Alex wakes up lying in the remains of the Park. Above him stands a shadowy figure who identifies himself as "Mr. Murder." Murder is possibly the most unappealing villain in the history of the world: a skinny nerd with a giant gut and buck teeth with a tight-fitting leather body-suit. The villain gloats over his victory as Hayden once again falls unconscious.

In a van on the outskirts of the city, Alex wakes up to find himself strapped to a stretcher in the back of a van. Mr. Murder is above him wielding a chainsaw: he has just finished chopping off Hayden's arms and legs. The hired-killer apologizes, stating that the two of them would make a great team, but it is necessary to keep Hayden out of action to eliminate competition for a gigantic sum of money. Alex has no clue what money Murder is referring to, but Murder thinks that Hayden is just buying time in order to regenerate a limb and prepares to send him into the river. Before he sends Alex's stretcher sailing into the depths of the river, Murder congratulates himself on the "professional courtesy" of letting Sandi live and waiting until Alex was alone before destroying the Park. The next morning, a father and son's fishing trip turns gruesome when the son reels in Alex. Later, a partially-regenerated, stump-wielding Hayden tries in vain to hitchhike. Finally, a truck-driver pulls up and offers him a lift. With horror, Alex glimpses his belt-buckle, which reads" 1991 Dwarf Tossing Champion." The trucker mentions that the county fair is fast approaching, and he could use some practice . . . A few hours later, a fully-healed Hayden arrives back in the city at Chicky's Pawn Shop, having killed the driver. Chicky is a gaunt, ancient sleaze-bag who has any equipment or any information related to the underworld. Hayden grills Chicky to find out why Murder wanted him out of action. Chicky suspects that Murder was trying to reduce competition for the "Warren-Stiller" war: apparently, two TV executives, Jeff Warren and Emil Stiller are involved in a bidding war, each offering a sum of money for any merc who can kill the other exec. Alex grins: he'll make the big score, and get back at Murder. Chicky suddenly notices that Alex is a little shorter than last time. Alex replies that last time, he had feet! Chicky offers to sell him some prosthetics. Hayden is intrigued when Chicky mentions that they are hollow . . . According to Chicky, Stiller is the current high-bidder, and the best choice as employer. Alex is almost ready to go, but says that he still needs one more thing as he stops by a clown costume.

Alex, dressed as a clown, arrives in Warren's office claiming that he is looking for "dirty work." Warren is doubtful that "some clown off the street" could do the job properly, but their conversation is interrupted by a knock at the door. Warren's thugs go to answer it when the door explodes suddenly, sending the goons flying. Mr. Murder walks through the wrecked door, puts a gun to Warren's head and coldly pulls the trigger. The freak then sees Alex lying on the ground, complete with prosthetic leg. The hollowed area of the leg is filled with explosives which go off, demolishing the top floor of the building and vaporizing Mr. Murder. Days later, Hayden is finally healed and arrives in Stiller's office to collect the reward money. Stiller smugly informs him that he has no intention of paying Alex for Warren's death and is instead leaving in the "care" of two of his goons. Stiller plans to travel to the Mediterranean and lie low until the controversy over Warren's killing ends. Alex is escorted into an elevator with the two henchmen, but he easily kills them and stalks back to Stiller's office. He chucks Stiller off of the top floor window of his building.

Back at the ruins of the Park, Alex prepares to close it down for good, placing a 'closed for business' sign outside. He ponders the fact that, although he is nearly invincible, his friends are not, and placing the people he loves, such as Sandi, in danger with Agency X is not something he can do anymore. Alex Hayden walks away from the Park for the last time (until the next issue, that is).

Review: This was a weak issue, but I don't really think it could have been anything else at all, no matter who wrote it. It's obvious that this story was written before the decision to extend the series, so there is probably going to be some continuity weirdness when 13 comes out, which this book has already had more than its share of. The problem with having a new writer every issue or so is that they all have a slightly different take on the characters, and Way is no exception. His version of Alex is a more toned-down, quiet one. I guess it makes sense since Alex is doing some heavy thinking about the future (or lack of future) for Agency X, and the wind has basically been taken out of his sails.

One of my main problems with this issue is Way's attempt to start and conclude a storyline, all in one issue, that has nothing to do with any previous plot threads. It appears very rushed, especially at the climax, and if issue 12 had really been the final issue, this would have been an unfulfilling conclusion. It would have been more satisfying to have a completely character/dialogue driven issue featuring Alex gradually losing faith in himself and Agency X. Instead, we get a plot line with brand-new that starts and stops so quickly that we don't get a chance to care.

This isn't really Way's fault, however: it must be a difficult job to write the final book to a series that you have never even worked on before. I remember back when issue 1 came out, I was thrilled with the concept, the characters, the writing, and the art. It's sad that Gail Simone was replaced by a stream of fill-in writers, each with drastically different takes on Hayden, Sandi, and the tone of the book, giving the series an awkward, jerky feel. But there's still hope for the true fans. I'm anxious as hell to tear into 13 to see if Gail can save this series with the final three issues.