Episode 7 - Denouement

P-roes Spin-Off
Pisay Garnet 2013
Ordinary People. Extraordinary Abilities.
Real People. Unreal Adventure.

Episode 7 - Denouement
Written and directed by Bianca Publico
Co-directed by Marianne Cadiz
Previously, on PG13…

“He—ey, I thought Dave woke you all up.”
“Where’s the adrenaline?”
“The adrenaline wasn’t Andrei’s.”
“Where’s Jethro?” 

Now, PG13 continues.

___________________________

“It’s Jethro,” Stephen said, so quietly that Issa might not have realized he was talking if she hadn’t seen his lips move.

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Marianne was only able to provide the general location of the adrenaline shipping. Both Andrei and Jethro live in Caloocan. Though they’re pretty far from each other, we couldn’t have known that.” Stephen had lowered his voice even more, his eyes darting all round, anticipating Jethro anytime. The smoke had cleared enough for them to see clearly—or at least, as clearly as they could with the dim light.

“You can’t prove that!” Marianne argued.

“No, we can’t,” Bianca said, “But it’s the best explanation we have. We know for a fact that whoever did this knew that a lot of specials would be gathered here, tonight. And that adrenaline makes our abilities go into overdrive. Furthermore, I’ve never been near enough Jethro, eliminating the possibility that I would have read him. Stephen was always assigned to his check-ups.”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “All we lack is motive. We know how he could have done it, but we don’t know why. … and motive is usually the main indicator of the culprit. Looking at it logically, he has a grudge against posthumans, specifically targeting us—I mean, you guys, with the adrenaline.”

“Then, Andrei’s plan…”

“Oh, he had a plan, all right. Jethro just rode along.”

“Maybe that was a lucky coincidence.”

“No, he knew Andrei was coming. Company meeting, remember?”

Bianca asked James and Dave to look for Jethro, and turned back to the discussion on hand. “We don’t know if he has any more plans for us. We have no choice anyway but to sit this one out.” She looked at Pia, Andrei, and Joaqui, the ones who were still suffering from the enhancement. This was one of the many situations that being a posthuman was dangerous.

She looked among the unaffected agents, Gene in particular, who was standing to her right. His eyes were unfocused—he was deep in thought. What would have happened had he drunk more of the adrenaline? Gene’s eyes darted to Joaqui, one of his closer friends. Joaqui had grown more used to the pain, but was still kneeling in agony, holding his temples. What did that feel like?

Gene was very proud to be a posthuman, to be in the Company. Being part of an ultra-secret organization. Trained by a powerless yet high-class instructor who bossed them around like he was more powerful. Mingling with fellow specials and people who knew how to deal with and understand his ability. And, most of all, changing the temperature of the room or anything within ten feet at will. Wasn’t that awesome? Yes, it was.

Until a situation like this came; when your ability turns against you, destroys you from the inside, and risks exposure to the general public. Not only would you be physically damaged, but the Company would also crumble. Gene dug his fingernails into his palms.

Bianca had probably known he’d think that, and Gene was fully aware. She tugged his sleeve firmly, as if to say ‘snap out of it’.

“Hey,” Issa said, struck by an idea. “What would happen if Jethro drank the punch? I’m pretty sure I saw him drinking some.”

“Enhanced waterbreathing? Sounds pointless,” Stephen said.

“Trust me, it isn’t.”

Jethro’s voice came from beside Issa, who jumped as she heard him. Dave had ordered his eyes closed after bidding him to not move his limbs. Jethro was unable to see or move, but able to talk, hear, and breathe.

“What else can you do with waterbreathing aside from… well, breathe water?” Gene asked scathingly.

“Breathe through smoke,” Jethro said conversationally. “There are some sciences involved, as your Agent Llorin here has told me, and yes, it does work.”

“So you can breathe smoke without having to cough out the small particles. Big deal,” Stephen said dismissively, although he was feeling particularly affected because he should have seen through Jethro’s plan first.

