Prologue
(Opening shot: an overhead view of a museum gallery filled with exhibits. A slow pan from one end to the other reveals a network of laser beams extending in all directions through the space. Evidently, the hour is past closing time, and the security measures have been activated. Cut to a head-on view of the gallery from the end at which the camera stopped. A small computer console stands here, and Gizmo is lowered into view toward it on a line connected to the central unit on his back.)
(A quick midair bend puts his hands within reach of the keyboard; extending two of his favorite metal spider legs to brace himself, he types rapidly with tongue clamped between his teeth. Tilt up to the ceiling, where a tile has been removed so he could make his descent, and where five others are watching intently. Four are immediately recognizable as Billy Numerous, Jinx, Mammoth, and See-More, but the last cannot be seen too well from this distance. A close-up of the group reveals it to have pale blue-gray skin, pure red eyes, a black-edged, dark blue Batman-style cowl that angles down to cover the forehead and nose, and a virtually expressionless face. This is Kyd Wykkyd, who was among the gathering of villains at the end of "Homecoming.")
Jinx: (softly) Well, Gizmo?
Gizmo: Pffft! Easy. Security system stinks.
(Now he turns back to the computer and types with all ten fingers and both spider legs. After a moment, the camera tilts to frame the screen, on which the following two words appear.)
Computer: Access approved.
Gizmo: Check it out.
(Pull back as he presses one last key, then cut to a slow overhead pan back along the length of the gallery, starting at his end. One after another, the laser beams all shut down in response to his hacking. Back to him; Jinx drops lightly into view, followed by the other four. Kyd Wykkyd is now seen to wear a gray bodysuit, black tights and gloves, light gray belt, a black cape with blue lining on its inner surface, and black boots.)
Jinx: (softly) Gold, jewels, priceless artifacts. Way better than the mall. (normal volume) HIVE Five, rob 'em blind!
(Everyone else fans out, Gizmo disconnecting from his line, retracting the spider legs, and zooming ahead on jet thrusters. Cut to a sarcophagus standing against a wall; this is a gallery of Egyptian artifacts, as Mammoth runs up. The heavy stone lid comes loose in his hands as if it were a paper plate; he throws it aside and examines the mummy within, as well as the elaborate burial garment it wears. While he pulls it loose, See-More adjusts his eye a bit and fires a laser at a glass display case, cutting out a circular section.)
Mammoth: (as See-More removes the piece) Hey, See-More. (holds a garment to his chest) Does this make me look fat?
See-More: No way, Mammoth. It makes you look rich!
(He switches up a dollar sign for this last word, then directs his attention across the way to Kyd Wykkyd, who stands motionless before a case containing a snake scepter.)
See-More: (flicking up a laser) Need an eye, Kyd Wykkyd?
(A mute shake of the head is the only response he gets. The gray thief lifts one forearm so that the cape touches the glass; this causes it to dematerialize so he can reach in with his other hand and extract the scepter. From here, pan to Billy, hunched over four urns on a row of pedestals.)
Billy: Hoo-wee, them's some fancy jars! (He duplicates himself.)
Billy 2: I agree. I believe these should be the property of Billy Numerous. (Each duplicates again, four in all; pull back.)
Billys: Start grabbin'!
(They each pick up an urn, but are caught out when Jinx walks up; cut to just behind their heads, the camera pointing at her.)
Jinx: You know what they put in those things, don't you? (Zoom in to close-up; flames blaze behind her and she smiles evilly.) Mummy guts.
(Back to the Southern-fried quartet. One of them opens the urn he holds, all look in, and there is a collective horrified recoil as the lid is hastily clapped back on. Jinx takes her leave, and the camera cuts to a close-up of the case at the far end of the gallery. It contains an eye-shaped amulet, with a large ruby set in a gold frame as the iris. Her reflection approaches in the glass.)
Jinx: This is what I came for.
(A careless wave of one hand casts a spell that makes the entire case unfold itself, and she picks up the amulet by its cord for a closer look. Avarice permeates every facet of her expression as a slightly puzzled See-More comes over.)
See-More: Wait. Isn't that necklace supposed to bring good luck? And if you're all about the bad luck... (He blinks up a question mark.)
Jinx: (annoyed) It's just a dumb legend!
(She pushes roughly past him. Cut to just outside the museum's closed front doors, which burst open to let the looters out, all carrying spoils from the heist. Billy has merged his four selves back into one. Before they can get to the steps, something red and yellow flashes past, barely in front of the HIVE Five or Six, in this case, and freezes them in their tracks. Cut to Billy and See-More.)
See-More: Whoa! Did you see that? (Another pass; both are left empty-handed.)
Billy: Huh?
(Exclamation point in the Cyclops' eye. Cut to Gizmo and Kyd Wykkyd; the next run leaves the runt with a load of air and sets him spinning in place and yelling. His partner, meanwhile, is left holding only a tree branch instead of that snake scepter. The next shot shows Jinx, Mammoth, and See-More, and this time the rush leaves the giant's arms empty, his pants down around his ankles, and his cherry-decorated boxer shorts exposed in all their glory. Jinx and See-More are nearly blown off their feet by the wake.)
Mammoth: Huh?
(After yet another pass, the camera shifts to a close-up of her face. Completely bewildered, she looks after the departing whatever it is; pull back to show that the amulet in her hand has been replaced by a red rose, which only deepens her puzzlement.)
(Cut to a shot of the HIVE Five plus one, putting themselves back in some semblance of order and trying to figure out what in blazes has just happened. Mammoth has barely pulled his pants back up when the museum alarm goes off, throwing a true scare into everyone.)
Jinx: Run!
(They bail out. Snap to black.)
OPENING THEME
(It proceeds normally, with the English lyrics, but just before the last line of the second verse ("'Cause when the world is losing all control..."), things take a very sharp turn into left field. Namely: the music ends abruptly as the screen fills with static. This gradually gives way to a close-up of Gizmo's grinning face against a screen filled with white light, a pair of plugged-up wires in his hands; he has managed to commandeer the broadcast. He drops out of sight, after which Jinx emerges from the light, shaking a can of spray paint. She begins to spray a yellow hexagon onto the camera lens while the rest of the gang assembles.)
Jinx: We're the HIVE Five, and this is our show now.
(Jinx puts a large 5 inside the shape, then throws a hex at the camera. The image shatters into static and snaps to black.)
Act One
(Opening shot: an extreme close-up of Billy's face, a racetrack reflected in his goggles, it looks like the one from Cyborg's favorite GameStation pastime. Laughter from the human mimeograph.)
