EXT. SECURITY HQ PERIMETER – NIGHT
95Please respect copyright.PENANAHcLCuvmEAP
[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.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANAu89COHbGLQ
[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.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANADlyJkNAbCA
SD-K
(low, irritated)
“Can’t believe I’m hiding in a corpse-car outside a death-bot factory.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAZl6dANvcw6
SD-A
(peering through the shattered window)
“I’m sure there are worse places.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAa7SeqG0elP
SD-K
“Name three.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANARsgIpNBMFk
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.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAS8mkUC0NzD
[K snorts. A rare chuckle from him. Back to business.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANARbIPAELLFV
INT. SECURITY HQ – MAIN LOBBY – CONTINUOUS
95Please respect copyright.PENANAHXwMiC84dT
[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.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANAjSxE5O42h8
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.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANApt2YW3FPaE
JASON
(deadpan)
“It was a creative writing exercise. For morale.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANANhr54aa2g5
[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.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANA6GmqSBUH50
INT. SECURITY HQ – COMMAND FLOOR – MOMENTS LATER
95Please respect copyright.PENANA4X8ynpZX7t
[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).]
95Please respect copyright.PENANAHRUvcwVMiI
COMMANDER VOLT
(without looking up)
“Late again. Smells like you rolled through an oil refinery.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAn90PECjvFi
JASON
“Better than last time. That smell was an oil refinery.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAs4m9H8evl3
[Volt finally looks up, optics narrowing.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANANFb0tseNJL
COMMANDER VOLT
“Report.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAG10CvAE166
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.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAlgpsyPletg
COMMANDER VOLT
“Solo? Where’s your team?”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAwju5wVDw7E
JASON
“They're on ‘mandatory charge cycles.’ You know how it is. Bureaucracy.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANASCBLrq0Kfa
[Volt processes that. Doesn’t like it, but Jason’s reputation buys him slack—for now.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANACFQzDh6C1m
COMMANDER VOLT
“Upload visual logs. Any witness bots or unusual faction activity?”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAFxTQ6k8Sdz
JASON
(casual, walking the fine line)
“Nope. Just me, a freak show corpse, and a ruined plaza. No witnesses. Real one-bot party.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANA38q797WkqU
[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.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANAR9xTgShVkN
COMMANDER VOLT
“Don’t make me pull the core logs, Gearman. You know I hate digging.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAOU99NQenkP
JASON
(grinning)
“And yet you’ve got a poster that says ‘Dig Until Clean.’”
95Please respect copyright.PENANA2zL71uXfir
[Volt sighs and waves him off.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANA3bNbwQzUPh
COMMANDER VOLT
“Submit your paperwork, recharge, and stay alert. If more of those parasite cases show up, we’ll need a full-scale response.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAOqhOTuqoWu
JASON
(saluting loosely)
“Yessir. Definitely not hiding anything critical.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAD2xbul5tSE
[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.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANAzkPlC39Ao7
UNIT B3-X
“Yo, Gearman, you smell like trouble again. What was it this time? Oil ghost? Sewer cult? Exploding toasters?”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAKJehjPpfgG
JASON
(shrugs, playing it cool)
“Just another night in paradise.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAKAkB5LTxCt
95Please respect copyright.PENANA0c9wQZd3hS
---
95Please respect copyright.PENANAoYhQIcwvet
CUT TO: EXT. BROKEN CAR OUTSIDE HQ – LATER
95Please respect copyright.PENANAKx6vYlmGln
[Jason exits the building, now cleaned up a bit. He casually strolls by the old car, not looking directly at it.]
95Please respect copyright.PENANAOoO4jzF3ix
JASON
(murmuring, barely audible)
“Still breathing in there?”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAVfceMAdD1Y
SD-K (O.S.)
“Define ‘breathing.’”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAGae9HzOCWa
JASON
“Great. Just sit tight. I’ll get you out without triggering a factory-sized panic attack.”
95Please respect copyright.PENANAkIhOxvZp6I
[He keeps walking as if it’s all routine. The night gets colder. The city sleeps—but barely.]
ns216.73.216.210da2