DEFIB: DYING LIGHT #1/KEYBOARD WARRIOR

PAGE 1
PANEL 1: Dramatic opening shot of our surgical gloved protagonist (whos
face is obscured from view via shadows and angling) looking down at a
sharking/screaming African man with bloodshot eyes laid out on top of a
makeshift surgical table. Hes apparently in the middle of a bloody
laparotomy with no anesthesia. His abdomen has been opened up with
multiple surgical clamps and his wrists and ankles bounded to their
respective sides of the bed. The doctor delves into guts with a par of
forceps, attempting to extract whatever might be inside.
1 PATIENT: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

PANEL 2: Roger looks up to grab the attention of a fellow medical volunteer

with auburn hair who hurries over to the operation in progress which gives
us a better look at the surroundings. We see that theyre in a large chaotic
triage room filled to the brim with badly injured patients. Burn victims,
amputees, etc. litter the area with the deceased being carted out almost as
fast as the victims being wheeled in.
2 ROGER: HEY VALENTINE! GIVE ME A HAND HERE WILL YA!
3 VALENTINE: ON IT!

PANEL 3: The female volunteer grabs ahold of the patents legs, struggling
to keep them pinned while Roger gets ready to continue the time sensitive
operation.
4 ROGER: Just try and keep him pinned!
5 VALENTINE: Easier said than done!

PANEL 4: Roger looks down again at the patent twisting the forceps ever so
slightly while Valentine continues to keep the moving patient grounded.
6 PATIENT: AAAAHHRRRGG-

7 VALENTINE: First those rookie EMTs drop of dysentery and now we run out
of anesthetic just a day before extraction.
8 VALENTINE: God, if this streak of luck keeps up Ill be too knackered to
carry myself to the cots.
9 ROGER: Whats the matter? Wasnt what you expected when you signed
up for the relief effort?
10 VALENTINE: I knew it wasnt going be a bloody walk in the park if thats
what youre asking.
12 ROGER: Well Im glad to see that at least this experience didnt rob you
of your cheery disposition.

PANEL 5: Roger finally pulls out the dreaded object from the mans guts. A
small bloody bullet that he brings up to the light to be analyzed in better
view.
13 ROGER: There we go.

PANEL 6: He then places the metal projectile into an empty metal dish
while the sweating patient breathes heavily and Valentine releasing her grip
to wipe away the sweat on her forehead.
14 ROGER: Man got hit with a 45. during some ambush on their convoy.
Fortunately, there was no perforation of the bowel and it didnt hit any of the
major surrounding arteries.
15 ROGER: As long as infection doesnt strike, this lucky bastard might
actually make it.
16 ROGER: Now all we need to do is patch him up and let Corona and the
others take care of the rest.
17 VALENTINE: Music to my ears.

PAGE 2
PANEL 1: Cut to a shot of the two medical professionals (now in a slight
change of clothes with Roger wearing a hat thats obscuring his face) leaving
from the front entrance (which is being guarded by two MPs) of the building

marked by a red cross revealing theyre in a military encampment set up

near a rural town. Army green tents, structures made of scrap metal and
rustic looking buildings sprawl throughout the area with local militia
patrolling in the background in dirt covered off-road utility trucks. The sun is
already setting, leaving a crimson hued skyline.
1 VALENTINE: So Dr. Amell, what do you plan to do after everything is said
and done?
2 ROGER: Two words. Hookers and Blow.
3 VALENTINE: Right
4 ROGER: You act like Im joking.
5 VALENTINE: Sorry love, but with a man of your reputation, I have to take
any bullshit you try to shovel my way with a grain of salt.

PANEL 2: Side shot of the two walking down the street while moving past a
small group of weathered locals.
6 ROGER: Didnt realize that I was suddenly a blip on your peoples radar.
7 VALENTINE: As soon as our boss learned that you were showing up, we
were given in-depth instructions to keep our distance before he finally let
us on the damn plane.
8 ROGER: How flattering.
9 VALENTINE: Is it true that you actually resuscitated a patient who was
DNR?
10 ROGER: The only reason why he signed those papers was because he
thought that he was going to suffer at the hands of a terminal disease. If
that wasnt the case, which it wasnt, he wouldnt want to die then now
would he?
11 VALENTINE: But you still basically assaulted that man. I heard his people
even took you to court.
12 ROGER: Well in that situation I couldnt exactly pull the plug on the
patient when our law states that they would need him to testify at my trial.
Since he was obviously in no condition to do so and with a subtle nudge here
to push the Judge in my favor

PANEL 3: Close up shot of Valentine looking up at Roger (off panel) with a

slight expression of disbelief.
13 VALENTINE: You willingly went through all of that court room drama just
to buy yourself time to diagnose him, didnt you?
PANEL 4: Close up shot of Rogers shadowed out face porting a slightly
visible smirk.
14 ROGER: And as an end result, we found out that a malformed blood
vessel compressing his spine was to blame for everything. After its removal
and a little physiotherapy, he eventually regained his ability to walk.
15 ROGER: You can imagine how quick those charges were dropped.