Billy: Yeah!
(His car rolls into view only to be blasted apart by a laser originating from somewhere out of view, and his face falls as the reflection disappears.)
Billy: Hey!
(Cut to a big-screen television on which the game is displayed. Four red cars with white stripes, Billy's colors, make their way along, the rearward one shooting at the rest of the pack. He can only be playing against himself, and he stands up into view, shaking his fist.)
Billy: Lay off them dadgum lasers!
(Cut to the couch he was sitting on; we can see a clone seated to either side, and the camera pans to his left.)
Billy 2: Not my fault you don't know where the shields are. (Pull back to frame all three.)
Billy: (to the one on his right) Which button is it, Billy? (Pan to show the fourth player.)
Billy 3: Left one.
Billy 4: Right. (Mammoth crosses the other end of the room, a kitchen.)
Billy 3: No, left!
(Billy 4 growls and shoves Billy 3 to the ground. As the sound of their scuffle drifts back from floor level, zoom in on Mammoth, who stops at the refrigerator and opens it. The age-old question of what to have for a snack is answered in a hurry when he picks the whole thing up and shakes the contents into his mouth. Pan away from the gorging giant to a large screen on one of the room's side walls. Gizmo is busy at a control panel, Jinx watches over his shoulder, and various images are projected here, including three shots of the blur that foiled the robbery; it now starts to look human.)
(Everything we have seen up to this point points to the fact that this is the HIVE Five's hideout, a small bit of which was glimpsed at the end of "Mother Mae-Eye." Right now, the action is taking place in an operations center similar to the one in Titans Tower.)
Gizmo: It was probably those crud-munching Teen Titans.
(Now Gizmo is concentrating on one shot of the indistinct figure, with Speedy's image alongside for comparison. During the next line, the word "Negative" superimposes itself on the archer, who is replaced by a succession of other heroes, each of which is similarly rejected. Some are well known, while others have appeared only in the montage at the end of "Homecoming.")
Jinx: It can't be. They're still away fighting the Brotherhood of Evil. And the Titans East got called back to Steel City.
(Recall that this team dropped in, at Cyborg's request, to keep an eye on Jump City in "For Real." Cut to Jinx; she straightens up and glares at the rose that was slipped to her.)
Jinx: I want to know who did this. I want to find them and I want to make them pay. (The flower wilts; pull back to frame Gizmo.)
Gizmo: (taunts and rocks back and forth) Somebody has a boyfriend--
(He trails off into a surprised yell as she makes the chair's support vanish and he crashes to the floor. Now Mammoth comes over, having eaten his fill and put the fridge back in place.)
Mammoth: So we got busted. What's the big deal?
(Cut to her disgusted face, a piece of his shoulder just in view.)
Mammoth: (from o.c.) We get busted all the time.
Jinx: We didn't just get busted. Whoever did this was messing with us.
(This earns her a pair of thoroughly perplexed stares from Gizmo and Mammoth, while the Billys pay no mind whatever and continue with their game. One even makes sounds to imitate his car's lasers.)
Jinx: (with mounting frustration; a vein throbs under her hair) How do you guys expect the Brotherhood of Evil to take us seriously if this keeps happening?!?
(Cut to the couch, putting these three in the background; one of the Billys is in view at the fore.)
Billy 1: (disdainfully) Pffft! Brotherhood of Evil. (Pan to another Billy.)
Billy 2: Yeah! All those old-timers ever talk about is takin' over the world. (Pan back; a third leans in.)
Billy 3: (laughs and pulls Billy 1's skull free to expose his brain) Brain in a jar? (Pan forward; the last one knuckle, walks in, face apelike.)
Billy 4: Talkin' gorillas? (Billy 2 straightens up.)
Billy 2: Bo-o-o-rin'! (Pan to Billy 1, head back together.)
Billy 1: I don't even know why they care about us.
Jinx: (still fed up) Maybe the Brain thinks we have potential! (Groan; a map appears on the screen behind her.) I don't know why I hang around with you nitwits.
(An alarm and red emergency flashers cut in right about here to kick her out of this sulk. She turns toward the display; pan to Gizmo, who eyes it as well, then pull back to frame Mammoth looking on and Jinx gone. Five spots light up.)
Gizmo: We got multiple targets. An armored car on Main, three jewelry stores, and a taco stand.
(As he lists these, Billy and See-More race up-the former back to just one of himself-and Kyd Wykkyd materializes alongside them. Icons appear next to the targets in time with Gizmo's listing: one dollar sign, three diamonds, one taco. Close-up of Mammoth.)
Mammoth: (eagerly, leans to Gizmo) Ooh, I'll take that one! (Pan to Billy and Kyd Wykkyd.)
Billy: Yee-ha! It's time for crime!
(Dissolve to a close-up of a large pink eyeball floating slowly through the night sky. It swivels here and there, taking its time and tethered to a thick line or cable; tilt down to show See-More on the other end several yards below. The eye is his own, grown to giant size, and he is being towed on the other end of its optic nerve at roof level in Jump City. Cut to a long shot of him and tilt down to the street, where an armored car, the one Gizmo spotted rolls into view and around a corner.)
(Back to the gigantic orb, which focuses in the vehicle's direction, then cut to See-More's perspective and zoom in on its course. The eye again; the iris goes black, the pupil white-starting up the see-through vision he tried to use against Starfire in "Mother Mae-Eye." The next shot, again from his perspective, is a close-up of the armored car, and the colors reverse themselves as the outlines of the contents fade into view-sacks stuffed with cash. Back to See-More, who pulls out his communicator.)
See-More: I spy with my big old eye...
(Cut to Kyd Wykkyd, listening in while tucked away in an alley.)
See-More: (over the comm) ...a truck full of dough!
(Laughter as the camera pulls back and the poker-faced villain peeks out across the street. One easy jump carries him to the middle of it, squarely in the driver's path; he swerves sharply to avoid a collision, missing it only because Kyd Wykkyd vanishes in a swirl of black energy just in time. The armored car flips over and ends up skidding along the asphalt on its roof, with smoke and sparks boiling up every inch of the way. When it finally comes to a lurching stop, the driver's side-door opens and the man crawls woozily away.)
(Pan to the back doors, which open to let the bulging money bags tumble onto the roadbed. Out steps Kyd Wykkyd with three of them in hand; having transported inside to get at the lock, and See-More comes in for a landing; his eye shrinks and settles in place, resuming normal vision.)
See-More: Payday!
