STAR PROTECTOR EXT. DARK ALLEYWAY - NIGHT Busy city sounds, a wailing siren in the distance. Over which, the sound of FISTS slapping against FLESH. A muscular TEEN THUG is beating an unseen victim lying on the ground. Grunting with every punch. TEEN THUG Should'a given me your wallet when I asked nicely, old man. Behind him, unnoticed, a shadowy figure descends from above, landing silently in the alleyway. Wearing what looks like a purple super hero outfit with a starburst emblem on the chest. A helmet covers the upper half of his face. Officers of the law call him STAR PROTECTOR. Criminals call him other names that would be censored here. Teen Thug pulls back his fist for another punch. STAR PROTECTOR Please stop what you're doing. Teen Thug spins round, caught by surprise. STAR PROTECTOR Consider yourself under arrest. TEEN THUG You're not a cop! You're just that stupid flying guy! Teen Thug pulls out a knife and twirls it. STAR PROTECTOR Don't, you'll only hurt yourself. Teen Thug ignores the warning and lunges. Star Protector side-steps and effortlessly throws him into the brick wall, BAM. Teen Thug slides down, stunned and groaning. Star Protector goes over to where the victim lies. He bends down to examine the body... And that's where he discovers the "victim" is two sacks of rice in an old coat, with a pink balloon for a head, eyes and a grinning mouth drawn on it. Star Protector straightens and spins, but Teen Thug is behind him, holding a glowing gadget like a TV remote. Star Protector groans and slumps to the ground. TEEN THUG Gotcha. CUT TO: Star Protector sits against the wall, head bowed. His helmet has been removed. He's much older than we might have thought, lined face, thinning gray hair. And skinnier, too, as if he somehow deflated. He wakes up, painfully. Teen Thug crouches beside him, toying with the helmet. STAR PROTECTOR ...How? TEEN THUG So I was working for this crazy inventor. He builds all kinds of things. Robots. Lasers. Robots with lasers. Sells them to super villains. He told me this... (shows the TV remote) ...would incapacitate your powers. Looks like he was right. (holds up helmet) Is it true what they say? This is from another planet? Star Protector feebly reaches for his helmet but Teen Thug snatches it away. TEEN THUG Nuh-uh, mine now. Know what I'm gonna do? Rob some banks. Maybe kill me some cops. STAR PROTECTOR No. It can only be used for good. TEEN THUG Yeah, right. Grinning, Teen Thug puts the helmet on. Almost instantly he CRIES OUT in pain and falls over onto his side, his body convulsing. Teen Thug AGES before our eyes. STAR PROTECTOR It's the price you pay. Star Protector closes his eyes, and dies. His outfit vanishes, now he's just wearing vest and shorts. Teen Thug, who is now New Star Protector, rises, wearing the outfit that goes with the job of super hero. He looks down sadly at his dead predecessor. NEW STAR PROTECTOR It can only be used for good. I understand now, my friend. He bends his knees, then leaps up into the starry night. This is his story now, as he tries to make amends. FADE OUT
Copied from the DDP results thread: 12 May 2022 Admin Bioprofessor RESULTS - Just One Scene Contest #1 # Author 1st 2nd 3rd Total 1 ZAZluvr 1 1 5 2 Beverly Wain 2 1 1 9 3 bioprofessor 1 2 3 10 4 Southern_Land 2 2 5 Bono 1 1 4 6 Centos 2 2 8 7 Rando 3 2 1 14 8 Clint Hill 2 1 8 9 Mark Somers 0 10 Cyfress 1 2 1 8 11 jonpiper 1 1 5 12 finalact4 2 1 5 13 Haskell 1 2 1 8 14 dpaterso 1 2 3 10 (1st vote = 3 points, 2nd vote = 2 points, 3rd vote = 1 point) 1st Place: RANDO (#7) 2nd Place (tie): bioprofessor (#3); dpaterso (#14) 3rd Place: Beverly Wain (#2) Congratulations and thank you to all the writers who entered, and to everyone who voted! Special thanks to dpaterso who provided (again) expert technical assistance in getting the pages to post properly! Please feel free to post your thoughts about the entries and the contest in general.