Extirpon 2

Extirpon 2 is a story in the Tales of Extirpon novel of the Gerosha Legends super-pack of The Gerosha Chronicles in Dozerfleet Comics. It is the sequel to Extirpon, and continues the adventure of the titular anti-hero as he wrestles with the darkness of his own nature - to unlock a power he only suspected that he might have.

Plot
After foiling a brutal home invasion, Extirpon tries to save the life of an innocent child that has been fatally wounded by the next wave of bad guys. However, he is only able to heal damage to himself through defiance power. The child dies in his arms. With so many criminals dead and in terror of him, he feels his long-held-in anger begin to subside. Realizing he has lost some of his humanity to become Extirpon, he tries to reclaim it by learning how to love again. He goes incognito to Vermont, where he interviews a minister who has gotten in trouble for helping a child escape from state-mandated custody to a loathe pedophile. As the minister speaks of his convictions in obeying God rather than the desperately wicked judge in Vermont, and speaks of his willingness to go to prison for his convictions, Eric notices that he begins glowing golden color - not his usual violet hue. He takes the minister out back behind the coffee shop, and admits to being Extirpon. He asks what the golden glow means. The minister states that if Extirpon has a Negative Emotion Battery, it might be possible that God is trying to redeem him by giving him a Positive Battery to balance it with.

Extirpon parts ways with the minister, hunting down the pedophile woman and animating a small army of murderous dolls to punish her for trying to steal the child away from her biological mother. The dolls succeed, but not before she calls her friend - the judge - on the phone, and explains what is happening. The judge insists that even if he has to give the child away to a convicted child murderer, he will destroy the family that dared defy him. Extirpon immediately places that judge's confession into the hands of the FBI and pro-marriage groups, then traps the judge in a semi-comatose state consisting of hellish nightmares.

The realization of a positive battery makes Eric crave the opportunity to unlock it. After destroying a nuclear missile and saving the west coast results in sheer ingratitude from Washington, Eric goes to hide for a time in the Philippines. He meets Pamela Anna Marcones, who falls head-over-heels for him and tries to have a relationship with him after he saves her from some gangsters. She takes him in, paying attention to his every emotional need. She finally comes forward to him about her needs, though he isn't certain he can fulfill them due to the requirements of being Extirpon.

Meanwhile, GLSEN/NAMBLA activists in Vermont grow incensed that a corrupt judge partial to their causes would be attacked by Extirpon. They discover a man named Simon Lanson, given the nickname "Spoliat." They receive help from an underling associated with the cannibal cult leader Scott Morrisson to break into the facility where Spoliat is being held captive in a Marlquaanite prison, and they bring him his freedom. They tell him that in exchange, they want him to go after Extirpon. The sociopath manages to kill most of his would-be employers, then decides to go after Extiron anyway just for sport.

Spoliat tries to make his way into the neighborhood, but finds that the love and kindness of mothers towards their children makes him feel dizzy and weak. He instead looks for those suffering the pain of rejection, and feeds off them before using the fact that they empowered him to visit hellish torture and murder on the loving families whose kindness is agony to him. He manages to locate Eric hanging out with Pam in the Philippines, and then challenges Eric to a fight. The battle between Extirpon and Spoliat proves to be a long and violent one. However, Eric's pain of dejection at the fact that Extirpon has so few friends provides Spoliat with a constant supply of fuel for his powers. He manages to blindside Extirpon, eventually knocking him to the ground and scrambling the Negative Battery. He drops a building on top of Eric, with debris taking out Eric's right eye. Believing Extirpon to be dead, Spoliat goes on a killing spree all over the islands.

Pam recovers Eric's body, hiding him in a hut to receive medical treatment from local doctors she trusts. They suggest turning Eric over to hospitals in Manila for proper treatment. However, Pam insists that if anyone knew Extirpon was still alive and well in the Philippines, it would only end badly. His right eye socket ends up being patched, and he decides to make the most of his time with Pam before Spoliat inevitably comes back to destroy everyone in town. He takes the time with her to reconnect with his own sense of humanity. While he is unable to use the Positive Battery to heal his eye, Eric's other wounds begin healing. He also notices that the Positive Battery begins healing the Negative one. He come across a robbery, but opts to show sympathy for the victim after the crime as opposed to battling the criminals. His newfound compassion accelerates his Negative Battery's repair, allowing him just enough access to it to fix his eye. Pam and Eric begin wondering if it is even necessary for him to be Extirpon at all. The two become attached over the next week, almost forgetting that Spoliat is still loose. However, the death of another Marlquaanite who attempts to face Spoliat convinces Eric that Extirpon will have to return. Pam grows fearful at the thought of losing Eric, and begs him not to abandon her. She begins soothing and coaxing him, in order to get him to stay. She even seduces him, in spite his moral objections and fear of upsetting her brother further. He assures her after an evening in her arms that he is not ready to abandon her forever; but that he cannot stay with her in the Philippines forever either. He will have to leave and return another time. She asks if they can marry, and he tells her he will definitely consider it.

Meanwhile, Spoliat grows bored with the Philippines, and decides to terrorize Shanghai next. He reasons that life under communism has created enough despondency to give him endless power. Eric goes out to the docks the following morning, feeling an overwhelming amount of positive emotion charge in his Positive Battery. Heartfelt sympathy for the victims of a mugging going on there results in him being able to repair the Negative Battery enough to unlock defiance, which allows him to save the lives of the couple that was about to be stabbed and killed. A glowing white Extirpon surrounds the couple inside a protective shield, as their love for each other makes the shield stronger. Extirpon finally uses the positive energy discharge to teleport them to safety. He then depletes his Positive Battery to repair the Negative Battery completely. He comes to the realization that...