(The streak of red and gold that appeared in the prologue whips by, leaves Kyd Wykkyd holding a whole lot of nothing, and starts to circle the wrecked vehicle time after time. The high-velocity rush stirs up a small whirlwind that sucks both villains off their feet as See-More yells in surprise. Next the dust-laden funnel cloud works its way slowly but surely down the block, passes the shore of Jump City Bay, and keeps right on going over the water. Not until a full fifteen seconds have passed since the start of this tornado does its cause streak away, revealing itself clearly as a humanoid form for the first time.)
(The winds die down and leave Kyd Wykkyd and See-More hanging precariously in midair, but gravity soon rectifies the situation and the one-eyed teen's scream marks their plunge into the bay. Two very puzzled heads break the surface.)
See-More: (looking around) Um, uh...what just happened? (Kyd Wykkyd just shrugs.)
(Dissolve to the exterior of Cook's Electronics, zooming in slowly, then to a pan across the darkened showroom to the sound of a shopping cart being pushed along. The place has been picked clean, and we see why when Gizmo comes into view-he has swept everything into one cart and is headed for the door. An ear-to-ear smile is plastered across his round little face, but the runner's sudden pass leaves him staring at a load of thin air. Looking behind himself, he is stunned to find the stolen goods being returned to their displays and shelves at top speed.)
Gizmo: What the-? (He is yanked away.) Hey!
(Before he can respond further, he gets dumped in his empty cart and plowed away by a corkscrew of gale-force winds.)
Gizmo: Stop! Help!
(The exterior of the store; the cart bursts out and carries the screaming pipsqueak across the parking lot. Dissolve to an overhead shot of a hockey rink, dotted with players, and zoom in slowly while rotating a bit. From here, cut to ice level; we now see that this is a junior league game, and the referee is about to start it. Before he can do so, though, Billy skids into view, elbows him away, and catches the puck he was about to drop.)
Billy: (as kids scatter) Billy Numerous owns the ice!
(Cut to a fleeing player, who is stopped cold by a red-gloved hand planted on his face, and pull back to frame the laughing Billy attached to it. An opponent skates by, chased by another clone, after which the one who stopped the kid yanks his jersey up over his head, swipes his stick, and executes a hard slap shot with him as the puck. Now a Zamboni starts to roll in.)
Billy 2: (from o.c.) Looky here, Billy! (Pull back to frame him.) I stole me one of them, um, um...ice sweeper thingies! (Another one follows.)
Billy 3: I'll race you, Billy!
(The red-and-gold human bullet crashes into the slap-shooter and sends him bang into the net, setting off the buzzer and red lights for a goal. Cut to the Zamboni drivers; one is yanked away, followed by a swat and buzz, and the other goes down. Back to the goal as he slides in, then two more, then the one Billy left standing is knocked in, and the camera tilts up to the scoreboard. Six goals for the home team and zero for the away; the final second ticks off the clock and the end-of-game horn sounds.)
(Dissolve to the exterior of a store on a Jump City street. Out comes Mammoth, ducking his head to avoid banging it on the doorframe, and he tears the wrapper off the candy bar he is carrying. Another flash of red and gold, and he is left goggling at his now-empty fist.)
Mammoth: Wh-? I paid for that!
(Fade to black.)
(Fade in to two Billys on the couch in the hideout's operations center. Both have wrapped themselves in blankets to warm up after the hockey-rink hullabaloo; one shivers uncontrollably, while the other has a coffeepot and cup in hand.)
Billy 1: (as he is poured/handed coffee) Who does this guy think he is? (He drinks; pan to See-More, also cold due to his swim.)
See-More: Where'd he come from? (To Mammoth, a manhole cover in hand.)
Mammoth: (crumpling it) How do we squash him?
(The screen pans farther to the meditating Kyd Wykkyd and stops on Gizmo, whose controls have been left tied in knots after that mad ride through the Cook's parking lot. He struggles to disentangle himself for some seconds with no success.)
Gizmo: (as Jinx walks up) We shoulda stayed home! (Cut to her, smirking.)
Jinx: We should be thanking him.
(The other six get slowly to their feet, question marks appearing above their head. These merge into a single large one before she begins to explain herself. Gizmo is now free of his wiring.)
Jinx: Don't you get it? This is our chance to impress the Brotherhood of Evil. We catch this do-gooder and turn him in, they might even offer us membership.
Billy 1: What's wrong with the way things are?
Billy 2: Billy's right. We don't need a bunch of old goats gettin' in our bidness.
Gizmo: Yeah. Who needs 'em?
Jinx: (storming away) Suit yourselves. But when I'm playing in the big leagues and you're still robbing parking meters, don't ask me for any favors.
(A door slides shut, putting her out of the room, and the others stare after her with considerable puzzlement for a moment. Billy, who has pulled his duplicate back into himself, is the first to speak.)
Billy: Y'all wanna build a fort out of sofa cushions?
Gizmo, Mammoth: Yeah!
(Kyid Wykkyd and See-More smile and nod along with them, the former holding up one of the cushions. Fade to black as the big lummox's chuckling dies away.)
(Fade in to the museum gallery that was hit in the prologue, seen from the end where the HIVE Five entered. Two armed guards now stand watch over the exhibits, and crime-scene tape has been strung up everywhere. After a quiet moment, Jinx advances into view away from the camera; both weapons are instantly pointed at her, but she coolly fires off a string of spells and blasts the guards down the steps. Bodies, guns, and broken tape tumble in all directions while she crosses to the ruby-eye amulet she tried to rip off, now securely back behind glass. Before she can crack open the display case, a young male voice startles the daylights out of her.)
Voice: Need a little luck?
(She looks off to one side; pan in that direction to the speaker, lounging against a column at a short distance. Two-tone bodysuit, yellow upper and red lower, red gloves and lightning bolt across the chest, yellow boots and eye mask; spiky, swept-back red hair; cocky half-smile. This is Kid Flash, who appeared on one of the heroes' monitors at the end of "Homecoming," and his outfit's colors give him away as the source of all the HIVE Five's trouble to this point.)
Jinx: (turning toward him) It's only a myth! Who are you?
(He pushes away from the column, revealing that the mask is part of a hood whose top has been cut away to accommodate his hair. Small red lightning-bolt projections stand out at the ears.)
Kid Flash: Kid Flash. (zipping across to a case) Fastest boy alive.
Jinx: (unimpressed) Are you supposed to be a good guy or something? (Close-up; now we can see his clear blue eyes.)
