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Nightshade (Complete)
By Aragorn
Forward:
One day me and my friend Curtis were super-bored. My parents were out of town and he was staying over for the weekend. So what we did was take out my video camera and start making a movie titled 'Our Cool Life', however this movie we were making it up as we went along (Improving). It started off with me (Wearing various articles of clothes bunched up under my shirt as breasts and a dishcloth over my head as long hair) playing as Allison, a girl pissed off with her parents. She packs her bag and run anyways. The next day Jeff gets a call from his friend Curtis saying that Allison is missing. Then we cut to Allison hitchhiking (Keep in mind ALL of this was filmed in one room of my house) where she gets kidnapped by a truck driver with a lesbian daughter (The daughter is never seen, only talked about). Jeff becomes Nightboy, Boy of the Streets, and goes and saves her. Running time was 24 minutes.
Then a half a year later the same situation, so we decide to make a sequel that we ended up calling 'Our Fun Life'. Again, completely improv. It starts off with Jeff moving back to Newfoundland, his ex Roberta getting into a fight with her boyfriend Neil, and Jeff telling his best friend Ryan, his secret about being Nightboy. Neil gets injured and goes sees a Doctor. Roberta disappears and Neil gets blamed for it until he shows up dead. Two detectives get on the case and start investigating. They discover that the truck driver with the lesbian daughter from the first movie had escaped prison and tracked Jeff down to there, posing as a dr (Yes, he's the dr from earlier). However before they could apprehend him, they get blown up in their car. Jeff learns of this and becomes Nightboy and goes off to save Roberta, fighting many henchmen (All invisible oddly enough, lol) and then shows down with the Truck Driver with the Lesbian Daughter (No, we never gave him a name), right before he was about to kill Roberta. Bad guy gets killed and Nightboy saves the day. Running time was 46 minutes.
Then we rushed and started making the third and final film titled 'Our Scary Life', once again, improving it. Basically what happened was a killer (Dressed in a gray blanket as a cape and a skeleton mask) was killing off Jeff's friends and Jeff had to become Nightboy and find out who was doing the killing. It was more of a horror then action, but we never did finish filming it. Running time was 20 minutes, but we never finished making it, so if we did it would have been a lot longer. It was shaping up to be longer then the second movie.
After that the tape with all those on accidentally got taped over, making me extremely pissed off. I haven’t talked to Curtis in over a year now, plus I've moved a few times since then, so we can't really re-enact them and re-film them. Plus the thing that made them so hilarious and fun to watch was the fact that we were making them up, line-for-line, as we went along.
Anyway as a way to deal with stress, what I'll do is write short stories (Anywhere from a page to twenty-odd pages) about Nightboy doing what I want to do. Like if I'm pissed off at someone stabbing me in the back and I feel extremely upset over it, I'll write a short piece about Nightboy being stabbed in the back by the person and him going after them or something. He's basically my dark side. He smokes, does drugs, kills people (Crooks and thugs) just to relieve stress.
As I got older, I realized Nightboy was a really childish name for a 19 (Almost 20) year old. So I changed his name from Nightboy to Arch Angel. I kept his look completely the same though. Anyway, after all that, I decided to write a treatment for a script based off my Nightboy/Arch Angel hero. Then after THAT, I discovered that Arch Angel was already the name of a copyrighted superhero, so I had to change it yet AGAIN. This time I changed it back to something similar to the original name: Nightshade.
The script doesn't start off with him being so dark, but I plan, over the course of two or three scripts, to have him slowly turn darker and darker each time.
Nightshade - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/A_Man_Apart8/Nightshade.bmp
Bike-Riding Nightshade - http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/A_Man_Apart8/Bike-ridingNightshade.bmp
NIGHTSHADE
By
Jeff Long
Rough Draft 1.
Completed on January 23rd, 2005.
Open On:
EXT. TOWN OF ST. WAINLUK – NIGHT - AERIAL SHOT
We see the entire town from above, lights from various sources, shining through the darkness of night.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK - MAIN STREET – NIGHT
It is long past midnight, Main Street deserted, all the stores closed. A teenage girl stumbles down the sidewalk, obviously drunk. Under her opened jacket, she wears a dress, making it obvious that she was just at a party.
She stumbles and catches herself on the side of a building, giggling. She straightens up and continues walking/stumbling down the sidewalk. She passes by a pitch black alley. After she passes by, multiple voices of laughter echo from inside the alley. We cannot see the people due to the darkness.
The laughter gets a bit louder and louder as we see three shapes walk out from the alley, snickering. All three wear trench coats. One of the gang members, TODD, has green hair with a medallion hanging around his neck in the shape of a circle, with a green jewel in the middle. On one side of him is JOHNER. Johner is a bit on the short side and a tad chubby. His black hair is spiked up. On the other side of Todd is a taller man, who also has his hair spiked up. This is BRAD. All three of them carry baseball bats, and Brad also wears a pair of knuckle rings.
The trio starts following the girl, quickly closing the gap between them and her. She leans against a wall to catch her balance. Todd rushes and stands in front of her, blocking her path. She turns to move around him but Brad steps in her way. She turns around to face the way she came from, but Johner blocks that path. They have her surrounded.
GIRL
(Slurring)
Let me by!
TODD
Oh come now, sweet thing. Surly you aren’t ready to go home. You know, we can have our own party right here.
Todd leans in and licks the girl’s cheek. She tries to cower in disgust.
GIRL
Leave me alone…
TODD
Oh come on! We’re pretty good partiers.
Todd leans in to her again, but she slams her foot forward, nailing Todd in the shin. He lets out a yell and bends down to rub his shin. The girl cowers away, only to have Johner grab her by the hair and tilt her head back. She begins to cry. Todd stands up.
TODD
Hold her still, Johner. Time we teach this bitch how to respect people.
Brad steps closer to the girl, raising his bat high in the air. Just as he is about to swing it down, a gloved hand flies out of the darkness from behind him and grabs the bat from behind. The hand pulls the bat back, causing Brad to step back as well. The bat gets yanked from Brad’s hands and flung away. The three punks turn their heads to look at the newcomer.
The figure is dressed in black from head to toe. He wears a black baseball cap with a giant ‘N’ on it, stenciled in white. Below that, the figure wears a pair of sunglasses and covering his mouth and nose is a black bandage. Whichever parts of his face are still visible is painted black with facepaint. The figure wears a black trenchcoat, opened up revealing a dark gray shirt. Below that is a pair of black jeans, toped off with a pair of black boots. On his hands is a pair of black gloves.
FIGURE
I highly suggest you let the girl go.
Todd, Johner, and Brad look at each other and smile. Johner lets go of the girl.
JOHNER
Sure, whatever you say.
The three turn to face the figure, smiling in evil delight. Brad takes out a switchblade, popping it open.
BRAD
You shouldn’t have taken my bat, asshole.
Johner and Brad rush the figure, Brad jamming his blade forward, Johner swiping his bat. The figure jumps in the air, flips over their heads, and lands on his feet behind the girl. He turns and grabs the girl from behind. He twirls around, causing them both to turn. After they turn, the figure lets go and continues turning, so he is now facing the punks again, the girl safe behind him. The figure jumps straight up in the air, swinging his foot out, kicking Brad in the chin.
Brad stumbles back and trips, falling down. Johner runs with the bat and swings down, just as the figure dodges to the side and slams his elbow to the back of Johner’s head, causing him to stumble forward. Then the figure half-turns in the other direction and elbows him in the face. He swings his foot at the back of Johner’s foot in a hook, tripping the punk, causing him to fall. The girl turns and runs away down the street.
The figure raises his foot up and slams it down on Johner’s chest. Johner yelps in pain and lets go of the bat. The Figure kicks the bat away.
FIGURE
Get lost and make sure I never see you again.
Todd, who had stayed out of the duel, takes a step towards the figure, slightly amused by his display.
TODD
Who are you?
FIGURE
I’m Nightshade.
Nightshade turns and runs off into the darkness. As Brad and Johner pick themselves up, Todd stares into the darkness where Nightshade ran off.
Cut to:
Opening credits roll as the song ‘Whisper’ by Evanescence plays. As the credits roll, the camera passes over various parts of Nightshade’s attire, starting with the rims of his sunglasses, moving from one end, to the front, around the lenses, and to the other end. Fade Out. In the darkness, show some of the credits.
Fade in on his hat, then after a few seconds, zooming in to a close-up of the symbol. Fade Out. In the darkness, show more of the credits.
