I think he's made you His Friend.

The Grandson thought about it for a minute 

and then asked His Grandfather : 

"Which wolf wins?"

The Old Cherokee simply replied, 

"The one you feed."

COUNT DRACULA :

I am afraid I do not possess such a thing.

HARKER :

You don't have any mirrors?

COUNT DRACULA :

SIGHS: 

Baubles of Vanity.

What is The Purpose of a Mirror?

Hm?

One will find no Enlightenment in 

One's Own Gaze.

GLASS TINKLES

HARKER :

Agh!

COUNT DRACULA :

HISSES

Are you all right, Mr Harker?

HARKER :

Oh, I'm fine. It's, er... It's a scratch.

COUNT DRACULA :

Please be careful.

We cannot return you in any way damaged 

to your beautiful Mina.

HARKER :

It's nothing. It's ju...

Did I mention Mina?

COUNT DRACULA :

I think you spoke of her beauty at dinner.

HARKER :

Oh, um...

I don't recall that.

COUNT DRACULA :

Perhaps it was the wine.

HARKER :

No, I barely drank.

HARKER LAUGHS

COUNT DRACULA :

My sympathies.

Please attend to your hand.

HARKER :

It's really fine. It's... 

It's nothing.

COUNT DRACULA :

Blood is not nothing!

Blood... is lives.

Van Helsing :

"Lives"?

You are quite certain he did not say 

"Blood is Life"?

He said 

"Blood is Lives"? 

HARKER :

He... He did.

Yes.

PENCIL SCRATCHES 

It struck me as odd.

Van Helsing :

But there were other oddnesses 

that preoccupied you?

HARKER :

How could he know My Thoughts?

I never mentioned Mina at dinner.

I'm certain of it.

Van Helsing :

A Dog can sniff stories 

on the slightest breeze, while We 

are blind in The Wind.

HARKER :

He could smell My Thoughts in the air?

Van Helsing :

No, Mr Harker. 

That would be ridiculous.

But perhaps in Your Blood.

Perhaps stories flow in our veins,

if you know how to read them.

Blood is Lives...

COUNT DRACULA :

You will not see me till tomorrow evening.

I have... several appointments.

Till then, please treat 

My Home as your own.

I bid you goodnight. 

HARKER :

Good n...

DOOR CREAKS

HIGH-PITCHED SCRAPING

SCRAPING CONTINUES

GASPS

WIND WHISTLES

WIND HOWLS

HARKER :

Is someone...? Agh!

GASPS

Hello?

Hello?

WOLVES HOWL

Van Helsing :

So there was another Guest in The Castle?

Perhaps also A Prisoner?

HARKER: 

I didn't realise I was 

A Prisoner, at the time.

Van Helsing :

That night, then?

HARKER :

I slept.

Van Helsing :

You dreamed.

HARKER :

I woke early.

Van Helsing :

No, wait. Wait. 

You dreamed.

After a day of such 

Incident and Colour, 

how could you not..?

Was it Mina you dreamed of...?

You longed for her.

HARKER :

One longs for 

The Solace of Home.

VAN HELSING : 

One longs, certainly.

Tell me more about Your Dream.

HARKER :

It is private.

SISTER AGATHA: 

Your ache for her. 

You were together 

in Your Dream.

HARKER :

I-I don't...

This is not...

SISTER AGATHA: 

There is no Shame in it.

Dreams are a haven where 

We sin without Consequence.

Believe me, I know.

Some mornings, 

I can hardly look 

Sister Rosa in the face.

HARKER :

What you asked before, if I'd...

Van Helsing :

If you'd ever had sexual intercourse 

with Count Dracula.

HARKER :

Mm. Why did you ask that?

Van Helsing :

Clearly, you have been 

contaminated with something.

Any contact you've had 

with Count Dracula,

sexual or otherwise, 

is therefore relevant.

BREATHES UNSTEADILY

Van Helsing :

Continue.

"Help us."

Van Helsing :

So it struck you as Strange, of course.

HARKER :

Well, clearly, there was someone

 trapped in The Castle.

Van Helsing :

No. No. The Writing.  

"Help Us."

HARKER :

It was upside down.

Van Helsing :

Well, yes, of course, because whoever wrote it 

was obliged to hang that way.

But even that extraordinary physical feat 

is surely not The Point of Interest.

HARKER :

Then what is?

Van Helsing :

What is remarkable, Mr Harker, 

what is convenient, 

is that The Words were in English.

HARKER :

Oh...

I didn't think of that.

Van Helsing :

Of course not.

You are An English...man --

A combination of presumptions 

beyond compare.

Proceed.

HARKER :

Well, I knew I had the day to myself, 

so I determined to find the room above mine 

and see if anyone required my assistance.

Van Helsing :

Tell me, how did you feel?

HARKER: 

Different. Older.

Van Helsing :

But very curious.

HARKER :

At least I knew I was not alone.

The Count hadn't been 

exaggerating about His Castle.

Hello?

