Blackout
by
Andrew Morris
EXT. SCENE - CHICAGO. 23RD WARD. STREET (NIGHT)
Evening has fallen on a typical residential street in Chicago, lined with bungalows and the occasional two-flat. Traffic is fading, and the lights are on in the houses around. Proceeding up the street, we pass a light post bearing this sign:
ADVANCED ENERGY
EFFICIENT LIGHTING
brought to you by
DAVIS TECHNOLOGIES
CHICAGO BUREAU OF
ELECTRICITY
and
ALD. ADRINA CORMORANT
23rd WARD
Passing this, we proceed up to the second floor of one of the neighboring bungalows.
INT. SCENE - HOUSE - CHILD’S ROOM
A bedroom, done up to suit a typical middle-class child. This is NATHAN’s room. NATHAN is seven years old, and it is his bedtime. He has several toys out, some books in the bookcase, and the other odds and ends that speak of a child who is being raised in a comfortable but not luxurious life. NATHAN is in his bed, and his father EDWARD is tucking him in.
NATHAN
Dad, can I sleep with you tonight?
EDWARD
You slept with us last night, Nate. You’ve got a big boy bed now, right?
NATHAN
Yeah, but I wanna sleep with you tonight.
EDWARD
Monsters, again?
NATHAN
Dad...
EDWARD
We’ve talked about this. There’s nothing out there.
NATHAN
Yes there is.
EDWARD
What?
NATHAN
There’s a man with wings.
EDWARD
A man with wings?
NATHAN
And teeth.
EDWARD
And where is this man now?
NATHAN
He doesn’t come until the lights are out.
EDWARD
Why is that, hm?
NATHAN
I dunno.
EDWARD
Well, let’s ask him.
EDWARD turns off the lights. The streetlight shines in through the window, dimly, casting a shadow that resembles nothing in particular.
EDWARD
You see? Just a shadow. Nothing to it.
NATHAN
But, Dad, that wasn’t it.
EDWARD
Sure it was, Nate. Now, cover up and go to sleep.
NATHAN
Dad...
EDWARD
No, it’s time for bed. We’re right up the hall if he comes back, okay?
NATHAN
Okay.
EDWARD
Love you, Nate.
NATHAN
Love you too, Dad.
EDWARD
Night.
EDWARD leaves and closes the door behind him. The room darkens somewhat. NATHAN is alone. The shadow of the window vibrates and judders against the wall. NATHAN looks at it, and pulls the covers up over his head.
INT. SCENE - HOUSE - PARENTS’ ROOM
EDWARD enters, looking rather tired out. CAROL is lying on the bed, reading. She looks up at him as he enters. He begins getting ready for bed as he talks.
CAROL
Monsters again?
EDWARD
Yeah, again. I don’t know. You think something could be wrong with him?
CAROL
No. Of course not, Eddie. Every kid goes through that.
EDWARD
I guess.
CAROL
Didn’t you ever?
EDWARD
What, see monsters in my bedroom? No.
CAROL
Really?
EDWARD
No. For me, it was robots under the front porch.
CAROL
Huh.
INT. SCENE - HOUSE - CHILD’S ROOM
NATHAN peeks his head out from under the covers. The shadows cast by the window are no longer vibrating, but are spinning and wheeling around each other. He quickly ducks his head under the covers again.
INT. SCENE - HOUSE - PARENTS’ ROOM
NATHAN has changed into night clothes. He is getting into bed.
EDWARD
You think he’ll stay down all night?
CAROL
No. You?
EDWARD
Not a chance.
CAROL closes her book and sets it aside.
CAROL
Well, it’ll pass. It’ll pass.
EDWARD
It’ll pass. Night, honey.
CAROL
Good night.
CAROL switches off the light. They roll over and tuck in to sleep. The shadow of the window is cast against the wall here, too, and it begins to spin and weave, just as it did in NATHAN’s room. As EDWARD lies in bed, the twisting shadows begin to cast a light over the bed that bobs and twists weirdly. EDWARD winces, then turns to look. Then, horrified, he sits up abruptly, and shakes his wife.
EDWARD
Carol!
She rolls over suddenly and sits up. As she looks, the horror comes into her face as well.
EDWARD
Nathan! Nathan!
CAROL
Oh, my God! Nathan!
Across from them, against the wall of the room, is a shadowy winged figure, something like a gargoyle. Its details are not clear, but one thing is: NATHAN, who it is holding by one arm. It bellows silently at them, and turns to take NATHAN away.
EDWARD
Let him go!
The creature passes through the wall and vanishes, NATHAN in tow. EDWARD runs to the window, throws it open and leans out.
EDWARD
Nathan!
EXT. SCENE - CHICAGO. AERIAL. (NIGHT)
BROOKLYN is flying over the city.
Caption: Humboldt Park, Chicago. Friday, December 14, 2012. 5:15 PM.
BROOKLYN (VO)
Unsettled.
That’s the word for it. I’m feeling unsettled this evening.
Back in the day, things were straightforward--not everything, but it was the clan and the rest of the world. Wake up, defend the city, maybe party a bit until dawn, sleep, repeat.
Now I have a scheme winding up to take our lives, Demona out there somewhere laughing herself sick about all of it, and the one friend I’ve found in this place just rejected us.
Plus I have no home, no mate, no children, and nothing else to protect but part of my clan.
Yeah, “unsettled” says it.
BROOKLYN banks into a turn.
BROOKLYN (VO)
Something has to change. The wind can’t carry us forever. Got to touch ground sometime.
He approaches and lands on the roof of Humboldt Station.
EXT. SCENE - HUMBOLDT STATION. ROOF. (NIGHT)
BROOKLYN lands on the station roof. At a short distance, the others are gathered. BROADWAY comes up to him.
BROADWAY
Are you all right?
BROOKLYN looks at him darkly.
BROADWAY
Yeah, neither am I.
They go back to the group.
GOLIATH
How is he?
BROOKLYN
He seems all right, as far as I could see. I didn’t get too close.
BROADWAY
So you didn’t talk to him?
BROOKLYN
No. He shot at you last time and threatened to shoot the rest of us. I couldn’t think of a good way around that.
BROADWAY
I was hoping he’d gotten better.
BROOKLYN
Yeah.
GOLIATH
That is only one of our problems now. We will take them in order.
BROOKLYN
So what comes first?
GOLIATH
Demona knows we are not in Manhattan. I don’t know for how long she has known. That puts Manhattan at risk, and we are not in a position to defend it.
BROADWAY
And she has allies of her own.
GOLIATH
Yes. This Doctor Cotter is a threat in her own right.
BROADWAY
Do we take her first?
GOLIATH
By no means. She’s goading us into attacking. I do not know her plans, but they seem to involve us, and they seem to require our rage against her.
HUDSON
Like a bull to a cape.
GOLIATH
Exactly.
BROOKLYN
She’s done a good job of it.
