SLIDER GAIDEN by D. Skiles TEASER OPEN EXT. STREET CORNER - DAY The sun is beginning to lower in the sky. Remmy is attempting to use an ATM here. Mallory watches over his shoulder. Diana and Maggie are rounding the corner, Maggie pulling a banana peel out of her hair in disgust. A number of extras walk up and down the street. Not in focus at the moment. MAGGIE I swear that's at least the sixth time we've landed in a dumpster. DIANA Definitely. I can't wait to get back to the Chandler and wash this stink out. Remmy turns around and faces the gang. REMBRANDT Looks like we may not be able to pay for our hotel stay this time. No luck from the ATM. MAGGIE I suppose that means we'll have to get jobs again? Diana draws out the timer... whoops. It's the old broken Egyptian timer. She quickly shoves it back into her coat and pulls out Logan's timer. The others exchange somewhat surprised and amused looks. MAGGIE Didn't know you still had that. MALLORY Yeah, why you hoarding that piece of junk? DIANA I grabbed if off the evidence table back during our trial... Remmy handed it over to me on the way to Claire's little Kromagg-tech den. (looking to Rembrandt) Before he slid. Rembrandt nods. REMBRANDT Kinda hoped we'd find a way to fix it. Guess that was a long shot. Still, that doesn't matter now... so why keep it? DIANA I dunno. The spare parts might come in handy sometime. (beat) Anyway. Looks like we'll only be in town until tomorrow evening. Hardly enough time to hold down a job. MALLORY (looking off-screen) What about a loan? MAGGIE You're kidding. MALLORY Nope. Why don't we try that... uh... (he gestures across the street. He stumbles with the name.) ...Ko-she-row bank? They turn to look at what he's referring to. ANGLE ON - BANK SIGN Yup. It's a bank. 'Koshiro Bank' to be exact. BACK TO LAST ANGLE DIANA Why would... Their faces trail down, as they look at the crowd in the street. Their faces again register some small surprise. They've finally noticed the people milling about. ANGLE ON - CROWD Where we see that roughly 3/4 of the people milling about are Asian. The remaining fourth are a typical American mix of white, black, native American, etc. Our heroes look at each other. MAGGIE Anyone else notice something... unusual? DIANA (stating the obvious) Almost everyone here is Asian. REMBRANDT And we didn't notice... (grins) Well, I guess we get points for open-mindedness. They all nod absently. Diana furrows her brow. Thinking. DIANA Koshiro sounds Japanese... (beat) Maybe that's what all these people are? REMBRANDT A Japanese America? Well, I've seen stranger... Mallory gets to be the one to interrupt the speculation. MALLORY You know, I hate to be a drag, but... REMBRANDT Right, right. We should get going. Actually, that loan idea wasn't too bad. I think I'll give it a shot. So long as I only ask for enough to tide us over for a little while, we might actually get it. Maggie shrugs. MAGGIE Okay. I'll go get this, er, lovely scent out of me. Mallory laughs. MALLORY I dunno. I think it's you. She just smiles and shakes her head. MAGGIE Shut up. He laughs again and turns to Rembrandt. MALLORY I think I'll go with. Rembrandt holds up a hand and shakes his head. REMBRANDT That's okay. No offense, junior, but I don't think that your particular brand of 'persuasiveness' is what we need this time. He sighs. After a moment of looking a bit dejected, Mallory finally nods. MALLORY Fine then. We'll seeya. He turns and follows the others. CUT TO - INT. BANK LOBBY Rembrandt is shaking hands with the owner and acting manager. REMBRANDT Hello there. KOSHIRO Mr... ? REMBRANDT Uh, Brown. As in Rembrandt Brown. KOSHIRO A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Brown. I am Shigeru Koshiro. Rembrandt nods, as he and Koshiro both sit down down, in chairs opposite one another. An assistant to Mr. Koshiro stands behind his chair. KOSHIRO So... I understand you are in need of a loan, Mr. Brown. REMBRANDT Yeah, that's right. KOSHIRO For how much? REMBRANDT Oh... two hundred, three hundred. Koshiro is slightly taken aback. KOSHIRO Thousand... ? REMBRANDT No, dollars. At this, Koshiro grins. He shares a laugh with the assistant standing behind him. KOSHIRO Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to borrow that from your grandmother? REMBRANDT (smiling) Well, normally, I would. But you see, we're kind of dire straits at the moment, and we just need a little boost. Koshiro smiles and nods. KOSHIRO I see. (beat) Do you have any kind of collateral? Rembrandt chuckles a little and raises his hands in a shrug. REMBRANDT Collateral? He crosses his legs, resting his left foot on top of his right leg. REMBRANDT (continued, laughing and grinning) I'm the Cryin' Man.. I'm living collateral! Koshiro ignores him. His eyes are transfixed on the bottom of Rembrandt's left shoe. He's growing in rage. KOSHIRO You... insult me. Rembrandt gives him a thorougly perplexed look. He glances down to see what Koshiro is staring at. His shoe? KOSHIRO Get out. REMBRANDT What? KOSHIRO (loud) Leave this place, NOW. You are not welcome here! Remmy's still baffled. REMBRANDT What did... KOSHIRO (to assistant) Remove him. Rembrandt stands as the assistant moves over and grabs him roughly about his shoulders. REMBRANDT Hey, hey! What about the loan?! KOSHIRO In light of your insult, it is obviously DENIED. Confused as hell, Rembrandt is all but carried out by the assistant. Another assistant of Mr. Koshiro's walks up behind him, in the background. He's a small, thin man. CLOSE ON - KOSHIRO'S FACE He speaks to the second assistant without turning around. KOSHIRO You know who to contact. He nods and walks out. FADE OUT END TEASER OPENING SEQUENCE REMBRANDT What if you found a portal to a parallel universe? What if you could slide into a thousand different worlds? MAGGIE Where it's the same year... DIANA And you're the same person... MALLORY But everything else is different? REMBRANDT And what if you can't find your way home? [THEME MUSIC PLAYS] WHISPER: "Sliders" END OPENING SEQUENCE OPEN ACT I INT. CHANDLER HOTEL ROOM - SUNSET Maggie is reading the paper, sitting on a bed. Diana is