Fade in on the bandage laid out on a shelf in a closet. Fade out. In the darkness, show more of the credits.
Fade in on his jacket hanging on a coat hanger. The camera starts at the top and moves its way down. Fade out. In the darkness, show more of the credits.
Fade in on the boots on the floor. Fade out. In the darkness, show the last of the credits.
Fade in:
INT. ST. WAINLUK HIGH SCHOOL – HALLWAY – DAY
The halls are packed with students going about their business. Some at their lockers, others talking with friends, some heading to classes, others aimlessly walking. One of the Grade 12 students, SCOTT SHORT, walks into the halls from outside, a bookbag slung over his shoulders. He has heavy bags under his eyes and he yawns as he walks down the hall, heading for his locker.
FEMALE VOICE
Scott!
Scott turns and sees ASHLEIGH MACDONALD walking up to him.
SCOTT
Hey Ash.
Ashleigh sees Scott’s eyes.
ASHLEIGH
Wow, you look horrible.
SCOTT
Gee, thanks.
ASHLEIGH
Late night last night?
SCOTT
Yeah, kind of. Couldn’t sleep.
ASHLEGH
Well you know you can always call me on my cell, even late at night. I don’t mind waking up and talking to you.
SCOTT
Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. Unless you’re really boring on the phone and can put me to sleep.
Scott and Ashleigh laugh for a minute, but then Ashleigh waves to a group of her friends.
ASHLEIGH
I’ll catch you later.
SCOTT
C-ya around.
Ashleigh goes and joins her friends. Scott stares after her. A hand falls on Scott’s shoulder and he turns to see his friend, CURTIS COATES.
CURTIS
Ashleigh MacDonald. A year below us, yet mature enough to already be graduated. And the object of your heart’s desire for as long as you can remember.
SCOTT
Curtis…
CURTIS
You know it’s true. Everyone knows it.
SCOTT
She just got out of a bad relationship. I don’t think she would want…
CURTIS
(Cutting Scott off)
Now would be a perfect time. Oh by the way, Happy Birthday.
SCOTT
Thanks.
Scott turns to look at Curtis.
CURTIS
Wow you look…
SCOTT
(Cutting Curtis off)
Shut up.
They start walking down the hall. One of the many people they pass is a nerdy kid, MARK ABBOT.
CURTIS
Hey Mark, I got a trick for you.
Mark turns and smiles.
MARK
What is it?
Curtis takes out a quarter from his pocket.
CURTIS
I bet you five bucks that you can’t roll this quarter from the top of your forehead down to your chin, without it leaving your face.
MARK
That’s easy!
CURTIS
I don’t know. I tried it last night and I couldn’t do. It was really frustrating.
Curtis gives the quarter to Mark, who puts it on its side at the top of his forehead and rolls it down his face, to the bottom of his chin. However, Mark is unaware of the pencil-lead line that the quarter is leaving on his face. He finishes it.
MARK
See? I told you it was easy.
CURTIS
Gee Mark, you sure showed me.
Curtis takes his quarter back and him and Scott start walking away, giggling.
MARK
Hey, where’s my money?
CURTIS
We never shook on it!
Curtis and Scott walk further away and as they do, Curtis takes out a pencil and starts running the lead over the side of the quarter.
SCOTT
I wonder why that kid doesn’t have any friends. I mean, I know why we aren’t friends with him, but why isn’t he friends with the other nerds?
CURTIS
I was told it was because he lied to them a lot. Made up stories about himself so he would sound better then he is. They found out. Mark always was a looser. Born that way I think.
Scott laughs as they continue on.
INT. PUNK CLUB – MAIN ROOM – DAY
‘Truth’ by Nerd plays throughout the scene. We see the inside of some kind of hidden refuge for thugs, street punks, and criminals of all kinds and all ages. Throughout the room are even some ‘dirty’ cops mingling within the crowd. Heavy cigar and cigarette smoke clings around the room. There are dozens of tables set up, some used for various card games, others used for dealing drugs, and there were booth seats for just sitting and conversating. There are no windows or anyway for outside light to shine through. There is a bar set up at one end of the room and nude dancers dancing in cages. Strobe and neon lights flash all over the room.
A chubby but muscular man sits in one of the booth seats, two topless women on either side of him, cuddling him. This man is JONAS BECKER. Todd from the intro walks over and sits in the seat opposite Jonas. Jonas stretches out his hand, offering Todd a smoke. Todd takes one out of the pack and puts it in his mouth, using his own lighter to light it. He leans back as he breathes in and then out on the smoke.
JONAS
I hear you got some news on this little boy playing hero that’s disrupting a lot of my business.
TODD
That’s right Mr. Becker, I…
JONAS
(Cutting Todd off)
Please, call me Jonas.
TODD
I had a run-in with him last night. Me and my crew. The little son of a bitch took both of them out in just a couple minutes, and you know how tuff they are.
JONAS
Is it true what they say? About him being just some kid?
TODD
He certainly looked and sounded like he was no older then 18 at the most.
JONAS
Then it’s just a fad. Some comic book fanboy that wants to feel like one of his great nerdy idols. It’ll pass as soon as his fad ends. Until then, he could pose some kind of trouble. He’s already a nuisance. Does the bugger have a name?
TODD
He calls himself Nightshade.
JONAS
From previous encounters, it seems like he only comes out at night. I want you to recruit more members into your gang. Hell, I’ll even supply you with some. Then I want you to go looking for him. It shouldn’t be too hard. Just cause some kind of ruckus and I’m sure he’ll come straight to you. And you don’t need to worry about the police. I have them under my payroll, so they won’t get in the way. Once you have him, crush him. He’s only a boy after all. He may be strong, but he can’t be that smart.
TODD
Yes sir. He’ll be as good as ours.
JONAS
Make sure that he is. Now, can I buy you a dance?
Todd smiles. Jonas raises his hand and snaps his fingers. Within seconds a nude dancer comes and sits on Todd’s lap, giving him a lap dance. Jonas turns and starts making out with the two women on his sides.
EXT. SIDEWALK – DAY
Scott and Ashleigh are walking down a sidewalk, the school far behind them. We can tell by the amount of activity behind them at the school, that school has ended for the day.
ASHLEIGH
You know, you don’t have to walk me home.
SCOTT
I know, but I want to. I have to walk past your house on my way home anyway, and I like talking to you.
Ashleigh smiles as they continue to walk.
ASHLEIGH
So what do you do for fun?
SCOTT
Oh you know, this and that. Dressing up as a superhero and saving the day mostly.
Ashleigh laughs and Scott smiles at her laughter.
ASHLEIGH
Well you know, if you ever want to get together and do something sometime, just give me a call or come on over. I’m usually home. Besides, I could probably use a dose of ‘saving the day’ to spice up my social life after Rob and I broke up.
SCOTT
Yeah, I’m sorry to hear about that.
ASHLEIGH
Don’t be. Rob is a dushbag bastard. I’m happier now that I’m not with him.
They stop outside Ashleigh’s house.
ASHLEIGH
Well this is my house. I guess I’ll talk to you later on.
SCOTT
Yeah, definitely.
Ashleigh turns and heads inside her house. Scott sighs as he continues on to his own house.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – PORCH – DAY
Scott walks into his house and takes his shoes off in the porch.
SCOTT
I’m home!
Scott’s dog, RAPTOR, comes running and jumps at Scott. When Scott leans down to pet Raptor, the dog starts licking his face. Scott laughs.
SCOTT
Ok boy, down.
Scott walks further into his house, Raptor trailing behind him. He walks into the kitchen and his parents are sitting at the table.
MOTHER
Oh Scott, you’re home!
FATHER
Happy Birthday, son.
SCOTT
Thanks.
MOTHER
How was school?
SCOTT
The usual. Got a little bit of homework to do tonight.
FATHER
We only got you one present this year, however I think it’s something you’ll really like.
SCOTT
Awesome, just let me use the bathroom first. I’ve really been needing to go for the longest time!
Scott drops his bookbag onto the floor and goes down the hall to the bathroom.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – BATHROOM – DAY
Scott walks in and closes the door, turning on the light. He leans close to the mirror and checks his eyes. He sighs. The bags under his eyes look even heavier then earlier.
SCOTT
(Whispering)
Gonna have to get some sleep tonight somehow.
Scott opens the door and heads back out.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – KITCHEN – DAY
Scott enters back into the kitchen and his parents stand up, smiling.
FATHER
Your mother and I knew how much you wanted one ever since Uncle Rodney taught you how to use one. Luckily my dealership got a supply of them in just the other day.
