Knights of Columbus #16

Issue Sixteen: “Malicious Intent, part one: The Trouble With Milo.”

PAGE ONE

“Previously” page.

PAGE TWO

1/ Long Panel, Bird’s Eye View, looking directly down on a windy country road as a car –Rhiannon’s roommate’s car, as seen in “All Tomorrow’s Parties” – zips along, navigating the rollercoaster roads of rural Ohio with the ease of someone who’s lived there their entire life. It is a beautiful, sunny day as the car makes its way across the expansive countryside, and a nearby lake catches the sun and reflects its light with gleaming intensity. Even at this distance, from inside the car we can hear the tweet of a cellular phone.

CAPTION: Western Ohio, en route to New Hope.

SOUND EFFECT: Breet breet

2/ On the passenger seat, as the phone vibrates and rings, straining to be heard over the driver’s loud music. From the radio, we hear a resounding Fleetwood Mac chorus filling the car as it speeds along the winding highway.

SOUND EFFECT: Breet breet

MUSIC: You see your gypsy…

3/ On the radio and dashboard, as a familiar looking feminine hand reaches out to silence the music as the driver realizes her phone is ringing. From the keychain in the ignition, a small pendant dangles – a die-cast image of the Hindu God Ginesh, outlined with the embossed word “Namaste.”

MUSIC: You see your –

SOUND EFFECT: Breet breet

4/ Long panel as we finally see the driver as she answers her phone. It’s Rhiannon, and she grips the steering wheel with one hand as she pulls the cell phone to her ear and smiles broadly. Her hair is a little tossed, suggesting that, until recently, she’s been driving with the window down. The car is strewn with packs of cigarettes and stray CD’s with no cases, glinting in the sun.

RHI: Sluts-R-Us, for all your sloppy slut needs!

RHI: Yes, Donovan, I know it’s YOU.
PAGE THREE

1/ Cut to Donovan, standing in his apartment and rubbing the back of his head with his hand as he talks into the phone, smiling pleasantly at the sound of Rhiannon’s voice.

DON: Hey, where ARE you?
DON: I wanna see you. I’ve got this meeting at JOSEPHINUM today and I’m a little nervous. Thought maybe we could go for a walk or something.

2/ On Rhiannon, holding the phone to her ear with the aid of her shoulder as she places both hands back on the wheel. She looks a little disappointed, but apologizes for her dedication to her current trip.

RHI: Well, we can’t. I’m sorry.
RHI: I’m taking a SOLO case. Headed to this town called NEW HOPE, out past DAYTON. I’m already an hour away from the city.

DON (through phone): Solo case?

RHI: Yeah, heard it on the voicemail back at the ATLAS and figured it wasn’t anything big enough to drag the whole TEAM along. It’ll be fine.

3/ On Donovan, sitting on his bed, somewhat pouty at this news.

DON: Are you sure that’s a good IDEA?

4/ Rhiannon balks dismissively into the phone as she readjusts it, returning her hand to the phone and holding it more comfortably against her ear.

RHI: Oh, PSHAW.
RHI: It’s just some nonsense about WEIRD NOISES coming from some old WAREHOUSE or something.

RHI: Nothing I can’t handle.

5/ Closer on Donovan, fiddling with the edge of his shirt as he speaks into the phone, trying to mask the depth of his disappointment, sitting alone in his under-lit apartment and clearly dreading the day ahead of him.

DON: Well, BOO.
DON: There go MY plans for the evening.

RHI (through phone): Why don’t you see what MILO’S up to?

DON: Eh, I dunno. Lately, Milo’s been…kind of a DICK. To me, at least.

6/ On Rhiannon, driving with her elbows as she attempts to juggle driving, talking on the phone, and lighting a cigarette all at once. She brushes a stray hair out from her eyes as she flicks the lighter, glancing sideways at the phone in agreement.

RHI: Yeah, I know.
RHI: But the guy’s been through A LOT in the last coupla months, so I figure we give him the benefit of the DOUBT. Cut him a little SLACK.
RHI: I hope your THING goes well.

RHI: Wait…did you just say DICK?

PAGE FOUR

1/ Cut to Andrew, sitting at his desk in the Atlas Building, going over some paperwork from one of his classes. He glances up as someone else enters the room, filling the edge of the panel and looking down at him at his desk. Andrew’s clearly been up for hours and has made little effort to prepare himself for the day – his hair is messy and his collar hangs wrinkled and unbuttoned against his chest. At his side sits a glass of sparkling liquid on ice.

CAPTION: The Atlas Building, downtown. Headquarters of the Knights of Columbus.

MILO (off panel): You wanted to see me?

ANDREW: Yeah, Milo, I did.

2/ Milo sits on the opposite side of the desk, facing Andrew with an inquisitive and impatient look on his face. His demeanor suggests that he’s up earlier than usual for this meeting, although he’s made more of an effort to appear ready for the day than Andrew has. He raises an eyebrow and says nothing, looking expectantly at Andrew.

3/ Andrew puts down his notes and looks directly at Milo, confronting him.

ANDREW: So, uh…what’s going ON with you, lately?

4/ Milo rolls his eyes and rest his head in his hands in a “here we go” sort of gesture. He looks off to the side, breaking eye contact with Andrew in a dismissive, defiant way.

MILO: …you mean with JOSH. Wondered when THIS was gonna come up.

ANDREW (off panel): No, Milo, I mean with YOU.

5/ Larger panel on Andrew as he rests his hands on his desk, settling in for a tough conversation that he knows Milo won’t make any easier. He locks eyes with him and lays it all out, never raising his voice.

ANDREW: First you broadcast that ASENINE message, then you pull that crap with Josh last month, now you’ve spent weeks acting like you’re TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL, treating Donovan – of all people – like he’s the scum on the bottom of your SHOES…

ANDREW: Seriously, Man…what’s gotten into you?

6/ Milo maintains Andrew’s deadpan demeanor, never moving his head, but his eyes glance down at the sparkling glass on Andrew’s desk. He ignores Andrew’s question and poses his own.

MILO: Is that GIN?

7/ Andrew looks hesitantly at Milo, not liking the direction the conversation is taking. He pauses, but answers honestly, looking wary.

ANDREW: …and tonic, yes.

8/ On Milo, though Andrew peeks into the side of the panel. Milo gestures to the glass, still maintaining the deadpan demeanor as he returns eye contact to Andrew. He raises his eyebrows once again, this time in his own interrogation.

MILO: I thought it smelled like a CHRISTMAS TREE in here.
MILO: Tell me, Andrew: since when are you knocking back HARD LIQUOR at ten-thirty in the morning?

ANDREW: STRESS, Milo.
ANDREW: We’re here to talk about YOU.

PAGE FIVE

1/ Milo motions as though he’s about to get up from his chair, resting his hands on the arm rests and pushing upward. He looks down, breaking eye contact.

MILO: Yeah, well, right back at you.
MILO: It’s STRESS. I’m sorry.

MILO: Can I go?

2/ On Andrew, looking sternly up at Milo.

ANDREW: Milo.

3/ Milo returns slowly to his chair, regaining composure and facing Andrew once again. He drops the defenses a little, looking more honest and open than he has throughout the conversation.

MILO: …

4/ He looks straight at Andrew, the fleeting moment of honesty gone and a new tack now ready to divert the conversation away from the real problem. He puts on an angry, hurt face – but it’s phony.

MILO: Look. Donovan was all about he and I being BFF’s, right up until I got a boyfriend.

MILO: I mean, for Christ’s sake, the guy wants to be a big bad PRIEST when he grows up. Of COURSE we’ve got problems with each other.

5/ Andrew has no interest in buying Milo’s line of crap, and he cuts right through it, staring Milo down with growing intensity.

ANDREW: That’s a COP-OUT, Milo, and you KNOW it.
ANDREW: Sit here and play the tough guy if you want. Be my guest. But you know as well as I do that Donovan’s been short with you because – like myself – he feels that your DECISION MAKING SKILLS of late have been QUESTIONABLE at BEST.

6/ Milo goes on the defensive, getting angry. He gestures at Andrew with petty ferocity, his face contorting into a mask of self-righteousness.

MILO: Says the guy slinging TANQUERAY for breakfast!?

7/ Larger panel as Andrew pounds the desk with his fists in a sudden bout of frustrated fury. A pencil bounces as he slams and his papers fly as his face contorts in impatient wrath.

ANDREW: GODDAMMIT, Milo!


8/ On Milo as he falls instantly silent, shocked by Andrew’s outburst. All of his impetuous zeal has fallen by the wayside, and he knows now that he won’t be able to escape this conversation by evasion. Andrew’s going to pull a shred of honesty out of him if he has to die doing it, and Milo realizes it.

PAGE SIX

1/ On Andrew, as he regains his composure. He looks steadily at Milo, slowly but surely suppressing the burst of anger we just saw.

ANDREW: Josh is a college SOPHMORE. He’s NINETEEN years old. He’s YOUNG. He’s NAÏVE. His BOYFRIEND died FOUR MONTHS AGO.

ANDREW: He’s LONELY.
2/ On Milo, looking down at his feet in shame as Andrew continues.

ANDREW: And YOU – an HIV POSITIVE man – and David – your HIV POSITIVE partner, engaged in an ILLICIT AFFAIR with him, knowing perfectly bloody well what a MINEFIELD that was.

3/ Closer on Milo as he turns his head away, holding his hand over his mouth as he is confronted with the horrible reality of his mistakes.

MILO: …I know.

4/ Closer on Andrew, still staring straight at Milo.

ANDREW: You should be ASHAMED of yourself.

5/ Milo holds his hand against the side of his head, massaging his temples as he begins to tear up, only slightly. His mouth barely moves as he talks, almost inaudible.

MILO: (small font)…I am.

6/ Silent panel as the two of them stare at each other for a moment, as seen over Milo’s shoulder. Andrew never breaks his stern and commanding eye contact, though his features have softened a little now that he’s gotten through.

7/ On Milo, looking distraught as Andrew continues.

ANDREW (off panel): I get it. I do.
ANDREW: Life has been…COMPLICATED lately. And for you, on top of everything that we’re ALL going through, there’s the fact that CHRIS just died. And you’re feeling guilty over having moved on with David.

ANDREW: I know all this.

8/ On Andrew, staring calmly and directly straight at Milo. His stern look remains, but it has softened, revealing a patient understanding beneath – albeit a rapidly running out patient understanding.

ANDREW: But Milo?
ANDREW: These mistakes…they’re too BIG. Too ridiculous to be understandable. You are a representative of this TEAM. You are supposed to be HELPING PEOPLE.

ANDREW: You are not supposed to be the BAD GUY.

PAGE SEVEN
1/ CUT TO the interior of a sewer manhole, looking straight up and out the manhole cover as a familiar face peers down at us. It’s Landon, peeking disgustedly into the sewer as the light of day shines down around him. We see only the top of his shoulders, dressed in a beige Carhart jacket, and his unpleasant face as he contemplates returning to the sewer once more.

CAPTION: New York.

CAPTION (NARR): God, I hate this.

