#khep

KHEP sidles up behind them. Stops. Doesn't quite turn to face them either, same as Marley before.

               KHEP    You know, the Aesta Bowl is tonight.

               TETRA    What?

               MARLEY    Tetra's trying out for cheer squad.

               KHEP        (turning)    Tetra's -- what?!

               TETRA    What? What's going on?

               KHEP    Don't do it, those girls aren't alright. There's like 8 of them but they all act like one person.

               TETRA    So... exactly like you?

               KHEP    No! Not like that! ... If you go, they'll make you one of them.

Marley nods vigorously.

PAVLOVA sidles up behind the trio, stops abruptly, speaks without quite turning to face them. For those keeping track, that three now.

               PAVLOVA    What's this about the cheer squad? Tread carefully, take it from me. They're the only kids in our grade I can't control.

               TETRA                       MARLEY    What?! Speak up!                Not you too.

Pavlova narrows her eyes at Marley.

               PAVLOVA    I've already said too much. I should be above this.

She marches out. Marley, Khep, and Tetra watch her depart. And then,

               TETRA    But isn't it good to give people a chance?

               MARLEY    Not like this.

               TETRA    That just makes me want to prove you wrong.

She spins sharply on her heel and bounds away.

Marley pinches the bridge of her nose. Khep shakes their head.

               KHEP    Aesta bowl. Our place, tonight. Bring snacks.

               MARLEY    Why your place?

               KHEP    We have the most normal house.

               MARLEY    Won't your parents -

               KHEP    They're clueless -

               TETRA (O.S.)    Sorry fellas. It sounds fun but I'm all tied up! Trying out for the cheer squad and all that!

               MARLEY        (quietly to Khep)    Should we stop her?

Khep shrugs.

               KHEP    She's gonna find out sooner or later. It's just one day, she'll be fine.

Marley hums in agreement and makes for her locker.  SBAF! She vanishes in a flash of teleporter light.

EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - DAY

Tetra plods by bleachers of milling football players, baseball players, and track athletes.

Enter, the CHEER SQUAD. 8 catgirls, all 16, slo-mo power walk onto the field. They're led by KATRINA, CALLIE, and CADY, who each execute a pristine shampoo-ad hair flip in turn. The rest flank out to either side. Their ears twitch, their dainty little fangs sparkle.

Katrina pauses to pull RILEY -- 17, quarterback -- into a deep, passionate kiss. He's the very picture of a dumb jock.

Tetra speedwalks to catch up to them, which is not difficult, since, you know, slow motion.

               TETRA    Hey! Hi!

This brings them up to speed. They break formation, shoot Tetra a dirty look, reform in seemingly the blink of an eye.

               KATRINA    You here for tryouts?

Tetra nods.

               CALLIE        (whispering)    Told you someone would be gullible -

               KATRINA    Quiet, Callie!

Callie rolls her eyes. Tetra frowns.

               KATRINA    Skylark High's game day is coming up in less than a week. We'll have to whip you in shape in record time since our best flyer, Cassie, dropped out -

She narrows her eyes, slit pupils gleaming.

               CALLIE    She couldn't take the pressure of laying down her life for the Princess Kittarella -

               KATRINA        (hissing)    I swear to Bast if you don't learn to hold your pretty little tongue, I'll tear it out for you.

She brandishes DAGGER-POINT CLAWS with a SCHINK!

Callie throws her hands up in surrender, rolls her eyes, huffs.

Katrina turns back to Tetra, cocks her head. Tetra welds herself to the spot, eyes wide.

               KATRINA    Cady, check if she's flyer material.

Cady SEIZES Tetra, and before she knows it, she's scooped up bridal-style. She just goes along with it, like any good citizen of Muttonchop.

               CADY    Huh. Lighter than you look. Kat, what if she turns out, you know, good?

               KATRINA    Have a little faith, Cady. If she's got it, we let her in.

EXT. KHEP'S HOUSE - DAY

Marley knocks on the front door.

               KHEP (O.S.)    Let her in!

JAIDYN answers the door. Unimpressed, he turns, shouts back into the house.

               JAIDYN    It's Marvin!

               KHEP (O.S.)    Yeah, let her in! The game's about to start!

Marley glares daggers into the vanilla faux-rustic HOME SWEET HOME doormat.