sitting at a table by the window, flipping through a thick, hardcover book, tossing around the Egyptian timer in her hand absent-mindedly. Next to her, stacked up on the table, are more old books with tattered covers. Maggie eyes Diana over her paper. Smiles a little. MAGGIE So why DO you keep that thing around? Diana looks up. DIANA Hm? She nods to the Egyptian timer in Diana's hand. MAGGIE The old timer. (beat) You didn't expect me to buy that spare parts, excuse, did you? I mean, it may be good enough for the guys, but... They both laugh slightly. Then both set aside their reading materials. DIANA Well, I actually WAS being sincere... this thing's got some interesting technology. But I guess there is some more to it. (beat) We've been out here in the multiverse for a year now. Never would've been without this little doohickey. (beat) It sort of has sentimental value, you know? It certainly changed my life forever. Maggie nods. MAGGIE Mine too. (beat) And introduced me to my best friends. They share a smile. At this point, Rembrandt walks in. REMBRANDT Hey, guys. (beat, he looks to Diana's stack of books) Whatcha doin'? DIANA Oh, I made Maggie stop over with me at a library on the way here. I wanted to find out why this world is so dominated by Japanese culture. REMBRANDT And? DIANA And, it seems that the Cold War is still raging strong on this world. And Japan has allied with Russia in light of their mutual disdain for America during World War II. Japan invaded California, and drove back the U.S. troops with relative ease. The government actually considered dropping the atom bomb on California, but chose not to in light of the many American citizens still living here. So, Japan is still at odds with the United States. The U.S. is being denied a number of technological innovations from their country. And, on top of all that, Japan is enforcing ancient culture upon California. Old codes of conduct and standards from Japan's past. It's intended as a punishment upon the Americans here as well as a deterrent to any Japanese businessmen seeking to make a name for themselves in a new market. (beat) Not that it's stopping them, mind you. This place is overflowing with them, and they've learned to embrace the old ways. Rembrandt nods. MAGGIE Sounds a lot like the history of my world. We actually did end up dropping the bomb, though. Two of them. Our own cities... She sighs. The others look at her, a measure of sadness shared by them all. A beat. Diana looks back to her book and continues. DIANA Not every old tradition is enforced, though. Largely it's just the ones that will cause the most trouble. It's incredibly easy for someone not schooled in them to offend someone here. And what's worse, if someone has a REAL vendetta against you, it's perfectly acceptable to hire an assassin. MAGGIE What kind of assassin? DIANA A ninja. Very tough customers. They do the job professionally for the businessmen in the state, and they tend to get it done fast and easy. If they encounter any problems, they don't stop going until they get their man. Or woman. Usually they just swoop in, kill you, and leave, but if they have to, they don't seem to have much issues with going after you right out in public in broad daylight, either. (beat) And if we see any of that, I suggest we stay out of their way. REMBRANDT Yeah, doesn't sound like the kinda guys we want on our bad side. (beat) Say, where's Mallory? Maggie rolls her eyes. MAGGIE He picked up some chick... She's interrupted as the door flies open. Out in the hall, is Mallory, his hand extended from opening the door. He's kissing an Asian girl. Probably in her 20s, of average height -- roughly the same height as Maggie. She has straight, black hair. The others stare at him condemningly... but are still unable to keep the amused smiles off of their faces. Eventually, Mallory breaks off the kiss. MALLORY I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, then, okay? She nods. He turns to the others. MALLORY Oh, hey, everybody... this is Kim. KIM Hi there... REMBRANDT, DIANA, and MAGGIE (simultaneously) Hi, Kim. She waves a little and smiles brightly. Quickly, she kisses Mallory on the cheek and walks off. He walks in and shuts the door, grinning the whole time. The others are still giving him some skeptical looks. REMBRANDT Wow, you don't waste any time, do you? He shakes his head in response. MAGGIE You sure she's a girl this time? He smirks at her remark and holds up his right hand, his middle three fingers extended. MALLORY Read between the lines. Rembrandt chuckles and shakes his head. REMBRANDT Now, c'mon, children, let's not have a scene. Mallory gives Maggie ones last dirty look and turns to Rembrandt. MALLORY So, any luck? DIANA Oh, yeah! How'd the loan interview go? He rubs his head and smiles ruefully. REMBRANDT Not so good. (beat, to Diana) I think I broke some of those conduct codes you mentioned. Diana raises her eyebrows. DIANA Like how much broke? REMBRANDT Oh, not too much, I think. I accidentally insulted him by crossing my legs. It seems that's a big no-no on this world. DIANA Showing the bottom of your shoe. That's not so ancient, actually. Just harsher here, I guess. REMBRANDT Yeah, well, we got denied and I got thrown out. That's it, though. Maggie sighs. MAGGIE Well, I guess we'll just have to try for money again on the next world. MALLORY Guess we won't be paying our bill here, either. DIANA Sure doesn't look that way. REMBRANDT Don't you guys worry about it. We'll make some money soon. MAGGIE I sure hope you're right. Rembrandt smiles. CUT TO - INT. BANK OFFICE - NIGHT It's clear through the windows of this office that this is the same bank that we saw before. Shigeru Koshiro sits here, at his desk. He's talking, apparently to no one in particular. A stick of incense burns in front of a shrine imbedded in the wall. KOSHIRO A family's honor is of the utmost importance. A lack of it can be... detrimental... to a man's business. A beat. He shifts in his chair, folding his hands. KOSHIRO Honor is... irreplacable. Not unlike the bonds of friendship... or the force of life. He smiles a little. Very