CHAPTER 4 
“MASQUERADE”

FALL

THE DARK ROOM

Time is meaningless in THEO’S apartment now that he’s painted the windows black.  He checks himself out in the mirror, his Aura expanding and contracting as he flexes his fists.  His new tattoo, a full sleeve down his right arm, is a permanent version of Aria’s stylized club map, tattooed by The Serbian in precise, geometric patterns.  With Russ’ shoes and necklace added to his uniform of black clothes and camera bandolier, his transformation to one of the Mercury 7 is complete.    Behind him, the shower curtain begins to glow.  It’s show time.  He steps thru the glowing portal…

SUBWAY TUNNEL

… and out thru the vinyl curtain in the tunnel leading to the club.  SHARON is there to greet him with an air kiss.  

SHARON

First class travel for our newest member!

 THEO

Thanks Sharon.”  He heads down the tunnel 

towards the station. “Cameras ready, prepare

to flash!”

THE LOUNGE

He meets up with MANNY, and is handed a big packet of Rust. 

MANNY

On the house.

THEO

Thanks man.

MANNY

You bet, brother.  Take ‘em to school!

ART SCHOOL SCULPTURE GARDEN / FLASHBACK

THEO trains at the remains of an earthquake devastated art museum that they call Art School.  A beautiful townhouse half enclosed in an overly modern steel and glass atrium, it is a symbol of gentrification and the co-opting of outsider art the rich.  Thematically, it’s the opposite of Werk! (commerce over art, rather than art from commerce.). DEADALUS hates it.

It did not hold up well when the quake hit, the extreme damage causing museum management to abandon art work, sculptures, and the contents of the gift shop as they fled. Now it’s a training ground for the Mercury 7, a place to cut loose with their powers. Large modern sculptures dot the museum’s Sculpture Garden.  Metal admission buttons and shattered glass litter the grounds, and a forlorn banner announcing the new Street Art collection hangs across the foyer.  

Theo is squaring off against MANNY as ARIA and DEADALUS look on.   Deadalus lectures Theo about his powers while Theo attempts a scary game of tag with Manny.  “Feel your Aura inside you, expand it outward past your own skin.  That’s your pineal gland expanding its sense of self outward, manifesting in a magnetic field that contains particles of Mercury.  Your Aura, or Black Light, can make you stronger, faster, and more agile.  Theo concentrates until the metallic shimmer radiates from his skin and slowly expands.  Manny does the same, but much bigger, creating an exaggerated muscular form around him, spikes rippling around the perimeter in undulations as he breathes.  

This is the physical level of manifestation of the Mercury.  Buddhist’s would say this is the first of the three levels of existence….impermanence.  Manny uses it to become larger, Aria here uses it to create multiple arms, and The Serb’s fractured psyche allows him to make multiple versions of himself.  This is where you begin.  

Manny suddenly charges, fast for his size.  Theo barely dodges, their Auras glancing off each other with a metallic clang.  This continues, Theo learning to control his Aura, getting faster.  On the third charge, Theo maneuvers so the setting sun is in Manny’s eyes, then plants his hands and feet on the ground.   Just before impact, he pushes down with is Aura, sailing gracefully over Manny as he passes underneath.  With no warning, the brute smashes headfirst into a sculpture, shattering it.  He emerges from the destruction, embarrassed and angry, his features distorted from their normal cheeriness into a snarl.  The spikes undulate larger and faster. The museum’s patio lights flicker and go dark as his field absorb their energy momentarily.   He shakes it off, and lights return along with his smile.  

THE LOUNGE

As Theo walks down the tunnel, the club around him is abuzz with activity, house lights on and staff getting ready for the night’s party.  The cashier counting their drawer, a coat check girl putting tickets on hangers, and bartenders stocking the bar.  The Serbian giving the place the once over, talking to himself elsewhere in the building.   ARIA practicing a new routine off in the distance, training all three Erins in the moves.  He takes pictures of all of it, documenting every detail.  This place has gone from fly by night illegal rave to full fledged operation. It’s a work of art.