GOLIATH
I know that. I do not intend for her to escape. But I do not intend for her to bait us into helping her, either.
BROOKLYN
And Matt?
GOLIATH sighs.
BROOKLYN
We can’t leave him behind.
GOLIATH
No.
LEXINGTON
He’s brought us a lot. We have the station because of him. We had communication.
BROADWAY
Supplies.
GOLIATH
All true. But we need to be safe in order to protect him. If we focus on him first, we may be taken before we can do anything else.
He looks around at them.
BROOKLYN
All right. So where do we start?
GOLIATH
We need to see more of what Demona’s plan is for us here. She could have taken us yesterday. She did not.
BROADWAY
I guess we could go look around for anything suspicious.
HUDSON
A patrol may not reveal much to us at this point.
GOLIATH
It may be all we have for now. Take Broadway and Lexington and look out for trouble. Do not engage in what you can avoid. Anything could be a trap.
HUDSON
Aye, Goliath. Come on.
HUDSON, BROADWAY, and LEXINGTON take off from the roof. BROOKLYN turns to GOLIATH.
BROOKLYN
Why are you keeping me out of this?
GOLIATH
I am not. You need to watch Matt.
BROOKLYN is surprised.
BROOKLYN
I thought you wanted to take care of him last.
GOLIATH
But until then, he knows enough about us to be dangerous. There is a very real risk now that he is taken by them. We need to be protected against that.
BROOKLYN
Oh. You saw that.
GOLIATH
I did.
BROOKLYN smiles slightly.
BROOKLYN
You just cost me a little speech I had ready.
GOLIATH
I am not sorry for that. I would be very sorry to lose him, or to lose you over him. We will not leave him behind.
BROOKLYN
Thank you.
BROOKLYN goes to the edge of the roof and flies off to the northwest. GOLIATH looks out over the city, and BRONX comes up beside him and looks out too.
EXT. SCENE - MIDWAY AIRPORT. (NIGHT)
Caption: Midway International Airport. Arrivals. 5:23 PM.
CPD officer ERIC SANCHEZ, out of uniform, pulls his car up to the curb of the arrivals area at Midway Airport. He gets out and looks around. The traffic warden is upon him instantly.
WARDEN
Move it up, can’t park here.
SANCHEZ
I’m not, I’m just--
WARDEN
You can’t park here. Move it.
SANCHEZ rolls his eyes, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out his badge. He shows it to the WARDEN.
WARDEN
Oh, sorry, officer.
SANCHEZ
No problem, I’ll be out of your way in a sec.
The WARDEN moves off. SANCHEZ looks around and finally spots who he’s looking for. He waves, and calls out:
SANCHEZ
Aunt Maria!
From down the sidewalk, a middle-aged woman (MARIA CHAVEZ) waves back, picks up her suitcase, and comes briskly toward him. He and she embrace briefly.
CHAVEZ
Merry Christmas, Eric!
SANCHEZ
Merry Christmas, Aunt Maria! Welcome to Chicago!
INT. SCENE - SANCHEZ’S CAR. STREET. (NIGHT)
They are riding in SANCHEZ’s car through the surface streets.
SANCHEZ
So how’s Tampa treating you?
CHAVEZ
Good. Quiet, but good. How are you doing?
SANCHEZ
Keeping busy.
CHAVEZ
I’ve heard it’s been rough up here. Are you keeping safe?
SANCHEZ
Oh, yeah, it’s not as bad as they say. Some strange stuff recently, though.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. STREET. (NIGHT)
SANCHEZ has turned down a side street. He comes into the same block as we opened this episode on. As he pilots down the block, the shadows are swirling and dancing on the pavement, and suddenly they begin to coalesce into a shadowy, winged figure, standing in the road ahead of them. SANCHEZ pegs the brakes and stops hard.
INT. SCENE - SANCHEZ’S CAR.
SANCHEZ
Ho-whoa-whoa! What?
CHAVEZ
What is it?
SANCHEZ
I don’t know.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. STREET. (NIGHT)
The figure gradually takes more solid form, as though coming into the light (which continues to swirl and dance across it briefly). It is a very dark gargoyle-like creature. Its eyes burn brightly, and it glares at SANCHEZ. SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ exit the car.
SANCHEZ
What is that?
CHAVEZ
Hello there? Who is it?
The figure glowers at both of them, menacingly, silently.
CHAVEZ
Hey, there. Talk to me. I’ve seen your kind before. We don’t mean any harm to you.
SANCHEZ
Watch it.
The creature bares its teeth, as though growling (but no sound is heard from it), and begins advancing on CHAVEZ.
CHAVEZ
Wait, now, I can be on your side, but you need to work with me here. Just hold up a second, all right? Huh?
SANCHEZ
I don’t think it’s listening.
CHAVEZ
I can get you help, but you need to stop. Stop! What is it that you--
This last sentence is cut off by a gunshot. The creature spins to look back, as SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ duck and look toward the source of the shot. It is EDWARD. He aims a revolver at the creature, cocks, and fires again.
CHAVEZ
Stop! What are you doing?
SANCHEZ
Hey! Put that up! Police!
The creature turns, runs up the street, and then flies off into the sky, vanishing into the night.
CHAVEZ
Come back! Oh.
EDWARD puts his gun down to his side as SANCHEZ runs up to him. CHAVEZ follows him.
SANCHEZ
What are you doing?
EDWARD
Hey! I saved your life, officer!
CHAVEZ
But we were getting through to it. Didn’t you see that?
EDWARD
What I saw was a cop and his mom not bothering to protect and serve. That’s what I saw.
CAROL exits onto the front steps, NATHAN following.
CAROL
Eddie? What is it? Did it come back?
EDWARD
Yes, dear. It’s the police. Go back inside. It’s gone now.
SANCHEZ
What do you mean, “come back”?
EDWARD
That thing came after my son a couple of nights ago. He barely made it out.
CHAVEZ
He’s not hurt, is he?
EDWARD
No, thank goodness.
SANCHEZ
How often has it been coming back?
EDWARD
Just about every night. And every night, this is the only thing it’ll listen to.
CHAVEZ
Is he just coming to you?
EDWARD
No. The Millers down the street, and the Czepanskis on the corner, both got a visit from it.
SANCHEZ
Anyone hurt?
EDWARD
Flora Czepanski managed to wing her husband. Other than that, no.
NATHAN
Jose and his brother got chased by a clown.
CHAVEZ
A clown? What kind of a clown?
NATHAN
A bad one.
CHAVEZ
I bet.
EDWARD
Nate, go back inside with Mom.
NATHAN and CAROL go back in and shut the door.
EDWARD
You said you’d seen their kind before. What do you mean?
CHAVEZ
I had the Gargoyle Task Force reporting up to me in New York.
EDWARD
You think that’s what we got here?
CHAVEZ
I don’t know. Maybe.
EDWARD
So what do we do, then?
CHAVEZ
Stay inside.
EDWARD
Fat lot of good it did before.