slightly. KOSHIRO Do you... understand? We pan a little, sideways, to see who he's talking to -- it's a NINJA, resting on the windowsill of the open window behind him. Black clothing, hanging just a bit loose on his body. A red belt around his waist. His face covered by a mask that shows only shadowy eyes. NINJA (a whisper) Yes. KOSHIRO Good. Payment upon completion. CUT TO - INT. CHANDLER HOTEL ROOM - DAY It's morning at the Chandler. Rembrandt sits in a chair at the table, his back to the window. He drinks a cup of coffee and reads the morning paper. Around the room, Diana is fixing her hair in the mirror. Mallory is standing over by the bed closest to the door, flipping through the TV Guide. Not far from him, Maggie is standing, spreading cream cheese on a bagel using a butter knife. MALLORY You know, if we're gonna lay low until the slide, I at least wish they'd put something good on TV. Diana giggles and elbows him playfully. DIANA Don't you have a 'date'? He smiles at her. MALLORY A man's gotta have some down time before. REMBRANDT (to Diana and Mallory) Are you sure that's a good idea? Diana shrugs. DIANA So long as he keeps it to the hotel, he shouldn't be in much danger of offending anyone. (sigh) I just wish things were different here. If not for the fear of looking at someone the wrong way, I could investigate this world. For god's sake, they're running almost solely on Eastern medicine here, and it's WORKING. I wish I could find out how. Do they combine it with technology? Is there something more to it here, or is it different? Rembrandt just shakes his head. REMBRANDT Better that we stay safe then we go out and exploring. She nods in agreement. Rembrandt sets the paper down. Sipping his coffee, he looks around the room. REMBRANDT Hey, anyone seen my shoes? Maggie points with her butter knife behind the bed, next to the window. MAGGIE In the corner. Remmy glances over where she points and nods. He looks back to Maggie. REMBRANDT Thanks. In one extremely sudden, loud moment, the window CRASHES open as a body swings through, knocking Rembrandt over and out of his chair. Everyone turns to see what's happened. Maggie drops her bagel on the carpet. The new arrival is, believe it or not... a NINJA. The same one we saw in Koshiro's office last night. It's now clear that a sword is sheathed and strapped to his back. He draws it out and points it downwards, at Remmy. The others, still standing shocked, start to make a move to do something before he can drive it through Rembrandt's neck. Mallory, closest to the table, is first to react. He grabs up a chair and flings it sidearmed in one quick manuver. The ninja looks up just in time to get belted by it, hard, in the chest. Mallory is quick to get over to Rembrandt and start helping him up. MALLORY C'mon! Remmy stumbles to his feet, looking to Diana and Maggie in the back. REMBRANDT Run! They don't have to be told twice. They take off for the door, with Mallory and Rembrandt close at their heels. The ninja, unfortunately, is already on his feet. He jumps onto the table, then springs back onto the ground in front of it, and charges for the door. The sword is still in his hand. He LUNGES for the door with it... Mallory, just getting through the door along with Remmy, pauses to turn back briefly and fling the door closes. The ninja buries his sword in the now-closed door. INT. HALLWAY As the sword plunges through the door, barely missing Mallory and Rembrandt out in the hall! They jump back, and quickly turn and run down the hall. INT. CHANDLER HOTEL ROOM - DAY The ninja braces one foot on the door, rips out the sword, and flings the door open. INT. HALLWAY The ninja peers out into the hall. Looks left. Then right. And sees Mallory just running into a door at the end of the hall. He resheathes his sword on his back and charges after them. INT. STAIRWELL The ninja emerges through the door that the others went through. It's a stairwell... and, looking down the gap between the winding stairs, he sees that the others are already two floors down. From there, it's another two floors to the bottom. With ease, the ninja vaults over the side of the rail and goes flying down the gap! At the bottom of the stairs, he lands in a crouch. The others are about a floor up from him as he stands and looks up to them. They all screech to a halt. Maggie, in front, spreads out her arms to hold them back with her hands... and the butter knife that she's still holding. MAGGIE Back! Back! And they turn and go back UP the stairs now, running into the second floor exit! Once more, the ninja runs up the stairs and follows them. INT. HALLWAY In a different hall now, the sliders have run to the right out of the exit. The ninja runs into the hallway, sees them rounding the corner down at the right end of the hall, and follows. Around the corner, the sliders see the elevators. One of the doors is just closing. They all shout out to the two people in the elevator "Hold up!", "Wait!", etc. The man in the elevator, giving the woman next to him a glance, holds the door open for them. They jump through. INT. ELEVATOR Diana immediately starts hitting the "door close" button, tapping it rapdly. Glancing out the door at an angle, she (and we) can see the ninja running towards them. The door is closing slowly... The ninja coming closer... Almost closed... The ninja almost to the door... And the door closes just in time! A BANG is heard outside the elevator door. The others share a look. No problem - the elevator starts down to the ground floor. They all breathe a sigh of relief. MALLORY Who the hell IS this guy?! Diana looks at Remmy. Maggie follows her gaze. REMBRANDT Uh, looks like I offended the locals more than I thought. MALLORY Oh, man... MAGGIE It doesn't matter. We stick together, we'll get through this. The elevator is slowing, about to open on the ground floor. MAGGIE Ready? They all nod, nervously. INT. HALLWAY Now on the ground floor. The elevator doors open slowly, and the sliders burst out, running together towards the lobby! Nearby, another door flies open with a BANG... and the ninja comes running out, quickly spying our