Transcript: Hot and Bothered (Requiem for Reality)

Zach (narrating): A long time ago, i.e a few months ago, I was just a normal guy named Zach Zane. I had friends, family, an education, and everything was going great. Until...something happened. A mysterious glowing cloud had descended upon the Earth, and it suddenly began blasting random people all across the world with beams of light that gave them powers beyond imagination. I was hit by one of these beams on the eve of my 18th. And on my 18th, I discovered that I had gained the power to run at incredible speeds. With the entire world adjusting to the existence of superpowered beings, I decided to use my own abilities for the good of humanity. Look out evil, because I'm Stray, and I'm faster than you!

EPISODE 13: HOT AND BOTHERED!

DIRECTED BY̶̅̃ ̸̔̿M̸̌̚Ä̴́̅T̴͛͝F̵͗͝E̸̅͝B̸͊͂V̸̈́̄Ö̴́̈́T̴́̂G̶͐͌D̸̎̚Ť̷̿ ̵͑̚H̸̀̒1̸̊̈`̷̛̿2̸̊̀3̷̩͆4̶̱̈́2̴̍͋

Ṕ̴̉R̸̾̄Ő̴̀D̶̉̆U̶̅͆C̸̄̊ED BY JAO̵͝͝#̸̾̋$̸͔͆%̴̛͝I̸͊͊W̴̓̕B̵̛̓Ù̸͛3̷͑̌4̴̒̇t̵́̍ȍ̵̀

WRIT̶̉̚T̷̋̄EN BY D̵̈́͊Ö̶͊UGR̴̓̽'̷͛͌,̶̏͝.̷̍̀>̶͒̈3̶̂̿7̷̎̀6̴͂̅;̴̂͊4̶́͠ AND JEŠ̶̈S̴̈͋Ī̸̤D̷͍̓$̵̏̀3̶̏̃C̴̈̅3̷̓͠#̶̀̚S̵͋͝C̶̄̓

Narrator: Despite it being in the middle of winter, Zach and his friends have begun to notice that it's been strangely warm, and our hero has a sneaking suspicion that his archenemy is up to something again...

Zach: Hey, Kev.

Kevin: Hey, man. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? I've had such a long day.

Zach: Mr. Woltz again?

Kevin: No, not this time. It's just...this weather has been so..weird.

Zach: Right? God, we're in the middle of December and it's 90 degrees out...something isn't right here. Hexicon City's weather has never been this wonky...even before Evostorm.

Kevin: It's not even just that. The heat has been mostly coming from one direction.Zach: Maybe some lab malfunc? Or does someone just have some weird yet affective power...

Kevin: Maybe it's that.

Zach: Do your powers still work?

Kevin: Oh yeah, it's not like the season is gone or anything.

Kevin creates an ice crystal from the air and water molecules surrounding him.

Zach: So it's gotta be something manmade. There's no way this is just some freaky weather.Kevin: I'm not too worried...but if it increases soon, they might just have to call in a heatwave alert or something.

Zach: Maybe...At the Zane residence!

Zach: Hey, dad. What're you watching?

Zechariah: Hey, kiddo. Did you check out the news?

Zach zooms next to the couch his dad is sitting at, and they stare at the tv.

Breaking News! A strange fluid-siphoning device has been found near the tropical island of Kuwana. This is only 12 hours after Jonku, Kuwana's most violent active volcano, suddenly went completely dormant, due to all the lava and magma inside mysteriously vanishing. Authorities believe there is a connection between the two incidents.

Zach: Well, obviously there is. A fluid-siphoning device?! It just writes itself.

Zechariah: I always said that Evostorm did a number on the authorities...with all the superheroes running around, what's the need for police?

Zach: Yeah, they did all certainly get lazier...

Zechariah: Funny you say that, a hero yourself, eh?

Zach: Hey, I became a hero because I wanted to! Not for the money or anything. And also...for Alex.

Zechariah: Still no dice on him, huh?

Zach: Yeah...but I know he's somewhere out there.

Later that evening...

Zach is shown running on water towards Kuwana, now in his hero outfit. He lands on the beach.

Zach: Ah, the smell of the beach. Too bad I'm here for an investigation...He zips around the island, and makes his way towards the site where the device was found.

Police Officer: Ah, you must be Stray. Are you here to inspect the device?

Stray: Yeah...I have a suspicion about it. My hometown has been weirdly hot lately. And I think this whole situation is in someway connected to it.

Police Officer: Of course. We'll let you inspect it. LIFT THE FIELD!

The large blue energy field covering the scene slightly opens. Stray runs in and carefully eyes the device.

Stray: I knew it...

Marked on the device was the logo of Dr. Delirious.

Stray: Well, that's all the time I needed. Thanks, boys.

