Neon glow from a hacked vending machine bathes the room in pink and electric blue. Empty energy drink cans form a throne. SKACAT (18, crown of bent spoons on his head, thrifted velvet cape) stares at three monitors showing: a Ring doorbell feed of his own house, a chess game against a bot named "HOA_Karen_420," and a livestream of a lawn being mowed in the rain.

(Into phone) Yes, dispatch. He's back. The… Prince. He left a shopping cart full of moss on my begonias last time.

(A whisper) Version 1.0. The beta test of anarchy.

He skates off into the rain. The geese hesitate. Then, one by one, they follow.

We don't take the suburb. We become the suburb. The HOA thinks rules make a home. No. Wrong.

The figure tapes the S to Mr. Henderson's mailbox. The mailbox tips slightly. This is, apparently, an act of war.