Who is Trevor Tanaka?

Commentary - Influence - Part Five

2010-02-12T11:02:00.003-10:00

CENTRAL PARK

So I moved up from December 2 up to the 12th based on two weeks passing, stated on the show. This finale takes place just as Samuel is defeated. It seems that after days of research, Trevor found the Carnival, too and was waiting for a chance. If you recall, he promised to take Amanda, but the reader doesn't really have to remember that. All the while, he remembers something Seal told him. When doesn't matter, why is what's important. It's the frame of Trevor's thoughts and the point of the chapter. In the opening, you supposed to be left wondering if Undaunted was broken up or not. Ultimately, that's up to speculation. I'd like to think it still lives on, because it's purpose still rings strong, to protect each other more so now that the cat's out of the bag.

UTAH

Continuing with chapter 4, Undaunted holds a meeting in Utah. And this was one of the last WTF moments I had left up my sleeve. Trevor kills Seal. But wait, it's not Seal. Then I sprinkle it the usual humor, his power at work, one last mission, and one last montage. I also couldn't help put in one more jab at HSG when Trevor doesn't care who it was that kidnapped Seal. Undaunted is in the crosshairs being the top faction, after all.

THE BEGINNING

I decided that Trevor's tale wouldn't end with violence and rage, that's how his story began, with the death of his love. And so I chose to start off with Trevor doing the mundane, the normal. Getting ready, shaving, dressing. And the final scene is how I wanted to end his tale from the start. Symbolically, he leaves his gun behind as a gesture. He's committed to changing along with hopefully the world in light of what Claire did in Central Park. I wanted to keep the final shot on the gun, not Trevor, to suggest also a separation of character. The gun is the old Trevor and walking away out of frame is someone new, changed for the better, after all this time; manifesting his power, going insane, falling in love, hunting Primatech, and joining Undaunted. And it's a mark that maybe there's hope that there won't be a need for the old Trevor.

So yes, this is the last story you've read about Trevor. I've got nothing left. But maybe I'll be inspired again as the franchise chugs on. We'll see. It was a blast to get my creative energies revved up again and creating this character who has his own small role in Heroes, but like most, everyone has their own story to tell. I hope I've entertained and intrigued those that have kept up and read these stories. I want to thank HERO for consulting with me about Seal over these past months. I also want to thank Phthisis, Azuteor, Yuriko, symbiotic, Heroes360, and everyone else for the kind words.

Part Six - Influence - Part Five

2010-02-11T20:40:00.000-10:00

DECEMBER 12, 2007

CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK

"We were there to provide protection. Help folks get unstuck and return to a normal life. If it ain't our doing then someone else will make it so we're…Obsolete. Our purpose was to make it so the folks don't need us."

A television is switched on with Claire Bennet's face plastered on the screen. A sub-title flashes screen, "Man arrested identified as Samuel Sullivan, owner of the carnival."

[Volume Six "Brave New World"]

"Coyote Sands. Primatech. Pinehearst. Building 26. The Carnival. They meddled with the world. But in a way, I have to thank them. They made perfect strangers work together for a common cause."

Books, files, papers, and maps are scattered on the floor and furniture. Some that can be made out are a headline about a town falling into a massive sink hole. Another print out shows an aerial view of the Carnival. A Primatech logo and photo of Amanda Strazzulla is visible on a third.

[Volume 5]

"I hope it was a good situation while it lasted."

Trevor Tanaka is standing amid the papers in a room in the Sherry-Netherland hotel, overlooking Central Park. He has a five days' worth of facial hair. In the background outside the window, the Sullivan Bros. Carnival lights up the park but more so police lights and flashes of reporters now. Despite the clutter of work, the room is spacious and evokes a timeless European luxury.

Trevor - "Claire Bennet, did you just save the world? Or doom it further?"

Trevor turns off the television. He stares into the blank screen.

Trevor - "She'll be a shiny new toy to them. At first. Then we go from Astro Boy to Frankenstein in a blink of the eye."

[Volume 2 "The Line"]

DECEMBER 2, 2007

DESOLATION CANYON, UTAH

James and Trevor teleport in with the group of posthumans from last chapter; Darren Summers, Ilja Vanderslagmolen, Daniel Stehlik, Maxxine Falcone, Amber Reed, Jennifer McAllister, Morgan Harvey, Chuck Cox, Erika Stevens, and Brian Cain. James walks up to Seal, Marc, Sparkplug, and Slipshod. Sparkplug says something to him. James nods and teleports away. Seal walks up to Trevor. Trevor seems distracted. He holds up his hand. Seal shakes it.

Trevor - "Very canyon-y."

Seal - "They call it Desolation Canyon."

Trevor - "Great place to boost morale."

Seal - "I thought you'd get a kick out of it."

Trevor - "I'd have taken Tanya and Eloise out here for a vacation."

Seal - "You and vacations?"

Trevor unbuttons his trench coat.

James reappears in the background with more people. Several seconds later, Clara does, too. Everyone is now present.

Seal - "The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray. It is better that one should suffer than that many should be corrupted."

[Brave New World, Aldous Huxley]

Seal holds out Trevor's briefcase and rips out the secret compartment. The two red files tumble out. Murmurs buzz around the crowd.

Seal - "Good things can't last. We were supposed to protect each other. Now, we're doing things behind each other's backs. Sending out secret messages. Going on undercover missions. That's not us. We don't get each other killed."

Some agreement and confusion circulate among the crowd. Seal takes it in and tries to calm everyone down. Trevor stays where is and doesn't flinch. Sparkplug and Clara half-glance at Trevor.

Seal - "I think it's still worthwhile to protect each other, but in smaller groups and we can still stay in contact with each other."

"Is he disbanding the faction?"

"No way!"

"I think's it's the right thing to do."

"This is total bull-"

"I bet it's all Trevor's fault."

Seal - "No, this is all on me. I'm your leader, I should have been the one to make the hard decisions but I put too much weight on you all. I'm sorry. I let everyone down."

There is silence. Trevor walks forward. Seal looks at him.

Trevor - "You're not Seal."

"What?!"

"Is he nuts?!"

"Of course, that's him!!"

Without warning, Trevor pulls out his gun and shoots Seal in the head. Seal falls over, instantly dead.

"I knew it, he's a double agent!"

"Get him!!"

Trevor - "He's not Seal. He was a shape shifter."

"But look, it's still Seal!"

Trevor - "Shape shifters manipulate their DNA permanently. They don't just shift back to their original appearance when they die. You were all subjected to bad writing in the 90's."

"Well prove it."

Trevor - "Have you seen the final season of Highlander?"

"Get him!!"

Trevor - "Seal walks with his right shoulder slightly forward from his left and walks at a two degree slouch. He walked straight. He shaked my hand. I never shake anyone's hand. I told Seal my daughter's name would have been Elisha if she was born. He didn't correct me when I called her Eloise. Seal quotes television. He quoted literature. Seal's eyes are brown. His were blue."

The crowd calms down a little. But things are still tense.

"How're you going to find Seal?"

"Yeah, you just killed our only lead!!"

Trevor - "Among this crowd of 200 posthumans, there has to be a clairvoyant. A locator? Really? None? Look at the soles of his shoes. This dirt caked in isn't indicative of Utah. Ultisols are the dominant soils in the American South, where the Cecil series is most famous, southeastern China, southeast Asia and some other subtropical and tropical areas. Their northern limit, except fossil soils, is very sharply defined in North America by the limits of maximum glaciation during the Pleistocene because Ultisols typically take hundreds of thousands of years to form - far longer than the length of an interglacial period today."

Silence.

Trevor - "The dirt has faint smell of poultry, swine, peanuts, and cattle. Three main staples of North Carolina and Georgia, where red clay soil is found. Peanuts are strictly from Georgia."

Fake Seal's body makes a sound.

Trevor - "Excuse me."

Trevor delivers his signature second shot.

Trevor - "So…who's up for a field trip?"

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the sky.

INFLUENCE - PART FIVE: FEELING- in Heroes title font - pasted on the red clay soil

DECEMBER 12, 2007

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

Close up on Seal, presumably, with a bag over his head, tied up on a chair. He hears two people talking.

"They're coming."

Seal exhales.

HEROES theme plays as montage sequence begins. The electricity in the building begins to dimmers. Outside, Trevor is shooting. The camera is at a slower speed. Bullets rip into other posthumans. Trevor turns and throws a knife into another's head off-screen. Back in the building, lightning streams out of the light bulbs and attacks the two guards. Sparkplug appears and unmasks Seal. He quickly works to untie him. Azuteor is surrounded on all sides. He easily flips them all into the distance with his gravity repulsion. Sparkplug and Seal burst out the door. Trevor has his cellphone to his ear, kneeling at the building's base. Clara appears. Trevor clicks a device then everyone teleports away. Ten seconds later, the building explodes.

DESOLATION CANYON, UTAH

FIVE MINUTES, 29 SECONDS LATER

Seal - "Thanks. So who were those guys?"

Seal drinks bottled water. Trevor replaces his gun's clip. Fake Seal's body is a short distance away from them.

Trevor - "Who cares? It's a new enemy every week."

[HSG]

Seal - "So that was me, huh?"

Trevor - "Yep."

Seal - "How'd you know it wasn't me?"

Trevor - "I had a feeling. I'd have felt really stupid if I were wrong."

Seal chuckles.

DECEMBER 12, 2007

CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK

Trevor is finishing shaving in the bathroom. He applies aftershave. Unknown time passes. He walks out in with a dress shirt, tie, and slacks on. Trevor stands in front of a full body mirror and finishes his tie. He looks down at his cufflinks to make sure they are straight. Trevor looks over to a night stand were a holster and his gun is waiting. He puts it on then his suit jacket hanging. He walks over to his coat hanger and puts on a black trench coat and black fedora. With the camera now pointed at his back. Trevor exhales then turns around. The camera, from his point of view, sees the room, now completely cleaned up of his research and/or clutter. Trevor bends at the knees and picks up a briefcase. He switches off the light and leaves.

DECEMBER 13, 2007

AOYAMA, JAPAN

Trevor - "This is the way it all ends, not with a bang, not with some casual incident, but in sustained reflection."

[George Santayana, on the Divine Comedy]

The camera zooms out. Trevor is talking to the headstone of his fiancée, Tanya, in the Aoyama Cemetery. He bends down and touches it. Trevor walks away, disappearing under the camera. The camera slowly, steadily, zooms in on the grave until the characters are legible. Then it stares down. Trevor's gun is resting on her headstone.

THE BEGINNING

Commentary - Influence - Part Four

2010-02-01T13:25:00.002-10:00

I always wanted to play with a mundane scene and follow it up with a big explosion. That's essentially the genesis of Ezekiel's day. He seems like a normal, run-of-the-mill guy but he's got issues like the rest of us. He proposes to his girlfriend, she flips out and leaves him. He's pissed. He explodes. Kills a lot of people. But...since this takes place hand in hand with the events of iStory, everyone is spared indirectly thanks to John Mulligan. Luckily, one of them is Trevor whose power kicks in and he rewrites the future.

Aside from throwing in some cameos and tasers, I wanted this story to be a critique on Trevor and contrast him with someone with a similar past. Then lay that on top of this build up of what's Seal gonna say at this meeting. James plays the on-edge person chomping at the bit to know what's going to happen, sort of filtered through the reader's point of view. And for the keen eye, some neat references; Ted Sprague, the Exploding Man, Hulk, Haitian Pills, and so on. So, Green River, eh? Better get Googling.

Part Six - Influence - Part Four

2010-02-01T13:18:00.001-10:00

DECEMBER 2, 2007

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

The camera frame opens on a close up of a digital alarm clock. It reads 6:59 AM. It changes to 7:00 AM. A song by Chaka Khan plays.

A man is sleeping on his stomach with a blanket half on. He is wearing a white, plain T-shirt and light blue boxers. He groans and mumbles something to himself. He maneuvers his left hand but knocks over the clock. It falls to the floor and keeps playing.

Bathroom. The man splashes water on his face. He towel dries his face, brushes his teeth, and shaves off his 5 day stubble. The shower curtain pulls over.

Nightstand. Picture frames are laying down. The man appears and checks his shave. He is dressed in black and gray with a scarf, cardigan, and slacks. He walks over and bends down and shuts off the clock (and the music). He makes his bed then pulls a pair of loafers from under the bed.

A small kitchen table. Close up on him eating a bowl of plain cereal. A glass of orange juice is nearby. The camera rotates to see what he is watching. It is a news channel replaying footage of the Nathan Petrelli flight crash. Words; Accident, Suicide, and Sabotage stream across the lower half of the television. He drinks the juice and sets it down. He stands up, puts the dishes in the sink, and rinses them.

The man walks to his door. He looks around at his apartment then locks the door.

DMV

The man stands in the renewal line. A photo flash goes off. He goes to the desk and gets his driver's license card back.

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

He returns several books to the front desk and pays a small fine.

The man walks up a sidewalk. He buys an apple from a corner open market, polishes it, and eats it. He throws the core away in the trash can despite abundant litter on the road. He checks his wristwatch then pulls his sleeve back down.

As he sees a crosswalk, it captures his attention and he speeds up his walking pace. He bumps past several people. He then bumps past Trevor. At the crosswalk, he holds his hand out. Two rings fall, in slow motion, the camera follows them downward. The rings clink as they hit the ground. The camera looks up at the man.

"Boom."

His eyes light red and an explosion erupts from his body.

Trevor reaches into his trench coat for his gun but it's too late. The blast reaches him and blows him backwards. The camera is pointed down on Trevor. There are cuts on his forehead, blood pooled around his ears, and a distorted ringing sound. He is shell shocked. Trevor looks around. He sees his cell phone ringing but can't hear the ring. He tries to reach for it but can't. Unknown time passes.

A paramedic arrives over him. Trevor's vision focuses on the man. It is Hesam, Peter Petrelli's partner.

Hesam - "Sir!! You've been in injured in a terrorist attack!! Tell me your name!!"

Trevor - "Can I be me?"

Hesam - "Do you know your name?! Your name!!"

Hesam is checking his vitals and unpacking his kit.

Hesam - "What do you do for a living?!"

Trevor - "I protect people."

Hesam - "You're a cop?!"

Suddenly Hesam is muted, Trevor can't hear him anymore. Someone walks behind Hesam. It is the man who blew up. His clothes are tattered. Trevor shakingly holds up his right hand in the shape of a gun and shoots. Trevor's arm drops to the ground. Trevor is dead. Hesam exhales. Then the screen pauses on Hesam's exhale. Time and the scene begin to rewind.

Trevor is back to kneeling down and holding a pinwheel. He pauses and looks around then at the pinwheel and the girl. He remembers the explosion.

Trevor - You're getting a fruit basket, John Mulligan.

Trevor blows the pinwheel and returns it to the girl. She runs back to where she came. Trevor walks on. The man comes into view. He begins to walk faster. Trevor presses his lips and makes a move.

Trevor - "Hey, Steve, is that you?! Class of '03? It's me, Todd!"

Ezekiel - "Sorry, you got the wrong guy."

Trevor - "My mistake. You look just like someone I went to high school with."

Ezekiel - "I get that a lot for some…"

Trevor leans into him and tasers him. The man faints onto Trevor. No one notices (or cares for that matter).

Trevor - "That's how to stop an exploding man."

ONE HOUR, 24 MINUTES, 37 SECONDS LATER

KAHO'OLAWE ISLAND, HAWAI'I

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

INFLUENCE - PART FOUR: FAMILIAR- in Heroes title font - pasted on the ground

Ezekiel wakes up in shock. The Sun beats down on him. He looks around.

Trevor - "No, we're not in New York, anymore."

Ezekiel turns around and sees Trevor leaning against a boulder.

Ezekiel - "You. You kidnapped me!"

Trevor - "You were going to kill a lot of people. Would you rather I take this gun, hold it out like this and pull the trigger?"

Ezekiel - "Kill people? I don't know what…"

Trevor readies his gun.

Ezekiel - "You're making me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

Trevor - "Are you going to turn green and pummel me?"

[Marvel Comics - The Hulk]

Ezekiel tries to use his power but nothing happens. Trevor shoots. No bullets loaded.

Ezekiel - "Are you crazy?!"

Trevor - "Yes."

Ezekiel - "…Terrific."

Trevor - "Crazy enough to spare your life, take you to the other side of the United States, and force feed you a special cocktail of pills. You have a power. The ability of self-detonation. I have a power, enhanced memory. You were in a high emotional state and wanted to just vent on an uncaring world."

Ezekiel - "How?"

Trevor tosses the two rings to him.

Trevor - "You killed me. But luckily, there happened to be a time manipulator with his own problems, too. He rewinded time a few minutes and luckily I remembered what happened and neutralized you before you could blow us all away."

Ezekiel - "Say I believe all this. What now?"

Trevor - "She wasn't worth it. Too immature. Doesn't know what she wants from life. Only cares about going out and losing herself in nightclubs. You deserve better. Try a brunette next time. You're also a size 12 and a half but since they're so hard to find, you force yourself to wear 12's."

Trevor tosses Ezekiel's wallet back to him. Ezekiel laughs.

Ezekiel - "Who are you?"

Trevor - "I am many things. Today, I'm your guardian angel. Are you ready to go back to your life and move forward?"

Ezekiel rests his head on his right hand and nods.

Trevor - "Good."

James Kelly comes up behind Ezekiel and tasers him. He faints again.

Trevor - "See, it is fun, isn't it?"

James - "Helping people?"

Trevor - "No, the tasering part."

James - "…"

Trevor - "Give it back."

They teleport back to New York into Ezekiel 's apartment. Trevor sits him down on a sofa.

James - "You can handle him from here, right? I have to go down to…"

Trevor - "The Lower East Side? Don't waste too much time. The meeting is at 8."

James - "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

James teleports away.

Trevor is about to leave when he sees the nightstand. He picks up one of the picture frames.

Trevor - "Like quicksilver in the hand."

[Dorothy Parker - "Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away."]

Trevor puts down the frame and walks out the door. As he enters the hallway, Emma Coolidge walks past Trevor. She doesn't make eye contact at all.

Trevor - "Don't bother holding the elevator for me."

LOWER EAST SIDE, NEW YORK

Darren Summers, Ilja Vanderslagmolen, Daniel Stehlik, Maxxine Falcone, Amber Reed, Jennifer McAllister, Morgan Harvey, Chuck Cox, Erika Stevens, Brian Cain, and James Kelly are gathered in Kelly's apartment room. Trevor enters.

[HSG - New York and New Jersey-based members]

James - "Everyone made it."

Trevor - "Let's start then. You're needed elsewhere, too."

James - "Where are we going?"

Trevor - "Green River, Utah."

James presses Trevor for more.

James - "What's going to happen? Is Undaunted going active again or is Seal going to…"

The group looks on intently for Trevor's answer.

Trevor - "There is…one thing we can do. The happiest people are those who can do it to the limit of their ability. We can be completely present. We can be all here. We can…give all our attention to the opportunity before us. Let's not speculate."

[Mark Van Doren]

Trevor puts his right hand on James shoulder. The others walk toward James and place one of their hands on James as well. He closes his eyes with a smile.

James - "Let's not."

They teleport away.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Commentary - Influence - Part Three

2010-01-25T19:19:00.002-10:00

Had to take a week off from writing to work on something else. But it's here so don't fret. Continuing with the cerebral theme of the chapter titles, "Vision" revisits those weird dreams that Trevor had a while back. One asks the question, how can he dream of the future? Well, he's either evolving into a telepath, a victim of dream manipulator, or sometimes a dream is just a dream. I leave it to the reader to decide.

And if you haven't noticed yet, Trevor appears to have adopted a fashion sense reminiscent of Future Trevor. In a sort of Desmond Hume course-correcting time travel thingie, some things change while some still happen. Here, Trevor still dons the black but in a different context sort of like how the specials get hunted by the government no matter what, Five Years Gone future or not.

In the end, this was a tough one because I had to set up multiple plots for the future and negotiating them all without stepping on toes was a challenge. But really, the chapter became a series of character moments more than anything. While laying down the plot, I got to play around some more with people's Survival bios. So it seems that everyone has gone back to their normal lives, remind you of anything?, and Undaunted is on the back burner until Trevor convinces Seal otherwise.

But the real secret is that I wanted to write a story revolving around Fantastic Four, Shining Knight, and Watchmen quotes. But after reading back, I got the jist that Trevor was never really in danger, he was always in control or ready at a moment's notice. I decided to got the opposite direction and the end result is a cliffhanger! That so evil in hindsight. But if you want to learn more about this Exploding Man, stay tuned...

Part Six - Influence - Part Three

2010-01-25T19:18:00.000-10:00

There is nothing but darkness…a void. Like a tidal wave, it recedes to reveal a dried out stone pathway. The camera is positioned like someone has it resting on the ground. Suddenly a pair of black shoes walk in front, past the camera. The sound of steps breaks the silence and they echo like a ticking clock, tick tock tick tock. They walk out what seems like forever until a faint figure is in the background. The person turns around towards the camera and holds his hand out to summon it. The camera zooms in a hurtling speed to the man. The camera rests on the lower half of the man's face. He presses his lips and whispers something.

"Boom."

Suddenly, the screen flashes and a fiery aura of red engulf the whole area. The man's hair and clothes rustle upward as if a wind is blowing. His eyes are red.

The scene shifts to Trevor staring at a barrel with a fire going. He is illuminated red like the dream. He is still dressed in the black outfit from the last chapter. It looks like Trevor is underground in the subway or in a poorly lit slum.

Opposite of Trevor is Frank Tanner. He is unconscious but wakes up.

Tanner - "The instructions have been delivered. Are you sure we should be doing this, Trevor? It's not our problem."

Trevor tosses more newspaper into the barrel to feed the fire. Embers flail about.

Tanner - "We don't know what's going to come of this…"

Trevor - "We can never really be prepared for that which is wholly new…to face drastic change without inner trembling, though heaven shall fall, let thy will be done."

[Eric Hoffer and Anonymous Latin Quote]

Tanner - "I don't like it. We're exposing ourselves again."

Trevor - "Everything hinges on this, Frank. The future, the factions, the co-op, Undaunted, Mulligan, The Watcher; everything. This is our purpose."

Tanner - "I hope you're right."

Trevor - "Don't dwell on that for too long."

Trevor reveals the briefcase he's been carrying around.

Trevor - "Give Seal my regards."

Tanner reaches for the briefcase. He looks up and Trevor is gone. James Kelly teleports next to Tanner.

Trevor walks down the street. A store display has a hat and a sign reading "$35 black outback-style cowboy hat." A newspaper with a headline about Nathan Petrelli flies past.

[Zach Wilson, John Mulligan]

DECEMBER 2, 2007

CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

INFLUENCE - PART THREE: VISION- in Heroes title font - pasted on the grass

Trevor sits down on a park bench, bundled up in his clothes, trench coat buttoned up and hands in his pockets. He looks up at the sky and exhales. Someone walks to the bench.

Man - "Excuse me, but you mind if we split this bench?"

Trevor - "No, go ahead."

Man - "Sorry, man, you want to be alone?"

Trevor - "I am."

Trevor looks up to see Kurt Hasian. Kurt takes a seat.

Trevor - "Well?"

Kurt - "These guys are pretty hardcore. They're ready to go cloberrin' time on the Watcher. But without Mulligan around, things are getting pretty tense."

[Marvel Comics - Fantastic Four]

Trevor - "That's what you five are for."

Kurt - "Five? Don't you mean four?"

Trevor - "Kelly was involved from the start."

Kurt - "Huh. Everybody's got a secret I guess…but we've got another problem. According to Adam Soo Hoo, John switched sides and is working for the Watcher."

Trevor scoffs, probably already figuring out the two are going after the Carnival.

Kurt - "Soo Hoo sees the truth. There's no other explanation."

Trevor - "What once was truth is now pliable, untrustworthy, and slippery now."

[DC Comics - Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight #3]

Kurt - "Did you just go Shining Knight on me?!"

Trevor - "I'll be in touch."

Trevor stands up. He looks ahead, the pathway has been changed gold.

[The Wizard of Oz]

Trevor - "Really?"

Kurt - "I couldn't resist it."

Kurt looks down and clicks his shoes together three times.

The world is so full of people.

Utah - Seal is helping an elderly woman cross a street.

So crowded with these miracles that they become commonplace.

Colorado - Marc is directing an AA meeting and puts his hand on someone's shoulder, using his power to help them.

And we forget…I forget.

Boise, Idaho - Mack Johnston has pulled over to the side of the road. He looks under the hood while the driver is at the wheel. The truck suddenly comes to life and the driver cheers whole heartedly. Mack closes the hood and gives a high five to the driver.

We gaze continually at the world and it grows dull in our perceptions.

Tennessee - Azuteor is in his room buried in textbooks and folder paper. He stares up at his clock and mumbles to himself.

Yet seen from another’s vantage point, as if new, it may still take the breath away.

Paris, France - Clara Zhang is at the top of the Eiffel Tower. She smiles as if the City of Lights is putting on a show for her.

Come…dry your eyes, for you are life, rarer than a quark and unpredictable beyond the dreams of Heisenberg.

New York, New York - Trevor stands out as he walks in a fully crowded street. Across the street on the other side, Mulligan suddenly appears, having been cast out of the Carnival after a chilly reception. Trevor doesn't notice and keeps on walking.

[iStory - Purpose]

The clay in which the forces that shape all things leave their fingerprints most clearly. Dry your eyes…and let's go home.

The Garden of the Gods, months ago, every member is standing in a circle around Seal and listening intently.

[Watchmen]

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

James Kelly teleports with Frank Tanner. They look around and see Seal talking to an elderly woman. She walks away with a smile.

Seal - "Frank. James. Great to see the both of you. What can do I owe this pleasure?

Frank frowns and hands the briefcase to Seal. Seal has a confused look.

Tanner - "Trevor gives his regards."

There's silence.

Seal - "I see."

James - "Factions are banding together to take down a common enemy. We should reactivate Undaunted, Cielo."

[HSG - Seal's new name]

Seal - "I'll take it into consideration. It was good to see you both."

Tanner looks at James. James holds back. He half-smiles and nods. He then puts his right hand on Tanner's right shoulder and they teleport away.

Seal looks at where they stood, lost in thought. He snaps out of it and looks at the briefcase he's holding. He holds it up and opens it. The briefcase is empty. Seal is puzzled but remembers this was from Trevor. He closes it and hurries into an alley.

The screen splits in two. One with Seal, the other with Trevor.

Seal is feeling the inside of the briefcase. Trevor is still walking. He is looking out at something or maybe just zoning out.

Seal stops and tears the inside padding of the briefcase out. He smiles. Trevor crosses the street as cars and trucks honk at the pedestrians.

In silver permanent marker, the words "Save The World," with an arrow pointing down.

[HSG - The World View of Undaunted]

Seal looks down and sees something he's not quite sure of. Trevor makes to the other side. He sees a young Asian girl blowing a pinwheel with glee. Trevor smirks. Trevor looks up. Nothing. The girl is in front of him and gives him the pinwheel. Trevor takes it with care. He looks at it with amazement and blows into it. He hands it back to the girl. She walks away blowing into it. Trevor stands back up straight, amazed something like that can still happen in New York.

Seal is looking inside a red file. It is marked "The Bard." Another in the briefcase is marked "Mulligan, John." Trevor walks to the corner of the frame, a man bumps past him walking up to the crosswalk and stops for some reason. He holds his hand out. People walking past him look at him then keep on walking.

[iStory Purpose Chapter 4]

Seal is sitting on the ground. The files are back in the briefcase. He is thinking.

The man's eyes glow red and he whispers - "Boom."

The man explodes. The frame is on slow. The explosion creeps up and Trevor turns at the last minute to see it. Close up on Trevor as he lights up, then the screen flashes at regular speed covering it in white. Seal is making a call on his cell phone. An automated voice comes up.

Automation - "The number you are dialing is unavailable. Please leave a message for…Trevor, at the tone or if you like to page this person please press 2."

Seal - "Pick up, Trevor. It's time."

A phone lies on the pavement, cracked on the screen. It buzzes silently. A hand is near it, not moving.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Commentary - Influence - Part Two

2010-01-12T16:28:00.003-10:00

Out of everything written so far, this chapter has been the hardest for me so far. I don't know why but writer's block creeped up on me a lot as I blocked out this one scene and I kept going back and forth on it but we'll get to it.

DINER

Always wanted to play up the master of disguise aspect of Trevor. So I came up with this gag of Trevor going undercover as a fry cook to spy on this co-op that's going after the Watcher in New York. And I threw in the urinal gag from the To Do List. The part I wasn't sure about was when Trevor was quoting Mulligan's file, I hope people remembered he hacked an agent's phone and stole a bunch of Assignment Tracker files back in 2006.

Then I went to the time consuming task of integrating a bunch of Urgent Request messages from Heroes Survival, iStory, along with the theme of specials going back to their normal lives, symbolized by Morgan Harvey and also by how Trevor seemlessly blends back into the populace like a well-dressed chameleon.

TITLE

Jamais Vu is the lesser known opposite of Deja Vu. It plays on the invisible aspect of the Watcher and Trevor's visit to Morgan to unearth something she kept to herself.

