"MURPHY!" Roy yells before rubbing his hands together and shocking Murphy back to life like a defibrillator.
"Roy. Listen to me…" Murphy coughs. "They say you see your entire life before you die."
An image appears of Murphy and other marines standing at attention. Another of him receiving a medal from Victor Caine and shaking hands with the President. The memory of him and his wife holding their son for the first time.
Roy pats Murphy's face. "Come on, Murph. Skai will be here soon, we'll fly you out of here."
Another memory where Victor Caine gives him a file with a snake on the cover. The searing pain of the Snake Clan's brand over his American flag tattoo hits him all over again.
"What do you see in him?" Murphy says.
"What?!" Roy frantically asks.
The memory resumes. Murphy is watching Roy in class from behind one-way glass. Ishikawa steps next to Murphy, joining him in observation.
"Dreams are an interesting thing for people like you and I. We're never sure if they are figments of our imaginations or futures yet unseen. When I was a boy I'd always have this one dream, more so a nightmare, of a person standing over the world casting judgement." Ishikawa reveals.
"So what? You think this boy is some God?" Murphy sarcastically asks.
"Perhaps. You should know my dreams are nothing to scoff at, boy. If not for them, I wouldn't have survived that bomb that crippled my nation.
"So tell me more about this dream. My dreams are typically me at the casino and winning but I'm in my underwear." Murphy laughs.
"Ha." Ishikawa humors him. "I continued to have this same dream well into my adult years and even now. However, as time grew, the vision started to become clearer. Soon enough I was able to make out a few individuals standing next to the God-like figure. That fat American child was one of them."
"Gotta be honest, I can definitely see that kid standing over a chocolate bar more than the entire world. Guess it depends on how hungry he is."
Ishikawa doesn't even pay the joke mind. "If I break him down, and build a loyal servant out of him, then I will be one step closer to fulfilling my dream."
"Oh, how a man can dream."
"Indeed."
ZZXT!
Murphy jolts awake again. "My…eye…Grab…my..eye.." He manages to mutter before dozing off again.
Roy frantically searches the ground until he finds the prosthetic, observing it for a moment before turning it to the side where a microSD ejects. "Wha?"
Murphy is now in an infirmary where several children lay on separate hospital beds, he himself has a slash wound on his arm, a nurse comes over but he shoos her away. "I'm fine! Just make sure these kids are okay or I swear to God." Holding his arm, he turns around but is shocked to see Ishikawa. "S-Sensei, y-you're here?"
"Well, why wouldn't I be? I heard a few of my students escaped campus and got injured in the city, isn't that shameful?"
"They're kids, they sneak out." Murphy claims.
"Bad children, get punished." Ishikawa bluntly responds. He motions over to a young Skai, her head is bandaged. Ishikawa presses his finger down on her wound and traces it down her face, though unconscious, she winces in pain.
Murphy runs over and smacks Ishikawa's hand away. "What are you doing?! That's a ch-"
Without a second wasted, Ishikawa cocks back and rips out one of Murphy's eyes. "Know your place."
"GAHHHHH!" Murphy screams, hunched over, he tries to gather himself.
Ishikawa walks over to observe Roy who has many slashes and stab wounds but is seemingly just sleeping. "Am I to assume this is the handiwork of Reiko and his thugs?"
"WHEWWW….WHEWWWW…okay….umm…I mean…yes, yes, Sensei." Murphy reported trying to keep calm despite the immense pain.
"And where is my son now? Hmmm.." Ishikawa says, still facing away from Murphy.
"I-I-I, I killed him." Murphy says, holding his head down in shame. "I had no choice! He left me no other-"
"Ah, oh well. A pity." Ishikawa bluntly states.
"Huh?" Murphy returns a bewildered glare. "You aren't mad?"
"That my son was bested yet again, and by an American, obviously. However, that's between me and him. Since his first death in Hiroshima, I've grieved my son so many different times that I think I've run out of tears. So I'm not mad, at you in particular, no." He turns around. "What led to it, if I may ask?"
"Welllll…the brats were ambushed by Reiko's goons in the city. I watched them all helplessly get their asses kicked."
"As you should've. Serpents have no hands to hold."
"The boy over there that you had your eye on took most of the beating but stayed standing the longest, until one of Reiko's guys came to deliver the final blow."
"And?"
Murphy points to Skai and winces in pain again over the loss of his eye. "For some reason, that girl jumped in the way, shielding him from the blade at the cost of her face. And in that moment, something snapped in him."
