(In Joshua’s kitchen, Alec is flipping through the TV channels.)

CHANNEL EIGHT ANCHORWOMAN: It’s been six days since the brutal attack on police officers at the hands of the so-called “transgenic”...

CHANNEL SIX ANCHORMAN: Police officials are still refusing to comment on the shocking footage, exhibiting...

CHANNEL THREE ANCHORMAN: Yesterday the attorney for the officers addressed the media at a press conference.

ATTORNEY: As soon as we find the parties responsible for unleashing these transgenics, we’ll be seeking damages in the tens of millions.

ALEC: Oh, yeah, I’m sure Manticore is gonna write you a big, fat check for that one, buddy.

(Alec turns off the TV and wanders through the house.)

ALEC: Josh?

(He finds Joshua in the living room, painting sadly.)

ALEC: Hey, buddy, whatcha working on? Oh. Annie. It’s nice. (Sees several more portraits of Annie nearby) They, uh, all are. (Gently) Hey, man, I know you miss her...but, uh, don’t you think it’s time you moved on? I mean, you can’t see her anymore.

JOSHUA: I know.

ALEC: Especially not now.

JOSHUA: I said I know, Alec.

ALEC: Okay. Okay.

(Max enters with a bag of groceries)

JOSHUA: Hey, little fella.

MAX: Hey, big fella.

ALEC: I guess that makes me medium fella.

MAX: Got you some food and stuff.

ALEC (poking around in the bag): Did you get those little pretzels I asked for, Max?

MAX (slapping his hand away): Hey!

ALEC: Max, come on. I’m stuck here, you know? An innocent man, framed for the murder committed by his clone. (Max rolls her eyes) Yeah, I was thinking about selling the story to Hollywood. It’d make a great TV movie. What do you think?

MAX (handing him some papers): Here.

ALEC: What’s this?

MAX: Fake birth certificate to prove you had a twin, and a fake passport to prove you weren’t in the country when the murders were committed.

ALEC: Yeah. Well, this oughta be enough to clear the charges. Thanks, Max.

MAX: You owe me twenty-five hundred bucks. Guy’s best in the business. Same guy Logan uses.

ALEC (whistling at the price): How’s, uh, how’s Logan, anyway?

MAX: I wouldn’t know. Come on, go get dressed. $2,500 is a lot of deliveries.

ALEC: Yeah. Yeah. (Leaves)

MAX: So I’m thinking of swinging by tomorrow.

JOSHUA: I’ll be here.

MAX: See ya.

(At Jam Pony, Normal is watching TV when Max and Alec walk in. On TV, a man sits in an armchair, being interviewed.)

MAN: If God had intended these transgenics to walk among us, don’t you think he would have mentioned them in the Bible?

NORMAL: Amen, sir. Amen.

MAN: These transgenics are simply the latest in a long line of abominations perpetrated by the scientific community.

NORMAL: Hallelujah.

MAX: Who the hell is that?

NORMAL: That is the right Reverend Terry Caldwell, a man not afraid to speak the truth, gally-gal.

INTERVIEWER: If I’m hearing you correctly, Reverend, you don’t believe the transgenics should be accorded even the most basic human rights.

TERRY CALDWELL: Because they’re not human.

NORMAL: Tell it, Terry! You tell it!

(In his apartment, Logan is watching the same interview.)

TERRY CALDWELL: In the eyes of the Lord, they’re not even animals. The individuals that we speak of are manufactured. They’re stamped with barcodes on their necks when they come off the assembly line. And since only God has the power to create life, then we must ask ourselves if they can even be said to be alive.

(Eyes Only interrupts the broadcast)

EYES ONLY: Not alive? Not human? Who are you to sit in judgment, Mr. Caldwell? Have you seen that tape? Did you see the look in his eyes? He was scared, cornered. And despite what people like you have been saying about them, transgenics aren’t that different from you and me. They do feel, they do hurt, they are alive. And all they want is to be...

ALEC: You know what this is about.

MAX: Logan’s just doing what he thinks is right.

ALEC: He’s reaching out to someone. I’m pretty sure it ain’t me.

EYES ONLY: ...you’re condemning. They could tell you what it’s like to be afraid, alone in a hostile world. And it might be more convenient to pretend otherwise, but in the end, who does that say more about...them, or us? This has been a streaming freedom video bulletin. Peace. Out.

