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.
Showing posts with label Phase Three. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phase Three. Show all posts
November 19, 2009
November 12, 2009
Commentary - Phase Three Part Three and Four
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."
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
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...
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...
November 7, 2009
Commentary - Phase Three Part One
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.
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.
October 27, 2009
Part Four - Phase Three Part One
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.
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.
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