JUDE
(shrieks)
(Jude falls off the couch)
APOLLO
(half-asleep) Whaaaat. What’s wrong?
JUDE
I- You- Did we-!?
APOLLO
Huh? Did we… (waking up slightly) No! No, Jesus, I- You were hurt. Or, or frozen, I guess. Which is weird, because it’s not that cold out, so- (pause) Son of a bitch.
JUDE
Oh, I… Yeah. Yeah, I remember. I…
(they stand up)
JUDE
I should get going. Thank you for your help, um, Citizen.
APOLLO
No, wait. I just- Are you okay? You were in really rough shape last night. I’m sorry for, uh, getting so close, but my sister said that was the fastest and safest way to warm you up.
JUDE
No, it’s fine. Really, thank you. But I’m okay now, and I- I need to, um. I need to find Mosaic. Or… Maybe I shouldn’t tell him…
APOLLO
Tell him what?
JUDE
Oh, it’s- it’s not- It’s super business! Don’t worry about it. (nervous, somewhat scared laugh)
APOLLO
Tell me exactly who hurt you.
JUDE
Look, I- You don’t know me. I’m not going to just… just…
APOLLO
(gently) I’m here to listen. Anything you wanna tell me, it’ll stay between us, I swear.
(pause)
JUDE
I… I’m not good enough for him! I never have been. He’s always been so- so above it all, and now I’m finally getting a chance to date him but it isn’t real and now the other Vindicators are threatening me about him and I don’t know what to do because it feels mean to fight back against Mosaic’s old friends but I have to defend myself, right? I-I can’t just let them hurt me, right? I mean… can I? Should I?
APOLLO
No! No, you should not let them hurt you for Mosaic’s sake. Fight back. I’m sure he’d understand. (pause) You should, um. You should tell him about this. About what the Vindicators did.
JUDE
(quietly) It wasn’t all of them. Just one.
APOLLO
Right. Well, whoever it was. You should narc on their ass.
JUDE
(surprised laugh) Thanks, Apollo.
APOLLO
Yeah, no problem- Sorry, what?
JUDE
Huh?
APOLLO
You… (darkly) How do you know my name.
JUDE
Oh, I- I, I know all of my citizens!
APOLLO
(disbelieving) You know all fifty thousand of the people in Houridge.
JUDE
Uh… (weakly) Yes?
APOLLO
Tell me how you know my fucking name, Solis.
JUDE
I- I have to go!
APOLLO
No!
(stained glass wall goes up between Solis and the door)
JUDE
(shocked, in disbelief) You… Mosaic?
APOLLO
Oh fuck. I- You didn’t know?
JUDE
No, I didn’t know! I-I’m sorry, I’ll pretend I didn’t see that, I’ll just leave, I-
APOLLO
No, wait, we should talk. Please, I- I fucked up. Providence is going to literally kill me if she finds out about this. But I- I… trust you. Please. Don’t tell anyone.
JUDE
(gently) Of course I won’t tell anyone. That’s your secret, Apollo. And besides, why would I leak a fellow hero’s identity?
APOLLO
(guiltily) Right. I… Thank you, Solis.
JUDE
I… I should tell you mine.
APOLLO
No. No, don’t- Don’t. Please. Just… Pretend this never happened, okay? We were never here.
JUDE
(fondly) We were never here.
-SCENE CUT 1-
(bell jingles, Mari walks into The Cat’s Meow)
NEVAEH
This is fucking ridiculous. We don’t meet here, you know that-
MARIANGEL
Oh, Nevaeh! Is this your book club?
SYDNEY
Book club?
NEVAEH
…Yes. This is my book club.
MARIANGEL
So nice to meet you both! I’m Mariangel.
CAMREN
Wow. She’s not the brightest, is she?
MARIANGEL
I… I’m sorry? What do you mean?
CAMREN
I mean that Nevaeh really knows how to pick ‘em. God forbid she find someone with a brain rattling around inside their pretty head.
MARIANGEL
Oh. I… Sorry, I… I should go. I’m, um. Allergic to cats, anyway.
(Mari turns and hurries out of the catfe)
(Nevaeh punches Camren)
CAMREN
Ow!
NEVAEH
What the fuck was that?
CAMREN
What? You should hold better company.
NEVAEH
You should hold your fucking tongue before I cut it out of your damn mouth! (shouted) Mari, wait!
(Nevaeh follows Mari outside)
NEVAEH
Mariangel, I- Don’t mind him. He’s an asshole.
MARIANGEL
It’s fine. It’s not a big deal. I was just going home anyway.
NEVAEH
(gently) Really? Because you just got here. I… Why don’t you come hang out in the back room, away from the cats?
MARIANGEL
I don’t think I’m really wanted in there, Nevaeh.
NEVAEH
I’ll kick them out. Camren can find someone else to bother, I’ve had more than enough of his bullshit for the day.
MARIANGEL
…Really? You’d do that for me?
NEVAEH
Yeah, Mari. You’re my friend.
