Page 1
Setting: The basement of an unknown building, in the same room where Stone and Jade met up with their boss. It's pretty dark. Members of their group stand in front of Boss Dude's seat, but they stand as silhouettes since it's so dark. Jade stands near the wall where there's a window. Same with Stone. The light from the window shines just enough so they're visible.
Boss Dude: "Welcome back, Jade. Have you gathered anything more about him?"
Jade: "Not much. He isn't much of a talker."
Boss Dude: "It makes sense; they've been through a lot recently."
Voice: "How about I pay him a visit?"
A young man steps up. Stillin silhouette form, but you can tell he is either bald or has a short haircut. He wields a katana at his waist. Until his name is revealed, let's call him Sword Dude.
Boss Dude: "Are you sure? I don't want you taking on anything for us, since you're our guest."
Sword Dude: "Nah, it's cool. I've been meaning to pay him a visit anyway."
Page 2
As Sword dude continues, the scene temporarily shifts to a car driving down the street in the early morning.
Inside the car, in the back seat, is: Wendy snoozing against the window, Elliot in the middle snoring on Devlon's shoulder (and drooling), and Devlon knocked out with his mouth open.
Sword Dude (off screen): "With everything going on with those faceless things, I'm sure they'll be back in town in no time."
Page 3
Back in the basement, Jade steps forward.
Jade: "Well, it's settled. Until then, why not pass out some business cards and set up shop or something? Somebody's gotta make some money around here."
She points around the room at her fellow group members, who're all silhouettes, save Stone and Boss dude.
Jade: "I mean, look. We're standing around with one piece of furniture that the boss is sitting on. And then there's the electric bill…"
Jade: "Stone and I are only visible because of the sunlight shining through the windows. Like, we need to pay a light bill. This darkness makes everyone else look like some kind of comic characters that haven't been revealed yet!"
Page 4
The other silhouettes chime in.
Silhouette #1: "Hmm… she's got a point. It's like everyone's black."
Silhouette #2: "That sounds racist."
Silhouette #3: "I don't think that's what he meant."
Silhouette #4: "The light burns my eyes."
Boss Dude stands up and side eyes Jade.
Boss Dude:Way to make me feel guilty for having the only chair. "I… guess we can afford to have a few of us get jobs, then."
Page 5
Scene change. Setting: Site 7 common area. 1 Week has passed since the shooting.
Male Voice: "WHAAAAAT?!"
Forte stands across from Wendy and the gang (save Iris). They all look chill except for Forte.
Forte: "You…you fought some irregular who completely outmatched you when you were at the hospital? Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
Wendy: "Well, it's not like I didn't try. You didn't wanna hear it, remember?"
*FLASHBACK*
In this flashback, Wendy almost looks as if she's pleading with Forte.
Wendy: "But sir, I really need to inform you about-"
Forte has his back turned, ignoring what she has to say in a very childish manner.
Forte: "Like I told everybody else, Wendy; you've had a traumatic experience. Tell me later after a week of rest."
Wendy: "But sir, you really need to hear this-"
Forte plugs his ears with his hands and rocks side to side.
Forte: "Lalalala, can't hear you. Get some rest. Lalalala!"
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Page 6
Back to the present. Forte rubs his chin, looking down in shame.
Forte: "Hmm. And here I thought I was doing right with that new mental health book I read. I thought you needed to take a break from your traumatic experience."
Wendy: "A whole week, though?"
Terry: "Dude, we were fine after a nap."
Elliot: "Yeah, we heard the details days ago. I'm still waiting to hear the part about the zombie babies getting revenge for being cooped up in the womb for so long."
Wendy looks over at Jasmine with a raised eyebrow. Jasmine just rolls her eyes away and whistles.
Wendy: "Who told you that detail?"
Jasmine: "Right? Who could that have been?"
Wendy:I tell you one minor detail and you just made up an entire story…
Forte calms down a bit and folds his arms.
Forte: "Well Wendy, you have the floor now."
Wendy: "Actually, I think Devlon should go first."
Devlon: "Why me?"
Wendy: "You pretty much followed Forte's orders to a T and wouldn't speak about what you needed to say until a week of rest was up. So, I'm quite curious to hear what you have to say.."
Page 7
Devlon looks more serious.
Devlon: "Right. So, when Jasmine and I fought those faceless things, something strange happened."
Wendy: "Uh-huh?" Go on.
*FLASHBACK*
Devlon flashes back to the time when he fought the faceless alongside Jasmine. More specifically, when the faceless got a hold of Devlon and wouldn't let him go.
Devlon (off screen): "It wrapped around my arms and I couldn't break free. Not because it was stronger than me. I just felt…drained."
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Back to the present conversation. Devlon continues his story.
Devlon: "The longer it held me, the more energy seemed to pour out of me. It had the opportunity to kill me, but didn't."
Jasmine chimes in.
Jasmine: "Um, HELLO! I jumped in and iced that sucker. Of course it didn't kill you."