SANCHEZ
Maybe not, but I’m telling you this. Shooting into the street isn’t any better. Keep that inside, and for heaven’s sake, lock it up. You got a kid in there.
EDWARD
All right, all right.
SANCHEZ
Okay. Good night.
EDWARD
Good night. Be careful.
EDWARD tucks his gun into his belt and goes back inside. CHAVEZ looks up into the sky, but there is absolutely no sign of the creature. They start back toward the car.
SANCHEZ
I promise it’s not usually this dangerous. Or strange. Still...
CHAVEZ
What is it?
SANCHEZ
I want to talk to you about a couple of things. Come on.
They go to the car.
INT. SCENE - SANCHEZ’S HOME. KITCHEN.
A neat family house, decorated for Christmas. The back door opens, and SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ enter, CHAVEZ carrying her bag. She sets it down out of the way and takes off her coat.
SANCHEZ
Ellen and the kids’ll still be out shopping for a tree. They should be back in a little while.
CHAVEZ
All right.
She steps into the house and sits at the kitchen table. SANCHEZ goes to the refrigerator and gets out a couple of drinks. He hands one to CHAVEZ, and sits.
SANCHEZ
So, what do you think?
CHAVEZ
Tonight, or before?
SANCHEZ
Either one.
CHAVEZ
Who you saw before was Lexington. I’m almost sure of it.
SANCHEZ
What does that mean?
CHAVEZ
I don’t know. But if he’s here, we really need to talk to him. Because, as far as what happened tonight, either he knows what’s going on, or he needs to know.
SANCHEZ
How do we get him?
CHAVEZ thinks for a moment, and then looks up toward the ceiling. SANCHEZ follows her look up.
EXT. SCENE - AERIAL. GAGE PARK. (NIGHT)
Caption: Gage Park. 6:47 PM.
HUDSON, BROADWAY, and LEXINGTON are gliding through the night, approaching the Gage Park neighborhood. Clean bungalows pass below them, many decorated and lit up for the season; one or two quite elaborately so. They are looking around as they go.
BROADWAY
So what is it we should be looking for again?
HUDSON
Anything could be a part of this. We know that Demona laid a trap once, and could do again. You know her schemes.
LEXINGTON
Too well. But she never does the same thing twice.
HUDSON
No, and that is the challenge. But she always has the same aims. Dominate us and death to the humans.
BROADWAY
Lot of options for that second part.
LEXINGTON
Lot of potential traps for the first. What do you think they’d look like?
Below, the lights on one bungalow have been rearranged hastily and messily; they are not decorating the house well. But as the group passes over, BROADWAY notices something.
BROADWAY
Uh, Lex?
LEXINGTON
What?
BROADWAY points at the messy house. As they pass overhead, it becomes clear the lights spell out something: “LEX -->” The arrow points to the back door of the house.
LEXINGTON
What the jalapeña...?
They descend to check it out.
EXT. SCENE - SANCHEZ’S HOUSE. BACK YARD. (NIGHT)
LEXINGTON lands in the back yard, near by the back door. Behind him, HUDSON and BROADWAY land and hide themselves behind the trash cans, tool shed (or whatever). LEXINGTON looks back to assure himself that they are there, goes up to the door, and knocks. After a moment, it is opened by SANCHEZ, who gets a surprised look on his face.
LEXINGTON
Uh...hi. Did you need me for something?
SANCHEZ
Um...uh...
MARIA CHAVEZ steps up behind ERIC SANCHEZ.
CHAVEZ
Hello, Lexington. It’s been a while.
LEXINGTON
Captain Chavez! What are you doing here?
CHAVEZ
Visiting my nephew here. He says you’d met before.
SANCHEZ
Yeah. Yeah, downtown, Black Friday.
LEXINGTON
Wait. You were the policeman?
SANCHEZ
Yeah.
LEXINGTON
Oh! Hey, guys, look who it is!
HUDSON and BROADWAY come out of hiding and approach the porch.
BROADWAY
Hi, Captain.
CHAVEZ
Broadway! And Hudson! Oh, this is great. What are you doing in Chicago?
HUDSON
It is a long story.
SANCHEZ
Wait, you know all of these...guys?
CHAVEZ
Yes. Is Elisa here too?
BROADWAY
No. She’s still in Manhattan, last we saw her.
CHAVEZ’s face drops. She knows something terrible has happened if Elisa is not here. But she remembers why they’ve called them in.
CHAVEZ
Listen. I want to catch up, but we need to ask you about something. Come inside.
They do, caping their wings as they do, and SANCHEZ, still a little stunned, shuts the door behind them.
INT. SCENE - SANCHEZ’S HOUSE.
CHAVEZ goes to the kitchen table and sits. SANCHEZ joins her there.
CHAVEZ
I didn’t expect to see you here. Any of you. Is everyone of your clan here, or...?
HUDSON
No. Goliath is here, and Brooklyn, Bronx, and us. We do not know where the others have gone.
CHAVEZ
Could they have followed you here by any chance?
LEXINGTON
Maybe. Why?
SANCHEZ
There was something or someone who looked kind of like you, who started to attack us a little earlier.
LEXINGTON
Probably none of us, unless...what did that one look like?
SANCHEZ
Big guy, about seven feet. Beefy guy, very dark skin.
BROADWAY
How dark?
SANCHEZ
Like charcoal dark. Black hair, too.
CHAVEZ
I didn’t recognize him as any of your clan, or anyone else I know.
BROADWAY
No, doesn’t sound like any of us. London, maybe?
HUDSON
No, the London clans don’t match that description.
LEXINGTON
Did he say anything?
SANCHEZ
No, and that’s the weird part. He growled, but we couldn’t hear a sound out of him.
BROADWAY
Oh, that is odd.
SANCHEZ
The neighbors say he took a kid, too.
HUDSON
What?
LEXINGTON
No.
SANCHEZ
Yeah, only this neighbor said the kid got away.
BROADWAY
Well, that makes no sense. Why would a gargoyle take human children?
LEXINGTON
Never mind that. Since when could a kid get away so easily?
SANCHEZ
There was more. This same kid said the neighbor kid had been chased by a bad clown.
CHAVEZ
Yeah. Seemed pretty shook up by it, too. Didn’t look like the kid was making it up.
SANCHEZ
And given that Dad was shooting into the street--
HUDSON
Not a fairy tale, then.
SANCHEZ
No.
HUDSON
Wc should look into this. If there is another gargoyle here, we should find him and try to get him under control. If this is a phantasm, then...
LEXINGTON
...then we should look into that too. We have some recent experience with those.
At this point, the front door slams in the distance.
ELLEN SANCHEZ (OFF)
Eric! We’re home, are you here?
SANCHEZ
In the kitchen. Give me a minute.
ELLEN SANCHEZ (OFF)
We picked up some burgers. You would not believe how long it takes to find a nice tree, and--
ELLEN SANCHEZ, Eric’s wife, comes into the kitchen. Everyone looks at her. She sees the gargoyles and stops short.