Scott looks at his parents, a smile forming on his face.
SCOTT
Is it what I think it is?
FATHER
Go check for yourself. It’s in the garage.
Scott turns and rushes to the garage door, his parents close behind him. He opens the door and walks into the room. A sheet covers something big in the middle of the room. Scott’s father moves past him and goes to stand beside the object. His mother makes a fake drum toll noise as his father reaches and pulls back the sheet, revealing a brand new shining black motorcycle. Scott’s eyes light up.
SCOTT
Wow.
Scott’s father reaches down to the floor and pulls up a helmet. He wipes a speck of dirt off and tosses it to Scott. Scott catches it.
FATHER
Take it for a spin.
A large smile breaks across Scott’s face.
INT. ASHLEIGH’S HOUSE – ASHLEIGH’S BEDROOM – DAY
Ashleigh is in her bedroom, sitting at her desk, doing homework. She sighs and squirms in her seat. After a few seconds she signs out of frustration and throws her pen across the room.
ASHLEIGH
Stupid math…
The doorbell rings, causing Ashleigh to look up.
ASHLEIGH’S MOTHER
(V.O.)
Can you get that, dear?
ASHLEIGH
Yes mom!
Ashleigh gets up and makes her way to the door as three knocks are heard. She opens the door and Scott is standing there with a helmet in his hands.
SCOTT
Let’s go for a ride.
ASHLEIGH
A ride? I didn’t know you had a car.
Scott moves to the side and Ashleigh sees the motorcycle. She’s speechless.
SCOTT
I got it as a birthday present.
ASHLEIGH
It’s your birthday?
Scott nods.
ASHLEIGH
Happy Birthday. Sorry. If I had known I woulda gotten you something.
SCOTT
Don’t worry about it. So you want go for a ride?
ASHLEIGH
Sure, just let me get my jacket.
Ashleigh disappears inside for a few seconds and then re-appears wearing a jacket. They walk to the motorcycle and Ashleigh climbs on behind Scott and wraps her arms around his waist. We see Scott smile before he closes the visor and starts the bike up.
The song ‘Chained to You’ by Savage Garden plays as we see a montage of scenes. The montage is of them riding around town. In some shots, Scott speeds up, causing Ashleigh to scream in excitement, in others he slows down due to traffic. They zoom past the school and up and down dozens of streets, passing by houses and an assortment of other buildings. Half-way through the montage, we see them stopped at a gas station, refueling the motorcycle. The montage lasts for several minutes. By the time it ends, we can tell by the sky that it’s evening. It ends with Scott dropping Ashleigh off at her house. Scott takes his helmet off.
ASHLEIGH
That was fun.
SCOTT
I had a great time.
ASHLEIGH
Me too.
SCOTT
Go out with me.
ASHLEIGH
What?
SCOTT
Tomorrow night. Go with me to the movies.
Ashleigh smiles.
ASHLEIGH
Ok. I have gymnastics right after school though.
SCOTT
Yeah, that’s ok. I have Tae-Kwon-Do right after school too. We’ll go to the late showing.
ASHLEIGH
We should go for another ride too.
SCOTT
Definitely.
ASHLEIGH
Good-Night, Scott.
SCOTT
‘Night, Ash.
Ashleigh turns and goes inside. Scott puts his helmet back on and drives off back to his house.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – SCOTT’S BEDROOM – NIGHT
It’s late night and everyone is asleep. The only light in Scott’s room comes from his computer screen. Scott sits at his computer, printing something off. We don’t see the computer screen.
While the printer is printing, Scott stands up and moves quietly out into the hall and over to his parents room. He slowly and carefully opens their door slightly, peering in. His mother and father are both sleeping, one of them snoring. Scott slowly closes the door and heads back to his room.
Scott opens the door to his closet and on a hanger we see a dark gray shirt under a black jacket. Scott reaches for the hanger. Fade out.
Fade in. From behind Scott, we see him tying the bandage around the lower part of his face. Fade out.
Fade in. We see Scott reach onto the floor of his closet, wearing black gloves, and grab a pair of boots. Fade out.
Fade in. We see Scott finishing tying his shoes and he stands up, reaching for his sunglasses that are on his desktop. He puts them on and opens a drawer, taking out black face paint. Fade out.
Fade in. Nightshade opens the door to the garage carefully, not making a sound. He turns on the light and closes the door behind him. He goes over to his new motorcycle and bends down, taking a shape off the sheet of paper he had printed off. He puts it on the side of his bike, pressing hard on it to keep it there. He steps back and we see it’s a giant white ‘N’. He goes over and does the same thing on the other side of the motorcycle. He goes over to a shelf and takes down his black helmet and puts an ‘N’ on the front of that as well.
Nightshade folds the beak of his hat up as he slides the helmet on, lowering the black visor. He gets on the motorcycle and starts it up, pressing a button on a remote to open the garage doors. He zooms out of the garage into the night.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – RANDOM STREET – OUTSIDE STORE – NIGHT
A street thug dressed in a ski mask hauls a brick through the window of a store. An alarm blares and he rushes inside. The camera stays trained on the broken window. We hear smashing and breaking sounds from inside. The thug runs back out with a bulging sack hung over his shoulder. He takes a look around to see if there are any witnesses. Suddenly we hear the sound of an approaching engine.
THUG
What the…
The camera spins around so we see what the thug sees. It appears that a motorcycle is driving by itself, heading towards the thug. As it gets closer we see Nightshade riding it, his dark clothes having camouflaged him from a distance. As the motorcycle gets nearer, the thug doesn’t know what to do. He turns to run but Nightshade catches up easily and passes him.
Nightshade slams on the breaks as he turns the motorcycle to the side, blocking the thug. The thug doesn’t have time to stop and slams right into the motorcycle, flipping over it as the motorcycle comes to a complete stop.
Nightshade gets off the motorcycle, still wearing his helmet, and runs towards the thug, picking up speed. The thug is slowly standing up. He stands up just as Nightshade reaches him and Nightshade does a back flip, but as he does, slams his leg out, so he ends up kicking the thug as he flips back. The thug flips back in the other direction.
Nightshade lands on his feet and walks over to the thug, leaning down and punching him to knock him out. Sirens can be heard in the distance, approaching. Nightshade goes back over to his bike, gets on, starts it up, and takes off. He drives around a corner just as police cars start coming from another street, piling into the area.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – RANDOM STREET – NIGHT
Two people are leaning against a wall of a building. One wears a tank top and has a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The other wears a jacket. The one wearing a jacket hands some money to the guy with the tank top, and in return he gets a bag of dope handed to him.
JACKET
Nice doing business with you. If this shit is as good as I’m told, we’ll be seeing more of each other.
TANK TOP
My shit is always good. You have a problem with my shit, you have a problem with me, and I don’t like problems.
JACKET
Of course. I have no doubt I’ll enjoy this bag.
TANK TOP
Just remember who deals the best shit for the lowest prices and we’ll do fine in the future.
Jacket smiles.
NIGHTSHADE
(V.O.)
Hi-ya Fellas.
Jacket and Tank Top whip their heads to see Nightshade walking out of the darkness towards them. Nightshade is no longer wearing his helmet.
TANK TOP
Frank, is that you?
NIGHTSHADE
Far from him.
Tank Top takes out a gun and points it at Nightshade. Nightshade stops walking towards the couple.
TANK TOP
Who are you?
NIGHTSHADE
I’m Nightshade.
TANK TOP
What do you want?
NIGHTSHADE
Well a Bic Mac would be nice, but I doubt I’ll be getting that off you.
TANK TOP
If you want some of my shit, I can set up a meeting for another time.
NIGHTSHADE
Why would I want some of your shit? That’s just plain gross. Next you’ll be asking if I want your piss too.
TANK TOP
Wise-ass…
Tank Top fires, but Nightshade predicted that and moves a few seconds sooner. However Jacket sees him moves and slams his leg out, catching Nightshade in the gut. He doubles over and spits on the ground. Jacket goes to kick him again, but Nightshade grabs his leg and pulls up as he stands up. Jacket’s leg goes up in the air and Jacket falls down on his back.
Tank Top turns to point the gun at Nightshade, but Nightshade grabs the gun barrel with his hand and points it away from him as Tank Top fires.
Tank Top uses his other hand and punches Nightshade in the side of the head. Nightshade lets go and stumbles to the side, moaning slightly. Tank Top aims the gun and fires again, but there’s only a click.
TANK TOP
Fuck.
