Homecoming - Part 1/Transcript

Prologue

(Opening shot: an overhead view of a rambling castle set on a cliff that overlooks a wide river and a mountainous countryside. It is evening. Zoom in very slowly to the sound of an urgent male voice.)

Voice: Inside these walls is the most sinister weapon the Brotherhood of Evil has ever created.

(A camera-shaking explosion flashes out from one of the ramparts. Cut to a close-up of the spot; the screen is full of smoke, but clears to show five figures at a freshly blasted hole in the masonry. One is a large android garbed only in a black shorts and a matching harness strapped across the chest; the belt and strap buckle are magenta. The other four are human, three male and one female, sporting the same outfit as Beast Boy, black/magenta bodysuits, gray belts and gloves, along with calf-length black boots trimmed in magenta.)

(The woman's shoulder-length brown hair is held back by a black Alice band, and her outfit ends in a short magenta skirt. On one side of her stands a wiry man who wears no gloves; his head and forearms are wrapped, mummy-like, with many turns of gray cloth. To her other side is a much better built fellow whose chest is emblazoned with a large lightning bolt, his head protected by a magenta helmet with two short antennae and his eyes set behind a mask attached to its brim.)

(In the order described, these four are: Robotman, a.k.a. Cliff Steele; Elasti-Girl, a.k.a. Rita Farr; Negative Man, a.k.a. Larry Trainor; and Mento, a.k.a. Steve Dayton. The fifth member of the group is none other than Beast Boy, but looking a bit smaller and more scrawny than we have seen him. In addition, he wears a magenta hood and gray eye mask that reaches to cover his pointed ears. Evidently, this scene is set some time before the beginning of the series. The next line, spoken by Mento, matches the voice heard in the opening shot.)

[Animation goof: Negative Man's belt has no buckle in this shot.]

Mento: It must be destroyed!

(Pull back. They are standing at one end of a corridor, and several guards race in to confront the five. Close-up, side view: weapons are readied against them.)

Mento: (from o.c.) Doom Patrol, move out!

(Elasti-Girl is first to get in their faces, stopping just short and straining mightily, and her body begins to elongate dramatically in response. Close-up of the guards' silhouettes as her shadow extends over every last one of them, then pull back. Now her head nearly brushes the ceiling, her figure still keeping its original proportions even at this height. She brings one enormous boot down on the deck plates, generating a tremor that rips along the corridor to send the guards flying every which way like bowling pins.)

(After all have hit the floor, the Patrol races ahead and into a connecting passage; Elasti-Girl is back to normal size. A door slides shut behind them to seal off the retreat. Cut to a point farther down the way, where two huge pistons slam together horizontally like pile drivers. Pull back; now two buzzsaw blades xwing from floor to ceiling, and two serrated steel plates slam together over and over. The three-way combo of death brings the group up short for a second before Robotman takes action.)

Robotman: (races ahead) Out of my way! This one's mine!

(He voices a growing roar of fury as he approaches the gauntlet. Cut to the other four, who shield their faces from a series of o.c. explosions and showers of sparks and debris; the metal hero doing his thing-then to a door just behind the entire assembly. Several guards have gathered here, ready to attack, but are hurled backward when the thick steel barrier blows off its hinges and into their faces. Now the Patrol enters a large, warehouse-like chamber at whose far end stands a piece of machinery topped by a large metal hoop. Three spherical emitters are attached to this, pointing inward.)

Mento: This is it. (Close-up of the hoop; he continues o.c.) The quantum generator.

(Tilt down slowly to frame the entire device, then cut to Negative Man. His tone of voice is enough to make one think that he and Raven could be related.)

Negative Man: You mean that hunk of junk makes black holes?

Mento: (placing fingers to temples) I don't intend to find out.

(He closes his eyes and concentrates intently; a moment later, the lids pop open to expose brilliant blue light and a wave of mental energy pours forth from the helmet. A small panel on the front of the generator is his target, and it pops loose in short order. A close-up reveals a large vacuum tube inside that contains a tiny, flashing, floating object. Cut back to Mento and pull back to frame Beast Boy alongside.)

Mento: Beast Boy!

Beast Boy: Sir! Yes, sir!

Mento: (hand to shoulder) Just like we practiced. Peregrine falcon! Now!

(He points ahead and the youth promptly fills the request, soaring straight and true toward the opened panel-but before he can reach it, something huge and black crashes down on him. Upon hitting the floor, it resolves into a colossal gorilla with a bandolier strung across its chest, and it has Beat Boy in one massive fist. We have just met Monsieur Mallah, who raises the captive-back in human form and straining uselessly against that pulverizing grip.)

(Behind both of them, a platform rises from the ground, carrying with it a control panel and something smallish enclosed in a transparent glass container. Close-up: it is a disembodied human brain in a fluid-filled bell jar, and it is connected to this setup. Robotman addresses it.)

Robotman: Tell your pet monkey to let the kid go, Brain.

(It speaks through a voice synthesizer.)

Brain: You are hardly in a position to demand anything, Robotman.

(Cut to the four Patrollers on the end of this, then pull back to a letterbox view, top half of the screen.)

Brain: In just a few moments, my quantum generator will be fully operational-and the Doom Patrol will be its first victim.

(Fullscreen: the fluid goes bright green and bubbles vigorously-the Brain thinking out its next move-and a light on the control panel flicks on in response. The three emitters on the generator crackle to life, throwing sparks into the center of the hoop, and the camera pulls back to frame the entire tableau.)

Brain: Monsieur Mallah, crush him.

Mento: Beast Boy! Change!

(The shape-shifter becomes a dog, a lemur, a monkey; no luck breaking free. Cut to Mento, Elasti-Girl, and Robotman.)

Elasti-Girl: Steve! He needs help! (Mento puts out an arm to stop her.)