PAGE 3
PANEL 1: Valentine face palms herself while in a futile attempt to hold back
a laugh as they continue to walk through the encampment.
1 VALENTINE: Youre a real piece of work, Amell.
2 ROGER: What can I say? Its all part of my charm.

PANEL 2: They make it to a series of prefabricated dormitory/cabin facilities

that were reserved for the medical staff where it looks like theyre about to
park ways with Roger walking to his doorstep. The modular set up of the
housing is similar to your typical military barracks but with washed out
colors and dusty windows.
3 VALENTINE: Well before you go, I had one more question about you.
4 ROGER: Shoot.
5 VALENTINE: Why are you here, exactly?

PANEL 3: Roger (who is right at the door) stops dead in his tracks but
doesnt turn to face her.
6 ROGER: Excuse me?

7 VALENTINE: I dont mean any offense by it. Its just that

8 VALENTINE: Well

PANEL 4: Close up shot on Valentine as she elaborates with an inquisitive

look on her face.
8 VALENTINE: Listen, Im just a nurse who was slaving the night shift at
some hospital in Woolwich before I signed up for this. I did it because I
wanted to experience something new and help a few good people along the
way. A lot of the guys who came here can probably say something similar.
9 VALENTINE: But youredifferent. Youre not some freshie med student
trying to get some experience under your belt or trying to build a good
resume. Youre an accomplished Diagnostician. One of the best there is in
the bloody field.

PANEL 5: Side shot of Roger looking down at the floor with his hands still
on the door knob.
10 VALENTINE: So why is a doctor of your talents doing sweat work in the
middle of South Africa when you could be doing what you do best? Solving
impossible cases and what not.
11 VALENTINE: Why are you still here?

PANEL 6: Over the shoulder shot of Roger opening the door and beginning
to move inside the cabin.
12 ROGER: Heh.

PAGE 4
PANEL 1: Shot from the inside of the building looking out through the crack
of the closing door as it begins to shut behind Roger. Valentine can still be
seen at the front looking both confused and concerned.
13 ROGER: Im actually still figuring that out myself.

PANEL 2: Black panel.

2 ROGER (CAPTION): Why am I still here?
3 ROGER (CAPTION): Even to this day I still havent found an answer...

PANEL 3: Overhead shot of the mid-rise apartments of Elysium City at night

where we see a small dark figure running across its rooftops. We cant make
out who it is just yet.

PANEL 4: Side shot of the figures lower body in mid-sprint. Water splashes
as he steps into a puddle.

PANEL 5: Same perspective as before but we zoom out to finally reveal its
actually our protagonist Roger as the dark figure from the previous panels
but as the feared vigilante we know him today. Over his form fitting
containment suit he wears a black shirt, dark grey pants with a webbed belt
along with a black knee-length collared trench coat. Its raining hard, water
splashing against his body as he franticly tries to get to some unknown
destination.

PANEL 6: Just when hes about to make a jump to the next building, a
geyser of water shoots up from the floor. Bringing our hero to a grinding
halt.
3 SFX: SPPPLLLOOOSHHH

PAGE 5
PANEL 1: Splash page of Roger looking up to the sky to see his opponent,
an androgynous humanoid figure made entirely out of water (Undertow). His
arms forming into blades as it gets ready to dive bomb his target. Rogers
arms begin to charge up with electricity, preparing to strike.

PAGE 6
PANEL 1: Roger raises his right arm and fires a bolt of electricity at his
assailant which lands a direct hit, causing Undertow to burst.
1 SFX: ZZZZZZRRRRRTTTTTTT

PANEL 2: Roger braces himself as he gets splashed with the watery remains
of his opponent like somebody threw a barrel of water at him, nearly
throwing him off balance.
2 SFX: SPPPPLLLLAAASSHH

PANEL 3: Our hero looks down at his hands, the surge of electricity that
once surrounded his arms begins to die out.

