Chapter 4: Informal Introduction
PAGE 1
From the 2nd floor, the mysterious guy looks down at the lobby below, observing Wendy and Elliot. He watches them with a foot resting on the railing.
He leaps up from the railing.
As he descends to the 1st floor, he grips something sticking out from behind his shoulder.
Mysterious guy: "Let's check these guys out."
Shift to Wendy's and Elliot's perspective. They're still talking to Forte.
Wendy: "...and since then the weirdness just hasn't stopped and- "
The mysterious guy lands in front of them. Neither Elliot or Wendy react.
Wendy: Speaking of weird. "And now we've got random guys falling from the sky." Not necessarily a bad thing.
The mysterious guy stands up straight with a cocky smile.
Mysterious Guy: "So, you wanna join our ranks, huh? First, let's see how well you can handle- "
He looks to the side where Wendy and Elliot are. He looks at Elliot, who just continues talking to Forte.
Mysterious Guy: What the!
PAGE 2
Mysterious Guy: They don't even look intimidated. THIS guy didn't even notice me! "…um." And the other?
He looks over to Wendy. He looks shocked the moment he lays eyes on her, almost losing his breath.
Wendy's still looking at Forte, continuing her conversation with him. Devlon stares at her from the side.
Mysterious Guy: She's…
As he stares at Wendy, he sees another girl appear next to Wendy. The other girl appears to be an illusion, though she looks almost identical to her. This other girl has a slight roundness to her cheeks and has shorter hair.
Mysterious Guy: Could that really be…
The mysterious guy cautiously takes a step towards Wendy, not taking his eyes off of her.
Mysterious Guy: It can't be.
PAGE 3
Wendy's still speaking to Forte.
Wendy: "I guess if you look close enough, Elliot's bruises DO look like rubber bullet wounds. But I wouldn't worry too much about that-"
The mysterious guy walks closer to Wendy. She turns her head toward him, slightly irritated.
Wendy: "Um…why are you staring at me like that?"
Mysterious Guy: "Ka..Kar-"
Wendy: "No, no, me Wendy. Say it with me now: W-E-N-D-Y."
Perspective shift. On the second floor, the four silhouettes from earlier look down at Forte, Wendy, Elliot, and the mysterious guy.
Female voice: "Ooooo, well doesn't she look familiar?"
Male voice: "Yeah, no doubt. But she's got a spicy kick to her, ya know?"
Female voice: "Things'll get interesting really quick. One thing's for sure…"
Perspective shift back to the first floor with Wendy and the others. The mysterious guy stands in front of Wendy with his head down. He looks awkward, embarrassed, and apologetic.
Female voice (off screen): "We just sent the worst person for this introduction. He's no match for her."
Mysterious Guy: "Wendy. R-right. Sorry." Of course it isn't her.
PAGE 4
Forte smiles at Wendy.
Forte: "You'll have to excuse him. Past that tough guy act is a big, gentle heart. Right, Devlon?"
Devlon: "…yes sir."
Elliot: "Hey, Master Forte."
Troubled, Elliot raises a hand.
Elliot: "So, this is the place where you hold irregulars, right? How tough will my sentence be since I came quietly and all?"
Forte: "Sentence? Hahaha you make it sound like a prison!"
Elliot gives Wendy a shady side eye.
Elliot: "Well, the way she made it seem was that being an irregular was a crime in itself."
Wendy hunches her shoulders.
Wendy: "What? That's how it sounded to me when I was ordered to immediately take irregulars to this site. I'm just following orders."
Elliot: "You follow rules?"
Forte: "Makes sense. Our bots were designed to determine the class of danger in a situation to reduce human casualties. But they're not always the brightest."
Forte holds up a finger.
Forte: "You see, they follow the orders of human masters well….but what if the master was a dirty cop?"
Elliot: "uhh…." What
Forte: "Mmm, let me show you what I mean. Devlon, could you step over there next to our newcomers?"
PAGE 5
Devlon steps over to Elliot and Wendy.
Devlon: "Huh? Uh, sure."
Forte: "Numbers 12 and 16! Attention!"
Two bots walk over to Forte's side. Devlon, Wendy, and Elliot stand across from him to view the demonstration.
