Episode 21: MASKS OF WRATH
2226 Words
EXT. WRATH RING – HELLGATE CORRECTIONAL FORTRESS – NIGHT
The WRATH RING burns under a blazing crimson sky. The HELLGATE PRISON rises like a cathedral of torment — spires wrapped in barbed flame wards. A SIREN WAILS. Chaos erupts inside.
---
INT. HELLGATE PRISON – CELL BLOCKS – CONTINUOUS
At the heart of the chaos, a hulking figure emerges: DEATH MASK. He wears a sleek black suit, red shirt, and a fused BONE MASK with crimson engravings. In his hand, a silver CANE tipped with a jagged blade.
DEATH MASK
(booming)
Brothers! Tonight, we rise from chains!
Tonight, Wrath spills into Hell!
The mob roars.
DEATH MASK
Join me, and earn your freedom with blood!
Join me… and bring me the HEAD of the so-called Crusader!
The inmates howl. He raises his cane like a general. Guards fall as assassins rally to him.
---
EXT. SKIES ABOVE WRATH – SAME TIME
A sleek STEALTH JET glides invisibly across the burning horizon. Inside, DANIEL—THE ARCH DARK CRUSADE—stands armored, cape draped, helm glowing faintly gold.
ARCH DARK CRUSADE
(under breath)
Death Mask. Always hiding behind other men’s blood.
Tonight, you’ll choke on it.
The hatch OPENS. Daniel DROPS silently into the storm, cape flaring like wings.
---
INT. PRISON – MAIN BLOCK – NIGHT
Smoke. Screams. Fire. Daniel MOVES LIKE A SHADOW through the c*****e. He slams a thug into steel bars, CRACKING his jaw. Elbows another into unconsciousness. Every move brutal, surgical.
A GANG of four demons charges. Daniel spins, gauntlets shattering skulls, cape snapping around them. He leaves them groaning in broken heaps.
---
INT. LOWER LEVEL – SHOWERS – NIGHT
A wall CRASHES down. Emerging: MURDER DILE. A reptilian demon, scales slick, yellow eyes glowing, jagged fangs bared. He hefts a steel BEAM like a bat.
MURDER DILE
(snarl, thick drawl)
Heh heh… Crusader. Boss said you’d come sniffin’.
Been waitin’ to crack that shiny armor o’ yours.
He SMASHES the beam into the ground. RUBBLE flies.
ARCH DARK CRUSADE
(calm, cold)
Murder Dile. Hired muscle. Nothing more.
MURDER DILE
(grins, teeth dripping)
Muscle’s all it takes to tear you apart, tin man!
---
FIGHT SEQUENCE – THE BRAWL
They CLASH. Murder Dile swings with beastly strength, tail whipping, jaws snapping. Daniel blocks, counters with KNEES, ELBOWS, PRESSURE STRIKES. The sound of METAL AND SCALE colliding echoes like thunder.
Murder Dile slams Daniel into a wall, jaws snapping inches from his helm.
MURDER DILE
(growl)
Death Mask put a fat bounty on ya. Whole Wrath ring’s comin’ for yer head!
Nothin’ personal… just business. And I love my business.
Daniel HEADBUTTS him. Sparks fly. He strikes Dile’s ribs again and again until SCALES CRACK. He pins him with his gauntlet blade at the throat.
ARCH DARK CRUSADE
(icy)
Why? Why does Death Mask want me dead?
MURDER DILE
(choking, coughing blood, laughing)
Yer sniffin’ his empire. His drugs. His shipments. His blood trade.
He don’t like knights in black armor messin’ with Wrath money.
Daniel PUNCHES him across the jaw. Dile collapses, unconscious but alive.
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INT. PRISON YARD – MINUTES LATER
The riot rages. From above, ARMORED LAW ENFORCERS storm in. Black-helmed devils, carrying SOUL RIFLES, surround Daniel and Murder Dile’s broken body. Their WARDEN, a horned devil in crimson plate, steps forward.
WARDEN
By decree of Wrath Ring law—
ARCH DARK CRUSADE! You are under arrest for interference!
Surrender the fugitive… or be executed on sight!
The rifles AIM. Daniel stands tall, cape billowing, golden eyes glowing. For a second—it looks like WAR.
Then: a PING. His WRIST COMM. His jet circles above.
Daniel glares at the Warden. Fires his GRAPPLE. WHOOSH—he vanishes into SMOKE.
---
EXT. WRATH SKY – SECONDS LATER
The STEALTH JET swoops. Daniel GRAPPLES upward, landing inside as the hatch seals. The fortress burns below. Prison still in riot.
---
INT. STEALTH JET – COCKPIT – NIGHT
Daniel pulls his hood back. His face bruised, jaw bloodied, but his eyes sharper than ever. He sits, cape hanging heavy.