               JAIDYN    You gonna come in or what?

She sighs deeply.

               JAIDYN    Yeah, thought you might not be over not having the skybeams for the occasion. About the overpass incident, I'm-

               MARLEY        (shrugging)    Figured I'd just try enjoy the game like all the brainless peasant scum.

She holds up a tupperware.

               MARLEY    I brought kimchi.

She pushes past him, barging into the house.

INT. KHEP'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS

Khep scuttles up to meet them.

               KHEP    Just so you know, John Smith's parents don't know anything about this eons-old lightning spirit thing. So, you know -

They mime zipping their mouth shut.

               MARLEY    John Smith? So he's a real person?

FLASHBACK:

EXT. KHEP'S HOUSE - NIGHT

A haggardly ELDERY WOMAN dressed in what looks to be at least seven layers slinks around the perimeter of the Smiths' house. She crouches down near the picket fence, and then -

ZAP! A pronged LIGHTNING BOLT SHOOTS out of her and latches on to the phone line outside. Khep picks their way toward the house and in though an open window, STRIKING a YOUNG JOHN SMITH, 10, in the chest.                KHEP (V.O.)    We only switch bodes when we absolutely have to. We pick our hosts carefully but he... he was even more perfect than we thought. Perfectly average in every way. Inconspicuous. Exactly what we needed to keep a low profile.

               MARLEY (V.O.)    Wait, so that means there's an original John Smith -

EXT. THE PERSPICACIOUS MYRIORAMA

An expanse of overcast grey as far as the eye can see. The very air ripples with indistinct whispers. Faces materialize, melt, reform -- flit in and out of the fog. In the center of it all sits JOHN SMITH, 17, scrunched up, hugging his knees, trembling, eyes wide, knuckles gnawed raw.

               KHEP (V.O.)    It only takes about 3 minutes for us to completely overwhelm our host's nervous system. But yes. John Smith is still in here. Just like all our previous hosts. Broken and assimilated, but alive.

INT. YOUNG JOHN SMITH'S BEDROOM - DAY

Young John Smith puts on a baseball cap backwards. His eyes flash with electricity briefly -- Khep's in control.

               KHEP (V.O.)    At first, we'd confer with him to make sure his behavior was no different from usual. These days he doesn't speak much.

FLASHBACK END:

Back to Marley, Jaidyn, and Khep.

               MARLEY    You ripped an innocent child's life from him? That's cold. I respect it.

               KHEP    We're not proud of it.

               MR. SMITH (O.S.)    John! Come help your old man out, I think there's a cat under the hood!

Khep starts.

               KHEP    Yes, pops! Coming!        (to Marley and Jaidyn)    We'll be right back, you guys get ready -

EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD - DAY

Cady and Callie lock hands, joining forces. Tetra balances in between them. Katrina and the rest of the squad watch from a safe distance.

               CALLIE    Ready?

Cady nods.

               TETRA    Wait, what is this -

The cheerleaders FLING Tetra into the air. Tetra's first instinct is to lock up and SHRIEK.

But by the second throw, she's come to her senses.

And on her third flight, she pulls off a SOMERSAULT WITH A HALF-TWIST.

               KATRINA    Halt!

Cady and Callie catch Tetra handily, each bewildered.

               KATRINA    How'd you do that?

               TETRA        (shrugging)    It was weird at first but it's not so different from the anti-gravity field of an Aidrebdian warship.

The cheer squad huddle up and discuss in hushed whispers.

               CADY    I like her, Kat. Let's keep her.

               KATRINA    She is blonde...

Tetra simpers, peels off her wig.

               TETRA    It's a wig.

               CALLIE    ... How does it stay on?

               TETRA    Magnets.

               CALLIE    I'm not even gonna ask how that works.

Katrina purrs slightly, head tipped to the side, turns to Tetra.

               KATRINA    I like you. You're in.

Tetra gasps, practically bounces with exhilaration.

Katrina ushers her off the field.

               KATRINA    Come on now. Let's get you fitted for your uniform.

In the back, the rest of the squad break from formation, beam at the sound of good news, burst into a triumphant cheer -

           SMASH CUT TO:

INT. SMITH'S LIVING ROOM - DAY

Marley ERUPTS into barely-contained cheers, LEAPING off the couch!

