NEW ATLANTIS – MORNING
The city wakes in confusion.
Not peacefully.
Not normally.
But with a shiver running through its spine.
Helicopters slice through the cold morning air.
Fire trucks and security vans swarm across intersections.
Crowds gather in clusters — whispering, pointing, trembling.
The streets echo with only one question:
"What happened at the INN last night?"
A middle-aged shop owner rolls up his shutters with shaking hands.
[SHOP OWNER]:(quietly)I heard explosions… like a war broke out.
A college student filming on her phone speaks to her viewers.
[STUDENT] :This is New Atlantis City Center.
People are saying terrorists attacked the INN tower.Some say it was an inside job.
Police officers push the crowd back.
[OFFICER]:Move back! Keep distance! The investigation is ongoing!
But the city is already too loud, a fire of rumors spreading like gasoline spilled across asphalt.
News reporters crowd every square, shouting over each other.
[NEWS REPORTER 1]:Citizens demand answers. INN has not released a full statement after last night's major attack.
[NEWS REPORTER 2]:We're looking at structural damage across multiple INN floors. How could such a breach even happen?
A small boy clutches his mother's hand.
[BOY]: Mom… will more monsters come?
His mother doesn't answer.
Because she doesn't know.
The whole city doesn't know.
And uncertainty is the spark that ignites fear.
---
NEWS CENTER – LIVE BROADCAST
A large screen displays images of the Hydra-07 attack — static-filled, corrupted, unclear.
[ANCHOR]:(in a controlled corporate tone)
Last night, unidentified superhuman assailants infiltrated the INN headquarters.
Multiple civilian areas reported shockwaves and weapons fire.
We ask again—where was government oversight during this event?
Another anchor joins.
[ANCHOR 2]:And with Director Madison Connor missing from public view for days, the INN leadership vacuum grows deeper.
Social media explodes with trending tags:
🔺 #INNFail
🔺 #CityUnderThreat
🔺 #WhereIsMadisonConnor
🔺 #ShutDownINN
People chant outside the courthouse:
[CROWD] :ACCOUNTABILITY! ACCOUNTABILITY!
Tension.
Fury.
Fear.
Perfect ingredients for political backlash.
---
FEDERAL OPERATIONS BUILDING – WAR ROOM – DAY
A long mahogany table is filled with ministers, intelligence chiefs, and national security advisors.
At the head sits Minister Alexander, stern, practical, and clearly displeased.
[MINISTER ALEXANDER]:INN has become a liability. A danger.
We need to reassert government control.
A deputy slides a document across the table.
[DEPUTY]:This is a Level-Alpha directive.
Immediate enforcement recommended.
Stamp.
A hard, cold red stamp:
SUSPENSION OF AUTONOMOUS AUTHORITY — INN NEW ATLANTIS
[MINISTER ALEXANDER]:Deploy an interim director from Nexus City immediately."
He pauses.
[MINISTER ALEXANDER]:Send Charles.
Everyone stiffens.
Director Charles from Nexus City is feared for a reason.
---
ARRIVAL OF DIRECTOR CHARLES LIVINGSTON
NEW ATLANTIS – INN HQ – AFTERNOON
A black tactical convoy stops at the front entrance.
Doors open with mechanical precision.
Out steps DIRECTOR CHARLES LIVINGSTON —
He carries authority like a weapon.
INN agents straighten as he walks in.
[AGENT LOPEZ]:(whispering to Paul) We're screwed.
[AGENT PAUL]:Yeah. This guy doesn't blink.
INN HQ – MAIN LOBBY
Charles surveys the damage.
Walls scorched. Glass shattered.
Evidence of superhuman warfare everywhere.
He speaks without raising his voice — the tone alone slices the room.
[CHARLES LIVINGSTON]:Unacceptable.
He turns to the agents.
[CHARLES LIVINGSTON]:Prepare a full debriefing.And I will speak with Agent Jaxon Steel personally."
The agents exchange looks.
This is no temporary babysitter.
This is an executioner sent in a suit.
---
INN ROOFTOP – SUNSET
New Atlantis glows in orange and pink light, a stark contrast to the panic below.
Jaxon Steel stands alone at the edge of the rooftop, staring at the horizon.
Eyes tired.
Mind overloaded.
He doesn't hear footsteps behind him.
But he feels the presence.
[SUSAN]:You disappeared.
Jaxon turns. Susan stands with two cups of coffee.
[STEEL]:I needed… air.
[SUSAN]:(small smile)Air that's ten stories high?
She sits on a small ledge.
Jaxon joins her.
The city hums beneath them.
[SUSAN]:Everyone thinks you're made of iron.That you don't feel pressure.
[STEEL]:I'm not iron.
[SUSAN]:No. You're human. And you just survived a war.
He doesn't look at her.
[STEEL]:I froze.
[SUSAN]:You fought an entire superhumanunit alone.
[STEEL]:(shakes head)No. I hesitated before charging in. I don't know why.
Something felt… wrong.
Susan studies him.
[SUSAN]:Fear isn't weakness, Jaxon.
It means you're still alive.
A soft breeze brushes between them.
Jaxon glances down at the street — filled with protest signs and flashing sirens.
[STEEL]:The whole city blames us.
[SUSAN]:They don't know what INN protects them from.
[STEEL]:Sometimes I wonder if I even know.
She gently places her hand over his.
Susan's voice softens to a near whisper.
[SUSAN]:You don't have to know everything.
You just have to keep fighting.
Jaxon looks up.
Their eyes lock.
Something shifts — subtle, fragile, electrifying.
[STEEL]:Why do you stay close to me, Susan?
She breathes in softly.
[SUSAN]:…Because you don't hide who you are.And because every time you break, you try to stand again.
A silence.
Charged.
Warm.
Magnetic.
Jaxon lifts her chin with one cautious finger.
[STEEL]:Can I…?
Susan closes her eyes.
[SUSAN]: Yes.
Their lips meet.
A slow, deep, meaningful kiss — not forced, not rushed, but inevitable.
A moment that rewrites futures.
As they pull back, Susan rests her head lightly on his shoulder.
[SUSAN]:We'll figure this out. Together.
Jaxon exhales a breath he didn't know he was holding.
[STEEL]:Yeah… together.
---
NEW ATLANTIS – DOWNSTREET CAFE – NIGHT
A cozy café glows warm among the tension-filled city.
Inside, Agent Lopez and Agent Paul sit at a window table, bandaged from the battle, sipping hot chocolate.
It should be peaceful.
But something is wrong.
Lopez frowns.
[AGENT LOPEZ]:You feel that?
[AGENT PAUL]:…Yeah.
A figure stands across the street, half hidden in lamplight.
Massive.
Armored.
Silent.
VANGOR DRALE.
Leader of Hydra-07.
He watches the agents through the window — not attacking.
Not speaking.
Studying.
Assessing.
Lopez's voice trembles slightly.
[AGENT LOPEZ]:Paul… don't look. But I think someone is.
He looks.
He freezes.
Paul slowly turns.
Their eyes widen.
[AGENT PAUL]:Oh… crap.
Vangor tilts his head slowly.
A prelude to violence.
A warning.
A promise.
He steps backward into shadow…
and disappears.
Just like that.
Lopez exhales, shaky.
[LOPEZ]:He didn't come to kill us.
[AGENT PAUL]:Which means—
[AGENT LOPEZ]:Next time… he won't miss.
The city screams.
INN collapses inward.
Ghost Serpent stirs in silence.
Hydra-07 plans its next move.
Director Charles Livingston sharpens his knives of authority.
And Agent Steel?
He finally has something to lose.
TO BE CONTINUED...