Knights of Columbus #1

Issue One: “All Tomorrow’s Parties part 1: The Big Question”

PAGE ONE

1/ Close on the dusty ground, to one side a tiny scorpion poses on the dirt and rock.

CAPTION (MILO): What Is The World?
CAPTION: It’s a question people rarely take the time to ask.
CAPTION: For some of us, the question comes more NATURALLY than for others.

2/ An enormous foot, wearing faded Sketchers, appears in-panel and squashes the scorpion.

CAPTION: Those with a more philosophical mindset can ponder the nature of reality for hours, days, years…
CAPTION: More often than not, they accomplish NOTHING.

3/ Pan up a bit, level with the ground as we see a pair of denim-clad legs attached to those shoes. There are impressions of cars in the BG – we’re in a parking lot.

CAPTION: Lives wasted, marriages ruined, sanity lost – all in the name of answering a question that won’t be answered, because it CAN’T be.
CAPTION: Or SHOULDN’T be.
CAPTION: But sometimes, you get a glimpse of something. And sometimes, if you’re LUCKY, that something changes everything.

4/ Large-ish shot of Milo, walking thru the parking lot of the aforementioned Goth club. Over his shoulder we see the pink neon sign attached to the corner of the building, proclaiming the name of the club: Ekadanta. Milo himself is a head and shoulders shot: messy black hair, with a single blue chunk hanging listlessly on his forehead. He is clean-shaven, with piercing blue eyes and a lip ring. Ears double-pierced, only at the top, with an Egyptian Eye of Ra on a black-cord necklace. To compliment his black-framed, rectangular eyeglasses, he wears a black, zip-up hoody, with a faded-blue approximation of a Pontiac Firebird logo. He is twenty-four years old.

CAPTION (NARR): The West Side.
CAPTION(MILO): My name is Milo Woodyard, and as much as I hate to admit it, Goth Clubs have a tendency to get me thinking about this sort of thing. They’re positively DRIPPING with metaphor.
CAPTION: See, when you get that glimpse, it puts the whole picture right in your grasp. Right at your fingertips. But only if you’re willing to REACH for it.
CAPTION: Sad thing is, you rarely are.
CAPTION: And if you’re one of those people, then Goth Clubs were invented for YOU.



PAGE TWO

1/ Milo walks up to the door-girl’s booth. She’s a little heavy, but still beautiful. She smiles; bright teeth and dark hair collide.

CORDY: Milo! Here to see MISTER WIZARD, I presume?

MILO: You know the drill, Cordy. Not exactly here for the atmosphere.

2/ Close on Cordy, flirtatious.

CORDY: Well, if I know the drill, then so do YOU. Big guy’s downstairs, but he’s got a line waiting for him.

3/ Milo raises an eyebrow.

MILO: Divination business hopping as usual, I take it?

4/ Angle-switch: Milo & Cordy face-to-face, as Milo leans on her booth. She dangles a small pendant at him, and he reaches for it.

CORDY: They don’t call him Mister Wizard just for kicks. You know these kids can’t go a week without him.

MILO: He’ll see me. Line or no line.

5/ Long panel: close on the pendant, now in Milo’s hand. It’s a gray elliptical stone, very thin, etched with the pyramid-and-eye logo from the back of the dollar bill: the Steps to Enlightenment.

CAPTION (Milo): Artifacts. Not the way I like to roll, but the ball’s in Mister Wizard’s court, for now.

6/ Long panel: as Milo walks away from Cordy and into the club. He is lit by strobes that lie beyond, on the dance floor.

CORDY (shouting after him): Don’t push it, Milo! You know how he can get!

MILO (not looking back): I told you, he’ll see me.

PAGE THREE

1/ Behind Milo as he makes his way thru the club, scanning the crowd. People everywhere, clad in leather, latex & lace, draped in plastered-down hair and inches-thick makeup. Everything lit for atmosphere: strobes, red lights, the works.

CAPTION: The problem with places like this isn’t the posers, or the death metal, or even the overpriced drinks.
CAPTION: It’s the psychic desperation.

2/ Close on Milo, head & shoulders, looking thru slit eyes as he makes his way thru the cacophony of Goth kids.

CAPTION: Every one of them, practically BEGGING to be read.
CAPTION: Crying out to me, pleading with me: KNOW MY SECRETS.

3/ Behind his shoulders again, as he stands at the top of a stairwell, looking into the club’s basement. At the foot of the stairs, a line of teeming partiers is backed up to the bottom step.

CAPTION: People always think that I hate these places for some superficial reason, some lifestyle choice, and they’re so wrong it makes me wanna scream.

4/ Bottom of the steps, Milo pushing his way past the line as people start shouting & gesticulating in protest. Milo ignores them.

GUY: Hey, asshole! Back of the line!

CAPTION: YOU try being a TELEPATH in a place full of desperate, lonely, twenty-somethings.

5/ Full-Body shot of Milo as he closes a door behind him. He’s reached the front of the line, and he now stands in Mister Wizard’s inner sanctum, in the basement of the club. The walls are covered in images of Nordic Runes. Milo smiles, wryly, looking past us towards the person he’s here to meet.

MILO: Mister Wizard.

6/ Mister Wizard looks up from reading some poor sap’s tarot cards. Wiz is a heavy guy, wearing a black leather trench-coat, drenched in gaudy necklaces. His long, black hair is slicked tightly back into a pony-tail. The guy he was reading looks back at us (and at Milo), clearly pissed. An old, ornate desk sits between them.

WIZ: Elliot.

7/ Wide Shot as Milo walks forward, dangling the pendant. Wiz is unimpressed as Milo’s shadow falls over him.

MILO: Told you not to call me that, Wiz.

WIZ: Told YOU not to call me THAT, Milo.

PAGE FOUR

1/ Milo pulls the guy whose cards are being read to his feet. The guy looks understandably indignant, but he knows better than to mess with Milo.

MILO: Look, pal: Long story short, your girlfriend is SCREWING your BEST friend.
MILO: I just saved you TWENTY BUCKS. Now, make like a TREE.


2/ Milo sits in front of Wiz’s desk, getting comfortable, as the other guy escapes out the door behind them.

MILO: How’s it hangin,’ Mister Wizard?

3/ Wiz glowers over his desk. Milo stares straight at him, dead-pan, brandishing a stack of five dollar bills.

WIZ: If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, Milo: I don’t like reading you. And you can’t just BUMP my customers like that.

MILO: And if you’ve said it a thousand times, I’ve said it ten thousand. It’s MY money passing into YOUR hands. You’re gonna read me.
MILO: Plus, I’m about a hundred times as powerful as any one of those schmucks out there, and I think that warrants me a little special dispensation.

