and I'll train you on how to control your emotions of anger, fear, excitement, joy, sadness and love....These are the emotions that will drain the strength out of you if you don't learn how to control them....". And as Grey's breathing and pulse rate slowly returns to normal, he was able to clear his mind as he starts focusing more on the basic Christian beliefs and teachings that he treasured most in his inner self. "I'm sorry Dr. Kane, but I don't share the same beliefs that you do...", says Grey, "I don't think I can kill drunk drivers or any other criminals...".

         Dr. Kane feeling dismayed, quickly wraps his right hand around Grey's left titanium arm guard and before Grey knew it, Dr. Kane teleports them both inside the house of police detective Ted Cross. Gasping from fear, Grey suddenly falls to the floor as he looks around at the unfamiliar surroundings. Dr. Kane stands over him saying, "Do you know where we are?....We're in the living room of detective Ted Cross, the drunk driver who caused your paralysis.....". still seated on the floor, Grey looks around in the darkness and see's different furnitures and a wall clock that shows the time which was already 01:35 AM. Dr. Kane places his hands on his hips and says, "I brought you here to hopefully convince you why scums like detective Cross should be punished.....". Dr. Kane gazes at Grey's fearful appearance and says, "Wait here, I'll go wake up the detective and in about a minute or two, you can join us upstairs to hear his final confession....". Grey hears Dr. Kane's sinister laugh and in an instant, Dr. Kane disappears.

        After a few seconds had passed, Grey starts hearing multiple sounds of excessive banging,rumbling, thumping and a few loud thuds on the upper floor of the house. With deep feelings of ambivalence, Grey finally forces himself to follow the source of the loud sounds. Floating upstairs, Grey opens a bedroom door and see's a man pinned to the bedroom wall with his arms outstretched to his sides looking as if he was being crucified. His white sweater had blood stains from the constant dripping of blood from his nostrils and around his lacerated lips. Grey then glances at Dr. Kane who had his right arm outstretched as if he was controlling an invisible force that was keeping the bleeding detective pinned to the wall. With Dr. Kane's face in a controlled rage, he shouts, "This is the man who took your life away Grey!....". Grey slowly floats as he advances closer towards the bed, and as he pushes up his knight's visor, he sees the detective's eyes become bigger. Dr. Kane sneers and says, "You see?!...our detective here still recognizes you, don't you Ted?!....".

       Detective Cross breathing hard suddenly coughs up blood then says, "Hey!, look...we can fix this man!....Let's work something out!....", detective Cross nervously smiles then says, "I can pay you....twenty....thirty grand!....It doesn't have to be this way!...". Grey gasps in surprise, feeling appalled at what he's hearing, as he levitates even closer to a distance of about two feet from the detective. "How could you have done this to me?....", asks Grey as his heart starts to pound harder and faster once again, "You ruined my life, my future, my hope of marrying the only woman that I've ever loved, my chance of being a family man someday is gone forever!...". Detective Cross tries to desperately struggle from the invisible force that was holding  him to the wall as he says, "It's nothing personal man!...I didn't even think that you would survive that crash.....I've got a career and a reputation to protect you know!...I'm a police detective and you both better get out of here before my friends arrive, you're both assaulting a police officer, you know that?!.....".

       Unaware of his escalating emotions, Grey could not control his fists from clenching tightly as his mind starts to wrestle between reason and rage. "What are you waiting for?!....", asks Dr. Kane, "Pull out your sword and cut his head off!....Cut him down to pieces!, you deserve it after everything he had done to you!....". And as Grey floats even more closer to the detective, and feeling as if his blood was boiling over and his anger turning into pure flames of fury, he raises his right fist as he prepares to strike, but before he throws that final blow, he starts to feel a part of his conscience desperately reason out to him, pleading for any traces of mercy that might still be present somewhere in his soul. But suddenly, he ignites, and in an instant, his right fist thrusts forward with such speed and destructive force that it could only be compared to a wrecking ball that blasts through a condemned building. And when detective Cross opens his eyes, he see's a cloud of dust surrounding his face then see's Grey's right arm protruding through his bedroom wall, one inch away from his face. And as the dusts settles, Grey pulls out his arm from the massive hole in the wall.

         Feeling a sudden surge of weakness, Grey backs up and falls on his hands and knees, "I can't do it!....", says Grey as his vision starts to blur and his arms and legs start to quiver from the uncontrolled emotions that were lowering the concentration of the JK4 serum in his blood stream.

      Dr. Kane feeling disgusted at Grey, walks towards him and kicks him on his right hip as Grey rolls over  to his back. "You're nothing but a coward!....spineless and heartless.....You do deserve to be paralyzed....And now since you refused to team up with me, I will make your life even more miserable....". Dr. Kane grabs detective Cross's bedside phone and dials 911 as he places the phone at the detective's ear. "Tell the police that there is a knight inside your house who wants to kill you...", says Dr. Kane, "Say it and I'll let you live!....". And as the 911 operator comes on the other line, "This is detective Cross!....send police units at my address, 450 Tennessee street now!, there's a man dressed as a knight inside my house who wants to kill me!...Hurry! Please!....". And after Dr. Kane hangs up the phone, he stares at the detective's bloody face for the last time then turns around and unsheathes Grey's sword, and after a second, Dr. Kane thrusts Grey's Alemdronite sword through the detective's abdomen killing him instantly. Dr. Kane then pulls Grey's back pack away from him and takes all five of the JK4 inhalers that he earlier gave Grey as he says, "Farewell my friend, looks like you killed another police officer....And with no more JK4 inhalers left, let's see how far you can run from the police....". And as Dr. Kane starts to hear faint sounds of police sirens blaring from a distance, he laughs hard and in an instant vanishes as he teleports himself away from the detective's house leaving Grey in a weakened state at the scene of the crime.