Jethro’s eyes flared, and had he been able to move his arms, he would have attacked Stephen right then—not that it would make contact. “See, that’s the reason why I took in the epinephrine!”

The serious moment suddenly crumbled as the agents asked, “The what?”

“Epinephrine is another term for adrenaline.” Dave said.

“Oh.”

Jethro stared at everyone for a few seconds and rolled his eyes. “As I was saying…

“Everyone has always made fun of me. Since grade school, I’ve always been the one the class picks on, the one ridiculed in front of everyone. When I first fell into the school’s pool and did not drown, they started calling me a freak, too.”

“I can imagine,” Gene murmured.

“I finished my schooling without understanding what that incident meant, and well, look at me. I have a beautiful house, a wonderful car, and a steady company. My life changed when Stephen came, in pursuit of my ability.

“He told me I was a special. I was a posthuman, a different breed of human. I always knew I was. He invited me to come with the Company; I saw it as a chance to show those people who had ridiculed me all along that I could do something worthy of respect.”

“Why did you wait six months to join us?” Gene asked.

“I spent six months mulling it over, thinking about how finally joining the Company would go. I was about to make one of the most important decisions of my life, and if it didn’t go well, I’d have to have a back-up plan.

“When I came to you, my expectations were not met. You don’t say it out loud, but I know you all think it. Waterbreathing is pointless. It is of no use out of the water, it is not combative. It can only save the posthuman’s life. It cannot be passed on. Even in the place I thought I would be respected, I was mocked.

“I gave you a chance, but ultimately, you failed. I really hoped I wouldn’t have to resort to using the epinephrine.”

The agents kept their stances firm and their faces straight, but they knew what he meant. He had been with the Company for such a short time, yet they had already dismissed his abilities as useless. He had trained under Stephen as a field agent, but he had no special training because his ability was not combative.

“Isn’t this an overreaction?” Issa asked.

“We really aren’t in the place to say that,” Stephen said quietly, then raised his voice. “But no matter. With you blind and immobile, you can’t do any more.”

Jethro bowed his head, as though in defeat.

Or to hide a cheeky grin.

Bianca knelt down and brushed aside his bangs to touch his forehead, trying to read through any more plans. She stood up wordlessly after a while, and gave the order to bring Jethro to the van.

As Dave and Stephen carried him away the other exhausted agents followed with Issa and Bianca bringing up the rear.

“What did you read?”

“He doesn’t have a plan. He’s relying on chance. The only flaw I can see in the plan is if Dave is knocked out, the hypnosis will stop taking effect and he’ll break free. But that’s what Stephen is for, right? The big wall of snark and muscle.”

Issa chuckled weakly. “But what’s going to happen to him next? We can’t let him continue being an agent…”

Bianca raised her eyebrows. “Really, now? I think he’s still eligible. He’ll be useful for, say, saving posthumans from sinking ships.”

“Oh ho, if ever that happens, I won’t use my powers for a week.”

Bianca smiled. “Game.”

-xxxxx-

Two months later

A soaking wet figure came through the doors of the company. He shook off his dripping green jacket and hung it at the stand, then ran straight for Pardau’s office.

“Dave, why are you so—”

“There’s another posthuman, but she’s in danger,” Dave was struggling to talk and recover his breath at the same time. “The waves are wild and their boat isn’t stable enough. I’d say she’s safe for thirty minutes at most.”

“What do you expect me to do?”

“Call Jethro! This is exactly the situation that Bianca kept him for!”

Jethro had been suspended for almost two months, and was not due to come back for at least four more. But the Company’s highest priority was always the safety of posthumans, and in the given situation, only Jethro’s ability would make it even remotely possible to save the posthuman.

Pardau made a hurried call, and they were extremely lucky to catch Jethro on a rare day-off, and in a good mood. He agreed to go to the spot right away. Dave and Gene were dispatched to assist. Pardau sighed, hoping for the best.

-xxxxx-

A kid with an oversized grayish-brown hoodie made its way up Andrei’s apartment. Before she could touch the doorbell, the door swung open and Andrei, still in his pajamas and clutching a DS in one hand, said ‘no’ and swung the door shut.