Whatever way I turned, 

it never took me 

where I expected.

Every door I opened, 

led to two more

a-and then three.

Every step I took, 

I made The Wrong Choice.

I was lost in 

The Architect's Labyrinth.

Agh!

Ahh!

I wasted most of the day...

...until I found myself too tired to go on.

WOLVES HOWL

CORK POPS

COUNT DRACULA :

Hmm? Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you.

I think you've been working too hard.

HARKER :

Mm... Count...

COUNT DRACULA :

Please - relax.

Have a glass of wine.

HARKER :

Your voice... You sound different.

COUNT DRACULA :

I've been working on my English.

Ah... Do you approve?

HARKER :

It's almost perfect.

COUNT DRACULA :

The Credit is all Yours.

Your presence has invigorated me.

Fresh Blood.

Help us.

Hello?

GIGGLES

Hello?

HARKER :

Hello? Excuse me?

Please! I-I intend you no harm.

However fleeting the sight, 

surely this was proof 

that I wasn't going mad?

WIND HOWLS

THUNDER RUMBLES

HARKER :

Count Dracula.

Are we alone in this castle?

COUNT DRACULA :

Yes.

Except for the servants, of course.

HARKER :

I never see any servants.

COUNT DRACULA :

They aren't here at night.

HARKER :

I don't see them in the daytime...either.

In fact, apart from The Driver...

...I haven't seen anyone working here at all.

DRACULA CHUCKLES

COUNT DRACULA :

Ah, yes --

The Driver.

HARKER :

What I'm asking is, aside from yourself...

..is there anyone living in this castle?

COUNT DRACULA :

No. Jonathan...

...there's no-one living here.

Van Helsing :

So after sundown each day, 

Dracula appeared 

stronger and younger...

..while the opposite 

was true for you.

BELL CHIMES

Did you understand what 

was happening to you?

THUD AND BIRD FLUTTERS

PIGEONS COO OUTSIDE

HARKER :

No. Not then.

I thought I was sick. Just...sick.

Van Helsing :

Turn your head to the side.

Why?

SISTER AGATHA: 

Show me.

You have been very strong, Mr Harker.

In your circumstances,

I don't think I could have been half so brave.

HARKER :

I wasn't brave.

In what way was I brave? 

Van Helsing :

You were trapped 

in that place, 

you were afraid, 

and yet you spent your days 

searching The Castle

because you thought 

someone needed your help.

HARKER :

Well, my help had been requested. It...

It would have been difficult to refuse that.

Van Helsing :

Difficult?

HARKER :

Unacceptable.

Van Helsing : 

So your search continued.

Tell us.

PANTS

HARKER :

My every exploration led me 

deeper and deeper into 

The Labyrinth.

Eventually, I made a remarkable discovery.

STRAINS

HARKER :

What had become of these people?

Were they my predecessors?

GRUNTS

SQUEAKS

FLIES SWARM AND BUZZ

GROANS

LOW GURGLING

GURGLING CONTINUES

GASPS

EXCLAIMS

GURGLING INTENSIFIES

SQUELCHING

HARKER GASPS

SQUELCHING 

Omoara ma!

HARKER GASPS

SCREAMS

GASPS

Omoara ma...

SCREAMS

HARKER PANTS

WHEEZING: 

Omoara ma...

BONES CRUNCH

Omoara ma!

BONES CRUNCH

GASPS WHEEZILY

GASPS

ALL: 

Omoara ma!

Omoara ma!

HARKER SHRIEKS AND GASPS

SHOUTING ECHOES

GASPS

SHOUTING FADES

BAT SQUEAKS AND HE GASPS

GASPS

SCREAMS

GROWLS

HARKER SCREAMS

BELL CHIMES

HARKER :

It's all I remember.

I fear I may have passed out.

Van Helsing :

Quite understandable.

"Omoara ma."

Do you know what that is?

HARKER :

It sounded like a curse.

Van Helsing :

It's Romanian.

It means "Kill Me".

HARKER :

They looked dead already.

Dead and Walking.

Van Helsing :

Undead.

HARKER :

Tell me.

Van Helsing :

There is A Contagion, a Corruption, 

passing through This World 

from one sufferer to The Next.

For those unfortunate to fall victim to it, 

Life becomes incurable.

They lose The Divine 

Ability to DIE.

As their bodies rot, 

their Consciousness persists.

Even as Dust, their pain goes on.

It is a secret every gravedigger keeps.

There are those among us destined 

to scratch at our coffin lids for all Eternity.

If you work among The Dead, 

it's not Death you fear.

It's The Alternative.

HARKER :

Is there any salvation for such creatures?

Van Helsing :

I Don't Know. 

HARKER :

Have Faith!

Van Helsing :

Faith is a sleeping draught 

for Children and Simpletons.

What we must have is a plan.

HARKER :

Dracula's one of them, isn't he?

Van Helsing :

Undead?

Undead certainly but, from your account, 

I think he is much more complicated.

