The Fantastic Four Page #15

---

Ben sees something GLISTENING on the ground. He stoops over

to pick up...her ENGAGEMENT RING. His big fingers can't grip

it. He tries in vain. Hopeless, pathetic. A beat. And...

A hand grabs the ring. It's Reed. Quiet, close.

REED:

I swear to you, I will do everything

in my power until there is not a

breath left in me: you are going to be

Ben again.

Off the wounded look in Ben's eyes, wanting to believe him...

INT. VICTOR'S OFFICE - DAY

Victor sits with remote in hand, staring at his plasma TV.

ON THE TV:
he sees a crowd of firemen applauding the new

Fantastic Four. For the first time they strike a heroic

pose. Leonard enters, with a phone in his hand.

LEONARD:

Uh, sir...Larry King called, to

cancel.

(seeing the TV, a beat)

Apparently, there's a bigger story.

Victor sees Reed put his arms around Sue as he covers her

with the jacket. And the penny drops: he's FURIOUS. As it

hits him, he feels something odd. He looks down at his

hand...at glints of gleaming METAL poking through flesh.

EXT./INT. EMERGENCY HOLDING AREA - DAY

An impromptu command center -- a series of police tents,

surrounded by EMERGENCY VEHICLES, NEWS VANS, FIRETRUCKS.

INT. EMERGENCY HOLDING AREA - TENT - DAY

Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny sit together, getting changed.

They get ready to go, but the CHIEF FIREMAN enters, stopping

them.

CHIEF FIREMAN:

There's some folks outside, want to

talk to you.

REED:

We're not going public with this.

We're scientists, not celebrities.

CHIEF FIREMAN:

Too late, son.

He turns on a little TV MONITOR in the corner. NEWS FOOTAGE

plays on all stations, with the tagline: FANTASTIC FOUR.

CHIEF FIREMAN (CONT'D)

That's what they're calling you. The

Fantastic Four.

JOHNNY:

Nice.

Johnny heads for the exit.

SUE:

Johnny, slow down. Let's think this

through, a second.

Johnny pauses. Rubs his chin once. And...

JOHNNY:

Okay. Done thinking.

He runs out. Sue, Ben, and Reed swap glances, knowing Johnny

cannot be their spokesman. They take off after him, out to --

EXT. EMERGENCY HOLDING AREA - PRESS FIELD - DAY

CLICKCLICKCLICK! Fifty cameras flash. The field is full of

press. Our heroes freeze, shocked by the crowd.

Johnny eats up the attention. Ben turns, self-conscious.

Reed notices. The Chief Fireman turns to them.

CHIEF FIREMAN:

So which one of you's the leader?

Johnny does not hesitate.

JOHNNY:

That'd be me.

CHIEF FIREMAN:

No seriously.

A beat. Sue and Ben turn to Reed. The Chief hands him a

mic.

CHIEF FIREMAN (CONT'D)

You're on, son. They all want a

statement.

All eyes go on Reed. He looks out, gulps hard. A long beat.

REED:

Uh, during our recent mission to the

Von Doom space station, we were

exposed to as yet-unidentified

radioactive energy, most likely some

kind of nucleotide compoun--

Nobody came for a science class. A crush of questions

overwhelms Reed:

VARIOUS REPORTERS

What happened on the bridge? Does it

hurt to stretch? Were you really on

fire? Is it true that one of you can

fly?

JOHNNY:

Working on it. And it's a lot harder --

SUE:

We don't know much more than you do,

at this point. Which is why we will

be going directly to the lab, where we

can diagnose our symptoms and --

REPORTER #2

Symptoms? So it's like a disease?

Reed looks at Ben's face, feeling the guilt. Ben is lost in

thought, looking at Deb's ENGAGEMENT RING. Johnny leaps in.

JOHNNY:

Symptoms? Please. If having powers

is a disease, then yeah we got it.

And we are gonna blow your minds.

There's a new day dawning. The day of

the Fantastic Four.

REPORTER #3

That thing doesn't look too fantastic.

The Reporter nods toward Ben. Ben's fists tighten, the sound

of rocks crushing together. Reed feels the pain.

REED:

Ben Grimm is a genuine American hero

who's been through a terrible orde--

JOHNNY:

What he's trying to say is: every team

needs a mascot...

Reporters laugh. Ben turns his head away. Reed burns.

REED:

Look, we went up to space to find a

way to understand DNA, to cure

disease, save lives. Well, now it's

our DNA, our disease, our lives on the

line...

(a beat)

Thank you. No more questions.

Rate this script:2.0 / 3 votes