INTRODUCTION: They designed her to be the perfect soldier--a human weapon. Then she escaped. In a future not far from now, in a broken world, she is haunted by her past. She cannot run; she must fight to discover her destiny.

(In a park that night, White is talking to the man who berated him at the harbor.)

WHITE: How am I supposed to do my job when my entire operation officially does not exist?

MAN: This is a disaster.

WHITE: You want to contain the transgenics? Give me a free hand. The cat’s out of the bag; we might as well acknowledge the fact that they’re out there. If we enlist the public’s support, this thing’ll be done in a week.

MAN: We acknowledge anything, and it’s over. Congressional hearings, subpoenas...no. We’re gonna make this go away. We’re gonna spin it, and spin it good. Luckily we now have the chief of police in our pocket. He’s willing to give us the body of the transgenic and all the autopsy work, provided nothing like this ever happens again. You understand?

WHITE: Yes, sir.

(In his apartment, Logan inserts a small disk into his computer.)

LOGAN: Thanks, Asha. I appreciate this.

ASHA: It was your five hundred bucks. Though why you’d pay off a cop to get your hands on the same stuff you could see for free on TV...

LOGAN: This is the complete hoverdrone footage of the attack. My guess is the cops edited out the parts they didn’t want people to see.

(Logan’s computer screen shows the cops beating up Mule.)

LOGAN: The cops went after him first. I knew it. I’m gonna talk to Eyes Only, see if he can’t put this on the air.

ASHA: Yeah, okay...but I don’t know what good it’s gonna do, though. (Logan looks surprised) However it went down, I mean...what’s got people freaked is what he looks like, you know? What he is.

LOGAN: I guess I’ve been living with the idea that transgenics exist for so long, I’ve gotten used to it.

ASHA: Heard from her?

LOGAN: She still won’t talk to me.

ASHA: Give her time. She’s just scared.

LOGAN: Mmm. I’m the one that almost died last week.

ASHA: You don’t think that wasn’t scary for her? She’s a loner. She’s not used to worrying about anyone else. This relationship stuff, it’s all new to her. It’s new to the both of them.

LOGAN: Both?

ASHA: Her and Alec.

LOGAN: Right.

(Max and Alec sneak into a darkened doctor’s office.)

ALEC: This is gonna hurt, isn’t it?

MAX: Lasers tend to, yeah.

ALEC: Our barcodes are just gonna come back, you know.

MAX: Then we’ll do it again in a couple of weeks. Don’t be such a sissy.

(Alec lies face-down on the table and Max touches a laser to the back of his neck.)

ALEC: Ow! Easy, huh?

(At Logan’s)

ASHA: I’ve gotta get going. Call me if you need anything else.

LOGAN: Take a look at this.

ASHA (joining him at the computer): What?

(Logan points to White’s car in the hoverdrone footage.)

LOGAN: You see that car?

ASHA: Yeah, so?

LOGAN: When the cop gets attacked, everyone else runs up to see what’s going on. This guy puts the car in gear and drives off, nice and slow. Hold on a sec. (Rewinds the footage) Now, you see the mirror? Look at this.

(He enlarges the mirror until White’s face is visible in it.)

LOGAN: White. I gotta let Max know.

(At the doctor’s office, Alec is removing Max’s barcode. Her pager goes off and he checks it.)

ALEC: Oh, guess who. You know, this is the second time he’s paged you in like ten minutes. Don’t you think you oughta call the guy back already?

MAX: Why don’t you mind your own business? Hurry up.

(Alec’s cell phone rings)

ALEC (into phone): Yeah.

LOGAN: Hey, Alec. It’s Logan.

ALEC: Hey, buddy! We were just talking about you.

LOGAN (after a pause): Then Max is with you?

ALEC: Oh, yeah, yeah, she’s right here. Hang on a sec.

(Max mouths “No!” but Alec just smiles and hands her the phone. She gives him a dirty look and shoves him before speaking into it.)

MAX: Hey.

LOGAN: Hi.

MAX: What is it, Logan?

LOGAN: I think there might be a connection between White and the transgenic on the news. I have hoverdrone footage that puts White at the scene.

MAX: He was probably looking to take him down when the cops showed up.

LOGAN: I don’t think so. He just sat in his car and watched. In fact, he looked pretty pleased with how it went down.

