EXT. RECKER'S PSYCH BAR - NIGHT

Three-dimensional psychedelic images project around the exterior of Recker's Psych Bar. STONE PARTY-GOERS can be seen going in and out. This draws the attention of Arielle, who observes the hot spot from across the street, along with Rat the Mic.

ARIELLE
There.

RAT THE MIC
You can't go in there.

ARIELLE
It's a crowded, public, place. It can't be any more dangerous than wandering around the streets in the middle of the night.

RAT THE MIC
Mmhm. You see that guy on the left?

She looks and sees WARREN, a tough guy enforcer wearing clothes similar to those worn by Brick.

RAT THE MIC
I'll give you ten to one odds that guy's one of Greevo's men. A giant crustacean and a girl missing a finger walk into that bar, and he'll spot us in about two seconds.

ARIELLE
I don't know where we are. You don't know where we are. More importantly, my father doesn't know I escaped. We have to get word out to him that I'm free. If he knows that, he'll send the whole royal army in after me. But the only way we can do that is if we get access to a comm station and the only way we'll get that is if we take a chance and get inside one of these places.

RAT THE MIC
But it doesn't have to be this place.

ARIELLE
It's orotom in the morning. Everywhere else is closed. Now, stop arguing with me and start helping me figure out how to pull this off, because I don't think my fake ID is going to fool anyone right now.

RAT THE MIC
Fake ID? How old are you?

ARIELLE
Old enough for you to hit on me, apparently, you perv.

RAT THE MIC
I was not hitting on you before.

ARIELLE
Then why'd you look disappointed when you found out I had a boyfriend?

RAT THE MIC
That wasn't disappointment. It was genuine shock that anyone would put up with you. And what are you doing with a boyfriend in the army, anyway? Isn't he too old for you?

ARIELLE
First off, he's in the royal guard, not the army. Second, men on our planet can enter the service when they're twelve.

RAT THE MIC
Is he twelve?!

ARIELLE
(louder)
Third, it's none of your business. Fourth, who are you, my father? Fifth-

RAT THE MIC
Okay, okay, I get the point.

ARIELLE
What if I distract him by running down that alley and, when he turns the corner, you hit him with something and knock him out?

RAT THE MIC
I can't fight that guy. He's huge.

ARIELLE
That's why you'd be hitting him with something.

RAT THE MIC
Haven't I killed enough people today?

ARIELLE
You don't have to kill him. Just knock him unconscious.

RAT THE MIC
I don't know how to do that.

ARIELLE
You just hit him at the base of the neck or something. I don't know. Haven't you ever watched a movie?

RAT THE MIC
Your basing your plan on something you've seen in movies?

ARIELLE
I'm fifteen. What do you think?

RAT THE MIC
Hot damn, you're fifteen?! Cause your body is statutory.

She slaps him.

ARIELLE
Can you stop being a total perv for five seconds?

RAT THE MIC
Okay, okay.

Rat the Mic thinks. As he contemplates their options, he rubs his chin with the exposed inner flesh of his bare hand, sans the missing piece of his shell. An idea occurs to him as he observes the cracked portion of his shell where it broke off.

RAT THE MIC
What size are you?

ARIELLE
What size?

RAT THE MIC
Are you at least a size three? I can squeeze into anything size three and above.

ARIELLE
You want my clothes? What happened to the whole "not being a perv" thing?

RAT THE MIC
They're going to be looking for a giant crab, right? When I'm not wearing my shell, I don't look the same and I can change my shape to a degree. I can shrink myself down to your size, put on your clothes, and walk right in there.

ARIELLE
That is beyond creepy.

RAT THE MIC
No, what's creepy is that I actually had to do that once so I could fit into a dress in order to visit a former client of mine in an all women's prison. And it worked. Compared to that, this'll be cake. Now, take your clothes off in that dark alley, underage girl, so I can wear them when I call the President.

Arielle gives him a disgusted look, but complies and heads into the alley.

ARIELLE
My Dad's title is Prime Minister.

RAT THE MIC
President, Prime Minister, whatever. I'm just hoping it's not a video comm station, because me calling your Dad while wearing your clothes is going to be all kinds of awkward.

He follows her into the alley.