Police Officer: Oh! That was fast.Stray: Yeah, I get that a lot.He runs off onto the waters and back to his home.

Narrator: Deep under the isolated home of a man who once called himself Curtis Calaway, a maniacal man is hard at work!

Dr. Delirious: Yes...YEEES!

The doctor watches in pride as a multitude of tubes sucks in lava and magma from various directions.

Dr. Delirious: Soon enough, I will have all the fuel I need for my greatest creation! None of the superheroes will able to thwart me, not even that blasted Stray!Dr. Delirious: And soon, all will not call me Delirious anymore...soon, I will be DOCTOR DOOM!

Stray: Yeah, that's already a thing.

Dr. Delirious: I KNOW! AND I'M STEALING IT! BECAUSE I'M EVIL! AND IF ANYONE TRIES TO SUE ME, I'LL BURN THEM TO DEATH WITH MY....

Dr. Delirious pulls down an electric barrier, revealing a gigantic multi-cannon orange robot.

Dr. Delirious: OVERLAVALOADER 2000! AHAHAHAHAHA!

Stray: Heh, what happened to the first 1999 Overlavaloaders?

Dr. Delirious: I INCINERATED THEM! BECAUSE THEY SUCKED!

Dr. Delirious: AND SINCE YOU ALSO SUCK, I'LL INCINERATE YOU TOO!

Dr. Delirious dramatically slams a button on his dashboard. The Overlavaloader roars to life, and aims one of its cannons at Stray, blasting lava at him. He swiftly dodges.

Stray: Man, out of all the things to fight me with, you choose lava? The fastest that stuff goes is like, 35 miles an hour. And compared to me, that's like public school internet speed!

Dr. Delirious: SHUT UP AND DIE!

The robot begins blasting small blasts of lava everywhere, leaving pools all over the lab. Stray dodges nearly every one, but slips up and a lava bolt grazes his side, leaving a wound.

Stray: OW! CRAP! Come on...heal, heal, heal...His wound quickly closes itself up, thanks to his accelerated healing.

Stray: Phew...WOAH!

He dodges another that nearly hit his foot.

Dr. Delirious: YOU MOVE TOO MUCH! STAND STILL AND DIE!

Stray: Why do you even say that? Obviously I'm not gonna just let you burn me alive?

Dr. Delirious: TOO BAD!

He dramatically presses more buttons. The robot begins blasting lava continuously. Stray notices that it is overheating.

Stray (thinking): Maybe if I can keep it shooting...it'll overheat somehow...

Dr. Delirious: Uh oh! Looks like the robot's getting hot. Looks like I'll just have to COOL IT OFF!

He activates a lever, which encases the inside of the robot's arms in an icy emulsifying liquid that prevents the robot's arms from melting.

Stray: Welp, back to ol' reliable!

Stray runs and bounces off parts of the wall without lava and winds up a supersonic punch. He decks the robot in the chest, causing it to stumble.

Dr. Delirious: NO!

The Overlavaloader opens up its chest, revealing a massive magma ball cannon.

Dr. Delirious: GET HIM! GET HIM!!

Stray: Oh boy.

The robot blasts multiple balls of magma at him. As they roll down the lab towards him, Stray quickly sticks his arms out and rotates them in a circular motion as fast as he can, creating an air funnel that instantly cools the magma down.

Stray: God, one day I'm gonna...dislocate my shoulder or something doing that...Now that the balls of magma were just balls of rock, Stray runs forward and unleashes a supersonic kick, blasting right through the spheres of stone.

Dr. Delirious: DRAT!

Stray: Hey man, it's science. You're the mad scientist, I'm the high schooler. Do better, man.

Suddenly, a weird glitchy portal opens up behind him. Strangely, it doesn't have an effect on anything in the lab...except Stray.

Stray: Wh- I DIDN'T MEAN NOW!

Dr. Delirious: Dude, this isn't me!

Stray: Oh sure! Sure it's not you! We're the only...uff...two people in here!

Stray struggles to run against the portal.

Dr. Delirious: I'm telling you, it isn't me!

Stray: HOW?!

Dr. Delirious: Because every invention I have ever made was never able to be faster than you! But this...

The portal increases in power.

Dr. Delirious: Whatever this...thing is doing...even you can't outrun.

Stray: NO! NOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

He careens into the portal, and it closes behind him.

Dr. Delirious: Geez...that was so weird.

Suddenly, inspiration strikes him.