GASPS

GROANS SOFTLY

COUNT DRACULA :

Johnny.

There you are.

Thought we'd lost you. 

HARKER :

Hmm... What am I doing here?

COUNT DRACULA :

I found you downstairs, asleep on the floor.

I could be wrong, but I think 

you were having a nightmare.

You do look rather pale.

HARKER :

You said you didn't drink.

COUNT DRACULA :

....Wine.

Now... CLEARS HIS THROAT: ..listen.

I need you to do something.

Set yourself down. There you go.

That's the ticket.

Now, take this --

I need you to write three letters.

BABY CRIES

HARKER :

What was that?

COUNT DRACULA :

That's nothing. 

HARKER :

Sounded like a baby.

COUNT DRACULA :

LAUGHS: 

No, no, no. There's no baby.

Now, Johnny, Johnny...concentrate.

Three letters.

HARKER :

No-one calls me Johnny.

COUNT DRACULA :

No-one?

HARKER :

No-one.

COUNT DRACULA :

Company for you while you work.

HARKER :

Who is she?

COUNT DRACULA :

Don't you recognise her?

HARKER :

Why would I?

COUNT DRACULA :

I took it from your room. 

It's Mina.

Your Fiancee.

Mina Murray.

RETCHES

HARKER :

How can I not recognise her face?

COUNT DRACULA :

Well, you do look rather... drained.

HARKER :

You look young.

COUNT DRACULA :

And I owe it all to you. Thanks.

Now, it's almost time for you to go.

So, three letters, all to Mina --

The first saying you have 

nearly finished your work here 

and will be leaving within the week. 

The second saying that 

you have now completed your work 

and will be leaving the following day.

And the third saying you have now 

left the castle and have arrived safely in... 

What shall we say?

...Bistritz, hm?

I will send the letters at the appropriate times.

I'll forward the last one to Bistritz 

so it can be sent from there.

HARKER :

Wh-why... Why would I...

Why would I do that?

COUNT DRACULA :

So that Mina will know that 

You're Coming Home.

HARKER :

But why would I write the letters in advance?

COUNT DRACULA :

Because the post here is very erratic.

It's a precaution.

HARKER :

For whom? If...

If something were to happen to me 

and those letters had already been sent...

COUNT DRACULA :

Then Mina wouldn't think to come 

looking for you here.

Do you want her to come here?

BABY CRIES

HARKER :

That's a baby.

I can hear it crying. 

COUNT DRACULA :

There is no baby!

Write the letters 

or 

don't write the letters.

It's up to you.

I'm only thinking about Mina.

SOBS

COUNT DRACULA :

Now, if you don't mind. Things to do. 

See you tomorrow evening.

Leave the letters on the table.

HARKER :

The dates! The dates!

The dates for the letters...

How should I date them?

COUNT DRACULA :

Well, let's see. Er...

The 12th for the first.

For the second, the 19th.

And for the third...

Um...

KICKS CRATE

What shall we say?

29th?

29th?

As good a day as any, Johnny.

Goodnight.

BABY CRIES

HARKER :

What if I leave?

What if I leave this place right now?

COUNT DRACULA :

No-one is stopping you.

HARKER :

I don't have the strength.

COUNT DRACULA :

No. I know.

It's not your fault, Johnny. 

You mustn't blame yourself.

BABY CRIES

HARKER :

Agh!

Please...

Please, please!

The baby!

COUNT DRACULA :

SING-SONG: 

Johnny, there is no baby.

BABY CRIES

HARKER :

I knew in that moment 

that I had A Choice.

I'd been told the span of my life,

the limit of my existence - the 29th.

Now, I could stay here, 

dying piece by piece, 

till I found myself 

nailed into one of 

those boxes.

Van Helsing :

Or...?

Or I could kill Count Dracula.

Van Helsing :

Not an easy task in the circumstances.

HARKER :

No, but I had certain 

advantages.

Van Helsing :

I should be fascinated 

to know what they were.

HARKER :

I was enfeebled and trapped...

Van Helsing :

Well, indeed.

HARKER :

..so Dracula did not consider me a threat.

Van Helsing :

That's True, yes.

But, on the negative side, 

You were enfeebled and trapped.

HARKER :

I had a potential ally.

One who could climb the castle walls.

Van Helsing :

One you couldn't even find?

HARKER :

That was because I was looking 

for the wrong thing --

I should have 

been looking 

for a map.

Van Helsing :

Of The Castle? 

But there wasn't one.

HARKER :

That's what Dracula believed.

But, in telling me that, 

he'd also told me 

where to find it.

Van Helsing :

What did he say?

HARKER :

I told you.

Van Helsing :

I missed it.

HARKER :

You did.

Van Helsing :

Then you're much quicker than me.

HARKER :

I'm not quick. 

I've always been slow.

But the thing is, 

when you're slow, 

You know you need 

to pay attention.

It's the clever ones 

who never listen.

You've read all this.

Already. In my account.

Van Helsing :

It's vague in certain crucial regards.

