** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * Steve Gerber has kindly granted permission to place these files * * on Cerebus. The copyright remains in effect, and this file may * * not be reproduced without the following NOTICE. Steve currently * * writes SLUDGE for Malibu's ULTRAVERSE. He can be reached on * * the net via the COMICS-L mailing list. * *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ****** NOTICE ****** The following is the script material for VOID INDIGO #2. The material is Copyright 1984 by Steve Gerber and Val Mayerik. I am uploading this material for what could be described as historical and educational purposes. You may download the material and print as many copies as you like for your own use. ***HOWEVER, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MAY COPIES OF THIS SCRIPT OR ANY PORTION THEREOF BE REPRODUCED IN ANY MEDIUM OR BY ANY MEANS AND MADE AVAILABLE FOR SALE.*** If I discover that copies of the script have been sold, my lawyer will be in touch with the offending party or parties, appropriate legal action will be taken, and you can bet your baby brother's life I will never upload another script to this forum. Trust me: you don't want a run-in with Destroyer Lawyer. Police thyself. ---Steve Gerber VOID INDIGO-2 INTERIOR FRONT COVER REVERSE TYPE (I.E., NEGATIVE, WHITE-ON-BLACK) PLEASE. RUN EPIC MASTHEAD ACROSS TOP OF PAGE, INDICIA ACROSS BOTTOM. NO ART ON THIS PAGE LOGO: VOID INDIGO SUB-HEAD: (HAND-LETTERED IN COMPLEMENTARY STYLE) Book Two - SPIKES AND DEMONS SUB-HEAD: Part Two - RAPTURE AND VIOLENCE COPY (TYPESET): The fundamental principle of escapist culture is the systematic denial of humanity's dark side. Institutions of government and business, the media, the educational system, and the psychological establishment have combined forces in an attempt of unprecedented proportions to sell humankind a bill of goods about its own nature. According to this new view of the species, we are creatures whose basic nature is to do good. Our genes, unlike those of every other species in creation, are not inherently competitive, but co-operative. . . . The deepest collective terror of a culture founded upon escapism is the existence of any force greater than -- or outside the control of -- the self. Our current cultural matrix thus downscales God to fit on a bumper sticker ("Honk If You Love Jesus"), reformulates the mysteries of the human soul as mere issues of psychology, and substitutes fascination with special effects for curiosity about the cosmos. . . . Thus, the ubiquitous "slasher" has replaced the vampires and zombies that formerly populated the cinema of horror. Random violence committed by humans, even with the flimsiest of motivations, is understandable to an audience that lives in dread of the unfamiliar. Violence purportedly of supernatural origin, on the other hand, is almost always ambiguous as to its alignment with good or evil, and never fully comprehensible on the level of rational consciousness. Such ambiguity constitutes a profound threat to the supremacy of the escapist's unexamined self, and so today's filmgoers dismiss the entire premise as "unrealistic" or "sick." ---From America the Trivial: The Unmaking of Myth in Escapist Culture by Delilah Stone, Dekkion Press, NY 1982 PAGE ONE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" FULL-PAGE SPLASH - BLEED OFF ALL FOUR SIDES EXT. HIGH ANGLE - THE MULGREW HOUSE & LAWN IN GLENDALE - NIGHT We're looking down on the front yard from a severe angle. Rising directly toward our pov is the transformed COLLEEN MULGREW, sheathed in flame, wings spread, legs locked around JHAGUR's waist. She is carrying him with her into the sky. Her arms are held up and out in a "V", and in one hand, she holds the jeweled spike. The "flames" from her body have begun to spread over his. His sword is still sticking straight through her midsection. Below them, in the yard, we see PETE MULGREW and MRS. MULGREW lying prone amid the broken bricks, broken glass, and other assorted wreckage of the room that blew out of the house when Colleen underwent her change. Both are seriously injured, bleeding from glass cuts, bruised by the impact, etc., but they are no longer unconscious. Pete, though barely able to lift his head, is struggling to look skyward at Colleen and Jhagur. Mrs. Mulgrew is starting to get to her hands and knees...but slowly, painfully. 1 BLURB: "I am the living will, the living power...of KAOK. Your soul is to be obliterated. And the task has been given to me. 2 BLURB: "I am to consume you...first with ecstasy ...then with FLAME!" 3 BLURB: PETE MULGREW looks up in horror...for the passion-starved voice that moments ago spoke those words belongs to his 14-year-old DAUGHTER. 4 BLURB: But COLLEEN MULGREW is no longer the child of her earthly parents. She has been summoned by entities from another plane...through the ancient SPIKE she grasps in her hand. 5 BLURB: Seduced by their power, thrilled by the sensations they visited upon her body, she has invited them INTO her. PAGE TWO HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" NOTE: SET UP PAGE AS FOLLOWS, VAL. BLEED ART OFF ALL FOUR SIDES OF PAGE. PANELS ARE ARRANGED ON THREE TIERS; PANELS 2, 4, & 6 ARE SMALLER INSET PANELS W/SINGLE-LINE BORDERS (NO GUTTERS) INSIDE TRIM LINE. (1) ANGLE - JHAGUR & COLLEEN RISING INTO THE SKY The Mulgrew house is far, far below them now, in the b.g. Jhagur is doing a sort of mid-air sit-up, his hands reaching for Colleen's throat. 1 BLURB: And now, willingly, she does their bidding...! 2 COLLEEN: ("FLAME" BALLOON; FINE-LINE BORDER EDGED WITH LITTLE TONGUES OF FLAME; STAGGERED LETTERS; ITALICS) There can be no defiance...Ath'Agaar. 3 BLURB: She calls JHAGUR not by his own name... but by that of the barbaric chieftain who was his EARLIER INCARNATION. 4 COLLEEN: (SAME) To resist me is to resist the BEYOND-WORLD itself. (2) INSET PANEL, TOP TIER: CLOSE - JHAGUR'S HANDS - COLLEEN'S HEAD & THROAT As his hands close around her throat, the silvery flame spreads to his hands. Colleen's head is tossed back; she's laughing wildly. 5 BLURB: He tries nonetheless. 6 BLURB: But when his powerful hands close about her throat, her only response is LAUGHTER. (3) WIDE SHOT - JHAGUR AND COLLEEN He's trying to strangle her in mid-air -- but the silvery flames are crawling up his arms. His mouth is wide open, screaming in agony. She's still laughing, apparently unfazed by the attack. SFX: (JHAGUR SCREAMING; LETTERS OPEN FOR COLOR) =AAA-RRA-AGH= 7 COLLEEN: (SAME) You cannot throttle a DEMON, Ath'Agaar! You shall only hasten your END... (4) INSET PANEL, MIDDLE TIER: CLOSEUP - JHAGUR'S FACE AND HANDS He draws his hands back from her neck. They are large in f.g. of shot, and they look nearly cauterized---the undersides of his fingers are blackened and smoking. On his face is an extremely uncharacteristic expression of horror and pain. 8 COLLEEN: (OFF-PANEL; SAME) ...hasten the BURNING... 9 COLLEEN: (SAME) ...while depriving yourself of the PLEASURE I can give us BOTH...! (5) WIDE SHOT - COLLEEN AND JHAGUR They've left the Glendale neighborhood far behind, already and are now FLYING HIGH OVER THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS, WITH THE CITY LIGHTS IN B.G., in a scene similar to that on the cover. Now she leans forward at the waist, so that both their bodies are almost parallel to the ground, as if they were rolling on a bed in mid-air. Her face is moving toward his. 10 COLLEEN: (SAME) Feel me, Ath'Agaar...feel the ironlike grip of my loins about yours! 11 COLLEEN: (SAME) Feel the heat of my desire for you...of the BEYOND-WORLD'S desire to possess you..! (6) INSET PANEL, BOTTOM TIER: CLOSEUP -THEIR FACES One of her hands grips his hair, pulling his face to hers in an extremely sensual kiss. The flames spread to Jhagur's face and hair! (NOTE: She still holds the spike in the other hand.) 12 COLLEEN: (SAME) Feel my lips searing into YOURS... 13 COLLEEN: (SAME) ...and SUBMIT to the inevitable! 14 JHAGUR: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) no... PAGE THREE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) INSET PANEL - INSIDE TRIM LINE - UPPER LEFT CORNER OF PAGE - SINGLE-LINE BORDER, NO GUTTER ANGLE - PAST BACK OF COLLEEN'S HEAD TO JHAGUR'S FACE With his face and hair in silvery flames, he is twisting his neck, whipping his head out of her grip. Indigo energy is crackling in his eyes. 1 COLLEEN: ("FLAME" BALLOON; FINE-LINE BORDER EDGED WITH LITTLE TONGUES OF FLAME; STAGGERED LETTERS; ITALICS) It will be a GOOD DEATH, Ath'Agaar...a quick and PLEASURABLE death... 2 JHAGUR: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) no...!! (2) NO BORDER AROUND THIS PANEL - BLEED OFF ALL FOUR SIDES OF PAGE WIDE SHOT - COLLEEN AND JHAGUR As an indigo blast from Jhagur's eyes strikes her point blank in the face. The effect is bizarre: we see her SKULL clearly outlined beneath the flames and the indigo energy. Now, she's the one screaming, releasing her grip on Jhagur, throwing her arms out wide -- and the spike is flying out of her hand! 3 COLLEEN: (SAME) ...the end of your soul...and of your suffer--EEEE-YAAAA-AAAGH!! (NOTE TO LETTERER: SCREAM EFFECT---IN CAPS, OPEN FOR COLOR---"BREAKS" OUT OF BALLOON, EXTENDS ACROSS WIDTH OF PANEL) 4 JHAGUR: (SAME; LETTERS IN DOUBLE-BOLD) NO--!! (3) INSET PANEL - BOTTOM BORDER OF PANEL JUST INSIDE BOTTOM TRIM LINE THE HILLSIDE BELOW - ANGLE ON A DERELICT resting on the hillside. NOT the typical New York wino, Val, but an "acid-casualty" type, in his middle to late thirties. His hair is a long, unkempt mop. His beard hasn't been trimmed in years. His jeans and t-shirt are ripped nearly to shreds, and he wears old sandals with broken straps on his feet. He is lying on the ground, propped up on his elbows, head craned back, looking up vacantly at the stars. An empty bottle of cheap wine lies on the grass beside him. 5 BLURB: From the hillside below, acid casualty PEACE BARWICK looks up in wonder: he has never heard a star SCREAM before. (4) INSET PANEL - BOTTOM BORDER OF PANEL JUST INSIDE BOTTOM TRIM LINE CLOSER ON THE DERELICT The spike has dropped into panel (speedlines indicating its downward path) and imbedded itself in the Derelict's neck. It's happened so suddenly and with such force that only a few tiny drops of blood are spurting from the wound. 6 BLURB: That transcendant expression of agony will be the LAST thing he hears... (5) INSET PANEL - BOTTOM BORDER OF PANEL JUST INSIDE BOTTOM TRIM LINE CLOSEUP ON THE DERELICT As if he's just realized what happened. Starting to look panicky now, reaching for the spike in his throat. Little rivulet of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. 