(On top of the Space Needle, Max does a voiceover.)

MAX: Here in post-Pulse Seattle, my home, my friends, and my family are under fire. See, I was cooked up in a gene-splicing lab by an outfit called Manticore. They trained us to be soldiers, but really, we were slaves. Nine months ago, I torched the place and set everybody free--let them out into the world. Government's been trying to catch us ever since. The public is afraid; we are hunted, hated, and living in fear. Thank God for Logan. Even though we can't be together, on account of this virus Manticore put in me because they want him dead--long story, don't ask--he's still there for me, and he's helping me figure out what this black-ops government guy in charge of hunting me down is really up to. Turns out he's part of some weird ancient cult dealio--several thousand years of selective breeding, so they got some pretty nasty tricks up their sleeves. For some reason, they want me dead in a big way, and I've got a bad feeling they're not going to give up until they get what they want.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
2021

(At night, outside Terminal City, a reporter is speaking into a news camera. Near the fence, a wooden X burns. Several guys are throwing debris over the fence, screaming at the transgenics, none of whom are currently in sight.)

REPORTER: Terminal City is a twenty-block no-man's land here in the heart of Seattle. Closed ten years ago after a massive toxic spill, it is without power or water, and it is a felony to go beyond this security fence right behind me. Terminal City is far from empty; it is home to rats, stray cats, a few homeless humans, and--according to reports--an ever-increasing number of transgenics, some of them far from human. Local citizens have begun setting up flaming X's, like this one, outside the fence as a warning to the transgenics inside.

FIRST GUY: Get out of here, you freaks!

SECOND GUY: Go back where you came from!

THIRD GUY: Hey! Freakazoids!

(Max rides her Ninja down the street and arrives on the scene. The guys stand and look at her as she pulls to a stop and revs the engine.)

MAX: Two million years of human evolution and this is what we get. You morons.

(Max pops a wheelie and rides right through the flaming X. Dropping her front wheel back down, she uses a ramp to jump the fence into Terminal City, and then rides away.)

REPORTER: What the hell?! (To the cameraman) Did you get that? Tell me you got that!

(Max rides through an area that looks like it used to be a parking garage. She parks her motorcycle in the main part of the building, which is huge and dark, and mostly unfurnished. Max dismounts the Ninja and removes from it a metal briefcase. After taking a few steps and is surprised to see Mole standing by a post.)

MAX: Hey, Mole.

MOLE: Hey, Max. How'd it go?

MAX: Ever notice how drug dealers have no sense of humor when it comes to money?

(She points to dents made in the briefcase by bullets and hands it to Mole.)

MAX: That oughta keep us in Skittles and beer for a coupla weeks.

MOLE: Good, 'cause we got a lot of new people around here.

(Mole hands the briefcase to someone else. As he and Max walk through the building, which is lit by torches, they pass quite a few transgenics. Some are playing chess, some are warming themselves by barrel fires, and a guy sits with his arm around a girl.)

MOLE: We got X-5's, X-6's, even a few sevens. We got transhumans, anomalies, pregnant females...It's turning into Grand Central Station around here. Now we're gonna need gas for the generator, iodine tablets ASAP, blankets, bedrolls, Sterno for stoves, we're gonna need food, we're gonna need weapons, bullets, ammo, guns, grenades, anything we can scrounge. Oh, I'm gonna need more cigars.

MAX (smiling): Hey, there are only so many hours in the night.

(They enter the building that has living quarters, computers, and TVs. Dix and Luke watch the news on TV.)

MAX: Evening, gents.

LUKE: Hey, Max.

DIX: Hey, Max.

(On TV, a reporter is interviewing some guys on the street.)

REPORTER: Some people are calling you vigilantes. How would you answer that?

FIRST GUY: Nah, we're just concerned citizens, that's all. Kinda like, uh, a neighborhood watch group. Look, we just want our streets safe from these mutant freaks. You know what I'm saying? I mean, what are we supposed to do--wait until they break into our houses and take our daughters?

MOLE: You believe this pudknocker?

FIRST GUY: I mean, they need to go back wherever the hell they came from and stay out of our neighborhood.

SECOND GUY: Yeah, get out of town, you egg-sucking freaks!

FIRST GUY: Yeah, you're right on, Charlie.

DIX: Well? You heard him, boys. Looks like it's back to Manticore.

(Luke laughs. Max walks over to Joshua, who is painting a flag. It has a black stripe on the bottom, a red stripe in the middle, and a white stripe on top. In the middle of the black stripe, there is a barcode. In the middle of the flag, Joshua has painted a white dove, wings spread.)

MAX: Hey, Joshua.

JOSHUA: Hey.

MAX: Whatcha doin'?

JOSHUA: It's a flag. It's our flag.

LUKE: Yeah, 'cause we're gonna need a flag when our transhuman drill team is marching down Fifth Avenue in the St. Paddy's Day Parade.

DIX: Let's not forget halftime at those Seahawks games.

MAX: Hey, cut it out.

(Joshua explains the flag. He begins by pointing to the barcode.)

JOSHUA: This is you, me, even them. It's all of us. (Points to the black stripe) This is where we came from--where they tried to keep us.

MAX: In the dark.

JOSHUA: Secret. (Points to the red stripe) This is where we are now, because our blood is being spilled. (Points to the white stripe) This is where we want to go.

MAX: Into the light.

JOSHUA: Right.

(At the train station, White talks to the older priestess on his cell phone.)

WHITE: You understand that bringing in this team now could compromise my cover at the Agency?

PRIESTESS: Your Agency position has served us well, Ames, but the Conclave feels that--

WHITE: With all due respect to the Conclave, bringing in outside muscle is not the solution to this problem.

PRIESTESS: Hardly outside muscle. The Phalanx are the best we have--the elite of our warrior breeding line, the tip of the spear. They come by direct order of the Conclave, so discussion is pointless.

WHITE: I bow to the wisdom.

(White hangs up. Two women and three men get off a train and approach White.)

WOMAN: Fe'nos tol. I'm Thula, team leader.

WHITE: Fe'nos tol.

THULA: I've heard a lot about you, Brother White. I'm surprised you couldn't handle one girl on your own.

WHITE: Your target's a little more than just a girl.

THULA: You defend your failure by flattering your enemy?

WHITE (handing her a picture of Sam): 452 is a threat to everything we've worked for throughout the generations. Her death is our highest priority.

THULA: Don't worry, Brother. We'll clean your mess up for you.

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.

(At Jam Pony, a female messenger--apparently an X-series--joins Original Cindy at her locker.)

ORIGINAL CINDY: You seen my girl?

X-MESSENGER: No. Do I need a touch-up?

(She lets Original Cindy check the back of her neck.)

ORIGINAL CINDY: No, you're good.

SKETCHY: Hey, guys, check this out. (Puts on a Jam Pony baseball cap)

ORIGINAL CINDY: It's a hat.

