CHAPTER ONE
EXCERPT
EXT. THE VAULT -- NIGHT
Titan looks down the shaft, pleased, laughing excitedly. Gigantes keeps revving as Cyclops convulses violently.
CHAMELEON (CONT)
If this doesn’t wake him up, nothing will.
Behind them, the perimeter wall door EXPLODES off it’s hinges and falls with a BOOM. Chameleon, Gigantes and Titan turn to look...
Enter the FANTASTICMEN (in armoured battle gear). RUNNERBOY the group leader is handsome, lean muscled, and has very long agile legs with armoured battle gear in grey colour. As name says it, he’s an agile super runner running as fast as the speed of a missile.
Behind him are the twin sisters: the serious, stunning and beautiful KIMMY and the polite, reserved and elegant ASHLEY, all two, dressed also in armoured battle gear stripped of black-white-green-red-blue colours.
Next comes the QUINTUPLET sexy, fair-haired sisters who each manipulate the five powers of the earth’s five elements (THUNDERBOLT, AIR, EARTH, FIRE and WATER) also called the ELEMENT ANGELS:
FULGURA dressed in black gear and who manipulates the ELEMENT THUDERBOLT; floating over the skies with electricity pumping throughout her body.
Hovering above FULGURA, flapping her vast, white, feathered wings and dressed in white armoured gear is AERA of the AIR and WINDS ELEMENT.
Below them on the earth is found TERRA dressed in green armoured gear who manipulates the ELEMENT of EARTH-GROUNDS and also the WALLS and other PASSAGES. We hear the earth around them on which they are found cracking and quaking all over around.
Next comes FOCUS of the FIRE ELEMENT with eyes hidden behind a visor with a horizontal ruby red slit across it and her hands, which are flamed with fireballs.
Lastly comes AQUA dressed in blue armoured gear. Her gear and hair is wet and we can see and hear water rushing and flowing from all around her body and penetrating the cracks of the broken earth Terra’s cracking.
RUNNER
Knock, knock! Who’s there?!
GIGANTES
Fantastic-Men!
RUNNER
That’s right.
Gigantes runs at them. Ashley and Kimmy rise into the air. Runner swiftly SUPER RUUUUNS at MISSILE’S SUPER SPEED towards Gigantes and passes him by as flash light knocking him down on the way. Focus SHOOTS Gigantes who tries to rise, a concentrated RED BEAM of ENERGY from her visor slit and SHOOTS him two FIREBALLS from her hands... The ray and the fireballs BLASTS Gigantes back, into the forklift. He’s hurt. Titan looks with shock to the stunned Gigantes, then runs towards the Fantastic-Men, angry, while Chameleon runs and LEAPS in another direction.
TITAN
You hurt my friend!
EXT. FANTASTIC-MANSION -- NIGHT
INSERT TITLE -- UPSTATE NEW YORK, SALEM CENTER
It’s raining hard. Lightning illuminates the Fantastic-Mansion, an expansive, four-winged brick structure. The sign at the top of the circular drive reads “XENIA’S INSTITUTE FOR HUMANOIDS HIGHER LEARNING.“…
INT. FANTASTIC-MANSION 2ND FLOOR, HERRICK’S LIVING QUARTERS -- NIGHT
HERRICK, the INVINCIBLEBOY in reading glasses, upside down, clings to ceiling-mounted “rock-bars” with his feet, reading “SOCIETY: HUMANS AND HUMANOIDS.” He’s HUGE, CLOSELY twice the size of a human being…
INT. FANTASTIC-MANSION 2ND FLOOR, CALEB’S LIVING QUARTERS -- NIGHT
CALEB, the sexy, cute and fair-haired ELASTICBOY sleeps on his stomach, shirtless, his body’s streeetched flat as paper, elastic on the bed. He’s ELASTOS, the elasticboy.
We PULL BACK to see him woke up and his arm STREETCHED across the room writing on the end of another chalkboard, financial charts. He LUNGES the other hand forwards towards the SHELF, STREETCHING his ARMS AROUND the SHELF.
Later we see Caleb entering the room carrying a stack of boxes that no normal man could balance. But he is not normal. His arms are wrapped around the boxes TEN times over -- like human twine. He stops short, and drops the boxes...