4/ Wiz grabs the money, looking trumped but still annoyed.

WIZ: You don’t even NEED me, you know.
WIZ: You could probably do this better than I can.

5/Milo crosses his arms.

MILO: I could, probably. But READING FUTURES is not my bag.
MILO: Especially my own.

6/ Mister Wizard stares at Milo a moment, silent.

7/ On Milo as Wiz breaks the silence. Milo drapes the pendant from his fingers, in response.

WIZ: Do you have the pendant?

MILO: I do.



PAGE FIVE

1/ Mister Wizard looks at the pendant dangling before him, resigned. Milo leans forward, not interested in Wiz’s stalling games. As he does, the pendant switches hands to Wiz.

WIZ: When you push thru the CROWD like that, you don’t really have contact with the STONE as long as you’re supposed to.

MILO: I held it long ENOUGH.
MILO: Need I remind you who I am?

2/ Wiz squeezes the pendant, eyes closed tight in concentration.

WIZ: It’s not good. Not that it’s BAD, per se.

MILO: (off panel) Usually how it goes…

3/ On Milo as Wiz speaks. Milo is a little taken aback, but tries his best to conceal it.

WIZ: (Off-Panel) Did…did you get an UNUSUAL phone call in the last few days?

MILO: I did.

4/ Wiz is contemplative, choosing his words carefully.

WIZ: Accept the invitation.
WIZ: Go for it. It’s you’re next step. And…

5/ Milo raises an eyebrow.

MILO: And?

6/ Wiz leans forward, ominous. He holds out the pendant for Milo.

WIZ: You need to look out for the NUMBER EIGHT.

MILO: (off-panel) Like it’s BAD? Should I be WORRIED?

WIZ: It’s not clear. It might be nothing. It just seems like something to keep your eye on.

MILO: What is this, Wiz? A joke?

WIZ: What is the world, Milo? A lot of IMPORTANT THINGS are about to happen, Pal. And not just things that are important to YOU.
WIZ: That’s it. That’s what I see.
WIZ: Oh, and Milo? CALL CHRIS.

7/ Milo’s face tightens in anger, and he grabs the swinging pendant from Wiz’s elevated hand.

MILO: If that’s all you’ve got, WIZ, then I’m outta here. Have a better night.

PAGE SIX

1/ Behind Milo as he opens the door, headed back out into the hallway, where the irritated line still waits.

WIZ: (Off-panel) Same to you, ELLIOT. And remember what I said: ACCEPT THE INVITATION!

2/ As Milo strides up the line, one particularly trashy-looking club patron shouts out to him like a putz.

PUTZ: Thanks for holding up the line, FAGGOT!

3/ Close on Milo, as his eyes slit angrily.

MILO: Say that again?

4/ Close on Milo’s hand, as it bursts into flame.

MILO: (Off-panel) On second thought, don’t waste your breath.

5/ Large shot of Milo, hurling a ball of flame from his left hand, striking the Putz in the chest. Putz flies backward, crashing through the adjacent wall.

6/ Head and shoulders on Milo as he makes his way back up the steps, while over his shoulder, the people below all scramble to see what has happened.

7/ Working his way back through the ground floor crowd, Milo begins levitating the pendant in mid-air, watching it float between his shoulder-width hands.

8/ Milo mentally flings the pendant back in the direction of Cordy’s booth, an almost imperceptible trail of energy flying out behind it.

MILO: Catch, Cordy.

9/ We see a startled Cordy, catching the flying pendant awkwardly between her clenched hands. In the BG, Milo walks out the front door and into the night.

CAPTION: Goth clubs.
CAPTION: Whatever.

PAGE SEVEN

1/ This is a full page shot, lined at the bottom with the issue’s TITLE, CREDITS, and INDICIA. Otherwise, we see a young man, with dark brown hair and eyes, wearing a black t-shirt styled with an image of a medieval looking cross of wrought iron. He looks like a young Liev Schreiber. His name is Donovan. He has been through Hell, covered in open wounds and tattered clothes. His blue jeans are soaked in blood from gashes on his legs. He is being pinned to the wall by a very tall, crazed woman with sunken eyes and sallow skin, her ratty hair flying about her wildly. She is clearly very strong, and she holds him by his neck as he claws at her iron grip with his battered hands. She wears a long, crimson trench coat, covered with black buckles. The rest of her combat-ready garb is styled to match. It is a low-angle shot, so the two figures tower over us. On the ground, in the close front, is a battered and beaten Milo, crawling desperately on the floor, through broken glass and splintered table wood. No hoody here, as it has been stripped away from him in the battle – just a simple green t-shirt, stained with blood. Their surroundings are a truck stop coffee shop, torn to shambles by whatever has gone on here, and all around them flames threaten to engulf the entire building. Clearly, we are coming in during the middle of something huge.

CAPTION (NARR): His name is Donovan Thatcher, and at present, he can’t breathe.

DON: (withering word-balloon as Donovan struggles) Milo!
DON: Milo…get up!

CAPTION: He has no idea how he got here.
CAPTION: He has no idea, for that matter, who Milo Woodyard is. But, in this moment, he knows Milo’s NAME.

MILO: (withering balloon) Thought…thought I killed you…

PAGE EIGHT

1/ Long-panel as we see a beautiful young woman, dressed entirely in black and blue Hot-Topic style clothing. She has long, straight, jet-black hair, currently strewn all about her in a wild tangle. She wears heavy eyeliner and eye shadow, black lipstick, and the requisite gaudy, metallic, Christian-themed jewelry (crosses and the like). Her arms are lined with fishnet stockings. She kneels over an injured bystander on the floor of the truck stop, clutching a necklace at her throat so as to obscure the actual object that hangs from it. Her eyes are shut tight and she is holding her hand over the bystander, emanating a soft glow from her palms. We see the conflict with Donovan, Milo, and the demonic woman going on in the BG.

CAPTION: He knows that, thirty feet away, RHIANNON is trying desperately to heal an innocent bystander – some poor schmuck who came for coffee and got much more than he BARGAINED for.

RHI: Come on, Mom…wherever you are, I could really use your help, here!

CAPTION: He knows that as much as he wishes he could lend a hand…

2/ Close on the powerful but ancient-looking hand at Donovan’s throat. We see his neck muscles bulge as he tries to break free.

CAPTION: …this horrible THING is threatening to crush his trachea, which makes him categorically BUSY.

3/ Angle switch and Close on Donovan’s face as his eyes glow a solid bright orange, with matching whisks of smoke pouring out the edges of his eyelids and curling up his face. His teeth are bared, and at first glance they look more like the teeth of a predatory animal than those of a human being.