2/ On Landon, the light shining down on him from above as he descends the slippery looking ladder into the sewer below. He wears clunky beige work-boots to match his Carhart, and his faded, fraying jeans suggest he hasn’t had much occasion to change them in his days back with the Brotherhood. His hair has grown some in his days in his old stomping ground, hanging down either side face-length and looking like it needs a wash – not to mention framing his extensive stubble that adorns his face like a shadow.

NARR: Every damn minute of it.

NARR: I’m sure BETH would be happy to know that.

3/ Landon stomps through the murky waters of the dark sewer, his eyes gleaming as they adjust to the dark. He looks thoroughly displeased, and any fears we may have had that Landon would return home and like it there are dispelled in this moment.

NARR: You spend YEARS of your adult life trying to get AWAY from a place…

4/ Landon stops by a slick stone wall near a large elliptical archway and takes an unlit torch from a sconce on the wall, lighting it with a silver butane lighter. The orange light from the fire cascades across his face, and he winces from the change in lighting.

NARR: …just to be DRAGGED back in to clean up the VERY SAME MESSES you were trying to get away from in the FIRST place.

5/ Head and shoulders on Landon, trudging along in the dark with his torch held high, his nose twitching from the awful smell of the New York sewer system.

NARR: It’s the worst NIGHTMARE of anyone who’s ever left an old life behind and never looked BACK.

6/ Landon approaches a large portal style passageway in the sewer, framed on both sides by large glowing candles mounted on the walls. Through the door, we glimpse an expansive room beyond, stretching out onward and upward. It is lit from obvious source lighting, the dim glow of hundreds of candles struggling to light such a large room. We see numerous shadows cast on the walls just beyond the door. Landon approaches reluctantly, wanting only to turn around and go home before dealing with these people again.

NARR: Hell.

NARR: It’s just like the saying GOES, I guess.

PAGE EIGHT

1/ THIS IS A FULL PAGE SPLASH, featuring the issue’s TITLE, CREDITS and INDICIA. Landon enters the portal door and sees the Great Hall of the Vladic Brotherhood sprawled out before him. It’s modeled like a vast underground cathedral, with huge vaulted ceilings and ornate stone work rising up to meet them. At the far end of the room, dead in the center, is a tall podium flanked on both sides by a series of decorative chairs – clearly an area designed for a speaker and council. On the chamber floor, reaching back from the stage to the entrance, are hundreds of chairs aligned against a series of long desks that stretch across the room in one long swath, emulating a senate floor with hundreds of delegates. Down the middle of the rows of desks stretches a stone pathway, lit by candles running up and down its length, resting on the battered floor. All around the room, in countless nooks and crannies, hundreds of candles form shapeless masses of glowing wax, lighting the room eerily, but sufficiently. High on the wall, a small series of balcony booths adorn both sides of the chamber, like priority theatre seating – these places being clearly reserved for the wealthiest members of the Brotherhood. Strangely, and perhaps anachronistically, both sides of the stage are flanked high by a pair of massive Hi-Def screens – currently inoperative – that each dangle an enormous mass of chunky wiring, running chaotically toward a vast speaker system designed to reverberate loudly in the chamber. Both sides of the stage are proudly adorned with a gigantic statue of one of the two revered founders: Vlad the Impaler and Lycaon, the first werewolf. At the stage, bustling about as though something important and startling has just happened, is a crowd of people – running back and forth, pointing and shouting orders. In the center of the wild herd rests one man, who –though he is far away from us – appears to be bleeding from the chest, sprawled out on the ground and being attended to by a pair of Brotherhood doctors. All these people are dressed in old, casual street clothes, any semblance of decorum long gone as they struggle to reclaim the sanctity of their Brotherhood. Closest to us, a displeased Landon stands with his back to us, looking down on this tableaux hesitantly before joining the fray.

NARR: You never CAN go home again.

PAGE NINE

1/ CUT TO Milo, standing outside at a bus stop, talking brightly on his cell phone in the warm summer sun.

MILO: Hey there, sleepy-head.
MILO: What are YOU doing?

2/ CUT TO David, sitting in Milo’s apartment in a frayed white Lady GaGa T-shirt and checkered pajama bottoms, sitting up on the bed with the blankets bunched around his bare feet. By his side sits a momentarily discarded Xbox controller, and as he ignores it he runs his and through his messy hair, talking to Milo on the phone.

DAVID: Sittin’ in bed, playing video games.
DAVID: What did Andrew wanna talk to you about?

3/ Milo slumps dramatically, leaning against the glass kiosk of the bus stop and rolling his eyes. People standing inside the kiosk glance over at him, recognizing him as he talks on the phone. Beside him stands a metal pole with the bus stop sign attached, informing viewers that busses 2, 5, and 8 stop here. The little image of a bus on the sign is followed by the words “Long Street.”

MILO: Oh, why don’t you take a shot in the DARK?

4/ David leans forward in the bed, lighting a cigarette with a purple Bic lighter. His eyebrows go up in unsurprised concern. He was sure that was what the meeting was about, and his apology is perfunctory, as it was already planned.

DAVID: Oh, no.
DAVID: Well, that’s what we FIGURED. Hopefully he wasn’t TOO mad.

DAVID: You coming home?

5/ On Milo, looking happy, though still a little haunted by the conversation he has just had with Andrew.

MILO: Well, I’m figuring that you’re still sitting around being a dirty-butt in week old LAUNDRY – which means we’ve got some cleaning to do.
MILO: Make a date of it?

6/ David smiles.

DAVID: You are a CHARMER.

7/ Milo smiles, turning to acknowledge an approaching bus, off-panel.

MILO: Great!
MILO: See you in a few.

PAGE TEN

1/ CUT TO a Long Panel Establishing Shot of the Pontifical College Josephinum, a massive complex of brown stone and countless windows. Its tower shoots up into the sky, a round green roof perched atop with a tall, ornate cross reaching up into the heavens. The building is surrounded in places with tall pine trees, reaching nearly to the top of the main mass of the Seminary School, and its well-manicured grass spreads out like a field. At the bottom of the panel, Donovan’s car sits in the parking lot, as Donovan gets out and looks up at the building in hesitation. He stands by the side of the car, the door still hanging open as he rests his hand on it, and fiddles with the edge of his hair nervously.

CAPTION: Pontifical College Josephinum, north of Worthington.

2/ On Donovan, looking up at the massive building as he stands inside his car door. He looks about ready to burst, and he fiddles with something in his right hand, draped over the edge of the car door. He is dressed in his old priest adornments, which we haven’t seen for a while. He looks physically uncomfortable in them, and he reaches absentmindedly for the unfamiliar white collar around his neck, which now looks more like a restraint than a badge of pride.

DON: Oh, God, Rhiannon…

3/ Donovan’s POV as he looks down at the object in his hand – the small flower Rhiannon picked in the Astral Plane, upon his arrival there (see issue 12). It hasn’t wilted at all, and it practically shimmers in the daylight.

DON (off panel): …I could really use your SUPPORT right now.

4/ Inside the building, we look past a small basin of Holy Water on a pedestal toward a side entrance, as the door opens to reveal Donovan entering quietly, furtively. It is dimmer in the building but still well lit, and light shines through a stained glass window off-panel somewhere.

5/ CLOSE as Donovan dips his finger into the basin, the ripples spreading out into the Holy Water as his hand shakes nervously.

6/ On Donovan as he closes his eyes, using the Holy Water dipped finger to make the sign of the cross. Spectacles, Testicles, Wallet and Watch. He looks positively terrified of what this meeting is about to bring for him.


PAGE ELEVEN

1/ CUT TO a Long Panel ESTABLISHING SHOT, of an old abandoned Warehouse somewhere in Western Ohio. The warehouse runs the length of the panel, stretching off into the distance. It is a spectacle of rotten wood, shattered glass, and orange rusting metal. A large garage door toward the end hangs open halfway, revealing stark blackness inside. Parked alongside the building is Rhiannon’s roommate’s car, empty and silent.

CAPTION: Outside New Hope, Ohio.

2/ On Rhiannon, as she opens an old metal door and peeks her head around the corner into the warehouse. We see her from inside, peeking around somewhat sheepishly. She looks unsure of what to do.

RHI: …
RHI: Hello?

3/ Over Rhiannon’s shoulder, we see a long view down the interior length of the warehouse. There are some bits of machinery scattered about, rusting and forgotten, but for the most part the room is one big empty expanse, the dusty floor kicking up a silt that hovers in the air and glows in the long shafts of light coming from the massive windows that run the length of the building. Rhiannon stands on a stone entryway, merely a tall slab of concrete attached to the door, with a series of steps that descend to the warehouse floor. Around it, a rusted metal railing made of pipes collects dust, parts of it twisted with old damage.

RHI: Anybody there?

4/ Rhiannon descends the concrete steps, treading over piles of shattered glass that cover each step. They crunch as she crosses over them, and she looks about nervously at the sound.

SOUND EFFECT: Crunch Crunch

5/ Rhiannon stops on the warehouse floor, and we see her from a distance –dwarfed by the massive size of the building. Light streams down all around her from the windows, and she glances at a big chunk of factory machinery whose purpose is a mystery to her. Huge pillars run the length of the building opposite the windows, and beyond them a deep darkness suggests that the building stretches off to the left for some unknown distance.

RHI: Hmm.

PAGE TWELVE

1/ On Rhiannon as she peeks around the edge of one of the many tall pillars, peering into the darkness at us as she calls out for anyone who may be hiding in the shadows.

RHI: My name is Rhiannon…

RHI: I’m just checking in for some, uh…concerned citizens?

2/ Deep in the darkness, we see a wide door open into an even greater dark expanse, with rusted metal sliding doors perched on either side –wide open to the mysterious depths of the building. A pile of abandoned clothing and beer cans sits rotting next to the gaping chasm.
3/ On Rhiannon’s hand as she clicks on a flashlight, shooting a bright beam out of the panel and into the darkness.

4/ Over Rhiannon’s shoulder as she approaches the deep dark room beyond the door, shining her flashlight out into its depths. The flashlight, unfortunately, only illuminates another concrete platform and series of stairs, the rotten metal railing encircling them not nearly as damaged as the first. Beyond that, the darkness is so deep the flashlight does nothing.

RHI: Great.

5/ Rhiannon steps out onto the platform and we see her from off in the darkness, shining her dim light down the old concrete steps and into the abyss. Some light shines in from the main warehouse chamber just outside the door, but for the most part the darkness is impenetrable.

6/ On Rhiannon, looking nervous.

RHI: Okay, so maybe coming alone wasn’t the BEST idea I’ve ever had…

PAGE THIRTEEN

1/ CUT BACK to Landon, now descended to the stage and joining his fellow Brotherhood members around the chaotic mess of commotion that has gathered around the injured man. The injured man is nearly delirious, looking upward at Landon as he towers over the frightened group. Landon looks unimpressed, looking down on them. Two other Brotherhood members are in the panel, crouched around the injured man and looking up at Landon. The injured man clutches his chest, trying to conceal a gaping, gushing wound.

