Group X "No Tolerance Any
Time"
(Front cover. We see Bastion pointing a laser at Spyre, who is on the ground. The series title is displayed in a no parking sign.)
Bastion: Goodbye, mutant. See you in Hades.
(Inside front cover. We see the usual blurbs for
Lotus, Eagle, Spyre, Aura,
and Sonnos. (Note: There will be Handbook style entries for these characters
coming soon. Please be patient.) Below that, we see the following blurbs:)
Mr. Carp: Prime sentinel assigned with carrying out
phase 11 of Operation: Zero Tolerance.
Mr. Otter: Head of the Los Angles chapter of the
Friends of Humanity, Otter is anything but friendly.
(Page 1, panel 1. The FOH
headquarters,
Cap (N1): One of the many buildings in downtown Los
Angles.
Cap (N2): But unlike the others, this is the headquarters of the Friends of
Humanity.
Cap (N3): And now, Operation Zero Tolerance enters the lives of our heroes.
(Panel 2. We see a man, black hair, dark eyes, tall, and thin,
wear a suit and tie. He holds a briefcase as he enters the FOH place. He is met
by a receptionist, blonde and blue eyed woman, who
sits at a desk.)
Carp (Man): Greetings. I am Mr. Carp. I am supposed to
meet with Mr. Otter.
Receptionist: Mr. Otter has been expecting you. Go ahead.
(Panel 3. Mr. Carp enters the office of Mr. Otter. Otter is in
his fifties, with gray hair and cold gray eyes. He also wears a suit and tie.
The office is sparsely decorated, with only a desk and
three chairs in it.)
Otter: Welcome, Mr. Carp. Please, have a seat.
(Panel 4. Carp sits.)
Carp: I'll come straight to the point. Mr. Otter,
Operation: Zero Tolerance has run into several setbacks. This is your chance to
have a hand in helping us out. The Jubilee affair and other phases have put us
behind.
Otter: I assure you the Friends of Humanity will do what it can to assist you.
(Panel 5. They continue to talk.)
Carp: Mr. Bastion himself is supervising this phase of
the operation. Our goal is the team who has been smearing mud on our campaign.
(Panel 6. He pulls out a photo of Lotus, holding it to Mr.
Otter.)
Carp: Do you recognize this mutant?
Otter: Do I! That is Lotus, and she's been trying to
create a false image that mutants can do good. We've
been trying to get her for weeks now.
Carp: She is the goal of the project, along with her friends. Mr. Bastion
arrives tonight at 6 to start Phase 11: Flower Stomp.
(Page 2, panel 1. They
continue to talk.)
Otter: Beware: She's not as easy as you make it sound.
She has the power to turn intangible, and nothing can hurt her there.
Carp: That's why we're here. She's very dangerous, Mr. Otter. We have to get
rid of her now before she becomes too much of a problem.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Otter: She's involved with a group
of mutants here, we think she leads them. They
call themselves Team X. We've never officially challenged them, but we've seen
several other mutant teams fight them. They're good. Real
good. They've developed their powers to use as a fighting force. It's gonna take a lot to stop her.
Carp: That's why Mr. Bastion himself is coming. I have full authority to use
any facilities you have.
(Panel 3. They continue to talk.)
Otter: What we have is yours, my friend. Flower Stomp
will be a success.
(Page 3, Splash page. Team X training room. We see
all 10 Team X there, using their powers to disarm the traps in the room.
Sonnos, Bander, Odora, and Aura are in the air. Leave room for credits here.)
Cap (N1):
Cap (N2): A mere 8 minutes away from the previous events by helicopter flight.
Cap (N3): Here the West Coast X-Men attempt to find out how well their new
members will fit into the team.
Cap (N4, episode title): With friends like this . . .
(Page 4, panel 1. We see Bander fire a metal spike at a camera, exploding it.)
SFX: WRACKLE!
Cap (N1): His name is George Mbajong.