CAPTION: He knows, oddly enough, that some DARK POWER is trying viciously to break out of him, in SELF-DEFENSE.

4/ Long-panel, on the Demon Woman, as she clutches on – unfettered by his boiling rage and ill-contained power. She displays a wicked grin.

CAPTION: Based on the lack of RESULTS, however, he can surmise that it has little effect on this MONSTROSITY.

DEMON: (ragged, evil-looking word bubble) Mary, Mary, quite contrary!

CAPTION: Amongst the other random things he knows…

5/ Exterior shot of the 7&14 truck stop, Columbiana County. The building is demolished, with one entire side torn off and the remainder swallowed in flame. It is twilight, the last light of the sun barely visible beneath the adjacent corn field. The dirt parking lot is abandoned save two or three vehicles, which have been tossed asunder by the unseen conflict.

CAPTION: …is that the building whose COLLATERAL DAMAGE they seem to have incurred is the 7&14 Truck Stop, just south of Boardman, Ohio.
CAPTION: He is also aware…

6/ Close on Milo, as he continues to crawl through the glass and splintered wood. His blue lock of hair hangs over his eyes, and blood drips from his mouth. His glasses hang akimbo on his face, one lens shattered.

CAPTION: That Milo is about to DIE.
CAPTION: Which, at this point, he knows, is really just sort of passé.

PAGE NINE

1/ Tall-panel of Donovan, stilled pinned to the wall.

CAPTION: How he knows all this, he couldn’t BEGIN to explain, if he tried.
DON: What…what is this?

DEMON (off panel): What is this?

CAPTION: He just knows.

2/ Close on the Demon Woman. She pulls her head back, enraged and amused simultaneously.

DEMON: What IS this?!
DEMON: What is the WORLD, Donovan?

3/ Close on both, as the Demon Woman gets right up in Donovan’s face, baring her demonic fangs. Drool drips from the corner of her mouth.

DEMON: (small-font, whisper) Accept the invitation.

4/ Long-Panel as Donovan sits up in bed, his black t-shirt drenched in sweat. His blankets are pulled up over his legs, and his hair is strewn about wildly. On the wall behind him in the darkened room, we see an ornate crucifix. Otherwise, the walls are bare. The bed is a beautiful solid oak, and the entire room is lit only by the slanted white lines of street light through window blinds.

DON: Aaaaaaahhhhhh!

CAPTION: Donovan Thatcher tries his damnedest to tell himself it was all just ANOTHER bad dream.

CAPTION: But he won’t be sleeping any longer tonight.


PAGE TEN

1/ This is a full page shot, in which we see Beth Adams for the first time. She stands in the kitchen of her new home, sweating a little as she fixes scrambled eggs at the stove. She’s a little short, but still reasonably imposing; even at twenty-six, Beth is not somebody to mess around with. Her hair is not quite shoulder length, a blonde cascade that reminds you of Jodi Foster in films like Panic Room. She wears a baby-blue around-the-house sweater, frayed enough that she probably wouldn’t want us to see her wearing it, and it sets off her nearly pastel hazel eyes and softens the sharp edges of her face. So, yeah, Beth’s a little severe, but she’s far from unattractive. In the BG, we see that the kitchen, like the rest of the house, is still lined with yet-to-be-unpacked boxes, labeled with makeshift stickers saying things like “Beth’s Books,” and “Landon’s Computer Stuff.” She smiles idly as she makes breakfast, the midday sun lighting the room brightly – a stark contrast to the dark of Donovan’s apartment.

CAPTION (NARR): Bexley, the east side.

BETH: (Shouting to Landon, who is off-panel somewhere) Last call for cheese, Baby! Any longer and these things are gonna be done!
BETH: (Small font, to herself) Or, at least, I think so.

LANDON: (Off-panel) Cheese is fine, Beth! I’ll be down in a second!

BETH: Better hurry up!
BETH: (Small) It’s almost noon.

PAGE ELEVEN

1/ Snail’s-eye-view shot as Beth approaches the kitchen table, her hand reaching toward us and whatever lies in the stack of papers strewn about the table, her free hand clutching her breakfast plate.

BETH: (Calling out again) Let it get much later, you might as well kiss the job-hunting goodbye for today.

2/ Beth’s view of the table. The stack of papers is a pile of job applications & resumes, filled out to some varying degree of completion by Landon Adams. They are mostly for construction companies, but there are some call centers in the pile, as well.

LANDON: (off-panel) It’ll be fine, babe. Plenty of time.

3/ Long-panel of Landon as he enters the kitchen, and behind him we see the living room of a pretty standard suburban home, in the process of becoming lovingly adorned with knick-knacks and paintings of landscapes, the colors all pastel and earth-tones. The paintings and knick-knacks themselves are leaning against walls and on fireplaces, not yet rooted to their new homes on the walls. The Adams’ are a picture of the ultimate American couple. Landon is the Russell Crowe type, tall but not too tall, wearing a white dress-shirt with the top few buttons undone, a forest green tie hanging lazily around his neck and bringing out his matching green eyes. He appears to be in his late twenties.

LANDON: Most of these places would rather you come in around mid-afternoon, anyway.
LANDON: Don’t you have your big meeting in a couple of hours? Why aren’t YOU getting ready?

4/ Beth is now sitting at the table as Landon pulls up a chair. The table is un-lacquered blonde-wood, complementing the colors of the décor.

BETH: All in due time, Mister Prospective Employee.
BETH: Look…I can’t thank you enough for going along with all of this. When I got that phone call…

5/ On Landon as he waves a dismissive hand.

LANDON: Nonsense, Beth. It’s Andrew. I get it.
LANDON: You haven’t seemed like you really CARED about anything you were doing since you came back from that whole ROME situation. You need this.

6/ Beth forks her food, shoulders pulled tight into an apologetic shrug.

BETH: It’s just that when Andrew called, my first thought was ‘THANK CHRIST, WORK THAT MATTERS.’
BETH: But my second thought was about us. The fighting, the Couples’ Counseling, all of that unresolved tension…

PAGE TWELVE

1/ Long-panel as Landon reaches across the table to squeeze Beth’s hand.

LANDON: We’ll be fine, hon.
LANDON: This may not be NEW YORK, but it’s still a BIG CITY. I’m sure we’ll find a counselor we like, and we’ll keep making progress.

BETH: I just feel like I couldn’t have picked a more terrible time to stamp my feet and say ‘We’re moving to OHIO.’ Like it was no big deal for you to just DROP everything.

LANDON: There was minimal stampage. I didn’t even have to fix the floorboards.

