CUT TO inside the interview room. DR. HARE is alone at his side of the table, with DIRECTOR D. And MOREAU facing him. They are talking about anything but therapy.
HARE
Ok, the plan was Crwfish would go down where the other prisoners are and make a huge ruckus.
(Con’t)
Yes, I know it’s super simple and…bad, but it was really the best idea we could come up with. We’re short on time—I think Jupiter’s already taking him to wherever he put the others.
DIRECTOR D.
So, we have a couple options. I have a couple of my agents left here, although they’re not allowed to do much by the main staff—but they could try to get the three of us out.
HARE
Sounds like a good idea to me!
DIRECTOR D.
Wait—no!
(Sighs, adds sarcastically)
You’re really loyal, aren’t you?
HARE
Hey, the four of us barely got to know each other.
MOREAU
The problem is, we selected you four because of each of your qualities. We could continue our plan as-is, but…
DIRECTOR D.
This is a world-ending, god-level threat.
(Con’t)
Who we like or not doesn’t matter. We need the plan to go as well as possible.
MOREAU begins writing rapid notes on her clipboard.
MOREAU
If you use all your men, and we use every resource we have…
(Con’t)
We could make it into Floor 13, get the other prisoners out, and run. As long as we don’t get struck by lightning when we cross the ocean…
Briefly cut to CRAWFISH entering DR. JUPITER’S lab. The lights are dim once more, save for a strange blue glow…
Back to the room.
HARE
Are you even thinking about escaping in this weather?
(Con’t)
I don’t think even the Captain could sail us through that.
DIRECTOR D.
Do you just want to wait and see what happens?
HARE
…not really.
(Con’t)
You snuck in here, did you not notice anything about this?
DIRECTOR D.
No, I knew something was off while I worked here, but there were no signs of this.
(Con’t)
Except…
MOREAU
What?
DIRECTOR D.
Jupiter’s papers, for when he was hired here for the team, a lot of them were forged as well.
HARE
You’re kidding.
DIRECTOR D.
In my defense, I had no idea this would cause a problem for us! He’s not exactly the only shady person here!
HARE
This entire prison is just one big secret! Of course there will be problems—
MOREAU shushes them both. A guard walks past the door, making his way down the hall. They wait until he’s passed, slumping with relief.
MOREAU
I wonder if he knows anything else…
DIRECTOR D.
You mean the dimensional rift? …Possible.
(Con’t)
But I can’t put my finger on it, but something about him…I don’t want to deal with him any more than necessary.
HARE
And you’re the same person who roped in the Binary Bard for this mission. Says a lot.
The phone rings, from a small table to the side. MOREAU picks it up, putting on her sweet smile once again as she talks.
MOREAU
Yes?
(Con’t)
…Ah, I see.
She looks back at her coworker, her smile vanishing.
MOREAU
(Whispering)
They want him to go to Floor 13!
DIRECTOR D.
Now?
MOREAU nods. She turns back to the phone.
MOREAU
Ah, yes, we’re in the middle of something…
(Con’t)
Oh. You have no time…all right, we’ll wrap it up.
She puts down the phone, sighing.
HARE
We don’t have enough time to do anything.
DIRECTOR D.
Jupiter must be running out of time. He put more space between the others.
The storm rages on outside. Lightning repeatedly strikes the rods on the roof, and the waves around the prison are so high they nearly reach the main building itself.
HARE
What am I going to do?! I don’t want to die!
HARE is running around the room frantically, while DIRECTOR D. and MOREAU try in vain to get him to calm down.
DIRECTOR D.
Okay, wait, no one said anything about dying-!
HARE
All right Mr. Know-It-All James Bond then, think of something!
DIRECTOR D.
I…
HARE stares at him, almost pleading, and DIRECTOR D. stares back blankly. The door to the room opens, and guards enter to lead HARE away.
DIRECTOR D.
…I don’t know.
At this point, HARE is too shocked to react to the guards putting him back in cuffs. They start to lead him away, when MADEMOISELLE MOREAU speaks up:
MOREAU
…May we go with you?
DIRECTOR D. shoots MOREAU a confused look, as though to say “Why bother??”. But the guards don’t respond with an immediate no. Instead, one grabs his walkie-talkie, leaving the room for a moment.
HARE
Huh?
The GUARD returns quickly, giving the two a nod.
GUARD
Jupiter actually told us he wants you to come as well. Just had to confirm it.
The group heads to the elevator. HARE is visibly shaken as the storm continues. MOREAU and DIRECTOR D. hang out near the back, and when no one is looking, DIRECTOR D. reaches inside his jacket, revealing a bunch of hidden gadgets and tools in inside pockets. MOREAU notices, and he gives her a small nod.
If the four villains can’t get out, at least they might be safe if JUPITER has any plans for them.
The elevator ascends slower than usual, or at least it seems to. The small windows in it give glimpses into the floors they pass, of some of the people they met as they go about their evening, all unaware of what’s brewing upstairs.