Forte: "That's right, right over there. Okay, now watch."
Without warning, Forte slaps the first bot in the back of the head. The word "DANGER" appears over the bot's head.
With a blank and emotionless face, Forte points to the second bot.
Forte: "He did it."
The first bot (the one that Forte slapped) immediately aims his gun at the second bot's face. At point blank range, he pulls the trigger, blowing the second bot's head off. Debris flies out of the cloud of smoke.
Elliot and Wendy's jaws drop. Devlon, on the other hand, closes his eyes as he shakes his head.
Devlon: Why is he like this? That's too extreme.
PAGE 6
Forte: "As you can see, if there was a not-so-honest dirty cop giving orders, things wouldn't go so well. So, we're working on a new line of military bots that are more intelligent than this generation."
Devlon: "That's where we come in, right?"
Forte closes his eyes and rubs his chin.
Forte: "Precisely. We'll train you guys up so that you can work together with new generation bots and human cops."
Wendy folds her arms.
Wendy: "But, that wouldn't work. I mean, isn't the public afraid of irregulars?"
Forte: "Somewhat, but I think the fact that they don't live among irregulars helps for now. That's why we take precautions to get irregulars to one of our sites; the public isn't ready for them just yet."
Devlon: "Once we successfully work together with the humans to protect and contribute to society, people might receive that well."
Wendy: "So how do you go about keeping quiet? I'm sure there are times when someone has seen an irregular when they discover their…quirks."
Forte: "Oh, we've had our ways of making sure nobody ever recalled seeing an irregular on the streets."
PAGE 7
*FLASHBACK*
Setting: Some time in the past on a sunny day in some neighborhood…
Close up of a lady holding her face with both hands, her eyes tightly shut.
Woman: "AAAAAHHHH! I just saw a young boy burst into flames, but he's not burning! Is he an irregular?"
Forte and two military bots come out of a black car in the distance, behind the woman.
Forte approaches the woman. She looks up to him with a confused expression. Forte has an almost emotionless look on his face. He's wearing an all-black tux.
He digs into his pocket.
Forte: "I'm sure this is very confusing for you, ma'am. But…"
He put on a pair of sunglasses.
Forte: "Everything will be clear in just a moment."
PAGE 8
Forte holds up a strange device in his hand. The device looks like a long, silver pen.
Forte: "Look into this device, ma'am."
Woman: "Huh? What is it? Is this some kind of-"
A blinding like flashes from the device.
Woman: "MY EYES! AHHH, MY EYES!"
The woman falls to her knees, covering her eyes with both hands.
Woman: "Why'd you do that! I think I'm blind! First the flaming boy, and now this!"
Forte: "Wait, you still remember what you saw?"
Woman: "Why wouldn't I? Someone call for help!"
Forte signals the two bots to come to him.
Forte: Shoot! The memory wipe didn't work! "Plan B. PLAN B!"
The two bots, also dressed in black tuxes, come from behind the woman with baseball bats, hitting her multiple times, forming a cloud of dust.
Woman: "Somebody help me!"
Forte holds a hand up to stop the bots. The bots stand by, awaiting orders. The woman holds her head and looks around.
Woman: "Where am I? What just happened?"
* END OF FLASHBACK*
PAGE 9
Setting: Back at Site 7 with Elliot, Wendy, Forte, and Devlon. Forte rubs the back of his head with a smile on his face.
Forte: "Buuuut that didn't go so well after a while because of legal cases, hahaha. But now we use a more civilized approach as opposed to the old barbaric method."
*FLASHBACK!*
Forte stands in front of a man on the corner of a block. The man is pointing past Forte. The man is clearly panicking.
Man: "No, seriously. I just saw a man appear out of thin air!"
Forte: "No you didn't."
Man: "W-what? Yes, I did!"
Forte: "Nu-uh."
Nerves of frustration appear out of the man's head.
Man: "Yu-huh. Er…. Yes I DID!".
Forte: "Hmmm…. yo mama."
The man is confused by Forte's random response.
Man: "I…uh, what?"
Forte and the man just stand there. The confused man scratches his head as if he's stuck on a good comeback.
