Puppeteer

The white haired young woman walks through the New York streets at night. She holds out her dagger-like blade. It shines four white colored lights into the distance. She walks down an alley, following the brightest light. She hides as she hears trucks. Two B.L.A.D.E. trucks drive by the alleyway. As soon as they turn the corner the woman runs over to an old abandoned theatre. She holds up her blade. The light goes inside the building. She opens up the unlocked door. She walks through a room. As she opens another door she sees a stage with lights on. A crowd full of people are watching the play. She walks past the people watching the play. There is a little booth on the stage. Two puppets are being voiced.

Puppet: I was really mad at my friend Mark for stealing my dictionary.

Puppet2: What'd you tell him?

Puppet: I told him, mark my words!

The whole crowd laughs.

Puppet: Why did the invisible man turn down the job offer?

Puppet: Why?

Puppet: He couldn't see himself doing it!

Everyone laughs again.

Woman: I heard they call you the Soul Master.

A man stands up from behind the booth. He has short brown hair and big crazy eyes. He has a sock puppet on each hand.

Soul Master: Who told you? Was it one of my audience?!

He points into the crowd.

Soul Master: Who snitched?

Woman: It was no one in the audience, but the man's identity will not be given.

Soul Master: It was a man!

Every man in the audience has a small white orb come out of their mouths. Once the orb leaves them they drop to the ground dead. The orbs fly into the puppets on Soul Master's hands.

Soul Master: What do you want?! Did you just come here to tell me someone was a snitch?

Woman: I want to make a deal with you. I need something, but it's heavily guarded and I can't get it myself. I need you to use your power so everyone lets me steal it.

Soul Master: What's in it for me?

Woman: Your theatre looks a little run down-

Soul Master: It's perfect, I'll kill you!

Soul master reaches for a knife in his pocket.

Woman: Why don't you make it more perfect. If you control people inside a bank I can steal you all the money you need to make your perfect theatre. How does that sound?

Soul Master: I could steal the money by myself!

Woman: What if you get caught? They won't let a criminal own a theatre.

Soul Master: You're right! It's a deal!

Woman: Good.

Soul Master: What's your name, strange woman?

She bows.

Woman: My name is Shi.

Soul Master: No, not your gender. Your name.

Everyone in the crowd laughs.

Shi: Let's go.

Soul Master: Now?

Shi: Now.

Shi starts walking out of the theatre. Soul Master follows her.

Soul Master: No refunds!

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Kai walks inside his skyscraper. Kai has a coffee from the bibble and sip in his hand. He walks inside an elevator. Max runs up to the elevator.

Max: Hold it!

Kai waves to max and drinks his coffee as the door shuts in his face. Kai gets an angry text from Max. Kai just laughs at it and puts his phone back in his pocket. The elevator opens and Kai walks out of the elevator. His secretary sits at her desk doing paperwork. She almost doesn't see him. Once she realizes he's there she gets up.

Secretary: Mr.Adara, you have a meeting in five minutes with the shareholders of the company.

Kai: I'll get to it when I get to it.

Kai walks inside his office. He sees a card on his hologram projector. It's from Max. The print says "I upgraded the damn thing."

Kai: Now I feel bad for not holding the door.

The hologram turns on. It shows the news.

Reporter: Last night a bank was robbed without the police being called. The guards said it was like they were being controlled. Is it a new mutant, or are the guards lying-

Kai switches the hologram over to a map of the city. Kai zooms in on the bank. He brings up a hologram of the bank that was robbed. Kai drinks more of his coffee.

Kai: I know this bank. I don't think those guards would have been criminals. It's probably a mutant. Hologram!

The holograms speakers respond.

Hologram: What would you like me to do?

Kai: Send Fang an alert to check out the guards at the Bank of America on 125th street.

Someone knocks on Kai's door.

Kai switches the hologram back to the skyscraper. He opens the door and it's his secretary.

Secretary: Mr.Adara, the meeting is right now.

Kai: I'm going. I'm going.

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Kai stands up in front of a group of people still drinking his coffee. A chart of the sales in the company. The chart line slowly rises up. Max is one of the people in the group.

Kai: Our sales have been steadily increasing as more and more people get jobs and have the money to buy our tech.

Shareholder: Not good enough for me! We need the sales to rise faster.

Kai: Okay greedy. Who owns the company?

Kai continues.

Kai: That's why we're coming out with cheap watches. They'll be able to call people and all that, but they will have a lot of weaker tech then our phones. They will be affordable and practically like an older phone but newer.

Shareholder: We're a company who only sells to the higher class.

Kai: Why don't you try to broaden your horizons? Who wants to start making cheaper tech?

Most of the shareholders raise their hands.

Kai: Thank you.

Kai leaves the meeting room.

Kai: I think that's enough for today. I'll have the whole house to myself if I go home. Remi's at the mutant camps. So I can chill.

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Remi is led through the mutant camp by a B.L.A.D.E. soldier.

Soldier: Ms.Lorenz can not make it. She has to look after several camps. So she travels around if there is ever any word of a breakout.

Remi: So there is word of a breakout and Terra is just now leaving to deal with it?

Soldier: Are you trying to suggest there was an actual breakout. No, impossible. Ms.Lorenz just goes to make sure nothing happens. When word spreads it's usually just because a mutant wants to break out. Not because they actually can.

Remi: What are the conditions like?

Soldier: The conditions are just like any other prison. Three meals a day. They all have war crimes against them. We don't try to make their life fun, we try to make it feel like a punishment.

Remi walks past cells. Mutants slam on the bars of the cells.

Remi: And they can't use their powers in there?

Soldier: No, of course not. If you want to continue to look around, do so. Just stay out of the locked areas.

Remi sneaks around the mutant camp. She sees mutants outside working out. She walks past at least a hundred cells. She finds nothing. She walks up to a locked door. She makes a little spark and puts it in the lock of a door. It makes a small explosion and unlocks the door. She walks in and shuts the door behind her. All she sees is a generator.

Remi: Dammit. There's no story here. None of this is exciting or interesting. Everyone already knows about the mutant camps.

Remi sighs and leans against a wall.

Remi: What am I going to do?

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Kai opens the door to his house. He walks inside and sits on the couch. Kai puts his feet up and turns on the tv. Three League members walk up from behind him. Kai doesn't turn around.

Kai: What?

League member: We saw a man outside of the bank.

Kai: What bank?

League member: Fang told us you said the Bank of America on 125th street. We saw a man outside that building. We thought he was insane because he had sock puppets.

Kai: Maybe he had something to do with it? Keep a lookout. Things might be getting interesting from here on out. New York city might have more of a criminal underground than I thought.