Jaidyn snacks on chips, more or less devoid of emotion. He simply can't bring himself to be invested.

The lights are dimmed, an outdated early-2000s television set bathes the pair in cold, synthetic light.

The contents of the Bowl in question: gratuitous violence!

To set the scene: a forest in COMPLETE and UTTER CHAOS. A SPACE MARINE shoots a CENTAUR IN THE HEAD, BLASTING BRAINS ALL OVER THE LENS. A Robin Hood-type perched in a pine tree picks off distant competitors. A MOSASAUR BURSTS from the rapids, snapping a winged woman straight from the air. NO MERCY. NO SIGN OF LETTING UP. NO CENSORSHIP.

An overexcited COMMENTATOR, 35, narrates the action:

               COMMENTATOR    And here comes Kris straight down the field - OH!! A shadow strike, a classic! And another one bites the dust -- KRIS, ladies and gentlemen, biting the heads off her victims! AND THE CROWD GOES WILD! It's only been 10 minutes and we already have over 40 dead. Who will survive?! Who will emerge victorious?! Don't change the channel, it's Muttonchop's very own annual AESTA BOWL!

A robed WIZARD fires crystal blasts at TIMMY TOOTHBRUSH, 27, a scrawny little reed of a man armed with nothing but the humble toothbrush. He LEAPS out of the way, dodging narrowly. With a growl, he surges toward the wizard and STABS the old man THROUGH THE HEART!

Marley SQUEALS!

               MARLEY    I stan you, Timmy Toothbrush!

               JAIDYN    How is he doing that? Is it hexed?

               MARLEY    Nope, it's a regular ol' toothbrush. You saying you could swing a toothbrush better?

               JAIDYN    I was blessed by Iadou, the goddess of pointy objects and sharp edges, as an infant. So yes. But this guy -

               MARLEY    Isn't he amazing?!

She sits, simmers down but still practically quivers with awe. Jaidyn munches on chips. Yells, explosions, and bloody murder ring from the screen.

               JAIDYN    Where is Tetra anyway?

               MARLEY    She's trying out for cheer squad.

Cronch, but like, suspicious.

               MARLEY    Don't look at me! I tried to stop her.

               JAIDYN    Did you really? Call me crazy, but I could see you working with them. You kinda remind me of them.

Marley motions for Jaidyn to keep it down so she can hear the announcer.

               MARLEY    Hushshush-shh- if you don't shut your mouth, I'll blast it off for you.

Khep BURSTS into the room, slack-jawed, wide-eyed. Cat snarls can be heard outside.

               KHEP    Where's Tetra?

               JAIDYN          MARLEY

   Cheer.

               KHEP    She's -- what?! - we might already be too late. All the cats in the neighborhood are acting up. The Princess Kittarella is on the move. We just never thought it'd be so soon. She only needs a sacrifice of nine kindred lives to return.

               JAIDYN        (it's finally dawning on him)    Oh, so that's what cheer squad's been up to.

               KHEP    Yeah, that, or true love's kiss, which would also manifest the Princess. We should already be back at school.

They grab Marley and Jaidyn, make a beeline for the door -

               MARLEY    Aw, can't we wait for a commercial break -

EXT. CHEER CLUB ROOM - DAY

The girls plod down a dark, foreboding hall toward the club room. Katrina holds up a hand, signalling 'halt'.

She pushes against the door. It creaks open maddeningly slowly with much resistance.

Cady bows and slips in first.

CLACK. Something's knocked to the floor. Katrina cringes. And then -

DOMINO EFFECT. A SYMPHONY of crashes and scrapes sound from behind the door. She’s set off a RUBE GOLDBERG MACHINE of destruction. CAT SCREECH.

The dust settles. Katrina exhales. She pushes, the door swings open and they enter.

INT. CHEER CLUB ROOM - CONTINUOUS

The very air is riddled with dust. Sheets of burlap cover desks, half-melted candles and warped jars. A low, round coffee table and a dried bunch of catnip serve as the centerpiece. Cat hair covers every conceivable surface.

Katrina snaps her fingers and Cady steps forth from the dark recess between a bookshelf and a filing cabinet. She comes bearing a pair of CAT EARS. They still flicker with the lustre of life, they steam, they breathe. They drip carmine.

