(Continued from Chapter Three -...
(Continued from Chapter Three - "Nikki")
PAGE ONE: (Five Panels 1-2-1)
Panel 1.1: Wide panel, identical view of DR. WALLICK's office as seen in Ch. 1, Panel 7.1. DR. WALLICK has entered the room from the left, again cut off at the shoulders, BLAKE's charts in hand. This time, there is a stack of folders and papers about four inches thick. BLAKE is hunched over with his elbows on his knees, his left hand dangling down between them holding his sunglasses. He is grinding the palm of his right hand into the hollow of his eye. From his disheveled hair and posture you can tell that he is very tired. A paper coffee cup with plastic lid is sitting on the edge of the doctor's desk.
WALLICK: Thanks for coming in on a Saturday, Blake.
BLAKE: A Saturday morning, you mean.
WALLICK: Yes, sorry about that, but I thought you'd want to hear this right away.
Panel 1.2: BLAKE's head snaps up, looking surprised and anxious. He doesn't dare hope that it's true.
BLAKE: What? Did you figure it out already?
WALLICK (O.P.): Now let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Panel 1.3: WALLICK sits behind his desk, shifting a few layers of the pile of papers to look at a folder in the middle of the stack. He is wearing his labcoat over a yellowed shirt and brown tie, which has been loosened and hangs lopsidedly over his unbuttoned collar. His hair is in slight disarray, and he looks as though he hasn't slept in a week.
WALLICK: We've only been at this a few weeks, and we've barely scratched the surface.
WALLICK: Once we determine the cause and extent of your regenerative ability, then we can begin to examine solutions to your problem.
Panel 1.4: Wide on BLAKE and WALLICK in the office. BLAKE begins to sip from his coffee, obscuring his mouth. He doesn't appear impressed. WALLICK on the other hand, is beginning to lose his temper , snapping at BLAKE irritably. The combination of frustration and lack of sleep is beginning to wear upon him.
BLAKE: I'm not a doctor, but that sounds ass backwards to me.
WALLICK: No Blake, you're not a doctor. I don't think you have an appreciation of the difficulty involved in what you're asking.
WALLICK: It's not as though there's a lot of documented case studies on the subject.
PAGE TWO: (Five Panels 2-2-1)
Panel 2.1: WALLICK has separated the stack of reports into two piles hastily, and is tapping a finger on one sheaf of papers. The pages are stapled together and have been peeled back to reveal a page with a chart and analysis of some kind in the middle of the report.
WALLICK: At this point we can't even identify what your body is doing when it regenerates, let alone how it's doing it. All of the blood and tissue samples that we've taken have thus far shown no extraordinary properties.
Panel 2.2: Reverse on 2.1. Low angle looking at BLAKE over WALLICK's hands indicating one section of a long connected sheet of printer paper. BLAKE looks disappointed and frustrated. And unshaven. It has been a rough couple of weeks for him as well.
WALLICK: The blood tests showed no unusual chemicals or toxins, just the expected composition of ordinary blood. I haven't even been able to replicate the tissue growth under laboratory conditions.
Panel 2.3: WALLICK leans back in his chair, in the process of tossing the report onto the slowly spreading pile on his desk.
WALLICK: Outside of your body, your samples appear no different than anyone else's.
WALLICK: I think you can see how that might hamper our diagnostic process.
Panel 2.4: WALLICK has taken his glasses off, and laid them upside down on the desk in front of him. He massages his forehead with his left hand, obviously tired.
WALLICK: Honestly, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I'd never have believed it.
Panel 2.5: Wide panel looking over the desk at WALLICK with BLAKE seated in his chair on the left against the wall. WALLICK leans forward and is pointing at BLAKE.
BLAKE: Why do you think I slit my throat in the first place?
WALLICK: Speaking of which, do you have any idea how hard it was to clean up that exam room after that stunt?
BLAKE: That's why you have interns.
WALLICK: Not to mention Leslie nearly had a heart attack when she walked in.
BLAKE: I guess it's good she knows a doctor, then.
PAGE THREE: (Six Panels 2-2-1-1*)
Panel 3.1: BLAKE in profile on the left of panel, WALLICK lifts up part of the pile, and is halfway through pulling out a brown folder from somewhere in the middle, his glasses on top skidding backwards unnoticed due to his excavation
BLAKE: Okay I'll bite, Doc. If not that, then what was so important?
WALLICK: Well, based on your anecdotes we've been trying to establish some testing parameters to determine the limits of your regenerative ability.
WALLICK: That's what the scratch and cut testing was for.
BLAKE: Yeah, thanks for that by the way.
