HENSHIN!

Written by Caleb Gillen

EXT. TELEVISION SHOP - AFTERNOON A group looks over a television display showing off the latest hero, CRIMSON BLAZE, a silver and red high-tech superhero in high tech armor. Its snowing and clearly a frigid afternoon, but a crowd hunches over the television, curious and excited as a young boy with brown hair and blue eyes sits in the middle, practically entranced by the action on the screen. This boy is SOREN WRIGHT. SOREN WRIGHT (V.O.) I have no clue why I did this whenever a hero passed by the screen, I just did. They were always just so amazing and mystical, men who fought for the justice of their fellow man. They were just so cool! Time fades by, as we see less and less people interested in the television screen, as the crowd slowly diminished until theres just Soren left. Sorens wide-eyed expression stays consistent as it seems that Soren grows older and older by each passing moment, being five years old and soon turning into a ten year old as the crowd leaves, as the frigid afternoon turns into a dark night. SOREN WRIGHT (V.O.) And it really didnt matter how much I grew older. They were real, they walked the streets, and they saved our lives every day. They were the men and women that fought an invisible war, a war the average population didnt need to see. Soren moves away from the television screen as he grows older yet again, turning into an older child to an adult of around twenty with every step being a year that passes. SOREN WRIGHT (V.O.) Maybe it was that feasibility that made them so human, that ultimately made them hard for me to look up to anymore. But I eventually moved on, step by step, as I grew older. A Soren now in his mid-teens walks through a snowstorm, freezing as hes barely visible under the downpour of snow.

2. SOREN WRIGHT My dream was no longer to live in Kingdom City, where great heroes live, and join the ranks of those heroes whose action figures I collected and cartoons I watched. But at least in those days, I still had a dream... Soren, at his oldest state, is barely visible before hes engulfed in a snowstorm that engulfs the entire screen in white. FADE OUT. INT. SORENS BEDROOM - MORNING. Sorens eyes open quickly and suddenly as he looks around, and lets out a small gasp of relief at the fact that it had all been a dream.Soren Wright, now twenty years old, and is a man with messy brown hair, a five o-clock shadow, and an extremely thin figure. Soren groans as he wakes up in an immensely messy room, covered in books, candy bar wrappers, pizza boxes, the remains of food, and other assorted objects. He reaches over to his night stand, barely looking as we see an Electric bill with a sticky note labelled Due two weeks ago, some change in coins, a check labelled last one and finally, The Henshin System Official Handbook. Soren, however, reaches for the remote, as he flips on the television only for a childrens commercial for the brand-new Henshin Hero action figures to come on. Soren sits in bed, and enjoys it for a moment. SOREN WRIGHT (V.O.) When I was a kid, only a few people were heroes, and I wanted to become one of the chosen few that managed to use one of the most high-tech systems ever designed; the Henshin System. A system of infinite possibilities, that could transform you into a hero almost immediately. We see the commercial flicker across Sorens still-blue, but bloodshot eyes as he messes around with his scraggly brown hair in order to make himself presentable. Hes got a bit of hair on his face, but not a full-out five oclock shadow. SOREN WRIGHT (V.O.) I guess times have changed, though, because what was a privilege may as well be a right these days.

3. Soren finally gets his thin, pale body working as he puts on some sneakers, bleu jeans, a gray hoodie and a white t-shirt. SOREN WRIGHT (V.O.) It doesnt take too much to sign up and be a Henshin System user, but it is something of a sport now, like some kind of hobby. I guess there was more of a need than a supply, so they started handing out the chance to become a Hero like free samples at the supermarket. Finally, Soren grabs The Henshin System Official Handbook off of his nightstand and leaves his apartment. SOREN WRIGHT (V.O.) I still cant believe Im doing this. Well, Ill do whatever I can to pay the bills these days. INT. NUMBRETON HERO TOWER Soren enters through a pair of sliding, automatic doors into a large dome-shaped room. A thick, gigantic pillar is in the center of the room, covered in screens and surrounded by people behind a counter. Several of the screens display popular heroes such as the CRIMSON BLAZE seen earlier while others simply say Welcome to the Numbreton Hero Tower! Outside of the people dressed in silver uniforms behind the counters surrounding said gigantic pillar, there are few customers around, the rest of the area being something of a lounge area for the customers of the Numbreton Hero Tower. There are few customers today it seems, as its mostly empty except for a few other customers and the people behind the counters. The whole area has the official colors of the Hero System Community; silver, green and black. Soren approaches one of the workers in the silver uniforms, only for him to be immediately hijacked by a man behind the counter that forces himself in front of the woman. Hes a man in his late twenties with long, dirty blonde hair, a small soul patch of the same color, and is wearing a black trench coat with a matching pair of pants. On his chest is a silver badge that Soren eyes that says Official Hero Tower Official. This man is FERRIS MORTEM, the owner of this particular Hero Tower, and he wears his trademark smile thats far too huge and goofy for his own face. FERRIS MORTEM Welcome, dear friend and valued customer. (MORE)