Kid Flash: One of the best.
Jinx: Well? Aren't you gonna take me to jail?
Kid Flash: (walking up steps toward her) I thought I'd get to know you first.
(He stops just below her level, is met with a contemptuous little snort, and climbs the last couple of steps.)
Kid Flash: Why do you hang around with those losers? That team of yours is only holding you back.
Jinx: I know! That's what I keep telling- (She cuts herself off.) What do you know?
Kid Flash: I know that you're too smart for all this.
Jinx: Oh, is this the part where you try and convert me? Make me see the error of my ways? You're wasting your time.
Kid Flash: (finger snap) When you're as fast as me, time is something you've got plenty of.
(Off he goes in an instant, returning just as suddenly with a small paper bag in hand; on it is a picture of the Eiffel Tower, and a beret now covers his hair. The boy has just put the Concorde to shame with his split-second jaunt to France.)
Kid Flash: Croissant? (Her eyes pop, but she turns away hastily.)
Jinx: It's too late for me, anyways.
Kid Flash: (removing beret) It's never too late.
Jinx: What about the HIVE Five? They'd come after me.
Kid Flash: Let me worry about them. (Surprised, she turns back to face him.)
Jinx: Where will I go? (a bit more distraught, back of hand to forehead) What will I do? (He holds out one hand.)
Kid Flash: Trust me.
(The camera shifts to leave only his open palm in view before her. She regards it with considerable trepidation and starts to reach for it; cut to his confidently smiling face, then back to her. Another look down toward his hand, and she puts on a smile of her own-but a shrewd, cunning one.)
Jinx: On second thought... (Pull back; she raises her hand.) ...nah!
(A spell roars out from the splayed fingers, hurling him down the length of the gallery to crash onto his back. The camera follows his slide until he stops at Mammoth's feet and finds the broad, bearded face smiling evilly down at him. An eyeblink later Kid Flash is back on his feet, but Kyd Wykkyd winks in at just the right location to keep the hero from getting away. Pan across the gallery; now Billy is here, splitting himself into three, See-More dials up his laser eye, and a fourth Billy is on his other side. Jinx takes her time coming down the steps from the amulet's display case.)
Jinx: For someone so fast... (She reaches the others.) ...you're a little slow. (Gizmo descends in front of her on thrusters.)
Gizmo: Who's the loser now?
(Pull back. Kid Wykkyd, Mammoth, and a bunch of Billys have the exit blocked off but good, and as the camera pulls back, we see the other three villains and another knot of duplicates ready at the other end of the gallery. Kid Flash looks around uneasily as the view fades to black.)
Act Two
(Opening shot: an overhead view of the gallery. The two-pronged ambush has now moved in very close toward Kid Flash; zoom in slowly and cut to him.)
Mammoth: (walking into the ring) You're about to become a speed bump!
Kid Flash: Only one problem with that plan, big guy. You have to catch me first!
(And with that, he is off like a pinball on a permanent caffeine high, knocking over one Billy after another and then zipping back to Mammoth. Every punch and kick thrown by the big thug hits only air.)
Kid Flash: Missed me!...Missed again! (Close-up.) Nope!...I'm over here!
See-More: (from o.c.) Catch!
(His eye sails into view and knocks the human rocket off his feet; a moment later, the great ball replaces itself in the helmet. Tilt up to Gizmo as he flies in and presses a button on his waist controller. This brings out a small device on his back, from which a long rubber band lashes out like a frog's tongue. Even before Kid Flash can get upright and start running, the free end adheres between his shoulder blades and leaves him idling in place.)
(The grinning runt fires a missile, which hits just off to one side and throws up bits of debris; these go flying backward along with all the dust Kid Flash is kicking up. A vicious little giggle is answered by the speedster's sudden lunge to one side so he can start running in a large circle. The rubber band stuck to his back loops around the little lunatic time after time and is yanked taut to wrap him from neck to toes, after which he is towed away at Mach 7 and whipped ahead due to a sudden stop. Inertia stretches the free length to the breaking point, and Gizmo is flung through the gallery like a yo-yo gone mad. His yells of fright and surprise accompany the entire short, strange trip.)
(Cut back to Kid Flash as the sound of Gizmo's wipeout drifts back to him; pan to follow his gaze over one shoulder toward a Billy lying in wait. Many more jump down from a balcony, but he gets an idea and zooms away. Another gets both feet on the floor and multiplies himself into a line, forcing Kid Flash to take a sharp left and run parallel to them. However, they keep replicating fast enough to wall him off at every hairpin turn. Cut to his perspective as he closes in on his original position and keeps running, so that the Billys now hem him in on both sides, and follow him through several more course changes. Back to him.)
Billys: Run, run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me...uh, catch you...I'm Billy Numerous!
(Kid Flash ignores this pathetic taunt, keeps running flat out, and finally breaks through to a patch of clear floor. Several Billys break ranks and forms a human pyramid in his path, only to be knocked aside like bowling pins as the charge continues. Pan quickly ahead of him; Kyd Wykkyd appears here and aims a leisurely backhand toward his head. While this blow would barely push him off balance if he were standing still, the huge velocity differential imparts enough force to knock him backward hard.)
(A bit of deft somersaulting puts Kid Flash back on his feet so he can head in another direction, but the villain pops over here to cut him off. Back and forth he goes, with no luck in countering the split-second blocks; finally the two stop face to face.)
Kid Flash: So, what are you, psychic or something?
(No answer except for a finger pointed off to one side, drawing his attention; pull back across the room to frame See-More here. He is scanning Kid Flash with a wide-angle eye beam.)
See-More: Nah. We're tracking your heat trail, dummy! (Close-up of the target; he continues o.c.) Mammoth! Now!
(The section of wall behind the sprinter collapses when Mammoth's huge hands smash through from the other side and catch him in a killer bear hug. Bones grind against one another.)
Kid Flash: (with effort) I didn't know you cared!
(Still caught in those brawny arms, he begins to work himself back and forth against them so fast that his whole face becomes a blur. This is accompanied by enough friction heating to send up tendrils of smoke and cause a patch of Mammoth's skin to glow bright red. The whole performance-trying to start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, with himself as one of them-would make any Boy Scout troop leader very proud indeed. Eventually he becomes too hot to handle and is able to throw off the bruiser's crushing grip; the latter yells in pain as a new rush begins.)
(Everyone in his way is sent sprawling now; close-up of a puddle of water as his boot sole comes down in it. The resulting loss of traction hurls him onto his face, and before he can start to get up, a horned shadow falls over him. Once he has lifted his head, the camera cuts to his perspective of its source-Jinx, walking up with a frightening little smile.)