Devlon: "No. I mean, it wasn't even readying an attack, but instead it just stood there. Also, when I look back at past fights with them…"
Devlon rubs his chin.
Devlon: "The attacks almost seem like they're trying to incapacitate me. But, not kill me?"
Page 8
Jasmine chimes in again, clearly pissed off this time.
Jasmine: "What the heck makes you so special? That thing literally impaled me from behind!"
Elliot: "Pfft!"
Wendy: "Shut up, Elliot."
Devlon: "I dunno. But I'm thinking if irregulars are the targets, then maybe they're not sent to kill us, but something else?"
Jasmine: "Not to kill any irregulars except for me, right? That's racist."
Devlon just looks at Jasmine with a stale face.
Devlon: "Jazz, we have the same skin color."
Jasmine crosses her arms and looks away, determined to make her point.
Jasmine: "Hmm… sexist, then."
Wendy: "Jasmine, maybe that thing somehow knew it wouldn't kill you if it impaled you?"
Jasmine looks at Wendy.
Jasmine: "What, you think it knew my ability somehow?"
Wendy: "Well, I'm only speculating, but it might be possible. Think about it."
As Wendy makes her speculation, the following panel displays the image of three different faceless: One with a sharp arm. Another that's bulky and muscular like the one from chapter 13. And another that wears a trench coat and hat.
Wendy: "They're somehow able to spot Irregulars on site, maybe from an innate ability? If so, maybe said ability is also used to tell that you're totally water based."
Page 9
Wendy looks to the ceiling, scratching her head as she tries to make sense of it all.
Wendy: "That or maybe it knew you somehow? Though the latter doesn't make a lick of sense."
Forte: "So, they may be after something other than your lives. Chase, what about you?"
Chase: "It tried to grab me, so I jumped out the window."
Forte puts his hand under his chin.
Forte: "Interesting. If only we knew where they were coming from, we could get more info on their motives. I'll look into this. Devlon, be ready for a new mission soon."
Devlon: "Yes sir."
Chase: "I wish Iris were here for this conversation. She needs to know the dangers of the world, ya know?"
Terry: "Yeah. Where is she anyway?"
Scene shifts to Iris's perspective. She stands outside on this sunny day, in an open field. There are some trees around.
Chase (off screen): "She's gone back to her personal training."
Iris: "I've been at this a while. Can't I hang out with my friends?"
Page 10
Franciscus stands at a distance near some trees.
Franciscus: "Your friends? It was when you were with them that you got hurt. It was with them when you let your guard down and got careless."
A thick hand comes down on Franciscus's shoulder.
Male Voice: "How about we give her a break after a couple more reps."
Next to Franciscus stands a man. He's a tan color, Hispanic like Wendy. He's a thicker man, short black hair with a medium thick beard.
Franciscus: "We need to make sure such an incident doesn't happen a second time."
Beard dude: "Won't do her much good if she's exhausted, right?"
Iris becomes overjoyed at the sight of the bearded newcomer.
Iris: "Omar. Hi! And thanks, you're a lifesaver."
Omar reciprocates the cheerful smile.
Omar: "Not so fast. I'd still like to see what kind of exercise you're running."
Page 11
Iris gives pout.
Iris: "Wha? Er…okay."
Franciscus: "From the top."
A few military bots come from behind the trees and begin to surround Iris, charging their guns.
The surrounding bots fire at Iris at the same time.
Iris moves at high speed, zipping from one spot to the next.
All of the bots miss Iris, which causes them to shoot each other instead.
Page 12
Iris now stands in the middle of dead bots, smoke rising from their bodies.
Iris: "I guess they all shot each other."
One surviving bot stands behind Iris, pointing its gun right at her.
Franciscus: "IRIS! DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!"
Iris looks down with a confused and surprised expression as a laser beam exits her chest from behind.
Franciscus: "IRIIISSSS!!!!"
Suddenly, Iris's body becomes hazy and starts to fade. At the same time, Iris appears behind the bot, scratching her head.
Iris (behind the bot): "What? That was just my after image, silly. I'm fine."
She raises her hand.
Iris: "Can we break? The speedy stuff makes my head hurt."
Page 13
Iris starts to walk away from the bot toward her mentor. She kindly waves at the bot.
Iris: "Thanks for the practice, Mr. Bot. Sorry about the injuries I had to inflict on you."
Bot: "All in a day's work, ma'am."
Suddenly, the bot's arms and legs fall apart, leaving its torso on the ground.
Iris approaches the two men. She looks tired, but excited.
Iris: "Omar, I didn't know you were back from vacation. Can we go back? I wanna introduce you to my newest friends. Pleeeeeeease!"
Omar turns around and crouches, inviting Iris for a piggyback.
Omar: "Sure. Want a lift?"
Iris climbs onto Omar's back.
Iris: "Do I?! Father gave me a piggyback ride last time."
Omar: "Really? That sounds too fun for him."