He puts the gun away and does an uppercut to Nightshade, catching him square in the face. Nightshade lets out a yell and stumbles backwards. Jacket is now on his feet again and goes to punch Nightshade, but Nightshade blocks and then punches Jacket in the face. Then he swings his foot sideways and catches Jacket in the chest, slamming him into a wall. His head hits against the wall with a loud thunk, and he falls to the ground, unconscious.
Tank Top runs towards Nightshade, his arm pulled back to punch. Nightshade goes to duck, but instead of punching, Tank Top slams his knee up, catching Nightshade in the chin. He slams his elbow down at the back of Nightshade’s head, knocking him to the ground.
Nightshade doesn’t move. Tank Top brings his foot up, and slams down. Nightshade turns over onto his back and catches the foot in his hands. He shoves up, toppling Tank Top back. Tank Top falls onto his ass. Nightshade stands, but wobbles a bit. He turns to Tank Top and slams his foot sideways, slamming it into Tank Top’s face. He falls back, also unconscious.
Nightshade holds a hand to his head as he walks to Jacket and bends down, taking the bag of dope.
NIGHTSHADE
Motherfuckers…That hurt.
He goes to a nearby manhole cover and lifts it up. He drops the dope into the rushing sewage below and closes the cover.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – BATHROOM – NIGHT
Scott is in his bathroom, the door closed and light on. He’s still dressed in his Nightshade attire, except he has his hat, sunglasses, and bandage on the counter beside him. His face is bruised and bloody. He inspects himself in the mirror and then reaches for a can of some kind of cream.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – KITCHEN – MORNING.
Scott’s parents are sitting at the table. Scott walks in the room. Most of his bruises and cuts are masked by whatever type of cream he put on. His father takes a sip of his coffee and then lays the newspaper on the table. He looks up at Scott with a stern look.
FATHER
Where were you last night?
SCOTT
What do you mean? I was sleeping.
FATHER
I woke up in the middle of the night to get a drink and saw that the bike was gone. I checked in on you and you were also gone. Now I repeat, where were you last night?
SCOTT
I couldn’t sleep so I went for a ride, is that so bad?
FATHER
It is when it’s at night. You know how bad this town is. I don’t want you riding after dark anymore.
SCOTT
But that’s not fair! Mom, back me up here.
MOTHER
I’m sorry Scott, but your dad has a point.
SCOTT
I can’t believe this!
Scott storms off.
FATHER
Where are you going?
SCOTT
To school. Or do you have a problem with that too?
FATHER
Hey! Don’t take that…
But he gets cut off as Scott slams the garage door. His father sighs and turns back to face his wife.
FATHER
Did I do the right thing?
MOTHER
You did fine, dear. You’re only protecting him and he’ll see that soon enough. Don’t worry, he still loves you. You’re a great father.
Scott’s father smiles and goes back to his newspaper.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – GARAGE – DAY
Scott storms to his motorcycle, which no longer has the symbols on it, and grabs the helmet, which also no longer has the symbol on it. He puts the helmet on and jumps on his motorcycle, revving it up. He presses a button on the remote and the garage door opens. Scott takes off, zooming out of the garage.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK HIGH SCHOOL – DAY
Scott pulls to a stop at the front of the high school. Various heads turn to look at the motorcycle as Scott climbs off and removes his helmet. Curtis approaches him with a smile.
CURTIS
Awesome wheels, man. Get it for your Birthday?
SCOTT
Yeah. Took Ashleigh out for a spin.
They start walking towards the school’s entrance.
CURTIS
Great. See, told you it wasn’t too soon to make your move.
SCOTT
I don’t know what it is. I can never stop thinking about her. When she was going out with Rob, I kind of got over her, because I knew it was pointless to pursue it, but now that she’s single again, all these old feelings keep coming back.
Curtis pats Scott on the back as they walk into the school and down a hall.
CURTIS
You’ll do good. She’ll be yours before you know it.
SCOTT
I hope so. I don’t know how much longer I can stand to be ‘just friends’.
CURTIS
Give it time, my friend. Give it time.
They reach their lockers and turn the combination locks to the right combinations and open their lockers. They start emptying out their bookbags.
SCOTT
What do we have first?
CURTIS
Gym.
Scott closes his locker and turns to see Mark walking down the hall, his head hung down, looking at something in his hands. He’s holding some kind of round device, inspecting it.
MARK
(Murmuring)
I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.
Mark continues on down the hall, out of site.
SCOTT
What’s up with him?
CURTIS
Mark’s in my Industrial Arts class. He’s always making stupid inventions. Come on, lets get to class.
Scott and Curtis walk down the hall, heading to their gym class.
INT. ST. WAINLUK HIGH SCHOOL – HALLWAY – LATER
The halls are empty, classes in session. Scott is by a water fountain, taking a drink. He hears footsteps and looks up, seeing Mark walking down the hall further ahead. Scott wipes water from his mouth and jogs to catch up.
SCOTT
Mark!
Mark stops and turns to look at Scott.
MARK
What do you want?
SCOTT
You don’t have any friends, right?
Mark hesitates.
MARK
Why do you want to know?
SCOTT
Oh come on Mark, you can tell me. I heard all about your habit of lying. Seems to have costed you a lot.
MARK
How about you leave me alone?
Mark starts walking down the hall, but Scott catches up and moves in front of him, blocking his path.
SCOTT
I also hear you’re good at inventions.
MARK
(Annoyed)
So?
Scott takes out a piece of paper and writes an address on it.
SCOTT
Come to this address at Six PM.
Before Mark can say no, Scott turns and walks away. Mark looks down at the piece of paper.
INT. GYM – MAIN FLOOR – DAY
Scott is at the town gym, dressed in his tae-kwon-do uniform, a black belt tied around his waist. Other people in a variety of colored belts also occupy the room. The class is in the middle of a sparring match, each person paired up with another of the same rank and belt color.
Scott blocks a punch by his opponent. Then he blocks a kick, and a series of various kicks and punches follow, all of which Scott blocks and dodges, except one. He falls onto his back, coughing. His opponent reaches a hand down and helps Scott to his feet. They bow and go back to their fighting stances. ‘Butterfly’ by Crazy Town begins to play. The two people engage in a spectacular show of honorable martial arts. The battle lasts for several minutes, during which, everyone else in the class slowly notices how spectacular and fluent the battle is and crowds around to watch and begins cheering them on.
The song ends as does the battle. Scott losses the battle, but just barely. He bows to his opponent and they shake hands. Both are sweating profusely.
TEACHER
Spectacular display, gentleman!
The room cheers and claps.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – PORCH – EVENING
Scott walks into his house, still dressed in his uniform.
SCOTT
(A lot quieter then before)
I’m home.
No answer. He throws his bookbag to the floor and walks into the house. He walks into the kitchen, which is empty of other people. He sees a small red light blinking on the answering machine. He goes over and presses ‘Play’.
SCOTT’S FATHER
(V.O.)
Hey Scott, your mother and I are gone out for dinner. Our anniversary is tonight. We’re going out dancing after supper, so we won’t be home until late. Do any homework you have, and remember, don’t take the bike out after dark.
The message ends.
SCOTT
I’ll take the bike out whenever I want to. It is mine after all, old man.
He goes to the fridge, and just as he opens it, the doorbell rings. Scott closes the fridge with a sigh.
SCOTT
Who can that be?
He walks to the front door and opens it. Mark is standing there. Scott shakes his head and puts on a smile.
SCOTT
Come in.
He steps out of the way and allows Mark to walk into the house. He closes the door behind him.
MARK
So what did you want me to come here for?
SCOTT
Mark, I’m about to give you the opportunity of a life time. I’m going to tell you the biggest secret in the world, but you can’t tell anyone, cause if you do, I’ll have to kill you.
Mark chuckles a bit, but sees that Scott isn’t and quickly stops.
MARK
No one would believe me anyway.
SCOTT
I know. That’s what I’m counting on. That’s also part of the reason why I chose you to tell this to. Have you heard of a vigilante that stalks the streets at night and takes out criminals?
Mark nods.
MARK
I’ve heard a bit here and there. Saw an artist’s rendition once.
Scott looks Mark deep in the eyes.
SCOTT
That’s me.
Mark bursts out laughing. He laughs so hard, tears flow from his eyes.
MARK
(Laughing)
You’re a bigger fibber then I’ve ever been!
SCOTT
Stay here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.
Scott turns and disappears into the house while Mark continues to laugh.