heroes. He races after them. INT. CHANDLER LOBBY They all run for the revolving door. Maggie herds them through. She looks back at the oncoming ninja as she does so. MAGGIE Go! GO! She's the last through the door, the ninja follows her by all of a few feet, managing to slip into the revolving door compartment right behind her! Maggie reaches the other side, and quickly turns, shoving her butter knife under the door and jamming it. She looks up. Through the glass the ninja stares at her. They look at each other, both breathing heavily. An odd moment. Maggie squints, trying to see a closer look of the ninja's eyes, but the glare of the sun off of the glass prevents it. She turns away from the glare, and then looks back, in time to see... CRACK! The ninja has unsheathed his sword and is ramming the butt of it into the glass, breaking through! Maggie turns and races after the others, vanishing into the crowd on the street. It's not long before the ninja CRASHES through the glass, and leaps out onto the street. EXT. STREET - DAY The ninja emerges, and looks out over the crowd. ANGLE ON - CROWD Largely Japanese, just as before. Shouldn't be too hard to find them in this... ? We spot the back of an African-American man amidst the crowd. Wearing a brown jacket. Just like Rembrandt. BACK TO LAST ANGLE The ninja charges after this person, fighting through the crowd, brutally knocking aside businessmen and women. He gets to the black man, and grabs his arm, spinning him around, unsheating his sword with his free hand... It's not Rembrandt. The poor black man before him is visibly shaken, and turns and runs. The ninja lets him go. He turns around now, standing in the middle of the crowd around him. It's huge. It's practically a little taste of Tokyo right here in L.A. He looks out over the crowd again. ANGLE ON - CROWD The sea of nearly all Japanese men and women. Out, over the crowd some distance away, a tall caucasian man looks back, towards the dark figure. We see his face. Unmistakably Mallory. Again, the ninja sheathes his sword and launches into the crowd, once more knocking aside all in his way in his race towards the spot where he saw Mallory. He emerges from the throng to find an open space. No one. No Mallory. No sliders. The ninja breathes hard, angry... as we... FADE OUT END ACT I OPEN ACT II FADE IN INT. BAR - DAY It's not the classiest of joints. The floors are wood paneling, and the ceiling is tiled. Old tables sit about the room. In the corner, on a small stage, a band of Japanese women sings, screeching out some sort of butchered tune. Smoke wafts in front of the lighting on the stage. We sweep past the bar. The bartender is taking a small crate from a DELIVERY GUY. It's a crate of booze, of course. DELIVERY GUY Got a few more loads still. Sign here. The bartender nods and the delivery guy walks off. Sweeping past them now... The four sliders sit around a table next to the bar. Mallory glances back to the band. MALLORY God, why do they have to screech like that? DIANA Actually, It's considered very attractive for a woman to have a high-pitched voice in Japanese culture. MALLORY Yeah, well, *I* consider it annoying. MAGGIE Can't argue with you there. (beat) We shouldn't stay long, you know. We need to keep moving until the slide. (to Diana) If these guys are half as resourceful as you say... DIANA I agree. I don't want to be here when he catches up. REMBRANDT We won't stay much longer. Just needed to keep our energy up. Food's good for running away from the jaws of death. MALLORY (raising his beer mug) Hear, hear. He takes a sip and sets it back down. MALLORY I'm a little worried about Kim. You don't think he'd try to go after her because of her connection to me? Maggie shakes her head. MAGGIE I doubt it. He seems mostly interested in Remmy. Rembrandt looks uncomfortable. He shoots her a look. MAGGIE Sorry. DIANA (to Mallory and Maggie)) But don't think that we're going to be safe just because he's focused on Rembrandt. We've gotten in the way already. I imagine he'd like to kill Rembrandt's friends if he can, or has to. Just for extra impact. MALLORY (to Rembrandt) Man, we sure do make friends wherever we go, huh? This gets Rembrandt to smile again. REMBRANDT C'mon, Fog Boy. I'll take care of the check, you get the glasses. Mallory nods and scoops up the beer mugs, heading over to the bar. Rembrandt walks over and hands the bartender a bill. Mallory is behind him by just a short bit, standing off to the left of their transaction, setting the mugs up on the counter. CLOSE ON - REMBRANDT As he gets his change and turns. He's only taken one step to the right when we hear a SHA-CHUNK! behind him. He turns around... PULL BACK - To reveal the ninja, who has just landed on the counter, his sword driven through the bartender's chest! He barely missed Remmy. A ceiling tile hangs down from where he leapt through. He turns to regard Rembrandt, not yet having withdrawn the sword. REMBRANDT My god. With the ninja looking away from him, Mallory behind him, once again gets to be the first of the gang to react. He reaches over the counter and grabs a corkscrew off of the bar, bringing it up right into the ninja's right calf. The assailant falls over, onto the bar. Maggie and Diana are already up. They take off, running towards the door with Rembrandt. Mallory quickly jumps around the berth of the ninja on the bar and follows them. The crowd in the bar is in a panic now. Screaming, shouting, pushing for the door. With Mallory trailing a bit behind, they have to push their way through the panicing crowd to the door. They get outside fairly quickly considering that everyone else is fighting to get out, too. However, they practically force their way outside, and much faster than the rest of the crowd... to the notice of the bouncer at the door, a big guy who then turns and looks into the bar itself, trying to find out what all the commotion is about. By this point, the ninja is up and jumps to his feet, back on solid ground. He takes a moment to reach over and remove his sword from the bartender. EXT. CROWDED STREET - DAY Maggie, Remmy, and Diana are out