EXT. SECURITY HQ PERIMETER – NIGHT
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTmKc44Jx6
[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.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk44lPAaB9f
[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.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEU4ebVl5BZ
SD-K
(low, irritated)
“Can’t believe I’m hiding in a corpse-car outside a death-bot factory.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAm4s2sxHfL
SD-A
(peering through the shattered window)
“I’m sure there are worse places.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBaiqKSC3oJ
SD-K
“Name three.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySW5pu4gwi
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.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WlfLq7VVe
[K snorts. A rare chuckle from him. Back to business.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu4qr9M8Byv
INT. SECURITY HQ – MAIN LOBBY – CONTINUOUS
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqEQQZI7dPd
[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.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgtvDIOfRzI
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.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLLqqH0lTD
JASON
(deadpan)
“It was a creative writing exercise. For morale.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJp4dCB4m8J
[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.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5VH2g6ocRy
INT. SECURITY HQ – COMMAND FLOOR – MOMENTS LATER
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkMywS8C1a1
[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).]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYGnT5Kc6a
COMMANDER VOLT
(without looking up)
“Late again. Smells like you rolled through an oil refinery.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdyNwrzPDRX
JASON
“Better than last time. That smell was an oil refinery.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbYbTo7Drzg
[Volt finally looks up, optics narrowing.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtDrveA0jlo
COMMANDER VOLT
“Report.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQENyxxPBK
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.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfpIXgLS9x
COMMANDER VOLT
“Solo? Where’s your team?”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuuifRNPd4R
JASON
“They're on ‘mandatory charge cycles.’ You know how it is. Bureaucracy.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3PHY7qZST
[Volt processes that. Doesn’t like it, but Jason’s reputation buys him slack—for now.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo85dIJbppT
COMMANDER VOLT
“Upload visual logs. Any witness bots or unusual faction activity?”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwd0dVegzvw
JASON
(casual, walking the fine line)
“Nope. Just me, a freak show corpse, and a ruined plaza. No witnesses. Real one-bot party.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShpp5uz5aB
[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.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡId4avgkiFB
COMMANDER VOLT
“Don’t make me pull the core logs, Gearman. You know I hate digging.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CTRSsOR4J
JASON
(grinning)
“And yet you’ve got a poster that says ‘Dig Until Clean.’”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWhuah8CPtK
[Volt sighs and waves him off.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgnACsU9NVt
COMMANDER VOLT
“Submit your paperwork, recharge, and stay alert. If more of those parasite cases show up, we’ll need a full-scale response.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlHZbIH6djT
JASON
(saluting loosely)
“Yessir. Definitely not hiding anything critical.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexT5lVogpx
[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.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh31Ca0Meq5
UNIT B3-X
“Yo, Gearman, you smell like trouble again. What was it this time? Oil ghost? Sewer cult? Exploding toasters?”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6jg8oizS4
JASON
(shrugs, playing it cool)
“Just another night in paradise.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh8UEeZvxxc
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJJiAYI4T4e
---
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqOr7Dbdhe
CUT TO: EXT. BROKEN CAR OUTSIDE HQ – LATER
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfI03skC619
[Jason exits the building, now cleaned up a bit. He casually strolls by the old car, not looking directly at it.]
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1K0vT0avZ
JASON
(murmuring, barely audible)
“Still breathing in there?”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgaj3StMVt7
SD-K (O.S.)
“Define ‘breathing.’”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuq2wD6GNJ
JASON
“Great. Just sit tight. I’ll get you out without triggering a factory-sized panic attack.”
11Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4p8KQgecDx
[He keeps walking as if it’s all routine. The night gets colder. The city sleeps—but barely.]
ns13.59.57.244da2
