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RUNAWAYS "Rebellion" by Chris Haigh Based on 'Runaways', a Marvel Comics publication, and characters created by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona. FADE IN: INT. YORKES RESIDENCE - BASEMENT - NIGHT ON CHASE STEIN as he scrambles back desperately as the DINOSAUR leaps towards him, SNAPPING its jaws! CHASE Oh shi - GERT (screams) Stop it! The dinosaur SCREECHES to a halt, head snapping around to fix its gaze on GERTRUDE YORKES. Everyone else - NICO MINORU, KAROLINA DEAN and ALEX WILDER - watches in amazement and surprise. Silence as the dinosaur slowly lumbers forward on its two legs, stopping right in front of Gert. GERT (CONT'D) (eyes wide) Uh... NICO I... think it likes you? MALE (O.S.) I'm glad to see that the creature has responded to you well, Gertrude. Everyone turns - DALE and STACEY YORKES are right in front of them in their steampunk uniforms! ALEX Crap! Everybody run! Alex balls up his fist, takes a swing at Dale - but his fist sails clean through, Dale's face FLICKERING! They're HOLOGRAMS. DALE If you're watching this, kiddo, then I'm sorry. We're probably dead. STACEY We love you very much. DALE The creature you have just unlocked is yours. A bodyguard to ensure that you will always be kept safe. (MORE) 2. DALE (cont'd) (beat) During our travels aiding the Deans in their off-world activities, we stole the DNA cells from the Cretaceous period and then in the 87th century had them engineered into something we hope will protect you long after we have gone. The Steins will have backup information in their lab should something happen to the originals here. (smiles) You always wanted a dog, kiddo. I hope this makes up for it. STACEY The Abstract will help you stay safe and will ensure you continue the legacy of the Pride. ON GERT as she looks around, peeking into the dark passageway and steps in. She pushes her hand into an alcove and extracts something with both hands - a thick TOME, leather bound and well- thumbed. This is the ABSTRACT. STACEY (CONT'D) It is the code of the Pride and will help you guide our way to the future. DALE We love you, kiddo. Stay safe. The holograms of the Yorkes DISSIPATES as quickly as they appeared, leaving behind stunned silence. Alex takes the Abstract from Gert and opens it up - but instead of words, there are GLYPHS and SYMBOLS inside, each pictogram completely unidentifiable in any modern language. ALEX (long beat) We have to get going. GERT What? NICO Alex, come on, we need a second to - ALEX Whatever just happened, we can deal with it later. CHASE And leave a freaking dinosaur here? 3. The dinosaur turns its head towards Chase, silently SNARLING. CHASE (CONT'D) (gulps) I, I mean a nice, very nice, beautiful - ALEX Look, that book might help us understand this whole thing. And to decipher the book, we need the ring. Mrs Dean's decoder ring. ON GERT as she watches the dinosaur approach her - and CURL up her around her, long muscular tail tucking itself around Gert's waist. GERT My... not my parents, but they... they said '87th century'. They're time travellers. All this time, I've been living with the TARDIS crew. NICO Priorities, Gert. KAROLINA Let me guess. Back to my place? NICO If we get grab that ring of your mom's, then maybe we can - KAROLINA Understand what the hell the big book is about. Gotcha. ALEX Okay. I say we split up. CHASE What? Why? ALEX Let's face it, the more we go around peoples' houses, they're more likely to get suspicious. We split up, there’s less likelihood of them getting all of us if something goes down. (beat) Karolina, you and Nico take Gert's car go to your house and see if you can find the ring. Chase, Gert and I will go over to his place. 4. GERT For their lab. Let's face it with Skippy The Dinosaur here, I want all the answers I can get, and not just on when to feed her. The dinosaur tilts their head. CHASE ‘She’? GERT You wanna check for dino-junk? Besides she just... I don't know. Feels like a girl. NICO Come on, let's go. I don't care how heavy your parents sleep, Gert... GERT Yeah. (to dinosaur) Sorry, girl. I have to go. The dinosaur rubs its head into Gert's hand, a sad PURR coming from the creature. GERT (CONT'D) I'll... I'll back soon, alright? The group ascend the staircase, Gert at the rear. She takes one last look back at the dinosaur which MEEPS at Gert mournfully, before she closes the door behind her. CUT TO: INT. CAR (MOVING) - LATER Inside Gert's car, Nico is driving with Karolina in the passenger seat. NICO (long beat) Remember when all we had to worry about was getting good grades? KAROLINA (smiles) Feels like a lifetime ago. NICO Yeah. (looks over) If I had to go through this with anyone... I'm glad it's you, Kar. 5. KAROLINA (blushes; smiles) Nico... that's really sweet. The same. Only, you know, you. Nico turns her attention back to the road. Karolina gazes out of the window, smiling. INT. DEAN RESIDENCE - FOYER - LATER ON KAROLINA as she opens the door, revealing the opulent splendour of the Dean mansion. A stunning home of palatial standards, it's all white and gleaming surfaces. Nico WHISTLES, surprised. NICO Wow. KAROLINA Nico! NICO (sotto) Sorry. I just - wow. KAROLINA Come on, my dad's study's down the hall. Nico and Karolina move down the hall, Nico checking out everything in sight. INT. DEAN RESIDENCE - STUDY - NEXT The study is all brown and red leather, something that would not look out of place in a stately home. Karolina and Nico enter, the former heading to the oak desk along one wall, several high-end storage shelves and units mounted to the same wall. NICO (joins her) Okay. Let's start looking. KAROLINA (sighs) I hate other people's organisation. Completely random. Nico and Karolina start digging into the units, removing paperwork. CUT TO: 6. INT. MINIVAN (MOVING) - SAME TIME Chase and Gert are in the front seats with Chase driving. Surf rock plays at a low hum from the radio. Alex is sat cross-legged in the back with the Abstract balanced between his knees. He's trying to read it. CHASE So... dinosaur. GERT Yep. CHASE To be honest, when I heard 'evil geniuses', I didn't think it was going to be like that BS ‘Jurassic Park’ sequel. ALEX (murmurs; distracted) Which one? GERT (leans back) Any luck on the translation? ALEX Nope. It's nothing I can translate anyway. Here, take a look. Gert takes the book from Alex, opening it up. Hieroglyphics, glyphs and symbols. Nothing in any language you've ever seen. GERT One of them kind of looks like an Aztec ideogram and these other two are similar to Palaic and Venetic alphabets. (off looks) I've been taking some college classes on languages and their effects on modern speech. CHASE So you can translate them? GRET No, that's the point - they look like them, but they're not. Whatever these are... they might be from a culture that no one knows. 7. ALEX Well, your mom and dad did bring you a bio-engineered velociraptor from the future. Let's put ‘unknown culture’ in the ‘maybe’ box. CHASE Velociraptor? ALEX Yeah. You know... He curls his index and middle finger into 'legs' and then moves them about in a little mid-air strut. ALEX (CONT'D) Grr... and, and everything. ON ALEX as he leans back, taking the book back from Gert and opens it once again. CUT TO: EXT. STEIN HOME - GARDEN - LATER ON CHASE as he leads Gert and Alex around to a large SHED, unassuming and dilapidated and half-connected to the decent- looking house. The door is chained shut with a heavy PADLOCK. ALEX Damn. Chase do you have the key? GERT We could always go in through the house. ALEX And wake up everyone inside? GERT Okay, well - BANG! Chase leans forward, ramming a GARDEN SPADE into the lock which SHATTERS! Chase calmly puts the spade down, removing the padlock and opening up the door. CHASE You were saying? Alex and Gert enter the shed: 8. INT. STEIN HOUSE - WORKSHED - NEXT Darkness. CHASE (O.S.) Hold on, there's gotta be a light around here some... The lights FLICKER on, pulsing through the shed - and revealing an expansive, pristine and metal LABORATORY inside! Massive stainless steel tables in the middle and along the walls with heavy pieces of MACHINERY and metal tubes atop every available space. BLUEPRINTS and SCHEMATICS litter the walls and heavy drawers sit underneath the tables. ON CHASE as he reacts with Gert and Alex. CHASE (CONT'D) ...where. ALEX Holy crap. Chase, I think your parents... CHASE Yeah. I... yeah. GERT Okay, let's see if we can find these backups or whatever. The trio split up into a different area each. ON GERT as she looks at a whiteboard full of blueprints. Cold fusion engines, vehicles with rockets, guns... GERT (CONT'D) I swear half of this stuff shouldn't even exist. And if it does, SHIELD should be all over it. CHASE I think Stark might be having tech envy. ON CHASE as he opens up a drawer, WHISTLING - as he extracts a pair of GLOVES.