DIFFERENT FONT STYLES USED:
"STORYLINE" "'SPECIAL SKILLS OR MOVES'" "SPEAKER" "SPEECH" "THOUGHT"
SCENE: Enforcement HQ.
Lazarus stands in the middle of the vault, panting heavily as he glares at his adversary; defeated but not eliminated, unconscious but not dead…yet. Guinevere just sits in her corner, back resting against the wall as she watches Lazarus pour the last of all his strength into this final attack. Her face contorts into shock as she real as she realizes what he's about to do. Lazarus readies himself into a sprinting stance and lunges at the unconscious Militant, sword raised to deliver the killing blow…only to be tackled from the side by some enforcers, catching him off-guard.
Lazarus: (alarmed) What the…?
Bishop: (walks up to him) That's enough Lazarus. You've done well.
Lazarus: (grits his teeth in anger but surrenders) … (with no strength left to fight back, Lazarus finally gives up and succumbs to exhaustion; the enforcers pick his unconscious body while Anastasia tends to Guinevere)
Anastasia: Guinny! Are you okay?! You're hurt, aren't you?!
Guinevere: I'll be fine. (grunts as Anastasia helps her up)
Bishop: Take these two to the recovery room… (turns to Militant) …and him to the holding cells.
Enforcers: Yes sir! (as the enforcers carry out his orders, Bishop can't but notice the weapon Lazarus was using on the floor)
Bishop: Hmmm…
SCENE: Genesis Shopping Plaza. Waiting Room.
Neil and Mavy sit in the waiting room, both growing increasingly frustrated and annoyed as they get interrogated by Clinton. Both teens restrained by their wrists with special, mechanical handcuffs with a design of full, wrist-length cuffs linked together by a cuboidal pad with fluorescent, red lights decorating it. Meili – the female mall officer with moss-green hair worn back into high ponytail and brown eyes – soon enters the room with an equally cuffed Candy.
Meili: Okay, I brought the last one. (she pulls Candy in and pushes her towards a seat, the younger female taking a seat beside her two friends, with Neil in the middle; having Mavy by his right and Candy by his left)
Candy: Hey guys.
Neil: You got caught too, huh?
Candy: Yup.
Clinton: Alright, are ready to talk?
Mavy: We've been talking since you brought us in here.
Neil: Yeah, none of that was our fault. We're the ones who got attacked out of nowhere.
Meili: (unconvinced) Uh-huh. Sure.
Candy: Hey, that's the truth.
Clinton: If so, then explain why some armored lady would send a bunch of zoo animals to attack three random school kids.
Neil: (shrugs) Who knows. But that's what happened.
Clinton: Hmm!
Mavy: If you don't believe us, why not check the security footage.
Meili: One of our guys' already on it. But we'd prefer to hear what you'd have to say.
Neil: But you're not listening to what we have to say. (after a while, the mall officers eventually learn the trio's names)
Meili: Oh, so you're a Matrix?
Neil: Yeah? So?
Clinton: (raises a hand to his chin in thought as he rests the elbow on the other hand) Hmmm. Then I guess what you're saying is worth considering.
Neil: (surprised and annoyed) What?!
Candy: Amazing how our credibility instantly went up when they found out one of us from one of the 12 great clans in the continent. What as*holes.
Neil: (broods) …
Meili: Common. Let's see if Denis' got anything.
The two adults leave while the Neil and Candy make fun of them behind their backs…literally: Neil flips the birdie to them while Candy mockingly mimics Meili; Mavy all the while chuckles at her friends' antics. Once the two are gone, the trio start chatting amongst themselves.
Candy: If I knew they'd change their tone just from finding out that one of us from the Matrix clan, I'd--
Neil: (in a serious and angry tone) --say nothing! Because I'd sooner get arrested than get help from that wretched clan.
Mavy: Come on Neil, it's been years. Are you really gonna hold a grudge against your own family forever?
Neil: They are NOT my family!
Mavy: (sighs in defeat) Fine.
Candy: (raises her hands as she looks down to her cuffs, smugly speaking as she cocks an eyebrow) Hmmm. Dampener cuffs. Can send subliminal, low-frequency, bio-waves that weaken and slow down minergy flow within the bodies of whoever wears them, effectively cutting down their power and overall level by half.
Mavy: Truly one of Kyle's greatest inventions.
Candy: (scoffs) Please. Even at half the power, all it would take is to power up to break out these bonds.
