The Avengers Page #19

An ALARM BELL RINGS. Emma reacts.

FATHER (V.O.)

Dr. Darling, this is Father. We

have an intruder. I repeat --

Valentine switches off the PA.

VALENTINE:

Ah. That will be Steed. He followed

you. Please excuse me. I have work

to do. My most spectacular

performance. A ballet of clouds. It

was made for you. I want to give you

a heart, Emma. I want all of London

to see it. And now with this ...

(flourishes ring)

They will.

(leans close)

And for an encore: the biggest cyclone

in history will wipe the City from the

face of the earth.

(winks)

Shape of things to come, my darling.

He stuffs a gag into Emma's mouth and closes the coffin on her muffled protests.

Darkness.

Immediately, Steed tries to force his way through the grille. No such luck.

STEED:

Blast. What to do? Mrs. Peel!

He doesn't dare say her name too loud -- and there's no telling if she could hear him in

that thing, anyway.

He turns around in the tunnel -- heads the other way.

312 EXT. SKY OVER LONDON - NIGHT

Moonlight night. Dark clouds approach like an army, spreading shadows.

313 INSIDE CLOUDS

MOISTURE SPITS and CRACKLES, static energy waiting to explode ...

In the sky -- clouds join together like a genie from a lamp, forming -- over the city -- a

strange dark sensuous figure, half human, half dreamlike.

That stalks the city....

314 INT. DUCTS - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Steed crawling. A rat runs over him ...

STEED:

The things I do for England ...

Pitch dark, then --

Emma's coffin is opened and we see Bad Emma, looking down.

Bad Emma stares at her human double -- Emma: who looks imploringly at her to undo

the gag. Bad Emma removes it, she --

Runs a finger down Emma's body, inside a hole torn in the leather -- warm human flesh.

Blood. Her flesh. Her blood. Fascinated.

EMMA:

You must let me go ...

Bad Emma listens. Gently lays her head on Emma's breast, listens to --

the HEARTBEAT. Ba-boom. Ba-boom ...

EMMA:

Don't you understand? If he has

me, he'll have no use for you ...

he'll destroy you ...

The words jolt Bad Emma back, remembering her mission. She goes to the laser, aims

it at Emma's face!

EMMA:

No...

Bad Emma hesitates, looks strangely human as --

315 ANOTHER PART OF UNDERGROUND H.Q.

The grille pops off and Steed emerges where the guards are waiting for him --

STEED:

Oh, dear.

No escape. He takes off his bowler -- deftly removes a strip from its brim, aims it at

the guards, and --

Hurls it ...

316 CLOSEUP - BOWLER (IN FLIGHT)

A glinting razor's edge, which --

Swoosh -- ! Slices into the closest guard before returning, like a boomerang to Steed.

He taps twice hard steel as ...

317 OTHER GUARDS

run towards him, Steed swivels gracefully and - slams the bowler in their faces, a

sartorial knuckleduster -- wham -- ! One drops -- Bam -- ! The other collapses, slump

to the ground. Steed stoops down, picks up his hat, sees --

A dent in its steel top. For the first time, Steed loses his cool. Genuine rage.

STEED:

Someone's going to pay for this.

Stepping over the nearest body, Steed moves on his way, as --

318 CLOSEUP - VALENTINE

places a ring inside a control module filled with identical-looking diamond chips ...

WIDEN to reveal ...

319 INT. CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

Masses of dials and switches. ( Off to one side, on a wall, a rack of rapiers ... )

Valentine hits a switch ...

VALENTINE:

Start the countdown. Action

stations. Five minutes ...

The countdown starts, red digitals going backwards --

Colorized computer screens map out hostile weather fronts.

A COMPUTERIZED VOICE STARTS to COUNT. The CLOCK TICKS.

Father enters behind him.

FATHER:

Congratulations. The clouds are

on course ...

VALENTINE:

To explode. London will be ashes.

FATHER:

Not yet! They haven't heard our

terms ... !

Father tries to hit the switch. Valentine yanks her off.

VALENTINE:

Are you insane? Stop the program

and you activate the auto-destruct!

FATHER:

But all those people -- !

Valentine strikes her hard --

VALENTINE:

My cloud ballet! My cyclone!

Father slides to the floor. Valentine ignores her. Concentrates on the control panel red

lights, as --

320 EXT. PARLIAMENT SQUARE - NIGHT

Up in the sky, more white clouds --

Darken into boiling black. They move and billow. Bubbling with gases and energy

Swirling with motion, a life of their own.

FROM river, a scarlet fog floats upwards. It gains mass and weight, slowly forming as

it rolls --

321 THROUGH CITY STREETS

then RISES ABOVE them -- into a weird pulsating red shape.

A love heart.

322 CLOSEUP - DIGITAL READOUTS

Whirling backwards ...

323 INT. MOTHER'S UNDERWATER HQ - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Mother at the controls. RINGS the ALARM. Panic stations as -- SIRENS BLARE.

WARNINGS RING OUT OVER TV and RADIO --

MOTHER:

Dense cloud formation moving south-

west. On course for the center of the

city. A fog floating in from the river.

The prediction is ... unstable chemical

reaction. Enforce the curfew ...

Emergency stand by ... !

324 EXT. SKY OVER BUCKINGHAM PALACE - NIGHT

Bad storm clouds advance over London ... black and furious.

325 OVER CITY - SEVERAL ANGLES

As shadows in a whirl of chemical matter. An airborne CYCLONE of BELCHING

static ELECTRICITY. The black shape now --

Forming a sensuous female shape. Like a dream wisp of ...

Emma Peel with an hourglass figure. While --

326 FROM RIVER

The heart-shaped cloud seems to -- move towards the black genie shape -- trying to

connect, to form the cyclone ...

327 EXT. LONDON STREETS - SEVERAL ANGLES - NIGHT

Action stations. AIR RAID SIRENS ...

Like a re-run Blitz. Streets now eerily empty and dark.

Through deserted streets --

Troops race to positions in gas masks. Searchlights illuminate clouds. Worried faces

watch the skies, as --

328 CLOSEUP - DIGITAL NUMBERS

Fly ...

329 INT. HI-TECH TORTURE CHAMBER - DAY

Chaos on all TV monitors as ...

Valentine hastens down the spiral steps and opens Emma's coffin. What will he find??

Emma's there, still gagged. Looks asleep.

VALENTINE:

My dear.

(pulls the gag:

kisses her)

I wouldn't want you to miss the

grand finale ...

Emma opens her eyes. Valentine looks down at her, until -- a tell-tale sign: Z424.

Bad Emma is unmistakable. He strikes her -- yanks her out of the coffin.

VALENTINE:

Find her. Kill her ...

He races back upstairs as ...

330 INT. UNDERGROUND HYDE PARK - HQ CATWALKS - CONTINUOUS

ACTION:

Emma makes her way through the labyrinthine superstructure of the place, crawling

high on a girder over some BURBLING LIQUID below. She hears NOISE IN the

DISTANCE. Suddenly --

331 INT. UNDERGROUND HQ - STEED - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Steed battles more guards! No time to lose.

Wham -- ! Bam -- ! Now moving with deadly earnest, Steed downs all oncomers,

closing in on --

332 INT. UNDERGROUND CONTROL ROOM - CONTINUOUS ACTION

Steed rushes in, BOLTS the AIRLOCK behind. Pounding on door.

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