Continue, please.

HARKER :

It occurred to me that night

that Dracula said more 

than he intended.

And more than he knew.

As he was a Creature of The Night,

I had to wait until morning to test my theory.

GASPS

The Count said there was no map, 

but Petruvio was An Artist,

and artists always wish to be understood.

The Castle was a monument 

to The Architect's lost love 

and The Sunlight 

to which he would never return.

And what else is sunlight...

..but the face of one's beloved?

The Path to The Sunlight.

It was clear from The Castle Maps 

that Petruvio had created 

within His Design 

a System of Shortcuts 

through The Maze.

Hidden passages, 

possibly unknown 

even to Dracula himself.

How many times had I 

looked at that picture 

and not seen it?

Petruvio's Wife was The Sunlight...

..and he stood guard at The Door.

STRAINS

STONES RUMBLE

WIND WHISTLES

SQUEAKING

SQUEAKING CONTINUES

CLAWS SCRATCH

FLIES BUZZ

SCREAMS

GASPS

GASPS

SQUEAKING

CLATTERING

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

He doesn't know I can get out of The Box -- 

Don't tell him.

HARKER :

I won't.

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

Are you His Friend now?

HARKER :

No. I, er...

I-I.. I work for him.

I'm a Lawyer.

From England.

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

I think he's made you His Friend.

HARKER :

Why?

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

What's England?

HARKER :

It's where I'm from.

You know it.

You're...speaking English.

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

I learnt it.

SHE LAUGHS

HARKER :

How? 

 

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

It tasted fun.

HARKER :

Tasted?

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

Once you are The Count's Friend, 

all languages are the same.

I'm hungry.

HARKER :

Was it you at The Window?

You left The Message?

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

I smelt you.

 

HARKER :

You're Trapped Here.

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

You're trapped too. 

 

HARKER :

I want to Help You.

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

Tell him I'm hungry!

He only gives me scraps.

Tiny little things.

Tell him I finished the last one.

I finished it really quickly.

I'm hungry! Agh!

SHE GROWLS

HARKER :

Look at it! Look at it!

It is The Sign of The Cross.

The Symbol of Our Lord.

BRIDE OF DRACULA :

I know.

It's pretty.

SCREAMS ECHO

VAN HELSING :

You assumed, I suppose, 

that The Cross would 

ward off Evil.

HARKER :

Why are you smiling?

VAN HELSING :

Your Faith. 

I think it's touching.

HARKER :

What happened to yours?

VAN HELSING :

I have looked for God 

everywhere in This World 

and never found Him.

HARKER :

Then Why are You Here?

VAN HELSING :

Like many Women of My Age, 

I'm trapped in a Loveless Marriage, 

maintaining appearances 

for The Sake of A Roof Over My Head.

Now then, we proceed to 

your miraculous escape 

from Castle Dracula, 

about which you have been 

so vague.

KNOCKS

HARKER :

Somebody! Please, help!

GASPS

STRAINS

BABY GURGLES

BABY CRIES

CRIES

HARKER PANTS

CRIES

GROANS

WHEEZES

COUNT DRACULA :

Johnny, This is interesting.

I've never seen it work 

with A Baby before. Never.

I think I might keep it on for a while.

I hope this doesn't mean that I'm getting sentimental.

HARKER :

Why did you kill her? 

 

COUNT DRACULA :

Who?

Oh. Um...

Because I wanted to see 

if she would die, I suppose.

Johnny, don't give me that look. 

You were A Child once.

You know The Feeling.

Didn't you break your toys apart 

to see how they worked?

HARKER :

You're a Monster. 

COUNT DRACULA :

And you're a Lawyer!

Nobody's Perfect.

Ah, a stake through The Heart.

You see, sometimes The Legends are right.

This is not one you can test too often, though.

I only ever have three brides at a time.

"Brides"?

COUNT DRACULA :

Brides, yes. I think that's The Right Word for it.

You see, um...

CLEARS HIS THROAT 

....I am trying to reproduce...

CRATE OPENS 

Oh!

SQUISHING

..which, frankly, can be a bit of a challenge 

when there is only One of You.

Agh!

COUNT DRACULA :

Oh, Johnny. You're just about Done, aren't you?

She was a thirsty little thing, 

and to think that she was going to keep you in That Box 

all to herself!

Are you going to kill me?

COUNT DRACULA :

Of course I'm going to kill you.

Why does Death always come as such a shock to mortals?

You took everything from me. 

Of course I did.

You are the high road 

that leads me to England.

HARKER: 

Why? Why England?

COUNT DRACULA :

Ah.

The People.

All those sophisticated and intelligent people.

As I've been trying to tell everyone for centuries --

You are What You Eat.

HARKER WHIMPERS

WIND WHISTLES

Now...

...if you don't mind, I need you to do one last thing for me.

I haven't seen her in hundreds of years.

Describe her to me.

WEAKLY: 

Who?

