Knights of Columbus #22

Issue Twenty-two: “The Last Gorilla Medium, part 1: Dark Moon, High Tide.”

PAGE ONE

“Previously” page.

PAGE TWO

1/ Long Panel Establishing Shot as we see a COTA bus traveling down a back road somewhere on the North Side of Columbus. It's early afternoon, but the sky is overcast and gray. Power lines hang in the BG, dangling from their wooden poles as the bus passes suburban-looking homes.

CAPTION: En Route to the Columbus Zoo.

NARR (RHI): I had a TEACHER once – an English Teacher – who tried to teach us about Jungian Archetypes.

2/ Long Panel as we see inside the bus, from up near the front, by the Driver. Near the back sits Rhiannon, looking off into space and trying not to make eye contact with any one person on the bus. She wears street clothes, dressed casually in Jeans and a TOOL T-Shirt, with a light brown corduroy
jacket. Dangling between her legs is a scrap of manila paper, but from here we can't see what it is.

NARR (RHI): She was only around for a year or so before she moved away, but I liked her a lot.

NARR (RHI): She told us that there were really only TEN STORIES, and that every story ever told was really just a VARIATION on one of those basic ARCHETYPICAL ideas.

3/ Long Panel, Close on Rhiannon's legs as her hands dangle the scrap of paper between her knees. At this angle, we can begin to see the paper, but all we can see are the words “You are Cordially...” An IPod sits by Rhiannon's side, lit up and playing something whose name we can't see, and the ear buds run up along their white cord to her ears, off-panel.

NARR (RHI): At the time, of course, I thought it was RIDICULOUS – but as I've grown OLDER, I've come to realize that it's TRUE.

4/ Long Panel as we see Rhiannon's face for the first time, looking idly up toward the front of the bus as she continues her train of thought. By her side sit total strangers, engaged in conversation with each other. Her ear buds dangle from her ears as she ignores them.

NARR (RHI): The Matrix is just Star Wars is just The Lord of The Rings.

PAGE THREE

1/ Long Panel as we see through Rhi's POV, looking across the aisle at a young man sitting opposite her. He's probably 23 years old, with a dark red baggy polo shirt that appears to be a uniform from some fast food restaurant he works at, at least 3 sizes too big and hanging off of him like a tent. He's a red head, with pale skin and an army of freckles to complement his short-cut flaming orange hair. He, like Rhiannon, listens to music on a head set, but his is a set of big, chunky, classically hip-hop looking headphones, carefully picked to match his Ghetto stance, with his legs spread wide and threatening, shoulders cocked back in arrogance as he looks challengingly around the bus at anyone who catches his eye. His hands rest in his lap and dangle off his knees, completing his cocky stance. There are Chinese Tattoos on his arms.

NARR (RHI): But it doesn't really stop there.

NARR (RHI): Take this guy sitting across from me on the bus.

2/ Rhiannon looks over at the boy, appraising him with her eyes.

NARR (RHI): Red-head kid, lame Chinese Tattoos that he probably thinks say “COURAGE,” and “STRENGTH,” but really say something more like “GULLIBLE AMERICAN MORON.”

NARR (RHI): Shirt fifteen sizes too BIG, hair so full of GEL for something that doesn't really look like anything you could call a “HAIRSTYLE.”

3/ The boy looks back at her, momentarily locking eyes as if to say “What're you lookin' at?”

NARR (RHI): Legs spread wide enough and POSTURE carefully measured so as to suggest that if you CROSS him, you'll find out what a HARDASS he is.

4/ Long Panel as we see the boy's knees, baggy blue jeans stretching to accommodate the ridiculous lengths to which his legs are spread out. His IPod dangles between his knees, held loosely in his hand.

NARR (RHI): His face a carefully designed SCOWL, undercut by the bad piercings under his lip and twice in his eyebrow.

NARR (RHI): Pale skin, lots of freckles, probably listens to TUPAC and calls things “tight,” or “phat,” or whatever it is they say these days.

5/ Long Panel as Rhiannon looks away, biting her fingernails absentmindedly. He eyebrows shoot up in silent criticism of the boy across from her.

NARR (RHI): It doesn't matter that I've never seen this kid before, because I've SEEN this kid before, about eight million times.

NARR (RHI): So have you.

PAGE FOUR

1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon flips open the folded piece of paper she carries and looks inside the fold. On the upper half, now facing us upside down, we can see the full text : YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED. She smiles an odd smile, perplexed but pleased.

NARR (RHI): There are only so many ways anything can be, and every situation you've ever encountered has probably happened to a million different people and played out exactly the same way every time, within a reasonable margin of error.

2/ Long Panel as we see through Rhiannon's POV, looking down at the paper. On the inside, it is a stylishly printed card that reads “August 26th, 2012, at 8 P.M. A Grand Ball in honor of local Adventurers the KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS. Hosted by the City of Columbus and Franklin County.”