Mavy: Of course you could break out of these fairly easily, these cuffs weren't made for people like us. Any higher rank could break out easily, but lower ranks are different story.
Candy: Then why did Kyle make something that's weak against people that actually have the strength to be a threat? Seems like a flawed design.
Neil: I don't think it was meant to be a restraint.
Candy and Mavy: (confused) Huh?
Neil: Like Mavy said, they're not meant for higher ranks, so why. While they do serve the purpose of restraining captured rogues, they're also meant to convey a message.
Candy: Message? What do you mean?
Neil: Let me ask you two this: why did you let yourselves be caught by the mall cops? With your power, even if exhausted, you'd still be strong enough to overpower them.
Mavy: Because it'd just lead to more trouble if we did.
Neil: Exactly, even with our strength, it be a bad idea to go against a stronger force like the law; unless you can stand on equal ground. Personally, I think they're meant to serve as a reminder, that no matter how strong you think you are, there'll always be someone stronger; in this case, the authorities.
Candy: Wow. That's deep.
Mavy: Anyway, time to start talking. How do you know that lady, why was she hellbent on killing you and what does Kyle have to do with it? (Neil and Candy share a glance before sighing and turning to her)
Neil: Fine, I'll tell you, but only if you promise to keep a lid on it.
Mavy: That depends on whether or not it's worth keeping a lid on.
Neil: (in a more serious tone) No Mavy, it's bad enough you got dragged into this too. If I tell you, you have to promise you'll keep it a secret. Even from the others.
Mavy: (growing concerned) … Fine. (meanwhile, the two mall officers head to the camera footage room)
SCENE: Security Camera Room.
The two enter the room where Denis – a tall, lean, dark-skinned man with equally dark hair and eyes – and another officer – who has blond spiky hair and green eyes – are busy checking the camera footage. The officer seat in a chair typing on the keyboard to review the footage while, Denis just stands behind him watching.
Clinton: Hey. You guys figured anything out yet?
Denis: Yup. Show 'em Martin.
Martin: (types on the keyboard) Well, turns out those really were telling the truth. (shows a footage of the trio walking when the animals suddenly start stampeding into the mall and begin rampaging) It seems they really don't anything to do with the animal attack.
Denis: The footage does show that the animals were interested in them specifically though. Not sure why.
Meili: (furrows her eyes at one of the screens) Hmmm. (sees a split-second capture of Pink Armor leaving the building) Wait! What's that?! (points to the screen)
Martin: Hmmm? (rewinds the footage and zooms in, showing a clear image of the enforcer)
Meili: Who's that?
Clinton: No clue, but she seemed to be fighting those kids. She disappeared before we got on the scene though.
Denis: Huh. She was fighting them while the animals were attacking them? See a pattern? (the others go wide-eyed in realization)
Clinton: Hey! Follow that footage.
Martin: Unfortunately, I can't. The rest of the footage is gone after that.
All three: (surprised) …!
SCENE: Waiting Room.
Neil finishes telling Mavy everything that's being going on the past three weeks.
Mavy: So that's why he hasn't been at school lately.
Candy: I was also confused as to why he was absent.
Mavy: I guess that explains why his aura felt so different last time we spoke. It felt…incomplete somehow; now I know why. So Laz doesn't remember anything then?
Neil: Not even who he is, according to Kyle.
Candy: If you ask me, it seems like Terror isn't the only ones trying to recruit members through deceitful tactics.
Neil: Yeah. I figured they just took a chance to turn someone into their artificial super soldier.
Mavy: So what? You and Kyle plan on going back to try again?
Neil: Yes. Well, we're not gonna storm the building again if that's what you're implying, but we are gonna do we can to get Laz back.
Mavy: This is dangerous. Can't we just have the police handle this?
Candy: That's what I said.
Neil: I considered that option too, but Kyle's right. Enforcement's a government agency, meaning they're supported by the bureau. Which also means the police are basically errand boys for them. So yeah, going to the police would be a no-go. Besides, what'll we even tell them? That our friend is being turned into mindless puppet by some secret government branch that took away his skills?
Mavvy: So what are you gonna do?
Neil: Kyle's currently working on a way to get info on Enforcement's happenings without arousing suspicion. We'll just have to wait until he comes up with something.
The door suddenly opens as Clinton walks in, holding an object like a small ovoid device with a flattened bottom and a bright, blue, circular light on top.
