Tad Williams - A Stark And Wormy Knight

ANTHONY THOUGHT-CAPTION 2: I’m going to find him. And if he’s dead, I don’t care if it was Silas Winter himself who did it, someone’s got some shit to pay.

THROWBACK: So how come a girl as fine as you is in here? Gonna join the Fatal Femmes?

MINK: Look, scrub, if you HAD any I’d just cut ‘em off, so move along.

PANEL TWO: THROWBACK — BLINK TAKE.

PANEL THREE: THROWBACK points PAST MINK at DOLLY.

THROWBACK: Yo, actually, I was talking to HER.

THROWBACK (Cont. Now to DOLLY): So how come a girl as fine as you is in here? I couldn’t help noticing you got all that sexy Barbie thing goin’ on.

DOLLY: It’s kinda more like Raggedy Anne, really — that’s cause my tag is “Dolly”.

THROWBACK: Well, you’re fine. I like the way you move. You ever model?

DOLLY: Sort of. I used to be a dancer. Then I found out I could make more money in breaking and entering…

PANEL FOUR: MINK and DOLLY SQUARE OFF.

MINK: A DANCER? Bitch, please. You didn’t make your money just SHOWING it to people.

DOLLY: Are you calling me a whore? At least men like me. I heard about you — I heard how you had to kill your boyfriend…

PANEL FIVE: SPLAT! MINK KICKS — her BOOT lashes around and hits DOLLY so hard DOLLY’s head BLOWS UP! THROWBACK is ALARMED and IMPRESSED. SFX: SKELCH!

THROWBACK: Holy SHIT!

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PANEL ONE: A river of DOLLY flies out of the COLLAR of her COSTUME from the force of MINK’S kick, leaving the costume on the floor.

PANEL TWO: The river of DOLLY-FLESH hits the ground and then two ARMS form and flip it over, back toward MINK.

PANEL THREE: The BATTERING-RAM-like FEET hit MINK in the head, knocking her backward.

DOLLY: You’re dead, bitch!

PANEL FOUR: MINK’s wrist blades come out as DOLLY reforms.

SFX: CHING-CHING! CHING-CHING!

MINK: Fine. Let’s see who stops breathing first.

PANEL FIVE: PRETTY BOY is SUDDENLY standing between them — POP! He has CAUGHT MINK’S WRIST IN HIS HAND. We can see that DOLLY has just started to SAG away from the strike.

PRETTY BOY: Ah-ah-ah. You chicas going to have to find a better way to work this out.

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PANEL ONE: PRETTY BOY in the midst of the ROOKIES, willing to be ADMIRED.

THROWBACK: Who are YOU?

PRETTY BOY: They call me Pretty Boy — yes, yes, I know you can see why. Now move along. You all supposed to be in your rooms.

PANEL TWO: PRETTY BOY is irritated with COLDBLOODED, who’s giving him the EYE.

PRETTY BOY (Cont. — to COLDBLOODED): You, too. Go on. I know you worried, first night away from your mamas

COLDBLOODED: Shut up, bitch! Don’t talk to me like you know me!

PANEL THREE: COLDBLOODED is now LEANING INTO PRETTY BOY’s grill while the others watch with various degrees of interest/nervousness.

PRETTY BOY: Oh, you going to throw some catos with me? You want to mix it?

SNAIL (quietly): Fix it.

COLDBLOODED: You disrespect me, you’re disrespecting all the Los Reyes Screwtops.

PRETTY BOY: Oh, man, you sniffin’ the big time and you’re STILL reppin’ that gang shit? Are you gonna take a shot or just stand there like a pussy?

PANEL FOUR: COLDBLOODED takes a swing. PRETTY BOY is gone.

PANEL FIVE: PRETTY BOY taps him on the shoulder from behind.

PANEL SIX: COLDBLOODED swings on him again. PRETTY BOY is gone.

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PANEL ONE: PRETTY BOY has reappeared, GRINNING. COLDBLOODED POINTS at him with his RIGHT HAND.

COLDBLOODED: Motherfucker…! I don’t have to hit you to mess you up!

PANEL TWO: COLDBLOODED’s HAND turns GLOWING ORANGE HOT, so fast there are little SPARKS of BURNING DUST.

PANEL THREE: PRETTY BOY hits him HARD, and so fast it seems simultaneous — we see him STRIKE THREE TIMES.

SFX: CHUD! CHUD! CHUD!

PANEL FOUR: COLDBLOODED is down on the ground with PRETTY BOY’s foot on his throat and the other on the wrist of his HOT HAND.

