|
|
STARSIGN written by Quamp
Author's note: If your computer doesn't have the webdings font, you will have to get it. I don't know where, however.
(Front cover. We see an escape pod that has crashed near the main building of the School for Gifted Youngsters. The members of Generation X are there, investigating it. On one side the White Queen tries to explain things to some students. She is using her vast mental powers on them.)
Queen: Move along, there’s nothing to see here....
(Page 1, panel 1. A spaceship’s bridge. We see the place is smoking an near breaking down. Several people are trying in vain to fight the smoke and problems.)
Cap (N1): The time is unknown.
Cap (N2): The place is far away.
Cap (N3): The ship was viciously attacked and is in its final stages of life.
Captain: [This is not a decision I make lightly. All hands will abandon ship!!! All hands abandon ship!! Escape pods activate for personnel influx now!!*]
Cap (N): *Translated from the alien tongue.
(Panel 2. Escape pod area. We see several people enter the place. One is a hurt woman who is injured. She carries an infant in her hands.)
Cap (N1): The escape pod will put them into a state of suspended animation.
Cap (N2): Time will flow much slower than normal.
Cap (N3) But the woman and child will escape...
(Panel 3. The pod launches from the ship. We are outside it now, and see the ship on fire and hurting. Panel 4. The ship explodes while the escape pod goes hurling away from it.)
Cap (N1): They will drift into space for a long time.
Cap (N2): Only to arrive at what most aliens consider “a backwater planet which is way out of the way of things.”
(Page 2, panel 1. The School for gifted youngsters, in the back area. We see the members of Generation X engaged in a basketball game, against some of the other students.)
Cap (N1): Forward to the present day.
Cap (N2): For once, things are calm at the School for gifted youngsters.
Cap (N3): It won’t last for long.
(Panel 2. Synch breaks free to pass the ball to Skin.)
Synch: Yours!
Skin: Gracias!
(Panel 3. Skin jumps, and makes the slam-dunk.)
SFX: Shwoop!!
(Panel 4. They do a high-five.)
Synch: You got game, man.
Skin: So do you, amigo.
(Panel 5. We see something enter into the sky, something that is red and hot. The Gen X gang do not notice this.)
Young Man: Our ball, our turn.
(Page 3, panel 1. The red object gets closer, but is still a considerable distance away.)
M: Do you hear something?
Synch: No... come on, we got to get our defense going.
(Panel 2. They continue to play basketball while the red object slowly gets closer.)
M: Well, whatever.
(Panel 3. We see an F-14 Tomcat flying to the red object.) Pilot of Tomcat: Tango Sierra Foxtrot this is Bravo Charlie Romeo. I’ve got the UFO in my sights It appears to be a red hot object and I can’t get a good fix on it with my instruments.
(Panel 4. Suddenly the pod shoots a heat blast, hitting the Tomcat, which bursts into flames.)
SFX: WHOOMPH!!!!!
(Page 4, pane1 1. The spacepod streaks toward Earth.)
Cap (N1): Streaking to Earth,
Cap (N2): And not unnoticed by others.
(Panel 2. The Gen X gang sees the spacepod.)
Jubilee: What is it?
M: I’m going to find out.
(Panel 3. Synch gets in synch with M as M takes off.)
Synch: Hey, wait for me!
(Panel 4. They fly up to the spacepod.)
Synch: Looks like some kind of alien spacepod.
M: At the speed it’s going, it’s going to cause a lot of damage when it hits the ground. We’ve got to slow it down.
(Panel 5. M and Synch push against the UFO, trying to slow it down.)
Synch: Yeow!!! This thing is hot!!!
M: It’s going to be a lot hotter if we don’t slow it down!
(Page 5, panel 1. They manage to slow the spacepod down somewhat. Their clothing is starting to smoke.)
Synch: I hope we slowed it down enough....
(Panel 2. The spacepod crashes, leaving a very deep and long trench in its wake. M and Synch move away from the spacepod.)
SFX: SKRUMMPH!!!!!!!!!!!
(Panel 3. The rest of the Gen X gang check on the pod, except for Skin and Jubilee. Skin stretches out his hands and arms to catch M as Jubilee checks on the fallen Synch.)