BETH: I just feel bad about you leaving Mike’s crew.

LANDON: There’s always gonna be construction jobs, Beth. I’ll hear no more of it.

2/ Beth scoops some scrambled egg into her mouth.

BETH: If you insist. Just trying to be PROACTIVE in acknowledging my FAULTS. Even if that does sound a little like our counselor talking…
BETH: Progress seems to be coming along nicely with the job search, as it were.

3/ Landon stands up from the table, wiping his hands on a napkin. His mouth is still full.

LANDON: Yeah, I’ve got a few more places to check out, but I figure I’ll have something lined up by the end of next week.

4/ Beth, still sitting at the table, tosses a small orange pill bottle to Landon, off-panel.

BETH: Don’t forget these, just in case.
BETH: Hate to get caught with your PANTS DOWN.

5/ Close on Landon’s hand as he examines the bottle. Its label reads ‘LYCANTHROPENE’ in an official-looking font.

LANDON: The odds of me needing to WOLF-OUT today are pretty slim, Beth…

6/ Close on Landon’s face as he turns to look over at Beth. He now stands in front of a mirror, straightening his now tightly-knotted tie.

LANDON: But I’ll take ‘em with, if you insist.
LANDON: So, what’s on the schedule for your first OFFICIAL meeting?

7/ Beth leans on the table, resting her jaw in her elbow-propped hand. She talks around a mouthful of food, currently being forked into her mouth.

BETH: For the most part?
BETH: I think we’re just getting ACQUAINTED with the new people.

PAGE THIRTEEN:

1/ Cut to a Large-ish shot, as Beth, now dressed business casual, stands next to the first appearance of Andrew. He is just short of six feet, twenty-eight years old, and – at the moment, at least – all business. Think Alexis Denisoff from the later years of Angel: simple, economical-yet-stylish burgundy dress-shirt, no-nonsense short hair, three days stubble, and an authoritative, but friendly, demeanor. His sandy hair is a perfect match for his eyes, and though he and Beth are professional together, there’s a familiarity and comfort between them that wouldn’t go unnoticed to the casual observer. Andrew should be the penultimate leader/man’s man. Indiana Jones with tact, or Sherlock Holmes with a modern sense of style. They lean against a large oak desk, facing an off-panel audience of three, in a less-than-adequately lit room. It’s not dark, exactly, but it does remind you of a detective’s office in an old film noir. There are philosophy degrees on the wall behind them, surrounded by book shelves. The titles are mostly obscured, but a few stand out: The Satanic Bible, The Solitary Witch, Encyclopedia of the Occult, and the like. The room’s lighting comes through slanted wooden blinds.

CAPTION (NARR): Top floor of the Atlas Building, downtown.

ANDREW: MY NAME is Andrew MacTiernan. To my left is my partner-in-crime, Missus Elizabeth Adams.

BETH: Call me Beth.

ANDREW: I called you all here today because I’ve been charged with a TASK.
ANDREW: Two years ago, Beth and I, along with some other friends and associates, banded together in Rome to take down a DEMONIC CULT with designs on WORLD DOMINATION.
ANDREW: If it sounds like a comic book plot, then you have the VAUGEST idea of what it felt like to LIVE through it.

BETH: Andrew, be SERIOUS. Don’t waste their time.

2/ Close on Andrew.

ANDREW: Our little adventure apparently caught the attention of some IMPORTANT PEOPLE.
ANDREW: Though the general public is not AWARE of this, SUPERNATURAL ACTIVITY is on the rise, all over the world.
ANDREW: You’re all, to SOME DEGREE, supernaturally inclined, so I’m sure you’ve sensed what I’m talking about. CHANGE is coming. When, or how, we don’t know.

3/ Close on Beth.

BETH: The government has chosen to activate a proposition known as the PARANORMAL DEFENSE INITIATIVE. It would effectively create TEN to FIFTEEN teams of investigators, throughout the country.
BETH: Our activities in ROME brought us – and, specifically, ANDREW – to the top of their list of potential organizers. We’ve been picked to assemble the Central Ohio team.
BETH: YOU THREE are our top choices for potential TEAMMATES.

4/ Close on a shy looking man, hardly the Donovan we know, wearing a Priest’s uniform and Collar. He looks at the floor, nervous. He’s clean-shaven and proper-looking, but devastatingly awkward in new social situations. He is not prepared for the future his dreams have foretold.

BETH: (off-panel) Donovan Thatcher, SEMINARY STUDENT and ASPIRING EXORCIST. Be warned, Donovan. You may get more practice than you bargained for, here.

5/ Close on a young Emo-Goth girl. Less awkward than Donovan, but hardly a social butterfly. She has the same long, straight, jet-black hair, but it is pulled back into a pony-tail. She wears the same heavy eyeliner and eye shadow, black lipstick, and jewelry. Her fishnet stockings that adorn her arms are in MUCH better shape than they were in Donovan’s dream. This is a serious Hot Topic girl, and she will have a LOT of growing up to do before she feels comfortable in the group.

BETH (off-panel): Rhiannon McRhea. Empath, loner, long-time dabbler in the MYSTIC ARTS. It would be best if you could fine-tune those SOCIAL SKILLS – we think you’d make a hell of an addition to the team.

6/ Finally, Close on Milo. His hoody is parted, and he wears a simple t-shirt adorned with the words “I’m not your bitch; don’t hang your shit on me.”

BETH: And, last but far from least, Elliot Woodyard. Where do we begin? Telepath, telekinetic, PYROKINETIC…we’re less concerned with what you CAN do than we are with what little you CAN’T. Your reputation proceeds you, Elliot, and we’re frankly not sure how or why you can DO the things you do. That said, if there’s anyone we want on this team, it’s you.

MILO: It’s MILO. Nobody calls me Elliot.

PAGE FOURTEEN

1/ Close on Rhiannon. She looks incredulous.

RHI: So…you want us to be, like, superheroes.
RHI: Which is FINE, I mean. That would be cool. It’s just…

2/ Close on Milo and Donovan. They sit in metal folding chairs, next to each other, and are looking up at Andrew and Beth with the appropriate amount of disbelief. Donovan is still sheepish, but is a little more comfortable with the knowledge that the others are wigged out, as well.

MILO: Retarded.
MILO: Seriously, this is completely retarded. We’re gonna be the superhero monster-fighters of Columbus-freaking-Ohio? Are you always this dim, or did you BECOME retarded after this supposed mission in ROME?

DON: Milo’s right. Not about the whole…RETARDED, thing, I suppose…but, um…why here? Why do we need a “Central Ohio Branch” to some kind of government metaphysics division?

