PAGE 1
Bird's view of Wendy and the gang near the car. Across from them is John, Wendy's old boss. They had just been pulled over after Devlon accidentally hit the nitro button. John steps in front of his car.
John: "Old boss is right. Cuz I'm pretty sure you can't legally explain why you were going that fast with minors in your car."
Wendy: "Look, it's a lot to explain."
John confidently walks toward them, eyeing Wendy's car.
John: "That's not like any cop car I've seen before."
Wendy: "Look, it's complicated. But what I can tell you is I'm working-"
John: "Working on joy rides and such, right?"
Nana gets out of the car. Kei follows her.
Kei: "Nana, we have to stay in the car!"
John: "And ya got two trouble makers with you. What is this? I see a child coming from the back seat."
Devlon: "No. Um, sir, officer Wendy was safely escorting my family back home."
John: "Family?"
John takes a look at each person: Nana, a dark (Puerto Rican) girl with thick hair. Kei, a Caucasian teen with light freckles and brown hair. Elliot and Devlon, two black teens.
John: "Coulda fooled me. You look nothing alike."
Elliot reacts to John's statement with a death stare, having been offended by what John said.
PAGE 2
Nana, being the sweet little girl that she is, misunderstands John entirely as she tries to clear up his misunderstanding.
Nana: "That's okay, mister. My brother said family grows when you move homes. So not all families look the same."
John raises an eyebrow, clearly amused.
John: "Move homes? Oh. OH! I see!"
He turns his attention back to Wendy.
John: "Going 160 with no plates is one thing. But this is a new low for you."
Wendy: "Wait, no plates?" Did Forte give me an unauthorized vehicle?
Shift to Forte's perspective. He's currently sorting papers at his desk. Next to him lies a license plate.
Forte: "Man, my ears are ringing. Huh? What's this?"
Forte holds the plate up, eyes popping out of his head.
Forte: "I FORGOT TO PUT THE PLATE ON HER CAR!!!!"
...
Forte: "I'm sure they'll be fine." ^_^
PAGE 3
Shift back to Wendy's perspective. John casually pulls out a phone and gives Wendy a threatening smile.
John: "So the car isn't the only thing, huh? You took a coupla foster kids? And from the looks of it, we're outside of the county. You know what this means, right?"
Wendy: "Ugh! Don't you dare! Whatever issues you still have with me, leave these kids out of it!"
John begins to dial on his phone, then holds the phone up to his ear with a look of sarcasm.
John: "What? I'm just looking out for them. If their guardians aren't keeping an eye on them, maybe they need to be moved."
Kei's heart sinks.
Kei: "What? No, please don't!"
Wendy balls a fist, using every ounce of self control to not tear a new hole in John.
Wendy: "You'd go that far just to get at me? I swear, you do anything to harm these kids, I'll-"
John: "You'll what? File a complaint? You'll have your hands full with all the laws you just broke."
John cracks a smile, further taunting Wendy.
John: "This is what happens when you don't stay in your place. Word of advice, once you're fired, take up something you're good at, like cleaning."
Devlon lets out a sigh in an attempt to lower his stress levels. He glares at John.
Devlon: I really hate…people like this guy.
He grits his teeth and balls up a fist.
Devlon: But I can't do anything!
PAGE 4
Wendy lets out a sigh, looking down with an expression of defeat.
Wendy: I can't believe I'm doing this. "Look. I…really don't want any trouble." But these kids. "Is there anything I can do for you to turn an eye away for these kids?"
John: "Hmmm…"
John looks Wendy up and down with a smirk. His view closes in on Wendy's hips first, then her chest.
John: "Well. I guess we can head back to my office and…discuss a few options."
Wendy, now red in the face, angrily steps towards John.
Wendy: "Why you little perv-"
Wendy is stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She looks to her side to see Elliot. With an almost emotionless expression, Elliot speaks to Wendy without making eye contact. He's focused on John.
Elliot: "Cool it, Wendy. There has to be a better way to solve our problems. I'm sure we can all agree that you don't want any trouble."
Wendy: "…" Elliot?
Close up on John. His eyes are closed with a confident smirk.
PAGE 5
Suddenly, Elliot's fist drives deep into John's cheek, sending John off his feet.
Elliot stands tall with his fists up.
Elliot: "BUT I DO! WASSUP!"
Wendy stands behind Elliot, quite surprised, yet..satisfied.
Wendy: "Maybe you're the one who should chill? He's still a cop, Elliot!" Hit 'em again!
Behind both of them stands Devlon, at a loss for words.
Devlon: "Did he really just…?"
PAGE 6
John stumbles to his feet, moving back a few steps.