Mento: He'll have to fend for himself, Rita. (Pull back to frame Negative Man as well.) All of you! Take out that generator! Go!

(They move in, but get barely five steps away before blinding bolts of energy freeze them in their tracks. A longer shot of the area reveals two blasters that have sprung up on either side; these rise toward the ceiling on telescoping poles. Meanwhile, Mallah has squeezed all the air-and nearly all the life-out of Beast Boy, who is back in human form.)

Brain: Monsieur Mallah, if you please?

(The overgrown primate dumps the little guy on the floor and proceeds to vault up onto the Brain's elevated control platform. On the next line, pull back to frame the immobilized Mento in front of it.)

Brain: You've been a most agreeable adversary, Mento. Farewell.

(Longer shot: the four Patrollers have been lifted clear of the tiles by the rising blasters. Pull back as Beast Boy comes to and gets a good eyeful of just how badly things are going.)

Mento: (straining on every word) Beast Boy, it's creating a black hole! Destroy that machine! (Beast Boy looks at it.)

Beast Boy: (frightened) It's...it's too big! I can't!

Mento: You must! Do it now!

(The unnerved green guy gives the generator a second look; now the aforementioned black hole starts to grow at the center of the emitters' energy streams and suck in everything within reach. Slow pan across the captives in full agony, then back to him.)

Beast Boy: (closing eyes) Think big...think big... (Extreme close-up of one.) ...think big...

(It pops wide open, takes on a reptilian character, and grows suddenly. Pull back to show that he has become a tyrannosaurus rex and started off across the room-toward his teammates, not the generator, however. Two sweeps of his gargantuan tail reduce the blasters to scrap and set the others free, whereupon he resumes human form and tumbles down beside them. Mento straightens up and eyes the newborn black hole.)

Mento: Negative Man! Go! (He gets up.)

Negative Man: Yeah, I'm on it.

(A black duplicate of himself emerges from his chest-very similar to Raven's "soul self"-and dives neatly into the panel Mento opened up. A moment later, two explosions obliterate the entire generator. Up on the platform, the Brain has been removed from its perch by the control panel; pan to Mallah, who holds it-still in the bell jar. The big ape backs up uncertainly from the edge, but the camera pulls back slightly to frame a pair of boots balanced on the railing and the next shot puts them on Mento's feet.)

Mento: It's over, Brain.

Brain: You may have destroyed the machine, but you will never stop the mind.

(A green, bubbling burst of thought activates a control, which in turn opens a hatch beneath Mallah's feet. This seals itself once he and the Brain have dropped out, but Mento's brainpower rips it open again. Cut to just inside the long vertical shaft and pull back as he peers into it, then back to the railing. One big hand grips it, then the other, and he voices a frustrated little groan before others gather nearby. Negative Man has put body and soul back together.)

Negative Man: (impressed) Way to go, kid.

Beast Boy: Mento, I did it! I got bigger!

Mento: The only thing you did is disobey a direct order. I told you to destroy the generator, not save us! (This deflates everyone.)

Robotman: Oh, give the kid a break.

Elasti-Girl: (puts her hands on Beast Boy's shoulders) Steve, please.

Mento: (floats down to the ground) Rita, the boy won't listen! (to Beast Boy) Beast Boy, you'll never be a part of this team unless you can learn to follow orders. (Extreme close-up of his mouth.) Do I make myself clear?

(The kid in question curls one hand into a fist, squeezes tighter and tighter as if trying to choke the boss into a coma-and then drops his head.)

Beast Boy: Yes, sir. I understand.

(Cut to a letterbox view of the team, standing before the smoking wreck, and fade to black.)

OPENING THEME

Act One

(Opening shot: a closed curtain, against which a sign bearing the following words is lifted into view.)

Beast Boy: (from o.c.) Beast Boy's All Star Prop Comedy Revue! (It is lowered; he pops up in close-up.) I know what you're thinking.

(Pull back. The curtain has been set up in the kitchen of Titans Tower, and he sits in a bathtub in front of it.)

Beast Boy: There's nothing more annoying than when you can't play your tuba in the bathtub.

(Pull back again. The audience consists of Robin, Cyborg, and Raven at the table; one sleeping, one barely awake, one reading.)

Raven: More annoying than this?

(On this line, Cyborg nods off, blowing a spit bubble as he begins to snore. However, Starfire immediately appears from out of nowhere, in "Super Deformed" style and full size, and is eager to see what comes next.)

Starfire: Shhh! Please, continue.

(Now Beast Boy has put on a pair of swim goggles, and a snorkel tube extends up from within the tub to his mouth.)

Beast Boy: Well, that won't be a problem if you have a tuborkel.

(He holds up the whole thing; an ordinary tuba whose lead pipe has been extended in the manner just seen.)

Beast Boy: Get it? It's part tuba, part snorkel. Tuborkel. Huh? Well?

(He blats out the opening lick of the show's theme, eliciting more snores and spit bubbles from the sleeping pair and a groan from Raven. Starfire, back to normal style, is still positively entranced, though. Cut to the entrance hall; something punches its way in through the front door and zooms toward the camera, revealing itself as a basketball-sized gray sphere with a monitor set in its surface. After a brief stop to check the place out, it lifts off toward the ceiling and bashes straight through it.)

(Close-up of a screen on which the following two words flash red.)

Computer: Intruder alert.

(Pull back. It is the window/screen, night has fallen, and everyone except the goofball has woken up and gathered to see what is going on.)

Computer: Intruder alert.

Cyborg: All right! We're under attack!

(Beast Boy gives him a disgusted look, dropping his goggles and stupid underwater horn, a moment before the flying object carves itself a path through the operations center door. Sonic canon and starbolts are at the ready, but it stops a few feet short of the Titans and does absolutely nothing of a hostile nature for a moment.)

