I was a teenage super hero

This is a story I have been working on for over a decade. I haven’t touched it in about a year and I have other notes and a partially completed script for the first issue if this were to be a comic book. I originally envisioned this as a 12 episode series for HBO or Showtime. I had it formatted but it didn’t translate all that well into wordpress.

What happens to a family when it suffers an emotionally crippling loss? How do the members of that family deal with one another? Will they move away, become alcoholics, wallow in depression or possibly step up and try to make everything better? How do humans react to loss? Now what happens when such a tragedy befalls a family full of teenage superheroes?

Tyler Matthews (18) – Telekinesis

Lives in a loft in San Francisco with three other people (his band). Two girls and a guy. He was the “team leader” and even though he left his family he’s replaced them with a surrogate family of sorts. Works construction during the day and plays lead guitar in a band at night. He spends all his time trying to fix his friends problems because he doesn’t want to deal with his own. He uses his powers to help him on his day job but he keeps it and his past a secret from everyone. One night after a gig the band is assaulted and Tyler uses his powers and experience to save them all. When he tells his friends his story the audience will learn it at that time. After learning about his past his friends try and talk him into going home to deal with his issues and family. He finally decides it is time to go and deal with his family and assures his friends he will be back in a few days maybe a week. Once he gets back to L.A. he learns his entire family is broken, not just him. He tries to take charge which puts him at odds with Ashley who actually has been in charge for the entire year he’s been gone. He goes to rescue Amanda and loses control and almost kills her dealer/boyfriend.

Amanda Matthews (16) – Concussive Energy Blasts from the palms of her hands

After her parents lost it, honor student Amanda found guidance in an older man. She fell in love with a 26 year old bouncer at a local club. He uses her for a plaything and got her addicted to heroin (on Vedas orders) so she could be more easily controlled. Her parents don’t notice that she disappears for a week at a time but Ashley does. Amanda has spent the last six months stealing money from her parents to pay for her drug addiction. Ashley, finally fed up, makes sure Amanda can’t access the bank account anymore. Out of money, her boyfriend forces her to prostitute herself to pay for drugs. When Tyler gets back into town he finds her and uses his powers to beat the crap out of her boyfriend and he takes her home against her will. The heroin has mad her body too weak to produce energy blasts. Her family forces her into rehab which she does reluctantly. Once she gets out of rehab her mom OD’s on pain killers and she runs back to her boyfriend. He is furious and beats the hell out of her. She lets loose with her energy blasts but they are too weak to do much more than stagger him. She closes her eyes and tries again but nothing comes out, from behind her Veda blasts his and kills him making Amanda think she did it. She panics and steals his drugs and money and hides in an abandoned building where she nearly OD’s. A mysterious stranger who we never get to see saves her by dropping her off in front of a hospital. When her family shows up she has been charged with murder

Ashley Matthews (13) – Super Speed, limited flight

Realizing her parents were too devastated by their feelings of loss and guilt and feeling responsible herself, Ashley takes over completely as the “grown up”. She makes all the financial decisions, she writes all the checks. She cuts Amanda off from the family bank account because of her drug habit. She visits Jason every Sunday after Church. Ashley is in danger of failing the 8th grade between her numerous absences from dealing with her mother and her borderline grades. Her mother tends to make huge messes all over the house when left unsupervised so instead of doing homework Ashley has to clean the house. She has developed a minor drinking problem. It’s not an every day thing but when a day is especially stressful she tends to drink until she falls asleep. When Tyler shows up Ashley feels threatened because she’s been the one in charge for almost a year, especially when Tyler brings Amanda home, something Ashley has been trying to do for months. She feels vindicated when Amanda gets arrested and blames Tyler but the blame quickly turns to guilt.

Richard Matthews (dad) –ex air force

Richard no longer shaves or combs his hair and he rarely takes a shower. He spends all his time trying to find the alien who gave his kids their powers because he thinks the alien can cure Jason. His investigation is being closely monitored by his superiors as they evaluate his mental status. Eventually they will determine he is a liability and give him an honorable discharge and deny him access to their information. He will then spiral even further into depression and he will spend most of his time at a bar getting drunk. When Tyler finally confronts him, Richard crumbles weeping to the floor begging for forgiveness. Eventually the family will gather at Jason’s bedside and his power will be transferred to Richard.

Jason Matthews (15) – Mild telepathy, psychic backlash which causes victim to fall into something like a coma

During the last “adventure” the Matthews brood fought a powerful telepath who turned Joshua’s powers against him leaving him in a vegetative state. He will never wake up, his brain is completely fried.

