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Tag: Visual edit
Tag: Visual edit
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'''Cyborg''': Hull's starting to give. We sink much deeper, the pressure's gonna crush us.
 
'''Cyborg''': Hull's starting to give. We sink much deeper, the pressure's gonna crush us.
   
''(Cut to a rock formation. Aqualad is thrown into view to slam against it back first, and Trident moves in on him. A sudden charge by the young fellow sends both tumbling into the open to grapple a bit before Trident starts throwing punches. Aqualad swims up quickly, then comes down behind Trident and gets him in a headlock. Beat Boy, again a swordfish, zips by.)''
+
''(Cut to a rock formation. Aqualad is thrown into view to slam against it back first, and Trident moves in on him. A sudden charge by the young fellow sends both tumbling into the open to grapple a bit before Trident starts throwing punches. Aqualad swims up quickly, then comes down behind Trident and gets him in a headlock. Beast Boy, again a swordfish, zips by.)''
   
 
'''Beast Boy''': Let Pretty Boy wrestle. ''(becomes a squid)'' Only Beast Boy can save a whole submarine.
 
'''Beast Boy''': Let Pretty Boy wrestle. ''(becomes a squid)'' Only Beast Boy can save a whole submarine.
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'''Robin''': Titans! Brace for impact! ''(Cut to outside, in the fissure.)''
 
'''Robin''': Titans! Brace for impact! ''(Cut to outside, in the fissure.)''
   
Cyborg: ''(headset)'' Oh, man!
+
'''Cyborg''': ''(headset)'' Oh, man!
   
''(They grind against the wall. At the edge, Aqualad is kicked down to the surface by the escaping Trident; he looks after the villain, then down at the impending disaster, and uses his telepathic powers to summon two nearby whales. The T-Sub drops like a rock-at least, like a rock that has been dropped underwater-as Beast Boy races after it.)''
+
''(They grind against the wall. At the edge, Aqualad is kicked down to the surface by the escaping Trident; he looks after the villain, then down at the impending disaster, and uses his telepathic powers to summon two nearby whales. The T-Sub drops like a rock, at least, like a rock that has been dropped underwater, as Beast Boy races after it.)''
   
Beast Boy: I got it, I got it! ''(The whales pass him.)'' Huh?
+
'''Beast Boy''': I got it, I got it! ''(The whales pass him.)'' Huh?
   
 
''(They pull in neatly under the doomed vessel and bear it upward to the top of the fissure. Beast Boy can only watch, hopelessly confused.)''
 
''(They pull in neatly under the doomed vessel and bear it upward to the top of the fissure. Beast Boy can only watch, hopelessly confused.)''
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'''Cyborg''': Yo, careful! That's my sub you're messing with!
 
'''Cyborg''': Yo, careful! That's my sub you're messing with!
   
'''Aqualad''': ''(crossing in front of the others)'' And while he's helping you, I'll track down Trident.
+
'''Aqualad''': ''(crosses in front of the others)'' And while he's helping you, I'll track down Trident.
   
 
''(He has nearly reached the water's edge when Beast Boy runs up. They begin to push each other out of the way, becoming gradually more forceful.)''
 
''(He has nearly reached the water's edge when Beast Boy runs up. They begin to push each other out of the way, becoming gradually more forceful.)''
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'''Aqualad''': You do not! You're part of a team!
 
'''Aqualad''': You do not! You're part of a team!
   
'''Beast Boy''': ''(approximating Tramm's head briefly)'' And you hang out with Tramm the fish-boy! What's your point?
+
'''Beast Boy''': ''(approximates Tramm's head briefly)'' And you hang out with Tramm the fish-boy! What's your point?
   
 
''(They glare at each other; Robin backs them up again.)''
 
''(They glare at each other; Robin backs them up again.)''
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''(He lashes out with his other claw. Wipe to the geyser patch, where Aqualad drops into view to land flat on his back. Rubbing his head, he looks up and finds Trident hurling himself downward, namesake at the ready. Aqualad gets out of the way just in time and immediately has to dodge a bolt. Trident loses track of him, but only for a moment until the blue-and-black-skinned fighter darts back in and kicks him in the head. The trident and its user go flying in different directions; the former lands, points down, and sticks among the fire spurts.)''
 
''(He lashes out with his other claw. Wipe to the geyser patch, where Aqualad drops into view to land flat on his back. Rubbing his head, he looks up and finds Trident hurling himself downward, namesake at the ready. Aqualad gets out of the way just in time and immediately has to dodge a bolt. Trident loses track of him, but only for a moment until the blue-and-black-skinned fighter darts back in and kicks him in the head. The trident and its user go flying in different directions; the former lands, points down, and sticks among the fire spurts.)''
   
''(Both swimmers charge toward it, but Trident gets his hand out to reach first. Close-up of the shaft; he closes his fingers around it. Pull back as he yanks it out of the muck and takes a couple of swings that barely miss the blue-scaled chest. Next he pulls it back over his shoulder for a couple of home-run swings that come a hair short of giving Aqualad a high-speed appendectomy. More lunges push him back toward the edge of one geyser, and he loses his balance and stumbles near the lip.)''
+
''(Both swimmers charge toward it, but Trident gets his hand out to reach first. Close-up of the shaft; he closes his fingers around it. Pull back as he yanks it out of the muck and takes a couple of swings that barely miss the blue-scaled chest. Next, he pulls it back over his shoulder for a couple of home-run swings that come a hair short of giving Aqualad a high-speed appendectomy. More lunges push him back toward the edge of one geyser, and he loses his balance and stumbles near the lip.)''
   
