Matter, 1x01 'Pilot' - Act 7

ACT SEVEN


INT. HERBAL REMEDY SHOP - DAY

Early morning light streams in through the glass front of the building.  Inside, the shop is empty but for four people.  Iris leans against the counter next to the till, while Xander sits on it a short distance away.  Shadow has the swivel chair, and Emily is on a stool behind the till.  She has been doodling on a small notepad with a ballpoint pen, but is now watching the others intently.  Everyone else seems a little distracted, particularly Iris.

Shadow
So yeah.  Ms. Mauriac says thanks.
I think she was really relieved to see
her husband finally able to leave in
peace.

Emily
I'm surprised he left so easily.  It
must have been a huge letdown to find
out that it wasn't actually aliens he
saw.

Shadow
I think it helped to learn that he had
seen artefacts left by inter-dimensional
energy beings instead.

Iris
And we got paid?

Shadow
I had her make out the cheque in your
name.  You can split it up later.  I
hate math.

Iris nods distantly, watching Xander.  A heavy silence begins to descend over them, but Emily suddenly slaps her palms down on the counter.

Emily
Okay, so there's something that's
still confusing me. Xander — this guy
right here— (points) is dead?

Xander
Well, not anymore, obviously.

Iris
But that's basically what it boils down
to, yeah.

Emily
I can't believe Charlie.  This is
insane.

Shadow
(muttering)
Alchemists.

Emily
(to Xander)
So how do you feel about this?

Xander
What?

Emily
Well, you're not supposed to be alive,
and it's only because of some crazy old
man's nasty alchemy that you're here
today.  You're kind of like a zombie.

Xander
(grimaces)
Little ray of sunshine, aren't you,
kid.  Take after your mum.

Iris
Foster mum.

Emily
She's more like my boss.

Shadow
(to Emily)
You're ten.

Emily
(indignantly)
I'm an alchemist.

Iris
(to Emily, firmly)
In training.

Emily scowls.  Xander shakes his head.

Xander
I'm beginning to understand why all
these weird things keep following you
people around: safety in numbers.  They
recognize you as kin.

Emily
Easy for you to say.

Xander
Me?  I'm a fictional character and I'm
the most normal one of the lot of you.

Shadow
That's a matter of opinion.

Emily
(to Xander)
Anyway, you could stand to be a little
more upset about this, is all I'm
saying.

Xander shrugs casually.

Xander
I don't see any reason why I should.
I'm alive.  I've been given a second
shot at life, and I'd call that a win
any day.  Even if it was thanks to an
evil mastermind.

Emily
But what happens when the effects,
you know... wear off?

Iris
That shouldn't happen.  Alchemy
isn't like a drug or a magic spell,
remember.  It's the physical
manipulation of matter at the—

Emily
(self-conscious)
Sub-atomic level.  Right.  Got
it.

Iris
Gold star.  (to Xander)  Basically,
once alchemy is done it's permanent,
unless nature interferes.

Xander pulls back the collar of his shirt to look at the sigil on his chest.

Xander
So how come you were so adamant
about touching up my ink?

Iris
That's just a precaution.

Xander
Against what?

Iris
Nature.  (shrugs) You were dead,
after all.  It seems like Charlie
managed to get rid of your blood
problem like he said he did, but it
would still be bad if your body
suddenly remembered it was supposed
to be dead.

Xander
(blankly)
Yes.  Yes that would be bad.

Iris
So keep that sigil safe.  Don't
smear it or wash it off.

Shadow
(to Xander, sarcastically)
Maybe you should get it tattooed
into your skin.

Xander
See, that's what I said.

Iris
And I said that would be stupid.  I'm
not even sure what that thing is for,
really, only that Charlie put it there
when he was resuscitating you.

Shadow
(incredulous)
You aren't sure?  You?

Iris
(unfazed)
No.  Not really.  It could be a hundred
different things for all I know.  Sigils
are kind of like letters in an alphabet;
each one stands for a certain alchemical
function, and you can combine them to do
whatever you need them to.  But the
problem is, there are multiple
interpretations possible for each sigil.
So even if you know the sigil, it can be
hard to tell what purpose it serves.

Xander
Oh.

Iris
(sighs)
The sad truth of the matter is, however
much of an idiot Charlie is, and however
bad his sense for picking corpses that
even slightly resemble how I pictured
Xander Sluggo—

Xander
Oy!

Iris
—he's still an incredibly talented
alchemist.  It's a complicated sigil.
It'll take me some time to work through
it, unless Charlie starts cooperating.

Emily
Do you think he has the toe tag somewhere
and he's just hiding it?

Iris
I dunno.  Maybe.  But one way or another,
I plan to stick to my word. (to Xander,
seriously) This changes nothing.  I will
still do everything in my power to help
you find out who you are.

Xander
Even if it involves breaking into the
morgue again?

Iris
Without a second thought.

Xander
(raising an eyebrow)
You know, sometimes I wish I could
convince myself you're lying when you
say things like that.

Iris
(firmly)
I never lie about helping people.
(extends her hand)  Are we in this
together?