CHAVEZ
Hello, Ellen.
SANCHEZ
It’s all right, honey. These are gargoyles, friends of Aunt Maria. I’ll be up in a sec.
HUDSON
Hello.
ELLEN SANCHEZ just looks at the tableau.
BROADWAY
Did you find a nice tree?
ELLEN SANCHEZ
I...we...
CHAVEZ
Ellen, it’s all right. I’ll explain later.
ELLEN SANCHEZ retreats from the room without another word.
HUDSON
We had probably better go.
CHAVEZ
Might be best, at least for now.
HUDSON
Should we check it tonight?
CHAVEZ
No. Whatever it is, it may have been scared off for tonight. Let’s meet here tomorrow night, just after last light.
HUDSON
Very well. We will see you then.
The gargoyles exit through the back door.
SANCHEZ
Aunt Maria?
CHAVEZ
Yes.
SANCHEZ
I thought you retired.
CHAVEZ
And I hate every minute of it. Tampa is boring, Eric. This is interesting.
SANCHEZ
Well, all right. I guess you’ll need a driver, then.
CHAVEZ smiles at him.
CHAVEZ
Indeed I will.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. STREET. (NIGHT)
Down on the street, SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ pull up near to where they saw the creature before. They park along the curb. In the sky, the silhouettes of BROOKLYN, BROADWAY, HUDSON, and LEXINGTON arrive and land on a nearby roof. SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ get out of the car.
Caption: 23rd Ward, Chicago. Saturday, December 15, 2012. 5:40 PM.
CHAVEZ
All right. We’re all here but one. Come on.
The lights begin to shimmy and shake along the street. A shadow begins to form.
SANCHEZ
There you are.
(yelling)
There he is!
He points toward the creature.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. ROOFTOP. (NIGHT)
The four gargoyles watch from a distance, and can see SANCHEZ pointing at nothing.
BROADWAY
What does he mean? What’s he pointing at?
HUDSON
It’s there. He thinks so, anyway.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. STREET. (NIGHT)
CHAVEZ
Well, now, how’s it going to go tonight, huh?
The creature takes full form: a very dark gargoyle, with black hair and white, glowing eyes. It opens its mouth as if to roar, and then begins approaching SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ.
CHAVEZ
Easy, there. You don’t want to do anything rash. I know you’re frightened. I don’t blame you for that, but I do want to help.
It keeps approaching.
CHAVEZ
Whatever’s happened before, I won’t hold it against you, but you have to trust me now. However cruel they have been to you before, however they treated you, I’m different. I promise that. How about it? Can we talk about this?
The creature is almost upon her, and suddenly takes a swipe at her. CHAVEZ jumps back.
CHAVEZ
Whoa!
SANCHEZ
Okay, change of plans.
He draws his gun.
SANCHEZ
Look, you, I don’t want to hurt you, really, but I’m not playing games with you either.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. ROOFTOP. (NIGHT)
BROOKLYN
(yelling)
What’s going on?
SANCHEZ
Slight disagreement. Dealing with it.
BROOKLYN
Do not shoot at it.
SANCHEZ
Thanks for that. I’ll try.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. STREET. (NIGHT)
CHAVEZ
(to the creature)
Hear that? That’s one of our friends trying to save your neck. Someone who’s not all that different from you. So, come on, what do you say, huh?
The creature says nothing, but continues to menace CHAVEZ.
From a distance, a shape glides into the scene, unnoticed by the others: this is GOLIATH. Seeing the standoff below, he turns and lands on the street light pole. Suddenly, the creature below sways and deforms on the ground, briefly, as though it were being projected on a screen and the projector were bumped. The creature shakes its head and then keeps coming, continuing to sway a little.
SANCHEZ
What? You all right? You’re looking a little wobbly.
Above, GOLIATH draws one wing quickly across the face of the lamp. Its shadow draws across the creature, and it vanishes, along with the light from the lamp, and then reappears as though nothing had happened. SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ are startled by this.
CHAVEZ
It’s not there. It’s coming out of the light.
They look at the light pole and at the form atop it.
GOLIATH, seeing this, reaches over and, with a grunt, rips the street lamp from the arm. A shower of sparks rains down.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. STREET. (NIGHT)
The creature blips out of existence at once as the street goes dark. SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ duck in response to the shower of sparks. GOLIATH leaps down and into the street in front of SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ, lamp in hand. SANCHEZ momentarily points his gun at GOLIATH, but CHAVEZ pushes it down.
GOLIATH
Captain.
CHAVEZ
Good evening, Goliath.
The other gargoyles land in the street next to GOLIATH. SANCHEZ holsters his gun.
BROOKLYN
What did you see?
SANCHEZ
Same thing, creature or whatever it was. You saw it?
GOLIATH
No.
BROOKLYN
Neither did we. It looked like you were just talking to thin air.
GOLIATH
Your creature would seem to live inside of this device here.
LEXINGTON takes the lamp from GOLIATH.
LEXINGTON
Then I think we should take a look inside of it, don’t you?
SANCHEZ
Do you have someplace you can do that? I think you’re scaring my wife a bit.
LEXINGTON
We could do it back at the station.
CHAVEZ
You go do that. I’ll go back to the house.
LEXINGTON
Right.
The gargoyles leave.
SANCHEZ
You’re sure about this?
CHAVEZ
Your city. You should get to know them. And I’ve got some catching up to do with the kids.
SANCHEZ
Yeah, I guess so.
EDWARD comes out of his house, and looks toward CHAVEZ and SANCHEZ.
EDWARD
What’s going on? Oh, it’s you again? What are you doing here?
SANCHEZ
You have a light out. If I were you, I’d call the alderman. Good night.
SANCHEZ and CHAVEZ get in the car and drive off. EDWARD watches this, and then shakes his head and goes back in.
INT. SCENE - HUMBOLDT STATION.
SANCHEZ is walking around the upper floor of the station, examining the setup. By this point, this includes an old TV set up in one corner (turned off) and a couple of chairs that have been scavenged from the alley. LEXINGTON has the street light on a work bench, opened up, and he is poking around inside of it. GOLIATH, BROADWAY and HUDSON look on. BRONX follows SANCHEZ around at a distance.
SANCHEZ
Who set you up here?
BROADWAY
A friend of ours works at the power company.
SANCHEZ
Oh, yeah? Where’s he?
BROADWAY
He’s having kind of a rough time right now. So, what, this is all a shadow show, then?
LEXINGTON
I think so.
HUDSON
So why could we not see the shadow?
LEXINGTON
No idea. Most of this stuff is pretty normal. It’s just a light.
GOLIATH
But it did make that creature appear to those people.
SANCHEZ
It sure did.
LEXINGTON
I mean, in theory, you could put the right kind of modulation on here and get it to project something. But we’d see that, and anyway, there’s no optics. All you ought to get is shimmering.