here first. DIANA What now? MAGGIE Try to split up! You'll be safer that way! Diana nods and runs off to the right. After a moment, she pauses. "You'll" be safer? She looks back to see Rembrandt attempt to run off in the opposite direction, but Maggie grabs his shirt and pulls him back. MAGGIE Oh no. I'm staying with you. For protection. (quick beat) This bastard IS after you, you know. Rembrandt nods and they run off together, taking off just as Mallory has emerged from the bar. He turns and sees Diana looking back at them. MALLORY (shouting) What now?! DIANA Split up! She takes off again in her direction, as Mallory looks into the street... And, for the first time, we notice that it's full of cars. Four lanes full. Completely full, in a Los-Angeles-traffic kind of sense. It's a standstill. Mallory tries to squeeze his way, sideways, between two cars in the first lane. They're too close together. No dice. INT. BAR - DAY The ninja is on his feet and charging through the crowd, knocking them aside. At the door, we see the bouncer, still looking for the source of the panic, notice the ninja. He steps directly in the ninja's path, deciding that he can stand up to this menace. ANGLE ON - BOUNCER'S BACK So we don't have to see the details of what's about to happen. Stepping up to the bouncer, the ninja swipes his sword upwards, backhanded, slicing him quickly and easily up his chest. The ninja runs past as the bouncer falls to the floor. Dead. He got in the way. EXT. CROWDED STREET - DAY Mallory hops onto the trunk of one of the cars, then the roof. The driver inside doesn't look too happy about this. He looks back to the door of the bar just in time to see the ninja emerge! The ninja looks to his left and right. The crowd spewing from the bar is running in both directions on the sidewalk. Maggie, Remmy, and Diana have all blended into the crowd in their respective directions. The ninja can't spot them. Mallory, though, is out in the open, on the roof of a car no less. The ninja locks eyes with him and heads in his direction. EXT. CORNER OF BAR - DAY At the corner of the building, just a bit down the sidewalk, Maggie and Remmy stop momentarily. Maggie points down the alleyway adjacent to the bar, and they take off down it. EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY It's darker in here. There's a pickup truck, engine running, sitting outside the back door to the bar. Remmy and Maggie are running towards it. It's clear from the three or four boxes of booze still in the back that it's the DELIVERY GUY's truck, but he's nowhere to be seen. The truck is facing the opposite end of the alley. Down there, through the gap between buildings, we can tell that there's no traffic to speak of on the road that the alley emerges into. EXT. CROWDED STREET - DAY Mallory is leaping from the roof of the car he was on, onto the roof of a car in the next lane! As he does so, the ninja quickly leaps onto the last roof he was on. They continue with this, each quickly jumping onto the next roof before them, keeping just the space between lanes as the buffer between them... but the ninja is already jumping rooves faster than Mallory is. Diana, over in the sidewalk, submerged in the crowd, looks back. She sees Mallory on the rooves, the ninja gaining on him. She makes a decision and goes out to the street, climbing onto the trunk of a car. Meanwhile, Mallory makes a jump to the roof of a car in the fourth lane... but the ninja jumps right behind him and comes down on top of him! They tumble, Mallory rolling onto his back on the trunk of the car, the ninja rolling farther, landing on his feet on the pavement. He immediately brings up his sword to swing it down on Mallory! Mallory sees this and shoves himself back a little... The sword swings down... Mallory spreads his legs... ...and CRUNCH! The sword drives right into the gap between Mallory's legs, next to his crotch! Mallory's jaw hangs agape. DAMN. Mallory quickly grabs of the handle of the sword and rips it out, into his own hand, before the ninja can get a firm pull on it! He stands on the pavement, holding the sword out, extended, towards the ninja's chest. A beat. They're at something of a standstill. But in one swift, lightening-fast movement, the ninja WHIPS out his hand and grabs the sword -- BY THE BLADE -- and rips it out of Mallory's hand and back into his own! Now the ninja once more has the upper hand. He holds the sword, extended out towards Mallory. He looks down at his gloved hand. It bleeds slightly through the fabric, thanks to the fact that he just grabbed the blade of the sword. His eyes trail downward, to his right calf. Blood seeps through there, too, from when Mallory stabbed him with the corkscrew. Another beat. He looks up to Mallory. NINJA (a whisper) I owe you something. At that, he raises the sword a little more, angling it towards Mallory's leg... DIANA (off-screen) No! She shouts out as she comes leaping off of a nearby car roof and tumbles onto the ninja, knocking him and his sword down to the pavement. She stumbles up and turns to run, with Mallory already thinking the same thing. But the ninja grabs his sword up and swings out, slicing it lightly into her left calf! She falters from the blow and starts to fall to the ground, but Mallory scoops her up. Carrying her in his arms, he gets on top of the nearby car roof and starts jumping rooves again, this time back towards the sidewalk by the bar! The ninja starts to get up now, but Mallory already has a much better head start this time. EXT. ALLEYWAY - DAY Maggie is in the driver's seat of the pickup now. Remmy sits to her side. She sighs. MAGGIE They're not gonna find us. We have to go back for them. Remmy turns and looks into his rearview mirror, back to the crowded sidewalk behind them. And soon he notices some familiar faces. Mallory, with Diana in his arms, appears at the end of the alley. Mallory looks down the alley, seeing the truck. Rembrandt turns around, sticking his head out the window, and waves them forward. REMBRANDT C'MON! And Mallory comes running, as fast as he can go carrying Diana. Behind them, the ninja soon