 
''(Trident raises the fork to impale the half-prone figure, who seizes the head to stop it just inches from his face. The two struggle, Trident gradually pushing the points toward their target, and then Aqualad does a quick sidestep and releases his grip. With his force not meeting any more resistance, Trident is flung forward into the geyser, which blows its top right on cue. The steam clears to leave Aqualad standing alone. He makes a beeline for a patch of light shining down from an opening above. Fade to white, then snap to black.)''
 
''(Trident raises the fork to impale the half-prone figure, who seizes the head to stop it just inches from his face. The two struggle, Trident gradually pushing the points toward their target, and then Aqualad does a quick sidestep and releases his grip. With his force not meeting any more resistance, Trident is flung forward into the geyser, which blows its top right on cue. The steam clears to leave Aqualad standing alone. He makes a beeline for a patch of light shining down from an opening above. Fade to white, then snap to black.)''
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'''Trident 3''': ...why not make more?
 
'''Trident 3''': ...why not make more?
   
'''Trident 4''': You can never have too much of a good thing. (Pan to others.)
+
'''Trident 4''': You can never have too much of a good thing. ''(Pan to others.)''
   
 
'''Trident 5''': Once my army conquers Atlantis...
 
'''Trident 5''': Once my army conquers Atlantis...
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'''Starfire''': ''(flashing V-for-Victory hand sign)'' Victory!
 
'''Starfire''': ''(flashing V-for-Victory hand sign)'' Victory!
   
'''Cyborg''': Boo-yah! Seismic blasters worked like a charm! ''(giving thumbs-up)'' Nice repair job, Tramm.
+
'''Cyborg''': Boo-yah! Seismic blasters worked like a charm! ''(gives a thumbs-up)'' Nice repair job, Tramm.
   
 
''(The fish-boy of the hour is in Beast Boy's cockpit; he waves his fists and blabbers happily in gratitude. Beast Boy, now a squid, and Aqualad look toward the T-Sub's handiwork.)''
 
''(The fish-boy of the hour is in Beast Boy's cockpit; he waves his fists and blabbers happily in gratitude. Beast Boy, now a squid, and Aqualad look toward the T-Sub's handiwork.)''

Revision as of 01:36, 10 December 2018

Prologue

(Opening shot: choppy waves roiling in a violent thunderstorm at night. Riding the swells, a freighter sails into view toward the camera. Three crewmen struggle to secure a tarp over a group of several dozen 55-gallon drums; two other such collections have already been covered. The captain steers the steadiest course possible under the circumstances as waves break on the bow and the wind threatens to pull the sheeting out of the men's hands. Close-up of the drums, showing them to be marked with the universal symbol for radiation hazards. One tips over and rolls away across the deck, but a booted foot comes down to stop it.)

Captain: (over loudspeaker) Watch it! (Cut to him, microphone in hand.) Any of that toxic junk goes into the bay, we're all in deep trouble!

(The ship is in Jump City Bay, then. There is a flash of lightning during this line, which clears to show a silhouette at the window. Close-up: it is a reptilian figure with glowing yellow eyes, and it lifts a long trident. Back to the deck, where the men are still struggling to get the waste squared away. There is an explosion from around the corner of the wheelhouse, followed by the walls and windows blowing out. When the dust clears, we are inside the ruined structure; the captain is sprawled on his back, at the feet of the intruder. This is Trident .)

Captain: Who...or what are you?

Trident: I am excellence. I am perfection. I am Trident!

(On the end of this, a flash from the weapon's points illuminates him fully-think of the Creature from the Black Lagoon and you have the idea. Close-up of the captain, who cries out and shields his eyes from a sudden flare, then pull back. Trident is gone. Now a few waves spill onto the port side, carrying the creature up with them. He holds a large clamp with a cable attached.)

Crewman: Hey!

(The clamp is attached to the railing, and Trident goes over the side. Pan to starboard, where he immediately climbs onto the deck with an identical device.)

Crewman: He's everywhere!

(This one is also hooked on, and Trident jumps ship again. The crew barely has time to look toward the stern before seeing him repeating the performance there as well; he glares back at them and leaps back into the water. Staggering and groaning, the captain crosses the wheelhouse and looks out through the hole in its walls. After Trident submerges, the cables on his clampspull taut and start to drag the ship down, stern first. Back to the deck.)

Captain: (over loudspeaker) Abandon ship! Abandon ship!

(The panicked crew makes to follow this order. Long shot of the freighter, its bow rising higher and higher and finally slipping beneath the waves as a life raft floats by, carrying the captain and crew. The last they see of their vessel is Trident, perched triumphantly atop the prow. Close-up of his weapon's points as they drop below the surface, then cut to the utterly flabbergasted seafarers, trying to figure out how they lost their ship and a huge consignment of radioactive leftovers in one fell swoop. Pull back to a long shot of their rubber craft bobbing in the maelstrom. A final lightning strike blacks out the screen when it recedes.)