Bianca grinned. “Short and simple. People like him make my job easier.”

Andrei had been downgraded to a minor threat, and after being confined for a measly two weeks, he really seemed like all he wanted was Rham’s company party destroyed. And, well, considering that Rham’s company was no longer his company (a new CEO was appointed and its former business head was trying a reserve for one of the big European soccer teams), the Company had no more reason to meddle with Andrei aside from his powers.

Her phone started ringing as she was getting on her bike. Pardau was calling. “What’s going on?”

“Dave was tracking Jenine and apparently she’s on a boat that may or may not be sinking. I called up Jethro to help.”

“Ahh, not good. I like her power.”

“You’re okay with Jethro helping?”

“Yeah, what else did we keep him for. And don’t sound so panicked, Pardau, Dave’s done a lot of rescue missions before.”

-xxxxxx-

As it turned out, the rescue mission ended flawlessly, and Jethro was even able to save the two other people in the boat with Jenine: her neighbours, Bea and her dad. She had been out with them for a short fishing lecture, but the waves were strong and deterred them from their objective.

Gene was pleased to be able to deliver his first briefing, being a little more senior than Jethro. Jenine was happy and curious to come with them to headquarters after three days.

“…and her friend, Bea, may have overheard a little of the sensitive stuff,” Gene said, like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Sorry ‘bout that.”

“Nah, doesn’t really matter,” Bianca said, sitting atop the table, looking nonchalant. “We can take her in if she needs a job. If she’s athletic she can train the younger agents.”

Dave, Gene, and Jethro went out the office after giving their report. Jethro had his back to them, but Gene tapped his shoulder and said, “Good work out there on the field, dude.”

“Yeah! You should totally teach me swimming sometime,” Dave added.

Jethro’s face broke out in a slight smile, looking truly grateful.

#

End of series.

Episode 6 - Paranoia

P-roes Spin-Off
Pisay Garnet 2013
Ordinary People. Extraordinary Abilities.
Real People. Unreal Adventure.

Episode 6 - Paranoia
Written and directed by Bianca Publico
Co-directed by Marianne Cadiz

Previously, on PG13…

“I could say I’m babysitting her—in her five year old form, of course.”
“Wait, how are we supposed to fight and stuff if we’re wearing dresses?” 
“Your tie’s on wrong.”
“—aw, come on, guys, take this seriously!”
“I’ve spotted Andrei, he’s now in here.”

Now, PG13 continues.

___________________________

“Hey backup, you still there?”

“Yes, though Dave is starting to fall asleep,” Olin said into the mic. Stephen checked the clock on the dashboard—10 PM. Dave yawned.

“Rham’s about to start his speech, and after that, Kirby’s invention. You ready?”

“Anytime,” Bianca said, her eyes locked on the flickering lights of the dance.

Dave turned the rearview mirror and directed it at himself. He paused, and looked back at the boys. “Everyone close your eyes.”

Bianca smirked as Dave’s eyes glowed vivid orange, yellow, and magenta.

“You will not fall asleep until 6 AM tomorrow.”

The other agents laughed lightly. Dave shook his head.

“That’s much better.” He turned back to look at them—but Stephen yelled, “Your eyes are still yellow!”

Everyone who could see felt a small pull of energy as they spotted Dave’s eyes—small, but powerful nonetheless. “Oops, sorry. That’ll keep you up until about midnight, I’d say.”

James blinked rapidly, as though a very bright light had been flashed at his eyes. “It’s okay. We’ll actually need it.”

“Yes. Yes you will,” Issa muttered.

-xxxxx-

The lights went out, and a spotlight appeared on stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have everyone’s attention?” Issa stood on the stage confidently, raising her voice so it carried over the tumult.

It slowly subsided as everyone turned to face her. She tried refraining from looking through the crowd to look for Andrei; it was always possible that he knew her from the Company. “Letting him know that they were aware of his presence might make him act quicker,” Marianne had said.