Jinx: Oh, did I move this?
(On the end of this line, she holds up a folding floor sign-yellow, showing the symbol for a slipping hazard. She follows up the gibe by pulling the sign back over her shoulder and swinging at the camera with all her strength. The view flashes white on impact, then snaps to black.)
(Fade in to a close-up of Gizmo, Kyd Wykkyd, and Mammoth in the hideout's operations center, gathered before the large side-wall screen. A set of steel bars is between them and us. Pan to See-More and three Billys-this is Kid Flash's perspective, coming around from that bash on the noggin. The camera movement reverses itself as Jinx walks up in the center of the group; cut to behind them all and zoom in. The young hero has been locked in a large cage, and he looks from one side to the other with some unease before managing a smile.)
Kid Flash: Looks like you got me. (His perspective: the Billys.)
Billy 1: (grabbing bars) That's right!
Billy 2: And when we're through with you...
Billy 3: ...we're gonna...we're gonna...
Billy 1: What are we gonna do with him?
(Pan to Jinx, a vein throbbing under her hair and a fed-up little groan blowing out from her lips. The blood vessel falls away in short order.)
Jinx: I thought we discussed this already!
See-More: (leaning intoward bars) I say we brainwash him and make him steal stuff for us!
(Zoom in on this line, he adjusts his eye to bring up a blue/orange mesmerizing spiral, as if ready to make good on this proposal here and now. Pull back as Mammoth shoves him out of the way.)
Mammoth: We should hold him up for ransom!
(Cut to Kid Flash, now bored and in the shadows of the giant and the sorceress.)
Mammoth: (from o.c.) He's gotta be worth money! (Yawn; Gizmo's shadow pops up on the control panel's chair.)
Gizmo: (from o.c) Let's take him apart and see what makes him tick!
(During this line, the captive whips away and returns with a fair-sized hoagie.)
Jinx: (from o.c., as he eats) I told you! We need to call- (A Billy's shadow; he gets a bag of potato chips.)
Billy 1: (from o.c; more eating) Naw, don't let them spoil our fun! (Another one.)
Billy 2: (from o.c., laughing) Yeah! Let's hang him on the wall like a bigmouth bass!
Kid Flash: (mouth full) Don't I get a say in this?
(Cut to his perspective of the gang, caught flat-footed by his butting in. Two Billys are here now.)
Mammoth: Hey, where'd you g--? (suddenly angry) Those are mine!
(He reaches in; cut to the hungry youth as the bag of chips is yanked away, followed by the one he is still holding. A hard swallow follows this, after which he regains his composure.)
Kid Flash: Wait, wait, wait, wait. (Cut to them, now showing only one Billy; he continues o.c.) If you're called the HIVE Five... (Pause.) ...how come there are six of you?
(During the first part of this line, a yellow hexagon bearing a 5 appears on the screen behind them. At the pause, it splits into six triangles, which number themselves 1 through 6 as they slide over the heads. All disappear as he finishes, whereupon the aspiring evildoers trade a round of very puzzled glances at having been called out.)
See-More: (uncertainly) 'Cause...it sounds...cooler?
Billy 1: This is borin'! (He wheels away, revealing the second Billy behind him.)
Billy 2: We're gonna go watch rasslin'! (He follows.)
Gizmo: You dweebs better not hog the sofa!
(He zooms after them on thrusters and is soon joined by Mammoth and See-More, leaving a thoroughly irate Jinx alone in front of the cage when Kyd Wykkyd phases out. Pull back to frame Kid Flash on the next line.)
Kid Flash: Don't have much of an attention span, do they?
Jinx: You have no idea- (catching herself; close-up) Stop that! Who do you work with?
(Cut to just behind her; now she is looking at an empty pen, but he stands up into view.)
Kid Flash: I work alone these days. You got a nice place. Very...secret-lair.
Jinx: Quit changing the subject!
Kid Flash: Does it bother you that all those guys never listen to you?
Jinx: (stepping closer) Why are you so interested in me? (Cut to behind her; zoom in on him.)
Kid Flash: There's something about you that's different. (To her; zoom in; he continues o.c.) I think you can do better.
(Pull back to a profile view of both; he has put his head out through the bars to look directly into her face. Long, expectant pause, during which her jaw hangs slightly open in surprise.)
Kid Flash: (holding up hoagie) Could I get some mustard? This looks a little dry.
(Extreme close-up of her widened eyes, which suddenly blaze white as the brows come down cruelly. A pinpoint hex blasts the sandwich apart in his hand.)
Jinx: Have your fun. In a minute, you're gonna wish you were never born.
Kid Flash: (wiping himself off) Oh, right. You want to see what makes me tick.
Jinx: You're an idiot. (turning to screen controls) I'm turning you over to the Brotherhood of Evil.
Kid Flash: You're joking, right?
(The Brotherhood's triangular emblem-skull above stylized B and E-comes up on the screen.)
Kid Flash: You're not joking. (It sinks in.) Jinx, you don't want to get mixed up with them.
Jinx: Watch me.
Kid Flash: You're making a big mistake.
(On screen, the emblem gives way to the image of a considerably annoyed Madame Rouge. Behind her is the wall-to-wall world map of the Brotherhood's Paris hideout.)
Rouge: This is a reserved frequency! Who are you?
Jinx: (starstruck) Madame Rouge, my name is Jinx. First, I just want to say I've been your biggest fan since Junior HIVE Academy.
(Close-up of Rouge, on her end of the line.)
Jinx: (over speaker) And I-I-I-
Rouge: You are wasting my time. What do you want? (Cut back and forth on each line.)
Jinx: We've captured Kid Flash.
Rouge: (now interested) Did you? I would not expect him to be detained by amateurs. Listen carefully-what is your name?
Jinx: It's Jinx, J-I-N-X.
Rouge: (small weary sigh) Jinx. You will not feed him. (Close-up of Jinx; she is heard on speaker.) You will not speak to him, and I trust you are holding him in a Level Four containment field?
(The overall effect of these orders is to make Jinx very nervous indeed, as she has allowed all three of them to be countermanded. However, she forces out a little laugh and a big smile.)
Jinx: Naturally. (Cut to behind her, facing the screen.)
Rouge: Very good. I am on my way.
(The image breaks into static at the press of a button on her end.)
Jinx: (pumping fists) Yes! What do you think of that?