Jubilee: Ev! Are you all right?
Synch: Uhn....
(Panel 4. The pod opens slightly.)
Husk: It’s opening!
(Panel 5. Jubilee helps Synch stand as the pod opens slowly.)
SFX: FHSSHT!
Jubilee: Like, what’s in there??
(Panel 6. Enter a teenage humanoid female. She is about 5’5”, with gray hair, eyes, skin, and wearing a gray jumpsuit. She comes out of the escape pod.)
Cap (N1): The infant is now a teenager.
Cap (N2): How long she has been alive is unknown.
Cap (N3): But she has one small problem....
(Page 6, panel 1. She faces the members of Generation X.)
Alien: What is going on here?
Jubilee: Like, what does that mean?
Husk: Your guess is as good as mine, Jubes.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Psi balloon: (pointing to Chamber) The computer has thousands of languages on file. Let’s see if this language is one of them.
(Panel 3. The members of Generation X smile and try to lead the alien toward the main building.)
Psi Balloon (pointing to Chamber) Come on, luv. We’ve got something that could help here.
Alien: (apprehensive) Who are you people? What are you saying?
M: Just come with us, and everything will be all right.
(Panel 4. The alien woman pulls away, scared.)
Synch: Uh-oh. How are we going to get her to come with us?
Jubilee: (to M) This would be a great time for one of your “Divine miracles” Monet.
M: I’m not God, Jubes... although you seem to have the impression I think I am.
(Panel 5. Skin reaches out his hand.)
Skin: Let’s try something, hombres....
Alien:
(Panel 6. Pause.)
(Page 7. panel 1. The alien goes next to Skin.)
Skin: Gracias al Dios....
M: Let’s take her to the computer.
(Panel 2. They go inside.)
Cap (N1): They lead her inside,
Cap (N2): Little knowing that the consequences of what they have unleashed.
(Panel 3. Inside the main building. They arrive in the computer room.)
M: Computer, establish a link to Cerebro II. Once done, access files on alien languages. Code M 324 Rho 23 Pi 52.
(Panel 4. The computer screen reads: “Processing...”)
Jubilee: Now we wait...
(Panel 5. The screen reads: “Ready to process.”)
M: Computer, translate the language of this alien if possible.
(Panel 6. The members turn to the alien woman.)
Jubilee: Like, say something.
Alien: Who are you and what is going on here?
(Page 8, panel 1. The computer reads “Processing.”)
Cap (N1): Patience wears thin,
Cap (N2): Tension runs high.
(Panel 2. The computer responds.)
Computer voice: It appears to be a varient of Plantaxyian. There is a 10% margin of error in translation.
M: Don’t keep us in suspense. Tell us what she said.
(Panel 3. The computer responds.)
Computer voice: Who are you and what is going on here?
M: Computer, is it possible to make a portable translator?
(Panel 4. The computer responds.)
Computer voice: Affirmative.
M: Good, I’ll do it. Print up some schematics for the lab.
Jubilee: And greet her and try to calm her down. Tell her we mean her no harm.
(Panel 5. Exit M.)
Cap (N): After the computer has greeted the alien...
Computer Voice: She said her name was Starsign, and she wants to know where she is and how to get back to her people.
Synch: Is that even possible?
(Panel 6. Enter the White Queen.)
Queen: What’s going on here?
Jubilee: Ms. Frost! We like saw this spacepod land and she stepped out of it.
(Page 9, panel 1. Go back to the spacepod. We see a middle-aged couple there, both of them armed with cameras and taking photographs.)
Cap (N1): And out side...
Cap (N2): Their names are Ralph and Julia Toddberg.
Cap (N3): Reporters for the tabloid known as the Weekly News of the Land.
(Panel 2. They continue to take photographs.)
Ralph: Finally! The Land’s gonna pay us big time for this.
Julia: I’m going inside for a look in the place.
(Panel 3. Julia goes inside, snapping pictures all the way.)
Julia: Wow....
(Panel 4. Suddenly a hand wielding a baton strikes Ralph in the back of the head.)
SFX: POW!!!
Julia: Ralph, you got to see this!