Cyborg: So, uh... (disarms) ...why isn't it attacking?

Beast Boy: (out of the tub, really glum) Because it's for me.

(Profile of the others; Starfire cools down her hands, and the camera pans across to the kitchen. The unwilling recipient of this little visit turns to face the sphere and is subjected to a head-to-toe scan, after which Mento appears on the screen. A bit of static disrupts the transmission.)

Mento: Beast Boy, if this locator pod has found you, then you know what it means.

Beast Boy: The Doom Patrol's in trouble.

(Wipe to a pan across the treetops of a dense forest during the day. The T-Ship cruises into view, flying low over the prolific foliage.)

Mento: (voice over) Our last location was in the Amazon jungle. You should begin your search there. Beast Boy, you know what must be done.

(Close-up of a monitor in the vessel that shows his face.)

Mento: I'm counting on you.

(Pull back; this is in Beast Boy's cockpit, and he regards the display with more resignation than determination.)

Robin: What could have happened to them?

Beast Boy: It's the Brotherhood of Evil. After we stopped their black hole machine years ago, they went underground. Mento must have finally found them.

(A blip comes up on the radar screen; Cyborg leans in over it.)

Cyborg: Hey, guys, I'm picking something up.

(The T-Ship swoops in lower and makes a neat landing that barely rustles the leaves of the nearby trees. Dissolve to a ground-level patch of the forest, the vessel parked in the background, and pan through the area; the Titans are on the move, but mostly hidden from view by the thick undergrowth in the fore. Stop on a large patch of bushes that fills the entire screen; after a moment, this lot is swept aside from behind to expose the five. All gasp in shock, looking up o.c.)

Starfire: Beast Boy, is this--?

Beast Boy: (stepping forward) The Doom Patrol's ship.

(Cut to behind him and tilt up to frame the object of everyone's attention: a high-altitude cruiser that has suffered a complete wipeout in the jungle. Little but the tail section is immediately recognizable; the whole thing has been rusting in the tropical environment for some time.)

Beast Boy: (now o.c.) Or what's left of it. (Close-up of Cyborg's forearm panel, showing bar graphs.)

Cyborg: (from o.c.) Well, nobody's home.

(He lowers the arm; back to him, Robin, and Raven.)

Robin: Then we start looking.

Raven: They could be anywhere. (Pan to the other two.)

Beast Boy: Then we'll look everywhere.

(He takes the lead, hustling into the forest and leaving the others at a loss for a moment or two before they fan out. From here, dissolve to Beast Boy, clearing a few branches out of the way and exposing the rest of the Titans nearby. Now loyalty to his old crew has sullenly reasserted itself as he keeps walking point.)

Starfire: This Patrol of Doom-why do you never speak of them?

Cyborg: Seriously. The Doom Patrol are legends. You gotta have some good stories.

Beast Boy: It was something I did once. I'm a Titan now. (suddenly annoyed) You're moving too slow!

(He pulls the same avian quick change Mento called for in the prologue and soars along, leaving four puzzled Titans in his wake.)

Raven: He's acting strange, even for Beast Boy.

Robin: I think he's just worried. The Doom Patrol raised him. They're like his family.

Beast Boy: (from o.c.) NOOOO!!

(Cut to a clearing and pull back to frame him, in human form and staring up openmouthed, as the other four catch up, then cut to behind him. One of Robotman's legs hangs motionless in view; tilt up and pull back to frame the rest of him-out of commission, body panels cracked, lashed to a huge tree with vines. A sign hangs around his neck: "Trespassers Beware!")

Beast Boy: (shaking leg) Robotman! Come on! Wake up! It's me, Beast Boy! (over shoulder) Cyborg, you have to fix him!

Cyborg: I'll do everything I can.

(Out comes his fingertip acetylene torch as he crosses the clearing. The inert metal form is pulled down from the tree and propped up; now the torch and its other-hand duplicate are put to work on the buckle of Robotman's chest harness. After a couple of seconds, ti slides open in sections to expose the circuit boards underneath. More welding takes place for the uneasy audience of four, after which the camera cuts to a close-up of the android.)

Cyborg: (from o.c.) I'm picking up brain waves. (Forearm panel lifted into view, showing EEG.) He's alive in there...somewhere.

Starfire: (confusedly) Brain waves?

Cyborg: (from o.c.) The only part of him that's actually alive. (The still face.) The rest is just machine. (Tilt down to the open circuitry.) In a lotta ways, he's a prototype of me.

(One index finger reaches into view toward the central button.)

Cyborg: (from o.c.) Cross your fingers.

(A press powers up the system and causes the panel to close itself; in due time, Robotman's eyes and neck joint begin to glow pure white-the repair job has succeeded. He sits bolt upright, scaring off Cyborg and Beast Boy.)

Robotman: Mento! I'm on my way! (He breaks into a flat run.)

Beast Boy: Robotman, stop!

(The really big man pays no mind; Robin ducks out of the way just in time to avoid getting bulldozed into the grass. One tree after another is punched apart, scaring away flocks of birds and throwing up enough dust to filter through the topmost layers of the forest canopy. Close-up of a laser emitter on the ground, set up for a tripwire; his foot breaks the beam, and several blasters pop up from beneath the grass and open fire. Shots rain all around Robotman and burst ineffectively against his toughened steel carapace as he continues his charge.)

(A building sits at a distance behind all the weapons, which are ranged in a double row flanking the main approach. The muzzles rotate to track Robotman's movements, with the unfortunate result that the two in each facing pair end up blowing each other away. Only two are left firing, one on either side of the door, and their shots seem to give him a brief bit of trouble. However, he gets clear with a mighty leap and yell, pounds one gun into junk, and vaults across to smash the other one off its mountings.)