COUNT DRACULA :

I've had artists paint her,

and poets capture her in words,

and Mozart wrote such a pretty little tune, I-I...

CLEARS HIS THROAT: 

..I really should have spared him, but....

What does a lawyer see?

Johnny, in my memory, she sets behind the second-highest peak at this time of year, and she's quite red.

Is she red, Johnny?

Look for yourself.

COUNT DRACULA :

But that will burn me to dust.

Good.

COUNT DRACULA :

Fair Enough.

Absolutely Fair Enough.

Will you put me in a box?

COUNT DRACULA :

Keep your eyes on The Sun, Johnny.

It'll be the last time you see Her.

There is a box waiting for you, in case you walk, yes, 

but most people I feed off just die.

So you'll probably be fine.

Don't you see? 

An End is a blessing.

Dying gives you size.

It's The Mountaintop from which 

Your Whole Life is at last visible.

From Beginning to End.

Death completes you.

Harold

“But how can I say it? 

How can I tell you what it is like to be young... and to dream big dreams? 

To believe when Alexander looked you in the eye, you could do anything. Anything.

 

In his presence, by the light of Apollo, we were better than ourselves. 

Truly, I've known many Great Men in my life... but only one colossus. 

And only now, when old... do I understand who this Force of Nature really was.

 

Or do I? Did such a Man as Alexander exist? 

Of course not. 

We idolise him, make him better than he was. 

Men, all Men, 

Reach and Fall... 

Reach, and Fall. 

Take on The Role of 

The Encourager.

If you are The Worrier 

or The Skeptic, 

who warns yourself and others against going through with things 

(who warns against forward movement) 

you are suppressing 

The Divine Masculine.

Don’t warn people around you off The Path they are headed towards.

Instead, encourage them 

TOWARDS Their Fears; Encourage them to 

Make The Attempt.

Honour Their Process.

Allow them to make mistakes •without• rescuing them.

The Rescuer is not a function of Manhood; 

it is a function of Boyhood.

The Rescuer is A Boy trying to prove himself.

A Man does not need to prove himself.

Divine Masculine is all about Growth and encouraging OTHERS towards Growth.

Encouragement is 

The Most Divine Manifestation 

of The Masculine Expression of Love.

Kyle

"Ganthet.... The Guardians were NOT Perfect....

As They had forgotten what Living was truly like.

Logic and Order are more than admirable goals...

But such strict adherence may be too rigid for The Living."

Kyle Rayner,

Ion, The Torchbearer,

A Green Lantern

BILL MOYERS : 

Was there some of this in the legend of The Holy Grail?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL : 

Yes. Wolfram has a very interesting statement about 

The Origin of The Grail.

He says The Grail was brought from Heaven by 

The Neutral Angels. 

There was The War in Heaven 

between God and Lucifer,

 And The Angelic Hosts that sided one group with Lucifer, 

and the other with God. 

Pair of opposites :

Good and Evil

God and Satan. 

The Grail was brought down through The Middle

The Way of The Middle, 

By The Neutral Angels.

BILL MOYERS: 

What is the Grail representing, then?

JOSEPH CAMPBELL: 

Well, the Grail becomes the, what we call it, that which is attained and realized by people who have lived their own lives. 

So the story very briefly is of this — I’m giving it now as Wolfram gives it — but this is just one version. 

The Grail King was a lovely young man, but he had not EARNED that position.

And the Grail represents the fulfillment of the highest spiritual potentialities of the human consciousness. 

And he was a lovely young man, and he rode forth from his castle with the war cry, “Amor!” 

And as he’s riding forth, a Moslem, a pagan warrior, a Mohammedan warrior, comes out of the woods, a knight. 

And they both level their lances at each other, they drive at each other

and the lance of the grail king kills the Mohammedan, but the Mohammedan lance castrates the Grail King.

What that means is that the Christian separation of matter and spirit, of the dynamism of life and the spiritual, natural grace and supernatural grace, has really castrated nature. 

And the European mind, the European life, has been as it were, emasculated by this; true spirituality, which would have come from this, has been killed. 

And then what did the pagan represent? 

He was a person from the suburbs of Eden. 

He was regarded as a nature man, and on the head of his lance was written the word, 

“Grail.” 

That is to say, 

Nature INTENDS the grail. 

Spiritual life is the bouquet of natural life, not a supernatural thing imposed upon it. 

And so the impulses of nature are what give authenticity to Life, not 

obeying rules that come from a supernatural authority, 

that’s the sense of The Grail.

BEWARE MY POWER..!!

In Brightest Day,

In Blackest Night,

No Evil Shall Escape My Sight..!!

Let Those Who Worship Evil’s Might,

Beware My POWER..!!

GREEN LANTERN’S LIGHT..!!

Our Deepest Fear is NOT that we are inadequate — 

Our Deepest Fear is that we are Powerful BEYOND MEASURE. 

It is our Light, NOT our Darkness, that most frightens us. 

Your playing 'small' does not serve The World — There is nothing 'enlightened' about shrinking so that OTHER PEOPLE won't feel INSECURE around you.....