More later we see CALEB’S HAND is TIED to a latch in the wall. His ARM is STREEETCHED THIN, spanning around the corner. Weslea (INVISIBLE) enters, dresses floating on air. She becomes visible: red-haired, elegant, bodily refined and well-shaped, she just shakes her head, keeps moving. And we FOLLOW CALEB’S ARM... UP THE HALL... ROUND A CORNER... DOWN ANOTHER HALL. The muscles and tissue STREEETCH, going taut. Finally, we reach... CALEB. He steps slowly. He holds a digital TAPE-MEASURE in his other hand, measuring distance. His skin STREEETCHES. His face tightens, pained. We hear the faint SQUEAK of his skin…
INT. BELOW CITICORP, PARKING GARAGE -- NIGHT
A long escalator is covered in rubble. Hastily assembled boards block the escalator off. Invincibleboy shoves through from the other side, with Xenia following. He stops, looking up in awe. The escalator they’re on goes only a little further down before it abruptly ends, hanging over a MASSIVE CRATER. The crater has ruined several floors of parking garage. At its center, many massive STEEL girders and thousands of METAL support rods have been RIPPED from their concrete moorings and walls, stretched and joined together, TWISTED round and round each other, forming what looks like a giant tornado of heavy metal frozen in time…
INVINCIBLEBOY
Lord... who could have done this?
INT. FANTASTIC-MANSION, LIVNG ROOM -- DAY
Michael and Runner in anger enter the living room closely followed by Ashley,
Kimmy, Caleb and Weslea…
Runner super ruuuuns at super-speed and past Michael knocking him down. Michael hits a wall. He gets up, shaking it off, angry. Runner then super charges back like a bull, fist cocked back, and... Caleb steps in the way! Too late! WHAMM! Runner’s fist PUNCHES INTO CALEB’S CHEST, which INDENTS. Caleb’s BACK EXPANDS with Runner’s fist, PUNCHING into Michael, launching Michael off his feet. BAM! Michael SLAMS into a moving LAWN STATUE, with a THUD and rises back on his feet, to avoid another quick attack…
SHARPSHOOTER’S P.O.V.: Xenia’s in the NIGHT SCOPE cross hairs…
ON THE PARK PATH, Xenia’s moving quickly to seat on the chair and hide herself.
THUNK - a drug dart hits her in the shoulder. Xenia grips the dart, cringes as the chair in which she is seated jerks to one side. The chair topples, throws Xenia. Invincibleboy is pinned down by headlights as the Range Rovers slide to a halt. Heavily armed, military TROOPERS leap from the vehicles. Ulrich, in protective medical garb (surgical mask and rubber gloves) is amongst them. Invincibleboy turns, snarling…
EXT. FANTASTIC-MANSION -- NIGHT
Red Monster CRASHES through the mansion roof, his arms wrapped around Runner from behind, carrying Runner upwards. FOLLOWING with Red Monster, Runner struggles, can’t break the Monster’s grip. He looks down... struggles to lean forward... Runner manages to get out of Red Monster’s grip. He runs super-fast at superspeed around Red Monster encircling, and wind-blowing all around Red Monster and destabilizing him. Runner runs and runs at super-speed as a whirlwind, encircling the red monster, and Red Monster can’t spot him anymore; but he just sees him just passing all round as fast as a whirling and rotating missile. Runner abruptly stops and then quickly run at manages to hit Red Monster’s right rocket-foot, with his elbow DESTROYING it... With Red Monster successfully holding Runner again, he begins flying irregularly... spinning...
