OFF-DUTY

Written by

Carl Franzen

2015-2017
Carl Franzen
carlfranzen@gmail.com
EXT. COFFEE STAND (DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN) DAY (NOVEMBER 2087)

POV from the coffee stand window. A small line of people.

WESLEY WES WU steps up to order. Asian-American, early 30s,
sharp in his crisp business suit. The clerk speaks first. A
warm, flat male voice.

CLERK (O.S.)
Good morning, Wesley. The usual?

WESLEY
Yes please.

CLERK (O.S.)
Two minutes, fifty three seconds.

Some activity behind the window. Wesley stares past it at a

glowing video screen on the back wall. A news show of some
kind. A Hispanic woman NEWS ANCHOR speaks.

NEWS ANCHOR
Its a record thats literally out
of this world: Chinese astronauts
this morning installed the final
component on the Tiangong Space
Station, making it the largest
human structure ever deployed in
space.

The screen shows a shot of the completed SPACE STATION, solar

fins sprawling across the black.

NEWS ANCHOR
Turning to local news, in just
four days, New Yorkers will head
to the polls for the 2087 mayoral
election and already, its making
history.

Shots of the stately CITY HALL building, people lining up to

vote.

NEWS ANCHOR
Golden Rod, New York Citys police
chief and the first artificial
intelligence to run for mayor, is
polling slightly ahead of his
boss, incumbent Mayor Una
Sinclair, whos seeking a landmark
fourth term.

Split screen of a tall BLACK WOMAN waving, and a fat, bearded

OLD WHITE MAN whose body flickers like a hologram.
 2.

NEWS ANCHOR
Golden Rod would grant citizenship
to all 3.3 million artificial
intelligences within New York City
limits, a controversial measure
supported by young human voters
but opposed by many others

CLERK (O.S.)
Here you are, Wesley.

Wesley tears his eyes away from the screen and turns to face
the clerk.

Instead of a person, a spindly ROBOTIC ARM extends holding a

paper bag and a cup of coffee. Wesley takes both and nods at
the arm.

WESLEY
Thanks Tom. Have a good one!

CLERK/TOM
You too.

Wesley steps out of line. He takes a sip of coffee. Unwraps

the bag and takes a bite of a bagel sandwich. Then he jumps
into the air and FLIES away!

EXT. SKY OVER DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN DAY

The coffee stand is actually a small metallic platform

hovering in mid-air between giant skyscrapers, flickering
video ads on their faces.

Wesleys tiny form zips into one of many orderly lines of

people flying between the structures.

There are thousands--tens of thousands of them: businessmen in

suits, laughing teens, parents with babies strapped to their
chests, old people with tote bags, even dogs chomping at
pigeons. A city of superheroes.

MAUREEN, a throaty Australian Woman, speaks over the scene.

MAUREEN (V.O.)
How are you feeling about Wesley
Wu today?
 3.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE (MANHATTAN) DAY

GASPAR, 30ish with platinum blond hair in a dark green tunic,

stares out an enormous panoramic window high above the city,
his back turned to us.

GASPAR
Ive told you a hundred times, Im
done talking about him.

MAUREEN -- early 50s, elegant in a tan business suit -- sits

behind him in an egg shaped chair. She crosses her nylon-clad
legs.

MAUREEN
Well, you may be, but your
unconscious mind isnt. You dreamt
about him again last night.

EXT. SKY OVER LOWER MANHATTAN

Wesley and the other fliers soar over the streets turned
canals, jammed with zipping boats and hovercraft. A futuristic
American Venice.

GASPAR (V.O.)
My unconscious mind can kiss my
ass. The bastard betrayed me and
stole my company out from under
me. Ive wasted enough of my life
on him.

MAUREEN (V.O.)
It was his company too, Gaspar.
You founded it together. He was
your best friend.

Wesley flies over wooden piers. On a post, carved graffiti

reads: VOTE FOR A.I. CITIZENSHIP

INT. KORRAS APARTMENT, JERSEY CITY DAY

In the center of the metal paneled studio: KORRA, a lithe late

20s redhead butch in a sweaty SPORTS BRA, swings a glowing
white HOLOGRAPHIC SWORD against a horde of holographic
enemies: ogres, trolls, wolves. A neon counter pops above her
head: +1000!
 4.

MAUREEN (V.O.)
Think of what you two accomplished
together: you overcame enormous
challenges and launched one of the
most revolutionary products the
world has ever seen. Thats quite
a history.

Korra wipes her brow and looks out her wide window across the
Hudson to the fliers soaring over the Manhattan skyline.

EXT. WEST VILLAGE DAY

Wesley flies over a white APARTMENT COMPLEX, balconies jutting

from every few floors.

GASPAR (V.O.)
Yeah well, I shouldnt have
trusted him.

Flying behind Wesley is a stocky, grizzled Hispanic Man (60s)

in a baseball cap -- JOSE VILLALOBOS. Jose breaks from the
flock and lands on an apartment balcony, cradling a brown
paper bag. He glances around suspiciously.

Up in the sky, Wesley flies on, oblivious.

EXT. TALLEST SKYSCRAPER (UPTOWN) DAY

Wesley slows in the air before his destination: the TALLEST

SKYSCRAPER IN THE CITY, wide base sloping to an impossibly
thin needle point.

GASPAR (V.O.)
He took advantage of me and my
intelligence. The Nic was my idea.
Hed be nothing without me.

Wesley lands in front of the entrance and walks through one of

the many swiftly revolving glass doors.

INT. TALLEST SKYSCRAPER LOBBY DAY

Wesley takes two steps into the plush lobby and a pretty
glowing blonde woman, PHOEBE, (late 20s) appears like magic
before him, beaming in her button-down uniform.

PHOEBE
Hello, welcome to Central Living.
Im Phoebe. How may I help you?
 5.

WESLEY
Yes Wesley Wu. Im here to see
Gaspar Terrera.

She looks off into the distance then smiles sweetly.

PHOEBE
Im not seeing any appointment for
you, Mr. Wu. Is Mr. Terrera
expecting you?

WESLEY
No, but, uh, wellWe used to work
together. Can you please just tell
him Im here?

PHOEBE
One moment please.

She lifts her hand to her ear.

INT. GASPAR'S PENTHOUSE DAY

Gaspar stares out his window. Theres a BEEP and Phoebes

voice fills the room over an intercom.

PHOEBE (V.O.)
Mr. Terrera, I have a Mr. Wesley
Wu here to see you.

GASPAR turns, revealing his boyish face and blue eyes. They
widen in surprise, then narrow in anger.

GASPAR
What? Here? Right now?

PHOEBE (V.O.)
Yes sir.

Gaspars eyebrows furrow.

GASPAR
Tell him he can go fuck himself.

INT. TALLEST SKYSCRAPER LOBBY DAY

Phoebe nods and turns back to Wesley, smiles sympathetically.

PHOEBE
Im sorry, hes unavailable right
now. May I take a message?
 6.

WESLEY
Tell him its important. I insist.

PHOEBE
(frowning)
Unfortunately, thats not
possible. May I take a message?

Wesley sighs, annoyed. Waits a moment, eyes rolling up as he

thinks. Finally he looks back at her.

WESLEY
Alright, if I give you something,
can you assure me that you will
get it to Mr. Terrera? No one
else.

Phoebe looks back at him curiously.

PHOEBE
All packages must be scanned
through security.

WESLEY
Its not a package. Its just
this

He opens his palm and a small RED HOLOGRAPHIC CUBE floats over
it, spinning and flickering with numbers and symbols. Phoebe
gazes at it wide-eyed. She nods.

PHOEBE
Yes, of course, Mr. Wu.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE DAY

Gaspar turns his fierce gaze across the huge open loft.

GASPAR
What the hell is your problem,
Maureen?

MAUREEN leans forward in her chair, gazing back at him cooly.

MAUREEN.
What do you mean?

Gaspar paces toward her menacingly.

GASPAR
You invited him over here, didnt
you, trying to engineer some sort
of bullshit reconciliation between
us?
(MORE)
 7.

GASPAR (CONTD)
Well, its fucking way out of
bounds, Maureen. Its inexcusable.

Maureen shakes her head slowly.

MAUREEN
I didnt invite him here, Gaspar.
You know I cant lie.

Gaspars face softens. He sighs and slumps down into a chair

across from her. Between them sits a bizarrely impractical
wooden coffee table with a surface like an accordion.

GASPAR
(sighing)
Yes, thats true. It mustve been
some absurd fucking coincidence.

MAUREEN
What if he was coming to make
amends?

Gaspar smirks and shakes his head.

GASPAR
I dont need his amends. I just
want to move on with my life,
forget he ever existed.

She shakes her head pityingly.

MAUREEN
Gaspar, you havent left your
penthouse since your final board
meeting in August 2086. Youve
refused all human visitors except
your doctor. Clearly, the
dissolution of your partnership
with Mr. Wu has had profound
impacts on your mental health.

Gaspar glares at her for a moment, then smiles broadly.

GASPAR
Tell you what, why dont we talk
about it over a drink?

MAUREEN
Id really rather you didnt
during our session

GASPAR
Calgary Margarita please.
 8.

A panel in the ceiling above them parts with a quiet hiss and
a spindly ROBOTIC ARM descends holding a yellow iced margarita
in a glass.

Gaspar takes the drink and sips it. He smirks mischievously.

Maureen eyes it disapprovingly. The robot arm retracts.

GASPAR
Id offer you one Maureen, but

Gaspar motions to her body. Maureen forces a thin smile.

MAUREEN
Thanks, but it's no joke. Your
genetic profile puts you at risk
for alcoholism.

He shrugs and sips his drink again.

GASPAR
Im fine, Maureen.

Maureen blinks and stands. She begins pacing around him.

MAUREEN
I would strongly disagree with
that assessment, Gaspar. In fact,
given your current condition --
severe agoraphobia and antisocial
tendencies, your history of drug
abuse and unsafe sexual behavior
-- Im afraid talk therapy alone
wont be enough. I strongly advise
you to consider getting an
emotion-regulation implant...

Maureen holds out her palm as she speaks. A holographic model

of a rotating tooth appears, wrapped with a fitted circuit
board pattern - the EMOTION IMPLANT.

MAUREEN
The procedure pioneered by Doctor
Ramons is fast, safe, and
painless. A simple device inserted
into your jaw, connected to your
brain stem.

Gaspar lowers his drink, smiles unpleasantly at the hologram,

face twisting into a sneer.

GASPAR
You want to put a fucking non-FDA
approved chemical factory in my
molar so you can manipulate my
moods?
(MORE)
 9.

GASPAR (CONTD)
Reviewing my dreams every night
isnt enough for you vultures?

The tooth hologram vanishes. Maureen looks down at him,

dismayed.

MAUREEN
There are no chemicals involved.
The implant uses a wireless signal
to

WHAM! Gaspar slams the empty margarita glass down hard on the
coffee table. He glares at her.

GASPAR
I already told you no. No implant.

MAUREEN
I understand your reluctance to
try a new technology you didnt
devise, Gaspar. But consider that
the emotion implant has already
helped many patients in initial
trials: veterans, former addicts,
pop stars

GASPAR
So thats what I am now, a washed
up pop star?

MAUREEN
Of course not, thats not what I

She starts to protest but he cuts her off.

GASPAR
You know what? I appreciate your
help. Truly, I do. But sometimes,
you really get on my fucking
nerves. What do you say we bring
this therapy session to a close
for today? Mmkay?

Gaspar leans forward and waves his hand. Maureen goes mute.
Her body freezes and flickers and then shrinks into a tiny
white dot and vanishes completely, like an old TV broadcast --
a HOLOGRAM banished.

Gaspar stands up and stretches. He yawns, crosses his arms and

stares grumpily up at the ceiling.

GASPAR
Call Doctor Ramon.
 10.

The purr of a ringtone sounds throughout the loft on surround

speakers. Theres a click and the voice of an older man
speaks.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

Gaspar! What can I do for you, my
boy?

GASPAR
Doctor, I think there's a problem
with my therapist. Some sort of
flaw in her memory. Ive told her
at least a half-dozen times Im
not interested in purchasing your
implant, and she keeps trying to
sell it to me!

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that,
Gaspar. Have you tried resetting
her? Maybe its just a caching
problem.

GASPAR
Come on doctor, Im not one of
your technically inept charity
cases. Ive looked through all of
her code myself. I can't find
anything wrong.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

Yes, yes, I see that. No errors
detected.

Gaspars lip curls in annoyance.

GASPAR
It may be an undocumented
vulnerability, doctor. An error
unique to my unit.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

Yes, but even then, it should
register something. Unless the
issue is also affecting error
reporting.

GASPAR
Anyway, doctor, Id appreciate it
if you could attend to this
personally. Now.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

Of course, Gaspar.
(MORE)
 11.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.) (CONTD)

I'm just finishing with another
repair, but I'll be over right
after that.

Gaspar nods.

GASPAR
Please hurry.

The phone clicks off. Gaspar walks to the window. He stares

out at the spires below him. Far in the distance, he sees what
looks like an air bubble and a RED STREAK shooting upward
between the buildings.

GASPAR
Zoom-in.

The window ZOOMS-IN obediently.

From GASPAR'S POV we see it clearly now: a white TEENAGE BOY

(16) in a tight red jumpsuit, flying straight up into the sky
at insane speed, long brown hair trailing in the wind. Gaspar
smiles.

GASPAR
Well well, what do we have here?

EXT. SKY OVER MANHATTAN DAY

The boy WHOOPS joyfully as skyscrapers whiz past. His eyes

water. The air roars around him. He shouts to no one.

TEENAGE BOY
You ready for this, Ricky?

BLOOP! The tiny holographic head of a HISPANIC TEEN (15),

serious looking, with short black hair, pops into view beside
Tim. When Ricky speaks, his voice crackles over a personal
intercom.

RICKY
Youre loco, Tim!

TIMS POV A blinking red STOP SIGN HOLOGRAM appears

superimposed over the sky. Text flashes: RESTRICTED AIRSPACE.
TURN BACK NOW!

Tim ignores it. Lifts his wrist. A tiny yellow lightning bolt
flashes urgently. He presses it. A ring of yellow light
ripples down him from head to toe. He jolts.

TIMS POV Blinking text superimposed: BOOSTER ENGAGED! He

shoots up even faster!
 12.

TIM
(Shouting)
It works! I told you it would
work.

He grins, vindicated. Looks down at the rapidly dwindling city

below him, an ants nest. A mistake: an urgent beeping sounds.

RICKY
Oh shit! Watch out!

A gleaming SOLAR SAIL the size of a football field floats in

front of Tim. No time to dodge. He cries out, then WHUMP!
barrels into it, stretching the fabric and then RRIIIIP! Hes
through.

Tim keeps flying. A yipping siren sounds.

RICKY
Ahhh!

Tims hands are covered in blood, but quickly heal over. The
hole in the solar array flaps in the wind. Theres a beep and
a SMOOTH MALE VOICE speaks over an intercom.

SMOOTH MALE VOICE (V.O.)

Police units assemble. Police
units assemble. Damage detected to
solar sail two-seven four.

WHOOSH! Two spindly humanoid POLICE ROBOTS rise from the city
below. Their shoulder rotors churn furiously, blinking red and
blue.

In place of heads, they have identical flickering holographic

faces: two old, white, bearded twins the faces of GOLDEN
ROD, the A.I. running for mayor. The bots fly after Tim.

POLICE ROBOT POV Colorful text and icons superimpose on the

sky around Tim, revealing his personal info: Name: TIMOTHY
TIM E. WOMACK, age: 16, primary language: ENGLISH, height,
weight, home address, parents, school, grades, recent video
games played, etc.

SMOOTH MALE VOICE/GOLDEN ROD

(V.O.)
Suspect identified. Illegal
booster modification detected.

Tim looks back over his shoulder at the robots--two dark

specks growing larger as they close-in.

RICKY
Oh shit Tim! The cops!
 13.

TIMS POV A superimposed holographic police badge flashes in

the sky. A deep male voice booms.

GOLDEN ROD
This the police. You are under
arrest! Halt immediately for your
own safety!

RICKY
Shit Tim, shit! I told you this
was a bad idea!

TIM
Cayete! [shut up]

Tim turns back and looks over his shoulder. As the lead bot
draws closer, its face flickers and mutates from that of
GOLDEN ROD to a MIDDLE-AGED woman. She shouts out to Tim in a
corresponding voice.

MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN BOT

Come back here Tim! Listen to your
mother!

Tim forces a cocksure smile. He shouts back.

TIM
Yeah right!

The second police bot zooms closer and his face flickers to
that of TIMs own face. It speaks in his voice.

TIM BOT
Come back here hombre! Dont do
this to yourself.

Tim takes a quick look back and shakes his head of the eerie
sight, pressing on ahead. Both police bots faces switch back
to that of the old man, GOLDEN ROD. They speak as one.

GOLDEN ROD
Halt or we will use force!

RICKY
(pleading)
Come on, hombre, just do what they
say!

Tim gets an idea. Slows down, allows both robots to fly up on

either side of him. All three flying tandem now.

RICKY
Come on Tim! What are you doing?

Tim keeps flying. The First Police Robot on his left raises
its arm and fires a black spear.
 14.

Tim halts in mid-air, letting the shot sail just over his
head. It unfurls into a wide net that snares the Second Police
Bot!

Electricity courses through both robots. Their limbs go slack.

They plummet to Earth.

GOLDEN ROD
Police units compromised! Human
intervention requested. Human
intervention requested.

The two boys watch in awe as the police robots grow smaller
and smaller. PUFF! PUFF! The bots deploy parachutes and
disappear from view.

RICKY
Holy shit Tim, whatd you do?!

INT. KORRAS APARTMENT (NEW JERSEY) DAY

The tiny metallic room is filled with explosions of color.

Korra tucks and rolls, then stabs her white sword into a
glowing blue wolf. BOOSH! It explodes in a sea of particles.

Tiny holographic human faces float around the action like soap
bubbles: HER AUDIENCE.

KORRA
(through gritted teeth)
Whatever you do, just keep moving.

Suddenly the game freezes and her sword disappears. She looks
up, startled. Golden Rod speaks over her apartment intercom.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Police units compromised. Human
intervention requested. Human
intervention requested.

Korra pants, catching her breath. Her audience chatters

excitedly. She silences them.

KORRA
Mute! Where?

The game scenery disappears, along with her audience. Korras

window transforms into a giant holoscreen, replaying Tims
chase and displaying his personal information in boxes
alongside it. Korra looks at it thoughtfully a second,
considering, then...
 15.

KORRA
Accepted.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Thank you. Please proceed to the
crime scene immediately.

KORRA
End game. Uniform me.

The holoscreen vanishes, leaving Korra standing in near

darkness. Her body glows white. Her sports bra begins melting,
turning into a gooey silver LIQUID that spreads across her
limbs.

The spectator faces reappear in the air around her.

KORRA
Sorry guys. Ill show you how to
hit level five hundred next week.
But right now, duty calls.

Hiss! A panel in the ceiling opens and spindly ROBOTIC ARM

descends, clutching a cylindrical silver BACKPACK, and
matching silver baton on a belther BOLT PISTOL. Korra raises
her arms as the robot arm attaches both to her body.

KORRA (CONTD)
You know, my other job.

The liquid on Korras body hardens into a bright blue and

white bodysuit. Her chest reads: NYPD.

EXT. SKY OVER MANHATTAN DAY

Tim flies onward. His eyes are slits against the wind, ice
crystals forming in his hair.

TIMS POV Superimposed red text flashes: 11,432 FEET.

HEIGHT LIMIT EXCEEDED. OXYGEN DEPRIVATION IMMINENT. Rickys
glowing face shakes its head.

RICKY
Dude youre nuts!

Tim ignores it. Eyes blink rapidly. He keeps goingjust

another secondYes! The stars come into view overhead. He
hovers in place, looking around him in awe at the Earths
curving edge, sea of clouds far below.

RICKY
Wow, dude
 16.