BROADWAY
We did see that.
SANCHEZ
So did we.
LEXINGTON
And then there’s this.
He taps a small daughterboard tucked into the light, connected to a length of foil running around the perimeter of the light’s casing.
BROADWAY
What about it?
LEXINGTON
Capacitors, transistors, mini-RF connector, and foil which could be an antenna, which means either a receiver or transmitter.
BROADWAY
Receiving what?
SANCHEZ
Remote control, probably. They’re talking about these as being smart lights.
GOLIATH
Smart enough to cast illusions?
LEXINGTON
Well, let’s find out.
He connects the light to a power cord and plugs in. The light flares up, flooding the room with intense white light.
SANCHEZ
Yow, that’s bright.
On the ceiling, the light shimmers and shakes, and the shadowy creature begins to form, in miniature and upside down this time. It never quite takes form, though, always remaining rather indistinct.
SANCHEZ
And there it is.
GOLIATH
Where?
SANCHEZ picks up a dowel from the corner and points it into the flood of light, touching the creature.
SANCHEZ
Right...there.
BROADWAY
I still can’t see it.
LEXINGTON
There’s nothing here that--hang on.
The daughterboard has begun to give off an eerie blue glow, completely separate from the illumination from the light. LEXINGTON passes one hand over to shade it, making the blue glow stand out more clearly.
SANCHEZ
Is that supposed to be glowing like that?
LEXINGTON
I don’t think so. Maybe it’s just loose.
He pokes it carefully with one claw. The moment he touches it, it crackles, and the glow goes up his finger.
LEXINGTON
Aaah!
He yanks back his finger, and the glow leaves it immediately. He shakes his finger out.
SANCHEZ
You get shocked?
LEXINGTON
No, I don’t know what it is.
BROADWAY looks up at the light pattern, and starts back.
BROADWAY
Whoa!
All of the others look up. For an instant, DEMONA’s face is barely visible in the shimmering lights, upside down, before fading out.
GOLIATH
No. She cannot be there.
BROADWAY
You see that too?
SANCHEZ
What? See what?
LEXINGTON
Did you just see something?
SANCHEZ
I saw something flare up in the light, but I couldn’t make it out.
GOLIATH
Lexington, are you all right?
LEXINGTON
Yeah, I’m fine.
GOLIATH
Touch the circuit again.
LEXINGTON cautiously pokes the board again, and again the glow crackles up his finger, stopping short of his palm. DEMONA’s face reappears in the middle of the light, where the creature’s form had been. It gradually comes into focus, with her body materializing out of the light, somewhat indistinct, as before, and upside down.
LEXINGTON
How is that possible?
SANCHEZ
How is what possible?
GOLIATH
Officer, what do you see?
SANCHEZ
I see...it’s not clear. Sort of a bluish blob. Different than before, but it doesn’t look like anything.
HUDSON
Lexington, touch Officer Sanchez. See what happens.
LEXINGTON touches SANCHEZ’s arm with his free hand. There is a small blue spark between them. SANCHEZ looks up, and recoils.
SANCHEZ
Whoa! Okay, now I see her.
HUDSON
How clearly?
SANCHEZ
Not very, but clear enough. Who is that?
GOLIATH
An old enemy and onetime friend.
LEXINGTON releases SANCHEZ’s arm. There is another small flash of blue as he does, and SANCHEZ visibly relaxes.
SANCHEZ
How old?
GOLIATH
A millennium.
SANCHEZ
So it’s a ghost, is that it?
GOLIATH
No ghost. She is here.
BROADWAY
Think about it, though. This light’s right outside that guy’s house, and he sees something so terrifying, he shoots at it. So do his neighbors. We get it here, Lexington puts his finger in, and not only can we see it, but we get something terrifying to us.
SANCHEZ
No, not getting it.
LEXINGTON takes his finger out of the circuit. He looks around, and settles on the TV.
LEXINGTON
It’s like rabbit ears. What do you do when the picture’s bad? You wiggle them, touch them, put foil on them.
SANCHEZ
So, you think you just wiggled the rabbit ears?
LEXINGTON
Something like that. But why would it pick that up from me?
GOLIATH
Perhaps it’s not that specific. It may have picked that up from any of us.
SANCHEZ
Oh. Oh, I see now. So someone on that block is terrified of gargoyles, and the light picks it up, and now suddenly it’s showing it off.
BROADWAY
Could be. And someone else is terrified of clowns, so you get one of those, and so on.
SANCHEZ
And you’re terrified of her, which...actually, terrifies me a bit, now, too.
The blue blob in the middle of the beam of light takes form more sharply in response to this; it is still indistinct, but becomes more clearly DEMONA.
LEXINGTON
But I don’t get how that could happen. This thing is a radio receiver, not a fear receiver. How does a radio pick up fears like that?
HUDSON
There may be more to it than radio.
GOLIATH
Sorcery.
HUDSON
Aye.
SANCHEZ
Sorcery? Come on, get real.
GOLIATH
It is very real. This enemy of ours has used sorcery against us many times.
SANCHEZ
That is just superstitious nonsense.
BROADWAY
Oh, is it? Then what else could it be?
SANCHEZ
Well, you said it could project someting. Maybe it’s just a video receiver.
LEXINGTON
And how is it only some of us can see it, then?
SANCHEZ
Well...I don’t know. But sorcery? Come on.
HUDSON
Officer, the world is much stranger than you think it is. We know something of this.
SANCHEZ
Well...I mean...
He looks at each of them; they look back, gravely. He shrugs and puts his hands up.
SANCHEZ
All right, fine. Sorcery it is, then. So what do we do about it?
GOLIATH
We need to go back there. If Demona is using sorcery, then this is worse than we thought. She is here.
SANCHEZ
Is there any good news out of this?
LEXINGTON
I can grab this board out of here and make up a signal tracer. We should be able to track down the control signal if it comes on again.
The light flares and flickers momentarily. A couple of red and green lights on the daughterboard suddenly light up and begin flashing.
LEXINGTON
Oh, that’s not good.
BROADWAY
Getting a signal?
LEXINGTON
Sending one. This thing is calling home.
BROADWAY
Oh, that’s not good.
LEXINGTON
Told you.
SANCHEZ
Why’s that?
BROADWAY
Whoever’s behind this, in a few minutes they’re going to know someone was tampering with their equipment.
SANCHEZ
So, what does that mean?
GOLIATH
If you had seeded a street with fear projectors, and you knew you were found out, what would you do?
SANCHEZ
Put them to work. Oh. No. Not good.
GOLIATH
Get that signal tracer built and do what you can. Hudson, Broadway, you take Officer Sanchez back to that street and try to keep things under control. I will get Brooklyn. We’ll be right behind you.
HUDSON
Aye. Come on.
HUDSON, BROADWAY, GOLIATH, and SANCHEZ exit to the roof. As SANCHEZ leaves:
SANCHEZ
Can’t we take the stairs this time?
