Kobra Venom

Act II- Solving the Equation of Life

| BATTERY CITY (FORMERLY THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA)

| July 14, 2012

The pain in Mikey’s right hand had been dulled, thanks to an injection of some kind of medication. He wasn’t quite sure what it was he was injected with, but he did know that it made his senses fuzzy. He didn’t mind, though, because it really did feel better than the constant pain in his hand he had been suffering from for the past several days.

Mikey was thankful that Gerard chose to stick around. He really needed his big brother at his side right now, even though he’d never admit it.

“There is nerve damage,” the doctor explained, “but it’s not as serious as your friend thought it was. It is, however, permanent, but with medication, the pain and numbness should be kept to a minimum. Doing simple tasks such as writing may be more difficult than before, but it shouldn’t hold you back any more than, say, a sprained wrist.”

The doctor filled out a prescription and handed a copy to Gerard. “His medication should be ready in an hour. You can pick it up in the pharmacy downstairs.”

Gerard thanked the doctor as he and Mikey left the room. Mikey registered the hand on his shoulder and the comforting presence of his brother, but for some reason, everything felt… off.

“They’re helpful, yeah,” Mikey heard Frank say, “But they pretty much leave you a shell of your former self. This is why people tend to use medication rather than cutting out a piece of their brain. Plus, it’s a lot less messy.”

“While I do agree with you in that matter,” the woman replied, “The lobotomy is a permanent solution. This prevents any… complications in case the patient forgets their medication.”

“C’mon, Frank! We gotta go,” Gerard called. Mikey grew internally frustrated at the fact that it was harder to hear what anyone was saying. He assumed that it was the drug’s doing, though, so he didn’t complain about it.

“Aww, come on! I was on a roll here!” Frank whined.

“The debate was very interesting, Mister Iero,” the Asian woman said, “I do hope we can continue this discussion later.” With that, she turned to leave.

“Who was that, anyway?” Mikey asked.

“I dunno,” Frank said.

…

| BATTERY CITY

| October 13, 2012

Over the past three months, Mikey slowly started to lose control over himself. It just took time for him to see it.

First, it was Mikey’s interests that slowly left him. When Gerard told him about a new band, The Mad Gear and the Missile Kid, Mikey internally said that he’d love to go. But, for some strange reason, he physically showed no interest. No matter how many times Mikey said yes internally, the physical Mikey showed absolutely no interest. Gerard had also found Mikey’s favorite Anthrax CD, and when Mikey tried to reach for it, his body refused. It was like someone else had control over him.

Then, shortly after receiving Lasik, Mikey’s body was even less responsive to any and all internal commands. It was starting to scare him.

It got worse after his medication ran out. No matter how many times internal Mikey commanded his physical form to calm down, external Mikey never listened. It was nightmarish.

After receiving the refill, Mikey’s physical body went back to a more docile, but dull, state… and still, his body was unresponsive to his internal dialogue.