OPENING THEME (sung in Japanese)

Act One

(Opening shot: the exterior of Titans Tower, seen from the level of the water in the bay. It is now the next morning. Tilt down into the depths and fade to black.)

Robin: (voice over) Begin launch sequence.

(Fade in to Robin, strapped into a driver's seat wit a steering yoke in front of him. He wears a microphone headset and presses several buttons on a panel. Cut to each of the other Titans in time with their lines; they are similarly situated in individual cockpits, and through the windows around them water is flowing by. The Titans are in the T-Sub, their five-man submersible.)

(The notation "headset" will be used to indicate lines that are heard over the communications system, without the speaker being in frame.)

Robin: Main power online.

Starfire: Oxygen tanks at maximum.

Raven: Defensive systems active.

Cyborg: Twin-turbo hydrojet engine purring like a kitten.

Beast Boy: (lounges in his chair) And your secret weapon is ready to rock.

Cyborg: (headset) Only time you qualify as a secret weapon is after eating a tofu bean burrito.

(These words surprise the little green guy and then make him good and angry. A vein stands out on his forehead; cut to Cyborg.)

Beast Boy: (headset) Uh, 'scuse me, bud. Can you breathe underwater? Uh-uh. Can you be any fish in the sea?

Cyborg: (grudgingly) Uh-uh.

Beast Boy: (headset) Didn't think so. (Back to him, saluting and cracking knuckles.)

Robin: (headset) Beast Boy's right. His skills are essential to our mission.

(Back to Cyborg. Sight gag: the shape-shifter blows a loud raspberry, and his tongue flicks out from the headphones to cover the hefty Titan with drool. Cut to Robin.)

Robin: We have to find out what this Trident guy is planning. If it takes forty barrels of toxic waste, I doubt it's environmentally friendly.

(The engines have finished warming up. Dissolve to an overhead view of him and pull back slowly to frame the entire T-Sub. It is orange, shaped something like a manta ray, with the five cockpits in a cross formation. Bow: Robin. Port: Starfire. Center: Beast Boy. Starboard: Raven. Stern: Cyborg. The craft is on a platform that is descending in a water-filled shaft. Head-on view of a horizontal chute that connects with this passage; the platform slides down level with this, and the camera pulls back as floodlights in the sides switch on. Cut to Robin.)

Robin: Titans! Launch!

(The engines hit first gear, and the T-Sub shoots along the chute, steadily gaining speed and pushing Robin back into his seat. It approaches a closed hatch, which slides open upon approach to reveal the bottom of Jump City Bay. The vessel blasts out, to the sound of jubilant whooping from Cyborg, and soon recedes into the blue depths. Dissolve to a close-up of a passing school of fish; the team chugs straight through them, disrupting the formation. Starfire watches them while Beast Boy watches her.)

Starfire: Oooh, wondrous!

Beast Boy: If you think they're cool, wait 'til you see me out there kicking butt. First, I'm going shark.

(He turns his teeth to points and gnashes them. Close-up of a button labeled MIC; Cyborg reaches up to press it, and the sound cuts off, he has killed Beast Boy's audio. Back to the little showoff, whose teeth are still heard clicking together, but now much softer and muffled as if underwater; his next line sounds this way as well. His dental profile returns to normal.)

Beast Boy: (taps his headset) Hey! What just...is this thing on? Hey, cut it out! (Cyborg turns the mic back on.)

Cyborg: (innocently) Goodness me. I seem to have accidentally switched off Beast Boy's microphone.

Raven: (headset) Could you go ahead and accidentally leave it off?

(That vein in the green forehead throbs again as the sonar start to beep. Close-up of the display, on which a red dot is flashing.)

Robin: (from o.c.) Sonar contact. (Cut to him.) Beast Boy! Ready to go?

Beast Boy: (taking off his headset) Dude, I was born ready. (He unbuckles his harness.) Time to do what I do best. (sinks out of sight, looking at Raven across the way) Try not to be jealous.

(Cut to her cockpit. Through the transparent canopy, a gargantuan green-and-black creature rises into view and stops briefly, with its eye at her level, to blink at her before ascending again.)

Raven: He just put on three hundred thousand pounds.

(Pull back to a long shot of the T-Sub. Beast Boy has become a whale.)

Raven: (headset) I am so jealous.

(He swims off, the T-Sub following, and heads toward the wreck of the freighter at the floor of the bay. As they move closer, he becomes a hammerhead shark. The unhealthy cargo that was on the deck has been entirely cleared away.)

Robin: There's our ship, but where's the cargo?

(He fires up a set of exterior searchlights to keep a fix on Beast Boy's position. The green predator swims along the hull; cut to inside a large rent in it and pan to follow him through.)

Cyborg: (headset) If this dude's bad enough to sink a whole ship, those barrels could be anywhere by now.