LANDON: Oh, good. More of THIS.
LANDON: What happened to WILLIAM?

MEMBER 1: There was an ATTACK.
MEMBER 2: It’s the DEFECTORS, Landon! They hit when we weren’t EXPECTING it!

2/ Landon walks dismissively past the commotion, looking back over his shoulder as he tries to distance himself from the craziness.

LANDON: I see. Well, it’s great to know we’re still not resorting to VIOLENCE or anything around here.
LANDON: That would be a damn shame.

3/ The crowd parts and Landon’s mother, Magda, makes her way to the front. Since last we saw her, her hair’s been cut into a short gray bob, and her face has aged a few years from the stress of dealing with a chaotic Brotherhood. She wears brown slacks and a deep red blouse, covered by a long, flowing gray overcoat. She walks with her hands in the coat pockets, looking up at Landon from angry, narrowed eyes. Her lipstick is the same deep red as her shirt. Landon turns to face her, displeased by her presence.

MAGDA: It’s not as though they had a CHOICE in the matter, son.
MAGDA: These people, the DEFECTORS – they’re ANIMALS. It’s something we’d frankly been hoping you would HELP us with, if you weren’t so busy looking down your NOSE at us all.

LANDON: I don’t know how times I can say that I don’t –

MEMBER 1: Haven’t you told him?

LANDON: Told me what?

4/ Member 2 looks up at Landon cautiously, knowing he won’t like the news.

MEMBER 2: …who’s LEADING the Defectors.

5/ Landon looks up from the man at Magda with trepidation in his narrowed eyes. His hair cascades in front of his face.

LANDON: Mom?
LANDON: Who’s leading the Defectors?

6/ Magda locks eyes with Landon, aware of the impact her words will have. She almost smiles when she says it, barely concealing the joy she takes in delivering an emotional blow to her estranged son.

MAGDA: Thadeus.

7/ Landon’s eyes go wide, his jaw dropping just a bit. He is personally struck by the name, and it cues the inevitable flashback as he stares at Magda in stunned disbelief.

LANDON: Wait…
LANDON: You can’t be serious.

PAGE FOURTEEN

1/ CUT TO FLASHBACK, with rounded, hazy-edged panels indicating the past. A pair of feet in heavy dark boots crunch on the gravel rooftop of a small apartment building. Loose jeans hang limply over the tops of the boots.

CAPTION: April 30th, 2008.

SOUND EFFECT: Crunch
2/ Behind Landon, looking the same as he did in Knights Annual #1 (because this is the same night, a few hours earlier). He is perched on the rooftop, looking down into the streets below. Streetlights shine up at him, as a shadow falls over from behind. He’s wearing the shirt he eventually gave to Beth in that issue.

VOICE (from behind): Boo.

3/ Long panel as Landon, his head peeking into the bottom of the panel, turns around and looks up to find his old friend Thadeus standing over him, cracking his knuckles. Thadeus is a Vampire, his pointed and hideous ears leading the eye to his bald head, emblazoned right on top with a tattoo of his clan coat of arms. His eyes are filled with vertical pupils like that of a cat, and his jaw is lined with a natural growth of bizarre, pointed beard. His facial features are similar to the actor Paul Rudd, though his forehead is ridged and his mouth, open in a wicked grin, reveals twisted and ancient teeth highlighted by the two elongated incisors that reach down to the bottom of his mouth from above. His skin is sallow gray, and his hands, clenched together as he cracks his knuckles in anticipation, are weathered and old with long, sharp nails. He wears a long, tattered brown overcoat and no shirt, over a beaten old pair of blue jeans. The moon shines high above him.

LANDON: Thadeus.

THAD: Landon.
THAD: How goes the hunt?

4/ Thad’s overcoat, jeans, and booted feet protrude into the panel as Landon turns to face him. Landon remains crouched, propping his forearm up on his extended knee as he speaks.

LANDON: Weirdly EARLY this season, don’t you THINK?
LANDON: Burgess must be getting flinchy in his OLD AGE.

THAD: If by FLINCHY you mean SENILE, sure.

LANDON: Ha. Wanna join me? I JUST picked a spot.

5/ On Thad, as he looks down at Landon with a sardonic smile. He’s clearly the kind of guy that simply can’t be trusted. His best friends would swear by what a good guy he was, but they would never trust him not to stab them in the back sooner or later. It takes patience to be friends with this man.

THAD: How long have you known me, Landon?
THAD: I’m DYING to join you.

PAGE FIFTEEN

1/ The two men peer over the edge of the rooftop, crouched like gargoyles in the night as they survey the crowd of movie-goers leaving for their homes below, off panel. The lights shine up at them from beneath, casting funny shadows across their features.

LANDON: Good.

THAD: What’ve we got?

LANDON: Movie Theater. Just letting out. And it’s a CAMPUS crowd.

2/ Over their shoulders, we see what they see as they survey the crowd. There is a throng of people below, milling about and saying goodbye to each other, but one girl stands out, caught in a street light all by herself. From this distance, all we see of her is a small figure with long blonde hair. Thad points in her direction.

THAD: I say THAT’S our target, right THERE.
THAD: What do you think?

LANDON: She’s…

3/ Long Panel as we see Beth up close, turning around and glancing up in the direction of the rooftop. She does not seem to see them, but rather senses that she is being watched. She looks right past us and up, searching. As in Annual #1, she is younger, softer, and has longer hair. She wears a light jacket and slacks, and brushes her hair from her face as she searches the sky.

LANDON (off panel): …wow.

4/ On Thad, looking down at her and grinning like a school boy.

THAD: Heh.
THAD: She’s kinda HOT. In a DYKEY sort of way.

5/ Landon continues to stare down at her, his eyebrows contracting as he scoffs at Thad’s statement. Without looking away from Beth, he gives Thad a soft shove.

LANDON: You know, Thad, there’s a REASON you never get LAID.
LANDON: Get serious, man…

PAGE SIXTEEN

1/ Long Panel as we return to the present, Landon turning his head to follow Magda as she walks past him and continues speaking, apparently unmoved by his dismay. The others look on somewhat fearfully as they realize how upsetting this news is to Landon.

CAPTION (Landon cont. from above) …”She’s BEAUTIFUL.”
MAGDA: Yes, Landon. I am, in fact, quite MORBIDLY serious.

2/ Magda, with her back to us and Landon, looks back over her shoulder at him as she speaks. She now looks simply angry, fed up with the way the system has fallen apart despite all her efforts.

MAGDA: Your erstwhile little BOSOM BUDDY defected quite some TIME ago, as a matter of fact.

3/ Close on Landon, looking angry and confused.

LANDON: But, WHY?

4/ Magda turns to face him, a playful eyebrow raised as she looks at him challengingly. She is lit ominously by the candlelight, and she no longer hides the enormous satisfaction in delivering these blows to Landon.

MAGDA: What a silly question, dear.

5/ Landon faces her, looking angry at how much she is enjoying this and shocked at how startling the news is to him. All around him, the Brotherhood members in the room all look at him expectantly, unsure of what he plans to do with this information.

MAGDA (off panel): I rather suspect it has something to do with YOU.

PAGE SEVENTEEN

1/ CUT TO Milo and David, standing in a well-lit Laundromat folding t-shirts together. They wear tattered old clothes, of the sort that would probably never be worn were it not for an impromptu laundry day hijacking the use of their favorite outfits: both are in sweatpants with long white stripes running down the sides of their legs, and Milo wears a worn black White Zombie t-shirt, while David wears a shirt with the Marilyn Manson “antichrist” lightning bolt logo with the words “I’m not attached to your world” printed over it. He looks over at Milo as he folds a shirt neatly, preparing to lay it on the pile.

DAVID: Milo, how long has it been?

2/ On Milo, looking quizzically at David. His hair is a messy pile on his head, as he saw no need to primp for the task at hand.

MILO: Since we started the last LOAD? Like, TWO MINUTES, Mister Ants-In-The-Pants.
MILO: You got a hot DATE or something?

3/ David smiles and tosses the shirt on the stack, looking apologetically at Milo as he clears up the misunderstanding.
DAVID: No, dummy.
DAVID: I mean, since we started DATING.

4/ Milo plops a towel down on a short stack, scratching his head as he thinks. Behind him, people mill about in the small Laundromat, folding clothes and changing out loads from wall-mounted driers that couldn’t be any less than fifteen years old. The fluorescent lights overhead highlight the building’s age, and its yellowed, cigarette-stained walls give it an aged, lived-in feel.

MILO: Oh, Gosh. I dunno…
MILO: We met like…three or four months ago? I’d say it’s been almost TWO MONTHS since we started seeing each other.

5/ David looks down at the shirt he is folding, thinking to himself. His face reads contemplative, with a forced neutral expression.

DAVID: Hunh.

MILO (off panel): Why?

6/ On Milo, as viewed over David’s shoulder while David talks. Milo watches him carefully as he talks, trying to gauge where he’s coming from.

DAVID: Well, I was just thinking…
DAVID: It’s been a while now. And we haven’t really had the whole, like…you know, the “where do we see this thing GOING” conversation.

DAVID: I wondered if you thought maybe we should do that.

PAGE EIGHTEEN

1/ Milo looks down at the stack of towels as he places another on top. He smoothes out the towel and does his best to conceal his nervousness. He clearly has been on the losing end of this discussion before, and feels suddenly certain that he knows how this conversation is going to end.

MILO: Okay. So let’s TALK.
MILO: Where do YOU see this going?

2/ On David, over Milo’s head as the two turn to face each other. David looks at Milo directly, as Milo averts his head but lets his eyes lock on David’s. David looks serious, letting his feelings show openly and honestly.

DAVID: I like you a LOT, Milo.

MILO: I like you, too.
3/ David looks back down at his laundry and continues folding, speaking as he does. His eyebrows are animated as he talks, basically letting his inner monologue spill out to Milo on a sudden whim.

DAVID: But it’s been a very long time since I’ve been in a serious RELATIONSHIP. It’s kind of…TERRIFYING.

4/ On Milo, now looking openly and directly at David. His face sinks, as he is certain that he’s about to get dumped.

DAVID (off panel): I’m not stupid. I know we’ll have problems.
DAVID: I mean, we’ve already HAD our share…

5/ David suddenly breaks from his folding and looks right at Milo, a look of almost pleading in his eyes as Milo, to the side of the panel, looks on in pleasant surprise.

DAVID: But I would really like to give this a GO with you, Milo. Stick it out for the LONG HAUL.
DAVID: I think we’ve got something really GREAT here.

DAVID: Do you…what do you think?

6/ Milo leans over and the two press their heads together, connecting at the forehead. Milo smiles and David finally breaks his seriousness to let a relieved grin cross his worried face.

MILO: I think it’s sweet.
MILO: And I agree.