TIM
(panting)
I told you, I told you I could do
i

He faints. Falls backward, tumbling end over end, leaving

Ricky to scream over their intercom.

RICKY
Oh fuck dude, Tim! Ahhhhhhhhhh!

Tim keeps falling, a skydiver without a parachute. The clouds

rapidly approachingthen ROAR! A SUPERSONIC JETLINER breaks
through the sea of white.

Its about to collide with him! ButWHISH! A flash of dark

blue whips into view and grabs him out of the way at the last
instant. KORRA!

She hugs him tight embrace, barrel rolling through the clouds.
Oxygen mask on her mouth. She speaks over an intercom.

KORRA
Ten twelve, suspect in custody.
Broadway and Ann. E.T.A. two
minutes.

EXT. ELEVATED SIDEWALK (MANHATTAN) DAY

Korra slowly lowers Tim to the ground. Lays him on his back.
Pulls off her oxygen mask and puts it to his mouth. Rickys
holographic face floats in front of her, concerned.

RICKY
Is he ok? Is he gonna be ok?

She ignores him, concentrating. A crowd of gawkers gathers

around. Hovering above: REPORTER ORBS with hologram faces and
spindly microphone arms. They jab their microphones at her.

REPORTER ONE
Nice save, officer.

REPORTER TWO
Can you tell us what happened up
there?

She shouts back.

KORRA
Back! Everyone get back! This is
an active crime scene!

A yellow circle appears on the ground around Korra and Tim.

The crowd obediently steps a few inches outside of it.
 17.

Finally Tim coughs and opens his eyes.

RICKY
Yes!

Tim looks at Ricky, then around at the crowd, dazed.

TIM
Christos!

Korra helps him to his feet.

KORRA
Nope, just Lieutenant Morales,
NYPD. Glad youre back, Tim. Now,
tell me, whered you get the
booster?

Tim scowls and shakes his head. He mumbles something.

KORRA
What was that?

TIM
I dont know.

Korra glares at him.

KORRA
Somehow I dont believe that.
Maybe we should ask your little
spectator friend, huh?

RICKY
Shit, I gotta go Tim, sorry!

Rickys face shrinks into a tiny white dot and vanishes.

Vroom! A POLICE HOVERCRAFT the size of a compact car drops

into view behind Korra, flashing red and blue, engines
whirring. The crowd parts around it.

Tims eyes widen with panic. Korra grabs his shoulder tightly.

KORRA
Relax, Tim. Youre not going
anywhere.

He looks down at her hand then back up at her.

TIM
Damn, youre strong for an old
lady.

Her eyes narrow at this comment. She clenches his shoulder

harder.
 18.

KORRA
Dont make me hurt you.

TIM
Ok, ok, let go of me!

KORRA
Whered you get the booster, huh?

TIM
I dunno! Someone sent it to me in
an anonymous message. I was just
trying to set a new height record.
I didnt mean to damage anything,
I swear!

KORRAS POV the bouncing line of a polygraph appears below

Tim as he speaks. It flashes green and text appears: PASSED
She narrows her eyes at him.

KORRA
And just how exactly did you plan
to breathe when you got up there,
huh?

Tim shrugs. Behind her, the door to the hovercraft hisses open
and a small ramp descends. Two POLICE ROBOTS step down.

KORRA
Go with them, youll be alright.
First-time offender. Show some
remorse and theyll let you go
with a ticket and a fine.

The first robot steps in front of her, facing Tim. The boy
offers up his hands reluctantly.

POLICE ROBOT ONE

Timothy Womack. You are under
arrest for trespass, property
damage, and illegal modifications
to your wearable computer.

A thin ring of red light traces Tims body from head to toe.
He stiffens. The police robot leads a zombified Tim into the
hovercraft, continuing the Miranda rights.

POLICE ROBOT ONE

You have the right to remain
silent, anything you say or do now
can be used against you in a court
of law...

Korra sighs and turns to the SECOND POLICE ROBOT, whos

scanning the ground with a beam of light from its chest.
 19.

KORRA
So you guys are the new models,
huh? What do they call you?
Officer Friendly?

The robot switches of its light and stands to face her.

POLICE ROBOT TWO

Police unit 88. Anything
additional to report, Lieutenant
Morales?

Humorless. Korra sighs and shakes her head.

KORRA
You guys know as much as I do. Kid
gets his hands on an illegal
booster modification, bypasses the
built-in speed and height limits
on his Nic. Happens at least once
or twice a year. Im sure U.S.I.
has already blocked it by now, but
you should follow up with them.

The robot nods.

POLICE ROBOT TWO

Thank you for your service,
Lieutenant. I can assure you, it
wont be necessary going forward.
Our protocols have already been
updated to handle this type of
incident, following your example.

The robot nods curtly, turns and boards the ship. It whirs up
into the air. The crowd disperses.

Alone and ignored now in the crowded city, Korra takes a

moment to herself. Her eyes grow distant. She mulls the boys
comment.

KORRA
Old lady.

She grimaces. Takes a second and looks down at her body.

Shakes her head. Fucking kid, what does he know? She leaps
into the air and joins a stream of fliers above her.

KORRA (V.O.)
Suspect apprehended at o-eleven
hundred. Custody transferred to
robot forces at o-eleven-five.
Situation resolved, so Im heading
out, unless you got anything else
for me, Rod...?
 20.

EXT. GREELEY SQUARE (MANHATTAN) DAY

Not actually a square: a tiny triangular pedestrian plaza

filled with small public dining tables, shrubbery, the statue
of a long-dead man. Boxy shipping-container hovercraft whiz
past.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Negative. Thank you for your
service, Lieutenant Morales.

KORRA (V.O.)
Anytime.

WESLEY WU lands in the square and looks around apprehensively.

He holds his hand to his ear.

WESLEY
Alright, Im here. Where are you?

MODULATED VOICE (V.O.)

Turn around.

Wesley turns to see a figure in a dirty white bodysuit and

faceless maska FENCER?step out from behind the statue
holding an AK-47 with a wicked bayonet.

Wesley GASPS in horror. The Fencer holds his hand to his ear.
All at once, the following happens:

WESLEY and the other pedestrians in the square SLUMP to the

ground like rag dolls!

About ten fliers immediately over the square suddenly DROP

out of the SKY like stones! WHUMP! WHUMP! WHUMP! Their bodies
hit the ground with sickening splats.

The FENCER levels the gun and SPRAYS BULLETS at a passing

hovercraft, which begins smoking and CRASHES to the ground in
front of the square with an earsplitting METAL SHREAK and
BOOM! Screams erupt from people offscreen.

EXT. SKY OVER GREELEY SQUARE

Korra, flying in a stream of people a few blocks away, hears

the gunshots and the BOOM! of the crash. Breaks free and flies
toward the commotion. Puts her hand to her ear and shouts.

KORRA
Ten ten. Shots fired near Greeley
Square! What the fuck is going on
over there, Rod?
 21.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Unknown, Lieutenant Morales.
Please hold your position until
otherwise advised.

Korra grimaces, continues flying.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Hold your position, Lieutenant.
Units en route.

KORRA
Im not waiting around while
people are getting hurt!

Korra flies closer to the scene.

EXT. GREELEY SQUARE

Another FIVE FENCERS fan out from behind the statue with their
own AKs, prodding the bodies with their feet and stabbing
those still clinging to life. A massacre.

GOLDEN ROD (O.S.)

Freeze!

Three POLICE ROBOTS drop into the sky over the square,
pointing large silver batons at the Fencers, tips glowing
purple: BOLT GUNS.

The lead Fencer puts his AK to Wesleys head. Speaks in a LOUD

creepy burbling modulated voice.

FENCER
Holster your guns, now, or he
dies.

POLICE ROBOT POV Text scrolls by Wesleys body, reading:

RISK TO HOSTAGE: 63%. UNACCEPTABLE.

The police robots sheath their bolt guns into their arm
compartments.

FENCER
Now come down here on the ground.
All of you.

The police robots slowly lower. Theyre a few feet from the
surface when the Fencers unload on them: BLAMBLAMBLAM!
Explosive rounds perforate the police bots and they clatter to
the ground.
 22.

EXT. SKY OVER GREELEY SQUARE

Korra zooms into view around the corner of a building in time

to see the last of the Police Bots go down.

EXT. GREELEY SQUARE

Korra lands behind the DOWNED HOVERCRAFT, where the Fencers

cant see her. She leans her back against it, slowly discards
her oxygen tank on the ground, collects herself, then whirls
around and points her bolt pistol at them.

KORRA
FREEZE!

The Fencers turn to look at her. One puts his hand to his ear
and suddenly Korras gun arm sags and falls to its side. What
the-?

KORRAs POV the entire city goes dark, video screens winking
off one-by-one.

Korra staggers forward and collapses onto her face. The lead
Fencer holding Wesley SLASHES HIS THROAT and drops his dying
body! Then he approaches Korra. Rolls her onto her back with a
foot. Raises his bayonet to plunge when!

PURPLE ENERGY BOLTS rain down from above. Two huge POLICE
HOVERCRAFT rise into view in the distance. More police robots,
tiny triangular ones, zoom out from them and toward the
Fencers.

The Fencers take this as their cue to leave. They rush down
the steps of an old abandoned SUBWAY ENTRANCE.

INT. GREELEY SQUARE SUBWAY STATION

The Fencers run down the stairs into the darkness of the
platform. One Fencer stops to smash a WALL CONSOLE with the
butt of his gun.

POOSH! A GIANT BEIGE BALLOON an inflatable flood barrier

deploys behind the Fencers, blocking the entrance to the
subway tunnel.
 23.

EXT. GREELEY SQUARE

KORRA looks up and sees the POLICE ROBOTS descend into the
square above her. Still paralyzed, she watches them and the
hovercraft converge over subway entrance and begin blasting it
with energy weapons.

A huge WHITE FLASH envelops the square and CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL EXAM ROOM DAY

KORRAS POV A tall BLACK WOMAN (late 40s) peers down with
concern, her face haloed like a dentist. Off to her side: a
male Hispanic NURSE (early 30s) in pink scrubs.

UNA
Lieutenant Morales, can you hear
me?

Korra sits up from her hospital bed and blinks, taking in the
tiny room around her.

Shes lying on a thin levitating cot. Flickering holoscreens

float beside her displaying vitals. Light classical music
plays over medical bleeps and bloops. She turns back to the
woman.

KORRA
Mayor Una.

Korra falters, grabs her head, suddenly dizzy again. There's

an urgent beeping.

Una and the nurse move to steady her, halting just before they
knock heads. Una backs up, motions for the nurse to do his
thing. He leans in and eases Korra back against the bed.

NURSE
Whoa, whoa. Take it easy. There
you go.

He presses a button on one of the holoscreens.

UNA
(to the nurse)
Is she alright?

NURSE
Residual brain recoil. A temporary
symptom of sudden signal
severance. Shes stabilized now.
 24.

Una nods. Korra swallows painfully. Seaks, faintly, dryly.

KORRA
How?

The Nurse looks nervously at Una, searching for guidance. Una

nods at him.

UNA
Ill take it from here, thanks.

The nurse nods and turns to Korra.

NURSE
Youre going to be just fine. Ill
be around. If you have any other
questions, just message me.

KORRA
Thank you.

He leaves. Una turns to her and smiles.

UNA
Im glad to see you awake, Korra.
You gave us quite a scare.

KORRA
(skeptically)
Thanks. How long was I out for?

UNA
(sympathetic)
Not long. An hour maybe.

KORRA
Any survivors?

Una shakes her head.

UNA
Just you.

Korra winces.

KORRA
Did the police catch them?

UNA
Not yet.

KORRA
Christos.

Una nods in dismay. She paces to the other side of the room,
her hands on her hips.
 25.

UNA
Their masks were made of lead mesh
or a similar composite material.
Voices distorted. We ran their
movements through the mo-cap
database, but that turned up
nothing, aside from the fact
theyre all athletic and healthy.
Could be any sex, any age between
early 20s and 70s. They didnt
leave a single molecule of DNA
behind. Completely sterile. These
peoplethey were more than
thoroughits like they were
ghosts.

KORRA
Howhowd they get away?

Una glowers at Korra.

UNA
Through the old subway system.
They knew enough to deploy a flood
barrier, slowing down our pursuit.
Police robots are still searching
the system, but theres been no
sign of them so far.

Korra shakes her head. Suddenly she alights with an idea.

KORRA
The boyTim. Do the police still
have him in custody?

Una shakes her head.

UNA
The one you apprehended before the
attack? No, they let him go.
Scanned all of his replays, he
checked out fine. Just a careless
brat who managed to get his hands
on an illegal modification. He had
nothing to do with the attack, as
far as anyone can tell.

Korras eyebrows narrow at this. Shes not so sure.

KORRA
Why are you here, then?
 26.

UNA
(taken aback)
Excuse me?

KORRA
No disrespect, your honor, but Im
an independent security
contractor, not a city employee.
This is, what?the third time
weve ever spoken? I appreciate
your concern for my health, but we
both know you have better things
to do than check up on me. So why
are you really here?

Unas face falters. She stares at Korra intently.

UNA
This is a delicate situation,
Lieutenant. Unprecedented. Youre
the only survivor of the worst
terrorist attack on this city
since the climate riots. Fourteen
people, murdered on the streets of
Manhattan in broad daylight. This
is a tragedy of unfathomable
proportions.

She pauses. Walks over to the other side of the room. The wall
in front of her turns transparent. A BAY WINDOW now. Upper
story, the city spans out below.

EXT. MANHATTAN SKYLINE DAY

A huge skyscraper screen across the way displays a NEWS

BROADCAST showing a still shot of UNA and the text MAYOR
FINISHED?

INT. HOSPITAL EXAM ROOM DAY

UNA
The media is handling it with
their typical poise and
reflection. Already calling for me
to withdraw from the race and
resign.

KORRA
Are you going to?

Una looks back over her shoulder at Korra.

 27.

UNA
Resign? No. Not yet. (beat) There
is something I need your help
with, Lieutenant.

Una paces over to Korra. Una waves her hand and fourteen
figurine-sized HOLOGRAMS of PEOPLE appear -- THE ATTACK
VICTIMS -- silently rotating on their axis in front of Korras
face.

The hologram ZOOMS-IN on Wesleys body as the rest disappear.

UNA
We believe the primary target of
the attack was this man: Wesley
Wu, C.E.O. of Union Squared
Incorporated, the company that
manufactures our police robots as
well as the Nanorobotic Interface
Costume, or NIC. All of the
victims were wearing one at the
time of the attack, including him.

The model of Wesley spins and disrobes like a mummy

unwrapping. Una begins pacing as she talks.

UNA
Thats hardly surprising. The Nic
is the most popular mind-
controlled nano suit in the world
today. Youre wearing one
yourself. So am I. So are eighty
nine percent of all Americans.

The hologram ZOOMS-IN on the wrap, which breaks apart into

tiny particles.

UNA
The Nice has become so popular, in
fact, that most people forget what
a marvel of engineering it really
is. Each suit is made up of over
five trillion nanobots that
automatically heal our bodies from
most common illnesses and minor
injuries. They allow us to see
holograms with our naked eyes and
connect instantly with anyone
around the world. They give us the
power of flight.

The hologram zooms back out. The Nic wraps itself back around
Wesleys hologram. He takes off into the sky.
 28.

UNA
Hell, if I didnt know how it
worked, Id say the Nic was pure
magic. But its not. Its just a
piece of technology. An extremely
advanced and reliable piece of
technology--but a piece of
technology nonetheless.

The Wesley hologram lands on its feet, holds his hand to his
ear, turns around, then topples over. A mini FENCER hologram
appears and hauls him up.

UNA
And like any technology, it has
flaws. As you well know

The Fencer cuts Weselys throat again. Digital blood pools out
from the models neck. Text appears: END REPLAY. UNA glances
back at Korra.

UNA
Korra, what Im about to say cant
leave this room.

Korra nods.

UNA
Somehow, the attackers managed to
remotely access and turn off all
of your Nics. When they did that,
you lost your connection to the
public network. Your body felt the
full weight of Earths gravity for
the first time in years. Thats
why you collapsed. Thats why you
were a sitting duck. You, Wesley,
and 13 other innocent victims.

Korras eyes move from the frozen holoscreen back to UNA.

UNA
We still dont know how they did
it. Only the police can remotely
disable someones Nic, and only
then with a valid arrest warrant.
That obviously didnt happen in
this case. Which leads me to a
very disturbing conclusion: the
attackers have found a previously
unknown vulnerability in the Nic
and managed to exploit it.

Korras brow furrows.

 29.

KORRA
Whats U.S.I. doing?

UNA
Theyre cooperating. Theyve
opened up their lab up to the
police. They want to solve this as
fast as we do. But until we find
out exactly what happened, weve
agreed not to share any of this
with the public. Doing so will
only incite mass panic.

Korra swallows, finally absorbing the magnitude of what the

mayor is saying.

KORRA
Im no engineer, your honor. Im
not sure how I can help with this.

UNA
No, youre not. And frankly, with
Wesley gone, theres only one
person I trust to find the flaw in
the Nic and fix it before anyone
else gets hurt.

Una waves her hand and the hologram of Wesley transforms into
a another video: him shaking hands with GASPAR TERRERA.

KORRA
(incredulous)
Gaspar Terrera.

UNA
Yes. Wesleys former business
partner. USIs co-founder. (beat)
You sound surprised, Lieutenant.

Korra responds slowly, delicately.

KORRA
Well, hes supposedly not in the
best shape these days...
mentally, I mean. The rumor is he
doesnt even leave his penthouse
anymore. That he only talks to his
A.I.s.

UNA
Im well aware of the rumors,
Lieutenant. But I wouldnt ask you
to do something that I thought was
impossible. There is someone I
guarantee Gaspar will see
 30.

Una waves her hand and the hologram transforms into a white
apartment building. It ZOOMS-IN on a balcony, to JOSE (from
the intro), his face frozen in its suspicious glance.

UNA
Detective Jose Armando Villalobos,
the oldest living former NYPD
officer. He joined the force in
2025. Retired ten years ago when
we automated it. Lives in the West
Village now. (beat) Gaspar owes
him his life.

Korra stares at Joses hologram, then back at Una.

KORRA
I dont understand.

UNA
You will contact Detective
Villalobos. Get him to set up and
interview with Gaspar, find out if
he can fix this flaw. Then you
will report your findings back to
me and me alone.

KORRA
Why not just send a police robot?

UNA
This investigation needs to be
discreet, Lieutenant. If the press
gets word that there could be a
fatal flaw in the Nic, one that we
dont know how to resolve, the
public panic that would ensue
would beunhelpful to this
investigation. (beat) Besides, the
police are busy enough locating
the attackers. I need you on this,
Lieutenant. Can I count on you?

Korras eyes narrow slightly. Hmm. She nods hesitantly. Ok.

KORRA
Yes, your honor.

Una smiles knowingly. She crosses to the door, itching to

leave.

UNA
Good.
(MORE)
 31.

UNA (CONTD)
And who knows, if you finish this
job with the kind of speed and
quality youre renowned for, there
may be another one waiting for
you. One thats better suited to
your skills than a part-time
police contractor.

KORRA
And what exactly would that be?

UNA
I need someone I can trust to be
the head of my personal security
detail next term.

Korra smiles uneasily at her.

KORRA
Are you trying to buy my vote, Miz
Mayor?

Una chuckles dryly.

UNA
No, Ive never expected blind
loyalty from my staff or my
friends. Only honesty, plain and
simple.

EXT. HOSPITAL HALLWAY

Una exits the hospital room and turns to a hulking Samoan man.
Her BODYGUARD. She nods to him.

UNA
Lets go.

He nods and holds his right hand up to his ear.

UNAS BOYDGUARD
Were coming down.

INT. HOSPITAL EXAM ROOM DAY

Korra stares at the holographic model of Jose. Who is this

guy?
 32.

EXT. WEST VILLAGE APARTMENT BUILDING DAY

Korra lands in front of the bustling street entrance in a

striped black and white bodysuit. Plainclothes. She enters
through the front.