(He continues on o.c., passing a figure hidden in the murky shadows. It looks after him and then swims up and away. Outside, the T-Sub describes a slow circle around the wreck, keeping lights trained on it. Pan from here to Trident, who is standing by the hull; he watches for a moment and then swims along the ship's length to the breach. Inside, Beast Boy makes his way out toward open water, and the second figure ducks away from the opening just as the floodlight beam reaches it. The green shark goes after him; cut to a long shot of the freighter. The shadowed figure flees the scene as Beast Boy keeps a long tail on him.)

Robin: Looks like Beast Boy found Trident.

(The chase continues; now the T-Sub pulls away from the freighter to follow them both, but Trident drops into their wake to tail everyone. A blast from his weapon hits the starboard wing.)

Cyborg: (groans angrily) Looks like Trident found us!

(Beast Boy is still back of the mystery swimmer; transforming into a barracuda, he puts on a burst of speed and begins to close the gap. Trident's shots pepper the water around the submarine; he scores a hit just off the port side of Robin's cockpit.)

Robin: Cyborg! Bring us about! Raven! Get ready to fire!

(The vessel does a swift U-turn, only to find itself alone in the water after doing so.)

Cyborg: (looks around) Where'd he go?

(Still nothing. Now Starfire scans the depths through her canopy; a blast strikes it, and she finds him floating dead ahead of her and gasps.)

Starfire: He is there! (Not for long; now he passes Raven.)

Raven: No! That way! (He moves again; Cyborg catches sight.)

Cyborg: It's him!

(He opens fire on the fleeing T-Sub, scoring a few near misses before properly correcting his aim. Alarms go off in the cockpits.)

Robin: He can't be in three places at once! Head for that-- (Close-up of two draining power gauges on the panel.)

Cyborg: (from o.c.) The engines are fried! (Cut to him.) We're going down!

(They proceed to do so at an alarming rate. The second figure seen in the freighter takes in the scene; the four Titans descending far too quickly for their own good, Trident bombarding the stern at will, and turns to the camera. We can see no features except two bright gleams for eyes. Waves of energy begin to radiate from the forehead, exactly after the style of Aquaman's underwater telepathy. This is Aqualad.)

Aqualad: Your friends are in danger. (Cut to Beast Boy, now a bull shark; the message reaches him.)

Beast Boy: My friends are in what? Whoa! How did you say that? Dude! How did I say that? (He sees the T-Sub.) Hey!

(He charges after his teammates.)

Beast Boy: Okay. (He becomes a swordfish.) Hero time. This is my big chance to prove I'm the-- (Something blue and black flashes past.) --best?

(Pull back. Aqualad has just left him in the dust; he strains to catch up. The T-Sub, meanwhile, is being used for Trident's target practice. Close-up of him, blazing away; suddenly he is knocked down o.c. by a hit from behind. Aqualad is now seen in full detail for the first time-roughly the same age as the Titans; blue scaly skin on fingers, upper arms and chest; black on forearms, hands, legs, and neck; pure black eyes without whites and long hair of the same color.)

(The badly damaged craft drops into a fissure on the bay/ocean floor. Inside, water has begun to spurt in through cracks in the hull, shorting out the controls.)

Cyborg: Main power's down! Hydrojets are toast and we're leaking air!

Robin: Tell me something I don't know.

Raven: Okay. We're all going to drown.

(The outer structure begins to creak as the T-Sub descends toward crush depth in the fissure.)

Cyborg: Hull's starting to give. We sink much deeper, the pressure's gonna crush us.

(Cut to a rock formation. Aqualad is thrown into view to slam against it back first, and Trident moves in on him. A sudden charge by the young fellow sends both tumbling into the open to grapple a bit before Trident starts throwing punches. Aqualad swims up quickly, then comes down behind Trident and gets him in a headlock. Beast Boy, again a swordfish, zips by.)

Beast Boy: Let Pretty Boy wrestle. (becomes a squid) Only Beast Boy can save a whole submarine.

(He goes into a sharp dive, preparing to do just that.)

Robin: Titans! Brace for impact! (Cut to outside, in the fissure.)

Cyborg: (headset) Oh, man!

(They grind against the wall. At the edge, Aqualad is kicked down to the surface by the escaping Trident; he looks after the villain, then down at the impending disaster, and uses his telepathic powers to summon two nearby whales. The T-Sub drops like a rock, at least, like a rock that has been dropped underwater, as Beast Boy races after it.)

Beast Boy: I got it, I got it! (The whales pass him.) Huh?

(They pull in neatly under the doomed vessel and bear it upward to the top of the fissure. Beast Boy can only watch, hopelessly confused.)

Beast Boy: They got it? How come they got it? (Aqualad pulls into view by him.)

Aqualad: Because I asked for their help.

Beast Boy: You talk to fish? Yeah, right.

Aqualad: I'm talking to you, aren't I? (A big sweat drop appears briefly on the squid's head.)

Beast Boy: Well, I, uh...technically I'm a squid.

Aqualad: It's called telepathy. Follow me. (He swims away.)

Beast Boy: (very snarky; a vein throbs on his head) "It's called telepathy."

Aqualad: (from o.c.) I heard that.

Beast Boy: (flushes angrily) Who is this guy? (He follows.)