PAGE NINETEEN

1/ CUT TO a Long Panel, as Donovan takes a seat with his back to us before a long table, sitting down nervously into a sturdy old wooden chair and fidgeting with his shirt-sleeves as he does. Before him, at the long, ornately carved oak table, sit four men. The first, Rector of the Josephinum, wears the standard black with white collar of the priesthood, but is set apart by a silken red vest. He is a severe-looking older man with dark hair and sharp features. To the right (his left) sits the Vice-Rector, a stout man with a shock of white hair and large square glasses, dressed in the traditional black and white of a priest. To the right of him (again, his left), sits a third man, the Bishop. He is an older, heavier man with a heavily receding grey hairline and a thick, grey mustache. He, too, wears thick, unfashionable glasses. To the right of him (one last time – his left), sits the fourth man – the Papal Nuncio. This man is a pleasant but important looking gentleman in his late forties, with slightly graying hair covered by a small, round, red cap. He wears black, expensive looking formal wear, highlighted throughout by royal red stitching at the seams. He looks, perhaps, to be the most studious of the group, appraising Donovan from across the table with his hands folded in front of his face. The room, for the most part, is dimly lit – a tableaux of stark shadows pierced by the small amount of exterior light peering in through an unseen window. Behind the men at the table is an enormous bookshelf lined with endless books of visible age. At either end of the bookshelf, atop matching antique wrought-iron pedestals, are two enormous white candles, glowing dimly in the oppressive office.

RECTOR: Glad you could join us here today, Mr. Thatcher.

DON: Oh, it’s my PLEASURE, sir.
DON: Though, I don’t believe I’ve been introduced…?

2/ On the Rector, looking formal, but pleasant as possible, given the conversation that follows. He nods as he introduces himself and begins to talk his way around the room.

RECTOR: Of course.
RECTOR: I, for one, am Monsignor HANLEY, the RECTOR here at Josephinum.

3/ On the Vice-Rector and Bishop, respectively, as they nod to Donovan politely.

RECTOR (off panel): To my left are David Newsom, VICE-Rector, and Bishop Matthew Woodrow, who oversees the DIOCESE here in Columbus.

4/ On Donovan, nodding in return. He looks so nervous he could explode.

DON: Pleased to MEET you all.
DON: And this - ?

5/ On the Papal Nuncio as he is introduced. He does not nod, but continues to study Donovan’s face as Hanley talks. He drops his hands from their interlocked position, looking more openly at the subject of his fascination.

RECTOR (off panel): This is Mister RADCLIFFE, Donovan.

6/ Close on the Rector, aware of the impact Radcliffe’s title will have on Donovan. He almost winces himself when he says it.

RECTOR: He’s the PAPAL NUNCIO.
RECTOR: From Washington.

PAGE TWENTY

1/ Donovan looks completely taken aback, just as the Rector expected him to. He suddenly looks around in utter confusion, trying to mask his urgent desire to flee the room and return to his car.

DON: Um…
DON: Why is there a Representative from the POPE at my performance review?

2/ Close on the Rector, looking seriously at Donovan.

RECTOR: There are some very serious CHARGES being brought against you, here, Donovan.
RECTOR: Your…DISREGARD for the PRACTICE has been flaunted rather FLAGRANTLY these past few months.

3/ On the Bishop, folding his hands before him on the table and speaking to Donovan the way a Principle speaks to an unruly student.

BISHOP: We’re looking at everything from VOLUNTARY SELF-POSSESSION to CONSISTENT dabbling in…ALTERNATIVE practices.

4/ On the Vice-Rector, looking down at some notes held in a manila file-folder left open on the desk. He flips through some loose pages as he consults his notes, citing the list of charges Donovan is held accountable for.

VICE: This is, of course, not to MENTION the well-known ILLICIT AFFAIR you’ve been carrying on with one… RHIANNON McRHEA?
VICE: A fellow TEAMMATE of yours, as I’m sure you KNOW.

5/ Radcliffe, the Papal Nuncio, slides a stack of paperwork across the table in Donovan’s direction, speaking for the first time as he does so. He looks committed, as though the matter has already been decided.

PAPAL: So, as you can IMAGINE, we’ve got quite a lot of PAPERWORK to go through.
PAPAL: There will be a full TRIAL of course, followed by a trip to VATICAN CITY. This will take some TIME, but I’m certain a man of your resources will be able to get his affairs in ORDER when the time comes.

6/ On Donovan, looking overwhelmed by all the information that’s just been thrown at him. He shakes his head, looking fearful and confused.

DON: Wait…
DON: What are we talking about, here?

7/ On the Rector. He drops his paperwork and looks directly at Donovan, his face a mixture of apologetic sympathy and self-righteous zeal. He gestures with his pen, trying his best to be honest without being cruel.

RECTOR: EXCOMMUNICATION, Donovan.
RECTOR: A very NOISY, HIGH-PROFILE excommunication to fit your very noisy, high-profile CRIMES.

RECTOR: You’re being made an EXAMPLE of, son. I’m sorry.

PAGE TWENTY-ONE

1/ CUT TO Andrew and Beth, sitting in a crowded, Applebee’s-style restaurant. The daylight is beginning to fade outside, and the dinner lighting has come on in the restaurant as Servers bustle by carrying large trays of sizzling food. Beth is barely in-panel, little more than a shoulder and a profile as Andrew looks at her from across the booth. Their plates are mostly finished and they have set their silverware and napkins atop them as a signal to the server, but they both have a glass of red wine and an ice water, and they sip at the wine as they talk.

ANDREW: Ever since the whole AKASHI thing, I’m just not sure how we should APPROACH anything anymore.
ANDREW: I mean, with PALMER coming down on you so hard about MILO and everything, it’s sort of a tough call before we make any controversial DECISIONS. Even if he WAS kind of RIGHT…

2/ On Beth, looking a little surprised.

BETH: You think he was right?

3/ Andrew sips at his wine, raising an eyebrow in an “I guess so” fashion.

ANDREW: I don’t think he was entirely WRONG, anyway.

4/ On Beth, with Andrew in the edge of the panel as they continue their conversation. Beth sips at her wine and points in agreement with her free hand.

ANDREW: This whole situation is on a knife’s edge, and now with MILO running around acting like…well, you know what I mean.

BETH: That much is true.
BETH: I think the SUPERHERO thing has gone to his head in the WORST sort of way.

ANDREW: I just hope DAVID can balance him OUT. Rhiannon was doing a nice job of it for a while, but the more involved with DONOVAN she gets…

5/ On Beth, setting down her glass of wine and looking at Andrew, a tonal drop evident in her expression as she takes a more serious, personal tack in the conversation.

BETH: And who’s balancing out YOU, Andrew?
BETH: You’ve got all this STRESS, and who do you have to LEAN on?

6/ Close on Andrew, meeting her gaze with an entirely different intention than she had in mind. He looses all indication of a business conversation and suddenly becomes a fifteen year old boy telling his crush how he feels.

ANDREW: Honestly?

ANDREW: I’ve got YOU.

PAGE TWENTY-TWO

1/ Beth looks down, averting her eyes and becoming uncomfortable.

BETH: Andrew…

2/ Andrew sips at his wine, looking dejectedly and a little angrily down into the glass as he drinks. His body language tightens, regretting having exposed himself.

ANDREW: Yeah, yeah.
ANDREW: You’re not gonna say anything I haven’t heard a million times before.

3/ Beth looks back up at him, a little sharply. She pushes her wine away from her with the back of her hand.

BETH: I was TRYING to suggest that you should be OUT there. Trying to FIND someone.
BETH: It wouldn’t hurt for you to be DATING, Andrew.

4/ Close on Andrew, looking angrily up at her from his lowered gaze.

ANDREW: You are the absolute LAST person from whom I EVER want to hear those words again.

5/ Beth leans back in her chair, incensed. Her hands rest limply on the table, with nowhere to go other than angrily crossing in front of her chest, which she doesn’t want them to do.

BETH: That’s NOT fair.
BETH: I think we’ve had enough WINE for the evening.

6/ Andrew gestures with his wine glass, preparing to take the last swig as he fires his retort. He looks angry, to an extent, but mostly he looks like someone who has long felt as though they’ve got the short end of the stick. He looks hurt.

ANDREW: You and Landon were separated for six months before you decided you wanted to go back to him.
ANDREW: SIX MONTHS.

ANDREW: Why did nothing happen between us, Beth?

7/ On Beth, looking surprised and uncomfortable, if perhaps the tiniest bit regretful.

ANDREW (off panel): Why did nothing happen?

PAGE TWENTY-THREE

1/ CUT TO a Long Panel as Milo darts up out of bed, having fallen asleep. David sleeps soundly next to him. The apartment is dark, but even as such we can tell that the apartment is different. Milo has once again awaked in the dream world of the previous issue. Near the front of the panel, between us and the bed, Milo’s TV sits on a small stand, and above the television is a stack of DVD’s labeled, respectively, THE NAVIDSON RECORD, STAB 2, and EXPOSE: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON. Milo wears the same clothes he wore in the Laundromat, and he does not reach for his glasses.

MILO: GYAHH!

2/ Suddenly a bright white light shines from the direction of the apartment door, and Milo shields his eyes against the glare.

3/ Having allowed his eyes to adjust, Milo turns to face to white light, and we see his apartment door hanging open and allowing the glare to spill in, turning the apartment into shades of solid black and white.

MILO: Christ.
MILO: Here we go.

4/ Milo sits on the edge of the bed, tying a battered old pair of running shoes. He has slipped on a faded, tattered pair of blue jeans, and he makes an effort not to disturb David, though he knows that David is probably not really there. This is all just a dream, right?

5/ Milo walks toward and into the light, becoming an obscure black mass in the shape of Milo from behind.

PAGE TWENTY-FOUR

1/ Standing at the top of the stairs in his apartment building, Milo looks down the flight of beige concrete steps and contemplates, staring at the mud caked in the corners of the landing at the bottom. The small window at the top of the building’s front door lets in a strange, orange light, though its effect is lost in the well-lit hallway.

2/ Close on Milo’s hand, now at the bottom of the steps, as it reaches out to turn the doorknob and open out into the world beyond that door.

MILO: Screw it.

3/ Low angle, skewed as Milo steps outside into the night. The building has chunks of bricks missing from its façade, and graffiti is spray painted all up and down the walls. A strip of police tape flutters in the wind, having drifted into view from God knows where. Overhead, descending from the sky from an unseen source, a chunk of flaming shrapnel hurls toward an unsuspecting Milo as he steps through the door. As it falls, the shrapnel makes a hideous sound.

SOUND EFFECT: SCREEEE

4/ Milo barely dodges out of the way in time, shielding his face as the shrapnel hits the ground and sends chunks of sidewalk concrete flying.

SOUND EFFECT: CRRASHH

5/ Behind Milo, as he looks out at the scene taking place on High Street before him. It looks less like Columbus and more like war-torn Iraq. Buildings have crumbled and been replaced and crumbled again. Street lights sit shattered in the middle of the street. Tall, consecutive wooden walls have been erected in various places up and down the street, each covered in yellow police tape. A scrapped car sits across the street, looking as though a giant boulder has fallen on top of it. In spite of all this, it’s still recognizably High Street, near the corner of High and First.

MILO: Oh, my God.

6/ Milo looks up just in time to see a pair of fighter jets heading toward downtown, screaming by in the night sky above. At the edge of the panel, we can see that the light coming from the direction of downtown is a bizarre orange glow, as though parts of the city are burning.