ALVAREZ (V.O.) (PRE-LAP)

This tragedy shows exactly why we
so desperately need new leadership
in city hall. New human
leadership.

INT. JOSES APARTMENT - KITCHEN DAY

A large holoscreen displays a news broadcast, steam rising

through it, creating weird distortions. A handsome, middle-
aged man with a mustache and wild eyes shouts onscreen.

ALVAREZ (CONTD)
Ten years ago, Mayor Una turned
our police force over to an A.I.
And now look whats happened!
Terrorists massacring innocent
people in broad daylight. Who
could trust her or Golden Rod to
lead us after this? And to those
who say that A.I.s should have the
same rights as us, I ask you: how
many A.I.s died today?

Alvarezs face cuts away to an African-American NEWS ANCHOR

(early 30s) with short green hair. A chyron below him reads:
NYZERO NEWS WITH CHARLES BELLOWS.

CHARLES
Tough words from mayoral candidate
and Staten Island councilman Pablo
Alvarez in the wake of this
mornings horrific attack in
Greeley Square. Up to 20 people
may have been killed by masked
assailants wielding machine guns
and bayonets. As of this time, the
suspects remain at large. Were
going live now to police
headquarters where Golden Rod is
expected to...

Strips of meat sizzle in a frying pan. A spatula pushes them

around. An angry BUZZ sounds. The classic New York apartment
doorbell.
 33.

JOSE
Come in! (to the screen) Mute.

The news broadcast goes silent. A clatter of footsteps. Korra

walks into the stark, bright white kitchen. The muted
holoscreen flickers in the center. Jose stands across the room
over the stove, his back turned to her.

KORRA
Seor Villalobos.

He turns and looks over his shoulder. Smiles. Friendlier in

person.

JOSE
Hey, sorry, one sec.

Korra nods. She walks around his apartment as she waits.

Larger than hers, but not much. Sparse. A few pieces of shiny
white furniture.

Hanging off one wall is a FRAMED MEDAl of BRAVERY.

Beside it, an old photo of a the medal AWARDS CEREMONY. It

morphs into a video loop, showing a younger mayor UNA, shorter
hair, bestowing the medal around a uniformed Joses neck. A
slender ASIAN-AMERICAN WOMAN stands beside him his partner,
also wearing a medal. A younger GASPAR looks on from the side,
applauding.

JOSE (O.S.)
Sorry bout that. Morales, right?

Korra turns and the photo freezes. Jose stands behind her,
palm extended. They shake.

KORRA
No problem. Thanks for seeing me,
officer.

JOSE
Course. Have you eaten? Can I get
you anything?

KORRA
I'm good, thanks. You cook your
own food?

JOSE
(smiling)
Depends on your definition of
food. I try.

Korra nods and looks over Joses shoulder. A thick cloud of

gray smoke rises from the pan.
 34.

KORRA
I think youre burning.

Jose whirls around and rushes to the stove.

JOSE
Pinche perro! [Fucking idiot!]

He reaches the stove and furiously waves his hand, trying to

dissipate the cloud. Fumbles with a holographic temperature
knob. Overhead, the disembodied voice of a TERSE male ROBOT
intones.

TERSE ROBOT (V.O.)

Fire detected. Fire detected.
Please step away from the stove.

A ceiling panel hums open and a ROBOTIC ARM descends toward

the pan, pointing a black fire extinguisher nozzle ahead of
it. Jose tries to push the arm away, spatula in his hand.

JOSE
No, no! Its okay! Stop it!

The arm ignores Jose and continues moving forward.

TERSE ROBOT (V.O.)

Please step away for your own
safety.

The nozzle spurts a blast of high pressure liquid at the pan,

dousing it in a cloud of steam.

JOSE
Oh come onnn!

He watches as the arm picks up the pan; moves it to the sink

nearby; blasts it quickly with water vapor and soap; places it
back on the counter.

TERSE ROBOT (V.O.)

Kitchen fire extinguished. May I
make you something else to eat,
Jose?

JOSE
(grimacing)
No, Im not hungry anymore.
Thanks.

The arm retracts into the ceiling. Jose turns to Korra. She
fights to bite back laughter.
 35.

JOSE
I wish I could say thats the
first time thats happened.

LATER

Jose and Korra sit in two angular white chairs in his living
room, talking.

JOSE
I saw the replays of the attack.
All those people. Horrible. I saw
you try to save them. You did
good, Lieutenant.

KORRA
Yeah, well, not good enough.

Jose shakes his head and leans back in his chair.

JOSE
You cant blame yourself. If
theres one thing I learned from
forty years on the force: blame
dont do no one no good. Just
gotta focus on whats next. (beat)
You got any leads?

Korra shakes her head.

KORRA
Im not handling that part of the
investigation.

Jose shakes his head bitterly.

JOSE
Course not. The whole force
nowadays is robots and desk
jockeys who never seen the outside
of a hologram. What do they need
real cops for anymore? (beat) No
disrespect to you, of course.

KORRA
(unfazed)
None taken. Actually, thats why
Im here. I need your help with
something else.

JOSE
(intrigued)
What you got?
 36.

KORRA
I need you to introduce me to
Gaspar Terrera.

Jose looks at her incredulously. Scratches his head.

JOSE
Terrera? Why? You think he had
something to do with this?

Korra shakes her head.

KORRA
Not at the moment. But he may be
able to help us stop whoever did.

Jose raises an eyebrow. Korra eyes him warily. She leans

forward.

KORRA
Keep this quiet, but the
attackersthey somehow got through
the security on our Nics. Shut
them off remotely. Thats how they
killed Wesley Wu.

Jose whistles.

JOSE
De veras? [are you serious?]

Korra nods gravely.

KORRA
Yeah. Nobody knows how. Thats why
we need Terrera. Will you help me
talk to him?

Jose exhales loudly. He looks down at the floor then back up

at Korra, crossing his arms.

JOSE
Look, Morales, I want to help, but
Im sure you seen my records.
Terrera and I aint friends. Yeah,
my partner and I saved his ass
once a long time ago, thats it. I
doubt he even remembers it.

Korra narrows her eyebrows.

KORRA
Twenty seven years ago, to be
exact.
(MORE)
 37.

KORRA (CONTD)
And call me loco, but I dont
think you just forget someone who
takes a bullet for you.

Jose sighs and leans back.

JOSE
Hes all barricaded in his ivory
tower. Won't see nobody 'cept
A.I.s. Thats what the news says
at least. You got some way to
reach him?

KORRA
I figured we could try the old
fashioned way. Knock on his door,
flash a badge. You know, like all
you real cops used to.

Jose smiles at this.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE DAY

Gaspar and DOCTOR RAMON -- a short old man with frizzy white
hair (early 60s) -- stand near his window. Between them is the
frozen, blinking holographic form of MAUREEN. DOCTOR RAMON
waves his hand in front of her and calls out loudly.

DOCTOR RAMON
Maureen, this is Doctor Ramon, can
you hear me?

MAUREEN
Yes Doctor. But I cant see you.

DOCTOR RAMON
Thats by design Maureen, were
just running a few quick tests.
Nothing to worry about. Just
listen to my voice.

MAUREEN
I understand, doctor.

A series of holographic dials appear. Ramon begins twisting

them. Gaspar narrows his eyes suspiciously. He whispers.

GASPAR
Shes so much more obedient with
you.
 38.

MAUREEN
Gaspar? I heard that, you know.

Ramon turns and glares at Gaspar.

DOCTOR RAMON
Dont listen to him, Maureen.
Focus on my voice. Now, if you
could please, take two steps
forward.

Maureen nods and steps cautiously forward. Once. Twice. As if

taking a roadside sobriety test.

MAUREEN
Im happy to help, Doctor, but do
my visual sensors really have to
be turned off for this?

DOCTOR RAMON
Yes, Maureen. Its just part of
the standard testing procedures
for

GASPAR
(butting in)
Youll do whatever it is we tell
you to do, you buggy piece of
trashware! And without the lip
service!

Maureen freezes in place. Doctor Ramon looks at Gaspar,

shocked at his outrage. Gaspar motions to Maureen.

GASPAR
See what I mean? Shes insolent!

Doctor Ramon shakes his head slowly at Gaspar, giving him a

look that registers both disapproval and disgust.

DOCTOR RAMON
Gaspar, I know that youre upset
about this, but please, that
doesnt give you the right to
verbally abuse your therapist.

Gaspar snorts and rolls his eyes.

GASPAR
Oh please, Doctor. You consider
that verbal abuse? My human
employees got much worse from me
than that on the good days. You
really need to get out more.
 39.

The Doctor stiffens and turns back to the hologram, twisting

more dials.

DOCTOR RAMON
(muttering)
Why am I not surprised youre no
longer in charge of a company.

GASPAR
Is that where she gets the
attitude, doctor? From you?

A smooth female voice interrupts from offscreen.

PHOEBE (V.O.)
Mr. Terrera, I have an Officer
Villalobos and Officer Morales
here to see you. They say theyre
off-duty. Do you want me to send
them away?

A smile dawns on Gaspars face.

GASPAR
Thats alright, Phoebe. Send them
in! (beat) See Maureen? Im being
social!

MAUREEN
I cant see anything Gaspar. As I
explained, my visual sensors have
been deactivated.

Gaspar narrows his eyes and mutters.

GASPAR
Keep it up, Ill deactivate more
than that.

Gaspar walks to the other side of the room, where a dark green
cylindrical elevator rises from penthouse floor. The doors
open and Korra and Jose step out. Gaspar charges forward,
extending his hand toward Jose.

GASPAR
Detective Villalobos, so good to
see you! How long has it been?
Hows the arm?

JOSE
Mr. Terrera. Its been a while.
And Im fine, thanks.

They shake. Gaspar peers curiously down at Joses shoulder.

 40.

GASPAR
Can I see it?

Jose grunts and obliges. Peels his right shirt sleeve back to
reveal a thin circle of purple scar tissue: an old bullet
wound.

GASPAR
Oh my! Detective, I dont know
what kind of medical care you get
through the city, but I can assure
you, my doctors can clear that up
right away.

Jose smiles slightly.

JOSE
No, thats ok Mr. Terrera. I asked
the surgeons to leave it on
purpose. A souvenir of our time
together.

Gaspars face transforms from worry to relief. He quickly

moves his hand to shake Korras.

GASPAR
Oh, alright then! And this must be
the famous Lieutenant Morales! A
pleasure to finally meet you. Im
a big fan of your work. Just this
morning, I saw you save a young
man outside my window. It was
breathtaking. Truly excellent. I
just wish everyone could be as
professional and talented at their
jobs.

Gaspars voice raises on this last sentence, a fact not lost

on Doctor Ramon across the room. He rolls his eyes, continuing
to futz with the Maureen hologram.

KORRA
Thanks, uh, I appreciate the kind
words, Mr. Terrera.

She eyes Jose nervously. Why is he so buoyant? Does he not

know?

GASPAR
Please, call me Gaspar. You too,
Jose. Whats with this Mr. Terrera
crap? Come on, we go back a long
time. A long time! Here, have a
seat
 41.

Gaspar leads Korra and Jose over to his coffee table. Korra
turns and flashes Jose a look of vindication. See? He
remembers you.

GASPAR
(motioning to Ramon)
This is Dr. Hector Ramon, my
therapists technician. Hes
involved in an urgent repair job,
just ignore him.

Ramon waves at Korra and Jose.

DOCTOR RAMON
Hello.

Gaspar waves his arm and two more chairs across them room
slide magically over to the coffee table.

GASPAR
Please, sit anywhere you like. Can
I get you anything to drink?

KORRA
No thanks.

They sit. Jose shakes his head.

GASPAR
You sure? (to the ceiling) One
margarita please! (back to Korra
and Jose) So what can I do for
you, officers?

The robot arm lowers from the ceiling with another margarita
for Gaspar.

KORRA
Well Mr. Terrera

He glares at her. She catches herself.

KORRA
Gaspar. This is a highly
sensitive matter it would best to
discuss it in private, if you
dont mind.

GASPAR
Absolutely. (shouting to Ramon)
Doctor! Give us a few.

DOCTOR RAMON
Certainly, Gaspar. I was just
about finished here anyway.
 42.

The Doctor clasps his hands together and the holograms in

front of him disappear. He walks back to the other humans.

DOCTOR RAMON
Ive run the full diagnostic
suite, Mr. Terrera. Theres
nothing wrong with your therapist.
Not on a computational level, at
least. However, Ive reduced her
communications output to empathy
and clinical diagnosis. She may be
a less engaging conversationalist,
but I gather thats not as
important to you as blind
obedience.

Gaspar smiles mischievously at the Doctor.

GASPAR
Well, just so long as she doesnt
try to sell me any more of your
superfluous medical devices
Doctor. No offense, of course.

Ramon smiles testily.

DOCTOR RAMON
None taken. Well, Ill be off
then. (to Korra and Jose)
Pleasure, officers. I hope I
havent hampered your
investigation.

KORRA
Not at all.

Ramon turns and walks toward the cylindrical elevator rising

out of the floor. The doors envelop him and it sinks away.
Korra leans forward, looks at Gaspar.

KORRA
Im sure youve seen the news of
the terror attack this morning in
Greeley Square

Gaspar shakes his head, his face shifting to deep concern.

GASPAR
Noa terror attackthis morning?

Korra looks at Jose in dismay. Jose shrugs. Gaspar sees their

obvious confusion.
 43.

GASPAR
I silenced all my news feeds
permanently about a year ago. I
wanted to create a space of
absolute tranquility.

Korra nods but her eyes betray a bit of disbelief.

Tranquility? This guy?

KORRA
Well, Im sorry to tell you this,
Mr. Terre Gaspar, but terrorists
killed fourteen people this
morning in Greeley Square. Your
former business partner, Welsey
Wu- he was one of the victims.

Gaspar turns paler than usual, sets his margarita on the

undulating table in front of him, covers his mouth with his
hand.

GASPAR
Oh my god, are you serious?

Korra plows ahead, unflinching.

KORRA
Yes. I was there.

Jose pipes up from his recliner.

JOSE
Trying to save them.

KORRA
Unfortunately I wasnt able to.
The attackers are still at large
and we need your help to prevent
them from hurting anyone else.

Gaspar nods slightly, still processing the tragedy. He stares

at the ground, eyes growing distant. Jose eyes Korra
accusingly.

JOSE
Would you like us to give you a
moment?

Gaspar turns his eyes up to him. Large, lost, but dry.

GASPAR
Nono its alright. I just I
cant believe that was the last
thing I said to him.
 44.

Jose and Korra look at each other, intrigued.

KORRA
What was that?

Gaspar looks at them intently.

GASPAR
Wesley. He was here this morning.
Downstairs. He tried to see me. I
(chuckling sadly) I told him to go
fuck himself.

Korra leans forward.

KORRA
Im sorry. (beat) What did he want
to talk to you about?

GASPAR
I dont know. I turned him away
before he could say anything. I
suppose Ill never know now.

His face alights.

GASPAR
Wait. (calling out) Phoebe, the
holocube Wesley left. Send it up
please?

PHOEBE (V.O.)
Yes sir.

The red holocube materializes over Gaspars coffee table.

JOSE
Whats that?

GASPAR
Thats the thing. I dont know. I
mean, I know its a message of
some kind Wes left for me. But
its encrypted. It will take a few
days for me to solve, even if I
put it to an AI. (smiling sadly)
He always loved puzzles.

Korra leans forward, eager to move on.

KORRA
Theres something else you need to
know. The attackers, they disabled
our Nics. Thats how they were
able to overpower us.
 45.

Gaspar turns and stares up at Korra, shocked again.

GASPAR
What? How?

JOSE
We were hoping you could tell us.

Korra turns and opens her palm. A large holoscreen appears

hovering beside the coffee table, flickering with numbers,
symbols, endless rows of unintelligible data. Gaspar stands up
and paces in front of it.

GASPAR
This data doesnt make any sense,
officers. One minute the Nic is
functioning perfectly, and the
next it goes completely dark. This
shouldnt be possible unless it
was authorized by the police.

KORRA
You never saw anything like this
the entire time you were in charge
of Union Square Incorporated?

Gaspar shakes his head. He walks back behind his chair and
faces them.

GASPAR
No, no. We had a few minor
glitches at first, certainly. And
of course, people are always
looking for new ways to boost
their individual Nics
capabilities, like the young man
you stopped this morning,
Lieutenant Morales. But we
specifically designed the Nic so
that it could never be shut off
without a wearers express
consent, or a valid arrest
warrant.

KORRA
Minor glitches? What were those?

GASPAR
Oh, just silly little things. We
fixed the vast majority early on.
The big one was the bat incident
back in 49.

He smiles and nods. A small HOLOSCREEN expands in the air

between him and the cops.
 46.

GASPAR
Every Nic uses the same high-
frequency signal to keep its
nanobots organized. The signal is
imperceptible to humans and most
animals. But that year, we issued
an update that accidentally
attracted bats.

The holoscreen displays an AERIAL SHOT of three small human

figures flying over the desert, pursued by a huge flock of
bats.

GASPAR
(chuckling)
A group of teens in then-habitable
Arizona discovered this and led a
colony of bats back to their
hometown. The whole area was
covered in them. It was actually
kind of funny to us. Their parents
were less amused. But of course,
it was our fault. We should have
done more testing, specifically
with uses by teenagers.

JOSE
(grunting)
Kids. Always full of surprises.

GASPAR
Indeed

The holoscreen dissolves away. Gaspar takes a slurp of his

margarita. Looks back up.

GASPAR
Im afraid I cant help you much
more than that, officers. The data
doesnt tell me anything that I
dont already know. There should
be no way to gain control of
someone elses Nic without a valid
warrant. (beat) But, if there is
any vulnerability that could have
led to this, however indirectly,
Id bet some smart kid stumbled
across it first.

Korra nods intently. Jose eyes her closely.

 47.

INT. HOVERBUS DAY

Jose squishes beside Korra in a long row of plastic seats.

Nods at her.

JOSE
Hey, thanks for riding the bus
with me. Get to my age, cant fly
as well as you used to, especially
in this wind.

KORRA
Its fine. I could use a break
too.

Jose nods. The skyline begins sliding past in the windows

behind them as the bus takes off.

JOSE
You think he was telling the
truth?

KORRA
Terrera? I dont see what he would
have to gain by lying (beat) You?
Youve talked to him before.

JOSE
Never this much, though. I dont
know. Something about him seemed
strange. Off.

KORRA
He just found out his partner-
turned-nemesis was killed. I think
that would throw anyone off.

JOSE
Yeah, the timing is odd though.
Wesley shows up, pisses off his
old partner, then gets shot by
some attackers with tech skills?

KORRA
(nodding, taking it in)
Yeah, that is weird. But why take
him out so publicly then, and kill
a bunch of innocent civilians in
the process? Im thinking of who
stands to gain the most from this
kind of attack. Makes the mayor
and Golden Rod look awful, like
they cant protect anyone.
(MORE)
 48.

KORRA (CONTD)
Alvarez?

Jose shakes his head.

JOSE
Hes all talk.

KORRA
Gaspar seemed like that to me too.
Like nobodys told him to shut the
fuck up in a long, long time.

JOSE
Yeah. He sure seemed to like you

Jose grins. Korra looks at him skeptically.

KORRA
I hope not. Entitled rich prick
who treats his A.I.s like shit?
Even if I were into guys, he
wouldnt be my type.

JOSE
I dunno, that part seemed like
pretty standard behavior for
trillionaires. (beat) I can
understand why that puts you off
though.

Korra leans back in her chair.

KORRA
Oh yeah, whys that?

JOSE
You were raised by A.I.s, werent
you?

Korras jaw tenses. She nods, trying to brush it off.

KORRA
Yeah, thats right.

JOSE
(guiltily)
Im sorry, I shouldnt have said
anything. But I looked up your
records too. No kid should have to
go through that.

Korra smiles bitterly.

 49.

KORRA
I wasnt the only one who lost
parents in the climate riots.