(Dissolve to a cavern with a large body of water inside. Something approaches the surface from beneath and comes up to reveal itself as the T-Sub, which floats slowly to the shore. Robin and Starfire are the first ones off; they look around in amazement, and Robin lets off a low whistle.)

Starfire: Beautiful.

Cyborg: (from o.c.) It's not beautiful! (Cut to him, also on shore.) It's totaled! Aw, man, I never even got to use the seismic blasters! (Raven has debarked now.)

Raven: Where are we?

Aqualad: (from o.c.) My place.

(Cut to another part of the cavern; he rises to the water's surface on the back of a beaching whale. Jumping high and far, he lands on the shore as the marine mammal submerges again.)

Aqualad: I told the whales to bring you here. (He crosses to Raven.)

Raven: (blushes) Okay...uh...thanks. (Starfire pops up.)

Starfire: (also blushes) Oh, yes, truly, truly, thank you so much for saving us.

Beast Boy: (from o.c.) He saved you? (Cut to him, leaving the water in human form.) Hel-lo? I was there, too, you know.

Cyborg: You stopped Trident from kebabbing us with that souped-up shrimp fork?

Robin: Way to go! (Sweat drop on the green temple.)

Beast Boy: Well, I was gonna, but... (Aqualad crosses to them.)

Aqualad: I'm Aqualad. Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. We Atlanteans try to keep a low profile.

Beast Boy: (sarcastically, shaking hands) Good job. Don't think anybody even noticed you.

(The girls certainly have. Behind his back, Raven and Starfire are positively smitten; their eyes have become hearts, and more of these float up from them. Raven is first to recover.)

Raven: You're from Atlantis? (He nods.)

Aqualad: And so is Trident.

(Dissolve to a holographic freeze-frame of Trident blasting the landscape. On the next line, two other scenes come up to replace it; they show him lifting a piece of a marble column he has broken, then firing at fleeing people.)

Aqualad: (from o.c.) He's the worst criminal in Atlantis, with an ego to match.

(A full-figure shot of said criminal now appears, and Aqualad steps into view before it.)

Aqualad: Trident claims he's perfect in every way, (Pull back; the Titans are gathered at the projector.) so he thinks he can do whatever he wants.

Robin: Any idea what he wants with all that toxic waste?

Aqualad: Whatever it is, it'll be bad for both our worlds. He's already gained some kind of new power. It's like he can be everywhere at once.

Raven: Noticed that.

Aqualad: As long as we're after the same guy, maybe we can help each other.

Beast Boy: (pushing Robin and Raven o.c.) Whoa, hey, no, we're good. Got the whole Trident thing under control. 'Sides, I'm sure there's a school of minnows somewhere that need your--

(Robin reaches into view and yanks him away. Cut to ground level, the camera pointing straight up at the ceiling, as all five Titans lean in for a huddle.)

Raven: We're at the bottom of the ocean.

Cyborg: Our sub's Swiss cheese.

Starfire: And we cannot breathe water.

(Pull back; their host is standing at a short distance. Robin pokes his head up.)

Robin: We'll take any help you can give us. (Aqualad nods.)

Aqualad: (calling o.c.) Hey, Tramm!

(At the other end of the cavern, a half-clamshell on the floor flips up to reveal a manhole underneath. What climbs out is a reptilian humanoid, perhaps three feet tall, in short overalls and wearing a backpack. The eyes are very large, protruding from the sides of the head. This is Tramm; he runs to the group, saying something in his own language. Aqualad kneels to him.)

Aqualad: Want to give these people a hand with their sub?

(Tramm babbles excitedly, cracks his knuckles, and claps his hands before running to it.)

Aqualad: Tramm's good with tools.

(One high jump carries him onto the hull and deposits him near a breach. Muttering to himself a bit, he reaches in and brings up the severed ends of two groups of cables. These are stretched out and laid over the broken edges; now he dips into his pack and yanks out a jackhammer-like device, which he plies with gusto. Cyborg runs up.)

Cyborg: Yo, careful! That's my sub you're messing with!

Aqualad: (crosses in front of the others) And while he's helping you, I'll track down Trident.

(He has nearly reached the water's edge when Beast Boy runs up. They begin to push each other out of the way, becoming gradually more forceful.)

Beast Boy: You mean I'll track down Trident.

Aqualad: That's okay, I can handle it.

Beast Boy: Thanks, but I think I should do this.

Aqualad: Seriously, I'll take care of it!

Beast Boy: Would you just get out of my--? (They grab each other.)

Beast Boy and Aqualad: Let me go!

(The fracas continues for a few more seconds before Robin comes over.)

Robin: Guys! (He pushes them apart.) Why don't you both go track him down together?

Aqualad: I usually work alone.

Beast Boy: Yeah. Me too.

Aqualad: You do not! You're part of a team!

Beast Boy: (approximates Tramm's head briefly) And you hang out with Tramm the fish-boy! What's your point?

(They glare at each other; Robin backs them up again.)

Robin: Hey! Arguing isn't going to stop Trident. Now get out and search, both of you.

(The two give each other one more dirty look before diving into the water. Robin just stands there and shakes his head disgustedly. Fade to black.)