SOUND EFFECT: FOOSH

PAGE TWENTY-FIVE

1/ Milo turns and looks south down High Street. All that’s clear in the distance is chaos, but one thing stands out like a sore thumb: in the middle of the street, too far away for its identity to be determined, is a single person, walking along as though they don’t realize what danger they’re in.

MILO: Wait…
MILO: Is that -?

2/ Closer on the person, and we can see that it’s a young male, about Milo’s age, wandering what seems to be aimlessly down the center of High Street, toward the nightmare of downtown. We cannot see their face, as their back is to us.

MILO (off panel): Guy’s gonna get himself KILLED!

3/ Long panel as Milo races to the rescue, jumping over chunks of concrete and debris. As he runs, we can see that much of High Street looks just the same as it did right in front of his apartment. His face is set in determination as he tries to reach the man whose life is in clear danger.

MILO: Hey!
MILO: HEY! WAIT!

MILO: What are you DOING!?

4/ Close on the ground as Milo’s foot strikes a loose rock and he goes flying, falling toward the shattered pavement.

SOUND EFFECT: CHUNK

5/ Milo picks himself groggily off the ground, lifting himself up on both arms as he looks down at the road beneath him. His hands are cut up and scabbed from his fall, and he has a small cut on his forehead.

MILO: Ow.

VOICE (off panel): Milo?

6/ Milo looks up at the person who said his name. Standing over Milo, extending a helpful hand to get him to his feet, is none other than – Milo. An alternate Milo, reaching down amicably, looks down at his own alternate self, smiling. This new Milo is wearing the glasses that our Milo forgot to grab back at the apartment, and he has a long, ugly scar running down the right side of his face. His hair does not have Milo’s trademark blue chunk, but rather a crimson red one, hanging loosely off the left side of his forehead. Our Milo looks up him, in shock.

NEW MILO: Funny seeing YOU here.

PAGE TWENTY-SIX

1/ CUT TO a Long Panel of Rhiannon, wandering around in the dark with her flashlight aimed out before her and toward us. She looks a little frightened, but mostly irritated and impatient.

RHI: Alright, people.
RHI: I’m not STUPID.

2/ She points the flashlight off to the right, looking in the direction of its beam as she continues talking.

RHI: There’ve been reports of NOISES coming from this place for MONTHS now.
RHI: Long enough that some townspeople thought it worth having an INVESTIGATOR come in from TWO HOURS AWAY.

3/ Distant shot, dwarfing Rhiannon in the dark as she searches about. The warehouse is clearly just as cavernous in these dark regions as it was in the well-lit ones.

RHI: Yet no matter HOW HARD I reach out, I’m not sensing ANYTHING in here.
RHI: Even a damn ANIMAL.

4/ Close on Rhiannon, looking nervous.

RHI: So WHO are you, and why are you working so hard to PSYCHICALLY SHIELD yourself from me?

5/ Suddenly, from the right side of the panel, a male hand comes down on her with a metal rod, striking her in the head. Her face scrunches in pain as she takes a fall, plummeting toward the unfinished metal floor.

SOUND EFFECT: CRACK!

RHI: Aghh!

PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN

1/ THIS IS A FULL PAGE SPLASH, as Rhiannon looks up from her landing spot on the metal floor and sees her attacker. Crouched over her, looking down with a carefully guarded smile, is Malice – lit eerily by Rhiannon’s flashlight, which now sits uselessly on the floor, pointing into the darkness with random abandon. He crouches comfortably, resting his arms on his knees as he looks down at her. Behind him, a group of his robed monks look on expectantly, wringing their hands together in excitement.

MALICE: Maybe you can help me out.
MALICE: I’m trying to think of a little something a SPIDER once said to a FLY, but it’s the strangest thing: I’m drawing a total BLANK.

MALICE: Any ideas?



Next: Could Have Beens!

Knights of Columbus #15

Issue Fifteen: “Missing Link, part 3: Nightmare Scenario”

PAGE ONE

“Previously” page.

PAGE TWO

1/ Long panel as Beth walks down High Street, walking north from downtown. She pauses momentarily as she passes a newspaper box with a headline that catches her eye. The day is leaning over into nighttime, but light and color still prevail, the sun not yet having sunk beneath the sky. Beth looks alarmed, broken from the thoughts she was lost in by the headline that jumped out to greet her.

CAPTION: Downtown.

NARR (BETH): My name is Elizabeth Catherine Adams, born Elizabeth Reilly.
NARR: I’m twenty-eight years old.

NARR: I like to think I’m a nice, MATURE twenty-eight years old, but people keep surprising me – making me realize how immature and naïve I can actually BE.

2/ On Beth as she looks down at the headline, her eyes going wide with something like surprised pleasure mixed with shock crossing her face.

BETH: Now what have we HERE?

NARR: It makes me wonder – when the hell is it that we actually GROW UP? Become what we were told adults are SUPPOSED to be? Is it EVER?

NARR: It’s one of the great mysteries of LIFE, I guess, how we’re able to survive when the way we THINK things are is constantly contradicted by the way they ACTUALLY are.

3/ Beth crouches, fully taking in the paper’s message as she leans against the metal box and laughs aloud.

BETH: Ha!

NARR: On a planet full of people running around with all these totally wrong-headed juxtapositions about the way of the world, how is it that anything ever gets DONE?

NARR: We’re just ADAPTABLE, I guess.

4/ Large panel over Beth’s shoulder as we see the paper for the first time. It’s the Columbus DISPATCH, and the headline reads “Knights of Columbus: Saving Lives, Making Friends,” accompanied by a large color image of the entire team fighting off the werewolves from the “Sheep’s Clothing” storyline.

BETH: No. Freaking. Way.

NARR: Either that, or we’re goddamn LUCKY.

PAGE THREE

1/ Cut to a large panel as we see the Massachusetts Underground, staring us down as they pose menacingly in the direction of Mark and Andrew. In the front, Pete Warner stands, smoking a cigarette and glowering across the clearing in his headphone-themed hoody and short, well-kempt faux-hawk. To his left (our right) stands Talia Ford, the young indie-punk looking girl with the dark, short hair. She holds her hands out in a dramatic superhero pose, flame churning from her palms and engulfing her hands as she brandishes her powers of pyrokinesis. Behind her, in the center, stands Weston Gaia – a young man with longer hair and scruffy features (though they are surprisingly well-kempt scruffy features, suggesting that he works hard to look scruffy and cares very much about his appearance). He holds his hands out flat, palms facing the ground, with his fingers pointed forward – controlling the curving, snake-like pillars of earth and grass that have arched up behind him like weapons and now point in the direction of his extended hands, poised to leap forward as though fired from a gun. Around them, failing light shines down through the thick patches of jungle trees, and exotic birds scatter.

CAPTION: Central America.

PETE: I’d like to introduce you to my fellow REPRESENTATIVES.
PETE: TALIA FORD, our resident PYROKINE…
PETE: …and WESTON GAIA, the one and only TERRAMANCER.

2/ Close on Andrew, a difficult mix of startled and furious as he glares reproachfully at Pete across the clearing. Behind him, Mark shares in his confused anger.

ANDREW: You’re telling me the PARANORMAL DEFENSE INITIATIVE is ARMING the BAKII?
ANDREW: They’re FUNDING the CONFLICT?!

3/ Pete waves a dismissive gesture with the hand holding the cigarette, dragging a visible trail of smoke across the panel as he arches a condescending eyebrow.

PETE: Hey, now. Don’t get all PATERNAL with me, big boy.
PETE: You’re the one BUMPING UGLIES with threats to NATIONAL SECURITY.

4/ Andrew stiffens, gaining his composure and making his stand as he points over his shoulder at the small crowd of Akashi that have gathered outside their huts and look on in fear.
ANDREW: These people have done NOTHING wrong.

5/ In the FG, Talia pulls back her arms in preparation to fire, looking excited to unleash her flames on some super-powered contenders. The fire curls up around her, like a whip about to crack. Behind her, Pete looks almost bored with the situation.

PETE: This is me, CARING.
PETE: Talia? Hit it.

PAGE FOUR

1/ Talia unleashes her flames, blanketing the clearing as Andrew and Mark try their best to leap out the way, rocked backward by the concussive force of the flames hitting the ground. Talia looks to be positively thrilled she gets to unleash, and the light from her flames blankets the clearing in an orange glow.

SOUND EFFECT: FOOOSHH

2/ Mark lands backward on the ground, falling into a sitting position and catching himself with his hands. He looks shaken, but also impressed.

MARK: Whoa.

3/ On Weston, as he turns his hand palm-up and gestures forward, sending twin pillars of earth hurtling forward toward the reader. His face reads little expression, just a strong concentration on controlling his power as the weaponized sod flies forward like a pair of daggers.

SOUND EFFECT: SHOOM

4/ On Andrew, scowling in frustration as his hands are engulfed in the pillars of earth, trapping him like handcuffs. He shakes violently to free himself, but is unsuccessful.

ANDREW: No!
ANDREW: DAMMIT!

5/ Low Angle as Pete walks up to the now captive Andrew, looking down at him as Andrew is pinned to the ground by his earthen handcuffs. Pete strides up almost casually, stuffing his hands in his pockets and never taking anything more than a lazy posture.

PETE: Now, Mr. MacTiernan…
PETE: Let’s discuss the YOU-GETTING-THE-HELL-OUT-OF-OUR-WAY situation, shall we?

6/ Andrew stares up at him furiously from beneath his heavily furrowed brow, frustrated and temporarily defeated.
PAGE FIVE

1/ Cut to a Long Panel as we see two pairs of feet running along the sidewalk. One (the smaller pair) wears denim-colored Chuck Taylors, with Ninja Turtle shoelaces bouncing wildly. The second pair, larger than the first, is clad in black casual boots. From what we can see, the sun is only just now going down.

CAPTION: Victorian Village.

2/ Pull up from the ground and we see Donovan, stopping to catch his breath with his hands on his knees, looking up at Rhiannon from his winded position. Rhiannon is off panel.

DON: Rhi, stop.
DON: I need to BREATHE.

DON: How are we EVER going to find him like this?

3/ Close on Rhiannon, looking nervously down at Donovan.

RHI: Should be easy enough.
RHI: Just follow the sounds of WANTON DESTRUCTION.

4/ Both of them turn abruptly at the sound of an enormous explosion. Their faces are a mix of fear for Link’s safety and the safety of others, and relief at finally having found Link.

SOUND EFFECT: SKA-DOOM

5/ On Donovan, looking up from his crouched position. He grins sardonically.

DON: CHECK and MATE.

PAGE SIX

1/ THIS IS A FULL PAGE SPLASH, featuring the issue’s TITLE, CREDITS and INDICIA. Edward Lincoln Geblan, as seen from behind, wanders almost Zombie-like toward a heavily populated grocery store, bearing a sign that reads “GIANT BIRD.” His body fires off shots of electricity in all directions. His is silhouetted by the setting sun, his figure a dark shadow generating its own unnatural light as he stalks inexorably toward the crowd of innocent people waiting inside. His lightning bolts strike the cars in the parking lot, threatening to destroy them. He is no longer an innocent little boy, but a dangerous threat.