Dr. Delirious: Wait....wait! Stray...is gone! My archnemesis...IS GONE! WITH HIM OUT OF THE WAY, ALL WILL SOON FALL TO ME! DR. DELIRIOUS! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Narrator: With Stray mysteriously vanishing into thin air, what will Dr. Delirious do with his newfound power? How will his loved ones react? What will happen to Hexicon City, and will our hero ever come back?! Find out next time on Stray: He's Fas̸͐̏t̸̆͌e̴͛́ȓ̶͊ ̵̐̈́T̶̀̎Ë̶́̕h̸͊̓n̵̐ͅë̸̌r̴͆̽ỉ̶̊f̴͕̽#̶̉̏4̶͐͐%̸͆̃#̵̐͝ǹ̸̟5̴͑͗3̴̑̚9̴̅̑8̸̽̄8̴͋̎D̴̎̚G̶͒͘B̶́̈́

DIRECTED BY̶̅̃ ̸̔̿M̸̌̚Ä̴́̅T̴͛͝F̵͗͝E̸̅͝B̸͊͂V̸̈́̄Ö̴́̈́T̴́̂G̶͐͌D̸̎̚Ť̷̿ ̵͑̚H̸̀̒1̸̊̈`̷̛̿2̸̊̀3̷̩͆4̶̱̈́2̴̍͋

Ṕ̴̉R̸̾̄Ő̴̀D̶̉̆U̶̅͆C̸̄̊ED BY JAO̵͝͝#̸̾̋$̸͔͆%̴̛͝I̸͊͊W̴̓̕B̵̛̓Ù̸͛3̷͑̌4̴̒̇t̵́̍ȍ̵̀

WRIT̶̉̚T̷̋̄EN BY D̵̈́͊Ö̶͊UGR̴̓̽'̷͛͌,̶̏͝.̷̍̀>̶͒̈3̶̂̿7̷̎̀6̴͂̅;̴̂͊4̶́͠ AND JEŠ̶̈S̴̈͋Ī̸̤D̷͍̓$̵̏̀3̶̏̃C̴̈̅3̷̓͠#̶̀̚S̵͋͝C̶̄̓

STARRIÑ̴̿G̷̿̂:̶̉̾

J̸͆͝o̴͑͗s̶̃͋u̴͂͠I̵͒͂G̴͌̈E̶͆̾3̸̒̅ ̵̂͆ä̶̓9̷̄̀f̵̕͘7̵̂̽5̴̃̓3̴́͘9̴̃̓

S̴͔̀ȇ̶̈́t̸̟̚H̴͛͜W̸̗̄b̷̛̽ ̸͌͘ä̸̅f̵̋̈́r̸̄̆a̶̾́á̸͋k̶̛̚ī̴̈́n̴̆̚ ̶̇͗r̵̆̑s̶̊̂0̷̅͋e̶͗̍s̶̈́́ì̴̃r̴̂̋

J̶͛̈́à̶͝Ò̴͆8̶͊̕&̶͐̉s̸̃͒n̵̂̄ ̸̂̍ỉ̸͝ ̵̌̃q̴̃̅ä̸̌4̸̇̀ ̸̏͘8̵̈́͐n̵͊͊9̵͒͒4̷̑̔

Stray: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH- OW!

Stray looks around and notices he's in a library. A very, very big library.

Stray: What in the world...

He zips to the nearest bookshelf and grabs Moby Dick off of it. When he opens it, a jet of water hits him square in the face.

Stray: BLACH- GRK- DAMMIT!

He closes the book and throws it into the library.

Stray: Geez...

???: I wouldn't throw books, if I were you.

Stray, startled, looks around to see a wizened old man tinkering with a golden watch at a nearby desk.

Stray: What...who-...who are you?

The man sticks out his hand.

???: Cornelius Cogsmith, at your service.

Stray: That's a real fancy name.

Cornelius: Thanks, my boy.

Stray: So...uh, you mind telling me why the fuck I'm here?

Cornelius: Ah, yes! I've been meaning to tell you.

Stray: Seriously?

Cornelius: See, there is a big multiversal crisis going on, and-

Stray: Um, that wasn't me. I'm not fast enough to travel through time...at least not yet. Maybe when I'm 21.

Cornelius: I'm not saying you caused it, my boy. I'm saying you were summoned by the gods of the multiverse to put a stop to it.

Stray: That's flattering, it really truly is, but I'm a C-tier hero at best! I just got these powers literally 1/4 of a year ago! Can't you have picked someone more, you know, qualified?

Cornelius: I wasn't the one who chose them, Mr. Zane.

Suddenly, a portal begins to open behind them.

Cornelius: Ah! That must be our next arrival...

A young Chinese girl, wearing an extremely high-tech stealth bodysuit, falls out of the portal as it closes. As she rears her head upwards, Zach gets a good look at her- and is instantly taken.

Stray: I-um...

Chang'e: Ugh...where am I?

Cornelius: Well, it's a bit of a tedious tale.

REQUIEM FOR REALITY