INT. RECKER'S PSYCH BAR

Rat the Mic, wearing Arielle's clothes, enters the psych bar. His skin is raw and very fleshy. He looks completely different, smaller, and maybe even a little hot. Men check him out. Women check him out. None of them quite know what to make of him except that he's... interesting looking.

Similar to Madam Holu's, drugs are passed around as if they were hors d'oeuvres. Everyone partakes. The "bar" at the center of the room is circular, where people can sit at stools to plug themselves into a centralized hypnosis machine. They accomplish this by sitting down and depositing currency into a slot. A screen then pops up on the bar offering them a choice between different colors, with each color corresponding to a different type of hallucination.

A two-foot long rod of the same color as the person's selection extends from the central unit and attaches itself to their forehead via suction cup. Each person reacts differently. Across the bar, people give a wide berth to a FAT DEVIANT who screams as if he's being attacked. Two stools down, an ATTRACTIVE HE-MAN type wears the smile of a person experiencing intense erotic satisfaction. There are a few of those. The FEMALE ROCKER nearest the door, and so closest to Rat the Mic, grips the bar tight, like someone riding a roller coaster.

Rat the Mic steps up to the bar next to the female rocker, trying to capture the attention of the PSYCH BARTENDER, who is really more of a maintenance person.

RAT THE MIC
Excuse m-

The rocker's body bucks wildly, knocking Rat the Mic to the ground. Her simulation ends right after, and the suction cup detaches from her forehead. She smiles, totally oblivious to Rat the Mic on the ground. She rejoins her ROCKER FRIENDS.

Slowly, Rat the Mic picks himself back up. He's wobbly, dazed from the impact with the floor. Once he regains his bearings, he signals the bartender.

RAT THE MIC
Excuse me. I was wondering if you have a comm station I could use.

PSYCH BARTENDER
Paying customers only, boss.

RAT THE MIC
Oh, come on, seriously?

The bartender shrugs.

Meanwhile, Attractive He-Man overhears this exchange and, having finished his "experience", walks over. He makes eyes at Rat the Mic and pretty blatantly checks him out.

ATTRACTIVE HE-MAN
There a problem?

RAT THE MIC
Huh? Oh, no, not really. I just came in to use the comm station, but it's for paying customers only.

ATTRACTIVE HE-MAN
So, what's the problem, dollface?

Attractive He-Man deposits some currency into the slot abandoned by Female Rocker. He then pulls the stool out so Rat the Mic can sit.

ATTRACTIVE HE-MAN
Pretty little thing like yourself. Bet you never paid for a psych shot in your life.

Rat the Mic blinks a few times, not sure of what to do about the man hitting on him.

RAT THE MIC
That-that-that is true.

ATTRACTIVE HE-MAN
Go ahead. Take a seat... On me.

Rat the Mic laughs, uncomfortable, but sits. Happy with how things are going, Attractive He-Man hovers very close to Rat the Mic, intimately close, "personal space gone bye-bye" close. A screen pops up offering a selection of colors.

ATTRACTIVE HE-MAN
What are you into? Frights? Thrills? Or just plain old fashioned raw stimulation?

RAT THE MIC
Um, I don't know. This is my first time.

ATTRACTIVE HE-MAN
A psych-virgio-no-no? That's cool. That's cool. Then, why don't you let me choose for you?

Attractive He-Man reaches around Rat the Mic to select 'blue'. The corresponding blue rod extends out.

ATTRACTIVE HE-MAN
Now, all you have to do is press yourself into it, and free your mind.

Attractive He-Man leans his body into Rat the Mic's back, basically forcing Rat the Mic forward. If you're thinking it's creepy, that's because it's creepy. The suction cup latches on to Rat the Mic's forehead and...

SMASH CUT TO:

RAT THE MIC'S EXPERIENCE: We see close-up flashes of Trigette, Rat the Mic's attorney partner. He takes a fast breath in, aroused, no longer aware of his surroundings. He's underwater, naked, without his shell. He's flying. Loud music blares. Multiple Trigettes swim underwater and disappear into the opening of a large clamshell. Rat the Mic's pleasure builds, and builds. A man wearing a crown pins a medal to Rat the Mic's chest. A crowd applauds him. Trigette kisses him. She turns into... Arielle, bleeding from her neck.