4. FERRIS MORTEM (CONT'D) The names Mr. Mortem, but youre free to call me Ferris. And your business is...? Soren right edges away from the man a little, clearly a bit surprised by his sudden appearance, but decides to speak up. SOREN WRIGHT Er, Im here to register forFERRIS MORTEM OH! Weve got a new hero, here! Have you got some awesome new name? Something awesome like Devils Advocate? Or The Blazing Scarf? Or the Mecha Cake? Soren responds with a dumbfounded look. SOREN WRIGHT I was planning on thinking up a name after I got my powerFerris interrupts his thought with a loud exclamation and an even larger smile. FERRIS MORTEM Fair idea, fair idea! Anyway, I dont suppose you have the written test results and your identification information with you, do ya? Soren nodded as he gave the man his information, stored on an object that looked suspiciously similar to a USB Drive. Ferris puts the USB drive into a nearby computer terminal. FERRIS MORTEM (CONTD) Awesome. What do we got here? Your names Soren Wright. Twenty years old, currently unemployed. Studied at Kingston University up untilSoren brushes Ferris off, and his face says, clear as day, that hes not particularly happy with this bit of information. SOREN WRIGHT Six months ago, yeah, yeah. FERRIS MORTEM I see. So, theres just one question thats not on the test I need to ask you.

5. SOREN WRIGHT And whats that? Ferris stares Soren right in the eye, giving him an intense stare for a moment, keeping contact with him as Soren meets his gaze. FERRIS MORTEM Why do you want to be a Hero? Soren pauses, looking at Ferris as his eyes waver a bit, struggling to meet his gaze. SOREN WRIGHT I-Im not sure. Ferris reaches for the keyboard, as he gives Soren a dismissing look. FERRIS MORTEM Well, then. Youre ineligible for the physical test then. Soren reaches for Ferriss arm as he moves toward the computer. SOREN WRIGHT No! I NEED to pass this test. Ferris stops it with the goofy smile and the cartoony gags and meets Sorens gaze for a moment with a serious look. FERRIS MORTEM Oh? But you just said you werent sure. Listen, I see types like you around here all the time. People who just want to take the job for a bit of cash on the side. And we do accept those types, but I dont like them, never have liked em. They may be doing the right things, but theyre doing them for the wrong reasons. Theyre doing it for the money and the celebrity of it. Theyre doing it because they see how much money people like Nation or the Silver Dart are raking in and they want a piece of that. Sorens eyes wave away from Ferriss gaze yet again, as his words hit him like a dart, ashamed by the honesty of Ferriss own words, and wanting them to be a complete lie, but wishing they werent.