     With feelings of increasing generalized weakness, heaviness and sluggishness, Grey rolls to his stomach and crawls until he reaches his back pack. Searching through it's side pockets, he felt relieved to see that he still had his original JK4 inhaler which he had been using before he arrived to meet with Dr. Kane that night. After taking two inhalations from the half filled inhaler, Grey realizes that unless he starts blocking the fear, nervousness, frustration and anger that continues to permeate through his mind, that he would soon end up in his quadriplegic state. And even though the sounds of police sirens were gradually getting louder by the  second, he starts to tell himself to relax in order to preserve the concentration of the JK4 serum he just inhaled in his system which was his last hope of preventing a total loss of strength and movement below his neck. But then, in a span of two minutes, a police car reaches detective Cross's house as two police officers rushes towards the front door with their guns pulled out. Kicking the door in, the two officers slowly, systematically and carefully make their way through the whole lower level of the house as they try to find the suspect and the victim.

       Making their way upstairs, they quickly see an open bedroom door. And as they go in, they gaze at the lifeless and bloodied police detective that was pinned by a sword to the wall. Shifting their gaze to the floor, they quickly see a knight that was on his hands and knees, and that was struggling to get up. With their guns both pointed at Grey, they call out shouting, "Freeze! don't move, this is the police!....". Seeing that Grey was not paying any attention to them. They open fire, "Bang!...bang!...bang!...", as bullets hits Grey's armor then ricochet's off of it, which makes Grey flinch. Finally getting to his feet, and dreading more of the reverberating loudness of bullets hitting his armor, Grey holds up his shield which deflects more bullets away from him. Not wanting to leave his Alemdronite sword as evidence for the police that might be traced to Dr. Peters, Grey  quickly pulls out the blood soaked stained sword from the dead detective as he heads towards the window.

      And in a matter of seconds, Grey was falling twenty feet in the air with hundreds of window glass fragments following him down to earth. Then after a second, Grey falls on his back with a loud thud. Squirming around from the muscle and bone pain he was feeling, he tells himself to be thankful that he still has some sensory feelings left below his neck. And as more police cars arrive, Grey finally gets enough strength to stand unsteadily on his feet and after another two seconds of trying to establish his balance, he gets to stagger away into the darkness of the night, distancing himself from detective Cross's house which was now overflowing with police officers who were all searching for him inside, around the perimeter of the house and all over the neighborhood.

     (Internal Affairs Bureau, Law Enforcement Division, Vallejo, California)

       Two days later, Sgt Nick Holt pays a visit to the department of Internal Affairs which is a division of the Vallejo Police Department that investigates allegations of misconduct by members of the Vallejo Police Department. After entering the building, Sgt. Holt approaches the information desk and tells the officer in charge that he wants to speak with Captain Noel Panels who is one of the senior police investigators of the bureau. Not having an appointment that day, Sgt. Holt was asked to have a seat at the waiting room while the officer in charge informs Captain Panels of Sgt. Holt's unexpected visit.

      After a five minute wait, Captain Panel's second in command, Lieutenant Jason Sy comes out to meet Sgt. Holt. "It's been a long time...", says Lt. Jason Sy as he extends his hand with a smile, "I just wished that you had an appointment to see the Captain.....Our schedule is loaded for the whole day but Captain Panels says he can give you five minutes of his time....". Sgt Holt shakes Lt. Sy's hand then says, "That's all I need...", as they both proceed towards Captain Panel's office.

     Entering the office, Sgt. Holt walks towards Captain Panels who was seated behind his office desk. Feeling annoyed at Sgt Holt's unexpected visit, Captain Panels quickly asks, "What can we do for you Nick?...I don't have a lot of time. The agency chief is breathing down our necks and we're late for a meeting with the board of civilian police for the upcoming commissioners conference.....". Sgt Holt stands relaxed in front of Captain Panels as he asks, "I just need you to give me any dirt you have on Officers Dodge Cheney and Ronald Dumbspell....I'm surprised that after their 27 years of service that you guys still haven't pinned them down on their on going criminal activities....".

    Lt. Sy leans against the wall feeling nervous at Sgt. Holt's assertion while Captain Panels leans against his leather office chair feeling a certain sense of pressure that was starting to rise with each second that passes. "C'mon Nick, you know we can't divulge any information to you no matter who it's about....You're not authorized, what you're asking for is above your pay grade....".

      Sgt. Holt suddenly feels his temper rising as he points a finger at Captain Panels and says, "You know you and you're sidekick here wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for me!.....I trained you both, damn it!....You were both rookies, fresh out of the academy when I trained you.....And now that you both outrank me, this is the thanks that I get from the both of you?!....". The office was suddenly filled with a tense and eerie silence, and with a look of anger on Sgt Holt's face from not being able to acquire vital information that he desperately needs, he spins around and starts to storm out of the office when he suddenly hears Captain Panels calling out, "Hey Nick!, wait up!....".

