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The Revenge By Eddie MountainGoat Author’s Note: It is well-known that the first NES game was the loose inspiration for the cartoon pilot. I wondered how the sequel might have been portrayed, particularly since I felt that the code of the Dragon wouldn’t allow revenge and a children’s cartoon couldn’t have Marian getting killed. (A Double Dragon cartoon fan-script. This story is set after “Green with Envy.”) SCENE 1: Establishing shot of the Shadow Dojo (exterior, night). Cut to Shadow Master’s throne room. The SHADOW MASTER is seated on his throne while ICEPICK and TRIGGER HAPPY stand before him. ICEPICK holds up a small, battery-shaped object in one hand. It seems to be made of the same substance as him, being transparent. Hovering inside it is a blue, glowing sphere. ICEPICK: Behold, Shadow Master! My new cryotronic super-battery! SHADOW MASTER: And what will this cryotronic super-battery do for me? ICEPICK: I’ve been making some modifications to Trigger Happy’s blaster. (ICEPICK opens a side-panel in TRIGGER HAPPY’s blaster, inserts the super-battery and closes the panel.) ICEPICK: This super-battery will give the blaster the power of cryonics! S.MASTER: You mean turn it into a freeze-ray? ICEPICK: Exactly, Shadow Master, exactly! S.MASTER: Demonstrate it for me. ICEPICK (calling to an off-screen character): Bring it in! (SICKLE enters, dragging a whimpering and helpless-looking stray dog by a leash. TRIGGER HAPPY points his blaster and fires a bright blue beam which has a different SOUND EFFECT than his usual fire. The beam hits the dog right next to SICKLE, encasing it in ice and freezing it.) SICKLE: Hey! Watch it! (The view focuses on the dog, now encased in ice and frozen. It then goes back to the Throne Room.) S.MASTER: Mmm. Impressive. But your technology won’t work against the Dragon Masters’ swords. TRIGGER HAPPY: You mean, I can’t keep it? S.MASTER (laughs, then continues): Don’t worry, Trigger Happy. I have another target for you. ___ SCENE 2: Establishing shot of the Dragon Dojo (exterior, day). Cut to Dragon Dojo interior. JIMMY (unarmed) and FIREBALL are practicing Tai Chi in perfect unison. (CHARACTER DESIGN: FIREBALL still has his sunglasses, but no longer wears his prison grays. Instead, he wears the robes of a student of the Dragon Dojo, with some changes. The top is red (not blue) and the dragon on it is breathing a fireball.) JIMMY: Remember, focus. Control. We practice martial arts not to destroy, but to defend and protect. FIREBALL: Yes. To protect. (They conclude and bow to one another.) JIMMY: Well, I’m gonna go get some chow. FIREBALL: As you wish. I’ll clean up. (The view pans across the Dojo interior. JIMMY is already gone and FIREBALL is sweeping the floor with a broom. MARIAN enters.) MARIAN: Good morning, Fireball. Is Jimmy here? (FIREBALL snaps to attention and delivers his next line as if he’s in prison.) FIREBALL: You just missed him, Sergeant Martin! MARIAN: Hey, relax! And please, call me Marian. FIREBALL (relaxing): It’s just… you’re the first police officer who’s been kind to me. MARIAN: Fireball, we all believe in you. Just believe in yourself and you’ll be a Dragon Warrior before you know it! FIREBALL: Thank you… Marian. (Green flame cut to next scene) ___ SCENE 3: Dragon Dojo exterior (day). MARIAN leaves the Dojo grounds. She is immediately confronted by TRIGGER HAPPY, ICEPICK and SICKLE, all smirking. T.HAPPY: Have a nice day! (TRIGGER HAPPY fires a blue beam at MARIAN, freezing her. TRIGGER HAPPY, ICEPICK and SICKLE turn and walk away, mimicking the opening of Double Dragon II [arcade]. The view zooms in on MARIAN’s trapped and terrified form as