Adventure of a Lifetime/Transcript

This is a transcript of "**Adventure of a Lifetime**".

## Scene 1

**Theme song**
**Title card**
*Streets of Peach Valley, California, dusk. A lone figure is walking down the streets, pushing a shopping cart.*

**Nathaniel:** (*checking a pocket watch*) Friday, November 23rd, 2029. Current time: 17 hours 49 minutes and 18 seconds. Only ten minutes and thirty-eight, thirty-seven, thirty-six seconds until dinner time. Given a top speed of five miles an hour, and the fact that my house is five-sixth of a mile away... I'd have to leave right now! (*he accelerates*)

## Scene 2

*The front of Nathaniel's mansion. His cart almost loses control.*

**Nathaniel:** Whooooooooaaaaaaaaa... (*he regains control*) Phew. That was a nearly impossible close shave. (*checking his watch*) Two minutes, twenty-five seconds. (*he exhales*) If I make it quick, I could increase the chances of having dinner on time. (*ringing the doorbell*) Brookie! I'm home!

**Brooke:** (*opening the door*) Dad! (*she hugs her father*)

**Nathaniel:** I'm sorry I was late. There were so many people at the mall today. Come on, set the table. I'll be unpacking the groceries.

**Brooke:** Okay!

(*the two part ways*)

## Scene 3

*Nathaniel's dining room. Nathaniel and Brooke sit down at a table surrounded by different types of clocks.*

**Nathaniel:** (*handing over two bags from a* "Front Gate Diner") I'm sorry, Brookie. Had I known tonight's dinner would be delayed by thirty-seven minutes, I wouldn't have hyped you about that homemade pepperoni pizza. But thankfully I'm always prepared, so I got you this!

**Brooke:** (*hurriedly tearing apart one bag*) Chicken fingers and fries! (*eating one*) My favorite! Thanks dad!

**Nathaniel:** You're welcome. After all, it is the number one fast food for eighty-five percent of Americans!

**Brooke:** Would you like some?

**Nathaniel:** No thanks. I've got something for myself. (*opens the other bag*) Low-fat fish fillet and mashed potato. An important component of my artist diet. (*eats some of the potato*) Say, do you have any new art projects I haven't heard about yet?

**Brooke:** Yup! I just started a new manga series last week. (*shows her phone to her father*) It's called *The Adventures of Menacing Marinette*. It's about a superhero that saves the world from evil supervillains. And yes, the main character is named after Mom!

**Nathaniel:** Sounds interesting, Brookie. I'm seventy-five percent sure it'll be super popular someday!

**Brooke:** Thanks.

**Nathaniel:** How much have you drawn so far?

**Brooke:** Umm... just... that.

**Nathaniel:** Just the cover? Like your twenty-three most recent projects?

**Brooke:** Yeah, I know. Every time I think about a cool new idea for a story, I get stuck before I could even get past the planning stage. It's getting embarrassing seeing all these unfinished projects every time I open my laptop. In fact... I'd rather quit.

**Nathaniel:** Don't be so hard on yourself, Brookie. I've been waiting for twelve years, eight months, one day, six hours and fifty-two minutes just to *start* my own project!

(*just then, a series of bells start to ring.*)

**Nathaniel:** (*checking his watch*) Precisely nineteen-hundred hours and forty-nine seconds. (*beat*) Oops, gotta go now. (*he kisses Brooke*) Good luck with your comic!

(*Brooke looks on, confused*)

## Scene 4

*Nathaniel runs through the mansion's courtyard and up to the second floor.*

## Scene 5

*Nathaniel's bedroom. Nathaniel hurriedly sits down at his computer table.*

(*Nathaniel turns on his computer and drawing tablet.*)

**Nathaniel:** (*closing his eyes and crossing his fingers*) Come on... just answer already!

(*he opens his eyes just as a message appears on his computer*)

**Nathaniel:** FINALLY! The last two creatures for my book. And on the 320th month anniversary of the first ones, too.

(*Nathaniel closes the web browser and opens a document in a word processor. At the end, he types in two exotic names that begin with the letter Z.*)

**Nathaniel:** And now, I can finally start my work on what will surely be my *magnum opus*! I'm one hundred percent sure this time.