INT. FANTASTIC-MANSION, HALLWAY -- NIGHT
Aera, Fulgura, Terra, Focus and Aqua quickly recover from the White Monster and Black Monster attack. Black Monster and White Monster head towards the five Element Angels. Terra quickly stoops and touches the ground, and immediately the ground in the hallway under the Black Monster and the White Monster trembles and develop faultings and folding… then it fissures, cracks, disintegrates and opens up into a CRATER. The two monsters fall in the large crater created by Terra. The Element Angels all get up to stand at the border and watch. As they watch, the White and Black Monsters abruptly shoot out from the crater, floating in the air. Focus lets out a BLAST from her visor, and manages to hit Black Monster and White Monster’s right rocket foot, DESTROYING them. Black Monster and White Monster begin flying irregularly... spinning... Fulgura’s eyes goes white-greyish and a rumble of thunder is heard outside the skies accompanied by a flash light... then an electric shock hits the spinning monsters and they are electrocuted... and before they have time to fall, Aera and Aqua immediately join hands and a mass of ice is at the Black Monster and White Monster and two ICY statues of Black and White Monsters falls in the crater on the hallway’s floor with a resounding THUD…
INT. COMMAND CENTER TRAILER -- NIGHT
Ulrich and Mark are grinning into the vid-monitor glow. Ulrich points at a MONITOR where GREEN MONSTER’S VIDEO-P.O.V. is shown as Green Monster’s hands pound the Force Field. WHITE MONSTER AND BLACK MONSTER’S VIDEO P.O.V. is shown as White Monster and Black Monster are iced…
INT. FANTASTIC-MANSION, PARLOR -- NIGHT
Green Monster continues pounding on the Force Field with both fists. He manages to put a big CRACK in it. The force field EXPLODES AND VANISHES with energy hits on the wall, smashing antiques and Invisiblegirl (visible) stands straight... dresses floating on the air as usual. She becomes invisible again and shoots FORCE FIELDS into Green Monster’s chest, body... but, Green Monster leans forward and JETTISONS his HEAD like a missile... Green Monster’s head SLAMS Invisiblegirl (who then becomes visible), and shoves her against the wall…
EXT. FANTASTIC-MANSION GROUNDS, FOREST -- NIGHT
Runner is hurt, super running at super-speed through the forest super fast as he can. Behind, Red Monster follows, slowed by its shattered foot…
INT. FANTASTIC-MANSION, GAME ROOM -- NIGHT
Xenia walks fast quickly across the Game Room. She reaches one wall, trips a switch on a hidden panel, reveals a KEYPAD. At the D.R. doors, Blue Monster comes to look in. Blue Monster does not enter yet, seems unsure, like he’s checking the terrain…
Blue Monster decides, starts charging towards Xenia. Xenia quickly punches buttons on the keypad. Blue Monster is coming. Xenia pushes keys. Blue Monster is... KABOOM -- a BATTERING RAM CRUSHES Blue Monster from above. Blue Monster’s fuel tanks EXPLODE. Xenia shields her eyes. The ram rises. Blue Monster is a pancake…
Green Monster’s headless body is about to run Invisiblegirl head-first onto the floor, but -- CRUNCH -- a thick FORCE FIELD SPEAR suddenly SHOOTS from Invisiblegirl’s chest, SKEWERING Green Monster... Green Monster drops Invisiblegirl and stumbles back, with the force field spear disappearing…
INT. FANTASTIC-MANSION HALLWAY -- NIGHT
Black Monster and White Monster icy statues lies in the hallway’s huge CRATER. The Element Angels are at the borders looking at the icy statues. They turn to go, when suddenly... a crack in the crater is heard. They all look to each other and then turn and look in the gigantic hole…
The SOUND of STATIC ENERGY in the air grows UNBELIEVABLY LOUD. The abandoned CARS on the street RISE up. Metal LAMPPOSTS along the sidewalks begin to BEND and CREAK. The ground quakes and open up and pieces of broken ground rises and floats to the air; So do the waters of the rivers around gush out and spurt out from their river beds and rise as some sort of «WATERRISE». FIRE FLAMES in foyers... fireplaces... RISE and FLOAT to the airs. The AIR and WINDS around the place SWIRLS and WHIRLS up the skies, associated with some sort of «RISING» TORNADOES and TWISTERS, SQUALLS and GUSTS. And even the LIGHTNINGS, THUNDERBOLTS, THUNDERCLAPS... SHOOTING and STRIKING the whole entireplace, are MAGNETICALLY CONTROLLED and DIRECTED by Naturo…