MAX: Doesn’t make any sense. The government pays White to keep the transgenic thing under wraps.

LOGAN: That’s right, unless White’s taking his orders from somebody else.

MAX: Like one of his breeding-cult buddies.

LOGAN: We know they hate transgenics. Could be they’ve decided to try and turn the public against you.

MAX: Maybe.

LOGAN: Now, listen, Max...I really think we should get together and talk about this.

MAX: Logan...

LOGAN: Just business, nothing more.

MAX: I can’t.

LOGAN: Max...

MAX: I’ll look into it, tell you if I find something. Until then...please don’t call me.

(She hangs up. Logan kicks a wastebasket.)

(In his living room, Joshua sits sadly looking at his portraits of Annie. He makes a decision, takes his jacket, and walks over to her house. On the way, he passes by a group of three guys, keeping his head down with his hood up.)

FIRST GUY: Whoa. You see the size of that guy?

(When he arrives at Annie’s house, Joshua peeks in a side window. Inside, Annie makes a cup of tea and sits down near the window to read. Joshua smiles as he watches. Suddenly Billie goes up to the window and barks.)

ANNIE: What is it, girl?

(Joshua, startled by the bark, stumbles backward and falls over some garbage cans. The three guys he had passed on the street hear the clatter.)

FIRST GUY: Hey!

SECOND GUY: Let’s check it out. Come on.

(The three guys enter Annie’s side yard, where Joshua is lying on the ground near the cans.)

FIRST GUY: Hey, man, what do you think you’re doing?

THIRD GUY: Man, that is sick--peeping at a blind girl.

(Joshua stands up. They see his face.)

SECOND GUY: Whoa, it’s one of those freaks from the TV.

(The third guy picks up a piece of wood lying nearby. Joshua runs.)

THIRD GUY: Get him!

(The next morning, the three of them are still looking for Joshua. The third guy is carrying a large chain and the second guy is carrying a metal pipe.)

SECOND GUY: Hey, we’ve been looking for this thing all night, all right? We’re never gonna find it.

THIRD GUY: Shut up. (Calling) Here, trannie, trannie, trannie, trannie.

FIRST GUY: Come on! We just wanna play!

THIRD GUY: Here, trannie.

FIRST GUY: Come out, come out, wherever you are!

(In an alley not far away, Joshua is hiding between a crate and a dumpster. He peeks out, sees cops walking down the street, and ducks back. A minute later, Billie finds him and licks his face.)

ANNIE: Come on, Billie. Come on.

JOSHUA (smiling): Annie.

ANNIE: Joshua? What are you doing here?

JOSHUA: Uh...uh... (Picks up a beverage can sitting nearby) Cans. I’m recycling, uh, cans.

ANNIE: I should’ve known it was you. Billie dragged me all the way here. I guess she missed you.

JOSHUA: I missed her, too. You too, Annie.

ANNIE: Then why didn’t tell me you were back?

JOSHUA: From Mantia Coro.

ANNIE: Right. Where you’re from. I looked it up...wanted to know what it was like. Turns out it doesn’t exist.

JOSHUA: Annie...I...I wanted to tell you, Annie, but--

ANNIE: It’s okay. You don’t have to lie anymore. I guess I just got it wrong and made a fool of myself. But I won’t bother you anymore.

(The three guys looking for Joshua enter the alley.)

FIRST GUY: Hey! There he is!

THIRD GUY: Get away from the girl, freak.

ANNIE: Joshua, what’s happening?

JOSHUA: Annie, just...just stay back.

(Joshua steps between Annie and the three guys.)

FIRST GUY: Whoa! Hey, he’s even uglier than the one that attacked the cops.

SECOND GUY: Oh, no. No, he--he’s bigger, too. We should--we should call the cops.

THIRD GUY: No, the cops won’t give this freak what he deserves.

(He swings the chain at Joshua. Joshua grabs the chain, picks the guy up by it, and hurls him at the other two. The second and third guy fall into some garbage cans.)

ANNIE: Joshua!

(Joshua takes Annie’s hand and they start running. Joshua knocks the first guy out of the way as they run past. The guys get up and chase them. Around the block, Joshua and Annie stop briefly.)

ANNIE: Who are they? What do they want?

JOSHUA: Annie, you and Billie go home now.

(The three guys round a corner.)