“We are all gathered here to witness the new invention that Ybiernas Industries has brought to light, but first, here are a few words from Mr. Ybiernas himself.”

Light applause shattered the air, and Rham walked out of the backstage grinning sheepishly. “First, I’d like to say that this may not be a few words.” A feeble laugh echoed through the crowd. “You may all be wondering at how quickly I’ve made this company…”

The agents in the crowd turned in surprise, and over Pia and Issa’s headsets, Stephen muttered a few words of dissent.

“It hasn’t been easy. I had to find engineers capable…”

Bianca was steadily growing bored of the speech and paranoid of the surroundings at the same time. She grabbed the mic and muttered into it, “Issa, stay alert. The best time to attack is now, since everyone is distracted. Pia, you too. Ask one of the new agents to track Andrei; he shouldn’t know any of them.”

Pia asked Gene, who was nearest. He nodded and disappeared through the crowd.

Gene soon found Andrei leaning against a pillar, drinking a glass of punch. He stayed at a distance so he could see, but not be seen.

Onstage, Rham was building up suspense and excitement.

“The engineer for this new invention is actually a very lucky find. He is an exceptionally outstanding young man who studied at UP Diliman, with an equally exceptional sense of humor. He has not been working with me for more than a year, yet he came to me with this brilliant idea for an invention that will surely change the lives of many students.” (Pause for dramatic effect, Rham thought, as Issa had taught him. Wow, I should have included a drumroll here.) “I am proud to introduce Mr. Kirby Manuel, who will in turn introduce his invention.”

The audience gave a resounding applause, excitedly anticipating the highlight of the night.

Kirby was up. A bulky box of some sort was beside him, covered in white cloth. With a flourish, he removed it, and the box turned out to be a desk.

“I call this my Studyinator. At face value, it’s an ordinary desk, but this is far from ordinary.” Kirby grinned, proud at finally getting to show his creation to the public. There was a murmur through the crowd about its unusual name.

As he went on to explain the features of the desk’s interactive LCD surface with protective layer (“So even if you spill a glass of water, it won’t short-circuit”), Gene remarked that Andrei wasn’t doing anything yet. Gene himself was captured by the Studyinator; Kirby had engineered it so that it was perfect for the average high school or college student.

“…a web browser, and music player. You can also opt for the additional software, which include, but are not limited to, soft copies of Merriam-Webster dictionary, the Encyclopedia Britannica. Both are ready for installation right to the desk itself. You could say it’s literally a desktop.” The audience laughed.

“You think we can get Kirby to sneak us a couple of those desks?” Pia muttered, her hand over her mouth and ear to talk to backup. “We could sure use those.”

Pia was surprised to hear a yawn over her headset. “He—ey, I thought Dave woke you all up?” Pia checked the time. It was 11 PM.

“Except me,” Bianca said drowsily. “Listen, could you hand over your headset to Marianne?”

Pia trotted through the mob, hating the extremely puffy skirt. Kirby had stepped down from the stage, and was now heartily receiving compliments and questions.

She found Marianne seated at a table, conversing with unfamiliar people, who Pia guessed were old acquaintances. As soon as Marianne spotted her, she excused herself from the table and walked over. Pia removed the headset and handed it over to Marianne. As added security, Kirby had helped Pia and Javi remodel the headset to look like an iPod headset.

Marianne, noticing it only now, smiled slightly. It was so something Javi would do. “Marianne,” Bianca said quietly. “It’s been three hours, the highlight of the show is done, and Andrei’s still lying low…”

“I know,” Marianne hissed back. “Let’s just… hold out. There’s only one hour to go ‘til this thing ends.”

“WHAT?” She heard Stephen yell. “This thing is until midnight?! What is this, a fairytale?”

Bianca laughed. “Interesting. Maybe that’s why so many are until midnight. Kind of unfair, though.” Her voice switched to the kind of tone she used when making a point. “Dominantly, girls are the only ones who actually want a fairytale kind of night. Isn’t that a bit biased?”