(On the end of this, pan to Kid Flash's cage-which no longer holds him. Not a Level Four field by a longshot. Back to her, voicing a sharp gasp, then cut to an extreme close-up of Gizmo with sparks crackling just behind him.)
Gizmo: A Level Four containment field?!? (Pull back; he hovers in front of the others, including two Billys, by the screen.) Are you out of your stinking mind?!? That's hard even for me!
Jinx: (leaning into his face) I don't care! You're gonna make one-now! We have to get him back! Do you have any idea how bad it's gonna be if Madame Rouge shows up and we don't have him? (Pan to the Billys on the next line.)
Billy 1: Bad for you, maybe!
Billy 2: (snickering, trading high-five) Good one, Billy.
(Now both laugh for a moment before Jinx plants a hand on each suit front and drags them into her face.)
Jinx: You were the ones that said he couldn't get out! (Pan behind her to See-More; she turns to him.) And you were the one that said you'd keep an eye on him!
(The two clones are flung down as she finishes, after which she backs the one-eyed teen up across the room, shoving first Kyd Wykkyd and then Gizmo out of her path.)
Jinx: If Madame Rouge doesn't make things bad for you, I promise I will!
(His scared retreat is stopped only by Mammoth's chest, but before he can respond, the lights go out and Kid Flash whizzes by.)
See-More: He's still in the building! (Another pass wrecks a control panel.)
Gizmo: And the gunk-muncher's tearing it apart!
(Slow pan across the other end of the operations center. Out through one door, ruining another bank of controls before it hisses shut; the big-screen television shows only static, and a second door opens to let him back in. Next he passes very close to the camera, leaving the HIVE Five with their feet still rooted to the floor. Only one Billy now.)
Jinx: I don't care what it takes! Split up and catch him! (No immediate response.) NOW!!
(That gets everyone else but See-More scrambling; he tunes his eye to X-ray mode and trains it on the floor. Tilt down to the patch at his feet, which fades away to show the beams and conduits that run beneath it. A series of dissolves brings the next three lower levels into view, one at a time, and Kid Flash races through the electrical equipment situated on the last of these. Back to See-More, who turns on his communicator.)
See-More: Kyd Wykkyd, he's in the power plant.
(Cut to this level; the two-legged bullet rushes here and there around a large turbine, whose steam pipes blow out as soon as he has cleared the area. He eyes his handiwork with some satisfaction, but cries out when Kyd Wykkyd materializes right behind him and takes a swing.)
Kid Flash: Someone should put a bell on you.
(More swipes back him up to a piece of machinery; he ducks out of the way and lets the last hit clash against its housing. The upper portion topples to the floor, severed cleanly through, and the camera pans away to show Kid Flash now on this side.)
Kid Flash: Thanks for the help!
(Off he goes. Cut to Gizmo, doing a bit of welding in his workshop with goggles pulled down over his eyes, and pull back as the fleet-footed teen zips up alongside.)
Kid Flash: Ooooh! Whatcha making?
Gizmo: Oh, you'll find out.
(He suddenly realizes that the enemy is looking over his shoulder and lets off a shocked scream; said enemy merely keeps his cool and reaches for a wrench.)
Kid Flash: Just need to borrow one of these.
(And away he goes with the tool, not even bothering to ask if Gizmo minds loaning it out. Cut to just behind the little twerp, whose jaw drops lower and lower as Kid Flash does some high-speed tweaking on the apparatus that stands nearby. One device after another collapses into a jumble of parts; the breakdown only stops when Gizmo pulls out a small stun gun and fires. A charge of electricity shoots out and catches Kid Flash in the back, forcing a yell of pain, and Gizmo grins and whips out his communicator.)
Gizmo: He's in the workshop! He's in the-
(During this line, "he" zooms by the workbench, sweeps up all the loose parts, builds a makeshift cage around Gizmo-the reason for the sudden cutoff-and gets away. The door closes behind him as the little engineer groans.)
Gizmo: Never mind.
(Cut to See-More, whose X-ray eye roves a bit before focusing on a certain area, then to his perspective. Sweeping from one end of a hall toward the stairs, he catches sight of the bright streak. The next shot shows two Billys in hot pursuit, one with communicator in hand.)
See-More: (over comm) He's heading for the garage!
(They run ahead and o.c.; cut to this area, which is filled with red cars. The far door opens, just in time for both to gape at a rush by Kid Flash that sends row after row of autos flying.)
Billy 1: (pulling at face) Oh, man...
Billy 2: (gasping in shock) Our vehicles!
(Pull back as one of them slams nose first to the concrete just in front of the pair, then cut to See-More's X-ray perspective of Kid Flash-tying a mass of electrical cables into a knot.)
See-More: (over comm) He's messing with the video system!
(Cut to the television in the operations center. It still shows static from Kid Flash's initial vandalism, but this gives way to a large floating pie as Mammoth runs into view. The sight brings him to a skidding stop.)
Mammoth: Ooh, pie!
(X-ray view, long shot of the entire hideout, tilting down quickly from top floor to bottom. The structure is shaped like a giant H, and Kid Flash is zipping down the stairs on one side
See-More: (over comm) He's heading for Sector Four!
(During this line, cut to him now heard normally, then pan to a very surprised Jinx after he finishes.)
Jinx: That's my room!
(Cut to a closed door, which slides open as she runs up. Zoom in-this is indeed her living quarters, and Kid Flash lounges against the desk while flipping pages in a notepad.)
Kid Flash: I never took you for the unicorn type.
(Disbelief turns to pure ferocity, which asserts itself as a snarl and a two-handed hex; he merely sidesteps and lets it blow the desk to matchwood. A pan to the vanity shows him in front of it now, but he swiftly ducks away again just ahead of a spell that demolishes it. Pan to the bed, where he has stretched out for a little break and ends it right before a third shot wipes it out. Jinx is left staring openmouthed, with no idea of where to throw the next spell, and nearly gets her hair blown clear off her head when he goes right past her and out the door. Cut to a close-up of the trashed far wall and pull back to frame her, taking in the panorama of rubble that used to be her room. In close-up, she grits her teeth and lets off a camera-shaking scream as flames boil up behind her.)
(X-ray view: Kid Flash running down a hall.)
See-More: (over comm) He's heading for Corridor Twelve! (Cut to him, smiling; zoom in slowly.) That's a dead end.
(Laughter, then cut to a profile of the rubber-burning fugitive. His face goes slack after a few long strides; in a longer shot, he skids to a stop and finds himself facing exactly what See-More described. Pull back as a metal spider leg plants itself near the camera, and here comes Gizmo with goggles, backed up, Kyd Wykkyd, and Mammoth.)
