Hellboy Page #4

SUPER:
BUREAU FOR PARANORMAL RESEARCH AND DEFENSE, NEWARK,

N.J.

EXT. B.P.R.D. COMPLEX - GATE ENTRANCE - DAY

A dolled-up MOD-STYLE moped stops at the massive gate.

Strapped to the luggage rack are two cheap suitcases. The

driver, a very wet YOUNG MAN named MYERS, touches an old

fashioned buzzer under a sign reading "WASTE MANAGEMENT"

A crackling INTERCOM VOICE answers.

INTERCOM VOICE:

Yes?

MYERS:

(shivering)

John Myers, F.B.I. Transfer from

Quantico.

A beat, then -- WHIRRR!!! An EYEPIECE and an LCD screen

scanner pop out.

INTERCOM VOICE:

Look at the birdie, son.

Myers looks into the eyepiece. On the screen, Myers' cornea

is scanned. TWO VIOLET FLASHES. His ID and badge numbers

appear. CLACK! The gate opens.

EXT. UPHILL ROAD - THE MOPED - DAY

The moped putt-putts towards the building in the distance.

INT. B.P.R.D. LOBBY - DAY

Seated at a dramatic circular desk is a solitary guard. Myers

approaches.

MYERS:

Hello, I'm --

LOBBY GUARD:

-- Late. Five minutes late.

MYERS:

Yes, I --

LOBBY GUARD:

-- Section fifty-one. Step back.

MYERS:

Pardon?

LOBBY GUARD:

Two steps back, please.

Confused, Myers picks up his suitcases and complies. He

realizes he's DEAD CENTER on a giant B.P.R.D. Logo: A HAND

HOLDING A SWORD.

LOBBY GUARD:

Watch your hands and elbows.

Immediately, the floor under Myers' feet starts down. He's

on a small elevator.

INT./EXT. OPEN ELEVATOR - ON THE WAY DOWN - DAY

The panel overhead slides shut. A row of safety lights comes

on.

INT. OPEN ELEVATOR - DAY

He's in a vast underground area with other elevators moving

up and down in the distance.

INT. B.P.R.D. - CONCRETE CHAMBER 51 - DUSK

The elevator stops in a narrow, dark space. Neon lights

flicker on, illuminating a circular chamber. PAINTED on the

floor is a huge number: 51.

Right in front of Myers: a magnificent oak door.

Myers knocks on it. No answer. Myers enters.

INT. BROOM�S OFFICE (FULL AQUARIUM)- DUSK

Myers looks around, fascinated: books. An office made of

them. The soft glow of green-shaded reading lamps bathes

everything in an intimate, warm light.

One entire wall is a thick pane of glass, the wall of a huge

tank of water. A VOICE crackles through an intercom next to

the tank.

VOICE:

Turn the pages, please.

Myers jumps, then moves closer to the glass.

VOICE:

Over here... if you don't mind?

In the tank, ABE SAPIEN, a FISH-MAN glides in and out view.

MYERS:

Jesus Christ!

Myers looks at four BOOK STANDS facing the glass. Each

supports an open volume. He leans close to the glass, peering

intently.

Abe reappears. He is slender, dolphin gray, with dark patterns

streaking his soft skin. Bright blue eyes shine with

intelligence. Behind a thin wound-like mouth, gills are

bubbling.

MYERS:

(points at the books)

These -- ? You're reading these -- ?

Abe nods. Through a side door, Broom enters.

BROOM:

Four books at once. Every day -- as

long as I'm here to turn the pages.

(smiles)

My name's Broom. Professor Trevor

Broom.

Myers extends his hand in greeting --

MYERS:

Sir, I'm --

BAM! Abe presses his webbed hand against the glass, closes

his eyes -- all three lids.

Abe's voice surges from the speaker.

ABE:

Agent John T. Myers, Kansas City,

76. "T" stands for Thaddeus, mother's

older brother. Scar on your chin

happened when you were ten, you still

wonder if it's ever going to fade

away.

MYERS:

How did it --

BROOM:

-- He. Not "it."

