“The Villain Saga” – Episode 1, Part 1

(See previous)

INT. EREWHON PRISON — MORNING

DIRECTOR D., wearing a uniform similar to those worn by the GUARDS, heads down a long hallway. The doors are bolted shut, and security cameras turn to follow him as he walks. MOREAU is a few paces behind him, casting wary glances at the cameras.

MOREAU

Are you sure no one will recognize us?

DIRECTOR D.

Positive. Most of the news from our areas hardly reached anywhere else, unlike for some of these people.

They turn to look at a window, looking into the LUNCH HALL. Several prisoners sit at tables, some in groups, others alone. The SUPER POWER VILLAINS appear to be starting a food fight.

MOREAU

So, which one do you want to start with first?

DIRECTOR D.

I’m not quite-

DR. JUPITER approaches the two from behind, seemingly from out of nowhere. Both nearly jump when he speaks.

DR. JUPITER

Who are you interested in? I can probably give you some suggestions.

DIRECTOR D.

(Gathering himself; pretending not to have been spooked)

Uh, well, someone a little less…violent, perhaps. Intelligent so…they can have a good conversation, and one of your more notorious prisoners…so we can still have a challenge.

He tries his best to get people who will both be helpful for him, but not cause any suspicions from the doctor. It seems to work, as Jupiter quickly begins going through a mental list of prisoners.

DR. JUPITER

Ah, well…you may want to try Dr. Hare first. He’s very smart–

Cut to a door opening, looking into a small room with DR. HARE at a table, handcuffed. The shadows of DIRECTOR D. and MOREAU are seen entering.

DR. JUPITER (CONT’D)

(narration)

–but less of a violent type, like you said.

The two “psychologists” sit down across from HARVEY, who would be eyeing them suspiciously if he was not wearing goggles. He is wearing a uniform, but the rabbit head-piece-thing is still on.

DIRECTOR D. begins speaking as MOREAU pulls out a clipboard.

DIRECTOR D.

Hello, Mr. Hare–

DR. HARE

Doctor, thanks.

DIRECTOR D.

Dr. Hare, sorry. My name is–

DR. HARE

Honestly, what are you trying to do with this? You can’t exactly reverse the effects of gamma rays muddled with hare DNA.

DIRECTOR D.

That–

DR. HARE

I mean, there’s only so much psychoanalysis can help with my case, unless you have plans to reverse what happened biologically–in which case don’t.

As DR. HARE finishes speaking, DIRECTOR D. looks as though he’s about to have a brain aneurysm. MOREAU taps her clipboard against the table repeatedly.

DIRECTOR D.

Mr.–Doctor Hare, could you let me speak for one moment?

DR. HARE

Oh, sure. Why didn’t you say so?

DIRECTOR D.

(sigh)

I have a plan, and I want you to be a part of it. And it will help you get out of this prison.

DR. HARE

Please don’t say community service.

MOREAU

He’s impossible.

DIRECTOR D. raises his hand to silence her.

DIRECTOR D.

No, it’s…much more in line with your goals. I–

Just as he’s about to unveil his plan, a GUARD yells from outside the door.

GUARD

Time’s up! We’ve got to get him to the courtyard!

DIRECTOR D. sighs again, then digs into his shirt pocket. From under the table, we see him hand a slip of paper to DR. HARE as the guards enter.

DIRECTOR D.

This explains everything. Destroy it once you’re done. I’ll talk again with you soon.

DR. HARE stands, and follows the guards out of the room. As he leaves, MOREAU makes a comment under her breath.

MOREAU

And next time, don’t talk so much.

DIRECTOR D.

We need him though, as unfortunate as it is. Anyways, let’s investigate the others. I’m certain they have plenty of potential as well.

The next scene is a montage of interviews with other prisoners. The background music during this should be a hyper piano, or something similar.

First interview with Crusher, a very muscled man who has a habit of speaking at twice the volume of those around him.