(Directly above the door is one more gun that has not fired a single shot throughout the entire fusillade. Cut to a close-up of it, then to its "camera eye" perspective of the clearing smoke. Once Robotman is fully exposed, the view zooms in a bit and the crosshairs center squarely on him-but before it can fire, he hurls himself straight at the lens. The screen flashes white from his impact, after which the camera cuts to a long shot of the building and its demolished defense systems.)

(The view shifts to within the structure and pulls back from the door as it is hurled inward off the hinges. At a short distance is a large, ceiling-mounted emitter aimed directly at the patch of floor beneath it; down here is a small circular platform with a holder of some type set in its center. The assembly has sustained extensive damage, but there is no immediate clue as to who or what caused it.)

Robotman: (entering) Mento! Elasti-Girl!

(His perspective, panning slowly across the darkened expanse; it is badly lit by the sun's rays, and control panels line the walls. When the camera cuts back, he moves in and the Titans bring up the rear.)

Beast Boy: Cliff, what's going on? (Cut to just behind him.)

Robotman: (looking around platform/walls) An ambush...came outta nowhere...Negative Man! They can't have gotten far.

Cyborg: (from o.c.) Robotman! (Shift to frame the Titans.) I had to reset your internal chronometer when I repaired you. You've been offline.

Robotman: (calming down) How long? (He approaches angrily.) I said, how long?

(He glares down at Beast Boy with all the fierceness his steel face will allow. Cut to a close-up of the wide-eyed green teen and zoom in slowly for a long moment before he finally works up an answer.)

Beast Boy: Five months.

(Fade to black.)

Act Two

(Opening shot: a long shot of the building's smoking exterior.)

Robotman: (from inside) Five months?!?

(Extreme close-up of a control panel inside; his fist bashes the housing into splinters. Pan to frame the rest of him, back turned to the Titans.)

Robotman: I was shut down for five months?!? Why'd they have to build me with an OFF switch?

Cyborg: Don't be so hard on yourself. By the looks of things, you really took a pounding.

Robotman: We should've been able to handle it. We always do. (to Beast Boy, eyeing Titans) This is your new group? It's just a buncha kids!

Beast Boy: Nice to see you too, Cliff.

Robotman: Sorry, squirt. They got us good, kid. We thought we had 'em.

Beast Boy: It's not too late, Cliff. We can still find 'em.

Robotman: You better believe we will. I'm gonna squash that Brain if it's the last thing I do. (He socks one fist into his other palm on the end of this.)

Raven: I think he was talking about finding the Doom Patrol.

Robotman: (off guard) Uh? Ri-uh, right.

(A distant tremor brings the conference to a sudden end, drawing everyone's attention to the forest and scaring flocks of birds into the sky. Two distant trees topple slowly out of view in much the same way that Robotman bashed through the jungle to reach this place.)

Robin: Take cover. We don't know what we're up against.

Cyborg: (pointing o.c.) Uh, you might want to tell that to him.

(The gang looks out in that direction; cut to a patch of clearing, across which the metal man is running at full speed toward the source of the disturbance.)

Raven: (from o.c.) You sure he has a brain in there?

(Back to Beast Boy, whose jaw drops full open for a second. What happens next is a genuine surprise to the others: he leads the charge and steals Robin's line.)

Beast Boy: Titans! Go!

Robin: You heard him. Go!

(All follow him out. In the jungle, a stand of trees is sheared through near ground level from behind by a huge buzzsaw. The toppling trunks reveal the blade to be attached to the front of some vehicle; pull back to frame all of it-colossal, built like a tank, with two long, clawed arms on the upper portion that throw the trees backward. Assorted small implements of destruction are arrayed on the front chassis above the main blade. The cause of the tremors and falling timber is quite clear now. When it has rolled ahead and o.c., a second vessel can be seen trailing; this one looks like a giant mine cart on tank treads and is catching the trees flung at it by the cutter.)

(Robotman voices a yell as he leaps toward the encroachers. One set of claws tries to snap him out of the air, but he catches hold and uses all his strength to keep them forced apart. After some seconds of this stalemate, the cutter's upper portion swivels on a central pivot and hurls him back to the grass. Once he has come up into a crouch and cleared his head, he spots one arm coming back down, but too late to sidestep; the impact throws up a wall of dust and leaves him flat on his back. Looking up, he finds one of the auxiliary weapons-a pair of small buzzsaws-angling themselves down toward him. With only inches to go before getting the closest shave in history, he seizes the shaft to which they are attached and struggles to push it back.)

(Now Beast Boy leaps in, turning into a trumpeting elephant on the fly and bringing his weight down on the shaft. The end snaps off, spiraling over the clearing and taking the blades with it, and Robotman stands in close-up.)

Robotman: Not bad, kid. (Pull back; Beast Boy has resumed human form.)

Beast Boy: Just wait 'til you see my-

(Before he can finish the boast, one set of claws stops him cold the other bashes Robotman over the distant trees. He has barely dropped out of sight when Robin sprints in, fighting staff extended to full length. He does a swift pole vault, retracts the shaft with one hand, and whips out a handful of discs with the other; they explode against the cutter's upper hull, but when the smoke clears, there is no visible damage. Down comes Robin, who throws an unnerved look back at the thing and is greeted by the emergence of a topside laser that promptly opens fire. Boot soles pound across the clearing, the beam slicing up the grass just behind, and only a couple of limber sidesteps keep him from getting fried.)

(Now Raven gets into the fracas by levitating several loose boulders and launching them at the machine, but it swings the arms and batters them to bits effortlessly. Starfire moves in next for a machine-gun barrage of starbolts, only to be caught in a set of claws. She strains against the iron grip, finally opens it up, and trains fire from her eyes against the claws' hinge point. Last in the batting order is Cyborg; his sonic cannon's beam finds its mark against one of the tank treads, sending up thick columns of smoke. However, the contraption simply powers ahead against the blast, having taken not so much as a scratch, and he ceases fire.)