Act Two

(Opening shot: Beast Boy, as a squid, and Aqualad swimming near the ocean floor. They stop for a look around.)

Aqualad: (points) I searched that region yesterday. (moves in an opposite direction) We'll start over--

Beast Boy: Look. I'm sure you're some kind of local hero, but I'm a real hero from the big city. So just let me call the shots... (He becomes a dolphin.) ...and try to keep up.

(Clicking sounds emerge from him; the dolphin equivalent of sonar tracking, as he swims around Aqualad a bit. Finally, he concentrates on one heading.)

Beast Boy: I'm picking something up on my sonar! Come on!

(He moves out quickly, but his partner only eases forward a bit. What he has located is a group of real dolphins; they dart playfully around him.)

Aqualad: (smirking) Congratulations. You found other dolphins.

Beast Boy: I knew that.

(Aqualad moves in and hits them with a burst of telepathy, after which they swim off together.)

Aqualad: They told me where to find Trident. Try to keep up. (He moves o.c.)

Beast Boy: Oh, I'll do better than that.

(He follows; cut to the Atlantean, making good time, as the Titan catches up and pulls ahead. He puts in second gear, and the informal race ranges over the ocean floor, weaving around the occasional rock formation Finding himself neck and neck with Beast Boy, who changes from a dolphin to a barracuda, Aqualad keeps accelerating to try and maintain the lead. In a twinkling, the barracuda has turned into a swordfish and moved ahead once more despite Aqualad's best efforts. Close-up of the new runner-up, who has suddenly halted.)

Aqualad: (alarmed) Beast Boy! Stop!

Beast Boy: (from o.c.) What's the matter?

(Cut to Beast Boy, still going full tilt. Placed just behind him, the camera moves to keep him in focus as he races toward Trident, who is squarely in his path.)

Beast Boy: Am I too fast for y--?

(A collision with the undersea villain's chest cuts off his taunt; he drops, dazed, to the floor as Aqualad catches up.)

Beast Boy: (looking up at Trident) Heh...how's it going?

Trident: Keep your thoughts to yourself, inferior fool!

(On the end of this line he brings out his weapon and fires it up. Beast Boy ducks away just in time to avoid the attack; Trident strafes the ground near his feet, but Aqualad's swimming tackle cuts him off. Both fall out of sight behind a ridge.)

Beast Boy: Oh, no, you don't! (He becomes a bull shark.) This time, he's mine!

(He approaches the ridge, but stops short when Trident jumps up onto it from behind. The three prongs blaze like a machine gun, but a lucky snap of the jaws breaks the shaft and silences them. Not giving up so easily, Trident reaches out with one big hand and seizes Beast Boy, who becomes a squid and wraps his tentacles around the enemy. They tumble behind the ridge.)

(Pan from here to another formation. Aqualad and Trident back around it and into view; they are grappling for a hold on the fork, which is now whole again. The black-haired hero finally wrenches it away, throwing his opponent several yards, and breaks it over his knee.)

(Cut to the first ridge. Here come Beast Boy and Trident again; the latter gets himself free of those tentacles and throws the big green squid at the camera.)

Beast Boy: INCOMING!!

(Aqualad catches him with his face and has a very hard time peeling those tentacles away. When he can see again, he gives Beast Boy a very nasty look.)

Beast Boy: I said, "Incoming".

(Both look in toward the second fight; cut to Trident, swimming that way toward a dark grotto.)

Aqualad: (from o.c.) He's getting away!

(He and Beast Boy move in. Cut to behind them and pan across the interior. No one here.)

Beast Boy: Hmmm...

Aqualad: (furiously) Where were you back there?

Beast Boy: Where was I? Fighting Trident by myself!

Aqualad: You barely laid a tentacle on him! At least I managed to break his weapon!

Beast Boy: Dude, that's just wrong. I so broke that fork thing!

(Aqualad grits his teeth to deliver a crushing response or a right hook, but before he can make up his mind, Trident swims past and goes deeper into the grotto. Beast Boy looks in a different direction and sees a pair of eyes shining in the black distance.)

Beast Boy and Aqualad: (point in opposite directions) There he goes! (both glare at each other)

Beast Boy: I saw him! He's that way! I'm right, you're wrong! End of story! (swimming where he indicated) If you don't believe me, see you later!

Aqualad: I'm telling you, he's this way! If you want to go that way, be my guest, but I'm going to catch Trident!

(He points off at the appropriate moments, then swims in his direction after finishing the line. Dissolve to another part of this grotto. As he advances, columns of flame and steam shoot up from the ground; undersea geysers spout off. After he has passed o.c., Trident emerges from within the boiling fumes and sets off in pursuit. Cut to Aqualad, who suddenly finds himself on the receiving end of a tackle just like the one he laid on the evildoer. More steam blows across the screen; when the view clears, we see Beast Boy sulking along the path he has chosen.)

Beast Boy: Pretty-boy know-it-all showoff. Thinks he's so--

Trident: (from o.c.) Worthless scum! (Cut to him, standing up with the trident again in his hand.) You cannot defeat perfection!

Beast Boy: How many of those fork thingies do you have?