(*he opens another document*)

**Nathaniel:** Hmm, let's see... Where should I begin? (*scrolls to the top of the document*) Ah yes, "About this book".

(*he opens a new word processor window*)

**Nathaniel:** (*typing*) "This *Field Guide to Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Reptiles* is..."

(*fast-forwards to a later time*)

**Nathaniel:** "...now sit back, relax, and enjoy the trip back in time." There. (*cracks his knuckles*) Now, to illustrate. (*he picks up his pen and sketches an unusual-looking animal on his tablet*) Hmm, how should I color this...?

(*he opens a note on his computer*)

**Nathaniel:** Is my mind playing tricks on me or does no one know what color this species is?

(*he frantically searches through various documents*)

**Nathaniel:** Just my luck! No one knows the true colors of over ninety percent of extinct species. (*selects the color wheel on his tablet*) Guess I'll have to make up my own color scheme... and risk being inaccurate... *again*...

(*an alarm clock beeps*)

**Nathaniel:** (*checks the clock*) Great. It's one in the morning, and it's already Saturday. (*yawns*)

(*he faceplants into his desk*)

## Scene 6

*Nathaniel's POV: total darkness.*

**Dana:** (*unseen*) Hey.

**Nathaniel:** Ahhh!

(*he jolts awake*)

## Scene 7

*Nathaniel's bedroom. A dinosaur is staring right at him.*

**Nathaniel:** It's, it's, it's... it's a dinosaur!!! But that's impossible! The last non-avian dinosaurs died out sixty-six million years ago!

**Dana:** I can explain!

**Nathaniel:** Ahhh! It can talk!

(*Nathaniel runs for the door, but Dana blocks him before he can escape*)

**Dana:** Listen, Nathaniel. I can explain everything! But you must keep everything a secret.

**Nathaniel:** Who are you, where did you come from, and most of all... how did you know my name?

(*Dana turns off the light and jumps to the computer table*)

## Scene 8

*Flashback: Behind the mall, the previous afternoon.*

**Dana:** I was actually born yesterday, in this very town! Near the mall, to be precise.

## Scene 9

*Flashback: Underground laboratory, genetics room. Will presents a pendant-sized piece of amber to Kate.*

**Dana:** Five stories under the *Front Gate Diner*, there's a secret lab where the government works on highly classified experiments. One day, the scientists decided to create a living dinosaur.

**Will:** *Ready, Kate?*

**Kate:** *Ready.*

(*Kate injects a needle into the amber*)

**Dana:** They got their hands on a special piece of amber from Southeast Asia. It has a piece of a real dinosaur tail inside!

(*Kate removes the needle*)

**Kate:** *Got it.*

**Dana:** The scientists were able to extract pure DNA from it.

## Scene 10

*Flashback: Hatchery. An egg lies under a heat lamp.*

**Dana:** Then, after much trial and error...

(*a young Dana hatches*)

**Dana:** ...I was born! The scientists were overjoyed. I was the first member of my species in ninety-nine million years!

(*Will, Kate, and other scientists smile at Dana*)

**Scientists:** *Aww!*

**Kate:** *It's **soooooo** cute!*

**Dana:** I was named "Dana", short for "Dana-saur".

**Nathaniel:** Wow, those scientists sure have a sense of humor.

**Dana:** Nah, not really.

## Scene 11

*Flashback: Psychology room.*

**Dana:** They forced me to take some intelligence tests.

(*Irene gives Dana a tray with multicolored blocks*)

**Irene:** *What color four?*

(*Dana points at a green card*)

**Irene:** *Good girl! Okay, what **number** red?*

(*Dana answers 5*)

**Irene:** *Good girl!* (*throws Dana a fish*)

**Dana:** It was *bo-ring*! Besides, they're so simple I passed them all... but I shouldn't have anyway.

**Nathaniel:** Why?

## Scene 12

*Dark room. Irene and Pepper converse.*

**Pepper:** *Show me what you've got, Irene.*

**Irene:** (*taking out a tablet*) *Can you believe this, Pepper? The results are off the charts!*

**Pepper:** *It's **perfect**! Hahahahaha!*

(*a door opens to Dana*)

**Pepper:** *Come heeeeere Dana! We've got looooots of fish for you!*

**Dana:** I soon realized I was going to be a weapon of war! Apparently the governments wants to clone dinosaurs to make hybrid super-soldiers. And I was just smart enough to be the first candidate! I was so angry, all the feathers on my body puffed up. I *had* to take revenge on those evil scientists. I led them all to their *doom*!