SKETCHY: Yeah, with a fully rotational brim, so you can always represent. (Turns the brim to the side)

ORIGINAL CINDY: Yeah, represent your massive stupidity.

(Original Cindy turns his brim back to the front, and she and the X-messenger walk away.)

SKETCHY: That's one opinion.

(Alec enters Jam Pony, walking with a female messenger.)

ALEC: All right, babe. (In greeting) Sky. Normal, what's the good word, buddy?

NORMAL (singing): For he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good fellow, for he's a jolly good felloooow...

ALEC: The man's finally lost it.

(Normal stops singing and hands Alec a cake he had been holding behind his back. The cake has one lit candle.)

NORMAL: Many happy returns, there, buddy boy.

ALEC: It's not my birthday.

NORMAL: Yeah, it's right there in black and white on your application form.

ALEC: Oh yeah, yeah. Boy, nothing gets by you, does it, Normal?

NORMAL: Now I made that without eggs and butter, all right? I know you like to look after the ol' physique. Go ahead. Blow it out. (To Original Cindy, while Alec blows out the candle) By the way, if you see your shiftless colleague Max, tell her she's fired.

ORIGINAL CINDY: She's gonna be here like any minute.

NORMAL: Do you think I buy your tissue of lies for like a nanosecond?

ALEC: The man is like a steel trap.

NORMAL: You keep covering up for that reprobate, you're gonna be out of here, miss.

ORIGINAL CINDY: Ya promise?

(At Joshua's house, Max sits backward on a chair and removes the top part of her jumpsuit. Logan puts on two layers of latex gloves, the first layer duct-taped to his sleeves.)

LOGAN: Basic CDC procedure.

MAX: Yeah, to protect you against your biohazard girlfriend. (Pauses) I didn't mean that last part.

LOGAN: It's okay.

(Logan brushes her hair aside and unzips the back of her shirt. Slowly he pushes it down over her arms, and moves her bra straps down as well. Her back and shoulders are now bare, and the runes on her back and shoulder blades are completely visible.)

MAX: This is awkward.

LOGAN: For me, too.

(Logan looks at and touches the runes on her back. They are different from the ones White saw, and Max no longer has runes on her chest or on the front of her shoulders.)

MAX: But I figured you should look at these before they faded.

(Logan picks up his camera and starts taking pictures of the runes.)

LOGAN: When did they appear?

MAX: Last night. So, any luck on translating the stuff?

LOGAN: Hold still. I'm making progress, but some of it's still missing.

MAX: Maybe not. (Turns around to look, then realizes she's not holding still) Sorry.

LOGAN: Hmm.

MAX: Hmm, what?

LOGAN: Just hmm.

(Logan puts down the camera and kneels in front of Max to talk to her. She pulls her bra straps and shirt back up.)

LOGAN: If Sandeman put these in your genome from day one, like your barcode, then it's part of a plan.

MAX: Yeah, well, instead of turning my skin into a JumboTron, why didn't he give me something I could use, like X-ray vision or something?

LOGAN: Maybe he did. (Strokes her hand) Maybe it just hasn't shown up yet.

(Max watches his hand for a moment. They look at each other.)

MAX (not moving): I gotta jet.

LOGAN: Yeah.

(After a minute, Max moves her hair aside with both hands.)

MAX: Could you zip me?

(Logan goes around to zip up the back of her shirt.)

MAX: I'm way beyond late, and I still gotta go home and change, so... (Puts on the top part of her jumpsuit and grabs her bag) Thanks for this.

LOGAN: Yeah. I'll give you a call if I, uh, turn up anything on these.

MAX: Okay. (Leaves)

LOGAN: Yeah.

(Logan dips his gloved hands in some bleach. Then he takes them out and looks at them, thinking.)

(A male and a female walk down the street. The female, who is pregnant, looks few years older than the male. As they pass some cops, the female puts her hood up.)

MALE: You sure this is the right way?

FEMALE: I think so. (Checks the directions she's holding) Said south on Seventh. I figure we got another half a klick or so.

(She groans a little and stops, wincing in pain.)

MALE: Can you make it?

FEMALE: I'll make it.

(A police hoverdrone passes overhead. They duck into a phone booth, and the female pretends to be making a call. The hoverdrone snaps pictures of them and a nearby building, and then goes away. The male and female start walking again.)

(A van approaches them. One of the two people inside points, and the van pulls to a stop in front of the male and female. They turn and start to run. The door of the van opens and Joshua waves them back.)

JOSHUA: No no! Hey! Hey! Come back! Hurry!

(They climb in. Mole is the one in the driver's seat.)

JOSHUA: Get in. Get in. (To Mole while closing the door) Go! Go!

(Mole quickly starts driving.)

FEMALE: Hey. I'm Gem, X-5. This is Dalton.

DALTON: X-6.

JOSHUA: Joshua. (Sees her large belly) You're having a baby?

GEM: Yeah.

JOSHUA: When's the baby due?

GEM: Last week. Just been keeping my legs crossed until we reach the Promised Land.

MOLE (looking back at them): Yeah, well, Terminal City ain't exactly the Promised Land, honey, but we got a couple guys with some medical training--

JOSHUA: Watch out!

(Mole looks back at the road, but not quickly enough to avoid slamming into the rear end of a pickup truck that has suddenly backed into the street.)

JOSHUA: Is everyone fine?

DALTON: Yeah, I think so.

GEM: Yeah.

DALTON: You all right?

GEM: Yeah.

MOLE (trying to get the van started again): Bastard son of a bitch backs out without even looking.

JOSHUA: We need to go.

(Joshua has noticed that a crowd is gathering.)

JOSHUA: Uh, we need to go.

MOLE: Yeah, yeah, hang on.

DALTON: It's not starting?

(The driver of the pickup gets out of his truck, holding a tire iron and looking angry. His passenger gets out as well.)

GEM: This is not good. We've got company.

JOSHUA: Uh, we gotta--we gotta blaze. We gotta blaze now!

MOLE: Man up, dog. You're the one who wanted some action.

(The other driver and his passenger approach the van.)

JOSHUA: Uh-oh.

OTHER DRIVER (banging the van with the tire iron): Hey! Punk-ass! Look what you did to my truck!

JOSHUA: Uh-oh.

MOLE: Punk-ass?

JOSHUA: Uh-oh.

(Mole gets out of the van and stands with a shotgun resting on his shoulder.)

MOLE: You mean Mr. Punk-Ass, don't ya?

(The other driver and the other people gathered around get a look at Mole.)

OTHER DRIVER: Damn. It's one of those freaks.

MOLE: Now, that hurts.

(Mole shoots once into the air. The crowd, including the other driver, runs away. Joshua, Gem, and Dalton get out of the van.)

MOLE: I'll say one thing for ordinaries--they know when to run.

JOSHUA: Maybe we should run, too.

MOLE: We don't run, we fall back. Let's go.