ART SCHOOL GALLERY / FLASHBACK

THEO is now in the abandoned gallery wing of the Museum, training with ARIA.  The tall white walls are filled with outsize graffiti and street art, a stark contrast to the modern gallery setting.  He searches for Aria in the maze of art, as she darts from room to room.

DEADALUS (OS)

To a  Buddhist, the second level of existence

is suffering. The emotional.  Expand your Aura 

further outward to sense the world around you.  

The highs & lows, light & sound. The perceptions

 that trip you out on Rust are now permanent 

and yours to control, a tetrachromat. Seeing in 

the dark, hearing the slightest sound, sensing 

others around you.”

The last lights go out.  Thanks Manny, Theo thinks. He shifts his field out, seeing thru its eyes, looking for Aria.  He doesn’t see her sneak behind him and gracefully pirouette a kick into his gut, doubling him over.  

DEADALUS

“But that’s just the start.  This level of 

abilities allows you to connect your Aura 

to others, connecting with their senses 

and emotions.  These second level abilities 

are the specialty of Aria here, who is 

connected empathically with all around her,

 allowing her to predict their movements 

and influence their emotions.  Minus, 

un-subtle bastard that his is, wields this 

power like a blunt instrument, manifesting 

his black light as a series of chains to 

control the will of the Rusted.  

Aria continues to ambush Theo as he chases after her in the hallways, popping out of doors, and jumping around corners to alternately smack, kiss, punch and fondle him.  It’s frustrating, confusing, and invigorating.  He tries, but can’t sense her Aura.  Can’t get to the second stage. Deadalus seems disappointed.  

DEADALUS

You need to see the big picture.

THE CATWALKS  

THEO climbs up into the catwalks and walks above the empty club, the venue looking strange and naked in the light.    As he goes, he marvels at the size of the speaker stacks, built right into the front of the three subway cars facing the dance floor.  Massive rusted circular woofers, each ringed with coils of red neon tubes, reach up towards the walkways.  

Theo pauses at Russ’s old perch, momentarily sad, thinking about his friend. 

In the DJ booth, doing sound check, is DEADALUS.  Theo heads downstairs to meet him, taking more photos as he goes.  He looks out onto the empty floor and prepares for the night to come.  

DEADALUS

Welcome to the big time

Theo frames up one last photo of the massive empty venue.  

THEO

This is going to be one for the books.

ART SCHOOL GIFT SHOP / FLASHBACK

Finally, THEO faces off with DEADALUS himself in the museum’s lounge / gift shop, a small stage surrounded by long low-shelves of art books and benches.

DEADALUS

The third mark of existence is the non-self.  

A pure mental state. Expanding your Aura 

into the real world, affecting reality with 

your will.  Sharon can step thru curtains 

across spacetime, and I can alter the very 

architecture of reality with a touch.

He places his hand on the nearest wall, his Aura’s overlapping triangles expanding into it.  As it expands, the shelves rearrange and shift, forming a surreal world of MC Escher stairs, animation, walkways and pedestals.

DEADALUS

Come get me.  Better yet, change your reality.  

Control it.  Step into it!

The art in the books morph, the headsets for the audio tour taunt him, and gravity changes directions.  Deadalus is visibly frustrated with him.  

DEADALUS

You’re gonna have to be better.  These 

powers are our only salvation in a 

lawless land, where people will try to 

take what I, what we, have built.”

Theo tries, but can’t.  He pushes his Aura into the space around him to no avail.  Reality shifts sideways as he ducks around furniture, hurdles bookshelves, and dodges crazy art come to life.  But the floor becomes the ceiling and reality becomes a disorienting dream. DEADALUS runs him in circles.  

He falls thru a hole in the floor, landing at DEADALUS’ feet.  He helps him up, his features softening.  

DEADALUS

Good try.  You’ll get there.  I’ll see you 

at the club this weekend.