NARR (RHI): It's just LIFE.
NARR (RHI): And while it doesn't mean that life is MEANINGLESS, it certainly means it's FRUSTRATING.

3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon folds the invitation back together and returns to looking idly off toward the front of the bus, smiling slightly as she does.

NARR (RHI): But then, I guess FRUSTRATION is kind of a way of LIFE for us these days, isn't it?

PAGE FIVE

1/ CUT TO a CLOSE UP on Milo's prone hand, resting against his side as he lays silently in a hospital bed. Salmon colored sheets cover his lower half as he lies unconscious on the bed, and David's hand creeps into the panel, depositing the Dream Catcher Milo received from Chris into the cranny made by Milo's hand against his side. The room is darkened, lit by yellow source light from the nightstand by the bed.

CAPTION: Riverside Hospital.

DAVID (OFF PANEL): There you go, Milo.

2/ Close on David, looking sadly at his boyfriend's comatose body. He looks like he has been crying, his face red and a little puffy.

DAVID: I thought you might NEED that, while you were sleeping.

3/ Long Panel as David leans down against the bed, resting his head on Milo's chest. We see Milo's face for the first time, the cuts across his brow from his battle with Malice only just now beginning to fully heal. David stretches his hands open, gripping Milo tightly and closing his eyes. Behind them, we see Andrew and Beth standing over the bed, looking on. Andrew's arms are folded as he looks down at Milo and David, and Beth stands uncomfortable with her hands in her pockets, looking past David at Milo's blank face.

ANDREW: He's been in a COMA for a MONTH.

ANDREW: He has to come out of this SOONER or later, doesn't he?

4/ Beth turns to him, glancing nervously out of the corner of her eyes to David, hoping he isn't paying attention to their conversation. She whispers to Andrew.

BETH (small font, whisper): It's hard to SAY. We don't really know what this IS.
BETH: Milo DIED, and then suddenly -

5/ Andrew looks at her skeptically, but gently. He rubs the back of his head uncomfortably as he stresses the lack of information they really have.

ANDREW: Not to sound like a skipping RECORD, here...but what if he didn't DIE?
ANDREW: What if he was just...OUT, or something?

PAGE SIX

1/ David looks up from the bed and stares at Andrew seriously. His hands still rest on Milo's chest.

DAVID: No.
DAVID: Don, Rhi, Me – everyone even a little bit SENSITIVE in that room FELT it. He was DEAD.

DAVID: His SOUL left his BODY, and then it came BACK.

2/ Beth turns to him, crossing her own arms. She raises an eyebrow at the mention of Donovan and Rhiannon, looking to change the subject away from the possibility of Milo never waking up.

BETH: I haven't really had the chance to TALK to Don and Rhi about all this.
BETH: I've been so tied up in the office PAPERWORK since I lost my ability to WOLF OUT, I'm afraid they've been doing all the FIELD WORK.

3/ Long Panel as Andrew turns to Beth, explaining what Don and Rhiannon have been speculating. We see a meaningless reproduction of a pop-art painting on the wall behind Milo's bed. Beth looks confused.

ANDREW: They have some interesting THEORIES, actually.
ANDREW: Rhiannon thinks he didn't just push his SOUL back in, but rather that he forced it to REINCARNATE into the same BODY. Donovan agrees.

BETH: Don believes in REINCARNATION?

ANDREW: That's kind of an ACADEMIC distinction at this point, don't you think? We've ALL had our beliefs challenged in the past seven months or so.

4/ Beth looks away from Andrew and David and focuses on Milo's silent body, her arms folded. Her face is fraught with confusion and concentration, trying to grasp what has happened to Milo.

BETH: So they think he INTERRUPTED the reincarnation cycle?
BETH: I don't get how -

5/ Suddenly, the door to the hospital room swings open and Milo's doctor from Grant Hospital in KNIGHTS #3, Doctor Dave, enters. He is wearing street clothes, as he is not the Doctor presiding over Milo in this particular situation. He carries a Styrofoam drink carrier with four paper cups of piping hot coffee.

DAVE: Hi, Everybody.

ANDREW (OFF PANEL): Doc!

PAGE SEVEN

1/ David stands and turns to face the others, and everyone grabs a cup of coffee from Doctor Dave. Beth looks at him thankfully, smiling graciously and gripping his bicep in a friendly gesture.

BETH: Thanks for doing all this, Dave.
BETH: I'm sure it would mean a lot to Milo to know that you were here, even if you're not his Doctor throughout all this.

2/ Dave smiles sincerely, looking tired but determined.

DAVE: Well, he's a very old PATIENT of mine.
DAVE: I would only hope he'd do the same for me.