MILO: No, I’m totally right about the retarded bit. Let’s not back off from that, just yet.

3/ Tall-shot of Andrew, arms crossed. He expected this reaction, and isn’t much fazed by everyone’s less-than-receptive stance on the matter.

ANDREW: I know you all must be full of objections, and Milo, you seem particularly intent on voicing them…

MILO: (Off-panel) Get used to it, Buddy. I mean, if we’re gonna be TEAMMATES, and all that.

ANDREW: When you’re done, I’ll elaborate. Nothing else? Great, thanks.
ANDREW: You’re OHIOANS. Which, by extension, means you hate Ohio. Got it. But there’s more going on in this state than you know, because you’d never think to look for it.
ANDREW: Donovan, METAPHYSICS is not what we’re talking about, here. The things you can expect to see in your tenure on this team, if you should accept the job, will be very real, very tangible (unless it’s a ghost), and very likely to INTERACT with other human beings at some point. They have before, but people do a pretty good job of turning a blind eye. But in this particular Kingdom of the Blind? WE will decide what does and does not get to bother innocent citizens, because WE are the one-eyed men.

4/ Close on Beth as she raises an objectionable finger.

BETH: AND women.

5/ Angle-switch, to Beth and Andrew, Beth closest to us.

ANDREW: And women. Ohio has one of the highest, PER-CAPITA, haunting and/or supernatural encounter rates in the country. This is not only ONE FRONT in the Initiative’s game plan; it’s one of the MOST IMPORTANT.
ANDREW: Furthermore, Columbus itself is a NATIONAL TEST MARKET for a reason. The range of diversity - both ethnic and economic - in this city is almost EXACTLY representative of that of the entire nation’s. That many different backgrounds crammed into one medium-sized city is a recipe for SUPERNATURAL SOUP.

BETH: So if you DO decide to accept this job, it will NOT be all fun and games.

6/ Milo, Rhiannon, and Donovan, all lined up in their chairs. Rhi leans forward a bit.

RHI: And if we DON’T accept this job?

PAGE FIFTEEN

1/ Close on Andrew, arms still folded.

ANDREW: You won’t remember ever TAKING PART in this conversation.

2/ Close on Donovan, who looks startled.

DON: WHOA, now. See, that’s a little too far.
DON: Are we talking about seriously TOP-SECRET information, here? Because, honestly, all I wanna do is be a priest. None of this craziness.

3/ Milo leans forward on his chair and looks over at Donovan.

MILO: You’re gonna be a priest? So THAT’S what a SEMINARY STUDENT is…
MILO: Well, we are just gonna get along great.

DON: (off-panel) You’re interested in the clergy, as well?

MILO: No, I’m like, a FLAMING homosexual. Not really, I’m kidding. I’m not all that flamboyant. I was just making a pyrokinesis joke. But yeah, I’m totally gay.

4/ On Beth, as she addresses Donovan. She holds her hands up to soothe his fears.

BETH: It IS top-secret, and it IS high-risk. That’s true, Donovan.
BETH: But it may turn out to be the best PRACTICE at your hopeful career in EXORCISM and demon-fighting that you could ever have hoped for.

5/ On Andrew, raising his arms out invitingly.

ANDREW: And as for the REST OF YOU, you’re not doing anything all that important right now, as far as I know. What do you have to LOSE?
ANDREW: There’s the possibility that you’ll die. You face that possibility when you cross the street every day. There’s the possibility you’ll face things that are too BIZARRE and UNNATURAL for average people to fit into their world-view. You’re all mystics. You ARE those bizarre things.
ANDREW: So. There’s my pitch. Take it or leave it. Because I’m not saying another word until somebody sounds like they wanna join the team.

6/ Milo, Rhiannon and Donovan all exchange uncomfortable glances, as Milo shrugs.

MILO: I’ve got nothing ELSE to do. Count me in.

RHI: It actually sounds kind of fun, to tell you the truth.

DON: …
DON: Alright, FINE. Count me in.

PAGE SIXTEEN

1/ Long-panel of Andrew and Beth. Beth claps happily as Andrew smiles and gesticulates.

ANDREW: Excellent! We’ll work out all the details on team structure and operating procedure in a few minutes here, but if you’re all on board, then Beth and I have some phone-calls to make.

BETH: We have to let Mister Palmer know you’ll be signing on with us.

ANDREW: He’s going to be very excited.

BETH: Well, as excited as he gets, anyway.

2/ Close on Rhiannon as she looks nervously at her fellow newbies.

RHI: I’m sorry, Mister Whom?

3/ Close on Beth, as, in the BG, Andrew disappears into an office situated to the left of the main desk.

BETH: Oh, I’m sorry. There was so much to tell, I guess we forgot.
BETH: Mister Palmer is our LIAISON to the federal offices of the Initiative. It’s from him that we’ll be getting most of our assignments. He just goes by “Palmer,” though, so don’t bother trying to FIGURE OUT his first name.
BETH: WE don’t even know it.

4/ The three newbies stare at her, mystified.

MILO: You people are, like, WAY too into this.
RHI: So, while you guys have your little CONFERENCE CALL, what would you like us to do? I mean, is there an EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK or something we should read?

5/ Perspective shot, close on Beth as Andrew hovers behind her in the doorway to his office, a phone to his ear as the cord stretches off, out of sight.

ANDREW: Actually, now would be a great time for YOU THREE to get better ACQUAINTED.
ANDREW: Mingle a bit.

BETH: That’s perfect! We’ll try to keep this SHORT, but by all means, make yourselves comfortable. This office now belongs to ALL of us, and we’d love for you to feel at home, here. And, like the man said: Mingle!

PAGE SEVENTEEN

1/ Long-panel, level with and over the shoulders of Donovan and Rhiannon, as Milo stands before them, hands resting casually on his hips.

MILO: So is anybody else going along with this out of sheer, morbid CURIOSITY?
MILO: Because Lord knows I am.

RHI: Well, here’s the way I see it:
RHI: Go along with it long enough to see what kind of operation they’re running here – maybe we’ll be surprised. If not? We’ll leave with our dignity intact, because we won’t REMEMBER a thing.

DON: But doesn’t THAT little addendum give you just the TINIEST bit of pause?

2/ Milo looks down towards the two, arms crossed.

MILO: Maybe it’s just the fact that you’re new to this, Donny Boy.
MILO: People like myself, and Rhiannon, here? We’ve SEEN enough blow-your-mind stuff in our day to know that a little psychic DAMAGE CONTROL is a necessary evil, from time to time. But –

3/ Donovan and Rhiannon, as Donovan raises his hands in protest.