7 BLURB: ...for the spike has selected Peace to be its next victim. PAGE FOUR HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" VAL: NO FORMAL PANEL BORDERS ON THIS PAGE; THINK OF IT AS A MONTAGE, ONE SHOT FLOWING INTO ANOTHER. I'VE STILL NUMBERED THE SHOTS FOR CLARITY, HOWEVER. (BRACE YOURSELF; WHAT'S COMING HERE IS TRULY HIDEOUS.) (1) THE DERELICT - SEEN FROM NECK UP Trying to pull the spike out of his neck -- but the spike is glowing again -- as it did in the Mulgrews' drawer -- and the flesh of his hands is melting in the glow! 1 BLURB: It has use for certain of his fleshly parts. (2) SIMILAR ANGLE ON DERELICT The glow has enveloped his head, and it's lolling to one side as his face begins to melt. 2 BLURB: And if it must destroy certain OTHERS to obtain them...well, that's life in the multiverse. 3 BLURB: There may be order-- and even justice-- in the cosmic scheme, but there is no guarantee of benevolence. (3) SIMILAR ANGLE ON THE DERELICT As one of his eyes POPS out of its socket, flying into foreground. 4 BLURB: So perhaps Peace Barwick is paying now for the unhappiness he brought to his parents...or for his abandonment of his wife and child... 5 BLURB: ...or for breaking the collarbone of that 79-year-old American Legionnaire he shoved to the ground during a demonstration in Berkeley, back in 1965. 6 BLURB: Or perhaps not. (4) LONGER SHOT - THE SEPARATED EYE AND THE DERELICT The Derelict is collapsing, tipping over as though about to fall off the bottom of the page. His eye, however, is hovering in the air -- pulsing, glittering, ballooning in size. 7 BLURB: Perhaps he was simply unlucky enough to be in the right place, at the right time, when an entity far more powerful than himself needed an EYE. 8 BLURB: Eleven millennia ago, that entity-- the demigod called KAOK-- spoke to the sorcerous DARK LORDS through a LIVING ORB. PAGE FIVE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) WIDE ANGLE - PAST JHAGUR AND COLLEEN TO HILLSIDE This is essentially the REVERSE ANGLE OF THE COVER SHOT, Val. Jhagur and Colleen in f.g., hillside in b.g. He's doing a mid-air "sit-up" again, and punching her in the face. She's more or less ignoring the blow -- though her expression is now noticeably more frantic, ever since the blast of indigo energy. VERY PROMINENTLY IN B.G.: the still-growing, still-pulsing eye, which now bears an uncanny resemblance to the Dark Lords' LIVING ORB, is rising from the hillside into the sky. We note the Derelict's body on the hillside, too; just a shape sprawled on the grass. It might as well be a burlap sack. He's served his purpose in the ol' cosmic scheme of things. 1 BLURB: The spike PIERCED that original orb... 2 BLURB: ...and loosed its terrible energies on the world, obliterating the Dark Lords and every trace of their civilization... 3 BLURB: ...except the spike itself.* 4 BLURB: (BOTTOM OF PANEL; SMALLER LETTERING, PLEASE) *See Marvel Graphic Novel #11: Void Indigo. --L.S. (2) THE FLOATING ORB From its iris shines a beam of light -- at the off-panel Jhagur and Colleen. (NOTE: See if you can improvise a new variation on the old Ditko "mystic light" effect here, Val -- heavy lines of irregular weight, suggesting a stream of energy, to indicate the beam, as opposed to fine, straight lines that would look more like Superman's X-ray vision.) 5 BLURB: Since that night of terror, what energy remained of Kaok's link to the material plane has smouldered in the spike's jeweled head-- 6 BLURB: --waiting -- (3) JHAGUR AND COLLEN are bathed in the beam of light. It seems to put both of them in agony. Colleen is unlocking her legs from around Jhagur. He's starting to fall! 7 BLURB: --for the day the Dark Lords would RULE again-- 8 BLURB: --for the day the soul of Ath'Agaar would be SLAIN-- (4) LOW ANGLE - PAST FALLING JHAGUR TO COLLEEN AND ORB He's plummeting straight toward "camera." Behind him, we see Colleen, writhing in torment in the beam of light from the Orb -- which seems to be pulling her toward it. 9 BLURB: --for the day when Kaok would RISE from the Beyond-World to proclaim the earth his KINGDOM. (5) ANGLE - DERELICT'S CORPSE ON THE HILLSIDE Jhagur (speedlines indicating the path of his fall) drops onto the hillside, landing next to the corpse. He lands with his weight on one shoulder. It hurts. 10 BLURB: The problem, then as now, however, is that the barbarian's soul refuses to CO-OPERATE. 11 BLURB: Even in this alien incarnation, Ath'Agaar prefers suffering to SURRENDER. PAGE SIX HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (NOTE: FIVE VERTICAL PANELS, EACH ABOUT THE SAME WIDTH AND HEIGHT. STAGGER TOP AND BOTTOM BORDERS TO CREATE A SLIGHTLY MORE JARRING EFFECT. VERY NARROW GUTTERS BETWEEN PANELS.) (1) LOW ANGLE - PAST JHAGUR TO COLLEEN AND ORB He's lying prone on the ground, dazed, barely conscious. We're looking past him, into the sky, at Colleen and the orb. Its iris is opening like a black hole and pulling Colleen toward it. 1 BLURB: Worse yet, from the demigod's point of view, he now possesses a POWER his earlier incarnation did not. (2) CLOSER - COLLEEN AND ORB She's being sucked into the iris of the thing! Her head and shoulders are no longer visible to us. 2 BLURB: Does he KNOW, the demigod wonders...? 3 BLURB: No. That is unlikely. (3) STILL CLOSER - COLLEEN AND ORB Her torso has disappeared into the eye. Only her wildly- pumping legs are visible to us now. 4 BLURB: More probably, he assumes the indigo energy from his eyes is simply a trait of his SPECIES. 5 BLURB: He would not grasp its meaning...not YET. (4) THE ORB Colleen has utterly vanished inside it. Jhagur's sword is flying out of the iris---spat out like a little fishbone. 6 BLURB: He still believes he needs a SWORD with which to defend himself...! 7 BLURB: Well, let him KEEP it. (5) CLOSEUP - JHAGUR Jhagur is looking straight toward "camera," his eyes barely open, his face badly blistered from the flame. The sword, seen in MULTIPLE IMAGES, with speedlines indicating its path, drops point-first into IMMEDIATE FOREGROUND of panel and stabs into the ground just inches from Jhagur's face. 8 BLURB: Perhaps relying on the blade will maintain his IGNORANCE a little longer. PAGE SEVEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (FIRST TWO PANELS CONTINUE LAYOUT OF PAGE SIX: SAME HEIGHT AND WIDTH AS THE PANELS ON THAT PAGE. PANEL 3 IS SAME HEIGHT, BUT TWICE AS WIDE. PANELS 4-6 ARE STACKED VERTICALLY AT RIGHT OF PAGE, INSIDE TRIM LINE. PANEL 7 LOOKS LIKE THE BOTTOM BLOCK OF THE SAME STACK, EXCEPT IT'S SLIPPING OUT FROM UNDER. BOTTOM AND RIGHT BORDERS OF THIS PANEL ARE AT THE TRIM LINE.) (1) SLIGHTLY LONGER SHOT - JHAGUR AND SWORD Putting a little more distance between the sword and the "camera." Jhagur's head is dropping to the ground. He's lost consciousness. 1 BLURB: (NO BORDER AROUND BLURB; STAT COPY INTO NEG, PLEASE) The orb vanishes, then. The sky goes dark, and all is silent... 2 BLURB: (SAME) ...except for the wail of SIRENS approaching from the distance... (2) SAME ANGLE - SLIGHTLY LONGER STILL The sword would now be in the MIDDLEGROUND of the panel. In IMMEDIATE FOREGROUND, the bare leg of a FEMALE CHILD (at least a couple years younger than Colleen) is stepping into panel. We see her only from about thigh-down: her leg is slim but muscular, like a gymnast's, and her bare feet look hardened from going months (maybe years) without shoes. She's wearing some kind of fringed leather tunic that stops about mid- thigh. She wears several BRIGHTLY-COLORED PLASTIC BRACELETS AROUND ONE ANKLE! 3 BLURB: (SAME) ...and the snap of a twig beneath a hard, bare sole. (3) WIDER PANEL - ABOUT TWICE WIDTH OF PANELS 1 & 2 - JHAGUR AND THE GIRL As she crouches down at his head. We can see all of her now, and she's a very exotic---and disturbing---sight. Her dark hair is a profusion of wild curls that cascades over her shoulders and down her back, looking more like an animal's mane. Her body is slim, solid, and supple, the muscles not bulky but clearly defined (again, like a gymnast's build). Her face is compelling, but not pretty: narrow, steel-grey eyes; sharp nose; small mouth; strong jawline. The fringed leather tunic is just that---cinched around her waist by a thin leather cord. She has a very feral look about her, as if she's been living for a long time on her own, in the wild. However... In bizarre counterpoint to all of the above, she wears several more PLASTIC BRACELETS on one wrist, a DIGITAL WATCH on a black plastic band on the other arm---and she's holding a closed SWITCHBLADE in her right hand! 4 BLURB: She is only a child-- younger even than Colleen-- but she moves with the suppleness, strength, and grace of the deer that still roam these hills above Hollywood. 5 BLURB: And with none of their timidity. 6 BLURB: Warily, she draws closer to the carnelian red stranger...kneels at his head... (4) GIRL'S POV - HER HANDS AND JHAGUR'S HEAD Her hand is pulling a strand of his white hair out straight. Simultaneously, the switchblade is clicking open. 7 BLURB: ...and opens her blade. SFX: (SWITCHBLADE OPENING) =SNIKK= (5) GIRL'S POV She uses the switchblade to whack off a long lock of his hair. SFX: (BLADE CUTTING HAIR) =SWATTCH= (6) ANOTHER ANGLE - CLOSE ON JHAGUR'S HEAD AND GIRL'S FOOT He's still unconscious. Her foot is now turned away from him, as she walks out of panel. 8 BLURB: Tonight, though, she's only hunting souvenirs. PAGE EIGHT HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) CUT TO: CLOSEUP ON A BRIGHT RED CHERRY in the process of being squished between the thumb and forefinger of a man's hand. Any sexual symbolism is not only inaccurate, it's virtually irrelevant: the cherry can't help but remind us of Jhagur's head. 1 BLURB: The Appaloosa Bar in North Hollywood: 2 BLURB: Skooosh. (2) INT. APPALOOSA BAR - WIDE ANGLE FAVORING LINETTE AND JESS At a table near the bar's small stage, where JESS (from V.I. #1, page five) and his band play. Jess is seated at the table with a couple of other guys from the band---a big, bearded bearlike country boy named GAVIN, and a tall, lanky spindle of an urban cowboy named STOKER. Each has a drink in front of him. Jess, with a sneer, is dropping the squished cherry into his mouth. Gavin looks annoyed at Jess. In f.g., LINETTE, in her cowgirl outfit, is walking away from their table, carrying a tray of empty glasses and mugs. She looks distracted, off in space, as if she's not even hearing what Jess is saying. 