Cyborg: How do you stop this thing?

(A look back over his shoulder reveals Robotman charging back in from wherever he was thrown to. An arm swings down to flatten him, but he leaps clear and runs straight up its length after the claws bury themselves in the dirt. In no time flat, he has made it up to the transverse shaft to which the arms are connected and stopped at the laser that fired at Robin. It opens up against the armored chest, but he simply bulls his way through, lands one crushing punch against the turret to disable it, and rips its entire top half away. Tossing it aside like an old trash can lid, he hops into the vehicle-and a second or two later, an explosion belches up to mark his successful sabotage. The arm not holding Starfire is blown off, the one holding her releases its grip, and all five Titans gather amid a shower of debris. Beast Boy has become a pterodactyl, but resumes human form upon joining the group.)

Starfire: That was most...daring.

Raven: I was gonna say "unnecessary."

(Remarkably, the cutter's main chassis is still intact-but not for long, as one more blast consumes the entire thing and leaves the screen full of smoke. Through the haze emerges the massive form of Beast Boy's old teammate.)

Robin: Robotman! I know you want to stop the Brain, but we're never going to find him unless we work together.

(Letterbox, top third of the screen: one big silhouette facing down five smaller ones.)

Robin: Attacking everything that moves isn't going to help. (Fullscreen.)

Robotman: If he builds it, I'm gonna break it. That's the way we do things in the Doom Patrol. (Cut to the Titans.)

Beast Boy: Well, in case you haven't noticed- (Pull back to frame Robotman.) -this isn't the Doom Patrol.

(Close-up of the overzealous crime-fighter; brief silence, followed by a bit of grumbling. On the next line, pull back to frame Beast Boy crossing to him.)

Beast Boy: Cliff, this is the way it has to be-at least until we find Mento. (Another pause.)

Robotman: This isn't kid stuff, Beast Boy. (walking away) You think you can handle it?

(The Titans watch his back retreating over a hill for a second.)

Beast Boy: You have no idea what we can handle.

(He leads them on this way. Cut to another patch of forest, where a new cutting machine is at work harvesting trees and loading them into the motorized cart that follows. After both vehicles have gone, tilt up to frame all six travelers on a nearby ridge and cut to a close-up. Robin is surveying the scene through binoculars.)

Robotman: The Brain built these things to scavenge raw materials. He's got the whole jungle crawling with 'em. (Robin lowers the lenses.)

Robin: So if we follow one, it might lead us to the Brain.

Robotman: Well, aren't you the clever one?

(This earns him a very dirty look from the Boy Wonder. Back to ground level; two more trees are sliced through from behind and stowed away as the cutter and cart roll toward the camera, which is positioned to point through the treads. Once both have driven o.c., we can see the ridge in the background, along with specks that mark the group's descent. At treetop level, Beast Boy swoops along as a small bird and perches briefly to keep an eye on the rolling machinery. After it has rounded a curve, he sets off again and the camera tilts down to show the shadows of the other five hustling along after him.)

(On another hill, the fully loaded cart trundles up and over the crest, away from the camera. Tilt up to frame the landscape ahead of it-a wide, heavily forested canyon, with a fortress at one end built wide enough and high enough to completely block the way. The structure has a wing at each end, angled ahead to point along the canyon walls and actually built into them. Back to the six as they move in closer; Beast Boy has resumed human form.)

Robin: I'd say we found it. (Their perspective, zooming in slowly.)

Raven: Any idea what "it" is?

(Cut to a point inside, near a section of wall in a high-ceilinged workroom. Two hatches open, allowing a large oblong module to slide partway out from each; these are pulled free by long robotic arms, and the camera follows one as it is lowered toward ground level. Armed guards observe the load-in from a balcony, while two others keep watch on a large canister on the floor. At center stage: Mallah and an emitter/holder assembly just like the ruined one in the building Robotman sought out in

Act One. This rig, however, looks to be in proper order.)

(The two modules are plugged into slots on the ceiling-mounted device, after which the camera tilts down all the way. Hooked up at Mallah's eye level, connecting the upper and lower portions of the system, is a vacuum tube similar to the one at the heart of the quantum generator wrecked by the Patrol in the prologue. However, the tiny heart of it is not flashing. Mallah types at a computer keyboard as the camera zooms in past him the canister. The halves drop apart, releasing a flood of hissing vapor into the room; when it clears, the Brain stands fully exposed in its bell jar. It rests on an elevated platform that promptly lowers into a stand whose front surface is decorated with a stylized skull, and the Brain fits neatly where the upper cranium would go. The entire setup bears some resemblance to the Daleks on Doctor Who. High on the wall hang red banners with some white design that, at this distance, can only be made out as a circle atop an upside-down triangle.)

Brain: (rolling forward) It seems our work here is done. I'm so glad you could witness my moment of triumph, Mento.

(During this line, the camera cuts to behind Mallah and pans to follow the Brain as it rolls across the floor. The whereabouts of the other Patrollers are now explained-every last one of them has been captured. Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, and his black soul are imprisoned within transparent holding cells, while Mento is suspended by his wrists from a low-hanging platform; an additional cable is clamped to his helmet. Elasti-Girl's cell is spherical; those for Negative Man's halves are cylinders.)

Mento: Triumph over what? All I've seen you do is chew up jungle.

Brain: I'd forgotten. Your current circumstance prevents you from reading my mind. Then allow me to give you a taste. What you once destroyed has been rebuilt.

(On the end of this, cut to a close-up of the skull face and zoom in slowly.)

Mento: Even if that's true, you'll never get away with it.

Brain: You seem to forget, Mento. (eyes red; fluid green/bubbling) I am the one who has you.