Gizmo: End of the road, snot-brain. (He aims his stun gun.)
Kid Flash: You do realize, I can vibrate my molecules through solid objects.
(He gets himself oscillating in place, backs up to the wall, and passes through it to disappear from view. Three young hooligans are left goggling at his departure; zoom in quickly past them, where Kid Flash suddenly makes the scene again.)
Kid Flash: Later!
(He is off into a connecting passage. Dissolve to one side of the ruined operations center, the lights out of commission as well, and pan to the five boys crashed out on the couch. Jinx walks in a moment later and puts a weary hand to her forehead. See-More's eye is back to normal vision.)
Jinx: This is the worst day ever.
(The sound of a door opening o.c. snaps her out of the blue funk; cut to it and tilt up as it hisses toward the ceiling. On the other side is Rouge herself; the sight makes Billy cry out and dive away, huddling cravenly behind a fallen piece of the ceiling.)
Rouge: I have come to collect the Kid Flash. Where is he?
(Cut to Jinx's feet, seen head-on. The other four boys throw themselves behind her, and Billy peeks out as well as the camera tilts up to the grimly set bluish-pink face-which abruptly falls when she opens her mouth.)
Jinx: He got away.
(Fade to black.)
Act Three
(Opening shot: a close-up of the utterly defeated Jinx. Pull back to frame the rest of the HIVE Five cowering behind her and facing Rouge.)
Rouge: You let him get away. I should have known this would happen. (shaking head) Never trust children.
Jinx: We'll find him! We'll get him back!
Rouge: You have already proven most incompetent in that regard. (looking across room) Your base is an embarrassment.
Gizmo: It was Kid Flash! He trashed it!
Rouge: SILENCE!! (All are scared silly.)
Gizmo: Yes, ma'am.
Jinx: Just give me one more chance. I won't disappoint you.
Rouge: You hope to impress me, don't you? Perhaps someday you wish to be like me?
(Extreme close-up of Jinx's face; a surprised little smile comes over it as the camera zooms in slightly. This is met with a contemptuous little chuckle from the walking costume shop.)
Rouge: Most unlikely. (walking away) I will catch him myself.
(She lets herself out, after which the others finally get to their feet.)
Jinx: (turning to them, voice breaking slightly) We have to find Kid Flash before she does. It's the only way to prove that we're not completely worthless.
Gizmo: Are you kidding?
Mammoth: I'm not getting in her way.
Billy: Me neither! (He copies himself.)
Billy 2: Me neither! (Again.)
Billy 3: Me neither! (Pull back; six more appear.)
Billys 4-8: Me neither!
Billy 9: What he said.
Jinx: (grabbing Gizmo's stun gun) Then I guess I'm on my own.
(After patting the top of his head, she strides away. See-More stays put, looking after her with concern writ large in his oversized eye, while the others head back toward the couch. Dissolve to a city street; it is still nighttime, and Jinx is walking steadily toward the camera, which is positioned at ground level. After a few steps, she stops and the view shifts to her level.)
Jinx: What do I have to do, rob a bank? (Kid Flash runs up behind her.)
Kid Flash: You'd do that for me? I'm touched.
Jinx: You're not very smart, are you?
Kid Flash: No need to be rude. It's not like I'm afraid of you.
Jinx: (smiling nastily) Oh, I'm not the girl you should be afraid of.
(In a twinkling, she transforms into Rouge-whose impersonation of the aspiring young criminal was letter-perfect.)
Rouge: I am! (He cries out and backs up; she reaches one arm toward him.) And you should be very afraid.
(On the end of this, the long black glove elongates with her usual aplomb; he floors it around a corner, but those rubber fingers keep right on coming. His strangled cry tells us that she has hit her mark, and he is unceremoniously towed back in by one ankle and whipped against a building. It takes him a moment to drop free and fall on his face.)
Rouge: You like to play the games? This is the one called "Stay Alive"!
(On the end of this, she swings the hyperextended arm forward and the camera cuts to Kid Flash, who gets yanked up and over the rooftops as a human yo-yo. Once he is back at street level, he tears himself free of her grip and backs off half a block or so.)
Kid Flash: Don't count me out yet, lady.
(Sticking one arm straight out in front of himself, he swings his fist in a tight circle and stirs up a small tornado. It stretches toward Rouge and blows her down the street-but only for a moment, as she keeps her feet firmly anchored and lets her body stretch to absorb the wind forces. The sight of her snapping back to normal makes the speed demon's eyes nearly pop out of their sockets, and even after he regains his composure, he finds himself at a loss for a witty repartee. He settles for beating feet to avoid the rubber-arm punch that whistles toward him.)
(Fists fly as fast as he runs, knocking holes in the pavement and the architecture, and he dashes along the side of a skyscraper while the wall-to-wall windows are punched out behind him. Head-on view: he charges ahead, back on level ground, but suddenly slams on the brakes hard enough to melt the sole of any normal running shoe. Cut to his perspective; Rouge has put herself squarely in his path, and she aims an overlong right jab straight ahead. The screen flashes white when it lands and clears to show him following a long, high, graceless arc over the otherwise quiet street.)
(He comes down the wrong way and sits up, rubbing his head and groaning, while Rouge leaps up o.c. The stupor breaks in an instant; he gets up and starts running in a wide circle that encloses his point of impact, where she lands. Just as in the armored car heist attempted by Kid Wykkyd and See-More, the sheer velocity stirs up a localized tornado and sucks her off her feet-but she lashes one arm straight down into it. As she vaults free and the winds die down, Kid Flash finds himself in dozens of turns of her rubbery flesh.)
(For the second time in a row, he has no quick comeback. She tosses him a mocking half-smile, which he answers with a mischievous grin before going into the friction-heating trick he used against Mammoth in the museum. It works just as well now as it did then; she hastily retracts her glowing-hot arm, lets it cool, and reaches down the block with that same hand. Feet pound against the asphalt at blinding speed, but those five stretched fingers lash ahead to cage him. His sidestep is answered with the same move, executed by the other hand, after which he breaks for the sidewalk only to have a grid of finger-bars erect itself right in front of him. These are retracted after a moment; Rouge pulls both arms back to normal length as if she were doing her morning calisthenics.)
Rouge: You cannot win.
Kid Flash: I still have a few tricks left.