3 JESS: Whup! Broke your CHERRY, Linette! Bet that brings back old, OLD memories, huh? 4 GAVIN: Can'tcha see she's shook up, Jess? Lay off 'er. 5 JESS: "Lay off 'er?" Shit...I'm prob'ly the only guy in the valley that ain't laid ON 'er! (3) CLOSE ON JESS He yells something at Linette. 6 JESS: MORE PEOPLE'S RODE ON YOU THAN ON "SPACE MOUNTAIN"-- (4) LINETTE caught off-guard, trips, bellyflopping onto the floor, spilling her tray, breaking a couple of the glasses. (NOTE: This should probably be the largest panel on the page, Val.) 7 JESS: (BURST; POINTER BACK TO PANEL THREE) --AIN'T THAT RIIIIIGHT, LINETTE?!? 8 LINETTE: (LOWER-CASE LETTERS) =ooohh= SFX: (BREAKING GLASS) CHASSH! (5) ANOTHER ANGLE ON LINETTE The BARTENDER and several patrons are helping her to her feet. She's almost in tears, and she's cut her hand on a sliver of broken glass. 9 BARTENDER: You okay, Linette? That's the third spill you've taken in three nights...! 10 CUSTOMER: She cut her hand on that glass, Rudy... 11 LINETTE: Naw, it's okay...just a nick...really...! PAGE NINE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) LINETTE AND BARTENDER He's escorting her toward the bar area, a brotherly arm around her, just giving support. Note: there's a TV set on a shelf over the bar, Val. 1 BARTENDER: You been awful high-strung the past few nights. You're not snortin' or shootin' nothin', are ya? 2 BARTENDER: Y'know how the boss feels about that...! 3 LINETTE: I'm okay...that loudmouth just startled me is all...! (2) ANOTHER ANGLE - LINETTE Linette is glancing off-panel at the TV set, her eyes widening in horror. POLICEMEN, moving in step with a couple of PARAMEDICS, who are wheeling a gurney into a hospital emergency room. On the gurney is an indistinct figure into custody. 4 LINETTE: Maybe I oughtta take off early to-- 5 TV ANNCR: (ELECTRIC BALLOON; FROM TV) ...we'll have comments from leading scientists on the eerie phenomenon in the Hollywood sky tonight... (3) CLOSE - THE TV SET shows a scene at the doors of a HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM: HALF- A-DOZEN UNIFORMED POLICEMEN, are escorting a gurney, into the hospital. On the gurney is---JHAGUR, wrapped in blankets from his shoulders down; his arms rest limp at his sides, outside the blankets. The burns on his face, arms, and hands have darkened into patches of ugly black blisters. 6 TV ANNCR: (NO POINTER) ...and pictures of the strange prisoner the LAPD captured near the scene... SFX: (LINETTE SCREAMING) EEEEEEEEEEEE (4) ANGLE - LINETTE AND BARTENDER She has fainted into his arms. He gawks at her, baffled. Several patrons of the bar have turned around on their stools and do likewise. 7 TV ANNCR: (OFF-PANEL) ...on "Newswatch-8" at eleven...! (5) CUT TO: INT. MAISON JAPON RESTAURANT - CLOSE ON WALL TELEPHONE AT HOST'S LECTERN Taro's hand is replacing the receiver in its cradle. 8 BLURB: The "Maison Japon" restaurant, West L.A.: 9 TARO: You were supposed to have killed her. 10 TARO: She drove herself to a doctor's office --and refused anesthesia while the bullet was removed. PAGE TEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) INSET PANEL - ANGLE - OVER SHOULDER OF JAPANESE YOUTH TO TARO The youth is the kid who shot Amanda Tower at her front door in VI #1. We see him from back. Taro, at the lectern-type stand of the restaurant host, is glaring daggers at the youth. 1 TARO: She's now at Dorman-Conner -- because the doctor threatened to call the police if she tried drive home. 2 TARO: I told you the woman had a constitution of steel -- but you didn't believe me, did you? (2) LARGER PANEL - BLEED OFF TOP, LEFT & RIGHT OF PAGE WIDE ANGLE - ACROSS THE RESTAURANT TO TARO AND THE YOUTH It's late -- no customers present. A big, barrel-chested, broad-shouldered, hugely-muscled Oriental man -- the type you always see in Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris pictures -- is wiping off the tables. Taro has swung at the youth with the back of his hand (speedlines indicate this motion). The youth is careening toward the huge Oriental, who looks up from his chore with an expression of disgust. 3 TARO: (BURST; CAPS IN DOUBLE-BOLD) --DID YOU?! 4 BIG MAN: Stupid, boy...got big shoulders, pea brain... 5 YOUTH: (LOWER-CASE LETTERS) =aaaagh= (3) SMALL PANEL - THE BIG MAN'S FEET As the youth tumbles down into panel (speedlines show his path), and his head hits the floor at the big man's feet. 6 BIG MAN: (OFF-PANEL) Mess on floor... PAGE TEN (4) SMALL PANEL - THE FACE OF THE BIG MAN As he looks up in disgust from the youth at his feet to off- panel Taro. 7 BIG MAN: I should clean up...? (5) SMALL PANEL - TARO nods perfunctorily at the big man. 8 TARO: Yes! (6) SMALL PANEL - BIG MAN'S POV - THE YOUTH The big man's hand is reaching down into panel, gripping the youth by his spikey haircut, starting to lift him off the floor! NO COPY (7) ANGLE - BIG MAN & THE YOUTH The big man is now holding the youth off the floor by his hair. The youth is screeching in pain. The big man smiles. NO COPY (8) CLOSER - BIG MAN & YOUTH The big man REPEATEDLY bashes the youth's face into his own forehead! (Multiple "ghost-images" of the repeated impacts.) Blood spurts from the youth's face. We can't see in this panel exactly what's happened to him. NO COPY (9) SMALL PANEL - POSITION AT RIGHT & LEFT TRIM LINES OF PAGE - ANGLE ON FLOOR As the youth drops into panel like a rock. His head hits the floor...hard. He's facing straight into "camera." And he's dead, his face reduced to a bloody pulp, barely recognizable as a face anymore. NO COPY PAGE ELEVEN (1) EXT. DORMAN-CONNER MEDICAL CENTER - EST. SHOT - NIGHT Hospital where Trepper died in graphic novel. 1 BLURB: Dorman-Conner Medical Center: 2 NURSE: (FROM AN UPPER FLOOR OF BLDG.) You don't forget a face like that, Mr. Wallerstein. 3 NURSE: Believe me, that`s the man-- (2) INT. DORMAN-CONNER - NURSES` STATION ON UPPER FLOOR - WIDE SHOT Wallerstein, in loose-fitting flower-print Hawaiian shirt, baggy slacks, and tennis shoes is leaning over the counter, talking to the nurse on duty (we'll call her MARGO). She's smallish (maybe just a little over five feet tall) with a lot of curly reddish hair. Her facial features are also small-- tiny round eyes, buttonish nose, small mouth pursed in a perpetually-sardonic expression. She's seated behind the desk of the nurses' station, filling out reports, and looking up at Wallerstein at the same time. 4 NURSE: --or whatever-- 5 NURSE: --that killed David Trepper. 6 W'STEIN: Maybe. But until further notice, he's a patient-- period. (3) ANGLE PAST NURSES' STATION DOWN HALLWAY Wallerstein, seen from back, is shuffling down the hallway toward the patient wards. Margo is leaning over the desk, calling after him. (She's small enough that her body is positioned across the desk like a seesaw on its fulcrum; that's the only way she could lean over it.) 7 NURSE: Right. Let me know if there's any change in status. 8 NURSE: Uhm...you free any night this week? 9 W'STEIN: You've got on a wedding ring. 10 NURSE: Next week, then...? (3) HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - AT DOOR OF ROOM #807 TWO UNIFORMED COPS, each wearing a riot helmet and holding a rifle, stand almost at attention outside the door. One of the cops sees Wallerstein strolling up. The cop-- whom we'll call EVANS-- recognizes him, and lowers his gun. 11 EVANS: Got you outta bed again, huh, Wallerstein? 12 W'STEIN: Second time today. How's our friend doing? 13 EVANS: Search me. The docs won't let us near 'im. (4) ANGLE FAVORING WALLERSTEIN As he reaches for the door handle, Evans leans across the door, barring it with his arm, preventing Wallerstein from entering. 14 EVANS: They're in there with 'im now. I let you in, they'll scream bloody murder...! 15 EVANS: You could visit your other friend first... 16 W'STEIN: What...? (5) CLOSE ON WALLERSTEIN Expression of mild shock. 17 EVANS: (OFF-PANEL) That woman you questioned this morning-- 18 W'STEIN: Amanda Tower? 19 EVANS: (OFF-PANEL) She's here, too. Down the hall-- 816. ***NOTE: PUT PANELS 6 & 7 ON BOTTOM TIER, SEPARATE FROM THE REST OF THE PAGE, VAL. START PANEL SIX 1/2" INSIDE STANDARD BORDER; EXTEND PANEL SEVEN TO TRIM LINE; USE SOLID BLACK GUTTER TO SEPARATE BOTTOM TIER FROM TIER ABOVE. (6) CUT TO: INT. AMANDA'S HOSPITAL ROOM - ANGLE PAST AMANDA TO DOOR Amanda is lying on her back in the hospital bed. Her eyes are closed, but her body is completely rigid-- cords in her neck standing out taut, arms flat on the bed, straight at her sides, fists clenched. In b.g., Wallerstein has opened the door a crack, is starting to enter. Except for the soft glow of streetlamps through the venetian blinds, this shaft of light from the corridor is the only light in the room. 20 BLURB: (EVANS SPEAKING) "Somebody put a slug in her gut this afternoon. She won't say who." 21 W'STEIN: Miss Tower? Amanda...? (7) EXTREME CLOSEUP ON AMANDA Her head is horizontal in the panel. It turns to face the door and Wallerstein. She has opened one eye. 22 AMANDA: Get out, Wallerstein. 23 AMANDA: I'm trying to concentrate. PAGE TWELVE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" ****************************************************** VAL: ALL PANELS INSIDE TRIM LINE; SOLID BLACK GUTTERS; BLEED SOLID BLACK OFF ALL FOUR SIDES OF PAGE, SO PANELS LOOK LIKE THEY ARE SITTING ON BLACK B.G. ALSO: SUGGEST JUST A GRAY OR GRAY-BLUE WASH AS ONLY COLOR ON THIS PAGE, TO ENHANCE FEELING OF DARKENED ROOM. ****************************************************** (1) WIDER SHOT OF AMANDA'S ROOM Wallerstein is entering, pressing the door closed behind him. This makes the room completely dark again. Wallerstein is seen mostly in silhouette. Amanda is an ill-defined mass under the covers of the bed. We see now that she's hooked up to an IV bottle and there are monitors beside her bed keeping track of her vital signs. The entire room is dark, so all we can see are the vague outlines of the equipment, their blinking LEDs, and the pulses across a cathode-ray tube indicating Amanda's heartbeat. 1 W'STEIN: I think we need to talk, don't you? 2 W'STEIN: You might still be in danger. 3 AMANDA: Danger doesn't frighten me. Few things do. (2) ANGLE ON WALLERSTEIN He sits in a chair beside the bed. He's backlit by the soft light through the venetian blinds. 