EXT. ALLEY WAY - DAY
A dimly lit alley way lined with buildings of brick and
mortar. Running FOOTSTEPS grow louder and closer. They belong to a middle-aged
man, WILLIAM, dressed like a vagabond and sporting a serious beard.
As William runs, he looks over his shoulder. Someone's after him. He bursts out of the alleyway and into the slightly brighter:
EXT. MARKETPLACE - DAY
A square in a Victorian-era city. Women in long dresses and
tremendous hats carry parasols. Men sport long overcoats, top hats, moustaches,
and look incredibly dapper.
William pushes his way through throngs of people, looking
back every so often to the mouth of the
ALLEY WAY where three large thuggish men arrive at the threshold of the square and scan it. One especially TALL THUG suddenly grins and points into the crowd.
TALL THUG
There he is!
William continues to struggle past people, pushing some down
and shoving others. He runs past stands of merchandise-- fruit, cloth, bread--
until the TICKING of many clocks catches his ear.
He jostles his way to vendor's table that is covered in pocket watches, clocks, and ornately-engraved metal eggs of various sizes. William scours the table with his eyes.
TALL THUG (O.S.) (CONT'D)
Stop him!
William looks over his shoulder as the team of thugs draw
closer. Then back to the table. His eyes brighten, a moment of recognition, and
he snatches a metallic egg from the table and darts off into the crowd.
William shoves his way through people, finally exiting the
square down a narrow street where clothing lines run across the street on the
second and third floors.
He glances back without stopping. No one. He makes a sudden
turn down an alley and stops at the dead end.He reaches into his overcoat and
from an inner pocket produces a rolled piece of parchment, fastened by wax seal.
William takes out the metallic egg he stole from the vendor.
He runs his thumb from the top of the egg down the side and it begins to
shudder in his palm. The shell begins to crack, but in smooth lines and right
angles.
Clicking and ticking as it opens, the egg begins to transform, gradually taking the shape of a dragonfly. As incredible as it is to see, William is hardly amused and in fact a little annoyed that it's going so slow.
WILLIAM
C'mon. C'mon.
Fully transformed, the dragonfly unrolls its wings and
flutters them for the first time. Its inner workings are visible at joints and
look like the inside of a clock-- springs, cogs, timing gears...
The dragonfly crawls on William's hand and begins to flutter, levitating mid-air. William hands the rolled parchment out and the dragonfly lands on it. At the end of the alley, the three thugs arrive. The approach William, grinning. William doesn't even turn around.
TALL THUG
Seems as though you've met a dead end.
William continues ignoring them.
TALL THUG (CONT'D)
Hey! I'm talking to you!
When William doesn't respond, the Tall Thug grabs William and jerks him back. William drops the dragonfly, which starts flapping its wings and levitating in the air.
WILLIAM
Go!
The dragonfly zips skyward, rolled parchment clasped tight.
TALL THUG
It has the plans! Shoot it!
The other two thugs draw revolvers and open fire, narrowly
missing the dragonfly as it disappears from sight.
The Tall Thug turns back to William in time to see a fist
coming for his nose. It shocks the Tall Thug but doesn't shake his grip on
William.
William closes his eyes and his fist begins to glow red. He cocks his fist back again but the Tall Thug jerks William up by his overcoat and punches him across the jaw.
TALL THUG (CONT'D)
You think a child's toy will save your resistance?
WILLIAM
Long as they keep hiring guys like you.
The Tall Thug decks William across the jaw again.
TALL THUG
Where did you send the plans?
WILLIAM
Somewhere safe.
The Tall Thug smirks.
TALL THUG
Baron Vandross has ways of making you scum talk.
William opens his mouth to retort but the Tall Thug lands another hook and William goes limp.
EXT. CITY STREETS - DAY
The bustling streets of a 19th century city. Men drive
horse-drawn carriages through the streets. It's almost exactly what you would
think that a city in the midst of the industrial revolution would look like.
But not quite...
From the sky comes the dragonfly with rolled parchment in
its grasp. It zips down to the crowd level of the street, dodging parasols and
weaving past top hats.
It zips past a storefront where large crates are being
unloaded from a carriage... By a man in a mechanized exoskeleton-- think of the
power-loader from Aliens, but copper and a stove-pipe smoke stack billowing
black smoke.
The dragonfly buzzes past a carriage driven without a horse.
Instead it has wheels connected like a steam locomotive that chug down the
cobblestone.
The dragonfly climbs suddenly, rising high above the street
and hovers like a hummingbird.
WUMP WUMP WUMP! A single-passenger gyrocopter flies
dangerously close to the dragonfly. The pilot, clad in leather cap, scarf and
dark goggles takes no notice to the dragonfly losing grip of the rolled
parchment.
The dragonfly is knock around in the wash of the gyrocopter
but then sees the parchment falling towards the street and goes into a dive to
catch up.
It reaches the parchment, clasps it, and struggles against
gravity to keep from smashing into the street. It zips along, weaving through
the legs of horses and the spokes of wheels.
It pauses, hovering in the middle of the street, looking
around. A MONOCLED MAN drives a horseless carriage directly at the dragonfly
without it noticing. With a single swat, the monocled man backhands the
dragonfly to the ground.
It crawls to the sidewalk, dragging the parchment. On the
sidewalk, it tries to flap its wings-- to no avail. They were seriously crushed
by the swat and impact. The dragonfly drags the parchment across the sidewalk,
dodging the feet of people that don't even see it.
After several close calls, FOOTSTEPS that RUMBLE the ground
start approaching. A TREMENDOUS MAN reading a paper is walking right for the
dragonfly. The dragonfly tries his wings again. He gets an inch off the ground
when his right wing snaps off completely.
He looks at the Tremendous Man as his foot comes down directly over the dragonfly.
VOICE (O.S.)
Stop!
The Tremendous Man looks up as a young man in his late teens pushes him backwards. The Tremendous Man stumbles backwards.
TREMENDOUS MAN
I say!
The young man is about 17, thin and blonde. He's dressed slightly better than a pauper. This is JASON. Jason kneels down and picks up the dragonfly machine, carefully coddling it.
JASON
(to the dragonfly)
Hey little guy. It's alright.
TREMENDOUS MAN
Young man! I have a mind to contact the authorities for this assault!
JASON
You were about to step on this guy.
TREMENDOUS MAN
A toy? You struck me to save your toy? Police!
A COP at the end of the block hears the call and starts to walk over. Jason puts the dragonfly into a pocket of his coat.
JASON
I didn't assault you. I'm sorry. I don't--
TREMENDOUS MAN
Apology is an admission of guilt! You've admitted! Officer!
JASON
I don't want any trouble I just-- oh, Cog this! Jason starts to walk off but the Tremendous Man grabs him.
JASON (CONT'D)
Cog you, buddy!
Jason turns and cold-cocks the Tremendous Man and starts
running. The cop goes after him. Jason jumps a fence and runs through a garden.
The cop gets caught briefly on the fence, but then keeps after Jason.
Jason turns down an alley and finds a dead end. He tries to
jump for the wall, but can't reach the top. Jason's fists curl in anger. He
closes his eyes and waits for...
The Cop reaches the alley way Jason's in. He pulls his club
and turns the corner to find...
Nothing.
INT. CLOCK SHOP - DAY
The inside of this cluttered workshop is decorated with clocks of all sizes and shapes. From floor-standing grandfathers to wall-mounted cuckoos.
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