DON: But NOTHING, Mister don’t-call-me-ELLIOT! We’re talking about being invited to some MYSTERIOUS MEETING and being told that if you don’t want your BRAIN messed around with, you have to GO ALONG with whatever they say!
DON: And for the love of GOD, do NOT call me DONNY BOY.

RHIANNON: And what makes you think YOU know what I’VE seen?

4/ Milo hold his hands out in self-defense.
MILO: You’re an Empath. You’ve seen things.
MILO: Forgive me if that’s DIRECT, but it’s also TRUE.
MILO: And no, you’re right. They should NOT have threatened us with memory erasure. But how exactly SHOULD they have approached this proposition?

5/ Close on Donovan.

MILO: (Off-panel) Called us up? Said, ‘Hey, wanna fight some monsters, with some psychics?’ So we could DECIDE before we came to this freak show?

DON: If they had, I’d have said NO.

MILO: EXACTLY.

6/ Close on Rhiannon.

RHI: So Milo’s right.
RHI: It wasn’t the DESIRABLE course of action, but their hands were kinda TIED.

PAGE EIGHTEEN

1/ Donovan stands up and walks past Milo. Milo thumbs over his shoulder, toward an off-panel fridge.

DON: I don’t know, I just need a drink.

MILO: Pretty sure I saw a REFRIDGERATOR over there.

DON: I’ll check it out.

2/ Rhiannon remains seated, now alone with a still-standing Milo.

MILO: *Sigh* So that’s it then?
MILO: We’re gonna see what develops?

RHI: Might as well. Do the whole ‘mingling’ thing.

MILO: So what’s you’re story? Empath, right?
MILO: How’s THAT working out for you?

RHI: I don’t know…

3/ Milo’s shoulder is in the FG, but the focus is on Rhiannon, as she brightens up a little. She’s beginning to get a bit more comfortable around Milo.

RHI: It used to be a lot worse. Before I learned to visualize…like, a WALL, I guess it would be. Helps me keep out the things I don’t want getting IN THERE.
RHI: I spent some time in a few MENTAL INSTITUTIONS, until I could figure THAT one out. Lifesaver, I’ll tell you. Still, though…
RHI: You know, I’m not JUST an Empath. There’s another thing I can do.

4/ Milo sits down beside her, now seen over HER shoulder. He smiles, also warming up to Rhiannon.

MILO: What, you can turn invisible? Grow really big?

RHI: (Off-panel) No. Though, that would be cool.

5/ Close on Rhiannon.

RHI: The emotions I sense in people? I can turn them into things.
RHI: Like, physical things.
RHI: Fields of energy and whatever.

6/ Milo is now jumping out of his chair, kneeling excitedly before Rhiannon. He places his hand on her knee, beaming like an idiot. This is big news to him.

MILO: Oh, my God!
MILO: You’re THE CONDUIT! That’s…
MILO: Do you know long the psychic community has speculated that something like YOU must EXIST? This is…This is INCREDIBLE!

7/ Rhiannon blushes a bit, taken aback by the flurry of attention.

RHI: Really?
RHI: I mean, I don’t really get out a lot.

MILO: (Off-panel) How does it WORK?

PAGE NINETEEN

1/ Close on Andrew’s hands as he opens a bag of bird feed, standing next to his open office window.

2/ Outside Andrew’s window, as he feeds some pigeons who have landed on the window sill. Beth walks up behind him.

ANDREW: Feed the birds?

BETH: Tuppence a bag.

3/ The two face each other. In the BG, we get a good view of the office. There is a large wooden desk near the back wall, and the walls themselves are adorned with degrees and certifications. Andrew is a philosophy teacher, which will be established in later issues, but there should be plaques signifying as much over his desk. Bookshelves in sight are filled with hundreds of Occult-themed books, some newish and some ancient-looking. Andrew looks bothered, which confuses Beth.

BETH: So…what do you think? Winners all around?

ANDREW: There’s potential. That’s for sure.

BETH: But?

ANDREW: But…I don’t know. I don’t know what I was hoping for.
ANDREW: It won’t be the same. Won’t be like ROME. Not without –

4/ Close on Beth as she bites her lip and looks down at the ground.

BETH: SAMSON. I know.
BETH: Samson’s gone, Andrew. It’s been TWO YEARS.
BETH: We have to move on.

5/ Cut to a Long-Panel of Donovan. He has found the refrigerator, right outside Andrew’s office door, and as he grabs a drink, he can overhear their conversation through the closed door. This catches his attention.

BETH (from the office): And I think you need to give this Donovan a chance.
BETH: He isn’t your best friend. I know that. And maybe he’ll never be HALF the exorcist that Samson was. But in Samson’s absence, I think we should see how he does.

6/ Back inside the office. The two face each other.

ANDREW: I know. You’re right.

BETH: What did you think was going to happen, Andrew?
BETH: You’d put this TEAM together, and suddenly Samson would come CRAWLING out of the WOODWORK?

ANDREW: I don’t know.

7/ Andrew leans against the window frame, looking out.

ANDREW: I don’t know what I thought. I just hoped maybe it would feel the SAME.

PAGE TWENTY

1/ Cut back to Milo and Rhiannon, still face to face in conversation.

RHI: The idea is, essentially, that I’m taking the ESOTERIC energy of the emotions I detect and siphoning them through my body’s own energy field.
RHI: It’s the INTENT of the emotion that dictates what nature of KINETIC energy I manifest.

MILO: Is it always KINETIC? A blast of power, or something like that?

2/ Close on Rhiannon. She’s officially enthralled in the conversation. This girl almost NEVER talks to anyone who’s actually interested in what she has to say.

RHI: No, not necessarily.
RHI: Usually it’s NEGATIVE emotions that manifest themselves as blasts. Anger, frustration, fear…although, honestly, those three are usually all mixed up with each other.

3/ Back to Milo, now leaning backward a bit, his arm resting on his knee. He’s completely impressed with Rhiannon.

MILO: But things like LOVE, or GRIEF, or even SIMPLE PLEASURE…
MILO: They manifest as what?

4/ Rhiannon leans forward, also resting arms on knees.

RHI: Well, this is much less frequent than the ANGER-BLASTS. You need to understand that.
RHI: But I HAVE seen love manifest. It’s pretty amazing. I’m talking hardcore, top-of-the-line, HEALING MAGICKS.

5/ Back to Milo, a little shocked.

MILO: Healing Magicks?
MILO: Healing what? Like regenerative healing?

6/ Rhiannon still sits with her hands dangling from her knees.

RHI: YES. Limited, but definitely REGENERATIVE.
RHI: I saw it close an OPEN WOUND. It stimulated growth in the skin cells, upping the speed of the wound’s natural closing. The blood even COAGULATED on the spot.