      Sgt Holt stops abruptly and turns around as he see's Captain Panels stand up to loosens his neck tie as he says, "We've been investigating the two officers you've mentioned for years now....". Captain Panels glances at Lt Sy then say's, "Nick this is off the record Ok?....Three days before Officer Alan Francis was slain, we discovered that the Sambrolini crime family wired thousands of dollars to two separate offshore accounts at a bank in the Cayman Islands.....That's all I can say....". Sgt Holt shifts his weight unto his right foot as he asks, "Those accounts.... Do they belong to Cheney and Dumbspell?....". Captain Panels grabs his office phone as he blurts out saying, "You figure it out!.....Oh! and if any of what I said gets out of this office, I will deny that we even had this conversation....". Sgt Holt nods feeling satisfied with what he just learned and in a few minutes was back in his car driving in order to gather more clues from a pair of brothers whom he trained to be detectives years ago and who were now both in charge of investigating the "Mysterious Knight", and the two police officers that he allegedly murdered.

      After a few more minutes on the road, Sgt. Holt finds himself stuck in traffic. Pounding his hand on the steering wheel, his thoughts start to drift towards detective Ted Cross's murder. Trying to remember the facts on the report he read a day ago, he couldn't accept the fact that the "Mysterious Knight" was the type to kill. Unfortunately, there was credible visual evidence given by the two officers stating how they saw the knight pull his sword out from the slain detective and then there was the recording of the 911 call by the victim himself who was reporting that the knight was trying to kill him inside his house. "But even if the knight did kill detective Cross, what would be his motive?...", he asks himself," It wasn't theft.....and how could there be no signs of forced entry...The only thing that would make sense is if the Knight happens to be that paralyzed nurse named Grey who for some reason, had found out the injustice that Detective Cross did to him. Which in turn led him to his house to seek revenge.....But that's impossible!, Grey's dead...", Sgt. Holt reminds himself again, "I even saw the death certificate signed by Dr. Peters...Huh!!....".

       Suddenly something turns on inside Nick Holt's head, "Oh! hell!....It was all a ploy....Of all the doctors on earth, it had to be Dr. Peters signature on Grey's death certificate.....You're so damn smart Grey!...You knew I was on to you so you decided to fake your own death and even used your doctor friend to sign your death certificate, complete with a fake burial.....And now that everybody thinks your dead, you finally decide to seek revenge on Detective Cross, killing him for what he did to you!....I got you now Grey!....".

       With Sgt. Holt's pulse rate speeding up, the first thing he did was to contact the Vallejo Police department's Forensic division and to ask their forensic archaeologist to help him through the process of  exhuming the remains of Grey's body in the Holy Cross cemetery, knowing that even if there was a body inside Grey's coffin, Sgt Holt was confident that it would not be Grey's. Still stuck in traffic, he then looses his patience and quickly turns on his police lights and siren as cars in front of him start to part, giving him a clear road towards his next destination.

      It was 01:30 PM when Sgt. Holt reaches the Vallejo Police department, and without any appointment, he decides to charge inside the offices of the Cruz's brothers, the detectives who were the lead criminal investigators on the alleged murder of the two police officers by the "Mysterious Knight". After Sgt Holt enters the building, he quickly makes his way through the lobby and swiftly enters the detectives office without hesitating. Inside the office the Cruz brothers were shocked but not excited to see their former supervisor. "What the hell?!....You just can't come in here unannounced Nick!.., "says Detective Cassidy Cruz, "You have no business being here!....". Detective Cruz's younger brother, Detective Charles Cruz nods in agreement then says, "That's right!....You're not a detective anymore!....".

      Sgt. Nick Holt looking annoyed approaches Detective Cassidy Cruz's desk then slams his hands loudly to get both their attention, "Look, I got no time for your bull shit!....I need you to tell me everything you know about the Knight's case....".The brothers fell silent, feeling intimidated as they glance at each other when finally, Detective Charles start to speak which was abruptly interrupted by his older brother Cassidy, "Don't tell him anything Charles!....", says Detective Cassidy. Sgt. Holt rolls his eyes as he sigh's deeply then says, "May I remind the both of you that I was your training officer during your probationary year as detectives. And even though I think that you were not both qualified, I still passed you!....You wouldn't be here in this position if it wasn't for me!....".

      Detective Charles feeling a massive amount of guilt, turns to his older brother and blurts out saying, "He's right you know, we do owe him a lot!....". Detective Cassidy looking dismayed turns to his younger brother and says, "No!.... We cannot tell him anything, this is an ongoing criminal investigation....And if you ever give him any information behind my back, I will suspend you from the force for two weeks!...I'm not kidding!....". Detective Charles grudgingly answers back saying, "Go ahead and suspend me!...I'll tell mom! and you're gonna be in big trouble!....". Looking exasperated, the older brother answers back saying, "Well I'll tell mom that you're breaking the law!....She won't get mad at me, she'll get mad at you!....".