In real time, Skai blitzes across the sky to Murphy's office.
Ishikawa's eyebrow raises.
"Lightning tore down from the skies in an explosion of sound and light that vaporized the thugs in the alley, however, he passed out shortly afterward. I went to retrieve and transport the children but that's when he arrived."
"Reiko?"
"Reiko."
"Huh." Ishikawa chuckles, once again looking at Roy, then at Skai. "Staff! Expedite the recovery of these two only! Let the rest fend for themselves."
"Wait! No!"
Murphy is brought back to the present, Roy drops the ice wall and Skai just nears the corner, out of breath. She loses all the remaining air she had once she sees the sight, Murph's eyes gouged, a gaping wound that's constantly being frozen to keep from reopening.
"Oh my." Skai puts her hands over her mouth and tears begin to form.
"Great! Skai, you're here! Come help me pick him up and-" Roy tries to pick Murphy up but he pushes him away with his last ounce of strength. With tears in his eyes, he says "M-Murph, what are you doing?"
"Roy…Skai….I'm spent. I'm sorry." Murphy says, looking past them both to his wife waving at him from the other side. "I'm sorry but I have to pass my mission onto you….Reiko…he has possessed my son. Free him for me, whatever it takes." Skai rushes over to Murphy, both her and Roy are pleading for him to stay awake, but he doesn't hear them.
"Come on, Craig. You're tired. Look at the strong friends you've made." Murphy's wife says. Murphy can't see a thing anymore, but he hears the uncontrollable sobbing.
"They're so annoying. Can't a man die in peace." Murphy jests.
"I think Owen is in good hands."
BP and Selene round the corner guns drawn.
"Oh fuck…" BP says, walking in the room slowly.
Murphy opens his eyes (or the lack thereof) for one last time. "Well, look who finally decided to show up.' Murphy laughs.
"W-well, you know, hehe. I was out with my lady and things got spicy." BP quietly jokes, taking a knee beside Murphy.
"You all need to know there is so much in life worth doing than the shit that we do. Don't let our world define you. Define the world for yourselves." Murphy looks up at the ceiling. "I cherish you all, Selene ehhh, but everyone else, absolutely. It's a shame I can't see your brother in action now, Roy. He really had my ears perked."
"You all are our future. Remember that."
Then he's gone.
As the crew sobs, Murphy floats past them to take his wife's hand and they begin to fade away. Although BP can't see or hear Murphy at this stage, he turns around anyway and says "See you on the other side, old friend."
"Perceptive as ever, even in death." Murphy's soul says. "Same to you my friend, may this family be the one you never had." And with that his spirit leaves too.
Breathing heavily, Roy gets up, looking at Kema's corpse then staring at Murphy's body, it all felt so wrong. "It should've been me." He isn't here anymore, he's standing in the burning hallway of an apartment building. Roy hears a baby crying and when he turns his head, he's at a court hearing for Leo. Fidgeting with the sleeves of his suit to hide the bruises underneath he's gotten from AGGY.
"GUILTY!" The judge proclaims as the gavel slams and when Roy looks up he's in the alley staring at Skai, with blood streaming down her face. She weakly tells him, "Go…" His breathing heightens. In real time, Skai grab's Roy's arm and softly tries to snap him out of it. "Roy…"
"Roy."
"Roy."
"Royyyyy…."
"Roy!"
"Huh?" Roy wakes up, now he's in a red hallway walking in a single file line with all the other boys from his class. Across from him is Skai walking in a line of girls.
"Roy! How could you be dozing off at a time like this?! The big day is here!"
"Finals." They both say.
Both lines of students start diverging into different rooms. Before splitting up, Skai gives Roy a thumbs up. "We got this!" She says winking.
"You think so?" A younger Roy says nervously.
"You've got this in the bag. I'm the one that actually has to try a bit, I think I got it tho'." Skai gives him a suggestive glance. "I have a special motivation."
Roy chuckles, "Oh yeah? And what's that?"
"Roy, if we both pass, will you be my boyfriend?"
"I'd die for it." Roy says before looking down at his hands. One moment they're clean, the next, they're bloodied. He's now in a circular room, in his hand is a katana that still doesn't feel like his own, in front of him is another boy, pleading for his life.
"SPARE ME! PLEASE! I'M SO YOUNG!" The boy has blood pooling from his mouth as he crawls backwards from Roy. "I WON'T ATTACK AGAIN! I PROMISE!"
Roy stumbles forward.
