Bucky O' Hare in The Verdict By Andrew Norris SCENE ONE The Foyer, Genus Supreme Court Everybody is waiting to re-enter the court as the jury makes its' verdict. Among those waiting are BUCKY, JENNY and COMMANDER DOGSTAR, with MIMI, LT. ANDREW NORRIS and HANNAH on the sidelines. BUCKY: I don't like it. JENNY: What? BUCKY: Everything is too quiet for my liking. I've got a funny feeling that somebody is going to step out of line when the judge passes sentence. JENNY: (Worried) Are you thinking of the same person as I am? They both look in the direction of ANDREW, who is talking with HANNAH with MIMI listening in on them. JENNY: But how can you be so sure? I know he's not right in the head, but aren't we jumping to conclusions? BUCKY: (Narrows his eyes) Personally, I don't trust anyone in spandex uniforms. He's an enigma, Jenny. A wild card. Moving from Historian to Superhero to Astronaut all in the space of a few years. Of all the people I've met in my life, he is perhaps the weirdest. JENNY: Even weirder than that Mask Natalie wore? BUCKY doesn't answer, showing that he's serious, and just continues to stare in ANDREWS' direction, who is himself unaware of BUCKYS' suspicions. SCENE TWO The Toad Mothership TOADBORG is overseeing the invasion fleet spread out before the Mothership. Around him are several STORMTOADS busy at work on their computers. TOADBORG: (To nobody in particular) How many craft are assembled? STORMTOAD #1: Approximately 150,000, sir; all loaded to full capacity. TOADBORG: Excellent. Whereas the Martians tried to invade using a ground base and spreading out in a radius; we shall keep our command centre in space, where we can't be harmed. STORMTOAD #2: Are you sure that they won't be prepared after the last attack, sir? TOADBORG: Of course not! By the time they find out; it will be too late to stop us! SCENE THREE Genus Control Centre CORPORAL NASS is examining the instruments at the Tower, when something goes wrong. NASS: (Curious) That's funny. That shouldn't happen. He hears a metalling clunk from behind him, and just as he is moving to examine it, a semi-translucent vapour fills the room. Through the mist, NASS can be seen choking on it, frothing up blood as he does so. NASS: Windo... He moves over to open a window, but he is overcome by the gas, and collapses dead on the floor. At his side is a broken picture of KATAR, that he knocked from his desk while moving about. SCENE FOUR Genus Supreme Court JUDGE SILVER has returned to the Court, along with the Jury. The AUDIENCE, and FRITZ in the dock, all await to hear the sentencing be passed. SILVER: Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, have you reached a verdict? WOMAN IN JURY: Yes, your honour. We find Chairman Fritz Warner guilty of only the charge of Racism. The jury feels that there is not enough evidence to justify the charge of incompetence. Some members of the AUDIENCE groan at this, but JUDGE SILVERS bangs his gavel to restore order. SILVER: As you are aware, Mr. Warner, the sentence of Racism at present stands for 10 years, but due to your record in improving the war effort, I am prepared to be lenient. FRITZ watches the gavel most carefully as SILVERS prepares to pass sentence. SILVER: (Continued) Therefore, I sentence you, Chairman Fritz Warner, to do... SUddenly, JUDGE SILVER is shot through the head by a powerful laser. The AUDIENCE begin to panic, and some WOMEN begin to scream. Amongst the crowd, BUCKY, JENNY and DOGSTAR prepare for trouble. The Court doors are blasted from their hinges, and several FIGURES glide in. Through the haze of smoke, BUCKY recognizes the FIGURES. FIGURE #1: (Metallic staccato) Stay where you are! Do not move! The FIGURES turn out to be swarms of DALEKS, still in the traditional silver-and-blue livery. They fire on the people trying to escape, and fence in the remainder who are trapped. DALEK #1: This planet is now under Dalek control. You will remain silent, or you will be exterminated. DALEK #2: Where is the one who is known as Bucky O'Hare? Somebody shoves BUCKY forward from the crowd, along with JENNY. But BUCKY remains firm and stands his ground. DALEK #1: Where is Queen Shimorr? BUCKY: (Sharply) How did you get on Genus?! We've quadrupled the security! How did you breach it?! DALEK #2: We had an agent within your organisation. Suddenly, all eyes turn to ANDREW, who is shocked at being ruled out so fast. ANDREW: (Grumbles) Sure! Blame the weirdo! It's the same with you lot, isn't it? DALEK #3: He is not our agent. (Turns his dome) He is. Using his plunger, he pulls BUTCH out from the crowd. Everybody, including ANDREW, is shocked. DOGSTAR: (Shrieks) Butch?! You Judas! DALEK #1: (Interrupts) Where is Queen Shimorr? You will answer! Now! THE BALIFF shakily points towards a door. DALEK #1: Any prisoners who try to escape will be exterminated. He moves off with DALEK #2 through the door, leaving the other DALEKS to guard them. MIMI: Butch, you traitor! BUTCH: (Impatiently) At least hear me out, surely! ANDREW: Why bother? There's nothing to explain! BUTCH: Yes there is, Lieutenant! I was being hunted down by my own people, and the Daleks offered me protection in exchange for some odd jobs. BUCKY: (Eyes narrow) Like what? BUTCH: They asked me to set a time-bomb in the Control Centre. It would poison everyone inside and lower the defence shields. JENNY: (Splutters) So you chose your life over everyone elses?! That's selfishness at its' most extreme! BUTCH: Sorry, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. DALEK #3: You will remain silent at all times! DALEK #4: You will not threaten Agent 98. BUCKY: Agent 98?! How long, Butch?! How long have you been doing this?! DALEK #3: Silence! You will not question the order of the Daleks! DALEK #5: The Dalek Supreme has arrived. The DALEKS turn their heads, as THE DALEK SUPREME glides in. Like his previous appearance, he is merely a DALEK with a black casing rather than silver. DALEK SUPREME: (To Dalek #3) Where is Queen Shimorr? DALEK #3: A Dalek section has gone to collect her from her cell. DALEK #5: This is the one they call Bucky O'Hare. DALEK SUPREME: (Looking at BUCKY up and down) He is a threat to the Dalek race. He must be eliminated. DALEKS #1 and #2 return with QUEEN SHIMORR. THE DALEK SUPREME looks at her as she glares icily at him. DALEK SUPREME: You are Queen Shimorr of Mars? SHIMORR: (Snaps) Don't you start! I've had enough of that in the Trial. DALEK SUPREME: You will surrender all Martian territories and colonies to the Dalek Empire, and become a slave to the Daleks. SHIMORR: Not on your life! I'll die first! DALEK SUPREME: (To Dalek #2) Show her. DALEK #2 suddenly pulls ANDREW out of the line, and DALEK #4 aims his gun at him. DALEK SUPREME: You have three seconds to agree to surrender or the Earthman dies. SHIMORR: No, please! Don't hurt him! It is too late. DALEK #4 opens fire, and ANDREW collapses dead from Dalek gunfire. SHIMORR rushes over and lays by ANDREWS' side, but she too is shot by gunfire, and collapses atop of the corpse. DALEK SUPREME: (To Dalek #6) Inform all Dalek craft that the Martian territories and Genus are now under Dalek control. DALEK #6: I obey. DALEK SUPREME: Bucky O'Hare, consider it an honour to observe the expansion of our empire before your extermination. BUCKY: (Hisses) After what you've done, do you think I have any respect for you?! That man may have been insane, but he still fought for what was right, and not for the sake of killing! DALEK SUPREME: Silence! You shall be exterminated, now! But before the guns can fire, a maser beam suddenly shoots THE DALEK SUPREME, breaking his eyepiece. Immediately, THE DALEK SUPREME starts spinning crazily, afraid of the blindness. DALEK SUPREME: (Alarmingly) My vision is impaired! I cannot see! Some of the DALEKS try to see where the maser beam came from, but seeing their opportunity, the tide of MAMMALS turn on the DALEKS, swivelling them around so their guns fire on themselves. While this is happening, BUCKY, JENNY, DOGSTAR and MIMI push the DALEK SUPREME into the corridor and down a flight of steps, killing him immediately. JENNY: Well, some invasion that turned out to be. MIMI: I know; that seemed a little too easy. BUCKY: Easy or not, we have a traitor to cuff and an officer to bury. The others are taken aback, for this is the first time BUCKY has ever referred to ANDREW as an officer. As they return to the Courtroom, they see that the AUDIENCE is already beating BUTCH to death. When the UAC personnel get him out, his fur is matted with fur, and he is badly beaten. DOGSTAR: (Shouting) Alright! Alright! This man will be dealt with according to the law! If you lay a finger on him again, we'll be forced to take action! MAMMAL #1: (Jeers) Why should we listen to you?! That armada proves the UAC can't even protect us, so why should we bother? Some of the MAMMALS murmur in agreement, but DOGSTAR tries to keep the situation under control. DOGSTAR: Then tell me who was it that pulled the trigger on the Dalek Supreme, huh? Was it one of you who are oh-so-better than the UAC? The AUDIENCE turns very quiet; until a voice perks up from the crowd. The owner of it steps forward, and it turns out to be FRITZ WARNER. Some of the AUDIENCE gasp, while DOGSTAR sees this to his advantage. DOGSTAR: (Grins) There, you see? A member of the UAC was the person who stopped you all from being killed! FRITZ: (Quitely) It was the least I could do after the mess I've made. I want to make it up, no matter what. JENNY: Well, we can start by clearing up this mess. We've got to get the poison-gas bomb out of the Centre before it can do any more harm. SCENE FIVE Outside Genus Control Centre The Martian CENTURIONS of the Genus Home Guard are bringing out the bodies from the centre, while others try to keep the crowds back. The superheroes of the Legion of Meta-Mammals are also offering assistance for the upper floors, with the aid of gask-masks. FLEET-ADMIRAL RYGAR BLADE soon appears with FRITZ WARNER, and walk over to the entrance where CAPTAIN SHIRLEY SQUIRREL and SUPERTWERP are waiting. RYGAR: What have we got, Captain? SHIRLEY: Some of the Casulaties are too deformed to identify, sir, but we have been able to identify Dash Daring, Corporal Nass and what seems to be Rick Parsnip in a disguise. RYGAR: Do you think he helped to plant the bomb? SHIRLEY: Very likely, sir. The others either haven't or can't be identified yet; the poison seemed to mutate the skin by sealing off the respiratory system and choking them to death. FRITZ: What about the gas? How has that been dealt with? SUPERTWERP: It hasn't yet; I've got superheroes wearing gas-masks at the moment, but The Human Soap is trying to use her perfuming scent to neutralise it. KAPTAIN ALBANIA arrives, carrying the Poison Bomb in her hands. It is still leaking vapour, and with a swing of her fist, it is destroyed, leaving a large crater mark in the pavement beneath it. RYGAR: Any chance of survivors, Kaptain? ALBANIA: We're trying to revive Corporal Nass, sir. The bomb was found at the very bottom of the building, so he only got the smallest effects of the bomb. How is Lt. Norris? RYGAR and FRITZ both look uneasily at one another, but FRITZ eventually steps forward. FRITZ: (Quietly) He was killed by one of the Daleks. Dr. Kenner says that there is no way we can revive him, but we are trying to see if he can be cloned. ALBANIA: Why? I thought you hated him. FRITZ: Maybe I did, but he was as loyal as a puppy, and it's the least we can do for him. CORPORAL NASS is carried away on an ambulance trolley from the Tower. The instruments seem to register a very weak heartbeat, and the paramedics are doing all they can to clear his airway. Off-camera, they succeed, and NASS coughs up a translucent film that was blocking his airway. The PARAMEDICS try to study it while stabilizing his breathing. While all this happens, one of the CENTURIONS approaches SHIRLEY. CENTURION: Excuse me, Captain, but we have information that states the Toads are massing an attack. SHIRLEY: What is the target? CENTURION: Earth. Everyone silences for a moment, but then RYGAR speaks up. RYGAR: (Barks) What time-period and which Earth? CENTURION: Well, today and the normal Earth. Why? FRITZ: The only way we can beat them there is to land on a parrallel Earth a few moments ahead of normal time and launch a counter- offensive. RYGAR: Good plan; get Bucky and the others. Make this work, and I'll drop all charges. SCENE SIX Space City, Earth, Year 2070 As the control tower continues to revolve on an axis, LT. NINETY notices a sudden flare of objects in space. NINETY: (Alarmed) Commander Zero! Commander Zero! Enter COMMANDER ZERO, who has just arrived from the elevator. ZERO: (Cranky) What is all this shouting about, Lieutenant?! NINETY: I'm sorry, sir, but we've just picked up a cluster of spaceships in Sector 2. They don't register as any spacecraft in the U.P.O. ZERO: Lieutenant, you don't need to be in the United Planets Organization to own a spaceship! Contact them and see who they are! NINETY: (Into radio) Space City to spaceships at position 5-1-6-5 Green, are you recieving me? STORMTOAD #3: (Through speaker) This is Landing Craft 91772 to Space City; we have a message from our leader; Supreme Commander Toadborg. TOADBORG: (Through speaker) Attention Earth; this is Supreme Commander Toadborg of the Toad Empire. We have been sent to ensure that your planet no longer meddles in affairs that don't concern you. We are not interested in negotiations of surrender; we are here to exterminate every living organism on this backward planet! The Landing Craft slowly begin their descent. A couple are grazed by the missile defence system, but there is no major damage done. During the descent, the STORMTOADS begin plotting their landing bases. STORMTOAD #3: London targetted. STORMTOAD #4: Lisbon targetted. STORMTOAD #5: Washington DC targetted. STORMTOAD #6: Berlin targetted. STORMTOAD #7: Madrid targetted. STORMTOAD #8: Rome targetted. STORMTOAD #9: Moscow targetted. STORMTOAD #10: Paris targetted. STORMTOAD #11: Tirana targetted. STORMTOAD #12: Stockholm targetted. Suddenly, the Lisbon-bound Craft is blown up, and to TOADBORGS' horror, an enormous fleet of Fireball craft have been waiting for them undercover of the Moon. Bar Fireball XL6, the entire fleet seems to be there, with XL5 at its' head. TOADBORG: (Angrily) Send out the DOuble Bubbles! Don't rest until every spaceship there has been destroyed! A huge wave of Double Bubbles swarms out of the Mothership, and opens fire on the Fireballs. Although the Cahelium casing is resistant to Toad firepower, the ships begin to strain. Some retaliate by firing interceptors, but aren't quick enough and many of them miss. The Landing Craft begin to proceed towards Earth, with hundreds of ballistic missiles being hurtled from all corners of the Earth at the invasion fleet. Regardless, their effects are minute. TOADBORG: Continue as planned! All Double-Bubbles proceed to destroy the Earth Defence Fleet! STORMTOADS #3 - #670: (In unison) As you command, mighty Toadborg! As the fight in space ensues, the Landing Craft touch down in almost every country on Earth. To name a few, America, Britain, India and Russia, among many many others. Once the craft touch down, they begin to open fire on the civilians, killing anyone in their sights. TOADS: (Chanting) Mutilate! Maim! Mangle! Across the globe, the world militaries pit everything against the invaders. Infantries, Artillery barrages and even Cavalries are pitted against the aggressive Stormtoads. At Space City, COMMANDER ZERO realises the situation. ZERO: (Sighs angrily) It's inevitable, Lieutenant. Call in the Secret Weapon. NINETY: Yes, sir. LT. NINETY flicks a switch, and a radio signal is sent hurtling through space to a small crater on the Moon, where the S.P.A.C.E. Fleet have been waiting. SCENE SEVEN The Righteous Indignation, The Moon JENNY, BUCKY and BLINKY are on the Bridge, and they hear the signal from Space City. BUCKY: (Into radio) That's our cue, everyone! Fire up your engines and man the masers! We're going in! Out of the crater, the four frigates pull out and speed to the rescue. In the Fearless, CORPORAL NASS has been declared fit enough to help out, while several of the Home Guard CENTURIONS make up the rest of its' crew. The four Frigates enter the battlefield, just in time to see Fireball XL22 explode into flames. Immediately, RUMBLEBEE opens fire on her attackers, and exacts vengeance for the XL22 crew. ZAKARIA: It's about time you showed up! TOADBORG: That mistake, O'Hare, will be your last! By interfering, you've signed your own death warrant! BUCKY: (Coldly) Your mistake by attacking this planet will be *YOUR* last, Toadborg! This ends now! The four frigates join in with the Fireballs in the conflict in space. As the fight ensues, the number of Double Bubbles eventually dwindles, until TOADBORG delivers another announcement. TOADBORG: Try all you want, O'Hare! The more Toad lives you claim, the more Human blood is spilt! Even with your puny Fireball ships, you can never defeat us! We are supreme! Even if you do succeed, we will have exterminated the Earth and everyone on it! VOICE: Not quite, you pig! Suddenly, from the orbit of Mars, the Soviet mothership looms into view, with several of its' makeshift cruisers in escort. The VOICE turns out to be GENERAL OSIRIS, who is watching from the bridge of the mothership with BRIGADIER SAGE. OSIRIS: Now we have levelled the playing field, Toad! I will not let you spill the blood of the people for your elitist beliefs! TOADBORG: (Growls) Socialist dog! If you think yourselves to be so superior, then let us see if you can get past the Toad fleet in time to save the Earth! The Double Bubbles form a straight line in front of the Toad Mothership until the Earth is almost completely out of view. The Fireballs line up in a similar fashion, with Fireball XL5 making the dead-centre. In turn, the Frigates are behind them, and then the Soviet spacecraft. TOADBORG: On the command, all Toad ships open fire! BUCKY, OSIRIS & STEVE ZODIAC: On the word, you'll all open fire on the Mothership! There is tension for the moment to see who will fire first, and eventually, the orders are given all at once. TOADBORG, BUCKY, OSIRIS & STEVE ZODIAC: (In unison) Fire! Immediately, a barrage of masers and interceptors fills the void between the two fleets, filling the black void with an array of colours from the masers and jets. They shoot through space going from end to end, until they impact on the ships adjacent... TO BE CONTINUED...