EXT. CENTRAL CITY – BACK ALLEY CAFE – LATER THAT MORNING
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTrmuJmymZf
[The trio—Jason, SD-A, and SD-K—approach a small, tucked-away shop pressed between a repair garage and a wall painted with obsolete Vision Tech advertisements. The flickering neon sign reads: “CRANK’S. Coffee for Circuits.”]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPswhrNcYbB
[The storefront is modest—built from reassembled shipping crates and old vending machine panels. A few bots sit at scratched metal tables, sipping steaming mugs of oil, quietly chatting or staring blankly into the void like good, tired citizens.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVwITscFxEn
JASON (quietly, to A and K)
“Alright, ground rules: No weapons, no talking about killing, no talking about being killed, and for the love of scrap, don’t compliment Crank’s mustache. It’s not real, and he’s very sensitive.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTYnu4KPvK5
SD-K
“…Got it. Don’t lie to the unstable facial hair guy.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2mwgodRfI
SD-A (nodding solemnly)
“Understood.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhQ46lQ9cIW
[Jason pushes the door open with a ding. The warm scent of burning circuits and cinnamon grease hits them immediately.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdKy2FIn7jG
INT. CRANK’S CAFE – CONTINUOUS
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2JY8dEi8J
[Crank—an old, rusted Labor bot with a portly chassis, apron stained with oil splashes, and a very fake magnetic chrome mustache—perks up from behind the counter.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDbwBEzDME
CRANK
“Jason Gearman! Look who dragged their dusty servo in. Finally got tired of vending machine sludge?”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboYrRSArbJ
JASON
“Don’t push your luck, Crank. That sludge saved my life during a shootout.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wWr5y71Fw
CRANK (pouring a mug anyway)
“Yeah, and clogged half your fuel pump doing it. Sit. I’ll make the usual.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYXFZt7G7L5
[Jason gestures subtly for A and K to sit at a table in the corner, out of the spotlight. They obey like suspiciously obedient tourists.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhsQ6FF0qXJ
CRANK (eyeing them)
“New friends? They don’t talk much.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqc0AX8O9U2
JASON (shrugs)
“Tourists. Bit shy. You know how it is—first time in Central.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCY9756shv
CRANK (leans over the counter, stage-whispers)
“They from H.A.H.? One of them's got that ‘molten wasteland trauma’ posture.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1QD1wFm1oO
JASON (deadpan)
“Molten wasteland posture is trending now.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxhpFDKPA4H
CRANK
“Fair. You want ‘em fed or just caffeinated?”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO86lV3ZoK3
JASON
“Let’s do two passive-burner brews and a stack of those hydraulic pancakes.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQo0bVfWDa
[Crank grunts and gets to work, his arms shifting like kitchen tools from some horror cooking show.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡchOnP7k1g7
[Over at the table—A is staring at a menu labeled “Fluid Fusion Combos,” while K is scanning every inch of the cafe like a suspicious raccoon in disguise.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMQ1vd1VwQ
SD-K (quietly to A)
“Every second we sit here, we risk exposure.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzbJBKOyiSp
SD-A (softly)
“Yes, but also—look at this place. It’s... quaint. I like the lights.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxXOEa94a8K
SD-K
“You like the lights. Great. When they’re dragging us out for dissection, I’ll make sure to tell them you enjoyed the ambiance.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlaXrYvrxM
[Jason returns and sits down across from them. Crank soon follows, balancing a tray of sloshing mugs and synthetic cakes.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfKWI8V9o21
CRANK (dropping it all down)
“There. Fresh from the corrosion fryer. You bots enjoy now—don’t melt my chairs.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnBPfzzgbO
[He walks off, muttering something about tax fraud and whipped oil.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7SiNgVIWsy
JASON
“See? Smooth. We eat, we leave, nobody dies.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNb9tY8Zgs
SD-K (picking up a mug and staring at the contents like it's poison)
“What is this?”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAbhedJJ7k
JASON
“House blend. Oil, copper dust, and caffeine. It'll either wake you up or reboot your entire operating system.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaZjN2wUyfz
SD-A (tasting)
“…Pleasantly bitter. Like regret, in liquid form.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhKNyucEu6J
JASON (grinning)
“Exactly. That’s how you know it’s real.”
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ02qJK7LwVE
[The three of them eat quietly, blending in just enough. A few customers glance over, but Jason's body language says "don’t mess with this table" in all caps. A sense of almost-normal settles over the scene. Almost.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywt9HSh5pv
[Outside the cafe, in the alley across the street, a faint flicker—like static electricity snapping in the air.]
94Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZoFfRIvHP
[Something unseen... watching.]
ns216.73.216.151da2
→ Request update
and then Add to home screen.