JOSE
And then you lost them all over
again when the company
discontinued your A.I. foster
parents. Cant imagine how that
felt.

Korra looks at him intently.

KORRA
It was a while ago.

JOSE
That doesnt mean its ok. (beat)
I get it, you know. Why people are
supporting A.I. citizenship.

KORRA
Whys that?

JOSE
Nobody should have to worry about
their loved ones getting deleted.
We already gotta worry about that
enough with real people.

Korra nods, blinking, trying to hold it together. She sighs.

KORRA
Yeah.

They pause in awkward silence. Jose looks over at her.

JOSE
You remind me of my old partner,
you know that?

KORRA
Oh yeah?

JOSE
(nodding)
Yeah. Sergeant Lee. Best cop I
ever worked with. But it wasnt
just cause she was braver and
smarter than the rest of us. I
mean, she was all those things
too. But more than any of us, she
cared about the job.
 50.

KORRA
What happened to her?

JOSE
She went through some hard times
after Una automated the force.
Drugs. Almost died. But shes
clean now. Doing better. Has her
own gym even.

KORRA
(nodding)
Good. Im glad to hear it. (beat)
That mustve been tough for you
all, waking up one day and finding
out being a cop isnt a full time
job anymore.

JOSE
(grimly)
I was past time to retire anyway.
The officers a few years younger,
like Lee, got screwed. But here
you are, still making a go of it.

The bus intercom crackles, interrupting him.

BUS INTERCOM
West Village. West Village.
Connect here to the crosstown M28
line.

JOSE
This is my stop.

He stands. Turns back toward Korra.

JOSE
Thanks for getting me outta the
house, Lieutenant. It was good to
meet you.

KORRA
My pleasure. Youre coming
tomorrow, right? To re-interview
the kid?

JOSE
You sure you want this tired old
cabron tagging along? I may have
to take the bus, you know.

Korra smiles.
 51.

KORRA
Only if you stop calling yourself
that.

Jose nods and exits the bus. A few people trickle in including
a slender YOUNG BLONDE WOMAN (early 20s) wearing a baseball
cap. She sits beside Korra. Korra eyes her up and down
hungrily.

BUS INTERCOM
This is the M29 line to World
Trade. Next stop: Seaport City.

On the other side of the bus is MAYOR UNAs bodyguard, trying

to hide himself under a hooded sweatshirt. He puts his hand to
his ear.

UNAS BODYGUARD
He gone. Yeah, shes alone. For
now.

The guard peers across the bus at Korra. She doesnt notice,
chatting up the YOUNG BLONDE WOMAN instead.

EXT. HOVERBUS DUSK

The long boxy craft HISSES and rises from the curb, joining
the stream of unmanned craft floating just a few feet over the
street, distinguishable only by its row of windows.

The stream of craft SPEEDS UP as we TIMELAPSE forward, the sun

sinking in the sky behind.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE DUSK

Gaspar peers out his giant bay window at the sunset. He raises
a glass to his lips and sips, finding nothing. He sighs and
stares at it. Considers another drink.

Instead, he walks over to his coffee table and sets the glass
down and pulls up Wesleys RED CUBE. It bobs in the air over
the table. Gaspar flicks it, rotates it, contemplates the
shifting symbols on each face.

INT. KORRAS APARTMENT NIGHT

The apartment is dark, dimly lit by the faint bluish LED glow
of a few tiny ceiling lights. Moans and slaps of sex.

Korra is fucking the blonde from the bus stop doggy style on a
disheveled bedspread.
 52.

KORRA
(breathing heavily)
Do something for me.

BLONDE
What?

KORRA
Change your face?

The blonde woman turns back to face Korra. Her face morphs
into that of an older BRUNETTE WOMAN (early 40s) with long
hair.

BRUNETTE
First the chick you saw on the
bus. Now who do you want me to be?

KORRA
Gaspar Terrera.

The Brunette raises a skeptical eyebrow.

BRUNETTE
The crazy rich guy?

Korra nods. The brunette smirks.

BRUNETTE
Ok. But thatll cost you extra.

Her facial features fade into a pixellated blur and then

sharpen again into an exact clone of Gaspar, complete with his
white blond locks and blue eyes. She falls back on her hands
and knees...

EXT. DARKENED ALLEY (MANHATTAN) NIGHT

Raining lightly now, droplets forming like fog around the only
dim street light. A figure in a gray trenchcoat and baseball
cap walks down a small concrete stairway leading underground.
A loud SHRIEK as a metal door opens offscreen.

INT. LEES GYM NIGHT

JOSE pulls off the cap. It and the trenchcoat dissolve into a
T-shirt as he walks down the dimly-lit old brick hallway,
passing signs that say NIC-FREE ZONE and CAMERAS OFF.

Jose nods to turn off his Nic, signified as a white ring

tracing down his body from head-to-toe. He keeps walking and
comes upon a GRIZZLED MUSCULAR MAN (late 50s) in a LEES GYM
hoodie, hair buzz cut, eyes narrowed. They embrace and clasp
hands.
 53.

JOSE
Hank. How you been?

HANK nods. A woman GRUNTS loudly offscreen and theres a solid

THWACK of something impacting. Hank raises his eyebrows
knowingly.

HANK
Shes just wrapping up.

Jose nods, walking past Hank and into the training area: a
massive unfinished basement, all concrete and steel beams,
floor padded in rubber, exotic gym equipment scattered
throughout. A few muted holoscreens displaying boxing, MMA,
flicker in the air overhead.

A gray-haired, lithe woman in a sports bra, SERGEANT LEE (late

50s), grunts and heaves a giant SPEAR across the room at a
clay target. THWACK! It impacts just shy of the bullseye, two
other impacted spears twitching on either side of it.

JOSE
(Calling out)
Watch that release.

She turns and glares playfully at him.

LEE
You wanna go, Villalobos?

Jose walks up to her, chuckling and shaking his head.

JOSE
I was never any good at ranged
weaponry. But if you wanna take
this to the ring

He nods toward a small boxing ring in the corner where two

muscle dudes are training. Lee punches him playfully on the
shoulder.

LEE
Any other night your ass would be
mine now, but believe it or not, I
actually got plans tonight.

JOSE
Convenient excuse. Date?

Lee turns and considers this.

LEE
Something like that.
 54.

JOSE
What happened to: Lee never
dates, only fucks, and even then,
very carefully?

LEE
Times change, people change,
Villalobos. But my ability to kick
your ass stays the same.

They walk across the room and Jose watches Lee pull the spears
out of the target and stack them in a metal rack against the
wall. Staffs, clubs, and other assorted martial arts weaponry
hang beside them.

LEE
Come back later this week and Ill
remind you. No cameras, so you
dont have to worry about being
publicly humiliated.

Lee bends and locates a gym bag. She begins rummaging through
it.

JOSE
Well, Im kinda working this new
job right now, so well see.

Lee looks up at him with surprise.

LEE
A job? Whats the only ex-cop with
a real pension doing working
again? You in trouble or
something?

JOSE
No, no, its nothing like that.
Just helping a new friend. Just
like you helping out me here.

Lee reaches into the bag and withdraws a clear VIAL containing
a SHINY BLACK LIQUID. Jose eyes it approvingly. Reaches for
it. Lee lets him grasp it, but retains a grip on her end of
the vial, tug-of-war-style.

LEE
Tell her to be careful, this is a
stronger batch. This is for her,
right?

JOSE
Yeah. Why?

She looks at Jose intently.

 55.

LEE
You only hit me up nowadays when
you want buy. Now youre saying
you got a new job, a new friend? I
just want to be sure youre
alright.

Jose looks back at her with sympathetic eyes. Appreciates her

concern. He nods.

JOSE
Im cool, hermana. Its not for
me.

She releases the vial. He pockets it.

LEE
Good. Just because I sell this
shit, doesnt mean Im about to
let you starting using. You know
Ive been down that road and it
almost killed me. The only reason
Im still here is cause I finally
had the courage to talk to someone
about it.

JOSE
(nodding)
I know, I know. Its not like
that, though. I swear.

LEE
Alright. Good, cause if I find out
you lying to me, you know Im
gonna have to whoop your ass and
then some.

She swings at him and they start scrapping playfully, jabbing

and parrying, until finally she grabs Jose in a headlock.

JOSE
(muffled)
Time! Time!

She lets him out and he crinkles his nose.

JOSE
(chuckling)
Damn girl, I hope you taking a
shower before your date, unless
you going for the B.O. thing.

She swings again at him and he dodges. Theyre both panting

now.
 56.

LEE
Thats the smell of hard work, old
man. Maybe youve forgotten about
it. (beat) Seriously though,
should come out here more. We even
got some of the other guys from
the precinct back together.
Working on big things. We could
use you.

Jose nods.

JOSE
Yeah, maybe I will. (beat) Aight,
Im gonna go. Let you get on with
your night. Gracias mil.

They bump fists. He turns and walks back down the stairs. Lee
watches him steadily, unblinking.

Above her, a silent holoscreen displays the chyron NEW:

MAYORS SUBWAY SECURITY LAPSE LET TERRORISTS CARRY GUNS

INT. NEWS STUDIO (MANHATTAN) NIGHT

Charles sits behind his news desk, his hair now dyed shades of
red. He leans forward excitedly.

CHARLES
NY Zero has obtained exclusive
footage of the moments before
attackers stormed Greeley Square
and killed 14 people.

A picture-in-picture of a grainy subway security feed appears

behind Charles, then expands to fill the screen...

INT. GREELEY SQUARE SUBWAY STATION DAY (SECURITY FEED)

The Fencers file one after another out of the darkness onto
the subway platform. One Fencer stands up from a crouch.

CHARLES (V.O.)
A security camera from the
abandoned Greeley Square subway
platform caught the attackers
bringing banned firearms into
Manhattan, but failing to set off
Golden Rods firearm detection
alarms.
 57.

INT. NEWS STUDIO NIGHT

The screen behind Charles zooms-in on a shot of one of the

Fencers AK-47s.

CHARLES
Why wasnt our sophisticated A.I.
police chief able to detect this
terror threat before it happened?
Because the underground security
system hasnt been updated in
years. NY Zero reporters have
obtained documents showing that
instead, Mayor Una diverted
funding to help cover the costs of
her over budget WAVE GENERATOR
project.

The screen behind Charles switches to a WIDE SHOT of a harbor

structure resembling an OIL PLATFORM.

CHARLES
That project, as youll recall was
supposed to be completed primarily
by private funding from Unas
political supporters, including
late Union Squared CEO Wesley Wu,
himself a victim in todays tragic
events. NY ZERO has reached out to
the Mayors office for comment...

EXT. GREELEY SQUARE NIGHT

A candlelight memorial service. A crowd of people turn stare

at the news broadcast on a screen, faces open-mouthed in
horror.

They begin turning, one after another, toward the back of the
square where Mayor Una stands, a candle in her hand. Her face
a mask of composure. But the corners of her eyes twitch with
fury.

SMASH TO BLACK

MAYOR UNA (V.O.)

Morales, we need to end this. Now.
 58.

EXT. GOWANUS (BROOKLYN) CANAL BRIDGE - DAY

MAYOR UNA (V.O.) (CONTD)

Ive given you an incentive. Dont
let me down.

Korra looks at her open palm. Hovering just above it, blinking
holographic text reads BANK BALANCE: $1.6 MILLION. She makes
a fist and the holoscreen disappears.

Turns and looks over the bridge railing at the boats zipping
across the crystal-clear channel.

Jose lands beside her, slightly out of breath.

JOSE
Hey, sorry Im late.

KORRA
Youre fine. Im early.

JOSE
So this is the place, huh? Subtle.

He squints over her shoulder at a pagoda-like building

spanning the canal like a drawbridge. On the topmost tower is
a humungous (20-ft) hologram of TIMs FACE.

INT. TIMS MANSION BALLROOM DAY

An enormous strobe-lit ballroom packed with dancing teenagers.

Colorful hologram MALE and FEMALE STRIPPERS dance on the
ceiling and walls like FRED ASTAIRE.

Korra pushes through, followed by Jose. The music cuts

abruptly. The room goes dark. A few partygoers SCREAM. A
circular platform lowers gently from the ceiling in a cloud of
multicolored smoke. Figures appear atop it: the FENCERS! All
six of them toting big black guns with laser scopes.

Korras hand instinctively darts to the bolt pistol hanging

off her belt. Jose grabs it before she can draw. He yells.

JOSE
Wait. Shut off your Nic!

KORRA
What?

By the platform, the Fencers aim their guns at the crowd,

laser sights dancing over the masses rushing out. Behind them,
a SHADOWY FIGURE sits on a throne.
 59.

JOSE
(to Korra)
Shut it off before they do!

Korra looks at him like hes nuts but she nods and blinks. A
ring of white light runs down her body from head to toe and
she goes slack, about to fall over. He props her up.

JOSE
Its all in your head. You dont
really need it!

He blinks and the light passes his body. He stands firm. Looks
at her. See?

Korra grits her teeth and manages to stand up on her own. Aims
the gun up at the platform just as the Fencers FIRE!releasing
streams of sparkling confetti

Their white suits melt away, revealing nude bodies. STRIPPERS.

Music and lights return with a blast. The crowd goes wild.

Korra lowers her gun and turns to Jose, panting and sweating
profusely from the exertion of standing on her own. He nods at
her reassuringly.

KORRA
Come on, lets go get this over
with.

The ring of light traces back up to her head. She motions to

the platform where the strippers have cleared out, revealing
the SHADOWY FIGURE: a woman with large breasts, long brown
hair, and the face of TIM.

He squirts a tiny aerosol bottle into his mouth and tips his
head back, closing his eyes. When he opens them again he sees
Jose and Korra standing in front of him. He glares with drug-
lidded eyes.

TIM
You again! What do you want now?
Whos this?

Korra bends to shout in Tims ear.

KORRA
We need to talk.

Tim waves his hand as if to banish her but she grabs it and
snatches away the aerosol bottle. Korra holds it up to her
face. Shouts at him.
 60.

KORRA
C5! Strong stuff, Tim. Illegal for
minors. You want to go to jail or
what?

Tim paws at her hand with comic slowness, trying in vain to

grab the bottle back. Korra easily pulls it out of reach.

KORRA
Jail or we talk. Your call.

Tim looks at her, dazed, but slowly nods. He points at the

ground below him.

EXT. SKY OVER LOWER MANHATTAN DAY (VIDEO GAME)

Quick cuts of a smirking MUSCLEBOUND MAN (early 20s) flying

away from police robots; a huge-busted redheaded FEMALE NYPD
COP yelling: a fist punching the robots out of the sky. Text
flashes: Tim Womack is LIMIT BREAKER! Theres no limit he
wont break! Playable today on the public network!

KORRA (PRELAP)
(laughing)
Oh my god.

INT. TIMS MANSION - GARAGE DAY

Tim turns away from a blinking holoscreen displaying the final

frame of the sky fight. He looks at Korra and Jose standing in
the center of the darkened garage, rows of shiny, expensive-
looking hovercraft parked on either side.

Korra puts her mouth to her face, trying to stifle her

laughter. Tim looks at her, confused and slightly embarrassed.

TIM
What? Its not supposed to funny.

KORRA
Im sorry, I justis that supposed
to me?

She waves her and the holoscreen rewinds, freezes on the

REDHEADED COP. Looks nothing like Korra except for the hair
and the NYPD uniform. Tim glares at the screen then Korra.

TIM
Well, yeah I mean, yeah. Sorta.
Its your character.

Jose steps forward, puzzled.

 61.

JOSE
I dont get it what is this?

KORRA
Its a trailer for a virtual
reality game. A game based off my
arrest of Tim.

TIM
(incensed)
I told you, my names Tamara
now.

Korra stares at him, nonplussed. Jose looks perplexed.

JOSE
But that just happened yesterday?

TIM
Yeah hombre, ayer. Raw vids
already floatin near 10 mil. Where
you been?

KORRA
You can produce a VR game based
off a video within a few hours
these days. Most are just awful,
but popular ones can still make
the subject millions from
sponsors, isnt that right
Tamara? Youre a high roller
now, huh?

She steps forward, towering over him aggressively. He licks

his lips.

TIM
Look, I dunno what the fuck it is
you want, bitch. But I got better
things to do with my time than
listen to some old ass cabrones
sinkin me.

He tries to walk past her but Korra grabs him by the shoulder
and pushes him back. She holds up the spray bottle.

KORRA
Just a few followup questions,
Tamara, then Ill let you get
back to your party.

Tim squirms and throws up his hands in dismay but assents,

folding his arms across his huge breasts and staring up at
Korra petulantly.
 62.

TIM
What?

KORRA
Who gave you the booster?

TIM
I told you already! Someone just
sent it to me anonymously!

Korra shakes her head and sighs.

KORRA
Alright, have it your way.

She holds a finger to her ear and looks past Tim, speaking to
no one.

KORRA
Yes, this is Lieutenant Morales. I
need to report drug possession by
a minor

Tim fidgets and then lunges for her. Jose steps in and grabs
him and holds his arms.

TIM
Ok, ok. They left an audio message
too. No name or face, just this.

He opens his hand and a hologram of an audio waveform appears.

The clip plays. A burbly distorted voice.

AUDIO WAVEFORM
What do we have here?

KORRA
Why didnt you tell us about this
before?

TIM
I thought you guys would ban me
from the network. Im sorry, ok?

Jose looks up at Korra. She nods. He appears to be telling the

truth.

KORRA
Well need that.

He hands her the waveform and she closes her left fist around
it. It vanishes.
 63.

KORRA
Thanks. Youre free to go now.

She drops the canister of C5 and crushes it under her foot.

Tim looks up at her sorrowfully.

TIM
Youre gonna regret that, bitch.

Something WHIRS loudly. Behind Tim two HULKING ROBOTS come to

life, eyes illuminating. They stand up, towering over the rows
of hovercraft. WHAM! WHAM! They take menacing steps in unison
toward the cops.

EXT. GOWANUS CANAL BRIDGE DAY

Jose and Korra drop to the bridge with two loud, painful
CLANGS! The robots fly away, back toward Tims house. Korra
picks herself up first and helps Jose to his feet. He puts his
hand to his forehead and tries to shake away the stars.

KORRA
You alright?

JOSE
Ugh, yeah. Fucking robot bouncers.
Never thought Id miss a human
goon kicking my ass.

Korra grabs his arm and pulls him forward. Large purple
bruises on both their limbs quickly fade. A HOODED FIGURE
steps in front of them.

HOODED FIGURE
Hey, youre that human cop right?
The one who saved Tamara?

Korra eyes the figure warily.

KORRA
Whore you?

The figure pulls off his hood revealing the face of RICKY,
Tims friend.

RICKY
I got some information for you.
 64.

EXT. GOWANUS - COMMUNITY GARDEN/ALLEYWAY DAY (LATER)

Jose and Korra sit across from Ricky on a wooden picnic table,
vine-covered brick walls surrounding them on either side.
Rickys eyes dart around nervously.

RICKY
You sure were not being watched?

KORRA
Ricky, were in the middle of New
York. Every inch of this place is
under surveillance. But no, nobody
is watching us specifically right
now.

RICKY
(scowling)
Alright, so, you talked to Tamara,
right?

JOSE
I thought you had something you
wanted to tell us?

RICKY
I do, viejo [old man]. Im getting
there. Anyway, she tell you about
the audio message?

KORRA
Yeah, she gave it to me. Its
distorted and encrypted.

Ricky nods.

RICKY
Yeah, well, thats true. But what
she prolly didnt tell you is I
cleared it up. And I found another
sound file along with it.

KORRA
Really? How?

Ricky shrugs.

RICKY
Im good with audio. Thats what I
want to be, an audio engineer.
Anyway, Im pretty sure I know who
sent it.
 65.

Korra and Jose look at him with anticipation.

KORRA
So, who was it? Come on!

Ricky looks from side to side again and then slides a glowing
hologram envelope across the table to Korra.

She moves to grab it but he snatches her hand before she can.
He whispers at her angrily, hissing.