FADE OUT

DJ BOOTH 

The party is in full swing, a decadently themed event with sensual performances happening on stage.  Four dancers in folded paper masks representing the four seasons - Summer Sun, Fall Devil, Winter Warlock, all go go dancing, and Aria in the middle, the star, the Spring nymph, doing arial.  THEO captures it all.  He’s drawn to the intricate lighting: tracers under the catwalks, hanging flashbulbs, pinspots, and a spotlight on the rotating mirrored clock that sends a disco ball pattern out into the haze.  And the people!  A sea of black clad revelers of every skin tone and sexuality, all unified on the dance floor.  Theo stands in the middle of it all taking it all in.  

Deadalus fires up the full might of the sound system, setting off the High triangular strobes in the booth and the  Lows in the bass cabinets.  At the hight of it all, three simple notes in quick succession, on a loop that fill the entire room, and Theo’s brain.  Theo is instantly hit by a wave of nausea and one of his migraines, swaying dizzily in the center of the dance floor. His Aura flickers.  

As it repeats, the first note seems to drift out of beat with the others, forming a syncopated rhythm like sneakers in the dryer.  Deadalus, frustrated and angry, mixes out of the song and storms backstage.

BACKSTAGE

Later that night, Theo takes a break backstage, Rusted out, recovering from his migraine. In a daze, he sees DEADALUS and MINUS talking.  Minus is telling Deadalus that he thinks the competition, Cyrus at SynBar, had Russ killed.  Russ had done some lighting work there, and must have gotten caught selling Rust. That doesn’t sound like Russ, thinks Theo, but he’s too messed up to dwell on it.  Deadalus wants no part of it.  Tells Minus to deal with it.  

MINUS

Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.

Deadalus does a bump off one of his keys, then fits all three together, like a puzzle ring.  He  walks to the end of the train car and disappears beyond.  Minus turns to Theo.

MINUS

Good news, you finally a chance to be useful.   

Meet me at Art School tomorrow.  Your old 

boss is having his Halloween party, and we’re 

gonna pay him a little visit.”

ART SCHOOL

MINUS, MANNY, SHARON, ARIA and THEO are gathered in the yard of the old Museum.   Minus passes out cardboard masks to the others. 

MINUS

Put these on.  We wanna blend in for their 

Masquerade party, and we don’t want any 

nosy photographers… 

Looking at Theo.

MINUS

…getting any pics. 

hey slip on the low polygon masks, the same ones Eryn made for the last performance.  Minus as the Winter King, Aria as Spring Forest Nymph, Theo as Summer Sun god, Manny as Fall Devil.

Sharon  grabs the hanging museum banner and summons a portal, as the others climb thru one by one…

GR€€D

…emerging thru a curtain on one side of a photo booth.  Minus pushes the kissing occupants out onto the floor as he steps out into GR€€D foyer.  He’s followed by Manny, Aria and Theo in turn, the booth camera going off for each one.  The quartet march to the interior door as a photo strip slides onto the floor, each photo a different season.  They’ve bypassed the bouncers outside, getting hand stamps on their wrists as they enter.   £&₿.  Pounds and Bitcoins.  Money related, of course. 

They follow MINUS into the crowded den of opulence.  He seems at home here. 

MINUS

I liked this place better when it was just called 

Syn Bar.  Lust was fun, though.

After taking it all in, Minus commands MANNY to kill the lights.  He absorbs the power into his Aura, growing large as Minus leans over the booth, taking a red reel to reel tape out of the booth before pulling the fire alarm.  In the glow of the bottle sparklers,  ARIA reaches out to nudges them to leave, calmly.   The crowd pushes past them towards the exit, leaving only the staff and a very pissed off CYRUS.  

Cyrus and some very large bouncers confront them.  Minus and Cy go toe to toe while the other three fight the bouncers:  Manny like a bull in a china shop, smashing things and bouncing a guy of the statue.  Aria fights like a nimble dancer, dodging and leaping from table to table.  Her Aura reaches out like webs from her fingers, allowing her to see in where everything was in the room, and predict the blows and bottles flying across the melee.  Theo is hesitant at first, using his Aura defensively.  Aria and Manny each save him before he gets into the swing of things, hurling Red Bull cans rapid fire with his Aura and knocking a guy out.  