MORGAN

I wanted to reference that part in "Once Upon A Time In Texas" between Hiro, Pistol Petey, and Sylar. Trevor's answer was priceless and so was the mom's. And sort of like a callback to something I set up months ago (seems like a lifetime ago), Trevor goes by an old alias. Then I go into a personal critique of mine of the Watcher. It was fun researching and coming up with the dialogue where Trevor and Morgan take their shots at diagnosing the Watcher. Then I ended it with some Batman-ness with an unexpected answer and the old disappearing act.

ENDING

And so I sort of imagined how that recent Event Message came to be with Trevor assigning Kurt, Kupe, Thea, and Slipshod to help these people fight the Watcher. Then I ended it with my own send off for Nathan Petrelli using those news footage that's been popping up lately. In way, Nathan struggled with his own Jamais Vu until realizing he was Sylar and convincing Peter to let him die.

Part Six - Influence - Part Two

2010-01-12T16:27:00.000-10:00

DECEMBER 2, 2007

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

Wide-Pan shot of a busy diner at around 9 in the morning. Two men sit down at a booth. One is more visibly nervous than the other.

Glenn Slidell - "Why are we out in the open?"

Donovan Huntsman - "We're hiding in plain sight. Besides, Building 26 is just a shredded file somewhere in Washington DC, now."

[Volume 4]

Rhonda - "What'll it be, boys?"

Huntsman - "Scrambled eggs. Overeasy. With coffee. Decaf."

Slidell - "French toast. Oh and a orange juice."

Rhonda nods and walks away.

Slidell - "But don't you ever get the feeling like you're being watched?"

Rhonda walks over to the cook's area and lays down the duo's order.

Rhonda - "Order Up!"

A hand reaches over to grab it off the rack. The camera follows the hand to its owner. It's Trevor, dressed in a white cook's outfit. He’s watching Slidell and Huntsman.

EARTH SPINNING, MUSIC, HEROES

Slidell - "What are we going to do about John. He's not around and he's not calling us back."

[iStory: Purpose and HSG Event Urgent Requests]

Huntsman - "Forget it. We still have to deal with that Watcher nutjob."

[iStory: Purpose and HSG Event Urgent Requests]

Slidell - "We could ask them for help."

Huntsman - "Good luck with that. No one's seen any of them since that stunt Keegan pulled last month. They don’t want to be found."

[The Beginning of the End]

Slidell - "Once the Watcher finds them, things will be different."

Huntsman - "Maybe. I'm going to go take a leak."

Restroom. The camera is blocked off on the back of Huntsman, the top half of his body at a urinal. It appears he is done and is about to walk away. The camera zooms onto the back of his head then zooms out. A gun is now rested on it.

Trevor - "You forgot to flush."

[Sin City - The Big Fat Kill]

Huntsman - "I don't have any money, man."

Trevor - "I'm looking for your boss. Have seen him? American, 200 pounds, light complexion, medium build, big overcoat and hat, rewinds time. "

[iStory Purpose: Too Many Options - John Mulligan's Assignment Tracker file]

Huntsman - "Mulligan? He ditched us. I have no idea where he is."

Trevor - "I'll settle for a phone number."

Huntsman - "No problem. Take my phone. His number is saved on it."

Trevor - "You're too kind."

Huntsman - "While you're here, mind if I pick your brain?"

Trevor - "Not particularly, but go ahead."

Huntsman - "Our co-op is after the Watcher, freaky guy who overquotes Shakespeare and blackmails factions in his spare time."

Trevor - "Went after at least one of our own. A Level 3 threat at most."

[Assignment Tracker topic]

Huntsman - "He can manipulate nerves; make himself invisible or give you the worst form of acupuncture. His game is to disrupt communications between us. That's the problem."

Trevor - "Get a telepath. Or a couple of techno's."

Huntsman - "We want to end him. But we don’t know how."

Trevor - "You've done some recon, obviously. Coordinate a surprise attack. Since you have no leader, use calculated guerilla tactics to catch the Watcher offguard."

[HSG Event Urgent Requests - January 2010]

Huntsman - "I like that."

Trevor - "Since there's no bad blood between us, I'll send four of Undaunted's best to help your little outfit. "

[HSG Event Urgent Request - January 2010]

Huntsman - "Really? That's grea…"

Trevor knocks him out with the butt of his gun. He drags Huntsman into a stall then flushes the urinal.

Exterior - Alleyway - Trevor is taking out the trash and walks over to a dumpster. He pulls out a bag from the dumpster and reveals a clean set of clothes. The camera wanders to the street and looks at pedestrians walking and going about their day. The camera returns to Trevor. He is dressed in a double breasted trench coat, black slim cut dress shirt, black slack pants, black dress shoes shined, a black wool fedora, aviator frame sunglasses, a holster hidden by the trench, and a briefcase. Trevor pops the collar of the trench out and walks out into Seventh Street. He disappears into the crowd. An ambulance soars by.

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

INFLUENCE - PART TWO: JAMAIS VU- in Heroes title font - pasted on the ambulance

An upscale building. Trevor goes into a crowded elevator and stands in the middle. Typical elevator music plays. A six year old girl drinking a juice box looks up at Trevor.

Stephanie - "You're wearing a black hat."

[Volume 5 "Once Upon A Time In Texas" - Pistol Petey]

Trevor - "I like black."

Stephanie's mother puts one of her arms around her. The elevator dings and the door opens. Trevor steps out. He rounds the corner and enters a room. It is a waiting room. He walks up to the front desk.

Trevor - "Checking in. I have a 10:30 appointment with Dr. Harvey."

Betty - "Yes, thank you, Mr. Suzuki. I will let Dr. Harvey know right away. Please have a seat, she'll be with you in 5 minutes."

[Trevor Tanaka's Assignment Tracker file - Sam Suzuki is a previous alias]

FIVE MINUTES, THREE SECONDS LATER

Dr. Morgan Harvey walks out into the waiting room with a client. She says something inaudible and puts her hand on the man's shoulder. He suddenly smiles, nods, and leaves the room. Harvey turns to Trevor with caution.

[HSG - Morgan Harvey is a member of Undaunted]

Morgan Harvey - "This way, Mr. Suzuki."

Trevor - "Please, you know you can call me, Sam, Doctor."

Morgan - "Of course, it's just been so long, Sam."

Trevor sits down on Harvey's chair. Morgan closes the door and locks it. She sits straight and upright on the client's chair. There is silence for awhile.

Morgan - "How is everyone? I haven't kept in touch since I started practice here…"

Trevor - "Everyone is safe. In the shadows, in the light. Finding their way back home."

[Volume 5 - Pieces of Samuel Sullivan's speech in "Orientation"]

Morgan - "You're not here for clinical depression, Trevor, so tell me why you came all this way to visit me?"

Trevor - "I've been investigating this event that happened recently. And interestingly enough, it began from a chain of urgent requests that we never got around to answering. Then all of sudden, they stopped right around the time we found out they were indirectly connected to you, Morgan. Now, he's back causing a lot of trouble here in New York."

Morgan - "The Watcher."

Trevor - "Yes."

Morgan - "I told you everything. He was blackmailing me, wanted me to find out about a Gabriel Gray and to use me for my ability."

[iStory Slow Burn Chapter 8]
Trevor - "I know. I need you to tell me what it felt like."

Morgan - "What?"

Trevor - "You worked for Primatech. Went through the human resources training. Swam around in morally gray for awhile and hunted people like you and I. Yet, this one insignificant posthuman scared you. Why?"

Morgan - "He's a megalomaniac with an ineffable sense of destiny and is obsessed with taking power and destroying those who have what he never can."

Trevor - "Or he is a severely narcissistically wounded individual with major paranoid tendencies and holds onto an illusion of omnipotence. He spends his days fighting the reality of his insignificance desperately and seeks to re-establish a sense of self-esteem through grandiose fantasies and self-reinforcement."

Morgan - "A fanatic."

Trevor - "Only 2% have a lifelong prevalent condition like this. Primatech hasn't run into much of those, have they?"

Morgan - "No."

Trevor stands up, picks up his briefcase, and is about to leave the room. Morgan walks to her desk. Both have their backs turned to each other.

Morgan - "There are no more Level 5's to hold the Watcher."

[Volume 3]

Trevor - "Who said anything about letting him live?"

Morgan turns around. Trevor is gone.

Muted montage begins.

Trevor - Whose woods these are I think I know.

Trevor walking forward to the camera amidst a busy mid-day crowd of people.

Trevor - His house is in the village though.

Morgan sitting at her desk with her fist over her mouth, staring out into nothingness.

Trevor - He will not see me stopping here.

Seal kneeling down in the graveyard in the second Garden of the Gods.

[The Beginning of the End Part Three]

Trevor - To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Azuteor crashes a faction's building down to the ground.

[The Beginning of the End Part Two]

Trevor - The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.

Sparkplug turns into pure electricity and rips through Keegan's clones.

[The Beginning of the End Part One]

Trevor - But I have promises to keep.

Leona Mills stands before Trevor and Seal.

[The Beginning of the End Part One]

Trevor - And miles to go before I sleep.

Trevor stares out into the bamboo forest.

[Undaunted Chapter One]

Trevor - And miles to go before I sleep.

[Stopped By Woods On A Snowy Evening - Robert Frost]

Trevor stops at Times Square at a crowd watching the screen. News footage of Senator Nathan Petrelli's death plays with pundits in squares talking inaudibly. Everyone leaves but five, including Trevor. The camera winds around and reveals Kurt Hasian, Kupe Nukarmoi, Athena Leuce, and Samuel Whitman. Trevor is explaining something to them. They all agree. Kupe holds out his hand and a key appears. He unlocks a nearby car and the four get in and leave. Trevor stays and looks up at the screen. It now displays a large photo of Nathan Petrelli with with two lines of caption. The top reads "In Loving Memory" and the second reads "1967-2007."

[Volume 5 "Upon This Rock" to "Close To You"]

TO BE CONTINUED…

Commentary - Influence - Part One

2010-01-04T18:43:00.000-10:00

New Year, new arc. Similar as to how Volume 1-4 on the show were on big story arc, Influence is the start of a new arc for Trevor and Undaunted. As a constant fan of duality, the title Déjà vu, Trevor experiences it and how others see Undaunted compared to Primatech.

First off, I added to the Black Swan theory I quoted back in the first story I wrote. Sort of like a puzzle piece, I add one line of thought to it until it becomes something entirely different.

CLEARWATER

A bit of a red herring, I hope to have fooled someone that Trevor and Clara was together before they realized it was an undercover op commissioned from events of the last volume. If you notice the description of Trevor, it’s the same clothing from the image on his HSG page. The duo is going after the second to last member of the faction(s) that attacked Undaunted on Thanksgiving and the 29th. Konrad is the only one that knows where the last person is, and this person is the leader. So I decided there has to be some sort of code or phrase so I used a famous one from a satirist that’s better known by geeks to be used on the Watchmen.

Then to tie things up, I decided that the final locale would be Montreal, where Peter and Caitlin went to and found Adam Monroe’s place in Volume 2. And used the cool super spy shoot ‘em through an object and kill them motif and another sighting of the DNA Symbol. Then I decided to slow things down with a comedic beat and have a brief regroup at Zhang’s house.

REWIND

Playing on the current story from HSG and iStory, I wanted to explore Trevor’s past but felt the flashback technique I previously used would be too old hat. Upon reading that Mulligan was going to be important, I started spinning the mechanics of time travel. I decided Trevor would have a Groundhog Day of his own but had to think later of how. Ultimately, I throw the question of what happens to someone being teleported when a special like Mulligan uses his Temporal Rewind? They go back to a time they were thinking, hence why there was the small line about Trevor staring at the ring Clara gives back to him, it was his dead fiancee’s.

I decided then he would teleport a year or so back to that fateful day when his life was changed forever. The Company accidentally killed his fiancée and Trevor began his quest for revenge. Inspired by the Haitian’s name reveal, I casually revealed his fiancee’s. I also made sure to make some references to what we already know about that day, things you can find in Trevor’s HSG bio or AT file.

Since Trevor doesn’t quite know what’s going on, he goes through memory and doesn’t alter any events. Will be next time? We’ll see. And Trevor remembers the rewind, because he has…super memory and sort of realized what happened.
MONTREAL

We finally meet the special who was duplicated and clones were sent to the Garden of the Gods to kill everyone in Undaunted. He’s a killer, but he appears to be pretty intelligent and in the know, being pretty concerned that Undaunted would become just another Primatech. The irony is that he chose to try to wipe them out instead of just talking. Does that make him any better?

I also wanted to put in more humor and wanted to play with the logistics of a subtitle for a long time since seeing Hiro & Ando and Maya & Alejandro on the show. So it’s done through a joke. At I least I hope people get the joke…maybe if you’re Canadian it’s a sure bet.

Anyway, the death of Keegan ends the leftovers from last time and begins a new quest for Trevor and Undaunted. Where it takes them next…stay tuned.

Part Six - Influence - Part One

2010-01-04T18:12:00.002-10:00

Trevor - There is a surprise. True love. It has a major impact. It should last forever. After the fact, the event is rationalized by hindsight as if it had been expected. Then it is lost.

[Undaunted Part One but with a twist]

Peter Petrelli and Isaac Mendez consoling Simone Deveaux.

[Volume One "Parasite"]

DECEMBER 1, 2007

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA

The camera is zoomed out on a pristine white sands beach. A couple is lounging on it all by themselves. The woman lies on her stomach, in a bikini, flipping through a magazine. The man is buried behind a newspaper on a typical beach chair. We can see he is wearing a pork pie hat with a brightly colored madras plaid collar shirt. They are both wearing wedding rings. The camera tracks onto them and slowly zooms in. The couple is none other than Trevor Tanaka and Clara Zhang.

Clara - "I read this thing nine times already. When are we getting our drinks?"

Trevor - "18 minutes, 54 seconds. He takes that long for everyone."

[9th Wonders! - Nine - HERO]

Clara - "That's 18 minutes too long. You should have gotten an umbrella, too. The Sun is right on top of us."

Trevor - "Why? You look fine from here."

Clara - "You should use your super memory now because it's the first and last time you'll ever see me in a bikini."

Trevor frowns then huddles back into the newspaper. A waiter approaches them with two drinks on a platter. He places them in the tree stump stand between Trevor and Clara. The waiter pauses in front of Trevor.

Konrad - "Is there anything else I may get for you or your wife, Mr. Lee?"

Trevor is still hidden behind the newspaper.

Trevor - "Yes, there is something, Konrad. I hope you can help me with it."

Konrad - "Yes, of course, sir. We go above and beyond for our guests…"

Trevor - "Where’s Keegan?"

Konrad is surprised and looks around a few times.

Konrad - "… noui consilia et ueteres quaecumque monetis amici, "pone seram, cohibes." sed…"

Trevor - "quis custodiet ipsos custodies?"

[Satires of Juvenal - … I know the plan that my friends always advise me to adopt:
"Bolt her in, constrain her!" But who watches the watchers?”]

Konrad - "Corner of Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Saint-Jacque. Room 126."

[Intersection from Volume 2 "The Line"]

Trevor - “Thank you.”

Konrad - "Didn't think someone from the gang would reach out so soon."

Trevor - "Me neither."

Konrad flinches. A silencer goes off. A bullet rips out from the newspaper and goes through Konrad's skull. Camera cuts away with an implied impact. Clara closes her magazine and stands up.

Clara - "Boys and their toys."

Clara reaches for her drink. Trevor stops her.

Trevor - "He could have duplicated one of them. Let's go."

[The Beginning of the End]

Clara - "Fiiiine."

They teleport away. Camera shifts to a bird's eye point of view. The Symbol forms in the white sand with Keegan’s head in the center.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

Clara and Trevor teleport into the mezzanine floor of the Zhang Family mansion. Trevor takes the ring off and tucks into his shirt pocket. He takes the other ring from Clara. He stares at it then quickly puts it away. Clara proceeds to go to her room. A servant appears.

Mr. Lee - "What shall I prepare for your lunch, Ms. Zhang?"

Clara is about to speak when Trevor interrupts.

Trevor - "Two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Whole wheat. No crust."

Mr. Lee - "Very good, sir."

Mr. Lee walks away.

Clara - "What, you're digging through my trash now?"

Trevor - "Puh-lease. I go through everyone’s trash."

[Justice League Unlimited “Fearful Symmetry”]

Clara stomps out in front of him.

Clara - "Wait out here."

She closes the door on Trevor.

30 MINUTES LATER…

Trevor is still outside, holding a tray of two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Clara opens her door with new clothes on. Trevor snaps out of it and Clara takes the sandwiches.

Clara - "Montreal?"

Trevor - "Montreal."

They are about to teleport away. The camera zooms in on Trevor. The teleportation FX makes a distorted sound. Trevor looks around confused. He is startled. Zoom out. He is at a desk in more formal clothing, with a file in his hand. Zoom out. He’s in a credit union, a hanging banner reads "2006."

SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

HONOLULU, HAWAI'I

Doug - "Trevor, did you finish your pass on the new loan request?"

Trevor - "Uhh…yeah, it's right here."

Doug - "Thanks. You okay, man? Looks like you got a bad case of déjà vu."

Trevor - "No, I'm alright. You'll see why when you read my report."

Doug - "Haha, gotcha. See ya."

Trevor - "Right."

Trevor looks at his computer for the date. He reclines back in his seat in disbelief.

Trevor gets off a bus and walks on the sidewalk. He looks up at a building and walks in. He opens an apartment door with one of his keys and walks in. He turns around to draw out the deadbolts.

Woman - "Trevor?"

Trevor turns around to see his fiancée, alive and well.

Trevor - "Tanya."

Tanya - "Trev, you look like you’ve seen a ghost."

Trevor pauses.

Trevor - "It was just a lot of new accounts, today."

Tanya - "Nothing you couldn't handle, right?"

She walks over and kisses him, then walks back into the living room. Trevor is still standing at the door.

Trevor - "Yeah."

Tanya - "What? C'mon. Are the insurance people still following you?"

Trevor - "24 times today…"

[Trevor's HSG bio/AT 2.0 file]

Tanya appears again with a piece of paper.

Tanya - "I forgot these at the market. Could you go get them for me? Please?"

Trevor shifts his eyes to the door and instinctively reaches for his gun but it isn’t there, yet. He smiles.

Trevor - "Sure. Do you have the Club Card or do I?"

Tanya - "They stopped using it in February. Are you sure you're okay, Trevor?"

She touches his forehead. Trevor hugs her.

Trevor - "I love you."

Tanya - "Love you, too…Trev. You're being weirder than weird, today."

Trevor - "It feels like I haven't been able to say it in a while, y'know?"

Tanya smiles and they kiss.

Tanya - "Make sure the eggs aren’t cracked this time."

Trevor leaves their apartment. He looks at the staircase then the elevators. He sees a janitor's closet. He breaks the lock by bashing his cell phone over it and hides in the closet. He exhales. Then all of a sudden he clutches his face with his palm and tears stream from his eyes. Then he hears voices.

Eric Thompson Jr. - "Offline for 5 minutes…must have used some cheap crap from China."

Felicia Brooks - "Let's do this, already. I freakin' hate California during fall."

Trevor is about to kick the door out when the weird teleportation FX sounds off again.

DECEMBER 1, 2007

MONTREAL, CANADA

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

INFLUENCE - PART ONE: DEJA VU - in Heroes title font - pasted on the rooftops

Trevor and Clara appear on the corner of Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Saint-Jacque.

Trevor - "…"

Clara - "What?"

Trevor - "Uhhh…bikini?"

Clara sighs and walks away. Trevor looks around and reaches for his gun. He wonders for a second if all that really just happened or not. They pass by a row of warehouses.

Clara - "This one is 121."

The Symbol is above the doorway.

[Adam Monroe's room - Volume 2 "The Line"]

Trevor - "Must be down this way."

Trevor turns around and misses a bone protrusion as it crashes into the door of 121. The camera turns to look to see a man that looks like the one duplicated from Thanksgiving.

Trevor - "So much for discreet. Clara, go get me some back up."

Clara - "Screw that, give me your spare!"

Trevor - "What spare?"

Clara kicks Trevor in the shin and teleports away.

Trevor - "That was uncalled for."

Trevor barely dodges another shot. Trevor shoots. Keegan blocks the bullets with a bone protrusion shaped like a 3-D snowflake. He runs. Trevor chases. A woman stares at Trevor and his gun.

Trevor - "ll est britannique!"

A subtitle appears in the middle between Trevor and the woman. It reads - He's British!

Keegan runs into a dead end. He stares at the wall as Trevor catches up to him. Gun drawn on Keegan.

Keegan - "Well. Everyone's dead if you're here."

Trevor - "I get that a lot."

Keegan turns around to face Trevor.

Keegan - "Not anymore."

Camera zooms out. Bone protrusions erupt above the wall. Then nothing. Silence. Keegan looks out then runs away. Trevor appears out of nowhere and clotheslines him. Keegan holds his throat then looks up to shoot. The bone protrusions stop midway and start cracking then shatter. Keegan screams in pain. He kneels over and grasps his arm. Azuteor and Clara walk out from an alley. The tip of Trevor's gun touches his head gently. Keegan laughs.

Trevor - "He is handy."

Keegan - "If one continues along the same lines, the initial problem will recur infinitely and will never be solved."

[Dr. Michael Ridge - The Infinite Regress]

Trevor - "We are nothing like them."

Keegan - "Are you sure? The Company started with the best of intentions: protect their own kind. What was a few grew into a dozen, then hundreds. Somewhere along the way, they became corrupted…lost sight of their purpose. They destroyed the lives of those they once swore to protect. Despite everything that happened, here I am still staring down the barrel of a Company-issue gun, held by a fellow posthuman."

Trevor - "One can justify with a circular argument, but this sacrifices its validity."

[Hans Albert]

Keegan smiles.

Keegan - "Find The Mulligan."

[HSG, iStory Purpose]

Keegan gestures to attack Trevor. Trevor fires. Keegan drops to the ground.

Azuteor - "Who's The Mulligan?"

Trevor - "A new set of dominoes to play with."

Trevor twirls his gun and holsters it. Clara places her hands on Trevor and Azuteor’s shoulders. They teleport away. Snow begins to fall.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Commentary - The Beginning of the End - Part Five

2009-12-15T19:39:00.003-10:00

I opened the chapter with an odd, almost poetic scene between Trevor and Future Trevor. It brings home one of the major themes of how one thing comes hand in hand with another. The beginning of the end. I sort of used the scene to address the vulnerable side of Trevor, something you don't see ever. He still feels alone without his fiancee and in a strange way, remembers to think about her everyday, kinda of like when you call your loved one on the phone every day at a certain time. It also sets up the final scene and answers if one can change after such a tragedy.

THE FIGHT

So if you compare Future Trevor's past as seen in the previous issue, you see some similarities that are intended while some other things changed. I thought it'd be interesting that Trevor still uses Future Trevor's death trap idea but puts his twist on it by involving various Undaunted people. And if you think about, Trevor didn't have to do anything other than give the signal, hence his amusement. He was toying with Keith the whole time. The final piece of the puzzle was Athena Leuce. After re-reading her bio about how she can mess with the 5 senses, too, the lightbulb in my head went off.

A-SQUAD

I had fun with pacing out and writing everyone's individual scenes and what power they'd be fighting. I wanted to use Wyatt and Renn Leuce for awhile and I'm glad I was able t fit them in here. I tried to stick to the HSG bios as much as I could; show how smart Renn is, showcase Azuteor's power and personality, making force field's lethal, and Johnston's strategy. After the ending, I had these fight scenes plotted out before writing the actual story.

FUTURE TREVOR

I wanted to end this arc, Future Trevor, Undaunted, and this year's worth on a good note. Out of them, Future Trevor drew the long straw on that. That was probably the first thing I had completed. He was going to change right in front of them then shift back to his world thanks to sci-fi logic. And he appears to be married and with a child. Huh. Cool. That's what you're supposed to think. Then maybe you wonder, can this happen for our Trevor? Will he fall in love again? Is love just going to happen in the other universes not this one because it's the prime? Who is this woman?! As of this time, even I don't know. I have three that can be that woman but I'm saving it for a future story somehow.

EPILOGUE

So I sort of left Undaunted resolved yet unresolved. They are together again but both their hideouts not so secret. United, they vow to redouble themselves and keep on walking forward. And the beginning of the next issue is sort of a placeholder on this year, the overall theme of the series, and something unexpected. So it goes back in time to when Trevor first arrived in Hawai'i to start his last job. The interview is interlaced with scenes from various chapters, sort of for irony and to recap things a bit. Trevor, a father?

DELETED SCENE

Yes, there was actually a small scene I cut out. When I concluded that things must all end on a happy note, I changed the end of the fight in Shawnee. Originally, after Kelly returns from teleporting Keith's cohorts to Gitmo, Keith sort of has his last ditch effort and launches part of a spear tip into Trevor. Then it's ambiguous as to what happened to him, if he survived or not. They take him back to others and the rest happens with the flashback and the alternate universe. I cut it out and am glad I did really. No need for a cliffhanger like that, it was too much, the reader will be distracted to be in awe of the ending, and so on.

Part Five - The Beginning of the End - Part Five

2009-12-15T19:11:00.004-10:00

Here is the final chapter of the year. Commentary to follow today or tomorrow.

NOVEMBER 28, 2007

SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST, ILLINOIS

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

It is pitch black night. Trevor and Future Trevor are sitting down near each other. It’s late and it seems like they are the only two who are awake. They are shaving something with knives.

Trevor - “Every night, since it happened, I lay awake at 1:35 am and I think about her. I think about how much I loved her. I think about what we had. But I…”

Future Trevor - “Slowly forget what her face looks like. How can it be possible when I can remember everything? Is my heart trying to forget? Is it trying to deal with the pain?”

Trevor - “To love and to have lost.”

Future Trevor - “That mysterious duality.”

[Loose Reference to M-Theory]

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END - PART FIVE: THAT MYSTERIOUS DUALITY - in Heroes title font - pasted on the forest

The Next Day…

A group of specials watch a grove of trees. The camera point of view comes up behind them. Trevor is sitting down on a stump looking at his e-reader in the grove with his back turned to them. Their leader, Keith, is walking toward Trevor. Keith raises his right hand. The camera shifts back to his five cohorts. They watch in anticipation.

Karl - “He’s by himself? Where’s everyone else?”

Kevin - “We should get to that soon. I want to see him do in Trevor, first. He won’t see it coming.”

Behind them, in the bushes, are Wyatt, James Kelly, Samuel Whitman, Aaron Leuce, Mack Johnston, John Bishop, and Azuteor. Wyatt is visibly focused, his power being used on them to render them invisible by sound to the other faction.

Whitman - “Dibs on the jerk.”

Johnston - “Everyone remembers what to do? Kelly teleports away with Wyatt. The bubble is lifted. Azuteor splits the faction up. We take them one-on-one.”

Everyone nods.

Leuce - “We wait for Trevor to give the signal.”

Keith is about to use telekinesis when Trevor tosses the e-reader out in front of him. Trevor shoots it straight through the middle with his gun. Keith pauses.

Johnston - “Now!”

Kelly teleports away with Wyatt. Azuteor uses his repulsion manipulation to scatter the five. They wail in confusion. Whitman, Leuce, Johnston, Bishop, and Azuteor run towards their respective opponents, some in the forest and some in the clear. Keith turns and sees what happened. He turns back and Trevor has turned around and is staring right at him. Trevor holds out his gun to the side, pointing right, and shoots at a tree.

A rope snaps. A giant log swings forward at Keith. He stops it just as it is inches away from hitting him. He smiles and telekinetically shoves Trevor into a nearby tree. Keith walks a few steps forward.

Keith - “A log? How uninspiring, Trevor.”

[This Keith has similar words with Trevor as what Future Trevor recounted last story]

Keith trips a wire. A dozen sharpened dart sized sticks launch at Keith. He stops them in mid-air. He looks at him and they drop to the ground.

Keith - “This is your big plan?!”

Karl and Leuce face each other.

Karl - “Beat it kid, this is grown-up stuff. You might live long enough to understand.”

Leuce - “It’s Renn to you.”

Karl frowns and his left arm extend toward Leuce and shoves him into the dirt. Karl has the power of plasticity.

Karl - “Then you’re dumber than you look, Renn.”

Leuce “Maybe I like people to think that way.”

[Renn’s HSG Bio]

Karl scoffs and shapes his hands into hammers and is about to pound into Leuce. Leuce just stands there. Zoom in on him smiling. Zoom out. Karl is frozen in place. Leuce was altering Karl’s molecular state the whole time.

In the forest somewhere, Azuteor is walking fast, almost teleporting. The camera zooms in from his point of view, things start to slow down. A leaf slowly drops to the ground. Azuteor is using time dilation to survey the area for his opponent. He sees an odd streak. Azuteor passes his hands through it and it makes a chime. Azuteor follows the streak with his eyes. The leaf touches the ground finally. He turns and sees Matthew running at normal speed at him. He tackles Azuteor and his time dilation field is disrupted. They plow into the ground hard because Matthew’s Enhanced Speed returned. Dust is kicked up. The dust settles. Matthew is in mid-air, stuck in place. Azuteor is several inches above the ground. A crater is self-contained with dust frozen in place underneath him. Azuteor stands up slowly. Matthew grunts. Azuteor thinks to himself for a while. The gravity around Matthew intensifies and compresses to the point that he passes out from the strain.