DIRECTOR D.

So, you are “The Crusher.”

CRUSHER

Yeah!

MOREAU

(looking at clipboard)

Hm…super strength? You must be capable of a lot. So why are you here?

CRUSHER

Well, one day I was really, really mad! So, I stomped on some bugs. My neighbors reported the noise, and I was taken to the county prison. Then a radioactive meteor hit, and I became SUPER STRONG!

Pause.

DIRECTOR D.

So…you’re saying…you went to prison because you smashed some bugs?

CRUSHER

Well, yes, but I also made a lot of noise and threw around some stuff!

Look back at DIRECTOR D. and MOREAU, who give each other disappointed sideways glances.

Next interview–Betty Jetty, a flying villain with a lot of power and less-than-average gray matter.

DIRECTOR D.

So Betty, what skills do you have?

BETTY

Well…I can do karaoke ok…

MOREAU

It says here you can fly and shoot energy beams.

BETTY

Oh yeah, those too.

DIRECTOR D.

Could you provide a demonstration?

BETTY

Aw, do I have to?

Switch to interview with MUSTACHIO.

MUSTACHIO

AND THEN I SHOT THE PUMA THAT WAS HALF THE SIZE OF THIS HERE ROOM RIGHT BETWEEN THE EYES!

Back to BETTY.

BETTY

Well, I guess I could try.

She positions her hands out. Beat.

BETTY

Ooooohh yeah…can’t do it with these special bracelets…I mean I could try singing?

Back to MUSTACHIO.

MUSTACHIO

Would you like to hear another totally true story?

D. and MOREAU

No.

Switch to the two “criminal psychologists” standing in a hall, looking very discouraged.

MOREAU

I suppose…some of them might have potential?

DIRECTOR D.

(sigh)

Yes, but they’re not what we need–unless we can somehow de-hypnotize the Raven guy or give that Betty Jetty a few more IQ points. We need someone…well, to be frank, better than us.

MOREAU

Pardon?

DIRECTOR D.

Someone ten times as smart, and still with plenty of ambition. If we’re going to take advantage–

JUPITER enters the hall.

JUPITER

Hello!

DIRECTOR D.

Ah, hi! Good afternoon.

JUPITER

How has your experience been so far?

DIRECTOR D.

Well…all right…

MOREAU walks up to JUPITER, batting her eyelids a little, trying to look as sweet as possible.

MOREAU

Oh sir, our stay here has been far better than we expected…but…we’re looking for something more…challenging.

JUPITER

A challenge, you say?

MOREAU

Yes. We want someone of great substance to help, someone we can truly test our skills with.

DR. JUPITER thinks for a moment, then frowns.

JUPITER

Well, there are certainly plenty of those, but there is one…

As he talks, we see MOREAU and D. in an elevator, heading up to the most secure area of the prison. It’s evening, and harsh, dark shadows are cast everywhere.

JUPITER

To put it bluntly, no one has been able to help him. Personally, the man terrifies me. But if you want to try a hand at saving him from himself…be my guest.

The two exit the elevator, crossing through an area filled with cameras and rows of locked doors for them to pass through. They finally reach a wide, metal door. MOREAU steps back in fear, and even DIRECTOR D. looks a little timid. The two guards in front of the door share concerned looks, then go to open it.

The room is very dark and very sparse. Small, half-finished inventions made from scrap metal lay around the floor, and MOREAU pales at the sight of a clump of feathers, bird bones, and more scrap metal, which we can only assume lead to some half-finished cybernetic experiment with the creature.

In the middle of the room is a table, where a shadowed person sits. Occasionally we hear a soft jingle, or a muffled laugh. As they approach, the man begins softly talking to himself, with a glitching sound in his voice as he switches from one train of thought to the next.

BINARY BARD

Just one prison to the next…no point if I cannot even see the stars from here…ad astra…and you…per aspera…heh, you…

MOREAU and D. reach him. Suddenly, THE BINARY BARD looks up, his red robotic eye glowing, illuminating his face and Joker-like grin. MOREAU squeaks.