The girls circle up around the coffee table with uncanny practiced precision. Callie pushes Tetra up onto the table.

               TETRA    What -

Katrina presses a claw-tipped finger to her lips. Tetra gulps but says no more.

               KATRINA    Princess, we are gathered here on this joyous day, for we have selected a ninth spirit for you.

Cady steps up behind Tetra, who's eyes shift subtly. She knows chaos. She can feel it.

               KATRINA    Sisters, join me in welcoming the newest addition to our litter. For you see, Princess, even a runt has a place here.

Tetra frowns, indignant.

Cady lowers the ears. Barely an inch from Tetra's hair now -

THE DOOR IS FLUNG WIDE OPEN. THERE STANDS -

- RILEY!

               KATRINA        (hissing)    Babe! We're sort of in the middle of something here -

Riley seizes Katrina and pulls her close.

               RILEY    Kat! Kat, no more of this. No more. Enough of this.

EXT. CHEER CLUB ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Pavlova leans against the wall outside the door, arms cross, eyes glued to the floor.

               KATRINA (O.S.)        (throwing a hissy fit)    How'd you even find out about this?! This is a private function -

               RILEY    Kat, stop! I know everything, I-I know what you're trying to do, and I can't let you! You can't just leave me like that, babe, promise me you won't -

Pav walks away, fire in her eyes. Her job here is done.

INT. CHEER CLUB ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Tetra garbs ahold of Cady's hands and wrenches the cat ears away from her head.

Katrina's practically in hysterics.

               KATRINA    How would you understand?! I owe Kittarella my life!                RILEY    There- there has to be another way!

               KATRINA    What?! True Love's Kiss?! There's no such thing, we abandoned that on day one!                RILEY    Kat...

He gently cups her face and pulls her into a kiss.

The table under Tetra's feet CRACKS, GLOWS, then EXPLODES! Tetra leaps deftly out of the way. She lands on her feet, as any good cat should.

Katrina and Riley break for air.

And there, shrouded in a blinding light, where the table used to be, stands the angelic, ethereal PRINCESS KITTARELLA.

               RILEY        (under his breath)    Oh my god, it worked.

Katrina scrambles to kneel before her goddess. The Princess tenderly places a hand between Katrina's cat ears.

               KITTARELLA    Katrina. My most devoted daughter. I have a plethora of gifts in store for you. How would you like to join me on my quest to unite the felines of this decaying world?

               KATRINA    ... Would I? Anything for you, my Princess.

She turns, surveying the room.

               KATRINA    ... On one condition. My squad comes too if they so choose. And Riley, of course.

Kittarella smiles.

               KITTARELLA    It is done.

Katrina beams, kisses Riley again.

THE DOOR BURSTS OPEN ONCE MORE. HOW IT HAS NOT COMPLETELY FLOWN OFF IT'S HINGES IS BEYOND ME.

Marley, Khep, and Jaidyn trample in!

Marley brandishes a blaster, Jaidyn raises Hoover like a bat, Khep flips open a butterfly knife.

               MARLEY    Stop right there, you snakes!

Kittarella raises a brow, indifferently nudges the barrel of Marley's blaster aside.

               KITTARELLA    What is this? Convince me of why I shouldn't rip your throats out right here and now.

Tetra leaps to her feet, waving frantically.

               TETRA    Guys! I'm fine! Over here! Guys!

Marley sighs, drops the blaster. Jaidyn lowers Hoover and Khep stuffs their hands in their pockets after folding the knife back up.

               RILEY    So, hey, this is awkward. Guess everyone should introduce themselves, huh? I'll go first, my name is Riley -

He's showered with glass, stumbles out of his seat, trips, lands on all fours, staggers for the door. EVERYONE stares.

MR. PISCOLI turns, sniffling into his pine-bristle frost mustache, chalk still suspended at board-writing height. He's a monocled history teacher who looks like he very well could've lived through everything he teaches. Left on the board behind him: "WE CONCLUDE HIS ALIAS WAS 'MOON MOON'"

John Smith makes it out to the hall, collapses, scrabbles to his feet, gasps. His hat slips off and he abandons it.

Heads swivel in flawless synchrony to the seat by the window, three rows back. JAIDYN snoozes at the Protagonist Seat, cheek propped up in his palm. His head slips, face SLAMS against the desk. He snaps awake, blinks, rubs his nose, casts an accusatory glance around the room.