LEXINGTON looks up again at the light on the ceiling. DEMONA glares viciously out from the ceiling, inverted, wavy, and out of focus.
INT. SCENE - CENTRAL CONTROL.
Caption: Central Control Services. 7:48 PM.
Dissolve to a cup of coffee, in the surface of which is reflected DEMONA’s face. COTTER picks up the cup and sips. She is sitting at her desk, in front of a couple of computer monitors, watching one with amusement. DEMONA is seated across from her, waiting impatiently.
COTTER
Well, well. System reset on the one they got, and now there’s a new image uploaded. Check this out.
She swivels the monitor around. One of the windows on the screen is titled, “Current render,” and contains a somewhat grainy still image of DEMONA’s face, snarling and mugging. DEMONA looks at it, unimpressed.
COTTER
Not a great likeness, I admit, but then we never tuned it for gargoyles, or at least we didn’t try to. You must really be on their minds tonight.
DEMONA
Fascinating. So what?
COTTER
So what? So everything. If they can recode one of the luminaires, they must be working out how they operate. And of course, if we can capture from their minds with what we have, whoo! Guess what, we just saved weeks of R&D.
DEMONA
Good for you. What can they do with this knowledge?
COTTER
Well, I suppose they could recode all the units on the block, make them throw your image around. Not really a downside from our end, I guess, if you’ll pardon the imprecation.
DEMONA
Useless for my purposes. What good is it to me if they put me in the crosshairs?
COTTER
Well, advertise they’re working for you, and you get to the same place, don’t you?
DEMONA
Not good enough. I need them out of the way, if not actually working for me.
COTTER
We could go either way, you know. You were the one who wanted Project Davis advanced, after all.
DEMONA
I still do. It paves the way, and now that Goliath knows I am here, every hour of delay is another hour he can work out how to thwart me.
COTTER
Do you want us to intervene? For the right price, we could try to hold him up, let you deal with the others alone.
DEMONA
I want you to deliver them to me, all of them, as we agreed. I will take care of the rest.
COTTER
We aim to please.
DEMONA
But tonight, I want the project brought to a conclusion. Ramp it up.
COTTER
(gleeful)
Oh, bless your heart. I was hoping you would say that.
She spins the monitor back and begins typing on the computer.
COTTER
(singing tunelessly)
Love what you do, and you’ll never work a day in your life, doo dee dee...
(speaking)
Let’s see. Activation, one hundred percent, pattern...hmm.
DEMONA
What?
COTTER
Well, they haven’t all got the gargoyle pattern yet. Will that be a problem? I can get you chaos, but probably not focused chaos.
DEMONA
Give me what you can.
COTTER
Chaotic chaos it is. Patterns fixed. And...execute.
She hits Enter, and then sits back, grinning.
COTTER
Bam. Lights out.
DEMONA rolls her eyes at this. On the screen, the computer shows, “Activating, 100%,” and other related data.
EXT. SCENE - 23RD WARD. STREET. (NIGHT)
HUDSON and BROADWAY (carrying SANCHEZ) land in the street, back where they had left. BROADWAY puts SANCHEZ down in the street. One light is still down, but beneath the others on the block, the light is dancing. Shadows begin to form under some. Chaos is beginning to break out: a tiger is chasing the residents around one yard, a terrifying clown has the children cornered on another porch. In a third house, a samurai is running around the living room (visible through the front windows).
SANCHEZ
Okay, where to start, where to start...
BROADWAY
What do you see?
SANCHEZ
They're all on. Every single one of them is active.
There is a crash from the nearest house, and all three react. One of the residents has dived out of the front window and onto the lawn. He rolls over sharply to look back. The Black Knight appears in the window and dives out after him, sword drawn. The resident rolls to one side, narrowly avoiding the knight's blade, which buries itself in the turf right where his chest had been. The resident scurries to his feet and runs around the back of the house. After a moment, the knight gets his blade free and gives chase.
BROADWAY
Then let's make them inactive.
SANCHEZ
Do it.
BROADWAY leaps onto the nearest light pole and begins to shinny up it. MRS. MILLER approaches, brandishing a kitchen knife.
MRS. MILLER
Oh no you don't! You may have got my bullets, but you're not getting away from me this time!
BROADWAY
Whoa!
He leaps clear as she dives toward him with her knife. They fight, or more precisely, she fights as BROADWAY dodges.
MRS. MILLER
Demon! Monster!
BROADWAY
Lady, no! I'm trying to help h-- whaa!
He dodges one close swipe.
BROADWAY
I'm trying to help you here!
MRS. MILLER
Vex my son, will you?
She takes another swing. BROADWAY is easily dodging and parrying her attack, but is being driven further away from the light pole. HUDSON leaps in behind her, and draws his sword.
HUDSON
You want a fight?
She turns, and is shocked and dismayed to see him there, sword at the ready.
SANCHEZ
Gentle on her!
HUDSON
I've got this.
MRS. MILLER
Come on.
She attacks, and HUDSON parries. They fight, knife to sword, HUDSON carefully attacking only her knife. MRS. MILLER is getting tired as they continue to fight.
BROADWAY, now free, goes back to the light pole and begins to shinny up it again. A shot rings out from across the street, and he falls off the pole to the ground.
SANCHEZ
No!
BROADWAY looks up. He is uninjured.
BROADWAY
I'm fine. He missed. What's going on over there?
SANCHEZ looks behind him, across the street. A dragon is in the front yard of yet another house. The occupant is busy trying to get his rifle reloaded as it roars (silently) and threatens him. It blows a stream of fire from its nose, and the occupant dives back to avoid it.
SANCHEZ
Dragon.
BROADWAY
Really?
SANCHEZ
That's kind of a relative term right now.
BROOKLYN arrives overhead, gliding over the street. BROADWAY spots him.
BROADWAY
Brooklyn! Can you get the light?
BROOKLYN
Easily!
He lands on a light pole, which sways under his weight. He spits on his palms, rubs them together, seizes the light head, and is promptly and brightly shocked as it sizzles and sparks. He flings his arms out wide and nearly falls from the pole, barely catching himself in the process.
BROOKLYN
(shakily)
Ahhghh...jalapeña...
BROADWAY
Are you all right?
BROOKLYN
I see stars.
SANCHEZ
Hey, get down from there, it's no good.
BROOKLYN, still shaky, slides down the pole to the ground. A flurry of shots rains forth, and he, BROADWAY, and SANCHEZ all dive to the ground as the bullets pass over them and tear up the turf behind him.
BROADWAY
And this looked like such a nice neighborhood, too.
That gives SANCHEZ an idea. He looks around and spies a stone lying in the turf nearby, roughly the size of a baseball. He grabs it and stands.
SANCHEZ
Yeah. Hardly any vandals.