PAGE TWENTY-ONE

1/ Back to the office. Beth grins mischievously, one arm holding the other by the elbow.

BETH: It’s not the only thing that’s going to be DIFFERENT, this time around.
BETH: Just so you know.

2/ Andrew gives a wry smile, half suspicious and half amused.

ANDREW: And what is THAT supposed to mean?

3/ Beth nudges him sheepishly. She’s smiling, but she’s serious.

BETH: You know what I mean.
BETH: LANDON and I are happy now. We’ve gotten THROUGH all that craziness.
BETH: And we’ve put what happened in ROME behind us.

4/ Andrew waves his hands innocently.

ANDREW: Gotcha.
ANDREW: Hands off.

5/ Beth shrugs the moment away awkwardly, sobering herself. She finds Andrew infectious, just as she always has.

BETH: It’s true.
BETH: A LOT’S different, THIS time around. None of that ‘Brought Together By Fate’ crap that we were all so into, back then.

6/ Long panel of Beth, up close, with a nostalgic but slightly sarcastic smile.

BETH: No more ‘Avengers Assemble’ for us.

7/ Long panel with a close-up on Andrew, mirroring the previous panel.

ANDREW: You SURE about that?

PAGE TWENTY-TWO

1/ Back outside to Donovan, still listening in. He looks offended.
DON: So, I’m no SAMSON, huh?

2/ Back in the office. The two stand together, face to face.

ANDREW: Before I call Palmer, there’s one more THING I wanted to discuss with you.

BETH: Oh?

3/ Close on Andrew.

ANDREW: LYCANTHROPENE.
ANDREW: Are you on it? Or not?

4/ Close on Beth, silent for one panel.

5/ Similar close up on Beth.

BETH: Once in a while.
BETH: I don’t really need it anymore. There’s enough RESIDUAL in my system –

6/ Back to face-to-face shot.

ANDREW: I want the Lycanthropy kept quiet, for now.

BETH: What?! But it’s –

ANDREW: Who you ARE. I know.
ANDREW: But I don’t think they’re ready for it. Not yet.

7/ Beth is taken aback.

BETH: Andrew, this is INCREDIBLY offensive! I can’t –

ANDREW (Off-panel): This is not Milo’s SEXUAL ORIENTATION we’re talking about here, Beth.

BETH: It is absolutely NO different, Andrew!

ANDREW: I know, I know. In some complicated, political way, I get it.
ANDREW: But when you boil it down to WHAT IT IS…

8/ Andrew leans on his desk, his face intense and unwavering.

ANDREW: We are talking about you being a WEREWOLF.

9/ Outside the office, Donovan almost spits out his drink.

PAGE TWENTY-THREE

1/ Back to Milo, as he stands up awkwardly, his legs having fallen asleep as he talked. He brushes himself off.

MILO: That is absolutely AMAZING, Rhiannon.
MILO: If I wasn’t sold on this team already – which I wasn’t – I totally am, now. Just for the sake of getting to see what you can DO, if nothing else.

2/ Rhiannon pulls herself back up, straightening her back and looking a little embarrassed.

RHI: Enough about me, Milo. What about YOU?
RHI: From what they said earlier, I get the impression that you’re the real HEAVY HITTER on this little super-crew.

3/Milo and Rhiannon, as Milo takes a seat beside her.

MILO: Well, they pretty much TOLD YOU everything I can do.

RHI: It just sounds so amazing.

MILO: Eh, I can’t pretend I’m not awesome.

4/ Close on Milo, as he grins wryly.

MILO: Wanna see my FAVORITE TRICK?

5-9/ The bottom row of panels is a five-point series close on Milo as he 1) pulls a cigarette out of a pack in his hand, 2) puts it to his lips, 3) holds his hands around it as though he’s guarding a lighter from the wind, making a small flame appear out of thin air between his cupped palms, lighting the cigarette, 4) blows out a drag of smoke, and 5) winks at us and Rhiannon, the cigarette hanging loosely in his lips.

PAGE TWENTY-FOUR

1/ Long-panel as we cut back to Beth and Andrew, staring at each other across the desk.

ANDREW: I don’t want to be OFFENSIVE, Beth.
ANDREW: I just think it would be BEST if we kept it quiet until they got to KNOW you a bit better.

BETH: Andrew…
BETH: This is YOUR team. I’m going to follow your RULES.
BETH: But as SOON as we find ourselves in a situation where it could be an ASSET, I’m letting the truth come out.

2/ Andrew smiles uncomfortably.

ANDREW: Thank you, Beth.
ANDREW: I mean, if I can’t GRAB YOUR ASS, it’s the LEAST you could do to play along with this for me.

3/ Beth strikes a mock-Victoria’s Secret pose, laughing.

BETH: PLEASE.
BETH: You WISH you could have a piece of THIS.

4/ The two hug warmly.

ANDREW: THERE’S the Beth I know.

BETH: We’re gonna pull this off, you know.
BETH: We can make this team WORK, with or WITHOUT Samson.

ANDREW: I know.

5/ They pull away from each other, Beth resting her hand on Andrew’s bicep.

BETH: Don’t you have a PHONECALL to make?

6/ Andrew opens the office door for her.

ANDREW: I’ll try not to be LONG.
ANDREW: Check on the KIDS. Make sure they’re staying out of TROUBLE.

BETH: Ha. Find out if their PERSONALITIES are clashing on some FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL.

ANDREW: That your COUNSELLOR talking?

BETH: Oh, you are SO getting your ass kicked.

PAGE TWENTY-FIVE

1/ Back outside the office, Donovan looks down at the floor, silently beating himself up. Beth walks out past him.

2/ Donovan looks up from the floor and toward us. He is making eye-contact with Rhiannon, across the room.

3/ Close on Rhiannon, as she meets his gaze.

4/ Rhiannon barely moves, only to imperceptibly smile at Donovan, as her eyes warm up to him a bit.

5/ The door to Andrew’s office opens up, as he strides out with a grin from ear to ear.

6/ Heroic-looking torso shot of Andrew, arms crossed, as he faces Milo and Rhiannon (conversely, he’s facing us). Behind him stands a very pleased Beth - and further back, Donovan still lurks by the office door, looking determined.

ANDREW: Well, then.
ANDREW: I suppose it’s time to HAMMER OUT THE DETAILS. First, the drug tests.

17/ Close on Milo, as he looks a bit scared.

MILO: Aww, man. My insides are, like, HALF marijuana.