Clinton: Alright kids, you're free to go. (all three are justifiably surprised)
Mavy: Really?
Neil: You seemed pretty set on pinning us as the guilty party earlier.
Clinton: (irritated) Let's just say we got some evidence to back up your claims.
He walks up to them one by one, attaching the device to each of the cuffs to unlock them. He attaches the device to face of the pad, the blue light instantly turning itself and the lights on the pad green; causing the cuffs to open up. Once they're all free the three get up prepare to leave.
Neil: (sassy despite putting an air indifference and disinterest the entire time) Can't help but notice that this could have been avoided if you had just listened to us from the start.
Clinton: (growing pissed) Don't push it kid.
All three leave the building, everyone mulls over the events of the day and everything they've learned. They head to train station still in thought, when Candy's eyes suddenly widen in shock as a thought crosses her mind. She screams in horror, startling her friends.
Neil: (bewildered) Why'd you scream?
Candy: (places both hands on her head in agony) I don't believe it!
Mavy: (confused) What? Don't believe what?
Candy: (sobs) Our shopping bags with all our stuff is still back at the mall.
Neil: (exasperated) Really? (Mavy just chuckles softly at friend's behavior; later, after getting off the train and bidding farewell to her friends, Mavy climbs up the stairs leading out of the subway, still in thought)
Mavy: Is this what was bothering Laz back then. I could tell something was bugging him, but I never would have expected it to be something like this.
Laz: (flashback) What would you do if you lost something important to you, and you got chance to replace it but, doing so could come at a great risk.?
Mavy: So this is what he meant. Laz.
SCENE: Enforcement HQ. Bishop's Private Lab. (later that night)
Bishop mixes some chemicals together, working on some concoctions. He thinks back to the scene in the storage vault, the weapon of choice that Lazarus had used.
Bishop: For him to use that sword out of every weapon in that vault. Not to mention that he seems to be the only one who can wield it. Hmmm, he was actually able to defeat Militant, singlehandedly. That in its own, is worth praise. Militant is not the kind of opponent to take likely, he is known as the Warzone Killer. A name he earned from the botched "Fire Island" mission, he singlehandedly defeated a whole army of enforcers. He killed several powerful enforcers and heavily hospitalized the others. Not only is Lazarus not even high-tier enforcer yet, he's severely weaker than his real self – definitely more so than Militant – plus he was neutralized at the time, yet somehow, he still won. Erasing his memories definitely made him easier to control, but it seems he really does grow stronger more his memories do. (suddenly hears a knock on his door) It's open. (the mechanical door slides open, revealing a female security guard holding a holo-screen notepad)
Security Guard: Prof. Cunnycut, we managed to capture some of the foot soldiers, sir. Since we were still neutralized at the time, most of them managed to escape.
Bishop: (nods while focusing on his work, not even turning to his subordinate) That's quite alright. Anything else?
Security Guard: We managed to learn the name and information of the soldiers. (hands over the pad which Bishop takes) We've also incarcerated Militant, he's still unconscious though.
Bishop: (reads and scrolls through the pad like a tablet) What about the gold and silver brothers?
Security Guard: They're bodies are in the freezing chamber.
Bishop: (nods) Good. You may leave. (the guard bows and leave; he focuses back on his work) Hmmm. I expected the memory wiping to be perfect, but it seems that that's not the case at all. I'd most likely no longer be able to control him if his memories fully return. If that does happen…
SCENE: Somewhere in the streets.
Laz walks down the street from school, clutching the strap of his bag with one hand, and his phone with the other; a solemn look on his face. He suddenly notices himself being followed, he turns to his pursuers and confronts them, clearly annoyed. They suddenly attack him, he retaliates to defend himself, but something's wrong: he's skills aren't working and he feels himself suddenly grow weaker and slower. The attackers overwhelm him, two of them suddenly restrain him and one stabs his neck with a syringe gun, injecting a strange liquid into him. At that moment, Lazarus wakes and jolts up in a scream that also wakes Guinevere up, breathing heavily as he tries to process everything he just saw.
SCENE: HQ Recovery Room.
Guinevere sits up to look at him, her bed right next to his, just a meter and a half or so apart. Lazarus and Guinevere sit in their beds, already patched up. Lazarus' arms and leg are wrapped up – the latter being casted hung from a support pole to heal – with his torso and head also bandaged up. Guinevere's injuries weren't as severe, resulting in only needing some bandages on her torso and arms, with gauze or two on her face. She wears a mixed expression of startled and annoyed – the latter likely at the sudden awakening.