RICKY
Dont open it here! Wait till I
leave, alright? I dont want any
part of this.

KORRA
Ok. Calm down.

RICKY
I gotta float.

Ricky stands up and pulls his hood up.

JOSE
Why are you doing this, then?

RICKY
You saw her! Tamara, shes out of
control. We used to be best
friends. As soon as she got
famous, she swapped genders and
turned into a total dick! I aint
covering for her ass anymore.

He runs and takes off into the air. Korra waves her hand and
the holographic envelope opens.

KORRA
Son of a bitch.

INT. DOCTOR RAMONS OFFICE DAY

Doctor Ramon stands in front of a huge holoscreen showing what

looks to be the glowing branches of a tree. Neurons? He holds
a finger to his ear.

KORRA (V.O.)
Did Gaspar say anything about a
desire to hurt Wesley?

DOCTOR RAMON
Im sorry, officer, but I cant
answer that.
(MORE)
 66.

DOCTOR RAMON (CONTD)

The contents of all my patients
therapy sessions are protected by
medical confidentiality laws.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE DAY

Korra disembarks the elevator, barely containing her

indignation. She glances around the penthouse. No Gaspar, or
anyone else, in sight. She calls out.

KORRA
Mr. Terrera!?

She takes another step, suspicious now. Eyes scanning around

the room. Her hand reaches down and hovers over the small bolt
pistol hanging off her belt.

KORRA
(louder)
Gaspar??

She walks up to a large, closet-sized frosted glass cube in

one corner of the room. A shower. Nobody inside. She closes it
peers beyond, down a long dark marble hall. Walks cautiously
down it. Draws her bolt pistol.

KORRA
(shouting)
Gaspar!

She reaches the end of the hallway. A doorframe to the right.

She breathes, bracing herself, and whirls around it, gun
trained.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE BEDROOM DAY

Korra finds Gaspar floating gently in mid-air on his back,

naked. Arms and legs are splayed out in an X. Colorful
symbols dance rapidly over his closed eyelids. Still.
Peaceful. Is he even alive? She leans over him and his eyes
flip open. She jumps back, startled. He smiles.

GASPAR
(sleepily)
Lieutenant Morales. I was just
dreaming about you.
 67.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE DAY (LATER)

Korra stares out the giant window.

GASPAR (O.S.)
I apologize for startling you,
Lieutenant. Although, I suppose
its you who really should
apologize for startling me.

She turns and sees him walking toward her on bare feet, tying
the knot on a black robe. Nude underneath.

KORRA
What were you doing in there?

GASPAR
Dream replay. Havent you ever
done it detective? Its quite
therapeutic. Every night when I
sleep, my dreams are recorded and
stored in virtual reality. Later
during the day, my therapist and I
can revisit them. See what was
really going on in my unconscious
mind, my true feelings, my hopes,
my fears, my desires

A robotic arm descends from the ceiling, placing ice cubes

into a glass on a table near Gaspar. He looks at it and then
up at Korra.

GASPAR
She says its quite helpful. Care
for something to drink, officer?

She looks down at the glass. Turns her glare back on Gaspar.

KORRA
No thanks

He shrugs and picks it up.

GASPAR
Suit yourself.

He sips it delicately. Sits down in a chair facing her.

GASPAR
Wheres your partner in crime-
solving?
 68.

KORRA
Hes not my partner. And hes busy
with something.

GASPAR
I see. So what I can help you with
today, officer?

Korra turns and looks out the window, scanning the city.

KORRA
Im trying to figure out why
youre fucking with us.

GASPAR
I beg your pardon?

Korra turns and walks in front of Gaspar.

KORRA
The kid. You sent her the booster.

Gaspar sets down his drink and raises his hands in protest.

GASPAR
Hold on a secondwhat kid? What
booster?

KORRA
Tim. The kid I busted the other
day for speeding. She flopped her
gender, goes by Tamara now. She
got her booster from an anonymous
message. Except it wasnt so
anonymous

Korra walks toward the coffee table, throws the hologram

envelope across it to Gaspar. Gaspar waves his hand over it,
and it transforms into a glowing yellow audio waveform. It
plays.

GASPARS VOICE
What do we have here?

He pauses it. Licks his lips and stares up at Korra, defiant.

GASPAR
This proves nothing, you know.
Anyone could take an audio sample
from one of the countless public
recordings of me and rework it
into whatever they like.

Korra nods and paces slowly around toward Gaspar.

 69.

KORRA
Thats true, except for the fact
that this message also contained
some ambient background noise.
Tims friend managed to decrypt
that as well. Go ahead, hear for
yourself.

Gaspar swipes the audio clip to the left and another clip
appears in blue. He plays it. A dull HUMMING noise.

KORRA
Do you know what that is? I didnt
at first. Apparently, all
skyscrapers vibrate very subtly in
the wind. The higher they are, the
more they vibrate. This sound
could have only come from one
building in the city. The top
floor of one building in fact.

She walks behind him and lowers her face next to his. Reaches
out and plays the humming clip again.

KORRA
You covered your tracks, but
sloppily. I know you sent the kid
that illegal booster, Gaspar. But
why?

Gaspar blinks. Face shifting to a smirk. He looks at Korra,

daring her.

GASPAR
So, are you here to arrest me or
what, officer?

Korra stands up and walks in front of him. She glares.

KORRA
I could. Lying to an officer.
Thats obstruction of justice.

GASPAR
But you wont

KORRA
I didnt say that.

Gaspar looks up at her, confident.

GASPAR
Because youre still not sure I
had anything to do with the attack
yet.
 70.

KORRA
Did you?

Gaspar shakes his head. He stands up, closer to her now.

GASPAR
No. Ive done many things in my
life I regret Korra: crushing my
competitors with lawsuits, ruining
their reputations, blackmailing
and bribing my way to the top. Not
to mention years of drug abuse and
unprotected sex. But one thing
Ive never done is take a life.
Can you say the same?

KORRA
This isnt about me, Gaspar. Whyd
you send the kid the booster?

He smiles and leans closer to her.

GASPAR
Im glad youre calling me by my
first name detective. As you know,
I insist on it for all my close
associates. I know we just met,
but I feel something quite deep
between us. A strange familiarity.
Do you feel it, too?

Korra clenches her fist and unclenches it. She seethes with
revulsion.

KORRA
(shouting)
Fourteen people are dead! Their
killers are still out there. And
youre up here playing games with
me. We have nothing in common, you
self-entitled rich prick.

She pushes her chest to his.

KORRA
(quieter)
If you dont answer me right now,
I wont just arrest you. Ill
break every bone in your pathetic
little body, one by one. And the
second they heal, Ill break them
all again.
 71.

GASPAR
Youcertainly have a way with
words, officer.

Korras left hand flies up and grabs him by the collar of his
robe, jerking them even closer, bodies pressing together. Her
right hand clenched, shaking. Is she going to hit him or kiss
him? Finally, she releases him and walks away, gasping for
breath. He calls out.

GASPAR
Ill tell you everything you want
to know, detective. Hand to god.
As long as you sit and have a
drink with me.

LATER

Korra sits across from Gaspar, a glass of something shiny and

red sits on the coffee table in front of her, barely sipped.
Gaspar drains the last of his drink.

GASPAR
There was always tension between
Wesley and I, even from the
beginning. He was the responsible
one. While I was out partying,
celebrating our successes with
booze and drugs, his idea of fun
was reading history, going to
museums. Wed have these vicious
arguments about the company and
hed storm out on me. But I always
knew where to find him

Gaspar grows misty-eyed as he talks. We FLASHBACK/INTERCUT to

INT. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART (THE MET) AMERICAN

WING DAY (FLASHBACK)

GASPAR V.O.)
The Met. American Wing. Staring at
the old sculptures.

Wesley in another sharp crimson suit, staring at a dark bronze

sculpture of a young boy shooting an arrow toward the sky as
an older man crouches behind him.

Gaspar walks up behind Wesley. Wesley turns, his serious face

breaking into a smile.
 72.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE DAY

Gaspar smiles at the memory.

GASPAR
When he finally got the board to
vote me out, I wasnt even mad at
him at first. More stunned. I
couldnt believe hed actually
gone through with it.

He swallows hard and continues.

GASPAR
After that, things got really bad.
I stopped going out. Stopped
talking to anyone. I just didnt
know what to do with myself. Id
spent so much time working on this
dream of making the Nic that itd
become my only reason to exist. I
became severely depressed.
Suicidal. (beat) One day I woke up
and decided that was it. I
disabled my Nic and swallowed a
bunch of old drugs. My A.I.s found
me within a few minutes and
revived me.

He chuckles sadly.

GASPAR
Those dumb, loveable bastards.
Theyre so excited just to be
conscious, so eager to be human,
they have no idea what its like
to want to die.

His eyes grow distant again.

GASPAR
I realized then that suicide was
just another way of avoiding the
truth: Id become obsolete. There
was no escaping that fact. So I
decided to try and find a new
purpose. I began visiting the
public network. Anonymously, of
course. I was fascinated by what I
found: all these people, kids
mostly, looking for ways to
override the Nics built-in
restrictions.
 73.

He sits upright. Korra watches him.

GASPAR
At first, I was offended. Wes and
I had labored for years to make a
flawless tool, and there they
were, wrecking it. But then I
began to see what they saw.

He stands and begins pacing, gesturing wildly.

GASPAR
With some clever modifications,
you can fly higher and faster,
alter your body and mind in
infinite ways. These kids were
excited about the Nics potential,
and it made me excited again, too.
I began making modifications of my
own. Whenever I finished one, Id
send it a kid at random. I didnt
mean any harm by it, I just wanted
to see how theyd use it.

Gaspar turns to her, a twinkle in his eye. Korra chuckles

dryly in amazement. Of course. Gaspar raises an eyebrow.

GASPAR
You think Im funny, officer?

KORRA
Every year, I bust one or two kids
for flying above the speed limit
or doing some insane strength
exercise out in the street.
Stopping illegally modified Nics
was basically my only job with the
NYPD, at least til yesterday. This
whole time, it was you. You were
behind it all.

Gaspar smiles.

GASPAR
Well, thats not entirely true.
Some of them found things out on
their own. I just helped them out
along the way

KORRA
But you never found a flaw that
could remotely disable a Nic?

Gaspar frowns and shakes his head.

 74.

GASPAR
No. I swear to you, I have not.
Nobody has, at least not publicly.
I told you, its next to
impossible. Although

Korra peers at him. Raises her eyebrows. Finally getting

somewhere. Gaspar shakes his head.

GASPAR
No, no, nevermind. Its nothing.

KORRA
Tell me.

GASPAR
Back when Wes and I first started
Union Squared, there was a young
engineer who was instrumental in
bringing the Nic to market.

He nods and a tiny HOLOSCREEN appears between him and Korra

showing a thin good-looking TANNED MAN (early 30s) with a buzz
cut and stubbly chin.

GASPAR
Oliver Pembroke. He was the one
who fixed the Nics signal to stop
it from herding bats. He left the
company just a few months ago.
Part of a mass exodus of staffers
who felt some misguided sense of
loyalty to me.

Gaspar shakes his head.

GASPAR
It actually worked out for him
though, hes since become a
moderately successful fashion
designer of new Nic patterns.

Korra stands suddenly.

KORRA
I need to go. Thanks for your
time. Message me if you think of
anything else.

GASPAR
Of course.

He stands and follows her to the elevator.

 75.

GASPAR
Before you go, detective the
dream I was having about you. Do
you want to know how it ended?

She pauses in front of the elevator. Her eyes dart nervously

to the side.

KORRA
I should really go.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE BEDROOM NIGHT (LATER)

Gaspar is nude, splayed out on his chest floating in mid-air,

a black ball gag in his mouth. Light flickers. We hear moans
and slaps of sex. Pornography playing offscreen.

Korra walks into the room behind him, her nanosuit dissolving,
revealing her naked chest. She takes another step and the
silver goo reforms into heeled boots and a strapless dildo on
her pelvis. She lowers her face and breaths into Gaspars ear.

KORRA
Now youre going to tell me
everything, bitch.

She grabs him by the hair and thrusts. He groans in pleasure

and pain.

INT. BEDROOM NIGHT

We see washed-out CLOSE UPS of a naked body on some bedsheets.

We hear laughter. A nipple. Smooth African-American skin.
Male? Female? Both? We cant really tell.

A hand grabs the camera and pushes it back and we see the nude
body of MAYOR UNA, younger (early 20s), lounging in a bed. We
see a brief flash of what looks like a penis on her body. The
video FADES TO BLACK.

CHARLES (PRE-LAP)
The video that started at all

INT. NEWS STUDIO NIGHT

News anchor Charles stands in front of a wall-sized screen

that displays various relevant clips of Una as he talks.
 76.

CHARLES
From amateur porn star to adult
entertainment mogul to New York
Citys first transgender mayor,
Una Sinclairs had a storied rise.
But now shes facing the biggest
test of her career: a city roiled
by a brutal act of terror just
days before the mayoral election.
Plus, the new revelations that Una
diverted security funding into her
expensive clean energy project.
Joining me here tonight live in
the NY Zero Studio to address
these issues, Mayor Una Sinclair.

Charles motions to his right, where Una smiles uneasily from

her chair in the studio set.

CHARLES
Miz Mayor, thank you for joining
me.

UNA
Of course, Charles. And I want to
say something right away here: the
question of what was funded and
not funded is irrelevant to the
Greeley Square investigation.
Whats important now is that we
find those responsible for this
barbaric act and bring them
justice, and we will. Very soon.
And I can assure you and everyone
watching out there tonight that
nothing like this will ever happen
to this city again, so long as I
am mayor.

Charles raises an eyebrow skeptically.

CHARLES
Miz Mayor, how can you say that
after NY Zero showed that it was
your funding realignment that left
Golden Rod unprepared to detect
the attackers weapons?

Una bristles at this, uncomfortable.

 77.

UNA
Well, Charles, as you know Golden
Rod is running for mayor himself
this time around, so I want to be
careful here in what I say and
make sure that he has my support
to do his job...

UNAs POV Red teleprompter text scrolls in mid-air with

Unas points, invisible to Charles and the television
audience.

UNA
Hes the most advanced law
enforcement A.I. in the world, and
I trusted him fully, and I still
trust him fully. But I will say
that he never alerted me to the
need for upgrades to the detection
system.

Charles eyes go wide and this. He shakes his head in

disbelief.

CHARLES
Excuse me, Miz Mayor, am I hearing
you correctly? Golden Rod never
asked for an improved firearms
detection system underground?

UNA
(nodding)
Thats correct, Charles. Not to my
recollection.

CHARLES
And you believe that was part of
his job, to inform you what
resources were needed for law
enforcement?

UNA
(nodding more slightly,
confidently)
Yes, per the charter.

CHARLES POV His green teleprompter text scrolls in the air

in front of him.
 78.

CHARLES
Given these revelations, Mayor
Una, and the fact that Golden Rod
is running directly against you,
do you still stand by your
decision to automate the police
force in 2077? Why should voters
trust any of your decisions when
it comes to security, if this one
was so wrong?

Una opens her mouth to say something, but stops. Dead silence.

CHARLES
Mayor Sinclair?

INT. NEWS STUDIO BACKSTAGE NIGHT (LATER)

Una storms down a dark narrow hallway away from the interview
set, high heels clomping furiously.

UNA
(yelling over hear earphone)
You better, Enrique! Unless you
want me to find another fucking
campaign manager!

She pulls her hand away from her ear. Unas squat CAMPAIGN
MANAGER trails her, a yellow holographic clipboard floating in
front of him. He speaks in a raspy voice.

CAMPAIGN MANAGER
It really wasnt that bad.

UNA
Shut up. Where the fuck is my
bodyguard? (shouting) Mac?

Una barrels ahead. A smooth male voice chimes in over hear

earphone.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Golden Rod wishes to connect with
you.

Una halts in her tracks and touches her hand to her ear.

UNA
You? What the hell do you want?
 79.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

Korra stands in front of the rising elevator again. Gaspar

appears over her shoulder in his robe. She nods him.

GASPAR
Korra, theres something I need to
tell you before you go

She bites her lip. Oh no. Is he about to get emotional?

GASPAR
Building security flagged this as
you arrived.

He opens his palm and a miniature hologram video appears,

showing UNAs BODYGUARD standing creepily in a trench coat.

GASPAR
Youre being followed.

EXT. TALLEST SKYSCRAPER NIGHT

UNAS BODYGUARD stands off to the side of the entrance,

watching as a few people stream in and out. He turns away and
puts his hand to his ear.

UNAS BODYGUARD
(into his earphone)
Its been two hours. No sign of
her yet.

A figure in a darkened hood appears behind him.

KORRA
(quietly)
And youre gonna keep it that way.
(beat) Hang up. Now.

He looks over his shoulder at her then down to his side,

jabbing him with the bolt pistol concealed under her sleeve.
He nods slowly.

EXT. CENTRAL PARK PATH NIGHT

A dark, remote section of the park lit only by the low glow of
a few white ground lights. Korra prods the bodyguard forward
with her gun. He moves reluctantly.
 80.

KORRA
Why the fuck are you following me?
Huh?

He speaks slowly in a thick Italian New York accent.

UNAS BODYGUARD
Listen, I know how this looks. But
youre makin a big mistake.

KORRA
Answer me!

She jabs him roughly in the ribs with the gun. He trips and
stumbles forward. She moves to grab him. A fake. He whirls
around and knocks the gun out of her hand. She flies sideways
and punches him in the neck. He throws her into a tree. THUNK!
Leaves rain down from above.

They continue fighting like for a few tense seconds, one

flying up before being yanked back down by the other. Finally
Korra kicks out his legs and levels him. She steps on each
each of his hands. He winces.

UNAS BODYGUARD
Ok, ok, let me up.

KORRA
Not until you tell me what the
fuck is going on!

UNAS BOYDGUARD
Its not what you think.

LATER

A holographic FBI BADGE floats in mid-air showing the

bodyguards face and his real name: AGENT SEAN MATTHEWS.

Korra sits on a park bench, staring at it, more than a little

flabbergasted. Agent Matthews closes his fist and the badge
disappears. He leans back against the bench beside Korra.

AGENT MATTHEWS
Three weeks ago, we received a tip
that someone was diverting
unmarked funds to an organization
supporting the Alvarez campaign
without reporting it. Class one
felony. We traced the money back
through several shell companies
and off-planet accounts. Whoever
was behind it, they knew enough to
hide it. It took a while, but we
finally found the source.
 81.

He looks up at the sky. Korra follows his gaze: rising over

the dark silhouettes of treetops of the park is a skyscraper
playing an enormous video of MAYOR UNA.

KORRA
Una?

AGENT MATTHEWS
The funds came from her adult
entertainment company. Transfers
requiring her direct approval.

KORRA
But why would she prop up her
rival?

He leans back and shrugs.

AGENT MATTHEWS
Maybe shes bribing him to do some
dirty work. Maybe she and Alvarez
are teaming-up against Golden Rod.
Maybe hes blackmailing her with
some information she doesnt want
gettin out. Whatever it is, were
gonna find out. And when we do,
you wanna be on the right side of
this detective. Especially given
recent events.

KORRA
You think this has something to do
with the attack?

He looks at her steadily. Says nothing.

KORRA
What evidence do have, besides the
money?

AGENT MATTHEWS
Im not authorized to say. How
about you?

Korra raises her eyebrows at him, insulted.

KORRA
So thats why you were following
me so Id do your work for you.

AGENT MATTHEWS
Hey, come on now. I needed to see
if you was involved in any illegal
activity.
 82.

A chime sounds offscreen. Korra touches her ear.

SMOOTH FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)

Jose Villalobos wishes to connect
with you.

KORRA
(into ear earphone)
Two minutes.

Korra turns back to Agent Matthews, incensed.

KORRA
Im a fucking cop. Im not just
going to roll over just cause some
politician asks me too.

AGENT MATTHEWS
(smirking)
But youre not working for the
police on this, are you? I
checked. Youre off-duty,
technically. (beat) Think about it
Morales: why would the mayor send
you out on this wild goose chase
with gramps? She was trying to
throw you off her trail.