ANNIE: They’re coming back.

JOSHUA: Annie, please!

ANNIE: Don’t leave me alone!

(Joshua picks Annie up.)

JOSHUA: Come, Billie!

(A short distance away, he sets Annie down and removes the cover from a manhole. He then helps Annie down into it.)

JOSHUA: Careful. Nice and slow.

(The three guys approach and see the open manhole with Billie standing over it, barking.)

SECOND GUY: I ain’t goin’ down there.

FIRST GUY: Yeah, man, forget about it. Hey, let’s just call the cops or somethin’.

SECOND GUY: Yeah.

(Max walks into Joshua’s house and looks around for him.)

MAX: Joshua? Joshua?

(At an aquarium, White stands in front of a tank, watching some beluga whales swim. The priestess joins him.)

WHITE: A hundred thousand years ago, some humpback violates a dolphin, and this is what we get. Makes a pretty good argument for selective breeding, huh?

PRIESTESS: That footage of the transgenic attacking those policemen seems to have put a good scare into the public.

WHITE: I’ve been leaking information to certain media contacts. Just little tidbits about the Manticore project.

PRIESTESS: It’s the opinion of the Conclave that you take things even further. The average citizen is looking over his shoulder for monsters, but the greater threat to our interests are the X-series transgenics. They’re able to pass as human...integrate themselves.

WHITE: Makes them more difficult to expose.

PRIESTESS: Even so, just imagine how people will react when they learn there are transgenics out there that look just like them. Think of the paranoia, the panic.

WHITE: Joe Six-Pack finds out his daughter is dating one of them, or that he lost his job to one.

PRIESTESS: Exactly. We need to exploit that kind of fear.

WHITE: Leave it to me.

PRIESTESS: Fe’nos tol.

WHITE: Fe’nos tol.

(She leaves. His cell phone rings.)

WHITE (into phone): White.

OTTO: Otto, sir. We just intercepted a 911 call reporting a wolfman loose in sector three.

WHITE: All right. I’ll meet you there. We gotta get on this fast before some idiot cop makes a scene and the media gets wind of this.

OTTO: Yes, sir.

(White ends that call and dials a number.)

FEMALE VOICE: Good afternoon. Channel Three.

WHITE: Bill Leakey, news desk, please.

(A moment later, a male voice comes on the line.)

MALE VOICE: Bill Leakey.

WHITE: Bill, it’s me, your Deep Throat. Heard the one about the wolfman?

(At Joshua’s, Max is wandering around, waiting for him. She opens the fridge, smells something bad, and closes it immediately. She sits down and turns on the TV. A Channel Three reporter is standing next to the guys who chased Joshua.)

REPORTER: I’m standing with the young man who phoned the police. Tell us what happened.

THIRD GUY: We chased it out of our neighborhood last night. We caught up with it again this morning. The thing attacked us for no reason.

REPORTER: The police aren’t confirming this, but we’ve heard rumors about a girl.

THIRD GUY: Annie. (Max leans forward in alarm) She’s from our neighborhood. It took her down to the sewer.

REPORTER: I’m sorry, are you saying the creature abducted a girl from your neighborhood?

THIRD GUY: Yeah. It took her down to the sewer. We tried to stop it, but...

REPORTER (addressing the camera): And there you have it. The creature kidnapped a young woman--

THIRD GUY: Blind, too.

REPORTER: Correction, a young blind woman.

(Max runs out of the house. On TV, the reporter turns to the camera, while the three guys stand behind her and wave at it.)

REPORTER: Stay with Channel Three news as this extraordinary situation continues to unfold. We’ll be bringing you continuous coverage live from the scene. Back to you, Steve. (Lowers her microphone) Well, how was that? Good? Let’s go try the cops again, see if they’re ready to give a statement yet.

(With that, we realize we are now at the scene. An ambulance and a fire truck approach as police crowd the area and put up roadblocks.)

(Max approaches the scene, where a crowd of passersby is gathering. A short distance away, one of the cops is addressing some others, pointing at a laptop computer screen in front of a van labeled “MOBILE COMMAND CENTER.” Max listens in.)