               JAIDYN    What?

Everyone tips their head toward the door. Outside, John Smith stumbles down the hall. Lights FLICKER above him. All swivel back in vacant anticipation.

Jaidyn groans. He stands, everyone sucks in air through their teeth. Jaidyn sighs and sits back down.

               JAIDYN    Can I -

The class collectively sucks in air through their teeth.

               JAIDYN    - May I. Go to the bathroom -

Mr. Piscoli flourishes a yellow neckerchief with HALL PASS sharpie'd on it.

               JAIDYN    - Have a bathroom pass.

               MR. PISCOLI    Yes you may.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

John Smith enters the frame, hand to the wall, hand to his chest. He's trembling, struggling to breathe, fighting to stay on his feet. He screws his eyes shut -

Lights EXPLODE.

He looks, his EYES ARE BOLT-WHITE. He lurches out of frame.

Moments later, another door BURSTS open and MARLEY sprints out, dragging TETRA in tow.

               TETRA    We can't just leave in the middle of class, we don't have -

               MARLEY    Hall passes are for the feeble-minded! We think for ourselves! You saw that John Smith guy, didn't you? He's not who he says he is -

Tetra sighs as she's lugged past rows upon rows of lockers.

               TETRA        (under her breath)    No duh.        (normally)    Why are you really doing this?

               MARLEY    You're catching on quick, grasshopper.

               TETRA    That doesn't answer my question.

               MARLEY    If he's destructive, I can use him.

               TETRA    Is that all?

Marley forges on, unfazed. Tetra casts her gaze downward.

They approach an open door leading to a dark underground. Marley pivots Tetra to stand in front of her.

               MARLEY    You see well in the dark, right?

Tetra nods uneasily. Marley gives her a little push and she tiptoes toward the inky, definitely-have-killed-a-few-people steps. Her pupils dilate, adjusting to the dark.

A BOLT TEARS THROUGH THE DARK, ZAPPING HER SHOULDER! Tetra falls back, hissing and gripping her blistered arm.

Marley clicks her tongue, hand held thoughtfully to her chin. She skirts around Tetra and flips a light switch in the stairwell. Sterile fluorescents illuminate the stairs.

Marley starts, turns, suddenly remembering she's not alone.

               MARLEY    Are you alright?

               TETRA    I'm fine.

Marley nods, makes for the staircase, squeezes up against the wall as she descends.

Another bolt WHIPS out of the depths and ELECTROCUTES Tetra IN THE FACE! She collapses, twitching and crying weakly.

Marley acknowledges this tragedy for but a second, turns, descends.

INT. BOILER ROOM - DAY

Marley's footfalls echo off the walls.

In the distance, a dim light sputters. It’s distinctly alive. It moves, grows in size, it’s coming straight for her -

Marley flicks on a light.

It’s only Jaidyn gripping tight to a faintly glowing stalk of bamboo. A yellow neckerchief sticks out of his pocket. At first, he’s all bewilderment and apprehension. And then, recognition. Then a muffled smirk.

Marley surveys him as if he were something stuck to the bottom of her spotless Mary Janes.

               JAIDYN    Have we met?

               MARLEY    Oh, shut up.

LIGHTS RATTLE and FLICKER. SPARKS run along the pipes. Jaidyn raises Hoover a little higher, Marley reaches for her watch.

The electrical spasm dies down and John Smith groans from somewhere further down in the dark.

               MARLEY    Let’s get formalities out of the way.

She throws her backpack down and whips out a thick glove. She slips it on and extends her hand.

               MARLEY    Marley Benson.

Jaidyn’s eyes dart from Marley’s face to her outstretched hand and back. He subtly turns away, refusing her offer.

               JAIDYN    Jaidyn.

Another CRASH, roar, rattle. Marley raises her brows.

               MARLEY    Well, what are you standing around for?

INT. BASEMENT - DAY

Marley and Jaidyn take slow and measured steps toward John Smith, who's collapsed on the floor, hacking for breath, eyes flashing between blinding white and stale brown. There's a palpable thrum in the air, a heartstring's strained and bound to snap. He throws a hand up but can't bring himself to meet their eyes.

               JOHN SMITH    Stay back!