Azuteor - “Checkmate.”

[Azuteor’s HSG Bio]

Kevin has his fists covered in granite and is trying to land a hit on Whitman. Whitman dodges every punch. Every miss creates craters in the ground.

Kevin - “Stay still so I can hit you!!”

Whitman - “Oh, is that what you’re doing?”

Whitman stops and waits for Kevin. Kevin is dumbfounded then jabs at him. Whitman holds out his palm and catches Kevin’s fist and doesn’t move. Kevin grunts. Whitman squeezes Kevin’s fist. The granite crumbles. Whitman drop kicks Kevin. He goes flying into a tree then bounces into another and another. Kevin managed to morph part of his skull into rock but is woozy getting up. He looks up and Whitman is racing toward him and socks Kevin. Whitman runs forward and catches Kevin, who is unconscious.

Keith is walking toward Trevor.

Keith - “So, you knew we were coming? Nothing gets past you, Trevor. Maybe I was wrong about you.”

Keith falls into a hole. He drops in up to his forehead is visible. He telekinetically pushes himself out, not looking too pleased.

Keith - “Cute.”

Future Trevor jumps from a bush with a knife. Keith sees him at the last minute and freezes Future Trevor. The knife is just an inch from his heart. Keith squirms and telekinetically throws Future Trevor into a tree. Trevor is just watching and is smirking.

Keith - “Only you would find some humor in this.”

John Bishop has a shield raised on him. Stan screams and a sonic burst rumbles toward Bishop. The field vibrates and dissipates. Bishop draws up another and Stan tears it down again.

Stan - “How long can you keep this up? Face it. All you do is put up shields, you can’t retaliate against me. Once I find the right tune, you’re dead.”

Bishop - “Try me.”

Stan is annoyed and is about to let out another burst. A thin force field envelopes Stan. The sound burst and field shatter, Stan goes flying.

Lane pats some dirt off his shoulder. Johnston waits for him.

Lane - “Nice trick. But stopping us won’t save your boy. Keith will kill him.”

Johnston - “The thing about Trevor is he’s a walking curve ball. Just when you settle into predicting what he’s going to do, he goes and does the unexpected, right out of left field.”

Lane - “Well, Keith’s the bat that’s going to score the home run.”

Johnston releases arc electricity and prepares to shoot Lane. Lane waives his hand and a sphere of water encapsulates Johnston. Johnston screams in pain. He is faint, can barely stand, and is smoking.

Lane - “It’s a bit humid today. Lots of moisture for me to toy with. Looks like you picked the wrong playmate, bub.”

Johnston - “I’m right where I need to be. A few drops of rain won’t put me out.”

Lane forms surrounding moisture into a tidal wave and nails Johnston. When the water washes away. He is lying flat on the ground. He staggers up.

Johnston turns into pure electricity.

Lane - “What you can do, I can do.”

Lane turns into pure water and gushes toward Johnston. Johnston shoots through him and the electricity shorts throughout the liquefied Lane. Lane screams in agony. Lane erratically wails around trying to shake off Johnston. The electricity increases. Lane stops moving and twitches in place. He turns back to normal and faints. Johnston jumps out of him and turns back to normal.

Johnston - “Water is an excellent conductor.”

Keith is looking at Future Trevor.

Keith - “I don’t get it. That shapeshifter a fanboy of yours?”

Future Trevor gets up and throws his knife at Keith’s head. He stops it, aims it at Future Trevor and shoves it at him. Future Trevor tosses his leather coat to block it and he rolls away. He runs toward Keith. Keith backs up and stops Future Trevor. Keith summons the knife.

Keith - “Now, what do you really look like? Guess I’ll just have to peel you like a banana.”

The knife zig zags around Future Trevor. A second log flies toward Keith. He stops it. He turns to Trevor in anger.

Keith - “Do I look stupid?!...But you gave me an idea.”

Keith summons the log to him but it stops in mid-air. The rope is stuck and won’t let the log move anymore. Keith smirks.

Keith - “Among factions, you stick out too much Trevor. You know what happens to the nail that sticks out? It gets hammered down.”

[Phrase used in Japanese culture]

Trevor - “There’s always an exception.”

Keith has had enough and telekinetically clips the rope holding the log. The rope pulls back. A row of wooden spears rises up below Keith and impales him offscreen. The camera zooms on the lower half of his body. It is stiff and blood starts to trickle down. Trevor and Future Trevor land on their feet. An illusion is lifted. The row of spears becomes more visible along with the rope that was holding the log. It was connected to a counterweight setup with the spears. A bush suddenly turns into Athena Leuce. She was hiding the trap and messing with Keith’s senses until he came to stand over the final trap.

Whitman, Renn, Azuteor, Johnston, and Bishop gather around Keith. They toss their opponents into the center. Leuce walks over to her brother, Renn. James Kelly appears and shakes his head.

Kelly - “You timed that too well, Trevor.”

Trevor - “Take them to a prison somewhere. How about Gitmo?”

[Guantanamo Bay and HSG bio- James often teleports criminals into prisons.]

Kelly - “Why not?”

Kelly teleports away with them and reappears alone.

Kelly - “What now? This place is compromised. Probably Kaua’i, too.”

[9th Wonders - Undaunted]

Trevor turns to Future Trevor. Future Trevor shrugs.

Future Trevor - “This never happened to me, remember?”

Future Trevor fades away for a few seconds. Everyone is startled. Future Trevor looks at his hands.

Future Trevor - “The timelines across the multiverse are shifting. This is the prime.”

Bishop - “Meaning?”

Johnston - “He was never here.”

Future Trevor becomes transparent. The blood and wounds from the fight disappear. The missing eye heals to normal. Future Trevor touches that part of his face in amazement. Then the missing arm returns. His clothes change. No one notices, but a ring appears on Future Trevor’s ring finger. He becomes further and further transparent.

Future Trevor - “Thank you. Everyone.”

Trevor - “You’re welcome, Steve.”

Future Trevor - “…It feels right.”

[Previous chapter - Seal and Trevor]

Future Trevor fades away for good.

Trevor - “We’ll just start over again. Find another home. Find everyone again. We will persevere.”

Everyone nods. Everyone huddles around Kelly and place their hands on his shoulders and arms. They teleport away.

They appear somewhere else. Seal, Marc, Tanner, Orbit, Clara, Luna, and others are waiting and greet them. Hugs. Hand shaking. High Fives.

We always will.

We are different from each other. Yet we are the same.

That Mysterious Duality.

END OF SPECIAL THREE

SPECIAL FOUR

INFLUENCE

DECEMBER 22, 2004

HONOLULU, HAWAI’I

HR Lady - “Okay, Trevor. Where do you see yourself three years from now?”

Trevor - “I like to think, I’ll be off traveling the world and making a difference.”

HR Lady - “That’s a rather bold declaration, isn’t it?”

Trevor and his team kick in the door to find the database stolen and missing.

[From Phase Three]

Trevor - “It is. But it’s what I want. To change the world for the better.”

Fushimi Inari Shrine; Trevor gives his key to the wild animal.

[From Phase Three]

HR Lady - “How do you plan on doing that?”

Trevor - “One person at a time if I have to.”

Trevor talking face to face with the last duplicate sent to kill Undaunted on Thanksgiving.

[From the Beginning of the End]

HR Lady - “We could use someone like you on our team.”

The crack team gathering in the Nevada desert for an operation.

[From Phase Three]

Trevor - “When may I start?”

Leona Mills hands a red file to Trevor in Washington DC.

[From “Spook” in first arc]

HR Lady - “How about next week Thursday?”

The HR Lady stands up to conclude the appointment. Trevor stands up. The camera zooms in on them shake. The screen fades to white.

[From Trevor’s Primatech Assignment Tracker or HSG page. Worked for a Credit Union in Hawaii.]

HR Lady - “This is the beginning of the rest of your life, Trevor.”

It’s another time and place. The lower half of a person fills the camera. It shifts to the left. He holds out his hand with a wedding ring. It is Future Trevor. A woman’s hand reaches out to hold his hand. The camera shifts to the right. A child is holding his other hand.

Trevor - “I’ll keep an open mind.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

JANUARY 2010

Commentary - The Beginning of the End - Part Four

2009-12-10T16:29:00.003-10:00

Yes, another possible end to Undaunted on the horizon? And as much as I love making Trevor the X-Factor, I thought, why not throw in a Future Trevor? No, he's got to be one-eyed, one-armed, and four years from the future of his parallel universe's present Trevor. Are you with me?

Ultimately, this chapter was serving to stoke many fires. It set up Future Trevor's story, set up where this arc is going, raise the stakes, and revisit what Trevor is really good at, banter; mixing the comedy and drama of things.

After being explained everything from Future Trevor, all our Trevor cares about is still to save Undaunted. The multiverse, not so much. It's like at this point, Trevor has a purpose and Future Trevor has a higher purpose and the story is mainly about developing their relationship, making them see eye to eye, and ultimately, Trevor deals with the plot point that Lydia revealed in part three about making a choice.

This flashback of how Future Trevor's world turned out was a scene was playing with a lot. At first, it was the last scene in the story. Then it was the beginning to throw the reader off, then in the middle to throw the reader off...but then I figured out a way for it to be credible. Seal pops in and reads Future Trevor, and sees his past, and the reader sees it through Seal's point of view. I'm not kidding but on the to do list, was a scene where Trevor and Seal talk about some sliver of his past while Seal eats a sandwich. Something so normal and relateable, it's perfect to me. But the weird thing for Seal is how do you react to seeing an alternate you getting killed. Hmm.

And going back to the to-do list; page one is almost done...then it's to page two, mwahahaha. Yeah. A-Squad and Steve were some ideas I had for awhile. But some readers will be like huh, what's Azuteor got to do with this? Part Five will be the conclusion of this arc and the last one I'll post this year (unless I really get into the zone). I, however, completely promise this will be a happy ending and not a cliffhanger, big omg, ending even though there will still be small questions left to answer. There won't be a scene where Trevor falls off a cliff and we don't see where he goes. But I admit, one of the final scenes will be a jaw dropper and I'm good for that, right? It's only a coincidence that this happy ending happens during the Christmas season. But course, before the happy ending, there must be a big, fat battle grand royale.

Part Five - The Beginning of the End - Part Four

2009-12-10T16:25:00.003-10:00

People live their lives thanks to circadian rhythms that allow them to function at their best during a certain time of day through stimuli of familiar objects called associative triggers. We are creatures of routine and systems. But there is that third elusive structure that can lead to all sorts of amazing feats: spontaneity.

NOVEMBER 28, 2007

SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST, ILLINOIS

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

Trevor is still staring at Future Trevor.

Trevor - “I hate practical jokes and I’m not above shooting you in the leg to show you my exact level of affection for them. Which one are you, Sterling or Marcusse?”

[Heroes Survival Game - Undaunted members]

Future Trevor - “I’m no shapeshifter. Not an illusion, neither. I am you. A one-eyed, one armed 4 years from the future parallel version of you.”

Trevor - “It’s easier for me to believe you’re a figment of my insanity. Plus, that’s a mouthful.”

Future Trevor - “For us, it was never about belief, not really even purpose, it is about conviction.”

Trevor - “It looks like your conviction got you where you are just fine.”

Future Trevor - “It’s time for both of us to accept the truth. Trevor Tanaka wants to save the world. But what if Trevor Tanaka could save the multiverse?”

[Hiro to Tadashi “Acceptance”]

Trevor - “Bored now, bye bye.”

[Justice League Unlimited - Question to Huntress - “Double Date”]

Trevor raises his gun again.

Future Trevor - “You know that won’t work on us.”

Trevor fires. Close up and slow frame on the bullet as it exits the gun chamber then slowly pan to Future Trevor. He stares at the bullet, counting off in his head, and sidesteps the bullet with ease.

Trevor - “…Because I memorized how long it takes a bullet to travel. That still doesn’t prove anything, only that I have to use a knife or my hands to kill you.”

Future Trevor laughs.

Future Trevor - “This always happens…”

Trevor - “What do…”

Future Trevor - “I mean? I spent 4 years traveling to multiple realities, meeting parallel Trevor’s; I get attacked, I explain everything, and I try to help them rectify one event that will change everything for the better.”

Trevor - “How can you even know what’s better?!”

Trevor drops his gun and tries to punch Future Trevor. Future Trevor sidesteps it, a second punch, a sweep, and punches Trevor as he’s about to deliver another round.

Future Trevor - “Again. Conviction.”

Trevor - “Why now?! You can..you can save her.”

Future Trevor - “Because she always dies.”

Trevor shakes his head in disbelief and strikes Future Trevor and tackles him into the dirt. He punches and punches Future Trevor repeatedly.

Trevor - “Who are you?!! If you don’t tell me now, I’ll have someone rip it out of you!!!”

[Homage to Matt Parkman]

Future Trevor - “My name is Trevor Tanaka. But when I was born, I was named…”

Zoom out. The conversation is inaudible. Trevor is taken aback and adjusts his posture and stands up. His breathing calms down. He offers to help up Future Trevor. Future Trevor is intrigued.

Future Trevor - “They never help me up. Never punched me, for that matter…Could this be the one? Is it true?”

Trevor - “That you’re a glutton for punishment?”

Future Trevor - “I did it. I found the original. Earth-Prime!”

[DC Comics, Dark Tower]

Trevor - “The original universe from which all universes originated from?”

Future Trevor - “Not just that, the keystone!! Change something here and you change the outcome in every universe.”

Trevor - “That’s totally not going to make me self-conscious for the rest of my life.”

Future Trevor - “It was some time before I could find James since I had no resources and was going on memory. We came up with a plan to try and stop this from happening. I’ve tried to save Undaunted 51 times and failed over and over. Then we decided on something more radical…Earth-Prime. This is it. This is my, our chance to make sure no more lives are lost here and anywhere. It takes only one small thing to upset the balance and knock down a line of small dominoes and then big dominoes and then gigantic dominoes, all down the years across time and space.”

Montage of Trevor and James visiting various realities.

[DC Comics - 52 and Ray Bradbury “A Sound of Thunder”]

Trevor - “You being here qualifies for that.”

Future Trevor - “They split an atom and dropped it on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”

[World War II - Atom Bomb]

Trevor - “Oh, well now I get it. But I only have dynamite.”

Future Trevor - “Of all the universes, you are the most abrasive.”

Trevor - “Now you’re just buttering me up.”

Trevor turns at the graves and holsters his gun.

Trevor - “My family is shrinking and our graveyard is getting bigger. Are you here to help me stop that?”

[Samuel - “Once Upon A Time In Texas”]

Seal walks out of the clearing looking at a piece of crumpled paper, not noticing the two Trevor’s.

Seal - “Trevor, you see this? We’ve got a big development going on…”

Seal looks up and sees the Trevor’s.

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END - PART FOUR: POINT OF REFERENCE - in Heroes title font -

NOVEMBER 30, 2007

SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST, ILLINOIS

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

Trevor is sitting on a stump, going over data on his hacked e-reader. Seal is sitting near him with a sandwich.

Seal - “What would you have named her?”

Trevor - “I don’t name my computers.”

Seal - “Your daughter.”

Trevor - “…We decided on Elisha. After one of my grandmothers.”

Seal - “Elisha.”

Seal is suddenly raised in the air by an unseen telekinetic. Trevor is unresponsive. Then a large explosion goes off in the background. Seal drops, Trevor catches him. He runs within the forest and brushes off a door. It opens and Trevor is about to throw Seal in, they are telekinetically shoved apart. Seal’s neck is snapped and he drops to the ground. More explosions are set off. Trees are seen falling.

Trevor walks toward the explosion. He sees a woman pinned under a tree trunk. He shoots at her offscreen. He keeps walking and shooting at three others, counting off with his free hand. He stops at a dead man.

He telekinetically shoves Trevor into a standing tree. Trevor wheezes. His ribs are broken. The man rises up slowly. He pats himself down, brushing dirt off of his clothes, and wipes blood off his forehead. He raises Trevor up with telekinesis.

Keith - “Explosive perimeter? How uninspiring, Trevor.”

Keith telekinetically slices across Trevor’s forehead.

Keith - “That was your big plan?!”

Keith telekinetically slices down Trevor’s right face through his eye. Trevor screams out loud.

Keith - “This is one big disappointment.”

Trevor - “Sorry, I just love the classic’s.”

Keith - “Famous last words. I’m going to just finish this fast. I’m not a big fan of the outdoors.”

Trevor - “It’s the smell, isn’t it? I’m not too crazy about it myself.”

Keith is unimpressed and is about to slice him again when another explosion detonates right under him. Trevor goes flying. He lands and tries to stand. He looks down and his arm is missing. He is silent, and then crawls into the forest. The smoke is finally clear, camera zooms out for a wide shot, bodies are everywhere, revealing the enemy faction’s handiwork.

NOVEMBER 28, 2007

Camera angle zoomed up on Seal’s face. He read Future Trevor.

Seal - “Trevor, my Trev..umm…can I talk to you over here?”

Trevor’s nod at each other. Trevor walks over to Seal.

Seal - “Alternate realities?”

Trevor - “Do you believe him?”

Seal - “He believes himself.”

Trevor - “Again, he could just believe in his lies.”

Seal - “But Trevor…he’s a future you.”

Trevor - “Yeah…it may get confusing and I have this gut feeling to call him Steve. It feels right.”

Seal frowns.

Trevor - “My objective is to protect everyone that is a member of Undaunted. He has intelligence that may prove useful toward our survival.”

Seal - “And the whole ‘saving the multiverse’?”

Trevor - “Meh.”

The Trevor’s are conversing alone. Future Trevor is typing on Trevor’s e-reader.

Future Trevor - “This is everything I know.”

He passes the tablet to Trevor.

Trevor - “Their leader is a skilled telekinetic. This won’t be the easiest kill.”

Future Trevor - “Two Trevor’s are better than one.”

Trevor - “Ugh. Can’t believe you just said that. I wish I could shoot you.”

Future Trevor - “When else can I use that phrase?”

Trevor - “Ah, good point. Where’s Future James?”

Future Trevor laughs at the term. Then has a grim look. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a stopwatch, running.

Future Trevor - “I have to find him at certain points and times around the planet. His body…couldn’t perceive the space-time continuum anymore and the only thing that could anchor him for a limited time is the planet’s leylines.”

Trevor - “But if this works, your reality at least, will reset and you won’t have to worry about finding your James. You two won’t even have time to click your heels together…”

Future Trevor - “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Trevor - “Meaning it’s not really about your Earth anymore.”

Future Trevor - “Where is Azuteor?”

Trevor - “I don’t know, probably procrastinating for a physics exam…You thinking A-Squad?”

Future Trevor - “A-Squad.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

Commentary - The Beginning of the End - Part Three

2009-12-05T14:55:00.003-10:00

I'm so happy I questioned my outline and this shifted story to the part three slot. It's a nice epilogue to the previous two while setting up more plots. Einstein, Walt Whitman, and Future Trevor have been on the list for awhile. I never imagined it'd be in the same story.

Anyway, here we are continuing directly after the end of part two and the story shifts back to Trevor. I noticed how he's always has his tech set up before hand and his dynamite on timer so here I threw in the bit of him tinkering. Apparently he knows how to hack a Kindle and turn it into a tablet PC, go figure. Must be from those years growing up on MacGyver. This scene also lends to the idea that Trevor feels he can't return to his hideouts right now because of past events and they might be compromised, too. So it seems like he's setting up something in Shawnee...without tipping off the park rangers.

I also had some fun including some operative terms in Trevor's dialogue. From studying Primatech's files for so long, he starting to talk like them, in a way. Very subtle but if anything it gets a giggle out of me. I also felt the need to bring back the compulsive side of his power, too, with the various quotes and references when he speaks to Sparkplug. And it always seems like Trevor is self-absorbed or two steps ahead of everyone so I planted that here when he's triangulating the Carnival and Sparkplug is still talking or he pulls the ol Batman and vanishes. Then there's the impiled joke that he wants to use Sparkplug as a glorified battery pack jumper.

Seal's opening scene was in the plans from when I had the massacre in mind. Toying with the rules of his power, I figured a horrific event like this is enough to mess with Seal's emotions and control of his power. Trevor knows this and tries to help him get his groove back. It was also an attempt on my part to explore a cynical side of Seal. Even guys like him can have a bad day.

After watching "The Fifth Stage" I did a quick edit of the story and integrated the episode into this story to make things mesh better and take care of continuity. I planned on having Trevor and Lydia meet but modified it after the episode, too. I hope people got the feel that Trevor didn't care or knew what Lydia's reading was before he stepping in there. He just wanted to establish to Lydia that he knows about Amanda and extended an olive branch to her. Never thought I'd quote Gretchen but it works. The Carnival is essentially the opposite of Undaunted. Both want to protect their own but it soon deviates after that. One stays of out of sight, One stays in plain sight. One makes money off their powers, one doesn't. And so on.

And sort of in the theme of the world turned upside down, Seal is down on his luck and Trevor reveals more about his own thoughts on love and such. And to top it off he uses Jennie Bowman, who is adorable, to help Seal remember. And part of it I used Charles Deveaux words with Peter in his precog dream from the season one finale, which is one of my favorite moments to date.

The Versa. Why not? I kept the explanation out, but I suspect Trevor asked Kutar for a car and he got this. It would have been comic gold but some things are best left out for a reason. And to signal that Seal got his powers back, he senses some evil things going down. I imagine this is when Samuel kills the drunk pitcher.

Then do the send off with one my favorite parts of an episode but equally tricky to execute, the montage of muted scenes with the Heroes theme. Walt Whitman is up there with Frost as a favorite poet of mine. But I was little miffed when I saw a Levis commercial that used some of the same verses I did. Go figure. Then just when you're in that mode of awe and the emotions are settling down...bang, I throw you a curve ball! Say hello to Mr. Future Trevor.

I found it logical and silly to make Future Trevor dressed in black and scarred like the rest of the Future Folk. So as one would guess, this sets up a new direction in the arc. A second Beginning of the End scenario! Didn't see that coming didja? So yes, there's going to be one-two more parts left before I take a break from writing this year. It'll address Future Trevor, how'd he get there, what does he want, what happened to his face and arm (I ain't waiting...Future Peter), will he convince our Trevor to do what he wants, will there be a phrase that involves a cheerleader?, all that and a bag of B-Story featuring another Undaunted figure.

Part Five - The Beginning of The End - Part Three

2009-12-04T23:56:00.003-10:00

NOVEMBER 28, 2007

SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST, ILLINOIS

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

Trevor is sitting on a stump trying to modify an e-reader. He is inserting various components into the reader’s exposed compartment. Trevor closes the compartment back up and turns on the device. It chirps on and boots. After a few seconds, Trevor begins to touch the screen and skims through something. The camera angle swoops around and from Trevor’s point of view, he is looking at a list of messages that are running down the screen. The top of the screen reads “Urgent Requests.”

[Heroes Survival Game - Urgent Requests]

Up ahead, Mack Johnston walks out from the forest, without his signature baseball hat on. Trevor doesn’t look at him and continues reading.

Sparkplug - “Are we going to answer any of them, today?”

Trevor - “No. Seal approved a lockdown protocol and the word is being spread to whoever is still listening or cares.”

Sparkplug - “And that goes for recruiting, as well.”

Trevor - “Especially. Who knows if there is already grass planted.”

Johnston pauses, studying Trevor’s choice of terminology.

Trevor - “The Powers That Be often plant double agents abroad. It takes years, even decades before they are finally commissioned to complete their mission.”

[Lone Wolf and Cub]

Johnston - “A lot of us thought the same thing about you when you arrived without warning from Seal or Marc. But.”

Trevor - “But?”

Johnston - “Since then, most of us concluded on crazed loner, bud.”

[Justice League Unlimited “Flash and Substance”]

Trevor - “Mnn. Close enough.”

Johnston - “Ha. Sometimes, it still amazes me how we’re all together; protecting each other, fighting the good fight, and maybe even saving the world one day.”

Trevor looks up and puts the reader aside.

Trevor - “I’ve been hunted for two years, ten months, and four days by various people. But I hunted them back; criss-crossing the world, never staying in one place for long, that is until Undaunted came to my attention. Along the way, I always learned something new. Everybody has a talent, Mack, it was only a matter of moving around until you discovered what it is.”

[George Lucas]

Sparkplug - “But are you happy?”

Trevor - “…Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason, mastery demands all of a person.”

[Albert Einstein]

Sparkplug - “Huh. Whoever said that was no Einstein.”

Even Trevor laughs at this.

Trevor - “It’s all relative, I suppose.”

Sparkplug - “If you could, Trevor, would you change your past? Do something different?”

Trevor - “No. Another me somewhere in the multiverse made that choice. If I did, this conversation would become hypertime and the other reality would probably implode.”

Sparkplug - “How about if there were no multiverse, just the one?”

[Science, Comic Books]

Trevor - “Whatever happened, happened.”

[Lost]

Sparkplug - “Even if time was running out and you had to make a decision that would kill billions of people?”

Trevor - “Time is fickle. It’s not something you just fight and that’s the end. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a non-spatial continuum in which events occur linearly usually in the direction of increased entropy.”

[Justice League Unlimited “The Once and Future Thing” Part Two: Time Warped]

Sparkplug - “Alright. Say a future you showed up and gave you a set of instructions.”

[Volume One]

Trevor loses interest and picks up the e-reader. He suddenly sees something very important and focuses on it.

Sparkplug - “What is it?”

Trevor - “Looks like Undaunted is answering a message today, after all.”

Trevor stands up. Part of the message can be seen on the screen: “…found the Carnival…Amanda”

[Heroes Survival Game - Faction Message]

Sparkplug - “Need back up?”

Trevor - “Just need to triangulate then Google Map it…Ohio? Well, that’s too good to pass up. I need you for something else. Kutar and Kupe are summoning various electronics I requested for new infrastructure.”

[Google Maps and Heroes Survival Game characters in Undaunted]

Sparkplug - “On it. Be careful, eh?”

Trevor is already gone. Johnston laughs out loud.

[Batman]

Seal is knelt down in the middle of the graveyard. He cups his mouth with his right hand and both eyes are closed.

Trevor - “Even though we’re temporarily shielded and hidden from sight, you shouldn’t be alone out in the open.”

Seal turns around and sees Trevor standing near the forest.

Seal - “How in God’s name could He let this happen, Trevor?”

Trevor - “God doesn’t factor into this. We’re the ones who act as gods and that is always a dangerous game, Clark.”

[Volume Two - Hiro and Kaito Nakamura’s conversation]

Seal staggers up onto his feet.

Seal - “94 deaths and dozens have left in fear. We should…”

Trevor - “I agree. But we can’t recruit right now. We just have to find who’s still with us."

Seal - “Disband.”

Trevor - “Oh.”

Seal - “Undaunted started out to protect people. We didn’t do a very good job lately.”

Trevor - “It’s not your fault, Clark. Not anyone’s.”

Seal - “You’re one man. I am, too. We were hundreds in number and we still got caught offguard in the blink of an eye. Melody didn’t calculate it. The telepaths didn’t detect it. The precogs never saw it. Tell me how we could have known.”

[Melody Beatrix, Undaunted, Heroes Survival Game]

Trevor - “Come with me, Clark. This will do the both of us some good. It’ll help you realign your ability”

Seal - “How did…Where?”

Trevor - “You’ll see.”

The camera zooms in on Seal.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER…

SOMEWHERE IN SOUTHERN OHIO

Seal and Trevor are standing in the parking lot looking at a colorful sign: Sullivan Bros. Carnival.

Seal - “A Carnival? Never pegged you as the type, Trevor.”

Trevor - “You’re right. I’m not.”

Seal - “You have your gun, don’t you?”

Trevor - “Have I become that predictable? I must be in a rut…”

They walk forward into the entrance.

Seal is eating cotton candy and Trevor picks at popcorn.

Seal - “I’m not sure about this.”

Trevor - “Everything tastes better when you’re a child.”

Seal - “Wasn’t talking about the food.”

Trevor - “Neither was I.”

Seal - “What do we know about this Amanda?”

Trevor - “Today, she’s our pair of dice.”

Seal - “We all pegged you as a man of science.”

Trevor - “Faith has its place. Both intersect eventually.”

[Lost - Man of Science, Man of Faith]

The two walk past a Milk Can Toss booth. A burly man is playing as a young girl, Claire Bennet, and Gretchen Berg watch. They overhear an announcement for Lydia.

[Volume 5 “The Fifth Stage”]

Trevor - “Speak of the devil.”

They enter the tent. Lydia is sitting inside.

Lydia - “Hello, boys. Which one of you is paying?”

Seal - “Trevor, wait, she…”

Trevor holds Lydia’s hands. She closes her eyes and reads him.

Lydia - “You’re the one that got away, Trevor Tanaka. That is what you call yourself these days, isn’t it?”

Trevor’s face appears on Lydia’s arm as a tattoo. But the right side is obscured in darkness.

Lydia - “Living in two worlds…that must be difficult. The past and present intertwine. You yearn for someone left behind but put it aside for your people…Trevor, you can only have one life. You will become a great man, but you must make a choice.”