Korra shakes her head and stands up.

KORRA
This has been fun, agent, but if
you want to question me further,
youre gonna need to talk to my
lawyer. Good luck on your
investigation.

She turns and begins walking away, but he calls out after her.

AGENT MATTHEWS
Care to rethink that, detective?

Korra turns back. Agent Matthews points his arm at her and
opens his fingers, producing a floating holoscreen. A POV
video from the eyes of KORRAs brunette sex partner. Korra
narrows her eyes in anger.

KORRA
How did you get this?

He chuckles. The video fast-forwards.

AGENT MATTHEWS
Lucky for you, prostitution is
legal in New York City
 83.

He presses play as Korra makes her lusty request on the video.

KORRA (V.O.)
Change your face.

He pauses it.

AGENT MATTHEWS (CONTD)

but identity theft is not. Either
you help me, or your friend with
the fancy face replicator gets
federal charges.

Korra shakes her head in disgust, laughing sardonically.

KORRA
You federales. You think youve
got it all figured out. Riding in
on your high horses to set us
bumbling local sheriffs straight.
Fuck you.

She storms away. He shouts after her.

AGENT MATTHEWS
Hey, offica, Im just doing my
job. Same as you. Now you gonna
play ball or what?

She ignores him and continues walking away.

SMOOTH FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)

Jose Villalobos wishes to connect
with you.

KORRA
(into her earphone)
Whats up?

EXT. COURTHOUSE NIGHT

Jose walks out of the entrance to a stately Greco-Roman style

building, passing between giant marble column as he speaks.

JOSE
Howd it go with the rich prick?

EXT. CENTRAL PARK PATH NIGHT

KORRA
Hes not our guy. But he gave me a
new name: Oliver Pembroke.
(MORE)
 84.

KORRA (CONTD)
A designer who used to work at
Union Squared, the one who fixed
the early glitch in the Nic. Hes
got his own fashion label now.

EXT. COURTHOUSE NIGHT

Jose descends the wide staircase. A tiny hologram of OLIVER

PEMBROKEs face appears beside his.

JOSE
Got it, we should set up an
interview stat. Looks like
Pembroke is hosting a party
tonight on top of the Wave
Generator.

Olivers hologram face disappears, replaced by a rotating

hologram of a structure resembling an offshore OIL PLATFORM
the WAVE GENERATOR.

EXT. CENTRAL PARK PATH NIGHT

Korra looks back over her shoulder at Agent Matthews.

KORRA
Im in the middle of something
right now. I can meet you there in
a bit.

JOSE (V.O.)
No worries, I got it.

KORRA
Howd it go with your thing?

EXT. COURTHOUSE NIGHT

JOSE
I got ahold of my buddy at courts.
Youre not gonna like this. He
says someone from NYPD requested
an arrest warrant for Wesley
moments before the attack. It
extended to Wesleys Nic and any
potential collaborators in his
vicinity.

KORRA (V.O.)
What? Who requested it?
 85.

EXT. CENTRAL PARKPATH NIGHT

Korra stops suddenly, her eyes going wide.

KORRA
(into ear earphone)
Are you sure?

We cant hear his private response to her, but Korras

fascinated by it. She nods slowly, taking it all in.

KORRA
(into her earphone)
Ok. Ok. (beat) No, just stay put
for now. Ill be in touch.

She touches her ear, hanging up the call. Then turns around
and walks rapidly back to the bench, towering over the seated
Agent Matthews, her eyes focused, burrowing.

KORRA
Your tip on Una. Who gave it to
you?

He smiles.

AGENT MATTHEWS
Not who. What.

INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS (MANHATTAN) NIGHT

Una stands on a catwalk high over the cavernous room. Her face
glows blue, lit by the humungous flickering holoscreen
dominating the entire wall across from her.

Far below on the ground are rows upon rows of stationary

recumbent bicycles. Riders in dark blue NYPD uniforms pedal
blindly, their eyes covered by black visors with symbols
dancing on them.

UNA
(shouting)
Camera 32! Unmute.

The hololscreen zooms-in on one feed: GOLDEN ROD giving a

thundering speech in a flickering pink suit. With his big
beard and round belly, he looks not unlike the prototypical
white SANTA CLAUS.

GOLDEN ROD
This election isnt just about
New York leading the world in
granting Artificial Intelligences
basic rights. Its not just A.I.s
who are treated like objects.
(MORE)
 86.

GOLDEN ROD (CONTD)

For too long, humans treated one
another like objects.

On screen, the audience hoots its approval. Beside Una, a

clatter of footsteps. She turns and sees Korra landing a few
feet away on the catwalk.

KORRA
We need to talk.

UNA
This isnt a good time,
Lieutenant.

Una turns and shouts to the room.

UNA
Show me number 4! The one from the
W.

The giant holoscreen breaks into a grid of security feeds then

zooms in on a wide angle of

EXT. UNION SQUARE (MANHATTAN) NIGHT

Golden Rod commands an outdoor stage. Thousands of people and

hologram A.I.s hover in the sky above to get a better view,
some displaying text above them like signs: GOLDEN ROD 4
MAYOR. CITIZENSHIP FOR ALL.

GOLDEN ROD
Slavery, discrimination, war,
terrorism, oppression. Every evil
in human history happened because
people in power treated those who
werent like their lives didnt
matter

Hovering around the perimeter of the park are hundreds of

POLICE ROBOTS, their faces eerily also GOLDEN RODs, but
expressionless, watching along silently.

EXT. SKY OVER LOWER MANHATTAN

Jose flies through the night sky over the city, one of
thousands of glowing shapes, like fireflies darting through a
garden a forest of glass.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.) (CONTD)

But I am here to tell you: your
lives do matter!
 87.

EXT. UNION SQUARE

Golden Rod paces the stage like a rock star or fiery preacher,
better than than any human politician of old.

GOLDEN ROD
It doesnt matter how you were
made, how you came into being.
Biological or artificial: you
deserve to be free, you deserve
the rights to vote and to own
property, to earn a living wage,
to seek justice in the court, to
marry, to vote.

EXT. SKY OVER LOWER MANHATTAN

Jose breaks from the pack and flies past the Wall Street
marina, out into the water, toward the massive offshore metal
platform glowing in the night: the WAVE GENERATOR.

Below him, boats zip to and fro. A huge GARBAGE BARGE drifts
by in the waters of the Buttermilk Channel...

EXT. GARBAGE BARGE

The barge is piled high with old appliances, pieces of metal,

cars, even some bits of aircraft. Six small shapes swim up
alongside it in the dark water, almost unnoticeable except for
their sleight wakes.

INT. GARBAGE BARGE CONTROL ROOM

A tall ROBOTIC ARM on wheels steers the ship, its single green
glowing eye watching a floating holoscreen of GOLDEN RODs
address.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

All of you deserve fair and equal
treatment, human and artificial
alike!

An alarm blares and lights begin flashing red. The holoscreen

disappears.

GARBAGE BARGE LOUDSPEAKER

Intruder detected. Intruder
detected.

The ROBOTIC ARM swivels and whirs, withdrawing a gun,

but...WHAM! Its smashed clear from its own stand by a FENCER
wielding a GOLF CLUB.
 88.

The other Fencers file into the control room behind their
leader. One tips aside the robotic stand with CLASH and begins
turning the ships wheel.

INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS NIGHT

Golden Rod continues his address on the giant holoscreen.

GOLD ROD (V.O.)

And if you human citizens do the
right thing, if you vote for me as
your mayor, theres nothing we
cant accomplish together!

More cheers and applause from the crowd.

KORRA
Its urgent, your honor.

Una turns away from the screen, frowning. She looks at Korra.

UNA
Yes?

KORRA
Youre going to want to keep this
private.

UNA
(annoyed)
Alright.

She waves her hand and instantly mutes all the background
noise around them.

UNA
What is it, Lieutenant?

Korra takes a deep breath and stares at the mayor.

KORRA
I need to ask you: are you paying
off Alvarez?

Unas eyes widen in alarm.

UNA
What? Who told you that?

KORRA
So its true, isnt it? (beat)
Answer me!

Una looks at Korra long and hard.

 89.

UNA
Yes.

KORRA
Christos Why?

Una sighs. Lowers her gaze, stares at the screen. Then turns
back to Una, looking very tired.

UNA
Before Alvarez got in, Golden Rod
was ahead with everyone except the
hardcore Neo-Libertarian voters.
If I embraced full A.I.
citizenship like him, they
wouldnt even show up to vote for
me. But if I moved right, Id lose
everyone else. I needed a third-
party challenger to stake out a
more extreme position against A.I.
citizenship, make me look moderate
in comparison.

Korra shakes her head, disgusted.

KORRA
So you created one. You took a
radical who you thought had no
chance of winning, and gave him
just enough money to make some
noise. But thats not all, is it?

Korra takes a step toward Una. Lowers her hand menacingly over
her bolt pistol holster. Una backs away slowly.

UNA
Lieutenant, wait, I can explain

EXT. WAVE GENERATOR NIGHT

Partygoers in sheer dresses and neon tunics crowd the top of

the power plant-come-events space, filling the wide square
walkway around the perimeter. A plaque reads: Supported by
the Terrera-Wu Foundation.

In the center is a huge shaft leading down to glowing

turbines. They hum and spin with the force of the waves.

Jose follows a blonde waitress in a white uniform throngs of

partygoers around the edge, finally spotting the tall thin
form of OLIVER PEMBROKE chatting up a handsome 20-something
man near the outer railing.

Jose approaches and Pembroke nods and breaks away from his
date.
 90.

JOSE
Mr. Pembroke.

They shake hands.

PEMBROKE
You must be the cop. Im sorry, I
didnt catch your name, officer.

JOSE
Retired. Jose.

Pembroke motions around him.

PEMBROKE
Well, Jose, weve got plenty of
cocktails and food, which youre
welcome to. But I gather thats
not why youre here. What can I
help you with?

JOSE
You used to work for U.S.I. What
can you tell me about the Nics
vulnerabilities?

EXT. BUTTERMILK CHANNEL NIGHT

The dark Garbage Barge rumbles closer to the legs of the Wave
Generator, pointed straight at it...

INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS NIGHT

Korra steps purposefully toward Una, her eyes narrowed.

KORRA
You needed something else to ruin
Golden Rods lead. The attack
caused voters to turn against him,
showed people that artificial
intelligence was fallible.

UNA
Korra, listen to me. Yes, I paid
for Alvarez to run. But I swear to
you, I had nothing to do with the
attack. It hurt me too! I could
never.

Korra guffaws sardonically.

 91.

KORRA
And Im just supposed to take your
word for it? You just confessed to
election fraud.

UNA
Korra, think about this. We can
still help each other

Una holds up her hands in surrender, takes another step back.

KORRA
Were way past that

Korras hand whips up. Una gasps and recoils, trying to shield
herself from the SHOT. It never comes. She opens her eye
cautiously, looking down at Korras open palm. A holographic
document reading ARREST WARRANT appears.

KORRA
Youre lucky I dont just take
people at their word.

Una looks at the hologram, confusion overtaking alarm.

KORRA
Jose checked with courts. You were
wrong about there being no arrest
warrants issued before the Greeley
Square attacks. Golden Rod
requested one for Wesley and any
collaborators in his vicinity.

Una shakes her head in disbelief.

UNA
Golden Rod contacted me earlier
tonight. Said he was concerned
about the possibility of an attack
on his rally. He wanted my
approval to transfer more forces
to the area and

It dawns on Una whats happening.

UNA
away from the rest of the city

KORRA
Christos.

Unas face falls.

 92.

UNA
He played us. (beat) Unmute!

She turns and yells over the catwalk.

UNA
Disable all police robots!

Blinking bold text superimposes over the huge holoscreen:

SYSTEM SHUTDOWN INITIATED.

EXT. UNION SQUARE NIGHT

The POLICE ROBOTS on the perimeter lower to the ground in

unison. The crowd murmurs in confusion. ZEARRRRRR! Theres an
ominous sound of electronics powering down. Their holographic
faces flicker and disappear, leaving headless hulks of metal
standing like sentinels.

On the stage, Golden Rod stops in the middle of his address

and stares.

EXT. WAVE GENERATOR NIGHT

Pembroke shakes his head.

PEMBROKE
Im sorry detective, I wish I
could be more helpful. I just
didnt have access to that kind of
data. Nobody did, except for
Wesley and Gaspar.

JOSE
If you say so. Can I ask you, Mr.
Pembroke, why did you leave Union
Squared when Mr. Wu took over?

PEMBROKE
Sure. I mean, look, Wesley was a
brilliant guy, no doubt. Maybe not
as brilliant as Gaspar, but much
nicer. I had high hopes for him as
CEO. But a few months after he
took over, he started changing
things. Taking the Nic in a
different direction. In the end, I
just didnt agree with his vision

JOSE
What vision was that?
 93.

INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS NIGHT

Una shouts again at the officers below her.

UNA
The rest of you, unplug your
equipment and destroy it. Now!

Slowly, one by one, they begin to pull off their headsets and
look at one another. Is she serious? One male officer pipes
up.

OFFICER
Excuse me, maam?

UNA
You heard me! Take your baton and
destroy your equipment, officer!
Golden Rods got access to
everything in this building!

On cue, Golden Rods face appears on all of their visors in

unison. Some officers drop their helmets in shock.

GOLDEN ROD
Your honor, I urge you to
reconsider. The consequences of
this action will be

UNA
Now!

GOLDEN ROD
Unpredictable.

The male officer spikes his helmet on the ground. The visor
shatters and the picture goes dark.

All around him, the other officers follow suit: SPIKING their
helmets, SMASHING their batons into their bikes, RIPPING
panels out of the wall. Tiny bolts of electricity CRACKLE and
POP, circuit board fragments FLY everywhere -- a gleeful
symphony of electronic destruction!

Una takes off her high heel and THWACKS the shit out of a
small glowing panel on the railing. She turns to Korra, eyes
wide with panic.

KORRA
Dont just stand there, Morales!
Do something!

Korra opens her mouth but then theres a BEEPING from the
giant holoscreen.
 94.

Red text appears: VIOLENCE IMMINENT IN SECTOR 29 The

holoscreen switches views, ZOOMS-IN on

EXT. WAVE GENERATOR NIGHT

A laughing drunk girl nearly falls over the outer balcony

railing, into the waters below.

Jose and Pembroke instinctively lurch forward to catch her,

helping her up and sending her on her way.

The two men turn back to one another.

PEMBROKE
Im sorry, where were we? Oh yes,
Wesleys vision. He wanted to
medicalize the Nic. Add some kind
of built-in mental health
features. But I just dont believe
in that pharmaceutical stuff

EXT. BUTTERMILK CHANNEL NIGHT

KA-RAACK-OOOM! The Garbage Barge COLLIDES with the legs of the

Wave Generator, causing the entire offshore platform to groan
and tip.

EXT. WAVE GENERATOR NIGHT

Pembroke is thrown to the floor. Jose and several others

tumble OVER the outer balcony!

A blonde waitress moves worriedly through the crowd. Pembroke

groans below her on the floor. She crouches beside him.

WAITRESS
Mr. Pembroke, are you alright?

He coughs and nods. The waitress looks on with concern as he

pushes himself up by his palms.

WAITRESS
Mr. Pembroke, I

At once, Pembroke spasms and falls back to the ground. The

waitress flickers and vanishes, along with several other
holograms.

The FENCERS fan out throughout the paralyzed partygoers. Each

of the six killers wields a different piece of junk: a golf
club, a board full of nails, a metal post, etc.
 95.

The Fencer with the golf club steps over Pembrokes prone
form.

FENCER
Adios, Oliver.

He raises his golf club and...

INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS NIGHT

Una and Korra watch a BIRDS EYE VIEW of the now-smoking

generator on the giant holoscreen. Una shouts hysterically.

UNA
All human officers on duty report
to the Wave Generator! Now!

The officers on the ground stop smashing things and instead

begin flying madly around, some even COLLIDING in mid-air! Una
turns back to Korra, frantic.

UNA
Morales, I need you to

Too late, shes already flown the coop.

EXT. WAVE GENERATOR NIGHT

The Fencer over Pembroke raises his club an inch higher, about
to swing, WHEN

Someone WHISTLES offscreen. WHUMP! Jose leaps back over the

railing and KICKS the Fencer in the chest.

The two trade blows, the Fencer swinging his club as Jose
ducks, dodges, and eventually grabs a fallen metal party tray,
using it as a shield.

EXT. SKY OVER THE WAVE GENERATOR

Korra flies toward the structure. A fire has broken out near
the bottom, a thick plume of smoke rising above and obscuring
the top of the platform. Uh-oh.

Korra puts her hand to her hear.

KORRA
Villalobos? Villalobos? Do you
copy?

The smoke clears for a moment and Korra spots them: Jose
fighting the Fencer in melee combat! She whips her BOLT PISTOL
up.
 96.

KORRAs POV Text reads: RISK TO VILLALOBOS: 73% -

UNACCEPTABLE

KORRA
Fuck!

She turns her gun instead to the other Fencers fanning out
throughout the party, smashing the heads of the partygoers.
She fires at them: ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

EXT. WAVE GENERATOR

One of Korras bolt hits a Fencer near the center turbine

shaft, sending him FLYING down the shoot. WHOOSH! Flames shoot
up from it.

The other Fencers look back at her hovering the sky and duck
behind the railings and party tables.

EXT. SKY OVER THE WAVE GENERATOR

Frustrated, Korra holsters her gun and nods her head. The ring
of white light traces down her body and she plummets like a
stone into the ocean.

EXT. WAVE GENERATOR

Jose manages to PUNCH his Fencer to the ground, but another

white-suit whacks out his legs with a wooden plank, sending
him down.

The Fencer with the club rises and begins SMASHING his weapon
down on Pembrokes skull. One, two, yep -- Pembrokes dead
now, blood staining the Fencers dirtied white bodysuit.

He and the other Fencer converge on Jose now, beginning to

pummel him with their weapons until

KORRA
STOP!

Korra stands across from them on the platform, gun held aloft,
her face glistening with sweat and smoke.

KORRA
Drop your weapons and surrender
now. This is your last chance.

The two Fencers look at each other, then one raises his plank
to beat Jose when the ENTIRE STRUCTURE shudders again and
TILTS, sending them all sliding toward the turbine shaft.
 97.

Korra grabs onto a railing, dangling over the water now. She
sees Jose up higher, holding tight to a tablecloth with one
hand. He punches a dangling Fencer with his free hand, sending
the white suit into the shaft with a fiery WOOSH!

But then Joses tablecloth RIPS and he goes falling past

Korra! Oh shit!

KORRA
Jose!

At the last second, Korra sticks out her Bolt Pistol and Jose
grabs it.

Now the two of them are dangling over the shaft. But
somethings not right: the turbines slow and glow brighter. A
whirring sound gets louder, like a bomb...

KORRA
Oh shit.

JOSE
Im going to let go.

KORRA
Dont! We got this.

Korra grits her teeth and moves Jose closer to the platform
wall.

A small EXPLOSION below causes both of them to tremble and

nearly lose their balance, but she gets him there and they
scramble over the side just in time.

They dive over into the water just as an ENORMOUS EXPLOSION

blasts the bottom of the wave generator apart.

EXT. SKY OVER LOWER MANHATTAN NIGHT

All the lights wink off, then so too does all of LOWER
MANHATTAN! The Statue of Liberty.

The generator platform burns like a lone torch in the

darkness.

INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS NIGHT

Una and the cops plunge into darkness, then theres a whir and
the lights return as the emergency generators kick in.

UNA
What the fuck is happening?
 98.

A male officer below her pulls up some holographic charts.

OFFICER
The generator is offline. We lost
power to all of Lower Manhattan.
Were approaching the scene now.

EXT. BUTTERMILK CHANNEL NIGHT

Korra manages to grab Jose and pull his head out of the water,
both of them sputtering.

KORRA
You alright?