(Its thoughts power up the platform, sparks flash from two upper antennae-matching the ones on Mento's helmet-and the camera tilts down to frame him. The energy is coursing over his entire body now, forcing teeth-locked groans from his throat; a guard stands impassively with weapon ready.)

Elasti-Girl: Leave him alone!

(She struggles to grow her way out of the cell but cannot rupture it. Negative Man's soul bounces all over the place, unable to break out, and watches the physical form standing motionless in the last cell. Pan to it.)

Negative Man: (thinking) I've been separated too long. (Close-up of the feet, tilting up.) I need to get back to my body.

(Back to the black shape, which groans and hangs its head wearily. Cut to a close-up of Mento's captive arm, which twitches uncontrollably under the power surging through it, and pan to frame his face. He raises his head with considerable effort, whereupon the camera cuts to his perspective of the impassive Brain ensconced in its menacing perch. Zoom in slowly and fade to black.)

Act Three

(Opening shot: the exterior of the jungle fortress, zooming in slowly. Night has fallen. Cut to the view through Robin's binoculars; a set of crosshairs is focused on the upper ramparts, but he swings down toward the front entrance and zooms/refocuses on two patrolling guards. From here, cut to a close-up of him; he lowers the binocs.)

[Animation goof: Starfire's armband is missing in this shot.]

Robin: From here, we split up. (Pull back; Robotman and all the Titans are on a ridge.) Cyborg, you'll take the front. Starfire and Raven, take out those guard towers. Beast Boy, you've gotta get the security door open.

(No marching orders for Robotman, at least not right away; an o.c. tremor stops Robin from getting to that point. All look off in its direction and are met by no fewer than three of the Brain's tree-cutting machines, crashing through the underbrush at full speed.)

Robotman: And what about these guys?

(Pan across the row of metal death, then cut back to the six.)

Robotman: (socks fist into the other palm) Now can I beat them up?

Robin: Titans! Go!

(All charge toward the forest wreckers. Cut to the ceiling of the fortress' huge workroom, tilt down to an overhead view of the scene, then cut to an extreme close-up of the tube at the heart of the Brain's setup. The dot at its center is no longer dark and silent; it glows brightly and throws sparks in all directions for a moment as it grows slightly. Mallah steps closer to look it over, pulls the tube loose, and carries it across the room. Stopping in front of the Brain, he kneels and holds the device out; close-up of the cerebrum, with those giant hands extended into view before it.)

Mento: (from o.c.) Congratulations. (Cut to him.) He built a battery. (Pull back.)

Brain: You mock what you couldn't possibly understand.

(Slow pan across the two villains; Mallah slips the tube into his bandolier on the next line.)

Brain: Everything is now in place. My only desire is an admission of defeat.

Mento: Not gonna happen.

Brain: Then your suffering will only be prolonged. (Cut to the three/four prisoners; it continues o.c.) We'll start with the girl.

(The skull's eyes go red, the liquid around the Brain boils green, and Elasti-Girl's cell is instantly wreathed in sparks as the camera zooms in. She gasps sharply, looking around herself for any clue as to what comes next, and gets it when the sphere around her begins to shrink rapidly.)

Elasti-Girl: Steve, it's crushing me! (Close-up of Mento.)

Mento: No!

Brain: (from o.c.) Concede. (Back to it.) Admit that I have won.

(Cut to a point near the ceiling of the workroom. Now the red banners' design can be seen in more detail; the circle on top is a skull patterned after the Brain's mobile pedestal, and the triangular portion incorporates a stylized black B and E, for "Brotherhood of Evil." Something massive crashes in through the stonework and tumbles headlong to the floor-it is one of the cutters that squared off against the Titans outside the fortress. Toppling slowly over onto its upper section, it explodes with enough force to throw a bit of a scare into Mallah.)

Robotman: (from o.c.) Won what?

(The smoke and dust slowly dissipate to reveal him standing at the hole in the wall: he hurled the thing in here.)

Robotman: Sure ain't a beauty contest. (Overhead view from behind him, tilting slightly to the Brain.)

Brain: Your tin soldier seems to be fixed, Mento.

(Close-up of said soldier, pulling back to frame the Titans alongside.)

Beast Boy: You can thank us for that.

Brain: Oh, look. The little green one. How nice. A family reunion.

(Having had quite enough computerized sarcasm for the moment, all six leap into the room. The two floor guards open fire but are tossed away by the shock wave of Robotman's landing; in the foreground, Robin comes down and rushes at several others who have come down from the balconies. Out comes his staff, which he twirls with blinding speed to deflect their shots before going up into an impossibly long roundhouse swing that knocks several guards off their feet. As soon as he comes down, though, he has to leap away again to avoid a fresh volley; now Beast Boy thunders across as a T-rex and swings his gargantuan head low to bash the shooters in all directions.)

(Several others have piled on Robotman and are trying to tear him limb from limb; he throws them off as Starfire backs past in midair, unloading a long, two-handed starbolt. Here comes Mallah, whose bared fangs and black pinpoint eyes with their yellowed whites broadcast his primal fury quite clearly. Roaring with all the power of his broad chest, he lifts both fists over his head and brings them down in an attempt to crush Robotman. A last-second jump carries the latter to safety, at which point the view cuts to letterbox, top half of the screen. More blows come his way as guards charge past the two brawlers; he then lands a punch only to get a much harder one in return that dumps him flat on his back.)

(The camera pans in the direction he has been driven as he falls, more guards racing through the area. Fullscreen: close-up of the supine Patroller, who regains his wits and looks up with a sudden, wide-eyed look of pure shock. A camera shift tells us why: Mallah is coming down from a mighty leap, both fists raised to try his original move again-but Robotman catches them just short of impact and is driven partway into the floor due to the sheer force involved. He plants a foot against the gorilla's bandolier and manages to flip him halfway down the length of the room.)