PAGE TWENTY-SIX

1/ Cut to Milo, walking up the street, through the Short North. There’s a faint dusting of snow on the ground, and he’s doing his best to keep warm in his Firebird hoody. Wind whips around him.

CAPTION (NARR): The Short North.

CAPTION: And there you have it.
CAPTION: You visit a Goth Club, you get a cryptic message, you try your best to follow it, and what happens?

2/ Close on Milo’s hand, as he opens the front door of a building, right off the sidewalk. His key-chain is simple, only a small handful of keys. There is a metal mailbox bolted to the wall, listing multiple tenants. It’s an apartment building.

CAPTION: You wind up being a SUPERHERO.
CAPTION: It’s the sort of thing that makes you want to ask the BIG QUESTIONS.

3/ Long-panel as Milo walks up a cement stairwell. The stairwell is poorly lit by an unflattering yellow light. The walls are yellow brick.

CAPTION: How does a Goth Club Mystic’s advice lead to the kind of turning point that only happens in COMIC BOOKS and MOVIES? What is that?
CAPTION: What is the WORLD?

4/ Cut to a small apartment, where Rhiannon is seen removing the stockings from her arms. He hair is hanging loosely over her shoulders as she lays the day’s clothing on her bed.

CAPTION: It’s a question people rarely take the time to ask.

5/ Cut to Donovan’s bedroom, as he removes his white collar.

CAPTION: For some of us, the question comes more NATURALLY than for others.

PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN

1/ Cut to a shot Over Milo’s shoulder, as he looks at the door to his apartment. It’s Apartment 4, with a little metal number proclaiming it so. Taped next to the number is a photograph of Milo, and scrawled across it in Sharpie marker are the words ‘I SPREAD HIV.’

CAPTION: Those with a more philosophical mindset can ponder the nature of reality for hours, days, years…
.
2/ Cut to Beth and Landon’s home, as their silhouetted faces suggest that they are making love.

3/ Pull back to reveal that both of their exposed arms are enormous and hairy, as they are half-transformed into their Werewolf forms.

CAPTION: More often than not, they accomplish NOTHING.

4/ Cut back to a shot Close on Milo’s hand, as he crumples the photograph in a tight fist.

CAPTION: Lives wasted, marriages ruined, sanity lost – all in the name of answering a question that won’t be answered, because it CAN’T be.

5/ Behind Milo as he opens the door to his apartment. It’s pitch black inside.

CAPTION: Or SHOULDN’T be.

6/ Cut to Andrew, heading out for the night and surveying the new Headquarters one last time. His finger is on the light switch.

CAPTION: But sometimes, you get a glimpse of something. And sometimes, if you’re LUCKY, that something changes everything.

7/ Small panel of Andrew’s finger, flipping the switch.

8/ Pull back to see the darkened headquarters.

PAGE TWENTY-EIGHT

1/ Cut back to Inside Milo’s apartment, draped in darkness, as we see Milo enter. Bright light shines through the door, casting him in shadow.


2/ Cut to a hail-storm shattered night, long-panel. Everything in the shot is obscured except for a telephone booth, and the man approaching it. He looks like he walked straight out of a detective movie: Long brown coat, matching brown fedora, longish hair sticking out from beneath the hat…he’s a Mickey Spillane character. He’s also pretty roughed up: Torn pants, cuts on his face, startled look in his eyes – he’s clearly been through something intense, very recently.

CAPTION (NARR): Elsewhere.

3/ Back in Milo’s apartment, from Milo’s POV, as he looks at the crumpled photo in his hand. It’s still dark.

4/ Snail’s eye-view of Milo, angrily dropping the photo into the trash – which, from this angle, is pretty much our face.

5/ Milo’s dark apartment, our view of it close on the trash, with a big drafting table next to it. In the BG, we see Milo’s silhouette as he pushes the button on his answering machine, a tiny red light glowing in the dark. On the drafting table, right in front of our faces, is a tear-away calendar that reads: FEBRUARY 1st, 2012.

CAPTION: See, when you get that glimpse, it puts the whole picture right in your grasp. Right at your fingertips. But only if you’re willing to REACH for it.

6/ Back to the phone booth, in the rain. Another long-panel. Mr. Mickey Spillane is now inside the booth, talking on the phone. He looks even more frazzled up close than he did before. From the look of him, he’s maybe 35, with terrified green eyes.

MYSTERY MAN: Mister Palmer?
MYS: Yeah, thanks. I have a situation.
MYS: Well, I don’t quite know how to EXPLAIN it, sir. But I just had a HELL OF A SCARE, and I’ve received a TIP that you just might be able to hook me up with the people I need to see.

PAGE TWENTY-NINE

1/ Close on the man in the Phone Booth.

MYS: Well…is TOMORROW a possibility?
MYS: Thank you very much, sir. My INFORMATION? Gladly…

2/ Back to Milo. Milo stands in his apartment, still reasonably dark. Outside a window, lightning flashes. In its glare, we see easels and unfinished paintings strewn around a VERY messy studio apartment. Paint sets lay open on tables, and the cracks in the wall reveal the boards beneath. However, the apartment itself could be pretty nice, if Milo took the time to clean it up. Milo stands over his answering machine, his finger still on the button. He looks stricken.

SOUND EFFECT: KRAKA-DOOM!

ANSWERING MACHINE: Oh, good, your voicemail.
ANSWERING MACHINE: Well, Milo, it’s CHRIS. Just calling to give you the news: the doctor says I have maybe SIX MONTHS to live.
ANSWERING MACHINE: What about YOU, though? I mean…
ANSWERING MACHINE: Give anybody AIDS lately?

CAPTION: Sad thing is, you rarely are.

3/Back to the man in the Phone Booth.

MYS: Thank you, Mister Palmer.
MYS: Pleasure doing business with you, sir.

4/Cut back to a close-up of Milo’s grief-stricken face, caught in the freak lightning storm in stark relief.

CAPTION: And I was having such a GOOD day.

PAGE THIRTY

1/ Back to Phone Booth guy. He hangs up the phone.

2/ He approaches us, leaving the booth behind him. He looks straight at the reader.

MYS: I did it. Are you HAPPY?

3/ A withered and rotted hand enters the panel, stroking Mystery Man’s face as he tilts his head back in bliss. A broad smile crosses his lips.

OFF-PANEL: Of course I am, John.
OFF-PANEL: I love you.

MYS (JOHN): I don’t understand. This is all so much.
JOHN: What IS this?

4/ John looks straight at us, confusion in his face.

OFF-PANEL: What a silly question, Dear.
OFF-PANEL: What is anything?
OFF-PANEL: What is the WORLD?

CAPTION: Next – The Girl Who Wasn’t There!