Suddenly, two bots appear behind him with baseball bats.
* END OF FLASHBACK*
PAGE 10
Setting: Back at Site 7.
Forte confidently stands tall with his chest out, both hands on his hips.
Devlon (looking down as if he's ashamed), and Elliot (same expression as Wendy).
Forte: "Living and learning, ya know? We call that progress. Hahaha!"
Devlon looks down with embarrassment.
Devlon: Does he not realize they're freaked out?
Wendy and Elliot lean forward with their jaws dropped.
Wendy: Irregulars are insane.
Elliot: So…. secretive!
Forte's silly demeanor becomes serious. He looks over to Elliot.
Forte: "So, Elliot…"
Elliot: "Huh?"
Forte: "You were brought here because you possess a special gift. I'd like to offer the opportunity for you to learn to control your gift and use it for the greater good."
A group of bots show up in the background, sweeping the remains of the bot whose head was blown off.
Forte: "Like Devlon said, if we can work together with the humans, it would become easier to introduce gifted individuals into society without fear. So, will you help us?"
Elliot looks down in deep thought.
Forte: "Would you like to join the Special Ops Forces?"
PAGE 11
Devlon appears to be upset as he interjects.
Devlon: "Hold on, you can't be serious! Master Forte, it's too soon to bring replacements on to the unit."
Wendy tilts her head, her attention shifting to Devlon.
Wendy: Replacements?
She looks back at Forte.
Wendy: "I agree that it may be too soon to up and jump at placing him in a police unit. Shouldn't he have some time to think first?"
Forte: "Sure."
Forte closes his eyes and smiles.
Forte: "Of course there are things to consider, like family, friends, or simply not wanting to do it. If you need time, that's fine. Heck, even if you said no, we'd just have to be okay with-"
Elliot (off panel): "I'll do it!"
Wendy and Devlon quickly turn to Elliot in total shock.
Wendy/Devlon: "You WHAT!?" Did he even think about it?
Elliot: "I thought about it. And I'll do it! Wasn't really much to consider."
Forte: "Then it's settled." That was quick and easy.
Devlon gives Elliot a rude side eye. Wendy bows her head and palms her face, shaking her head.
Wendy: This guy… "Okay, okay. But, what if he said 'no,' then what?"
Forte: "Beats me."
PAGE 12
Forte: "Honestly, I've yet to run into that problem. Everyone's been willing, but if not, getting them back home would be rather difficult. But I guess I'll just deal with it when that time finally does come."
Wendy: He should really think ahead when it comes to stuff like that…
Wendy crosses her arms with her eyes closed. She has a nerve popping out of her forehead.
Wendy: "I'll stick around for a while if you don't mind. It's not like I can go anywhere tonight since that one over there destroyed my car."
Devlon: "He what?"
Elliot glares at Wendy with a pout.
Elliot: Dude, that was like 30 minutes ago.
Forte: "Then it's settled. I'll show you to your rooms. Devlon, you can get some rest."
Devlon: "Yes sir."
Devlon walks away.
Forte begins pointing around the area, showing Wendy and Elliot around.
Forte: "As you can see, this area is where we gather with updates and such. It's also the area where we greet newcomers and have a long conversation without moving for hours."
Forte leads them down a carpeted hall and stops at a door, pulling out a keycard. The door has a key slot similar to a hotel room door.
Forte: "This is where you'll stay tonight, Wendy. Guest rooms are on a separate floor than irregulars, but the AC is messed up on that floor. Elliot, you'll stay in the room across from this one."
Wendy: "Mmm. Sure." I hope it isn't TOO dingy.
Elliot: "Sounds good. Nighty night!"
PAGE 13
Wendy cracks open her door. Forte leans in.
Forte: "Don't hesitate to give a ring if you need anything, okay?"
Wendy: "Yeah. Got it."
Wendy enters her room, leaning her back against the door to close it. To her right is a queen-sized bed with a side table on each side with lamps. To her left is a wooden dresser and a big ol mirror. Another dresser is seen across from the foot of the bed. A TV is mounted above it.
Wendy lets out a huge sigh.
