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It’s as if Joe’s feet were guiding him. His memories took the wheel rather than his wits.
Heart pounding, he flung open the shed door, stirring up a massive cloud of dust from inside. The curtain of dust slowly fell, slowly revealed his single opportunity: his father’s motorbike. The only ticket out of this town.
Joe knew so little about how it worked. It couldn’t be that hard. If he delayed, he knew the fire in his heart would die out. He resorted to abuse. A few kicks, yanks, and turning of switches, and the ancient thing screamed to life. The sound of a dead machine being born anew; the sound of a pack of hounds howling for the hunt. If he hadn’t already been seated, it would have torn down the old, broken drive without him.
It hadn’t been possible for him to understand the weight of the silence that had always loomed over this city until it was finally broken. The massive, oppressive quiet that lingered in every street like a hungry animal had suddenly been banished in a breath. A bomb, a spark, a cry in the night. He tore down the road.
The city’s punishing hush was all that answered back. Even troubled faces peering out doors and windows seemed to crush the space around him, but it was too late. Joe was a comet in the night.
He was flying through this city without a goal or place in mind. This moment of freedom felt as raw and vulnerable as new skin. Through the rush of air, gas, and fervor, he realized that the worn out radio built into the frame was playing.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
Where was this being broadcasted from? His heart fell into his stomach.
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord
Were there others out there? Fighting the vice grip of this city?
No. Now, it was time. He needed to free himself of this place. There was no second guessing this decision. He opened the throttle and sped even faster towards the edge of the city. It would all be corrected in due time.
The song had faded to static as he withdrew from the heart of the city, but the words still seemed to follow him.
Well, if you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand
I've seen your face before my friend
But I don't know if you know who I am
Miles and miles had passed under his wheels. Now, something was wrong. The freedom he thought he knew only minutes ago started to creep away as he got closer to the outskirts. Could he ever escape? Would this city always dig its deep claws into his heart? The vigor gave way to fear.
He realized that his lingering dread had a form. A few blocks behind him, someone kept pace. He would shift to look at it, but it would disappear from view between the sparse functional streetlights.
Well, I was there and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
He pulled his bike down to a stop. Straining his ears, the city’s silence drew around him again like a flood. Only the quiet droning of the television speakers penetrated the stillness, but that had been established as constant background noise so long ago, he barely registered its presence.
So you can wipe off that grin
I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies
A sound– no, nothing– yes, there it was! Footsteps, coming down the alley adjacent to him. The fire in his veins picked up again, lit fresh with the new danger. He turned to face his adversary. Knife in shaking hand, he would take whatever was next.
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
It was no one of consequence. Just a man. Why was he out this far? How? Before he could speak, the man broke eye contact and looked past him. Joe turned to look over his shoulder and saw the real threat. The red-eyed assassin.
The fire in his blood turned to ice. This was it. The cursed creation from the rumors that plagued this city.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord
Disbelief, fear, curiosity, confusion. The assassin drew closer to him as he was processing.
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord
There was no time left to think. No time to make a plan.
The crash that sounded when they collided midair split the night as violently as the motorbike had. Joe had never fought a man of steel before. This was no typical bar fight. He grappled for a handhold, for a muscle he could pinpoint and hold back. He was overpowered. Fire. Ice. Fear. Determination. These, and thousand units of adrenaline, coursed ruthlessly through his body.
Joe grappled for the gun at the assassin’s side. His newfound reason to live could not also be his reason to die. As it moved to crush him into the street, he pinned the gun between them and fired. A blinding light. A deafening sound.
Well I remember, I remember don't worry
How could I ever forget
The robotic beast collapsed on top of him. He tried to draw a breath of relief, but the weight was unbearable.
It's the first time, the last time we ever met
He shuffled the defunct metal form off of him and onto the dirty street.
But I know the reason why you keep your silence up
No you don't fool me
Wounded, low on energy, Joe picked himself up off the street. He turned, shaking, back to the man behind him, but the man’s attention was still on the bot. He advanced, every emotion present on his face. Rage. Grief. Hopefulness. Hopelessness. He passed by Joe like a ghost and leaned in close to the robot. Joe moved to stop him, to pull him back from the danger–
The hurt doesn't show
But the pain still grows
It's no stranger to you and me
… But the man had already begun talking to the assassin robot. In hushed tones, he began talking into what would be the thing’s ear. Joe felt that he was witnessing a prayer. Or a curse.
The man yanked a section of the cord holding the head to the frame of the assassin. In seconds, it was severed. It was as easy and swift as taking a life.
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well, I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
Joe understood at last. The man who moved to stand in front of him, the man who dispatched the assassin robot, the man who had created it all those years ago. This man had closed the circle; a circle that only a father and son could understand.
A whole conversation passed between Joe and Thomas when they locked eyes.
I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord
But i've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
Sobering looks. Joe knew plenty about the man in front of him, or he knew what was whispered through the city. Dr. Light could never have known anything about Joe, but in one night– this one perfect happenstance– they were locked into a permanent bond.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
But I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord
But i've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord
As Joe donned the helmet, the red string of fate was pulled taut.
I can feel it coming in the air
I can feel it coming in the air
I can feel for this moment for all my life, oh lord, oh lord
I can feel it coming in the air