     Sgt Holt quickly holds up his hands with a look of agitation in his face as he interrupts them saying, "Children!...Please!....Will you two stop what you're doing.....You're in your mid-thirties and you still both sound like you're still in grade school!...Please stop....Just tell me everything you know about the case. I promise to keep it a secret....Cross my heart hope to die, stick a needle in my eye!....". The room was silent for a few seconds as the two detective brothers both felt insulted by Sgt. Holt's sarcasm.

    After a minute had passed, Detective Cassidy takes a deep breath then says, "Ok, we do owe you a lot and you did train us to be good detectives....". Detective Cassidy walks to their filing cabinet and pulls out a brown folder, then after looking through a few pages, he starts giving out information to Sgt. Holt. "Let's start with the killing of your rookie partner, Officer Francis....The Busche bottle factory, which was the scene of the crime....We discovered that the factory is owned by the Sambrolini crime family.....The security surveillance video tape from the Safety Officers room was missing. The security guard that day said that before he left the factory at 05:00 PM, that he was sure that there was a security video that was recording the events inside and outside the factory's perimeter. He also said that he always locks the Safety Officer's room. The weird thing is that when we got there after the murder, we did not find any signs of forced entry in the Safety Officers room, which means that whoever took the video surveillance tape for that day also had a key for that room. And the only other entity who could have had a key to the Safety Officers room besides the security guard would be the management or owners of the factory.

    With Sgt. Holt's eagerness to hear more, he decides to pull up a chair and quickly sits on it. "Ok, what about other surveillance videos from other sources, what I mean is do you have any other videos showing the Knight battling crime around the city?....". Detective Charles takes his turn saying, "We did obtain three videos from three different nights when the "Mysterious Knight " was fighting criminals, one was in front of the shopping mall, another was by a gasoline station and the last one was in front of the city library....". Sgt Holt rubs his chin as he asks, "On any of those videos, does it show the Knight using deadly force, I mean did he ever use a gun or his sword during his battles?.....".

    The two detective brothers glances at each other then Detective Cassidy says, "Not once!....even when he was outnumbered twenty to one and was getting shot at from all directions. Not once did he ever pull out a gun or unsheathe his sword from it's scabbard.....Actually, that's what puzzles us about the death of Detective Cross....The Knight we know just doesn't fit the profile of someone who would torture and fatally stab a police detective...".

       
    Later that evening, it was 08:00 PM when Ritchie was driving Grey's black truck all over the city streets of Vallejo in search for Grey. "Where the hell are you Grey?!...", Ritchie mumbles to himself, "Now you're wanted by the police for killing two cops, what got into you?!....". Ritchie pulls over to the side of a street as he turns on his cell phone and calls Grey's cell phone number for the twentieth time but without success. Feeling deeply frustrated, he slams his hand on the truck's dashboard three times when all of a sudden, he hears a beeping sound coming from the truck's glove compartment. Opening the glove compartment, he see's his underground sewer system's electronic device blinking and beeping. A sudden surge of hope fillls Ritchie's heart knowing that the electronic device was like a GPS that will lead him to Grey. "Why the hell did you wait till now to turn on your electronic homing device Grey...", Ritchie mumbles to himself.

    Ritchie quickly gets back on the road as he follows the directions he was receiving from his electronic homing device. And after 15 minutes of driving, Ritchie arrives at a poorly lighted street in Vallejo's old downtown. Parking the truck near a dark alley, Ritchie continues his search by foot, walking as he holds his electronic  device close to his chest. As the blinking and the beeping begins to quicken, he turns towards the dark dead end alley and as he passes by a large garbage dumpster, he suddenly see's Grey's armored legs sprawled on the ground. Grabbing his flashlight, he approaches Grey who was unconscious beside the large green dumpster. Taking Grey's helmet off, he arouses Grey back to a conscious state, "Hey!, there you are....What the hell happened to you?!....". Grey looking gravely ill, holds up his JK4 inhaler then says, "It's almost empty....".

     Knowing that Grey was being hunted by the police, he was at a quandary on how he could get Grey back to safety. And as Grey falls back into a state of unconsciousness, Ritchie felt tempted to call Dr. Peters. But since he did not want Dr. Peters to be implicated in the mess they were in, he decided to wait until he was totally desperate. Looking around the dark and grimy alley, he takes a few deep breathes, "Think Ritchie!...Think!....", as he mumbles to himself again. Then, remembering that the only way to get Grey's strength back was to provide him with his JK4 drug, he quickly takes Grey's back pack off his back as he quickly searches for any other JK4 inhalers that might be stored inside his back pack. But after rummaging through a few pieces of unused diapers, a half filled water bottle and urinary leg bag, the only thing he found was a calling card that had Sgt. Nick Holt's cell phone number on it.

      Ritchie then remembers the time when Sgt. Holt visited them in their apartment, totally convinced that Grey was the "Mysterious Knight". He also remembers how Sgt. Holt offered Grey his help in clearing his name. Running out of options, Ritchie decides to contact Sgt. Holt. After Ritchie dials Sgt. Holt's cell phone number, Sgt Holt answers his phone saying, "Holt here....". Ritchie then stammers saying "This is oh!, ahmm, Rit..Ritchie Bonifacio...ahmm, Grey's friend.....I..I..We need your help Mr. Holt....". Sgt. Holt drops his  coffee on his office table and says, "Where is he?!....". Ritchie starts to give Sgt. Holt their location and after 20 minutes of waiting. Sgt. Holt arrives at the alley where they were hiding at.

