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....)