COP: The thing dragged the girl underground here. Now, it can’t have gotten too far. Carson, get on the horn to the DWP and have ’em close the sluice gates here, here, and here. I want men posted at every entrance to the sewer, every manhole within four square miles. Nobody gets in or out. We’re gonna trap this thing down there, and deploy from the perimeter. We search every tunnel, every nook and cranny, until we flush it back to this position for the takedown.

ANOTHER COP: What about the girl?

FIRST COP: We assume she’s alive until we know otherwise. Her safety is our top priority. All right, gentlemen, we got jobs to do. Let’s get to ’em.

(In the crowd, Sketchy is tagging along behind a cop.)

SKETCHY: Look, dude, I’m a reporter. Tell me something.

COP: Sir, if you don’t move along, I’m going to have to arrest you.

(Sketchy catches sight of Max from behind and tries to get her attention.)

SKETCHY: Max! Hey! Hey, Max! Max, what’s up? (Max groans to herself and turns around) What are you doing?

(White honks his horn because Sketchy is standing in the middle of the road.)

WHITE: Wake up, dirtbag.

(Max takes the opportunity to slip out of sight. Sketchy gets out of White’s way and then sees that Max is gone. He heads in the direction he last saw her.)

SKETCHY: Max!

(Joshua and Annie are walking through the sewers.)

JOSHUA: Careful.

(They go up a step and enter a chamber. It is a chamber-like junction of several tunnels. Water pours into the middle of the chamber and there is a walkway around the pool of water.)

ANNIE: Where are we?

JOSHUA: We’ll be safe here. They won’t find us.

ANNIE: The water, Joshua. It’s too loud.

JOSHUA: Wait here.

(Joshua finds the controls and uses them to stop the flow of water.)

JOSHUA: Better?

ANNIE: Yeah. So what do we do now?

JOSHUA: We just wait.

ANNIE: Shh!

(Police are talking in the distance.)

COP: Tunnel D-5 is secure. Proceeding to D-6. Over.

VOICE ON RADIO: Roger that. Over.

ANNIE: The police. We’re safe now. They’ll protect us from the men that attacked you.

JOSHUA: No, no. No police.

ANNIE: Why? What’s wrong?

(Joshua sees police approaching. He puts a hand over Annie’s mouth and carries her to a hiding place. The police search the area.)

COP: Alpha Team to Command. D-6 is secure. We are proceeding to D-7. Over.

(The police move away. Joshua still has his hand over Annie’s mouth.)

JOSHUA: I’m sorry, Annie. I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to do this. I’m going to let go of you--please don’t scream, okay?

(Annie nods. Joshua lets go.)

ANNIE: Tell me what’s going on, Joshua. Right now! Why are you hiding from the police?

JOSHUA: I can’t tell you.

ANNIE: What did you do?

JOSHUA: Not what I did. What I am.

(In his apartment, Logan is watching the news on TV.)

CHANNEL THREE REPORTER: The police are hoping to force the creature to the surface here, where it can be apprehended. Mike?

MIKE: We have a description of the transgenic. This exclusive rendering of the transgenic was drawn from eyewitness accounts by the three brave young men who first saw it. (It is a drawing of Joshua)

LOGAN: Joshua. (Grabs his car keys)

(Max sees a manhole with only one cop guarding it. A minute later, Sketchy comes by, still looking for Max. He sees the open manhole and the cop lying unconscious. Sketchy goes down into the sewer.)

(At the busy area, the crowd has grown thicker. A man is selling Fudgy Buddy ice-cream cones, and another is selling T-shirts. Otto and a few other men arrive and approach White, who is sitting in his car.)

OTTO: Sir.

WHITE: This is so FUBAR it’s almost funny.

OTTO: What do you want us to do?

WHITE: There’s nothing you can do. Go back to HQ and watch it on TV like everybody else.

OTTO (to the other men): Let’s go.

(They leave. White gets out of his car and approaches the ice cream vendor.)

WHITE: I’ll have a Fudgy Buddy cone. (Buys one) Thanks.

(He eats his ice-cream cone and looks around. Some bystanders are juggling. Some hold up protest signs; one says “TRANSGENICS ARE UNWANTED DNA.” White sees it and laughs.)

(In the sewer)

ANNIE: What are you saying? You’re one of these things they’re talking about on TV?

JOSHUA: Annie...I wanted to tell you before, but I...

ANNIE: I touched your face. I saw you.

JOSHUA: It wasn’t me.

ANNIE: You tricked me?