(Panel 5. The same hand takes Ralph’s camera, and opens it, exposing the film inside.)
Cap (N): What happens next is a tragedy.
(Page 10, panel 1. The computer reads “Processing.”)
Cap (N1): Patience wears thin,
Cap (N2): Tension runs high.
(Panel 2. The computer responds.)
Computer voice: It appears to be a varient of Plantaxyian. There is a 10% margin of error in translation.
M: Don’t keep us in suspense. Tell us what she said.
(Panel 3. The computer responds.)
Computer voice: Who are you and what is going on here?
M: Computer, is it possible to make a portable translator?
(Panel 4. The computer responds.)
Computer voice: Affirmative.
M: Good, I’ll do it. Print up some schematics for the lab.
Jubilee: And greet her and try to calm her down. Tell her we mean her no harm.
(Panel 5. Exit M.)
Cap (N): After the computer has greeted the alien...
Computer Voice: She said her name was Starsign, and she wants to know where she is and how to get back to her people.
Synch: Is that even possible?
(Panel 6. Enter the White Queen.)
Queen: What’s going on here?
Jubilee: Ms. Frost! We like saw this spacepod land and she stepped out of it.
(Page 11, panel 1. Go back to the spacepod. We see a middle-aged couple there, both of them armed with cameras and taking photographs.)
Cap (N1): And out side...
Cap (N2): Their names are Ralph and Julia Toddberg.
Cap (N3): Reporters for the tabloid known as the Weekly News of the Land.
(Panel 2. They continue to take photographs.)
Ralph: Finally! The Land’s gonna pay us big time for this.
Julia: I’m going inside for a look in the place.
(Panel 3. Julia goes inside, snapping pictures all the way.)
Julia: Wow....
(Panel 4. Suddenly a hand wielding a baton strikes Ralph in the back of the head.)
SFX: POW!!!
Julia: Ralph, you got to see this!
(Panel 5. The same hand takes Ralph’s camera, and opens it, exposing the film inside.)
Cap (N): What happens next is a tragedy.
(Panel 6. Julia sees the man, and hides.)
Cap (J1): No!
Cap (J2): The I-men got Ralph!
(Page 12, panel 1. The I-Men load the craft onto a truck.)
Man: Careful... careful....
(Panel 2. Go back to Generation X. We see the White Queen reading the mind of the alien teen.)
Queen: It’s pretty simple, actually... being raised in a space pod... she doesn’t remember anything about her people. The spacepod she was in is the key. It taught her everything she knows.
(Panel 3. The White Queen turns.)
Queen:Monet, take Ev and bring that spacepod back on here.
M: Right.
(Panel 4. The White Queen turns to Chamber.)
Queen: Jono, you’ve had some luck with electronic things. Go assemble the translator Monet ordered.
Jubilee: But, like what can I do?
(Panel 5. The White Queen smiles.)
Queen: Make friends with our guest. You’re the best at that.
Jubilee: Uh... right.
(Page 13, panel 1. M and Synch are where the pod landed. The long and deep trench is now missing, and it is as if there never was a landing.)
Synch: I could have sworn this is where it landed.
M: It’s gone!!!
(Panel 2. M looks the area over.)
M: Ev, tell me I’m not going out of my mind! I know there was a spacepod here!
(Panel 3. Suddenly two men in suits and ties jump M and Synch, grabbing them.)
Man: Hold still, teenage woman. The mindwipe won’t hurt a bit...
(Panel 4. The men stick their hands into the heads of M and Synch. Synch collapses.)
M: Non!! I will not let you do this!!!
Man: She’s got some telepathic powers. She’s resisting me.
(Panel 5. M throws one of the men into the other.)
M: Never!!!
(Panel 6. She picks up Synch, flying off.)
Man: Stop!!!
(Page 14, panel 1. The men run after her, but she flies away too quickly.)
Man: $#|+!!
(Panel 2. Go back inside to see Jubilee talking to the alien woman.)
Cap: Later...
Computer: She wishes to know more about Skin.
Jubilee: Angelo? Well, I guess we could bring him back here...
(Panel 3. Enter Chamber with a cassette box-sized computer.)
Psi Balloon: (Pointing to Chamber) I got the translator here, mates.