John: "You…I'm a cop! I'm gonna lock you away for good!"
Elliot barks back, ready to fight.
Elliot: "Bring it! I'ma get some good hits in, first!"
Shift to Devlon's perspective. Devlon anxiously looks at Elliot, then at John.
Devlon: "This isn't good."
Devlon sprints past Wendy, snatching the handcuffs from her waist.
Devlon: "This isn't good at all!"
Wendy: "Hey! Personal space, Devlon!"
Devlon grabs Elliot from behind.
Elliot: "What the!"
Devlon pins Elliot to the ground, handcuffing him.
Elliot: "What the! Whose side are you on?!" Let go!
Devlon: "Just shut up you idiot! YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT!"
PAGE 7
Still holding his face, John points at Wendy.
John: "Yes, arrest him! Do what she doesn't have the guts to do!"
Devlon: "Just stay quiet and comply!" Looks like I've got no choice.
Devlon looks down and closes his eyes.
Devlon: I really don't want to do this, but in this situation, I'm powerless. Afterall…
He looks to the side.
Devlon: I'm only an irregular.
Still detaining Elliot, Devlon looks and points at John.
Devlon: "Plan B!"
PAGE 8
Wendy's police car begins to shake.
Soon after, two baseball bat-wielding military bots bust out of the trunk.
Devlon picks Elliot up and pulls him as he runs back to the car. While running, Devlon points in John's direction.
Devlon: "Voice command: Memory Wipe straight ahead!"
Bots: "Affirmative."
The two bots charge at John, beating him silly with the bats. The beating creates a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, Devlon signals Wendy back to the car.
Devlon: "Let's get outta here!"
Wendy: "You got it!"
The gang boards the car and takes off.
PAGE 9
Scene change. Setting: Inside some place that resembles an unfinished basement.
Jade, the young woman who spoke with Stone a few chapters back, speaks to a dark silhouette at a distance. The silhouette sits in a seat on the other end of the room. (A reminder of Jade's appearance for the reader: Slim Caucasian young woman with hot pink hair, earrings and green eyes. The hair on one side of her head is longer than the other. She's very pretty).
Jade: "Looks like I'm the first one here. Are we finally gonna make our move?"
Mysterious Boss man: "We'll discuss that when everyone is present."
The concrete floor behind Jade begins to spiral with a wet cement-like texture.
A man rises from the ground behind her. It's Stone. And he's carrying the corpse of the faceless creature.
Jade: "Huh? Oh, looks like he's right on time."
He throws the dead faceless down in front of him. Jade notices the bruises on Stone.
Jade: "Ran into some trouble, I see."
Stone: "Yeah, but nothing I couldn't handle. Boss, got some new info for you."
PAGE 10
Stone walks closer to the mysterious man, the dead faceless dragging along behind him (though Stone isn't touching him. The ground beneath the faceless is moving it along).
Stone: "Ran into another one of those things. This was the 2nd one in a single day."
Jade: "That's the third one this week."
Mysterious Boss Man: "More frequent attacks…it looks like they are getting ready to make their move."
The mysterious silhouette in the seat stands to his feet.
Stone: "I'll say. This one was a lot stronger than the others."
Another silhouette behind Stone speaks up.
Silhouette #2: "Then it's time for us to bite back and make our move as well."
Mysterious Boss Man: "Patience."
Large panel that shows some GANGSTA silhouettes facing the reader.
Mysterious Boss Man: "The public will know who we are soon enough."
PAGE 11
Scene change. Back to The gang. They're back on the road with Wendy driving, of course.
Elliot: "What the heck was that!? Why'd you cuff me?"
Wendy: "That did seem a little random."
Devlon: "I had no other choice. What's more, what's wrong with you, Elliot?"
Elliot: "What's wrong with me? You literally tried to arrest me!"
Devlon: "What was I supposed to do? This is the second time you acted recklessly! You can't just go punching people!"
Wendy: "I kinda enjoyed that, to be honest." Wish I got a few hits in myself.
Devlon holds his head, frustrated.
Devlon: "You guys don't get it."
Wendy: "Get what?"
Devlon lets out a sigh and brings his head back up.
Devlon: "As irregulars, it is illegal to bring any harm to humans. We can't hurt them!"
Elliot: "Since when?"
Devlon: "Since forever!"
Wendy: "Wait… so you were looking out for Elliot back there."
PAGE 12
Elliot scratches his head.
Elliot: "I mean…what about if there was a human doing bad stuff? Like a killer or something?"
Devlon: "Doesn't matter. When it comes to a situation against a human…"
Devlon looks to the side out the window.
Devlon: "We're powerless."