the BG MUSIC plays three or four sinister notes.) (Blue flame cut) ___ SCENE 4: Dragon Dojo interior. BILLY, JIMMY (both unarmed) and CHOP, all concerned, surround MARIAN’s frozen form. CHOP is scanning her with some kind of hand-held, analytical device which has a small screen. JIMMY: …When I got back, she was frozen like this, outside the Dojo. BILLY: I’ve never seen anything like this before. SOUND EFFECT: CHOP’s device beeps. CHOP (looking at the screen): Well, whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to be hurting Marian. It looks like it’s just freezing her. (FIREBALL enters and is shocked.) FIREBALL: Marian! Is she harmed? CHOP: I won’t know until we can get her out of this. FIREBALL (removing his sunglasses): Leave that to me. JIMMY: Careful, Fireball. Too much and you could melt her too. FIREBALL (his eyes now glowing): Don’t worry, Jimmy. You taught me well. (FIREBALL fires controlled beams from his eyes, melting the ice off MARIAN, starting at her feet and then moving up to her head. She then shakes her head, disoriented.) MARIAN: Hey! How’d I end up in here? BILLY: Do you remember what happened Marian? MARIAN: The last thing I remember is Trigger Happy pointing his blaster at me. Then suddenly, I was here! FIREBALL (eyes glowing, again): Shadow Warriors! They must PAY for this! (Beams of energy again shoot from FIREBALL’s eyes, starting a small fire on the floor. With one stomp, JIMMY puts it out.) JIMMY: Control your anger, Fireball. Control. FIREBALL: I’m sorry, my masters. But they can’t be allowed to hurt good people! JIMMY: That’s right. That’s why we defend Metro City. But there’s a difference between upholding the law and taking it into your own hands. BILLY: As the code of the Dragon says, “The line between justice and revenge might sometimes seem blurred, but it is always distinct.” FIREBALL (bowing): Yes, Master Billy. JIMMY: Look, Marian probably needs her rest. Take her home. We’ll see what we can find out about this freeze-blaster. ___ SCENE 5: Establishing shot of Marian’s house (exterior, sunset). It looks like the building at the very beginning of Double Dragon (arcade) – but the word “MATIN” (over the garage) is replaced with “MARTIN,” and the words “ENGLISH TEAR” (over the door) are not there at all. Cut to Marian’s bedroom. It looks like Jimmy’s inner lair from Double Dragon (NES) – complete with red carpeting, red sofa, coffee table, white bed, cupboard and a small palm tree. There is also an open door. MARIAN is asleep on the bed, under the covers. The view pans across, showing FIREBALL looking in on her from the door. FIREBALL: Rest easy now, Marian. You’re safe. And I promise you, Trigger Happy won’t hurt you again. ___ SCENE 6: Marian’s house, inner corridor. The visual style is still resemblant of Jimmy’s inner lair (NES). This is clearly the other side of Marian’s bedroom door. FIREBALL closes the door, turning his back to it. FIREBALL: Trigger Happy won’t hurt ANYONE again! Because I’m going to show him what happens when you mess with a friend of Fireball! ___ SCENE 7: Double Dragons’ secret lair. CHOP is seated at the big computer. BILLY and JIMMY stand on either side of him, now wearing their swords. CHOP: To cryo-preserve a whole person, their entire body temperature needs to be taken down to about 77.15 Kelvin, in one instant. JIMMY: In English? CHOP: To freeze someone, you’d have to make them super-cold, super-quickly. BILLY: So how would that work? And how can we stop it? CHOP: Well, for a blaster to emit that kind of energy, it would have to have some sort of cryotronic power source. JIMMY: You mean, like, a freeze-battery? CHOP: Exactly. ___ SCENE 8: Establishing shot of the Shadow Dojo (exterior, night). The view then focuses on the ground level as FIREBALL approaches the Dojo. FIREBALL reaches the Dojo and pounds on the walls with an appropriate SOUND EFFECT. They do not give way. FIREBALL (still pounding): Hey, Shadows! Let me in, or I’ll smoke you out! (FIREBALL begins repeatedly blasting the walls with his eye beams, starting lots of little fires. (Cut to Shadow Master’s Throne Room. The SHADOW MASTER is seated on his throne watching FIREBALL’s progress on the large screen.) S.MASTER (laughs, then gives the order): Move out! ___ SCENE 9 (The attack): Back to the Shadow Dojo outside walls (night). Three low-level “Blade” Shadow Warriors emerge from the walls, followed by COUNTDOWN and ICEPICK. COUNTDOWN, ICEPICK and SHADOW WARRIORS: The Shadow Falls! (FIREBALL shoots three small, controlled blasts at the “Blade” Shadow Warriors, setting their chest armor on fire. They hurriedly try to pat it out while hopping from foot to foot. Soon, they all drop to the ground and roll back and forth. (COUNTDOWN opens his rocket blasters, firing a rocket at FIREBALL. FIREBALL, running towards the screen, shoots a longer, stronger double-beam. It hits the rocket in midair, causing it to explode. FIREBALL then knocks COUNTDOWN out with a running lariat. (ICEPICK draws his cutlass and approaches, menacingly. FIREBALL shoots a continuous double-beam, which ICEPICK blocks with the cutlass. Under the continued attack, the blade becomes red-hot. Eventually, the heat flows from the cutlass’ blade to its handle, causing steam to rise from ICEPICK’s fingers [at this point, off-screen, the fire beams stop.]. ICEPICK shrieks in pain, dropping the cutlass and blowing on his hands. (With one hand, FIREBALL grips ICEPICK around the throat, and lifts him into the air.) FIREBALL: Take me to Trigger Happy, snowman, or I’ll turn you into a puddle of water! ICEPICK: Yes! Yes! I will do what you say! ___ SCENE 10: Double Dragons’ secret lair BILLY, JIMMY and CHOP are preparing the Dragon Cruiser for an assault. JIMMY: So all we need to do is find the freeze-ray’s power source? CHOP: That’s right. Without the cryotronic super-battery, the freeze-ray won’t work. BILLY: Somehow, I don’t think that Trigger Happy’s just going to give it to us. JIMMY: Hey, if we have to kick a little Shadow butt, that’s just fine by me, Bro. (JIMMY draws his sword, holding it up and out.) JIMMY: For might! (BILLY draws his sword, crossing JIMMY’s with it.) BILLY: For right! (Green energy emanates from the swords, transforming BILLY and JIMMY into the Double Dragons) BILLY and JIMMY: We are Double Dragons! ___ SCENE 11: Establishing shot of the Shadow Dojo (exterior, night). The damage done by FIREBALL is evident with some fires still burning the lower walls. The view then focuses on the ground level as the Dragon Cruiser pulls up and BILLY and JIMMY get out. As they survey the area, the view shows what they see: COUNTDOWN and the three “Blade” Shadow Warriors knocked out with a burning Shadow Dojo in the background. BILLY: Looks like somebody beat us here. JIMMY: Not just anybody! Who do you know that can do damage like this? BILLY: Fireball! We’ve got to stop him before he makes a terrible mistake! JIMMY: I just hope we’re not too late! This way! (JIMMY runs through a secret entrance in the Dojo wall with BILLY in hot pursuit.) ___ SCENE 12 (The big confrontation): Shadow Master’s Throne Room. TRIGGER HAPPY stands in the center of the throne room, alone, as ICEPICK leads FIREBALL in. As the two approach TRIGGER HAPPY, SICKLE lands a short distance behind them (jumping down from off-screen), his weapons drawn. He twirls them a couple of times, then charges at FIREBALL with an angry