(Panel 4. Enter M, carrying Synch.)
M: We were attacked by two men. They did something to Ev and I -
(Panel 5. M collapses.)
Queen: Monet!!
(Page 15, panel 1. Infirmary. We see the members of Generation X around M and Synch. M and Synch are lying in separate beds.)
Jubilee: Ohmigawd this is majorly terrible! Like, who would do this to her?
Starsign: (from the translator) Someone tried to .... mindwipe them.
(Panel 2. Starsign faces the White Queen.)
Starsign: I am somewhat unfamiliar with your brain patterns.... but I sense you should be able to fix the damage....
Queen: Let me try.
(Panel 3. The White Queen concentrates.)
Queen: They did a very good job of it. It’s really hard to find their memories.... but I think I’ve got it.
M: Uhn....
(Panel 4. M suddenly sits up.)
M: The pod is gone!
(Panel 5. The others face M.)
Queen: What do you mean it’s gone?
M: Mademoiselle Frost, we were attacked by two men in suits and ties. They somehow erased all traces of the pod’s landing, along with taking the pod itself.
(Page 16, panel 1. They continue to talk.)
Queen: This is serious... we need to talk to these men.
Man (From off panel): You want us, you got us.
(Panel 2. They turn to see the two men there.)
Man: We have come for the alien.
Queen: What do you want with her?
(Panel 3. The man holds up a light that flashes.)
Man: We do not have to explain anything to you.
SFX: FLASH!
(Panel 4. The members of Generation X are disoriented.)
Queen: Uhn... not going to let you affect my mind...
Man: Hmm... telepath of the first order.
(Panel 5. They pull out a gun.)
Man: Nothing personal, but you have to die.
(Panel 6. Jubilee fires her energy plasmoids, hitting the man’s gun.)
Jubilee: Hey, she may not be the best, but nobody kills the teacher here!
(Page 17, panel 1. The other man fires, hitting Jubilee. She is knocked through a window and down.)
SFX: CRASH!!!
Man: Resisting us is useless.)
(Panel 2. The White Queen strikes that man with a diving kick.)
Queen: We’ve got to end this now.
SFX: POW!!!
(Panel 3. The man is on the ground, hurt.)
Queen: Now, you want to join him?
Man: Death before dishonor. Bring in reinforcements.
(Panel 4. The man touches his temple, and dies.)
Man: Uhn...
Husk: A suicide pill in his head?
(Panel 5. The White Queen faces the others.)
Queen: He’s bringing a small army to fight us. All armed, all very nasty.
Synch: What can we do?
(Page 18, panel 1. The other man fires, hitting Jubilee. She is knocked through a window and down.)
SFX: CRASH!!!
Man: Resisting us is useless.)
(Panel 2. The White Queen strikes that man with a diving kick.)
Queen: We’ve got to end this now.
SFX: POW!!!
(Panel 3. The man is on the ground, hurt.)
Queen: Now, you want to join him?
Man: Death before dishonor. Bring in reinforcements.
(Panel 4. The man touches his temple, and dies.)
Man: Uhn...
Husk: A suicide pill in his head?
(Panel 5. The White Queen faces the others.)
Queen: He’s bringing a small army to fight us. All armed, all very nasty.
Synch: What can we do?
(Page 19, panel 1. They look each other over.)
Jubilee: This is like totally bogus! Like, who are they?
Queen: They call themselves the I-Men, or Investigation men. They’re a privately funded group who investigates all UFO occurrences. They will be back with more of them.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Queen: They’ll experiment on her no end.
Starsign: I do not think I like that idea.
(Panel 3. She faces the members of Generation X.)
Starsign: This world is new to me and very different from the spacepod where I grew up. I want to find out more about it. I want to learn all I can about your race.
Queen: That’s a tall order, Starsign. First we have to hide you from these I-men.
Jubilee: But, like, where do we hide her?
(Panel 4. The White Queen smiles.)
Queen: Where else but plain sight?
(Page 20, panel 1. several hours later. Starsign now has red hair, blue eyes, Caucasian toned skin, and wears a Gen X academy uniform (with skirt and tie.) The others look her over.)
