LS 1x01: The Beginning
Lightning Striker; Season 1 Episode 1: The Beginning
Wednesday, May 9th, 2035
Parkland City
T.R.A.C. Labs
10:03 AM
James Mathis is inside the elevator in T.R.A.C. Labs (Technological Research and Advanced Creations Laboratories), going up to the top floor where he has to meet with the CEO, Dr. Dave Korlen, to interview for the internship he’s signed up for with T.R.A.C. Labs. He’s grinning widely, bouncing slightly, because Dr. Korlen has been an idol of James’ for almost 9 years. As he’s riding up the elevator, his phone rings, and he picks it up, pushing up his glasses with his other hand.
“Hey,” James says.
“James,” a voice says on the other end. It’s Frank Kahlo, one of James’ best friends.
“Frank.”
“Have fun at that Solar-Energy Blast thingy, I’m taking off right now from California, should be back around the time of the activation.”
“Okay. I’ll be at the apartment, though, it’s pretty close to Central Park anyway and I don’t want to be too close to the Blast Activation, in case of it giving off any radiation, because I don’t even know what they got off those meteor rocks, nor how it reacted to the sunlight.”
“Okay. Sounds good. See you then.”
“See you.”
They hang up, and then the elevator doors open on Floor 15, the top floor. James takes a deep breath, puts his phone in his pocket, and he steps out the elevator. He walks through the halls, and finds the CEO office. The door is open, and Dr. Korlen is filling out paperwork. When he sees James in his peripheral vision, he looks up fully, and sets his pen down, closing the file.
“You must be the new intern,” Dr. Korlen says. “James Mathis?”
“U-um, yes, sir, that’s me,” James stammers.
Dr. Korlen chuckles. “Have a seat. And please, call me Dr. Korlen. No need for ‘sir’.”
“Of course, Dr. Korlen.” He sits down at the desk, across Dr. Korlen.
“So, tell me about yourself.”
“I, uh… I’ve been a big fan of your work since I was like 13. All those articles. You’re amazing, really.”
“We’re not here to talk about me. We’re talking about you.”
“Right, right. I, uh… My life’s honestly not that interesting.”
“Why do you want to be here then?”
“Well, because I’m interested in scientific stuff, and you, and especially the Solar-Energy Blast. That’s an amazing achievement you and your scientists made.”
“Yes, it is. Thank you. Do you know where you’re headed in life?”
“No, not really. I just go with the flow, I guess.”
“Good. That’s good. Mystery is what makes a good scientist.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“I’ve read your file. You’d be a great asset to TRAC Labs.”
“Thank you. Who’s gonna be interning me?”
“Dr. Matthew Farrell. He read all the intern’s files, and chose you to be the best one for him, and him the best for you.”
“Really? He chose me?”
“Yeah. You start Monday, Mr. Mathis.”
“James, please.”
“Alright, James.” He stands up, and James quickly stands with him. Dr. Korlen reaches out a hand for a handshake. “Welcome to TRAC Labs.”
“Thank you.” He shakes his hand nervously.
“You’ll fit in quite well, I feel it.”
“Thank you, Dr. Korlen. Do I go home now, or…?”
“Dr. Farrell will bring you to his lab, and give you a quick tour on the basics of the building.”
“Okay. Nice to meet you, Dr. Korlen.”
“Likewise, James.”
James steps out into the hallway, where Dr. Matthew Farrell is already waiting.
“Mr. Mathis,” Dr. Farrell says when James enters the hallway.
“Please, call me James, Dr. Farrell,” James says.
“Alright then. My lab is on the 6th floor. Most scientists’ labs are.” They walk to the elevator, and Dr. Farrell presses the 6 on the keypad, and the elevator starts going down. “The cafeteria and other supplies are in the basement.”
“Okay. What’s on the other floors?”
“Floor 1 is the lobby and the display rooms, 2 is for rookie scientists, where you’ll be after you finish the internship, if you decide to stay. Oh, Floor 1 is also where the interns’ offices are.”
“I’ll have my own office?”
“Of course you will. Floors 3 and 4 are used for storage, where we put all our ongoing experiments and inventions. 5 is where the other labs are, and then 7 through 10 is where most the experiments are held.”
“What about 11 through 14?”
“Well, the 12th floor is our morgue.” He smirks, and when he sees James’ confused face, he chuckles. “I’m kidding. We don’t have a morgue. Nobody here has died before. Ever. 11 and 12 is where most board meetings are held, and 13 and 14 is the floor for modeling rooms. Floor 14 actually has the room where they finished the model for the Solar-Energy Blast a couple months ago.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We’ll check it out another time. First, we’re gonna go see my lab.”