We are all meant to SHINE, as children do. 

It's NOT just in SOME of us — it is in EVERYONE. 

And as we let Our Own Lights Shine, we unconsciously give Other People PERMISSION  to do The SAME. 

As we are liberated from Our Own Fears, 

Our Presence AUTOMATICALLY liberates Others.

Reed Richards : Space Monkey

Writer Mark Waid sought to redefine Doctor Doom in the 2003 “Unthinkable” storyline (Vol 3 #66-70 & Vol 1 #500), 

by having him forsake technology 

and invest entirely in mysticism. 

The story took its title from the “unthinkable” act Doom had to perform to acquire this new magical might from a trio of demons: 

Killing his first love, Valeria. 

With Valeria’s flesh turned into new mystic leather armor, 

the story follows Doom as he imprisons Franklin Richards in Hell, captures Valeria’s namesake, and succeeds in de-powering and imprisoning the Fantastic Four. 

He subsequently attempts to prove his superiority to Reed Richards by giving him the chance to find his way out of a prison that could only be escaped through magic, 

in the belief that Richards would fail to do so.

 

With the aid of Doctor Strange, however, 

Richards learns to utilize magic on a basic level 

by accepting that he could not understand it and escapes. 

Richards proceeds to trick Doom into rejecting the demons, 

resulting in them dragging Doom to Hell.

The Needs of The ACTIVE Non-Living

“It does not matter where that phone call came from. 

What matters is that there is a little girl who needs my help.”

SCENE 1

US NAVAL STATION 

SAN DIEGO, CA 

DECEMBER 21

BILL SCULLY'S HOUSE

(A hand reaches to a manger scene and adjusts the baby Jesus. The hand pulls back and caresses her baby in her body. It is Bill's wife, Tara, very pregnant. She takes a Christmas card from a table and puts it on another table. We hear Scully in the distance.)

SCULLY: 

Hello? Merry Christmas!

TARA: 

Hello! (She smiles and goes to greet Scully and Mrs. Scully at the door.)

MARGARET: 

Oh, my God. 

Look at you. (She hugs Tara)

TARA: 

Can you believe it?

MARGARET: 

How am I going to get my arms around you? 

(Bill is behind Scully with suitcases. Mrs. Scully walks into the living room.)

SCULLY: 

You're huge. 

(They hug.)

TARA: 

Oh, I know. 

Welcome. Welcome. 

(Kisses Bill.) 

Oh, hi, Sweetie.

BILL: 

Let's get you two settled. Sorry about the digs, Mom. 

I know you hoped like hell you didn't have to spend another night in base housing. 

(Scully walks into the living room.)

MARGARET: 

Are you kidding? 

This is wonderful.

SCULLY: 

This is the exact same layout as our old house.

BILL: 

That's the Navy for ya.

TARA: 

Yeah. Bill tells me, Mom, that you'll be staying in your old room. 

And the nursery is going to be in Dana and Melissa's room.

BILL: 

That's right. 

(He struggles with the suitcases up the stairs.)

TARA: 

I got it. Bill! 

(She takes a suitcase from him)

BILL: 

Thanks. 

(He goes upstairs. Tara behind him. Margaret looks at the tree. Scully joins her.)

SCULLY: 

Mom? You okay?

MARGARET: 

oh, yeah. 

I was just thinking about your Dad... 

and Melissa... 

and how much I miss them. 

(She walks past Scully to the stairs. Scully is about to follow her when the phone rings. She looks upstairs.)

SCULLY: 

Bill? 

(No answer, the phone rings again. She answers it.) 

Scully residence...

WOMAN: 

Dana? 

(Pause, it sounds like Melissa)

SCULLY: 

Yes, sorry, who is this?

WOMAN: 

Dana... 

She needs your help. 

She needs you, Dana. 

Go to her.

SCULLY: 

Who... who is this? 

(She hangs up. Dana hangs up and calls a number.)

MAN ON PHONE: 

FBI, San Diego.

SCULLY: 

This is Special Agent, Dana Scully. 

My badge number is 2317616. 

Can you transfer me to your sound agent, please? 

I would like to trace the last number that was dialed into this phone.

SCENE 2 

SIM'S HOUSE

(They have a pleasant home. There are people mingling and an ambulance parked outside. Bill and Dana drive up. Scully shows her badge to a cop and walks into the house. A photographer is taking pictures of a phone off the hook. Scully walks upstairs. She walks past the photographer to the bathroom where there are policemen)

KRESGE: 

Whoa, whoa, whoa. 

Who are you?

SCULLY: 

Scully, FBI. 

Can you tell me what's going on here?

KRESGE: 

Well, no offense, Scully, FBI, 

but what's it to you?

SCULLY: 

I received a phone call from this address. 

It was a woman's voice. 

She said that somebody here needed help.

KRESGE: 

When was this?

SCULLY: 

About 20 minutes ago.

KRESGE: 

I've been here 30 minutes. 

