that a couple of times, but I never hated him for it — after all, I was all he had.
CAPTION: I guess he was all I had, too.
PAGE 10
PANEL ONE: In the GENERAL DORM AREA, between the MEN’S and WOMEN’S RESIDENCE. THROWBACK is still trying to get some ATTENTION from DOLLY and MINK — right now, he’s trying MINK.
ANTHONY THOUGHT-CAPTION 1: The last anyone in the neighborhood heard about Jameel, he got accepted to come here — the FACTORY. Then nothing. Nobody’s seen him, nobody’s heard from him. I turned all of South Quartz searching for him. I busted into the City Pathology Department files and looked at so many autopsy photos of unnamed DOAs that I see ‘em every night when I close my eyes — but no Jameel. He went into the Factory, but he never came out.
ANTHONY THOUGHT-CAPTION 2: I’m going to find him. And if he’s dead, I don’t care if it was Silas Winter himself who did it, someone’s got some shit to pay.
THROWBACK: So how come a girl as fine as you is in here? Gonna join the Fatal Femmes?
MINK: Look, scrub, if you HAD any I’d just cut ‘em off, so move along.
PANEL TWO: THROWBACK — BLINK TAKE.
PANEL THREE: THROWBACK points PAST MINK at DOLLY.
THROWBACK: Yo, actually, I was talking to HER.
THROWBACK (Cont. Now to DOLLY): So how come a girl as fine as you is in here? I couldn’t help noticing you got all that sexy Barbie thing goin’ on.
DOLLY: It’s kinda more like Raggedy Anne, really — that’s cause my tag is “Dolly”.
THROWBACK: Well, you’re fine. I like the way you move. You ever model?
DOLLY: Sort of. I used to be a dancer. Then I found out I could make more money in breaking and entering…
PANEL FOUR: MINK and DOLLY SQUARE OFF.
MINK: A DANCER? Bitch, please. You didn’t make your money just SHOWING it to people.
DOLLY: Are you calling me a whore? At least men like me. I heard about you — I heard how you had to kill your boyfriend…
PANEL FIVE: SPLAT! MINK KICKS — her BOOT lashes around and hits DOLLY so hard DOLLY’s head BLOWS UP! THROWBACK is ALARMED and IMPRESSED. SFX: SKELCH!
THROWBACK: Holy SHIT!
PAGE 11
PANEL ONE: A river of DOLLY flies out of the COLLAR of her COSTUME from the force of MINK’S kick, leaving the costume on the floor.
PANEL TWO: The river of DOLLY-FLESH hits the ground and then two ARMS form and flip it over, back toward MINK.
PANEL THREE: The BATTERING-RAM-like FEET hit MINK in the head, knocking her backward.
DOLLY: You’re dead, bitch!
PANEL FOUR: MINK’s wrist blades come out as DOLLY reforms.
SFX: CHING-CHING! CHING-CHING!
MINK: Fine. Let’s see who stops breathing first.
PANEL FIVE: PRETTY BOY is SUDDENLY standing between them — POP! He has CAUGHT MINK’S WRIST IN HIS HAND. We can see that DOLLY has just started to SAG away from the strike.
PRETTY BOY: Ah-ah-ah. You chicas going to have to find a better way to work this out.
PAGE 12
PANEL ONE: PRETTY BOY in the midst of the ROOKIES, willing to be ADMIRED.
THROWBACK: Who are YOU?
PRETTY BOY: They call me Pretty Boy — yes, yes, I know you can see why. Now move along. You all supposed to be in your rooms.
PANEL TWO: PRETTY BOY is irritated with COLDBLOODED, who’s giving him the EYE.
PRETTY BOY (Cont. — to COLDBLOODED): You, too. Go on. I know you worried, first night away from your mamas
COLDBLOODED: Shut up, bitch! Don’t talk to me like you know me!
PANEL THREE: COLDBLOODED is now LEANING INTO PRETTY BOY’s grill while the others watch with various degrees of interest/nervousness.
PRETTY BOY: Oh, you going to throw some catos with me? You want to mix it?
SNAIL (quietly): Fix it.
COLDBLOODED: You disrespect me, you’re disrespecting all the Los Reyes Screwtops.
PRETTY BOY: Oh, man, you sniffin’ the big time and you’re STILL reppin’ that gang shit? Are you gonna take a shot or just stand there like a pussy?
PANEL FOUR: COLDBLOODED takes a swing. PRETTY BOY is gone.
PANEL FIVE: PRETTY BOY taps him on the shoulder from behind.
PANEL SIX: COLDBLOODED swings on him again. PRETTY BOY is gone.
PAGE 13
PANEL ONE: PRETTY BOY has reappeared, GRINNING. COLDBLOODED POINTS at him with his RIGHT HAND.
COLDBLOODED: Motherfucker…! I don’t have to hit you to mess you up!
PANEL TWO: COLDBLOODED’s HAND turns GLOWING ORANGE HOT, so fast there are little SPARKS of BURNING DUST.
PANEL THREE: PRETTY BOY hits him HARD, and so fast it seems simultaneous — we see him STRIKE THREE TIMES.
SFX: CHUD! CHUD! CHUD!
PANEL FOUR: COLDBLOODED is down on the ground with PRETTY BOY’s foot on his throat and the other on the wrist of his HOT HAND.
PRETTY BOY: Check it — there are only thirteen people faster than me in the WHOLE WORLD. You ain’t one of ‘em. Now get the hell back to your block before I pull your eyeballs out and play hacky-sack with ‘em, chavalo.
PANEL FIVE: THROWBACK puppydogs PRETTY BOY.
THROWBACK: Thirteen? Wow! You must be a Level 8. Even Overdrive’s only a Level 9.
PRETTY BOY (to THROWBACK): You into that stuff, huh? Actually, I was only number fifteen in the world until last week, then this East Coast guy named Courier got a rip in his friction suit when he was doing, like, Mach Mucho — vato blew up like a Tijuana bottle rocket…
PAGE 14
PANEL ONE: DOLLY and MINK are leaning in the MEN’S DORM doorway — well, DOLLY does, MINK hangs back, looking CONTEMPTUOUS. SNAIL and THROWBACK are looking at something on SNAIL’S FOLD-DOWN computer screen.
DOLLY: We’re going upstairs to get new costumes.
THROWBACK: Yo, Doll. Make sure they don’t cover up TOO much.
DOLLY: Ooh. Aren’t YOU a bad boy…
MINK: Shit. You think you’re Big Mack, but you’re only Vanilla Shake, white boy. And speakin’ of dumb as shit, what is that you’re looking at? Oh, jeesus, is that Plusdotcom? That shit is so OLD.
ANTHONY: The superhero website? Explains a lot.
THROWBACK: I hope you ain’t putting down Plusdotcom, because they got it ALL. Where else a beginner gonna get some face? Look, they got an article on one of the guys who’s in here with us! Toxin, his name is. They