ARCH DARK CRUSADE
(voice low, monologue)
Death Mask thinks he can buy Hell with blood money.
That I’ll back down.
He looks out at the prison, shrinking behind him in flames.
ARCH DARK CRUSADE
If he wants a war… I’ll bring it to his doorstep.
And I’ll show every criminal in Wrath…
what it means to wear a mask.
The jet vanishes into storm clouds. Thunder rumbles.
---
INT. DANIEL’S LAIR – UNDERNEATH I.M.P HQ – LATER
The cavernous lair hums with low, cold light. Monitors flicker with live footage of the WRATH PRISON RIOT—bodies, flames, chaos. The ARCHMOBILE rests in its dock, smoke still curling from its armor plating. The jet settles back into its cradle with a heavy CLANG.
Daniel steps down the ramp, helm tucked under his arm, cape scorched. He’s bruised, bloodied—but unbroken.
Waiting for him are BLITZO, LOONA, MOXXIE, and MILLIE. They’re not shocked anymore—they already know. They’ve known for weeks. The vigilante. The Crusader. Their friend.
A tense silence. Blitzo steps forward, uncharacteristically serious, voice tight with concern.
BLITZO
(quiet, no jokes)
You know the whole damn city’s got eyes on you now, right?
Every thug, every assassin, every psycho with a blade or a grudge.
They’re all lining up for that bounty on your head.
Daniel sets his helmet on the console, his jaw clenched but his voice calm.
DANIEL
Let them line up.
It doesn’t matter how many come—I’ll break every single one if I have to.
Loona takes a step forward, her tail twitching nervously. Her voice cracks, frustration mixing with fear.
LOONA
You don’t get it! This isn’t just some back-alley scuffle anymore.
This is everyone. You’re painting a giant target on yourself… and on us.
Daniel turns, meeting her glowing eyes. He softens, his tone quieter.
DANIEL
I know the risk.
But if I stop now, Death Mask wins. Wrath rots. And more innocents die.
Loona clenches her fists, fighting her emotions. Blitzo places a hand on her shoulder, then looks Daniel dead in the eye. His usual sarcasm is gone—this is raw, protective, even vulnerable.
BLITZO
Listen, man… I don’t give a s**t how many skulls you crack, or how scary you look in that cape.
You’re one of us. And if they’re comin’ for you—they’re comin’ for my family.
Beat. The room is heavy with his words. Moxxie and Millie exchange a look—both dead serious, both silently agreeing. Loona lowers her gaze, jaw tight, then finally speaks.
LOONA
Just… don’t make me watch you die out there.
Daniel studies them. The killers-for-hire who became something closer to allies. Maybe even family. He finally nods, solemn but resolute.
DANIEL
Then I’ll make sure I don’t.
He turns back to the glowing monitors, Death Mask’s image frozen on the feed. His voice drops, a promise more than a vow.
DANIEL
Death Mask wanted a war.
Now he’s going to learn what happens when you start one with me.
INT. ARCH DARK CRUSADE’S LAIR – COMPUTER CHAMBER
The lair is dimly lit, screens glowing with encrypted data pulled from the WRATH PRISON FILES. Daniel inserts a cracked drive into the console. The system hums, decrypting as files flood the monitors. A single folder blinks: “CONTRACT ENVELOPES.”
Daniel narrows his eyes and clicks it. Suddenly, the screen floods with surveillance footage — Death Mask handing crimson-stamped envelopes to Hell’s deadliest assassins. Each video cuts into a stylized “introduction” reel, like dossiers fused with cinematic intimidation shots.
---
🔥 INFERNO FLY – “The Pyro Predator”
Footage: A jetpack-wearing insectoid demon erupts through a burning warehouse roof, cackling as flames engulf screaming imps below. He spins mid-air, flamethrower arm belching hellfire, his mandibles clicking as he hisses into the camera.
INFERNO FLY (laughing)
“Let’s turn your crusade into ashes, hero!”
The words splash across the screen in fiery letters: “INFERNO FLY.”
---
🐻 BRAWL – “The Sangroth Juggernaut”
Footage: A gladiatorial pit in GREED’S UNDERCITY. The crowd roars as a massive demon bear in tactical armor slams his opponent into the dirt. His veins glow red as serum pumps through tubes strapped to his body. With one hand, he rips the opponent in half, raising the corpse high before tossing it aside.
BRAWL (growling)
“They’ll pay me to kill you… but I’ll do it for free.”
Screen text: “BRAWL.” The sound of hissing respirators fills the air.