The elevator stops, and the doors open. Dr. Farrell leads James to his lab, where there’s a desk, scrap tech, and devices.
“Woah,” James says, smiling. “What is all this stuff?”
“Mostly prototypes,” Dr. Farrell says.
“Awesome.” He sees a freezer with WARNING: DO NOT OPEN labeled on it. “What’s that?”
“That’s an experimental element.”
“Like in the meteor rocks for the Solar-Energy Blast?”
“No, that one’s different. Only I’m allowed to see it. And when I do take it out, I have to handle it with extreme caution. There are some properties inside very similar to electricity and lightning, and when I added liquid and gas iron to a couple of the samples, it kinda forced it out. But it definitely got harmed a little by the iron.”
“You got a name for the element yet?”
“No. Still trying to figure it out.”
“Well, it’s similar to lightning and forces certain iron types out. Why not Lightning-Force?”
“Lightning-Force. That has a nice ring to it. I’ll use that.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. It sounds cool. You’ll be great here at TRAC Labs, James.”
“Thank you.”
“Mhm. Now let me show you the rest of the tour.”
Parkland City Main Apartments
Apartment 230
9:55 PM
James walks into the apartment, closing the door and walking over to the living room, where he turns on the TV. His dad, Brennen, steps out of his bedroom, and joins him on the couch.
“Hey, James,” his dad says.
“Hi dad,” James replies. “The Solar-Energy Blast is happening in a few minutes, it’s gonna be on the news.”
“Great. How’d it go at TRAC Labs? You were there for 12 hours.”
“I got the internship. They said I’d be really useful there. I even named something.”
“Nice job.”
“Thank you.”
Underneath Central Park
The Solar-Energy Blast Chamber
9:55 PM
5 minutes before the Solar-Energy Blast, Dr. Farrell walks into the chamber, and pours a vial into the energy. The substance inside the vial looks like some regular water, but it has yellow, blue, green, and white electricity crackling inside. It masks itself inside the energy so well, it’s not readable on the scanners, and it’s not visible to the naked human eye. He puts the lid back on the vial. On the side of the vial, there’s a piece of tape that reads Lightning-Force.
4 minutes later, Dr. Farrell is standing with the other scientists, ready to activate the Solar-Energy Blast, with a 60-second countdown.
Parkland City Main Apartments
Apartment 230
9:59 PM
James and Brennen are sitting on the couch, watching the countdown for the Solar-Energy Blast activation.
“... 10… 9… 8…” the news reporter, who is none other than Emma Miller, James’ friend, says on the screen. Hyped, James stands up and walks to the window, where he can see the water fountain in the center of Central Park drained and the ground opens, revealing the chamber. James pushes his glasses up. “... 4… 3… 2… And 1!”
Underneath Central Park
The Solar-Energy Blast Chamber
9:59 PM
The countdown on the screen continues. 3, 2, and 1. Dr. Farrell grabs the lever, and pulls it down. The Solar-Energy blasts up, and above the ground.
Parkland City Main Apartments
Apartment 230
10:00 PM
The Solar-Energy blasts out the chamber, and into the sky with a bright yellowish orange-red color. But it hits a stormcloud as it reaches Earth’s atmosphere. A reaction goes off, and the Solar-Energy erupts into a wave of Solar-Energy that shoots out across the entire city.
A lightning bolt forms inside the stormcloud, and it strikes James through the window, blasting him backward and smashing into the TV. His glasses fly off his face, hitting the wall and shattering one lens, the other lens popping out.
“James!” Brennen yells, standing up and running to the unconscious James. He kneels next to him, and he goes to call 911, but he has no service. But then it comes back. The entire city had lost power for a second, but it’s all back on now. Brennen then dials 911.
Parkland City General Hospital
10:30 PM
James is inside a hospital room, and Brennen stands outside in the hallway. A doctor, Dr. Marlen, steps out of the room and closes the door.
“How is he?” Brennen asks.
“He’s not waking up,” Dr. Marlen sighs. “We’re doing the best we can, Mr. Mathis. Your son is in a coma. The lightning is still affecting him, he’s still actively going through electrical trauma. And based on how the lightning is affecting him, the best we can say right now… Is you’re lucky he’s not dead. But he might never wake up.”
“Oh, God. First my wife, and now this.”
“You can go and see him if you’d like.”
Brennen steps inside, and he sits next to James’ hospital bed. He looks up at the TV, where the news station anchor now says; Airplane crashes in Parkland City due to Energy-Wave caused by T.R.A.C. Labs. 160 passengers, and copilot found dead. Pilot Frank Kahlo left seriously injured.
“Frank,” Brennen breathes. He looks back down at James. “Please wake up, son.”