Runner looks at Aera, Aqua, Terra, Focus and Fulgura; and all at the same time, they all stand in a circle above Naturo. Focus FIRES a BLAST from her visor, up at Naturo and shoots FIRE BALLS... WATER FLOWS OUT from Aqua hands and she FIRES the water up at Naturo as some sort of «WATERRISE», «WATERTORRENTS RISE», CYCLONES and she equally shoots WATER BALLS... Aera’s hands raised up PROJECTS huge devastating WHIRLWINGS and SWIRLWINGS up at Naturo and... then she equally FIRES Naturo WHIRLWIND BALLS who ravagously, roughly fusion with Aqua’s WATER BALLS up and project also ICE BALLS at Naturo... Terra raises also her hands up and the CRACKING, QUAKING, FRACTURING and BREAKING UP of the earth and ground, walls of buildings whose windows shatter into pieces and rain in the ground... all RISE up and are SHOT up to Naturo..., and, with fusioned GROUND BALLS which she also creates, are shot up to Naturo... Fulgura’s hands raised in the skies conjures LIGHTNINGS and THUNDERBOLTS whose LIGHTS and ELECTRIC SHOCKS are also fired to Naturo. All these form a wonderful, incredible scenario…
... All the Element Angels attacks are repelled by Naturo’s ELEMENT MAGNETIC ENERGY FIELD on the Fantastic-men, as he instead magnetize and absorbs all their shots, and then, as they float on the air he shoots them violently to the five Element Angels…
Invisiblegirl (invisibly) runs in the middle of Janet, Elizabeth, Alice, Karen and Mary Kate, and raises her arms. FORCE FIELD ENERGY WARPS the AIR around the six of them. Invisiblegirl creates a dome of FORCE FIELD ENERGY, with her and the five Elements Angels protected inside. All the attacks: the red ray, the fire balls, water balls, earth balls, whirl wind balls, ice balls, winds masses, water, broken pieces of ground and walls, thunderbolts, electric shocks... all fall and strike against the force field dome. The other Fantastic-men fear vanish with Weslea’s rescue. The six Fantastic-Men are protected, but unable to fight back…
FADE IN:
EXT. NEW YORK -- LIBERTY ISLAND -- DAY
The STATUE OF LIBERTY stands watch at the mouth of the Hudson. Over scene,
we SUPER TITLE:
NEW YORK CITY -- JULY 1980
JERSEY CITY PIER -- DAY
A live news update. Network correspondent WHINY LIU stands at the edge of the dock, the statue plainly visible in the distance behind her.
WHINY
-- insist that the situation is under control. Authorities have just agreed to the release of Ten Radical Front Humanoid prisoners in hopes of freeing the hostages.
(Adjusting her hair)
We repeat: humanoid terrorists have taken Liberty Island, and are holding some fifty hostages -- including tourists, celebrities, journalists and maintenance workers -- captive in the Statue of Liberty itself.
FERRYBOAT -- DAY
The ferry -- one of ten anchored a half-mile off Liberty Island -- has been
commandeered by a fully-armed SWAT TEAM. The SWAT CAPTAIN, who’s in charge of negotiations, speaks to the terrorists via walkie-talkie.
SWAT CAPTAIN
Your demands have been met. The humanie prisoners and the money are on their way. If you tune your TV to Channel 4 you’ll see the helicopters preparing for takeoff.
INT. STATUE -- THAT MOMENT
The screen of a portable TV shows FIVE HELICOPTERS lifting off from Laguardia Airport. We’re in the OBSERVATION ROOM inside the statue’s head. A female HUMANOID TERRORIST holds a crowd of SQUEALING TOURISTS -- men, women, celebrities, schoolchildren -- at bay with an automatic rifle. Two other terrorists humanoid women stand by the windows, scanning the harbor for signs of a double-cross; and a fourth, the female RINGLEADER, speaks into a walkie-talkie.
RINGLEADER
Good. We got fifty innocent people here. One false move . . . and we blow her
brains out.
SWAT CAPTAIN (O.S.)
(Filter; from walkie-talkie)
Blow whose brains out?
EXT. STATUE -- THAT MOMENT
TIGHT on the ring of OBSERVATION WINDOWS situated just below the jutting spikes of the CROWN. CAMERA PULLS BACK rapidly to take in the whole of the statue’s head.
RINGLEADER (O.S.)
(A nasty laugh)
Lady Liberty, my friend. Lady Liberty’s brains!
EXT. FERRY -- THAT MOMENT -- DAY
MOUNTING TENSION among the SWAT TEAM on deck.
SWAT COP
Sons of bitches, these humanies.
SWAT CAPTAIN
Relax. We’ll nail ’em on the transfer. Let’s get those hostages out first.
SWAT COP II
Captain... what the hell is that?
All eyes turn upward. In the distance, a TINY SPECK descends from the clouds and drops, in a perfectly vertical line, towards the head of the statue. The SWAT CAPTAIN hoists a pair of binoculars:
SWAT CAPTAIN
Shit. Shit fire!!
SWAT COP
Sir! What is it?
POV SHOT -- THROUGH BINOCULARS
A magnified view of the SPECK, which turns out to be a futuristic, blimplike, giant, retro-fitted military helicopter with an “F” painted across its nose, rises up and heads out.
-- the FANTASTIC-CHOPPER.
SWAT CAPTAIN (O.S.)
Christ almighty, it’s the goddamned Fantastic-men!