Jose manages to raise a thumbs-up.

Something mechanical ROARS above them then a spotlight appears

over them in the dark. A police hovercraft! A voice booms.

POLICE HOVERCRAFT VOICE

Ladder coming down now.

EXT. BUTTERMILK CHANNEL UNDERWATER

They Fencers swim underwater toward a great black landmass.

ALVAREZ (V.O.)(PRE-LAP)
The bloodshed stops now!

EXT. STATEN ISLAND FERRY LANDING DAY

ALVAREZ stands at a podium on the edge of the landing,

surrounded by a few aids, a dozen REPORTER ORBS above
extending microphones.

An angry crowd jostles in front, holding signs like

ARTIFICIAL STUPIDITY. In the distance, smoke rises into the
sky from still-burning carcass of the generator.

ALVAREZ (CONTD)
The police and Mayor Una have
failed us for the last time. This
blood is on their hands. Them and
all the people who put A.I.s
before human lives.

The crowd BOOS. Alvarez waits, waving to calm them down.

 99.

ALVAREZ
Earlier today, I requested the
Department of Homeland Security
take over policing duties for the
city of New York until these
terrorists are caught or killed.
Im pleased to welcome them now.

Alvarez gestures to his right, where a man in a black military

uniform nods sagely beside him. The crowd applauds.

ALVAREZ
(crescendoing)
This city was built by humans, for
humans. And tomorrow, we vote to
take it back!

The crowd roars in agreement. They break out in a chant:

HUMAN LIVES MATTER! HUMAN LIVES MATTER!

INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS (MANHATTAN) - DAY

Hundreds of Homeland Security robots and human officers zoom

around. Jose walks through, glancing from side to side,
clearly lost. He grabs a passing robot -- a huge silver and
black one.

JOSE
Excuse me. Im here for Lieutenant
Korra Morales.

The menacing robot glares at him with glowing blue eyes. It

swivels its arm noisily, pointing upward.

JOSE
Gracias.

INT. POLICE HEADQUARTERS CONFERENCE ROOM DAY

Korra stands facing a window, staring out at the overcast sky.

The smooth voice of Golden Rod can be heard offscreen.

GOLDEN ROD (O.S.)

I dont see how continuing this
argument is productive to the
investigation.

UNA (O.S.)
Neither was ratting me out to the
FBI but you had no problem with
that, did you?

Korra sighs and shakes her head.

 100.

GOLDEN ROD (O.S.)

Detective Villalobos. Welcome.

Korra turns. On the other side of the room, Jose enters

through a sliding glass door. He nods at her.

Between them is a long conference table: Mayor Una sits at the

far end, Golden Rod stands at the opposite. Jose crosses to
shake Mayor Unas hand. She stands to greet him.

JOSE
Your honor.

He walks to Golden Rod and reflexively sticks his hand out.

JOSE
Sir oh, sorry.

He sees the flickering body and quickly retracts it. Golden

Rod smiles.

GOLDEN ROD
No troubles, detective. Please
have a seat.

Jose sits between them.

UNA
I was just discussing the fine
leadership of our police chief
here. Please, enlighten us Rod,
exactly why was Wesley Wu left
defenseless in Greeley Square on
the day of his murder?

GOLDEN ROD
As Ive already explained, youre
conflating too entirely separate
and unrelated incidents. Mr. Wu
had been the subject of an ongoing
industrial espionage
investigation. An arrest warrant
was issued for him on solid
evidentiary grounds, but because
of Mr. Wus untimely death, it was
never served.

KORRA
Industrial espionage? What was he
accused of stealing?

GOLDEN ROD
An anonymous source provided a tip
that Mr.
(MORE)
 101.

GOLDEN ROD (CONTD)

Wu had misappropriated a local
medical providers proprietary
technology for a competing
product.

UNA
And yet, you didnt feel the need
to fill me in on any of this at
any point, did you? Too busy
ratting me out to the press and
the feds!

Golden Rod blinks.

GOLDEN ROD
Mr. Wu was one of your primary
political donors, your honor. It
was through my investigation of
him that I uncovered evidence of
your illegal funding of the
Alvarez campaign, which I
dutifully reported to the proper
federal authorities. I chose not
to inform you of these facts so as
not to interrupt our working
relationship. While its true that
you are my direct supervisor, I
was created to serve the laws of
New York City. The morality of
informing you of all my
interrelated findings was not
clear cut.

Una leans back in her chair, scoffing audibly.

UNA
Oh sure. Not clear cut. But when
you needed my help protecting your
fucking rally with all of the
citys police robots, it was clear
as fucking day! A decision, which,
by the way, left us completely
unprepared for the second attack.

GOLDEN ROD
My crime prediction algorithms
indicated that a mass gathering
was a likely target of the
attackers.
(MORE)
 102.

GOLDEN ROD (CONTD)

It was you who decided to shut
down the entire fleet of police
robots and destroy the majority of
my instant response capabilities
under the mistaken assumption I
was involved with the first
attack. It was technically
impossible for me to override your
decision.

Unas eyes go wide. She stands and puts her hands on the
table, leaning forward and shouting.

UNA
Impossible? Ill tell you whats
impossible you bodiless piece of
sh

Korra interjects, shouting as she waves her arms.

KORRA
Alright, alright, thats enough!
Stop it. Both of you. We cant
have you two fighting and
backstabbing each other anymore.
The city needs you to do your
jobs. (beat) Now, is there
anything else youre keeping from
us and each other?

Una glares at Korra.

UNA
I dont know, Lieutenant. You tell
me. You and the detective here
seem to have spent far more time
digging up personal dirt on us
than you have on finding a way to
stop the attackers.

Korra stares at Una, mouth open, incensed. Shes about to

respond when Jose cuts in.

JOSE
Yeah, and maybe if you two hadnt
been so busy undermining each
other we would have had more solid
intel to go on to begin with. But
you know what my mother always
said: A lo hecho, pecho. [Whats
done is done]

Everyone falls silent at this. Jose sighs and looks at Korra.

She nods back, grateful.
 103.

JOSE
So, what do we have now?

UNA
(scornful)
Dick shit.

KORRA
D.H.S. is sharing information on a
need to know basis, so theyre
not telling us anything.

JOSE
Alright, so we go to work with
what we have. The first attack. Is
there anything that you guys could
have overlooked?

Korra looks over at Una, who glances across the table at

Golden Rod. The hologram AI chief glances back, calmly.

GOLDEN ROD
I am intuiting you wish me to take
an action, but Im uncertain which
one. Could you please specify?

UNA
(irritated)
The security footage you leaked to
the press from the subway. Play
it!

GOLDEN ROD
As you command, Miz Mayor.

A holoscreen appears hovering above the center of the

conference table: a 3D-view of inside the Greeley Square
subway platform. We see the Fencers stepping into the light
with their AK-47s and walking up the stairs.

JOSE
Wait.

The hologram freezes.

JOSE
Can you rewind that?

The hologram rewinds and stops just as the first Fencers

emerge from the darkness.

JOSE
Can you zoom in? The one standing
up.
 104.

The hologram zooms in on the Fencer standing from a crouch.

Korra looks at Jose curiously.

KORRA
Weird, why is that guy getting up
from the floor?

JOSE
Exactly.

Jose looks at Golden Rods flickering face.

JOSE
Can you pull up the sewer lines?

GOLDEN ROD
Of course.

The playback hologram shimmers adds a 3D-blueprint of the

subway system and sewer lines below. Sure enough, right below
the Fencer, illuminated blue: a manhole leading into the
sewer.

KORRA
Theyre using the sewer system.

UNA
Mierda! [Holy shit]

JOSE
(to Golden Rod)
I dont suppose you have any
cameras down there?

The three humans look to Golden Rod. He blinks.

GOLDEN ROD
Unfortunately not. Only
temperature and chemical sensors.
Audiovisual data is not necessary
for regulating the flow of sewage.

UNA
We need to get someone down there
now.

GOLDEN ROD
Im alerting DHS as we speak.

JOSE
Probably wont do much good. They
didnt leave anything useful at
the crime scene. Sewer would have
washed away most evidence by now.
 105.

UNA
God damn these motherfuckers!

KORRA
(to Una)
Who has access to these sewers?

UNA
Nobody! Theyre all automated now.
The last human sanitation
engineers retired or died years
ago.

Korra stares at the hologram, fascinated.

KORRA
Whoever they are, they sure know
New York inside and out.

JOSE
Or they know someone who does.

EXT. SUBMARINEWAY TUNNEL UNDERGROUND DAY

Light floods the darkened tunnel, revealing its full of

water. A muffled HORN and then the train speeds into view: all
rusted green metal, speckled with moss and sea growths. Like a
steam-age submarine.

INT. SUBMARINEWAY CAR DAY TRAVELING

Korra sits in an almost entirely empty car, thinking. Black

water rushes past in the window behind her, the cars light
occasionally illuminating a fish or speck of plankton. Above
her on the placards, holographic ads flicker and change.

JOSE
(O.S.)
You ever been on the submarineway?

Korra looks across at Jose, seated on the opposite row of

seats, a tattered leather SHOULDER BAG by his side. She shakes
her head.

KORRA
Nah, I didnt even know they had
any trains still running.

JOSE
(nodding)
Yeah, only a few nowadays for the
people who cant afford Nics.
(MORE)
 106.

JOSE (CONTD)
Its still one of my favorite
parts of the city though. More so
now you can finally get a fucking
seat!

KORRA
Where do you take it?

JOSE
Youre about to find out.

Overhead, the loudspeaker blares.

TRAIN ANNOUNCER
Governors Island. Governors
Island. Now approaching Governors
Island.

Korras eyes widen with surprise. She leans forward.

KORRA
The hermit colony? I thought it
was off limits to everyone but the
military.

Jose shakes his head and smiles.

JOSE
Not quite. But like I told you
earlier, if you come with me on
this errand, you gotta keep your
mouth shut about what you see.

KORRA
(suspiciously)
Whats going on, Jose? You seem to
know an awful lot about the parts
of the city the attackers were
using. Now youre swearing me to
secrecy. If I didnt know any
better...

JOSE
Its not like that.

KORRA
Then what is it?

Jose shakes his head, reluctant to get into it.

JOSE
You dont have anything you keep
to yourself, Morales?
 107.

KORRA
What? Oh uh yeah, sure. But
nothing that would affect my job
or the safety of the city.

Joses eyebrows narrow.

JOSE
You sure about that? You were at
Terreras a long time last night.

KORRA
So?

Korra stares back at him. He winks and shrugs, waiting her

out. She grits her teeth, growing angry. She leans forward as
she belts it out.

KORRA
You got something to say
Villalobos? Why dont you come out
and say it!

Jose chuckles and shakes his head.

JOSE
You got me all wrong, chica. I
dont care what nobody does, as
long as theyre not hurting anyone
else. Im just saying, everyones
got a secret, something they wanna
keep from the world. The only
question how far theyre willing
to go to keep it.

Korra glares at him.

KORRA
Whats your secret then?

Jose smirks and stands up, gripping the overhead rail.

JOSE
Youre about to find out.

The train RATTLES as it rounds a bend. Above them, where they

cant see, a placard ad changes. Displays DOCTOR RAMONs
smiling face beside a giant tooth covered with electrical
wiring. Feeling anxious? Call Doctor Ramon: HOLOTHERAPY -
DREAM THERAPY EMOTION IMPLANTS.
 108.

EXT. GOVERNORS ISLAND DAY

The rusty submarineway car blasts out of the water, rising up

on an elevated track over crumbling brick structures in lush
jungle. The train stops in front of a castle turret.

A door hisses open and Korra and Jose step out onto a concrete
platform. Two black Homeland Security Robots step up to greet
them.

HOMESEC ROBOT ONE

Please disable your Nics.

Jose looks at Korra, nods reassuringly. They both blink and

white light courses down their bodies. Blue laser lights sweep
out of the robots heads, scanning them up and down.

One robot takes Joses bag from him. Opens it. Peers inside.
Rummages through a small stack of hardcover books. Hands it
back.

HOMESEC ROBOT ONE

You may proceed.

JOSE
Thanks.

Jose leads Korra forward into the jungle. A weird bird

SCREECHES loudly overhead.

EXT. RUINED CASTLE COURTYARD DAY

A young BLACK BOY (17) in an oversized, tattered NEW YORK

KNICKS jersey pump fakes with a basketball, past his teen
opponent. For the layup! SWOOSH! Through the netless hoop.

OLD BLACK WOMAN (O.S)

Thats it! Thats it Jamal!

Jama nods and waves sheepishly and runs back to his side.

Across the courtyard, the OLD BLACK WOMAN (late 60s) watches
in a wheelchair.

OLD BLACK WOMAN

Come on now, dont let up! Strong
defense.

JOSE (O.S.)
Vera!

The Old Black Woman looks over her shoulder Jose and Korra
walking out of the jungle toward her. Jose beams.
 109.

Bends down to hug her.

VERA
Papi!

He pulls away and smiles at her.

JOSE
Vera, this is Korra Morales.
Morales, Vera Bloom.

They shake hands slowly. Vera stares intently at Korra.

VERA
You a cop too?

KORRA
(eyeing Jose)
Yeah, howd you guess.

Vera laughs.

VERA
Thats the only friends Jose has,
cops and crooks. (to Korra) He
tell you how we met?

Korra shakes her head.

JOSE
Back in the day, Vera was one of
the most successful thieves in the
city. Jewelry, diamonds, even
copper wire. If it wasnt bolted
down, it was hers.

Veras eyes beam with pride.

JOSE
She was also my best informant.
Shes the one who tipped me and
Lee off about the hit on Gaspar,
saved his life. As part of her
reward, the government lets her
see one visitor: me.

VERA
And this foo been bothering me
ever since. Speaking of which, you
bring it?

Jose nods. Pulls one of the books out of his bag. Flips
through to a page of all black, as if CENSORED. He speaks to
it.
 110.

JOSE
Activate.

The black spot instantly liquifies, reverting to shiny ink.

Vera eyes it hungrily, grabs fistful of the black stuff and
rubs it into her skin.

VERA
(sighing)
Gracias chacho.

Jose observes Korras puzzled look.

JOSE
Steroid cream for Veras
arthritis. Outlawed on the island
because it contains nanobots.

KORRA
(aghast)
They wont even let you have
access to medical technology? Why
do you stay then? Why does anybody
stay?

VERA
This is our home sweetheart. Where
else would we go? Most of us dont
got a dollar to our names.
Besides, even if we did, I
wouldnt go back to the city. Last
time I was there, it freaked me
the fuck out

EXT. BROADWAY (MIDTOWN MANHATTAN) DAY (FLASHBACK)

A wide-angle view of the crowded sky showing people flying and

hovering in place, talking to glowing holograms. The holograms
begin to vanish one by one.

VERA (V.O.)(CONTD)
Watching all those people wearing
their Nics, talking to their
invisible friends. It was like
being trapped in a loony bin.

We spiral down to a younger VERA on the ground. From her POV,

the city is dark, the people are floating in the sky wearing
all gray, talking to no one.
 111.

INT. RUINED CASTLE (GOVERNORS ISLAND) COURTYARD DAY

VERA
As pretty as I am, I doubt Jose
brought you here just to look. So
what do you need, mm?

KORRA
Its kind of a long story

VERA
Ive heard longer.

LATER

Dusk now. Jose and Korra sit in plastic chairs beside Korra in
the courtyard. light from a nearby bonfire flickering.

VERA
The tunnels, huh? Been a long time
since I been down there. Long
time. (beat) Used to be a whole
group of homeless lived down
there. I did for a time. Sod
every kind of deadbeat drifter you
could imagine you can imagine.
Drug dealers, pedophiles, rat
trappers.

Her eyes grow distant as she reminisces.

VERA
There was even a doctor who used
to come down and try out
experiments on people. But then
the floods happened, so we all
took off and came here. Lotta
folks didnt even make it out
alive.

JOSE
Vera, do you still have access to
the tunnels from here?

VERA
(slowly)
Who wants to know, Jose? You? Or
the NYPD?

Veras eyes shift from Jose to Korra. The cops look at each
other, guilty as charged. Korra speaks up.

KORRA
Were off-duty.
(MORE)
 112.

KORRA (CONTD)
And the guys were looking for,
they arent just thieves or drug
dealerstheyre terrorists.
Theyve killed innocent people,
and theyre not going to stop
unless we find them. Please, Vera,
if know you something. Anything at
all.

VERA
Oh I know sumpin alright

INT. RUINED CASTLE HOLDING CELL DUSK

Armed with a woodfire torch, a BLACK MAN leads JOSE, KORRA,

and VERA in wheelchair into a dark subterranean cell. The
sound of water droplets echoing between their words.

VERA
We saw the whole thing from the
tower. And as soon as we saw em
get away, I says to Marco, they a
commin here, get down to the
tunnels and make sure you get em
before the robots do.

The four travelers come upon another muscular TATTOOED MAN

standing over a squat bleeding figure tied to a chair.

VERA
They was fast, though. Most of em
got through the tunnels before we
could get to em. But not all of
em.

As they get closer, the torchlight illuminates the captives

white FENCING uniform. And his face! A grizzled white man.
Blood runs from his temple. He opens his eyes and glares up at
them them.

Joses eyes widen with the shock of recognition. He takes a

step back.

JOSE
Hank!

KORRA
What? You know him?

Jose looks at the captive Hank, fascinated, then quickly to

Korra, eyes wild, unsteady.
 113.

JOSE
(disbelieving)
Hes a cop. Former cop, I mean. He
was on the force with me. Works at
the gym now...with Lee.

Korra raises her eyebrows at this.

KORRA
Wow. Are you saying...?

But Jose doesnt go therenot yet. He leans forward, his face

close to Hanks, almost pleading.

JOSE
Why are you doing this, hombr?
You used to be a good guy. Protect
and servewhat happened to that?

Hank glowers silently. Jose bites his lip. Sighs. Leans in

closer.

JOSE
Tell me the truth, Hank. Tell me,
does Lee know about this?

Hank betrays nothing. Jose grits his teeth, grabs Hanks chair
by the arms, and promptly goes berserk, picking it up and
slamming it on the ground repeatedly.

JOSE
Tell me! Tell me! Tell me, Hank!
Does Lee know about this? Tell me!

Korra dives forward and manages to wrestle Jose away, but not
before the chair legs collapse, leaving Hank to scrabble out
of his bonds and stand.

Veras two BIG GOONS, move to intercept Hank, but before they
can, he puts his hand to his ear.

Theres a high-pitched WHINING sound and everyone else in the

cell recoils, hands flying to their ears as they double over
in pain. Hank yells over the whine to Jose.

HANK
Youre on the wrong side of this,
Villalobos! Golden Rod, the robot
policetheyre not here to protect
any of us: theyre protecting
their owna future without humans!
We cant let that happen, no
matter what.

The whining grows louder, louDER, LOUDER! Until Hanks head

EXPLODES in a red mist.
 114.

His body falls like a sack of potatoes. Something rattles to

the ground. Korra picks it up. A bloody tooth. On it, a blue
microchip blinks on and off.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE DUSK

Gaspar leans against his window, hands pressed to the glass,

almost caressing the city below. He closes his eyes. Smiles. A
loud BEEP interrupts him.

PHOEBE (V.O.)
Mr. Terrera, I have an invitation
for you from Union Squared
Incorporated.

Gaspar opens his eyes.

GASPAR
Ill take it, Phoebe.

A shimmering scroll appears in the air beside him. Flowery

text reads: Celebrate the Life of Wesley Wu. Memorial Service
Tonight at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Gaspar stares at the invitation sadly. Suddenly, his eyes

widen. A thought. He makes a crumpling motion and the scroll
disappears.

He rushes to his coffee table. Raises Wesleys red cube out of

it. Beside it, he pulls up a miniature hologram floor plan of
the METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART (THE MET). Begins ZOOMING-IN.
To the American Wing, further still, to Wesleys sculpture.
The placard in front of it reads Sun Vow.