BINARY BARD

Well, you are here now!

Trying to keep his cool after the scare, DIRECTOR D. cautiously approaches him.

DIRECTOR D.

Hello…Mordred?

BINARY BARD chuckles, though it is nearly impossible to tell what the noise is over the vocal “glitching.”

BINARY BARD

What are you here to try now? Even I know there are some things that cannot be fixed.

DIRECTOR D.

Try me.

He and MOREAU sit, THE BINARY BARD not taking his almost psychotic gaze off them.

DIRECTOR D.

(cont’d)

So, what name do you go by, exactly? It says both “Mordred” and “the Binary Bard” here.

BINARY BARD

If you replace all the parts of a ship, at what point is it no longer the original?

DIRECTOR D.

I don’t know…all of them?

MOREAU

I’d say at about half.

DIRECTOR D.

But what does that have to do with anything?

BINARY BARD

You’re not who you say you are, are you?

MOREAU

(concerned)

What?

BARD leans back in his chair, smiling less than before.

BINARY BARD

“Psychologists,” they said. Hmpf, you act nothing like them. Those always start with “how are you feeling” or “tell me about what you’ve done” and try to reverse what I’ve already tried to rid of…nothing works, except replacing every cursed and broken thing with something stronger.

DIRECTOR D.

What are you trying to say?

BINARY BARD

What do you want from me?

DIRECTOR D. folds his hands on the table. He frowns, and shares a look with MOREAU, silently confirming his decision to release this information. He glances back at the door to make sure no one is watching, then lowers his voice.

DIRECTOR D.

Listen, if you want a way outta here, you better not tell anyone this, got it?

BINARY BARD

Mayhaps. Depending on what it is you have to say.

MOREAU slams the clipboard on the table, showing a sudden burst of confidence.

MOREAU

Listen, if any of this gets out, I will make sure you suffer for it.

BINARY BARD

(chuckles, then says darkly while still smiling)

Nothing you could do would even compare to what’s happened before.

There’s a pause. DIRECTOR D. folds his arms on the table, and stares at BINARY BARD intently.

DIRECTOR D.

We want to get you out of here, but we’re gonna need some of your assistance.

BINARY BARD

So simply breaking in during the eve of night was too…painful? If the reason you need me is because you are incapable of performing such an act, what else do you wish to use me for?

DIRECTOR D. freezes. He already can tell too much. He has to save their cause and quickly before THE BINARY BARD reveals their secret.

DIRECTOR D.

Well, of course. You see, both of us have criminal pasts as well. We’ve managed to hide them for this long, but were someone to investigate us…they’d find it out. It’s our end of the deal. We free you, and you help hide our pasts.

BINARY BARD

Sounds like you get quite little in return. Are you sure you don’t aspire for more?

DIRECTOR D.

Fine. I wanted to discuss this later…but you do have more to your end of the deal. We have a few requests for you to help our own plan, so we can get something out of this for our help.

BARD clicks his tongue.

BINARY BARD

Why, you are indeed criminals! But I will consider, depending on what you wish for me to do. I’ll expect you to explain further next time we meet.

DIRECTOR D.

Wait, have we reached our time–

(THE BINARY BARD grins again as the door opens.)

BINARY BARD

Well, I’m feeling much better now! Thank you for this, it truly helped.

(He winks at MOREAU and D with his human eye. The guards stand at the door as they leave. We see the inside of the cell as the door closes, leaving no light but BARD’S eye and the faint moonlight through his window.)

FADE OUT.

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Hello everyone! Before I end this post I just wanted to showcase an awesome graphic novel version of the prologue script made by GEAR/capax_infini on Instagram! This truly made my week!

Thanks so much for your support for this story, Poptropicans, and let’s see where this goes!

Castori honorem ~ Maryann/Smart Bubbles