(The wielder just snarls and unloads a few blasts that cause Beast Boy to almost tie himself in knots as he dodges. Trident fires again and again to send the green kraken running for cover. As the aggressor closes in, Beast Boy turns into a turtle and yanks his head and legs into the shell. Now the trident is thrust at him, but its points merely clang off the hard carapace; a follow-up blast does no damage but sends him hurtling through the dark depths. Trident drifts after him.)

Trident: I will win! I always win! I am superior!

(Out of the blackness shoots a claw that locks onto the wooden shaft. Beast Boy, now a giant crab, is hauled up.)

Beast Boy: And I thought Aqualad had a big ego.

(He lashes out with his other claw. Wipe to the geyser patch, where Aqualad drops into view to land flat on his back. Rubbing his head, he looks up and finds Trident hurling himself downward, namesake at the ready. Aqualad gets out of the way just in time and immediately has to dodge a bolt. Trident loses track of him, but only for a moment until the blue-and-black-skinned fighter darts back in and kicks him in the head. The trident and its user go flying in different directions; the former lands, points down, and sticks among the fire spurts.)

(Both swimmers charge toward it, but Trident gets his hand out to reach first. Close-up of the shaft; he closes his fingers around it. Pull back as he yanks it out of the muck and takes a couple of swings that barely miss the blue-scaled chest. Next, he pulls it back over his shoulder for a couple of home-run swings that come a hair short of giving Aqualad a high-speed appendectomy. More lunges push him back toward the edge of one geyser, and he loses his balance and stumbles near the lip.)

(Trident raises the fork to impale the half-prone figure, who seizes the head to stop it just inches from his face. The two struggle, Trident gradually pushing the points toward their target, and then Aqualad does a quick sidestep and releases his grip. With his force not meeting any more resistance, Trident is flung forward into the geyser, which blows its top right on cue. The steam clears to leave Aqualad standing alone. He makes a beeline for a patch of light shining down from an opening above. Fade to white, then snap to black.)

Act Three

(Opening shot: a cavern similar to the one Aqualad calls home, but darker; this was the source of the light seen at the end of Act Two, with a rocky shore at the water's edge. He jumps out and comes across Beast Boy, who is back in human form. Both gasp, surprised.)

Beast Boy and Aqualad: I just saw Trident!... No, you didn't!... Yes, I did! (Sight gag: flames in the background.) Cut it out! (Gag ends.)

Beast Boy: I don't care what you saw! I fought Trident!

Aqualad: That's impossible!

Beast Boy: (vein throbbing on his forehead) Okay, dude.

(His arms flailing, he tries to hit Aqualad, but a long arm and a hand planted on his head stop him from getting close enough to do so.)

Beast Boy: What is your problem?

Aqualad: What is your problem? We're supposed to be on the same side, but you treat me like an enemy!

Beast Boy: I don't need you on my side! This was my mission until you showed up! (He lets up and pushes Aqualad's hand away.) You think you're so cool, but I've got a news flash for you. You're not better than me!

Aqualad: I don't think I'm better than you!

Beast Boy: (stunned) You don't?

Aqualad: Maybe you're better than me. Who cares? I just want to catch Trident. And to do that, we need to stop fighting and start working together.

(He walks o.c. in a huff, but Beast Boy's brain has just slipped into gear.)

Beast Boy: Working together... (goes after Aqualad) Aqualad! (Cut to both.) What if there's more than one Trident?

Aqualad: Don't be ridiculous. How could there be--?

Beast Boy: I know, but what if there is? If he found a way to copy himself? He could be in two places at once. There wouldn't be just one Trident. There'd be...

(A large glob of yellow slime falls onto his face to cut him off. Wiping himself clean, he looks toward the ceiling, as does Aqualad, and the camera tilts up quickly to show a forest of large, gooey, translucent globules suspended there. Each has the outline of a figure inside.)

Aqualad: (from o.c.) ...Thousands.

(Close-up; the figures are revealed to be clones of Trident, seemingly asleep. One opens its eyes and growls softly. Back to the two heroes.)

Beast Boy: Uh-oh.

Aqualad: One Trident is bad...

Beast Boy: ...But this is...

(On the next line, cut to the area of the cavern in front of them. The entire ceiling is covered with these sacs, and a horde of Tridents stands ready to fight. The "impossible" attacks and maneuvering seen up to this point need no further explanation.)

Tridents: ...An army!

(Pull back. The hazardous waste drums from the sunken freighter stand in groups, with pipes running from them up to the forest of developing clones to nourish them. The multitudes on the ground roar and run at Beast Boy and Aqualad, who brace for a full-scale throwdown and charge. Some are armed, others empty-handed. Aqualad knocks out a couple of them, dodging blasts from the trident held by another before levering it upward. One of the sacs is blown open; the Trident inside drops into the fray.)

(Beast Boy, now a polar bear, rushes in and raises an enormous paw. One clone tumbles to the ground, then another, and then a third raises his weapon and fires. Beast Boy is flung backward to crash into a console. Several drums of waste are connected to it, and on the screen is a red-letter message: "Hatching Sequence Beginning." Sparks fly after he hits; back in human form, he stands up and rubs his head, and a big drop of sweat rolls down his temple.)

