An original screenplay.
FADE IN: EXT. CITY STREET -- DAY
LINDY, a 24 year old woman, stumbles along a busy sidewalk, bumping into people and objects. She is wearing all black clothing and a winter hat on this hot, sunny day. She bumps into a newspaper stand. The CASHIER gives her a dirty look.
LINDY
Sorry, so sorry.
Lindy replaces a stack of newspapers. The front page reads "SUPERS STRIKE AGAIN: CITY’S HEROES HELP FIRE CREWS WITH RESCUE." The other papers and magazines all show pictures of superheroes. Headlines include: "SHADOW SWAN SAVES SAILORS," "SAVIOR FORCE RESCUES RESIDENTS DURING FIRE," and "OUR CITY’S SUPERS, DO THEY MAKE US SAFER?"
A police car drives by, SIREN blaring. Lindy crouches against a telephone pole and presses her hands against her ears. Once the car has passed, she stands up, which dislodges a flyer from the pole. She catches it in mid-air. It has a drawing of a man in a mask and reads: "DEVELOPED ABILITIES? NEED HELP? CALL 1-800-SAVIORS."
Another SIREN approaches. Lindy crumples the flyer into her pocket and sprints down the street, and rushes into an apartment building.
INT. STUDIO APARTMENT -- MOMENTS LATER
The windows, ceiling, and walls have sound-dampening material covering them.
Lindy gently closes the door behind her. The hinges SQUEAK. Lindy picks up a small bottle of grease and applies it to the door hinges. She takes off her shoes and slides to the kitchen sink in her socks. She pours herself a glass of water. The tap SQUEAKS. Lindy picks up another bottle of grease from the counter and applies it to each tap handle.
Lindy pulls the flyer and a cell phone from her pocket and smoothes the flyer against the counter. She dials, and the phone RINGS over the speaker. She holds the phone away from her ear and lowers the volume of the RINGING, then moves it back to her ear.
INT. SMALL OFFICE -- DAY
JAY, a 40 year old man, is sitting at a desk with only a laptop on it. The walls are bare. A phone RINGS. Jay pulls a cell phone from his pocket and looks at it.
INSERT - JAY’S CELL PHONE SCREEN
"REDIRECT. NO CALLER ID"
BACK TO SCENE
Jay jumps up from his chair and walks over to close his office door. The phone continues to RING. He answers it.
INTERCUT TELEPHONE CONVERSATION - JAY AND LINDY
JAY
Hello. This is the Savior Force.
How can I help you? Hello?
LINDY
Hi. I, um, saw a flyer and, well, I
could use some help.
JAY
I’m so glad you called. Have you
developed abilities?
LINDY
Yes.
Jay sits down at his desk. He pulls a small notebook and pen out of his shirt pocket and places them on the desk.
LINDY
I can hear everything. Birds
flying, the hum of power lines, my
neighbor three floors down, my
mother’s jaw clenching. You rolling
your pen on the table.
Jay stops his pen mid-roll.
JAY
That’s remarkable.
LINDY
It would be ok if that’s all I
could hear, but the noise in this
city is overwhelming. Trains,
sirens, garbage trucks.
JAY
I see your point. Have you tried to
isolate your ability at all? To
block out background noise and hone
your hearing to a certain source?
LINDY
No. Is that possible? I could tune
out noises? At will?
JAY
Perhaps. I’ve never met anyone with
your specific ability. But there
are people in the force who have
learned to focus and control their
powers. I can introduce you to
them.
Lindy sets her phone down on the counter and stares at it.
JAY
We meet once a month, next one is
this coming Thursday at
5:30pm. There will be a few other
new people there. And we would all
love to meet you.
Lindy moves her finger towards the phone to hang up.
JAY
Hello? There’s a marked door in the
alley behind 588 West 84th Street.
I hope you’ll come. My name is Jay
by the way. Hello?
Lindy presses the button to hang up. Jay looks at his phone, then puts it back in his pocket. He rolls the pen.
EXT. AN ALLEY - EVENING
Lindy knocks on a door with the same drawing from the flyer. A speakeasy panel on the door opens. Eyes peer out.
WOMAN’S VOICE
How did you find out about us?
LINDY
Jay gave me the address.
WOMAN’S VOICE
Are you the one with the heightened
hearing? Lindy nods.
WOMAN’S VOICE
Prove it. I can’t just let you in.
LINDY
Um, ok. There’s a woman talking
behind you, about breathing
underwater. There’s a man upstairs
rolling a pen back and forth on a
filing cabinet. And some weird
crackling sound. Also, there’s a
lot of rats in the walls.
A car horn HONKS on the street nearby. Lindy jumps. The panel in the door slides closed, and the door opens.
LIGHT RIDER, a woman in a fancy pale blue costume and mask, holds the door open. Sparks of static electricity CRACKLE around her hands and feet.
LIGHT RIDER
Can’t be too careful, you know?
Come on in, meet the others. INT. LARGE MEETING ROOM -- MOMENTS LATER
There are three rows of chairs facing the far wall. Lindy glances down at a table with refreshments and name tags as she walks past it. The five other people in the room have name tags on. Two men, SOLAR FLARE and CAPITÁN TERREMOTO, are wearing modified gym clothes and masks. Three people, NIC, PASCAL, and GRACE, are in normal street clothes.