(They run in the other direction. Joshua calls Max on a cell phone as they run through a busy marketplace, attracting stares. Max pulls her Ninja to a stop and answers her cell phone.)

MAX: Go for Max.

JOSHUA: Little fella, little fella, everything's gone sideways, it's FUBAR, people screaming, and Gem is trying to keep her legs crossed so the baby won't pop out!

MAX: What? Where are you?

JOSHUA: I'm at South Market--

MAX: You're right around the corner from Jam Pony. Find Alec; he'll get you a car. Okay? Joshua?

JOSHUA: Max? Max? (Checks the phone) Battery died. She said Jam Pony, then battery died.

MOLE: Which way? Come on!

JOSHUA (taking Gem's hand and leading the way): Come! Come!

MOLE: Go! Go! Go!

(They run down the street, pushing people aside.)

MOLE: Out of the way! Out of the way!

PASSERBY: Whoa!

SECOND PASSERBY: Freaks!

THIRD PASSERBY: Look at that!

(A cop notices them and speaks into his radio.)

COP: ...suspects in sight.

(They turn around and run a different way. )

COP: I'm in pursuit!

(Some other cops join him in the chase. The group arrives outside Jam Pony. All of them, except for Dalton, have their hoods up. Alec rides his bike out of the building and is surprised to see them.)

JOSHUA: Alec! I'm so glad to see you.

ALEC: Uh-huh.

JOSHUA: This is Gem. She's having a baby.

ALEC: Oh, so naturally you thought of stopping by Jam Pony in broad daylight.

JOSHUA: Max said to come see you, and to get a car, and head back--

(Alec sees police cars arriving behind them.)

ALEC: Don't turn around. Don't turn around. Keep walking. Keep walking.

(They walk away as police get out of their cars and take aim.)

COP: You, in the hood! Drop your weapon!

(Another police car cuts the group off from the other side.)

COP: Drop the weapon now! Put your hands on your head!

SECOND COP: Don't move!

ALEC: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Whoa!

(Mole shoots once into the air, grabs Alec, and points the shotgun at him as if he were a hostage.)

MOLE: Get back! Or he's dead!

(Joshua grabs Gem and aims a revolver at the police. Gem pulls his hand down so that the gun is pointed at her.)

MOLE: I said, stay back or he's dead! (To Alec) Play along.

ALEC: Yeah, no problem.

(Mole pulls him into Jam Pony. Joshua, Gem, and Dalton follow.)

ALEC: Oh, this should be interesting.

(Normal and the messengers watch the five of them enter. Mole is still holding Alec at gunpoint.)

NORMAL: Jumpin' George Dubya.

ALEC (quietly, to Mole): Don't blow my cover.

ORIGINAL CINDY: This cannot be good.

MOLE (to Alec): Got a back door?

ALEC: Yeah.

MOLE: All right, nobody move!

(Joshua closes the front door. The five of them walk through as everybody stares, dumbfounded. Both Mole and Joshua pass very close to Normal on the way. Joshua and Original Cindy exchange a glance as he passes. The group reaches the back door and Normal heads for his office.)

NORMAL: They've got my boy.

(Alec opens the back door and Mole follows him out. Police cars are parked outside and cops are taking aim.)

ALEC: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, go back!

COP: Freeze!

(Before Joshua and the others get outside, Mole and Alec turn around and head back for the door.)

COP: I said freeze!

(The cops start firing. One bullet hits Alec in the left arm.)

MOLE: Get back!

(They run back inside and close the door.)

NORMAL: Hold it right there, freak show!

(They stop in their tracks as Normal points a gun at Mole and Joshua.)

NORMAL: You're bleeding.

ALEC: Yeah, bullets will do that to you.

(Sirens sound outside as more police cars arrive.)

NORMAL: Okay, you're safe now.

ALEC (sighing): No...

(Alec rushes over, twists Normal's arm over his head, and wrenches the gun away from him. Mole points his shotgun at Normal.)

ALEC: ...I'm safe now.

(Alec gestures to Mole, who nods and lowers the shotgun. Normal holds his arm and stares at Alec in shock. One of the messengers runs toward the door.)

ALEC: No one leaves!

(The X-series messenger, who had been standing nearby, knocks the fleeing messenger down.)

X-MESSENGER: Nobody move!

SKETCHY (to Original Cindy): Cece's one of them, too? Cool!

ALEC: Cece, call base. Tell 'em we're in trouble. Joshua, take the front. Mole, you got the back?

MOLE (watching out the back window): Got it.

ALEC: Kid, what's your name?

DALTON: Dalton.

ALEC: All right, Dalton, why don't you head upstairs and keep an eye on the street for me?

NORMAL: My golden boy's a mutant.

ALEC: We prefer "genetically empowered."

NORMAL: Take me, Jesus.

MOLE: Careful what you wish for.

(Outside, police cars are surrounding the building and lots of cops are taking aim at it. A police hoverdrone passes overhead. Dalton runs upstairs and looks out the window.)

COP ON BULLHORN: You in the building! This is the Seattle Police Department. The building is completely surrounded. Throw your weapons out and come out with your hands visible, and you will be treated fairly under the law.

(Max arrives on the rooftop of the building across the street from Jam Pony.)

COP ON BULLHORN: Throw your weapons out, and come out with your hands on top of your head.

(A hoverdrone passes in front of Max. She jumps on top of it and balances her weight to steer across the street. She breaks through the window of Jam Pony, surfing on the hoverdrone as it slides to a stop on the floor in front of everybody.)

MAX: Hey. Who ordered a pizza?

(Later, Mole watches from Jam Pony's upstairs window as more and more police arrive outside. Cece comes upstairs.)

CECE: My watch.

MOLE: It's all yours.

(Downstairs, the messengers are sitting around, nervously watching the goings-on. Dalton dresses Alec's wound.)

MAX: What's that?

ALEC: It's a hole in my body made by a bullet.

MAX: Been there, done that. Check the news.

(Original Cindy is sitting with Gem, who is sitting on a couch and breathing a bit heavily.)

MAX: Hey. How's Gem?

ORIGINAL CINDY: This girl is having a baby.

GEM: I can still move, if you need to displace.

MOLE: Turning into a damn pig farm out there. (Sky walks by and Mole stops him) Who said you could get up?

SKY (clearly intimidated): Uh...bathroom.

(Sketchy pulls out his camera and snaps a picture. Mole quickly turns around and points the shotgun at him.)

MAX: Hey!

(Max pushes the gun down and snatches the camera away.)

MAX: No more pictures. (To Mole and Sky) Go.

SKY: Uh...

MAX (to Sky): Go!

(Sky runs to the bathroom.)

MOLE: Who put you in charge?

MAX: These people are not the enemy.

MOLE: Don't be so sure.

(At Mole's comment, Max looks around at all the messengers, who are watching her.)

NORMAL: I always knew you were a wrong number. You never had me fooled for a second there, miss.

SKETCHY: Yeah, whatever. Transgenic Central, right here under your nose.