JOSHUA: Yes, I tricked you, because I--

ANNIE: You took advantage of me because I can’t see?

JOSHUA: Annie, please...

ANNIE: Oh, God!

(Annie starts to crawl out of their hiding place. Joshua tries to hold her back.)

JOSHUA: Annie, please...

ANNIE: Stay away from me. Stay away from me!

(Annie leaves the hiding spot, walks around the edge of the chamber, and stands against a far wall.)

(At the mobile command center, the cop who was giving out instructions before listens to a voice over the radio. A second cop stands with him.)

VOICE: Tunnels J-6 and J-12 are secure.

SECOND COP: That’s the last of them.

FIRST COP: There’s no way it could’ve gotten out. Just no way. (Into a radio) All units return to your initial deployment points. We’re searching the area again.

(Alec walks through the crowd, putting his sweatshirt hood up. He notices Logan sitting in his car nearby.)

ALEC: Hey, buddy.

LOGAN: Hey.

ALEC: I take it you saw the same newscast I did. Have you seen Max?

LOGAN: No. You?

ALEC: Let me see if I can get her. (Pulls out his cell phone)

(In the sewers, Max is looking for Joshua. She rounds a corner and sees a police team approaching.)

DELTA TEAM LEADER (into radio): Delta Team moving to east junction. Over.

(Max ducks back around the corner and sees another police team approaching.)

ALPHA TEAM LEADER (into radio): Alpha Team moving to east junction. Over.

(Moments later, the two teams meet at the corner.)

ALPHA TEAM LEADER: Anything?

(The others shake their heads. Max’s pager goes off. They look up to see her hanging from a pipe near the ceiling.)

MAX: Should’ve put it on vibrate.

(Max knocks out all the policemen. Afterwards she sees that she has knocked out Sketchy as well.)

MAX: Sketchy? Idiot.

(Her pager goes off again. She takes Sketchy’s cell phone)

MAX: Thanks.

(Aboveground, a man is selling T-shirts printed with the police sketch of Joshua and the words “I SURVIVED A MUTANT ATTACK.”)

VENDOR: T-shirts! Get your mutant T-shirts! Ten dollars!

(Alec’s cell phone rings)

ALEC: Hello?

MAX: It’s me.

ALEC (to Logan): It’s her.

MAX: Who you talking to?

ALEC: Oh, Logan. He’s here with me.

MAX: “Here” where?

ALEC: Here at the All-American Media Circus. Where are you? Wait, wait, let me guess. You’re in the sewers.

MAX: Looking for Joshua.

ALEC: And what makes you think you’re gonna find him before the cops do? (Logan snaps his fingers for the phone) Hang on.

(Alec hands him the phone. Logan has his laptop out and is looking at a diagram of the sewer system.)

LOGAN: Max, I hacked into the sector police computer. They’re using a GPS to track their men. They’ve searched about half the area. There’s no sense in you going over the same ground. Where are you?

MAX: Um...(checks a sign on the wall)...Junction J-12-R.

LOGAN: Okay...head right at the next intersection and take a look around there.

MAX: Once I find him, we’re gonna need a way out of here. They’ve got all the entrances blocked.

LOGAN: Well, we’ll figure something out.

MAX: Hey, be careful. White’s up there too.

LOGAN: We’ll keep an eye out. Be in touch.

MAX: Okay.

(Aboveground)

CHANNEL EIGHT REPORTER: I’m reporting live from the scene, where Reverend Terry Caldwell has arrived to lead a prayer service for the missing woman.

TERRY CALDWELL: Now I’d like everybody to bow their heads and ask God to watch over that poor girl.

NORMAL (arriving at the scene): Amen, Terry.

VOICE ON POLICE RADIO: Alpha Team on their way up.

(The Alpha Team climbs out of the sewer and the cop who had been giving out instructions approaches them.)

FIRST COP: What the hell happened?

ALPHA TEAM LEADER: Wasn’t the creature, sir.

FIRST COP: Then who was it?

ALPHA TEAM LEADER: Some girl. Caught us by surprise. Kicked our asses.

ALPHA TEAM MEMBER: She got away and took off.

(White, standing in the crowd nearby, overhears.)

WHITE: 452.

(He leaves the crowded scene and approaches a quiet sewer entrance. Two cops stand guard. One lights up a cigarette.)