4 W'STEIN: I believe you. Still...been a hell of a day, hasn't it? 5 W'STEIN: You wake to find some lunatic's hacked up your girlfriend with a sword...then before the day's out... 6 W'STEIN: ...WHAM! Lead in your belly. (3) ANGLE - OVER WALLERSTEIN'S SHOULDER TO AMANDA She's looking straight up at the ceiling, trying to ignore him. We CLEARLY see the heart monitor next to Amanda's bed. The pulses continue across the screen. 7 AMANDA: If you don't get out of here... 8 W'STEIN: We think we've got the, uh...the guy who killed Brita. 9 W'STEIN: Just a few doors down the hall, in fact. (4) WALLERSTEIN - AMANDA'S POV He's nodding, playing this as nonchalantly as possible. 10 AMANDA: (OFF-PANEL) Here...? 11 W'STEIN: I thought you might want to talk to me before he did... 12 W'STEIN: ...in case you left out anything this morning. (5) REVERSE ANGLE - AMANDA FROM WALLERSTEIN'S POV She looks at him piercingly. The light glints angrily off her eye. 13 AMANDA: I had nothing to do with Brita's death. 14 AMANDA: And her death had nothing to do with...what happened to me. 15 W'STEIN: Okay. Just thought I'd ask. (6) WIDE SHOT - THE ROOM Wallerstein has risen and started back toward the door. 16 W'STEIN: I didn't really expect to find you awake, let alone coherent. 17 W'STEIN: Glad to see you weren't hurt badly... 18 AMANDA: The bullet tore a hole the size of your fist in my stomach, Mr. Wallerstein... (7) ON WALLERSTEIN At the door. He's opened it a crack, looks back over his shoulder at off-panel Amanda. Light from hallway allows us to see his shocked expression. 19 AMANDA: (OFF-PANEL) ...and burst my spleen on its way out of my body. 20 AMANDA: (OFF-PANEL) An ordinary person would have bled to death in minutes. (8) ON AMANDA looking at the off-panel Wallerstein again, a thin smile on her face, proud of herself. 21 AMANDA: But I can do things ordinary persons can't. 22 AMANDA: I'll show you someday...if you think you've got the balls to watch. PAGE THIRTEEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" ***************************************************** VAL: DO PANEL ONE INSIDE STANDARD BORDERS, ACROSS WIDTH OF PAGE. PANELS 3, 4, & FIVE ARE A STRIP ACROSS BOTTOM OF PAGE, EXTENDING JUST TO BOTTOM TRIM LINE. PANEL TWO BLEEDS OFF ALL FOUR SIDES OF PAGE, AROUND AND BETWEEN THE OTHER PANELS. ***************************************************** (1) CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DOOR TO AMANDA'S ROOM As a puzzled, shaken Wallerstein steps out, Evans, the uniformed cop comes running up to him. Evans is shouting at the top of his lungs. 1 EVANS: Wallerstein-- Jesus!-- you gotta see this! The docs are goin' outta their minds! 2 W'STEIN: What-- ? 3 EVANS: The red guy-- just c'mon, willya! (2) CUT TO: LARGE PANEL - INT. JHAGUR'S HOSPITAL ROOM - HIGH ANGLE - WIDE SHOT looking down on Jhagur's hospital bed as if our "camera" were positioned on the ceiling. Wallerstein is just entering the room. A FIFTYISH MALE DOCTOR (we'll call him JACOBS), his YOUNG, GOOD-LOOKING MALE COLLEAGUE (named PHILLIPS), and an attractive, late-thirtyish FEMALE DOCTOR (called LANDERS) are grouped around Jhagur's bed. What's lying in that bed now looks like a STONE OR PLASTER IMAGE OF JHAGUR. His body has covered itself in some sort of GRAY COCCOON, PERFECTLY MOLDED TO HIS FORM AND FEATURES. Jacobs's hand is caught in the weird substance, near Jhagur's shoulder. Jacobs is half sunk to his knees, howling in pain! Phillips is trying to pull him free. Landers is on the opposite side of Jhagur's bed, gaping in helpless horror and astonishment. 4 BLURB: Moments later, down the hall... 5 PHILLIPS: (BURST; STAGGERED LETTERS; DOUBLE BOLD) =AAAA-RRRRAAAGH= 6 W'STEIN: My god...what happened...?! 7 LANDERS: DR. JACOBS-- he tried to administer a salve-- to the burns-- 8 LANDERS:: --and that --that GRAY SHIT came oozing out of his pores-- hardened INSTANTLY--! (3) INSET PANEL: CLOSE - JACOBS'S ARM AND HAND with Phillips's hands gripping the arm. They manage to pull it free of the gray substance. The OUTER LAYER OF SKIN HAS BEEN EATEN AWAY, as if by acid, from Jacobs's hand, exposing the raw, red, gnarly-looking lower layer of skin. 9 PHILLIPS: (OFF-PANEL) Good lord...the outer layer of skin is...GONE! (4) INSET PANEL: ANGLE - ACROSS WALLERSTEIN TO DOOR As Phillips hustles Jacobs out of the room. Wallerstein is utterly nonplussed. 10 W'STEIN: I guess that settles one nagging question... (5) INSET PANEL: CLOSEUP - JHAGUR'S FACE covered in its sheath of gray "plaster." 11 W'STEIN: (OFF-PANEL) Our boychick's not human. PAGE FOURTEEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) CUT TO: EXT. APPALOOSA PARKING LOT - WIDE SHOT - NIGHT The Bartender and Linette are near the door of the place. The Bartender is yanking the still-woozy Linette back out of the way, as a very beat-up white Honda Civic (one rear fender is completely caved in) screeches to a halt just inches from them. Linette and the Bartender both look alarmed, startled. We can't see the DRIVER of the Honda clearly in this shot, but whoever it is looks like a huge sack stuffed behind the wheel. 1 BLURB: North Hollywood: 2 BARTENDER: What the hell-- LOOK OUT!! 3 LINETTE: You crazy bitch-- what're you tryin' to do?!? SFX: (HONDA'S BRAKES) SCRR-HEEECH!! (2) ANGLE - PAST LINETTE TO PASSENGER SIDE DOOR OF HONDA As Linette approaches the door, a very pudgy arm is flinging it open for her. Not gently. We still can't see the driver clearly. 4 DRIVER: You got one hell of a nerve complainin', Linette-- after how you treated me! 5 DRIVER: You want a ride-- staple your blowhole 'n get your ass in here! (3) INT. THE HONDA'S FRONT SEATS - ANGLE PAST LINETTE TO DRIVER As Linette gets into the car, we see the driver is her neighbor DELFINE. She's dressed as impeccably as usual: a tank top that rides up over her huge gut, shorts that bind around her thighs almost cutting off the circulation, one large curler in her hair, hanging down over her forehead. She's pointing to her lower lip, which is badly swollen from Linette's punch last issue. Linette looks very shaken, pale, in no mood to argue with Delfine. 6 LINETTE: I'm sorry, Delfine... 7 DELFINE: I don't even doubt it-- now that you need a FAVOR. 8 DELFINE: Too bad your KNUCKLES didn't think o' that before they inflated my LIP, huh? (4) ANGLE - PAST DELFINE & LINETTE TO WINDOW The Bartender is leaning in, looking concerned about Linette. Linette pats his hand, which rests over the partly lowered window. Delfine sneers at him. 9 BARTENDER: Your friend's not drunk, is she...? 10 LINETTE: Nah...we had a spat earlier on tonight. 11 BARTNDR: You're sure now? You'll be okay? 12 LINETTE: I'm sure. I'll be-- (5) EXT. WIDE ANGLE OF PARKING LOT As Delfine peels out-- and the Bartender leaps back, barely in time to keep from losing his head and his hand. 13 LINETTE: (FROM CAR; VERY SMALL LETTERS) --fine. SFX: (HONDA PEELING OUT) RRRRREEEEP PAGE FIFTEEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) AERIAL SHOT - MAGNOLIA BLVD. BEYOND THE PARKING LOT Delfine's car weaving wildly in and out of traffic on the street, speedlines indicating its path. 1 DELFINE: (FROM CAR) "Spat" my toenails! You walloped me in the puss for no goddam reason! 2 LINETTE: (FROM CAR) God, Delfine-- slow down, wouldja--! (2) INT. HONDA - ACROSS DELFINE TO LINETTE Delfine is shaking her head "no." Linette is bracing herself with both arms against the dash. 3 DELFINE: Not 'til I find out what our "spat" was about! 4 LINETTE: I'll tell you-- I swear I will-- on the WAY...! (3) INT. HONDA - ANOTHER ANGLE Now Delfine looks straight ahead through the windshield-- angry, thinks she's being toyed with. Linette, in f.g., is starting to cry, wiping a tear away with one hand. This is unusual for her; she's really deeply upset. 5 DELFINE: What way-- where? You said you wanted a ride home! 6 LINETTE: I know, I know-- I gotta ask just one more favor! 7 LINETTE: Take me down to VENICE...! (4) CUT TO: EXT. RAKA'S HOUSE ON WHITECAP STREET IN VENICE The Honda has pulled up in front of the place, and Linette is getting out. There are no lights on in the house. 8 BLURB: (LINETTE SPEAKING) "It's a life or death emergency! I haveta see RAKA again...!" 9 DELFINE: (FROM CAR) Make it fast, hear? I'm not gonna cool my tush out here all night! 10 LINETTE: I'll try... ***************************************************** PANELS 5-9, VAL, ARE INTENDED AS A SEQUENTIAL STRIP; ALL SHOULD BE ON THE SAME TIER AND SEPARATED EITHER BY VERY THIN WHITE GUTTERS OR SOLID BLACK LINES. EXTEND THE STRIP TO THE TRIM LINES AT RIGHT, LEFT & BOTTOM TO GIVE YOURSELF AND THE ART SOME ELBOW ROOM. ***************************************************** (5) SMALL PANEL - THE DOOR OF THE HOUSE Linette raps on the door. She's biting her lip, hoping they won't be angry that she came at this late hour...hoping they won't turn her down. 11 LINETTE: C'mon...don't be asleep, babe... Linette's desperate... SFX: (RAPPING ON DOOR) =TOK TOK TOK= (6) SMALL PANEL - IN A LITTLE CLOSER ON LINETTE Linette waits, hand tentatively poised to rap again. No response. NO COPY (7) SMALL PANEL - IN JUST A LITTLE CLOSER ON LINETTE Linette has clenched both fists, looks toward off-panel Delfine, worried. There is still no response. NO COPY (8) SMALL PANEL - TIGHT ON LINETTE With just a little bit of the door visible behind her. She has turned away from the door, head hanging in defeat. In b.g., we see THE DOOR IS OPENING JUST A CRACK. NO COPY (9) SMALL PANEL - LINETTE'S HEAD AND SHOULDERS A GNARLED, ANCIENT FEMALE HAND is reaching out of the crack in the door and grabbing her shoulder. Linette gasps and jerks her head to look at the shoulder and the hand-- startled half out of her wits! 12 LINETTE: (LOWER-CASE LETTERS) =aaahhk= PAGE SIXTEEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) INT. RAKA'S HOUSE - ANGLE OVER OLD CRONE'S SHOULDER TO LINETTE The Old Crone who greeted Linette last issue is standing in the now-open doorway. Linette is whirling around to face her, very startled. We don't see what the old woman is wearing but its collar and shoulder look like those of a man's suit jacket. 1 LINETTE: Ooh, my-- you scared me about half to DEATH--! 2 CRONE: Your appointment was for Wednesday, Miss Cumpston. Raka never sees the same person twice in one day. (2) ANOTHER ANGLE - THE DOORWAY As Linette, seen more or less in profile comes barging past the old woman into the room. We see now that the Crone is wearing a perfectly fitted man's tuxedo! 3 LINETTE: It can't wait, ma'am. Somethin' horrible's happened. 4 LINETTE: You tell 'er I'll pay whatever she asks... 5 CRONE: I'm afraid it's not that simple... (3) CLOSEUP ON OLD CRONE Adjusting her black tie, smiling enigmatically. 