(Tilt down to floor level, where a fresh contingent of guards dashes past the Brain to shore up the defenses. They take up a position and angle their fire upward, only to get blasted away by one of Starfire's trademark screwballs. A moment later she drops into view and tosses off two more, but immediately has to vacate the spot under a shower of blasts from above. Tilt up to frame the balcony on which these guards are standing; it takes only an instant for Raven's powers to encompass all the ironwork and rip it apart like overcooked spaghetti. She flies into view for a look at her work, but a fresh barrage from below sends her diving for cover. These attackers have her dead in their sights; reaching the ceiling, she creates a spherical shield around herself and hangs out here for a bit.)

(Tilt down to Robotman, thundering across the area to another hot spot, then cut to his perspective-he has reached the cell holding Negative Man's body. All ten fingers dig into the material and shred it, releasing a swirl of vapor and allowing the immobile hero to tumble forward. Pull back; he crumples to the floor in a kneel, and now the battle royal ranges past Elasti-Girl's fishbowl. Starfire shoots here and there before bailing out, and the camera pulls back as two guards retreat toward the holding cell. Before they can reach it, though, Cyborg drops into view and slams them together, back to back; their weapons go flying and the big man dumps them unconscious to the floor. Close-up of Elasti-Girl, seen through the cell wall, as his reflection advances into view on it.)

Elasti-Girl: Good shot...whoever you are.

(Tilt down to the base; he rips a panel away, and the whole thing emits a whiff of smoke and then flips open, leaving her to tumble flat at his feet.)

Cyborg: "Whoever you are"? (helping Elasti-Girl up/leading her away) Hey, I've saved the Earth, several times!

(Pan to the cell holding Negative Man's soul. Starfire lands here, warms up eyes and hands, and crashes one supercharged fist into the wall. That single punch is enough to break a hole clear through the material; the black apparition flows out in a solid stream, past Beast Boy, Raven, and Robotman, and disappears into Negative Man's chest. He slumps over slightly with a shudder, then wraps his arms around himself as for warmth.)

Negative Man: (as Robotman helps him up) Could you have at least thawed me out first?

(The sound of a new weapon being powered up draws attention to itself, and the two Patrollers and the one telekinetic Titan clear out quick, an instant before a wide beam tears through the area. It demolishes the remains of the cells as the camera pans to follow it toward Beast Boy and Starfire. Both take flight to stay out of its path, the former becoming a hummingbird, and the camera cuts to the source; a laser cannon held by Mallah and hooked to his bandolier. Pull back to show a new battle starting up on the balcony behind him: a guard backing away as Robin closes in fast.)

(Cut to this level, where the Boy Wonder promptly gets his dance card filled when three guards move in for a shot at him. He fends them off, knocking down two and tossing the third over the side to crash through the railing. An instant later, he too has to run for it when Mallah's beam lances up and snakes toward him, tearing up the masonry in the process. Ground level: pan from the big ape to Mento, the only Patroller still held captive; he can only watch from his suspended vantage point as the battle rages everywhere.)

(The Brain rolls in a little closer, at which point the team leader exerts his powers. Cut to his mind's-eye perspective, zooming in on the motorized contraption-the view blurred and in blue-green monochrome as the camera swivels around the Brain and zooms in. When the screen is filled with gray matter, there is a sudden flash and we see Mento again, recoiling as best he can.)

Mento: No!

(The fluid in the bell jar boils green, the stand's red skull eyes glow, and the platform from which Mento hangs begins to crackle as it did when the Brain taunted him earlier. The energy courses down over his body, forcing a long, teeth-clenched groan out of him; as the Brian observes incuriously, pan slightly away to one side. Behind it drops Beast Boy, now an ankylosaurus, and he uses his weighty tail to smack the mastermind away as if playing a crazed game of T-ball. He immediately resumes human form while the Brain skids away into a knot of guards.)

(Extreme close-up of one of Mento's shackles. A green/black paw swipes across to sever it, then the other, and he ends up in a kneeling position on the floor. Tilt up to frame Beast Boy, who has assumed bear shape to cut him down; he resumes human form again.)

Beast Boy: Mento, I'm here! I got your message! (Pan slightly; behind him, Robin grapples with a guard.)

Robin: Beast Boy, look out!

(He looks across the room, just in time to get one of Mallah's shots pasted bang across his chest, and is driven back to the wall. Down he goes; cut to a long shot of the gorilla and zoom in slightly through the crowd as he lifts his weapon to high port. Pan across the other eight heroes as they regroup.)

Mento: All of you! Take 'em down!

(He unleashes a psychic blast that throws Mallah and several guards in all directions and overloads the machinery under construction. As the bodies go flying, all members of the octet get a healthy piece of the action. Several guards back up with guns blazing, but are smashed away by an enormous gray-gloved fist: Elasti-Girl has grown a few sizes again. Pull back to frame all of her as more shots flash up and she puts up both arms to protect her head. She shrinks back to normal size while Negative Man's soul flies through. The first four it can reach get knocked flat in no time; it evades two others, leaving the way clear for Starfire to take down one of them and Raven to dispatch the other.)

(Extreme close-up of Mallah's blazing muzzle, then pan/pull back as he corrects his aim. The target is Raven, who goes into a sharp climb to stay ahead of the beam and pulls out of it just short of the ceiling. Down comes Starfire, hauling Robin by the arms; she goes into her favorite human hammer throw, and as he goes hurtling down, he gets a birdarang ready. Snap to black, against which the flash of its blades sings across the screen, then in to him on the ground just in front of Mallah. The strike has sliced through the cannon's barrel, and the cut piece has barely hit the ground before Robin kicks the rest of it out of the hairy hands. He lets go with a string of blows, all of which are dodged or blocked, then somersaults away from a counterstrike.)