INT. ASHLEIGH’S HOUSE – ASHLEIGH’S ROOM – EVENING
Ashleigh walks into her room, dressed in her gymnastics clothes. She drops her bag to the floor and looks at the clock.
ASHLEIGH
Shit, I better hurry if I want to be ready for when Scott gets here.
Ashleigh runs to her small bathroom and turns on the shower.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – PORCH – EVENING
Nightshade walks into the porch from inside the house, causing Mark to stop laughing.
MARK
Either you’re extremely messed up in the head, or you really are the guy that’s stopping all the crime.
NIGHTSHADE
I was getting sick and tired of the way this town was. Crime rate has been going up and the police hardly do anything about it. I have a theory that they’re being paid to ignore most of what happens. I decided that I could either sit around and complain about it, or actually try to make a difference. Apparently I’ve been doing quite good at the latter.
MARK
Why me? I mean, I know why you chose me above other people, but why anyone? You didn’t have to tell anyone about this.
NIGHTSHADE
I need help. Last night I was almost beaten by a couple of petty stoners. I need weapons to help, and I heard about how you like making inventions. Now that you know the secret, I ask you: Will you help me?
MARK
I never get picked for anything. It’s a great honor to me, to be in on the greatest secret of the world.
NIGHTSHADE
Good. I need some kind of weapon as soon as possible. My body can only go so far as a weapon.
MARK
That shouldn’t be a problem. Give me a few hours and I’ll be back with some stuff.
NIGHTSHADE
Ok. See you in a few hours.
Mark turns and leaves Scott’s house. After he leaves, Nightshade removes the mouth bandage and smiles.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – MAIN STREET – NIGHT
Todd, Johner, and Brad are among a group of dozens of people, all thugs and gang members.
TODD
Alright, listen up. Mr. Becker put me in charge, so if any of you have a problem with that, you can take it up with him. In the meantime, I want you all to listen to me and listen good. We are going to do everything we can to draw this fucker out. Break into stores, steal, do drugs in the open, kidnap and rape; whatever you want, just as long as it draws him out. We have insurance, so the cops won’t be making any busts on us tonight. If they do show, it’ll be to help us. Anyone sights this…Nightshade…you contact me on the walkie-talkie. He’s mine. Any questions?
No one says a word.
TODD
Good. Now let’s get to work.
The group all cheer as they split up, some going solo, others going in groups.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – SCOTT’S ROOM – NIGHT
Scott, now dressed in regular clothes, leads Mark to his room.
SCOTT
So what did you manage to rig up?
Mark opens up his book bag and pulls out a pair of 9MM guns. Scott’s eyes light up.
MARK
I was able to sneak those out of my Uncle’s gun store. He let me watch over the store while we went out to run some errands.
Scott picks them up, and tests their handling and weight in his hands. Mark reaches into the bookbag again.
SCOTT
There’s more? This is like Christmas!
Mark pulls out a circular device, the size of his palm. On the side is a button. Scott lays the guns down as Mark passes him the device.
MARK
It’s an old invention of mine. Press the button on the side.
Scott does so and a small, near invisible strip of some kind of paper comes out. Mark reaches over and rips it off.
MARK
All you have to do is stick this on something and apply pressure, and the strip will explode a few seconds later.
Scott looks the device over and then lays it down as Mark reaches into the bookbag again. Mark takes out a watch.
SCOTT
A watch? Sorry Mark, but I already got one.
MARK
It’s not an ordinary watch. Sure it tells the time, but it also has a small built-in laser and a voice changer/recorder. Oh, and it also tells the temperature.
Mark hands it to Scott, who looks it over.
SCOTT
Tells the temperature? Really?
MARK
I was bored.
SCOTT
Ahhh.
Scott lays the watch in the pile of other new items Mark had brought for him.
SCOTT
Great work, Mark. Get to work on some new inventions, ASAP. These are great.
Mark smiles with proudness.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – RANDOM STREET – NIGHT
Todd, Brad, and Johner, along with a small group of others, are breaking into cars. They’re smashing windows, denting the bodywork, removing hubcaps, and taking anything of value from inside.
Johner lights a Molotov Cocktail and throws it inside a car, causing the car to quickly light up. He laughs as he starts making a second one.
Suddenly a motorcycle zooms around the corner. Nightshade lets go of the handlebars, balancing on the bike, as he takes out his two 9MM’s. He begins firing, hitting the street near the thugs’ feet. One shot breaks Johner’s newly made Molotov, splattering booze all over him. The burning rag touches his hand, igniting the spilled alcohol, lighting Johner ablaze. He runs around, screamer until he throws off his jacket, drops, and starts rolling.
Todd smiles in amusement as he looks at Nightshade.
Nightshade puts the guns away as he grabs the handlebars again and zooms right into the midst of the gang. He slams on the breaks and lifts the back tire up in the air, turning the bike around as he does so. The tire slams into the heads of a few of the thugs, knocking them down. The tire lands back on the ground and Nightshade has turned in a 180 degree circle.
Nightshade puts the kickstand down and removes his helmet. He jumps in the air, away from his bike. He lands and starts firing, causing the thugs to scatter and take cover. Todd however, stays standing on his spot, holding his smile.
After firing for a bit, Nightshade turns and trains his guns on Todd.
NIGHTSHADE
I thought I told you I never wanted to see you again.
TODD
It should be you that listens to your elders, boy, not the other way around.
And with that Nightshade fires at him, but instead hears a clicking sound. He looks down, surprised, and then back up, placing the guns back in their holsters on his side. Todd snaps his fingers and the thugs come out from behind the cars and benches and other hiding places, and rush Nightshade.
He stretches his leg back, kicking one and sending him falling back. He swings the leg to the front, kicking another. Then he ducks and rams his fist into the chest of third.
Another one swings his foot out, but Nightshade does a backflip and lands behind another thug. He bashes him in the back of the head, knocking him down, and then jump kicks the thug that had swung his foot.
Before Nightshade reaches him though, another thug elbows him in the air, causing him to fall to the side. Nightshade starts to stand, but Brad is next to him with a baseball bat. He slams it down on Nightshade’s back, causing him to fall back to the ground again.
He raises the bat again, but Nightshade shoots his hand out and grabs Brad by the ankle. He yanks back, slamming Brad against the ground. Nightshade jumps to his feet, grabbing the fallen bat, and swinging it around as he turns.
It connects to someone’s head, a loud crack being heard. The body falls down. Nightshade swings it at the two nearest people, hitting one in the leg, causing him to fall, and hitting the other in the chest. He brings it back and swings again. The person tries to dodge, but still gets hit in the side.
Nightshade turns once again, but gets met with a fist to the face. He stumbles back. He raises the bat, but gets punched in the head from behind, and then in the gut from the front. He drops the bat as he falls to his knees.
The man behind him grabs him by the head as the man in front takes out a switchblade, laughing. Nightshade leans back, swinging his feet out and up, kicking the blade from the man’s hand. Then he swings his feet back under himself and then up, kicking the person behind him in the chest.
The person stumbles back, letting go of Nightshade. Nightshade catches himself on the ground and then jumps back to his feet and does a roundhouse kick to the guy in front of him.
Nightshade, breathing heavily, turns to face Todd. He gets into a fighting stance. Todd just mearly smiles back.
TODD
Goodbye ‘Boy of the Streets’.
Todd pulls a hand out from behind his back, holding a gun. He points it at Nightshade and fires.
C.U.
We follow the bullet as it sails through the air and embeds itself into Nightshade’s chest.
W.S.
Nightshade screams in pain as he stumbles back and falls to the ground. Todd walks over and points the gun right up against Nightshade’s head.
TODD
Well you did put up a good fight. But first, I want to know who’s under all this.
He reaches down and removes the cloth covering Nightshade’s mouth. There is blood running from his nose. Before Todd can remove anything else though, he sees Nightshade smile.
TODD
Hahaha, why are you smiling? You welcome death that much?
ZOOM IN
On the ground right in front of Nightshade. His thumb presses down on something. We don’t see it, but can easily assume that it’s Mark’s invisible explosive strip.
W.S.
Nightshade quickly rolls away, putting the cloth back up around his mouth. Todd fires, but the bullet hits the ground an inch away from Nightshade.
Todd aims once again. He gets Nightshade in his sights, but before he can fire, the ground in front of him explodes, showering him with scorching gravel. Todd screams in pain and covers his face.