3/ Beth changes her demeanor, looking seriously at Doctor Dave.

BETH: Doc, I was wondering something, but it's kind of a strange QUESTION.

DAVE (OFF PANEL): Shoot.

BETH: Is there any way we could find out what Milo was FEELING when he, um...GOT RID of Malice? Any kind of TEST that can be run?

4/ On Dave, looking confused and a little taken aback.

DAVE: Uh, Mrs. Adams...
DAVE: I mostly specialize in treating STD's. That's not really the kind of thing I DO.

DAVE: But no, I don't believe there's any way to TELL, unless you people have some PSYCHIC trick up your sleeve I don't know about.

5/ Beth sips at the edge of her hot coffee, walking past the group in the direction of the hospital room door, looking lost in thought. They turn to watch her go, looking a little bothered by her line of questioning, but understanding why she wants to know.

BETH: All the same, Milo killed someone – in the most EXCRUCIATING way possible.
BETH: I don't care if we have to check his SERATONIN levels, or WHATEVER...

BETH: I wanna know if he ENJOYED it.

6/ Beth continues toward the door, but stops to look back over her shoulder when Doctor Dave speaks, stopping her. She looks a little sad at having asked the question she asked, but it didn't stop her from doing it.

DAVE (OFF PANEL): Well, Beth, while you're busy trying to prove that your friend is a VILLAIN, why not stick around for the GOOD news?

DAVE (OFF PANEL): Milo's HIV?

PAGE EIGHT

1/ This is a FULL PAGE SPLASH, featuring the issue's TITLE, CREDITS, and INDICIA. Doctor Dave looks over at us (and Beth) and drops the bomb, while David and Andrew stare on in shock behind him. In the BG, Milo's body lies motionless in the hospital bed, an EKG machine beeping away at his side. Dave's face is a mask of seriousness, aware of the amazing nature of the news he is delivering.

DAVE: It's gone.
DAVE: Completely.

PAGE NINE

1/ CUT TO an Exterior Shot of a Passenger Train, chugging along its track with sparse wooded areas on both sides, the overcast afternoon sky visible overhead. Through the window, even from a distance, we can see a small boy leaning against the window, reading a book.

CAPTION: Elsewhere.

2/ Inside the train, we find Edward Lincoln Geblan, from the earlier “Missing Link” storyline, curled up in the train seat and leafing through a copy of a book called “The Seth Material.” He looks engaged, flipping through the pages hungrily, taking it in. A shadow falls over him from the aisle, as someone walks up and looks at him.

3/ Long Panel, as the angle reverses and we see Link from the opposite direction, with a girl about his age standing in the aisle next to him, looking at him curiously. He looks over, acknowledging her silently before she speaks. She smiles at him, looking curious about him.

GIRL: Mind if I sit?

LINK: You can sit.

4/ The girl looks appraisingly at Link as she takes a seat, trying to get a look at the book in his hand and not being too subtle about it. She raises and eyebrow.

GIRL: What are you READING?
GIRL: Is it something for school?

5/ Link looks up at her from his book, slightly annoyed at the interruption but also enjoying the idea of getting to talk about what he's reading with someone who seems genuinely interested.

LINK: It's called “The SETH Material.” It's by Jane Roberts.
LINK: It's pretty weird.

PAGE TEN

1/ Long Panel as the girl looks at him, her curiosity not satisfied.

GIRL: What's it about?


2/ Long Panel as Link sets the book face down in his lap, and begins to explain.

LINK: Well this lady says that she was Channeling this Ghost or Angel or something named “SETH -”

GIRL (off panel): What's CHANNELING?

LINK: It's when you let something else – or someone else – use your body to speak through you.

3/ Long Panel on the girl as Link continues. She looks confused, but still interested.

LINK (off panel): This SETH person told her that we have the power to change our reality with our THOUGHTS, BELIEFS and EXPECTATIONS.
LINK: That we were in control, not some unseen figure in the sky who just moves us around however we want.

GIRL: It's about GOD?

4/ On Link, beginning to look more engaged in the conversation. He squints slightly, trying to find the right words to describe what he's thinking.

LINK: Sort of. I mean, that's part of it.
LINK: Seth says that God is “ALL THAT IS,” and that instead of taking his form in some OUTSIDE observer, who sits in Heaven and WATCHES, he's really the nature of reality ITSELF.

GIRL (off panel): I don't understand.

LINK: It's like – okay. You're god. I'm god. This chair is god. Everything is god.

PAGE ELEVEN

1/ The girl looks at him, dubious.

GIRL: But if I'm already God, why should I have to learn anything?

2/ Link looks away, staring off into the space in front of him as he struggles with philosophy, gesturing with his hands as he speaks.