Cap (N2): And due to a freak accident, he now has the power to produce adamantium steel from his hands.
Cap (N3): But call him Bander.
(Panel 2. Diving Owl strikes a metal ball, turning it to dust.)
SFX: WHOOM!!
Cap (N1): His name is David Turnhorn.
Cap (N2): A former medicine man of the Choctaw nation.
Cap (N3): Code named Diving Owl.
(Panel 3. Odora blows an acid gas
onto a falling block, dissolving it.)
SFX: Hiss!
Cap (N1): Her name is Kirsten McDevin.
Cap (N2): She has the power to produce certain gases from her hands.
Cap (N3): The gas she is using is a very powerful acid.
Cap (N4): Call her Odora.
(Panel 4. We see Spyre, 15 feet tall, grab a falling block, keeping it away from Dormira.)
Cap (N1): She is known as
Vicki Loxberg.
Cap (N2): Her power is the ability to change her height and strength level to
various degrees.
Cap (N3): Hence her code name of Spyre.
(Panel 5. We see Dormira catch an
arrow with her hands.)
SFX: SWIPP!
Cap (N1): Her real name is unrevealed.
Cap (N2): Code named Dormira.
Cap (N3): She possesses superhuman strength and the ability to induce sleep in
others.
Cap (N4): If she told you more about her,
Cap (N5): She'd have to kill you.
(Panel 6. Starshot throws a knife, which collides with a black
projectile. The projectile is split in two.)
Cap (N1): Her name is Sara O'Banion.
Cap (N2): She has superhuman accuracy and the ability to augment the power of
weapons she uses.
Cap (N3): Call her Starshot.
(Page 5, panel 1. The traps
vanish.)
Computer voice: Program complete.
Lotus: Well, You are fitting in rather well here, Carol. We'll rundown the
analysis in 10 minutes.
Carol: Thanks, mate.
(Panel 2. They go out of the place. Panel 3.
They come to a 3 year old girl who looks vaguely like
Carol.)
Cap (N1): Meet someone very special to Aura.
Cap (N2): This is Kinna
Aura, her daughter.
Kinna:
Mommy!
(Panel 4. Carol and Kinna embrace
briefly.)
Carol: Love, it's good ta be with you.
Lotus: Who is this, Carol?
(Panel 5. Carol and Kinna separate.)
Carol: Well mate, this is moi
daughter, Kinna.
Kinna: Are these your new friends, mommy?
(Panel 6. They continue to talk.)
Carol: Yea, love. We're going to be with them for awhile.
(Page 6, panel 1. They
continue to talk. Set Carol's word balloons so that they identify the rest of
the team.)
Carol (1): These are: Lotus,
Carol (2): Diving Owl,
Carol (3): Spyre,
Carol (4): Sonnos,
Carol (5): Starshot,
Carol (6): Mindpath,
Carol (7): Odora,
Carol (8): Dormira,
Carol (9): And Bander.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Carol: Now, we've still got
some moving in ta do.
(Panel 3. We see Carol carry two large trunks, which look heavy.
She sets them down.)
Carol: Alright love, 'ere's your clothes.
Kinna:
Thank you, mommy.
(Panel 4. We see Carol and Kinna
together.)
Carol: Well, what do you
think of you new 'ome?
(Panel 5. They continue to talk.) Kinna:
I like it, mom.
(Page 7, panel 1. Cut over to
LAX. We see an airplane arrive at a terminal.)
Cap (N1): LAX airport.
Cap (N2): It's a routine day for most of the people here.
Cap (N3): But it's far from routine now.
Cap (N4): For today begins phase 11 of Operation: Zero Tolerance.
Cap (N5): A phase known as Flower Stomp.
(Panel 2. We see Mr. Otter and Mr. Carp waiting at the
terminal. Enter Bastion.)
Bastion: Mister Carp, is the perimeter secured?
Carp: Everything is ready, Mr. Bastion. We await your word to commence Phase: Flower
Stomp.
