EXT. SECURITY HQ PERIMETER – NIGHT
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHH9SSVToqt
[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.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy4Pagdq6CG
[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.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgRxNXExti
SD-K
(low, irritated)
“Can’t believe I’m hiding in a corpse-car outside a death-bot factory.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3XsCJ5X9u3
SD-A
(peering through the shattered window)
“I’m sure there are worse places.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjVxS9oRgFB
SD-K
“Name three.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRjGCCFiR6
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.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTjd7BTIiaq
[K snorts. A rare chuckle from him. Back to business.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8l4BVDUKD
INT. SECURITY HQ – MAIN LOBBY – CONTINUOUS
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwasZpYzbf9
[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.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsJF3qYaaa
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.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2LASuNuNA
JASON
(deadpan)
“It was a creative writing exercise. For morale.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy2W4aC9CVg
[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.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVjHqeMIXx
INT. SECURITY HQ – COMMAND FLOOR – MOMENTS LATER
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSg6ZfoyIDO
[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).]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡphnvHW54AL
COMMANDER VOLT
(without looking up)
“Late again. Smells like you rolled through an oil refinery.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEPvAbMVJp
JASON
“Better than last time. That smell was an oil refinery.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6TTNVmc6ew
[Volt finally looks up, optics narrowing.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR15wY3nq9K
COMMANDER VOLT
“Report.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoEpzzG7t8w
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.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojNWGr71rp
COMMANDER VOLT
“Solo? Where’s your team?”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadFzFgZkXA
JASON
“They're on ‘mandatory charge cycles.’ You know how it is. Bureaucracy.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzFncVsZqy
[Volt processes that. Doesn’t like it, but Jason’s reputation buys him slack—for now.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRC6k9kFoeA
COMMANDER VOLT
“Upload visual logs. Any witness bots or unusual faction activity?”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Gc8qTCmGJ
JASON
(casual, walking the fine line)
“Nope. Just me, a freak show corpse, and a ruined plaza. No witnesses. Real one-bot party.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡerpfFIfoVA
[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.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVKwiPgK79P
COMMANDER VOLT
“Don’t make me pull the core logs, Gearman. You know I hate digging.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdh7CVd5WK
JASON
(grinning)
“And yet you’ve got a poster that says ‘Dig Until Clean.’”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUfYQjP61Fl
[Volt sighs and waves him off.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsuoZcLniX1
COMMANDER VOLT
“Submit your paperwork, recharge, and stay alert. If more of those parasite cases show up, we’ll need a full-scale response.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5wgwF69TJ2
JASON
(saluting loosely)
“Yessir. Definitely not hiding anything critical.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjsYGulsMsB
[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.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJbHYtj4RF
UNIT B3-X
“Yo, Gearman, you smell like trouble again. What was it this time? Oil ghost? Sewer cult? Exploding toasters?”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVHsryaPGp
JASON
(shrugs, playing it cool)
“Just another night in paradise.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNMR1hYHWZN
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUZrCUFrMhi
---
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XvVHyFHJZ
CUT TO: EXT. BROKEN CAR OUTSIDE HQ – LATER
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI70XlOITDg
[Jason exits the building, now cleaned up a bit. He casually strolls by the old car, not looking directly at it.]
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujjcrVajq7
JASON
(murmuring, barely audible)
“Still breathing in there?”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSRxvzmu0E8
SD-K (O.S.)
“Define ‘breathing.’”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5lMtO4t7u
JASON
“Great. Just sit tight. I’ll get you out without triggering a factory-sized panic attack.”
119Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡua97qQ4BNs
[He keeps walking as if it’s all routine. The night gets colder. The city sleeps—but barely.]
ns216.73.216.145da2