appears, and charges after them! REMBRANDT Oh, no. MAGGIE What? REMBRANDT He's here. Mallory gets to the back of the truck and hops in, setting Diana down just as the ninja LEAPS over the back of the truck and crunches down beside them in the truck bed! A beat. They stare at him. He holds his sword at the ready. Maggie and Remmy looks back through the back window, also staring at the assailant. The ninja looks up and sees Remmy. His intended quarry. He jumps up again, ignoring Mallory and Diana now, and slams onto the roof, then over onto the hood of the truck! The ninja turns to look at the two in the front. He rears back with his sword. HE'S GONNA DRIVE THE DAMN SWORD STRAIGHT THROUGH THE GLASS AND INTO REMBRANDT. Maggie smiles at him and GUNS the car, spinning the tires and quickly peeling down the alley! The force throws the ninja into the window, crunching him into the glass face first, his sword now draped along with his arm at his side. Maggie gives the ninja a hard look. She notices something. She looks notably surprised. ANGLE ON - NINJA'S EYES Through the glass, we can see through the ninja's mask to his eyes. Those eyes are decidedly feminine... he's a SHE. Maggie looks back to the alley before her and SLAMS on the brakes, hard, sending the ninja tumbling off of the hood and onto the pavement. A quick beat. She guns it again, sending the car barrelling towards the ninja on the ground. REMBRANDT NO! He grabs the wheel from Maggie and forces it HARD to the left, swerving the truck to the left just as the ninja rolls to the right, out of harm's way! The truck hits the side of the alley, scraping along the concrete wall, sending sparks flying. The ninja gets up and turns, giving chase to the truck as it swerves out into the empty street on the other end of the alley. EXT. EMPTY STREET - DAY The ninja runs out into the street just in time to see the truck turn the next corner, driving out of sight. ANGLE ON - NINJA'S BACK Frustrated, she rips off her mask in disgust. We can only see the back of her head now. She has straight, black hair. She steps out into the empty road, stepping right into the path of the only sign of life in the area -- a biker on a black motorcycle, who slams on his brakes to avoid running into her. The camera pans with her, keeping her face hidden, as she turns to face the biker. They pause there, staring at each other. And at that... FADE OUT END ACT II OPEN ACT III FADE IN EXT. DESERTED HIGHWAY - DAY The sun is on its way towards the horizon by now. We're miles from any city... the road is paralleled on one side by a long grassy field and on the other by tall, thick trees of a forest. In the front seat of the truck, Rembrandt is now driving. Diana is squeezed in between him and Maggie. Mallory still rides in the back. INT. TRUCK - DAY A corner of Maggie's shirt tail is now torn around Diana's calf to stop the bleeding. Maggie looks over to Rembrandt. MAGGIE You should've let me take care of it. REMBRANDT There was no need. MAGGIE No need?! She's been trying to kill us all day. Diana reacts. "She"? MAGGIE (continued after a beat) And she's done a damn good job of trying, too. REMBRANDT She was on the ground and helpless. There was no reason to murder her. MAGGIE It wasn't murder, it was saving our lives! (beat) Mostly YOURS. He shoots her a sideways look. She shakes her head. MAGGIE In the marines, when you killed someone who was trying to kill YOU, we called it self-defense. REMBRANDT Yeah, well, in the navy, when you killed someone who had no chance to defend themselves, we called it slaughter. MAGGIE And so you just allowed her to go free to try to kill us again? REMBRANDT I understand your concern. But I just didn't think there was any need to be that worried. We have transportation now. We're gonna go as far as we can to get away from her without leaving our sliding radius. She won't catch up. MAGGIE And if she does? A beat. REMBRANDT We'll deal with it just like we have before. Besides, there's not much time left now. (glancing over to Diana) How much? She pulls out the timer. DIANA Six minutes. REMBRANDT (to Maggie) See? Practically home free. A beat. They stay silent. DIANA (to Maggie) You called him... "she"? Maggie shares a look with Rembrandt. She nods. MAGGIE Yeah. We got a good look at her eyes when she landed on the windshield. (quick beat) It's a woman. DIANA Whoa. (beat) From what I read in those books, that's fairly unusual. MAGGIE Yeah, well, I don't think it's a coincidence. DIANA What do you mean? Maggie glances back to Mallory. Diana follows her gaze. Mallory is staring towards the back of the truck, oblivious to their stares. Diana finally gets it. She looks at Maggie. DIANA You think it's Kim?! MAGGIE Of course. Why not? (beat) I mean, he hasn't exactly got a good record with women. Sam? (she laughs) Monique? DIANA I don't know. That seems like a long shot. MAGGIE Oh, c'mon. How do you think she managed to find us overnight? She already knew where we were. DIANA The books said these ninjas have amazing tracking and invesigative skills. It's how they always find their... uh... prey. Probably how she found us at the bar. It's not so far-fetched. MAGGIE Well... maybe. I'm not sure about this, I just have my suspicions. DIANA Have you told Mallory about this? MAGGIE No! Of course not... he's gone through enough heartache. For as much as we all make fun of him for his bad choices, I dunno... I kind of sympathize. Diana nods. There's a moment of silence. A loud KNOCKING from the back window interrupts it. It's Mallory. He points to the back of the truck... Behind the truck, we see the ninja. She's on the black motorcycle we saw earlier, and gaining fast. The mask is back on and her sword is once again sheathed. Maggie looks at Rembrandt. MAGGIE So she won't catch up... huh? EXT. DESERTED HIGHWAY - DAY The ninja is all of ten feet from the back of the truck. Reaching into her side, she pulls out three throwing stars and whirls them at Mallory! He slams his body to the truck bed, and the stars imbed themselves in the back window, startling the gang inside. Now, it's Mallory's turn. He reaches into one