NORMAL: Shut up.

(Max looks at the messengers again.)

MAX: All right, people, listen up. I know things are really tense right now--

MESSENGER: Gee, I wonder why.

MAX: But if you'll just sit tight and be patient, me and mine will get out of here before you know it.

NORMAL (standing up): Well, I got a hot flash for you, girlfriend. Me and mine are gonna get out of here right now. Let's go, people! Bip bip bip!

(The messengers start standing up.)

ALEC: Hang on. Sit down.

NORMAL (to Mole): Go on, take your best shot, frog boy!

ORIGINAL CINDY: Nobody's shootin' at anybody. Now sit your raggedy ass down.

NORMAL: Oh, I see. Not only are you one of Sappho's daughters, you're one of them, too.

ORIGINAL CINDY: No. What I am is a friend to Max, and Alec, and Cece, and the rest of 'em. We walk outta here now, and they're toast.

NORMAL: Well, I don't have a problem with that.

ORIGINAL CINDY: Well, I do. And I'm guessing so does anyone else here who's down with my girl. So how 'bout we just take a minute and figure this bitch out, so that nobody else gets hurt. Aiight?

(At Joshua's house, Logan is working on something, half-listening to the news on TV.)

ANCHORWOMAN: It's been less than an hour since an unknown number of armed transgenics and transhumans barricaded themselves inside this building--the offices of the Jam Pony messenger service--but already angry crowds have gathered, shouting anti-transgenic slogans.

(At the mention of Jam Pony, Logan looks up. The TV shows footage of Max riding the hoverdrone.)

ANCHORWOMAN: Just moments ago, an unknown woman apparently commandeered a hoverdrone. She somehow rode it over the police cordon and into the building in which the suspects are barricaded. Police believe that the woman is also a transgenic, apparently come to the aid of the suspects inside.

(Logan grabs his gun out of the desk drawer and walks toward the door. He stops, looks at the exoskeleton standing in the corner, and puts it on.)

(Inside a building, the Phalanx are working out and preparing weapons. Thula's cell phone rings. White is calling her from the street outside Jam Pony, where a huge crowd is making lots of noise against the transgenics. Many are holding up signs.)

THULA (into phone): Yeah.

WHITE: Good news. We found our target.

THULA: Excellent.

WHITE: The bad news is she's sitting smack in the middle of Seattle P.D., sector cops, my agency people, and every news crew in the city.

THULA: This complicates things.

WHITE: I think we can get her right under their noses. I need a little bit of time to heat things up. Be ready.

THULA: Always.

(Thula hangs up and fires at a paper target with Sam's picture pasted on it.)

(Outside Jam Pony, some people in the crowd are holding up signs with slogans like the following:)

OUR KIDS ARE NOT SAFE
STAY OUT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, FREAKS
MAKE OUR STREETS MUTANT FREE
KILL THE FREAKS

(Some of the police are keeping the crowd under control.)

CROWD MEMBER: Get the mutant freaks out of our city!

COP: Stay behind the barricades!

(A police detective wearing a suit and a bulletproof vest, who is apparently in charge of the situation, is walking around giving orders to some of the cops.)

POLICE DETECTIVE: Where the hell is my phone? A secure line should have been in here ten minutes ago. And get that damn news team behind that barricade! Next camera I see in the street, the guy carrying it goes for a ride.

(White and Otto approach him, flashing their badges.)

WHITE: Special Agent in Charge Ames White.

POLICE DETECTIVE: Nice badge. Picture looks just like you.

WHITE: Appreciate you securing the area, Detective. We'll take it from here.

POLICE DETECTIVE (sarcastically): I'm so pleased. Now I won't have to miss my little boy's recital this afternoon. (To a cop) Get this idiot out of here.

WHITE: You're out of your league, Detective. Please ask your men to stand down.

POLICE DETECTIVE: Not until all those hostages are out of there in one piece. (To someone else) Where's my freakin' phone?

WHITE: You're not dealing with a bunch of thugged-out punks who boost TVs for a living. They're highly-trained, genetically-engineered killing machines.

POLICE DETECTIVE: As far as I know, no one's dead yet, and I intend to keep it that way. So I need you and I need your lady friend to situate yourselves behind that barricade so I can do my job.

WHITE: You forcing me to go over your head?

POLICE DETECTIVE: Do what you gotta do, Special Agent in Charge White. Just do it someplace else! (White opens his cell phone and walks away) Where the hell is my phone, damn it?

(Inside Jam Pony, everybody is watching the news on TV. Reporters are interviewing people on the street.)

FIRST GUY: The economy's bad enough; you want 'em taking your job? You want 'em living next door, spittin' out their mutant, half-breed kids?

(The second guy they interview is the driver of the truck that got smashed by the van earlier.)

OTHER DRIVER: These mutant freaks are an affront to nature. They don't deserve to live.

(At that comment, one of the messengers glances behind her at Max and Joshua. Joshua is standing with his arms around Max.)

OTHER DRIVER: Where's the accountability? Who's taking care of this? Nobody! These freaks are running rampant. They get to do whatever they want. They got protection or somethin'? These things aren't natural. They shouldn't be alive. They don't deserve to live. They should be lined up with the scientists and shot like the bunch of rabid dogs they are. These freakoids smashed up my truck. That's taking bread out of my mouth. That's screwing up my job, my livelihood. Who's gonna feed my kid? Who's gonna pay my rent?

JOSHUA (during the other driver's rant): Really FUBAR, little fella.

MAX: We just gotta hang tough. It's gonna be okay.

JOSHUA: I don't know. The way upstairs people look at me...I don't know if it'll ever be okay.

FIRST GUY: I say kill the freaks, or send 'em back to whatever cesspool they came from! Yeah!

(The crowd behind the guy cheers. Jam Pony's phone rings and Max goes to answer it.)

NORMAL: If it's a package, get a number.

MAX (into phone): Start talking.

POLICE DETECTIVE: Detective Ramon Clemente of the Seattle P.D. Who is this?

MAX: Let's just keep it simple and you call me 452.

CLEMENTE: Okay...452.

MAX: I want a van parked outside with a full tank of gas.

CLEMENTE: Before you give me your Christmas list, why don't you let those people that you're holding in there come on out?

MAX: Not until I get my transportation and a guaranteed safe passage out of here.

CLEMENTE: I understand you have a wounded man and a pregnant woman in there who I'm sure need medical attention.

MAX: Just the van. We'll take care of our own.

CLEMENTE: If I agree to your terms, when do I get my hostages?

MAX: Half when the van arrives, half when we get to our destination.

CLEMENTE: Which would be where?

MAX: It's not far. They'll be home for dinner. (Hangs up)

MOLE: You're dreaming if you think they're gonna let us just drive off into the sunset. Get it through your head--the only way they want this to end is with us dead.

(Later, a reporter is interviewing a woman on the street.)