SHADOW SWAN enters the room, wearing a fancy black superhero costume and the mask from the drawing on the flyer and door. The other five people move to take a seat in the first row of chairs. Lindy sits in the back row, on the end nearest the door.
SHADOW SWAN
Hi everyone. We at Savior Force are
so glad you’re here. As you
probably know, I’m Shadow Swan. I
found out about my ability seven
years ago. I was drunk and fell off
a fourth story balcony. I glided
slowly to the ground and landed on
my feet. It took me a few months to
work up the courage to put it to
the test. Light Rider here found me
in an abandoned warehouse one day,
practicing. And that’s how we found
out that we weren’t alone. And we
decided to start the Savior Force,
putting our abilities to use
helping out our fellow citizens. Shadow Swan pulls off his mask, revealing that he is Jay.
JAY
Hi again. My name is Jay Cobb. I’m
a database engineer. I work
downtown, forty hours a week. I
have two cats. Any questions?
Pascal and Grace raise their hands.
NIC
Yeah, I wanted to know how you got
your powers. And now you’re saying
you don’t know how, or even when?
JAY
That’s right. I could have had them
all my life, and it just never came
up. Some of the others in the force
do know. It’s often a traumatic
event. Do any of you know when your
abilities began?
Pascal and Grace lower their hands. Lindy raises hers. Jay smiles at her, and gestures for her to speak. Everyone else in the room turns to look at her.
LINDY
I was bitten by a snake while out
hiking. I don’t even like hiking. I
was in a coma for two days, nearly
died. But I didn’t, I woke up. And
I could sense everything around me.
The temperature changes in a room,
vibrations from the subway three
blocks away. And the noise. I can
hear everything. It’s been
overwhelming. I had to quit school,
I can hardly go out at all. My
friends think I’ve gone crazy.
GRACE
Well, that’s what we’re here for,
isn’t it? This is a support group,
right? Though my power is easier to
live with I suppose. I was in
training to be a Navy SEAL, and one
test is how long you can hold your
breath. I went four minutes before
people got weirded out. Some look
at me a bit funny now, but I played
it off. Only my boyfriend knows, he
helped me test it. I’ve gone an
hour in the bath. Only forty
minutes in the ocean though, before
I felt sick from all the salt.
NIC
I can teleport, been doing it all
my life. Only up to about twenty
feet away so far, but I figure you
guys can help me get better.
Nic closes his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest. He disappears with a quiet POP. Another POP and Nic reappears next to Jay, who shakes Nic’s hand without seeming fazed. Everyone else claps, except Lindy.
NIC
I knew I wasn’t gonna use it to do
bad, like robbing banks or nothing.
But only just realized maybe I
could use it to do some good. Be a
hero, like you guys. What about
you, Chief?
PASCAL
I, um, well I camouflage.
Pascal stands up and walks to the wall, which has several posters plastered on it. He holds his arms at different angles. His skin, visible on his face, neck, and arms below his t-shirt, changes color to match the color of the wall or poster behind it.
NIC
So you’d have to be naked to really disappear?
PASCAL
Yep. Not sure how handy it is as
far as powers go, but I’ve worked
really hard the last few years to
master it. Used to just happen
randomly. Now I can control it.
Pascal’s skin returns to its normal color. Everyone claps.
LIGHT RIDER
You’ll need the right suit,
something you can control along
with your abilities. Won’t be
cheap. And the wait time is
outrageous. Our newest recruits
here know all about that.
JAY
Yeah, you know how they say Bruce
Wayne’s real superpower is being
super rich? That’s no joke. He has
a whole R&D team on staff.
Discretion costs money. Asking
questions raises suspicions. Not
everyone thinks we’re a good
influence on the city. But you all
don’t need to worry about any of
that yet. This is informal, so feel
free to grab a donut and some
coffee, and we’ll keep chatting.
Everyone gets out of their seat. Small clusters of conversation break out around the table. Lindy moves on the periphery, listening but not talking.
JAY
(Loudly, to the whole room)
I’ve got a sign-in sheet here, I’ll
pass that around. Basic info, so we
can add you to our database. Feel
free to stay and keep chatting, and
of course join us here the first
Thursday of every month.
Nic, Pascal, and Grace walk over to Jay and fill out the form. Lindy stays standing where she is, near the table by the door, looking towards the exit. Jay walks over to Lindy and puts his hand on her shoulder.
JAY
Won’t you join us? I know this has
been especially hard on you, but
hopefully we can help. Your
abilities are unique, they’re a
gift, but also a responsibility.
You could become a great part of
the team given time.
All other conversations have stopped, and everyone in the room is looking at Lindy. She smiles and takes the sign-up sheet and pen from Jay. She clicks the pen a few times, then bends down to the table and begins to write.
INSERT - SIGN-UP SHEET
There are names, emails, phone numbers, and abilities listed on the first three lines of the page. Lindy’s hand holds the pen, which is retracted. Lindy’s hand moves as if filling out the form, but she isn’t writing anything.
BACK TO SCENE
Lindy looks around the room. No one is watching her anymore, except for Jay, who is now back on the other side of the room talking to Nic. She leaves the piece of paper on the small table, and points to it. Jay gives a thumbs-up. Lindy waves. Jay waves back. Lindy turns around and leaves.
FADE OUT.