LINK: Because that's...I dunno...spiritual LAZINESS?
LINK: Like, think of it this way – if you're GOD, that doesn't mean you can sit back and call your work “DONE.” It means you have an even bigger responsibility.

3/ Long Panel as we pull back and see both of them, sitting and talking. You can surmise that the girl has probably never had a conversation like this, but she looks surprisingly engaged by it. Link is in his element, gesturing excitedly as he talks.

GIRL: Why?

LINK: Because there's no MAGIC SAFETY NET, cleaning up all your MESSES for you. Personal responsibility becomes really IMPORTANT. What you DO matters, and you have to do RIGHT.

4/ Close on Link, looking at her seriously now.

LINK: If God is EVERYTHING, and Everything is GOD, then everything is CONNECTED. Everything you do affects everything ELSE.
LINK: That means that when you make a DECISION, it's going to -

5/ Suddenly, Link's mom, Dianne, pops around the back of the girl's seat, looking relieved to have finally found her wandering son. She looks down at them and locks eyes with Link.

DIANNE: LINK, there you are!
DIANNE: Your father found some more comfortable seats up FRONT. Come with me.

PAGE TWELVE

1/ Long Panel as Link follows his Mother's insistence and gets up from his window seat, waving timidly at the Girl as he scoots past her to the aisle. She smiles and waves back at him. Dianne's hand sticks demandingly into the panel.

GIRL: It was nice talking to you...

DIANNE: Come on, Link.

2/ Close on the Girl as she looks after them intently, trying to watch them as they leave for as long as she can. She seems to have noticed something that bothered her, and she squints in suspicion.

DIANNE (off panel): It's bad enough you destroyed the CAR when we can't afford a RENTAL, Eddie.
DIANNE: I will not have you wreaking HAVOC on this train, spreading your crap to other kids.

LINK (off panel): I don't WREAK HAVOC, Mom.

3/ Girl's POV, we see Link from behind and his mother's midsection as she drags him toward the front of the Train, a stack of papers in her free hand, pressed against her side. The papers can be seen in some detail, and we can see that the leaflet reads “Ellis Children's Mental Health Institute.”

DIANNE: You just come right back to us and you stay there until we're done with this trip.
DIANNE: We do NOT need any further trouble.

4/ Long Panel as the Girl sits back in her seat and crosses her arms, looking a little sad. The gray afternoon rolls by in the window, a vague blur against the motion of the train.

PAGE THIRTEEN

1/ CUT TO a Long Panel Establishing Shot of the Pontifical College Josephinum, as previously seen in “Malicious Intent.” Dark clouds are moving in slowly overhead, and we see Donovan leaving the building and heading toward his car. He is taking his phone from his pocket.

CAPTION: Pontifical College Josephinum.

2/ Donovan arrives at his car and stands beside it, holding the driver's side door open as he speaks into his phone, looking a little shaken. He wears full priestly regalia.

DON: Rhiannon, hey, it's me.

3/ CUT AWAY to a CLOSE UP of Rhiannon, standing against a brick wall and speaking into her phone, an impatient look on her face in reaction to Donovan's absence.

RHI: Don, where are you?

4/ Donovan sits down in the car, the door still hanging open, and shuffles a stack of paperwork into the passenger seat. His eyes dart off to the side as he spouts out a half-truth.

DON: I had a meeting at Josephinum. Church thing.

DON: But I'll be there soon, I promise. I'm leaving now.

5/ CUT BACK to Rhiannon, in a somewhat fuller shot. We can see that she stands at the Main Entrance Gate at the Columbus Zoo, shuffling impatiently near a stainless steel turnstile. She looks as though she's wrapping up the conversation, her hand already motioning to shut her phone.

RHI: Okay, cool.
RHI: I'm here already, so I'm just gonna head on in. I'll catch you up on everything when you get here.

PAGE FOURTEEN

1/ Long Panel as the scene switches over completely to Rhiannon, standing inside the Main Gate. She is greeted with a handshake by Allison Whit, the Administrator. Allison is a Mary McDonnell type, in her mid-forties, with dark shoulder-length hair and a face that suggests pride and wisdom. She carries a brown wooden clipboard, papers flipping slightly in the wind. She smiles warmly at Rhiannon, and Rhiannon smiles back, taking the handshake.

RHI: Hi, you must be - ?

ALLISON: Allison Whit. I'm the Administrator here at the Columbus Zoo.
ALLISON: And I take it you're Rhiannon?

RHI: One and only.

2/ Rhiannon switches gears, getting right down to business with a look of professional concern on her face. The sky behind her is now a deep gray, threatening to rain at any time.

RHI: Word has it that you've got some BEHAVIORAL SITUATION going on up here that would be of interest to us?

3/ Allison takes her hand back with an ironic smile, folding her arms together tightly around her clipboard.