BROOM:

Abraham Sapien. Discovered alive in

a secret chamber at St. Trinian's

Foundling Hospital, Washington.

Points at a small piece of antique paper, framed on the wall.

BROOM:

They took his name from this little

inscription that was stuck on his

tank.

MYERS:

(reads)

Icthyo Sapiens, April 14, 1865.

BROOM:

The day Abraham Lincoln died. Hence

"Abe" Sapien.

Broom uncovers a tray by the tank: Four greenish eggs. Myers

gags and reels back.

BROOM:

Rotten eggs, a delicacy. Abe loves

them.

Abe smiles and takes a subaquatic bow, gracefully nabbing

the eggs as they float through the hatch.

MYERS:

How does he know so much about me?

BROOM:

Abe possesses a unique frontal lobe.

(beat)

"Unique." That's a word you'll hear

quite a bit around here.

MYERS:

Where am I -- exactly, Sir?

BROOM:

As you entered the lobby there was

an inscription --

MYERS:

On the desk, yes. In Latin.

BROOM:

Impressive. Do you remember what it

said?

MYERS:

(sighs)

"In absentia luci, tenebrae

vinciunt..."

BROOM:

"In the absence of light, darkness

prevails." For there are things that

go bump in the night, Agent Myers.

(smiles)

We are the ones who bump back.

OMIT:

CUT TO:

INT. B.P.R.D. - FREAK CORRIDOR "A" - NIGHT

Myers and Broom walk down a corridor. The walls are lined

with glass cases containing occult artifacts. Myers eyes a

MUMMIFIED HAND, a CLAY GOLEM, a sumptuous PAGAN ALTAR...

BROOM:

1937:
Hitler joins "The Thule Society" --

a group of German aristocrats obsessed

with the occult.

He points to an ANCIENT, BROKEN LANCE.

BROOM:

1938:
he acquires the Spear of

Longinus, which pierced the body of

Christ. He who holds it becomes

invincible.

He gestures at an ancient LANCE. Next to it: a silver and

gold reliquary.

BROOM:

Hitler's power increases tenfold.

They go through a series of pneumatic doors.

BROOM:

In 1943, President Roosevelt decides

to fight back. THE BUREAU FOR

PARANORMAL RESEARCH AND DEFENSE is

born.

Workmen are replacing two of the doors. Big dents from an

oversized fist have deformed the 2-inch thick metal plates.

Myers stares.

BROOM:

1958, the occult war finally ends

when Adolf Hitler dies.

MYERS:

1945, you mean. Hitler died in '45.

BROOM:

(enigmatic smile)

Did he, now?

They reach a FINAL DOOR. Stainless steel, like a BANK VAULT.

Waiting there is AGENT CLAY, a burly guy in a suit, with a

cartful of BEEF AND MASHED POTATOES. A dinner pile at least

4 feet high.

BROOM:

Agent Myers, this is Agent Clay.

Follow his lead.

Broom hands Myers two BABY RUTH bars and walks away.

MYERS:

You're not coming?

Broom signals "no."

BROOM:

I hand-picked you from a roster of

over seventy academy graduates. Make

me proud.

The door closes behind him.

CLAY:

They're not speaking. Professor Broom

had him grounded.

MYERS:

Grounded? Who's grounded?

CLAY:

Okay. You saw the fish man, right?

Myers nods.

CLAY:

Well, come on in and meet the rest

of the family.

Clay uses an odd-shaped ELECTRONIC KEY to unlock the door.

Three solenoid locks turn. Two steel vertical PISTONS open

up.

INT. HELLBOY'S DEN - NIGHT

Clay pushes the cart into a solid concrete bunker, windowless,

austere except for a few SAMURAI suits of ARMOR and WEAPONS.

Dozens of CATS wander around; others are curled up on the

furniture.

There are Zippo's everywhere, from every era.

On a sofa (made from the bed of a pickup truck) is a heap of

blankets and comic books. All in all, a MEGA BACHELOR PAD.

CLAY:

(sotto voce)

He gets fed six times a day. He's

got a thing for cats. You'll be his

nanny, his keeper, his best friend.

He never goes out unsupervised --

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