Guinevere: What the hell? Why'd you scream like that?
Lazarus: (still panting) S-sorry. I just had a weird dream.
Guinevere: (slightly amused) Huh. I didn't think you'd be the type to get nightmares.
Lazarus: Neither did I (mumbles under his breath) But it felt too vivid to be just a dream, even if it was just a nightmare.
Guinevere: Huh?
Lazarus: Nothing, nevermind. (lies back down and drapes the covers over himself) Just go back to sleep.
Guinevere: (scoffs, a little annoyed) Sure, if you'll let me sleep, weirdo. (lies back down and drapes herself as well)
Lazarus: … (gets lost in deep thought, thinking about the dream)
Early the next morning, Anastasia sits at foot of the latter's bed, a tray of apples in her lap. She picks one up and begins peeling it.
Anastasia: (smiling warmly at the apple) I'm really glad you two are safe. I was terrified of what would have happened if we didn't make it to you on time. (once done peeling, begins slicing) Luckily, you were able to beat him without any help, that's something even I couldn't do. I'm very proud of you two. (hands a slice to both of them)
Lazarus: (takes the slice; speaks monotonly) Sure.
Guinevere: (ignores the fruit) Why are you proud of me? (gestures to Lazarus with a nod)He beat him, I didn't do anything but cower in fear. I was completely useless.
Anastasia: (retracts her arm) Relax Guinny. The mere fact that you survived alone is worth acknowledgement, less than 5% of his victims and opponents can actually brag about that; and that's people who could use their skills. (Guinny scoffs) But really, Blondie, I'm really impressed that you could actually beat him; even without any skills.
Lazarus: (takes a bite of the fruit) … I just did what I had to do. Fortunately, he was cocky from start to finish, so he was easy to defeat, if you could capitalize on it.
Anastasia: (surprised) Oh?
Lazarus: He's strong, but his minergy reserves aren't very large. He took us by surprise and took his time to kill us, likely underestimating us since we were one: young enforcers who are inexperienced, two: we were neutralized. He let his guard down the moment he met us and acted sloppily, so it was easy to just buy time and run down his minergy until it was all gone.
Guinevere: (surprised) Wait, you mean you'd been running down his minergy the entire time.
Lazarus: (nods as he takes another apple slice) I recognized him instantly from the archives of threats and long-term enemies of the organization that Anastasia gave me to study, so I knew about his low reserves. The moment I saw him, I immediately formulated a plan to beat him. it took time and a lot of running, though I wasn't expecting to end up in the storage vault, that was just a lucky coincidence.
Anastasia: (eats a slice herself) Amazing. You should be proud of yourself, Blondie. You're literally the first mid-tier enforcer ever in Enforcement's history to defeat a god-level terrorist like a Terror agent, not to mention the first in Enforcement to defeat Militant specifically.
Guinevere: (watches them solemnly) …
Anastasia: If you ask me, you're way above mid-tier.
Bishop: Indeed. (walks into the room and up to the three) I discussed it with the elders and it's been decided. (all three are left confused)
Anastasia: Huh? What's been decided?
Bishop: Starting today, Lazarus will be promoted to high-tier.
(each person displays a different expression, but ones that show the astonishment that all three share at the sudden news)
Guinevere: (shocked and bewildered) WHAT!?
Anastasia: (wide-eyed and stupefied) Huh?!
Lazarus just sits there silently, but the raised eye-brows and slightly agape mouth made it clear – even from the constant void expression that still very clearly remained – that he is also shocked. He remains stunned for some more seconds before finally speaking.
Lazarus: What…did you say?
Bishop: I understand it's a lot to take in but--
Guinevere: (suddenly getting angry) What?! Why does he get such a promotion? How is that fair? Is it because he's your science experiment?!
Anastasia: Guinny! (Guinevere immediately shuts up) Though she has point Bishop, a sudden promotion out of nowhere? It's already unheard off to promote him to mid-tier without any proper evaluation, now this?
Bishop: I know this is unexpected, but it's well deserved. After all Lazarus' actions today showed that he is more than capable of handling himself in tight situation and is thus suitable for high-tier-level assignments. The elders saw my point and agreed to bend the rules just this once, after all, Lazarus is a rare talent, and it would be foolish not to make as much of the best use of him as possible.
