The Initiative
Chapter 1: New friends
***
[Scene: Nikki and Tasha are in a car on their way to the airport. Nikki is driving and Tasha is looking through some papers.]
Nikki: So what do we know about these guys?
Tasha: Lt. Commander Johnny Loh and Commander Theodore 'Quick' Williams. They're being transferred here from Hong Kong. Johnny Loh is a master martial artist without magical capacity, he also uses an electric baton.
Nikki: A martial artist? You don't see many of those nowadays.
Tasha: *nods in agreement* and Quick Williams can do a little shaman.
[Scene: Johnny and Quick are sitting on the plane going through some papers also.]
Johnny: She's kinda cute. (Shows Quick the picture)
Quick: Commander Nikki Franco. (He looks down at the papers in his hand) It says here she specializes in Black magic, and does a little shamanism as well.
Johnny: Not someone a demon would like to meet up with in a lit alley I take it.
Quick: *chuckles* Nope.
Johnny: So who's the other one? *looking at the other picture*
Quick: (shuffles the papers around a little) Commander Tasha Dexter. She also specializes in black magic but she doesn't appear to know any shamanism.
[Scene: Airport, Nikki and Tasha are standing by the windows watching the plane land waiting for Quick and Johnny.]
Nikki: (holding a picture of Johnny) I can't believe you don't think he's hot.
Tasha: (rolling her eyes) You are soo pathetic...You don't even know him...(teasingly) Pray tell when is the wedding?(smirking)
Nikki: (Glaring at Tasha)
(Quick and Johnny walk up)
Quick: What wedding?
Tasha: Nikki's…(Nikki slams her foot down on Tasha's) Ow! Nikki!
Nikki: (Feigning innocence) What? (She turns to Quick and Johnny) I'm Nikki Franco. And big mouth over here is Tasha Dexter.
Johnny: I'm Johnny Loh and this is Quick Williams.
Quick: Hi…
Nikki: Why don't we grab something to eat before we head back to the Initiative, Tasha's treat!
Quick: Sure..
Tasha: What!?
Nikki: Let's go before she changes her mind!
[Scene: The car. Nikki and Tasha are in front and Quick and Johnny are in back.]
Tasha: So, Quick, you do some shamanism?
Quick: A little.
Tasha: What's your favorite spell?
Quick: I prefer using weapons, but when I'm in a jam flare arrow comes in handy.
Nikki: I prefer the fireball to the flare arrow. Does more damage. But shamanism's not my specialty.
Johnny: Black is, right?
Nikki: Yep.
Quick: So what's your prefered spell?
Tasha: (Rolls eyes) anything that does damage.
Nikki: I think, he asked me. The Dragon Slave definetly. I just don't cast it that often. (Tasha snorts. Nikki glares at her)
Johnny: You can cast the dragon slave? Your kidding me, right?
Nikki: Why do they always react that way? It's not that hard to cast. Faith can cast it…
Tasha: Faith likes explosions almost as much as you do.
Quick: What about you Tasha?
Tasha: Hmm…I'm fifty-fifty on the whole weapons and magic thing, but I'd say my prefered spell is the Dynast Breath.
(Quick is about to respond when the small viewscreen rose up out of the dash and a girl with dreadlocks and far away look on her face appeared.)
Tasha: Kyra…
Kyra: Hey…
Nikki: Why are you contacting us?
Kyra: …I don't remember… (Kyra gets pushed off the screen by another girl with dark brown hair in an unkempt bun and glasses)
Tasha: Sarah, what's going on?
Sarah: There's a monster sighting at the old wharehouse in sector 2B. You're the closest ones to that location.
Tasha: Except it's in the complete opposite direction of where we're headed.
Nikki: On it. (She does a 180 and heads toward the wharehouse.)
Tasha: Nevermind. What are we fighting?
Sarah: From what Kay has given me, and he can phase in and out of this dimension.
Tasha: (sarcastically) Great. This isn't going to be easy. Thanks Sarah.