Panel 3.2: WALLICK has put on his glasses, and is folding papers over the top of the folder, tilting his head back to look through the glasses that are perched on his nose.
WALLICK: About two weeks ago, in my fatigue I accidentally repeated a test schedule we'd done a few weeks before.
WALLICK: When the results didn't match, I tried it again the following week and got a third, entirely different result.
Panel 3.3: WALLICK has folded the cover back, opening the folder and propping it up on the desk for BLAKE to see. There is a bar graph, with a line graph above it, showing a slow but noticible increase across the ten or so bars in the graph. WALLICK points to a particular date on the graph with his pen.
WALLICK: We did the same tests twice more this week, and the results are disturbing.
WALLICK: In the past month or so, your regenerative capacity and overall durability have increased by nearly two percent.
Panel 3.4: Head and shoulders on BLAKE, who looks confused and angry.
BLAKE: Are you telling me that eventually it's going to be impossible to kill me?
WALLICK (O.P): I can't say that for sure, but certainly if this trend continues, it's going to be difficult to damage you by conventional means.
BLAKE: ..."Conventional means"? Just what the hell does that mean?
Panel 3.5: Wide Panel. BLAKE looks wide-eyed and bewildered. His right hand rests on top of his head, half run through his hair. WALLICK has turned in his chair to face BLAKE, a disapproving look on his face.
WALLICK: Oh, I don't know. I'm just speculating at this point.
BLAKE: But what are we talking about? Radiation? Biological weapons?
WALLICK: Perhaps.
BLAKE: ...a nuclear explosion?
WALLICK: Possibly. As I said, this is just speculation.
BLAKE: This is bullshit, is what it is.
WALLICK: You're taking it well, I see.
Panel 3.6: Title panel across bottom of page, "BLAKE UNDYING" subtitled "Chapter Four - What Does Not Kill You"
PAGE FOUR: (Six Panels 2-2-2)
Panel 4.1: BLAKE leaning forward, his face grave; his brow is furrowed under the weight of the onslaught of bad news. He struggles to not let on how badly the news has affected him.
BLAKE: Listen doc, you gotta step it up. If what you're saying is true, we don't have a lot of time here.
Panel 4.2: WALLICK rubs an eye with his fingers under his glasses, which are slightly askew from his actions.
WALLICK: We're doing everything we can at this point, Blake. We're still waiting for a number of the genetic tests to come back, but a lot of them can take months or even years to uncover gene mutations, assuming that we're even looking in the correct sequences.
Panel 4.3: WALLICK fixes BLAKE with a tired gaze, equally frustrated but for other reasons.
WALLICK: But if we can discover the mechanism behind your ability, it will all be worth it. Think about it Blake, medicine would never be the same again.
Panel 4.4: Looking down from above, both men's posture communicates their weariness.
WALLICK: Somewhere within you lies the secret to spontaneous cellular regeneration at an unprecedented rate. Even a partial understanding of that mechanism could affect everything from skin grafts to cancer research.
Panel 4.5: Wallick's eyes betray his optimism, shining through despite his fatigue.
WALLICK: Potentially, that secret could save millions of lives.
Panel 4.6: Close on BLAKE, frowning at WALLICK's distraction. He has one hand up, thumb jerking over shoulder pointing backwards.
BLAKE: One patient at a time, doc.
BLAKE: And the line forms behind me.
PAGE FIVE: (Four Panels 1-2-1)
Panel 5.1: Wide panel from the wall facing outward across WALLICK's desk. WALLICK has propped one elbow up on the pile of reports, resting his chin in the crook of his thumb and forefinger. BLAKE has cocked an eyebrow at WALLICK, favoring him with a sardonic smirk.
WALLICK: Well then, have you noticed anything unusual over the past six weeks? Any environmental or physical changes perhaps?
BLAKE: You mean other than coming back from the dead repeatedly?
WALLICK: Ah...
BLAKE: Other than that I switched to a tartar control toothpaste.
BLAKE: Somehow I don't think that's what you're looking for.
Panel 5.2: Close on WALLICK. Unimpressed with BLAKE's flippancy.
WALLICK: It seems likely that your frequent regeneration is a major factor affecting your increasing resistance to damage.
WALLICK: At the very least, I would suggest that you curb your... er... efforts for the time being.
Panel 5.3: Looking past WALLICK in profile on the right of the panel at BLAKE in the chair against the wall.
WALLICK: At least until we can establish a baseline for your condition that we can work with.
Panel 5.4: Wide panel. BLAKE rubs his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, obviously tense. WALLICK is making an expansive "what can you do" gesture, both hands open to his left and right.
BLAKE: So basically what you're saying is unless I stop killing myself, I might never die.