6 CRONE: ...and besides, she's not in at the moment. (4) ANGLE - STAIRWAY TO SECOND FLOOR Linette is marching up the stairs with the old woman behind her, following at a surprisingly brisk pace. 7 LINETTE: Don't bullshit me, lady! You told me yourself-- she never leaves the whatchamacallit! 8 CRONE: The dream chamber. Yes, that's true. 9 CRONE: But the dream chamber isn't in at the moment, either. (5) ANGLE - PAST TOP OF THE STAIRS TO DOOR OF DREAM CHAMBER Linette has reached the top of the stairs and is striding implacably toward the door. The Old Crone (seen from back) is just a couple of steps behind her. 10 LINETTE: Uh-huh. Right. Where'd it go-- out dancing? 11 LINETTE: I'm GONNA see Raka, ma'am-- and nobody-- (6) INT. DREAM CHAMBER - ANGLE ON THE DOOR And nothing else in the room. It's being flung wide open, and Linette is starting to walk inside. But she halts in mid- step, stunned at what she sees. 12 LINETTE: --but NOBODY-- is gonna stop m-- (7) WIDE ANGLE - INT. OF ROOM Linette is standing in the middle of the room, looking poleaxed. The old woman stands in the doorway, leaning against the doorjamb, arms folded (a little smugly) over her chest. THE ROOM IS COMPLETELY EMPTY: Not only is all the occult paraphernalia gone, the walls are now painted white and there's an ordinary throw rug on the floor where the pentagram had been. 13 CRONE: You will come back Wednesday, won't you, Miss Cumpston? PAGE SEVENTEEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) EXT. TWO-LANE HIGHWAY IN MOJAVE DESERT - WIDE SHOT - NIGHT A black Rolls Royce races down the highway, its headlights cutting a path through the blackness. In f.g., a jackrabbit leaps out of the way of the car. 1 BLURB: The Mojave desert, northeast of Los Angeles: (2) ANGLE - A CLUMP OF BOULDERS OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD The Rolls has turned off the road and is driving toward the rocks, kicking up a cloud of dust behind it. The rocks are nothing special-- just some very large stones piled atop one another to form a little natural enclosure. There's enough space between the boulders for a man to crawl-- or be dropped-- in. NO COPY (3) ANOTHER ANGLE - THE ROLLS AND THE STONES The car has stopped next to the rock formation. The driver's door is opening, and the Big Oriental Man from Taro's restaurant is getting out. NO COPY (4) ANGLE - OVER BIG MAN'S SHOULDER INTO TRUNK OF THE ROLLS As he opens the trunk. The body of the spikey-haired youth is laying in the trunk. Now that the blood has dried, his face looks even worse. NO COPY (5) ANGLE - PAST THE EDGE OF THE ROCKS TO THE BIG MAN He's walking toward the rocks with the youth's body cradled in his arms. NO COPY (6) REVERSE ANGLE - PAST BIG MAN TO THE ROCKS He tosses the youth's body into the space between the rocks, into the natural enclosure, out of sight. NO COPY (7) ANGLE - THRU APERTURE INTO THE NATURAL ENCLOSURE It's a nest of rattlesnakes. Half-a-dozen or so of them are attacking the corpse. NO COPY (8) ANGLE - PAST CAR TO ROCKS The car is in f.g., driving back onto the road. We can see the silhouette of the Big Man behind the wheel. There is no one in the car with him. We can just make out the rocks through the cloud of dust the car is kicking up. NO COPY PAGE EIGHTEEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) INT. THE ROLLS - ANGLE ACROSS BIG MAN TO PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW Emphasizing again that there is no one in the car. The Big Man is grinning as his hand moves toward the knob to turn on the car's radio. NO COPY (2) CLOSEUP - THE BIG MAN'S HAND Turning the radio knob-- as a powerful female hand reaches into panel (speedlines emphasize its incredibly quick movement) and grips his wrist. 1 RADIO: (ELECTRIC BALLOON; ITALICS) --and here's another blast from the past-- (3) SIMILAR ANGLE TO PANEL ONE The Big Man's expression turns to one of shock. With good reason: sitting in the passenger seat beside him is AMANDA TOWER-- in her hospital gown. She's holding up the Big Man's arm, tightening her grip on his wrist. Her expression is terrifyingly cold, ruthless. She makes him look like a pushover. 2 RADIO: (OFF-PANEL; SAME) --Tommy James!-- The Shondells!-- "I Think We're Alone Now"-- 3 AMANDA: We are going to talk...or you are going to die. Is that clear? 4 BIG MAN: Y-- yuh-- (4) CLOSEUP - AMANDA Her eyes are chillingly cold. 5 AMANDA: Who ordered me shot? The GUILD-- or TARO? (5) AMANDA'S POV - PAST THE BIG MAN'S WRIST IN HER HAND TO HIS FACE He's wincing from the pain. He looks like he's about to die of fright. 6 BIG MAN: Dunt know...think...it Taro...! (6) ANGLE - AMANDA AND BIG MAN Still holding the Big Man's wrist with one hand, Amanda lifts the other with fingers spread and hooked like talons. The Big Man nods repeatedly, sweat pouring from his brow. He's terrified. Her expression hasn't changed. 7 AMANDA: Don't lie to me, Tong. You've seen what my hands can do. 8 AMANDA: Are you telling the truth? 9 BIG MAN: Yuh-- sure! TRUTH! (7) AMANDA'S POV Her fingers uncurl, releasing the Big Man's hands. Her hand and arm seem to be dissolving away. The Big Man stares at her in disbelief and awe. 10 AMANDA: (OFF-PANEL) Tell Taro we spoke. Tell him I said: payment is required. 11 AMANDA: (OFF-PANEL) And enjoy the ride home. It's a pleasant night. (8) ANGLE - PAST BIG MAN TO WHERE AMANDA SAT She's gone-- without a trace. He's staring gape-jawed at the empty seat. 12 RADIO: (ELECTRIC BALLOON; OFF-PANEL; FLOATING MUSICAL NOTES AROUND COPY IN ITALICS) --"the beating of our hearts is the only sou-ound"-- PAGE NINETEEN HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) INT. AMANDA'S HOSPITAL ROOM - WIDE SHOT - NIGHT It's a scene of panic: Dr. Landers (the woman) is pounding on Amanda's chest with clasped hands, trying to restart Amanda's heart. (Speedlines indicate the powerful downward motion of her arms.) Margo-- the nurse we met earlier-- is rushing into the room, pushing a defibrillator device on a cart. (The device has two electrodes with hand-grips on two coiled cords. It's used to shock the heart into beating again.) Wallerstein is also in the room, off to one side, trying to stay out of the way. 1 BLURB: Dorman-Conner Medical: 2 LANDERS: HURRY! Get that defibrillator in here! Her ECG's been flat almost five full minutes! 3 NURSE: Then there's probably no reason to RUSH...! (2) SMALL PANEL - WALLERSTEIN grimaces at Margo's comment. 4 W'STEIN: Yeah, but it couldn't hurt. 5 W'STEIN: Maybe we can still hold it down to one brain death in the room. (3) SMALL PANEL - MARGO is adjusting the controls of the device, flipping the "ON" switch. (It's battery-operated.) She looks off in Wallerstein's direction and the doctor's. 6 NURSE: Hee-hee-hee. When did you get your M.D., flatfoot? 7 NURSE: Okay, Dr. Landers, you're set...! (4) SMALL PANEL - ANGLE PAST LANDERS TO AMANDA Amanda still lies completely motionless on the bed, eyes closed, head lolling at an odd angle. Landers is holding the two electrodes against Amanda's chest. 8 LANDERS: On my signal! Ready-- (5) SMALL PANEL - CLOSEUP - AMANDA Her eyes suddenly snap open. She smiles patronizingly up at Landers. 9 AMANDA: I don't think all this fuss is necessary, doctor. (6) WIDE ANGLE - INCL. WALLERSTEIN, LANDERS, MARGO & AMANDA As Amanda sits up in bed. Landers looks like she's going to fall over; the electrodes are dropping from her hands onto the bed or the floor as her grip fails. Margo is numbstruck. Wallerstein is rubbing his forehead in utter disbelief. Amanda retains the same patronizing smile. 10 LANDERS: Good god...! 11 NURSE: You're-- ALIVE--?! 12 AMANDA: I was...away for a bit, that's all. I'm fine. 13 AMANDA: In fact, if you examine my wound, I think you'll find it sufficiently healed to release me. PAGE TWENTY HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-1/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL CAFETERIA - WIDE SHOT - NIGHT Similar to a school cafeteria: long formica tables, metal chairs, and a bank of vending machines lining one wall. It's the middle of the night, and the place is almost deserted. An intern and a nurse can be seen in b.g., sitting, talking, drinking milk from cardboard cartons and eating doughnuts. Wallerstein is in f.g., sitting ON one of the tables, resting his feet on the seat of a chair. He's drinking coffee from a paper cup. Dr. Landers, carrying a cup of coffee, is about to join him. She looks very fatigued-- and more than a little on edge. About an hour has passed since the previous scene. 1 BLURB: The hospital commissary, a short time later: 2 W'STEIN: Did you examine her...? 3 LANDERS: Yeah. I did. It looks like she was shot months ago, not hours. 4 LANDERS: We may keep her another day. For observation. (2) CLOSER ON WALLERSTEIN AND LANDERS She sits on a chair next to the one on which he's planted his feet. She's clearly exhausted. He looks at her sympathetically. He's not much better off himself. 5 W'STEIN: What about the "scarlet pimpernel?" 6 LANDERS: No change. Dr. Phillips thinks he can hear a heartbeat, though, under that...stuff. 7 LANDERS: I just wonder if that's good news, or bad. (3) TIGHT ON LANDERS looking up at off-panel Wallerstein. Her eyes are dulled, and dark circles are beginning to appear under them. 8 LANDERS: For all his otherworldliness-- he reminds me of the streetgang types we get in the emergency room. 9 LANDERS: There's something primitive-- even barbaric-- about him. (4) LOW ANGLE - PAST LANDERS TO WALLERSTEIN He nods, agreeing with her assessment. 10 W'STEIN: Nobody mistook him for E.T., doctor. We may be able to link him to two murders. 11 W'STEIN: And just 'cause he's not quite human-- that doesn't mean he's from another world. (5) ON WALLERSTEIN looking down at off-panel Landers. He's trying to maintain a sense of humor about all this. 12 W'STEIN: For all we know, he could be the product of a chemical spill in Pomona. 13 W'STEIN: Maybe he was illegally manufacturing red dye number two, and it blew up in his face. (6) CUT TO: INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DOOR TO AMANDA'S ROOM Still dressed in her hospital gown, she's slipping out the door, into the hallway. 14 BLURB: (WALLERSTEIN SPEAKING) "After all, what kind of shmuck comes from outer space-- 15 BLURB: "--to kill a terminally-ill Olympic athlete and a transvestite-- (7) ANGLE - ANOTHER DOOR IN THE CORRIDOR Marked "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY." Amanda is looking furtively over her shoulder as she slips into this room. 16 BLURB: "--and leaves a note in ENGLISH at the scene of the second crime? 