PRETTY BOY: Check it — there are only thirteen people faster than me in the WHOLE WORLD. You ain’t one of ‘em. Now get the hell back to your block before I pull your eyeballs out and play hacky-sack with ‘em, chavalo.

PANEL FIVE: THROWBACK puppydogs PRETTY BOY.

THROWBACK: Thirteen? Wow! You must be a Level 8. Even Overdrive’s only a Level 9.

PRETTY BOY (to THROWBACK): You into that stuff, huh? Actually, I was only number fifteen in the world until last week, then this East Coast guy named Courier got a rip in his friction suit when he was doing, like, Mach Mucho — vato blew up like a Tijuana bottle rocket…

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PANEL ONE: DOLLY and MINK are leaning in the MEN’S DORM doorway — well, DOLLY does, MINK hangs back, looking CONTEMPTUOUS. SNAIL and THROWBACK are looking at something on SNAIL’S FOLD-DOWN computer screen.

DOLLY: We’re going upstairs to get new costumes.

THROWBACK: Yo, Doll. Make sure they don’t cover up TOO much.

DOLLY: Ooh. Aren’t YOU a bad boy…

MINK: Shit. You think you’re Big Mack, but you’re only Vanilla Shake, white boy. And speakin’ of dumb as shit, what is that you’re looking at? Oh, jeesus, is that Plusdotcom? That shit is so OLD.

ANTHONY: The superhero website? Explains a lot.

THROWBACK: I hope you ain’t putting down Plusdotcom, because they got it ALL. Where else a beginner gonna get some face? Look, they got an article on one of the guys who’s in here with us! Toxin, his name is. They made him one a’ their YVORs.

MINK: Why vee oh WHAT?

THROWBACK: Young Villains on the Rise.

ANTHONY THOUGHT-CAPTION: I swear to god, has this whole country gone crazy while I was overseas?

DOLLY: Little boys and their toys.

THROWBACK: Hey, I ain’t playin’ — I take this stuff seriously. This is research.

ANTHONY: That ain’t research. That’s self-abuse.

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PANEL ONE (SMALL): The MEN are getting out of an INDUSTRIAL ELEVATOR. THROWBACK (wearing a NEW) is looking REPROACHFULLY at ANTHONY.

THROWBACK:…But you didn’t have to do me like that in front of the ladies. That was cold.

PANEL TWO (BIG): They are in the midst of a HUGE INDUSTRIAL AREA with LOTS OF BRANCHES, CORRIDORS, WEIRD EQUIPMENT, ETC. This could be

our chance to see a lot of OTHER “STUDENTS” like TOXIN, some TEACHERS, ETC.

THROWBACK (Cont.): Man, how are you supposed to find ANYTHING around here?

ANTHONY: They said the weapon shop was on level 5. We’re on level 5. Follow the blue line. I’m relying on you — I can’t even SEE color with these things on.

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PANEL ONE: THROWBACK is INTERESTED, in a fan-boy way.

THROWBACK: So, what’s your trip? I mean, like, your powers?

ANTHONY: I see into the infra-red and ultra-violet. And I can do some other stuff.

THROWBACK: Oh, kind of like Pipistrel, huh? That bat-chick? You a mutant, too?

PANEL TWO: THROWBACK sees TIME MASTER/MASTER TIME, who is pushing past COLDBLOODED — THROWBACK’S EYES WIDEN. He’s STOPPED LISTENING.

ANTHONY: No. I got my powers the old-fashioned way.

ANTHONY (Cont., quietly): Shot in the back by my best friend, then shoved into a vat of active nanobuilders…

TIME MASTER: No! Don’t go! They’re waiting for you — they know!

COLDBLOODED: Look out, you crazy mother…!

PANEL THREE: TIME MASTER STOPS right in front of ANTHONY, GRABS his LAPELS (or the equivalent.) ANTHONY is TAKEN ABACK.

TIME MASTER: Don’t you understand? They’re way ahead of you — HE’S way ahead of you.

ANTHONY: What the hell are you saying?

PANEL FOUR: TIME MASTER STUMBLES AWAY, leaving ANTHONY shaken.

TIME MASTER: Well…then you better take sun block. And plenty of it.

ANTHONY: What was THAT about?

THROWBACK: I don’t know, but, dude, that was Time Master! He fought everyone! He’s the guy that dropped that dinosaur into the Tonight Show! Ate like a hundred people before Regent showed up and knocked it out! A T-Rex!