Katherine Matthews (mom) – ex nurse

She never recovers, spending the rest of her days in a haze until she accidentally OD’s on pain killers.

Stan (alien) – looks like a bald fat middle aged guy, (George Costanza)

When we first meet Stan he is hiding out among the homeless in L.A. He’s sleeping in a n alley when four gangbangers surround him with guns drawn. He’s a bit of a smartass and he shoots three of them in the gut and beats the fourth one for info. He finds out the “other” four know about him and where he is. He realizes its time to stop hiding and take action. He attacks Tyler in S.F. forcing him to reveal his powers in the hopes that it will send him home.

ORIGIN- (This will all be shown in flashbacks in part four. None of the origin will be revealed at first)

Richard and Katherine met when both of them were stationed at the same Air Force base in Nevada in the early 1980’s. Eventually they married and started a family.

Rick Matthews spent his entire life in the Air Force, eventually becoming a test pilot for experimental aircraft. Five years ago he test flew an aircraft the U.S. government had found crashed in the desert a few years earlier. While flying the craft Rick received a message from the original owners. It said that there was a terrible danger headed towards planet earth and the people on this ship were part of an intergalactic peacekeeping force. Unfortunately they couldn’t spare more resources than one ship and one pilot to come to earth and warn its peoples about the comic dangers. After the message a small door slid open on the control panel revealing some sort of alien artifact. Curious, Rick removes the artifact from the console, places it in one of the pockets of his jumpsuit and returns to the base. When he arrives back at the base his family is there and he runs into them on his way to a briefing. He stops, excited about what happened on the flight and he starts to tell his wife about what happened when the youngest child Ashley pulls the artifact from his pocket (going through her dads pockets has become a habit for the child). While their parents talk, Ashley shows the artifact to the other kids and they all try to take it at the same time. Once all four of them have their hands on the artifact it emits a blinding light and a loud boom.

After everything settles and they all realize they aren’t under attack, the kids step forward and tell their parents what happened. They give the artifact back to their dad and the military runs a complete battery of tests on them and determine that nothing happened to them at all. Several weeks pass without incident and then one night Richard gets a phone call in the middle of the night. He is told by his superiors that something has happened and the base had fallen under attack and one of their high security prisoners had escaped and for their own safety, he should bring his family back to the base. Being a follower of orders, he wakes his family up and tells them all to get dressed. Just as they are about to leave for the base, someone starts pounding on their back door. Drawing a gun, Richard goes to check it out and as he opens the door an alien falls through it, almost knocking him over. He tells them where he is from and that the kids now possess the powers that were meant to go to four adults. Unfortunately the powers are non transferable and they are stuck with them. On top of that, they are the Earths only defense against a new menace that has already started popping up, super villains. His enemies also sent a ship and a similar artifact that will give powers to four people who would use them for evil. The difference being his enemies ship didn’t crash as his did and his enemy wasn’t taken captive by the military and studied for years before he was able to escape. Most likely the other four are already out there and using their powers to amass wealth and power. He goes on to tell them that someday soon they would be called upon to save the world not only from the “other” four but from a much bigger threat.

For the next few years the Matthews family honed their powers and hunted the other four. In their last battle (nearly a year ago) they came across a serial killer with the same powers as Jason. They fought him for a long time but he finally managed to get the better of them all and in the end, used Jason’s mental sensitivity against him and switched off his brain, leaving him a vegetable. After this devastating defeat the other three kids gave up the super hero gig and went about their lives. Unfortunately their regular lives had moved on without them. After realizing he wasn’t going to graduate, and after a huge fight with his father about going into the military, Tyler packed a bag and moved away. Amanda fell in with a bad crowd and turned to drugs to deal with her problems. She spends most of her time in various underground clubs and abandoned buildings around L.A. Ashley blames herself for the entire thing since it was her curiosity that gave them all powers to begin with. She has taken over all household duties because her mother fell into a deep depression after Jason was hurt and much like Amanda has turned to drugs and alcohol, in her case the legal kind. Rick spends his days going over every scrap of information the military managed to extract from the alien and anyone who was involved with the interrogation. This is where the story begins, a shattered family a year removed from a horrible loss.

SAN FRANCISCO PEOPLE
Nina – Tyler’s sometime girlfriend and singer for his band.
Mick – drummer
Rae – bass
Sam – owner of a local bar
Chuck – Tyler’s construction boss
Various construction coworkers
Various bar patrons

VILLAINS
Four people in their mid to late 20’s, ethnicity unimportant. They have the same powers as the Matthews kids but since they are a bit older they have managed to hone them more easily and are a bit more powerful than the kids. For the most part they do their own thing but they know they are bound to one another so they keep tabs on each other. None of them trust the others except Anti Ashley who loves Anti Tyler as a father figure even though he abuses her horribly.