17 BLURB: "Which reminds me: do the words `VOID INDIGO' mean anything to you?" PAGE TWENTY-ONE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" ***************************************************** NOTE: It's important, Val, that Panels 6, 7, 8 & 9 appear on the same tier. Aside from this, you can arrange the panels pretty much in any way that suits you. Because they will, of necessity, be SMALL panels, it may be a good idea to work all the way out to the trim line and bleed everything off the page. ***************************************************** (1) INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DOOR TO JHAGUR'S ROOM The two uniformed cops still stand at the door of the room, armed with rifles. Amanda, now in a nurse's uniform, comes walking up to the door, carrying a medicine tray. The cops give her a funny look... 1 AMANDA: Medicines. Dr. Landers ordered them. (2) ANOTHER ANGLE - JHAGUR'S DOOR ...but Evans opens the door for her and she continues into the room. 2 EVANS: I guess it's okay... (3) INT. JHAGUR'S ROOM - ANGLE PAST JHAGUR TO DOOR As Amanda steps inside. Jhagur is still encased in the strange gray matter tha covered his body earlier. Amanda, who's just coming through the door, looks at him in awe-- and fascination. Keep this room very atmospheric, also, Val. Like Amanda's, it's dark-- but there might now be many more machines and measuring devices in here, all glowing eerily. 3 AMANDA: On my way back from the desert, I felt your prescence here. (4) CLOSER - JHAGUR'S BED Amanda is sitting down on the bed, placing the medicine tray on a nightstand next to the bed. She seems completely unafraid of Jhagur. 4 AMANDA: You're Brita's murderer, aren't you? (5) ANGLE ON JHAGUR AND AMANDA She lies down next to him on the bed, placing her arm across his chest, as if they had been sleeping together. She still shows no hint of fear. 5 AMANDA: And you know about VOID INDIGO. (6) TIGHT ON THEIR FACES Amanda presses her cheek against the rough, stonelike surface of Jhagur's gray "mask." 6 AMANDA: I want you to know me. (7) EXTREME CLOSEUP - THEIR FACES As Amanda presses her lips to Jhagur's, kissing him. Just a tiny wisp of smoke rises from her lips. The gray matter is burning her. (NOTE: Careful here, Val. This could look extremely silly-- like a "passion effect" from a Popeye cartoon-- unless the smoke effect is very subtle.) NO COPY (8) SAME ANGLE The gray stuff starts to spread over Amanda's face. Everywhere it touches her skin, the flesh starts to burn, like Dr. Jacobs's hand. The process is obviously not painless, yet she makes no move to avoid or to stop it. She's wearing that steely expression again, the one of absolute control. Her lips are just a little bit away from his face now, so that she's able to whisper. 7 AMANDA: Yes...take me...the burning...doesn't matter...! (9) FULL SHOT - AMANDA AND JHAGUR This needn't be a very large panel, Val, but it should show almost the full length of their two bodies stretched out on the bed. The gray stuff is already all over Amanda, beginning to enclose her a coccoon like his. Every part of her body that is not covered by clothing is giving off steam, as her face did. 8 AMANDA: I want you...to show me...what you know... PAGES TWENTY-TWO AND TWENTY-THREE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) INSET PANEL - UPPER LEFT OF PAGE 22 INT. THE HOSPITAL ROOM - HIGH ANGLE ON JHAGUR AND AMANDA We're looking down on the bed as if our "camera" were mounted on the ceiling of the room. Jhagur and Amanda now look like a couple of lava-encrusted figures that might have been unearthed at Pompeii: she's now completely enclosed in the gray stuff. 1 AMANDA: (VERY SMALL, LOWER-CASE LETTERING; BALLOON POINTER OPEN WITH LITTLE "BURST" EFFECT AT THE END) ...show me...void... indi-- 2 BLURB: Moments later, Amanda is completely encased in the strange gray substance. (2) INSET PANEL - HIGHER ANGLE ON JHAGUR AND AMANDA Essentially, this angle would be impossible in reality. We are looking down on them from a vantage point higher than the ceiling would be. They are completely still, frozen in their bizarre embrace. 3 BLURB: Her flesh never meets that of the alien... (3) INSET PANEL - SAME ANGLE AS PANEL TWO Except that now the NAKED SPIRIT FORMS of Jhagur and Amanda are rising from the coccoon and floating right out of the panel, into the large panel that extends across the rest of these two pages. 4 BLURB: ...and yet, in some ineffable way, they touch. (4) LARGE PANEL - BLEED ON ALL FOUR SIDES EXT. THE INDIGO VOID (NOTE: This, Val, was one of the few visual effects that disappointed me in the graphic novel. I want a very distinctive visual for this place, to set it utterly apart not only from the conventional portrayal of other dimensions in "Dr. Strange"-- but also, and perhaps more importantly, anything we might do in "The Starling." What follows is a slightly amplified version of the way I described the Void in the graphic novel script:) What this looks like is BLOOD UNDER A MICROSCOPE-- rather than the geometric abstractions of "Dr. Strange," this "realm of the spirit" looks like it's part of some LIVING BEING. Amoeba-like, protoplasmic shapes float in what almost looks like a universe of LIQUID SPACE. Through this liquid universe extends the GREAT CHAIN OF BEING, extending far beyond our POV into the infinite. The chain is not taut, but rises, falls, and loops back on itself in places. In b.g., the liquid is forming itself into the vague outlines of A MULTITUDE OF FACES-- HUMAN AND OTHERWISE. Some are grotesque, demonic; others seem to be wailing, crying. They ALL seem to be watching what's going on between Jhagur and Amanda: Their "bodies" have been "shot" out of panel three, and they tumble, entwined and unclothed, IN MULTIPLE IMAGES, across the rest of these two pages. (As with the sexual scenes in "Starling," they should be drawn in poses that do not reveal either's genitalia.) Each pose is different and more bizarre and provocative than the one before. One thing remains consistent, however: both Jhagur's expression and Amanda's remain controlled, almost aloof, throughout. (One of the multiple images should bring them close enough to the foreground for us to see that clearly.) Amanda's obsession with "control" extends itself to sex, and it thus parallels that of the natives of Jhagur's homeworld, as described in the graphic novel. (FYI: This, incidentally, is why he and Linette do not and probably would never sleep together. Her natural inclination would be to turn it into a party-- which would be anathema to Jhagur.) The scene should look as if it were shot through a blue filter-- the predominant color is indigo, with other shades of blue for contrast. 5 BLURB: What is unleashed between them is not a tidal wave of passion-- 6 BLURB: --but a carefully measured CURRENT of stimulation, which methodically erodes every intellectual defense against pleasure. 7 BLURB: Its intensity would be unbearable for most humans-- the necessary delay between stimulation and gratification, intolerable. 8 BLURB: And an earthman would find incomprehensible the notion that the act could take place on the plane of the SPIRIT, not the flesh, and be equally satisfying. 9 BLURB: Yet that is THE WAY on Jhagur's homeworld of GEBURA-- and that is precisely what occurs between him and Amanda-- in the VOID INDIGO. PAGE TWENTY-FOUR HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" **************************************************** VAL: BLEED ART OFF ALL FOUR SIDES OF PAGE TO ALLOW AS MUCH ROOM AS POSSIBLE. PANEL FOUR, IN PARTICULAR, SHOULD BE STRATEGICALLY PLACED FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT. PANEL FIVE SHOULD BE A LARGE, VIOLENT PANEL, DRIVING HOME THE REVELATION IN THE PANEL THAT PRECEDES IT. **************************************************** (1) INT. JHAGUR'S HOSPITAL ROOM - HIGH ANGLE - NIGHT We're again looking down on the bed from a pov at about ceiling height. The gray encrustation around Jhagur and Amanda has started to crumble. They're moving, and pieces of the stuff are falling to the floor. 1 BLURB: They spend what seems an eternity together in the vast blue emptiness of the other realm. 2 BLURB: When they awake, they know the shape of one another's souls with terrifying completeness. (2) CLOSER - AMANDA AND JHAGUR sit up in bed, facing one another. The gray matter is dropping from their bodies like old, dry plaster. IMPORTANT: Amanda is seen from back-- and mostly in shadow. There have been radical changes in her, but we can't see them as yet. Keep this staging looking natural, Val. I don't want the readers to realize we're hiding something from them. We can, however, see Jhagur fairly clearly. His burns have healed completely, and his manner has undergone a very noticeable change: he wears an odd, faraway look, as though he were seeing far beyond this room, perhaps into the Void itself. His body language matches his expression. The customary tension is gone-- he looks relaxed, even languid. He and Amanda gaze fixedly at one another. 3 JHAGUR: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) You are...unlike other females of this world. You are a warrior, as am I. 4 JHAGUR: (SAME) Our souls have met. Now I must know your mind. 5 AMANDA: (SAME!!) And I yours. We have a great deal of...information to exchange. (3) ANGLE - PAST JHAGUR AND AMANDA TO DOOR OF ROOM Jhagur's back blocks our view of Amanda. We still see only a bit of her, and that in shadow. The door has been flung wide open and Evans, the uniformed cop, is barging inside. Jhagur looks in that direction, mildly startled. Amanda also has her head turned in that direction-- away from our "camera." 6 EVANS: HEY! It's been five minutes, lady! What the hell's happenin' in-- 7 EVANS: (TINY LETTERING; NORMAL-SIZED BALLOON) oh shit...! (4) CLOSE ON AMANDA Looking up at off-panel Evans: HER HAIR HAS TURNED PURE WHITE LIKE JHAGUR'S-- HER SKIN HAS TURNED CARNELIAN RED, LIKE HIS-- AND HER EYES ARE NOW PUPILLESS INDIGO ORBS, LIKE HIS! BEAMS OF INDIGO ENERGY FLASH FROM HER EYES TOWARD EVANS! NO COPY (5) INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR Looking straight down the corridor: the door to Jhagur's room is on one side of panel, the opposite wall of the corridor is on the other side. The indigo energy beam has hit Evans squarely in the chest and is hurling him out of the room (SPEEDLINES INDICATE HIS PATH THROUGH THE AIR), to crash against the wall of the corridor! Thick black smoke is rising from the spot on his chest where the indigo beam struck him, and his shirt in that spot has been completely burned away! The SECOND UNIFORMED COP, still out in the corridor, gapes in astonishment. SFX: (EVANS HITS WALL) THWHAMM! (6) INT. JHAGUR'S ROOM - SMALL PANEL - JHAGUR AND AMANDA rise from the bed. She's a little unsteady, rubbing her eyes. He offers her no assistance. 