“Prom wasn’t so bad,” Stephen said, sounding ready for a discussion. Dave cut in.

“Hey, I had a wonderful prom! I think.”

“The point is,” Marianne said, cutting through James’s laughter. “Just stay put, I’ll tell the other agents that—”

BOOM.

“MARIANNE!”

-xxxxx-

It was a smoke bomb.

The preliminary explosion.

The venue was in chaos—smoke was everywhere, and every few seconds, a fresh burst of light blinded the panicking guests. The chandelier had fallen after the first smoke bomb; Pia had noted a red flash right at the weakest link, and was now trying to find Gene and Andrei.

Issa’s mind was clear. She rushed onstage and grabbed the mic, turning down the volume on her headset to drown out Bianca’s yelling, knowing full well what she had to do.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please calm down and exit in an orderly manner. The security will be leading you in the right direction; there is no immediate danger.”

The crowd swarmed around both doors, some pushing open windows to hop out. Cars were wailing outside and panicked yells were heard, all because of the thick white smoke that was pouring out of the windows.

Issa turned up the volume on her headset and rushed across the floor, keeping an eye out for the other agents and Andrei.

“…he see it?” Bianca was saying.

“Gene says the button was just that—a button on his tuxedo. When he pressed it, a smoke bomb onstage exploded. That explosion triggered the next two—the one that felled the chandelier, and the first light bomb onstage,” Pia said. “It’s expertly planned—each explosion triggers the next one, with some time in between to give leeway for yelling and panic. And like you said, he’s alternating smoke and light bombs, with smoke first.”

Marianne, apparently with Pia, said something incoherent, and walked off.

“Where are you guys?” Issa asked, frustrated, looking around.

“Right here,” Stephen said from behind her, accompanied by Dave.

“Where’s Joaqui and Jethro? And Kirby?” He disappeared into the smoke without waiting for an answer, looking for them.

“Where’s the adrenaline?” Dave asked. He was covering his nose, trying to breathe as little as possible, as though suspicious of the smoke.

“I don’t know. He got downstage and people were congratulating him all around—oh, I knew I should have had someone stay with him—”

“Wandering around in this smoke is ridiculous, it’s so talkative,” Issa and Dave heard Bianca yell, a few yards behind them, as a particularly strong smoke bomb detonated. “Too bad James doesn’t have wings to blow these away.”

“I’m sorry,” James said, in a slight English accent, hovering above them to aid in the search, and Dave thought he heard a clicking sound, as though James had snapped his fingers.

A flash bomb right by Dave’s feet exploded, causing him and Issa to jump back in shock. Marianne came by, and the light disappeared to be replaced by a low, whistling sound. “Oh, for the love of—”

“Anyway,” Stephen interjected, “James, look for Andrei, he should still be here to watch the destruction.”

“No need, man. Turn around.”

Stephen did just that, swiftly locking Andrei’s wrists together. He noted that Andrei didn’t struggle; that was surprising. Such a fast attack would have gotten an even faster reaction.

“Hey, why’d you do that?” Andrei’s voice was only slightly tinged with annoyance, as though they were young high school boys in a feeble, everyday argument.

“Why did you do this?” Stephen gestured at the smoke, and another recently detonated flash bomb. Issa, Dave, Marianne, and Pia approached the sound of the commotion as Stephen’s voice grew louder.

“Why do you think I did? You were ready. You knew I was coming,” Andrei said quietly. “You were here before me.”

“I told them,” Marianne said, a bite of frost in her voice. “Junior prom—”

“—was hell. I know. You guessed right. I wanted to destroy that CEO’s dance. Forgot his name, but yeah.”

“What were you aiming for?” Marianne approached, her anger peaking.

“Panic… confusion… the two emotions that dominated me after that night. It’s probably considered an overreaction in most perspectives, but frankly, I don’t care.” The tone of his voice, undisturbed and light, was in complete contrast to their dark surroundings, only weakly lit by a faint orange light from the lamppost outside.