## Scene 13

*Psychology room. The light flashes intermittently. Irene and Pepper check on it, but the doors lock on them. As it turns out, Dana was playing with the systems on Irene's tablet.*

**Dana:** *Gotcha*.

## Scene 14

*Flashback: Pharmacy. Dana knocks some pills into the pharmacist's drink, making her unconscious.*

## Scene 15

*Flashback: Hallway. Dana removes a "Wet Floor" sign, making a janitor slip.*

## Scene 16

*Flashback: Elevator lobby. Dana drags a trash bag containing a gagged Gabriele.*

**Dana:** I specifically went after the head scientist, the greedy pig who authorized this torture and forced it to be a secret from the rest of the world.

**Gabriele:** *Let me go! Let me go!*

(*Dana flings Gabriele into a safe*)

**Dana:** Good thing he will do anything for money.

(*Dana pushes the safe*)

**Gabriele:** *NOOOOOOOOO!!!!*

**Dana:** And then, I escaped.

## Scene 17

*Flashback: Kitchen of the* Front Gate Diner*. Dana crawls out of a secret dumbwaiter.*

**PA voice:** *Number 02469 to counter 3.*

(*Dana goes to the counter*)

**Dana:** It was at that moment I smelled something. It smelled so good, I had no choice but to follow it.

**Nathaniel:** What was it?

**Dana:** You!

**Nathaniel:** Why, thank you.

**Cashier:** *One chicken fingers and fries meal and one fish fillet with mashed potato for customer 02469.*
**Dana:** I followed you here every step of the way.

## Scene 18

*Flashback: Montage of Nathaniel's journey to his home, from Scenes 1-5. Dana is hiding in every shot.*

## Scene 19

*Nathaniel's bedroom, present.*

**Nathaniel:** That's an interesting story... but wait, how can you talk, and why do you know so much about the modern world?

**Dana:** Well, to be honest, it was a mistake.

## Scene 20

*Flashback: Underground laboratory, genetics room.*

**Dana:** As brilliant as my creators were, they weren't exactly immune to mistakes.

(*Kate squeezes blood from a needle onto a Petri dish*)

**Will:** *Are you sure the sample is pure, Kate?*

**Kate:** *We're one hundred percent sure, Will. It's perfect.*

**Dana:** The sample that was used to clone me wasn't as pure as they thought.

## Scene 21

*Gabriele leads Marietta into a room with lots of samples.*

**Gabriele:** Check this out, Marietta! Isn't it amazing?

**Marietta:** It sure is, Dad!

**Pepper:** (*unseen*) Gabriele?! Mr. Rustico?!

**Gabriele:** Oops, gotta go! Have a seat.
(*Marietta doodles on a tablet near the samples*)

**Dana:** It was contaminated with blood from a human - specifically, the head scientist's teenage daughter. She was visiting when she pricked her arm with her stylus.

## Scene 22

*Nathaniel's bedroom, present.*

**Dana:** And now, I have her voice, knowledge, skills, personality... (*she straightens up, trying to imitate a human*) and even some of her appearance!

**Nathaniel:** Wait, why would she have a stylus?

**Dana:** She's an artist! She was working on a piece on her tablet.

**Nathaniel:** Does that mean... you're an artist too?

**Dana:** Yeah!

**Nathaniel:** (*attempting to fist-bump Dana*) Pound i-

**Dana:** You do know I can't pronate my hand like that.

**Nathaniel:** Oh yeah, right... how 'bout a handshake?

(*the two shake hands*)

**Dana:** Do you have any projects?

**Nathaniel:** As a matter of fact, I do. I was working on a dinosaur book right before you showed up. (*turns on his tablet*) Check it out. I've got the manuscript right here on my tablet.