of the boxes in the back and pulls out a bottle of beer. He hurls it at the ninja. She swerves left, and the bottle smashes harmlessly onto the highway. He pulls out another. Tosses it. She ducks the bottle and it flies just over her head, again crashing onto the pavement. Without a moment to pause, Mallory flings another beer bottle. It hits her square in the head! She swerves back and forth, wobbling. Shakes her head, getting back to her senses. Recovers. No crash. INT. TRUCK - DAY Rembrandt glances back, through the window. REMBRANDT This isn't getting us anywhere. He immediately yanks the steering wheel to the right, swerving the truck directly towards the trees! DIANA What're you doing?! REMBRANDT Throwing her off. EXT. FOREST - DAY In the back, Mallory, thrown off-balance by the hard swerve, is lying on the truck bed, against the side. The truck flies between two trees, into the forest. The ninja's cycle follows quickly afterwards. She turns into the forest with minimal effort. The truck rolls fast through the mud, weaving between trees, and launches over a hill... ...and on the other side, it comes down, hitting the ground roughly... and immediately rams into a tree! They're stopped dead. A brief moment. Maggie, Remmy, and Diana stumble out. Mallory hops out of the back, bending his neck back and forth to get the kinks out. MAGGIE Is everyone... She's interrupted as the ninja comes FLYING over the hill, launching high into the air on her bike. In midair, she kicks the bike off, flipping backwards through the air as the bike careens towards the ground. MAGGIE RUN! They all take off, just in time to barely avoid the bike. It crashes into the ground all of a foot behind them, exploding into a fireball! The ninja, meanwhile, falls towards a tree, and grabs a branch, flipping up onto it. She pauses there, hunched down, and reaches into her pocket. She draws out three more stars. The sliders run, Mallory helping Diana to limp away quickly. They make it around a tree just as the throwing stars drive into the bark! Mallory is now carrying Diana again. He, Maggie, and Rembrandt run through the forest as best they can, weaving around trees. REMBRANDT I think I see a clearing up ahead! Maggie turns to look back where the ninja was last seen. MAGGIE'S P.O.V. Looking through the trees, we see the branch the ninja was resting on. She's not there anymore. Nor is she giving chase behind them. MAGGIE Where is she?! EXT. CLEARING - DAY They emerge into the clearing. The sun has hit the horizon. Maggie turns and looks behind her again. MAGGIE Dammit, where is she? MALLORY (confused) She? She turns to explain, but at that moment, the ninja leaps out of the trees next to her and jumps on her! They hit the ground rolling, finally stopping with Maggie on the bottom and the ninja on top of her. The ninja, her sword still sheathed, grabs Maggie's neck and begins to attempt to strangle her. Maggie reaches up, and pushes on the ninja's head as hard as she can. She tries to pull on the ninja's hair, through her hood, by pulling hard on the top of her head. She pulls the ninja's head back, until... She rips the hood off. Maggie stares at the face before her. Glances at the hood in her hand. And back to the face. ANGLE ON - NINJA It's not Kim. It's Maggie. Maggie's alternate. She has Maggie's old straight, black hair. She grins at our Maggie, and stops strangling her. BACK TO LAST ANGLE Maggie takes the opportunity to kick her alternate off of her, sending her onto her back in the grass. The others share a look. Genuine shock. They sure as hell didn't see this one coming. Maggie and her alternate climb to their feet and face each other, separated by maybe five feet of grass. MAGGIE That's it! I have HAD it! I don't know what your problem is or why you turned out this way, but I'm sick and tired of your crap! (beat) C'mon! Let's see what you can do against yourself. No weapons! Alt. Maggie grins. DIANA Maggie, no! You don't stand a chance! Maggie ignores her and keeps her gaze focused on her alternate. ALT. MAGGIE She's right, you know. She pauses to draw out her sword. She twirls it expertly before driving it down, into the grass. ALT. MAGGIE You can't possibly defeat me. (beat) Still, you may at least be the... challenge... that I've been looking for. MAGGIE Yeah, well, come and get it, bitch. They stand at the ready. A beat. The others step back, away from the contestants. Mallory sets Diana down, and they step back, behind Maggie. Rembrandt steps off to the side, at Maggie's right. Diana pulls out the timer. Less than a minute. DIANA (quietly) We don't have TIME for this... Another beat. A short one. Alt. Maggie comes running at Maggie, screaming out at her! Maggie ducks and sidesteps, trying to avoid the attack, but Alt. Maggie anticipates it. She drives an elbow down... into Maggie's NECK. Maggie falls over, letting out a cry of pain. Alt. Maggie takes the opportunity to kick her in the side. She grins. Maggie kicks out and sweeps her alternate's legs, knocking HER to the ground. Maggie climbs to her feet, as her alternate LEAPS to hers, driving an uppercut into Maggie's chin! Maggie stumbles back, dazed, and Alt. Maggie again jumps forwrad, driving a fist into her face. She grabs Maggie by her back and throws her, hard, into the grass. She kicks her in the head again for good measure. DIANA NO! REMBRANDT STOP! You worthless little... ALT. MAGGIE Don't worry. She eyes Rembrandt forbodingly. ALT. MAGGIE I haven't forgotten about YOU. Diana checks the timer. 30 seconds! Alt. Maggie reaches down and grabs Maggie by her shirt, bringing her up to her own face. Alt. Maggie stares at herself, point blank, her eyes burning with rage. Our Maggie is dazed. She's been beaten, brutally, and her eyes show that she knows it. ALT. MAGGIE Some challenge YOU were. (beat) Go ahead. Beg for mercy. Cry out in pain. (beat) If you beg me, I may even NOT kill you. Maggie straightens out a little. She gives her alternate a vicious look. Rearing back, Maggie spits right in Alt. Maggie's face! MAGGIE Go back to hell. Alt. Maggie grits her teeth angrily. She throws Maggie back to the ground. Maggie, defeated and exhausted, is on her knees now. Alt. Maggie kicks her Maggie hard in the stomach, doubling her over, knocking the wind out of her! Our Maggie is now slumped to all fours. ALT. MAGGIE Very well. Alt. Maggie reaches out and rips her sword out of the ground. She levels it at Maggie's neck, preparing. Diana is over behind our Maggie still, about ten feet away now. Mallory is with her. They both read the timer's countdown. DIANA 5... 