Elliot: "But…what about those guys back at the thrift store? Remember?"
Devlon: "I never touched my opponent. He just passed out from fear. And there was nobody watching your fight. But that guy back there was a human cop! Who knows if that punch was recorded on a dash cam."
Elliot sits forward and taps Wendy.
Elliot: "Is that true, Wendy?"
Wendy: "I've never heard of such a law. But I have heard that irregulars have a different set of rules. I thought it was an exaggeration."
Wendy: "For now, let's just get home and figure this out with Forte."
PAGE 13
Scene change. The gang makes it back to Site 7 in the parking lot. Wendy parks.
Wendy: "By the way, that was some quick thinking back there, Devlon. How'd you know there were bots in the trunk?"
Devlon: "Huh? Oh. There are two bots in the trunk of every Special Ops car here. This is a new model, but I assumed it would be the case in this car, too."
Devlon glares over at Elliot with pure shade.
Devlon: "We'd have them on hand in case we needed assistance against a strong threat. OR in case of a human threat. So there was no reason to hit a cop."
Elliot: "I didn't know! I've only been an irregular for like…a week or somethin'."
Everyone gets out of the car and heads for the front door.
Nana: "Is this where we meet new family members?"
Kei: "What do you mean?"
Nana points at Devlon.
Nana: "Back then, he told the cop his family was coming home."
Devlon looks down at Nana from the side, realizing she took his comment about his family coming with him seriously.
Devlon: "Huh? Oh I didn't me- um…sure. Sure thing. My name's Devlon, by the way."
PAGE 14
The gang heads inside. They meet Forte in the main lobby on the first floor.
Forte: "Welcome back! How'd everything go?"
Wendy: "Where do we even start?"
Forte notices Kei and Nana, who're curiously looking up and around.
Forte: "Oh? Who are they? Found some new irregulars, huh?"
Elliot: "Actually, they're human."
Forte: "YOU BROUGHT HUMANS HERE!?"
Wendy: "I know this seems bad, but there's an explanation for that."
On the 2nd floor, we have a view of Jasmine, Terry, Iris, and Chase. They're looking around out of curiosity, as well.
Jasmine: "What did I just hear? Somethin' about newcomers?"
Terry: "Oh, I'm there! It's my turn to give an introduction."
Terry jumps off the balcony towards the others. Jasmine follows behind.
Chase: "Yeah, I'm not in the mood for jumping off a balcony. C'mon, Iris."
PAGE 15
Terry and Jasmine land right in front of the gang, startling Kei and Nana. Though they're well within range for the others to see their appearance, Terry and Jasmine appear as silhouettes.
Terry: "So, you two think you have what it takes to-"
Forte: "You've got the wrong idea, guys. You can cut the silhouette costumes, they're human."
Terry and Jasmine remove their silhouettes (as if a silhouette was a costume). Terry's eyes pop out.
Terry: "WHAT! Why are they here?"
Wendy: "Where do I even begin?"
Elliot chimes in, attempting to clear up the confusion.
Elliot: "Alright, long story short, we fought these dudes and then I punched a cop."
Wendy closes her eyes and shakes her head.
Terry's eyes pop out even further. Meanwhile Jasmine holds a look of disapproval.
Terry: "YOU DID WHAT? WHY?!"
Jasmine: "Well, it was nice knowin' ya."
Wendy: *Sigh* "Let's back up. There's a lot of detail he skipped over."
PAGE 16
As Wendy finishes up her summary, Iris and Chase appear out of nowhere in the middle of it.
Wendy: "And that's what happened."
Iris: "Woah. Sounds like a cool adventure."
Elliot: "When'd you get here?!"
Jasmine walks over to Wendy and Elliot in a casual manner.
Jasmine: "It's a good thing Devie cuffed you when he did. Otherwise, you'd be in a cell tryin' not to drop the soap."
Wendy: "Hey, there's a kid right there!" Not appropriate.
Iris: "What? I'm old enough to know what happens when you drop the soap. I know all about it. They'll make fun of you for being clumsy the whole time you're in jail."
Wendy: "That's not…"
Jasmine: "Nah. That's not what I heard."
*DAYDREAM PANEL*. In this daydream, Jasmine narrates. The daydream displays the image of a group of muscular men in a steamy shower room. Suds cover their entire body.
One of the men steps on a bar of soap and involuntarily slides across the shower.
Jasmine: "Legend has it that a guy dropped the soap in prison one day. Another guy slipped on it. They couldn't control the soapy floor, and they all kept running into each other and the walls."
The following image displays the entire room covered in blood, some of which drips from the ceiling, along with a group of manly corpses (still covered in suds).