WOMAN: Oh, there's no point in discussing human rights, since they're not human, so they don't have rights. They don't even have souls. And it's worse than that, because animals don't have souls, but they were meant to be here. These things were never even intended by God to exist. They are an insult to everything in His creation.

(The people inside Jam Pony are waiting around. Most are no longer paying attention to the TV. Sketchy stands up and approaches Max.)

SKETCHY: Hey, Max. I was hoping you might possibly be interested in having me interview you about your life as a hot transgenic female on the run in post-Pulse America?

MAX: No.

(Mole gets in Sketchy's face. Sketchy sits back down.)

SKETCHY: Sorry, dude. Whatever.

(Mole walks away. Original Cindy watches him go by.)

ORIGINAL CINDY: Please tell me that he is not the baby daddy.

GEM (shaking her head): He was another X-5. We were breeding partners.

ORIGINAL CINDY: That sounds real romantic.

GEM: It wasn't.

(Clemente calls Jam Pony again and Max answers.)

MAX: What do you got?

CLEMENTE: A headache. And I got the vehicle. Now send out the hostages.

(A bus bearing the words SEATTLE METRO POLICE arrives. Max hangs up the phone.)

MAX: It's on.

(Outside, White sees the bus pull up.)

WHITE (to Otto): Get our people in position.

(NSA snipers stand at the windows of a nearby building and point their guns out small holes in the window panes. Police snipers take aim from the rooftop.)

(Logan arrives on the scene, walking through the crowd and adjusting an earpiece.)

(Alec partly opens the front door of Jam Pony. Everybody inside is gathered around the door, but nobody is visible from the outside. Max peers out and speaks into her cell phone.)

MAX: How's it look?

LOGAN (into the microphone attached to his earpiece): I don't know; it's dicey. We got shooters on the roof and the bus door's on the exposed side.

MAX: Yeah, looks pretty messy.

LOGAN: All right, you're going to have to use the messengers as shields.

MAX (sighing): Okay. (Yelling outside) Clemente! I'm gonna need the snipers on the roof pulled back, or no deal!

CLEMENTE (into radio): Sniper team, pull back. Pull back.

(The police snipers step back from the rooftop edge.)

LOGAN: All right, you're clear.

MAX: Wish me luck. (Hangs up, then yells outside) First group's coming out!

(Alec opens the door the rest of the way. Max talks to some of the messengers.)

MAX: Okay, guys, come on. Keep your arms in the air and go slow, all right? Be careful.

(That group of messengers walks outside with their hands up.)

CLEMENTE: This way. Come this way. Keep your hands in the air. Come towards the barricades. (After those messengers have left) Okay, 452, the keys are in the vehicle. Your ball.

(Max waves the transgenics and the rest of the messengers to the door.)

MAX: Okay, guys. They're not going to shoot at us. We got a kid and a pregnant girl. They don't know which ones are transgenic and which aren't.

MOLE: Yeah, well, a couple of us they got a pretty good idea.

(Mole grabs Normal to use as a shield.)

MAX: Come on.

ORIGINAL CINDY: They saw you, boo--flyin' right over their heads. I got you.

(Original Cindy puts Max's arm around her so it looks like Max is using Original Cindy as a shield.)

MAX: Thanks.

CECE: They don't know about me.

ORIGINAL CINDY: Then help me protect my girl.

MAX: All right, let's file in, guys. Come on.

(Joshua uses Sketchy as a shield.)

SKETCHY: This is my cover story, man.

MAX: Let's do this.

(White speaks into a microphone so the NSA snipers can hear him on their earpieces.)

WHITE: Wait for my command.

(Slowly the group walks outside, led by Mole and Normal. As they walk around the front of the bus, headed for its door, Logan notices White and Otto standing in the crowd. He follows their gaze to the building nearby. The police snipers from the roof are still gone, but now Logan sees the guns pointing out the windows.)

WHITE (to the snipers): Take the shot.

(Logan pulls out his gun and shouts a warning to Max.)

LOGAN: Max!

(He uses the exoskeleton to jump onto the roof of a nearby police car.)

MAX (to the others): Go!

(They turn back and start to run for the door of Jam Pony, but one of the snipers gets off a shot. It hits Cece and she goes down.)

MAX: Get back!

(Logan fires several times at the windows as he jumps off the car. Logan, Mole, and Alec exchange gunfire with the snipers as the group runs inside.)

CLEMENTE (into radio): Cease fire! (Shooting continues) Cease fire!

(Max and Mole drag Cece inside.)

MAX (to the group): Move! Move! Move! Move!

(Once everybody else is inside, Logan runs in and Joshua closes the door behind them all.)

MAX: Fall back! Cover the door! Anyone else hit?

OTHERS: No.

(Max and Logan check Cece over. She is dead.)

MOLE (to the messengers): All right, get down. I want everybody on the floor, now. Get down. Stay there. Stay down.

ORIGINAL CINDY: They killed her.

MAX: Go take care of Gem.

(Original Cindy sits with Gem, whose labor has grown more intense.)

JOSHUA: Why did they do this? We did everything they wanted.

MOLE (pointing at Max): This is on you. I told you not to trust the cops.

LOGAN: It wasn't the cops. It was White.

(The others look surprised.)

JOSHUA: White is out there?

LOGAN: Yeah, White's guys did this. They killed Cece.

(Joshua growls.)

MAX: They screwed this whole thing up on purpose to escalate the situation.

ALEC: Yeah, well, it worked.

MOLE: What difference does it make who fired? They all want to see us dead!

LOGAN: Everybody needs to calm down.

MOLE: I'm not gonna wait around for them to try again. (Grabs Sketchy)

SKETCHY: Whoa!

MAX: What are you doing?

MOLE: Until we get safe passage, we kill one hostage every hour, starting now.

LOGAN: Let him go!

MOLE: I don't take orders from your kind.

MAX: No, but you take orders from me. Now let him go.

MOLE: No! We gotta show them we mean business, or we're dead!

LOGAN (sarcastically): That's a good idea. Start shooting people, 'cause that's what White wants, and then you can prove you're the monster people think you are.

MOLE: Shut up! You're not one of us!

LOGAN: No, I'm not. But I'm standing right here with you, aren't I?

MAX: All right, people, listen up! If we don't stick together, we don't get out of here alive. (To Mole) You understand that?

MOLE: Okay. (Releases Sketchy) Okay. But if they come near the building, I start taking them out. Come on, Joshua.

(Mole walks away. Joshua looks at Max.)

MAX: Joshua...

(Joshua follows Mole.)

MAX: Joshua!

SKETCHY: Thanks, guys. That was close.

(Outside, White and Otto approach Clemente again.)

CLEMENTE (angrily): You fed son of a bitch! You get off my scene right now, or I swear I will kick you to the curb myself.

WHITE: Seems your snipers got a little carried away.

CLEMENTE: Those were your men back there, and we both know it.

WHITE: Is that what we know? See, I don't know that at all, but what I do know is that this was just faxed in from the governor's office. (Hands him a piece of paper)

CLEMENTE: So you got friends in high places. I'm supposed to be impressed?