Trevor - “So it seems. Thank you, miss.”

Lydia - “You’re welcome. Thank you.”

Seal walks out. Trevor is about to but stops at the entranceway.

Trevor - “Are you the one that needs our help?”

Lydia - “Sorry. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Trevor - “My mistake. Could you tell me where I can find Amanda Strazzulla’s mother?”

Lydia - “…”

Trevor - “We’ll be watching. When the time is right, Amanda will be extracted. Just don’t lose that cell phone.”

Lydia - “Enjoy the rest of the night, boys.”

Trevor and Seal continue walking through the Carnival.

Seal - “So we’re not rescuing this girl, tonight?”

Trevor - “Just nailing down the lay of the land. Every one of these carnies has an advanced ability. It won’t be a standard op.”

Seal - “But these people don’t have bad intentions…”

Trevor - “They’re super powered con artists, Clark. Completely opposite of how we do things.”

[Volume 5 “The Fifth Stage” - Gretchen Berg]

Seal - “Why am I here again, Trevor?”

They stop.

Trevor - “You came here because you needed to. When I look into your eyes, Clark, I see compassion, empathy and most of all, I see hope. This world won’t be saved on strength and smarts, alone. It needs heart. Love.”

[Volume One “How To Stop An Exploding Man” - Peter Petrelli and Charles Deveaux]

Seal is more than dumb-founded as Trevor motions him to look forward. The Bowman’s perform their act. Jennie Bowman lets out a pyrokinetic burst in a solo performance. She cheers at her accomplishment. Amanda steps forward and raises two columns of flames. They take acknowledge the crowd’s cheers and clapping, embrace each other, and leave the stage. Seal smiles.

Seal - “Love.”

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END - PART THREE: NEVER THE END - in Heroes title font -

Trevor and Seal are leaving and are entering a blue Nissan Versa. Seal flinches in his seat. A flash of Samuel’s face appears in an instant and vanishes.

Trevor - “What is it, Spidey?”

[Spider-Man]

Seal - “We need to leave, fast.”

The Versa drives off.

A muted montage scene begins with the Heroes theme playing.

For we cannot tarry here

Elle Bishop storms down the hallway of Level 5. The inmates watch.

[Volume Three]

We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger

Trevor points his gun out from the shadows.

[Phase Three]

We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend

Matt Parkman holds his son. Hiro Nakamura and Ando Masahashi watch.

[Volume Four]

Pioneers! O Pioneers!

Trevor walks up to a grassy field and sees Seal.

O you youths, Western youths

Hiro Nakamura, Ando Masahashi, and Kimiko Nakamura pose for their photo at the Carnival in Japan.

So impatient, full of action, fully of manly pride and friendship

Claire Bennet hugs Gretchen Berg and says her goodbyes at the Carnival.

[Volume 5 “The Fifth Stage”]

Plain I see you Western youths, see you tramping with the foremost

Samuel Sullivan and Lydia watch Claire and Gretchen.

Pioneers! O Pioneers!

Dr. Mohinder Suresh smiles in glee as he cracks the password on his late father’s program in India.

[Volume One]

Have the elder races halted?

Charles Deveaux and Angela Petrelli have their final discussion together.

[Volume One]

Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the seas?

The Company founders quiet and pose for their group shot.

[Volume 2]

We take up the task eternal and the burden and the lesson

Peter Petrelli, Nathan Petrelli, and Matt Parkman discuss plans in Primatech Paper’s Level 3 Vault.

Pioneers! O Pioneers!

[Walt Whitman]

Trevor and Seal stand in the graveyard. Trevor pats his right hand on Seal’s shoulder. He nods and smiles. Seal says something and walks away. Trevor remains and stares at the graves.

All of a sudden, he turns around with his gun drawn. He is almost literally paralyzed with shock at what he sees. The camera pans around to see who it is. Trevor is aiming at another Trevor. The second Trevor’s right side is half cloaked in the shadow of the forest, just like Lydia’s tattoo.

The second Trevor walks forward two steps and reveals himself. He is dressed and layered in black much like Future Peter and Hiro. His right eye is covered up and a scar runs down it from his forehead to his cheek through the eye. Another scar goes horizontal across his forehead.

From the second Trevor’s point of view, Trevor slowly lowers the gun in disbelief. The camera rotates to give a full shot of the second Trevor. Noticeably, his right arm is missing as his empty sleeve flutters in the breeze. Zoom out as the two stare at each other.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Commentary - The Beginning of the End - Part Two

2009-11-30T18:42:00.002-10:00

Part two was my first real challenge to write and I shuffled a lot of plot points and racked my noggin getting into the mindset of someone else's character, Sparkplug. The story was supposed to double as both a 'eulogy' of sorts to part one and convey that deep thinking characteristic of him. I'm not a 100% happy with the final product but I think it achieved the solemn yet powerful tone.

I had this sub-plot involving the Carnival but I felt it detracted too much away from the Massacre and spun it off for part three.

NOVEMBER 27

My nickname for this section was 'The Revenge Squad Strikes Back.' I wanted to the reveal of Trevor, Mack, and John to be loosely based on the bad-assery from that one scene from The Matrix when the whole team appears in the Matrix to meet the Oracle. Going with the pov of Sparkplug, I replaced the phone as the medium of introduction with a streetlight.

Saved from last issue, I decided to reveal the final words of Phillip DeParis for this one and delivered it through an evolution of Sparkplug's power, to generate an electromagnetic pulse. The writers of the show seem to bounce from reason to reason, but I'm pretty sure emotions are a sticking point for controlling powers. Here, it comes into play. Since Sparkplug is a reserved and introspective person, being able go beyond what he knows of his power requires a lot of anger.

Of course, we've got Trevor and his gun but the majority of the story is Mack in action. Then to cap off the attack with another cool use of a power, I wrote in Azuteor to demolish the building and send the faction leader down to the center of the earth, not the best way to die but justifiable?

NOVEMBER 28

I starting writing this issue with the idea that Mack would narrate the majority of it as he speaks to Blue at his grave and explain to him what happened after he died. It was his way of resolution and saying goodbye to a good friend. Another idea I had was to have Sparkplug have his interpretation of teammates revealed, Trevor and Seal in particular. It's always interesting to me to see how people view each other.

Then to end the day, I imagined Mack would make a gesture to Blue's grave and nothing was more fitting than using his iconic baseball hat.

2000

I've been a fan of the implied optimistic endings so I decided to stick in this flashback of when Mack first discovered his power. In comparison with the A-Plot, this epilogue of sorts is meant to strike home that even in the darkest hour of life, there is always hope.

NEXT TIME...
Tattoos, Gypsies, Props, and Choices

Part Five - The Beginning of The End - Part Two

2009-11-29T20:46:00.004-10:00

As I hinted in one of these previous posts somewhere, I was going to experiment with making more stories that come from the point of view of someone other than Trevor. This, hopefully, is the first of many to come. It was a challenge to write and I'll talk more about it, tomorrow:

Time is that quality of nature that keeps events from happening all at once. Lately, it doesn’t seem to be working.

NOVEMBER 27, 2007

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

It’s evening. There’s an empty bench and flickering streetlight. A newspaper blows past as the streetlight flickers off.

The light flickers back on and now standing in front of the bench and light are Trevor Tanaka, Mack Johnston, and John Bishop. They look across the street at a seemingly innocent looking five story building.

Trevor - “The only access points are through the ground level and it’s been outfitted with safeguards salvaged from Primatech. It generates a field that disrupts our capacity to use our abilities. If were to just storm in now, we’d be powerless.”

[Volume One to Three - Primatech prison cells]

John Bishop - “Just the three of us? Tell me this doesn’t sound just a little insane?”

Mack Johnston - “I know. They don’t stand a chance.”

Trevor - “I’ve got another on his way but in the meantime, we can clean house. Johnston, I need you to generate an electromagnetic pulse and overload the building’s power grid. Then we can slip in and say howdy.”

Johnston - “Alright.”

Johnston focuses. A brief hum is heard, the streetlight turns off, then the hum fades and the streetlight turns back on. He tries again and fails. Johnston is about to try again when Trevor interrupts.

Trevor - “Most advanced abilities are empathic in nature. Think of a memory, an event, something that happened to you that you can never forget, something terrible.”

Johnston - “I got just the thing.”

Sparkplug closes his eyes as does the camera then opens again.

NOVEMBER 26, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

Johnston - “Are you sure your parents won’t mind?”

Phillip DeParis - “ ‘Course not. They’re used to me bringing friends over for dinner all the time. Thanksgiving isn’t any different.”

Johnston - “Thanks, Blue. I owe you one.”

DeParis - “No prob.”

DeParis shapes his hand into a gesture.

DeParis - “Live long and pros…”

[Star Trek]

Bone protrusions erupt into the scene. Close up on DeParis’ face as he gets stabbed below his chest. He falls over offscreen.

Johnston - “Blue!!”

Johnston kneels and holds Blue in his arms.

Johnston - “I’m going to get help…Just put pressure on it and you’ll be fine!”

DeParis - “There is no time…It’s okay, man…”

DeParis is dead. Johnston looks up and electricity surges from his body. He screams. The scene shifts back to the present, with the exact position on Johnston. He screams as an electromagnetic pulse emanates from him. The building blacks out. The trio walks forward, and then they notice the rest of the city blacks out in succession.

Trevor - “…They probably have candles…flashlights…back-up generators.”

Bishop - “Yeah…”

Johnston - “Let’s do this.”

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END - PART TWO: THERE IS NO TIME - in Heroes title font -

NOVEMBER 28, 2007

SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST, ILLINOIS

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

Johnston is talking to someone, offscreen.

Johnston - “They never stood a chance.”

Scenes from the building raid are interlaced with Johnston.

Johnston shoots down the door with electricity. Bishop generates a force field on himself and Trevor. Trevor goes in. Shots are heard soon after.

Johnston - “Trevor went in guns a blazing. I’d bet money he had the blueprints memorized, how many of them were in there, what their powers were, and what size jeans they wear.”

Johnston turns into pure electricity and parts of the room light up as he races forward, Trevor and Bishop are unaffected, various people are jolted and fall offscreen. Trevor comes into view and shoots down at them.

Johnston - “He’d never admit it but Trevor was just as affected by all this like the rest of us. Maybe more. Maybe he blamed himself for not figuring out it was going to happen in time and save everyone. He wasn’t going to let any of them get away. There was this rage in his eyes during the attack, like you’ve never seen before.”

Camera focuses on Trevor. His eyes are cold and full of death. He’s staring at the man whose duplicates were sent to Colorado.

Johnston - “You’d think I was nuts to say this, but past all that brooding and sarcasm, is a heart. A big one. We all have one to stay together this long.”

The man shoots several bone protrusions at Trevor. Trevor is about to shoot but a bolt of electricity shoots past him, slithers around each bone, and pierces the man. He goes flying backward into the wall.

Johnston - “Seal sounds corny sometimes but he’s always right. We’re simple folk that don’t like being bothered with.”

The trio exits an elevator and enter the last room. A lone man is waiting for them. He is shrouded in the dark. Johnston is about to act when Trevor says something and stops him.

Johnston - “But then we always return in kind.”

Bishop places a force field around the man. Trevor sheathes his gun in its holster. The camera zooms out behind them. They turn to greet the fourth Undaunted. It is Azuteor.

Johnston - “Then Trevor reveals his ace in the hole, as usual.”

Azuteor uses his gravity repulsion power on the man. The gravity around him gets stronger and stronger. Then he falls through the floor, and the next floor, and the next, until finally dropping through the earth, never to be seen again.

Johnston - “But he’s kept us alive like that and being two steps ahead of us.”

Bishop shields everyone. Azuteor brings the building down. After the dust settles, the four are standing on the ground floor nonchalant, like nothing happened.

The scene shifts back to the present. Johnston takes off his signature baseball hat and walks forward offscreen.

Johnston - “They all needed to know we’re not going anywhere. Not by a long shot. That it’s not all for nothing…Rest in peace, bud.”

Johnston walks away without his cap on. The camera abandons him and turns around to reveal who he was talking to. A grave with a pile of rocks as a headstone. The cap is resting on the headstone.

The camera pans out to reveal several rows of graves and similar headstones. The sun is about to set and illuminated the sky in an orange glow as Johnston walks into a nearby forest. He looks back one more time at the graves, then turns and disappears into the brush.

Thinking is the very essence of, and the most difficult thing to do in life.

Boise, Idaho; in the year 2000. A 16 year old, Mack Johnston is working on an engine in his parents’ garage. His back is turned to the sky and a solar eclipse.

If you’re not consciously aware of putting forth the effort to think, you’re no longer in control of your life.

[David Kekich]

The engine roars to life, much to Johnston’s shock and curiosity. He notices electricity coming from his fingertips. Close up on Johnston as he looks closely at his finger. Nothing. Then a jolt of electricity jumps from his fingertip. Johnston smiles and laughs at his new discovery.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Commentary - The Beginning Of The End - Part One

2009-11-24T23:12:00.002-10:00

So I think I went a little over in page length but who cares!

Part One starts with the second time November 26 happened, continuing directly from the end of Phase Three. Some things repeat and some things are different, such is time manipulation and butterflies. I throw the first hint of how they got murdered with the bone. And a bit gruesome, but the running joke was that in each scenario of November 26, Trevor always gets injured. And it's so weird how instead of Trevor being hit in the gut and in the arm, that allows him to scan the field and ask Nox to save three other people.

Then I use the rewind as a legitimate way to reveal the second part of Trevor and Seal's visit to Leona from the first arc. The things being discussed make more sense here so that's why it got held off until now. I had fun with the dialogue because eventually you left wondering at what point is Trevor talking about, the omelet or the scheme or both? I must have had some weird craving at the time and threw in the honeycomb metaphor. But "Bears named Sylar?" had me rolling in laughter when I first thought it of it because I imagined a bear with Quinto's eyebrows.

Trevor's snide remark with 'Punch God in the face' was another favorite line of mine from Sin City. I also tend to use it a lot in real life along with dancing with leprechauns and riding unicorns under a rainbow with the Irish Spring commercial cast. Golden toilets, too. Hmm...but it is also supposed to imply and remind those that Trevor has grown to care more about the faction than going after the agents that killed his fiancee, whose name I never gave away yet.

I still love the Leona and Trevor scenes. He knows he's being manipulated but Leona makes light of it. With everything, Trevor loses it and his power takes over, hence he recites that line about point of view, sorta like with Charlie in "Once Upon A Time in Texas." And to remind the audience about the main story, I put in the line about deja vu. Since this is happening again because of Redo, I'd think a few specials would at least sense something was up. Since Seal is an empath, maybe he would most of all. And no, I don't hate Connecticut. Neither does Trevor, I think he just had low blood sugar or something.

The title, It's All Relativity is definitely a reference to messing with timelines and taking different frames of reference (in this case points of view) to see the big picture. It's the overarching lesson of this arc, which I hope pays off in the finale.

And I guess in a weird twist, Eli appears in the graphic novels and I bust out duplicates. But they had it first since these things are written way ahead of time. Another case of being on the same wavelength.

Blue's death was the big shocker scene. After some events with someone leaving the faction on his own accord, I got a brainstorm and did a rewrite to kill off Blue, his character, and make Sparkplug's anger more justified and tie-in the two are close. There a few hidden homages that are only for fellow Undaunted members. I know one figured them out already. Sparkplug's display of powers is all taken from his HSG bio and for interested parties, he'll come into play in at least Part Three and this death will play a big role in it.

After seeing Ando bust out red lightning in Volume 3, I feel in love with the shiny FX. So I knew it immediately when I read Luna Yu's bio on HSG, I would use her a couple times as I wrote. It was on the to-do list to have this big scene for her when she used the power on a whole heap of people at once.

And always, ton of 9th Wonders! references, good and bad. Undaunted appears to be on the verge of losing its lofty #1 spot but hey, it helped me write an awesome line. And something I don't thing I did in awhile was reference another Undaunted character, Karma. When I was flipping through the roster, I almost thought Undaunted had no healers but we got one! Phew. Trevor would have been in trouble since Nox and Redo died for good this time in the third November 26th.

Lot of people totally got murdered (94 Undaunted and the 36 duplicates=130 deaths) but that is only to tip off the readers that the scales are getting higher, to emulate Trevor's word of caution with Seal in the Diner scenes, and foreshadow the rest of the arc. Ooh, and I kinda hinted at who the enemy is in the line after the Karma reference. Whew, good thing there is a second Garden of the Gods or everyone would be crashing at Mr. and Mrs. Zhang's house.

Earlier, I said this arc will be a four parter, but now after proofing and plotting out, I might tighten it a little and make a three parter. We'll see. I don't plan on making the last part a total downer but to end it on a good note, somehow, whether it's implied or totally out there plain as day. After that, I'm pretty sure I'm going to take the rest of the year off from writing and start fresh posting in January. I say that now, but things can change.

Part Five - The Beginning Of The End - Part One

2009-11-24T20:32:00.003-10:00

After taking time to do other projects and make sure this one got done right...without further ado, the third arc begins:

NOVEMBER 26, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

Dozens of corpses are strewn across the field. Trevor lays motionless, lying on his stomach, with his back to the camera, and a bone-like protrusion is sticking out of his left shoulder. The bone looks broken off from its original source. There is silence for what feels like an eternity.

Then, Trevor gasps for air and wheezes, blood is pooling somewhere in his body. He reaches behind himself with his right hand and rips out the protrusion and tosses it aside. Trevor struggles to stand up and winces over to two bodies that are barely breathing. Trevor kneels between them and uses all his remaining strength to flip them over. One is Regan "Redo" McCairn and the other, Dixon "Nox" Cheung.

Trevor - "Nox…you got to…undo this from ever happening to me…"

Trevor looks around frantically at the dead.

Trevor - "Luna Yu. Mack Johnston. Lilia Chacon. Make them survive, too."

Nox struggles to concentrate then it works, Trevor is unwounded. Nox hacks out blood, then his head drops. Nox is dead. Trevor closes his eyes. Redo was watching what happened.

Trevor - "Reset us as far back as you can, McCairn. Farther than you’ve ever gone. Everyone’s lives depend on it."

Redo uses her time reversing power. Things start to go backwards like a video tape rewinding, then everything turns into a blur of images and sound. Then a white flash envelopes everything.

LATE SUMMER 2007

LYNEBORO, CONNECTICUT

MABLE'S DINER

Leona Mills sits down. Trevor scoots over. He doesn't take his eyes off her. Seal finishes his breakfast. Silence.

Leona - "Well, say it Trevor."

Trevor - "The Omelet Surprise is terrible."

Seal - "You want me to consolidate every faction into one and lead it?"

Leona - "It's more than that."

Trevor - "Tell Mable to lower the heat, next time."

Leona - "All we've ever done was protect each other. But now, all these little honeycombs are popping up and doing whatever they please. Too many. You know what that attracts? Bears. Big, hungry bears."

Trevor - "Bears named Sylar? Yeah, sure. Right away. No problem."

Leona - "The omelet isn't that bad."

Trevor - "But it doesn't mean you could try harder."

Leona - "You can do this. I know you can. You want to."

Trevor - "Don't worry. I'll put it on the to-do list, right under 'punch God in the face.'"

[Sin City - Marv]

Trevor looks away and finishes his food.

Leona - "Seal, you’ve been quiet. What do you think of all this?"

Seal - "Between the Carnival and other factions attacking us for resources…"

[Volume 5 and Heroes Survival Game - Phase Three]

Leona - "You can't. Now's not the time."

Seal - "I'm sorry, it's a great idea."

Leona - "Don't be. These things, they require timing, finesse, and a lot of luck."

Trevor - "Schemes. Do you forget that every time you come up with one, the price goes up? You're willing to sacrifice us like chess pieces but what about Rachel? Would you strap a bomb on her and parade her through Washington?"

[Partial quote from anonymous person and Volume 4 - Matt Parkman - Washington D.C.]

Leona - "Trevor, I'm disappointed. You always had a healthy disregard for the impossible…I'm on the clock. You boys come back again when you can."

[Larry Page]

Leona walks away like nothing happened and right as rain.

Seal - "She was convincing when I read her."

Trevor - "That only means she believes in the lie, too. Think hard about this, Seal. Doing great deeds requires…equal suffering."

[Plutarch]

Seal - "Take her point of view, Trevor. She's been around longer than us and…"

Trevor is worked up and cuts Seal off.

Trevor - "Point of view? Oh, the scarcest of resources. The quintessentially human solution to information overload! An intuitive process of reducing things to an essential, relevant, and manageable maximum…"

[Paul Saffo]

Everyone in Mable's Diner is staring at their booth. Trevor stops. He exhales.

Trevor - "Let's go. I hate Connecticut."

Seal - "Hm. Déjà vu. Feels like I heard you say that before."

[Implied reminder that the timeline is repeating itself thanks to Trevor and Nox]

They exit the Diner and find James.

Seal - "Are we going to do it? Help her?"

Trevor - "To her, this is one big game of survival. Let's go with the Big Stick Diplomacy for now."

[Heroes Survival Game and President Roosevelt’s foreign policy]

The trio teleports away.

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END - PART ONE: IT'S ALL RELATIVITY - in Heroes title font -

NOVEMBER 26, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

About half of Undaunted is gathered in the main field. Among them are Trevor Tanaka, Seal, Lilia Chacon, Mack Johnston, Luna Yu, Phillip DeParis, Clara Zhang, Dixon Cheung, and Regan McCairn.

Seal - "I want to thank everyone for coming today and checking in. A little goes a long way to say you're committed to this. Only so many people in the world get to have two families that love them, much less one. I don’t want to ramble so ummm…that's all. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!"

[Places this story during Volume 5 "Thanksgiving" and 9th Wonders! Forum - The good kind of rambling happens among Undaunted members]

The crowd happily murmurs and separate among the main field chatting. Lilia is with Seal, Johnston with Blue, Clara and Luna, Dixon with Redo, and Trevor, by himself as usual. The Heroes theme plays over the muted scene.

What is life?

It becomes apparent there are some here who don't belong.

A madness.

Their faces dissolve, revealing they are all the same man.

[Appearance Alteration, the power of evsdropr, one of them anyway]

What is life?

Trevor, Luna, Mack, and Lilia all notice.

An illusion.

The men, 36 in number, all grin evilly.

[9th wonders! - HERO - 3+6=9]

A shadow.

Bone protrusions, dozens of, erupt from each duplicate and impales everyone.

[Graphic Novel - Perrin Crocker's power]

A story.

Mack Johnston turns his body into electricity and avoids the spikes. DeParis isn't as lucky. Johnston is in shock as DeParis falls over, dead.

And the greater good is little enough.

Lilia Chacon grabs Seal and protects him.

[Chacon was created in HSG to protect Seal]

For all life is a dream.

[A quote from Pedro Calderon de la Bara]

Trevor lunges away but still gets impaled in his left leg. He lets out a scream of pain, then quickly breaks the bone off with the butt of his gun.

[In every timeline, Trevor gets impaled]

Luna pushes herself and Clara out of harm's way. Red lightning litters the area. Redo and Nox are impaled and die immediately.

Bodies stack up on the field. Trevor, Chacon, Seal, Johnston, Clara, and Luna eye out the 36 duplicates.

Trevor shouts an order to Clara. She runs to Chacon and Seal. The three teleport away as several bones barely misses them.

In slow motion, they march on the remaining three but the camera focuses on Luna. She stands tall and raises both hands in the air. Red lightning sparks and shoves the duplicates into the air and the frame speed slows down. The camera pans onto Johnston. He is still kneeling over DeParis and whispers something.

Sparkplug - "No."

He looks up at all the duplicates in mid-air, shifts his entire body into electricity, and surges through all of them violently as the camera frame speed goes to normal. Miniature explosions pop from each duplicate as Johnston passes through them. The duplicates all drop to the ground with huge, black scorch marks on their chests. One is still alive and feebly crawls away. A foot stomps down in front of him and blocks his escape path. It is Johnston. He arcs electricity and a screeching sound makes the duplicate scream in agony as blood trickles from his ears. A hand comes over Johnston's shoulder. It is Trevor.

[Johnston's power, listed on HSG, is Electric Mimicry. What he do with it is only limited by his own experience]

Trevor - "That's enough."

Trevor kneels down to the duplicate, who is panting irregularly.

Trevor - "I know you can't hear me but…what you did today was really, really stupid. We don’t like being bothered."

[Ghostbusters - Winston and The Undaunted mandate]

The duplicate spits out blood and gloats.

Duplicate - "Undaunted's…days…are…numbered…"

Trevor smiles, stands back up, and shoots him; twice in the head and twice in the chest. He sheathes the gun back in his holster.

Luna Yu - "Trevor, your leg."

Trevor - "I'll ask Karma to fix it later. Appearance Alteration. Limited to 24 hours. Tactile Organic Duplication. Spike Protrusion. No one faction alone has any of these three specials in combination."

Trevor rips the rest of the spike out of his leg. He tosses it then rips off part of his sleeve and ties a tight knot over the wound. James teleports in.

James - "Okay, who’s…first."

From James' point of view, the camera surveys the massacre. Then pans to Trevor.

Trevor - "Take us to the alpha site in Shawnee. Put out the word…this place is scrubbed."

[Alpha Site term taken from Stargate SG-1 and 9th Wonders - Two Garden of the Gods exist in the USA]

Luna Yu - "It's not over, is it?"

[In her HSG bio, Yu grew to be wary and skeptical of things]

Sparkplug - "This is just the beginning."

Trevor nods as they all teleport away.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Commentary Part 2 - Phase Three

2009-11-19T21:00:00.002-10:00

In my haste to post my thoughts about Phase 3, I forgot to mention a few things. So I'll do them here and throw in some more food for thought in terms of the third arc that I will start posting next week.

THE DREAM

The dream did come in part from my disappointment that Uluru would never appear on the show they way he did when Isaac Mendez got high in the graphic novel, at least that's what Kring confirmed. And in equal disappointment, I hated how the Hunger was the mechanism used on the show. It made no sense to me after awhile. When Sylar was powerless in Volume 2, he still suffered its effects and fixated on Maya.

Story-wise, when Trevor was a child, his nightmare always ended on when Uluru grabs him and there's darkness. All those images up to that point is enough to freak out a child. Figuratively, it's something that Trevor had to solve, something about himself, he had to admit to himself what his purpose was and accept it. Up to this point, it was a finality he was ignoring by drowning himself in faction affairs and organically presented itself as faction fighting intensified.

The final line when Uluru scuttles away as a roach, was another nod to the show's motifs (haven't seen one in awhile...) and tied in with Trevor and the game (a symbol of survival). But more importantly, his last line of advice was drawn from the idea that the journey, the growth is more important than the end. Indeed, this was Kaito Nakamura's lesson to his son in season one when he struggled with finding his power again and pushing himself to kill Sylar.

INARI SHRINE

Clearly, on some deep level, Trevor enjoys trading quips with James. However, he can't do it here because Zhang is a different type of person and he's sort of flabbergasted in trying to keep talking to her. He tries to talk about hair and has an epic fail. He tries to be serious (or is it macho?) but fails. She sort of chips away at the chinks in his armor and we get to see a rarely seen side of him.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

After a week of outlining and drafting some scenes I knew I wanted to do, it looks like this will be another 4 parter. Things got confusing since I introduced the concept of 'messing with time' so I had to do a different type of flowchart and map out this happened first and as a result this changes and do that for everytime the timeline changes. So yes, Redo and Nox will appear again.

-DISASTER

Something is coming for Undaunted and they will have to deal with it right away but there will be a reveal that will be OMG, I hope. Then we will have to deal with the how this came to happen in the first place and a final battle. I'm still making decisions on will stay dead and who will get a second lease on life because of the timeline shifting, I'm not even sure if Trevor is going to survive for that matter. The fun parts of this is creating the big fight scenes, who will appear, how they use their power in battle, and how it sucks for the person on the receiving end.

-THE PAST

Surprise. One or two more pieces of Trevor's past will figure into this arc as well as the meeting with Leona Mills. But there will be more shifts in point of view. This arc won't be as heavily from Trevor's perspective as the past two arcs...so far...but sometimes Trevor takes control of the keyboard.

-SUGGESTIONS

If anyone is reading this and has a member in Undaunted and wants their character used in a certain way, feel free to pitch it to me in a Private Message in the 9th Wonders! forum and we can talk further. Otherwise, it's up to my evil mind to think of ways. Just kidding.

Commentary - Phase Three Part Three and Four

2009-11-12T19:07:00.003-10:00

Sort of like a save the best for last and tie everything all together conclusion.

THE DREAM

The dream continues with Uluru transforming into the symbol and attacking Trevor, mirroring how Trevor was overwhelmed by his power and went insane. Then he learns to control the 'evils' that come with that power. So what do I think Uluru is...a metaphysical manifestation of the negative aspects of mankind embedded in the souls of all human beings? Yeah. Way better than the way the Hunger was used on the show.

THE OPERATION

Like Part One, I adapted a faction message from Heroes Survival Game and made a plot out of it. Doing a telekinesis free for all and the line about Trevor aiming for the head was on the to do list so I used them here and loved how it came out. Instead of making it another faction, I wanted to tie it into iStory and Volume 4 with a group of ex-Building 26 folk since Tracy Strauss didn't kill them all.