BACK TO REALITY:

Rat the Mic's eyes explode open and he rips the suction cup from his head. Attractive He-Man has been nibbling on his neck this entire time, but only now does Rat the Mic realize it.

RAT THE MIC
Hey!

Rat the Mic punches Attractive He-Man in the crotch. The offender drops, hard.

RAT THE MIC
I am not that kind of lady.

Rat the Mic waves a finger at the psych bartender, who was creepily watching the entire thing.

RAT THE MIC
And you. You were just standing there, watching? If you don't want a lawsuit brought against you, you will give me access to that comm station this very instant.

PSYCH BARTENDER
Lawsuit? Where do you think you are, buddy?

RAT THE MIC
You mean I can't sue you?

Psych Bartender shakes her head 'no'.

RAT THE MIC
God, I am so useless. But this dope paid for me, so I'm a paying customer, now.

PSYCH BARTENDER
Comm station's in the back, second door after the urine stalls.

RAT THE MIC
Thank you.

Rat the Mic hops down off of his stool, right onto Attractive He-Man's stomach, to get one last shot in. Attractive He-Man yelps.

Rat the Mic heads to the back.

EXT. SLAUGHTERHOUSE - NIGHT

Two hover vehicles pull up outside a barbed wire electrified fence surrounding the factory-like slaughterhouse. The Doctor, Brick, Madam Holu, and several enforcers get out. The Doctor is the only one who is unarmed.

Brick approaches the front gate first. As he does, machine gun turrets rise up out of the ground and target the group. The Doctor throws his hands in the air.

TURRET (V.O.)
Movement detected. Weapons identified. State your authority.

DOCTOR
I surrender!

Brick pulls an identification pad out of his pocket and holds it up.

BRICK
Brick Qiz, enforcer for Greevo Shanbor.

A beam of light extends from one of the turrets and scans the ID pad.

TURRET (V.O.)
Positive identification. Authority recognized.

The turrets recede back into the ground and the gate unlocks. Meanwhile, everyone looks at the Doctor, who still has his hands in the air.

DOCTOR
Um...

Embarrassed, the Doctor thinks quickly.

DOCTOR
(singing Celine Dion)
A thousand dreams I still believe. I'd make you give them all to me. I'd hold you in my arms and never let go. I surrender.

They all look at him as if he spontaneously grew another head. Apparently, none of them are Celine Dion fans.

DOCTOR
No?

He drops his arms.

DOCTOR
(under his breath)
Communists.

BRICK
Let's move.

Brick leads them inside.

INT. STABLES - SLAUGHTERHOUSE

Motion sensors trigger the overhead lights to reveal rows upon rows of gutted green alien pigs hanging from the ceiling on hooks. The floor is made up of metal grating so that the blood doesn't puddle underfoot. As the group moves inside, their feet "clang" against the floor.

DOCTOR
Yeah, that's a smell you're not gonna forget, eh?

BRICK
I assume you two scouted this location beforehand.

DOCTOR
Yes, of course, absolutely. We're good like that.

Madam Holu gives him a look. It goes unnoticed by Brick.

BRICK
Where would he take her?

DOCTOR
Um...

The Doctor looks left... right... up... over this way and that. He points left... right... up...

DOCTOR
Probably where all the pigs are. The living pigs. You know, the ones not on these rather gruesome looking hooks. The other heat signatures would confuse any scanning sweeps. You'd never be able to differentiate between us and them.

Brick walks over to one of his enforcers, who carries a scanner. Brick reads the scanner over the enforcer's shoulder.

BRICK
Stables are that way.

He points to the left.

DOCTOR
Fantastic.

Brick points his gun at the Doctor.

BRICK
You go in first.

DOCTOR
Right.

The Doctor walks to...

INT. STABLES - SLAUGHTERHOUSE

Thousands of green pigs are absolutely packed into fenced in stalls. They barely have enough room to turn around. The stench is almost as overwhelming as the sounds of snoring, snorting, whining, crying, and squealing. It's a disgusting display of animal cruelty, with some of the pigs so starved that they've taken to eating other pigs to survive.

The Doctor is appalled.

DOCTOR
I may never eat green eggs and ham again.