WHITE: I draw your attention to the part where I'm given overriding jurisdiction. You screwed up, Lieutenant.

CLEMENTE: Yeah, when I voted for this nimrod. (Crumples the paper)

WHITE: Now my tactical team is going to go in and we're going to get this thing done, and you are going to stay out of my way. But thanks for coming out. (He and Otto walk away)

CLEMENTE: Damn it.

(At Jam Pony, Logan lays Cece's body on Normal's desk. Max covers the body, looking pensive.)

LOGAN: Wasn't your fault.

MAX: This is all my fault. I let these people loose in the world. But there's no place for us out here. There's no place anywhere.

LOGAN: You gave them freedom, Max. The thing about freedom...it's never free.

(Later, after dark, Gem is in heavy labor, breathing hard and moaning.)

ORIGINAL CINDY: Push. Push. That's it, girl. (Gem pushes) Yes. Push! Push.

(Normal shakes his head and joins them.)

NORMAL: No. Wrong. Ca-ca. Don't you know anything about birthing babies? Pushing is exactly what she should not be doing right now. (To Gem, gently) Listen, I want you to breathe and relax, okay? All right, now breathe...and relax. Breathe and relax. All right, that's it. That's it.

(He looks under her skirt.)

NORMAL: Okay. Okay, you're fully dilated. You're in a late second stage. It's not going to be long now. I want you to breathe from your diaphragm, okay?

ORIGINAL CINDY: And you know this how?

NORMAL: Dad was a dairy farmer. I know my way around the inside of a heifer better than you do. (Gem pushes him) Okay. All right.

GEM (to Max): I need a weapon.

MAX: You're out of this fight, soldier.

GEM: Me and my baby are getting out of here alive.

MAX: You get that baby into this world. We got your back. Okay? (Gem nods)

NORMAL: Just breathe, honey.

(A reporter interviews another guy on the street.)

THIRD GUY: I say we kill 'em like cockroaches. Burn 'em out, before they spread...before they breed.

(Outside, a van pulls up. The Phalanx get out, dressed in black combat gear, and approach White.)

WHITE (into radio): Clemente, this is White. I'm inserting my team now. Remember, zero interference.

CLEMENTE (into radio): It's your world.

OTTO: What is this? Who are these people?

WHITE: They're on loan from another agency.

OTTO: What agency? I don't understand what's going on here, sir.

WHITE: Let's keep it that way. You're not cleared for this op. Now move the men back and secure the perimeter. (Otto hesitates) Walk away. Do it now.

(Otto walks away. White speaks to Thula.)

WHITE: Look at them. (Indicates the crowd) When we carry her out in a body bag, they'll be clapping and cheering. They'll never know that she was their only hope.

(Inside Jam Pony)

MAX: It's me White wants. I'm going out there.

LOGAN: No way.

MAX: He wants this thing to end as badly as possible, and I'm not gonna let that happen.

LOGAN: Max, you're not going out there.

MAX: I have to.

LOGAN: Max, listen to me. After you left, I translated the new runes on your skin. (Shows her a piece of paper)

JOSHUA: Is that the message from Father?

LOGAN: That's right. I think it's complete now. The symbols have multiple meanings, but the gist is something like, "When the shroud of death covers the face of the earth, the one whose power is hidden will deliver the helpless."

MAX: What's that supposed to mean?

LOGAN: It means something really, really bad--like maybe biblically bad--is going to happen.

ORIGINAL CINDY: And you're the one who's gonna stop it.

MOLE: Look. If all of this is about White getting Max--I mean, specifically Max--then I think she should go out there.

LOGAN: Forget it.

MOLE: No, she makes a break for it, lets him see her. She's fast; she has a chance at making it.

LOGAN: Nope.

MOLE: Then he'll leave us alone because he knows she's gone.

LOGAN: No. No. Out of the question, Mole!

MOLE: Wake up, chimp! We're out of options here!

LOGAN: No, you wake up. If she is the key to saving millions of people from some kind of apocalypse...

MOLE: Your people or my people?

LOGAN: People! Human beings, like you and me!

(While Logan and Mole argue, Max tunes out. She turns away from them and stares into space for a minute. Suddenly she turns back around and snaps into urgency.)

MAX: They're coming. They're coming. Carry Gem. Come on, let's go!

MOLE: I don't hear anything.

MAX: Shh! Joshua, you carry Gem.

ALEC: Max, we're clear.

MAX: Don't argue with me. Dalton, let's go. Come on. I need everybody upstairs right now. Let's go. Follow me.

JOSHUA (picking up Gem): Hang on.

MAX: Come on.

(Outside, White and the Phalanx walk toward the building.)

WHITE: Remember, our primary target is 452.

THULA: What about the hostages?

WHITE: Let's show the viewers at home what the mutant menace does to innocent people. Take out the hostages, the freaks, the kid...take out anything with a pulse.

(Thula nods. She and three other Phalanx begin climbing the outer wall of the building.)

(Inside, most of the group arrives on the upper level. It is divided by glass partitions, and is empty except for a couple of desks, a file cabinet, some shelves, some mannequins, and general debris. Alec and Mole stay downstairs)

MAX: Come on, guys, file in. Stay low. All the way to the back. (To Sketchy) Hey, Sketchy--keep 'em quiet, and keep 'em down. (To Original Cindy, Dalton, and Normal) Take cover behind the desk. Behind the desk. Come on! Hurry up! (To Joshua, who is still carrying Gem) Keep her behind the desk.

(Downstairs)

ALEC: Mole!

MOLE: Go! Go! Go!

(Jam Pony's front door explodes open. Mole and Alec head upstairs. White and one of the Phalanx enter the building, guns drawn. Mole and Alec arrive upstairs; Alec closes and locks the door.)

MAX: Take cover.

(The messengers are hidden in the back; the others duck behind columns and the file cabinet. Logan has his gun ready. Alec and Mole discover that they are out of ammunition and turn their guns around for use as blunt objects.)

MAX: Wait for my signal. We hit hard, we hit fast, and we don't back off. This is for all the marbles, people.

(Somewhere a window breaks, and four of the Phalanx enter from the ceiling. They walk around, guns drawn, searching.)

(Gem is unable to keep from grunting and moaning. Normal tries to shush her. Original Cindy puts a rag in Gem's mouth for her to bite on and to muffle the noise.)

(Max silently signals to Logan, Joshua, Mole, and Alec. Each gives a thumbs-up in response.)

(One of the Phalanx opens the door and lets the other Phalanx and White in, and all six continue to search.)

(Gem's breathing and grunts grow a little louder.)

NORMAL (whispering): Shhh. Wait. Wait.

(The Phalanx hear Gem's muffled moans and slowly head toward the desk, which is behind a glass partition.)