Lazarus: (silently listening to everything) …
Bishop: (turns to him) So Lazarus, what do you say?
Lazarus: (caught off-guard) Honestly, I couldn't care less about such matters, but my memory has been returning more frequently recently, in fragments but bigger and clearer ones, and from what I can piece together, it's not aligning with what Bishop told me. Maybe ranking up can help me remember more. Besides…he clearly wants me to accept, and he might get suspicious if I go against his wishes. I'd…like to.
Bishop: (pleased) Wonderful, I'm happy you accepted. If he is regaining his memories, and they are making him speeding up his growth, then it's best to also speed up my plans and see what he can do on a real field, while I still have control over him. Rest up well, I expect you to be at your best when it's time for your first mission. (turns around and leaves the room)
Lazarus: (watches Bishop's retreating figure before looking down at his hands, back in thought) If it wasn't really just a dream and actually a memory, can I really trust Bishop?
Anastasia: (hands him another slice which he accepts and…) Well…congratulations Blondie, good for you. Something like this doesn't happen everyday, so you should be proud of yourself. (…tries to hand one to Guinevere too but she again ignores it)
Guinevere: (watches the whole ordeal with a more solemn expression than earlier) …
SCENE: Lazarus' Room. (a few days later)
Lazarus – now fully healed and free of bandages – sits on his bed, practicing his skills. He closes his as he concentrates on his Polycreate skill. His open palms placed together in beggar fashion, a faint purple glow emits from the slit between his shut lids and a more vivid, stronger glow generates from his hands.
Lazarus: Copper.
An ore of copper, as big as an American football, materializes from a flash of purple light over his hands and falls into them. He sighs and smiles, admiring his handiwork. He places it down on the floor next to several other ores he'd created, then heads over to holoscreen pad to document his work.
Lazarus: (writing down with a light pen) Okay, so test no. 38 was a success. I can now create metals of various ores: copper, steel, gold, even platinum. As it turns out, knowledge of the metal's properties helps make it easier differentiate the final product from one another. Now let's see if I can form these various ores into different shapes upon creation. (he closes his eye again, taking up the same pose; he pictures a golden spear in his mind and successfully summons one)
Lazarus: (smiles at the spear but then frowns in thought) Hmmm. Simple weapons like spears and shields are easy enough, but what about more complex weapons? (raises a hand closes his eyes to concentrate) Regular metal bullets can't harm metas, so bullets made from plasma compressed into solid form as used instead. Plasma is essentially just gas specially heated to the point of ionization, so…if I can use my Chemist skill to gather gas within my palm, ionize it into laser then-- (gets caught off when the laser shoots off as a beam straight at the ceiling, leaving a considerably big hole in it) Hmmm. Maybe I should get a bigger workspace.
Lazarus walks through the corridor, thinking about the other day's events. He still doesn't understand why Bishop is so adamant on pushing his promotion to first-rank enforcer. He knows he's supposed to trust and follow Bishop without question but…recently, he's being finding it harder to thrust Bishop fully since his memories are telling him a different story from what Bishop told him.
(flashback)
Bishop shows Lazarus to his room shortly after his first training session with Anastasia. Bishop opens the door for via a button that makes the mechanical door slide open. Lazarus walks into the room, looking around. It holds no more than a bed consisting of a mattress with covers and a pillow on a metallic, box-like frame in on corner, bedside drawers next to it. A single bulb in the ceiling for light, an AC unit in the wall, a table and chair in another corner, a wardrobe built into the wall opposite of the one for the door and to the side another door that he assumes must lead to a bathroom or something. Other than that, it's most empty.
Lazarus: Hmmm.
Bishop: Sorry if it's not to your liking, this is the standard living space for all enforcers; at least for those living on the premises. (Lazarus doesn't respond, causing Bishop to see something's on his mind) Is there something you want to talk about?
Lazarus: (turns to Bishop) How did I end up like this?
Bishop: (surprised and confused) How you ended up like this?
Lazarus: How I lost my skills, how you found me, and why I don't remember.
Bishop: (feigning understanding) Oh, is that it? well then, let me tell you.
(flashback ends)
Lazarus: He wouldn't have been lying to me, would he?
He tries to remember more of his past but suddenly gets a headache as blurry images begin flashing through his mind again, causing him to groan and tremble in pain. He grabs the sides of his head to in a vain attempt to stop it but it just hurts more. He hits his back on a nearby wall just as it finally stops, he slides to floor, panting heavily; his head still aching.