6. FERRIS MORTEM (CONTD) Ill accept you now if you say that, but Ill just tell you now, I wont like you, and while there are people that get in this business entirely because they want to make money, few make it far. So, tell me, why do you want to be a hero? Soren pauses again, his eyes wavering as his immediate thoughts are crushed. Ferris looks away, as if hes done with Soren, before he finally speaks up. SOREN WRIGHT I started doing this because I dropped out of college and my parents cut me off a while ago. I need something to pay the bills because Ive never done this before. And, yeah, maybe Im doing this for the cash. But there are other ways to keep a roof over my head and Im doing this for another reason, besides the cash. Ferris meets Soren again, but doesnt speak, as if wanting more. Soren takes another deep breath. SOREN WRIGHT (CONTD) Im clinging onto the dreams my childhood. When I had a dream, instead of just thinking of ways to survive and doing what people told me. I want to be like the people I obsessed over when I was a kid, because even as I grew up and all the childish, fantastic things I thought were real grew to become lies... there was always Heroes. Ferriss serious expression melts into a smile, as he puts his hand forward. FERRIS MORTEM Soren Wright? Pleased to meet you. Lets get you started on the physical exam. Soren accept his handshake, as he smiles. SOREN WRIGHT I wont disappoint you, sir.

7. INT. NUMBRETON HERO TOWER TESTING AREA Soren and Ferris sit in the middle of a green, soft area that looks somewhat similar to a tennis court. Ferris hands Soren a strange mechanism resembling a high tech cell phone. Its got the shape of an octagon as Soren looks at it rather curiously. FERRIS MORTEM This is the Henshin system, your main piece of equipment. Your initial abilities and suit design will be based entirely around the answers youve given on the written test. Soren looks to Ferris curiously, as he turns on the device, a display on the Henshin System showing his name and the outline of a body with a question mark in the middle of it. SOREN WRIGHT So, how is this a physical test? FERRIS MORTEM Basically, your first transformation will read your vitals and your physical ability. If you can transform successfully, you pass the test. If you cant, well, youve failed the test. Soren raises an eyebrow. SOREN WRIGHT All right, any tips? FERRIS MORTEM Try to think of some dynamic pose for your transformation. A lot of the heroes tend to do that. Something like this... Ferriss face lights up, as he raises one arm upward, holding an imaginary Henshin system as his other one points forward. THeres a grin on his face as he yells the magic word. HENSHIN! FERRIS MORTEM (CONTD)

Soren raises a curious eyebrow. Henshin? SOREN WRIGHT

8. Ferris puts up his own arms emotively, as he responds to the quizzical look with a weak smile. FERRIS MORTEM Yeah. Its kind of like... a magic word? Sorens puzzled expression taks another step further, his own expression completely disbelieving. SOREN WRIGHT What does it mean? Ferriss own face is genuinely bright, his smile almost cartoony as he continues onward. FERRIS MORTEM I think its Japanese for Transform! Soren stares Ferris down for a moment, tension weakening Ferriss goofy smile. SOREN WRIGHT Why not just say Transform? Ferris merely shrugs dismissively. FERRIS MORTEM Because. Less cool. Soren groans before nodding, pointing his device downward with his right hand and his other hand upward, point to the sky. HENSHIN! SOREN WRIGHT

Immediately, Sorens body is engulfed in bright light, his body barely visible as the light at first covers a wider portion of the room before focusing more toward Sorens body, becoming something of a glowing silhouette. Finally, the light fades, as whats left is a man in a suit, with three large, navy arrows pointing downward going through his torso, and both of his legs. His suit is something between futuristic armor and latex, his arms and legs being made of steel while his torso being much more plasticlooking. The color scheme is a mixture of navy blue, white and crimson, crimson tending to be featured in more of the minor details of the suit such as the eyes and the belt.

9. The Henshin system now hangs around Sorens waist, and his head isnt entirely covered, his eyes being covered in crimson goggles and white mask being made of cloth and only covering his mouth. FERRIS MORTEM Impressive. Now, to take a look at your results from theImmediately, an alert goes off as the whole room is filled with a flickering red light and the sounds of a siren, as a robotic voice is heard throughout the building. VOICE ALERT! ALERT! Oh, crap. FERRIS MORTEM

Ferris draws a cell phone as Soren looks around, confused. SOREN WRIGHT Whats going on? FERRIS MORTEM Weve got a problem, an anomaly just appeared and we dont have anyone on backup since our frontrunner is out of town on business. Soren points accusingly at Ferris, with yet another confused look on his face. SOREN WRIGHT What the hell does that mean? Ferris gives Soren not his commonly known cartoony smile, but a shadowy smirk. FERRIS MORTEM What it means is that a Silhouette is attacking, and youre going to have to do some on-the-job training.