Chapter 22: Shattered Victory

Page 1

Setting: Outdoor mall. Continuing the fight against the faceless, Wendy, Iris, and Chase stand off against the faceless. Having finally finished pulverizing the bot, the faceless turns around and faces the three.

Wendy: "Be careful, guys. This is the one I was talking about; the one that seems to grow in size."

Iris: "Oh, never mind that. Let's kick his butt!"

As soon as Iris steps forward, the faceless dashes in without warning, swinging a powerful blow at them. Wendy's shocked at how fast the faceless has grown.

Wendy: It's fast! I can't…

Wendy attempts to dodge, but the incoming fist, which has grown to about triple the size of Wendy's head, is only about an inch away from connecting.

Page 2

Wendy is even more shocked by what she sees. The background has changed. She was a few yards away from the clothing store. Now…she's right in front of it. She looks around and notices that the faceless is farther away, having missed its punch.

Wendy: "Wha-what happened? How'd he get over there?"

Wendy looks down and sees Iris holding her hand. 

Iris: "Oh, that was me. He didn't move. We did."

Like the little kid that Iris is, she jumps up and down while holding Wendy's hand.

Iris: "Big sis Wendy, you're so cool! Let me show you the cool things I can do this time, okay? Watch me? Please?"

Confused, Wendy nods. She looks as if she's still trying to process how she got to her current spot. 

Iris steps forward and walks towards the enraged faceless.

Iris: "Watch this, Wendy sis!"

Page 3

Wendy reaches out to Iris as she starts to run after her. That is, until Chase gently grabs her wrist. He looks straight ahead. Though, behind his shades glows a bright red.

Chase: "Wendy, don't worry. She's got this. You just get that taser ready." Once the opportunity rises, I'll…

Wendy still looks a bit confused, then looks towards Iris again.

Wendy: Is she really…that strong?

Iris runs at the faceless, who throws another straight punch at Iris. Before the punch could connect, Iris stands to the side of the faceless's arm with her hands behind her back. She sticks out her tongue.

Iris: "Missed me!"

The faceless cocks back for another powerful blow, then throws a punch with full force at Iris.

Page 4

The faceless's fist crashes into the ground, but Iris is nowhere in its sight. 

Lines appear up the faceless's arms like slash marks. In just moments, its arm falls into thirds. Meanwhile, Iris now stands behind the faceless.

Iris: "Behind youuuuuuuuu!"

The faceless quickly spins a 180 to backhand the child, but she vanishes again. This time, she reappears near her friends once more.

Chase: "Good stuff, Iris. Next, I'll charge him and Wendy will go for the kill! C'mon, Wendy."

Wendy:"Now sure what just happened, but lead the way!"

Eyes glowing from behind his shades, Chase runs towards the faceless, who's distracted as it attempts to put its diced arm back together. Wendy follows his lead, sprinting with a high-powered taser in hand.

Page 5

Shifting to the perspective of the two police officers who led the public away from the fight, they watch in awe.

Cop #1: "I wanna pull out my rifle, but I'm not sure it's a good idea. There's a kid there and I don't wanna hit her by mistake!"

Shifting back to Wendy and Chase, Chase removes his shades as he gets closer to the faceless and unleashes a bright red beam from his eyes, hitting the faceless head on in the chest.

Chase: "Now, Wendy! Follow up while he's stunned!"

Wendy: "Leave it to me!"

Wendy sprints ahead of Chase with electricity spewing from her taser.

Wendy reaches the stunned faceless, who lies on its back with smoke rising from its body.

Page 6

Wendy raises the taser and turns up the power.

Wendy: "I've had it with you!"

She shoves the taser into the faceless's body, electricity shooting out in all directions.

Chase: "Wendy, watch out so I can finish it!"

Wendy moves out of the way as Chase fires a final large round blast at the now charred faceless, which creates a large cloud of smoke on impact.

Wendy keeps her guard up as she watches the cloud of smoke. 

Wendy: Is it dead?

When the smoke clears, the three heroes see the lifeless body of the heavily damaged faceless.

Wendy: "Yeah. We got em."

Page 7

Shift to the cops and the crowd of civilians. As a reminder, they're at a distance, about 30 feet away as they were escorted to the parking area.Many civilians aim their phones at the trio in awe. Some are excited while others are afraid. The cops look as if they've also given in to fear. Jade observes their reactions from within the crowd.

Civilian with phone: "Ya see that? It's a real irregular! I've never seen one in this area before."

Some Lady: "What? I thought these neighborhoods were safe!"

Cop #1: "What the. We'll take care of things." I thought those darn bots were supposed to notify us of anything strange.

Another civilian: "One even blasted the bots, I think. The bots are all dead."

Cop #2: "Alright. We'll need to use force against these terrorists!"

Jade tilts her head, taken by surprise at what she hears.

Jade: "Terrorists?!" Are they stupid?