PAGE SEVEN

1/ Cut to a Long Panel as Milo bolts up out of sleep on the love seat in his studio’s living room/bedroom. The setting sun has disappeared from view outside for reasons unknown, and strangely, the walls and decorations are just a little bit off in the apartment. It’s not clear HOW different, but things have definitely changed in Milo’s home while he was momentarily passed out. The walls skew at a slight angle, the pictures on the walls are entirely different in places or angled impossibly in others. Everything is a slightly (but still noticeably) different color than it usually is. Milo looks as startled as if he just woke up from a terrible dream.

MILO: GYAHH!

2/ Milo settles down, rubbing his weary eyes as he reaches to the end table by the loveseat, grabbing his glasses. He still wears what he wore when we last saw him, confronting David.

MILO: Jesus…
MILO: (small font) Just a DREAM.

VOICE (off panel): Ain’t over YET, Milo.

3/ Milo turns abruptly over his shoulder to discover, sprawled out comfortably on his futon bed as though he never died – Chris. Milo is understandably shocked, but Chris looks positively nonchalant. He lays casually with his hands behind his head, reclining comfortably, his legs crossed. He wears a baggy pair of jeans and a brown printed t-shirt depicting an intricate Mayan glyph – Hunahpu and Xbalanque resurrecting their father, the elder Mayan rebirthing in the form of a Maize God escaping from the cleft in the back of a turtle (see the POPOL VUH, Simon and Schuster Edition, page 140). Over the designed T-Shirt, Chris wears a dark gray blazer, with a dark brown handkerchief sticking out of the pocket. He wears dark brown work boots, crossed casually at the foot of the bed.

MILO: Chris?!

CHRIS: More or less, yeah.

4/ Milo pulls back a little, letting the fear subside and give way to confusion. He can’t help but betray a bit of a smile in seeing Chris again, but it’s faint.

MILO: But…you’re DEAD.
MILO: What’s going on?

5/ Closer on Chris, as he looks at Milo seriously, still resting his hands behind his head. This closer view reveals a better glance at the detailed shirt.

CHRIS: This is IT, Milo. The beginning.
CHRIS: The dreams I told you about?
PAGE EIGHT

1/ Milo looks around, uncertain.

MILO: But this is just my APARTMENT.
MILO: (small font) Sort of.

MILO: Why does my apartment look different?

2/ Chris sits up on the edge of the futon, resting his elbows on his knees as he folds his hands together. He levels his eyes with Milo’s, setting his facial expression into that of a determined teacher.

CHRIS: Well, SURE it’s your apartment, Milo. What did you THINK the dreams were going to be?

CHRIS: Dreams are a reflection of REALITY, after all. They can only start with the familiar, if they expect to do you any good. And, frankly? Changes and all, this apartment is as familiar as things are going to GET around here.
CHRIS: You haven’t even stepped OUTSIDE yet. You haven’t seen how things have CHANGED.

3/ Milo turns back to Chris, an ominous note of dread in his curious expression. He presses his glasses to his face, the strange blue light from outside the window blinding us to his eyes.

MILO: Changed?

4/ Close on Chris, a look of foreboding on his face.

CHRIS: What’s happening to the WORLD, Milo. Your WORLD?
CHRIS: It’s happened before. And it’ll happen again. And SOMEWHERE? On some world just like YOURS? It’s probably even happening right now.

5/ Even CLOSER on Chris, looking upward at Milo from his downcast face to drive the seriousness of his point home, whatever his point may be.

CHRIS: They want us to KNOW, Milo. How it will BE.
CHRIS: Step outside. See for yourself.

6/ Milo stands, walking tentatively to the apartment door as he reaches out for the knob. He talks back over his shoulder to Chris, and as he reaches out, stark confusion and fear dominate his features.

MILO: Chris…what am I gonna SEE?

PAGE NINE

1/ Milo turns the knob and pulls the door toward him, allowing a tiny sliver of blinding light to shine its way in from the hallway outside. For all the thinness of the slash of light, it turns all that it touches into the brightest of daylight, casting the rest of the room into darkness by contrast.

2/ Milo pulls the door open all the way, and the heavy light blasts its way into the room, engulfing Milo in its otherworldly glow.

3/ Pull in closer on Milo, wincing in pain and shielding his eyes from the blinding light. He holds his hand in front of his face protectively.

MILO: Oh, God, I –

4/ Suddenly, the dream ends. Milo finds himself standing in front of the closed door of his normal apartment, looking pointlessly at the back of the battered old door. His hands hang uselessly at his sides as he looks at the door in confusion. The blinding light is gone, and the room has reverted to normal – including the lighting, where it is now just barely dark, with only the faintest hint of blue in the blackening ambiance of night.

MILO: …what?

5/ Milo turns to look at his window, with its unimpressive view of the brick wall that depicts the building next door. A trail of brown smoke rises up from below the window somewhere.

MILO: David?

6/ Looking downward out the window through Milo’s eyes, we see David, leaning against the wall of Milo’s apartment building in the not-as-clean-as-could-be alleyway between the two buildings. He appears to be waiting for someone, smoking a cigarette.

7/ Reversed angle, as we now see Milo looking out his window, viewed from just below. He looks wistfully down at his boyfriend, almost saying something and choosing not to.

8/ On David, leaning against the wall and puffing away at his cigarette. He looks around impatiently, awaiting whomever his meeting is supposed to be with. Gently, it starts to rain.

PAGE TEN

1/ Cut to a Long Panel of Palmer, standing in the Atlas Building office, now lit by dim orange source lighting in the new dark. Out the window, we see rain starting to pour against the glass. Palmer does not look happy, and his anger fires toward us, the reader, as he directs it to the off-panel source of his chagrin: Beth.
CAPTION: The Atlas Building.

PALMER: This better be GOOD, Adams.
PALMER: I was about to board a flight to WASHINGTON!

2/ Beth smugly tosses the newspaper down on the long conference table, headline facing up. She leaves her extended throwing hand poised in the air momentarily, for dramatic effect. She couldn’t look more indignantly pleased.

BETH: Read ‘em and WEEP.

3/ On the newspaper, with it’s headline proudly declaring its allegiance to the Knights of Columbus. They look heroic as ever in the full-color image beneath the byline.

PALMER: (off panel) And this is…?

4/ Close on Beth as she looks stoically at Palmer, her face set in determination.

BETH: This is proof of what I’ve been trying to TELL you.
BETH: The people of COLUMBUS, by and LARGE, approve of our actions.

BETH: Hell, they LOVE us!

5/ Palmer raises an unimpressed eyebrow, only momentarily having glanced at the paper. He has now gone right back to staring down Beth, and the paper appears to have had no effect on him.

PALMER: I’d whip out my IMPRESSED face, Beth, but I forgot it in my THREE-THOUSAND DOLLAR PANTS.

PALMER: The ones I was going to wear for my meeting with the PRESIDENT. In WASHINGTON.
PALMER: Where I’m supposed to BE.

PAGE ELEVEN

1/ Long panel over Palmer’s shoulders as Beth throws up her hands in frustrated defeat. In a moment, her face has gone from steely determination to abject humiliation. She collapses into one of the chairs surrounding the conference table.

BETH: I’m trying to make you SEE, Palmer!
BETH: Make you understand that we know what we’re DOING!

2/ Palmer begins preparing to leave, pulling a light brown trench coat on over his suit. The coat is drenched in rain, and the water shakes off of it when he adjusts the lapels for comfort. He looks at Beth in frustration.
PALMER: No, Mrs. Adams. It’s YOU that doesn’t UNDERSTAND.
PALMER: You can’t see any further than the tip of your NOSE. You’re telling me how things SHOULD be, and I’m telling you how they ARE.

PALMER: We operate QUIETLY or not at ALL. End of story.

3/ Beth looks up at him, disheartened. She’s losing the will to have this argument.

BETH: But it doesn’t have to BE that way.
BETH: I think people will ACCEPT…

4/ Closer on Palmer, looking down at her from his standing position. Though he continues to talk tough to her, his expression softens a little, suggesting that perhaps he wishes the things he was saying weren’t true. But the change is subtle, almost not there at all.

PALMER: No, Beth. They won’t.
PALMER: Most people are like YOU, don’t you see that? Most people can’t see more than a WEEK in advance, and yes, they’ll support you – at FIRST.

PALMER: They’ll support you until they realize, suddenly, that posthumans – metahumans, superhumans, whatever you want to call them – means a whole new SYSTEM. A whole new set of laws, regulations, and societal concerns. And that it’s all because you’re better than them. DIFFERENT from them.

PALMER: They’ll support you until they realize how much has to CHANGE because you made the mistake of existing on their WATCH.

5/ Beth looks down at her hands, saddened, as she takes in what he’s saying.

PALMER: (off panel) And when they realize these things, Beth?
PALMER: They’ll turn on you. You’ll see.

PAGE TWELVE

1/ Cut to a Long Panel as Rhiannon and Donovan stand protectively in front of the grocery store, lit by the store lights in the rainy dark. They take defensive stances, ready to strike if need be but praying that it doesn’t come to that. Donovan looks on tentatively as Rhiannon calls out to Link, concern dominating her features.

RHI: Link! I can’t let you go into this building if you’re ACTING like this!

DON: She’s RIGHT, Link!
DON: You need to CALM DOWN before somebody gets hurt.

2/ On Link as he walks toward them, sadistic frustration boiling over into rage on his face. Electricity flies from his skin, making multiple points of contact with the asphalt parking lot and the cars nearby. Rain pours around him as he replies, steady and composed, as though he’s almost disturbingly in control of his actions.

LINK: Why?
LINK: Why should I?

LINK: You heard them. I’m a FREAK.

3/ Close on Rhiannon, looking beseechingly at Link, trying desperately to think of the right thing to say in such a tense moment.

RHI: You’re NOT a freak, Link.
RHI: You’re a kid who’s going through some CHANGES his parents DON’T UNDERSTAND.
RHI: In a few years, you’re going to WISH you hadn’t handled things this WAY today. I can promise you that.

RHI: And I don’t want that to HAPPEN.

4/ Link looks away, glancing off to the side as he takes in his surroundings. A thin smile crosses his face, the amusement so inappropriate that it signals a terrible change in him.

LINK: There’s no RIGHT way or WRONG way to do ANYthing, anymore, Rhiannon.
LINK: There’s just OUR way.

LINK: Look at YOU guys. We’re BETTER than them. We don’t need them at ALL.

5/ Donovan stares Link down, speaking sternly but not quite shouting.

DON: No, it doesn’t WORK like that!
DON: It’s called DIPLOMACY, Link. It’s called CIVILIZATION.

PAGE THIRTEEN

1/ Long panel as Link finally has enough. From one side of the panel, without ever taking his eyes off Donovan and Rhiannon, he raises an arm in an almost casual gesture and fires a lightning bolt off to the left-hand side of the panel, ripping across the page in a thick, vibrant blast. The angle is simple, direct, and steady, undercutting the intensity of this: the moment when Link becomes a genuine threat.