Jubilee: You look great, Starsign. Like, I can’t tell you’re an alien.
(Panel 2. Starsign faces Jubilee.)
Starsign: I hope so... I don’t want to become a lab rat.
(Panel 3. The White Queen turns.)
Queen: Well, what we have to do now is resume classes. I believe you have literature with Banshee about now.
(Panel 4. They go off.)
Cap (Q): And I can sense the I-men coming near...
(Page 21, panel 1. A classroom. We see the members of Generation X enter, and sit. Banshee is teaching the class.)
Banshee: Well, who’s the new lassie?
Starsign: My name is Starsign...
(Panel 2. She gets a telepathic flash.)
Starsign: Angela... Starsign.
Banshee: Well, just have a seat, lass.
(Panel 3. All but Banshee sit.)
Banshee: We’re going t’go over the poem I had assigned last night... The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. Jubilation, why don’t you read the part I had assigned you to memorize?
Jubilee’s thoughts: (Sheesh! I can’t get a break, can I?)
Jubilee: Uh, Sure Mr. Cassidy.
(Panel 4. Jubilee tries to remember the poem.)
Jubilee: When Lil’s husband got demobbed -
I didn’t mince words, I said to her myself
Hurry up please it’s time
Now you’ve got to make yourself a little smart.
(Panel 5. Banshee grimaces.)
Banshee: O.k., that’s enough.
Banshee’s thoughts: (Didn’t memorize it all, hmm?)
(Panel 6. Banshee faces the classroom.)
Banshee: So who can tell me what it means?
(Page 22, panel 1. M raises her hand.)
Banshee: Monet?
M: It means that people who live in the waste land of shallowness and superficiality often don’t take responsibility for their actions.
(Panel 2. Suddenly the wall breaks down and several I-Men are there.)
Man: We’ve come for the alien.
(Panel 3. Banshee turns.)
Banshee: Who are you?
Man: That’s not important. Deliver the alien now.
(Panel 4. Starsign stands.)
Starsign: All right, I’ll come with you.
Jubilee: What are you saying? They’re going to turn you into a lab rat!!
(Panel 5. Starsign faces Jubilee.)
Starsign: They have several instruments of war aimed here... tanks, lasers, rockets... all ready to destroy this place if I don’t come along. I don’t want to see you die on my account.
(Panel 6. The I-Men shackle Starsign.)
Man: That’s better.
Banshee: This isna right. You can’t just turn her inta an experiment! She’s a living, sentient being!
(Page 23, panel 1. They start to lead Starsign off.)
Man: She’s no longer your concern.
Banshee: Blast it, some things are worth fighting for! It’s nae right t’turn her into a lab rat!
Starsign: Mr. Cassidy, I do this for your benefit. Fight them and they will kill you. They have ways to neutralize your powers. Please, is dying and sending the team to their deaths worth me?
(Panel 2. Banshee grits his teeth.)
Banshee: All right, lads, ye can have her... f’r now.
Man: Now, we have to go.
(Panel 3. They take Starsign off.)
Man: Case closed.
(Panel 4. The class stands in stunned silence.)
Jubilee: Like, what do we do now, Mr. Cassidy?
Banshee: Pray for the lass.
(Panel 5. Go back to Starsign and the I-Men. We see them outside the gates of the academy.)
Man: We just want to perform some routine experiments on you, and send you back to your people if they still exist.
Starsign: So you say.
(Panel 6. They get into a car, and go off.)
Cap (N): But it’s not the end of her.
(Page 25, panel 1. Go back to see the White Queen, Adrienne Frost, Banshee and the rest of Generation X the White Queen is angered.)
Queen: You just let them walk out of here with her!?
Banshee: The lass insisted we let her go... something about they had an army ready to tear this place apart before we could defend ourselves.
(Panel 2. The White Queen grits her teeth.)
Queen: We don’t abandon one of our own, Sean - even if she’s new. We have to get her.
(Panel 3. Later. The place is several miles from there. It is a nondescript building. Starsign is there, being lead by the men. She is still shackled.)
Cap (N1): The place is classified.
Cap (N2): It’s been two or three hours since they took her away.
Cap (N3): But they have a bull by the horns.
