Fighting Chance 2-5 Outline (Patreon)

(Late June 2011)

Opening Scene: Planning Session

Three weeks after they met

They're on a rooftop in Queens, eating Chinese takeout from greasy containers

All three in their "costumes":

Zain: Blue hoodie, blue bandana over his mouth, white capri shorts, chain wrapped around his waist

Elvin: Black hoodie, black denim shorts, black bandana, looking like he's about to rob someone

Vince: Red hoodie over body armor (Zain bought it for him from a military surplus store), red bandana, blue jeans

Elvin's scrolling through police scanner app on his phone:

"Yo, deadass, mad action going down in Chinatown tonight."

Zain: How mad?

Elvin: "Some Yakuza spot got hit yesterday, they probably moving product."

Vince, nervous: "Y'all sure about this? I mean, what if we run into real criminals?"

Zain: "We ARE real criminals, Redneck. We just got standards."

Elvin: "Nah fam, we vigilantes. There's a difference."

Vince: "What's the difference?"

Zain: "Vigilantes don't rob old ladies."

Elvin: "And we look fly as hell doing it."

Meth Lab Bust

Abandoned warehouse in Long Island City

Elvin grows to six feet, tackles the door off its hinges

"Surprise, motherfuckers!"

Three meth cooks inside, all scrambling for guns

Zain's chain whips out, disarms two of them in one sweep

Vince touches a table, sets it on fire: "Y'all got five seconds to run!"

Elvin, still grown: "Or I start throwing y'all through walls!"

Zain: "That was too easy."

Vince: "Easy's good. Easy means nobody gets—"

(Next Scene)

Vince: "—hurt real bad. That's what I want."

They're swinging/parkoring across rooftops

Zain using his chain like a grappling hook

Elvin jumping impossible distances with his enhanced strength

Vince shooting fire from his hands to boost him across jumps

Elvin: "Yeah, but we're fine thought. And cool as fuck. Like, did you see that dude's face when I picked up that whole table?"

Zain: "Which one? They all looked like they shit themselves."

Elvin: "Exactly! That's the point, fam."

(Next Scene)

All three crammed into a booth in a 24-hour Greek diner in Astoria, bandanas pulled down, hoodies up

Waitress doesn't even blink—this is New York

Vince: "Y'all got grits?"

Waitress: "This is Greek food, honey."

Vince: "What about biscuits?"

Elvin: "Deadass, you gonna ask for sweet tea next?"

Vince: "Sweet tea would be nice..."

Zain: "Just get pancakes, man."

Elvin pulls out a map: "Aight, so there's this building in Chinatown."

He points to weird hand symbols he's drawn: "Got these weird marks on the door."

Zain studies the symbols, wondering where he's seen them before: "You've seen these before?"

Elvin: "Yeah fam, bunch of sketchy dudes coming and going. Always at night."

Vince: "What kind of sketchy?"

Elvin: "The kind that carry swords and shit."

(Next Scene)

The boys are in a bodega with arcade machines got their bandanas down, hoods still up

They're playing Hood Brawler IV

Vince picks Kyle: "This dude can throw fire from his hands, just like me!"

Elvin picks D-Roc: "This man big and got hands."

Zain picks Sirat: "Chain fighter ain't on here, so..."

(They play)

Elvin: "Yo, how you gonna lose to me? I ain't even good at this game!"

Vince: "This character's harder than it looks! These combos don't make no sense!"

Zain: "Maybe if you didn't button mash..."

Vince: "I ain't button mashing! I'm being... tactical!"

Zain: "Speaking of tactical, we should hit that Chinatown spot tonight."

Elvin: "Bet. I been wanting to check out what those symbols—"

(Police sirens outside)

Vince: "Y'all hear that?"

Next Scene

Location: Yakuza front in Chinatown (the building with symbols)

Symbols: Small handprints carved into the doorframe, barely visible

They break in expecting drugs/money

Find something else: detailed maps of the city, marked buildings, photos of people

Vince: "This don't look like no drug operation."

Elvin: "Nah fam, this some spy shit."

Zain studies a photo: "Is that... is that the mayor?"

Zain: "Burn it all."

Vince: "You sure? This might be important—"

Zain: "Exactly why we burn it."

Vince touches the wall, flames spread across everything

They watch it burn from across the street

Elvin: "Yo, why you think they had all that surveillance stuff?"

Zain: "Don't know. Don't care. Ain't our problem."

(But he's lying—he's definitely thinking about it)

Location: Back alley behind a check-cashing place

They spot three guys mugging an elderly couple

Muggers have knives, threatening to hurt the old man's wife

"Give us everything or we start cutting!"

Zain drops from fire escape, chain already swinging

Elvin charges in, grown to full size, grabs a mugger by the shirt

Vince sets another mugger's jacket on fire, guy starts screaming and rolling

The last mugger pulls a gun, points it at the old woman

"Back off or I blow her head off!"

Time slows

Zain's chain is already moving

He could wrap it around the guy's throat

Easy. Quick. Permanent.

Elvin's growing, face twisting with rage: "You threatening a grandma?"

Vince's hands are catching fire: "We could just... I mean, nobody would..."

Zain makes the choice: chain hits the gun, not the throat

Weapon goes flying

Elvin grabs the guy, slams him into a dumpster (unconscious, not dead)

Vince's flames die down: "Shit. I was about to..."

Old couple runs away without thanking them

Three unconscious muggers left in the alley

Zain stares at the guy who pointed the gun at the old woman

How easy it would have been.

How much they deserved it.

How little anyone would have cared.

Elvin, shrinking back to normal: "Fuck these guys, for real."

Vince: "Yeah... fuck 'em."

But all three are thinking the same thing: Next time might be different.

Next Scene

Location: Top of a water tower

Vince: "Y'all ever think about... you know... not stopping?"

Elvin: "What you mean?"

Vince: "Like, if someone really deserved it. Really, truly deserved it."

Zain: "Deserved what?"

Vince: "You know what."

(Long pause)

Elvin: "Some people don't deserve to breathe, deadass."

Zain: "Maybe. But that ain't for us to decide."

Vince: "Why not? Who else gonna do it?"

Next Scene

They're finishing up another job (beating up purse snatchers)

Black Cat shows up, waving from a nearby rooftop

"Yoo-hoo, fighter boy!"

Zain's reaction:

Slaps his own face: "Oh, come on..."

Elvin: "Dawg, you know her?"

Zain: "...No."

Vince: "Looks like she knows you."

Black Cat: "Fiiiighter boooooy~"

Zain: "Oh please god no."