(*Dana scrolls through the tablet*)

**Nathaniel:** There's just one problem: I want it to be the most accurate dinosaur book there is, but there's just so many things I don't know! What color was this species, what sound did that make... could you help me, Dana?

**Dana:** Well, if I were you, I'd just make up my own color schemes.

**Nathaniel:** But that means there'll be a ninety plus percent chance I'll be *wrong*!

**Dana:** Unless we travel back in time and observe extinct creatures for ourselves, we can't be 100% certain.

**Nathaniel:** That's it! I have a time machine down in the basement. You're amazing, Dana! (*stands up*) Come on!

**Dana:** Don't you need a crew for that?

**Nathaniel:** Do we *need* a crew? We *are* the crew! Just you and me, Dana. (*he winks*)

**Dana:** Give me your computer mouse.

(*after some hesitation, Nathaniel gives his mouse. Dana pulls two pieces of amber from underneath her feathers, placing them inside the mouse's sensor and charging port. The mouse flips over by itself and a cartoon face appears on the palm rest. Now Mousey, she jumps straight into Nathaniel's hands.*)

**Nathaniel:** Whoa... Are you... Mousey?

**Mousey:** Yeahhhhhh!!!!

**Nathaniel:** (*hugs Mousey*) You're my favorite OC ever! (*he kisses her*)

**Dana:** A computer mouse OC? Now that's something you don't see every day.

**Nathaniel:** Yup! Her real name is Magic Mousey the Second. I created her when I was twelve. Mousey, meet Dana!

**Mousey:** (*jumping into Dana's arms*) Hiiiiiiii!

**Dana:** Hey Mousey! (*squeezing her cheeks*) You are *soooo* cute!

**Mousey:** (*blushing*) Thanks.

**Dana:** Do you have any special powers? I love superpowers!

**Mousey:** Yup! Watch this!

(*Mousey points towards the desk lamp and left-clicks, turning it off. With another click, she turns on the bedroom light.*)

**Mousey:** I can control anything with a single click!

**Dana:** Whoa, cool!

**Mousey:** And that's not all!

(*Mousey sprouts wheels and zips around the desk. Once she reaches the end, the wheels disappear and she grows airplane wings complete with engines. She does a few somersaults before landing back on the desk.*)

**Mousey:** I can transform into any piece of technology!

**Dana:** Awesome!

**Nathaniel:** How did you do that, Dana? You've turned my inaminate computer mouse into a brand new lifeform that looks and acts exactly like my OC!

**Dana:** Your OC was brought to like with the magic of amber!

**Nathaniel:** Whoa! I should study it someday. (*beat*) But first, can we go now?

**Dana:** Give me your tablet pen first.

(*Nathaniel gives the pen to Dana. She replaces the pen nib with a thin piece of amber. A cartoon face appears on the middle of its body; it is now a living Pen.*)

**Pen:** Hi! I'm Pen!

**Nathaniel:** Umm... I don't remember creating you.

**Pen:** Don't you remember *Christine and Khue*? The story you wrote in eighth grade?

**Nathaniel:** Umm, yeah?

**Pen:** I was your crush's magical pen!

**Nathaniel:** Oh yeah, right! (*clears his throat*) Mousey, Dana, this is Pen.

**Mousey/Dana:** Hey Pen!

**Dana:** Do you have any superpowers?

**Pen:** Draw something!

**Nathaniel:** Huh?

**Pen:** Just draw something, Nathan!

**Nathaniel:** Like what?

**Pen:** I dunno, something simple, like a ball.

(*he makes a circle in the air; the outline glows bluish-white and forms into a soccer ball that falls from mid-air*)

**Nathaniel:** Okay, that soccer ball didn't just bounce of nowhere.

**Pen:** Of course it did! You drew it, and I brought it to life!

**Nathaniel:** For your information, I'm a scientist! It is *impossible* for matter to be created out of nothing! So unless you have physical proof of that so-called "soccer ball", it does not exist!