(Panel 3. They go off together.)
Otter: Your plan is brilliance, Mr. Bastion.
Bastion: And it will be your head if it fails.
(Panel 4. Go back to the Team X. We see Lotus and Diving Owl
dressed in a nice blouse and skirt and a suit and tie, respectively. They are
in a in a nice office.)
Cap (N1): Helping people is what they do best.
Cap (N2): So they opened a counseling place in downtown.
Cap (N3): Now, they are going to help others.
Lotus: Well, we've got some people who have been
referred here by others. Tough cases and people who can't
afford the normal counseling. Well, our first case is.
. .
Eagle: The Angelos. They're a married couple in need
of refreshment in their marriage.
(Page 8, panel 1. Enter a twenty-something
couple. They are black haired, brown eyed, and
pleasant looking. They sit opposite Lotus and Eagle.)
Lotus: Welcome, please have a seat.
Eva Angelo: Thank you, Lotus.
(Panel 2. They face each other, talking.)
Lotus: Well, let's get started, shall we? Dan Angelo: Alright.
(Panel 3. They continue to talk.)
Lotus: You've been married for three years now, and
you have an 18 month old daughter. So what exactly is
the problem?
Dan: That's just it. We can't figure out what the problem is. It just we feel
like we're drifting apart.
(Panel 4. They continue to talk.)
Cap (N): And later. . .
Eagle: One thing you should never do is keep score in a marriage. Many
marriages dissolve because both parties let the little things get to you. It's
not important that she had a funny way of doing certain things. Ask yourself
this question: "Is it really important that this behavior occurs? Ten
years from now, will it matter that it happened?
Eva: I never really thought of love this way.
Dan (1): Neither have I.
Dan (2): Why don't we go out tonight, just the two of us, and start things
anew?
Eva: All right.
(Page 9, panel 1. We see
Lotus and Eagle talking to a man in a prison orange jumpsuit. There is an armed
policeman standing nearby.)
Cap (N1): Patient number two is from the county
prison.
Cap (N2): He murdered a man just for being at the wrong place at the wrong
time.
Man: Go to &*#@!!
Lotus: Why do you have all this anger? What makes you mad at me?
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Man: I don't give a $%@# about you, &%@+! Kiss my #@=~!
Lotus: Is there something we can do to show you another way?
(Panel 3. They continue to talk.)
Man: Shut up, %&*+@!
Lotus: Then we have nothing to say to each other.
(Panel 4. The man is lead out. We see he is handcuffed.)
Policeman: Are you sure there's nothing we can do for him?
Lotus: I'm afraid not. He's constructed a brick wall around himself. Tearing it
down would kill him.
(Panel 5. They have the next customer, a middle
aged man.)
Lotus: Well, attracting a woman is difficult. Being a
lover is one of the most difficult things imaginable.
(Page 10, panel 1. Suddenly about 6 Friends of
Humanity enter, and brandish weapons. Panel 2. One of
them strikes the man.)
FOH 1: Death to all mutie
lovers!! (Panel 2. Eagle
stops them from striking the man again.)
Eagle: We are trying to help this man. Do not hurt
him.
FOH 1: All you care about is brainwashing this man to think that you are safe
people!
(Panel 3. Lotus pulls out her badge.)
Lotus: Everyone, we've got
trouble here. Teleport over as soon as you can. Follow the homing signal.
(Panel 4. Lotus turns to the FOH.)
Lotus: What happened to you that caused you to hate
us?
FOH 1: We've dealt with you mutants before! All you care about is hurting
others and destroying everything!
(Panel 5. Lotus and Eagle stand in the way of the FOH and the
people they were trying to help.)
Lotus (to the Middle Aged man): Get out as fast as you
can.
Eagle: We have never met you before, yet you have chosen to hate us for no
reason.
(Panel 6. The FOH get upset as the man sneaks away.)