TREVOR'S PAST

Been saving this one for awhile like the last puzzle piece in the sorted past of an enigmatic figure. It wasn't just a girlfriend he lost. Trevor really was the man who had everything, he was going to get married to his soul mate and about to have a child with her. Then everything was gone in an instant. I think it was a good idea to hold back to here and relate to the overall theme here that Trevor traded one family for another and he's not going to lose this one, no matter what, even if he has to go on his killing ways and give up his obsession with revenge for good, which I implied with the lines about the Haitian/Rene and Thompson Jr..

THE CONSULTANT

I had this scene planned for awhile (yeah, the had the ending before the beginning written sort of deal) and it came out great. Here is Trevor at his best, he completely defeats the Consultant and outsmarts him then ends it. And I tried to make the Consultant seem as pathetic as possible, a total reversal of his other appearance, the tides have turned on him. Also took care of a loose end and revealed who that dude was that was stalking Trevor in my first arc. Ten you are supposed to get this Aha moment when you realize the Associate may have been beating the crud out of Trevor as retribution along with doing his job.

INARI SHRINE

If you didn't believe me that Trevor cares about his faction, this conclusion where he meets up with Zhang will seal the deal for you. And it takes some edge off the violence and ends things with a lighthearted beat...thanks in part to a random Zoolander quote and a favorite scene from Memoirs of a Geisha. What an unlikely combination.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Then I totally kill the happiness with a cliffhanger ending. Born out of my desire to make a jaw dropper cliffhanger, it also was my sendoff to the writers of Heroes. If you want to alter the timeline (and make it three years instead of one!), this is how you do it!! Note that Nox prevented Trevor from getting fatally wounded permanently so we'll see if that's enough to prevent the Garden massacre. Massacre? What is this massacre? I can confirm it's not aliens nor an apocalyptic natural disaster. It's definitely people-related and tied to the desire to 'survive.' Remember I haven't given away the conversation between Trevor, Leona, and Seal yet...could it be related? Hmmm. Will I give away Trevor's real name at last? Only if it's a super cool bro-mance moment like how Peter and Noah had in season one, then the answer is a resounding "yes."

Part Four - Phase Three Part Three and Four

2009-11-12T19:05:00.002-10:00

The two part conclusion to the Phase Three arc! I loved it more than anything else I wrote so far. It's got revelations, even more subtle humor, a different side of Trevor, some jaw dropper moments, and some pwn'ing. Anyway, here it is:

When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do.

DREAM

There is only a Void, Bird's Eye Point of View, on Trevor Tanaka. He is standing in it somehow. The camera view pans down slowly to close up on Trevor's face. His eyes and mouth are covered by a DNA Symbol each. Flames appear from the void. Trevor is standing on a rock.

Uluru - "Who dares to defy me?! I am Uluru the Invincible!"

Trevor turns to face Uluru, his face is back to normal.

Trevor - "I dare!"

Uluru reaches to grab Trevor with his right hand. Uluru clenches his hand with Trevor sticking half way out. He brings Trevor closer to his face.

Uluru - "How your world is filled with filth and lies. The comingling of good and evil in mortals only upsets the natural balance."

Uluru transforms into a giant DNA Symbol, it slithers around Trevor and constricts on him and like a snake and they fall into the flames. Black out.

[The Helix references the DNA Symbol and the numbers, his power]

Trevor jolts awake. He is standing in a dark alley with four others. They are looking to him to say something.

NOVEMBER 1, 2007

WASHINGTON D.C.

Trevor - "A splinter cell composed of former Building 26 special agents are based in this abandoned hotel. There are seven of them. And they have an old database with files on highly evolved beings compiled by the Primatech Company. The intelligence is too dangerous to for them to keep. We're here to liberate that database."

[Volume Four and iStory Book Six]

Marcus Kane - "And to maximize this effort, you brought in as many absorbers as you could on short notice?"

Trevor - "Something like that. I need telekinetics. Since you power absorbers are so fond of telekinesis, it would be more expedient to use you. Two on the roof. Four on perimeter. One on guard."

Kane - "I call roof."

Trevor - "Wait. Tell the security system to shut down with your technopathy."

Kane - "My what now?"

Trevor - "Technopathy. You can talk to the machines. Disable the security system with your mind. They are connected wirelessly so it should be even easier for you."

Kane shrugs and closes his eyes and focuses.

Kane - "Okay. Now if you'll excuse me."

Kane telekinetically pushes himself up. Trevor, Radburn, Phillip "Blue" DeParis, and Antonio Dourado look up. Two agents are telekinetically pushed onto the rooftop edge. Their guns fall over. Kane looks over and waves them on.

Radburn opens the door with telekinesis. The four walk into the hotel lobby. Four agents stare at them. They are armed with shotguns and tasers.

[Kane's use of telekinesis references Sylar speculation.]

Trevor - "Four of us. Four of them. Nobody miss."

[A loose reference and pun on "One of Us, One of Them.]

Trevor shoots one and he goes flying. The second gets shot into a nearby wall. The third's legs are blown out and his face crunches onto the floor. The fourth is launched up into the ceiling and dropped.

[References when Noah Bennet shoots people, they go flying. Various references to uses of telekinesis seen on the show.]

Dourado - "Never saw one of these up close."

Dourado telekinetically opens the shotgun into pieces and floats them as he observes them with earnest interest.

[Heroes Survival Game - Dourado has a keen interest of the world.]

Radburn - "This wasn't that hard. It could have waited."

Trevor - "It was a limited time offer. Four hours tops. If we didn't take advantage of time differences, another faction would have pounced on this place."

[Heroes Survival Game - Faction Urgent Request]

Kane walks down the stairway and rejoins them. There is a gunshot wound on his left ribcage that is healing. His body pushes out a bullet. No one knows speaks.

Blue - "Let's Scooby Doo it and split up."

[Heroes Survival Game - Blue is a nerd and would know animation]

They hear someone laughing in the background.

An agent is reading a 9th Wonders! comic book, with Uluru on the cover. His earpiece is removed. He sees the evolved beings and almost jumps off his chair. He puts his earpiece back in and aims his gun, shaking.

[9th Wonders! comic book, Issue #13. Loosely ironic with Trevor's nightmare]

Double doors flap open as the agent backs up with his gun still aimed. He fires at them. The bullets are frozen in mid-air and fall on the ground like rain.

[Volume One "Parasite."]

Agent Johnson - "Damn…"

Blue telekinetically knocks the gun out his hands. The team walks forward unafraid. The agent backs away and screams into his earpiece.

Agent Johnson - "They found the pigeon coop! Repeat, they found the pigeon coop! Respond!!"

[9th Wonders! Forum - The Hang Out - The Burnt Toast Diner]

Johnson is agitated by the lack of any response.

Agent Johnson - "Where is everyone…"

He realizes what happened and runs.

Trevor - "He's going to wipe the hard drives."

Kane - "Can't have that can we?"

Trevor shoots in the right leg. The agent falls forward and skids onto the floor.

Dourado - "Nice shot."

Trevor - "I was aiming for his head."

They walk up to Agent Johnson.

Johnson - "You're all a symptom. A disease. This is our world."

Blue telekinetically flips him out a nearby window.

Blue - "The moron was asking for it."

Trevor looks ahead to a door. He has a running start and kicks in the door. Everyone looks in and is in shock. The room is in disarray, wires dangling everywhere, and hard drives are emptied out. There is a key laid on the floor.

Dourado - "A key?"

Trevor picks up the key and examines it.

Trevor - "I know the place. It’s in California, 1319 Racing Avenue."

[Volume Four - Noah Bennet has a storage unit there]

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

PHASE THREE - PART THREE: OFF THE BOOKS PART ONE - in Heroes title font -

COSTA VERDE, CALIFORNIA

Trevor, alone, stares at the key then walks up to storage unit 108. He unlocks the unit and walks in. There is only a camcorder sitting in the center of the room. He walks up to it, turns it on, and flips open the viewer.

Woman - "Is it on? Wait, what are we going to say?"

Offscreen Man - "Anything!"

The point of view starts rocking and Trevor appears next to the woman. He is holding the camcorder in his right hand.

Trevor - "It's December 28, 2004. We're in Tokyo to visit her parents."

Trevor walks up to the camera and whispers.

Trevor - "Her dad hates me."

Woman - "Yeah, whatever."

The woman walks up to the camera.

Woman - "Daddy adores Trevor."

Trevor - "We weren't supposed to be here until the 30th but we wanted to take in the sights."

Trevor points the camera down at the snow.

Woman - "Shh…hey, that's a secret."

She giggles at the notion of it.

Trevor - "I love you."

Trevor kisses her on the cheek.

Woman - "Love you, too."

Trevor - "Color me toxic, but this looks like a great spot for something I have planned."

[9th Wonders! Forum Member]

Woman - "Yeah…what's that?"

Trevor - "This."

He gets on one knee and brings out a ring with his left hand.

Trevor - "Will you marry me?"

The woman lights up.

Woman - "Of course! Yes!! Yes."

Trevor exhales in delight.

Trevor - "Yes? Great."

She takes the ring. Trevor stands up and puts the ring on her left ring finger. She smiles at it then looks up at Trevor. They kiss again. The footage ends.

Trevor freezes up and the camcorder drops to his side. His other hand is trembling. He stares into the storage unit wall in disbelief.

The video is still running and sounds like it jumping to another recording. The voices can be heard, slightly muffled.

Trevor - "What color is it?"

Woman - "I don't know…Oh my God…We're…"

Both cheer in excitement.

Trevor drops the camcorder onto the storage unit floor. He rests against the unit wall and slides down. He stares at the camcorder then bangs his head against his knees. He stops and starts crying uncontrollably.

SOME TIME LATER

Trevor is standing. He wipes his face with his arm. Clara Zhang teleports in.

Zhang - "Got your text. Where to…were you crying?"

Trevor - "Yes."

Zhang - "Oh. Uhhh…"

Trevor - "Take me to Tokyo."

Zhang - "Okay."

Zhang shuffles through her purse, skimming post cards.

Zhang - "Wait, weren't you supposed to go back to Colorado?"

[9th Wonders! Forum - The Garden of the Gods]

Trevor - "I've got business, first."

Trevor's face has formed a murderous look as he faces away from Zhang, staring at the camcorder.

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT: PART FOUR - OFF THE BOOKS PART TWO

Life is a game of patterns and chance, and those who play well will win.

DREAM

There is only a Void, Bird's Eye Point of View, on Trevor Tanaka. He is standing in it somehow. The camera view pans down slowly to close up on Trevor's face. His eyes and mouth are covered by a DNA Symbol each. Flames appear from the void. Trevor is standing on a rock.

Uluru - "Who dares to defy me?! I am Uluru the Invincible!"

Trevor turns to face Uluru, his face is back to normal.

Trevor - "I dare!"

Uluru reaches to grab Trevor with his right hand. Uluru clenches his hand with Trevor sticking half way out. He brings Trevor closer to his face.

Uluru - "How your world is filled with filth and lies. The comingling of good and evil in mortals only upsets the natural balance."

Uluru transforms into a giant DNA Symbol, it slithers around Trevor and constricts on him and like a snake and they fall into the flames.

Upon impact, the flames disperse like water and turn into ones and zeroes.

Trevor - "What you represent is a constant. An element. Equilibrium isn't as predictable…it is caught in a cycle of paradigm shifts…"

The Symbol breaks off. Trevor coughs and gasps for air. The Void has returned.

Uluru - "How can a variable like you tell the difference?"

Trevor turns and sees himself, but with Uluru's demonic eyes.

Uluru - "Do you have what it takes to be like me?"

Uluru transforms again, into classic dressed in black Sylar, with the demon eyes.

Uluru - "To be the most special?"

[Repeated by Sylar]

Uluru transforms into Adam Monroe.

Uluru - "And have the discipline of the gods?"

[Graphic Novel, "Revolutionary War" Part Two]

Trevor - "To believe in that would only lead to arrogance and subjectivity."

Uluru transforms into Arthur Petrelli.

Uluru - "That's not a belief, it's a fact."

[Volume 3, "Eris Quod Sum"]

Uluru transforms into a common cockroach and crawls away into the Void.

Uluru - "Always seek the truth, mortal. Never find it."

[A loose reference to Andre Gide]

Black out.

TOKYO, JAPAN

NOVEMBER 2, 2007

A room. It is pitch black except for the center where there is a man waiting at a table with a closed box. Another man enters the room.

The Consultant - "You've secured the database and left the bait?"

The Associate nods and gestures at the box.

The Consultant - "Good. The sniper team is on standby if we need them. The powers that be will be satisfied after that fiasco in Peru."

[Reference to Angel and Destiny webisodes]

A gunshot goes through the Associate's heart. His body falls over onto the table. Smoke wafts in the shadows. A voice emerges.

Trevor - "The Associate, I presume. You were the one chasing me in Costa Verde four months ago. Small world."

[See Undaunted Part Three]

The Associate doesn't respond.

Trevor - "Oh, right. Dead."

[Loose reference to a scene in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker]

The Consultant - "H…how…"

Trevor - "What? Didn't do that good a job researching me? I'm smarter than the average bear. Kidnap me…I let it slide. Screw with an urgent request…I swallow my pride. Taunt me like you did…your days are numbered. My power was already activate during the video. Did you think I would be so upset that I wouldn't remember the building in the background or the faint chlorine smell from storing medical supplies in there between then and now?"

[Yogi Bear and Urgent Request - Heroes Survival Game]

Trevor holding his gun out at the Consultant slowly emerges from the darkness, like a film breaking off of him.

Trevor - "The thing you don't seem to understand is: I'm the same with or without my power. It's not a crutch, it's a gift. A godsend, even. Now, call off the snipers."

[Volume 1, Ando Masahashi translates Takezo Kensei's symbol as "godsend"]

The Consultant slowly shaking, pulls his Sprint cell phone and makes a call.

The Consultant - "Stand down. Repeat: Stand down. Do not engage."

The Consultant gulps, fearing his impending death.

The Consultant - "The Haitian…last sighted in Arlington, Virginia before Halloween."

[Volume 5 "Shadowboxing"]

Trevor - "The Haitian? He's got a name. He's not some blunt object. He's a human being."

The Consultant -"Er…Eric Thompson, Jr. he…"

Trevor - "You're not saying anything I don't already know."

The Consultant sweats.

Trevor - "Did you ever think about what's more dangerous than an enemy?"

The Consultant nervously shakes his head.

Trevor - "Standing in the way of someone who had everything…who found someone to share it with, unconditionally. Then she dies because of a lie. Something she never knew about. Your heart breaks in half and you try to fill it with revenge…to only end up stained a color you can never get rid of. Try to defeat that person."

The Consultant - "You should get some sleep."

Trevor - "No thanks."

The Consultant is shocked. His power didn't work.

Trevor - "I was too busy staying up doing my homework."

Trevor taps a skin-colored ear plug in his left ear.

The Consultant - "But how…"

Trevor - "Do I understand what you were saying? I keep up with reading. Society is flooded with this hyper-abundance of content but I love a good book, you can always find something amazing, like how to read lips. It's a useful skill, especially if you have to deal with a highly evolved being with the advanced ability of sedation through modular suggestion. Having one of your colleagues mess with my dreams was a nice touch."

The Consultant - "I don't know what you're talking about. Only myself and the dead man over there were assigned to you, and he was…ordinary."

Trevor focuses his eyes on the Consultant and realizes he is telling the truth. Trevor smiles and laughs at himself, realizing the nightmares came on their own accord.

Trevor - "I'm sorry to leave now, but I have a family to help take care of and in my line of work, it is better to apologize than ask for permission."

[Trevor mocks something the Consultant told him two stories ago]

The Consultant grits his teeth. Trevor shoots and the bullet connects with the Consultant's head. He falls over. Trevor shoots him in the head once more and twice in the chest. He checks the contents of the box, closes it, takes it, then walks into the darkness. From the darkness, Trevor shoots the light bulb, turning the room completely dark.

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

PHASE THREE - PART FOUR: OFF THE BOOKS PART TWO - in Heroes title font -

ONE DAY LATER

FUSHIMI INARI SHRINE, KYOTO, JAPAN

Clara Zhang walks up a path of the famous torii columns. She is taken aback by the sight of them. Up ahead, Trevor is waiting near the entrance to the inner shrine.

Zhang - "Done with your business?"

[Irony. Inari is the god of business.]

Trevor - "Yup."

Trevor holds up a USB thumb drive and puts it away. A fox darts out onto the path. Zhang is surprised. Trevor walks up to it and holds out the storage key unit from part one. The fox takes it in its mouth and runs away.

[Foxes are thought to be messengers, are often seen in Inari shrines. Statues depict them with a key (for the rice granary) in their mouths.]

Zhang - "That was so cool!"

Trevor - "Y'know, With your complexion…you really shouldn't be wearing your hair pulled back that tight."

Zhang - "What are you talking about?"

Trevor - "It pulls back the skin on your forehead...creating a tension which clogs the pores. That's why you have some light pattern dryness around your scalp. Read it in a magazine once."

[Zoolander]

Zhang - "C'mon d-bag. Let's go make an offering before I return you to your life of high fashion."

Trevor sighs but waivers.

Trevor - "I miss James."

Zhang - "What?"

Trevor - "Nothing."

Zhang tries to look authentic and makes an offering in the shrine. Trevor just stands there.

Zhang - "Aren't you going to do it, too?"

Trevor - "I already did."

Zhang - "Back there with the fox?"

Trevor nods.

Zhang - "Cool. But don't you want to make a wish or something?"

Trevor - "No…I've got what I want."

Zhang - "And what's that?"

Trevor - "A purpose. Kindred."

Zhang - "So you don't want like a new scarf or something?"

Trevor squints at Zhang.

Trevor - "Colorado, please."

Zhang - "You're no fun."

Zhang puts her left hand on Trevor's right shoulder.

Trevor - "Pft. Define fun."

They teleport away.

THE END OF SPECIAL TWO: PHASE THREE - in Heroes title font

SPECIAL THREE

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

NOVEMBER 26, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

Dozens of corpses are strewn across the field. Trevor is wounded somewhere in his abdomen. He crawls over to two bodies that are barely breathing and leaves a trail of blood. Trevor uses all of his remaining strength to flip them over. One is Regan "Redo" McCairn and the other, Dixon "Nox" Cheung.

[Two characters from Heroes Survival Game and part of Undaunted]

Trevor - "Nox…you got to…undo this from ever happening to me."

Nox struggles to concentrate then it works, Trevor is unwounded. Nox spits up blood laughing then his head drops. Nox is dead. Trevor closes his eyes. Redo was watching what happened.

Trevor - "Reset us as far back as you can, McCairn. Farther than you've ever gone. Everyone's lives depend on it."

Redo uses her time reversing power. Things start to go backwards like a video tape rewinding, then everything turns into a blur of images and sound. Then a white flash envelopes everything.

NOVEMBER 25, 2007

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

A laptop is turned on but the seat in front of it is empty. Pan right, Trevor is standing, hunched over on a window. Point of view on his back. He shakes his head.

Trevor - "It's finally happened. They're coming."

[Homage to Lost Season Six Finale]

TO BE CONTINUED...

Commentary - Phase Three Part Two

2009-11-08T12:53:00.002-10:00

So yeah, part two was a smaller story to slow down after the big op tale and prepare readers for a multi-part big op filled with intrigue, suspense, and death. But right now, as I mentioned, this is a more Trevor-centric story set pretty much in line with the current timeline of the show. The first line is a quote from the late Muhammad Ali. Below Trevor's wit and sarcasm, he's actually speaking his mind and no one realizes that, that's what he thinks is the best joke of all.

And I continue to reveal more about Trevor's nightmare. Uluru makes an appearance after I referenced him in the first story arc. Continuing on my interpretation of the nightmare: The nightmare, itself, is up to interpretation. To me, I think the void represents Mu, nothingness, from Buddhism. From it comes Trevor, whose senses are covered up and he is in a state of ignorance, powerless and without a purpose in life. Trevor connects this nightmare to his lover's death as the jolt that made him reach his full potential. Now the flames, a symbol of destruction and Uluru, the inner demon within everyone (at least how I see it), appear to threaten Trevor and he turns, with the symbols gone, implying experience and activation of his power challenges the dark forces within him.

And coming along with the present story, the idea came from my list of to do. I always wanted to make a story where Trevor gets kidnapped and the punching shtick is the sequence I wrote. I matched this up with my desire to expand on the mystery company that tried to recruit Santiago in the Destiny webisodes. To make sense, an alliance of faction leaders but some bills together and hired these people to kidnap and interrogate Trevor for his intelligence. Obviously, among these five people, I didn't exactly state who had what power. At least for the Consultant, I want to keep it vague for a future story. I threw in the nullifier to prevent Trevor from using his power and show he's the same with or without it.

I prodded a little more with the mystery behind his name mainly because its a typical warm up question during an interrogation. Then things get frustrating for them as Trevor outwits them most of the time. My favorite word at the time was proclivity. But mainly, the interrogation was to integrate the arc of volume five and phase three of the survival game into this story to frame it.

I also felt the need to revisit the possibility that Trevor could walk away or even betray Undaunted for his own interests. Why is he still with them? By this point, the viewer should start wondering what the conversation between Leona Mills, Trevor, and Seal was and when it will be revealed. Since Seal now knows everything Leona is planning and how he's using that information is very interesting to know.

Then for the last half, Trevor encounters Jasp, Marc, and Seal, from Undaunted. I wanted Jasp and Trevor's relationship to be more cordial as contrast to Trevor and James'. And with Marc and Seal, Trevor pretty much concluded who the faction leaders that commissioned his capture are but doesn't really care. Obviously this op he's talking about is...well bigger in importance. Does it have to do with the Timewave Zero software he was running? Soon.

Part Four - Phase Three Part Two

2009-11-07T16:55:00.004-10:00

Without further ado, here is my latest story. Ultimately, the plan is to wedge smaller character stories that rest the reader between the big op stories I have planned and set up future story plots. Commentary to come:

My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.

DREAM

There is only a Void, Bird's Eye Point of View, on Trevor Tanaka. He is standing in it somehow. The camera view pans down slowly to close up on Trevor's face. His eyes and mouth are covered by a DNA Symbol each. Flames appear from the void. Trevor is standing on a rock.

[Expanding more and more on Trevor's childhood nightmare each chapter]

Uluru - "Who dares to defy me?! I am Uluru the Invincible!"

[Uluru the Invincible from the 9th Wonders! comic book]

Trevor turns to face Uluru, his face is back to normal.

Trevor - "I dare!"

Uluru reaches to grab Trevor with its right hand. Black out.

Trevor jolts awake. He is sitting down on a wheelchair, restrained with a black bag over his head and hands and legs tied down. He is being wheeled somewhere. The chair comes to a stop. Trevor hears a door close. A switch is thrown. A bright light glitters through the bag fabric.

OCTOBER 31, 2007

[In Late October 2006, Peter Petrelli was in a coma from absorbing too many powers and experienced a frightening dream. The date was intentional because, similarly, Trevor had a dream on the same postulated day, one year later.]

LOCATION UNKNOWN

The Consultant - "Hello. Trevor. We've never met but you can say you are my current assignment. I am masking my voice to protect myself and those who contracted me. I apologize that we are meeting like this, but in my line of work, it is better to apologize than ask for permission."

[The last line is a clue on who the Consultant works for. In the Destiny webisodes, SLW makes a similar comment.]

A garbled laugh comes from the black bag over Trevor's head. He raises his restrained hands as far as they can to show - "Like I have a choice."

The Consultant - "I am going to ask you a series of questions. You will answer them. If that becomes a problem, my associate, who happens to hate lies, will correct you."

The Consultant - "Remove the bag."

From Trevor's point of view, the bag is lifted from his head. He is also blindfolded.

Trevor - "And you also have a nullifier. That's remarkable. They're so hard to come by."

[Term from the Evsdropr arc in the graphic novels. Also comments how only the Haitian and a DHS agent from an alternate future had the ability to nullify other people's.]

The Consultant - "You have no idea."

The Consultant - "Tell me your name."

Trevor - "You just said it."

The Consultant - "Your real name. Tell me your real name. The one you were born with."

Trevor - "It is irrelevant because in the fullness of time, we are all dead. Hmm. I had a chicken sandwich with avocado for lunch, today."

[The first sentence is a quote from Justice League Unlimited in the episode "Dead Reckoning."]

The Consultant - "How many people have you killed?"

Trevor - "I don't know. I'm far from done."

The Consultant - "You say you're one of us. You walk among us but you aren't anything like us. Who are you? Who is Trevor Tanaka?"

[The first two sentences are a reference to Lost in the episode "Stranger in a Strange Land" and the last question is a reference to a blog of the same name.]

Trevor - "My name is Undaunted, for we are many."

[A pun on the Bible verse of when the Devil tried to tempt Jesus Christ.]

The Associate punches Trevor in the face.

Trevor - "I plead the Fifth."

[A reference to Chappelle's Show, and the character Tron.]

The Associate punches Trevor in the face again.

The Consultant - "What do you know?"

Trevor - "The truth. The truth is there is no good and evil left in the world. There are no monsters. Just visions that are placed in our minds."

[Heroes, Volume One, Future Hiro's Yamagato blog.]

The Associate punches Trevor in the face a third time.

Trevor - "I, an outcast, never belonged. I longed to bleach this dark world with the truth. But our lives are timed to a precision and cross with each other. Communication is the conductor of truth."

[Heroes, Volume One, Future Hiro's Yamagato blog.]

The Consultant - "Your proclivity towards deflection amuses me. What do you know about the factions?"

Trevor - "We're all pawns of watchers and dreamers. No matter what initiatives we take, what precautions we imagine…the factions will continue to fight each other. Fear and distrust are the foundations of each faction's tenant."

[Trevor refers to the Watcher and Angela Petrelli. Also a loose reference to the paranoia and hype surrounding Phase Three of the Heroes Survival Game.]

The Associate punches Trevor in the face a fourth time.

Trevor - "It is all a distraction. There is something gathering strength in the shadows…gathering the strongest of us all. Then, it will swallow us whole in one gulp. Heh. And you are so focused on stealing my toilet paper."

[A joke about Phase Three and what Resources are.]

The Consultant - "The Carnival?"

[Heroes, Volume Five]

Trevor - "Samuel Sullivan. Sylar."

[This places the story after Sylar is recruited to the Carnival.]

Distorted voices murmur among each other.

The Contractors - "…Sylar?!...Isn't he dead?...He's bluffing…They don't kill kindred…"

The Consultant - "Do you mean to say this Carnival is a threat to evolved humans and humans, alike?"

Trevor - "Yes. Especially if you start a sentence with a no."

The Associate punches Trevor in the face a fifth time.

Trevor - "This is getting old. Throw in a kick or something fresh."

The Consultant - "Does Seal know any of this?"

Trevor - "Yes. He knows what I know. Doesn't matter if he does or doesn't know."

The Consultant - "Why?"

Trevor - "He is a fan of democracy and diplomacy. By the time there is a consensus among the factions on what to do about the Carnival, we'll all be six feet under. All they're good at is pushing buttons."

[Another joke about the nature of Heroes Survival Game.]

The Consultant - "Then why did you even join Undaunted?"

Trevor - "The insurance benefits."

The Associate punches Trevor in the face a sixth time. Trevor looks up with a grim expression, a scowl and bleeding.

Trevor - "This is who we are."

[Reference to the code used by the Millennium Group in the series Millennium.]

There is silence for a minute.

Trevor - "I would be happy if one of you out there were a healer because I can confirm that I am bleeding and my face hurts."

There is another minute of silence.

A hand comes over Trevor's face. It heals him.

Trevor - "Thank you."

The Consultant - "I will ask you one more question then I will release you."

Trevor - "Release release me or release me, throw me out an airplane, release me?"

The Consultant - "How many of us will it take to destroy the Carnival?"

Trevor - "None. It's not our fight. Besides, I have a gut feeling they sowed the seeds of their own destruction. Until then, it's a game of survival."

[A bad pun on Heroes Survival Game.]

The Consultant - "Go to sleep."

[Samson Gray's Sedation power or an aspect of Telepathy?]

Trevor's head drops down. Black out.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

TWO HOURS LATER

Trevor is sitting at his computer. The program he was running on it is still on. It looks like a graph with a constantly moving oscillation. In one corner, the words "Timewave Zero" are visible. A hardcover book is opened next to the keyboard. Two parts of a page are highlighted in yellow. They read, "Genes determine obesity, blood pressure" and the second, "out of the thirty billion possibilities, one might contain the potential for human flight." The book is Activating Evolution. A cell phone, the battery, and the chip are laid out next to the book. Trevor's eyes flicker and he wakes up.

[Reference to Timewave Zero, a way of calculating the apocalypse, and Dr. Chandra Suresh's book, Activating Evolution. The quotes are from "One Giant Leap."]

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

PHASE THREE - PART TWO: THE CONTRACT - in Heroes title font -

Trevor grabs a piece of paper from his desk and jots down words very quickly: Voice modulation, Nullifier, Telepathy (?), Healing Touch, Consultant (2), Faction (3 Males Present), Medical Supplies-Wheelchair, Warehouse (Abandoned?), Chlorine scent, Floodlights.