PANEL 4: Similar shot as before but with Roger slightly looking over his
shoulder as if something is off.

PAGE 7
PANEL 1: Roger turns around to see the same water meta he thought he
destroyed, standing upright and staring straight at him with a featureless
face.

PANEL 2: Roger throws an electrically charged punch at his assailant and

decks him square in the face, causing his head to burst. Water scattering all
over the place.

PANEL 3: Just as this happens, another Undertow suddenly rises right

behind him. The clone preparing to deliver a sideways slash with his
tentacle-like arm. Roger barely has time to react.

PANEL 4: Roger gets hit by the tentacles sideswipe, sending him straight
towards a nearby air-conditioning unit.
1 SFX: SMACK

PAGE 8
PANEL 1: Roger crashes into the AC unit, back first, leaving a big
indentation from the impact.
1 SFX: CRASH

PANEL 2: Same perspective as before but with Roger slightly slumping

down against the damaged AC unit.

PANEL 3: Same perspective as before. Rogers eyes suddenly snap open

conveying a shocked/surprised expression on his face.

PANEL 4: Same perspective as before. Roger quickly leans his head to the
side in order to doge an incoming attack from his mysterious foe. Its
elongated arm spearing right through where his head was originally placed.

PAGE 9
PANEL 1: Roger rushes to the left, firing off another bolt of electricity while
dogging another swipe from his attacker.

PANEL 2: Riptide summons another wall of water to block the incoming

projectile while Roger books it towards a nearby ten story building which
upper levels are still under construction.

PANEL 3: Roger makes a jump for the construction site over which is at a
lower elevation.

PANEL 4: Just when hes growing closer and closer to sticking the landing a
jet of water suddenly hits Roger. We see that its Undertow, tackling him
while in midair.
1 ROGER: Oh for fucks sake

PAGE 10
PANEL 1: Roger ends up getting swept up in his opponents current as he
tries to fight him off before he hits the ground.

PANEL 2: Both end up landing on one of the steel beams. Roger

bounces/rolls off while Riptide splashes upon impact, pouring down to the
ground.

PANEL 3: Roger finally hits the ground front first. Rain continues to come
down.

PANEL 4: Zoom in on our hero as he struggles to get up.

PAGE 11
PANEL 1: Now in a kneeling position (still in the process of getting up),
Roger starts to scan his surroundings for his opponent only to find no trace
of Undertow anywhere. He sees nothing but the framework of the building
and some of the equipment left behind by construction crews.

PANEL 2: Zoom in a bit closer as Roger (now standing) begins to take a

step forward, cutting the lower half of his legs out of the shot.

PANEL 3: Roger jerks forward a little, as if something has taken hold of one
of his legs

PANEL 4: Upwards shot of him looking down to confirm his suspicions

PAGE 12
PANEL 1: Zoom out from the same perspective, revealing a hand made out
of water forming out of the ground that has taken a hold of Rogers ankle.

PANEL 2: Front shot revealing several other hands reaching up from the
ground zombie-style.

PANEL 3: Roger looks to his left and sees the same thing going on. Multiple
arms made out of water reaching out from the ground, some of them are
pulling themselves up revealing their heads along with some of their upper
torso.

PANEL 4: Zoom in on Rogers face, his eyes express a feeling that can only
be described as a mix between tiredness and youve got to be kidding me.
1 ROGER: Fantastic

PAGE 13 & 14
PANEL 1: Full page spread. Overhead shot of Roger completely surrounded
by hundreds of clones of Undertow. All of them standing motionlessly while
staring at our hero.

PAGE 15
PANEL 1: The clones start rushing him from all angles, some jumping over
random obstacles like crates and wooden pallets while others begin forming
weapons like maces and blades with their hands. Roger begins to charge his
fists again, his arms surging with electricity.

PANEL 2: Roger fires off two bolts of electricity at the rain-soaked ground,
shocking a portion of the approaching horde. Some stop dead in their tracks
stunned while others burst.

PANEL 3: Front shot of Roger firing another bolt of electricity to his left,
same effect happens to that group as well.

PANEL 4: Roger begins to charge another shot to fire at his remaining

attackers who try to move out of the way. His arm completely covered in
electricity, this seems to be his most powerful shot yet

PAGE 15
PANEL 1: Side shot of Roger attempting to fire but only succeeds in
mustering up a pitiful bolt of electricity that fizzles out in less than a second.

PANEL 2: Same perspective as before with Roger keeping the previous

pose.