FOH 1: Reason!?!? Since when
have you cared about reason!?
Lotus: Well, right now for starters. We're trying to
reason with you, because we don't want to fight you unless we have to.
(Page 11, panel 1. Sonnos and Mindpath appear
in a flash of light.)
Lotus: Look, I don't know what mutants did to you in
the past, but we are not like your preconceived notions of mutants. We're here
to help others.
Mindpath: What's going on, Lecita?
(Panel 2. Lotus turns to Mindpath.)
Lotus: Oh - just some Friends of
Humanity who don't know better.
FOH 1: We know better than to trust mutants, mutant!
(Panel 3. Eagle smiles slightly.)
Eagle: If all we care about is hurting others, then
why have we not hurt you?
FOH 1: You're just trying to get us to leave you alone. We know that you are
barbaric and thirst for blood!
(Panel 4. Mindpath approaches FOH 1.)
Mindpath: I've read your mind, mate. I haven't seen anything in there that would indicate
why you hate us. Mutants haven't harmed you or anyone you know before you
joined the Friends of Humanity.
FOH 1: How DARE you read my mind!!
Lotus: Why, just because he's telling the truth? Look,
live and let live is a very good philosophy, or did you miss
out on the 70's?
(Page 12, panel 1. The FOH attack the Team X.)
Lotus (1): *Sigh.*
Lotus (2): Violence is the first refuge of the intolerant.
(Panel 2. Lotus turns into her spirit form as a FOH member
swings a tire iron through her.)
FOH: Turn solid!
Lotus: Right, like I'm really going to let you beat me
up.
(Panel 2. Eagle stops another man from striking him.)
Eagle: Those who hide in violence often have little self esteem. You seem to have a desire to make yourself feel
well by making others feel bad. There are other ways to make yourself
feel better.
(Panel 3. They continue to fight. Sonnos holds one of the FOH
people up in a sonic bubble.)
FOH 2: Put me down!!
Sonnos: When you choose to stop hurting people because of the way they are,
then you will be free.
(Panel 4. FOH 1 pulls out a smoke grenade.)
FOH 1: The fight is far from over!
(They toss the smoke grenade, which engulfs the scene
in panel 5. Page 13, panel 1. It clears, and the FOH
people are gone.)
Lotus: Thanks for coming, guys.
Mindpath: Lecita, that's
not all I read from that guy's mind. He mentioned
something called "Flower Stomp." It's a plan to kill you.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Lotus: What do you mean, kill me?
Mindpath: They think that you are a menace to
society.
(Panel 3. Starshot smiles slightly.)
Starshot: What do you call it when you think someone
has a bad trait that they have?
Lotus: Projection. It's a common trait amongst the
FOH.
(Panel 4. They continue to talk.)
Lotus: Well, let's go home.
(Page 14, panel 1. Cut back to the FOH. Bastion is not
amused by what has happened.)
Bastion: I am surrounded by fools
and idiots. You let her get away just like that.
FOH 1: I can't explain it. We really had to fight the
urge to leave her alone. It was like an unseen hand
was pushing us away.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Bastion: That's part of her mutant power. Well, if you
want something done right, do it yourself.
(Panel 3. Cut back to Team X headquarters. We see Lotus, Eagle,
Starshot, Carol, Spyre, Mindpath
and Sonnos sitting in a circle.)
Cap (N): And later. . .
Lotus: Well, so much for wanting to help people.
Starshot: Perhaps you went about it the wrong way.
(Page 15, panel 1. Lotus faces Starshot.)
Lotus: What do you mean?
Starshot: You opened an office and publicly advertised it. You should keep your
office location secret.
(Panel 2. Lotus thinks.)
Lotus: Hold sessions in a secret
place? Hmm. .
. alright. I'll hold sessions here.
Spyre: And jest how do you plan to keep this place
secret?
(Panel 3. They continue to talk.)
Lotus: Well, we have teleporters,
Vicki. We'll have people come to a site, and teleport them here.