He sights, winds up, and hurls the stone at the light. He misses it by a couple of feet, but the stone arcs up and into GOLIATH's hand as he passes by. He turns and fires it into the light, nailing it dead center and shattering the housing of the light. It arcs and spits blue fire, and then flickers out. As it does, the dragon, which had been rearing up to spit fire once more, fizzles and sputters out in a blink. The occupant of the house, who had been shielding himself with one arm, looks out in amazement that his foe has vanished.
SANCHEZ
They're not indestructible.
BROADWAY
Hudson! Need your sword!
HUDSON
Coming!
He makes one final parry, catching the knife from MRS. MILLER’s hand and flipping it across the parkway, where it clatters into the street. She is frozen in fear, but HUDSON ignores that and tosses his sword to BROADWAY, who grabs it out of the air and begins to climb another light pole.
HUDSON, meanwhile, collects MRS. MILLER’s knife from the street.
HUDSON
May I borrow this?
MRS. MILLER just stares in response. HUDSON begins to shinny up another light pole. BROADWAY, having reached the top of his pole, swings, connects, and knocks the light off the pole. It arcs and flames, and the Black Knight, which has chased his quarry around the house and is now coming back through the front yard, suddenly fizzles and vanishes. HUDSON strikes his light with the knife, the light arcs and flames, and the evil clown vanishes. Both of them spread their wings and glide on to two other light poles.
Nearby, a third neighbor, standing on his porch, pulls out a gun and aims it toward BROADWAY, terrified. From his point of view, we track BROADWAY and take a bead on him--only to have BROOKLYN appear in the line of fire, blocking the shot. The neighbor recoils in terror.
BROOKLYN
No, you don't!
He grips the gun and pulls it out of the neighbor's hand.
BROOKLYN
Now, sit down. We’ve got this.
He leaps away, taking the gun with him. The neighbor, meanwhile, slumps down and sits on his porch. BROOKLYN goes up the street, aims, and shoots one light out, then down the street and shoots another.
Suddenly, there is a scream from EDWARD’s house. On the roof, NATHAN has climbed out of his window and is backing up toward the edge. In the window, the shadow gargoyle is crouched, snarling silently at him. EDWARD and CAROL are on the front lawn. EDWARD has his revolver in his hand.
CAROL
Nathan!
EDWARD
Nathan! Don’t move!
NATHAN
Daddy! Help!
SANCHEZ runs over to EDWARD.
SANCHEZ
Stop! It’s just a shadow, that’s all, it’s just a trick.
EDWARD
Nathan! Stop!
SANCHEZ
Nathan! It’s just made of smoke! It’s not real! Stay where you are!
NATHAN
Help! It’s coming!
NATHAN is now at the edge of the roof. One foot slips back and off, and he scuttles it back up.
CAROL
Nate!
NATHAN
Help me!
SANCHEZ
Please, listen! It’s not real, you’ve got to believe that it’s not real. It’s no stronger than you make it!
EDWARD points his gun up at the creature, hesitatingly.
SANCHEZ
Don’t! Bullets can’t hurt it!
EDWARD
I know, but it’s coming for my son.
SANCHEZ
It’s not! It’a a fraud!
EDWARD
You call that a fraud?
NATHAN now slips back. Both feet go off the roof, and he grasps the eaves, desperately. He screams.
EDWARD
Nathan!
From above, GOLIATH swoops down and, in a motion, collects NATHAN from off the roof and glides away.
CAROL
No! Nathan!
EDWARD
No, no, no, no, no!
He aims at GOLIATH. SANCHEZ reaches in and pulls down his gun.
SANCHEZ
Stop! He's a friend!
EDWARD
Get off!
SANCHEZ
He’s rescuing your son. Look!
GOLIATH comes around and lands. He sets NATHAN on his feet, next to his father.
GOLIATH
There. Are you all right?
NATHAN
Y--yeah.
GOLIATH
Good.
EDWARD and CAROL stare at him, dumbfounded. EDWARD shakily raises his gun towards GOLIATH, but he intercepts it and takes it from him.
GOLIATH
Now, there is no call for that.
He breaks the revolver open, dumps the bullets on the ground, closes it, and returns it to EDWARD.
GOLIATH
It has been a difficult night. No need to make it worse.
EDWARD
What...who...
SANCHEZ
This is Goliath. Say hello.
NATHAN
Hi.
GOLIATH
Hi, there.
EDWARD
What...
SANCHEZ
No, “hello.” It’s an easy word.
EDWARD
It...I...
SANCHEZ
Okay, never mind.
SANCHEZ looks up. The shadow gargoyle is on the edge of the roof, leering down.
SANCHEZ
Oh, and here he comes. All right. Nathan?
NATHAN
What?
SANCHEZ
You see that monster up there?
NATHAN
Yeah.
SANCHEZ
Goliath’s gonna beat him for you.
NATHAN
How?
SANCHEZ
Take your father’s hand.
He does.
SANCHEZ
And, sir, take your wife’s hand.
After a moment to absorb this, he does.
SANCHEZ
All right. Now, watch closely. We’re going to dissolve him. Ready?
The shadow gargoyle pounces on them. EDWARD, CAROL, and NATHAN all wince. SANCHEZ and GOLIATH stand tall. As the shadow creature hits the ground where they are standing, it swirls and dissolves into smoke. The smoke spreads out across the ground. NATHAN looks around.
NATHAN
Whoa!
SANCHEZ
Pretty cool, huh?
NATHAN
Yeah, thanks!
GOLIATH
You are very welcome.
EDWARD
That thing...it’s gone?
SANCHEZ looks up and back. On the nearest light pole, the light unit hangs down in tatters, giving off a few last, feeble sparks. At its base, BROOKLYN stands, blowing off the smoke from the barrel of his borrowed gun. He and the others look around. All of the street lights hang dead on their poles. The street is dark except for the soft, colorful glow of the Christmas lights in the yards.
SANCHEZ
Yeah. Gone for good.
EDWARD
Oh...oh...Nate!
He picks up his son and hugs him.
NATHAN
Hi, Dad.
LEXINGTON arrives, holding a gadget with a compass-like indicator on it.
LEXINGTON
Hey, did I miss much?
SANCHEZ
Most of it, I think.
LEXINGTON
Aw.
GOLIATH
Are you getting a signal?
LEXINGTON
Loud and clear.
EDWARD
Who are you, anyway?
SANCHEZ
Eric Sanchez, Chicago Police. These are the gargoyles, they’re helping me tonight.
GOLIATH
You needed help, so we came.
EDWARD
You saved my son. Thank you.
LEXINGTON’s tracer suddenly begins vibrating and making odd noises. From the street, there is a sudden high-pitched whistling, followed by a series of explosions as the remains of the street lamps explode, one after another. Finally, there is a pop and a trail of blue smoke escapes LEXINGTON’s tracer as it dies.
LEXINGTON
Whoa! Oh, no.
EDWARD
What? What is it?
LEXINGTON
Self-destruct. They must not have wanted anyone getting the scraps.
EDWARD
Who didn’t?