THEO

That shit IS dangerous.

Minus nods to Aria, who mentally signals to Sharon.  A service bar curtain parts as a new portal forms. 

SHARON

Your limo awaits

They go to leave.  

CYRUS 

What the fuck?

He yanks Sharon out of the portal and smashes them into the wall face first, knocking SHARON out.    He smashes a champagne bottle on the wall, holding the rest of them at bay.  Minus sneers, his Aura pulsing.  The two matching cocktail waitresses, now joined by trainee ERYN, appear behind him, stares blank.  They may work here, but they party at Broken Land.  Each of the ERINS pins one of Cyrus’ arms with the unnatural strength of the Rusted.  ERYN disarms him and takes his phone and Minus pulls up his mask as Cy is forced onto his knees in front of him.  

MINUS

Surprise, asshole!  Thought you could keep 

using our equipment after we left?

Minus takes off his necklace, slipping the loop of the spoon over his middle finger, making the chunky silverware into ornate brass knuckles.  Minus beats Cy with it, repeatedly, as Aria and Theo stare in shock.  

MINUS

Thought you could use the Dynamo 

with out us huh?  Trying to steal some 

of our business?  What else do you know?  

What did Russ tell you?

 Cy won’t talk.  Minus takes out a small vial, and fills a glass eye dropper with viscous red fluid.  Red Mercury. Liquid Rust.  As the Erins hold Cy’s eye open, Minus drips the Rust into his eye.  Cy doubles over in pain, screaming, his eye smoking.  Aria and Eryn look sick to their stomachs, Theo burns with loathing.  Cy is now subdued, whimpering.  

CYRUS

That was the only part.  You left it here, remember?  

MINUS

Is there anything else?

CYRUS

The kid said something about a lab.  That’s all I know.

MINUS

Great.  Now it’s time to cauterize.

Minus takes a bottle of 151 from behind the bar, pours it over the curtains, takes a burning sparkler and sets them alight.  They burst into flames.  The fire spreads quickly across the booth, melting the DJ equipment and the triangular speakers.  Minus slips a foil packet in Cyrus’ suit pocket.  

MINUS

Here’s something for the pain.

Sirens sound in the distance.  

MINUS

We need to go!  You two, take Sharon to the

hospital, get her stitched up.  

ARIA

You aren’t coming?  

MINUS

I’ve got something I’ve got to take care of.

The Erins fish the keys to Cy’s Range Rover out of his pocket and leave with Minus and Manny.  As they pass the Bull statue, Minus gives it a second glance.  

MINUS

Oh, I like that, let’s take it with us.  Manny?  

Manny rips the Bull head off and carries it with them.

AIR TRAM STATION

Having left Sharon safely at the emergency room, THEO and ARIA wait for the air tram to Breukelen.  They argue.  Theo knows he’s been played, but he isn’t sure exactly who is involved, and doesn’t trust Aria isn’t in on it.  He goes to leave Aria there, stepping onto a moving air tram car.  She pulls him back with her powers.  

THEO

How can I trust you?

She could be part of it, maybe gave him powers under Minus’ orders. But she’s not working with Deadalus OR Minus, she says. She’s independent.  She knows Russ was up to something.  They used to explore the world together, looking for more Vermillion,  They were looking for the source.  Maybe that’s what got Russ killed, she doesn’t know.  But it wasn’t Cyrus, she could feel his emotions when Minus interrogated him.  

ARIA

I can help us get answers, but only if you trust me. 

 She steps onto the next cable car and holds out her hand.

