Next Gen - Ep. 1, part 3

EPISODE 1, SCENE 5 (Cont.)

KIM
I would bring you back … I would go the the Death Dimension and drag you back, I'd even kick Death in the balls while I was there.

*Jack looks at her, then away. Kim puts down the ball and begins walking towards the partially-finished building, mostly just I-beams in the shape of a large office building.*

KIM (cont.) *sadly*
But I understand. Heroes do screw up, sometimes pretty badly. But the important part is where they try in the first place. And let's face it: this is a city, a world really, full of super-villains and superheroes, all of whom probably seem crazy stronger than you or I could ever be.

*Kim turns around and motions for Jack to follow her, her usual smile now back on her face. Jack follows, staying several feet behind her as they walk.*

KIM (cont.) *inspired*
But that's why I come here, to this abandoned lot. I lift stuff, toss stuff, sometimes leap into the air and see how high I can get. And someday, if I see a super-villain about to hurt someone, I'll have an idea of how to stop them. Because maybe, I'll know enough tricks by then to beat the jerk into the floor. I come here because someday, I'm gonna be standing between a bunch of innocent civilians and some guy who can fart atomic bombs, and I want to survive that day and save those people.

JACK
And you think lifting bulldozers and juggling dumpsters will help you?

*The duo arrive at the unfinished building, looking up at the I-beams reaching towards the sky.*

KIM
I hope so. And if not, it couldn't hurt, right?

*Jack looks over at Kim, as if seeing her in a new light, but says nothing. Kim sighs and goes to stand in the middle of the structure, arms crossed.*

KIM (cont.)
And now we come to why I brought your whining ass here. If you think you're no good in a fight, fine, but I intend to show you otherwise. I'm going to show you how you could beat someone like me, who could pound you into a pulp if I ever got my hands on you.

JACK
And how is that?

KIM
Simple. Don't let me get my hands on you.

JACK *sarcastic*
Wow. I'm stunned. Why didn't I think of that? Avoid you! Brilliant!

KIM
Give the comedy routine a rest! Now, you can jump up and stick to that beam up there, right?

JACK
Sure, no problem.

*Jack once again vanishes, only to appear where Kim pointed out.*

JACK (cont.)
So? Once I'm here, should I taunt you? Maybe climb higher and hide?

KIM
No, because then I'd do this.

*Kim picks up a rock off the ground and chucks it at Jack, striking him in the stomach.*

JACK
Ow!

KIM
That's for being a whiner. Now, what have we learned?

JACK
That you can throw something with just enough strength to really sting but not go right through my soft, fragile body?

KIM
No! That you need to keep moving! When I picked up that rock, which is the only way I can get you up there without going over and knocking this whole building down by taking out the supports, you should have vanished again.

JACK
You mean jump?

KIM
It's about as good as vanishing, from my point of view. Get behind me, where I can't see you, and jump again if I turn around. Jump if it looks like I'm going to throw something at you. Jump if it looks like I'm going to try to take out the supports. Just … keep moving.

JACK *placating*
Fine, I admit you've made a point. I could be pretty good at not letting you pelt me with rocks. Not sure what good that is compared to super strength. And with your near-invulnerability, you don't need to worry about rocks thrown at you either, so I'm still not sure what my powers of avoidance are good for.

KIM
It's not the powers that make someone a superhero, it's how you use them. And you, for all intents and purposes, have super-speed. Now, how does the Sonic Sasquatch use his super-speed?

JACK
Well, if he even exists, and let's face it, until he stands still long enough for someone to take even a grainy photo of him he might not actually exist at all … if he exists, he's nearly invincible because no one ever sees him and the bad guys end up unconscious and tied up before they even know he's there.

KIM *triumphant*
Yes! And so here's what you do; when you need to take down a super-villain, you jump past them so fast that they can't see you do it, and beat them with a bat or something as you fly by. Or, Or! We get you a sword, something sharp, and you cut them a little mid-jump. Do that enough, and they're down for the count.

JACK
That's ridiculous!

KIM
Then try it, and prove me wrong!

JACK
On you?

KIM
Do you see anyone else standing in the middle of a bunch of perfect surfaces for you to jump to and from while trying out my idea?

*Jack looks around, seeing the jungle of I-beams in a new and interesting way. Still, he looks unsure of the idea.*

JACK
You want me to attack you?

KIM *enjoying herself*
Do you see any other nearly-invulnerable supers standing here waiting for you to be proven wrong about what you're capable of?