(Mole, Max, and Alec--who have hidden on the ceiling--drop down, and each begins fighting one of the Phalanx. The fourth Phalanx is taken by surprise by Joshua, growling and snarling, and they begin to fight.)

(The fifth Phalanx is standing near the glass partition behind which Logan is hiding. Logan stands up and fires at him through the glass. The Phalanx falls to the ground. Logan discovers he has just run out of ammunition and starts to reload.)

(Mole defeats his Phalanx and fires at White. White ducks, and while Mole continues to shoot, a Phalanx grabs him from behind and shoves him into a shelf.)

(Alec's Phalanx shoves him through a glass partition.)

(Joshua bashes his Phalanx's head into a wall and a column, and then throws him across the room.)

(Alec and his Phalanx continue fighting.)

(Max's Phalanx loses her helmet. We now see that it is Thula. She and Max circle each other, and Max kicks Thula's gun away.)

THULA: 452.

MAX: Just bring it.

(Max and Thula begin to fight.)

(After Mole knocks out his Phalanx, he and White begin to fight.)

(Max lands several blows on Thula. Thula kicks Max to the floor and then throws her through a glass partition. Thula jumps from a desk and wraps her legs around Max's neck, and they both fall to the ground.)

(While Logan is reloading, the Phalanx he fired at rises from the ground and pulls him through the glass partition.)

(Joshua knocks out his Phalanx and goes to help Mole.)

(Logan's Phalanx punches him and throws him through the glass again.)

(Thula shoves Max headfirst through a glass partition.)

(Logan's Phalanx punches him several times. Joshua stops the Phalanx and hurls him across the room.)

(Thula swings a chair at Max. Max ducks, and the chair breaks a partition, shattering glass over Gem and the others hiding behind the desk.)

(White kicks Mole.)

NORMAL: Okay, it's time to push now. Come on. Push push push push push, with all your might, all your might, all your might...

(Max and Thula continue to fight.)

NORMAL: All right, it's coming. It's coming.

(Thula backflips onto Max and knocks her down.)

(White knocks Mole down with a large, metal milk can and begins kicking him. Joshua grabs White from behind and shoves him up against a wall. Joshua is about to strike White, but stops when he recognizes him and realizes he is facing Annie's killer. He roars with rage, bashes White against the wall, and slams him into a shelf.)

(Alec's Phalanx swings a mannequin at him. He ducks and they continue to fight, slamming through a glass partition in the process.)

NORMAL: Okay, the baby's coming out. I can see the head. Now you really gotta bear down, now. Really bear down. Time to push now.

(Max and Thula keep fighting.)

(Alec's Phalanx kicks him in the head, and he falls to the ground. As she is about to hit him with a mannequin leg, Logan comes over and kicks her hard. Thanks to the exoskeleton, she goes flying across the room, landing next to Gem.)

NORMAL: Bear down hard, now, honey. Bear down hard. (Gem punches out the Phalanx) That's it. Good.

(Joshua breaks a desk over White.)

(Original Cindy and Dalton sit on the Phalanx while they handcuff her.)

NORMAL: Go! Push push push push push push push push push!

(We hear the baby cry.)

(Thula leans over Max, punching her repeatedly. Max sneaks some handcuffs out of Thula's pocket and gets a cuff around one of Thula's wrists. Thula stands up, pulling Max with her, and starts to choke her. Max uses a column to flip over so that she is out of the choke hold and standing behind Thula. She swings Thula by one arm so that Thula ends up wrapped around the column and then handcuffs her other wrist. Thula is now standing with her arms around the column, wrists cuffed together. She struggles, and tries to kick at Max, but doesn't succeed.)

(Joshua, snarling, throws White through a thin wall, then picks him up and throws him again.)

(Logan grabs a gun that was left on the ground by one of the Phalanx and helps Alec up.)

LOGAN: You all right?

ALEC: Yeah.

NORMAL: One more big push. You gotta really crank down. Really crank down, okay?

(Except for Thula, who is still cuffed to the post, the Phalanx are now all lying on the ground. Some are unconscious. Logan, Alec, and Mole disarm them and check to make sure the fight is over.)

LOGAN (to a conscious Phalanx): Stay down!

ALEC: Max! Clear!

MOLE: Clear!

(Joshua, still snarling, bends White backwards over his knee. We can hear White's back cracking.)

MAX: Joshua, no. Joshua, no!

(Max runs over and tries to restrain Joshua.)

MAX: Joshua, no!

JOSHUA: He deserves to die! He killed Annie!

MAX: No. He deserves to die, a lot. But if you kill him now, the only thing people will remember about today is how some transgenic killed a human being in cold blood...and then they'll never stop hunting us.

(Joshua takes a moment to consider this, and then drops White to the ground. He plants his foot on White's neck to restrain him, and Max leans in close to speak to White.)

MAX: Bring around your muscle queens anytime. I'll be happy to kick their ass.

WHITE: We are not finished.

MAX: Fe'nos tol, bitch.

(Max flicks him on the nose and goes over to join Gem and the others. Normal is handing the baby to Gem.)

NORMAL: There you go. Oh, what a dear little sweet soul.

(Gem checks the back of the baby's neck and smiles in relief.)

GEM: No barcode. She doesn't have one.

MAX: Then she's free.

MOLE: Not yet, she ain't.

(Later, Logan is dressed as one of the Phalanx. He pokes his head out the front door and shouts to the police outside.)

LOGAN: Weapons down! Hold your fire! Team coming out! (Opens the door all the way and walks out.) Let's go. Federal agents! Step back!

(Alec, Sketchy, and Original Cindy are also dressed as Phalanx. Original Cindy escorts Gem, Dalton, and the baby. Alec and Sketchy escort Max, Joshua, and Mole--all handcuffed- -at gunpoint. Logan parts the crowd of police as the group walks toward the Phalanx van and an ambulance parked nearby.)

LOGAN: I need you back. Move! Move! We may have a biohazard here, people. Make a hole. Make a hole. Move! Move! Let's go. (To Clemente) Agent White wants your people in there to secure the crime scene ASAP. Let's go! Let's go! Let's go, let's go!

(Max, Joshua, and Mole are led into the back of the van. Dalton, Gem, and the baby are led into the back of the ambulance.)

LOGAN: We're going to need to commandeer this ambulance. (To Clemente) Agent White is not a man who likes to be kept waiting, Detective.

(Original Cindy climbs in the back of the ambulance and shuts the door. Alec does the same in the van. Sketchy approaches the driver of the ambulance.)

SKETCHY: All right, we'll take over from here--unless you want be stuck in a six-hour decontamination hose-down.

(The driver backs off, and Sketchy gets in the ambulance driver's seat. Max, Joshua, and Mole remove their handcuffs as Logan gets in the van driver's seat. Logan yells at the police to get the crowd of angry onlookers out of the way.)

LOGAN: Clear the barricades. Clear the barricades. (Starts the van) Clear the barricades! Clear 'em! Let's go!

MAX: Nice and easy.