ALLISON: Ha. Behavioral situation? Is that how they described it to you?

4/ The two women turn and begin to stroll together deeper into the Zoo. Allison keeps her arms around her clipboard, holding it against her chest, and Rhiannon tucks her hands into her blue jean pockets, looking over curiously at her Guide.

RHI: Well, what exactly are we talking about?

ALLISON: Follow me.
ALLISON: I'll take you right to them.

5/ Allison looks over at Rhiannon, her face twisted in a wry, expectant smile. She obviously cannot wait to share her discovery with the new arrival.

ALLISON: You ready for this?

PAGE FIFTEEN

1/ CUT TO a Large Panel as Rhiannon and Allison arrive at their destination: a Gorilla enclosure. The image is seen from inside the cage, with Rhi and Alli at a short distance on the other side of the bars. Closer to us is an adult female Gorilla, with two baby Gorillas playing at her side. They tumble over rocks and pick at logs with spare sticks, and the adult female watches with motherly pleasure. Rhiannon looks on in confusion as Allison smiles at her favorite animals.

RHI: Monkeys?
RHI: It's a problem with MONKEYS?

ALLISON: Well, they're APES.
ALLISON: But yes, this is why we called you here.

2/ Rhiannon turns to Allison, looking a little disappointed. Allison looks back at her, smiling knowingly as she beckons Rhi to be patient.

RHI: Um...this isn't really what we DO.
RHI: I'm not sure I understand why you called us.

ALLISON: God, are you people ALWAYS this impatient, or have I just caught you on a bad DAY?
ALLISON: Give the girl a moment. And LOOK at her.

3/ On the Adult Female, as she looks up from her busy work through the bars at Rhiannon, looking straight into the reader's eyes. A small smile creases her Gorilla Lips as she suddenly sends out a psychic message to Rhiannon.

LUNA (psychic balloon): Pretty lady nice to Luna?

PAGE SIXTEEN

1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Allison stand side-by-side. Rhiannon takes a shocked step backward, utterly floored by this unexpected event. Her hand comes up slightly, her fingers almost covering her mouth in shock. Allison looks at her with pride, gesturing toward the Gorilla, who is off panel.

RHI: Did that...APE just talk to me?

ALLISON: No, Miss McRhea – she THOUGHT to you.
ALLISON: Meet LUNA, the world's first TELEPATHIC GORILLA. And her CHILDREN are beginning to show signs of having the same GIFTS.

2/ Long Panel as Rhiannon approaches the bars and leans down, reaching her hand out slightly and staring in awe at Luna. Luna, too, approaches the bars, poking a finger out in Rhiannon's direction. Behind her, her children play with their sticks and stones. Allison stands behind Rhiannon, watching with pleasure.

RHI: Oh, my God.
RHI: How does she know ENGLISH?

ALLISON: She doesn't, that we know of.
ALLISON: Best that we can figure is that TELEPATHY isn't really in ANY language, but rather that it's pure INTENT, translated by your BRAIN into whatever language you understand.
ALLISON: She speaks to our HISPANIC employees in what they swear is SPANISH.

LUNA (psychic balloon): Pretty lady nice to Luna?

3/ Long Panel, from Luna's POV, as Rhiannon reaches in through the bars and extends an open hand to the Gorilla. She smiles brightly, trying not to alarm Luna, and her eyes are pure wonderment. She speaks back by following the same method, never opening her mouth.

RHI (psychic balloon): Pretty lady VERY nice to Luna.
RHI (psychic balloon): Pretty lady is RHIANNON. Rhiannon is happy to MEET Luna.

PAGE SEVENTEEN

1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Luna continue to have a telepathic conversation. Rhi looks intrigued and questioning, and Luna just looks happy to be talking with someone new. NOTE: All Dialogue on this page is in psychic balloons.

LUNA: Luna happy to talk to Rhiannon.

RHI: Rhiannon has never met an ape like LUNA.
RHI: Does Luna know any other apes like Luna?

LUNA: Not like Luna.
LUNA: But other apes.

2/ On Luna, looking up at Rhiannon expectantly.

LUNA: Rhiannon like OTHER apes, too?

3/ Rhiannon looks at her, slightly confused.

RHI: Other apes?
RHI: Other apes like your CHILDREN?

LUNA (off panel): No. Gone Apes.
LUNA: Old apes.

RHI: ...DEAD apes?

4/ Long Panel as Luna looks at Rhiannon, her brow furrowed with the complicated idea of death. She gestures around her enclosure, waving to things that don't seem to be there.

LUNA: Not...DEAD.
LUNA: Still here. Just gone apes.

LUNA: All around.