In the midst of the chaos, a familiar car pulls up and parks. 

Jasmine and Devlon exit the car, looking around at the commotion.

Devlon: "What's going on here?"

Jasmine:"Dunno. Let's ask around."

Page 8

Jasmine stumbles for a moment, but gains her balance. 

Devlon: "You okay?"

Jasmine: "Yeah. Just…gotta get a bottle of water soon. That fight got me a little dehydrated."

Devlon folds his arms and glares at Jasmine. 

Devlon: "You mean your showing off got you a little dehydrated."

Jasmine: "Shut up."

Jasmine quickly flashes back to their recent encounter with the two faceless. More specifically, when the faceless tried to stab Jasmine, but ended up stabbing an ice replica instead.

Jasmine: "You gotta admit, it was a pretty cool move."

Devlon nudges Jasmine on the side.

Devlon: "Yeah, but it wasn't necessary. You lost stamina."

Jasmine: "So? The fight's over, ain't it?"

Page 9

The two get closer to the crowd, then approach a man; the man that Wendy previously rescued.

Jasmine: "The outdoor mall is trending like crazy, huh? Did something happen?"

Man: "Ugh, no one's listening! They've got the wrong idea!"

Devlon: "Um, sir? What's going on here?"

The man points near the clothing store where Wendy and the others are.

Man: "The military bots started goin' haywire, attacking people n stuff. Then this lady cop and a group of irregulars saved me and my boy,"

Devlon: "Did you say a group of irregulars?!"

Jasmine: "Ah. And the lady cop must be Wendy."

Page 10

The man balls his fists in frustration.

Man: "But everybody's putin' the blame on them. They saved us. But people who don't even know what they're talking about tellin' the cops that the irregulars just attacked the bots! They're confusing the details."

Devlon: "Here, we'll figure this out. Sounds like a misunderstanding. Maybe Wendy can help clear this up."

Jasmine raises a skeptical eyebrow.

Jasmine: Misunderstanding? Right. "Yeah, let's have Wendy explain things. They'll listen to a human cop."

The two walk towards Wendy and the rest when the cops reach out to them. 

Cop #1: "Hey wait! There are dangerous people over there!"

Jasmine quickly turns to face the cop with a furious glare.

Jasmine: "Dangerous? I'll take my chances. Seems like you can't even tell which way is up."

They continue to walk towards their friends. 

Page 11

Wendy spots Jasmine and Devlon approaching them. 

Wendy: "Oh! Look who's here. I hope you guys' day went better than ours."

Devlon: "Somewhat. I hear a lot's happened. Anyway, Wendy we need your help talking to-" 

Before Devlon could finish, Iris jumps into the conversation, bubbly as usual. Though at a distance, they're standing directly in front of the cops.

Iris: "Hold on a minute. I'm not done showing Wendy my stuff. You asked what I did to the No Face, right?"

Iris starts instantaneously moving from one sport to the next around Wendy.

Iris: "I can zip through different places and teleport like so! Oh yeah, and check this out!"

Iris holds out her hand.

Suddenly, a sword appears in her hand from thin air.

Iris: "Tadaaa! Meet Swordy."

Wendy: "That's… wow! That's really cool, kiddo."

Iris: "Right?"

Page 12

Shifting back to the cops, one of them points out Wendy in the distance.

Cop #1: "Hey, I think I know her. Isn't that officer Wendy? From John's unit?"

Cop #2: "Not sure who Wendy is, but I think I heard a guy say a cop was involved."

The cops then shift their attention to Iris, who continues to explain her abilities to Wendy, sword still in hand.

Cop #2: "Hold on! That one there has a weapon!"

Back to Iris and the gang. Iris smiles at Wendy, awaiting her approval. Devlon, Chase, and Jasmine stand a few feet away at the side. Seems the guys are handing Jasmine a bottle of water. 

Iris: "So yeah. Pretty cool, right?"

Wendy: "Yeah. That's really cool!"

Cop: "DROP YOUR WEAPON!" 

Iris turns around with an innocent, yet clueless look.

Iris: "Huh?"

When she turns, she sees two cops pointing weapons at her. One points a handgun while the other points a rifle.

Page 13

Confused, Iris holds her sword up.

Iris: "Oh, this? Sorry!" Forgot it was in my hand.

In just seconds, the sword in Iris's hand vanishes. She closes her eyes and smiles at the officers.

Iris: "There. Much better. Sorry about that, officer." <(^_^)>

The cops continue to aim at Iris. They lean to each other for a moment, trying to make sense of what just happened. 

Cop #1: "What just happened?"

Cop #2: "Some sort of trick! Officer Wendy probably can't detain all of them on her own. The one with the weapon is dangerous."

Cop #1: "I SAID DROP YOUR WEAPON!"

Confused, Devlon waves at the cops with one hand, and points at Iris with the other.

Devlon: "Is he blind?"

Wendy steps forward, walking ahead of Iris.