Gaspar rotates the holocube, finds a tiny sun symbol on one

face. Presses and holds it. The cube glows and transforms into
a life-sized hologram of Wesley.

WESLEY
Hello Gaspar. Its good to talk to
you again.

EXT. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART/THE MET (MANHATTAN) NIGHT

The stone building rises imposingly over Fifth Avenue. The

streets crowded with hovercars and people milling around in
black formal wear. Imposing HOMELAND SECURITY ROBOTS guard the
entrance with huge machine guns.
 115.

INT. THE MET AMERICAN WING NIGHT

A transplanted stone facade overlooks an expansive room dotted

with sculptures. Mourners crowd between them. Una approaches a
tall man in dark suit, back turned.

UNA
Pablo.

Alvarez whirls around, a drink in his hand. He opens his eyes

wide at Una and then smiles broadly.

ALVAREZ
Oh hello there, your honor. Or
should you call me that now? I
guess theres still a couple days.

Una glares at him.

UNA
We need to talk.

He shrugs and sips.

ALVAREZ
Im all yours.

She motions to the side and leads him to a quiet corner off
from the main crowd.

ALVAREZ
Whats up?

UNA
You need to drop out of the race.

ALVAREZ
(spitting out his drink)
Excuse me? Im up by five points.
I know we had an agreement, but
Una come on, this is my time.
Dont worry, Ill make good for
you. Run for Congress, Ill give
you my endorsement

UNA
Pablo, shut up. Listen to me
(whispering closely) the FBI knows
about the money.

He opens his eyes wide.

 116.

ALVAREZ
What? I thought you said it was
untraceable. Off-planet accounts
and so on

UNA
Keep your voice down! I thought so
too, but theyre onto us. You need
to drop out otherwise were both
going to jail.

Alvarez opens his mouth but hesitates. Responds instead

ALVAREZ
No. Im not doing it. If they want
to come after me, so be it. Ive
got a good lawyer. And theyre not
stupid enough to indict the
incumbent mayor of New York at a
time like this. If you want to
drop out, go ahead, but dont take
me down with you!

UNA
Pablo, dont be an idiot

The voice of Golden Rod chimes in over her earphone.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Urgent. Golden Rod wishes to
connect with you.

Una holds up her finger one second and turns away from
Alvarez.

UNA
(into her earphone)
Whats up?

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Your honor, crime projection
indicates an imminent attack in
your vicinity. You and all other
guests must evacuate the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
immediately.

UNA
(incensed)
Oh, come on Rod. Not this shit
again! Homeland Security has more
robots surrounding this place than
the fucking White House.
 117.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Im not exaggerating, your honor.
The probability of an imminent
attack is in excess of 94.9
percent.

CLOSE on a white gloved hand SMASHING a glass case holding

Medieval weaponry. An alarm SOUNDS overhead followed by a
sultry female voice.

SULTRY FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)

Security breach. Targeted lockdown
initiated.

Metal doors SLAM SHUT around the perimeter of the room,

trapping the memorial-goers, who erupt in screams. A voice
calls out.

LEE
(offscreen)
Miz Mayor! This way!

Both Una and Alvarez swivel around at this to the source of

the voice. A figure in all-white steps out of a shadowy
hallway on the opposite side of the room holding aloft a
spear: LEE.

She hurls the spear with all her might across the room at Una,
but Alvarez dives in front and catches it square in the chest.
THWACK! His bloody body slumps to the ground.

UNA
(screaming)
No!

Lee curses below her breath and holds her finger to hear ear.
All the human guests in the room tumble to the ground like rag
dolls.

Several of the STATUES in the room flicker and disappear. In

their places stand FENCERS, who hop down and begin smashing
museum cases and retrieving ancient weaponry: samurai swords,
medieval pikes, dirks, etc.

Lee grabs a sword off the wall and approaches Una menacingly.
She uses her foot to roll Unas limp body onto her back, so
theyre staring at each other Unas eyes wide with fear.

LEE
Do you remember what you said when
you laid all of us human cops off,
Una? This is for the safety of
all New Yorkers. Does this look
like safety to you?
 118.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

The Wesley hologram paces around Gaspar as though alive.

WESLEY
After you left the company, I
started a top secret project to
build a new Nic. Your own
challenges with addiction and
depression inspired me, Gaspar.
Mental illness affects hundreds of
millions of people, and current
treatments range from sporadically
effective to dangerous. What if we
could design a Nic that would
automatically monitor your brain
function and fix errors instantly,
without the need for therapists or
drugs?

Gaspars elevator begins rising in the background. He doesnt

notice.

WESLEY
I consulted numerous experts
including your doctor, Hector
Ramon, creator of the emotion
implant. I thought he could help
with the project. I was sorrily
mistaken. Hes dangerous Gaspar,
very dangerous. You need to get
away from him.

A figure steps out of the elevator in the dark.

INT. THE MET AMERICAN WING NIGHT

Lee holds Unas chin tightly, sword in hand, her eyes furious
with years of pent-up rage.

LEE
For nearly five centuries, human
police officers protected and
served this city, died for this
city, and you turned your back on
us as soon as you had the chance.
And for what? To save money? No, I
dont think so...

Lee traces Unas blouse hungrily with the tip of the blade.

LEE
I know you, Una. I used to work
for you, after all.
(MORE)
 119.

LEE (CONTD)
And someone like you, no spotlight
is ever big enough. You didnt
just want to be Mayor of New York.
You wanted to go down in history.
So you sold us all out to the
robots.

Lee leans closer, whispering now.

LEE
Now look at you. Utterly helpless
while your city burns. Youll go
down in history, alright.

Una looks terrified as Lee raises the blade, ready to slice,

when, another FENCER jump-kicks the sword out of Lees hand.
It clatters to the ground as she staggers backward in
surprise. A TRAITOR???

The rest of the fencers turn and charge the TRAITOR, who grabs
Lee fallen sword, barely managing to deflect the flurry of
blade points. But the TRAITOR quickly regains the upper hand,
felling bodies left and right.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

WESLEY
Doctor Ramon nothing more than a
fraud and a charlatan. Most of his
treatments -- holotherapy, dream
replay -- are complete
pseudoscience. They achieve no
results. And his new emotion
implant is actively dangerous. It
causes the Nic to shut down in
rare cases.

Gaspar gasps at this, suddenly understanding whats happened.

GASPAR
What, how?

The Wesley hologram turns and stares at him.

WESLEY
It emits a high-frequency signal
thats imperceptible to humans.
However, if improperly adjusted,
it will interfere with the signal
the Nic uses to organize its
nanobots.
 120.

GASPAR
Wait, you can hear mehow?

The Wesley hologram smiles.

WESLEY
This is an AI script, Gaspar. Its
modeled after my behavior. (beat)
Listen to me, we dont have much
time. After I discovered Ramons
fraud, I decided then I couldnt
trust anyone. So I built prototype
after prototype of the new Nic,
all on my own. Without you, it was
incredibly difficult. But Im so
close to finishing it now. Take a
look for yourself.

Wesleys hologram shimmers and disappears, leaving an empty,

shining GOLDEN BODYSUIT -- like a headless VITRUVIAN MAN.
Gaspar stands and walks around it, fascinated.

WESLEY (V.O.)
All its missing is one thing: a
safe and reliable way of shutting
it off. Will you help me finish
it, Gaspar, my oldest friend?

Gaspar smiles and nods, tears welling in his eyes. His

emotional moment is disrupted by a loud clapping.

Gaspar whirls around and sees DOCTOR RAMON walk into the
light, a small leather bag tucked under his arm.

DOCTOR RAMON
Bravo, bravo. What a moving
speech. Shame hell never give
another one.

GASPAR
What are you doing here? Howd you
get in? (calling out) Phoebe!

Doctor Ramon puts a hand to his ear and Gaspar suddenly

spasms, falling to the ground.

PHOEBE (V.O.)
Yes Gaspar?

DOCTOR RAMON
Gaspar is currently indisposed,
Phoebe. Just a minor psychiatric
episode. Dont worry, I have it
under control.
 121.

PHOEBE (V.O.)
Understood Doctor.

Ramon looms over Gaspar. He pulls a forceps from his bag, the
tongs clutching a BLINKING microchip: the emotion implant.

DOCTOR RAMON
Open wide.

INT. THE MET AMERICAN WING NIGHT

One FENCER leaps on the TRAITORs back, strangling with

NUNCHUCKS! The Traitor struggles, finally flipping the
attacker over onto the ground. The Traitors mask flies off,
revealing: KORRA. She fights on!

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

Gaspar sits in a chair by his coffee table, limbs splayed

out dumbly, head slumped backward, a trail of blood running
from his mouth. Doctor Ramons sighs, peels off his gloves.

DOCTOR RAMON
Im sorry about that, my boy.
Manual surgery can be difficult,
especially without anesthesia. I
dont know about you, but Im
ready for a drink. Perhaps one of
those yellow concoctions youre
always raving about. (to the
ceiling) Calgary margarita please.

The robot arm descends from the ceiling. Hands Ramon the
glass.

DOCTOR RAMON
Thank you. (sipping it) Ahh,
thats better. Very good indeed.
(to Gaspar) Would you like a sip?

He moves the glass in front of Gaspars paralyzed face. No

response. He withdraws it.

DOCTOR RAMON
Very good, Gaspar. Learning some
self-control, I see. I guess your
therapist has had a positive
effect on you.

Ramon sips the drink.

 122.

DOCTOR RAMON
Mm. Well now then, before we part
ways for good--and by part ways, I
mean of course, your own imminent
suicide by emotion implant,
despite my valiant attempt to save
you--Id like to make one note of
correction to Wesleys
recollection of events. You know
better than most, your former
business partner can be quite
duplicitous.

Ramon paces over to the window as he talks.

DOCTOR RAMON
I was more than willing to work
with Wesley, until he turned on
me. Just because the results of my
therapies cant be quantified
doesnt mean they dont truly help
people. Youve been helped by me,
havent you Gaspar?

He turns and looks back at his paralyzed captive, as if

expecting Gaspar to answer.

DOCTOR RAMON
Wesley threatened to file a
malpractice suit against me unless
I stepped away from his new
project and relinquished all
claims to it. But I know what he
was really after: he wanted to use
my ideas without me.

Ramon drains the glass and stares bitterly out the window.

DOCTOR RAMON
I tried to be reasonable. I filed
an anonymous tip to the police
months ago that Wesley had stolen
my intellectual property. And what
did they do about it? Nothing.

He chuckles and paces back over to Gaspar.

DOCTOR RAMON
I suppose I shouldnt have been
surprised. USI built the police
robots. And you boys bought off
city hall ago with your massive
political donations and public
works funding. Nothing but
glorified bribes.
(MORE)
 123.

DOCTOR RAMON (CONTD)

But while you may have Una in your
pocket, you also have your fair
share of enemies...

INT. LEES GYM NIGHT (FLASHBACK)

Lee in the WHITE FENCERs outfit, sans mask, throws a spear at

the target. Practicing.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

Several of my most loyal patients
are former members of the NYPD.

Hank zips the front of his white fencing suit on. He turns and
sees several other beefy fellow ex-cops crowded around a
weight bench, rifling through a gym bag full of AK-47s.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

Officers who gave the best years
of their lives to protect this
city, only to have the mayor
replace them with machines.

Ramon steps onto the training mat. The Fencers crowd around
him as he projects the HOLOGRAPHIC SEWER BLUEPRINTS into the
air.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

They were in a sorry state when
they came to me. Obsolete.
Purposeless. Homeless and addicted
to drugs. It was my therapies, my
care, that saved them. Una and the
city didnt give a damn.

Lee looks at him with complete adoration. Shed follow him

anywhere. He moves toward her and they lock lips.

DOCTOR RAMON (V.O.)

But most important of all was
showing them the true cause of
their ills: your company, Union
Squared Incorporated. The company
whose founders paid to put Mayor
Una in office. The company behind
the Nic, the infernal machine that
gave criminals superpowers and
made robots necessary for police
work. The company that was about
to replace me, a doctor, with an
update. I wasnt about to let your
company drive me out of business,
Gaspar, and neither were they.
 124.

As Ramon and Lee break apart, he pulls open his medical bag,
revealing flickering EMOTION IMPLANT tooth caps inside.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

Ramon sets his glass down. He looks at Gaspars head, reaches

down, and presses Gaspars right eardrum hard.

DOCTOR RAMON
Wesley was right about one thing,
though, I will give him that. If
improperly calibrated, my emotion
implant can shut down any Nics
within range of its signal. From
up here, we should be able to shut
off all the Nics on the island of
Manhattan. Then well see whos
technology is truly dangerous.

A high-pitched whine starts, gets increasingly louDER! The

glass bay window behind them vibrates furiously. Gaspars eyes
grow wider, blood vessels bursting. The margarita glass on the
coffee table SHATTERS into a million pieces.

DOCTOR RAMON
(shouting)
Consider this an experiment,
Gaspar! The greatest experiment of
your life.

The window begins cracking at the corners, then spiderwebs and

SPEESH! explodes into a million fragments. The wind howls
outside.

EXT. UPTOWN MANHATTAN NIGHT

Lines of people are flying in their colorful glowing Nics

outside the skyscraper. They suddenly darken and spasm,
beginning to fall out of the sky

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

Gaspars face is red as a beet, the vein in his forehead

pulsing. About to explode when

WHAM! A blur of blue flies through the open window and slams
Ramon to the ground. JOSE! He leaps to his feet and touches
Gaspar by the ear, turning the signal off.
 125.

EXT. UPTOWN MANHATTAN NIGHT

The falling people are just a few dozen feet off the ground
when their bodies begin flickering with neon colors again.
Their Nics are back on! They freeze in mid-air and lower
themselves to the ground, shocked but relieved.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

Jose leans down to Gaspar, whos blinking rapidly, still

incapacitated.

JOSE
Youre good, amigo.

A SHADOW looms behind Jose. Gaspars eyes widen and his mouth
opens to scream as

RAMON stabs his SCALPEL down. Jose dodges at the last moment,
but not fast enough the blade slices across his arm! They
two old men begin struggling.

INT. THE MET AMERICAN WING NIGHT

Korra defects a lancing axe blow to the head and cuts the
wielder in the stomach. Looks around at the mess of Fencer
bodies shes left on the floor.

Theres a CHUCK-CHUCK sound offscreen and Korra whirls around

to see LEE training a crossbow on her.

LEE
Joses new partner, huh? Youre
clever, Ill give you that. Too
bad we never got to work together,
I bet we wouldve made a great
team.

Lee FIRES the crossbow and it HITS Korra in the leg. She
winces and falls to the ground. Lee walks over to her body.

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

Jose and Ramon are face to face now, their teeth gritted,
sweat pouring down their brows as Jose holds Ramons arms
back, the scalpel blade dangling overhead.
 126.

JOSE
(through gritted teeth)
Dontmake me.

DOCTOR RAMON
Too late.

Ramon tries to LUNGE with the scalpel, but Jose manages to

grab his hand, pivot, and bring the blade swinging down into
Ramons own stomach! SUNK!

The Doctor gasps and falls to his knees. Jose moves to his
side, easing him onto his back.

JOSE
Leave it in! Leave it in.

Police robots zoom in and swarm the room. Doctor Ramon smiles
as blood bubbles from his mouth. He whispers to Jose.

DOCTOR RAMON
I just wanted to help.

INT. THE MET AMERICAN WING NIGHT

Korra crawls across the floor, smearing a trail of blood

behind her. CLACK! CLACK! Korra looks up to see Lees reloaded
the crossbow above her.

LEE
Why are you even here? This city
doesnt give a shit about human
cops anymore.

KORRA
(struggling)
Just...doing...my job...

BOOSH! The ceiling explodes! A POLICE HOVERCRAFT lowers into

the building, spotlights blaring, bolt guns firing! ZAP! ZAP!
ZAP! Police robots zoom around the room.

Korra takes advantage of the chaos to RIP the arrow out of her
leg and STAB it into LEEs foot. Lee howls and drops the
crossbow, grabbing her wounded limb.

Then she looks around her, and, seeing the end, holds her hand
to her ear. The high-pitched whining begins.

KORRA
Lee...dont!

Too late: LEEs head explodes in a red mist, blanketing Korra.

She blinks her eyes in shock. Just then...
 127.

SMOOTH FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)

Jose Villalobos wishes to connect
with you.

Korra waits a moment, wiping off her mouth. Finally, she

sighs.

KORRA
Accept.

INTERCUT WITH

INT. GASPARS PENTHOUSE NIGHT

JOSE
(excitedly)
It worked. Howre you?

KORRA
(breathing heavily)
Alright. Things got complicated
here. Jose, Lee

Korra looks at Lees corpse.

KORRA
She didnt make it.

Joses eyes well with tears. He sighs.

KORRA
Im so sorry.

JOSE
(slowly)
Yeah. Me too.

KORRA
(after a beat)
Hows Gaspar?

Jose turns and sees Gaspar jabbering angrily at a police

robot.

GASPAR
Hes going to be just fine.

Korra smiles.
 128.

EXT. CITY HALL (MANHATTAN) DAY (JANUARY 2088)

People in coats, flickering holograms, and robots stand in

front of the steps to city hall. UNA address the crowd from a
podium.

UNA
We still have a lot of work to do
to make this city safe and equal
for everyone, human and A.I.
alike. And that's why I'm proud to
stand before you today ready to
serve again. No longer as your
mayor but as special technology
advisor to Mayor Golden Rod.

The crowd applauds. GOLDEN RODs humanoid hologram steps up

beside Una, smiling.

Korra watches the ceremony her seat on a park bench across a

grassy lawn behind them. Shes wearing a plainclothes black
bodysuit. A metal sign beside her reads: NIC FREE ZONE.

Someone sits on the bench beside her. She turns. GASPAR in a

trenchcoat. She looks at him with mock disapproval.

GASPAR
What? Am I late?

Korra motions to the crowd, which applauds and begins

dispersing. Gaspar shrugs and leans back.

GASPAR
At least I can say I was here.
(beat) So, tell me, what did I
miss, Lieutenant Morales? Excuse
me. Captain Morales, I should say.

Korra smiles and licks her lips.

KORRA
You want the full version or the
short version?

GASPAR
The short version for now. I have
a company to run, you know?

Korra rolls her eyes at his.

 129.

GASPAR
But I would like the full version
over dinner, if youre up for it,
Captain.

Korra opens her mouth but her earphone buzzes.

SMOOTH FEMALE VOICE (V.O.)

Sean Matthews wishes to connect
with you.

She looks up at Gaspar regretfully.

KORRA
Sorry, I have to take this.

He nods. She stands up and walks away from the bench.

KORRA
Hello?

AGENT MATTHEWS (V.O.)

Hey, dont worry, Im not here to
bust your balls.

KORRA
Thanks, I guess?

AGENT MATTHEWS (V.O.)

Look, we dropped the investigation
into Una. With Alvarez gone, we
dont have any corroborating
testimony. I may have also
misplaced my record of your sex
worker friends identity theft.

KORRA
What do you want, Agent Matthews?

INT. FBI NY FIELD OFFICE (QUEENS) DAY

In a suit now, Matthews stands in front of a huge holoscreen

displaying a massive damaged SPACE STATION over Earth. FBI
agents chatter around him.

AGENT MATTHEWS
Youve handled aerial incidents
above New York, right? How quickly
can you get to Queens?
 130.

EXT. CITY HALL (MANHATTAN) DAY

KORRA
What is this about, agent?

Behind Korra, the remnants of the crowd gasp. She looks over
at Gaspar and sees him stand, shield his eyes, look up into
the sky. She follows his gaze and sees something FLAMING
spiraling down towards them. A meteor?

KORRA
(shouting)
Everyone into the building. Now!

The crowd obeys. Korra runs up the steps of the building just
as the object SMASHES into the park behind her, leaving a
smoldering crater!

Its a piece of glowing metal with the Chinese flag. Gaspar

stands off to the side, looking flabbergasted.

GOLDEN ROD (V.O.)

Human intervention requested.
Human intervention requested.

END