PAGE EIGHTEEN

1/ Long Panel as Rhiannon stands up straight, popping into the panel alongside Allison, who looks down at her with a gleeful grin. Rhiannon's face goes slack, her mind a little shattered under the implications of the situation. Allison lets her clipboard drop to her side, brushing a chunk of hair out of her face.

RHI: Is she...talking about - ?

ALLISON: Ghosts?
ALLISON: She sure is.
ALLISON: We've gone through this with her a million times, and the only conclusion we can reach is that she can see and communicate with the SPIRITS of apes who have DIED here.

ALLISON: Or at least that she's CONVINCED she can.

2/ Rhiannon looks over at Allison, barely comprehending. Her face is slack and white, chills going down her spine.

RHI: But that's -
RHI: This is AMAZING, Allison.

RHI: This is unlike anything I've ever SEEN.

3/ Allison goes back to holding her clipboard to her chest, looking away from Rhiannon and allowing her eyes to drift in Luna's direction as a shadow of regret passes over her usually cheery features.

ALLISON: Yes, well...
ALLISON: We're inclined to AGREE.

4/ Long Panel, Close on Rhiannon as her brow furrows in consternation, the dread anticipation of concealed information competing with irritation at already having a pretty good idea what it is.

RHI: Why do I have a feeling there's a “BUT?”
RHI: What did you need the KNIGHTS to DO about all this...?

PAGE NINETEEN

1/ Allison looks over at Rhiannon, seriously. She looks as though she's running a mental countdown to the moment when she begins to beg for help. Her eyes have become slightly watery.

ALLISON: There are RUMORS, Rhiannon, that you and your PEOPLE are being funded by the United States GOVERNMENT.
ALLISON: Even if you're NOT, you've still gained enough CLOUT to have a voice that can be HEARD. A voice people will LISTEN to.

2/ Close on Rhiannon, looking impatient and aware of where this is going.

RHI: What's going ON here, Mrs. Whit?

3/ Long Panel as Allison looks away, staring wistfully at the ape enclosure as she speaks. She looks as though she's about to cry.

ALLISON: We've been getting VISITORS from the GOVERNMENT.
ALLISON: They've poked, prodded, and STUDIED, and they've come to the conclusion that – and this is VERBATIM:
ALLISON: “...in the CURRENT CLIMATE of superhuman FERVOR, Luna and her children are the LAST THING we need.”

ALLISON: They're calling them a THREAT to National SECURITY.

4/ Rhiannon looks at Allison, sickened and angered that she was right in her assumption. Her brow is as furrowed as can be, anger sending thick creases across her forehead.

RHI: And what exactly are they planning on DOING about that?

5/ Close on Allison, looking deadpan over at Rhiannon. She has clearly been very deeply embittered by this development, and she delivers the information like an ultimatum.

ALLISON: Exactly what you think.
ALLISON: They're going to KILL every last one of them.

PAGE TWENTY

1/ CUT TO Beth, in the Bathroom of she and Landon's house in Bexley, standing at the sink and splashing water on her exhausted face. Through the bathroom window, we can see that the encroaching storm clouds have amassed in dark and threatening force, clotting the sky with alternating gray and black swatches. The room is lit by the unnatural yellow of mirror lights.

CAPTION: Bexley.

2/ Beth looks up into the mirror, her face looking tired and haggard. Though she's only 28, the stress of Beth's life is beginning to etch deep age lines into her face, though she does a good job of covering them up. Here, in the privacy of her home, she observes the effects of the way she lives and sighs in frustration as the water drips from her hands and head, and she leans against the mirror with both hands gripping its sides for support.

BETH: When did I start to look this old?

3/ Long Panel as she looks down into her open hand, displaying three red and blue capsules. On the sink, in the BG, we see a bottle labeled “Ibuprofen EXTREME.” Her hair hangs limply into the panel, and the light is unflattering for her skin tone.

4/ Beth tilts her head back as she takes a long swig of water from a tall glass, washing down the headache medicine with a grimace as she supports herself against the sink with her free hand. In the BG, we hear the front door click as someone opens it.

SOUND EFFECT: CLICK

5/ Beth lets the glass drop to about chest level as she turns in surprise, wondering who has entered her house. We see her surprised face only by way of her reflection in the mirror, as her back is to us.

BETH: Who - ?

SOUND EFFECT: SLAM

PAGE TWENTY-ONE

1/ Large Panel as Beth enters the darkened living room and finds Landon, standing in the middle of the room and looking world-weary and relieved to see her. The room has no lights turned on, and the dark and threatening sky can be plainly seen out the big picture window against the front wall. A clock on the Cable Box above the television reads 4:15. Landon is wearing reasonably nice clothes, presumably given to him by Magda – a black, warm-looking trench coat covers a well-tailored dark blue button down, while a pair of new dark blue jeans lead to thick black boots. His hair is still long as usual, but has been cut to look less messy and unkempt. He stands in the middle of the room and smiles hesitantly at Beth, knowing a lot has happened that needs to be discussed.