PANEL 3: Roger looks at his hand with a surprised/angered/annoyed look

on his face.

PANEL 4: Roger snaps himself out of it as the clones restart their initial
assault.

PAGE 16
PANEL 1: One of the Riptides takes a swing at Roger with one of his blade
arms. Roger doges under the attack and prepares to deliver an upper cut.

PANEL 2: Roger delivers the uppercut right to the clones jaw, his head
bursts like a water balloon while another clone gets ready to strike from
behind.

PANEL 3: While the previous clone begins to lose his shape Roger sees his
next coming and prepares to deliver a counter attack.

PANEL 4: Roger attempts to throw another punch but the clone slides out of
the way.

PAGE 17
PANEL 1: As that Riptide doges Rogers punch another clone to his right
(with his arms extended) shoots a torrent of water at our hero, blasting him
across the construction site like a fire hose.

PANEL 2: Roger gets blasted across the construction site. Crashing straight
through various wooden crates, plastic sheets, etc.

PANEL 3: The stream of water finally dies down and Roger washes up on his
back near the ledge of the building. He looks like he got the wind knocked
right out of him as hes barley able to move.

PANEL 4: Just while hes lying there, a large bubble of water begins to form
around him.

PAGE 18
PANEL 1: The bubble is near completion and begins to levitate off of the
ground Roger still contained inside.

PANEL 2: The army of water clones walk into the scene with the leader up
front with his arm extended, showing that this bubble is just another one of
his constructs. Roger tries his best to fight his way out, trying to conjure up
as much energy as he can but hes practically running on fumes.

PANEL 3: Roger begins to black out while Undertow stares at his prey,
quietly observing as his life begins to fade.

PAGE 19
PANEL 1: Zoom in on Rogers face his eyes begin to close shut.

PANEL 2: Same shot as before but his eyes finally go dark, leaving the
reader with nothing but his helmets black visor.

PANEL 3: Same as previous panel.

PANEL 4: Rogers eyes flash open again, pissed off and literally glowing red.
Crimson electricity begins to surge and arc off of his helmet.

PAGE 20
PANEL 1: Roger explodes out of the water bubble Riptide attempted to
trap/suffocate him in. Large bolts of red lightning begin to arc off of his body
akin to a plasma globe and chain hit multiple water clones in the process
while the others out of range stand in shock.
1 SFX: BOOOOOM

PANEL 2: The blast frees Roger but unfortunately sends him flying off of the
ledge of the building.

PANEL 3: Side shot of Roger in free fall, electricity still surging off of his
body. His trench coat flowing in the air during his descent.

PANEL 4: Same perspective as before. Zoom in on his face with tired eyes,
getting ready to close shut once again.

PANEL 5: Fade to black.

PAGE 21
PANEL 1: Overhead shot. Close in on Rogers visor/faceplate which is still
black, indicating that his eyes are still shut. The lighting is somewhat
dim/poor.

PANEL 2: Same shot as before but with his glowing eyes fading back in as
he begins to wake up.

PANEL 3: Same perspective. Zoom out to reveal Roger laying on a dirty

mattress thats on top of a torn up floor. Somebody put his coat on top of
him like a blanket.

PANEL 4: Roger gets up to see that hes in the room of some rundown
apartment. The windows are boarded shut, paint is peeling from the walls,
and the only real source of light is coming from an improvised fire-pit made
out of a rusty 30-galllon metal barrel thats near the doorway.

PAGE 22
PANEL 1: Roger begins rubbing the back his neck with his right hand. His
eyes are still tired and weary.
1 ??? (OFF PANEL): Oh, sweet! Youre finally up! I was actually getting a
little worried there for a second.

PANEL 2: Roger snaps his attention towards the doorway. His eyes wide
open in surprise.
2 ??? (OFF PANEL): You were in pretty bad shape when I found ya. Good
thing you didn't die on me though, wouldn't even know what to do then.

3 ??? (OFF PANEL): God, I am so getting ahead of myself, arent I? How

about we just start this again from the top with an introduction?

PANEL 3: We change perspective to reveal our Deuteragonist, A smirking

teenage girl wearing a homemade superhero outfit leaning against the door
frame with her arms crossed. The costume is a black and dark green formfitting bodysuit with gloves, knee-high boots, along with a short cape and
two escrima sticks strapped to her leg. A crow skull mask with yellow lenses
conceals the upper portion of her face like a cowl.
4 BLIGHT: Im Blight, and welcome back to the land of the living.

TO BE CONTINUED