*Jack leaps from one place to another, then again, then again; his face is pensive, thoughtful.*

JACK
And what do you suggest I do when coming up against one of those super-villains with thick skin or force fields?

KIM
Improvise! Or wait for me, and I'll punch through their defenses! That's what I'm good at. No one said you had to handle every conceivable enemy.

JACK
No, just the ones who aren't super at all and you wouldn't need my help with anyway.

KIM *reaching her limit*
Oh, for crying out loud, stop it with the negativity! I swear, if you don't shut up about how you're never going to be able to do anything, you're going to develop the super-power of pessimism!

JACK *sniggering*
I'll break brick walls with my wondering if it's really that well-built anyway! I'll defeat my foes by loudly noticing that they will never amount to anything!

*Kim gives Jack a look, learned from her mother; he stops joking around.*

JACK (cont.)
So … just jump by you and hit you mid-jump?

KIM
Yep.

*Kim tosses a piece of rebar towards Jack, who promptly drops it from the weight.*

JACK
Ow! Maybe something lighter, like, that dowel over there?

KIM
Speak English.

JACK
I am! That … piece of wood there, the thin circular one.

KIM
This stick?

JACK
Yes, the "stick."

*Kim picks up the stick and tosses it towards Jack, who catches it.*

KIM
No need to get snippy. We didn't all go to shop class.

*Jack jumps between positions a few more times, getting a feel for moving with the stick in hand. Kim just tries to keep him in sight. Finally, he jumps to a spot directly behind Kim, then at her, flying just past her shoulder. The stick breaks on contact, and Jack lands with a little instability, thrown off a bit by the new motion. Kim smiles broadly and rubs her shoulder.*

KIM
Thanks for aiming for my shoulder; that stung, even for me.

JACK
Well it didn't work anyway … the stick broke, and hitting you in mid-air almost threw me off my path.

KIM
That's why we should get you a sword. You need to slice as you go by, not just hit me.

JACK
I'm pretty sure they don't sell swords to kids in high school.

KIM
We've got superpowers. We're not your average kids. And a knife would work too, you can buy that easily.

JACK
Also, I'm not feeling too great about the hurting people thing. Slicing some dude as I fly by seems a little sick.

KIM
So is punching someone with enough force to crush steel. But you know what? The bad guys out there probably deserve it. And they'd do the same thing to us if they could, or to any innocent person they meet.

*There is a silence, as Jack contemplates this and Kim rubs her shoulder. Jack finally says something.*

JACK
You really want me to help you with this superhero thing, huh?

KIM *agreeably*
I'd like it if you did. I think you can. But in the end, no, not if you don't want to. I'd bet anything though that someday, either with or without me, you'll have the chance to help people. And I think you'll use those powers you got from your deadbeat alien dad and do the right thing. I even think you'd do so without me having showed you what you could do with them. What I really want though is for you to have learned enough tricks to survive that day when it comes, and maybe save a few people too. Cause the Death Dimension is frigging hard to get to, and I will be royally pissed if I do have to come in and pull you out.

JACK
You'd do it just to kick Death in the balls.

KIM *happily*
Yeah, I probably would.

*There is a companionable silence. Jack jumps between spots a few, thinking about what Kim has told him. Kim lies down and looks straight up at the sky through the middle of the building, trying to catch a glimpse of Jack mid-jump. Jack appears next to her.*

JACK
Kim?

KIM *lazily*
Yeah?

JACK
I … I wanted to say … uh …

*A horrendous noise interrupts whatever Jack was about to say, something between a crow's caw and a shriek. It is the cry of the WINGED PHANTOM, high in the sky. Kim, who was still lazily scanning the sky, sees something that scares her. She grabs Jack's leg and trips him so that he falls down face-up in the dirt, just as the loud crack of a high-powered rifle rings out and a bullet hits the ground near Jack. Kim rolls over, on top of Jack, as another rifle round fires; the shot hits her in the back, and she winces.*

KIM
Ooh, that stings. So, you were about to say something dramatic?

JACK
What the hell!? Who the crap is shooting us?! I didn't do anything!

KIM
Pretty sure that's Phantom up there, although it could be Kite, it's so far I can't really tell.

JACK
Wait, the guy you took out in that 7-Eleven? What's he doing here?

KIM
Revenge, what else? Now can we focus on the senile geezer with the big gun?

JACK
We? I'm not exactly as immune to bullets as you are!

*Another shot rings out, and a bullet strikes Kim in the back of the head; she looks a little woozy now.*

KIM *hurried*
Nearly-immune, and it won't last much longer at this rate. Now, here's the plan: jump to the top of this building, hide behind a beam so he can't see you, then jump when I give the signal. Try to take his gun, or even better, knock him out of the air.

