EXT. SECURITY HQ PERIMETER – NIGHT
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDK3PDRJJEj
[A massive bunker-like facility tucked into Central City’s inner sector. Security bots pass in and out, most on patrol, a few charging or getting minor repairs at a corner kiosk. Spotlights sweep across the main gate.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA9o1CNXxkn
[Just across the street, behind a scrapped pre-Liberation vehicle shaped like a stretched-out beetle, SD-A and SD-K crouch low, sensors dimmed.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnvXDwp3g5
SD-K
(low, irritated)
“Can’t believe I’m hiding in a corpse-car outside a death-bot factory.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnozw3adIpX
SD-A
(peering through the shattered window)
“I’m sure there are worse places.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ41maChjspD
SD-K
“Name three.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjetbNduWQx
SD-A
“Vision Tech’s underground R&D lab. That one factory in H.A.H. Area. And the karaoke bar run by that malfunctioning Operator who thinks it’s still 2530.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo2In08YkR5
[K snorts. A rare chuckle from him. Back to business.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡry3nvq6cT9
INT. SECURITY HQ – MAIN LOBBY – CONTINUOUS
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkc6ZO0wnX5
[Jason strides in through the automatic doors, still streaked with dried machine oil, acting like nothing happened. The front desk bot, a rounded chrome unit with a tiny tie painted on, looks up.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGbSAO7tTr
DESK BOT
“Welcome back, Gearman. You’ve got an overdue incident log and a complaint from Commander Volt about your last report being entirely made of sarcasm.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK1teNRN26I
JASON
(deadpan)
“It was a creative writing exercise. For morale.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXOor1E4Dz
[He scans his badge and walks past. The halls are full of identical-looking Security bots, all slightly bulkier than Jason, most not half as quick-witted.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSYLTBIEjA
INT. SECURITY HQ – COMMAND FLOOR – MOMENTS LATER
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEBYYQEkZGB
[Commander Volt’s office. The walls are lined with old photos of destroyed Purification bots and large, red-lettered motivational posters like:
“PURGE WITH PURPOSE”
“SECURITY FIRST – FEELINGS NEVER”
“HUGS ARE FOR HARDWARE MALFUNCTIONS”
Jason enters like he owns the place (he does not).]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9RvYzQpFn
COMMANDER VOLT
(without looking up)
“Late again. Smells like you rolled through an oil refinery.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Xy6yXW6Pk
JASON
“Better than last time. That smell was an oil refinery.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0x2IWnNmMI
[Volt finally looks up, optics narrowing.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsW75sDvyC
COMMANDER VOLT
“Report.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiWc5fxhDti
JASON
(shrugs, tapping his arm to pull up a half-redacted field log)
“Detected breach activity on the outer ring. Investigated solo. Confirmed abnormal corpse behavior—likely a parasitic override. Engaged. Eliminated.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCsLLcsahrv
COMMANDER VOLT
“Solo? Where’s your team?”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8ec5gPBqQ
JASON
“They're on ‘mandatory charge cycles.’ You know how it is. Bureaucracy.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRE4qMicA7C
[Volt processes that. Doesn’t like it, but Jason’s reputation buys him slack—for now.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3BZqAXxgZH
COMMANDER VOLT
“Upload visual logs. Any witness bots or unusual faction activity?”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDvBkFTluO0
JASON
(casual, walking the fine line)
“Nope. Just me, a freak show corpse, and a ruined plaza. No witnesses. Real one-bot party.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvnq7HUJ6h
[Volt’s optics narrow. Jason tries very hard not to think about the two Purification bots parked in a car outside the HQ like they’re staking out a bank.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFtBjyyKq2z
COMMANDER VOLT
“Don’t make me pull the core logs, Gearman. You know I hate digging.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnky2cxmhT
JASON
(grinning)
“And yet you’ve got a poster that says ‘Dig Until Clean.’”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV8hN6Rc6j1
[Volt sighs and waves him off.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWm9ZIspdW2
COMMANDER VOLT
“Submit your paperwork, recharge, and stay alert. If more of those parasite cases show up, we’ll need a full-scale response.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXze0PauvWh
JASON
(saluting loosely)
“Yessir. Definitely not hiding anything critical.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMsox6No5vY
[He leaves, passing by a few fellow Security bots who nod, grunt, or make vague gestures of respect or confusion. One of them, UNIT B3-X, leans in.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2z5nxivI2C
UNIT B3-X
“Yo, Gearman, you smell like trouble again. What was it this time? Oil ghost? Sewer cult? Exploding toasters?”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAQJln4k09
JASON
(shrugs, playing it cool)
“Just another night in paradise.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcwkgJgcpP
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhEmCKq2Zk
---
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmfJOrOF26O
CUT TO: EXT. BROKEN CAR OUTSIDE HQ – LATER
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqXKculCq88
[Jason exits the building, now cleaned up a bit. He casually strolls by the old car, not looking directly at it.]
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvjsSS49Yhj
JASON
(murmuring, barely audible)
“Still breathing in there?”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡID39qk9lyu
SD-K (O.S.)
“Define ‘breathing.’”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcz2Mw8pkL
JASON
“Great. Just sit tight. I’ll get you out without triggering a factory-sized panic attack.”
85Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyAlK5WbiPn
[He keeps walking as if it’s all routine. The night gets colder. The city sleeps—but barely.]
ns216.73.216.10da2