8 AMANDA: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) It hurts...I couldn't kill him...not strong enough...! 9 JHAGUR: (SAME) You will learn to spare yourself SOME of the pain. With practice. (7) INT. CORRIDOR - WIDE SHOT Jhagur and Amanda move out of the room, into the corridor. The Second Cop, kneeling over the badly burned Evans, barely notices them. 10 JHAGUR: (SAME) You will learn, too, not to kill needlessly... 11 JHAGUR: (SAME) ...or without instruction from the VOID. PAGE TWENTY-FIVE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) INT. LIVING ROOM OF LINETTE & JHAGUR'S APARTMENT - DAWN Linette and Delfine are seated on the couch. Linette's face is buried in Delfine's shoulder. She's crying. Delfine pats her on the back, attempting in her smug, patronizing, self-centered way to comfort her. 1 BLURB: North Hollywood, some time later: 2 DELFINE: You should'a just told me Michael was the trouble, hon. You don't haveta hide that stuff from Delfine! 3 DELFINE: G'wan-- cry your li'l ol' eyes out-- I'll letcha know if my shoulder gets soggy--! (2) ANOTHER ANGLE - LINETTE AND DELFINE Linette looks up from Delfine's shoulder. Tears are streaming down her (Linette's) face. Her mascara and makeup are running. She's a mess. Delfine is eating it up; she loves simple melodrama, and she loves playing the part of the caring friend: it makes her the center of attention. 4 LINETTE: It's not what you THINK, Delfine ...honest! 5 LINETTE: I'm scared he got HURT, not LAID! I just wanna know he's all right! 6 DELFINE: Well, THAT'S easy as pie, hon--! (3) ANGLE - PAST DELFINE TO LINETTE Delfine has leaped up from the sofa and grabbed the telephone. She's starting to dial a number. In b.g., Linette has buried her face in her hands and is shaking her head "no," tossing her hair wildly. Delfine doesn't seem overly upset by this. 7 DELFINE: We can just call the cops an' the hospitals-- 8 DELFINE: --if you're REALLY worried about the guy's HEALTH, that is...! 9 LINETTE: DAMMIT, DELFINE-- PUT DOWN THAT PHONE!! (4) REVERSE ANGLE - PAST LINETTE TO DELFINE Delfine hangs up, nods "knowingly" at Linette, who still has her face buried in her hands. 10 DELFINE: I figgered as much. 11 LINETTE: NO!...callin' wouldn't...do any good, is all... 12 LINETTE: ...it'd just...make everything...WORSE...! (5) ANGLE - PAST THE SOFA TO THE DOOR OF THE APARTMENT Delfine is waddling back toward the sofa, supremely confident she has Linette's situation all doped out. Linette is looking up at her plaintively, tears still running down her face. In b.g., the door is starting to OPEN. Neither woman notices this yet. 10 DELFINE: I'll say-- who needs a runaround man an' a big PHONE BILL, besides? 11 LINETTE: Couldn't you just BELIEVE me an' let it go, Delfine...? (6) CLOSEUP - DELFINE whips her head around in the direction of the door. She looks shocked by what she sees. 12 MICK: (OFF-PANEL; ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) Go home, Delfine. I have to speak to Linette-- ALONE. 13 DELFINE: Well ream me sideways...! PAGE TWENTY-SIX HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) LARGE PANEL - ANGLE ON DOOR OF THE APARTMENT The door is open, and Jhagur (in his MICK persona, looking utterly human) is standing just inside-- with Amanda! She's still in the nurse's uniform, but her skin, hair and eyes have returned to their normal hues. Delfine is brushing past them, storming out of the apartment, fuming. Linette, still seated on the couch, stares wide-eyed at them, not knowing what to make of this. 1 DELFINE: A NURSE, huh? No wonder she didn't want me me callin' any HOSPITALS! 2 DELFINE: You got some nerve, man-- worryin' Linette half-crazy, then bringing' your outside interests HOME! 3 DELFINE: You put up with THIS, girl-- don't come cryin'to ME no more! You go get PROFESSIONAL help! (2) ANGLE ON LINETTE She's stopped crying. She wipes the tears from her eyes, as she gazes at off-panel Mick and Amanda. 4 LINETTE: They showed pictures of you on TV... bein' carted into the hospital...! 5 LINETTE: You looked like a rack of ribs...burned an' all...I didn't know if you were alive, or what...! (3) ANGLE ON MICK He nods, understanding. 6 MICK: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) My body has means of dealing with such wounds. 7 MICK: (SAME) Are you all right now? (4) LINETTE starts to stand from the couch. She gestures at off-panel Amanda. 8 LINETTE: I will be...after a couple cold ones...! 9 LINETTE: So who's your girlfriend? (5) ANGLE ON MICK AND AMANDA He places a hand on her shoulder. She looks off-panel at Linette, puzzled. She can't make any more sense of this relationship than Delfine could. 10 MICK: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) Her name is Amanda. I want her to stay with us for a time. 11 MICK: (SAME) She is of great importance to me...and to my quest. (6) ANGLE FAVORING AMANDA Linette is walking into panel, carrying a six-pack of beer in one hand. She's pulling a can free of the six-pack and offering it to Amanda. Amanda stares at her, nonplussed. 12 LINETTE: Sounds good to me. 13 LINETTE: How 'bout a beer, Mandy? 14 LINETTE: You don't mind "Mandy," do you...? PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN ***NO ART ON THIS PAGE*** ***REVERSE TYPE: WHITE ON DARK BLUE B.G. PLEASE*** TYPESET COPY (SINGLE-SPACED; TYPEFACE SHOULD RESEMBLE TYPEWRITER TYPE): Dear Jane, . . . Nobody wants paperback rights to the book, it turns out. Allen, my agent, called yesterday and said the eleventh publisher had passed. The reasons are always the same: no one, they say, wants to read a "downer" these days. People want to be happy. Or be told how to become happy. They are not interested in hearing that their happiness might be illusory, and they are especially hostile to any intimation that living a worthwhile existence might require mental effort. In other words, they are the very people I have written about, and they are not interested in seeing themselves portrayed "negatively." . . . I've started work on something more commercial: a fantasy novel about a mutant child who is the granddaughter of one of the original Manhattan Project scientists. She grows up, visits Japan, sees the memorial to the devastation at Hiroshima, and becomes a ninja who takes revenge on the nuclear establishment. Allen already has offers from three publishers. He thinks it could become a bidding war. He doesn't understand why I insist upon writing this piece of shit under a pseudonym. . . . To answer your question, I'm sorry I ever moved to California and wish I had the resources to move back east. Being around my so-called "family" again has been as painful as you would expect. The Stone women-- myself included, I'm sure-- are all quite mad. It's interesting how that madness has contoured itself to each of our different personalities. Amanda was always the hunter and the stalker; she's become a reasonably successful entrepreneur using the alimony from three failed marriages to capitalize her assorted ventures. She's wealthy enough now that she no longer has to feign interest in men. Her latest amour is a wiry little cross-dresser named Brita. Rachel-- or "Raka," as she calls herself these days-- remains the visionary. In the past couple of years, though, she's abandoned both Buddhism and evangelical Christianity for an esoteric brand of mysticism that eludes me altogether. As with every other belief system she's embraced, she claims this one is The Answer. (I can't even get her to state the question in any kind of coherent form.) Given my unimposing track record in the intellectual area, I think Amanda's daughter-- who remains in my care-- may be this family's only hope of redeeming itself. Cosima seems to be the only integrated personality we've ever produced. She combines her mother's physicality and predatory instinct with Rachel's metaphysical bent and my own facility at rational analysis. To be honest, I find her frightening at times-- she's raising herself, really; I'm her guardian for legal purposes only-- but we like one another, and she usually does follow my advice in matters concerning society's expectations of her. She seems to grasp that her knowledge is still deficient in this area. . . . Affectionately, D.S. ---Excerpt from a letter to Ms. Jane Skolnik, from Delilah Stone, dated 9/12/83. PAGE TWENTY-EIGHT HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) EXT. BENEDICT CANYON - TARO'S HOUSE - DAWN This is a very expensive, very futuristic-style dwelling rising out of a wooded cliffside in one of the most exclusive areas of town. The house looks more like a Steven Spielberg Mothership than a building. It's composed of four cylindrically-shaped towers, each a different height, connected by tubelike structures running bewteen them. "Attached" to each tower is a disk-like structure (or portion thereof) with a band of windows running around the center. These decks are the actual "rooms" of the house. In front of the house is a wide circular driveway. Six cars-- mostly new, mostly BMWs, Porsches, and the like, but with the odd exception of a beat-up Chevy Malibu convertible-- are parked in the drive. Also parked here is the dust-covered Rolls the Big Man drove into the desert on his mission to dispose of the youth's body. 1 BLURB: Benedict Canyon...dawn. 2 TARO: (FROM UPPERMOST DISK OF TALLEST CYLINDER/TOWER) For us, there can be no mistaking what was seen in the skies last night... 