STUDENT 327 FAILED
STUDENT 20 FAILED
STUDENT 61 FAILED
"MY FAMILY IS RICH! I CAN GIVE YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT!" The boy inches back further, spotting a knife on the corpse of another.
STUDENT 48 FAILED
STUDENT 291 FAILED
STUDENT 147 FAILED
The boy grabs the knife and lunges at Roy, who sidesteps and off goes the boy's arm. "AHHHHHHHH!!!" He screams as he spins and falls into a pool of his own blood. Roy walks over slowly.
STUDENT STUDENT STUDENT STUDENT STUDENT STUDENT
FAILED FAILED FAILED FAILED FAILED FAILED FAILED FAILED
"PLEASEEEE!!! DON'T DO THI-" The boy is cut off as Roy brings the blade down.
STUDENT 3 ALEXANDER RICHARDSON FAILED
Roy stares at the boy's corpse, lost in thought. Above him several other students atop pillars leap below. "HE'S DISTRACTED! GET HIM!" Roy just returns a soulless glare.
The next instance we see Roy in, he's limping to the exit. Horikoshi Ishikawa grins as his board of investors clap from the confines of his observation room. Roy falls into a chair at what's essentially a waiting room. It seems the girls weren't finished yet. He holds his head in anguish because he can hear everything, every grunt, every death, and the worst part is that he's trying desperately to figure out which one is Skai's.
Until.
The door opens. Skai, head down, staggered out of the finals arena. Roy couldn't believe his eyes. Despite being exhausted himself he launches over to her and holds her head up.
When she sees his eyes, hers begin to shine as they pool with tears. "Roy!"
Roy blinks and when he opens his eyes again, she's holding his face, in the present day, still in Murphy's office. "I'm here. Thank you." Roy pulls Skai into a tight hug.
Behind him, BP does inventory of all his equipment: grenades, ammo, lockpicks, knives, breach charges. "Alright, you back with us? Any plan on how we can find this son of a bitch?" BP rolls the barrel of Esmerelda up his arm. "We got some snakes in our garden that need killing."
"That we do." Roy says as the tears on his face freeze and explode into ice particles.
Across town, Leo had just finished cranking the generator in the front of the retirement facility. He was coming back inside when the door opened in his face. "What the f-" He catches himself then looks around for the eventual gut punch from Dogman. "Oh, it's you." Leo says, seeing the Nightrunner who was leaving. "Had a nice chat with pawpaw?"
The Nightrunner steps outside fully, observing Leo's bruises and boot. "Well you are a sight for sore eyes." He snorts. "And yes, it's always nice to chat with family. I apologize for my rudeness earlier, sometimes I get a little conceited."
"A little?"
The Nightrunner ignores his sarcasm. "I assume you're a speedster too, right?"
"Yeah I-"
"Have you raced across the country yet?"
"Well no, I-"
"Have you saved hostages from a speeding train? Delivered a bomb away from a city center with seconds to spare? Break the sound barrier?"
"No." Leo bluntly states.
"Then quit while you're ahead, before you hurt somebody, or worse." The Nightrunner says, bumping Leo's shoulder and walking pass.
Around the corner from here, Alayna was gleefully walking up the street in hopes to pop in on Leo at work. Her time "shadowing alumni" was particularly just following Ms. Adebayo around and learning the modern customs of America. She's felt a bit out of touch since she's arrived here. For some reason, Mr. Walker and Ms. Adebayo weren't answering their phones today, so she guesses she has a free day.
Alayna spent her time researching modern fashion trends and ended up acquiring a crop top, cargo pants and some high-top Charley's. She even put her hair up in a ponytail, and who better to show off her new look to, than Leo? So here she is, just a block away from the Retirement for Superheroes Facility and suddenly, she's dragged into the alley and thrown onto the ground.
Her attacker leaps into the air above her, knife drawn, but she just chuckles. "Stop." She says, and a blue energy surrounds her attacker and holds him frozen in place. She gets up and pats off the dust. Her attacker flashes those jade green eyes of his at her. Alayna laughs as he fidgets in place. She points at his lips and says, "Speak." Then the blue energy opens but solely around his face. "Why are you here? Axel?"
The young man, Axel, with disheveled spiky green hair to match his eyes flashed a wicked smile to Alayna. "To see you of course. Release!" A green energy wraps around him and he's released from the magical bind. He falls to the ground, before he can get up and attack again, Alayna says.
"Consiste!" Then a stronger force squeezes Axel in place. He feels his bones crush from the pressure. "Boy, are you aware of who you're dealing with?"