Todd growls in anger as he covers his face with one hand and tries to aim his gun on Nightshade with his other. However Nightshade has already reached his motorcycle, got his helmet on, and is driving away, slumping over the handlebars. Todd screams in both anger and pain as he throws his gun at the ground in frustration.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – RANDOM STREET – NIGHT
Nightshade rides down a street on his bike, driving with one hand while the other hand covers the wound on his chest.
Suddenly he sees flashes of red and blue and hears sirens. He looks back and sees several police cars in pursuit.
NIGHTSHADE
(Quietly)
Shit.
He swerves his motorcycle into a back alley at the last second, hoping to loose the police. He glances back and sees them driving by, continuing on down the main road, not even slowing down.
Nightshade continues down the back alley for a minute. Just as he’s about to exit onto another street, one of the cop cars screech to a stop at the end of the alley. Nightshade slams on the breaks, trying to turn his motorcycle back around. The side of it hits the cop car.
He takes off again, deciding to go out in the space between the cop car and the end of the alley, just as the cop fires a shot off at him.
Nightshade uses the motorcycle to dodge as he continues down the road. The cop car backs up and starts the chase again. Nightshade notices that three others are heading towards him from the other end.
He keeps going straight, playing chicken with the lead car. At the last second, he swerves away, causing the cop car to slam into the one that was behind Nightshade.
The other two cop cars change directions and continue the pursuit. Nightshade takes off down another back alley, and quickly slows the bike down to a stop as he drives off the dirt road into someone’s back yard.
The person of the house, an old lady, looks out her back window and Nightshade cowers deeper into the dark shadows. The old lady disappears inside her house.
Nightshade takes a small quick glance at the main street, seeing that the cop cars have stopped at the back alley and have gotten out of their cars, shinning flashlights around as they slowly walk down the back alley.
The backdoor opens and the old lady steps out.
OLD LADY
Officers! He’s here, in my backyard!
The old lady points to where Nightshade is hiding. Nightshade jumps back on his motorcycle, starts it up, and zooms onto the dirt road and takes off down the alley, heading to the opposite end from the cop cars. We hear a few gun shots go off, but nothing hits Nightshade as he zooms away.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – MARK’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Nightshade hides his bike in a shed behind Mark’s house, and then stumbles up the steps, weak from the fight, gunshot wound, and chase. He reaches up weakly and presses the doorbell.
A few minutes pass and then suddenly the door opens and Mark is standing there in a house robe, rubbing his eyes.
MARK
Who’s ringing the…Scott? What happened?
Nightshade moans as he falls. Mark catches him and helps him walk inside, closing the door.
NIGHTSHADE
(Weakly)
Shot…I’ve been shot. Cops…after me… I knew you’re father was…doctor….
MARK
He’s on call at the hospital right now! What do I do?
Mark starts looking around franticly. Suddenly he stops.
MARK
Jenny! My sister! She’s training to be a paramedic. I can wake her up.
Mark helps Nightshade sit on the couch.
MARK
I’ll be right back.
He turns and takes off up the stairs. Nightshade rests his head on the back of the couch, softly moaning. A minute later, Mark is tugging his older sister, Jenny, down the stairs. Jenny looks groggy and tired.
JENNY
(Sleepy)
Markus, what’s going on?
She spots Nightshade on the couch.
JENNY
Oh my.
MARK
Jenny, this is Nightshade. He was…assisting…the police and he was shot in a chase.
JENNY
Why doesn’t he just go to the hospital?
MARK
They’ll want his Identification and he wants that to remain a secret. If people ever found out who he was…
JENNY
(Cutting Mark off)
No, I understand. Ok, go to the back room and get the First Aid kit. I’ll go boil some water.
INT. MARK’S HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – NIGHT - LATER
Time has passed. Nightshade has his jacket and shirt lifted up, and has his chest bandaged. He lowers his shirt down over it, and then slowly slips his arms back into his jacket sleeves.
JENNY
There. All fixed up. Now just get some rest.
Nightshade’s head slumps to the side, passed out.
INT. MARK’S HOUSE – LIVING ROOM – MORNING
Nightshade’s head moves slowly, straightening. He yawns as he slowly sits up, still in pain. He slowly stands and lowers the cloth around his mouth. He walks to the bathroom and closes the door.
He takes off his hat and sunglasses as he turns on the water. He splashes some over his face, causing some of the facepaint to run. He grabs a nearby cloth, wets it, and starts wiping the rest of the facepaint off. We see he has a black eye and there is dried blood around his nose.
When that is done, he removes his jacket and lifts his shirt and checks the bandage. There is a dried bloodstain where it covers the wound, but apart from that, the bandage is good.
He bundles his hat, sunglasses, and facecloth into his jacket and walks out of the bathroom. Mark is just walking down the stairs.
SCOTT
Hey Mark, do you have a bag or something I can put this stuff in?
MARK
Sure, hang on.
Mark turns and goes back up the stairs. Scott sighs as he relaxes on the couch again. Mark returns with a bookbag.
MARK
Here.
Scott takes the bag and puts the bundle into it, zipping it up and slipping it over his shoulder as he stands up.
SCOTT
Thanks. I’ll see you in school on Monday.
MARK
Always glad to help.
Scott leaves the house and goes to get his motorcycle from the shed. He removes the ‘N’ symbols from it and the helmet and starts it up, puts his helmet on, and takes off.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – KITCHEN – MORNING
Scott walks into the room, looking pretty beat-up. His father was reading the paper and his mother was making coffee. They both look up at him as he enters the room.
FATHER
Scott, I’m very disappointed. You directly disobeyed me.
SCOTT
I don’t know what…
FATHER
(Cutting Scott off)
Don’t lie to me, son! I know you went out last night. I checked. And not only that, but you’ve had your mother and I worried sick about you. You’re just getting back now! Where the hell have you been all night?
SCOTT
I went out for a ride and decided to end up sleeping at a friend’s house. I don’t have school today, so I don’t know what the problem is.
FATHER
The problem is taking the bike out at night, after I told you not to! And not informing us of the fact that you were sleeping over at a friend’s house! What the hell are we supposed to think when you just disappear and come back looking like this?
SCOTT
The bike tipped over when I was on it. I won’t do it again.
FATHER
Damn right. Because I’m taking the bike back to work and re-selling.
SCOTT
No, you can’t!
MOTHER
It’s not only that. Your school called this morning. Your marks have been dropping.
SCOTT
I’ll work harder! Just don’t take the bike away!
FATHER
I’m sorry son. Maybe you can have another one next year when you’re older and more mature, and you’ve gotten your grades back up.
SCOTT
Fine, whatever.
Scott turns and storms out of the room. On his way to his bedroom, he passes the phone and sees a blinking red light on the answering machine. He presses it.
ASHLIEGH
(V.O.)
I’m calling for Scott. I waited around for you for two hours. When you never showed up, I realized that I was being an idiot and fooling myself into thinking you were any different then Rob. Don’t bother calling. I won’t answer.
SCOTT
Fuck!
He turns and storms up the stairs and into his room, slamming the door. He throws the bookbag on the floor and lifts up his shirt. He slowly removes the bandage, checking the wound.
His eyes glance at the bookbag, and then to his closed door. He glances back and forth between the two a few times.
SCOTT
(Quietly)
I can’t be both. One of me is going to have to be no more.
He hears a noise and glances out the window, seeing some guy grab a woman’s purse.
SCOTT
(Quietly)
I keep this town safe, but the people I protect rat me out to the enemies. The police that I help turn on me and spend more time after me then they do on most criminals.
Scott looks back at the bag.
SCOTT
There is no room in this town for an unwanted hero.
Scott bends down and takes the bag full of Nightshade attire, and throws it under the bed. Scott goes to the phone in his room and dials a number.
ASHLEIGH
(V.O.)
Hello?
SCOTT
Hey Ash, it’s me.
ASHLEIGH
(V.O.)
I knew I should have checked the Caller I.D. Look Scott, I’m really busy and can’t really…
SCOTT
(Cutting her off)
Look Ashleigh, I’m very very sorry. Words can’t express how sorry I am. But my parents – they wouldn’t let me go and when I tried to go anyway, they took my bike away. I tried to call, but they took the phone out of my room. I really am sorry.
ASHLEIGH
(V.O.)
Well I do believe in second chances, I guess.
SCOTT
Great! I swear, you won’t regret it!
ASHLEIGH
(V.0.)
I better not.
SCOTT
How about I make it up to you tonight? I can’t pick you up on a motorcycle or anything, but we can still hang out. Go to a movie or something.
ASHLEIGH
(V.O.)