Quinton- telekinesis
Megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur, believes he was given his powers to save the righteous, believes that he is above the law and is better than human and therefore does not have to answer for his crimes, believes his powers were given to him by God.

Reno- mild telepathy, psychic backlash which causes victim to fall into something like a coma
Serial killer, ADHD style impulse control problems, completely unpredictable and most likely insane.

Veda- Concussive Energy Blasts from the palms of her hands
Manipulative, very attractive, uses sex as a weapon and treats people as things, she keeps track of the Matthews kids and is responsible for getting Amanda hooked on drugs.

Crystal- Super Speed, limited flight
Severely abused as a child, emotionally crippled, schizophrenic, and incapable of making her own decisions. Used as a tool/slave by Quinton.

PART 1

Dream sequence
Intro Tyler in San Francisco
Intro Ashley dealing with her mom
Ashley at school talking to counselor about days absent

(This is a rough draft of the beginning of the first episode)

- Exterior nondescript
Dream sequence; quick cuts, hazy picture. Amanda and Ashley are unconscious on the ground. In the foreground is Tyler on his hands and knees coughing up blood. He looks up as the camera pans extremely fast behind him. We see the top of Tyler’s head from the back and in front of him Jason falls limp to the ground, eyes staring up at nothing.

Cut to- interior Tyler’s room
Close up of Tyler’s eyes snapping open. Camera pulls back to reveal Tyler in bed next to a woman. As the camera pulls further back we see they are on a mattress on the floor. Tyler is wearing boxer shorts and a necklace with what is left of the ALIEN ARIFACT. He sits up suddenly and the girl beside him stirs a bit. She turns over as he gets to his feet.

NINA:
S’matter?

TYLER:
Nothing, go back to sleep.

Cut to- interior Tyler’s loft
A curtain opens, it is the “door” to Tyler’s “room”. He lives in a loft that doesn’t have any walls. There are two curtained “rooms” set up side by side and we can see through the cracks in the second set of curtains that there are other people living here as well. Tyler staggers over to the kitchen area and grabs a pack of cigarettes off the kitchen table, a well used piece of 70’s era furniture. Tyler’s wallet is also on the table. Tyler leans over the stove and lights a cigarette with the burner. He sits down in one of the mismatched chairs and pulls a newspaper clipping out of his wallet.

Dissolve to- the Matthews house, the newspaper clipping Tyler was reading is framed and hanging above the mantle. As the camera pans across the mantle we see many happy childhood photos, sporting trophies, science fair awards and the other half of the ALIEN ARTIFACT. Adjacent to the living room is the dining area where Ashley sits intently reading a bank statement and once she finishes she drains the rest of her coffee as she stands. Her mother sits on the opposite side eating applesauce completely oblivious that she’s managed to drop as much on her terrycloth bathrobe as she has eaten. Ashley takes two pills out of a bottle on the table and puts them on her mothers’ spoon.

ASHLEY:
You take those mom and I’ll see you after school. Maybe you’ll feel like going to the store with me.

KATHERINE:
Make sure your brother eats his breakfast. He hasn’t been feeling well lately.

Ashley looks away from her mother with tears in her eyes. She nods to herself and kisses her mom on the head and grabs her backpack off the table and heads out the door.

Cut to- Interior school guidance office
Ashley knocks on the door and the guidance counselor waves her inside.

COUNSELOR:
Ashley Matthews, we need to have a serious discussion about your future.

ASHLEY: (sitting down, her voice a little shaky)
We do?

COUNSELOR:
Is everything ok at home Ashley?

Cut to- interior Matthews kitchen
Katherine has dropped the jar of applesauce and instead of cleaning it, she just walks away.

Cut to- interior counselors office

ASHLEY:
Everything is fine. Why do you ask?

COUNSELOR: (picking up a file off the desk and flipping through it)
Well, we’re only halfway through the school year and according to this you can only miss two more days before you automatically fail for the year.

ASHLEY: (shocked)
Seriously?

COUNSELOR:
Yes Ashley, seriously. Now I ask again, is everything ok at home.

Long pause

ASHLEY:
My mom has been sick and I’m the only one who can take care of her.

COUNSELOR: (leaning in, actually concerned)
What’s wrong with her?

ASHLEY: (looking around as if for an exit)
I’d um… I’d rather not say.

COUNSELOR: (sitting up and taking a long look at Ashley, as if to size her up)
Tell you what, if you can bring these grades up to the level you were at a year ago, I’ll see what I can do about doing some home schooling at least for a little while.