(One he has backed up far enough, Raven's human "soul self" rises from the floor and resolves into her usual form. She is rather taller than usual, and the reason is revealed when she opens her cloak: she has hidden Cyborg within it, and out he comes to get in on the fun. His trusty cannon speaks at full volume; cut to a shot of the suddenly surprised Mallah and zoom in on one widened eye. The screen fills with the glare of impact and clears to show a couple of surviving guards, who are swept off their feet when the oversized primate slams into them. Dust washes across the screen, then clears to show a close-up of the vacuum tube knocked loose by Mento's initial assault. It is lying on the floor amid scattered debris; tilt up to frame Mallah, collapsed senseless on top of this pile.)

(He is out for only a moment, though, and as he pulls himself upright, the camera pans to the Brain nearby and pulls back to frame several guards near the damaged central machinery. The heroes are in the background; a burst of Mento's powers clears all the enemies away, and Raven and Starfire float down to rejoin the combined teams.)

Brain: Fools rush in, don't they, Monsieur Mallah?

(A row of hatches opens up high on the wall, allowing a battery of hidden blasters to open fire. Their beams quickly set up a force field around the bunch and hem them in. Robotman's punches, Starfire's starbolts, a ramming charge from Negative Man's soul; none of these can even dent the barrier. Cut to a long shot of the overloading ceiling apparatus and tilt up slowly.)

Negative Man: (from o.c.) Oh, great.

(The camera has now reached the anchor point, and the entire rig shakes with internal explosions. Close-up of the vacuum tube on the ground; Mallah reaches into view to scoop it up, after which the view shifts to inside the force field, next to Mento's feet.)

Brain: And a thermogenic chain reaction. Well done, Mento. I couldn't have found a better end for you myself.

(On the end of this line, cut to a close-up of the helmeted leader's grim-set face. The next shot is an overhead view of the chamber; a large floor hatch at one end grinds open, and in a ground-level shot, a very large rocket is elevated up through it behind the Brain and Mallah. When it stops rising, the nose cone is just shy of a second hatch set in the ceiling, which opens slowly as the camera tilts back down to the floor.)

(Beast Boy, who has been out of commission due to that cannon shot he took in the breadbasket, finally gets to his feet with a groan. He takes in the entire scene-buddies held captive, launch imminent, villains about to get away.)

Mento: Beast Boy! Stop them!

(Before the second half of this line, the camera cuts to the nefarious pair, behind whom a hatch opens in the base of the rocket. As they turn to enter, sparks crackle at the railing far above the one free Titan's head.)

Beast Boy: (bitterly) So now I exist.

(He has no time for further recriminations, as the sparks develop into full-blown explosions. Cut to the other Titans.)

Cyborg: This place is coming down! You gotta get us out!

Starfire: Please! You must hurry! (Pan to the adult Patrollers.)

Mento: Never mind us! Get that power core!

(Beast Boy stands frozen for a moment, caught between these conflicting objectives, as pieces of the walls patter down around him. The Brain enters the rocket, while Mallah holds up the vacuum-tube power core tauntingly and finally speaks; deep slow voice with a French accent.)

Mallah: Difficult choice, is it not?

(He heads in as well. Cut back to the green shape-shifter, who does not immediately start moving even after this jibe. When he does finally shift his feet, it is in the direction of his past and present teammates, but the next two words freeze him in his tracks.)

Mento: (from o.c.) Beast Boy! (Cut to him.) Don't make the same mistake twice! (Back to Beast Boy; he continues o.c.) Do what I say!

(A look across the room shows Mallah now inside the rocket and the hatch closing. The ape's grim half-smile and overgrown lower canines are clearly revealed before he is blocked entirely from view. Looking from one side to the other, Beast Boy drops his head dejectedly for a moment and then raises it with a new, fierce determination in his eyes.)

(Cut to the exterior of the fortress. All is tranquil for a moment before most of the upper portion disappears in a series of mammoth explosions, and the camera pulls back to show Beast Boy watching from a safe distance. Close-up; Robin's hand lands on his shoulder.)

Robin: (from o.c.) You did it, Beast Boy.

(Pull back. All the other Titans are here, safe and sound, and their rescuer smiles tranquilly.)

Cyborg: And just in the nick of time.

Starfire: We are most thankful.

(Pan to bring the adult Patrollers into view, well apart from the quintet; they, too, are in one piece, but Mento does not share even a particle of the happy mood. Beast Boy looks to them, then the smoking wreck of the Brain's stronghold, and stalks off. Letterbox view, top two-thirds of the screen: he approaches his old crew.)

Beast Boy: I got everyone out safe. (Fullscreen.)

Mento: But you let the Brain get away. How could you be so foolish?

Elasti-Girl: Mento...

(He waves her off; close-up of the young man, his head dropping, and pull back as the other Titans cross to back him up.)

Robin: He saved our lives. Doesn't that mean anything to you?

Mento: No. He's only delayed our destruction.

Beast Boy: You'll keep looking for him, just like you always did...sir.

Mento: You don't understand. I read the Brain's mind, Beast Boy. He has a new quantum generator, and it works.

(This explains the mental picture we saw during his captivity. Cut to the Titans, whose happiness has suddenly gone right out the window.)

Mento: (from o.c.) The most devastating power in the cosmos is now in the hands of a madman... (Back to him.) ...because you couldn't follow orders!

(The green eyes drop again under this tongue-lashing and the unflinching glare that accompanies it.)

Mento: We've got a planet to save. Doom Patrol! Move out!

(He wheels away through the other three adults, who give Beast Boy the most sympathetic looks they can before following him. Letterbox, top two-thirds of the screen: the four exit the clearing stolidly. Fullscreen: cut to a close-up of the Titans, who are still trying to digest the very bad news that Mento has just laid on them. Pull back slowly and fade to black.)

Continued in Part Two