3 TARO: The PROPHECY has come to pass. (2) LARGE PANEL: INT. THE ROOM INSIDE THAT DISK - WIDE ANGLE - SAME Nothing the slightest bit sinister-- on the surface-- about the room or its occupants. It's essentially a huge, circular living room, with plush curved sofas arranged in a horseshoe around a large marble block that serves as a coffee table. Seated on the sofa are the owners of the six cars-- a collection of very standard L.A. types: ---a good-looking tennis pro type, age about 35, in tennis attire (white shirt, white shorts, white socks, white canvas shoes) whom we'll call REED YOUNG; ---a youngish movie executive type, age about 27, in sport coat, tie, slacks, named JASON MACKEY; ---a stockbroker type, fiftyish, but in excellent physical condition, salt-and-pepper hair, dressed in a three-piece suit, named PETER DANBURY; ---a tall, svelte, blond, aspiring actress type, dressed in a sweat jacket, striped leotard, tights, leg warmers, and flat-soled ballet-type slippers (she looks like she stopped in on her way to an aerobics class, which she probably did), age about 23, named MELISSA SOUTHWOOD; ---a black pop singer type, in silk baseball jacket, dark shirt, very tight-fitting pants, teased frizzy hair, etc. (I'm seeing one of the Jackson brothers here, Val-- but not Michael Jackson himself) called AL SIMONE; ---an Hispanic woman, dressed in very businesslike fashion in a conservative dress, nylons, heels; we'll call her TERESA ALEJANDRO. They are posed very naturally, as if they were engaging in a meeting of some perfectrly ordinary organization. There's a pot of coffee and a basket of pastries on the table. Some of the crowd are sipping coffee and munching Danish as they listen to Taro. Taro stands at the open end of the horseshoe, addressing the others. The Big Man, looking ominous as ever, stands off to one side and behind Taro, like a bodyguard. This panel should be large enough, Val, that we can see the whole assemblage clearly, get a good idea (visually, at any rate) of who they are. 3 TARO: KAOK is free on earth once more. 4 TARO: Already, he has selected his winged messenger-- and an eye whose light will guide her. 5 TARO: Soon, the souls of the DARK LORDS will reawaken, and the GREAT WAR will begin-- 6 TARO: --the battle for dominion over the earth and all those who live upon it. (3) ANGLE ON MELISSA AND AL Melissa sets down her pastry and coffee, looking upset. Al puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. 7 TARO: (OFF-PANEL) Today is the last day of your lives as ordinary men and women. 8 TARO: (SAME) Clear up any unfinished human business... (4) CLOSE ON TARO As cold and businesslike as ever, not even mildly affected by the strange words he's speaking. 9 TARO: ...because tonight, you will undergo the RITUAL OF MORTIFICATION... 10 TARO: ...and the work of THE DEATH GUILD will begin in earnest. PAGE TWENTY-NINE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) WIDE SLIM PANEL - THE LIVING ROOM As Taro's guests file out, looking a little grim. The Big Man (hereafter called TONG) has stepped up beside Taro. They converse privately. 1 TONG: They afraid...fear thick, black, like smoke...! 2 TARO: Fear of the UNKNOWN, Tong-- essential to any act of religious conversion. 3 TARO: They believe their lives will be irrevocably CHANGED tonight. (2) ANGLE ON TARO AND THE BIG MAN The Big Man has stepped up beside Taro. He nods in response to Taro's comment. 4 TARO: Which they will. But not all that much. 5 TARO: They'll participate in the ritual ...pledge their souls to Kaok... (3) CUT TO: EXT. THE CIRCULAR DRIVEWAY As the guests get into their cars. One, the Chevy Malibu, with Reed Young at the wheel, is already peeling out of the driveway. Tong and Taro look down on the scene from the windows of the uppermost "disk." 6 TARO: ...and then go back to teaching aerobics, managing portfolios, or whatever. 7 TARO: On a daily basis, the BEYOND WORLD will be as irrelevant to their lives as the Christian heaven. (4) CUT TO: INT. THE LIVING ROOM - TARO AND TONG turn away from the window. Tong looks puzzled. Taro wears a small, self-satisfied smile. 8 TARO: But when called to duty, they'll respond like true believers of any stripe. 9 TARO: They'll place the Guild's interests above the rights-- and even the lives-- of all others. (5) CLOSE ON TARO He is holding up his two hands, the fingers clasped together, but the palms slightly apart, indicating a bonding, not a gesture of prayer. 10 TARO: Not because of faith-- because of human nature. They need to feel IMPORTANT. 11 TARO: And after tonight, they'll believe they've formed a bond with the new ruler of the universe. 12 TARO: Who could be more important than a personal friend of GOD'S...? PAGE THIRTY HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) CUT TO: INT. A CONDOMINIUM IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS - CLOSE ON A CHILD'S ALARM CLOCK It's a clock imbedded in the expansive stomach of a plastic bear. It reads 7:00. The alarm is going off, and the hand of the LITTLE GIRL we saw in the hills earlier is reaching for the clock. 1 BLURB: A condominium in the Hollywood Hills: SFX: (ALARM CLOCK) RRRRRINNNNG (2) WIDER SHOT - INCLUDING THE LITTLE GIRL Sitting up in bed, stretching. The bed looks perfectly normal-- nice fluffy pillows, clean sheets, quilted comforter-- but over the bed, arryaed on the headboard and hanging on the wall are some very peculiar items: a necklace of animal teeth, the skull of a coyote, a long knife, and the lock of Jhagur's hair, among them! They look like the mementoes of a primitive hunter. The little girl is dressed in "Underoos" now...her soft little sleeveless shirt has a picture of Darth Vader staring out from it. NO COPY (3) ANGLE PAST THE LITTLE GIRL TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM RAKA, our tattooed dream priestess, is sitting calmly on the windowsill. The little girl looks startled but not frightened. Raka smiles-- almost warmly-- at the little girl. 2 RAKA: (WAVY BALLOON; STAGGERED ITALICS) Good morning, Cosima. 3 COSIMA: =yawwn= Hunh...Aunt Rachel?... 4 RAKA: (SAME) Just a dream of Aunt Rachel. You're not awake yet, dear. (4) ANGLE FAVORING RAKA She's walking toward the bed now, almost gliding across the floor in very dancerly fashion. Little Cosima is rubbing her eyes, trying to wake up. 5 RAKA: (SAME) I'm going to need your help, Cosima. We have to do something that may be very dangerous. 6 RAKA: (SAME) We have to help another little girl who's trapped in the BEYOND-WORLD. 7 COSIMA: Who...? (5) ANGLE - THE BED Raka sits at the foot of the bed, pats Cosima's leg-- no sexual implication here, Val; it's purely a gesture of affection. 8 RAKA: (SAME) You don't know her. Her name is COLLEEN. She's very nice. You'll like her. 9 RAKA: (SAME) Without our help, though, she's going to die. (6) TWO-SHOT - RAKA AND COSIMA Raka takes both of the little girl's hands in hers, squeezing affectionately. The little girl nods sleepily. 10 RAKA: (SAME) Can you become a dream tonight-- the way I taught you-- so I can take you with me? 11 COSIMA: ...sure...I guess... 12 RAKA: (SAME) Good. Then I'll see you t-- (7) ANGLE - DOOR OF BEDROOM It swings open and DELILAH STONE enters. Delilah is the middle sister-- older than Raka, younger than Amanda. She's dark-haired, tall, pretty but not stunning. Her build is somewhere between that of the husky Amanda and the more wiry Raka. Unlike the other two, she appears relatively normal. She's dressed in a t-shirt, shorts, and sandals. 13 DELILAH: COSIMA-- wake up! You'll miss the bus for school! (8) ANGLE - OVER DELILAH'S SHOUDLER INTO THE BEDROOM Cosima is sitting up in bed-- alone. There is no sign of Raka anywhere. 14 COSIMA: ...uhn...okay, Aunt Rachel...! 15 DELILAH: It's just Aunt Delilah, hon. You've been dreaming... PAGE THIRTY-ONE HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" (1) INT. LINETTE & MICK'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - ANGLE PAST LINETTE TO DOOR OF ROOM The curtains are pulled; the bedroom is dark. Linette, in f.g., is lying with her head half sunken into a pillow. Framed in the doorway of the room is Amanda, still in the nurse's uniform. She's backlit by the morning light in the living room. We only see her severe silhouette. 1 AMANDA: What could a little whore from the sticks possibly mean to someone like you...? (2) INT. THE LIVING ROOM - ANGLE PAST MICK TO AMANDA He's sitting in the old easy chair, eating a sandwich (the plate is setting on the arm of the chair) and drinking beer from a can. Amanda has turned from the bedroom doorway to face him. Both still look entirely human. He looks up at her, smiles indulgently. She looks like she's about to explode. 2 AMANDA: You can't be sleeping with her. She could never endure what I did in the void. 3 AMANDA: And she's surely no companion for your intellect or your warrior's soul. 4 MICK: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) Very true. (3) ON AMANDA Bristling. 5 AMANDA: Then why do you stay in this rat trap? Why do you insist that I stay here? 6 AMANDA: She's an insect. She's beneath us both. (4) ON MICK Starting to stand, with his now-empty plate in one hand and the beer can in the other. 7 MICK: (SAME) Then go home...where your friends can find you and shoot you again. (5) ANGLE - PAST AMANDA TO MICK AT THE KITCHENETTE He's putting the plate in the sink and tossing the can away. 8 AMANDA: I have no friends. I have allies, enemies, and my own resources-- just as you do. 9 MICK: (SAME) There you are mistaken. I have one friend... 10 MICK: (SAME) ..."insect" though she may be. (6) ANGLE - MICK AND AMANDA He steps up to her, facing her directly. She reaches for his belt. 11 AMANDA: Friends trust one another-- so they tell me. 12 AMANDA: You DON'T trust her. Or you would have shown her the TRUTH. (7) SMALL PANEL - CLOSEUP - MICK'S BELT BUCKLE Amanda's hand is pressing it-- and it's starting to shimmer. 13 AMANDA: (OFF-PANEL) You would have shown her what I'VE become... (8) SMALL PANEL - SAME ANGLE ON BELT BUCKLE AND AMANDA'S HAND Except that the belt buckle is has become the jewel-studded one of Jhagur's space pilot's uniform, Mick's clothing has become Jhagur's warrior's garb, and Amanda's hand is now carnelian red like Jhagur's own skin. 14 AMANDA: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS; OFF- PANEL) ...and what SHE can never be. PAGE THIRTY-TWO HEIGHT: STANDARD 15-3/4"; TRIM 17-1/4"; BLEED 17-3/4" WIDTH: STANDARD 10"; TRIM 11-3/4"; BLEED 11-3/4" FULL-PAGE PANEL - BLEED OFF ALL FOUR SIDES Jhagur stands facing a white-haired, red-skinned, indigo- eyed Amanda. She is starting to unbutton her nurse's uniform, letting it fall from her shoulders provocatively. They're staring hard at one another. This is as much a challenge as a seduction. In b.g., unseen by either Jhagur or Amanda, we can just barely glimpse Linette...peeking around the corner of the bedroom door, wide-eyed. 1 AMANDA: (ANGULAR BALLOON BORDER; ITALICS) I will be your ally, Jhagur...but there's a PRICE for the information you want from me. 2 AMANDA: (SAME) You have to do to my BODY what you did to my soul. 3 JHAGUR: (SAME) I see. Then there is something of the insect in YOU, as well. 4 BLURB: (NEAR LOWER RIGHT CORNER OF PAGE) NEXT> SISTERS & ASSASSINS!