WALLICK: It has a certain ironic symmetry to it, don't you think?
BLAKE: 'Cause what I needed in my life was more irony...
PAGE SIX: (Six Panels 2-2-2)
Panel 6.1: Looking past WALLICK at BLAKE, who has stood up and is putting on his coat. He has one sleeve over his left arm, and is drawing it down towards him.
WALLICK: Just for a few weeks, Blake. We'll monitor you, see how you respond, and go from there.
BLAKE: *sigh* I guess I don't have much choice.
Panel 6.2: Looking back at WALLICK between BLAKE and the open door. BLAKE still has his hand on the door edge just above the knob. BLAKE looks back at WALLICK, who looks slightly uncomfortable.
WALLICK: Just one more thing before you go, Blake. There's something I've been meaning to ask you...
Panel 6.3: Close on WALLICK. There a look of wistfulness creeping into his eyes, as he searches BLAKE's face for meaning.
WALLICK: When you... die.
WALLICK: ...What's it like?
Panel 6.4: BLAKE smirks, an eyebrow cocked as if the answer should be obvious.
BLAKE: Tell you the truth doc, it hurts like a bitch usually.
Panel 6.5: WALLICK's gaze drops slightly as if he is lost in his own thoughts. Having asked his question, he suddenly seems much smaller and older.
WALLICK: What I mean is...
WALLICK: What do you see?
Panel 6.6: BLAKE is silent, his eyes becoming distant as he scowls slightly. His right hand drops slightly on the door, as if the strength was draining out of him.
PAGE SEVEN: (Eight Panels 2-4-2)
Panel 7.1: Two-Thirds width. BLAKE on the left side of the panel, looks back at WALLICK at his desk. WALLICK looks chastened by the bleak words slipping from BLAKE's mouth.
BLAKE: Nothing, doc.
BLAKE: There's no tunnel, no white light.
BLAKE: Just... darkness.
BLAKE: Darkness and silence.
Panel 7.2: Narrow panel. BLAKE halfway out the door, which is already closing behind him.
Panel 7.3: : Narrow panel. BLAKE walking past the somewhat deserted reception area. In the immediate foreground is a row of seats, unoccupied. On the right side of the panel is the shoulder and arm of a man wearing a green coat, holding up a paper. His back is to the viewer. BLAKE is adjusting his collar as he walks by, paying no attention to the room.
Panel 7.4: : Narrow panel. BLAKE is cut off by the top of the panel as he passes behind the row of seats and the man in green, whose open paper obscures his face. The headline of the paper reads "UNKNOWN HERO SAVES CHILD", showing that the paper is almost a month old.
Panel 7.5: : Narrow panel. Profile of the man in green on the left of panel, leaning back over the row of chairs to watch BLAKE. He walks down a narrow hallway lined with doors towards the front lobby of the clinic. From the silhouette of the man's face, it is impossible to tell who it is that has taken such an interest in BLAKE.
Panel 7.6: Narrow panel. From a low angle, the man in green can be seen travelling down the same hallway after BLAKE, who is further in the distance at this point. The angle cuts off the man in green, so that you can only see his jacket and black jeans. The newspaper is folded securely under his arm.
Panel 7.7: Profile of the man in green facing panel right. He is talking at a payphone, only visible from the cheekbones down. The paper is in his right hand, open in front of him and blocking part of the payphone from view. The picture under the headline is clearly BLAKE and the WOMAN from Chapter Three. In the background, BLAKE's form can be seen walking down a darkened hallway towards the bright entrance doors.
MAN IN GREEN: Yeah, it's me.
MAN IN GREEN: You were right. It's the guy.
PHONE: Good. You get the guys and take care of him.
Panel 7.8: Reverse, lowered angle on the payphone and the man in green on the phone. For the first time it can be seen that he is a young man in his 20's, of English or Germanic descent sporting a prominent red mohawk. It is PUNK#2 from Chapter One, and he is watching BLAKE's passage with a malicious grin.
MAN IN GREEN / PUNK #2: I think that can be arranged.
(Continued in Scene Two)
Comments
08:38 Wed Aug 13th, 2008
According to his backstory, Dr. Kristopher Wallick has been Blake's doctor since he was in junior high school, so they have known each other quite a while. Obviously, things have changed recently with the discovery of Blake's ability, but underneath you can tell that they have a familiar relationship.
11:16 Wed Aug 13th, 2008
Wow, I was listening to the song "Why so serious" from "The Dark Knight" soundtrack and it goes with the last part of this scene very well.
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Fetternity
07:04 Wed Aug 13th, 2008
I just love their relationship, Blake and Wallick. It's perfect.