Sure.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – SCOTT’S ROOM – EVENING
Scott is looking in his mirror, straightening up a fancy shirt, getting ready for his date with Ashleigh. There’s a knock on his bedroom door.
SCOTT
Come in.
It opens and Mark walks in. Scott looks surprised.
SCOTT
What are you doing here?
MARK
I have an idea for a new invention.
SCOTT
Mark…I don’t know how to tell you this. I’m not Nightshade anymore. That part of me died last night.
MARK
But…
SCOTT
I’m sorry. I can’t protect a town that doesn’t want the protection. It’s affected my life way too much. I can’t be both Nightshade and Scott, and seeing as how no one wants Nightshade around, it wasn’t that hard of a decision. Now I just have to get my school marks back up and get myself in my parents’ good graces again. Nightshade was just an immature boy’s dream. Nothing more. I could have died Mark! That never really hit me before last night. And what happens then? I die and everyone I love, my family, my friends, Ashleigh, they’d all be hurt. I have to think about them too.
MARK
What about the public? You have to protect them or they’ll get hurt! Physically!
SCOTT
That’s what the police are for.
MARK
But you even said it yourself! Most of them are corrupted! The few that aren’t need your help!
SCOTT
Why should I defend a public that doesn’t even want me to? I can’t help people if they don’t want to be helped.
MARK
It’s your job! You have to protect them, because no one else will. If you don’t, people will die.
Scott gets a sad, but firm look on his face.
SCOTT
I’m sorry, but I already made up my mind. I chose Scott over Nightshade. Nightshade is gone…forever.
MARK
Then I guess I’ll have to revive him. For the good of everyone.
SCOTT
Mark, it’s over. There’s nothing you can do or say that will change my mind. Now can you please leave? I have a date with Ashleigh.
Mark turns and storms out of the room.
INT. PUNK CLUB – MAIN ROOM – EVENING
Jonas is sitting at a table, but this time there are no girls around him. ‘Bodies’ by Drowning Pool play over the speakers as Todd, with part of his face now scarred, finds Jonas’ table and sits across from him.
TODD
That fucking kid! Look what he did to my face! He burned Johner up real bad too.
JONAS
Please, keep your voice down. I’m enjoying this music.
Jonas is quiet for a minute as he taps his feet to the beat of the music. Todd looks at him impatiently for a minute, before speaking.
TODD
How the fuck can you be so calm?! That brat is out there, cutting us off at every turn, and nothing we do stops him! Fuck, not even your cops could stop him.
JONAS
I can stay calm, because I did not get to where I am today by loosing my cool everytime something doesn’t go my way. As for the brat, you need to strike when he’s at his weakest.
TODD
How can I do that? We don’t know any of his weaknesses.
JONAS
He’s just a boy. Every boy has a weakness. You just need to find it out and exploit it.
EXT. ASHLEIGH’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Scott walks up to Ashleigh’s door and rings the doorbell. Ashleigh opens the door and smiles.
ASHLEIGH
Hey.
SCOTT
Hey.
Ashleigh closes the door behind her.
ASHLEIGH
How did you get here?
SCOTT
I walked.
ASHLIEGH
Well that’s ok. I don’t mind walking. Gives us more time to talk on our way to the movie.
Scott smiles as they walk holding hands.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – RANDOM STREET – NIGHT
Mark is walking down the street. He has a bag in his hands from the Computer Store.
MARK
(Quietly)
How do I get Scott to come around? The town needs him…
Mark’s thoughts get interrupted by a chuckling noise. He whips around and Todd walks out from an alley, holding a gun.
TODD
Well, lookey-here. A nerd out past his bedtime. Maybe if you scream loud enough, Nightshade will hear.
MARK
Who? I don’t know any Night-whatever.
Todd shrugs.
TODD
It doesn’t matter. I need to draw him out and I’m sure he’ll show up if I kill enough people.
Todd pulls back on the hammer, about to fire.
MARK
Wait! I do know Nightshade!
TODD
Sure, kid.
MARK
No, I really do! I was only lying before. His real name is Scott Short. He lives on 609 80th Ave. He has girlfriend, Ashleigh. I know him from school. He approached me to help him get weapons and stuff.
TODD
And this girlfriend. Where does she live?
MARK
698 on the same street as Scott.
TODD
Why are you telling me this? You’re betraying your friend.
MARK
I’m doing what it takes.
TODD
I guess I’ll take that. Now get out of my face. You just bought yourself more time to live, nerd-boy.
Mark turns and runs down the street away from Todd.
EXT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – NIGHT – LATER
Scott walks up to his house to find Mark sitting on his doorstep, looking sad. Scott sighs.
SCOTT
I already told you Mark, I made up my mind. Now please, stop pressuring me. I said no and I mean it. Nightshade is gone.
Mark looks up, near tears.
MARK
He has to make another appearance.
SCOTT
Why?
MARK
I’m so sorry Scott.
SCOTT
What did you do?
MARK
I was on my way home and this thug stopped me. He had green hair and this golden medallion around his neck. He was going to kill me, Scott! I…I told him. I told him about you. About Ashleigh. About everything. And…He went after Ashleigh.
Scott is shocked. Mark wipes tears from his eyes.
MARK
(C’ont)
But now you HAVE to become Nightshade if you want to save Ashleigh. Unless you want your friends, family, and Ashleigh to continue to be in danger, you’ll have to leave all of them and if you do that, then you may as well become Nightshade.
Scott, furious, punches Mark in the face.
SCOTT
I knew I should have never trusted you.
He turns and takes off running.
EXT. ASHLEIGH’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Scott, out of breath, slows to a stop outside of Ashleigh’s house. He rings the doorbell. After a few minutes of nothing, he rings it again. The door opens and Ashleigh’s mother steps out, looking both tired and angry.
ASHLEIGH’S MOTHER
What the hell are you doing, ringing our doorbell in the middle of the night?
SCOTT
Is Ashleigh there?
ASHLEIGH’S MOTHER
She hasn’t come home from her date yet. I’m sure this could have waited till morning, young man.
But Scott doesn’t hear her. He had already taken off back to his house.
INT. SCOTT’S HOUSE – SCOTT’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Scott rushes into his bedroom. As the song ‘Taking Over Me’ by Evanescence plays, Scott reaches under his bed and pulls out the bookbag with his Nightshade attire in it.
We see various cuts and fade-outs and fade-ins of him changing out of his current clothes and becoming Nightshade. After all that, he loads his guns and checks to make sure he has extra ammo. He does a few practice punches and kicks to see how well he can move with his wound.
He goes downstairs to the answering machine and plays the message back.
FATHER
(V.O.)
Hi, You’ve reached Scott, Wendy, and Bill Short…
As ‘Bill Short’ plays, Nightshade presses ‘record’ on his watch. The rest of the message plays as he goes back upstairs and into the master bedroom and stands above the bed. His parents are sleeping in the bed.
He looks like he’s about to lean down to kiss his sleeping parents, but ends up turning away and heading back downstairs.
Nightshade reaches into his father’s jacket and pulls out a set of keys. He goes outside and Mark is still sitting on the step. Mark slightly smiles.
NIGHTSHADE
I’ll deal out punishment to you later.
And with that, Nightshade turns and runs down the street as fast as he can.
EXT. CAR DEALERSHIP – NIGHT
Nightshade reaches his father’s dealership and takes out the keys he took from the jacket pocket. He unlocks the door and walks inside.
He goes over to the main computer and boots it up. The computer asks for a voice recognition and he plays back ‘Bill Short’ from his watch. The computer beeps, allowing him into the vehicle database.
Nightshade does a quick search for his bike and locates it. He goes to the section of the building that the computer told him to and he spots his motorcycle and goes over to it, placing the ‘N’ stickers on it.
He quickly walks over to a box on the wall that holds the keys for the vehicles. He uses the laser on his watch and points it into the electronic lock. After a few seconds, it short circuits and he pops it open, taking out the key to his bike.
He hops onto the bike, putting his Nightshade helmet on. He starts up the bike and drives it off the ramp it was resting on, through the glass of a window, and onto the street, driving away.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – RANDOM STREET – NIGHT
We see a montage of scenes that show Nightshade driving around aimlessly, going to the places he has ran into Todd before, coming up with nothing. He drives by the theater, but that area is empty as well.
He follows the path he took home earlier that night and when he reaches his house, he finds Mark gone from his doorstep. Music from the song fades out.
There is a note stuck to the front door. Nightshade gets off the bike and grabs it. As he reads it, we hear a V.O. by Todd.
TODD
(V.O.)