Iris: "Hahaha, right?"
Franciscus: "I'm standing right here, you know."
Page 14
Back to Forte and the rest. Everybody's shocked by what Wendy just told them. Well, Jasmine's less shocked.
Chase: "Wait, you couldn't even touch him? But then he turned around and helped little sis?"
Elliot: "It's almost like a final boss encounter early on in a game!"
Terry: "Yo, a guy like that would be awesome on our team!"
Wendy: "I don't know if he's one to join us. I don't know, I just couldn't figure him out in such a short time."
Forte: "In any case, I'm glad things turned out alright. For now, let's train together to prepare for the Assessment Games. I'm sure there are some abilities you'd like to enhance."
She's looking down and to the side, guilt written on her face.
Jasmine:Yeah. I definitely need to improve.
*FLASHBACK*
Jasmine flashes back to when she dashed to guard Iris right before being shot. As a reminder, while she was dashing, a thin layer of ice was forming around Jasmine's body like armor.
Jasmine:If I had formed the ice thicker and faster, that bullet wouldn't have gone through me and hit Iris.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
Page 15
Elliot walks to Jasmine's side.
Elliot: "Speaking of, let's head to the training room right now. I wanna show y'all what I've been working on."
Jasmine: "Oh?"
Elliot continues ahead towards the stairs.
Elliot: "I'm gonna go get Kei and Nana so they can see, too."
Jasmine:He's been working hard, huh?
In Kei and Nana's room, Elliot stands by the door, having just walked in. Kei welcomes him with a smile.
Kei: "El, just the man I wanted to see."
Elliot: "That has a nice ring to it. Elliot, the man. Wassup?"
Kei walks over and calmly puts his hand on Elliot's shoulder.
Kei: "Look, I know things happen. But next time there's an emergency and you have to disappear, at least shoot a text."
Nana: "We were locked in the room with robot guards. It was boooooring."
Page 16
Elliot signals them to follow him out of the room.
Elliot: "My bad. But if you're bored, I've got something to show you. C'mon."
Nana: "Yaaaaay!"
About 10 minutes later, Elliot stands in the simulation room. The room is currently blank, so the simulation hasn't started yet.
Elliot: "Alright. I'm ready when you are."
On the other end, outside the simulation room, inside the room with the large monitor, the gang watches on.
Forte: "Alright, let's see what you've got."
Back to the simulation room with Elliot. The overall area isn't changing like it usually does. But a humanoid turret with a bullseye on its chest rises from the ground behind him. Elliot turns around.
Elliot: "Hm?"
Page 17
Elliot quickly dashes to the side, stretching his right hand out towards the turret. He grips his hand with the other to hold his hand steady.
Elliot releases a blast of energy, destroying the target. More targets appear around him, so he now stands in the middle of them, aiming his right hand as he blasts.
Elliot continues to blast and destroy his targets.
Back in the room with the large monitor, Nana jumps with excitement.
Nana: "Wow! He's really cool!"
Chase: "He's improved a lot, huh?"
Terry closes his eyes and smiles proudly.
Terry: "Yeah, he was struggling to use his powers unless he had an adrenaline rush, so we practiced using abilities on command."
Page 18
Back in the simulation room, Elliot stands confidently. Though, he does lean forward a bit, showing he's gotten tired.
Elliot: "Heh. How's that?"
Forte: "Well done, Elliot. I'm ending the session, so you can head to the next room with us.
In the room with the big monitor, Elliot walks through the door, ready to receive all the praise.
Elliot: "Yeah. I'll be on the front lines in no time, hehe."
Iris: "Elliot, you're amazing!"
Iris steps forward with a closed eyed smile, which startles Elliot.
Elliot: "Girl, when did you get here? Warn somebody before you just pop up!"
Chase: "Remember Iris, you're always welcome to use a door.."
Iris: "I know. But check your phones. I'm gonna be on T.V."
Page 19
Everyone pulls out their phones. Elliot looks a little disappointed, but then does the same.
Elliot: "Well, that recognition was short-lived." I thought I was the star of the moment.
Wendy, Devlon, and Elliot looked shocked by what they saw on their phones."
Elliot: "How is this even up for debate?"
Devlon: "What's the meaning of this?"
Wendy: "Iris…this isn't…" Oh no!
Jasmine also takes a look at her phone. With a disgusted look.
Jasmine: "It's one thing after another with these people."
Terry and Chase are on their phones (together) as well.
Terry: "Why's she look like that?"
Chase: "Oh no."
Page 20
The phone screen displays a video. It looks to be a news outlet. The screen is split in half. One the left half, the screen displays wholesome pictures of the two cops that shot Jasmine and Iris.
The other half of the screen shows Iris wielding a sword. She has an evil smile on her face with sharp teeth. There's also fire and destruction in the background.
Iris (off screen): "What? Dontcha think I look kinda cool?"
The headline of this news story says Guilty or Innocent? The Judge's Decision.