Wendy: "Officer, stand down! There is no weapon!"

Iris looks around, even more confused.

Iris: "But…there is no weapon, officer."

She holds both hands out in front.

Iris: "See?"

Page 14

Near the two cops, the man who was previously rescued by Wendy moves through the crowd and reaches out to the cops. Jade also steps forward, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

Man: "Sir, they rescued me! They're not bad people!"

Jade: "He's right! Those irregulars are heroes!"

Unfortunately, the cops are now driving by a mixture of hatred and fear. They don't respond to the man at all.

Cop #1: "What's that one doing with its hands?"

Cop #2: "It's going to attack!"

Man: "Officers, please! She's just trying to show you that she doesn't have a weapon!"

Jade: They're not listening!

Back to the gang, Devlon continues to try reasoning with the cops. Chase joins in as well. 

Devlon: "Sir, her weapon is gone!"

Chase: "She's just a little girl!"

Jasmine anxiously looks at Iris, then back at the cops. 

Jasmine: No! They're not listening!

Page 15

Jasmine dashes toward Iris as fast as she can. Ice slowly starts to form around Jasmine's body. 

Jasmine: "IRIS! MOVE!"

Close up on Jasmine standing in front of Iris with her arms out. Ice continues to form around her own abdomen

POW! The sound of a gunshot echoes through the air, shutting down all the commotion and leaving the area silent.

Jasmine, who's in front of Iris, stands there, attempting to catch her breath. She stands with a hole in her stomach.

Jasmine: "..."

Page 16

Close up on Devlon, who's completely shocked.

Devlon: What…why would they fire?

Close up on Wendy, who looks at Jasmine while trying to contain her rising panic.

Wendy: "J…Jasmine?"

She furiously turns her attention back to the cops.

Wendy: "ARE YOU MAD?!"

Close up on Chase, who takes a step towards Jasmine's direction. He's shaking. His shades slip down his nose just enough to see the devastation in his eyes. 

Chase: "...NO!"

Page 17

Close up on Jasmine again. Still shocked, she angrily barks at the cops ahead of her while holding her abdomen.

Jasmine: "You guys were shooting to kill… at a child?"

She begins lashing out in pure rage. 

Jasmine: "IF I DIDN'T GET HERE IN TIME, YOU TWO WOULD HAVE KILLED A CHI-"

Jasmine couldn't even finish her sentence. Mouth and eyes wide open, her face is stuck in a shocked expression. Another gunshot had interrupted her statement. She slowly falls back as a bullet drills into her forehead.

Page 18

Close shot of Wendy. Her face is now full of terror.

Wendy: "J-Jasmine?"

Wendy turns and lashes out at the two cops. Tears are already running down her face, a string of saliva coming out uncontrollably.

Wendy: "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! THEY WERE HERE TO HELP! YOU JUST MURDERED MY FRIEND!"

In a blind rage, Wendy pulls out her pistols, quickly reloading and cocking one in the chamber.

Wendy: "SCREW the law! Being behind bars is too good for you! I'm ending this NOW!"

Devlon rushes in behind her, grabbing onto her on both sides to hold her down. Tears running down her face, Wendy shakes side to side in an attempt to break free, her finger already on the trigger.

Devlon: "Wendy! Wendy. Stop"! 

Wendy: "NO! Let me go, Devlon. LET ME GO!"

Devlon: "It's not as bad as it looks, I promise! Look. Look at Jasmine!"

Puzzled (and still crying), Wendy turns to look at Jasmine's lifeless body. Jasmine's body slowly turns into a puddle.

Close up on Wendy's eyes looking in disbelief.

Wendy: "What?!"

Page 19

The puddle begins to rise and takes a humanoid form.

Jasmine: "No worries here. I'm…all good. Just a little shaken up…"

The humanoid-shaped water solidifies and in just seconds, Jasmine's form is returned to flesh and blood. She mugs the cops ahead with complete disdain. 

Jasmine: "...and totally disgusted!"

Off screen voice: "WE NEED HELP! SOMEBODY!"

The gang turns around.

Page 20

Close up on Wendy, who now looks even more devastated than before.

Wendy: "Oh God, no!"

Close up on Jasmine, whose expression is full of pain, fear, and hatred.

Jasmine: "Those monsters!

Devlon turns around with an expression of pain and fear.

Devlon: ""No. NO!"

Close up on Iris's face. For whatever reason, her eyes are wide open with an expression of total shock and… mental absence.

Page 21

Zooming out of the close up on Iris reveals more of what's going on; Chase is on his knees right next to her, panicking. He holds the back of her head with one hand and has his other hand pressed against her abdomen. Blood escapes through the spaces of his fingers as he tries to press Iris's wound. Though Iris isn't responsive. Just… mouth and eyes open as if she isn't mentally present.

Chase: "Come on Iris, stay with me! Iris! IIIIIIRIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS!!!!!"