He passes out, faceplanting in the dust-carpeted concrete.

THE LIGHTS GO WILD, crackling, sparking, bursting -

Jaidyn hops back, wincing.

Then all at once, it ceases. Darkness. Silence.

Then -

Lights are back. Marley's stood by the fuse box, having plunged a sparking lever back to restore electricity. The only thing keeping her from being electrocuted is that inordinately thick electrician's glove.

Lightning BLASTS from the ceiling, hitting John Smith in the back. He bolts upright. His eyes are frozen-lightning white.

Marley tosses her glove to the ground, casually flips her hair, storms up to him -

               JAIDYN    You're not seriously going to kick him while he's down, are you?

Marley shoots him a 'Who exactly do you think I am?' look and pointedly kicks John Smith in the side of the head without breaking eye contact with Jaidyn, who hastily looks away. She presses her heel to John Smith's chest.

               MARLEY    I never believed you were human for a second. I was right to pressure you...

               TETRA (O.S.)    Wait!

Tetra rushes in, TACKLES Marley. Both girls eat dust. Tetra HOISTS Marley into the air. She's much stronger than her tiny frame betrays.

               TETRA    What's he ever done to you?!

She HURLS Marley, who BOWLS into Jaidyn, who in turn makes no attempt to move out of the way, having already accepted his fate. Marley winds up on top of Jaidyn but not a moment is wasted on blushing and sentimentality. She springs back to her feet, fists balled.

Tetra moves to put a hand on John Smith's shoulder -

               JOHN SMITH    Don't touch me! Please. I don't want to hurt anyone.

She retracts her hand, kneels to his level, never once taking her violet-drenched eyes off him -- a chaos-feeder in action.

               TETRA    It's okay. Everything's gonna be okay.

               JOHN SMITH    I don't - we -

He clamps his hands over his mouth, trembles, convulses of the electricity skating over his skin.

               MARLEY    I'm sorry, did he just say 'we' -

               TETRA    Marlene! I got this!        (back to John Smith)    I'm sorry, did you just say 'we' and shut your mouth right after?

He nods though he's unsure. He's tearing up.

               TETRA    Can you tell me a little more about that? It's okay, it's just us. And Marley and Jaidyn. But just pretend they're not here.

Marley scoffs, crosses her arms, turns away. Jaidyn tosses Hoover to the ground. He clangs hollowly off the concrete.

Tetra takes John Smith's hand. He cringes but doesn't shock her.

               TETRA    See? It's okay.

He takes a deep, ragged breath.

               JOHN SMITH    My name... isn't John Smith.

               MARLEY        (under her breath)    No duh.

               TETRA    MARLENE!

Marley throws her hands up in surrender, starts pacing. Jaidyn plops down, cheek in hand, eager to nap.

               TETRA        (back to John Smith)    Please continue.

               JOHN SMITH    It's Keh - K-Kay - Ep -Ked -

He screams and grips his head in agony. Lights RATTLE and FLICKER. He can only speak through gritted teeth.

               JOHN SMITH    - Shut it! That's our name -- that isn't it -- What?! Let us say -- that's our original - it's not that -- been so long -- you all are - yeah, well, we're not the ones screaming -

Tetra grips his hand harder.

               TETRA    Khep, was it?

               JOHN SMITH        (quieting down)    Yeah, that's. Really close, actually.

               TETRA    I'm glad it is.

From now on, John Smith will be referred to as Khep. They sit together until the protesting, knocking lights die down to just a static electric hum.

When he finally opens his mouth, it's like he's disintegrating just to speak:

               KHEP    We're not from here...

FLASHBACK START:

EXT. CLOUD FOREST - NIGHT

A young HIKER wanders through a fog-suffused forest, his hiking stick stabbing the ground at regular intervals. CRACK -- a twig's snapped. He turns, looks -

ZAP! A bolt of LIGHTNING strikes him on the head, killing him instantly.

Dark clouds swirl and rumble. Lightning jitters across the vast expanse of the grey-cast sky.

               KHEP (V.O.)    We don't know where we came from or what we really are.

The clouds animate, gliding through the air with living mass.

               KHEP (V.O.)    But we know we were the reason those who entered the woods never returned. We collected lives. Memories mostly. We made new friends. And then...