Unmoved by the Doctor's revulsion, Brick monitors the enforcer's scanner.

BRICK
You appear to be right, Doctor. If they're hiding in here, we'll never find them on the scanner. All right, everyone fan out, teams of two. I want to sweep the facility from this side to that.

MADAM HOLU
I'll keep an eye on the Doctor.

BRICK
No, the Doctor comes with me. Greevo's orders are he never leaves my sight. You go with Teke.

DOCTOR
(to Brick)
Good. If I have to throw up on anybody, I want it to be you.

The Doctor holds his hand over his mouth as the group fans out. Madam Holu watches Brick and the Doctor as she and TEKE move away.

INT. COMM STATION STALL - PSYCH BAR

Rat the Mic, dressed in Arielle's clothes, steps inside a small stall the size of a phone booth. There's a comm station attached to the wall. He thinks to himself.

RAT THE MIC
Okay, what was that frequency again? Six five... six five... oh no.

Did he really forget?

RAT THE MIC
Six five... Sixfivesixfivesixfive... wait, got it. Six, five, three, three, three, two, alpha, alpha, six, five.

He enters the frequency. The comm station lights up, statics a little, then...

VOICE (V.O.)
Hello?

RAT THE MIC
Hello, is this the Palace?

A few seconds of silence.

VOICE (V.O.)
Yes. Who is this?

RAT THE MIC
My name is Rat the Mic. I'm with the Prime Minister's daughter. She's safe. I rescued her from Greevo Shanbor inside the net, but we're on the run. We need help.

VOICE (V.O.)
I understand.

Rat the Mic exhales, relieved.

INT. OFFICE - MADAM HOLU'S HOUSE OF EROS

With Greevo Shanbor listening in, enforcer Troddosom talks into a comm station.

TRODDOSOM
Give us your exact location. We have assault and rescue teams standing by.

RAT THE MIC (V.O.)
I don't really know our exact location. It's some kind of bar.

Rat the Mic's voice gets a little lower, as if he's moved away from the microphone.

RAT THE MIC (V.O.)
Excuse me, sir, this might seem like a really strange question, but would you happen to know where we are?

SIR (V.O.)
The intersection of my soul and destiny, man.

RAT THE MIC (V.O.)
Thank you. You haven't been helpful at all.

Rat the Mic's voice gets louder, as if he's moved back up close to the microphone.

RAT THE MIC (V.O.)
I don't know. We were at Madam Holu's. Then, we were on a shuttle for a while. We walked a bit and apparently reached the intersection of some guy's soul. There's this place where people plug in their brains to this thing and are getting off on it, if that helps. It's pretty icky.

Troddosom covers the microphone so he can talk to Greevo.

TRODDOSOM
It's Recker's Psych Bar.

Greevo gives him a look.

TRODDOSOM
My brother, Furgo, he goes there sometimes. He's a lonely guy.

GREEVO SHANBOR
(suspicious)
Your brother?

TRODDOSOM
Yeah, he... he has issues.

Troddosom clears his throat and pulls his hand back from in front of the microphone.

TRODDOSOM
Okay, we know where you are. Just stay there. Whatever you do, don't leave that location. We'll be there soon.

INT. COMM STATION STALL - PSYCH BAR

Rat the Mic nods.

TRODDOSOM (V.O.)
Do you understand?

RAT THE MIC
I understand. How long do you think until you'll be able to get here?

TRODDOSOM (V.O.)
It'll take some time to get through the net. Can you hold out for an hour?

RAT THE MIC
Yeah, yeah, I think we can.

TRODDOSOM (V.O.)
Okay. Help is on the way.

RAT THE MIC
Thank you so much. Hurry.

Rat the Mic cuts the signal. He inhales, then huffs. He leaves the stall.

INT. STABLES - SLAUGHTERHOUSE

The Doctor and Brick walk down one of the aisles of pigs.

DOCTOR
This is disgusting what's done to these animals. This is their whole life? Their whole purpose? To die and be consumed?

BRICK
They're livestock, so, yes. Besides, it's not as if we have a lot of farmland available. The government left us with just enough space to live.

DOCTOR
Kind of like these pigs. Do you eat each other, too?