       Standing a few inches from where Grey was lying at, Sgt. Holt stares at Ritchie who was sitting beside Grey when he hears Ritchie plead, "Will you help us?...You said you'd help us....". Sgt Holt stares at Grey's unconscious state as he sigh's deeply while placing his hands on his hips and says, "The both of you together with your doctor friend are all in big trouble, you know that?....". Ritchie looks away from the police sergeant as he rubs his forehead with a feeling of complete surrender. And after a few seconds had passed, Grey slowly wakes up on his own. Sgt Holt takes a step closer to him and kneels on one knee. Knocking his fist three times on Grey's breastplate to get his attention, he asks, "Can you tell me what happened?.....". Still in a weakened state, Grey tries his best to tell the detective everything that had happened to him, starting on the  night he went to meet Dr. Kane at his laboratory in Oakland, and how Dr. Kane used his super powers of, "Psychokinesis", and, "Teleportation", in assassinating Detective Ted Cross and framing him for his murder. Still not totally convinced, Sgt. Holt tells Grey to tell him his version of how his rookie police partner Officer Alan Francis died. With the best of his abilities and with a look of hopelessness on his face, Grey continues to detail the events that led to the murder of Officer Alan Francis and how he was framed for his murder.

      After listening for twenty minutes, Sgt Holt stands up in deep thought and stares at the dark alley's grimy walls. "I totally believe that the murder of my police partner was a set up by the mob, all we need to do is to obtain the video surveillance tape that they took the night Alan was killed.....But it will be harder to clear your name in the killing of Detective Cross....", say's Sgt. Holt, "Hold on!...Did you say that Dr. Kane was the one holding the bedside phone while Detective Cross was asking 911 for help?!.......Was he wearing any gloves at all?!.....". Grey grunts in pain then answers, "No, he wasn't wearing any gloves....". Sgt. Holt quickly takes out his cell phone and calls Detective Cassidy Cruz's cell phone but it was just a voice message, "Hey! Cassidy....when you get this message, give me a call. You forgot to tell me about the fingerprints on Detective Cross's bedside phone....I need a copy of those prints....".

     Hanging up his phone, Sgt. Holt runs to his car and brings back a coffee mug and a plastic bag. Wiping the coffee mug with his handkerchief, "I need your fingerprints on this mug Grey, I think I just found a way to clear you of Detective Cross's murder....". And as Ritchie takes off Grey's left gauntlet, Sgt. Holt carefully wraps Grey's lifeless hand around the coffee mug. And with the use of his handkerchief, he picks up the mug and drops it inside the plastic bag. "Once we find out that the finger prints of Detective Cross's bedside  phone is not yours then we'll be able to get more breathing room....".

     Knowing that Grey's life was now hanging in the balance, Sgt Holt tells Ritchie to contact Dr. Peters. "We can't take him to a hospital, he's a wanted criminal. Tell Dr. Peters will be at his place in one hour.

       (Dr. Peters mansion, Hillsborough, California)

     It was 09:30 PM when Samantha gets a phone call from Chase, "Hey Sam, how's it goin'?....", Chase asks, "Did I catch you in a bad time?....". Samantha turns off her laptop as she snickers and says, "No, I was just finishing up some work to help lessen Betsy's load for tomorrow....How are you?, Is everything Ok?....". Samantha hears Chase chuckle, "I've got some good news Sam.....", says Chase, "I just received word that the President of the United States had decided to introduce me to the whole world as America's first ever, real super hero!....". Samantha gasps with excitement as she proudly says, "That's great Chase!....Tell me more?...". Chase then informs Samantha that he would soon get new military orders to transfer back to Travis Air Force base which was located at Fairfield, California, which was only a two hour drive from where Samantha lives. "I can't believe it!....", says Chase, "The Pentagon and the CEO of Macrostrength industries had made me the official pilot for the "Protector Exoskeletal Suit" and they will hold an official ceremony at the South Lawn of the White House, the same place where our President welcomes foreign heads of state and other world dignitaries. Isn't that cool?....". Samantha laughs with excitement and says, "That's way too cool Chase!....". Then there was a moment of brief silence when suddenly Chase asks, "Later that night, there's gonna be a formal dinner with some dancing that's gonna be held in the White House in honor of my selection....Ahmm...Can you be my date for that dinner and dance party?....". Samantha giggles and says, "Of course, I wouldn't miss that for the world....I'll even be there cheering at your introduction ceremony....".