"Why of course! Veronika the Fir-"
"Down!" Alayna commands and her blue force pulls gravity downwards for Axel, bringing him to hands and knees.
"OK! OK!" Axel says, struggling to keep his head up. "Alayna Cedric! The Archmage of House Cedric!" When he finishes, the psychic hold releases him and he gasps for air.
"I'll ask again. Why are you here?" Alayna says, hand in the air ready to cast another spell.
"I've seen the error in my ways and followed your advice! I've come to see-"
"Deorsum!" Alayna says as the force plunges Axel back onto the ground, cracking the earth beneath him. "So I suppose you dragged me into the alley to give me a hug, huh? Then what's the knife for?"
"I was going to give you a haircut too!" Axel says with a mouth full of pavement.
"Gladii. Semita. Ad Parata. Now rise." Axel is then lifted by Alayna's blue energy and held in a T-pose. He opens his eyes to see several blue greatswords floating above him, their points moving in accordance to his eyes.
He looks back at Alayna and smirks. "All this for lil' ol me? Who's the boy? Is it Him?"
Alayna walks back to the sidewalk facing away from Axel. "I'm not sure, but I'm betting my all on him as if he were. I'm sure this go round will be interesting." She turns the corner but he can still hear her voice in his mind. "You will remain here until I say otherwise. I suggest you find other paths to understanding the meaning of life outside of death."
Axel sighs in relief and holds his head back. "Alone again. Will you abandon me in your next life too, Mother?"
Alayna walks forward, adjusting her earrings as she can now see the retirement home, it looks like Leo is speaking to someone outside. "Should you align yourself against me and my wishes? Yes." She responds back mentally, "However, I think this time will be the last time." She says as Leo comes into full view.
Across the street.
"But I can stop time…" Leo says, head down.
The Nightrunner nearly chokes and turns around. "What?"
"In midair." Leo states, looking up into Nightrunner's mask.
"You're lying-" The Nightrunner hesitates by that same glare Leo gave him earlier, like he can see him under all the fancy robotics and gear, like he can see him for the fraud he is. "Let's say I believe you. What's next for the time-stopping wheelchair pusher?"
"Heh." Leo chuckles and pokes his tongue in his cheek. "You know what? Let's settle this with a race. Next time you come visit your gramps, we'll race cross country. If you win, I'll quit."
"BAHAHAA! WHAT! YOU? A NONAME VS ME? THAT'S HILARIOUS! AND WHAT IF YOU WIN?!" The Nightrunner cackles, crying emoticons pop up on his mask.
"If and WHEN, I win. I want your spot as a SpeedHunter." Leo says, holding out his hand.
The Nightrunner jumps back. "Preposterous!"
"The Nightrunner? I presume?" Alayna says walking up. "The Olympian told me much about you the first time I visited the facility. He expressed his desire to see you more. I believe this is a fair agreement, and even if you lose, you'd be able to spend much more time with your cherished ones."
"Alayna." Leo says excitedly, surprised that she's here. She winks back at him.
The Nightrunner looks down at Leo's hand. Thinks for a second then firmly shakes Leo's hand. "I'm going to destroy you."
"Better not skip leg day." Leo jokes, excited to be under his skin.
The Nightrunner walks past them both before taking off in a sprint, then it's like he was never there.
Alayna approaches Leo and caresses his face. "Did you two get into a fight?"
"What? Me and him? I'd never allow him to touch a hair on my head, are you kidding me?" Leo boasts. "It's that old man in there you have to worry about." Leo says as Dogman waves to Alayna through the glass, she delightfully returns the wave. "What are you doing here anyways?"
"Well, I wanted to show you my outfit of course!" Alayna cheerfully says before spinning around to show herself off.
"Woww….." Leo drools, if his tongue was long enough, it would've rolled onto the ground like a red carpet.
They both giggle and jump around as Charles watches them from afar. He turns the corner to face Axel who's still stuck in mid air. "My, my, Axel. Time and time again, you've proven to be a fruitful bloodhound. Thank you, my beacon."
"Yeah! Yeah! Just release me already." Axel barks back.
A green doorway opens up into the alley that Charles begins to walk through. "Hmmm…I don't think I will. I wouldn't want to alert my presence to the Witch just yet. Sit tight, and I'm sure she'll free you soon. She's just as interested in how you'll turn out too, you know?" Charles says before walking into the doorway.
"Charleyyyyy! Charles! Come on!" The doorway then closes, leaving Axel stranded. "God Damnit! You slimy tentacle fuck!"