Guarantee you no one's called out to you or anyone else. Phone's off the hook. 

(Scully is confused. She looks to the bathroom.)

SCULLY: 

Please, can you tell me what happened here?

(Kresge brings her into the bathroom. A photographer is taking pictures of the crime scene. Kresge allows Scully to pass to the body. A woman in a bathtub. Wrists slashed, blood pooled on the floor and in the tub)

KRESGE: 

This is Mrs. Roberta Sim. 

Age 40. Suicide. 

She's been dead at least three hours. 

If you got a call from her, she must have dialed 1-800-the great beyond.

SCENE 3 

OUTSIDE

(Scully leaves the house. There is still a lot of activity. Scully walks to Bill on the porch.)

BILL: 

Dana, what's going on? 

They're joking that you got a call from a dead woman.

SCULLY: 

I thought it was a dead woman, 

just not the one in there.

BILL: 

What are you talking about?

SCULLY: 

I know it's not possible, Bill, 

but it sounded just like her.

BILL: 

Who?

SCULLY: 

Our sister... Melissa.

A Particularly Deadly Virus to Do Something About The Growing Human Population

At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,” said the gentleman, taking up a pen, “it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.”

“Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge.

“Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

“And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”

“They are. Still,” returned the gentleman, “I wish I could say they were not.”

“The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” said Scrooge.

“Both very busy, sir.”

“Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,” said Scrooge. “I’m very glad to hear it.”

“Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude,” returned the gentleman, “a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?”

“Nothing!” Scrooge replied.

“You wish to be anonymous?”

“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge. “Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned — they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there.”

“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. 

Besides — excuse me — I don’t know that.”

“But you might know it,” observed the gentleman.

“It’s not my business,” Scrooge returned. “It’s enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!”

Can’t You Guess...?

The BBC :

What do you see as The BIGGEST Challenges in Conservation?

A :

The Growing 

Human Population.

The BBC : 

And do you have any ideas about what ought to be •DONE• about that...?

A :

....Can't You Guess..?

“If it isn't controlled voluntarily, it will be controlled INVOLUNTARILY...”

“Human Population Growth is The single most serious long-term threat to survival. We're in for a major disaster if it isn't curbed... 

We have NO OPTION. If it isn't controlled voluntarily, it will be controlled INVOLUNTARILY by an increase in DISEASE, starvation and war.” 

― Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 

“If I were reincarnated I would wish to be returned to earth as a KILLER VIRUS to LOWER human population levels.” 

― Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

“I just wonder what it would be like to be reincarnated in an animal whose species had been so reduced in numbers than it was in danger of extinction. 

What would be its feelings toward the human species whose population explosion had denied it somewhere to exist... 

I must confess that I am tempted to ASK for reincarnation as a PARTICULARLY DEADLY VIRUS.”

― Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

in his Foreward to: If I Were an Animal; United Kingdom, Robin Clark Ltd., 1986.)

Partial transcript with interviewer :

Interviewer: "What do you see as the BIGGEST problem in conservation?

Philip:  [without hesitation] Well, the GROWING HUMAN POPULATION. 

[Because,] From where we are, there's nothing else."

Interviewer: And do you have views about what should be DONE about that?"

Philip : ...can’t you •guess•...?

Interviewer : •Duh•!!

Philip: 

"Well, I think it might be described as 

VOLUNTARY FAMILY LIMITATION."

At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge,” said the gentleman, taking up a pen, “it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir.”

“Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge.

“Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

“And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”

“They are. Still,” returned the gentleman, “I wish I could say they were not.”

“The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” said Scrooge.

“Both very busy, sir.”

“Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,” said Scrooge. “I’m very glad to hear it.”

“Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude,” returned the gentleman, “a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?”

“Nothing!” Scrooge replied.

“You wish to be anonymous?”

“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge. “Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned — they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there.”

“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Besides—excuse me—I don’t know that.”

“But you might know it,” observed the gentleman.

“It’s not my business,” Scrooge returned. “It’s enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people’s. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!”

Can’t You Guess...?

The BBC :

What do you see as The BIGGEST Challenges in Conservation?

A :

The Growing Human Population.

The BBC : 

And do you have any ideas about what ought to be •DONE• about that...?

A :

....Can't You Guess..?

The BBC : Durgh...

“If it isn't controlled voluntarily, it will be controlled INVOLUNTARILY...”

“Human Population Growth is The single most serious long-term threat to survival. We're in for a major disaster if it isn't curbed... 

We have NO OPTION. If it isn't controlled voluntarily, it will be controlled INVOLUNTARILY by an increase in DISEASE, starvation and war.” 

― Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 

“If I were reincarnated I would wish to be returned to earth as a KILLER VIRUS to LOWER human population levels.” 

― Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

“I just wonder what it would be like to be reincarnated in an animal whose species had been so reduced in numbers than it was in danger of extinction. 

What would be its feelings toward the human species whose population explosion had denied it somewhere to exist... 