ASHLEY: (happy)
Really? That would be SO great. You have no idea how great that would be.

COUNSELOR:
I mean it though; a year ago you were a straight A student and now you’re barely making C’s. In fact, looking at these interim reports, you are in danger of failing two of your classes.

ASHLEY sits staring at the floor, biting her nails nervously. Her eyes dart quickly back and forth between the counselor and a spot on the carpet.

Ashley goes to the ATM to get money, finds out there isn’t any, says angrily “Amanda”
Intro Amanda passed/strung out at her boyfriend/dealers house (Dandy Warhols – Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth)

PART 2

Ashley cuts Amanda off financially
A talent scout wants Tyler’s band to cut a demo

PART 3

(This is a scene that will be the opening sequence to part three)

EXTERIOR – night in a dirty alley full of sleeping homeless people

Cut to-
Stan, a chubby, balding, middle aged man who looks like he could have been an accountant before leaving society behind and moving to this alley. He’s bundled up like everyone else in a mish mash of discarded clothing to try and keep the heat in. He is snoring softly lying under some newspapers. Several shadows fall over him and we hear the distinctive sound of four guns being cocked.

Camera pull back and swing around to show four young men of various ethnicity sporting gang colors aiming guns at Stan. They all stand with a kind of swagger and just as it seems like they may start to shoot Stan opens his eyes and casually looks up at the men.

STAN
What’s up fellas? Did I forget to pay my rent?

The four youths look at each other amused, and then back at Stan who has gotten a little more comfortable putting his hands behind his head.

STAN
I’ll tell you what, you guys tell me who sent’cha and I’ll let you all go, otherwise three of ya is gonna get shot in the gut and the other one is gonna get a broke face. Your choice.

All four gangbangers start laughing but before they can react Stan whips two pistols out from behind his head and shoots two of the men in the stomach. He rolls backwards as the two still standing put several bullets into the spot he was laying. Stan leaps up and flips behind one of his attackers and the other one accidentally shoots his partner in the gut. Stan drops the wounded man and kicks the last attacker’s legs out from under him, bending his knee backwards and causing the man to fall flat on his face on the asphalt. Stan stands over the one with the broken face, looking somewhat amused.

STAN
Told ya. (he turns his would be killer over) Now tell me slick, who sent you?

BROKE FACE
I ain’t telling you shit old man.

STAN
Geez kid, that’s too bad because, as I’m sure you know, the cops don’t really come down here so unless I take you and your friends to the hospital, you’re all gonna die from those gunshot wounds to the gut you all got.

BROKE FACE
I don’t got no gut wound.

STAN (smiling sweetly)
No, not yet.

Amanda’s dealer/bf makes her hook to get drugs (Atmosphere – godlovesugly)
Intro Veda, the supplier where Amanda’s dealer gets his drugs
Tyler uses his powers to save his friends (end of episode/issue)

PART 4

Origin Story
Ashley’s 14th birthday, nobody remembers, she celebrates with a bottle of wine while listening to something mellow (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – People Ain’t No Good)

PART 5

Tyler comes home
Tyler and Ashley argue about Amanda
Tyler finds Amanda
Richard is told he is being discharged from the military and his clearance is being revoked

PART 6

Tyler takes Amanda to rehab(Flaming Lips – Do You Realize)
Richard spends all his time in a strip club at the bar with his back to the girls drinking non stop.

PART 7

Tyler confronts his dad
Amanda gets out of rehab
Tyler, Ashley and Amanda go to group therapy as part of Amanda’s rehab

PART 8

Mom OD’s on pills and vodka
Ashley blames Tyler
Amanda runs back to her dealer/bf

PART 9

Veda frames Amanda for murdering her dealer/bf
Amanda hides out in an abandoned building and takes too many drugs, Stan takes her to a hospital, doctor tells Amanda “you lost your baby” which is a catalyst for real change in her

PART 10

Stan shows up and tells the Matthews kids about what they have to face. Tyler gets pissed and tells Stan to go to hell. Amanda says she thinks it’s the right thing to do and talks the rest of the family into it. Stan tells Richard that he has to transfer Jason’s power to himself if they have any hope of winning. Stan tells them that doing this will most likely kill Jason.

PART 11

The remaining family gathers at Jason’s bedside and Jason’s power is transferred to Richard. Jason dies.

PART 12

The family prepares for the big fight each in their own way. Ashley goes to church. Last scene of the series is the Matthews family standing on a rooftop in LA across from their counterparts, everyone powers up and blackout, end credits.