(Panel 4. Starsign looks around.)
Starsign: So this is your place, hmm?
Man: Just keep moving.
(Panel 5. Starsign stops.)
Starsign: Oh, I’ll move, all right...
(Page 26, panel 1. Starsign spins around, forming a tornado of psychic energy. The two men are sucked into it.)
Man: AAAAHHHHHH!!!!
Cap (N1): She has formed a tornado of psychic energy.
Cap (N2): Now they will feel her wrath.
(Panel 2. We see her release the two men, who have blank expressions on their faces, and go off.)
Cap (N1): She turns them into vegetables, temporarily.
Cap (N2): They will recover.
(Panel 3. Still in her tornado form, she crashes into some more of the men, who are now starting to panic and run.)
Man: Run for it!
(Panel 4. She spits out the men and goes for more. One of the men checks his watch.)
Man: It’s composed of psychic energy. We’ve got to get the psychic dampening fields.
(Panel 5. Starsign goes to the exit, which is covered in an electrified gate.)
Cap (N): No contest who’s going to win.
(Panel 6. Starsign breaks through the gate.)
SFX: WHAM!!!
(Page 27, panel 1. We see her go down the road, with the I-Men firing at her.)
Man: Damn!!
(Panel 2. Later. She is now at a strip mall, and turns back into herself.)
Cap (S): That took a lot out of me...
(Panel 3. She collapses in front of a supermarket. Several people around her see this.)
Woman: Oh my God!
(Panel 4. Several people gather around her.)
Man: Someone call 911!
(Panel 5. A middle-aged woman forces her way to the front.)
Doctor: Let me through! I’m a doctor!
(Panel 6. She checks Starsign over.)
Doctor’s thoughts: (Steady heartbeat, good breathing...)
(Page 28, panel 1. The doctor lifts up Starsign’s feet.)
Doctor: Someone hold up her feet, she’s in shock.
(Panel 2. A young man does this.)
Doctor’s thoughts: (There’s only so much I can do here... )
Doctor: Has anyone called 911 yet?
Man: Yea, they’re on their way.
(Panel 3. More people gather around Starsign.)
Doctor: Please, stay back, let her get some air!
(Panel 4. Enter an ambulance, which stops.)
Doctor: O.k., let the ambulance people through!
(Panel 5. The medics pull out a gurney and go into the crowd.)
Medic: What’s the status?
Doctor: She’s in shock and her pupils are fixed. I can’t make any more diagnoses without some more instruments.
(Panel 6. They load Starsign onto the gurney.)
Doctor: She appears to be otherwise healthy.
(Page 29, panel 1. Hospital. We see Starsign lying in a bed, with an IV attached to her.)
Cap (N1): They noticed an electrolyte imbalance.
Cap (N2): So they gave her medicine for it.
(Panel 2. Starsign wakes up.)
Starsign: Uhn...
(Panel 3. Starsign sits up.)
Cap (S1): [Where am I?]
(Panel 4. Enter a doctor.)
Doctor: Well, how do you feel?
Starsign: Better...
(Panel 5. The doctor checks her over.)
Doctor: We have quite a number of questions for you, Miss. First of all, what is your name?
(Panel 6. Starsign responds.)
Starsign: Starsign... Angela Starsign.... what is this tube in me?
Doctor: It’s a nutrient solution. When you were found you were severely dehydrated and had a severe electrolyte imbalance.
(Page 30, panel 1.The two continue to talk.)
Doctor: So are you a mutant?
Starsign: In a way.. yes.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Starsign: I need to return to my friends... I was kidnapped. They are in a city named Snow Valley.
Doctor: Well, there’s no city by that name in this region. I’m afraid you’re quite away from home, Miss.
(Panel 3. Focus on Starsign’s face.)
Starsign: Doctor... where am I now?
Doctor: This is St. Ulric’s hospital in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
(Panel 4. Starsign stands.)
Starsign: Well, I feel fine, so I’d like to go.
Doctor: You’ve got a lot of paperwork to fill out, and some bills to pay.
(Panel 5. Starsign gets nervous.)
Starsign: Well... I don’t have any money on me.
Doctor: We’ve got jobs here for you to do.