      Meanwhile, Sgt Holt together with Ritchie and Grey had already reached Dr. Peters mansion. Parking at an inconspicuous area at the east side of the mansion, Dr. Peters meets both Ritchie and Sgt Holt as they carry the frail body of Grey who was still unconscious at this time. "Follow me this way, let's take him to my medical clinic here at the basement..", Dr. Peters says, "I've got everything I need to treat him here....". After a minute, they all enter into a well lighted medical treatment facility at the basement of Dr. Peters mansion. And after laying Grey down in a hospital bed, Dr. Peters begins by taking off Grey's right titanium arm guard as he starts an intravenous line in Grey's forearm in order to re-hydrate him with IV fluids. And while Dr. Peters was examining Grey, Ritchie starts to update Dr. Peters of how Grey was framed for the murder of the two police officers and of how Dr. Kane tried to recruit Grey to be a part of his vigilante army that will be bent in killing all of society's convicted drunk drivers. Then after 20 minutes of explanation, Ritchie concludes by saying, "And because Grey refused to join Dr. Kane, Grey has no other way of acquiring the JK4 drug that he desperately needs in order to move again.....".

         Sgt Holt sits on a chair then asks Dr. Peters, "Is there any way you can replicate the JK4 serum?....". Dr. Peters shakes his head in disappointment as he says, "Believe me I've tried, a few weeks ago, I borrowed one of Grey's JK4 inhalers and had my scientists study it.....Dr. Kane's a smart man.....He used a synthetic enzyme that breaks down the drugs chemical composition and rearranges them too, making it almost impossible to replicate his invention....". Dr. Peters suddenly see's blank stares from Ritchie and Sgt. Holt, "What I mean't to say was, ahmm....It's like placing a five digit pad lock to a gym locker....It's still possible to find the right combination, but it might take a long time to figure it out....And that's the same with the JK4 drug. Actually I already have a whole staff of thirty biochemists at CURE Corp who are researching the correct chemical composition of the JK4....".

         At this time, Grey become's fully awake and was overhearing what Dr. Peters was saying. "I can't stay in a quadriplegic state Doc....", says Grey, "I need the JK4 serum in order to gain my super powers back. I need to obtain that video tape from the mob. It's the only thing that can clear me from this false murder charge that's been thrown at me....". Sgt. Holt stands up and places his hands inside his pockets and says, "Don't keep your hopes too high kid.....For all we know, they probably destroyed that video tape already.....". Grunting in frustration, "Ahhh!, I have to hope!....There's no other choice!...", Grey looks and pleads at Dr. Peters asking, "You've got to help me Doc!....You're my only hope!....".

      Dr. Peters starts to pace the floor as he says, "Suing John Kane for control of the JK4 serum will take years, so that's out of the question. The only other option I have for you has a very grim outcome, it will cost you your life....". A tense and brief silence filled the room, and after a few moments Grey asks, "Tell me, I need to get my super powers back...". Dr. Peters rubs his forehead as he hesitates then starts to say, "I can reproduce the earlier version of the JK4 serum.....After nearly 20 years of research, I was able to create two serums, the "MP1" and the "SP3" which I hoped would have led to the cure of spinal cord paralysis. When the two are combined and administered to a patient, it works just like the JK4 serum. The only thing left to add is the chemical properties that creates the "Psychokinetic effects" that can allow you to move and levitate titanium metals. I can have my scientists focus their research on isolating that one particular property from the JK4 serum we have at the lab, and once we have it, we can add it with the other two serums that I've invented....".

      Grey's hopes suddenly comes to life, "That's great Doc!....I knew there was a way!....". Dr. Peters stares at Grey with sadness in his eyes as he says, "Son, the problem is that the "MP1" serum is hepatotoxic, it damages the liver....While the "SP2" serum is nephrotoxic, it damages the kidneys. If you use these drugs, it will eventually kill you in a matter of weeks, a couple of months at the most.....". The room was silent once again when everybody hears Grey say, "You know, I'd rather die an innocent man than to live condemned as a criminal....". Everybody glances at each other as Dr. Peters concludes and says, "Very well, I'll give the order to start the development of the drugs that you'll need. I'll start looking for a liver donor for you and also have a dialysis machine installed at the mausoleum....". Sgt. Holt looking puzzled asks, "Mausoleum?.....". Dr. Peters explains to the former police detective how he had his wife's mausoleum transformed into Grey and Ritchie's secret hideout. Dr. Peters also tells Ritchie that he'll have him train with a dialysis nurse on how to safely operate a dialysis machine. "Once Grey goes into kidney failure, he'll need you to dialyze him every other day.....", says Dr. Peters. Then for the last time, Dr. Peters turns to Grey and says, "Son....I hope you understand what you're getting into.....There's no cure for liver failure and finding a liver transplant donor takes time, I want you to know that once you head this direction that there's no turning back....".  

        Grey just stares at the ceiling and does not answer, when suddenly Sgt Holt decides to leave telling everyone that he still has to work on comparing Grey's fingerprints with the fingerprints taken at Detective Cross's bedside phone. Then a few minutes after Sgt Holt had left, Ritchie starts to clean up Grey when they suddenly hear someone knocking at the door of the basement clinic. "Who is it?...", Dr. Peters asks. After a second, Grey and Ritchie suddenly shudders when they hear Samantha's voice say, "It's me Dad...Can I come in?....".