LINK: You sound like my teachers.

SOUND EFFECT: KRAKA-DOOM

2/ The lightning bolt strikes a car, and the vehicle explodes – glass and shrapnel ripping outward in a violent eruption, painting the blue-black night in the orange glow of fire.

SOUND EFFECT: KA-CHOOM

3/ Donovan shields himself from the blast as Rhiannon leans forward, crying out in fear and anger to Link. As the rain pours down on them, they are lit by the off-panel explosion, their fear highlighted in bright orange.

RHI: LINK!

4/ Link walks forward, stepping through the edge of the fire as though it’s not even there. He doesn’t walk directly through, but it pours into the side of the panel as he marches forward, eyes on Donovan and Rhiannon.

LINK: All my life I’ve been afraid to tell them the TRUTH, and when I finally do?
LINK: Look what it GETS me.

5/ Very CLOSE on Link, with only half his furious face in the panel as he looks up from his downcast, rain-drenched brow. The tiniest bit of blood runs down his upper lip from inside his nose.

LINK: If I can’t trust my own PARENTS, who CAN I trust?

PAGE FOURTEEN

1/ Long panel as Rhiannon and Donovan stand steady in their spot, lit by the dying glow of the explosion. Donovan looks tense but still determined, as Rhiannon reaches out to Link, keeping her body language open and welcoming without actually trying to physically reach for him.

RHI: You can trust US, Eddie.
RHI: You can trust the FRIENDS you make when you’re OPEN and HONEST with people. When you give them a CHANCE.

DON: We won’t let anything BAD happen, but we can’t MAKE that promise if you don’t STOP THIS right NOW.

2/ On Link’s hand as it stiffens, firing bolts of electricity into the ground below.

LINK: Empty words.
LINK: I’m not IMPRESSED.

SOUND EFFECT: FSSHAKK

3/ Low angle, skewed, as we see Link firing his blast into the ground. From the point of impact, a long crack splits the pavement in two, shooting rapidly across the parking lot toward Don and Rhi, leading out of the panel.

SOUND EFFECT: CRRACCKKK

4/ Long panel, skewed the opposite direction, low angle as we see Donovan and Rhiannon struggling to maintain balance as the asphalt and sidewalk in front of the grocery store is cleaved in two, separating into two different slabs that shift and wobble precariously in opposite directions. A soda machine falls off its balance, threatening to collapse entirely as the base strikes the sidewalk awkwardly. A video drop-off box begins to topple the opposite direction on the opposing slab of concrete. Donovan and Rhiannon plant their feet, Rhiannon poised dangerously with one foot on each separate slab and Donovan barely balancing on the right-hand slab.

RHI: Oh, my God.

SOUND EFFECT: (soda machine) CHUNK

SOUND EFFECT: (drop-off box) CLANG

SOUND EFFECT: (crack in the ground) CCRRACKKK

DON: Rhi, HANG ON!

PAGE FIFTEEN

1/ On Rhiannon, who has officially switched over from endless patience to frustrated anger. She looks upward steadily and steels herself, drawing on all her resolve.

RHI: This has gone far enough.

2/ Link continues firing blasts of electricity all over the parking lot, causing yet another car to explode in a violent blast of orange light. Her turns abruptly when he hears Rhiannon shout his name, unsuspecting.

SOUND EFFECT: KA-DOOM

RHI: (off panel) LINK!

3/ Long panel, crazy angle, EXTREME foreshortening, as Rhiannon has his attention. As she poses dramatically, stepping out in front of Donovan, she fires a single tiny blast of energy from her forehead – in the shape of a glowing, pink, psionic bullet – and it flies toward us, leaving her small in the distant BG and flying ever more rapidly toward the reader – and Link. The bullet is transparent and bright, crackling with energy.

RHI: I’m sorry.

SOUND EFFECT: EEEEEEEEEE

4/ The bullet strikes Link square in the forehead, rocking his body backward as he reels from the impact – but there is no blood.

SOUND EFFECT: FZZZ

5/ Low angle, looking up over Link’s shoulders, as Donovan and Rhiannon approach, lit from overhead by the parking lot fluorescents glowing in the rain. They look down at Link sadly, apologetically. Link speaks.

LINK: My powers…

6/ High angle, looking down on the frightened little boy that Link really is, as he looks up from his outstretched, helpless hands into the eyes of the people who’ve stopped him from hurting anyone. There is no wound on his forehead, and he is fine. Rhiannon simply turned the right things off, if only for a moment. The rain bounces from his upturned hands as he looks up in confused disappointment.

LINK: (small font) You took my powers away.

PAGE SIXTEEN

1/ Cut to Josh, walking down the alley in the pouring rain to meet David as he leans against the wall. Josh sticks his hands uncomfortably into his jeans pockets, ducking his head pointlessly against the rain. He looks aware of what is about to happen.

JOSH: Hey, what’s going ON?
JOSH: Why’d you want me to meet you out HERE?

2/ David looks at Josh, masking his feelings. In the pouring rain, his cigarette fizzles and smokes. His hair, like Josh’s, is plastered to his face as he coldly dismisses the boy.

DAVID: Because it’s OVER, Josh.
DAVID: We can’t see each other anymore.

3/ Josh recoils slightly, brushing the sopping wet hair from his eyes as he looks at David, letting his hurt show openly in contrast to David’s mask.

JOSH: What?
JOSH: Why?

JOSH: Is Milo WATCHING us, right now?

4/ David looks down at the ground, backlit in the rain by the streetlights at the end of the alley, tossing his cigarette to the gravel at his feet.

DAVID: It was SEX, Josh.
DAVID: Nothing else.

5/ Josh looks up at him from a down-turned face, disgust marking his features.

JOSH: That’s…that’s not true. And we BOTH know it.
JOSH: This isn’t why I thought you called me.

6/ David turns angrily to Josh, letting his frustration with himself take control and firing it in the wrong direction. He clearly doesn’t mean to be as cruel as he’s being, but he doesn’t know what else to do with the complicated situation he’s created.

DAVID: What DID you think?

DAVID: That I broke up with MILO? That you and I were gonna BE together?
DAVID: What did you think was gonna HAPPEN tonight?

7/ On Josh, taken aback and nearly silenced. He didn’t expect David to lash out.

JOSH: (small font) I don’t know.

PAGE SEVENTEEN

1/ David looks down at the ground, wishing he could take back the last ten seconds and knowing he can’t. He looks genuinely regretful as he speaks, more quietly than before.

DAVID: This whole thing…
DAVID: It should never have happened.

DAVID: We’re HIV POSITIVE, Josh. This was so DANGEROUS for you.

2/ Josh is now growing angry with David – and with the horribly immature way that everything has played out. At the same time, he’s still beseeching, even underneath all his anger.

JOSH: I knew that! I didn’t CARE!
JOSH: We were SAFE!

JOSH: Don’t…don’t you understand how I FEEL about you? Why would you think that any of that MATTERED to me at ALL?

3/ David turns to Josh, looking him in the eye and trying to make him understand the weight of responsibility crushing down on his shoulders, after the fact.
DAVID: You’re a KID.

DAVID: I should’ve…MILO and I should’ve KNOWN better.

4/ On Josh, listening intently in the pouring rain as David continues. Josh’s face is a jumbled mess of heartbreak and anger, with nowhere to go.

DAVID (off panel): It was STUPID and RECKLESS and IRRESPONSIBLE and we NEVER should have put you in the kind of physical and emotional risks that we DID.

5/ Close on David, speaking sincerely to Josh for perhaps the first time in the entire rain-soaked conversation. His eyes even well up a bit, though the tears get lost in the rain that pours down his face.

DAVID: For what it’s WORTH, Josh…
DAVID: I’m sorry.

DAVID: I like you a lot.

DAVID: But it’s over. Go home, and FORGET about me.

6/ Close as Josh turns to go, but as he heads off into the storm, he turns back over his shoulder for one last parting shot. There’s anger here, but also the fleeting glimpse of Josh being Josh – and just wanting to help.

JOSH: Fine. I’m gone. But just so you KNOW?
JOSH: You’re about to forget that it’s Milo’s BIRTHDAY tomorrow.

PAGE EIGHTEEN

1/ Cut to a Long Panel as we find Andrew on his knees in the jungle, his wrists bound with the shackles of rock that Weston has placed around them. He looks up at Pete Warner, who dominates the upper-left corner of the panel with his back to us as he stands over Andrew, looking down on him. Andrew tries to negotiate, looking nervous but not exactly scared. He’s confident, as usual, that they will find a way out of this.

ANDREW: Look…was it PETE? Pete WARNER?
ANDREW: I’m telling you, Pete, this is a MISTAKE. These people…they’re the GOOD GUYS.
ANDREW: And US, we’re –

PETE: My orders were SIMPLE, MacTiernan.
PETE: TAKE OUT the Akashi. Use the existing landscape of CONFLICT to DO it…

2/ Low-Angle as Pete leans down over Andrew, his hands held apart as though he’s about to cup them over Andrew’s ears. Between his outstretched palms, invisible waves of sound vibrate the air, causing little ripples in the space between them. His face makes his intent to kill perfectly clear.

PETE: And KILL anyone who gets in our WAY.

SOUND EFFECT: HMMMZZZ

3/ Pete turns abruptly as he hears a shout, looking back over his shoulder into the Akashi’s clearing. He looks angry and startled, displeased to have his movie-badguy moment interrupted.

SHOUT (off panel): Hey, ASSHOLE!

4/ On Mark Shepard as he tosses a large rock in Pete’s direction, toward the reader. He pitches it baseball-style, his hand coming down to meet his legs as he sets the rock free and watches it trajectory. He looks somewhere between pleased and excited, angry and serious.

MARK: INCOMING.

SOUND EFFECT: THUNT

5/ The rock strikes Pete square in the middle of the forehead, sending him crashing to the ground in pain. Andrew, on his knees beside him, calls out to the Akashi huddled in fear around the clearing.

SOUND EFFECT: THOK

PETE: Agghh!

ANDREW: Everybody, GO!

PAGE NINETEEN

1/ Long Panel as Mark spins into action. Simultaneously, he grabs Talia Ford in a one-armed headlock as he roundhouse kicks Weston Gaia in the face. Weston falls unceremoniously to the ground as Talia cries out. In the BG, we see the Akashi leaping into action, using the moment of surprise to fight hand-to-hand and disarm the Bakii who were once holding guns at their faces.

TALIA: Hey!

MARK: Pipe down.

SOUND EFFECT (kick): CRACK

2/ Low-Angle, from the ground up, as Mark performs one rapid, fluid motion that accomplishes several things: he spins Talia away from him, freeing up the use of both hands, and he stomps into the dusty ground of the clearing, kicking up a gun that has fallen in the earlier conflict. The gun flies up into the air, and Mark’s non-Talia-spinning hand reaches out to catch it as it rises.

MARK: Alley-OOP.

