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
Showing posts with label Sparkplug. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sparkplug. Show all posts
February 11, 2010
January 25, 2010
Part Six - Influence - Part Three
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…
"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…
December 5, 2009
Commentary - The Beginning of the End - Part Three
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.
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.
December 4, 2009
Part Five - The Beginning of The End - Part Three
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…
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…
November 30, 2009
Commentary - The Beginning of the End - Part Two
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
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
November 29, 2009
Part Five - The Beginning of The End - Part Two
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...
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...
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