COP: Hey, let me get one of those.

(As the other one shares his lighter, White jumps them and knocks them out. He then enters the sewer.)

(In the sewer, Max is searching one tunnel and White is searching another. White draws his gun. He rounds a corner and knocks unconscious the person on the other side. It is Sketchy. White looks at Sketchy’s press tag, hanging on his jacket zipper.)

WHITE: Idiot.

(In the chamber)

JOSHUA: Annie...

ANNIE: Just...leave me alone.

JOSHUA: Annie, I’m sorry I tricked you. I was...I was trying to protect you. And look what happened. Annie, we’re going to go to the police, and you’ll be safe.

ANNIE: But they’ll lock you up. Or...worse.

JOSHUA: But you’ll be safe.

(Annie sighs and takes off her gloves.)

ANNIE: Come here, Joshua.

JOSHUA (realizing what she plans to do): Annie, no.

ANNIE: You owe me that much, don’t you think? (Holds out her hand) Joshua, I have to know.

(After a moment’s hesitation, Joshua slowly steps forward into her hand. Annie feels his face. She looks a little surprised, but smiles.)

ANNIE: No wonder Billie took such a liking to you. And, like I said, she’s always been a great judge of character.

JOSHUA: You’re not mad at me anymore?

ANNIE: I wouldn’t go that far. But I understand why you lied to me.

(They hear distant footsteps and voices.)

JOSHUA: Someone’s coming.

ANNIE: We can’t hide here forever.

JOSHUA: Come. (Helps her over a ledge) Careful.

(They walk through a tunnel and arrive at a junction, hearing voices again in the distance.)

JOSHUA: This way.

ANNIE: No. No, that way.

JOSHUA: How do you know?

ANNIE: I’m a good listener. Had a lot of practice.

JOSHUA: Come on.

ANNIE: You go ahead. I’m going to stay here.

JOSHUA: But, Annie, I can’t leave you here.

ANNIE: It’s okay if they find me, Joshua. It’s not okay if they find you.

(Joshua hesitates.)

ANNIE: Go on. When they find me, I’ll tell them you went the other way.

JOSHUA: Uh-uh. Annie, I can’t leave you here by yourself.

ANNIE: It’s the only way you’ll get out. Now go before somebody comes. Tomorrow I’ll come by your house to see you, okay?

JOSHUA: Promise?

ANNIE: Promise.

JOSHUA: Tomorrow?

ANNIE (stroking his cheek): Tomorrow.

(With a glance back at her, Joshua walks away.)

(Aboveground, darkness has fallen, and cops are still gathered in the area where they’re hoping to flush out Joshua. The crowd of onlookers remains. A man sells hot dogs he’s roasting over a barrel fire.)

ALEC: This place is a war zone.

LOGAN: We should’ve heard from Max by now. Let’s get her on the line.

(Alec dials his cell phone and hands it to Logan. In the sewers, Max ducks as some cops pass by. Sketchy’s cell phone vibrates and she answers it.)

MAX: Yeah?

LOGAN: Where are you?

MAX: Junction J-42.

LOGAN: Sector police have doubled back. They’re heading your way.

MAX: Tell me about it.

LOGAN: Joshua can’t be far.

(A hand reaches out and covers Max’s mouth. She gasps.)

LOGAN: What was that?

(Max turns to see it is Joshua and hugs him.)

MAX (into phone): You were right. I found him.

LOGAN: All right, well, let’s get you out of there. There is a tunnel up ahead on your right, about twenty yards.

MAX: Okay.

(Max and Joshua go into said tunnel.)

MAX: Now what?

LOGAN: Keep going. You’ll see a ladder on your left. Take it down one level.

MAX: Down? You sure?

LOGAN: Max, go.

MAX (to Joshua): Come on.

LOGAN (to Alec, pointing to the diagram): This is where I’m going to bring them out. Gotta figure there’ll be soldiers posted on the street.

ALEC: Mmm. Not for long. (Gets out of the car)

(Max and Joshua descend the ladder.)

MAX (into phone): We’re in some kind of chamber.

JOSHUA: I was here with Annie before.

LOGAN: There are three tunnels at the far end. Take the second one on the right. Hurry.

(Police enter the chamber from the tunnels. Max and Joshua hide.)

MAX (into phone): We can’t get through. There are too many of them.