AIR TRAM

They ride the air tram out over the East River towards Breukelen and talk.  They both realize Cy was played by Minus, and it’s possible Minus killed Russ. That suicide haiku wasn’t written by Russ, it was all wrong. They saw how violent Minus was just now, and noticed Manny does whatever Minus says, whether he’s able to control him or not.  All Aria knows is Russ isn’t the first of them to go missing, and Minus is getting more unhinged everyday.  What does Deadalus know?  What is going on with the crazy sound equipment?  Theo pulls out the worn Polaroid of him and Russ.  “Like A Boss.” “Life’s a Bitch.  £&₿.   Then Cyrus mentioned a Lab.  Russ was trying to tell us something about a LAB, but what? 

Theo tells Aria about his vision the night he became monoChrome.  About the Mayan temple and the sacrifice.  

THEO

Could it be related to what Russ was trying to 

tell us?  I need to look around the club, but we 

will need a distraction to get in there.

ARIA

 What distraction?

THEO

You.  And your performance. At Saturnalia, 

the biggest party of the year.

2012 MEMORIAL 

ARIA and THEO get off the air tram and walk thru the outskirts of Breukelen.  

They come one of the Zen gardens that ring Broken Land…three large black stones of different sizes that sit nestled in a large field of red sand, raked into an intricate maze pattern.  The 2012 memorials.  Deadalus designed them when he was on his Japan kick after he joined up with Russ.  Theo walks toward the rocks across the sand.  It ripples outward with each step like a stone dropped in a pond.  After each step, the sand reforms to a perfect maze pattern.  As he gets closer, he sees the entire surface of the stones are covered in rows of evenly spaced, alphabetical names carved in the rock.  He gets close enough to read, searching.  Aria, on tiptoes next to him, reads the name he’s staring at.  Hector Solis.   

THEO

When I was young, I had horrible migraines.  

So bad that I’d see tracers of lights, halos 

around things.  So intense I could barely move.  

Herc gave me a toy camera and taught me to 

use it to narrow my focus, see thru the pain.   

He’s why I’m a photographer now.  When he 

went off to study music at Juliard, I was lost.  

When he died in the earthquake, I was broken.  

See, when I was a baby I couldn’t pronounce 

Hector right, and always called him Herc.  

Hector Solis was my brother.“ 

THE DARKROOM 

THEO rips all the photos off the clothes line, tosses them around the room, then gets a razor blade.  Looks at it.  Makes a decision.  And starts scraping the black paint off his windows.  He gets an IR marker and and starts drawing on the window.  

THEO (VOICEOVER)

There are three Memorials, right?  How’d I 

miss that?  Of course!  

Theo looks at his tattoo and starts drawing on the window.

THEO (VOICEOVER)

So there’s one of these here, in Green Pointe, 

I’ve seen the one in Bushwicke…lemme guess, 

there’s one down by Art School in South Williamsville

ARIA (VOICEOVER)

Yeah.

THEO (VOICEOVER)

That’s exactly where the speakers are 

in the club.  The speakers are the Monuments.  

The Gates line up with the subway line itself, 

the DJ booth and the Light booth maybe?  See 

how everything matches up with your map of 

the club?  Werk! is the bar, Art School is the 

Stage.  Broken Land is right here in the middle.  

ARIA (VOICEOVER)
Those are all places Deadalus threw 

parties before the club opened, including your loft.

THEO draws the map of the club over the buildings he can see out his window

THEO (VOICEOVER)

So then if my apartment building corresponds

 with the club entrance, then the opposite is all 

the way over here, where GR€€D sits at the 

end of the subway line.  What does Deadalus 

have to do with GR€€D? 

ARIA (VOICEOVER)

Nothing, but he got his start throwing parties 

at that address when it was called SynBar.  

2012 MEMORIAL 

Theo laughs.  

THEO

Syn Bar.  Cinnebar….that’s where Mercury 

comes from.  So if it’s still part of their plans, 

then it should have a corresponding part at the 

club.  That means there’s a part of the Broken 

Land we don’t know about.  Behind the DJ booth, 

past the backstage.

Theo points to his wrist, the £&₿ hand stamp still on it.  

THEO

The LAB.  I’ve got to get in there and shed some 

light on this whole fucked up place.