Scribblers, Part ?

PANEL:

The Scribblers, minus Lyric, are in training. They are in their enormous back garden, in plain clothes, and have split into two teams to practice. SHIFT, WRAITH and FINESSE are on one team, with AMITY and CHRONAL on the other.

SHIFT, as a TIGER, is running towards AMITY, who is facing her. CHRONAL is a long haired blur, heading towards the two of them, and FINESSE is standing to the side of SHIFT with her hands reaching out, strengthening SHIFT’s morphic field.

PANEL:

FINESSE has turned her attention to the blur that is CHRONAL, and is forcing him to come back into real time. CHRONAL is looking rather more solid as he tries to regain control of his power.

SHIFT has almost reached AMITY, although she does look rather upset.

FINESSE:
Back you come, Steff.

PANEL:
WRAITH has become visible and is, it turns out, sitting on SHIFT’s back. He is leaping, knife out, at CHRONAL, who is now completely solid again.

SHIFT is leaping on to AMITY at the same moment so SHIFT and WRAITH are moving at right angles to each other.

WRAITH
War cry.

PANEL:

Victory for team A! FINESSE looks smug, AMITY is pinned by SHIFT, who is giving her a victory lick, and CHRONAL is pinned by WRAITH, who looks like he has forgotten it is only a game.

CHRONAL
OK, OK! Time out!

AMITY
Quit it! You win!

PANEL:

Everyone has relaxed onto the grass. SHIFT is human again, though her hair is a bit stripy.

CHRONAL
Not bad, guys.

FINESSE
We thrashed you!

SHIFT
They were one person down, though.

PANEL:

WRAITH looks amusedly sinister. I can’t believe “amusedly” is actually a word…

WRAITH
Best way.

PANEL:

CHRONAL is standing up, and pulling FINESSE to her feet. Everyone else is still lounging.

AMITY
Can I pick the teams this time?

PANEL:

CHRONAL, surveying his team with a critical eye.

CHRONAL:
No, I’ve got an idea. I want to try putting the non-physical powers together. Finesse and Amity take us three.

PANEL:

WRAITH, same shot as before.

WRAITH:
Blood bath.

PANEL:

FINESSE, standing defiantly opposite CHRONAL – the team captains.

FINESSE
Well, you say that. Come on, Amity.

AMITY
Chin up.

PANEL:

FINESSE beams, AMITY smiles.

PANEL:

CHRONAL is holding a big, brightly coloured flag on a pole. Everyone else is watching it.

CHRONAL
Right, this time, I thought we could turn it into a game!

FINESSE
We’re going to play “Capture the Flag”, aren’t we?

CHRONAL
Yes! Now, here’s how it…

VOICE OFF-PANEL
Guys!

PANEL

LYRIC is leaning around the door frame, obviously having been travelling at high speed. He has a crumpled letter in his hands.

LYRIC
I’ve got bad news. Really. Really bad.

PANEL:

Close-up on Lyric’s face, the paper just in view.

LYRIC
It’s my brother. He’s enrolled in a writing course.

What do you do to indicate a dramatic pause in a comic book? Anyway, that’s what happens, and then it cuts to a new scene.

PANEL:

The gang are sitting in the living room. LYRIC is despondent, the paper still in his hands.

SHIFT
Well, we knew we’d have to deal with him sooner or later, now we just know it’s sooner.

WRAITH
How much does he know? Under our noses…

FINESSE
Let’s face it, we may not be dealing with an idiot any more.

PANEL

Close-up on CHRONAL: inspiration strikes!

CHRONAL
I’ve got a plan!

PANEL

CHRONAL goes into a whirring blur, the others are motionless.

PANEL:

The table in the living room is suddenly covered in papers, and CHRONAL is on the other side of the room, carrying in a tray holding four cups of tea and two glasses of orange squash.

AMITY is leaning in to pick something up from the table.

AMITY
What is all this?

CHRONAL:
This is the syllabus for the writing course that the Narrator is enrolled in, along with a few work samples. The Narrator is on week two.

FINESSE
Shame Lyric’s mam didn’t mention it sooner.

PANEL:

CHRONAL hands out the tea. Most of the team have a copy of the syllabus in their hands. SHIFT has transformed into an owl to be Intellectual.

CHRONAL
Well, we know now. Read on!

SHIFT
So, presumably, he’ll follow every lesson to the letter.

AMITY
He’s still dangerous though. Even people with no imagination can learn to write by numbers.

PANEL

Lyric, getting it.

LYRIC
But we know which numbers he’ll be using.

CHRONAL
Exactly!

PANEL

AMITY, looking worried, curled up into a ball.

AMITY
These are high stakes though, guys. If he beats us, we’ll be trapped in a world of clichés - a universe controlled by a man with no imagination.

SHIFT
I liked him better when he couldn’t string a narrative together.

PANEL

CHRONAL, standing in a clear space.

CHRONAL
Lyric, can I have a flip chart, please?

PANEL

LYRIC lazily waving one arm in the air, while a clip board stands half-materialised beside CHRONAL.

SHIFT
I love guilt-free paper-usage.

PANEL

The clip board. It reads:

“What do you learn in Creative Writing Lesson 1?”

CHRONAL
(Text in bar across top)
Well??

PANEL:

The Scribblers in various attitudes of repose. LYRIC is pacing, and has reached the far wall.

SHIFT
It says here that you will “master basic storytelling, and get comfortable with linear narrative.”

FINESSE
Ah, but by week 2, he’s onto complex storytelling, and “really getting to grips with character.”

PANEL:

CHRONAL has written the above things on the board.

AMITY
Right, well obviously he’ll want to apply what he’s learned to his powers. But what if he skips ahead of the lessons?

LYRIC
He won’t. No imagination, remember?

PANEL:

WRAITH, looking as usual amusedly sinister. I’d like to muck about with this image so that it looks so incongruous it’s almost as if it’s been spliced from another comic – it’s all dark and a bit crazy.

WRAITH
Complex narrative.

PANEL:

Back to the world the others inhabit.

CHRONAL
Bingo! Oh, did I say that?

FINESSE
Yes.

CHRONAL
Sorry.

FINESSE
Quite.

PANEL:

Everyone is starting to look a lot more prepared.

CHRONAL
Suit up, team. Let’s give Lyric’s little brother a sneak preview of lesson 3.


Right, now I’ve got that out of my system, I’ll go back to writing my incredibly depressing radio play! J