I have Ashleigh. She is being kept at the abandoned warehouse outside of town. If Scott does not appear within two hours, I will kill her.
The time that the note was written, is written at the bottom of the note. Nightshade growls.
NIGHTSHADE
Scott is dead.
He turns around, hops on the motorcycle, and takes off.
INT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE – NIGHT – LATER
Various gangsters are walking around inside the building, carrying guns. All of a sudden the door bursts in as a motorcycle slams through it.
Right away, Nightshade starts firing, bringing a couple of the men down. The other men rise their guns and fire just as Nightshade tips the bike to it’s side, allowing it to slide/skid down the length of the floor, using it as a shield, the bullets hitting the bike and bouncing away.
Nightshade runs away as the bike explodes. Nightshade goes behind a pillar that’s going up into the roof and throws his helmet off, growling. He takes his hat out of his jacket pocket and puts it on.
Nightshade turns around long enough to fire a few shots and then goes back behind the pillar. He looks up and sees a bunch of men about to sniper him from a landing that goes all the way around the length of the warehouse, about half way up to the roof.
He aims both his guns up and starts firing, not stopping till all the snipers are dead or disabled. Then he moves out from behind the pillar and fires both his guns at a bunch of the men, killing some, and going behind the pillar again just as shots hit the edge of it where he used to be.
A few men walk around the corner and Nightshade discovers his guns are empty by the clicking noise. He drops them dodges a few shots, as he slowly gets closer to them. He hits one of their guns away with his arm, and then knocks the other person’s gun away with a back kick. He does various punches, blocking, and kicks, and soon enough, those two men, and one other, were on the floor. Nightshade goes back behind the pillar just as more shots hit where he used to be. He picks up his guns and reloads them.
He looks and sees some men coming out from a room that’s on his side of the pillar and starts firing, killing them. He takes out a bit of the explosive strip and places it on the pillar, pressing it
Nightshade runs from behind the pillar, just as it explodes, sending rock and outward towards the thugs, causing smoke to obscure Nightshade from view. He fires as he runs sideways, going into the room that he just killed the men coming out of.
Nightshade takes some more ammo from his pockets and reloads his guns once more. He hears a sound outside his door. He shoots a hole through the door and hears a thump from the other side, blood seeping in from under the door.
Nightshade opens the door, seeing a dead body, and sidekicks the closest man, sending him flying away. Then he knees another in the nuts and punches him in the head, knocking him out.
Nightshade fires at the last man. Two shots, one from each gun, goes into his head. Nightshade pants, out of breath.
NIGHTSHADE
Piece of cake.
Clapping can be heard and Nightshade turns to look at Todd walking out from another room. Jonas is with him and is the person that is clapping.
JONAS
Imagine, I go from a lowly truck driver, to a respected crime lord, and now all my men are dead because of a little brat. Thanks to you, I’m nothing now!
NIGHTSHADE
Such a shame. Where’s Ashleigh?
TODD
Follow me.
Todd starts walking across the floor, towards another door. Nightshade follows him out the door to the backyard of the warehouse, leaving Jonas alone inside.
EXT. ABANDONED WAREHOUSE – BACKYARD – NIGHT
Nightshade and Todd get outside, which is an area filled with boxes and crates, cut off from the rest of the world by a high fence. Ashleigh is tied and gagged to a chair in the middle of the maze of crates. Todd leads Nightshade to her.
TODD
Don’t worry. I didn’t tell her your secret.
Nightshade raises his guns to Todd.
NIGHTSHADE
Untie the girl.
Todd laughs. A shot rings out and a bullet hits the ground right in front of Nightshade. He raises his head and sees Jonas on the ledge above, aiming a gun down at him.
Nightshade turns and starts moving sideways as he fires at Jonas, but Jonas ducks back inside the building and Nightshade quickly runs out of bullets.
He dodges when gunfire is returned and he goes behind a crate, keeping low. He drops his guns and moves through the maze of crates and boxes.
He reaches into his pocket and takes out the device that makes the explosive tape. He rips a piece off and goes to the edge of the crate maze.
He takes off running straight ahead. Todd and Jonas fire at him, but he doges the shots and uses a crate as a lift and jumps up from the small crate, grabbing the edge of the ledge where Jonas is standing and flips over it, landing in front of him.
Nightshade punches Jonas with one hand. While he stumbles back, Nightshade takes Jonas’ gun and presses his thumb against the crime lord’s head. Nightshade turns and jumps off the ledge.
JONAS
Was that thumb touch supposed to hurt?
Jonas starts laughing, but within a couple seconds, his head explodes in a gory display.
Nightshade lands in a crouch on the ground and stands up, pointing the gun at Todd. Todd changes his gun from pointing at Nightshade, to pointing at Ashleigh’s head.
TODD
You didn’t save the day this time, hero-brat.
Ashleigh squeezes her eyes shut. Nightshade shoots his gun, expecting to hit Todd, but misses. Todd turns his gun and fires at Nightshade, but Nightshade dodges to the side as he runs at Todd and does a jump sidekick and nails Todd in the side of the head, knocking him down.
Nightshade bends down, out of breath, and picks up Todd’s gun.
NIGHTSHADE
You’ve caused both me and this girl a lot of pain.
Todd raises one of his hands.
TODD
Please, don’t shoot.
Nightshade is about to shoot, but Todd swings his foot out and trips Nightshade. The shot goes wild, missing Todd. Once Nightshade lands on his back, Todd jumps on top of him and starts to choke him, knocking the gun out of his hand first.
Nightshade’s face starts turning blue, despite the dark shade of black already covering it. Nightshade slams his foot down onto Jonas’ back, causing him to loose his balance and get knocked over onto his side.
Nightshade gets on top of Todd, punching him in the face. Todd pushes Nightshade off, sending him flying back.
TODD
I’ll make you suffer before I kill you, boy.
Todd picks up his gun, aiming it at Ashleigh, about to pull the trigger. Nightshade reaches the gun he took from Jonas and fires two shots, one knocking the gun out of Todd’s hands just as he fires, causing the shot to miss Ashleigh by a fraction, the second planting in Todd’s neck. Blood gushes out and Todd’s breath slows as he tries to plug it with his hand. Within minutes, he’s dead.
Nightshade breathes heavy, out of breath, and lightly moans in pain as he slowly walks towards Ashleigh. He bends down behind her and unties her hands. He helps her get the rest of the ropes untied.
Once she’s free, she stands up and turns to face him.
ASHLEIGH
Who are you?
NIGHTSHADE.
Nightshade. Boy of the streets.
ASHLEIGH
But who are you?
Nightshade ignores her.
NIGHTSHADE
There are several cars parked out front. Their last owners won’t be needing them anymore. Take one and drive yourself home. Go straight home.
ASHLEIGH
But…
Before she can finish, Nightshade turns and runs off. Ashleigh is left standing alone in the night, looking out after him.
EXT. ST. WAINLUK – EDGE OF TOWN – NIGHT – DAYS LATER
Mark is driving out of town, speeding down the road. We can tell by the luggage in the car with him that he’s not planning on returning. Suddenly one of his tires blow out, causing him to skid all over the road until he flies off the road and into a ditch.
Mark’s head hits off the steering wheel hard. He moans as he lifts his head up, a small bleeding cut visible.
MARK
What happened?
He steps out of his car, his legs weak, and walks up to the road. He sees a spike strip going across one side of the street. He looks around franticly.
Nightshade slowly walks out of the nearby forest. Mark starts backing up.
MARK
You…You’re par…parents…
Mark almost trips over a rock, but catches himself.
MARK
(C’ont)
They think…They think that you ran away. They blame themselves for being…too hard on you. They know you stole the bike from the dealership, but…but they think that you ran away on it.
Mark stops backing up and Nightshade moves in closer.
Cut to black
In the blackness, we hear Mark scream a high-pitched scream.
In the blackness, ‘You Can Still Be Free’ by Savage Garden plays and we hear Nightshade speak.
NIGHTSHADE
(V.O.)
Scott’s parents moved away soon after. They blamed themselves for Scott’s ‘running away’ and couldn’t bare to live in that town anymore. I wish I could tell them the truth, but it’s better this way. Safer for them this way. Ashleigh was extremely upset over Scott’s running away as well. It’s been months and she still isn’t completely over it. However, the crime rate of the town has reduced greatly and I’m still around, watching over and protecting the town from those that want to do it harm…
The credits begin to roll as the song continues to play.
THE END
4/24/2005 12:14:15 PM
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