4... Alt. Maggie raises up her sword... DIANA 2... 1... Diana extends her arm forward, towards the two Maggies, and hits the button. The beam shoots out, just as Alt. Maggie swings down to decapitate Maggie... The vortex opens... between the Maggies, causing Alt. Maggie's arm and sword to swing right into the orange vortex! Alt. Maggie is completely stunned. Her mouth opens slightly. She still looks enraged, but also very disturbed by this turn of events. She stares down at her arm. It's cut off at the elbow. The rest of her arm and her sword are buried inside the vortex. Our own Maggie looks up. She's confused as to why she's still alive, until she sees the shimmering back side of the vortex in front of her. She manages a smile. Alt. Maggie is still transfixed... until Rembrandt charges at her from the side, colliding with her as hard as possible! She is knocked to the ground and rolls a bit before stopping about six feet away. Her sword is knocked from her hand, now sitting beside her in the grass. Maggie gets up and turns back to Diana. MAGGIE (smiling weakly) Thanks. DIANA Hey, don't thank me, thank your dumb luck. Maggie smiles wider and stumbles around to the vortex. Patting Rembrandt's arm, she hops lightly in. Mallory is right behind, helping Diana along with him. He stops and helps Diana up into the vortex, lifting her lightly and dropping her in. Unfortunately, by this point, Alt. Maggie is already on her feet. She screams out in rage, and charges towards the vortex, knocking down Mallory and belting Rembrandt upside the head. She leaps in! The guys, knocked to the grass, get up and stare into the vortex. REMBRANDT Oh, man. EXT. SALT FLAT - DAY - NEXT WORLD Maggie comes through the vortex and hobbles away from it. She breathes heavily, trying to recover. Before long, Diana falls out too, landing on her knees. She limps over to Maggie, placing a hand on her shoulder. DIANA You okay? MAGGIE I'll be fine. They hear a familiar voice *screaming* as another person emerges from the vortex. It's not the voice of one of the guys. They turn around... And see Alt. Maggie, who has just landed in a crouch. She stands up in front of the vortex, grinning evilly. MAGGIE You have GOT to be KIDDING ME! EXT. CLEARING - DAY - JAPAN WORLD Mallory runs over to the grass where Alt. Maggie was earlier knocked by Rembrandt. REMBRANDT Hey, c'mon, man! We gotta go! MALLORY I know! He snatches up the sword Alt. Maggie left behind and jogs back over to the vortex. MALLORY (holding up the sword) We'll need the help. REMBRANDT Whatever! Just GO! He shoves Mallory, HARD, towards the vortex. Mallory stumbles over, losing his grip on the sword in his hand. The sword tumbles out of his hand and into the vortex, followed by Mallory tripping his way in. Rembrandt hops in next. EXT. SALT FLAT - DAY - NEXT WORLD The two Maggies stare at each other. Diana holds Maggie, checking her wounds. DIANA (to Alt. Maggie) Leave her alone! ALT. MAGGIE (grinning) We're going to finish this. She starts to take a step away from the orange vortex behind her... And, at that moment, her sword LAUNCHES out of the vortex at high speed, driving straight through Alt. Maggie's back and out her stomach! Alt. Maggie's eyes are more shocked than when she saw the vortex. She falls over, onto the ground, landing on her side. Mallory falls out of the vortex, Rembrandt tumbling on top of him. They get up and walk over to Alt. Maggie, the vortex closing behind them. Maggie and Diana walk over, too. Our four heroes stand around her, now, as she lies on the brown, cracked earth of the salt flat. She's dying. Alt. Maggie glances down at the blade protuding from her stomach. ALT. MAGGIE (weakly, struggling to speak) Killed by my own weapon. (beat) It is... honorable. She closes her eyes, fighting back the pain. A brief moment... and she slumps down to the ground. No more struggling. Dead. The others look around to each other. MALLORY (matter-of-factly) It was an accident. (beat) Still... maybe for the best. MAGGIE She was a killer. Maybe things will be safer on her world without her. (beat) I wonder what drove her to it. Maybe her parents' death. Maybe her father's treatment. Maybe her country's loss. Maybe her alienation from the military... She shakes her head and sighs. Straightening as best she can, she runs a hand through her hair. REMBRANDT And maybe there are some questions that you shouldn't ask. MAGGIE And some questions that you don't want to know the answer to. They both smile weakly. Maggie hugs Rembrandt. It's obvious that their fight is over. Diana looks at Logan's timer in her hand. DIANA Looks like we'll be here a while. Three weeks. MALLORY (pointing) Look. They follow his gesture. In the distance, behind where the vortex appeared, is the Golden Gate bridge. Cars run over it, to and from the bustling city of San Francisco around it. Most notably, though, is that the city is up the cliff from the valley that they're in. And the valley runs over to, and beneath, the Golden Gate bridge. They're not on a salt flat at all -- the water beneath the bridge is dried up. They're standing in what's left of the Bay. Rembrandt manages a small smile at the sight of the city. He keeps one arm around Maggie. REMBRANDT San Francisco. MALLORY At least we'll have time to get jobs here. MAGGIE And test the ATMs... Rembrandt looks at her, concern and care in his eyes. REMBRANDT C'mon, girl. Let's get you fixed up. (to Diana) You, too. Diana nods weakly and the four friends walk off, lines up alongside one another, with Diana leaning on Mallory and Maggie leaning on Rembrandt. They head for the city of San Fransisco, and we... FADE TO BLACK CLOSING CREDITS END