        The three men suddenly feels panic-stricken as Dr. Peters shouts, "Hold on honey, just a minute....". Dr. Peters quickly pulls the hospital curtain around the bed to hide the two men, as Ritchie sits motionless on the side of the bed while Grey starts to pant rapidly. And once Grey and Ritchie was totally hidden by the curtain, Dr. Peters clears his throat and nervously calls out to his daughter as he tells her to come in. As Samantha enters the room, "What's going on in here?...", asks Samantha, "Who's behind the curtain?....". With a wry smile, Dr. Peters nonchalantly walks towards his medical supply cabinet and pretends to look for instruments when suddenly Samantha hears a familiar voice say, "Oh, ahmm...It's me...Ritchie....And I'm naked!...". Samantha looking exasperated, grimaces as she asks, "What's he doing here, Dad?!....". Dr. Peters fumbles with a few instruments in his hands and says, "I'm treating him for....Ahmmm....It's..Oh,.. Ahhh...". Ritchie suddenly blurts out saying, "Gonorrhea!....". Dr. Peters drops a few syringes on the floor as he says, "That's right....He has an infection!...".

        Samantha feeling distraught, places her hands on her hips as she grunts then says, "Ahhh!....Again?!....When will you ever learn to use condoms?!....". Behind the curtain, Samantha hears Ritchie unassumingly say, "I do want to....It's just that I still haven't found one that fits....". Samantha looking annoyed, takes her attention away from Ritchie and asks, "Dad, can we talk?, I need to ask your opinion about something personal....". Dr. Peters grabs an incision and drainage tray as he walks and slips behind the curtain then quickly gestures to Grey to be quiet. "Well as you can see, I'm quite busy honey. What about Maria, have you tried talking to her at all?.....". Samantha sits on a chair as she sigh's deeply and says, "Dad, she went on vacation to see her kids and grand kids, and she wont be back for another week....I even tried talking to Betsy but she's so wired up and stressed out at work that the only thing she's interested in talking about is how I could help her lessen her workload....".

      There was a brief silence as the three men behind the curtain were thinking of how to get rid of Samantha. "I can wait Dad...", Samantha says, "I just really need someone to talk to right now....". Dr. Peters, Grey and Ritchie starts to glance at each other anxiously when Dr. Peters says, "Actually, this might take awhile honey....Why don't you just go upstairs and wait for me....". Samantha looking puzzled asks, "All Ritchie needs is a shot of Penicillin right?....Why would that take so much time?....". Once again Samantha hears her father from the other side of the curtain nervously say, "Oh..Ahmm...He's got an abscess on his penis.....It's rather large....". Ritchie suddenly chuckles then blurts out saying, "The shaft!....". Dr. Peters quickly counters saying, "No the abscess....The abscess is rather large and deep. I'll have to excise it, drain it and pack it. This will probably take at least 40 minutes....". Ritchie suddenly gets nervous as he see's Grey's agitated look, whispering and warning him to stop his disgusting comments.

    After another brief silence,  the three men hiding behind the curtain hears Samantha say, "Well in that case, I don't care if Ritchie hears what I have to say, "Dad, I still miss Grey...", says Samantha as her eyes turn red while she bites down on her lower lip, trying not to cry, "I miss him very much Dad....". And as the three men remain silent and frozen behind the curtain, they start to hear Samantha's voice turn hoarse as she clears her throat then sniffles. "There are times when I still feel that he's still with me, just like right now....It's like as if I can still feel his presence....".  Samantha cries as her eyes fill with tears, her hands trembling. Meanwhile, behind the curtain, Ritche and Dr. Peters see's the appearance of tears around Grey's eyes as he desperately controls himself from crying.

     Ritchie realizing that he needs to create a distraction to shift the mood, quickly grabs the TV remote control and turns on the television hoping that the sound on the television would distract and drown out Samantha's voice thereby lessening Grey's emotional suffering. But as the TV turns on, they all start to hear a music video of Leann Rimes romantic song entitled, "How Do I Live?". And as the lyrics of the song creates an even more depressing mood. Ritchie violently presses the, "Off", button on the remote control but to no avail. The batteries inside the remote control were almost totally drained.

     Samantha shifts in her chair uneasily as the song continues to play on the television, "About an hour ago, I received a phone call from Chase....", Samantha says, "He told me that he has been selected by the Pentagon to be the pilot of a high tech suit, and that the President of the United States will be introducing him to the world as America's first ever real super hero.....They were even gonna do the ceremony at the White House lawn. I was so happy and excited for him.....And when he asked me if I would be his date for the dinner and dance party at the White House, I quickly said "Yes" ....It was only after I hanged up the phone that I remembered Grey....I feel guilty Dad!...I'm now confused if I should call Chase back to cancel our date and to let him know that I'm still in mourning and that I won't be able to make it to his ceremony in the White House.....".

     There was no response for half a minute, then Ritchie blurts out saying, "Well...You should feel guilty, and besides, a man like Chase will only use you for sex!...Believe me, I know!....". Samantha swipes tears from  her face then glances sideways as she wonders why Ritchie was even in the conversation. "Will you please tell me what to do Dad?....", asks Samantha. Dr. Peters stares sadly at Grey's facial expression as he see's tears flowing down his face then says, "Honey, If Grey was alive right now, I'm sure he'll tell you that It's time for you to move on....I'm sure that he loves you too much that he'd want you to be happy....". Silently, Grey turns his head as his eyes meets Dr. Peters eyes as he smiles and nods with approval at what the doctor just told his daughter.