Trevor - Just because my ability is Enhanced Memory doesn't mean my regular memory is terrible, Consultant.

Someone knocks on the door in Trevor's room, three times, three seconds apart.

Trevor - "Come in."

The door opens and in walks Jasp.

[Jasper "Jasp" Red from Heroes Survival Game.]

Jasp - "Ready?"

Trevor - "Yeah."

Jasp - "Where to?"

Trevor - "The Garden."

[9th Wonders! Forum]

Trevor tucks the paper in his shirt pocket. He closes the book and puts it under his left arm. He types in a combination in the keyboard. He reaches under the desk.

Jasp stares at the door and concentrates. He grunts then holds the door open, Trevor walks in then Jasp.

[For long distance travel, Jasp has to concentrate a little harder.]

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

The restrooms are locked. The door opens. Jasp and Trevor walk outside.

Trevor - "Thank you, Red. Good luck with the new semester."

[Jasp is in college but stays in contact with his allies.]

Jasp - "Welcome. Most people don't call me that."

Trevor - "I'm not most people."

Jasp closes the door.

Trevor exhales. He looks at the book. Then looks up to the sky. He marches up to the path. The field is within sight. Marc and Seal are there.

Marc - "How're you feeling?"

Trevor - "Much better, thanks for asking. Here's your book back."

Marc - "Oh yeah, thanks. What'd you think?"

Trevor - "Mmm, no potential for a TV movie. Maybe nine seasons."

[A loose reference to the X-Files]

Seal chuckles. Marc laughs nervously. Trevor pulls out the paper he wrote on. Trevor's demeanor changes.

Seal - "What? You were kidnapped…by a faction."

Trevor - "It shouldn't be too hard to find out which one."

Trevor waives the paper.

Seal - "But who were these people that interrogated you, freelancers?"

Trevor - "Awhile ago, there were numerous companies that employed highly evolved beings, not just Primatech and Pinehearst. Others who have no names, no initials. I heard a rumor once that there is a company that contracts out evolved beings to people with deep pockets. Assassination. Intelligence. You name it, there's a price. They were last sighted in Chicago and Peru a couple months ago. Fits the M.O., could be them. "

[Webiseries - Destiny]

Marc - "What do we do?"

Trevor - "When's the next inter-faction assembly?"

Seal - "It's a secret. Your idea. Might be in two days."

Trevor - "Someone wanted to do their homework before then. Make sure you watch for any changes in attitude."

Seal - "You're not coming?"

Trevor - "Doubtful. Paranoid and all that."

Marc - "I can help you with that."

Trevor - "No, I've got bigger fish to fry. I need these people for a special op I was about to commission before I was distracted by my new friends."

Seal looks at the back of Trevor's paper.

Seal - "But they're all investigating active events with their teams. They'll ask what this is for. Things are shaky enough as it is."

Trevor - "They'll understand. I can be persuasive. We'll all meet at the secondary site."

[Two Garden of the Gods were considered on 9th Wonders!]

Seal - "Fine. Extend an olive branch to whoever you're going after, first."

Trevor - "I'm not sure they understand that currency."

Seal - "Make the bird want to sing."

[Reference to the book, Taiko]

Trevor - "That I can do."

Seal - "Without your gun."

Trevor - "Oh. Right. The semantics again. Ever tell a fish not to swim? Order a bird not to fly? I have no illusions about what I do, but it must be done."

[Biology/Darwin]

Seal - "Trevor. Do you really think any of us are going to get through this?"

Trevor - "Well, I might."

[Serenity - The Operative and Zoe & Jayne]

Trevor walks away back down the path as Seal and Marc look at each other.

TO BE CONTINUED

NEXT: PART THREE - OFF THE BOOKS PART ONE

Commentary - Phase Three Part One

2009-11-07T16:11:00.002-10:00

My second arc or 'Volume' as it were for my self-written stories has begun. I've named it Phase Three in honor of the Heroes Survival Game. In phase three of the game, factions now declare enemies and drain each other's Resources by members answering Faction Urgent Request messages. In the spirit of that, I crafted part one around this element. A faction stole Resources from Undaunted, and now its time to take back what's theirs.

I also had this desire to start writing big op stories where teams of various members of Undaunted team up and go on missions together which is what the B-plot of my first arc was setting up and comes to a head in part five. For research, I sat down and went through every member's bios for about five days total, wrote down important things (i.e. name, power, location, personality) I found off their bio and then organized them into a Word document by the four advanced ability categories given by the Primatech Assignment Tracker 2.0 files.

And so I narrowed it down even further by trying to match specific powers and personalities into a team for this part one. I needed a teleporter, some long range, some mid-range, some melee fighters...some recon that sort of thing. Once I had that list squared away, then I began to outline how I would use them in the story and drew place markers, they'd be here at this point, then here at that point, they use their power this way and so on.

Once the outline for that story was penciled, I then began to focus on Trevor's part in all this. Story-wise, part one jumps weeks ahead from part five's late summer 2007 to September 10, hopefully right around where Volume 5 of Heroes starts off. All I had going on that were the time cues from previous Volumes and the fact that Claire is starting college at Arlington U. Anyway, I toyed with the idea of putting it out there that all these factions attacking Undaunted is beginning to put a strain on Trevor and making him more paranoid.

At first, he was going to just download building blueprints and join the team but it seemed like overkill with what the recon team was already doing so I started to edit that as a boon to Zhang and then Trevor's story grew into this confrontation with a small, lesser known faction that attacks Trevor. I think it subconsciously grew out of how in HSG, Undaunted was fighting a page nine faction that was, like its namesake, pretty dead and I created a couple characters from scratch.

I also am going to start a C-plot that begins each part. Story by story, I'm going to reveal what Trevor's childhood nightmare was (see part four) and fitting with his current lack of sleep, these nightmares organically surface at odd times. The nightmare will feature one of my favorite 'never gonna appear on the show, allegedly' characters. I also decided that the first line of the story will be a specific favorite quote.

In part one, the lines start with quotes from Marv, of Sin City, then melts into the nightmare and connects with Trevor's past struggle with finding a purpose in his life. The nightmare, itself, is up to interpretation. To me, I think the void represents Mu, nothingness, from Buddhism. From it comes Trevor, whose senses are covered up and he is in a state of ignorance, powerless and without a purpose in life. Trevor connects this nightmare to his lover's death as the jolt that made him reach his full potential.

Then here we are in present day, Trevor is in Chicago. I purposely picked the city to set up a reference in part two. His monologue speaks volumes of what is going on in the Heroes Survival Game, none of it was my idea originally. Then his thoughts slowly shift to paranoia and insecurity. And the implied lack of sleep isn't helping him either. Thus, I reference Marcus "Marc" Stark which comes into play in part two, as well.

The inclusion of this faction also gave me the opportunity to use a scene that's been on my to do list for awhile. A sun setting, light leaks in through dirty windows. It's definitely a metaphor for Trevor's search for truth.

Then ever since the Peter vs. the Vault Door in Volume Two "Powerless," I wanted to use that similar notion of an evolved being using his or her power on a big honkin' door so I knew I wanted to use a ferrokinetic like the German. The part where Riedel holds his finger to Trevor like a gun is an homage to the late Elle Bishop.

Trevor's line about being a janitor, gives away the title of the story, but more importantly establishes his mindset into what he thinks of himself and his position in the story. Sure, one could surmise he's anything from an inner circle elitist, a leader, a general, the intel guy, or the crazed loner but to him, he likens himself to an unlikely and ironic occupation. And in the bit where he names everyone and their powers, that's a loose reference to a minor gripe I have about the minor specials that appear in the Heroes Evolutions with part of or no name at all.

"That's not the magic word" is another reference from my favorite movie, Ghostbusters, when Walter Peck first meets Dr. Venkman.

This scene with the telepath is my attempt to explore the facets of Enhanced Memory a step more. For the most part, it's a non-offensive, even wimpy power to have. But use it the right way and maybe, one could even kill a telepath. I imagined that since the power makes someone store data like a computer does in 1's and 0's, it can equally upload data, too. Hence, when you have a amateur telepath trying to open your mind, you just release it like a breached damn and upload way too much data at once into the telepath's brain.

And the next chunk is plain classic Trevor along with a reference to Beatrix Melody, a member of Undaunted in HSG. I imagine in this story, she'd be a major behind the scenes player that helps set up missions and strategy. But for Trevor, he's still skeptical, nothing is 100% to him.

Visually, this next part comes from Sin City again, when Miho saves Dwight from the tar pit but with Trevor and James. And I couldn't resist another smartass line from Trevor to James. And so the story shifts into the big op. Melody figures out who stole the resources, and Trevor sets up an op with three teams. While Athena Leuce keeps everyone hidden, Frank Tanner and Alexander Minner do their recon. Clara Zhang fills multiple roles, she's tips off the other teams and ultimately transportation. I knew Kurt Hasian is a comic book geek so I had to work his personality out into the story. And to avoid a gaff from the first part, Trevor used up all his bullets and we didn't see him replace them yet so I opted to do it here in a badass way.

Then everything was written according to my outline and it was smooth sailing and let the characters shine. Then we have the return of Carson Ford who briefly appeared in my first story. I always wanted to see Aerokinesis tackled on the show and decided to do it here. Rather than create some giant hurricane, it's used in a subtle manner, neutralize the person by extracting all their oxygen.

And I knew I was going to use Kurt's power and make it cool and still funny at the same time, hence turning the invisible man turquoise. I don't know, that strikes me as funny and ridiculous. And then cap off with some dark humor as Trevor all of sudden just shoots behind him without any care.

Then I decided to end this story with a shout out to a discussion I took part recently in the 9th Wonders! Forum.

Mailbag Idea

2009-10-27T19:32:00.002-10:00

Please don't post comments on the blog, instead send me a message on the 9th Wonders Forum to member called mrmichaelt and if I have enough, I'll do a mailbag post and answer them. That's the plan anyway.

Part Four - Phase Three Part One

2009-10-27T19:24:00.002-10:00

Hell. Hell is waking up every day and not knowing why you're here. Not knowing why you're breathing.

DREAM

There is only a Void, Bird's Eye Point of View, on Trevor Tanaka. He is standing in it somehow. The camera view pans down slowly to close up on Trevor's face. His eyes and mouth are covered by a DNA Symbol each.

Trevor bolts up from bed in the dark of night. He pauses.

It took somebody who loved me getting killed to find out.

OCTOBER 2, 2006

AOYAMA, JAPAN

Trevor is seated near the first row. He is dressed in black. He looks forward, at a loss for words or any evidence he is alive.

I know exactly why I'm breathing. I know exactly what I'm doing.

2004

NEW YORK

Trevor drives away from Bellevue in a delivery van. An unconscious man is laying down at the staging area.

SEPTEMBER 10, 2007

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Trevor is typing away at a laptop. The camera view is over his shoulder. It looks like building blueprints on the screen. He clicks through pages and is memorizing them.

Trevor - We're being attacked day and night for our resources by factions I never even heard of. Take one out and ten come out of the wood work to take its place. We have to start coordinating and conducting negotiations. Who knows what else is out there waiting to swallow us up.

Trevor stands up and plants his hands on the desk, arms straight.

Trevor - They don't need me there. Some of them still don't trust me. Want me distracted. Others just want me to hold their hands on every operation.

Trevor turns around and looks at the steel door, the only entrance to the room. It remains still. Nothing happened.

Trevor - Ugh. I should go see Stark after this.

Suddenly, the lights short out but not from power failure. It's like the light was drained. Only the fading sunlight leaking in through the dirty windows illuminates Trevor's room.

Trevor - Great timing. Two minutes and fifty eight minutes until a teleporter is available.

He types a combination on the laptop keyboard. The steel door begins to noticeably vibrate continuously.

Trevor- Doesn't anyone remember how to knock?

The steel door groans and crumples like a used soda can. It flies off and a thud is heard off screen. Four men enter the room.

Scott Riedel - Stay right there.

Trevor puts his hands up halfway. Riedel holds his right hand out like a gun.

Trevor - I'm just the janitor.

Mike Matheson - No, you're Trevor Tanaka.

Riedel's finger sizzles with electricity. Matheson uses ferrokinesis to summon Trevor's Strayer Voigt Infinity 1911 .45 Caliber Semi-Automatic Pistol. Matheson tucks it away.

Trevor- No one has time for small talk, neither. Isn't that right Scott Riedel: Electric Manipulation? Nor do you, Michael Matheson: Magnetism. Or you, Jim Walters: Telepathy. Not even Blaine Pryce: Flight.

Matheson - Hand over all the intelligence you have on the factions.

Trevor - That's not the magic word.

Riedel - Jimmy.

Walters walks forward. He looks at Trevor. Telepathy FX.

Walters - Tell me…what we want to know…

Trevor - 'Kay.

The room blacks out. Only Trevor and Walters are visible. Ones and zeroes zoom past Walters. His eyes bulge. The void vanishes back to normal. Blood is flowing from Walters' eyes and nose. He falls over, dead. The remaining trio look at him, then at Trevor.

Trevor - Don't look at me. I guess I should have given him the thumb drive, instead.

Matheson sighs. Annoyed, he turns to Riedel.

Matheson - Will you taser him?

Riedel shocks Trevor but he just looks at them. He doesn't flinch, like he's had enough experience with torture.

Matheson - We're going to cut our losses and kill you real ugly.

Pryce - You didn't say we were gonna kill him.

Matheson whips out a switch blade whimsically. He uses ferrokinesis to float it up and aims it at Trevor.

Matheson - Any last words?

Trevor - What's cheaper than a threat?

Matheson - Wha? What'd he say?

Trevor slowly backs away. They start to walk forward when an explosion engulfs them from underneath. Trevor grins.

Trevor - Dynamite. 'Course, you have to splurge on motion sensors.

Trevor adjusts his posture and takes a small breath with a smile on his face as if he's refreshed. He walks past the smoking corpses and picks up his gun. Trevor walks over to Pryce. Pryce is bleeding and wincing in pain on the floor. Trevor just stares at him then shoots two bullets in his head and two in his chest. He walks into another room.

Trevor - You'd better be right about this, Ms. Melody.

Trevor assembles his cell phone, types and sends a text, and disassembles the phone with record efficiency. He shoots a nearby window three times. He grabs a desk and holding it as a shield, backs up eight paces, and charges into the window. Trevor springs off it in mid-air then stops and begins to fall. The camera view closes up on Trevor's hand, reaching up. Another hand appears and grabs Trevor's. They both teleport away.

NEVADA DESERT

James - Who was it this time?

Trevor - More bottom feeders. I'm more annoyed I had to waste good ordinance on them.

James - So you didn't kill them with your super memory?

Trevor - Just the telepath. I would have teleported them into an active volcano if I could.

The camera angle shifts to six others nearby: Frank Tanner, Alexander Minner, Kupe Nukarmoi, Kurt Hasian, Clara Zhang, and Athena Leuce. James teleports.

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

PHASE THREE - PART ONE: THE JANITOR - in Heroes title font -

Trevor - Yeah. See ya.

Trevor fishes out a paper and pen and walks over to the others. Frank Tanner is seated on the ground and looks unconscious. Alexander Minner is knelt near Tanner and is drawing X's, O's, and arrows in the sand. Athena Leuce stands three paces away from them and holds her hands out, eyes closed. Clara Zhang swings her right foot across the sand.

Kupe Nukarmoi - I stopped reading after Mary Jane died.

Kurt Hasian - It got fixed after that. Didn't see Gorgan as Venom coming.

Trevor - Let me guess, we're an oasis?

Leuce's eyes are still closed but she grins. Pan out, cactus replace the people.

Tanner comes to. He points at Minner's drawing. Minner rubs some out and redraws. Trevor hands over the paper to Zhang. It looks like the blueprints he memorized earlier.

Trevor - Just in case. Can't be too prepared.

Zhang nods and walks over to Minner, who is explaining the strategy to everyone. Zhang half smiles and teleports. Standing outside the crowd, Trevor reloads his gun with a new clip. Hasian looks at it, peeping out from the huddle.

Zhang appears to another unit. The building is now visible and some others, Virco Sloan, Samuel Whitman, Luna Yu, and Marcus Kane, are standing more closer to it. Azuteor, Carson Ford, John Bishop, and Kurt Kelly walk up to her. Bishop turns to the people up ahead and holds his right hand out. Force fields form around them. Kelly walks past Bishop. An RPG Launcher appears in his hands. The camera view follows the RPG as it races to the building. An explosion rocks it.

Whitman and Sloan run into the building. Seconds later, a light burst erupts from the smoke. Yu and Kane follow inside. They use their powers to slam the stunned and hurt highly evolved beings aside and immobilize them. Red bolts shoot out from Yu. Whitman inspects a crate.

Whitman - Yup, looks like ours alright.

Whitman grabs two crates and runs out at super speed. Kane uses his free hand to telekinetically push the half a dozen outside. Sloan manipulates a shadow under several and they vanish. Yu and Kane step into it, then Sloan and they vanish, too.

The frontline and the recovered resources pop out of Bishop's shadow. They all gather around, all three units. The resources, Tanner, Minner, Leuce, Sloan, Whitman, and Yu are teleported with Zhang.

Carson Ford - What now, fearless leader?

Trevor - Bishop shields us.

Bishop - Huh?

A column of fire surrounds them. Bishop quickly reacts and generates a force field.

Trevor - You didn't smell that?

The fire clears. A pyrokinetic appears behind the wave.

Trevor - Pyrokinetic sentry makes ten as predicted.

Ford - I'll take care of 'Sparky.'

A tornado forms around the sentry. His flames snuff out and he struggles to breath then passes out. Ford dismisses the wind. It flows past Azuteor. His scarf flows among the remnants of the wind.

Trevor - I hope that was asphyxiation. Mr. Nukarmoi, if you will.

Nukarmoi summons enough sand to cover up the building area.

Ford - A bit overkill. Can we go now?

Trevor - Azuteor.

Trevor blinks at Azuteor. Azuteor manipulates gravity around Trevor. An invisible man groans from the sudden increase in weight. Hasian walks over and turns him Turquoise. Without bothering to turn around, Trevor shoots behind him and connects with the Turquoise Man's head. He falls over, dead.

Trevor - Match him to the sand, Truk. Then we can go home.

Ford - Ah, there's always one more.

Nukarmoi summons a SUV.

Trevor - We need to drive to the nearest pick up point. Shotgun!

They climb into the SUV.

Hasian - So Kane, do you prefer Power Absorption or Power Theft? Is it the same as Ability Replication?

Everyone groans.

Commentary - Undaunted Part Five

2009-10-27T18:46:00.002-10:00

The epic conclusion to the first arc! It was wild ride, and after awhile, it wasn't me writing, Trevor took over for the most part. And we begin with...more banter!

So we start from where we left off with James getting Trevor. Now there's a big pow wow with all the Undaunted crew at the Garden of the Gods. I decided to make the big problem deal with hype surrounding HSG's upcoming Phase 3 that would allow Factions to declare enemies and attack each other which was a tie in to the Carnival...two birds with one stone.

And imagine, that Trevor has this rep of being the crazed loner, you think anyone else in the group would believe him right away? That's where it came important that I establish Seal's relationship with Trevor beforehand. He's sort of the lone person that believes, and luckily he's the leader, too.

A month later, HERO inspired me to change this section just a tiny bit. It sort of came to me as it always does, on how to change a sentence to make it funnier and reference 9th Wonders babble even more. Trevor comes up with this plan and everyone is skeptical, a few of them thought of it, then Seal comes forward and reveals he and a bunch of other faction leaders were working on a similar plan. But then Seal saves his butt by asking everyone to give their opinion one at a time through his power of empathy.

And I bring up the fact that Trevor wasn't read as another rumor among Undaunted, a mere set up to lead to another dark humorous moment and it leads to the group falling in with the plan, only if Seal reads Trevor in front of everyone. And I played with the montage again and replaying events I revealed in previous stories. I thought it'd be fitting that on the image of Samuel, that Seal starts to lose control. I only did this because in the grand scheme of powers on Heroes there's always someone that can resist it or some weakness that comes with the power. Here, Trevor has so much memories and thoughts stored in his mind, Seal begins to get overloaded with trying to empathize (and it doesn't help that Trevor's a little insane in the membrane) and we get these weird nightmare scenes with the DNA Symbols, a callback to young Trevor's nightmares.

And so Trevor goes into detail about his form of the plan and a new montage begins. I imagined how these squads would be like and used classification from AT files to justify it. Maximize powers by teaming them up with complementary ones. This was a set up for the next bunch of stories (there's always a set up somewhere).

I imagined the Heroes theme playing over the muted scene of Seal talking to everyone and the camera revolves around everyone and zone in on a couple Undaunted members while Trevor recites the full Lewis Carroll quote, that Leona used when she texted him in China, in his monologue.

Then I end the story with a "OOOO" moment and revealing Trevor's intention to confront Leona Mills. And like when a volume ends on Heroes, you get a short prologue of the next volume. I did the same here with a classic reveal of Trevor and Seal at Mable's Diner as Leona comes to wait on them. Threw in Tim as a reference to iStory, too. And the ultimate of callbacks, Seal makes the same comment about Mills that Trevor did.

All in all, this was so much fun to write except the part when I get the flow at 12:30 in the morning. I'm happy with the arc, what it became and where its going. I hope some of you did, too.

Part Three - Undaunted Part Five

2009-10-27T18:36:00.003-10:00

LATE SUMMER 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

THE GARDEN OF THE GODS

[9th Wonders Board, Heroes Survival Game, Factions, Undaunted]

James and Trevor land near the field where Trevor first met Seal, leader of the faction Undaunted. James inches away from Trevor. He nods once to Trevor. They turn and face the field.

Trevor - "There's always an exception."

Trevor makes light of the rule that Trevor broke, teleporting them directly to the field instead of at the start of the trail.

[Reference to Part Three]

James - "Isn't that how it always starts?"

Trevor - "The moral gray?"

James - "Murder."

Trevor - "Why, ever teleport anyone into space? How about the Sun? No…shark-infested waters?"

James - "Quit it."

There is a circle of people, members of Undaunted, formed around a single person, Seal. Seal sees them and motions them to come. Some in the crowd turn to look. Murmurs are heard.

[Volume Five "Orientation" and The Carnival]

Seal - "That's everyone."

James and Trevor step forward and joins the group.

Seal - "Several of us have reported meeting strangers not from any faction we met before. Each time, a circus or carnival is mentioned. It's some sort of code…"

[Reference to Part Four]

Trevor steps into the open and cuts in.

Trevor - "It's literal."

Everyone turns to Trevor.

Seal - "Your investigation turned up some leads?"

Trevor - "The lead."

Seal backs up into the circle and Trevor walks to the center.

Trevor - "The rogue Company agent, Eric Thompson Junior has formed ties to a highly mobile faction that uses a carnival as a cover for their powers. We don't have time to but I assume for those who met them, they were in the vicinity of a carnival attraction. Only some of us were approached because they need specific powers. They are preparing for something big."

[iStory Book Six]

Seal - "Big?"

Trevor - "They are building an army."

Murmurs erupt.

"Just a guess."

"He's speculating."

"Where's his proof?"

Trevor - "I remember everything. Words. Images. Body language. I remember and I put it all together, one by one, into the truth. Eric Lee Harrison met two ex-Building 26 special agents in Costa Verde, California. Weeks later, Magdelana Muller was kidnapped. A short time later, two raw recruits were assassinated. Things are escalating. If we continue to do nothing, we lose. People will die and lives will change, forever. Up until now, it has been a fragile armistice between factions. Not anymore. Now, we are either an ally or an enemy."

[iStory Book Six and reference to Part One]

A voice from the crowd - "But why now?"

Trevor - "For the last 50 years, evolution has manifested in the human race. Highly evolved beings emerged. They like anyone else. They hid among the populace and procreated. Now, we have reached a flashpoint. Why did this happen? Natural Selection. But there was no check on us so its up to us to sort through the consequences."

[Charles Darwin]

Seal - "What do you suggest, Trevor?"

Trevor - "Start at the bottom. Work our way up the food chain and accumulate resources. I have compiled eight pages and counting of known and unknown factions. This is Survival of the Fittest."

[Heroes Survival Game, Phase Two]

Voice - "Like we didn't already come up with that idea."

Voice of disdain - "Really? What's with all the Biology references, Darwin?"

Trevor - "Darwin. I-Ching. Bruce Lee. Improvise. We draw lessons from the past but we can't live there."

[Collateral]

Seal exhales and walks up to Trevor. He turns to the crowd.

Seal - "I agree with Trevor. I've been working with other factions on a similar idea. But I want everyone to tell me how they feel about this. One at a time, okay?"

Everyone nods in approval. Trevor walks away and sits on the ground.

A Nearby Voice - "I heard he's the only one that wasn't read by Seal."

[Reference to Part Three]

Another - "Why is that?"

Without looking at them, Trevor answers.

Trevor - "My head isn't a nice place to visit."

[Justice League, Batman, "Only A Dream" Part Two]

The two freeze and walk away.

SOME TIME LATER

"You enjoy scaring the cupcakes out of them, don't you?"

Trevor looks up, it's Seal.

Trevor - "I was shooting for fearful inspiration."

Seal - "Most of them don't believe you. They want me to read you. That's the only way to make them go along with the plan."

Trevor - "What I said was true. It won't be a dance through the rainbows with unicorns in there."

Seal - "If that's the case, I've got aspirin in my back pocket."

Seal reaches his hand forward, waiting for Trevor.

Trevor - "Do I need to concentrate or anything?"

Seal - "No, I'll do the leg work."

Trevor reaches his hand forward, Seal reaches, then Trevor quickly grabs him.

Trevor - "It better be Extra Strength."

[Extra Strength Tylenol PM]

Seal is about to laugh the pauses. The point of view zooms into his eyes.

Leona Mills steps out of her coffin.

[Reference to Part Two]

Above Seal various images float past him, they are of Trevor's past.

Sam's Comics: The Rebellion, Claire Bennet, Rachel Mills, and Callum.

[iStory Book Six Chapter Five "Yesterday's Angels]

Sidewalk: Trevor stands over his stalker from Part Three.

[Reference to Part Three]

Bushes outside a house: Trevor reaches for Callum who fades.

[iStory Book Six Chapter Five "Yesterday's Angels]

Looking into a van with a blood stained leather jacket.

[iStory Book Six Chapter Five "Yesterday's Angels]

The DNA Symbol scratched into his parents' LA home.

[Reference to Part Four]

The shady bar: Samuel Sullivan.

Seal gasps for air but something goes wrong. Images start piling out faster and faster and out of order. The eclipse on December 14, 2001. Trevor kills Agent Dulahey's partner. Trevor is enraged after opening his parents' message. Trevor snaps in a straitjacket. Trevor holds his dead girlfriend. Trevor shoots two Company agents with one of their standard issue guns, execution style. Agent Park furiously punches Trevor.

[Heroes Survival Game - Biography and Parts One to Four]

Then the images pause on the TANAKA headstone of Trevor's girlfriend in Aoyama, Japan. The headstone explodes. Ones and zeroes flood out and carry Seal away into a black void. The numbers change into DNA Symbols and smother Seal. He hears a voice.

"Seal!"

Seal looks up at a white flash and envelops the void.

Trevor shoves Seal away from him. Seal takes a big gasp of air and rests his hands on his knees.

Seal - "I…"

Trevor - "I'll skip the told you so. Well?"

Seal - "How should we do this?"

Trevor - "Squads. Match up powers and personality. At least one cerebral, one biological, one elemental, and one temporal/spatial. Then special strikers…front line offense, mid-range, and long-range. We need to gather up the ones with teleportation capabilities and place them strategically. Set up new outposts. New signals. New Messages. Change them up every couple of hours."

[Heroes Evolutions, Assignment Tracker 2]

Seal nods and stands. He waives everyone back into a circle. They were all watching him and Trevor. They believe.

Trevor - You can either take action or hope for a miracle. We have to be unpredictable.

I wonder if I've been changed in the night.

[Lewis Carroll]

Muted montage begins. Seal orates like he hasn't orated before.

Let me think.

Mags' clone consoles the real deal.

Was I same when I got up this morning?

A tiny Eric Lee Harrison stands on the shoulder of James, the Teleporter.

[DC Comics, The Atom and Hawkman]

I almost think I can remember feeling a little different.

Case watches Seal.

But if I'm not the same, the next question is.

James teleports a group of five away.

"Who in the world am I?"

A finger traces a doorway.

Ah, that is the great puzzle.

UNDAUNTED PART FIVE: UNPREDICTABLE - in Heroes title font

Trevor. The point of view shifts 180 degrees to the field. The field and people turn into ones and zeroes for a second then back to normal. He's been memorizing the teams and anything else.

Trevor - "It's coming."

[Reference to Part Two]

Only Seal and Trevor are left.

Seal - "She was beautiful, Trevor. And you were so different."

Trevor - "We all were."

Seal - "What now?"

Trevor - "We're going to pay an old friend a long overdue visit."

Seal is silent, he doesn't understand. James appears, wiping off a bloody nose with the back of his palm.