LOGAN: They’re coming in behind you, too.

(Joshua sneaks over to the water controls. A cop sees him at the last minute, but Joshua immediately starts the flow of water, flooding the chamber. Two cops are knocked into the water. Max swings from a chain and kicks the others. As more police enter from another tunnel, Max and Joshua run.)

MAX: Let’s go!

COPS: Halt! Stop!

(The police fire after them and give chase. One of them speaks into his radio.)

COP: We are in pursuit. Repeat, in pursuit.

(Aboveground)

FIRST COP: Roger. Out. Let’s go! You heard him! Let’s go!

(All the police aboveground swarm around the manhole and take aim at it.)

(In the sewers, Max and Joshua climb a ladder.)

(Aboveground, the police turn a spotlight on the manhole. The crowd cheers. Some onlookers wave signs, reading “PROTECT THE PEOPLE, DESTROY TRANSGENICS” and “TRANSGENICS ARE TRASH.” Normal pushes to the front of the crowd to watch. Everybody is watching the manhole.)

(Sketchy emerges from it. The crowd groans.)

NORMAL: You idiot!

(Terry Caldwell gives Normal an odd look)

NORMAL: I don’t know him. I don’t know him. He’s just an idiot.

(In an unoccupied area, Max and Joshua emerge from another manhole. Unconscious policemen lie on the ground, and Alec stands there, counting some money.)

ALEC: You have any idea how little the cops in this burg get paid? It’s pathetic.

(Logan drives up. Max and Logan smile.)

(In the sewers, Annie hears footsteps approaching.)

ANNIE: Hello? Is somebody there? Hello? Hello?

(White steps up to her.)

WHITE: Don’t worry, miss. It’s all over.

(Logan pulls up to Joshua’s house.)

ALEC: Well, that was fun. What say we order a pizza, huh?

JOSHUA: Thank you, Logan.

LOGAN: No problem, big fella.

(Alec and Joshua get out of the car.)

LOGAN: Need a ride to your place?

MAX: Oh, no, it’s okay. I got my bike. Thanks, Logan. (Starts to get out)

LOGAN: Max?

MAX (turning back): Yeah?

LOGAN: I just want you to know...however things may be between us, I always got your back.

MAX: I know. Me too.

(Max gets out of the car. Then Logan drives away, while Max stands and watches.)

(Inside, Alec is on the couch, watching TV. Max and Joshua join him.)

ALEC: What’s Logan’s problem, anyway? I mean, everything turned out okay.

CHANNEL EIGHT REPORTER: Questions remain. Community leaders are demanding to know how the creature could have eluded the manhunt with so many law enforcement agencies involved.

JOSHUA: Creature has friends, that’s how.

CHANNEL THREE REPORTER: We’re here to bring you breaking news in this shocking development. Police have now confirmed that the cause of death was a snapped neck. Witnesses say it would have taken someone with superhuman strength to account for the state in which the body was found.

(Max, Alec, and Joshua look up in alarm.)

REPORTER: Once again, a tragic ending to tonight’s events: The kidnapped girl, Annie Fisher, was found dead at the scene just moments ago, murdered by her abductor, who remains at large. Police have a description of the kidnapper...

(Joshua roars, pounding the floor.)

REPORTER: ...sewers early this morning. Miss Fisher, who had been blind from childhood, spent several terrifying hours with her attacker, as police tried in vain to locate and rescue her. Sadly, that was not to be.

JOSHUA: Annie...

REPORTER: A terrible end to this story tonight. Annie Fisher was only twenty-three years old.

(As the reporter continues to speak, a body bag is loaded into an ambulance.)

REPORTER: And so, to recap, the situation here tonight is grim. After an exhaustive all-day search involving police and rescue departments, the kidnapped girl, Annie Fisher, has been found murdered. Stay with us as Channel Three News brings you all the details tonight at eleven o’clock.

(White is standing in the crowd. His cell phone rings.)

WHITE (into phone): White. Fe’nos tol. Just keeps gettin’ better and better, doesn’t it?

(He gets into his car. The ambulance drives away.)

REPORTER: Once again, the attacker remains at large. And equally disturbing are rumors that a transgenic from what is apparently called the X-series, which appear to be human while possessing extraordinary strength and speed, may have assisted in the creature’s escape.

(Fade out as Alec and Max hug Joshua.)