3/ Weston hits the ground, illustrating that the previous move on Mark’s part took only a second of elapsed time. Weston hits ass-first, wincing in pain as his tailbone strikes dirt and rock.

WESTON: Son of a –

4/ Mark, now standing tall, holds one arm out behind him, the gun trained on a stunned Talia’s head. With his free hand, he reaches down in the direction of Weston, holding his palm open Iron-Man-repulsor-ray-style. From his forehead, a tiny pink blast of light originates, indicating that Mark is using his persuasion power on Weston, who sits at Mark’s feet off-panel.

MARK: Release Andrew. NOW.

5/ Close on Weston, unable to resist. The sides of his eyes flash the same pink as the energy that discharged from Mark’s head, and his eyes glass over as he assents.

WESTON: Right away, sir.

PAGE TWENTY

1/ Andrew looks down in pleasant shock as the stone cuffs around his wrists crack and fall to the ground.

SOUND EFFECT: CRACKK

2/ Denabe, from across the clearing, grabs a bow-staff and prepares to throw it in Andrew’s direction, looking poised for their sudden battle.

DENABE: Andrew!
DENABE: Arm yourself!

3/ Low-Angle as Andrew combat rolls to a fallen automatic rifle that lays in the dust, reaching out for it with his outstretched arm as he comes out of the roll. The gun is in the EXTREME FG as Andrew reaches out.

ANDREW: Thanks but NO thanks, Denny.
ANDREW: I’ve got something BETTER.
4/ On Andrew, spinning with the gun in hand as he prepares to face Pete Warner once again. The focus, as he spins, is on the gun.

ANDREW: But YOU, Warner?

5/ Long, Large Panel as Andrew stands face to face with Pete Warner, a fully automatic rifle now pointed squarely at the lesser man’s head. The gun clicks as it settles in on its target, and Pete takes a startled step backward. Andrew looks positively intent on using it if he has to.

SOUND EFFECT: CLICK

ANDREW: What’ve YOU got?
ANDREW: ‘Cause I’ve got a fully automatic rifle pointed at the space between your eyebrows.

PAGE TWENTY-ONE

1/ On Pete, staring down the barrel of the gun. He raises an indignant eyebrow.

PETE: What I’ve got is a better POWER than yours.

2/ Angle-Reverse as we see Andrew and the extended gun over Pete’s shoulder. Pete reaches out with his hands, holding them out in the air on either side of the gun. The invisible waves of sound shoot out of them, vibrating the gun into a million constituent parts. Rods and springs fall to the ground as useless bullets scatter. Andrew looks shocked.

PETE: Namely, the ability to use SOUND WAVES to vibrate your GUN into useless SCRAP.

SOUND EFFECT: CLIK CLIK CLAK

3/ The two face off, now seen over Andrew’s shoulder. Pete drops his hands back to his sides and looks angrily at Andrew.

PETE: Rock beats SCISSORS.
PETE: So the QUESTION is, can you come at me with WEAPONS faster than I can take them OUT?

4/ Andrew reaches out into the air to catch as Denabe’s staff comes flying into the panel. Without missing a beat, he catches the staff and continues to speak.

ANDREW: No…

5/ Having caught the staff, Andrew snaps it rigidly upward, striking Pete in the face and toppling him to the ground.

SOUND EFFECT: CRACK!

PETE: Uggh!

6/ Pete, now dropped to his back in the dirt, attempts to get up – only to find Andrew bearing down on him with the staff, the rod shoved into Pete’s mouth and pinning him to the jungle floor with the threat of choking to death on a wooden stick. Andrew steps forward, his boot coming down solidly on Pete’s chest like a pedestal.

ANDREW: The QUESTION is whether or not I can shove this STAFF so far down your throat it comes out your ASS…

PAGE TWENTY-TWO

1/ PETE’s POV as we look up at a furious Andrew, bearing down on the staff in such a way that the slightest nudge would kill Pete. In the BG, we see Mark, continuing to hold the gun at Talia’s head and waving his magical gesture toward Weston, off-panel.

ANDREW: …before your TERRAMANCER stops responding to Mark’s POWER and your PYROKINE stops being scared of his GUN.

2/ On Pete, looking up at Andrew in fear as the rod sticks out of his mouth.

PETE: Whuh hoo you wanh?

3/ Close on Andrew, looking down at him seriously.

ANDREW: You leave this place. Never come back.
ANDREW: Denabe will establish a psychic LINK with us, so that if you cause any more TROUBLE? We’ll KNOW.

ANDREW: And I’ll KILL you.

4/ Pete looks up at Andrew as Andrew removes the rod from his mouth.

PETE: Fair enough.
PETE: But you forgot ONE thing.

PETE: Paper covers ROCK.

5/ Pete abruptly holds his wrist to his face, speaking into a communicator in his watch. He looks urgent, intense. He’s still scared of Andrew, even if he thinks he’s got him trumped.
PETE: Andrea, lock on to us, NOW!

6/ Suddenly, where Pete was lying on the ground, his form rapidly vanishes in a haze of electric light and smoke. His form is still visible, but it’s obviously disappearing as it fades into a vague blur of crackling light.

SOUND EFFECT: FSHAKK

7/ Mark turns to Talia as he continues to point the gun at her head, and watches in shock as she, too, disappears into the mysterious teleport nexus they’ve vanished into. He is genuinely caught off guard.

SOUND EFFECT: FSHAKK

MARK: …the HELL?

PAGE TWENTY-THREE

1/ CUT to a Long Panel as Rhiannon and Donovan stand on the Geblan’s porch, being greeted with a slightly more welcome air by Link’s parents. The rain has subsided and only drops of residual water fall from the edges of the porch in the wet summer night. The Geblans look grateful, but terse.

DIANNE: Thank you both for returning our SON to us.

WILL: It won’t be FORGOTTEN.

2/ On Rhiannon, hoping to bridge the gap between them with this experience.

RHI: I hope this night has served to SHOW just how carefully –

3/ Dianne narrows her eyes and crosses her arms, shutting herself down to further discussion of the issue of her son. She is as stubborn as she’s ever going to be.

DIANNE: That being SAID – we still feel the same way we did when we talked EARLIER.
DIANNE: We will THANK you to stay AWAY from our SON.

4/ Donovan looks down at Rhiannon, standing by his side, as she begins to object. He is soaking wet, tired, and sick of these people. He cuts her off.

RHI: But, Mrs. Geblan –

DON: Rhiannon.

5/ Close on Donovan, looking sick at heart for the way this all played out, and barely masking his contempt for the Geblans. He speaks from a lowered head, looking up from a furrowed brow.

DON: Forget it.
DON: These people have made up their minds.

PAGE TWENTY-FOUR

1/ Cut to a Long Panel as we see Denabe, shaking hands with Andrew and Mark. He looks at them with open friendliness, but also foreboding in regards to the portents they have discovered together today. Andrew looks appreciative, and hopeful.

DENABE: Andrew, you have made a FRIEND amongst the AKASHI.
DENABE: And Mark, as ALWAYS, you are welcome back WHENEVER you would like to visit us.

2/ Andrew looks Denabe in the eye, sincere.

ANDREW: It was our pleasure to HELP, Denabe.
ANDREW: And you can REST ASSURED that we’ll be investigating what happened here today.

3/ Mark shares Andrew’s sentiments, looking at Denabe with promise in his eyes.

MARK: If the PARANORMAL DEFENSE INITIATIVE is funding TRIBAL WARS, it’s our job to find out WHY.

4/ They stand near the ladder to Mark’s boat – the LUSITANIA – as Andrew climbs up onto the deck. Mark remains below, sharing one last exchange with Denabe before they depart for home.

DENABE: Any attempt you could make to INFORM us of your FINDINGS would be greatly APPRECIATED.
DENABE: But REMEMBER, Mark Shepard. Remember what I have told you today.

5/ Close on Denabe, as he gives his final warning.

DENABE: Before anything can get BETTER, it is going to get much, much WORSE.

PAGE TWENTY-FIVE

1/ Cut to a CLOSE UP of Milo’s pack of cigarettes. He pulls one from the pack, bending it slightly as it breaks free of the others.

2/ On Milo as he lights the cigarette, using only his hands. Smoke pours out from the tip, curling around him in the darkness of his apartment. A shaft of light slides across him as the door to the apartment opens and David enters, off-panel.

MILO: Hi.

3/ David stands before him, looking regretful in the dark.

DAVID: It’s done.
DAVID: And I’m sorry.

DAVID: This was all handled very…badly.
DAVID: We BOTH made a mistake, here. But I’m the one that let it get out of CONTROL.

DAVID: I hope…I hope you can forgive me for this.

4/ Milo sighs, resting his head on the fingertips of his cigarette-loaded hand. He closes his eyes, trying to escape the stress of this particular reality.

MILO: No. You’re right.
MILO: This is on BOTH of us.

5/ He turns, looking up at David intensely.

MILO: I’m just worried about the CONSEQUENCES. Now that it’s DONE.
MILO: You know?

MILO: God. My birthday’s tomorrow.

6/ David looks down at the floor, ashamed.

DAVID: Yeah.
DAVID: Yeah, I know.

PAGE TWENTY-SIX

1/ Cut to a Long Panel as we find Palmer, standing in the KNIGHTS office, preparing to leave for the last time. He puffs away on his cigar, holding it out into the air as he speaks and letting its smoke fill the room.

PALMER: Look, Beth…
PALMER: I don’t wanna be the BAD GUY, here.

PALMER: I get it. You all wanna be HEROES. You’re a bunch of IDEALISTS. And that’s great. The world NEEDS people like you.

2/ On Beth, as Palmer continues talking. She’s seething, barely restraining her hurt.

PALMER (off panel): But just as BADLY, it needs PRAGMATISTS.
PALMER: People who can see things the way they ARE, not just the way they SHOULD be.

PALMER: People who can balance out the IDEALISTS before they accidentally tear the world apart with nothing but the best INTENTIONS.

3/ Palmer tamps out his cigar in the ashtray at the end of the table, never breaking eye contact with Beth as he finishes his speech. He looks at her not with anger or pity or rebuke, but with honesty and perhaps the slightest hint of caring. But he means what he says. That much is clear.

PALMER: That’s what I’m trying to BE, here.
PALMER: That’s what I AM.

PALMER: This thing we’ve started? It won’t go the way you think it will. Plain and simple.
PALMER: You need to deal with that.

4/ Palmer turns his back to us, heading for the door. Over his shoulder, he bids Beth farewell for the evening. Through the office door, we see the nighttime hallway lights on in the Atlas Building, though the office itself is dark.

PALMER: Goodbye, Beth.
PALMER: I’ll be in TOUCH.

5/ Distant shot as we see Beth, sitting alone at the conference table in the dark, the office silent around her. The light on the coffee machine is her only companion, and the room itself is lit only by the street lights outside. She slumps forward, dropping her face into her hands in frustration.

NARR (BETH): Remember what I was saying about those days when you feel YOUNG, and STUPID, and NAÏVE?

NARR: Well…this would be ONE of them.

BETH: (small font) Goodbye.


NEXT: The Trouble With Milo!