Sarah: Good Luck. (There's a crash in the background) KYRA! (The viewscreen switches off and goes away)
[Scene: An old abandoned wharehouse. A small frog looking thing is bouncing off the walls laughing insanely. Nikki's car parks in front of the building park and the four get out. Nikki pops the trunk and she, Quicka and Tasha each grab a really big gun. Johnny pulls out a short metal rod.]
Quick: Do we know what this thing looks like?
Nikki: No idea. Ready?
(They all nod and head into the wharehouse. A green blur rushes right past Tasha's face and she jumps back surprised.)
Tasha: Sarah didn't mention anything about speed.
Johnny: Where is it?
(The frog looking thing stops on a crate in front of them. He's about 6 inches tall and he poses for them. Nikki snorts. They lower they're weapons.)
Nikki: Is this some sort of joke?
Tasha: I…don't know…
(The frog looking thing glares at them and goes back to bouncing around and laughing.)
Nikki: Shadow Snap! (She casts a spell on a dagger and throws it at the frog looking thing catching it's shdaow and keeping it from moving) Sit still!
(The frog looking thing sits back on it's haunches and sobers up. His eyes and the dagger glow red. The dagger lifts out of the ground a falls harmlessly to the ground. He sighs and floats up.)
Nikki/Tasha: What!?
Frog looking thing: Oh yes, we should have some fun now Nikki Franco.
Nikki: Well, if we're going to be friends, you should tell us your name.
Frog looking thing: Joyrock Michigan Jay.
Tasha: Oh this thing is pathetic. Dynast Breath! (She casts a spell sending a wave of ice at Joyrock and encasing him in it.) What did I tell you?
Joyrock: How futile. (His eyes glow again and the ice around him shatters)
Tasha/Quick/Johnny: What?!
Nikki: I guess it's my turn then. Gaav Flare! (A stream of fire shoots out of Nikki's outstretched hands at Joyrock, who phases out of the dimension dodging the spell. Nikki stops and stares wide eyed.) He phased he really must be..
Johnny: The demon we're after.
Quick: Nikki look out.
(Nikki jumps to the side dodging a large claw that slammed in to the ground where she had been standing. Joyrock {Now very large and very ugly} phases in.)
Joyrock: For a mortal your very fast.
Nikki: And if that's your true form, then your extremely ugly.
Joyrock: Shape is meaningless to my kind oh short statured one.
Tasha: Oh hell. (She turns to Quick and Johnny) Run.
Quick/Johnny: Why?
Nikki: You did NOT just say that. Darkness beyond twilight…
Quick/Johnny: Oh.. (The three starts to run out of the wharehouse.)
Joyrock: What's this?
Nikki: Crimson beyond blood that flows
Buried in the stream of time
Is where your powers grow
I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand
Against the mighty gift bestowed
In my unworthy hand
Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed
By the power you and I possess…
DRAGON SLAVE!
Joyrock: Oh crap… (He gets engulfed by the dragon slave and the building explodes, leaving a crater.)
[Time lapse: The four are back in the car and heading to the Initiative base.]
Tasha: Did you really have to Dragon Slave him?
Nikki: He's gone isn't he?
Quick: It's doubtful he survived that.
Nikki: And it's not like they were really using that building.
Johnny: I'm curious though, he seemed to know you by name, why?
Tasha: With her temper and her dragon slave, there aren't many demons who don't know her.
Nikki: (Thinking) Yeah sure. That's the only reason…(out loud) He's just lucky I didn't have my talisman with me.
Quick: Talisman?
Nikki: I have some power amplification talisman back at the base. My grandfather gave them to me.
Johnny: Do you really need your power amplified?
Tasha: No but it doesn't stop her anyways.
[Scene: The Initiative. Optech. Sarah is at the computer, when Kyra runs by carrying a big gun being chased by a young african-american woman with black hair and an athletic build.]
Sarah: Faith? What's going on?
Faith: She took my gun!
(Sarah gets up.)
Sarah: That can't be good…
(Kyra can be heard laughing maniacly while running down the hall. Sarah and Faith start to chase her.)
Faith: When I get my hands on her she is SOO going to get it!
Sarah: That's what you said last week. Maybe you should put your guns up high where she can't get to them.
Faith: Maybe we should put her somewhere
Sarah: It wouldn't work…We'd never get her to shut up.