JACK
Straight for the man with the big gun? And what if I can't jump high enough?

KIM *big grin*
All part of the plan, Jumping Jack.

JACK *resigned*
You don't get to pick my hero name.

*Jack vanishes, and Kim starts running out towards the large metal ball she dropped. A shot rings out, hitting the dirt behind her as she runs. She reaches the ball, and we see Jack is now hiding behind a beam, staring intently up into the sky. Back to Kim, who has picked up the ball and is running back towards the building. Another shot hits the dirt as she runs, a little to the right of her. She reaches the center of the building again, gathers her strength, and hurtles the ball as hard as she can into the sky, up through the building and directly at Winged Phantom.*

KIM *yells*
Now J! Go!

*Jack jumps, as if racing the flying metal ball. The camera follows him as he ascends, grabs hold of the slowly spinning metal ball and rides it as it travels towards Winged Phantom. Winged Phantom, an old white-haired man with a pair of light blue mechanical wings strapped to his back, is cackling to himself insanely while reloading his rifle. Seeing the large metal ball flying towards him, he easily dodges it in midair.*

PHANTOM
Ha! Missed my duckie … now, where is the squishy one, your friend?

JACK
Old bastard!

*Jack, having jumped off the metal ball as it continues its flight upwards, plants his knee into Phantom's back, disabling the wings.*

PHANTOM
No! My hover jets!

*Jack, now clinging to Phantom's back, begins madly pummeling him in the head, knocking the old man unconscious. Without the jets holding them up, the two begin falling towards the ground, until Jack manages to catch air with the wings. They glide back to earth, where Kim catches them before they hit the ground.*

KIM
Touchdown!

JACK *disbelief*
That … that was crazy! I just kicked an old man, …

KIM *exhilaration*
An crazy old geezer with wings!

JACK
… then punched him until I knocked him out, …

KIM
Really? Sweet!

JACK
… and finally rode his unconscious body to the ground!

KIM
Yes!

JACK
How does that not make me a bad person?!

KIM *explaining*
He's an evil old dude who was trying to shoot you in the face! And he had mechanical wings, that's almost always a sign that they're extra bad.

JACK *disbelief*
He's bad, so hurting him is good?

KIM
Um … Yes! Plus, do you know how hard it is to take down that guy?

JACK
You did it just three weeks ago!

KIM *explaining*
Not when he was in the air and flying around. The idiot tried to rob a convenience store, with, as should be obvious, a roof! He couldn't fly away!

*There is silence, then Jack sighs and goes to check on Phantom.*

JACK
Well, he seems okay. I don't think I hurt him too badly.

KIM
You do realize this is probably the guy who shot J.F.K., right? Don't worry about him.

JACK
Well, it worries me! Do we take him to a hospital or something?

KIM
No, we put him in a dumpster, put something heavy on top then call the cops and report a bird in a cage.

JACK
A bird in a … That's insane!

KIM
No, insane is an old man wearing mechanical wings, shooting people with a high-powered rifle while flying in the air above them. Insane is him trying to shoot my best friend because I stopped him from robbing a convenience store! Insane is showing compassion to this jerk!!

*Another silent moment; Phantom groans and starts to stand up, until Kim flicks him in the head and he goes down again.*

JACK
I just don't understand. Since when am I allowed to go around hurting people?

KIM
… You're not, not really. But … see, there's this weird thing about super-villains. They want to hurt people. They like it, I think. Sometimes, I worry that I like it too. So, I do this: if I ever see someone in danger, I help them. And any time other than those circumstances, I'm just a normal teenage girl, avoiding my homework, hanging out with you, playing video games … I'll just pretend to be normal, until the times I need to stop. And generally, the fastest way to stop a bad guy is by punching them until I knock them out. That's certainly how my dad and his friends do things. Maybe … there might be some situations where the nice approach works best. So I guess I'll keep you around for those times, alright?

JACK
You can be a pretty scary girl sometimes, you know that?

KIM *voice dripping with sweetness*
Aww, you always say the nicest things. So, we putting this old geezer in the bin?

*Phantom begins to groan again.*

JACK
J.F.K. you said?

KIM
Yep.

*Jack whacks Phantom over the head, putting him back out.*

JACK
In a dumpster it is. I'll call the cops while we walk. Wanna crush his wings and gun first?

KIM
My pleasure!

END SCENE 5, END EPISODE 1