Jasmine: "It ended up being a blood bath."
PAGE 17
*END OF DAYDREAM*
Back to reality. The irregulars look frightened by Jasmine's story. But Wendy looks confused.
Elliot: "Oh man, it's worse than I thought!"
Wendy: "That's not…what I heard."
Everyone turns to Wendy, waiting for her insight and wisdom.
Elliot: "Did you hear a different story, Wendy?"
Jasmine: "Yeah. Is there something we don't know about the soap situation?"
Wendy: "N-no. No, that's an awful fate, is all. I uh… just had trouble processing, hehehe." Are they for real?
Forte holds his hand out, bringing the attention back to himself. The tone changes to a slightly serious one.
Forte: "In any case, those things you encountered sound frightening. It wasn't even safe for you to go out and get your stuff. We need to get a move on with you guys' training. I wanted to wait a little longer, but we have to speed things up."
Elliot: "Huh? Speed what up?"
Forte: "We've gotta get you up to speed."
Forte turns around and walks, signaling the group with his hand.
Forte: "Follow me. It's time we start preparing for the Assessment Games."
PAGE 18
Setting: The underground room with the large monitor, which is the same room the gang was in when they observed Elliot's team during the simulation training. Kei and Nana are not there with them. Forte crosses his arms as he begins to explain.
Forte: "So, for those who haven't been here very long, I'll explain the Assessment Games."
This immediately catches the attention of Devlon, Chase, Terry, and Jasmine.
Devlon: Assessment Games? Is he serious? We could finally…
Elliot: "Games? You sent Kei and Nana away to talk about some games?"
Forte: "I didn't send them away." You make me sound so mean. "They're being escorted to the guest room for now. I can't have them around these parts of the base."
Wendy: "So, what are these games, anyway?"
Forte: "The Assessment Games is an annual event where Special Ops Units compete against one another and-"
Wendy interrupts, appearing offended for a moment.
Wendy: "Hold on. We just encountered some things that tried to kill us. And the first thing you wanna do is get ready for a competition?"
Forte: "Well, when you put it like that, it just sounds silly. The original plan was to have you guys train, and Elliot would take some classes-"
Elliot grips the sides of his head in a panic.
Elliot: "CLASSES? NOOOOO!!!"
Forte: "If you two would let me finish, it's because the situation is urgent that I believe training for the Assessment Games would be crucial."
PAGE 19
Forte fires up the monitor. The monitor displays cute chibi versions of Wendy, Elliot, and Devlon running through an obstacle course. Forte points at the screen as he furthers his point.
Forte: "But the training program for the games include more than basic training regimes and lessons in real situations."
The monitor now displays the chibby trio happily holding up I.D. cards.
Forte: "It can be a faster way to qualify for becoming official officers. I mean, you already are, but it would take Elliot about six months with normal training and classes to even qualify for initial exams. Then another three months for the second exam."
Bug-eyed, Elliot falls deeper into a state of panic, tears streaming from his face in a goofy fashion.
Elliot: "And here I thought I'd never have to do another study session again!"
Forte: "Calm down, Elliot. If we put in five months of crunch training, you could perform well and catch the judges' eyes. Score high enough and BAM! You'll do in five months what would normally take a year, give or take."
Elliot chimes in, waving his arms.
Elliot: "Okay, back up. We'll all be competing against each other?"
Devlon: "Kind of. We'll be split into teams. And those from other sites will be there as well."
Wendy: "Other sites?"
Chase: "Yes, ma'am. Site 7 isn't the only place for irregulars and Special Ops."
PAGE 20
Full page panel full of mysterious silhouettes doing cool poses and such.
Chase: "There are three other sites in the world. Site 7 is just the central location. This country has four: us, the south, the east, and HQ in the west, Site 201. Site 201 even has a couple A rank officers, as well as newcomers.
PAGE 21
Elliot: "A rank? So, they're the strongest, huh?"
Devlon looks down in all seriousness.
Devlon: "Yeah. There's one officer in particular from Site 201 that I'm curious about, but I've never met him. Part of me wants to see where I stand against an A ranked officer."
Close up on Elliot's hands. He shoves his fist into his other hand, confidently smiling at the thought.
Elliot: "Then I guess we just gotta get stronger, huh?"
Devlon: "Can't argue with that."
Wendy smiles and gives Elliot a nod of approval.
Wendy: "Got that right."
Jasmine leans her head in Elliot's direction with a wink.
Jasmine: "Gotta love that confidence."
Elliot: "Well, what are we waiting for?"
PAGE 22
Full page image of the entire gang. Elliot stands in the middle with his fists still in his hand.
Elliot: "Let's get ready for these games!"