[Volume Four and Five, Hiro Nakamura and Arnold, Teleportation]

James - "Where to?"

Trevor - "Lyneboro, Connecticut."

[iStory Book Five]

THE END OF SPECIAL ONE: UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font

SPECIAL TWO

PHASE THREE

[Heroes Survival Game, Phase Three]

LYNEBORO, CONNECTICUT

MABLE'S DINER

The staging area where the waitresses pick up plates is buzzing. It's breakfast time.

Leona Mills lays down a plate for The Neighbor, Tim. She winks at him. He smiles and shrugs.

[iStory Book Five]

Mills walks over to another table. The two patrons are hidden behind their menus.

Leona - "What can I get you two?"

Close up on Leona. She is shocked as the menus are lowered on the table nearly out of frame.

Trevor - "I'll take the Whole Truth."

Seal - "She's younger than I thought."

[Reference to Part Two]

TO BE CONTINUED

Commentary - Undaunted Part Four

2009-10-27T18:24:00.003-10:00

This was my Carnival tie-in before writing the conclusion. I tie it in with a text message. And it just so happens that one of Undaunted's pick up points is near a seedy bar.

HOME

And so I explore Trevor's past again. With the reveal about him being insane, one wonders what about his parents? So I have Trevor decide to go confront them only to find an empty home. I also had the desire to establish that long before Trevor manifested his ability, that he had this reoccurring nightmare about manifesting, which I pick up on after part five, which involves the DNA Symbol. This ties into the nightmares that Molly Walker had and the childhood drawings of Richard Drucker. Inexplicably, these symbols are ingrained in specials' lives since their birth and its an important motif of Heroes.

But then Trevor pulls back and regrets even going back home. What does he do? Drink and be funny. And so it was here that he briefly encountered Samuel Sullivan. And with what limited knowledge I had, starting writing the character and made it so he knew about Trevor and expressed that by drawing the Symbol. This brings up the red flag in Trevor's drunken state and he splits and gets back to the task at hand, the meeting.

Throw in some banter with James and I end part four on the day Trevor manifested. So the title of part four ties into all the stories, Trevor gets an offer from Samuel to join the Carnival and Trevor finds an offer to reunite with his family, and finally we learn that Trevor got an offer to enroll at NYU placing him in New York when he manifested. So Bellevue happens shortly after this flashback. There's also the one line that Trevor graduated high school early. I decided to add that to establish that he's always been a little ahead of the curve. And we end on another important Heroes motif...the Eclipse.

About Trevor in the bar, some of those responses are those I made in high school. What do you want to be when you grow up? I thought it was a ridiculous question. Or my gripe with people calling their children kids. Always annoys me.

Part Three - Undaunted Part Four

2009-10-27T18:22:00.002-10:00

LATE SUMMER 2007

COSTA VERDE, CALIFORNIA

Exterior - Sam's Comics - Trevor exits from the employee entrance in the alley. He re-assembles his cell phone and turns it on.

It reads: "1 New Message"

He selects it and the point of view closes in on the screen: MEETING

Trevor - Something is wrong. Repetition. Then the unexpected. Escalation. The Pattern is changing.

[Fringe]

Trevor breaks thought and disassembles the cell phone.

Trevor - This is my last chance. Erase the last of my self-doubt. Take care of unfinished business.

Several hours later…LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Trevor walks up to a house, one floor, surrounded by a white picket fence. The fence is dilapidated and broken off in some parts. A realty sign with 'FORECLOSURE' is in the front yard. He opens the front gate carefully and slowly. The front door is open and rocking in the breeze.

Inside, the living room is bare and stripped down, similar to Stephen Canfield's home in Volume 3. Trevor hears footsteps. A homeless man appears from the hall. The man freezes up after seeing Trevor.

[Volume Three]

Trevor - "I have two questions. Answer them and I never saw you."

Bum - "Shoot."

Trevor - "How long has this house been vacant?"

Bum - "Came here back in uh…April. Foreclosure sign was already up."

Trevor - "Was there anything in here when you first came?"

Bum - "Place was cleaned out. I only use it for sleeping. Bunch of scratches in the corner room, though."

Trevor - "Thank you. You've been very helpful."

Bum - "If you want it, no problem, man."

Trevor - "It doesn't belong to me."

Trevor walks into the hallway, right past the homeless man.

Bum - "You're one of them, aren't you?"

[Heroes, Motifs, The Company, One of Us, One of Them]

Trevor pauses in the hallway with his back turned to the homeless man.

Trevor - "I'm nobody."

[Odyssey]

Trevor keeps on walking to the corner room. There is only one window and it is sealed. It is closer to the ceiling than the floor. The carpeting is still in. There is a strip of wallpaper still up on one side of the room.

Trevor places his right hand flat on the wallpaper and stares at it. He rips the wallpaper off and throws it behind him. The wallpaper drifts to the ground. The point of view shifts back to the wall.

The DNA Symbol is scratched into the wall, maybe from a pocket knife, at about waist level.

[Heroes, Motifs, The DNA Symbol]

Trevor traces his index finger along through the carving at each point from top to bottom like he formed an 'S'

Trevor - "I never did figure you out."

[Implied past about nightmares]

Trevor turns to leave and looks down at the wallpaper. A folded piece line paper is taped to the backside of the wallpaper. Trevor rips it off and puts it into his back pocket. He paces out of the backdoor through the kitchen across from the room.

LATE AFTERNOON

SAFEHOUSE

A small, square room. There is an industrial metal desk in the center. Trevor is seated staring at the piece of paper.

Trevor - One more sliver of information. I need this. I do.

He tears along the taped portion. A folded roll of US Dollar Bills tumbles out. The Bill on the outside is a $50. The inside of the line paper that can be seen reads: "You can find us here:"

Trevor - "December 14, 2001. That was another life. That was someone else. If I were still the same, I'd go and I'd say, "I'm alive. I missed you both. We have so much to catch up on.""

Without reading the paper, Trevor crumbles it into a wad and hurls it into the corner enraged and frustrated. He turns and swats the money to the floor. He reaches under the desk and walks forward. He kicks in the wall, revealing a passage, and leaves.

Exterior - Explosion

TWILIGHT

Interior - The Angry Skunk Bar - Trevor drinks a bottle near the bartender, Milosh. He polishes his glass glancing at Trevor.

Milosh - "You should slow down, pal."

Trevor - "Please don't be a stereotype, tonight."

Milosh shuts up and walks away glaring at Trevor. He holds back. Trevor is a stranger and he doesn't know what his power is. A man sits down next to Trevor. Milosh looks at him, waiting for an order.

Man - "Let me catch my wind first, barkeep."

He puts his hand into the shady bowl of nuts like a spider attacking its prey. He tilts his head toward Trevor. Trevor doesn't notice or doesn't care.

Man - "You look a little lost."

Trevor - "We're all a little lost."

Man - "And the kids, they used to be brilliant. All they had to do to make it right was runaway to the circus."

Trevor - "Goats have kids. People have children."

Man - "Ah yes, but you couldn't tell the difference, could ya?"

The man cackles at his own joke.

Trevor - "I was never into the circus. The clowns were the worst."

[The Carnival, Samuel Sullivan]

Man - "It's a common fear…"

Trevor - "They remind me too much about the real world."

The man is intrigued.

Man - "How so?"

Trevor - "They reflect back to us the comedy and tragedy of our lives. How we try in vain to hide who or what we really are, only to end up like pale-faces spirits lost in our bodies."

The man motions to Milosh and points at Trevor.

Man - "I'll have what he's having."

Man - "That's why it feels so good to be yourself, doesn't it?"

Trevor - "What's that supposed to mean?"

Man - "Well…what'd you want to be when you grow up?"

Trevor - "Someone else. Anyone else. A child wouldn't know what he wants to be as a man."

Man - "I said astronaut."

Trevor laughs and takes another drink.

The man reaches over and touches the ring of condensation that formed under Trevor's drink. He shapes it into something. Trevor looks.

Man - "You should come with me. Take in a show."

The water mark is shaped into a DNA Symbol.

[Heroes, Motifs, The DNA Symbol]

Trevor stands up normally and tosses money on the table.

Trevor - "I don't lean that way, but I'm flattered."

Man - "You won't have to hide anymore. Don't have to be alone."

Trevor - "I am alone. No matter where I go, who I'm with, or what I do."

The man drinks from his bottle.

Man - "Suit yourself, then. I can tell you're not circus material."

He looks back, Trevor is already gone. He cracks a smile and turns to Milosh.

Man - "Maybe it's time to head east and find some greener pastures."

Bird's eye point of view - The man leaves the shady bar and strolls away. Pan up to the other side of the street, Trevor is watching from the rooftop.

Trevor - Strike three. There is another faction. They are watching others. Recruiting others. Killing. Why? Are we warheads in a new and unseen arms race? The escalation is already happening.

James teleports in behind him.

James - "There you are. Everyone's waiting."

Trevor - "Then, let's go."

James - "What, no comeback this time? No witty retort?"

Trevor grabs his left arm.

Trevor - "Now."

James eyes study him and realize Trevor's urgency. They teleport away.

UNDAUNTED PART FOUR: OFFER - in Heroes title font -

DECEMBER 14, 2001

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

NYU Tour Guide Stooge - "And that concludes the official tour. If you will follow me, there will be a reception with light refreshments and snacks."

The crowd files into the nearby building except for a group of three: a mother, a father, and Trevor.

Mom - "That was nice."

Dad - "Yeah."

Mom - "Well, hon, what did you think?"

Trevor - "Nice."

[Vague reference to Butler dinner in Volume Two]

Mom - "They offered you a full scholarship."

Trevor - "I'm sure they do that for all the kids who graduate high school early."

Trevor's dad laughs.

Trevor - "Let's go get some lunch."

Dad - "I thought you'd never ask."

They walk away from the building smiling and laughing. The point of view shifts into bird's eye. Trevor looks up toward the camera (to the sky) and can't stop looking for some reason as he walks on. The view shifts to the sky. The Eclipse.

[Heroes, Motifs, The Eclipse]

TO BE CONCLUDED - in Heroes font

NEXT: UNDAUNTED PART FIVE: UNPREDICTABLE

Trevor Tanaka returns to the Garden of the Gods and finds himself at the forefront of a rare meeting with every Undaunted member in attendance. What is going on? How will they react to Trevor's news? Don't miss the conclusion- a lead in to the upcoming Volume 5: Redemption airing on September 21. Coming Soon!

Commentary - Undaunted Part Three

2009-10-27T17:49:00.003-10:00

This part would become my take on the effect of manifestations on the wrong people. Not everyone gets a power and gets to live through it on a TV show. A lot of people can't accept it and they snap and they end up in the nuthouse for years. The temporary plight of Niki Sanders and Level 5 influenced me to explore Trevor's manifestation and take it up a notch. Because all of a sudden you can remember everything, how you not go mad from storing all that information in your mind, worse so if you just manifested and have no idea how to control that power. He really did go crazy. And this lends to the Company's later conclusions about his psyche, and how he decides to kill, and everything else that comes after.

BELLEVUE

But I presented it intertwined with other events to confuse the reader and make them think Trevor was caught by these agents that are chasing him. And this where I showcase Trevor's power and his uncanny knowledge of pop culture and of course, an Uluru shout out. If that's Trevor or Uluru talking, I leave that up to speculation. Quite frankly, I'd rather it be that Uluru is an aspect of every advanced ability that appears in everyone...eventually what got superseded by the Hunger (see Peter in Volume 3). That's the face I was going for, but more intense.

And I had to write in Heroes trivia. I always thought the fake expiration date on Mohinder's taxi license was funny so I had to reference it somehow and here it is, sort of like a conspiracy buff being interrogated, he spouts some weird gibberish very like the Question on Justice League Unlimited.

The stardust line is important, of course. If you haven't read Neil Gaiman, I feel sorry for you. It is a set up for a C-Story...OMG...a C-Story?! But of course, I give the one clue that this A-Story and the B-Story are two different stories. 339. Aother important setup was when Shell says "Dammit" and used it as another red herring later on in the A Story. I'm so evil...

The Voice was something I wanted to do to redeem Sanjog after those Writers Strike period GN's. I wanted to see, how would Sanjog try to help a special whose insane? Appear as he did to Mohinder or as a voice and it's a no win situation. He's nuts, remember? So with Sanjog's last line, it's supposed to mirror what the doctor is saying, "You came to me for help" and remind Trevor for the briefest moment and jilt him. So after two years, Trevor uses his power again this time, with a feeling of clarity, and snaps out of it. Then everything peels away and the image changes to reality where he's in Bellevue.

CHINA

And the B-Story is set in China and is the first time Trevor begins attacking agents openly, here Shell and Park, from the evsdropr arc, are his prey. But here, he's really just testing them to see what kind of field training agents get. And I purposefully ended it with Park beating the living daylights out of him to fool the reader into thinking the A-Story was the same, just later on when he was in a Company cell.

SEAL

And so the C-Story picks up from when Trevor leaves Leona Mills' warehouse in part two. The man he met at Harold Square was none other than James Kelly, the Teleporter, who I references in part one so it all comes together. And so beings their relationship of banter.

I take the opportunity to tease and jab the heck out of Heroes Survival Game, because I care and continue on with Trevor's sense of humor and develop it even more. I also made sure I didn't mess up with Seal's character. Thanks for the input, HERO. It was important that I told this story the way I did to set up part five: to see Trevor and Seal interact and that Trevor never got read before being let in.

PRESENT

And it ends back in the present between Trevor's appearance in iStory when he's running to meet up with the squad staking out the house and he knocks out Callum. I wanted to settle that he did memorize those fighting books and movies, he's fit, and he knows how to use his power. I imagine on the evolutionary tree, enhanced memory can easily diverge into Adoptive Muscle Memory (Monica Dawson) or into Intuitive Aptitude rather than progress into Telepathy. So I made this scene where he kicks the crap out of a spy, whether this spy is a Carnie or from another faction, is up to the reader to decide. Trevor knows exactly where to hit, time the hits, and how to hit. Then I end on a humorous note. He's pumping with adrenaline, blood all over him, and he calls for a ride.

Trevor in iStory

2009-10-27T14:33:00.002-10:00

iStory 605

So after everything that was happening, I wake up to a cryptic Private Message from HERO on 9th Wonders. Wondering what the heck is going on, I check out the newest iStory and find out Trevor was used in an iStory. I was proud as fuck and so honored to be chosen from 4000+ characters. I thanked Mr. Inkel, thanked God, Buddha, Vishnu, and the Powers That Be. Mr. Inkel got Trevor down to the T and linked his involvement up nicely to what was going on in Book Six. And to top it off, he kicked butt. It was a great day for me and made me even more into writing more stories.

Part Three - Undaunted Part Three

2009-10-27T14:32:00.000-10:00

DATE AND PLACE UNKNOWN

A dark room, like a holding cell. Trevor is sitting, in a corner, tied up in ropes. His hair is messed up. There are bags and bruises under his eyes. A spotlight is focused on Trevor.

The Voice - "You have a power. Escape."

Trevor laughs gleefully, a step below the Joker. He looks worse, beyond tired.

Trevor - "Mogwai in the wall. Can't get me when I'm in the light. Want to eat me after midnight…"

[Gremlins]

The Voice - "You don't belong here."

Trevor - "Are you a butterfly? Or am I the butterfly?"

[Chuang-tzu]

The Voice - "They don't understand you."

Trevor - "Don't feed the jellyfish, there's a sign."

[Spongebob Squarepants]

Figure #1 - "He's not responding."

Figure #2 - "Heart rate. Blood pressure. Neurokinetics. All off the charts. The stress on his brain is destroying his body."

[Teen Titans, Season Three, "Haunted"]

Figure #1 - "Then he'll die."

Figure #2 - "Dammit."

[Red Herring]

Trevor - "One eye sees the past. Second sees the present. The third sees the future. Balance and unity to see all."

[Maharishi and the Sixth Primary Chakra, Hinduism]

The Voice - "Yes, that's it. Remember."

JUNE 8, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

James and Trevor appear in front of a sign - The Garden of the Gods.

[9th Wonders Board, Heroes Survival Game, Factions, Undaunted]

James - "Go straight to the end."

Trevor - "Couldn't you just take me there?"

James - "No, he prefers you to come on your own. There's the path, you must travel it."

Trevor - "That's so terrible, it doesn't even qualify as a cliché."

Trevor walks off. James nods in agreement. He teleports away. Trevor looks up and sees a yellow ethereal sky and walks. And walks.

Trevor comes to a field. He stops. Seal is on the other side. Trevor walks forward to up to him.

Seal - "You must be Trevor."

Seal holds out his hand to Trevor. To shake Trevor's hand or to read Trevor?

Trevor - "When was the last time you washed your hands?"

Seal - "Of course."

Trevor - "Based on this hideout, you're not an eccentric billionaire, are you?"

[Batman]

Seal - "She didn't say you were a comedian."

Trevor - "What did she say?"

Seal - "Not much."

Trevor - "She told me I should join your clubhouse. I'm late to the game but I'm a fast learner."

[Self-reference. Joined Heroes Survival Game in August 22, 2009]

Seal - "Yes, so I've heard. Enhanced Memory. That's a cool one to have."

Trevor - "Not really. I'd have picked teleportation. Cuts down on travel expenses."

[Self-reference. What power I would choose in a hypothetical situation]

Seal smiles.

Seal - "It's okay if you don't want me to read you. Since Ellen vouches for you, I'll let you join Undaunted. We don't have very much rules but when you do get a message, be sure to answer it. It could come every three hours, more than four hours apart, or randomly beyond our best prediction."

[Heroes Survival Game, New Messages]

Trevor - "I'm not much of a morning person."

[Heroes Survival Game, New Messages]

Seal - "I want you to meet the others but we'll have to wait until James comes back in a couple hours."

Trevor - "So you got a TV in those bushes? No? Monopoly?"

[Monopoly board game]

Seal is caught off guard. Trevor knows this from reading his file. Seal tries to change the subject to get a read on him.

Seal - "What'd you think of the sky?"

Trevor - "It's like a child grabbed a marker and tried their best to color in the lines."

Seal - "…I never got that answer before."

Trevor - "I've got a lobe dedicated to witty quips and one liners."

Points to his head.

Seal - "I think it's stardust."

Trevor turns.

Trevor - "What?"

DATE UNKNOWN

Trevor, tied up, is leaning on a wall like a ragdoll. The light is still focused on him. The rest of the room remains dark. The two figures are standing around him.

Figure #1 - "Are you ready to tell us anything?"

Trevor looks like hell.

The Voice - "Tell them to let you go."

Trevor - "Why are you still here?"

The Voice - "You came to me."

[The only clue to who the voice belongs to. Volume One "Seven Minutes to Midnight]

Trevor's head drops then rises back up. The figures are covered in stars.

Trevor - "I need help."

The Voice - "You need to help yourself."

Trevor closes his eyes and concentrates. The point of view shifts to Trevor's. At first there is nothing but black. Then the room and people are flowing with zeroes and ones, and then a white flash engulfs the room.

[The Matrix]

Close up to lower half of Trevor's face from the side view.

Trevor - "Thank you."

From off panel. White light oozing into the black and reveals glimmers of reality.

Figure #1 - "You're welcome."

Pan out. Trevor is in a white, padded room. The chief psychiatrist and an orderly surround him. Trevor is bound in a straitjacket.

Exterior: Bellevue Hospital Center - 462 1st Avenue, New York, New York, 10016

Trevor - "How long have I been here?"

Chief Psychiatrist - "Two years. It's 2004, now."

UNDAUNTED PART THREE: BOUND - in Heroes title font -

LATE SUMMER 2007

COSTA VERDE, CALIFORNIA

[Takes place within iStory Book Six, Chapter Five "Yesterday's Angels"]

Trevor is running down the sidewalk.

Trevor - It was just an illusion. Callum. Double agent. Must have been the accent that threw me. Classic. Too indirect of a strategy to be Thompson. One of the other factions? Mills was right. I have to handle this efficiently. I say this wrong, and fear spreads like wildfire between the factions. Alliances. Lines drawn. War.

Someone is following him. Trevor knows this. He stops at a corner, pulls out his cell phone, and starts a fake conversation. He laughs like the other person told a joke.

The figure pauses and looks around quickly. He hasn't done this before. Easy prey for Trevor. He looks up and Trevor is gone. The figure runs to the corner and frantically searches for any sign of Trevor.

Trevor jumps out at him. And with pinpoint accuracy, Trevor attacks him at memorized areas, each hit within a second of each other: He connects with a punch to the gut, a crushing left to the face, kicks down on his right knee, the man cringes and drops down, then Trevor connects with a drop kick to his jawbone. The man lays unconscious. Trevor looks at him but doesn't bother searching him. He was just another distraction.

Trevor lets out a steady breath. He turns to the street.

Trevor - "Taxi!"

TO BE CONTINUED - in Heroes font

NEXT: UNDAUNTED PART FOUR: OFFER

Trevor Tanaka parts ways with The Rebellion when Eric Thompson Jr. is nowhere to be found. He decides to make a visit to his past life before reporting back to Undaunted. However, something wicked this way comes…straight for Trevor! Coming Soon!

Commentary - Undaunted Part Two

2009-10-27T14:10:00.002-10:00

LEONA, TOM, AND TREVOR

I fell in love with Leona Mills and Crazy Tom and wanted to explore them in detail. So Part Two begins back in time and I reveal how Trevor became a part of Undaunted and what Mills plays in all this. I wanted Leona and Trevor to roll off each other and here I got a grasp on Trevor's snarky humor. And the crack about Leona's youth was purposefully put there so I could callback to it in part five.

And one can tell I had a lot of fun with writing his part, in particular. That moment in Kill Bill where the Bride's name is beeped out cracked me up and I figured this would be a hilarious FX if used. But if it were a graphic novel, then maybe it'd be whited out and indicate only Trevor could hear not the reader. I will never reveal his real name and none of his aliases nor nickname even hint at what it is.

But here, I was sort of building up the premise of Volume 5 and Phase 3 of HSG from Trevor's point of view and how it influences his story. He knows he's being manipulated but he came to her anyway. He knew she'd have some sliver of information that he needed. So it was the ultimate 50/50, would he accept or not and have to play a role in Mills' scheme. Then to contrast this stuff with jokes, with the Rachael Mills one, I couldn't stop laughing at that one.

I totally wanted Trevor to have a Batman moment and I came up with him walking into the shadows and disappearing. I also wanted to play with the Company's theory he was once a black ops spook. The truth is, he probably read a bunch of books and watched movies and shows about fighting and military training. Then totally out of left field, the cheesecake idea came to me and I wanted Crazy Tom be say something...well crazy. And with Leona, the one line about redemption sets up what happens to her in iStory Book Four from this story's point of view.

PRESENT

Then, we're back to the present like Trevor was dreaming about that moment in time. And I was planning on writing a Costa Verde story for part three but after iStory came out, I scrapped it and went ahead with coming out with the big reveal about Trevor's past and putting more emphasis on that. So to add to it, I set up the line here about how Mills arranged for Trevor to meet Seal. In hindsight, the Costa Verde story would have just bogged down the flashback.

I always liked the idea of how Trevor booby traps his safe houses so with the ending, I went in detail about his procedure. He does work on a computer, wipes the hard drive, then blows up the building. After awhile, it got humorous to me on how he blows everything up.

Part Three - Undaunted Part Two

2009-10-27T14:08:00.000-10:00

JUNE 8, 2007

WASHINGTON, D.C.

[iStory Book Four and Heroes Survival Game, Biography - June 8, 2007]

Leona Mills' hand reaches out and opens the top of a coffin from the inside.

Trevor Tanaka watches silently as she steps out from the coffin. The shadow slips from her face. She is young and youthful.

Trevor - "You're younger than I thought."

Leona - "I get that a lot."

Trevor - "You know, stepping out of a coffin leaves a very specific first impression with people. And that tingling sensation I got from your buddy's teleportation power in Los Angeles goes away right?"

Leona is unfazed by his comment and smiles.

Leona - "Hello, [INAUDIBLE]"

[Kill Bill, Secret Name]

A silent shock comes over Trevor's face. It quickly melts into a grin.

Trevor - "I prefer Trevor these days. And you, it is a pleasure to meet Miss Leona Mills."

Leona - "You're charming. Clever, even."

Trevor - "Ellen. Initials. L. N. Linda Niles. Shipping Company. Ciphers. Apple Pie."

[Heroes Evolutions, Rebel, iStory Book Four, Graphic Novels]

Leona - "You must be wondering why you're here."

Trevor - "Who are these who are to fight? What is the selection process? A natural phenomenon or is it a construct of further arrogance on the part of humanity?"

[Renaissance Humanism]

Leona - "Both and neither."

Trevor - "I knew I'd like you."

Leona - "Let me rephrase the question. Don't you want to know why you're standing here in my building?"

Leona gestures to the wall. There is an inscribed symbol: 4 stars and a hammer.

[iStory Book Four]

Trevor - "Ah. Yes. Please. Do tell."

Leona - "Even though Ellen would benefit greatly from your diverse set of skills, there is another faction that is in greater need of you. They call themselves Undaunted. It was formed by a man who goes by Seal. He only wants to hide posthumans from Building 26."

[Volume Four, Heroes Survival Game Phase Two, and iStory Book Four]

Trevor - "And my accumulated experience of avoiding Company surveillance would prove invaluable to him."

[Heroes, The Company]

Leona - "For now. When the rebellion is over, the real war will start."

[Volume Four and Five]

Leona hands him a red file marked 'SEAL.' Trevor flips through it without blinking. His power is at work.

[Volume Three, Noah Bennet's Files]

Trevor - "Empathy, fascinating. It seems, in the end, we are only transhumans when held up to his posthuman. We are autonomous, rational, and gasy but the posthuman can understand the world through context and multiple perspectives. To him, nothing is ever relative."

[Verner Vinge and Claude]

Leona - "Seal has an amazing heart and he is a natural leader."

Trevor - "And I would say, as any person would…"

Leona - "What's in it for me? You have a list don't you?"

Trevor - "Everyone's got a list."

[Heroes, Motifs, The List]

Leona - "Julia Ryan. Lukas Bahn. Felicia Brooks. Eric Thompson, Jr. The Haitian. Those were the agents who were sent to bag and tag you. Instead, they found your girlfriend. And she had a very nasty reaction to the Haitian's ability."

[Heroes Evolutions, Evsdropper and Heroes Survival Game - Biography - September 26, 2006]

Trevor gets agitated. His emotions were definitely stirred.

Trevor - "This is where you start tasting your words very, very carefully."

Leona - "You already know Brooks and Ryan are dead. If you serve Seal until I need him, I will give you the other three."

Trevor - "What makes you think I care about them?"

Leona - "Because if it's not you that kills them, then it will be someone else. Can you let that happen, when you knew you had the chance?"

Trevor - "I don't want revenge. I don't want this assignment. I just want…"

Leona - "It to go away? That hole in your heart? It'll never stop. It will haunt you. Consume you. Cut you in two. Until you accept it. Now, are you in or not?"

Leona holds out another red file marked 'BUILDING 26.'

[Volume Four]

Trevor pauses and takes a long exhale.

Trevor - "Does the hand still grow by the Golden Ratio?"

[Mathematics and Biology, The Golden Ratio]

Leona - "I'll take that as a yes?"

Trevor - "Yes."

Leona - "Good, I'll set up a meeting."

Trevor - "Will there be enough time for a complementary Ludovico session?"

[Lost, Mysteries of the Universe]

Leona "Mmm, maybe a mind upload or even a direct brain-computer interface if you keep on behaving yourself."

[Neal Asher]

Trevor - "Oh, you do know how to spoil your would-be suitors."

Trevor turns and faces the wall.

Trevor - "Miss Mills, the walls have eyes and ears, don't they?"

Leona - "That's just Crazy Tom, don't mind him."

Trevor - "Hello, Crazy Tom. Nice to meet you."

There is a long silence.

Crazy Tom - "Hey."

Leona - "Trevor, you're going back west. Meet a man at Harold Square at 2:31 P.M. today. He'll take you to the Garden, where Seal is. We probably won't see each other again so it was nice knowing you."

Trevor scoffs at her forthcoming-ness.

Trevor - "The Singularity is long overdue. Goodbye, Miss Mills. Crazy Tom."

[Verner Vinge]

Crazy Tom - "Trevor."

Leona - "I wish you could have met my daughter. I think you two would have hit it off."

[Heroes, Rachel Mills]

Trevor - "I'm sure she's too busy beating men off with a stick as it is."

Trevor walks into the shadows. Leona watches, even long after he is gone.

[Batman, Motifs]

Crazy Tom - "So Leona…"

Leona - "Yes, Tom?"

Crazy Tom - "What was he before all this, a spook?"

[Heroes Survival Game - Biography]

Leona - "A librarian."

[Heroes Survival Game - Biography]

Crazy Tom - "…And they call me crazy."

Leona - "He was just a man, Tom. Wondering if he had a purpose."

Leona inches her hand to a chair and drains it.

Leona - "If he would ever fall in love. Then came the eclipse. At first he was overwhelmed by the power. He created different identities to cope with the pain. His power made him into a chameleon. The Company stepped in and did what they do best, to say nothing of their hubris. Trevor tried to do what many have tried over the years."