LANDON: Beth.
LANDON: I'm home.
LANDON: We have so much we have to talk about, I don't -

2/ Large Panel as Beth runs over to him and they hug tightly, reveling in the feel of each other's bodies pressed together. He closes his eyes as he buries his head in her shoulder, and a single tear of joy runs down Beth's cheek as she presses her cheekbone into his shoulder, looking toward us and squeezing him tight. For just a moment, she looks substantially younger than she did in the mirror, and light rain begins to fall against the window, little rivulets running down the glass in a subtle reflection of Beth's own tears.

BETH: Oh, Babe.
BETH: You are so right about that. More than you could possibly know.

PAGE TWENTY-TWO

1/ CUT TO a Long Panel of Donovan and Rhiannon, back at the Columbus Zoo. Don has recently arrived and been filled in on the events by Rhiannon, and he now looks at her in anger and disbelief, struggling to comprehend the situation at hand. Rhiannon looks back at him, looking a little more composed given the fact that she's had more time to assimilate the idea.

DON: You're trying to tell me that right there in that cage is a real live TELEPATHIC APE, and the GOVERNMENT wants to just come down here and put a BULLET in it's HEAD!?

2/ Rhiannon looks at him, her arms folded indignantly as she works hard to focus her anger and not misdirect it at Donovan. The storm clouds continue to darken around them, and a slight rain is falling now. It is not yet a downpour, but it's clear that it will be in a short while.

RHI: Not ITS.
RHI: HER.
RHI: She's a MOTHER, and her name is LUNA. And yes, that's EXACTLY what I'm telling you.

3/ Donovan looks away from Rhiannon, looking into the cage at the innocent, doomed apes. His face is twisted in mental agony, feeling the helplessness of having no control over the situation.

DON: I just can't believe they'd DO that.
DON: I read somewhere about TECHNOLOGICALLY unlocking these abilities in Apes, but THIS?

DON: This is AMAZING. Natural Evolution taking a LEAP like this? Why would they KILL them?

4/ Long Panel as Rhiannon bends down, reaching into the cage and touching fingers with Luna. Her face is a mask of sadness, but we can't see Luna's face. By Rhiannon's side, Donovan looks down in disbelief.

RHI: Well, you better START believing it.
RHI: The SUPERHUMANS are already proving too hard for the Government to control. They've deemed LUNA and her KIDS here an UNNECESSARY RISK.

PAGE TWENTY-THREE

1/ Rhiannon stands, looking angrily at Donovan as she brushes a chunk of wet hair from out of her eyes. She is furious about the whole situation, and she's choking back barely restrained tears.

RHI: Don't you see what's HAPPENING here?
RHI: Every day, all of this, it spirals further out of CONTROL.

2/ Donovan looks at her, quietly comprehending and developing a look of anger himself.

RHI (off panel): What we're looking at here is something BEAUTIFUL. An EVOULTIONARY MIRACLE.
RHI: And they wanna kill it because it's a threat to NATIONAL SECURITY?

3/ Long Panel as Rhiannon and Donovan stand side by side, looking into Luna's cage. Rhiannon folds her arms as she continues, growing ever more embittered. Donovan looks at her, realizing how personally she's taking it and becoming a little worried.

RHI: They're going to get AWAY with it, if only because they're APES and they aren't going to KNOW what's coming for them until it's too LATE...

4/ Luna looks up at them, smiling innocently. She is oblivious to the entire ordeal.

RHI (Off panel): ...but what happens when it's not MONKEYS anymore, Donovan?
RHI: What happens when it's US?

5/ Rhiannon turns to lock eyes with Donovan, a dark promise in her gaze.

RHI: Because that moment is COMING, and it's coming SOON.
RHI: Think about MILO.

PAGE TWENTY-FOUR

1/ CUT TO a Long Panel, low to the hospital floor as Milo wakes and swings his legs out of his bed, his bare feet touching the cold floor. His hand reaches out and grabs his pile of folded clothes, sitting on the nightstand next to his bed. His Dreamcatcher sits by his side. We do not see his face, but Rhiannon's voice continues in Narration.

NARR: Milo DIED.

2/ Long Panel as Milo wanders across a dark and somewhat rainy Columbus, crossing downtown like a Zombie in the same clothes he wore when he fought Malice, but barefoot on the cold concrete of the sidewalk. We see him from behind, wandering through the intersection of Broad and High. People stare as he passes, the Dreamcatcher dangling from his hand.

NARR: But because of SOMETHING – some power that was already INSIDE of him, or because of something he SAW on the other SIDE, who knows? - he pushed himself back into his body...

NARR: ...and he used his powers to do something devastating...something TERRIFYING.