BRICK
If it makes you feel any better, it's only really around ten pigs. There were too many of us to feed. The supply we were given was barely enough to support our numbers for a few weeks. We clone the same ten pigs over and over.

DOCTOR
It doesn't.

BRICK
Doesn't what?

DOCTOR
Make me feel better.

BRICK
Well, maybe the reward money for recovering the Prime Minister's daughter will help ease your pain. You can take it and start up a nice farm somewhere where you can give your pigs bubble baths and foot rubs and sing them to sleep at night. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather cry for the pigs than have them cry for me. Now, keep your eyes open for your-

Automatic shots fired!

BRICK
Get down!

Brick drags the Doctor down behind a fence post as automatic weapons fire flies overhead.

Pigs squeal! Several of them, all at once, push against one section of the nearby fence. The combined force of all those startled pigs tests the limits of the support posts.

DOCTOR
Who's firing?

Madam Holu crawls around a fence post, keeping her head down.

MADAM HOLU
We have company! They got Teke.

BRICK
(to the Doctor)
Your partner?

DOCTOR
We don't use guns.

MADAM HOLU
I don't know who it was, but there were at least three of them.

BRICK
Gotta be leeches. They're scavengers who don't like playing by Greevo's rules.

DOCTOR
Which, I take it from the context, means they don't get fed.

BRICK
How the hell did they get by the turrets?

MADAM HOLU
What's the difference? They got through. That's all that matters.

The rest of the enforcers sneak back around to rejoin the group.

BRICK
All right, I want even teams. We're going to swing around like a door, drive them back, then force them to show themselves. You're sure you don't want that gun, Doctor?... Doctor?

Brick turns around to find the Doctor clutching a scared baby pig.

DOCTOR
Piggy and I will be fine, thank you. He's scared of loud noises.

The Doctor pets the pig.

DOCTOR
Aren't you, Piggy? It's okay, it's okay. The Doctor's gonna keep you safe.

BRICK
All right, everyone, go. Go! Go!

The Doctor and Piggy hide behind a roof support beam. We hear the sounds of feet shuffling, then a brief moment of silence before...

Automatic weapons fire! Shouting!

BRICK (O.S.)
Cover me!

ENFORCER 8 (O.S.)
I don't see them!

MADAM HOLU (O.S.)
They're over there! Fire! Fire!

Thousands of rounds go off. The pigs squeal and continue to press against the fences. One of the supports can't hold them back anymore. It snaps! It's a green pig stampede!

The Doctor, holding Piggy in his arms, runs in the opposite direction, but the stampede is too fast. They overtake him and he trips. On the ground, he curls up into the fetal position, protecting Piggy and himself. Gunshots, squeals, and the sound of thousands of stampeding hooves form a chorus of cacophony. The stampeding pigs break through a door on the far side of the stables and run out.

Ten long seconds go by as the herd thins. The Doctor, covered in mud, his hair and clothes an absolute wreck, looks up. In his arms, Piggy is unharmed. He surveys the area and sees most of the fences have been trampled. Brick and all of the enforcers are dead, their bodies riddled with holes.

DOCTOR
Holy...

Smoke pours from the barrel of Madam Holu's gun as she walks over to the Doctor. She pulls a pair of cigars from her cleavage, puts one in her mouth, and offers him the other.

MADAM HOLU
Smoke?

The Doctor clutches Piggy a little tighter.

EXT. RECKER'S PSYCH BAR - NIGHT

Rat the Mic crosses the street over to the alley where he left Arielle. He's in a hurry. She stands just on the other side of some shadows, her body totally rigid under his baggy clothes.

RAT THE MIC
We have to go.

ARIELLE
Um...

RAT THE MIC
I made the call, just like you said, but when I told them I brought the fifteen year old daughter of the prime minister to a crazy drug bar, they didn't even react. I think Greevo's monitoring all outgoing communications and intercepted the transmission. I think they know where we are.

ARIELLE
Um, I agree.

Warren, the tough guy enforcer previously seen standing outside the psych bar, steps out of the shadows. With one hand, he holds a gun to Arielle's back. With the other, he talks into a walkie-talkie.

WARREN
(into walkie-talkie)
Yeah, I've got them both.

Rat the Mic sees Warren. His shoulders slump. Arielle sighs.

-To be Continued...-