INT. FANTASTIC-CHOPPER -- THAT MOMENT
In the cabin we find THREE COSTUMED HUMANOID FANTASTIC-MEN: the RED suited FOCUS who manipulates the FIRE ELEMENT, the GREEN suited TERRA who manipulates the EARTH ELEMENT, and the BLACK suited FULGURA who manipulates the THUNDERBOLT ELEMENT and who’s manning the instrument panel.
FULGURA
Okay, Xenia, we’re in position. What now?
She looks up at a monitor mounted over the controls. XENIA, beautiful dark-haired middle-aged scientific wizard, telepathist and telekinesist, answers pensively from Fantastic-men HQ:
XENIA
(On monitor)
Let’s take out their communications. Drop the scrambler.
EXT. HEAD OF STATUE -- DAY
A line drops from the FANTASTIC-CHOPPER and an ELECTRONIC DEVICE lands with a thud on the dome of Lady Liberty’s crown.
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM -- THAT MOMENT
HUMANOID TERRORISTS staring at the portable TV screen; suddenly, it shows nothing but sand. The RINGLEADER, suspicious, lifts her walkie-talkie:
RINGLEADER
Hey. We got a problem here --
She releases the button. No reply -- only loud, hissing STATIC.
RINGLEADER
Come in. Do you read me? Don’t play around with us, Goddammit!
EXT. FERRY -- THAT MOMENT
The SWAT CAPTAIN curses at his useless walkie-talkie. Teeth bared, he glowers up at the FANTASTIC-CHOPPER and paces the deck in a psychotic frenzy.
SWAT COP
Ignorant bastards! Those bitched humanies have jammed us!
SWAT COP II
What do we do now?
SWAT CAPTAIN
We sit here with our thumbs up our butts. As usual.
EXT. LIBERTY ISLAND -- THAT MOMENT -- DAY
Another FIGURE, outfitted in SCUBA GEAR, emerges from the water. As she
swaggers toward the base of the statue, she peels off her wetsuit to reveal yet another gaudy BLUE COSTUME underneath.
Humanoid Fantastic hero #4: AQUA who manipulates the WATER ELEMENT. She pins a BADGE to her leather breastplate; incongruously, it’s a HAPPY-FACE BUTTON -- and it matches her own SWEET SMILE as she marches forward into battle.
INT. BASE OF STATUE -- THAT MOMENT -- DAY
A TRIO OF female HUMANOID TERRORISTS standing guard near the entrance in the base of the statue. They’re holding a JANITOR at gunpoint. One of them is fumbling with her walkie-talkie, which has inexplicably gone haywire.
HUMANOID TERRORIST I
Base to head. Base to head. Come in!
(Flustered)
I can’t get shit!
HUMANOID TERRORIST II
What the hell is going on??
There’s a sudden metallic CLANG behind them. They turn in unison -- just as Aqua struts into frame.
Panic. The three humanoid TERRORISTS fall into a tight cluster at the base of a long metal stairway. One of them grabs the JANITOR, holds a gun to her head.
HUMANOID TERRORIST I
I’M NOT JOKING!!
Aqua shrugs: okay. She lifts her hand as if to surrender to them and fires small WATER BALLS directly into the JANITOR’s gut. The old woman’s body jerks twice and she slumps to the floor, stone dead.
The HUMANOID TERRORISTS stand there aghast. For an instant they’re too
stunned to shoot. Aqua breaks into a dopey grin --
AQUA
The joke’s on you.
-- and opens fire with a shoot of WATER SPEARS directly on the terrorists with a look of VICIOUS PLEASURE on her face. As the saying goes... it’s nice to see person who enjoys her work.
INT. FANTASTIC-CHOPPER -- THAT MOMENT
Terra and Focus stand over an open hatch in the floor of the cabin. At the console,
FULGURA hits a button. Then --
INT. OBSERVATION ROOM -- A MOMENT LATER -- DAY
A sudden BOOM. A FLASH OF COLOUR. The startled Humanoid TERRORISTS turn to the nearest window, and see a spectacular display of BICENTENNIAL FIREWORKS bursting above the harbor a short distance away. While the humanoid TERRORISTS are distracted, our attention shifts to a point behind them. Through an OBSERVATION WINDOW we see Focus and Terra sliding down a thin metal cable and LANDING on the statue’s upraised TORCH.
The humanoid TERRORISTS turn back just as the humanoid FANTASTIC-MEN disappear around the far side of the torch.
RINGLEADER
I don’t like this. Go downstairs and see what’s up.