MARIANGEL
…Thanks, Nevaeh. That means a lot.
-SCENE CUT 2-
JUDE
Apollo is Mosaic.
(pause)
JUDE
Mosaic is Apollo.
(pause)
JUDE
I’m Solis… and he doesn’t know. I’m Jude, and he doesn’t know.
(meow)
JUDE
Oh man. What am I going to do, Lucy?
(phone rings)
JUDE
Hello?
MARIANGEL
Jude, we have a code pink.
JUDE
What’s code pink again? I’m kind of going through it right now, sorry Mari.
MARIANGEL
It’s- Oh, shit, really? What happened?
JUDE
I… nothing I can tell you about.
MARIANGEL
Oh, super stuff?
JUDE
Yeah. I, um. Yeah. Has to do with… Mosaic.
MARIANGEL
Doesn’t it always? You’re down bad, Jude.
JUDE
(groans) I know. I just don’t know what to do! The whole ‘seducing’ him thing is going so badly that I don’t think he’s even noticed, and he’s being so sweet and kind and unattainable and-
MARIANGEL
Tell him how you feel!
JUDE
What? No.
MARIANGEL
Do it, coward! It’ll make you feel better.
JUDE
Not if he rejects me! What if he doesn’t want to be friends after this? What if he turns back to evil? What if- oh god, what if he quits the super business altogether and never wants to talk to me again, not even as a nemesis!?
MARIANGEL
Uh, okay, you’re catastrophizing. You’re going to that gala thing together, right? When is that?
JUDE
Next week. Why?
MARIANGEL
You should tell him then.
JUDE
What? Why?
MARIANGEL
Because that’s when he’s officially sworn in as a Paragon, right? No turning back after that. Probably. So you tell him right after he’s sworn in!
JUDE
I… guess that would minimize the chances of total disaster…
MARIANGEL
Then do it! It’ll be a weight off your shoulders, one way or another. I really think it’s for the best, Jude.
JUDE
I… Ugh. If this goes horribly, I’m blaming it on you!
MARIANGEL
Wouldn’t have it any other way!
(phone rings)
JUDE
Oh shit, I’m getting a call from Val. Gotta go, sorry Mari!
MARIANGEL
No problem, we’ll talk later. Bye!
JUDE
Bye.
(phone clicks)
JUDE
Solis here.
VAL
Add Mosaic to the call.
JUDE
Uhhhhh.
VAL
Just do it, I have important information for both of you.
JUDE
Um… okay, but you have to promise to never call this number, because it’s his personal.
VAL
Yeah, yeah, of course. You know I wouldn’t.
JUDE
Okay. Adding him to the call now.
(call clicks)
APOLLO
Hello.
JUDE
Val’s on the call.
APOLLO
Oh! Okay. What’s up?
VAL
Big news. The governor is going to be at the initiation gala! This is huge, we can maybe convince him to work on certain infrastructure and budget more towards important facilities with Mosaic’s transition from villain to hero.
APOLLO
The governor… is going to be at the gala?
VAL
Yes. It’s a fantastic opportunity, especially given the gala’s subject manner.
APOLLO
…Huh.
JUDE
Is that okay?
APOLLO
Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry. Just… nerve-wracking. That’s all.
JUDE
Don’t worry, Mosaic, I’ll be right by your side the entire time.
VAL
Adorable. And perfect for our image, too! Be on your best behavior. The cuter you two look together, the more the press will be on you, and the more the press is focused on your relationship, the better we can leverage it to get what we want from the governor.
JUDE
Yeah, yeah. Thanks for telling us, Val.
VAL
No problem. See you two later.
(call clicks)
JUDE
Are you really okay, Apollo?
APOLLO
Fine, yeah. I uh… I have to go.
(call hangs up)
JUDE
Oh boy.
-SCENE CUT 3-
(door opens, Nevaeh walks into the apartment)
NEVAEH
Oh, Apollo, hey. Sorry for blowing up about Solis last night, I-
APOLLO
The governor is going to be at the initiation gala.
NEVAEH
…Are you serious?
APOLLO
I’m serious, Nevaeh. This is our chance to- to take him out, to scare him away from the job or- or-
NEVAEH
Or get rid of him for good. His suffering is nothing compared to the suffering of an entire city.
APOLLO
…Yeah. Yeah, maybe you’re right.
NEVAEH
This is what you joined the Paragons for, isn’t it? To infiltrate, to attack from within? This isn’t our chance, Apollo, it’s yours! You can finally prove to Camren and Syd that you meant what you said, that you’re still on our side.
APOLLO
Yeah. Yeah! You’re right. I’m… finally getting what I wanted.
NEVAEH
Good work, Apollo. I’m proud of you.
APOLLO
…Yeah. Thanks, Nevaeh.
NEVAEH
I’m going to bed, I work early tomorrow. ‘Night!
APOLLO
Yep. Yeah. Goodnight.
(Nevaeh walks away)
APOLLO
(quietly) Fuck.