Trevor holds an agent in a death hold, the now cliché Steven Segal neck snap.

[Steven Segal, Mad TV]

Leona - "It turned him into a monster. Now, he's a ghost."

Hong Kong apartment, several levels up near the top floor, a fire blazes. Trevor is seen walking away [toward frame] back turned as spectators gather and point upwards, while some try to cobble out their camera.

[Heroes Survival Game - Biography - November 30, 2007 and Evsdropper myNBC]

Leona - "He wants to be whole again, but even with that fantastic memory of his, he can't remember how."

Japan. Trevor is knelt in front of a headstone with the TANAKA Kanji on it, eyes closed, mouth clenched, tears streaming down.

[Volume Two "Powerless" and Heroes Survival Game - Biography - March 20, 2007]

Crazy Tom - "Wow. What a story."

Leona - "Yes. Unfortunately, it's a story being told one too many times in this generation."

Matt Parkman and Ted Sprague confront the Bennet Family from "Company Man." Sprague's hands are burning with radioactivity.

[Volume One "Company Man"]

Crazy Tom - "I could go for a cheesecake right about now."

Leona - "It's coming."

Crazy Tom - "My cheesecake?"

Leona - "Redemption."

[Volume Five]

Large pan out of the empty warehouse. Leona stands near her coffin. Crazy Tom walks out from the wall. They are as big as specks.

UNDAUNTED PART TWO: SPOOK - in Heroes title font -

PRESENT

Trevor's cell phone buzzes and jolts him awake.

Trevor - The phone is off. I pulled the components out. So you must be The Rebel.

Screen reads: SAM'S COMICS - CLAIRE

[Volume Four and iStory Book Six]

Trevor - Costa Verde it is. But a little redecorating, first.

Trevor types in a combination of strokes on the keyboard and reaches for something under the computer desk. He kicks a nearby carpet away, revealing a trap door and ladder. He climbs down and closes the door.

Pan out to the building. A big explosion bursts out from the building.

TO BE CONTINUED - in Heroes font

Commentary - Undaunted Part One

2009-10-27T13:22:00.002-10:00

MATHEMATICS, FINANCE, AND HOW TREVOR FITS IN

As I said before, numbers are a motif with Trevor's power. I liken his power as storing any form of information, numbers, words, images, what have you as strings of 1's and 0's like a computer. They explored this notion with Matt Neuenberg in the graphic novels. So I wanted to explore his power a little more and make it cooler, if only to me at least.

So Part One starts with a reference to the Black Swan Events, a financial theory by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and visually, I used the explosion at the end of season one. Ultimately, I thought this was the unexpected moment, the catalyst that caused everything to happen as it did in the Heroesverse. It also implied from his job history, maybe Trevor was a Finance Major and if he never manifested, he'd probably ended being a Certified Financial Analyst. That never came to be, and his analyst skill is being used very differently.

GUEST STARS

Since I planned to slowly put more emphasis on Undaunted as the stories got made, it made sense for me to have Trevor interact with other members. I could never decide on the two in the beginning until a month later when I was reading every Undaunted members' bios and figuring out which to use in an upcoming story. I liked Kurt Hasian and Carson Ford alot, because one's a geek and one's a wise ass. They're there to complement Trevor, who is sort of in the middle in terms of personality if you want to approach it that way. To me, he's somewhere between Batman, the Question, and Rorschach. He's got snark, the detective quality, strategizing, obsessive, the loner and what not. So I decided to edit part one and add in Hasian and Ford.

And may notice, I do visualize as I wrote this and I clearly know what I want the scene to look like. It helps me write to picture it as a graphic novel or webisode. I definitely wanted some piece of shit, shady room with electronics to be a base of operations. It's one of the first times you get a description of Trevor's safe houses.

JUMPING IN

And between the HSG bio and this story, months have passed. I skipped ahead to lay down the plot of Undaunted and reveal Trevor's assorted past in pieces out of order, the way most serials do now. I chose certain parts of the past based on the story so that by the end of part five, you can construct Trevor's past and it won't even matter that I will never reveal his real name. I latched to that theory on how you never reveal your name, because there is power in it and once your enemy knows, you're defeated. Story-wise, it's just what is laid out, it's part of another life that he can never have back so he ditched the name and chose a new one.

And I don't know, I must have been on the same wavelength as Tom Inkel but I wanted to link part one and part two specifically to events going on in iStory Book Six and give an idea of, yes I did my homework, and I'm not screwing with continuity in anyway whatsoever. More on Mr. Inkel later.

SET UPS

And yes, I mentioned multiple things to set up future plots such as with Seal. Sort of dangle that idea of what is Trevor's relationship with Seal and Teleporter and it came together quite nicely. And of course, the image of Thompson Jr. was a set up for part two which later became a big deal to me (see above) and tying back into Trevor's original revenge goal with the current mission at hand. At this point, I danced with idea of Trevor's loyalty to Undaunted. If he had a chance to get back at the agents, would be betray/leave Undaunted. And I want that idea to dance around until part five.

FLASHBACKS

Yeah, at times it was a bit too Lost-y but it fit what I set out to do. So visually, you in this dank, dark, dilapidated building filled with computers, then all of a sudden, BAM, you're looking at a bright forest of bamboo, it's day, the colors are vibrant...total contrast of scene. What links these two scenes...Trevor. And as much as time drives me crazy on Heroes, I was very specific on dates and locations.

This first flashback refers back to Leona's texts and explores further what is going on with Trevor. And it seems like Trevor took a vow of silence as the monk and probably the whole temple are getting curious about who this outsider is. And so the conversation ties into the fact that Trevor used his power to be fluent in several languages, here, in Mandarin. And with the monk, I mashed in theories of two great minds Chikamatsu and Drucker, one a Japanese playwright and the other, a business savant, along with a throwback to Volume One. But not an obvious one then followed by an obvious one!

Here, I wanted to experiment with a montage scene and I heart it. The images mostly all jump all out of order and illustrate past scenes I wrote about like the death of Trevor's girlfriend (which was a powerful moment) and grounding him further into the Heroesverse, he was near Kaitos funeral?! OMG. That's the sort of reaction I was gauging. And each line also ties into the image, it's not random selections.

And Leona Mills, I just loved how iStory introduced her from a coffin. I knew I had to use that image and here, it's a set up for part two. And with Mags and Seal, I don't know how I came up with that one, it just popped in there. You see, the beautiful thing about these stories is, I'd look at the timeline of Trevor, outline what I want to do in the story, go do whatever I had to do in the day, then exactly around 12:30 AM, my creative juices amped up and I write each part in one sitting. So really, it only took five nights total to write. So for Mags and Seal, I just wanted a funny way of how Seal's power works, he bumps into Mags and realizes her story and they have an awkward moment, does Seal know or not, then contrast that with urgency of Building 26. So this happened in Volume 4 separate from Trevor's story. If their character's creators agree with this or not is unknown.

And the bank scene, I really wanted a foreshadowy moment and nothing better than when Trevor was working at a bank and unbeknowst to him at the time, two Company agents are gathering intel on him, posing as bank patrons, sort of a loose reference to Claire's fake bio-parents. But I wanted to put that feeling of dread like Bahn is inches away from Trevor and he doesn't even realize it.

Then the montage fades and we return to discover this takes place exactly when Mills started texting Trevor.

Part Three - Undaunted Part One

2009-10-27T13:09:00.004-10:00

And so, as I planned from the start, I was going to write stories about Trevor and naturally I integrated them into when I joined with the faction, Undaunted. Why did I join that faction? A few reasons, 1) the bio fitted with where I wanted to take Trevor's story to the next level and 2) I'm a fan of the creator, HERO. I tend to gravitate towards kindred who have similar psychopathic tendencies. When I first joined 9th Wonders, I saw all this work and screen grabs that HERO contributes and figured this person was a moderator or Tim Kring in disguise. And don't tease me for revealing this HERO, ;P Of course, there are some people that point out Undaunted is #1 and is a sure way to boost your rank. I say to that, it doesn't matter what faction you join, you still have to answer those messages.

Anyway, here's part one. In [ ] are my notes and references I sneaked in. Commentary to come in a separate post. Enjoy.

[Notes]

Trevor - There is a surprise. It has a major impact. After the fact, the event is rationalized by hindsight as if it had been expected.

[Black Swan Events]

Distant shot of Peter Petrelli exploding in the sky above Kirby Plaza.

[Volume One "How to Stop An Exploding Man"]

LATE SUMMER 2007

[Bridge between iStory Book Six and Volume Five]

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

A steam punk, cobbled together room not unlike main room from Nebuchadnezzar in The Matrix movie.

Kurt Hasian - "This place is definitely a Craig's List must buy."

[Craig's List]

Carson Ford - "Two more dead. Not even with us for more than a month."

Trevor looks away from two others into a flat screen computer monitor.

Trevor - "People die in the morning, they are born in the evening, like foam on the water."

[Kamo no Chomei, Hojoki (1212), An Account of My Hut]

Carson Ford, clearly a polar opposite of Trevor, looks annoyed at his comment.

Carson Ford - "That's so callous."

Kurt Hasian - "Dude, he already knew it was going to happen sooner or later. It was possible. He had strategies on what to do after the murders before any of us could blink…he's…"

[Lost, Hurley, Dude]

Kurt Hasian is clearly a 'fan' of Trevor. Ford cuts him off.

Carson Ford - "I thought he just remembers stuff, not dreams about the future!"

[Heroes, Angela Petrelli, Precognitive Dreaming]

Kurt Hasian - "Nah, it only starts as memory. Remembering all those numbers, details, images…his brain can process them into actions and plan scenarios. He's like an advance scout, tactician, and general all wrapped up in one. He knows what our next move should be. Look, Seal gets him. That's enough for me. It should be for you, too."

[Heroes Survival Game, Undaunted, Seal]

Trevor types away, not listening to them at all.

Trevor - "They were being followed for days. They didn't know but they were chosen to die. Someone thought they had intel. Assassinated them. Picked through their belongings. Took their wallets to make it look like a robbery. Probably dumped them a couple blocks away. We'll find the wallets. He'll read them. We find the target."

Carson Ford - "It sounds so convenient. Not everything's one big coincidence. It could be just retribution for that thing with Mags."

[Heroes Evolutions, iStory Book Six, Chapter Three "Wild Things"]

Trevor - "There are no coincidences. Just the illusion of coincidence."

[V for Vendetta]

Kurt Hasian - "I totally saw this on CSI once. If it was retribution, the bodies wouldn't be manipulated. The human body doesn't fall like that from a headshot. If this was revenge, they'd be left alone, displayed like war trophies."

[CSI]

They stare at him in silence. He looks down and scratches the back of his head, embarrassed.

Trevor - "This isn't just a faction. It's an army, too. They were the front line. Expendable. Replaceable. Us? Not so much. Stay around long enough and you become too important. A bunch of us gets killed, the faction has to start all over again. We're human. They're human. We all had normal lives. Dreams. Friends. Family. I had a life before this. Kept my power a secret. Even used to have a sense of humor. I had love. Had it and lost it. Answers. Truth. It's all I wanted. I tried it before with my emotions. But it led to revenge and I became a killer. A monster. To make sure it didn't happen again, I had to remove emotion from the equation. It's called clinical detachment in medical school. I could be objective. See everything. Cause. Effect. Action. Reaction. Scenarios. Alternatives. Possibilities. Black Swan Events. Every piece has its part."

[X-Files and Black Swan Events]

Carson Ford calms down and smiles.

Carson Ford - "But aren't you ever curious to see how it all plays out?"

Trevor - "There are bad people out there. I can't afford to leave it to The Powers That Be."

[Angel]

Kurt Hasian - "Contact us the usual way when things come together. We're going to the Garden with James.

[9th Wonders Board, Heroes Survival, Factions, Undaunted, The Garden of the Gods]
[Heroes Survival Game, Undaunted, Teleporter]

JUNE 2, 2007

China.

A cliff that overlooks a vibrant, seemingly endless forest. Contrasts the previous scene in all possible ways. A monk walks up behind to a man sitting near the cliff.

Roughly translated from Mandarin.

Monk - "What holds the parts together is the mind. The mind must be the strings which hold together all. Learn to connect. See forest and tree."

[Chikamatsu Monzaemon and Peter F. Drucker]

Trevor closes his eyes in disbelief.

Monk - "You have been here for three months. But you do not say who you are or what you are searching for."

Trevor - "Why do you think I'm here?"

Monk - "The pull of the soul."

[Volume One, Mohinder Suresh, Zugunruhe]

The monk continues on the path.

Trevor looks out to the forest.

[Volume One, Narration]

Trevor - Where does it come from? This quest, this need to solve life's mysteries…When the simplest of questions can never be answered.

Trevor holds his dead girlfriend in his arms.

[Heroes Survival Game, Biography - September 26, 2006]

Trevor - Why are we here? What is the soul? Why do we dream?

Close up from Trevor's point of view. Looking down into a Sprint cell phone. The screen shows his Assignment Tracker 2.0 profile.

[Sprint, Assignment Tracker 2, Heroes Survival Game, Biography - November 26, 2006]

Trevor - Perhaps we'd be better off not looking at all. Not delving, not yearning.

Trevor watches Kaito Nakamura's funeral from a headstone with the TANAKA Kanji on it.

[Volume Two "Powerless" and Heroes Survival Game, Biography - March 20, 2007]

Trevor - But that's not human nature. Not the human heart. That is not why we are here.

Close up on Hiro Nakamura as he gives his eulogy for his father.

[Volume Two "Powerless" and Heroes Survival Game, Biography - March 20, 2007]

Trevor - We dream of hope, We dream of change, of fire, of love, of death.

Various headshots of Undaunted members in different parts of the world.

[Heroes Survival Game, Undaunted]

Trevor - And then it happens. The dream becomes real.

The iconic eclipse.

[Heroes, Motif, The Eclipse]

Trevor - And the answer to this quest, this need to solve life's mysteries finally shows itself…

Trevor's hand reaches out to another (Victor). Hands hold. Trevor's shifts away.

[iStory Book Four and Heroes Survival Game, Biography - June 8, 2007]

Trevor - Like the glowing light of a new dawn.

Leona Mills' hand reaches out and opens the top of a coffin from the inside.

So much struggle for meaning, for purpose, and in the end,

Mags walks along a sidewalk. She bumps into someone.

[Heroes Survival Game]

We find it only in each other.

The man Mags bumped into is Seal. He smiles at her like he used his power on her.

He motions to her into an alley. In the distance, Building 26 Special Agents are closing in on them. Possibly Kent Harper's team.

[Volume Four and Heroes Survival Game]

Trevor - Our shared experience of the fantastic, and the mundane.

2006 on a hanging banner. Bank. Trevor works at a bank. Sitting behind him are Company agents, Julia Ryan and Lukas Bahn talking to a bank stooge. Bahn has his head slightly turned toward Trevor.

[Heroes Survival Game, Biography - January 2006 and Heroes Evolutions, Evsdropper]

Trevor - The simple need to find a kindred, to connect.

Case jumps forward into a sunrise with glee.

[Heroes Survival Game]

A light 'leaks' out of the dirt near Trevor.

Trevor - And to know in out hearts that we are not alone.

Trevor digs up a cell phone. He brushes dirt off the screen. Close up to the screen. It reads: "1 New Message."

UNDAUNTED - in Heroes title font - graces across the panel.

PRESENT

Trevor - When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is quit. That is exactly what the majority of men do.

[Napoleon Hill]

Shot over his shoulder. The screen shows a home page for Cisco security camera feeds like Bob Bishop's from Volume Two. A smaller square reads: "You're Welcome." Each corner of the square has a star and a faded hammer imprint in the center of the background. The square disappears.

[Volume Two and iStory Book Four]

Trevor - Success is a function of the sincerity of the mission. Without a meaningful purpose, action leads to disappointment and frustration. Yet, when focused upon a compelling reason, action always results in achievement.

Close up on Trevor. He wears a concerned face, like seeing a ghost from his past, almost a tinge of anger seething from his eyes.

The reveal on screen: Eric Thompson Jr. with a sniper rifle.

[Heroes Evolutions, Evsdropper and iStory Book Six]

TO BE CONTINUED - in Heroes font

Part Two - Heroes Survival Game Bio

2009-10-27T12:05:00.004-10:00

When I initially joined the Heroes Survival Game (HSG), it was during Phase Two and the bio was the basis of what would become the Assignment Tracker 2.0 content except on the HSG bio, there are two exclusive sections that continue chronologically after the AT 2.0 March 20, 2007 entry.

HSG Bio

The first section, Ellen, is revealing what Trevor was up to in the Volume 3 and 4 timeline. As much as I wanted him to be this uber-James Bond character, I knew I had to ground him in the Heroes-verse in a sensible way. He's only human and flawed like anyone else. He let his emotions get the better of him and set out to get revenge. And between 2006 and 2007, he killed five Company agents and it got to him. Trevor began to realize the monolithic nature of the Company and began to question himself. So in short, he exiled himself to one of the safe places he knew of, the Chinese countryside, in order to reassess.

I set this up to explore more in detail in a future story. But the HSG profile reveals the tail end of his exile. All of a sudden, his dead cell phone starts getting texts from someone.

JUNE 2, 2007

I summed up Ellen's purpose and Volume 4. To add several things to pique Trevor's interest, the reference to his nickname listed in the HSG bio and I wrote in the part of being in an equation. As I noted earlier, the numbers one's and zero's play a part in Trevor's power. It's set up to explore Trevor's use of mathematics in future stories.

I might as well talk about the nickname. When I went about creating these aliases for Trevor, there was no significant origin other than coming up with Japanese names and matching the first letter to the first letter of the first name as an homage to the comic book motifs (i.e. Peter Parker, Wally West).

The nickname itself, I never figured out a way to tell its story but the backstory on it is some silly DJ handle, he came up with when he was in college, before he manifested. I pictured him as listening to rap music one day and fantasizing about how cool it would be to be a rapper. He brainstormed and tried to figure out what his name would be and thought about the flow of pronouncing letters and mrmichaelt was all he could come up with.

That's why the tone of his answer to Ellen was "I haven't heard that name from college" = "Man that sounds so stupid to me now, what was I thinking?". And also, the fact that this Ellen knows something about his past, which he erased, raises a red flag in his brain. Trevor is intrigued and has to know more. So he quickly accesses his memory and concludes Ellen is an alias and deduces she or one of her cronies has a power which then references Micah Sanders, Hana Gitelman, and Richard Drucker's powers. Obviously in this case, Ellen called in a favor to Micah, now Rebel, to deliver the text. I used this to tie in to their alliance in iStory. Then Trevor's warning about being a "caged tiger" is another Drucker reference from when he interacted with Gitelman in one of the early Evolutions blogs/texts. Because at this point, Trevor is still on the fence about giving up or continuing to kill and he compares himself to a zoo animal.

JUNE 4, 2007

I wanted to have fun with Leona Mills' character, and hint at how much like Angela Petrelli she can really be like, which iStory explores in Book Five. She continues to dangle that line in front of Trevor. Trevor responds with more Drucker-esque logic and I embedded a loose reference to HRG's Company, if it ever comes to be. After that line is one of my favorite quotes, it's mainly about purpose and we see what Trevor is really after and basically asks Leona if that's what she's offering.

Leona realizes this and starts speaking in code to Trevor. She starts by quoting Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass). It happens to be a line that is my all time favorite, about identity and change, and Trevor, who probably memorized the book, responds with another line. And this also happens to be a scene from Lost when Jack reads the story to his nephew in a Flash Forward. Then Leona quotes another line which instructs him where to meet. This turns out to be Trevor's birthplace, which I did on purpose to explore in a future story.

Then the texts end and we shift to the second piece, Building 26.

BUILDING 26

The title is in reference to the room where all the captured specials were kept under sedation. If you paid attention to panels, you'd see the Human Resources sign. I always loved that sort of irony so I wanted to reference it. The file name and its style is a direct homage to iStory 602's conclusion when it is revealed how Belief insulted the agent, Penn. It sums up what Trevor did post March 20, 2007 and notes when he arrived at LAX, on June 15, 2007. This is a reference to when the registration on Niki Sanders' Cadillac in Volume One "Don't Look Back" expires. And to add to Ms. Niles line about using Victor and Valerie on two ends of the USA, I had Trevor meet Victor then vanish. This story picks up in part two of my five parter.

After that I planned on inserting my five parter but I discovered there is a limit to how much you can type in the field. So with a restriction, I looked elsewhere to post it, on 9th Wonders. But recently, I decided it will be housed here on this blog as five posts and I'd leave a link on the forum. It'll also have a minor edit and extra joke added since the forum thread was created.

Backstory - Assignment Tracker 2.0

2009-10-22T13:20:00.003-10:00

Statistics

I decided to make Trevor's control index on the high side at 88% not only because he's awesome but to lay down the possibility that he could use his power against telepaths and other cerebral's in a dangerous way which I explore in future stories.

I love the Diagram photo used for specials with Enhanced Memory. The Ones and Zeroes become an important motif in future stories when Trevor uses his power.

Personal History

Paragraph One

I based them on the reports that evsdropr stole with the trojan virus. Like with field reports, agents check in to Primatech. Story-wise, I decided to use Julia Ryan and Lukas Bahn as the agents first charged with determining if Trevor was a highly evolved being. At this point in 2006, Trevor is already using multiple aliases, moving from state to state, and erased his data in every known database across the world. It makes perfect sense to use the Ryan-Bahn team because they specialize in finding the hard to find, off the grid specials.

I also sought to quickly establish how Trevor used his advanced ability of enhanced memory: memorizing specific disciplines that may come handy while on the lam, languages, tv shows (that he's references to in his own snarky way), keeps in shape (so he can fight or flee), and is an outcast.

Paragraph Two

I wanted to build up a sense of mystery behind this character. Why did he erase his history? Who is he really? What is he? I laid down the blacks ops theory to use as a callback in the story "Spook."

Paragraph Three to Five

These lay out Trevor's traveling pattern. It is done chronologically to suggest he was moving west from some point east but at the same time, nothing specific about his origins. The main point is to demonstrate his patterns of how long he stays, names he used, where he appeared, what job he used that was listed in the statistics, and what other people noted of him.

Also I chose the date May 2, 2003 because we know from his profile, Matt Neuenberg manifested in 2003 at age 12.

Paragraph Six

I adapted the 'accumulated ability predictors' from the chosen method of investigating specials by the Company, usually mentioned as genetic predictors just like in evs' file on a homeless special being chased. I also laid down this entry to use as brief flashback in the montage of Part One.

Paragraph Seven

I used this to reveal why Trevor stayed so long in Hawai'i, he found a life he wanted and someone to share it with. However, with love often comes tragedy in the world of Heroes. The Company tried to bag and tag him but the came at the wrong time. I used what happened to Sandra Bennet in Volume One to explore a curiosity of the Haitian's power and its effects. It can't work the same on everyone. In this case, Trevor's girlfriend got a seizure from the mental manipulation and died. This becomes the main driving force of Trevor's life. I debated for awhile on what his impetus would be, and I concluded on an element of tragedy. I also listed the agents there specifically for Trevor to discover when he steals a Company phone and hacks into their database. They become part of his 'list', another motif of the show.

I used terms like neurocognitive deficit, support team, and nullifer from the AT Files and Graphic Novels. 'Nullifier' and 'support team' came from the story featuring Kill Squad taking on Brandon Lewis with Donna Dunlap and Eric Thompson Jr., who was present at the attempted bag and tag of Trevor. I never elaborated on the support team but it may have been anyone even a KS member or two.

September 26, 2006 was chosen because it is the day Chandra Suresh told Mohinder he was paranoid about being followed as revealed in "Genesis."

Paragraph Eight

I began to embed elements of the show into Trevor's story: Sprint phones, Company surveillance, and Assignment Tracker. I also felt the need to frame the storyline and adding in show references to solidify and tighten Trevor's. Here I used the raid that Matt Parkman and Audrey Hanson instigated in Odessa in Volume One. I suspect it made a headline in a local newspaper and Trevor probably saw it while skimming Google News or something online and remembered.

Paragraph Nine to Ten

I laid down Trevor's methods. He times his flights, pre-packs, has safe houses all around (I never dealt with how he did it, but he was a credit analyst so its implied he had financial sense and liquidated everything then bought up properties with his aliases. I never got time to explain it so it got cut out). Also felt the need to link his power to his basic skill of analysis then combined, it makes him a very strategic person. Also the rant about how his power is not harmful is a nod to Justice League Unlimited "The Cat and the Canary" when Black Canary and Green Arrow confront Wildcat about his extra-circular activities. The last line about paranoia is also modified from something Sayid Jarrah said to Jack in the Lost season 2 finale when they talked about Michael.

Paragraph Eleven

This is intended to reveal that the Company knows Trevor killed the agent and took his phone and (gun but I forgot to mention it but if you think about it, Trevor probably took all his gear to find out about this operation) and performed an autopsy, exploring Company procedure. Revealed that the surviving agent was Dulahey who had a brief appearance on iStory Book One Operation Splinter Chapter 4 when the contract player searches Red Eye's apartment. The player asks Dulahey about the agent before, Eric Thompson Jr! Six degrees of separation. Also threw in their conclusion about Trevor, lock him up in Level 5, a nod to Volume 3.

Paragraph Twelve to Thirteen

Meant to confirm that Trevor did indeed at least download some AT 2.0 files before ditching the phone. He reads off psych profiles of several characters including Matt Neuenberg who shares the same power.

Paragraph Fourteen

Maybe I threw this in to build empathy for Trevor. He was trying to rebuild his life and then he lost it. Now, he's running on rage and wants revenge and I established he's okay with killing. So he's in a weird moral gray space, he's never been in, and now he's had his paranoia confirmed by the Company. The song he hears in his head is a reference to the Korean film, "Old Boy." It hit a chord with me when I watched the movie and it stuck with me since. As much as Trevor is angry, he also has a broken heart and he has never felt so vulnerable.

Paragraph Fifteen and Sixteen

When Trevor goes on another rant, most of the dialogue is a reference to Richard Drucker when he conversed with Hana Gitelman in Volume 2's Heroes Evolutions. I loved the ideology and for sure it would have been a book that Trevor read during his travels. It also shows that he's questioning his current course of action, what's more important, revenge or the truth, a callback to when Ted and Parkman confront Bennet at his house in Volume One "Company Man." It also lays tracks for his desire to find others with powers, which comes to a head in my later stories. Also the line about "wishing it and making it happen.." is a loose nod to Future Matt and Future Mohinder's conversation in Volume One's "Five Years Gone."

Paragraph Seventeen

Based on one of my original blog posts during the evsdropr arc, this one sets up how Trevor now booby traps his safe houses with cheap explosives. Also included is a nod to another agent introduced in the evsdropr arc, Paul Harding, who can manipulate hair.

Paragraph Eighteen

Also another original entry I gave some meat to. It establishes where Trevor is during the Volume 2 finale, he was visiting his girlfriend's grave a few feet away from where Kaito Nakamura's funeral was held which I later referenced in several future stories. I also couldn't help but establish this was after Hiro buried Adam Monroe and Trevor thinks its his subconscious.

Paragraph Nineteen

Ties up everything I was implying and setting up. He's dangerous.

Paragraph Twenty

A nod to iStory with the Executive Servies. Always wanted Evolutions to explore those divisions more but I felt the need to show that the Company considers what their bag and tags could be if they were 'reprogrammed' to work for them.

Paragraph Twenty One

Couldn't resist but make Trevor look nuts with multiple disorders. Apophenia is a callback to DC Comics' the Question and a scene from Justice League Unlimited "Double Date" when Huntress messes with the Question in the Watchtower. Class III Sedation is a callback to the German arc when he was captured and the Company transmissions were sent to us by evsdropr. The German was sedated to keep his powers in check during transport.

Next time: I introduce what happened to Trevor in the show's third season and talk about that in detail.

Part One - Primatech Assignment Tracker 2.0

2009-10-22T12:40:00.002-10:00

It all started on August 22, 2008 as the summer arc starring evsdropr was coming to its conclusion. I created the character, mrmichaelt, for fun on myNBC to keep up with evs' own blog about the Primatech Company. I created a few blog entries, which became key aspects of mrmichaelt's origins-Hong Kong, Kaito Nakamura's funeral, and stalking Primatech agents. Then I forgot about mrmichaelt for awhile. But he didn't forget me, he lingered and stewed in my subconscious for a year.

Then came Heroes Survival Game. I joined near Phase 2 and decided to revisit mrmichaelt. I took some time to jot down an exact timeline of events that take place in his life and used them as the basis of writing stories of the biography. I began with Primatech monitoring and that grew into a custom Primatech Assignment Tracker 2.0 file on Heroes Wiki.

http://heroeswiki.com/User:Mrmichaelt

My one gripe is I didn't figure out how to add multiple entries for Known Persons Exhibiting Similar Abilities so I chose Charlie Andrews over Matt Neuenberg. Otherwise, I was happy with how the file turned out. It set up the foundation of mrmichaelt, now Trevor Tanaka, going from job to job, no past, borderline paranoid for good reason, and tragedy.

Next entry: The references and callbacks I hid within the writing.