3/ Long Panel as Milo wanders along the Olentangy bike trail, stepping off the concrete path and wandering into the wooded patch to his side, stepping through the weeds down into the bank of the Olentangy river bed. A blue heron flies away suddenly, startled.

NARR: You think they don't know what HAPPENED?

4/ Long Panel as our POV switches: we see inside the train, as Link presses his hand against the window and looks outside, just as they cross an old iron bridge over the Olentangy River. Link glances over in surprise as he sees Milo enter the riverbed through the clearing in the trees, stepping down to the muddy patch of beach to the right and standing silently among the fallen tree trunks, looking strangely at the expanse of the river. The river is somewhat low, and patches of land and trees stick up out of the water all throughout it. A small flock of birds take flight, crossing the panel in alarm.

NARR: We've taken so many steps forward, as a group, in the last seven months – but Malice pushed us to the BRINK. And pretty soon?
NARR: The government's gonna push BACK.

NARR: Starting with Elliot Woodyard.

PAGE TWENTY-FIVE

1/ Long Panel on Milo as he looks up at the train, locking eyes with us (and Link). He holds up the Dreamcatcher that David left at his side in the hospital bed, and its yarn dangles freely in the wind. Suddenly, Milo and the Dreamcatcher both start to break apart, little shreds of their forms splitting off their body and drifting upward into the air, as if they are being split apart at the atomic level. The left side of Milo's face crumbles slowly, it's materials getting caught in the wind and drifting upward and to the left, like the white flecks blown from a dandelion, caught on a gust of storm front wind.

NARR: So imagine, for a moment, that you're MILO.

2/ Long Panel, looking into the train window, as Link looks on in shock at the sight of an evaporating Milo, his hands pressed against the glass and his eyes wide. Behind him, his mother is oblivious, reading an article in a magazine without a care in the world.

NARR: You claw your way back into your body after the HELL that man put you through, you come back with a vengeance and maybe even more powerful than you were BEFORE...

3/ Long Panel, low angle, as we see from behind Milo's bare feet rising up off the ground, achieving low-level flight. The Dreamcatcher dangles from his hand down into the panel. He hovers about three feet off the ground, with the sod and weeds of the riverbank just below. He continues to evaporate, the cells of his body splitting away and drifting off into the wind, at a more rapid and alarming rate now. In the BG, we see the passenger train go chugging by on the iron bridge. The rain continues to fall quietly.

NARR: ...and you're greeted with an ARMY, wanting you to submit to their control or DIE.

NARR: You may just check out of humanity ALTOGETHER.

4/ INSET PANEL, small, in the corner of Panel Three: CLOSE ON Milo's face, his eyes staring up over the edge of his glasses, as his face begins to completely break apart, drifting off into the wind.


PAGE TWENTY-SIX

1/ LARGE PANEL, taking up three quarters of the page, as Milo finally explodes into a cloud of unrecognizable matter, the matter of the Dreamcatcher mixed in freely with his own. The cloud floats above the ground, taking the shape of a Dreamcatcher for a fleeting moment, the matter convalescing together to form the ethereal shape as it's particles shimmer in the air. Beneath, in the sand and mud of the riverbank, the ground splits apart, sending sod flying up into the air as a hole magically appears almost four feet deep. This panel should look, of course, completely insane and impossible.

NARR: There're only so many ways this whole thing will turn out.

2/ Long Panel, taking up the remainder of the page, as Milo's cloud of matter plummets into the hole in the ground, the sod and grass collapsing in behind him as he buries his own deconstituted form beneath three feet of dirt. A squirrel runs up into the panel, watching in surprise as the phenomenon plays out in front of it like something from a science fiction movie.

NARR: There's only so many ways ANYTHING can turn out, and this one's predictable as HELL.

PAGE TWENTY-SEVEN

1/ LARGE PANEL, taking up half the page, as Link sits inside the train and watches in awe, his hand pressed against the glass and his eyes open wide, his mother sitting in her own little unaffected world beside him. She reads the pamphlet for the Mental Institution, held up in front of her so we can see it, and Link mutters quietly to himself.

NARR: This story's already been TOLD, and in the CLIMAX?

LINK (small font, quiet): Everything's going to change now.

2/ LARGE PANEL, taking up the other half. Outside, we see the train go drifting away, chugging along the track with no regard for the world changing around it, heading toward inevitability like a rocket. In the FG, we see the patch of ground where Milo just buried himself, looking like a fresh grave – a heap of mud looking like a distended belly. Slowly, drifting down from above, a single feather remaining from the Dreamcatcher drifts down and comes to rest on top of Milo's hibernation spot, and the squirrel runs away in fright. The river runs on, quietly unaware.

NARR: It all comes crashing down on us.


NEXT: Storms.