Faith: We could gag her.
Sarah: She'd just find something to bang against.
(They turned a corner to see Tasha holding Kyra by the collar, and Nikki looking at Kyra amused and Quick and Johnny looking confused. Kyra decides to reason with Tasha.)
Kyra: You probably don't know this but, (She points to the barrel of the gun, and she drops her voice) You can keep your weed in there!
(Faith (taking small glances at Johnny and trying not be too obivous but is failing miserably because of the huge smirk on her face) turns to Sarah, who would probably know who the new guy is.)
Faith: (Whispering) Who are the new guys?
Sarah: (Whispering) Johnny Loh and Quick Williams. (She points to each one respectively) They just transferred her from our base in Hong Kong. (raising her voice and walking towards the group.) You two must be Johnny Loh and Quick Williams. (They nod) I'm Sarah Jonsen, and this is Faith.
Faith: Hi.
Johnny: Hi.
Quick: Hey..
Tasha: This is extremely entertaining but could somebody do something about Kyra? (Kyra can be seen trying frantically to get away from Tasha.)
Faith: Oh yea… (She grabs the gun away from Kyra right before Kyra manages to wrench away from Tasha and she runs off laughing again.) Hey! (She starts to chase after Kyra.) I'm not finished with you!
Sarah: Oh boy…I'd better go do damage control….(She runs after Faith.)
Tasha: We don't have the most professional people here…
Quick: I can see that…
Nikki: You'll get used to Kyra…
Johnny: How did she make into the Initiative anyways?
Tasha: I ask myself that everyday…
Nikki: We should go see Val.
Tasha: Do we have to?
Nikki: She probably has their room assignments.
Johnny: Who's Val?
Nikki: The receptionist
Quick: There's something the Hong Kong base doesn't have.
Johnny: Why do you have a recptionist?
Tasha: That's something else I keep asking.
Nikki: (To Quick and Johnny) She doesn't like Val much.
(A tall woman with long sandy blonde hair comes down the hall looking exasperated.)
Desiree: Have you guys seen my partner?
Tasha: She went that way. (Tasha points behind her)
Nikki: Desiree, this is Johnny Loh and That's Quick Williams. Guys this is Desiree, probably one of the most gifted people here.
Johnny: Hi.
Quick: What's your gift?
Desiree: I'm Kyra's partner.
Johnny/Quick: Ah..
Tasha: Faith is after Kyra again so you might want to help Sarah with damage control.
Desiree: Thanks. (she starts down the hall after the other three.)
Nikki: There, you see? Some one remotely professional.
Tasha: I didn't say everybody here was unproffessional.
[Scene: The initiative. Reception area. Val is at her desk doing her nails and Kay is sitting on the desk talking to Val.]
Kay: So, what do you think these new guys will be like?
Val: I hope they're cute.
Kay: I gave you a folder on each of them complete with photographs.
Val: You did? (She puts her nail file down and starts going through the mess of papers on her desk.)
Kay: (Sighs) Yes. (She picks up two manilla folders that were sitting on the edge of the desk and hand them to Val.) Try those.
Val: Thanks. (She opens the folders.) They are cute!
Nikki: (Entering the room with the other three) Who's cute?
Val: (Quickly hiding the folders) We were just talking about…beagles…
Tasha: Uh huh. I'm sure that's it.
Val: Enter the Ice Queen.
Nikki: (Rolls eyes) They're always like this. Val, Kay. This is Johnny Loh and that's Quick Williams. Guys, Val Irons and Kay Simmons.
Val: Hello!
Kay: Hi.
Johnny: Hello.
Quick: Nice to meet you.
Tasha: We need their room assignments.
Val: Uhm, yeah.. I have those…(She starts going through the papers on her desk again.)
Kay: They're in the folder I gave you Val.
Val: Right! Thanks Kay. (Val opens the folders and pulls out the room assignments.) Here they are.
Tasha: (Grabs them from Val) Can we go now?
Nikki: Fine. Bye Guys.
Val/Kay: Bye!
Tasha: We'll take you to your rooms so you can put your stuff away before we give you the grand tour.