(The crowd moves aside as the van and ambulance slowly start driving.)

LOGAN: Let's move it! Move! Move! Let's go! Let's move it! Move, move, move, move! Get out of the way!

SKETCHY: All right, where are we going?

ORIGINAL CINDY: Just drive.

SKETCHY: Can I turn on the siren?

ORIGINAL CINDY: Just drive, fool!

CLEMENTE (heading for the building): All right, let's get in there.

(After a minute, the van and the ambulance get away from the crowd and drive down an empty street.)

MAX: We're clear.

(Everybody cheers.)

MOLE: Yeah, baby. That's what I'm talkin' about.

ALEC (removing his helmet): It's all good.

(Sketchy and Original Cindy hear Max's words via the radios in their helmets.)

ORIGINAL CINDY: Yeah!

SKETCHY: All right! We rock!

(They remove their helmets in excitement.)

LOGAN (to Alec): Just for the record, that chick was kicking your ass.

ALEC: I had it. I was just settin' her up.

MAX (to Logan): All right. Head for Terminal City.

(Clemente and his men enter Jam Pony, guns drawn. They see Normal and the remaining messengers sitting on a bench, waiting.)

CLEMENTE: Anyone hurt?

MESSENGER: No, we're okay. But you better go look upstairs.

(Upstairs, Clemente and his men find White and the Phalanx tied to a column with packing tape. Their mouths are taped as well, and they are wearing only their underwear.)

CLEMENTE (laughing): Special Agent in Charge White.

(White tries to yell at Clemente, but his words are muffled and unintelligible, thanks to the tape. Clemente pretends to understand him.)

CLEMENTE: What? The transgenics taped you up and took your uniform?

(White tries to say something.)

CLEMENTE: No way.

(White tries to say something.)

CLEMENTE: And you want me to go after them? That's a good idea. (To his men) Let's go.

(White keeps trying to yell at Clemente as he walks away.)

(In police cars, Clemente and the rest of the police chase Max and the others, sirens blaring.)

LOGAN: We got company.

CLEMENTE (over his bullhorn): Stop your vehicles now, or you will be fired upon. Pull over now, or we will use deadly force to stop you.

MAX: Don't stop. Keep moving.

SKETCHY: Uh-oh, what should I do?

GEM: Keep driving.

ORIGINAL CINDY: Just follow Max. She's gotta know what she's doing.

SKETCHY: Okay.

(They approach Terminal City. Its gates are closed and locked.)

MAX: Go straight through the gates.

LOGAN: Hold on.

(The van breaks through the gates, followed by the ambulance and the police cars.)

MAX: You're gonna make a right, a left, then straight up the ramp.

(They enter the parking garage.)

MAX: Straight through the building.

(They reach the other side of the garage and come to a stop.)

LOGAN: End of the line.

(The police all get out of their cars and draw their guns. Clemente speaks over the bullhorn.)

CLEMENTE: Throw your weapons out and let me see your hands.

MOLE (to Max): So what's your plan now?

JOSHUA: Max?

CLEMENTE: Throw your weapons out now!

MAX (after a pause): You heard the man.

(The others groan and sigh in defeat.)

MOLE: Well, this sucks.

ALEC: I fought the law, and the law won.

CLEMENTE: Throw your weapons out and put your hands where I can see them. Throw them out. Do it!

(The van and ambulance doors open and the people inside throw their guns out. Then they slowly step out, their hands in the air, while Clemente keeps yelling.)

CLEMENTE: Step away from the vehicle, and keep those hands up. Do it! Put your hands up. Keep them up! Keep those hands up. Step out of the vehicle and keep those hands up. Get down on your knees and put your hands on your head.

(Everybody complies except Max.)

CLEMENTE: Get down on your knees now. Do it!

(Max puts her hands down and slowly steps forward. Clemente lowers the bullhorn.)

CLEMENTE: 452?

MAX: You can call me Max.

CLEMENTE: I think you better get down on the ground.

MAX: Actually, I think you should probably go.

CLEMENTE: I'm not gonna tell you again.

MAX: I'm not gonna tell you again.

(He hears guns cocking in the background, and one by one, Terminal City's many other transgenics appear and take aim. The police are vastly outnumbered.)

MAX: You can try to arrest us all, but you guys might want to call it a night and go have a beer.

CLEMENTE (to the police): All right. All right, everybody, let's back it up. Let's back it up! Outside the fence! Back it up! Come on, let's move!

(Every police car except Clemente's leaves.)

CLEMENTE: You kept today from turning into a bloodbath, and I respect that.

MAX: You held up your end, too.

CLEMENTE: But you haven't won anything. This is gonna get real ugly, and this is way over my head now. These people's lives depend on the decisions that you make right now. I pray you make the right ones...Max.

(Clemente leaves.)

MOLE: Escape and evade. We divide up into teams, pick an azimuth, and go to ground.

MAX: No, we stay here.

MOLE: In a couple of hours, that perimeter will be completely locked down. Tanks, National Guard, every cop within a hundred miles.

DIX: We'll be digging our own grave, Max.

LUKE: Mole's right. If we move now, they'll never be able to catch us all.

MAX: Where are we gonna go? I can't stop anyone from leaving, but I'm through running and hiding and being afraid. I'm not gonna live my life like that anymore. Aren't you tired of living in darkness? Don't you want to feel the sun on your face? To have a place of your own where you can walk down the street without being afraid? They made us, and they trained us to be soldiers, to defend this country. It's time for them to face us and take responsibility, instead of trying to sweep us away like garbage. We were made in America and we're not going anywhere. So they call us freaks; who cares? Today I'm proud to be a freak. And today we're gonna make a stand, right here. Who's with me?

(Max raises her fist into the air. After a moment, Joshua does the same, followed by Logan and Alec. One by one, the others join in. Mole looks around.)

MOLE: What the hell. (Raises his fist)

ORIGINAL CINDY: Right on.

(The next day, a TV reporter interviews Normal, who is sweeping the sidewalk in front of Jam Pony.)

REPORTER: Tell us about your captors. What are these creatures like? Is it true you delivered a transgenic baby?

NORMAL: Yes, I did indeed. And a beautiful, bouncing baby girl she is.

REPORTER: So you're saying they're not all monsters, then?

NORMAL: Monsters? No. No more than you and me. (To a messenger) Hey! Let's go, there, Sparky. Not a country club. Bip bip bip! Move!

(Days later)

REPORTER: As dawn breaks on this, the third day of the siege at Terminal City, the situation is tense but unchanged. While several hundred transgenics remain barricaded inside the restricted area, police and National Guard stand an uneasy watch at the perimeter--each side seemingly waiting to see what the other will do next.

(On a rooftop inside Terminal City, a group watches as Joshua and a few other transgenics raise the flag he painted. Max and Logan, both wearing gloves, are holding hands.)

LOGAN (to Max): Now look what you've done.

(They give each other's hands a squeeze. Fade out as the flag flaps in the wind.)