SCENE: R.S.A.. Electrodynamics Class C-1.
The teacher gives a lecture to the class on electrical conversions with some students paying attention and even taking notes, some pretending to do so and others not even trying. Amongst the pretenders is Neil, sitting alone at the two-person desk he usually shares with Laz. Looking at the empty seat beside him, Neil's mind wanders, he begins to think about everything that's happened recently and can't help but think about what might happen soon. His mind then flashes back to the day after the whole mall attack.
SCENE: Kalahan Manor. Kyle's Lab. (flashback, a few days ago)
Kyle and Neil walk down the path of his lab, the former directing the latter somewhere.
Neil: And once they FINALLY checked the security footage, and realized we were telling the truth, they let us go. They only even took our words seriously because of my last name. (growls under his breath, clearly still mad about it)
Kyle: So the pink one attacked you, Candy and Mavy at the mall.
Neil: Yeah. She unleashed an army of beasts, birds and giant reptiles on us. Nothing we couldn't handle but… (lets the word hang)
Kyle: Yeah I figured as much. (they reach their destination and Kyle taps some hidden keys on the wall to open a hidden chamber where Red's body is) After he attacked, I figured the other might go after you. Didn't think Candy and even Mavy would be dragged in though. So she now knows, huh?
Neil: (nods) Yeah. Now we got another player in the game… (looks down at the body) …and apparently two others out. Why do you still have the body?
Kyle: (lazily scratches the corner of his head) Hah, not really sure what to do with it. Can't exactly call the police without ousting that I'm the one who did him in, but…couldn't just leave him lying outside my house like that either.
Neil: So what? Are you just gonna keep him as a trophy now?
Kyle: (gives a sarcastically cocky smile while shrugging) Well, I thought of that but then realized he wasn't shiny enough. (turns serious) But to be serious though, I initially thought of having my clones just bury him somewhere in the forest…
Neil: (folding his arms skeptically) But you found a way to make use of him even though his dead.
Kyle: Exactly. Take a look.
Kyle rolls back his left sleeve alittle to reveal a digital watch-like device on his wrist. The watch being blue and square for the main body and yellow for the straps, the face having a blank, circular screen with four different-colored buttons around it; one at each corner. Kyle swipes his finger on the screen, creating a holo-projection in the air above it that displays what looks like Red's profile, having his name, id, and other information.
Kyle: I ran his photo and DNA through a civilian system database to find out who this guy was. Marcus Ebenezer Orton. Born in a small region in the countryside in the 4530. Came to New York decades ago and is apparently working as an employee in a production company, while living in the suburbs in the Mid-rank district, in a quiet neighborhood.
Neil: A good cover-story.
Kyle: Indeed. I reckon he still lives a normal life outside of his armor, or it's just something to cover up the truth.
Neil: Okay, but what does the fake biography of a dead man do for us exactly?
Kyle: (turns off the projection) I figured it helps learn something about how Enforcement runs things.
Neil: …and you've figured out…?
Kyle: (sighs defeatedly and shrugs) Nothing useful. Except that Enforcement doesn't seem to want to let people know that people work for them. Odd for government agency but I figured since they're dealing with a rogue organization, it's to reduce the intel on who works for them and who doesn't, falling into Terror's hands.
Neil: (giving a disappointed look) So you haven't found anything useful.
Kyle: (points a calm and annoyed retorting finger at Neil) You say that like you're pulling any weights to get intel on them yourself. Why don't you try doing something yourself if you think you can do better.
(flashback ends)
Neil: (sighs) Sure. Why don't I?
Teacher: Mr. Matrix? Mr. Matrix.
Neil: (jolted from his thoughts) Huh?
Teacher: (clearly annoyed) Could you please come up and provide an answer to this equation?
Neil: Huh? Oh.
He gets out of his seat and walks up to the holo-screen board and takes the light pen from the teacher, and begins to solve. Despite not paying attention at all, he analyzes the question and quickly calculates and writes down his answer.
Teacher: (surprised) That's...correct.
Neil: (speaks dismissively while handing her back her pen) Like there was ever any chance it wouldn't be.
DINNNNNNN!
The school bell rings, signaling the lunch break and all the students get ready to head to the cafeteria. Neil walks over to his bag while pondering a way to get info on Laz.
The scene fades to black as the chapter ends
STORY CONTINUES IN CHAPTER: 13 (PHONY ENFORCERS)