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🐊 MURDER DILE – “The Sewer Horror”
Footage: Wrath’s prison, camera feed shaking as guards scream. A hulking crocodilian demon thrashes in chains, slamming into reinforced walls. His glowing eyes pierce the darkness as he snarls, saliva dripping with venom. Just before the camera cuts, his claws scrape the word: “HUNT.”
PRISON WARDEN (off-screen, panicked)
“Keep him chained—he can’t ever get out again!”
Screen text: “MURDER DILE — CONTAINED… FOR NOW.”
---
🎯 TARGET ACQUIRED – “The One-Shot Executioner”
Footage: A sniper’s scope view. We see through his glowing red monocular as a demon overlord’s head is blown apart in a single shot. The camera zooms out to reveal a towering hellhound perched on a skyscraper edge, his rifle glowing with infernal runes. He calmly reloads without a word.
Screen text: “TARGET ACQUIRED.”
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⚔️ DEADLY STRIKE – “The Blade of Hell”
Footage: A battlefield littered with corpses. A hellhound in tactical black armor wipes blood off twin infernal swords, his movements precise, disciplined. He flips one blade into a reverse grip and slices down the last enemy without even looking, his amber eyes glowing behind a cracked visor.
DEADLY STRIKE (low, cold)
“Every move you make… I’ve already countered it.”
Screen text: “DEADLY STRIKE.”
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🦊 RED VIXEN – “The Crimson Shadow”
Footage: A dim dojo lit by foxfire lanterns. A graceful vixen demon moves through a dance of martial strikes, her twin crescent blades cutting through straw dummies in blinding succession. She halts, staring into the camera with deadly serenity.
RED VIXEN (calm, almost respectful)
“I hope you fight with honor, Crusade. It will make killing you worth remembering.”
Screen text: “RED VIXEN.”
---
🐍 SLITHERHEAD – “The Venom Contortionist”
Footage: A nightclub m******e. Bodies are strewn across the floor as a twisted serpent-demon slithers through the rafters, body twisting at unnatural angles. He drops silently onto a survivor, his clawed hands injecting venom into the victim’s neck. Their scream is muffled by his grin.
SLITHERHEAD (whispering)
“Let’s see how long you can squirm…”
Screen text: “SLITHERHEAD.”
---
⚡ SHOCKCUTIONER – “The Live Wire Executioner”
Footage: A prison yard riot. A hulking demon in rusted executioner’s gear raises his spiked gauntlet. Electricity surges, frying dozens of inmates at once. The camera glitches from the EMP surge as his face twists into a grin beneath his iron mask.
SHOCKCUTIONER (manic laugh)
“Nothing’s more beautiful than the sound of a body frying!”
Screen text: “SHOCKCUTIONER.”
---
BACK TO DANIEL
Daniel leans forward, fists clenching on the console as the screen fills with the assassins’ faces. Each one now has his name stamped across their dossiers: ARCH DARK CRUSADE. The bounty gleams at the top — “UNLIMITED PAYOUT.”
Blitzo and Loona stand behind him, both pale. Even Blitzo’s usual bravado is gone, his voice serious.
BLITZO
“Holy s**t… this ain’t no contract list.
It’s a freakin’ death parade.”
LOONA (low, trembling with anger and worry)
“They’re not just comin’ for you, Daniel. They’ll come through us to get there.”
The monitor flickers one last time. Death Mask’s face fills the screen, smirking through the static.
DEATH MASK (recording)
“Run, Crusade. Fight. Hide. It doesn’t matter.
The hounds are loosed.
And in the end… every crusader dies.”
Blitzo steps forward, uncharacteristically somber, his usual grin gone.
BLITZO:
You don’t get it, Danny boy. This ain’t just another night hunt. These bastards will tear through everything you care about just to get you.
(beat)
…And for once, I’m not just worried about the job. I’m worried about you.
---
Loona lowers her eyes, muttering but sincere:
LOONA:
You’re not invincible, Daniel. Don’t make me watch you get torn apart because you think you have to carry this alone.
---
Daniel pauses, gripping the table. His gauntleted hand shakes slightly, but he steadies it. He turns his back to them, facing the monitors showing all the assassins’ faces.
ARCH DARK CRUSADE (quiet, resolved):
This city gave me nothing but scars. But I swore I’d be the blade that cuts down its monsters.
(beat)
If Death Mask wants a war… I’ll give him one.
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CLOSE-UP on the screens, each assassin’s glowing face filling the room. One by one they flicker, until all are shown together—like a rogues’ gallery.
The camera pans to Daniel, silhouetted in the dark, his cape flowing slightly from the underground draft.
BLITZO (off-screen, gravely):
…Then God help us all.
---
SMASH CUT TO BLACK.
Heavy metal sting.
Text burns on screen:
“NEXT TIME: THE FIRST ASSASSIN STRIKES.”
- Writer