Andrei sat for a few seconds, all of them staring at him as though not believing their eyes.

Why wasn’t he afraid of what was going to happen next?

Why wasn’t he struggling in Stephen’s grip?

Why was his tone so light?

The moment turning awkward, Andrei said conversationally, “So, are you turning me in? The last smoke bomb is done, everyone’s alive, whoopee. Are you giving me the death sentence?”

“That’s not for us to decide,” Marianne said. “Ask the courts.”

“Excellent. I’ve always wanted to be in a courtroom. I can be my own attorney, right? Like in the third case of that game…?”

Stephen blankly listened to his ramblings, weirded out by his reaction. Marianne saw his face and shook her head as if to say, ‘Get used to it.’

The situation sank in. They had captured Andrei, and he was not unwilling to go along with them.

…So it’s over, right?

But there was one crucial thing that was missing. No one dared ask it out loud, afraid of what the answer might be.

“Where’s the adrenaline?” Dave finally asked.

“What adrenaline?” Andrei snapped, as Stephen reinforced his grip and Issa disabled him. “What’s adrenaline again?”

“The shipment—”

Something clicked, something fell into place inside Stephen’s brain. “It’s not Andrei!”

“WHAT?”

Through the thinning smoke, a plume of flame appeared. A scream pierced the quiet, and, horrified, the agents recognized the voice as Kirby’s.

“Kirby!” Issa started to run towards the sound.

“Stay back!”

Bianca approached them, followed by Olin, but they stopped two yards away. “The adrenaline wasn’t Andrei’s.”

Skipping formalities, Stephen rushed to Bianca and said, “Where is it?”

She waved that away with a shake of her head, and said, “Figures that you figured it out.”

Bianca then turned to the gathered posthumans. “The adrenaline was placed somewhere completely unexpected. It isn’t in the smoke.” She pulled out a test tube, halfway full with garnet-colored liquid. “It was the punch.”

-xxxxx-

Five minutes later, the adrenaline finally started to kick in. Pia was changing ages every five seconds. James had found and brought back Joaqui, who looked unharmed but was clutching his head in pain, unable to see anything but white outlines against red. Even Andrei was unconsciously creating temporal duplicates: there was no moment in which there was only one Andrei. Issa’s ability was making things worse: in its enhanced, uncontrolled state, every posthuman’s power within four feet was fluctuating.

Gene and Marianne were unaffected; Gene had taken one sip, dubbed the punch too sour, and put the glass down. Marianne had been too nervous to drink or eat. Both were thankful for their actions, even though very slight changes in temperature were taking place.

Olin had disabled Kirby, him being the most dangerous. “I can disable one more, in turn for my sight,” he reminded them, “Who? Which one poses the largest threat?”

“Issa,” Marianne said, and Stephen agreed with her, for once.

They waited for a reaction, but Bianca said, “Ah, he’s gone deaf. Conditional disabling, and all that.”

Stephen stood, and gestured to Issa, trying to convey his message as quickly as possible as Marianne accidentally converted the heat to a low-pitched note that vibrated in the air, affected by Issa’s ability.

“D,” Pia said in a weak voice, identifying the note at once. Andrei made a rasping sound that sounded like strained laughter at the obscurity of Pia’s remark.

Olin got the point eventually, and Issa breathed in relief as he disabled her—Olin stumbled to the ground and fumbled around, having lost his eyesight and his hearing.

“Guys, headcount and assess,” Issa said, wanting to help even while disabled. This was the standard procedure for anyone in a desperate situation.

“Five in backup?”

“Bianca— Dave— Olin— Stephen—James. Yeah, we’re all safe and complete. None affected by the adrenaline, because, well, we were in the car. And Andrei’s right here. Prom agents?”

“Marianne, Pia, Gene, Joaq, Issa, Kirby, Jethro—” Pia paused. “Where’s Jethro?”

Stephen glanced at Bianca, who nodded slowly.

Pia looked between them, and, maddened by the secrecy, demanded, “What is it?”

- - - - -