Before I tried to do the panel layout for the comic draft I tried to write it as a short story. This is cira 9/21/2006 and parts of it I still really like.

THE AGENT:
Wall fled across the wastelands, and the Agent followed. Squatting high above Wall as he crossed through a ravine the Agent pulled out a pair of binoculars and spied in on Wall’s movement. Wall was traveling slowly through the canyon, keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him. The Agent smiled a bit to himself, thinking that Wall was going to be an easy capture.

AGENT FLASHBACK:
The Agent stands before a long boardroom-style table, there are figures sitting around but their faces appear blurred. (A Note from the Agent: I have blurred faces to protect the ‘innocent’) The man at the far end of the table pulls out a manila envelope and slides it down the table towards the Agent. “Your target and personal information. Along with the down payment for your services.” The man says. Another man along the table asks “How long do we have to wait?” The Agent replies, “Week. Maybe more depending on how well armed he is.” The board room erupts in laughter, leaving the Agent confused.

THE AGENT:
“I didn’t understand at the time, but now I get why my comment raised such elation among the board.” The Agent thinks. He stands up and moves back to a small motor bike, similar to a dirt bike. He rolls the bike back a ways from the edge of the gorge before starting the engine and riding off.

THE WALL:
Wall is still walking down the ravine, watching his foot falls carefully when he hears a loud thud a head of him. He stops for a moment and looks ahead then behind him. When he turns back around he sees the Agent lunge at him. Wall punches forward, but telegraphs the move. The Agent easily ducks under the punch and comes up with a short razor into Wall’s chest. Wall staggers backwards, pulling the tiny blade out with a spurt of blood. The Agent moves backwards in a crouch as Wall looks down at his wound. “We can stop this now if you power down those fancy arms of yours.” The Agent smirks at Wall. Wall’s reply comes in the form of a right-left feint punch that manages to connect with the Agents shoulder as he attempts to dodge the wrong way. The Agent starts to spin as Wall lands another first into this other shoulder, turning him forward again. Wall reaches out and grabs the Agent by the neck, lifting him off the ground. “I’m only gonna tel…” Wall begins to say, but gets cut short but the Agent putting a hidden boot knife into Wall’s stomach. Wall drops the Agent more out of shock then pain. The Agent drops down and attempts to sweep kicks Wall’s legs out. The Agent’s move connects sending Wall tumbling down. The Agent jumps up, pulling a syringe out of his pocket, and pounces at Wall. Wall smiles as he throws a big right hook up right into the Agent’s face. The Agent flies into the ravine wall and crumbles onto the ground. Wall stands up and walks over to the Agent, smiling Wall lifts his massive fist into the air.

WALL FLASHBACK:
“Kill him now!” A voice crackles over Wall’s headset. Wall is standing in an alley holding a man against the side of a building. He has his fist punched through the man’s shoulder and into the wall. The man is crying, and he looks up at Wall to speak, “Don’t you remember me? I’m Jim. We used to be friends man. What happened to you? What happened to your arms?” Wall looks puzzled and shakes his head, “I don’t know you.” The voice crackles over the headset again, “Ignore his lies! Kill him!”

WALL FLASHBACK FLASHBACK:
Wall, with normal arms, is sitting at a bar laughing. Next to him sits the man he has pinned to the wall in the alley.

WALL FLASHBACK:
“J…im?” Wall stammers. Jim smiles, a painful half-smile, and nods. Wall turns his head to the side and speaks into the headset, “What have you done to me?” A voice over the headset calmly replies, “Alpha 3 Priority Override. Authorization: Victor Echo November. Manual control, monitor station seven, engage.” Wall’s face goes blank and his fist pulls back. Wall smashes his metal arm though the man’s head and into the wall. “Manual control release. Engage.” crackles the headset voice.

THE AGENT:
Hours later the Agent wakes up. He pulls himself up and rubs his sore head; the side of his face is swollen badly. After a moment he walks back over to a zip line affixed to the ravine wall and pulls a small handle out of his pocket. He hooks the handle up to the zip line and pulls a sting on the side of the bar. There is a wurr noise and the handle starts to pull the Agent back up the ravine. At the top the Agent walks over to his bike and pulls a small box out of a side bag. He flips up a screen selects Tracker #9 off of a list. A radar spins to life and a small blip flashes to the north. The Agent smiles to himself, “I’ll see you soon metal man.”

THE WALL:
As Wall walks on he pulls a couple small patches out of his pocket. He slaps them over his two wounds and walks on for awhile. After an hour Wall removes the patches and runs his finger across a small bump on his stomach. “Damn things said no scarring…” he mutters as he walks on. Then there is a single light blip from the stomach scar, which Wall doesn’t notice. He continues to walk and soon comes to the end of the ravine. On the horizon is a small camp. “Aguafria; bout time.” Wall mutters as he walks towards town.