SANCHEZ
We’re not sure yet, but we’re going to find out.
EDWARD
But is that thing gone? I mean, really gone?
SANCHEZ
Are you still afraid of it?
EDWARD
No, not any more.
GOLIATH
Then don’t worry about it.
SANCHEZ
Right. Come on, let’s go.
They walk away from EDWARD, CAROL, and NATHAN.
SANCHEZ
Not a bad neighborhood.
GOLIATH
Do most of them have this many guns?
SANCHEZ
Well, not all. Some have more.
GOLIATH
Did you trace the signal?
LEXINGTON
Not very well. Somewhere down south is about all I could get.
SANCHEZ
South? How far?
LEXINGTON
Maybe a bit east of here, but that’s a guess.
SANCHEZ
Not much to go on. Too bad. I’d really like to get hold of whoever set this up.
GOLIATH
As would we.
SANCHEZ
I’ll make sure to loop you in if we find them. You coming back to the house? Aunt Maria would love to chat.
GOLIATH
Not tonight. We have work to do to get to the bottom of this. But please let her know we would like to meet.
SANCHEZ
No problem. She should be in town until New Year’s. Stop by any time. We’ll probably have, like, a thousand tamales to get through, too.
He turns and extends a hand to GOLIATH, who takes it in a handshake.
SANCHEZ
Thanks for your help. I owe you one or two for this.
GOLIATH
It is our calling. You owe us nothing.
GOLIATH reaches for his pocket and pulls out a letter.
GOLIATH
But if I may ask a favor?
SANCHEZ
Please.
GOLIATH
Would you see to it this letter goes back to Elisa? Captain Chavez will know how to reach her, I am sure.
SANCHEZ takes the letter from him.
SANCHEZ
With all due haste. Consider it done.
GOLIATH
Thank you.
He calls to the others.
GOLIATH
To quarters!
The other gargoyles respond, gliding off the tops of the poles or climbing up to gain height. As they do, there is a smattering of applause from the neighbors below, who are taking stock of the damage, and from SANCHEZ, who watches them go in wonder.
Sirens approach. Around the corner and up the street comes a police cruiser, which pulls up to SANCHEZ and stops. KYLE MILLER gets out and approaches him.
MILLER
Sanchez! What are you doing here? I thought you were taking time off.
SANCHEZ
Events caught up to me.
MILLER
What’s going on? We got calls about shots fired, and explosions, people saying the lights are out, and something about dragons. The whole place go nuts or something?
SANCHEZ
More or less. I think it’s under control now.
MILLER takes up his radio and calls in.
MILLER
Eight forty-six, slow 'em down. Take a one fox and I’ll be here tying things up.
RADIO
Eight forty-six, thanks. Units in 8, take a disregard, peace restored. Eight forty-six on scene.
MILLER clips his radio back.
MILLER
Susanne! Where’s my wife at?
SANCHEZ
What are you doing down here? Still chasing O.T.?
MILLER
More than that. They were saying there were creatures down here. Gargoyles.
SANCHEZ
Yeah, there were.
MILLER
Wait. Really? You saw them?
SANCHEZ
Yeah, I did.
MILLER
Sanchez. You gotta be careful.
SANCHEZ
No, they’re all right, Kyle.
MILLER
No, but, see. I was talking to someone.
MILLER goes into his cruiser and pulls out a small red hardcover book. He hands it to SANCHEZ.
MILLER
You need to know the truth about them.
SANCHEZ looks down at the book, and then at MILLER, concerned.
EXT. SCENE - HUMBOLDT STATION. ROOF. (NIGHT)
GOLIATH, HUDSON, BROOKLYN, BROADWAY, and LEXINGTON land on the roof.
GOLIATH
So she is here.
BROADWAY
It sure seems like it. I don’t know much about sorcery, but I don’t see how she’d be able to cast a spell on those lights from somewhere else.
HUDSON
But I am puzzled as to her intentions.
BROADWAY
Sheer chaos. Not like she’s looked for more in the past.
LEXINGTON
But why here? Why now? If she’s laying traps, what was the trap here?
GOLIATH
If there was one, we seem to have avoided it. If there was not one, I can hardly believe she would sow chaos for its own sake.
HUDSON
Perhaps take this back to Manhattan?
GOLIATH
She has not done that in the past.
HUDSON
Which leaves us with nothing.
LEXINGTON
I’m not sure of that. We know she’s working with that Doctor Cotter from the other night, and she was working on something to do with the visual cortex.
HUDSON
Stimulating dreams.
LEXINGTON
Right. And now we have a light show that’s doing the same thing a little differently.
BROADWAY
And the people attacked us, at least for a while. Which means Matt wasn't a target. He was an experiment.
HUDSON
So that locks it up. Demona is working with Cotter. Cotter took Matt for Demona to get to us.
BROOKLYN
And if they can turn one friend to an enemy, and then terrify a neighborhood...
GOLIATH
Then we are in more danger now than we have been. It is time for a change of strategy. Demona knows we are here. The time for discretion is now past. This city is under attack. We shall defend it.
LEXINGTON
No more lying low?
GOLIATH
No. We will not wait for her next attack. We will bring the fight to her and to anyone who aids her.
BROOKLYN
About time, too.
GOLIATH
Demona intends something. Whether it is against us, this city, Manhattan, or otherwise, we will prevent her and her allies from achieving it.
INT. SCENE - CENTRAL CONTROL. MANAGER’S OFFICE.
COTTER is sitting at her desk. The monitors in front of her blink red; the entire system of street lights has been terminated. COTTER sips her coffee and frowns. There is a knock at the door.
COTTER
Yeah.
MINA, the lab technician, enters the office.
MINA
Doctor.
COTTER
Yeah, what you got? Good news?
MINA
Good news.
COTTER
Pattern capture? Please tell me it’s pattern capture.
MINA
Pattern capture, doctor. We got Lexington with about ten percent loss, and that red one--
COTTER
Brooklyn.
MINA
Right. Just about 98 percent capture.
COTTER
98 percent? Now, that is good news, for a change.
MINA
Field problem?
COTTER
Yes. They managed to get most of the units too quickly. Davis is gonna want a fortune. But the patterns are lining up okay?
MINA
It sounds like it. Should have no problems retuning the units for you.
COTTER
Good. Excellent. And the lab, and...
MINA
Yes, doctor. Everything’s lined up.
COTTER
Then we’re right on time.
MINA
Yes, doctor, easily.
COTTER
Mina, you are a treasure. Your bonus will reflect that.
MINA
Thank you, doctor.
COTTER
Get word to Demona. Make sure she knows where to go and when.
MINA
Immediately.
MINA turns and leaves. COTTER begins to drum on her desk.
COTTER
(singing)
Pig-pig-Pigasus, Pigasus flies,
Pig-pig-Pigasus, Pigasus flies,
In the morning we see where sanity lies,
Chaos follows where Pigasus flies.
=END=