Hot and Bothered (Requiem for Reality)

**Hot and Bothered** is the first episode of the first season of the Average Films series Requiem for Reality, in the guise of a show centered around Zachary Zane/Stray, titled Stray: He's Faster Than You! It is 15 minutes long, similar to the length of a teenage animated superhero show episode, and it is written and directed by ProGamerDude543.

## Plot

The episode begins with a narration by Zach explaining his world and how the Evostorm event changed everything, leading him to become a hero. The opening credits glitch out, before Zach is shown talking to his friend Kevin about strange changes in the weather, where it feels extremely hot despite being mid-winter. When Zach returns home, his father shows him a news report about a fluid-siphoning device being found near a tropical island where an active volcano had once been before it lay dormant due to the lava and magma vanishing. A suspicious Zach, now Stray, makes his way to the island where he finds the device and spots the logo of his archnemesis, Dr. Delirious. He makes his way to his lair, where he finds out that the hot weather was due to the multitude of pipes siphoning lava underground to Delirious' lair, where he unveils his creation, a large lava-blasting robot named the Overlavaloader 2000. The robot and Stray fight for a fair bit before the latter is pulled into a glitchy portal, leaving an ecstatic Delirious alone and ready to wreak havoc without his archenemy around to stop him. Stray lands in Archivus, The Infinity Library, and meets its keeper, watchmaker Cornelius Cogsmith. He tries to ask Cogsmith why he is here, to which he replies that he was chosen to help save all of the multiverse. Stray refuses, believing himself to be less qualified for such a job, but his conversation with Cornelius stops when a portal opens and Zhenzhen appears, Zach becoming instantly smitten with her. Cornelius warns the two that what they're about to hear is going to take a while to get through, and the episode ends.

## Characters

* Josh Grelle as Zachary Zane / Stray: A normal boy living in the United States with his parents. On the eve of his 18th birthday, a mysterious glowing cloud descended onto Earth and began striking random people all over the planet with rays of concentrated energy, granting them random superpowers that could range from ridiculously insane to downright useless, deemed by scientists as the Evostorm Event. Zach was hit with one of these beams, granting him superhuman, laws-of-physics defying speed. As the world began to adjust to the introduction of superpowered beings, Zach took the hero name of Stray and vowed to use his powers for good and emulate his hero, The Flash, as well as one day find his best friend, who was also struck by a beam, but disappeared as a result. Zach was chosen as leader of the group by all 4 gods.
* Kyle McCarley as Curtis Calaway / Dr. Delirious: A maniacal mad genius and Stray's archnemesis. He was zapped by the Evostorm beams, giving him immense amounts of knowledge, but at the cost of his own sanity. Cursing his intelligence for making him lose his mind, he decides to blame all the heroes of the world for his condition, due to jealousy that they retained their humanity and also got cool abilities. He vows to destroy all superheroes, especially Stray, and rule the world for himself, as it is the only thing he believes his brainpower is good for.
* Barry Yandell as Cornelius Cogsmith: A mysterious watchmaker and keeper of Archivus The Infinity Library, the location chosen by the Gods of the Multiverse to be the headquarters for their heroes.
* Victoria Grace as Xie Zhenzhen / Agent Chang'e: A member of the Chinese wing of international safekeeping agency S.P.O.O.K (Surveyors and Protectors of Overworldly Operations and Knowledge), an agency that was formed by ambassadors of multiple key countries in the midst of The Cold War becoming an actual war. Zhenzhen finds herself taking on the mantle of Chang’e after the unfortunate death of her older sister, who was originally in the position. A highly trained agent skilled in several martial arts and weapons, she is an extremely capable fighter and cool under pressure. She automatically assumed the role of Chang’e despite her young age under order by her boss, Director Wukong. Zhenzhen was chosen by Antares, God of Space.
* Matt Shipman as Kevin Jameson / Shard: Zach's friend who has the ability to draw and crystallize air and water molecules around him.
* Eric Bauza as Zechariah Zane: Zach's caring and friendly dad, who supports his work as a hero.

## Trivia

* Despite each of the first 5 episodes centering around each of the 5 main characters, Zach and Zhenzhen's episodes both take place around the same time, hence why she arrives right after he does.
* To fit with the theme of the character, the episode is based around the timeframe, style, and structure of the typical children's animated superhero show template, specifically the ones created by Marvel and DC, such as *Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Avengers Assemble, Spectacular Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H, Static Shock, Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold,* and *Teen Titans.*