**Pen:** Okay! You asked for it! (*she winks*) Catch! (*she lobs the ball towards Dana*)

**Dana:** Got it! (*she kicks the ball then passes it to Mousey, who pushes it out the window pane, which shatters*)

**Mousey/Dana/Pen:** Score!

(*Nathaniel looks on, confused*)

## Scene 23

*Neighbor's garden. The ball smashes the window of a car, triggering the alarm.*

## Scene 24

*Nathaniel's mansion, exterior. Large, wooden security shields fall down over all the windows and doors.*

## Scene 25

*Nathaniel's bedroom. The lights are flashing red.*

**Alarm voice:** Intrusion! Intrusion! Elimination mode activated!

(*arrows shoot from several concealed firing mechanisms*)

**Nathaniel:** Looks like the mansion's on lockdown. Stay here guys. I'm gonna reset the system.

**Pen:** Wait!

**Nathaniel:** What's wrong, Pen?

**Pen:** This all happened because of one of my drawings. If you want to fix this mess, you *have* to use my powers!

**Nathaniel:** Well, alright. You win.

(*he rummages through his drawers, finding a thick sketchbook.*)

**Nathaniel:** Looks sufficient enough to withstand a shot of a regular arrow.

(*he draws the firing mechanisms off, but the alarm doesn't stop.*)

**Nathaniel:** What if, instead of drawing, I have to erase something? (*flips Pen*) Worth a try.

(*he then erases the security shields on the windows, to no effect.*)

**Nathaniel:** Aha.
(*finally, he erases the ball, and everything immediately goes back to normal.*)

**Mousey:** That... was... amazing!

**Nathaniel:** Sure was! (*to Pen*) I'm sorry, Pen. I guess my scientific mind just got in the way... *again*.

**Pen:** It's alright Nathan. As long as you believe in my magic, everything will be alright. (*she winks*)

**Nathaniel:** Please, I don't wanna be Nathaniel anymore. I wanna have superpowers like you! Can I have superpowers?

**Dana:** You can!

**Nathaniel:** Really?

**Dana:** Just think about your super identity and the powers you want to have. (*hands over a ring-shaped piece of amber*)

**Nathaniel:** (*putting the ring on his pointer finger*) I've always wanted to do this! Paint on!

(*a rainbow-colored light shoots from the ring to Pen's tip, quickly engulfing Nathaniel and his tablet. Once it disappears, Nathaniel's costume changes; he is now Artist.*)

**Mousey/Dana:** Whoa!

**Mousey:** You're a real life superhero!
**Artist:** (*observing his costume*) I can't believe it actually worked!

**Pen:** What shall we call you?

**Artist:** I know! "Super Nathan"! He is the protagonist of the comic series I illustrated between October 26th, 2015 and January 24th, 2016. His costume is a hundred percent match to mine!

**Pen:** "Super Nathan"? More like "Super Cringey"!

**Mousey:** Well, what else would you expect from someone who sees himself as an artist superhero who's *super in love* with a girl in his class?

**Artist:** MOUSEY! (*groans*) Oh, to be reminded about the trials and tribulations of juvenile life... Okay, how about "Artist"?

**Mousey:** Yeah! That's more like it.

**Artist:** Well then, from this day on, you shall call me... Artist!

**Mousey/Pen:** Yeah!

**Dana:** Artist, you are now a superhero with the power of Imagination. Anything you do with your magical drawing tablet will come to life!

**Artist:** Incredible! That's precisely the power I've always dreamed of having!

**Dana:** Really? Guess I don't need to explain the rest of your powers then.

**Artist:** I hope not! I have a feeling that my daydreams have made me a veritable expert in creative magic.

(*Dana winks*)

**Artist:** (*twirling Pen*) So, who's up for a trip back in time?

**Mousey/Dana/Pen:** Yeah!

(*Artist opens a secret entrance on his closet*)

**Artist:** Come on!

(*Mousey and Pen hop into Artist's belt. He picks up his tablet, which doesn't turn off.*)

**Artist:** Awesome!

(*he jumps into the closet, followed closely by Dana*)

**The end**