Beast Boy: (chuckles sheepishly) Oops. (Aqualad fetches up next to him.) Great.

(Cut to a knot of Tridents.)

Trident 1: My brilliant plan is already a success.

Trident 2: If one of me was perfect...

Trident 3: ...why not make more?

Trident 4: You can never have too much of a good thing. (Pan to others.)

Trident 5: Once my army conquers Atlantis...

Trident 6: ...I will declare war on the surface world! (Cut to the two good guys, then back as he continues.) Everyone on the planet will bow down before me...

Tridents: ...and praise my perfection!

Aqualad: (to Beast Boy) Any bright ideas?

Beast Boy: Just one. Try to keep up. (to Tridents) So, if you're all perfect, which one of you is the best?

Tridents: I am!...Huh?

Aqualad: Come on. You can't all be the best. One of you must be better than the others.

Trident 7: I am the original! I am the best!

Trident 8: You are not the original!

Tridents: I am!

Trident 9: Nonsense, you inferior fools! I am perfection! I am Trident!

(A brawl breaks out. Cut to Beast Boy and Aqualad, who watch with great satisfaction the chaos they have provoked and wince at the sound of the ruckus. When it dies down, dazed or unconscious Tridents are sprawled everywhere on the cavern floor. Behind the pair, the word "Beginning" on the console panel has changed to a countdown clock that is nearly at zero.)

Aqualad: Great idea.

Beast Boy: Kinda got it from you. Now we just have to stop those clones from hatching.

(They turn to the panel, which flashes as the final three seconds tick away. At zero, the clock is replaced by the word "Begin.")

Beast Boy and Aqualad: Too late!

(Screeches and yowls from above draw their attention; the newly matured Trident clones strain at the membranes holding them and break through. Beast Boy turns into a hippopotamus and barrels into these ranks, knocking them every which way like bowling pins. He heads toward the water's edge, with Aqualad close behind, and both dive in; he becomes a swordfish upon submerging. Several members of the fresh crop go in after the pair, who are doing the underwater equivalent of burning rubber.)

Aqualad: We can't let them escape! We have to find some way of sealing the exit!

Beast Boy: Right now, I'm just worried about getting to the exit.

(The opposition, now out in full force, is making it a horse race. Beast Boy and Aqualad charge at the patch of light that marked the cavern's entrance earlier and get clear of the place, and then, as the Tridents pull closer, a very familiar silhouette pulls into view. They stop short.)

Tridents: Huh?

(Close-up; it is the T-Sub, back in proper working order thanks to Tramm's efforts. Two huge beams, issuing from emitters on the bow, slice the water and strike the upper edge of the cavern entrance. There is a mighty flash, which clears to show broken rock pouring down from the blast zone to wall up the pathway.)

Robin: Yes!

Raven: Cool!

Starfire: (flashing V-for-Victory hand sign) Victory!

Cyborg: Boo-yah! Seismic blasters worked like a charm! (gives a thumbs-up) Nice repair job, Tramm.

(The fish-boy of the hour is in Beast Boy's cockpit; he waves his fists and blabbers happily in gratitude. Beast Boy, now a squid, and Aqualad look toward the T-Sub's handiwork.)

Beast Boy: Good thing Trident likes himself so much, 'cause I'm thinking he won't see anybody else for a looong time.

(Dissolve to the exterior of the Tower, then to Aqualad, Tramm, and the three male Titans standing among the rocks near the island's shore. It is now the next day, and Beast Boy is back in human form. During the following line, Raven and Starfire pop up; they are again thoroughly lovestruck as when they first clapped eyes on the Atlantean in Act One.)

Robin: (to Aqualad) Consider yourself an honorary Teen Titan.

(Close-up of the honoree on the end of this; Robin hands him a communicator that plays the opening phrase of the show's theme as its "ringtone." The device is disc-shaped, yellow around the edge, and black in the center with a large white T. He smiles calmly at the gift as Raven and Starfire practically hang over his shoulder to look at it. On the next two lines, they shift position a couple of times to keep Aqualad in plain sight.)

Robin: We couldn't have done it without you. Thanks.

Aqualad: Right back at you. It's good to know there's people up here I can trust.

Cyborg: (to Tramm) And it's good to know there's folks down there who can fix a hyperjet.

(Tramm replies with a hearty bit of gibberish that ends in an easily recognizable "boo-yah" as he taps his fists against Cyborg's. Now Aqualad makes eye contact with the girls.)

Aqualad: Bye, Raven...Starfire.

Raven: (flustered) It was...nice to meet you.

Starfire: Oh, very, very, very nice!

(She leans into him hard enough to push him o.c.; he ends up next to Beast Boy.)

Beast Boy: What can I say, dude? You're the best.

Aqualad: Nah. You're the best.

Beast Boy: Yeah, you're right. (stretches) And if you ever want me to prove it, I'm always up for a race.

Aqualad: (patting his head) Just try and keep up.

(Pull back to frame the others at a distance in the background. The two rivals, turned reluctant partners, turned fast friends run toward the camera in an impromptu sprint. Freeze frame; they are shoulder to shoulder and smiling broadly, and fade to black.)