(Panel 4. Enter Dormira and Bander.)
Lotus: Well, how was your workout?
Dormira: He is undisciplined. I cannot work with such
amateurs.
Bander: I'm sorry, but I believe in reason over fist.
(Page 16, panel 1. They sit down.)
Lotus: What happened?
Bander: There was a program we tried - it was
designed to make us reason with the opponent before attacking, because some of
them may surrender. But miss shoot first and ask
questions later decided to attack everyone.
Dormira: If you waited, then they would get away.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Starshot: Judgement is as
much a part of fighting as a weapon.
(Panel 3. They continue to talk.)
Lotus: Agreed. Most people are rational, and will
listen to a reasonable argument. If people can see your side of the
argument, then you look at their point of view. And then
you come to an understanding.
(Panel 4. They continue to talk.)
Lotus: Well, it's dinner time,
then we'll get our assignments for the night.
(Page 17, panel 1. Cut over to the FOH. We see them planning their
strategy for the night.)
Carp: Occasionally they try to catch panderers. We
have it that they will do this tonight.
Bastion: Then we have them. Even if Lotus is not there, she will come to save
her fellow mutant.
(Panel 2. They continue to talk.)
Otter: Everyone is ready for this.
(Panel 3. Cut back to Team X headquarters. We see them getting assignments for the night.)
Lotus: And the computer should select assignments for
us. . .
(Panel 4. The computer displays some text.)
Computer: Assignments made.
Lotus: Let's see what we've got here. . .
(Page 18, panel 1. They read the screen.)
Lotus: I've got the valley.
Eagle: I have
Sonnos: I have East L.A.
Bander: I'm going to
Starshot: Vicki and I are out to catch panderers.
Dormira: I have Northridge.
Carol: Oy'm going to
(Page 18, panel 1. We see them go off.)
Lotus: Let's get out there, and remember: We're here
to stop crime. I'll contact the others for their assignments.
(Panel 2. They go off. Panel 3. We see
Bander standing on the roof of an old building in
Cap (N1) : And so they went
to their assignments.
Cap (N2) : The first one to encounter trouble was Bander.
Cap (N3) : And in
Cap (N4) : Here, the unemployment rate is almost 50%.
Cap (N5) : And many of those unemployed are turning to
alternative ways to earn money.
Cap (N6) : It's because nobody wants to invest here.
Cap (N7) : Because it's too risky, people will steal
things.
Cap (N8) : Because there's too much unemployment here.
Cap (N9) : Ad infinitum.
Cap (N10): This is probably why these people are very distrustful of authority.
Cap (N11): But that's another rant all together.
(Page 19, panel 1. He flies over a park, where there is a drug deal
going down. He hides nearby.)
Dealer: This is class A
stuff, holmes.
(Panel 2. The buyer examines the drugs.)
Buyer: It seems alright. . .
(Panel 3. Money changes hands.)
Dealer: I appreciate your business.
Bander (From offpanel): And so do I.
(Panel 4. Bander steps forward.)
Bander: You're under arrest.
(Page 20, panel 1. The dealer and buyer pull guns.)
Dealer: I don't think so, traitor.
(Panel 2. Bander forms a shield as
the dealer and buyer open fire. The bullets bounce off the shield.)
Bander: Look, shooting at me isn't going to solve anything.
We're still going to get you.
(Panel 3. The dealer and Buyer bolt off in different
directions. Panel 4. Bander
catches the buyer in an adamantium bolo, which wraps
him up.)
Buyer: What the --!?
(Page 21, panel 1. Bander flies off, after the
dealer. Panel 2. We see him fly after the Dealer.)
Bander: You can run, but you can't hide.
(Panel 2. Bander tackles the Dealer.)
Dealer: UHN!
(Panel 3. Bander handcuffs the
dealer.)
Bander: You have the right to remain silent. . .
Cap (N): Next issue my enemy is my survival!