I must confess that I am tempted to ASK for reincarnation as a PARTICULARLY DEADLY VIRUS.”

― Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

in his Foreward to: If I Were an Animal; United Kingdom, Robin Clark Ltd., 1986.)

Partial transcript with interviewer :

Interviewer: "What do you see as the BIGGEST problem in conservation?

Philip:  [without hesitation] Well, the GROWING HUMAN POPULATION. 

[Because,] From where we are, there's nothing else."

Interviewer: And do you have views about what should be DONE about that?"

Philip : ...can’t you •guess•...?

Interviewer : •Duh•!!

Philip: "Well, I think it might be described as VOLUNTARY FAMILY LIMITATION."

Cut to Thanos' mother-ship, Sanctuary II, which dwarfs the massive ring-ships the Black Order have been using. Gamora sits near the throne deep inside the ship. Thanos walks up, bringing a cup of food and holds it out to her.]

Thanos: I thought you might be hungry.

[Gamora takes it, then hurls it across the room where it bangs against Thanos' throne with a loud clack.]

Gamora: I always hated that chair.

Thanos: So I've been told. Even so. I'd hoped you'd sit on it one day.

Gamora: I hated this room. This ship. I hated my life.

Thanos: You told me that too. [Thanos mounts two of the four steps to his throne, turns, and sits on the second from the top.] Every day. For almost twenty years.

Gamora: 

I was a child when you took me.

Thanos: 

I saved you.

Gamora: 

No. No. 

We were happy on my home planet.

Thanos: 

Going to bed hungry, scrounging for scraps. 

Your planet was on the brink of collapse. 

I'm the one who stopped that. 

Do you know what's happened since then? 

The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. 

It's a paradise.

Gamora: 

Because you murdered half the planet.

Thanos: 

A small price to pay for salvation.

Gamora: 

You're insane.

Thanos:

Little one, it's a simple calculus —

This Universe is finite, its resources finite. 

If Life is left unchecked, 

Life will cease to exist. 

It needs correction -

Gamora: 

YOU •DON'T•  KNOW  THAT.

Thanos: 

[Scowls as his egotistical narcissism prevents him from fully listening to her] 

I'm the only one who knows that. 

At least, I'm the only one with the will to act on it. 

[He stands again and walks back to Gamora] 

For a time... you had that same will... as you fought by my side. Daughter.

Gamora: 

I'm not your daughter. Everything I hate about myself you taught me.

Thanos: And in doing so, made you the fiercest woman in the galaxy. That's why I trusted you to find the Soul Stone.

Gamora: I'm sorry I disappointed you.

Thanos: I am disappointed. But not because you didn't find it.

Thanos: [Leans down to put their heads at a level, whispering fiercely] But because you did. [Looks at her] And you lied.

[Thanos and Gamora stand outside a large solid door that slides open vertically as they approach, then pause as a set of inner doors made of interlacing metal slide away. Inside, we see Nebula face-on, suspended horizontally in the air in the middle of the room, her breath shuddering in pain.]

Gamora: Nebula.

[Gamora hurries to to Nebula's left side, and we now see that she has been partially disassembled, her components stretched apart -- a cybernetic version of the medieval torture rack. Hannibal Lecter level of brutality.]

Gamora: Don't do this.

Thanos: Some time ago, your sister snuck aboard this ship to kill me.

Gamora: Please don't do this.

Thanos: And very nearly succeeded. So I brought her here. To talk.

[Thanos curls his gauntleted fist, activating both the Power and Space Stones, scowling -- causing Nebula's already extended pieces to stretch further outward. She begins to scream.]

Gamora: Stop. Stop it. [She puts her hands on the gauntlet, pulling it down] I swear to you on my life. I never found the Soul Stone.

[Thanos signals a nearby servant who taps on a control pad. We hear Nebula's voice say, "Accessing memory files" and a sort of hologram of Gamora's face shudders to life.]

Memory Nebula: You know what he's about to do. He's finally ready, and he's going for the stones. All of them.

Memory Gamora: He can never get them all.

Memory Nebula: He will!

Memory Gamora: He can't, Nebula. Because I found the map to the Soul Stone and I burnt it to ash. I burnt it.

[The memory ends.]

Thanos: [To Gamora, walking around behind her] You're strong. Me. You're generous. Me. But I never taught you to lie. That's why you're so bad at it. [His voice drips with disgust] Where is the Soul Stone? [He raises his gauntlet next to Gamora's face. Nebula shakes her head, expression terrified, to encourage her sister's silence but when Gamora does not answer, Thanos clenches the gauntlet again, brow furrowed at his adopted daughter as the Power and Space Stones are reactivated. Gamora grimaces in shared pain at her sister's screams, growing louder as Thanos increases the pressure.]

Gamora: 

VORMIR! [Thanos unclenches his hand, and Nebula gasps in air as her parts snap back almost into place. Gamora goes to her and caresses her face.] The Stone is on Vormir.

Thanos: [Satisfied.] Show me.