     And as Samantha's sobbing continues on, Dr. Peters finally slips out of the curtain misty eyed as he walks over to his daughter as he folds her into his arms. After a minute, Dr. Peters walks his daughter back upstairs to their living room, leaving Ritchie and Grey alone. Hearing Samantha suffer emotionally brought tremendous sadness in Grey's heart as tears kept flowing down his face. Ritchie, realizing the suffering and sacrifice Grey had to endure in order to give Samantha a new beginning in life and love, starts to feel a heaviness in his heart. And as Grey continues to weep silently, he suddenly hears Ritchie wailing. Staring at Ritchie and looking surprised, "What the hell is wrong with you?...", Grey asks, "Why are you crying?.....". Ritchie swipes at the tears in his eyes and the mucus running down his nose as he replies, "I don't know.....Maybe it's that damn Leann Rimes song!..."

    After an hour had passed, Ritchie was done giving Grey a bed bath and was also done spoon feeding him. And as Grey goes to sleep, Ritchie goes upstairs to look for Dr. Peters. Seeing both Samantha and Dr. Peters by the living room watching TV, "Hey! Doc....Thanks for the treatment and the antibiotic, I locked up the basement door and here's the key...". Handing the key to Dr. Peters, suddenly the news on TV comes on. "Good evening America, welcome to the eleven o'clock news.....And now for our top story. Today at San Francisco, a man with a history of multiple drunk driving convictions was found dead in his home. Police investigators says that the man was tortured and was burned alive. Police say that the person responsible for this killing left a note beside the charred corpse with a message that reads, "From this day on, society will be cleansed of drunk drivers. So beware, If you drink and drive, you'll be burned alive....". The note was signed by Dr. John Kane aka Dr. Kinesis who's wife and daughter died from a car crash that was caused by a drunk driver years ago. Police investigators also say that they've searched the laboratory where he works at and found the whole place decimated, even newly purchased, expensive lab equipments were all shattered  and destroyed....".

     Samantha with her eyes still red looks at her father and asks, "Isn't that guy your former research associate....". Dr. Peters, looking deeply concerned stands to his feet and says, "I have to go to my study to make a few phone calls....Good night to you both.....". Dr. Peters gives his daughter a tight hug and gestures to Ritchie not to worry and that he'll take care of Grey. And as Ritchie takes a seat, Samantha increases the volume on the television as the news continues on, "And now on other news...", says the TV newscaster, "Vallejo Police are now requesting for the public's help in finding the whereabouts of the "Mysterious Knight" and his sidekick "Cobra".... The "Mysterious Knight" who began as a crime fighter but turned into a criminal, is wanted for the killing of two Vallejo police officers. And as you can see from some pictures on your TV screen, the "Mysterious Knight" has a red "X" mark on his breastplate and a red cross on his shield, he also carries a sword and is believed to be extremely dangerous. Meanwhile, his quirky sidekick who wears a worn down Batman costume with a luminous green colored picture of a cobra on his chest as his logo uses a Tazer gun as his weapon. Police officers says that the Batman Cobra person is not that dangerous as long as you stay more than 20 feet away from him. The wired electric probe on his tazer can only reach a distance of 15 feet....".

    Samantha suddenly snickers as she unknowingly stares at the TV photo of Ritchie who was in disguise, hiding behind his Batman costume. "What's so funny?...", Ritchie asks feeling insulted. Samantha giggles once more as she turns to Ritchie saying, "Whoever that person wearing that old Batman costume with a logo of a green cobra on his chest is so tacky!.....I mean just look at his black Batman mask's pointed ears....They're drooping to the sides....". Ritchie feeling emotionally hurt suddenly stands up and reasons out, "Well whoever that person is, that's wearing that Batman suit may not be as rich as you are!....Maybe that's the only costume that he could afford to buy, maybe he only works as a nursing assistant and only gets paid minimum wage. Have you ever thought of that?!....". Samantha was suddenly surprised at Ritchie's behavior, oblivious to the fact that it was Ritchie who was the masked man with the droopy pointed ears that was being shown on the TV screen.

    "What's gotten into you?....", Samantha asks calmly, still with a grin on her face, "Why are you so upset?...". Ritchie still simmering emotionally, answers, "I just don't appreciate your condescending attitude!...And for your information, the real name of that Batman looking guy on TV is not "Cobra"....It's "Python"....". Samantha looking confused pauses then asks, "Why would he be named "Python" when the TV newscaster just labelled him as "Cobra", I mean the green logo on his chest even clearly shows a picture of a "Cobra"....". Ritchie still feeling upset pumps his chest out and points a finger at Samantha as he proudly says, "His real name is "Python" because python symbolizes size....strength and.....". Suddenly Ritchie remembers Grey's warning about not saying anything disgusting towards Samantha as he quickly back tracks his last statement then says, "Oh!, What I mean't to say was that the word "Python" symbolizes peace, justice and freedom for all!....". Samantha was completely motionless looking totally perplexed at what Ritchie just said. And before Samantha could say anything else. Ritchie quickly says, "It's late, I got to go!....", as he hurries and walks out the door. (End Of Chapter)

(Author's Note: Please consider donating $1.00 for every chapter you've enjoyed reading or whatever you can afford to help the poor and the hungry in your respective country. Thank you so much for your patronage and generosity.)