A SLASH materializes in the very fabric of the sky. Space warps, thunder claps, people point and scream. Through the portal, ANOTHER EARTH can be seen. It's speeding up, drifting closer, it's going to hit -

               KHEP (V.O.)    We did the only thing we could think of -

EXT. CITY PLAZA - NIGHT

It's crowded. People murmur, point at the growing hole in the sky. Suddenly -

SOMEONE COLLAPSES. The corpse smokes.

LIGHTNING.

More people collapse. Khep works through the whole crowd.

EXT. SPACE

The two planets collide. At the point of contact between dimensions, a wispy cloud leeches from one world to another, carrying a spark with it.

FLASHBACK END.

Tetra holds a sullen Khep gently, pity in her quartz-marble eyes. In the back, Jaidyn's sealed his gaze to the floor, not quite awake and yet somehow ashamed.

               KHEP    A while later we figured out how to spare and even inhabit hosts. We've been growing in numbers ever since.

               TETRA    How many people am I talking to?

               KHEP       (sighing)     ... 11 million. And some aren't even human.

               TETRA    How is that possible?

They smile gently.

               KHEP    Memories are just electrical information.

Marley grunts in exasperation, points an accusatory finger.

               MARLEY    First of all, that's not how that works, at all -

               KHEP    We're several ten thousand lifetimes, cumulative. If you really want to talk what does and doesn't work, we could be here a while -

               MARLEY    - Second of all! All that knowledge and you choose to go back to school?! You fry your own brain or something -

Khep screeches and two lights SHATTER!

               KHEP    We did all the traveling and teaching and learning already! We just missed being normal! We knew we could pull it off, crunch the numbers and act perfectly average, pick the most common first and last names -

               TETRA    So what went wrong?

               KHEP    Nothing! It's just... everyone wants to be special, but average can't be special! We're all screaming in here but we can't afford to lose this host.

               TETRA    But Khep, no one's forcing you to be average! You are all so special and you need to know that!

               KHEP    Really?

               TETRA    Yes! You're amazing and you should be proud of who you are!

She offhandedly brushes shards of glass from her hair.

               KHEP    You really think so?

Tetra nods vigorously. Khep shuts their eyes for a moment. When they open them, they're vanilla-brown, back to normal. Tetra pats their hand. Khep smiles weakly.

Tetra turns to Jaidyn and Marley.

               TETRA    We're the only ones who know.

She sticks her hand out.

               TETRA    Hands in. All together now. This stays between us.

               KHEP    No.

All turn to them.

               KHEP    I - we, we wanna show the world who we really are. It's about time.

Their eyes glow, fill with light, turning completely white.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

Khep struts down the hall, dignified, elegant, awash with sunlight streaming in from an open window. Their eyes glow, they crackle with electricity.

STUDENTS turn and stare. Marley, Jaidyn, and Tetra watch them go.

               SOME EXTRA    Is that John Smith?

               MARLEY    They clean up nicely, don't they?

               JAIDYN    They're wearing the exact same -

               TETRA    I'm proud of them. They're happy in their fragile, perishable host, and that's what matters.

Jaidyn ties his hall pass around Tetra's singed arm. She smiles and nods appreciatively.

CARTER KENETT watches Khep go and WHIPS his thick plastic-rimmed glasses off his face to wipe the lenses on his shirt, as if that'd help him see better. He's a beryl-eyed platinum blonde jock who blithely carries himself with just a tad too much self-importance and the confidence of say, a superhero.

               SOME OTHER EXTRA    Am I crazy or did I just see Attesservate here?

Carter starts and shoves his glasses back on.

               CARTER    No way! You must have just imagined it.

Jaidyn hands Khep their mesh cap and they put it on backwards with a self-assured smile as if nothing had changed at all. They blink, eyes returning to familiar brown.

               KHEP    That went so much better than we imagined. But we think we prefer to be inconspicuous. We were just starting to get used to it.

Tetra throws her arms around Marley and Khep, pulling them close to each side of her. She grins between the both of them. Khep catches on and yanks Jaidyn toward the slowly-yet-surely forming human wall. Jaidyn sighs and leans into Khep, having already accepted his fate.

Thanks for reading this slightly longer-than-usual episode!!!

This episode’s shoutout goes to @esoteric-eclectic-eccentric for ‘Moon Moon’.

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