(He proves it by spinning in place and backing up against a building wall; stone dust billows thickly outward from the contact. Cut to a screenful of the haze, which clears to show a head-on view of Rouge as the camera pulls back-through wall after wall with the youth's outline cut through every one. The human-drill trick has worked superbly, but a pan to Kid Flash shows that it has taken a lot out of him; he is slumped over and very short of breath now. When he raises his head, he lets off a popeyed gasp and the camera cuts to just behind him. He has gone clear through to the other side of the building, but Rouge has come around here to meet him.)
Rouge: When you tire, your powers will fail, and then I will finish you.
(Not just yet, though; he sprints away, barely ahead of her two-handed Silly Putty grab and follow-up strikes. On he goes, making good time down a clear stretch of road-and then he runs flat into a building. The dust clears to show him embedded in the masonry, face first and spreadeagle; he tumbles loose just in time for Rouge's leisurely approach and stumbles up with a woozy moan. Getting an incurious, sidelong look from the pursuer, he clears his head and brings both hands down against the pavement with a rising snarl. The smash sends out a road-buckling shock wave; overhead view of Rouge as it plows into her face, then cut to a point much farther down the block, where she tumbles semiconscious to the street.)
(Kid Flash's red/gold streak blazes out of the dust clouds as she starts to come around, and he runs on and on-but after a few thousand yards, he runs out of steam and slows to a walk. The headlong flight has brought him to a warehouse; stopping near an open door, he peeks cautiously around the frame, and the camera cuts to an overhead view as he enters. Pull back slowly, then dissolve to longer shot and keep pulling back. Now See-More floats into view on the end of his optic nerve, letting the balloon-size eyeball keep watch on the scene. Out comes the communicator.)
See-More: Twenty meters to your left.
(Cut to Jinx, near the warehouse with hers in hand; the open warehouse door rolls down in the position he has indicated.)
Jinx: Thanks, See-More. (Back to him; she is heard over the comm.) I knew I could count on you.
(He lets the wind current carry him away with a smile, having come through for his friend when she needed him. Cut to just inside the newly closed door; something shines through at its edges from outside, and the whole thing rusts over in seconds and crumbles away. The dust clears to expose Jinx, who let one of her spells do its thing on the metal, and she steps in through the rows of crates. A camera shift reveals Kid Flash hunched down behind one of them; here comes her goofy-haired shadow.)
Kid Flash: Jinx! (He comes out in a crouch.) Are you...you?
(She throws a spell at the floor that cracks the concrete and breaks a water pipe, up comes a high-pressure jet, throwing him toward the back wall.)
Kid Flash: It's you. (Pull back; her foot lands near the camera. Cut to her.)
Jinx: You made me look like a fool! (He sits up and groans.) What's the matter? Run out of gas?
Kid Flash: For now. (standing up) I'll have my strength back in a minute.
Jinx: (pulling out Gizmo's stun gun) I'm not going to give you a minute!
Kid Flash: Why do you want to be like her? (She lowers it.)
Jinx: I'm bad luck. Good was never an option for me. (Letterbox view, top third of the screen.) At least with the Brotherhood of Evil, I can be somebody. I'll get respect. (Fullscreen close-up of him; zoom in slowly.)
Kid Flash: You don't need to hurt people to feel good about yourself.
(Close-up of the uncertain cat-eyed face, which rearranges itself into a sullen scowl as the camera pulls back. The stun gun comes back up, and a beam flashes out for a direct hit; he yells in pain and crumples to the ground with the energy still crackling over his body.)
Jinx: (smiling) And that's only Level One.
(Zoom in as she twists the knob to increase the power, then dissolve to the exterior of the warehouse. Jinx steps out alone, wearing a smug little smile that gives way to slack-jawed surprise, and the camera cuts to behind her-now facing Rouge straight on. Zoom in on the latter during the start of the next line.)
Jinx: Madame Rouge! (Close-up of her; Jinx continues o.c.) I caught him!
(Back to the speaker, who steps aside to reveal the paralyzed runner still on the floor.)
Jinx: Just like I said I would!
(He groans in agony, the young sorceress aims an appeasing smile across the way, Rouge takes one hand off her hip-and then that forearm slashes out against Jinx's cheek to send her sprawling.)
Rouge: (crossing to her) You did nothing. It was I who made him weak. And you call yourself a villain. (Extreme close-up.) Pathetic.
(Ground level; Jinx starts to get up, every shred of her respect for the veteran instantly gone.)
Jinx: I wanted someone to look up to. (standing up) I thought you were cool.
Rouge: Life is full of disappointments. You are one of them. (holding out one hand) Hand him to me.
(Jinx pulls out the stun gun and eyes it for a long moment, trying to decide which way to play this one. Extreme close-up of her face.)
Jinx: (eyebrows lowering) Go catch him yourself.
(The irises blaze up as the camera pans to the device in her upraised hand; it shatters into scrap under her influence, and Kid Flash is able to stand up.)
Kid Flash: Thanks. (He clears out at full speed.)
Rouge: (raising arm for backhand) You miserable-
(Extreme close-up of Jinx against a glowing white background. Her eyes flare again-this is the very last straw-and the camera pulls back quickly as an energy wave surges out from her feet. Pavement disintegrates before its advance, which throws Rouge onto her back. Close-up, pulling back as she hoists herself up and the young assailant approaches.)
Jinx: I don't care who you are! Nobody messes with me. (Rouge allows herself a little smile and rubs her chin.)
Rouge: Hmm. (standing up) We'll be in touch.
(She walks away, leaving the up-and-comer glaring after her.)
See-More: (from o.c., whispering) Is she gone?
Jinx: Yeah.
(He lands beside her, puts his eye back in place, and resumes normal volume and vision.)
See-More: So, um...the research lab's having a special on computers. Steal one, get one free. You in?
Jinx: Nah. You go ahead.
See-More: Right. See you. (He walks away.)
Jinx: (softly, after he has gone) Goodbye.
(She goes in the opposite direction and lets her mind freewheel over the day's events-which way to throw her loyalties: with the HIVE Five, the Brotherhood of Evil, or Kid Flash? The camera is positioned to frame her in profile from the waist up; after a few steps, she stops and looks toward the ground. Tilt down to show a vase containing a single red rose just in front of her feet. She bends to pick it up, and the camera shifts to point over the top of her head at the warehouse roof. Here stands the do-gooder who caused all these headaches and left her this second gift. Just after she straightens up with the flower in hand, he races away; she directs a long glance and a little smile in his direction and walks away into an unlit alley. Fade to black after she has disappeared entirely into the shadows.)