She walks ahead towards the bathroom, kicking off a shoe and running her hand through her hair.
Wendy: Nothin' to see, here. Lemme just check out this bathroom before I go to sl-
Her eyes turn into bright stars and her jaw drops.
Wendy: WHAAAAAAT!!!
The bathroom is mostly white with classic mirrors above the sink. Across from the sink is a shower with glass doors. But Wendy's attention is on what's next to the shower: a large hot tub.
Wendy: Screw this, I need to relax!
PAGE 14
Perspective shift. Setting: A dark ventilation shaft. Someone's crawling through the vents.
A closer look reveals that it's Devlon. He stops right over a vent. He glares through the vent.
Devlon: I find it hard to believe that this guy blew up a car. Let me check him out.
SFX: rattle rattle
The vent under Devlon loosens up and begins to crack open.
Devlon: Wait…uh-oh!
Devlon falls through the vent.
Devlon: "AHHHH!"
PAGE 15
Still airborne, Devlon falls from the ceiling. But below him is Wendy. He's falling towards Wendy!
Devlon: Wait! I don't remember a guest room being on this floor! Why is she in this room?
Wendy looks up. Question marks float over her head.
Wendy: "Hm?"
Devlon crashes in the hot tub. Water flies everywhere.
Wendy shields her face.
Wendy: Can't a girl get five minutes to herself tonight?
Devlon quickly emerges from the hot water with wide red eyes.
Devlon: "HOOOOOOT!!!!!"
He looks at Wendy. He looks extremely nervous.
Devlon: "Huh?" Oops.
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Wendy isn't moving. She just has a straight face. She doesn't appear to be angry, shocked, nothing.
Devlon: This isn't happening! Okay Devlon. She hasn't done anything yet (is that a good thing?). Just calm down and whatever you do, don't. Say. Something. Stupid!
Wendy continues to stare at Devlon, not saying anything. Devlon looks even more nervous.
Devlon: Dude, say something!
Devlon nervously scratches the back of his head.
Devlon: "Uh… you come here often?" That was smooth, right?
PAGE 17
Setting: Main Area of Site 7 where the gang spoke with Forte.
Forte stands across from Devlon with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. His face is full of skepticism.
Devlon stands across from him, badly bruised. He's hunched forward and holding his arm.
Forte: "So let me get this straight. You broke into HER room, then YOU called the emergency hotline?"
Devlon: "You don't understand! She tried to kill me, sir."
Forte: "Well, you know what you must do, right? You're gonna have to apologi- "
Devlon frantically dashes to Forte, grabbing him by the collar.
Devlon: "You can't send me back in there with that woman! You saw the look on her face!?"
*FLASHBACK*
Setting: Wendy's room.
In the middle of the room, Wendy sits on her knees with her head down. In front of her lies Devlon, all beaten up. The room is filled with the limbs of military bots. It appears that they came to help and were ripped apart. There are bodies of bots hanging from the ceiling, almost like a decorative touch to the room. Wendy and Devlon are encircled by the heads of the bots. There is reddish oil splattered on the walls.
A dark smoky aura surrounds Wendy.
Wendy: "Don't worry, Master Forte. We're just playing...house."
*END OF FLASHBACK*
PAGE 18
Back to Forte and Devlon.
Forte rubs his chin, critically thinking.
Forte: "Yeah. She did seem a little upset. Sure, we can wait til she's cooled off tomorrow-"
Devlon: "Oh, thank you! Thank you!"
Forte: "Only on one condition. Chill out and get some rest. You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow."
Devlon: "Yes sir. But, why the long day?"
Perspective shift. In Elliot's room, Elliot lays on his bed with a huge smile. He's very excited.
Elliot: "Hehehe! This is so awesome!"
Perspective shift to Wendy's room. She lays on her bed, holding a picture. It's the same picture that was dangling in her car; the picture of her and a young man.
She lays on her back, holding the picture to her chest.
Wendy: *Sigh* "It's just one thing after another."
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In the middle of the entire page is a speech bubble of Forte's words.
Forte: "We'll be speeding things up. Tomorrow, you'll show those two around and start Elliot's training. There's little time to get him caught up to speed."