war cry. FIREBALL turns and shoots fire beams at SICKLE, allowing ICEPICK to run away. SICKLE puts his weapons together, forming a shield. The beams hit the shield, setting it on fire. SICKLE, yelping in shock, drops his burning weapons and retreats as FIREBALL looks on. The view then shows TRIGGER HAPPY loom up behind FIREBALL, smirk, and point his blaster at him. T.HAPPY: Looking for me? (TRIGGER HAPPY laughs crazily as he fires a blue beam at FIREBALL. FIREBALL turns and responds with his own beams. The beams of fire and ice meet and push against each other, causing steam to rise from the middle. (CLOSE-UP on TRIGGER HAPPY’s face, gritting his teeth.) (CLOSE-UP on FIREBALL’s face, as he visibly gets angrier. FIREBALL growls loudly, and the beams from his eyes get stronger and more intense.) (The fire beams force the ice beam back all the way to TRIGGER HAPPY’s blaster, setting it on fire and ending the ice beam. TRIGGER HAPPY cries out in surprise and pain, shaking the burning blaster back and forth. In all the fuss, the blaster’s side-panel comes open, and the super-battery falls out.) (The view then has the super-battery in the foreground on the floor. In the background, TRIGGER HAPPY (his blaster now visibly trashed) drops to his knees, reaching for the super-battery. FIREBALL’s boot comes down on it, destroying it with an appropriate SOUND EFFECT. TRIGGER HAPPY looks up in fear.) (The view then shifts back to the throne room, with FIREBALL and TRIGGER HAPPY in focus. FIREBALL, glaring, stands triumphant over TRIGGER HAPPY, who is left helpless on his knees.) FIREBALL: YOU. HURT. MARIAN. T.HAPPY: Please don’t blast me! FIREBALL (growling angrily): It’s payback time, Shadow scum…. (In a black, cyclone-like whirl, the SHADOW MASTER appears next to [and slightly behind] FIREBALL with one hand on FIREBALL’s shoulder and the other holding his Scythe-Sword.) S.MASTER: Yessssss. Do it. Take your revenge. (CLOSE-UP on TRIGGER HAPPY’s face as he looks up in utter shock and the BG MUSIC plays three or four alarming notes.) (Fade to black, for commercial break) ___ SCENE 13 (The confrontation – Part 2): Shadow Master’s Throne Room. Exactly where we left off. The SHADOW MASTER has his hand on FIREBALL’s shoulder as he stands over TRIGGER HAPPY, who is on his knees. S.MASTER: Do it. Take your revenge. (The Double Dragons rush in, swords drawn.) JIMMY: Fireball, no! S.MASTER: You’re too late, Dragons. You can’t stop this. BILLY: Listen to me, Fireball. This isn’t the way. FIREBALL: Why not? Marian did NOTHING to him, and he freeze-blasted her! JIMMY: But fire-blasting him won’t be justice! It would make you just like him! S.MASTER: You ARE just like him, Fireball. Remember your history. Remember the gangs. JIMMY: That’s in the past! You’re with the Dragon Dojo now! BILLY: And revenge is not the way of the Dragon! S.MASTER: You are no Dragon, Fireball. Don’t deny your true nature any longer. You know you want this. JIMMY: Remember what I taught you! Control your anger! S.MASTER: Give in to your rage! Incinerate Trigger Happy, and take your proper place as a Shadow Warrior! (FIREBALL’s face shows his uncertainty. The view then gets blurry as he has a flashback to earlier in the day [SCENE 2, Dragon Dojo interior]. The same footage is used, although the sound is echoing, particularly at the end.) MARIAN: Fireball, we all believe in you. Just believe in yourself, and you’ll be a Dragon Warrior before you know it! (The view gets blurry again as it returns to the present, inside the throne room. FIREBALL’s face takes on a resolute expression as he makes his decision.) FIREBALL: (closing his eyes) No. S.MASTER: What? FIREBALL: No. I won’t be like you. S.MASTER: (raising his weapon as it begins to glow blue) Then you won’t be leaving! (A green blast suddenly hits the SHADOW MASTER’s weapon hand, causing him to grunt in pain and drop the Scythe-Sword. The view then shows the Double Dragons as JIMMY points his glowing sword at the SHADOW MASTER – clearly the one who fired the blast.) JIMMY: I don’t think so, Shadow slime! SHADOW MASTER: Shadow Warriors! Attack! (Dozens of “Blade” Shadow Warriors enter, some through the portal, some jumping down from off-screen.) SHADOW WARRIORS: The Shadow Falls! (BILLY and JIMMY each knock out two or three “Blades.” The view then shows FIREBALL staring down the SHADOW MASTER [who recovered his weapon, off screen].) S.MASTER: You made a foolish mistake, defying me. A mistake that will be your last. FIREBALL (grittily, as his eyes begin to glow): You might just be a little overconfident. (FIREBALL fires double-beams at the SHADOW MASTER, who twirls his Scythe-Sword in a big circle, blocking the beams. He then points the weapon at FIREBALL, blasting him with blue energy. FIREBALL falls, landing on his back. The SHADOW MASTER charges his weapon and fires another blast at FIREBALL. At the last moment, crossed Dragon blades appear in front of FIREBALL, blocking the blast. (The view zooms out a little, showing BILLY and JIMMY holding their swords out, over FIREBALL – clearly they blocked the blast.) BILLY: We’re not like you, Shadow Master! JIMMY: We look out, for our friends! S.MASTER: Trigger Happy! Freeze the fire starter! (TRIGGER HAPPY just stares at his trashed blaster with betrayal and confusion on his face.) S.MASTER: Trigger Happy! T.HAPPY: I can’t. He destroyed the super-battery. JIMMY: No kiddin’! BILLY: I guess the freeze-ray is history. JIMMY: And it’s time for us to leave. BILLY: But what do we do about them? (The view zooms out, showing BILLY, JIMMY and FIREBALL surrounded by “Blade” Shadow Warriors.) FIREBALL: Allow me. (FIREBALL shoots repeated blasts at the ceiling, causing rubble to fall down around the “Blades.” They all run away in panic. The SHADOW MASTER stands in place, chaos all around him, with appropriate BG NOISE.) S.MASTER: Cowards! Stand and fight! Stand and FIGHT! (BILLY, JIMMY and FIREBALL run through the exit portal.) ___ SCENE 14 (Epilogue): Establishing shot of the Dragon Dojo (exterior, night). Cut to Dragon Dojo interior. BILLY, JIMMY (both now in the form of the Lee brothers), FIREBALL, MARIAN and CHOP all stand in front of the golden dragon head. FIREBALL (downcast): The Shadow Master was right. I’m no Dragon. MARIAN: What are you saying? FIREBALL: I wanted vengeance today! I got so mad, I almost did something terrible! BILLY: But when the moment came, you didn’t do it. JIMMY: You chose control over fury. And that was a big step toward becoming a Dragon Warrior. FIREBALL: You mean, you’ll let me stay? JIMMY: We WANT you to stay, buddy. (The view pans across, showing BILLY, JIMMY, MARIAN and CHOP, all smiling in agreement.) MARIAN: ALL of us. ALL: By the power of the Dragon! ___ SCENE 15 (Message): Establishing shot of the Dragon Dojo (exterior, day). Cut to Dragon Dojo interior. BILLY and JIMMY are addressing a seated class of Junior Dragons. JIMMY: Sometimes, other people can make you really angry. You aren’t always going to like what others do. You might even be tempted to do something back to them. But remember, taking revenge only lowers you. BILLY: Seek justice the right way. That’s what the police are for. As the code of the Dragon says, “Taking revenge damages one’s self. Only through self-control can balance be reached.” BILLY and JIMMY: By the power of the Dragon! (Roll Credits)
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