CUT TO RINGMASTER RAVEN, in his cell with a tray of food–fortunately still including a piece of pie, but with no shiny plate. He hasn’t eaten a bite since lunch, and watches the dark clouds swirl around.
RAVEN
It’s like…they’re making a barrier.
His head turns as he catches the sound of the elevator arriving at Floor 13.
The group enters the hall. HARE manages to catch a view into RAVEN’S cell, as the other prisoner watches them.
And then the doors to JUPITER’S lab are unlocked.
It’s completely dark in there, but the guards still shut the door behind them. DIRECTOR D. moves into a defensive posture, and he, MOREAU, and HARE all are startled by a voice.
JUPITER
I’m glad you came!
JUPITER approaches them, holding a flashlight that is just bright enough to reveal him, but too dark to show the rest of the room.
JUPITER
I apologize for the wait, and the tension. This was all top-secret after all, even from most employees…with respect, Davis and Lesser.
MOREAU
So why call us here now?
JUPITER
Well, I’ve closed off all communication between this prison and most of the outside world, and since the experiment is about to begin, it’s not like I need to worry about people stealing ideas before my own research has begun.
HARE
Experiment?
JUPITER
I forgot! You’re still in the dark about it, I usually gave some explanation to the others, except for Widow since she was passed out the whole time…alas, she was as uncooperative as always.
MOREAU
I’m not surprised.
JUPITER
I have a question for you doctors–not you, Harvey, by the way. What do you believe is the nature of good and evil?
There’s a pause.
DIRECTOR D.
(Awkwardly laughs)
I’m a psychologist, not an ethics professor. I don’t think I could answer that.
JUPITER
Ah, but that’s where you may be wrong! Let me grant you some insight with a little…illumination!
JUPITER snaps his fingers.
The room lights up, bright white and blue lights from the ceilings to the floor, lining the massive structure in the center. It takes a moment for everyone’s eyes to adjust, and then they get a view of what JUPITER has been hiding this whole time. A huge machine, made of interconnecting tubes and wires to four large tanks, taking up two floors’ worth of height. Three tanks are illuminated, filled with blue gel, and holding the BINARY BARD, BLACK WIDOW, and CRAWFISH in some form of stasis.
HARE
You suspended them??
JUPITER points to the machine, at the center of the ground floor. A helmet is placed there, connected to the whole setup.
JUPITER
Harvey, you and your fellow prisoners had devices implanted in your minds a few weeks ago. These would not only prepare you for the experiment, but also “collect” your brain data, and any negative or harmful energies would be absorbed into them.
DIRECTOR D. scoffs.
DIRECTOR D.
Aren’t you a man of science? Because this doesn’t sound right at all, and I’m not even talking from an ethical perspective.
JUPITER
Aren’t you a man of science, Dr. Davis?
(He turns to DIRECTOR D., smiling)
Or have I been right to suspect you and your accomplice here were never psychologists at all?
This leaves both D. and MOREAU taken aback.
MOREAU
Are you–
JUPITER
No worries, I still got enough information from you. All I really needed for you to do was help me figure out which of these prisoners would be the most suitable test subjects from your notes, and you did that well!
(con’t)
And I won’t put you in this. There’s only one spot left, after all…
HARE
That’s nonsense! It’s rubbish! It’s the most idiotic thing I’ve ever heard!
(con’t)
You can’t just “suck out” our entire motives!
JUPITER
Yes, yes, now will my assistants please prepare him?
A group of scientists in lab coats emerge, forcefully taking HARE away from them and into a side room.
DIRECTOR D.
Since we’re all exposing each other here anyway, Jupiter, what do you plan on doing with these…evil totem things?
JUPITER
That’s none of your business, I’m afraid.
MOREAU
(Scoffs)
Well, that tells me all I need to know.
JUPITER
I have my own plans on how to use them, but I will say, for two mysterious people who emerged from nowhere with more knowledge of our world than most…I suppose you know about the rift?
CUT TO HARE, who is being pushed into an empty tank by the strange lab assistants.
CUT TO the “doctors” again.
DIRECTOR D.
You’re the first person I met here who knows about it.
JUPITER
Well, now I can put all your worries to rest…
A grinding sound comes from the side of the room. Everyone looks as a large tank is rolled out, with HARE unconscious inside.
JUPITER
All world-saving…world-conquering tasks…I’ll take from here.
CUT TO the PHU. Alerts begin blaring on the screen, flashing red around the research room.
AGENT “FISHY”
There’s strange weather patterns emerging at 40 degrees north, 73 degrees east!
A large map displays a group of islands, zooming in on a tiny outcrop in the ocean. While the surrounding areas are strangely calm, storm clouds are surrounding the small area like a localized hurricane. The other agents all rush to the map, watching in shock.
AGENT “A”
…He’s started.
END OF EPISODE 9.
Four down, and then there were none.
Stay tuned for the Season One finale!
Epsidoe factoid: The latitude/longitude “Agent Fishy” mentions are in our world around the same area as New York City, which Super Villain Island appears to be situated near in Poptropica’s world.
Castori honorem ~ Smart Bubbles