Xander
(shrugs)
I don't see I have anything to lose.

He accepts the handshake, still slightly skeptical.  Without letting go, Iris looks up at Xander.

Iris
I guess the only question left is
what to do with you in the meantime.

Shadow
(casually)
Build a cage.

Emily
There's a nice supply closet downstairs
we could clear out.

Xander scowls.

Iris
(to Xander)
Well, the simple fact of the matter
is, it isn't safe for you out there.
Charlie'll snatch you off the street
if he so much as sees you, and once
other alchemists start figuring out who
you are — who you're supposed to be —
they might be tempted to... um... take
the opportunity to reduce the
competition in their field a bit.

Xander stares at Iris.

Xander
So it looks like I'm stuck with you.

Iris
Tragically.

Xander
And I suppose this means I'll have to
be Xander Sluggo to the rest of the
world now.

Iris
I suppose so.

Xander
And I can look forward to more random
field trips tangentially related to
alchemy, no doubt.

Iris
No doubt whatsoever.

Xander
I guess I'll be hitting more things
with sticks.

Iris
Maybe.

Xander
(cocks his head)
Maybe?

Iris
(slowly)
Well... I've been thinking. You're
going to be staying with us for a
while, and not everything we come
across can be fought off with parts of
a tree.  Plus, as annoying as you are,
you do seem reasonably intelligent at
times.

Xander
This is how alchemists insult people,
isn't it.

Iris
Anyway, I was wondering — I know
you're a graduate of one of the world's
most prestigious institutes dedicated to
the instruction and advancement of the
alchemical sciences... but how averse
are you to the concept of homeschooling?

Xander just looks at her blankly for a moment.  Then, slowly, a grin crawls onto his face.  Beaming, he shakes her hand one final time.

EXT. MONTREAL AERIAL VIEW - DAY

Xander (VO)
Just a short update for you today, my
lovely Montreal.

We zoom in to see the SLUGGO'S sign swaying gently in the breeze.

INT. SMALL OFFICE - NIGHT

Xander — now dressed more in line with his tastes, in black pants and a waistcoat — sits in front of the COMPUTER at Iris's desk.  He smiles to himself as his fingers hit the keys.  We catch a glimpse of what he is typing, and see that they are the same words as those being spoken by the voiceover.

Xander (VO)
You see, as clever and well-schooled
and brilliant in general as I may be,
there are some things out there that
even I have yet to learn.  And it just
so happens that over the last few
days, I have learned several of them.

INT. SMALL OFFICE - DAY

Xander is sitting with a pile of books stacked up around him, reading.  Iris hovers nearby, pointing over his shoulder and speaking, although we cannot hear her.  The voiceover continues.

Xander (VO)
It's an odd sort of life we're born
into — they're odd sorts of stories
we live.  We all start as covers.  You
never really know how many pages you
have left, or where they'll take you.
All you can do is keep living and hope
that somewhere out there, someone is
enjoying the read.

INT. SMALL OFFICE - NIGHT

Now on his own, Xander pipettes a small portion of solution from one beaker to another, intensely focussed.

Xander (VO)
I'm getting off track.  Anyway, what
I wanted to say is that I've decided
to make a slight change to my
alchemical methodology.  Instead of
being known as the incredibly handsome
and charming alchemist no one's ever
seen, I think that from now on, I'd
like to be known as the alchemist who
has been objectively proven on many
occasions to be incredibly handsome
and charming.

INT. CLOTHING SHOP - DAY

Iris and Xander browse through the racks of trendy-looking clothes.  Iris holds out a fairly functional-looking PARKA, but Xander is uninterested.  Instead, he slings a pair of BLACK DRESS PANTS over his arm and tries on a PINSTRIPED BLACK FEDORA, grinning rakishly at his reflection in a nearby mirror.

Xander (VO)
What this means for you is that next
time you pay a visit to Sluggo's
Alchemy Shop, you might just run into
Xander Sluggo himself.

INT. SMALL OFFICE - NIGHT

Iris walks into the room as Xander types, dropping a heavy armload of books onto the desk beside him.  Xander jumps, then looks at the stack in dismay.  Iris gives her shark smile, and leaves.  Xander goes back to typing with a scowl.

Xander (VO)
Which is not, of course, to suggest that
my lovely assistant Iris has been any
less important to the success of this
venture than I have been.

INT. HERBAL REMEDY SHOP - DAY

A few CUSTOMERS mill about the shop as Xander, wearing his fedora, minds the till, surreptitiously drawing in a small NOTEPAD that contains the rough sketches of simple sigils. A pretty FEMALE CUSTOMER (early 20s) walks up to Xander at the till.

Customer
Mr. Sluggo?

Xander hides the notepad with a quick, casual sweep of his arm.

Xander
(grinning)
Of course.  Did you find everything
you needed today?

He rings up the purchase and hands the BAG to the customer.  As she takes it, she gives him a shy, secretive smile.

Customer
Thank you, Mr. Sluggo.  I'm a big fan
of yours.

Xander looks after her, slightly mystified, his grin somehow more genuine, as she leaves the shop.

Xander (VO)
Let's just say I've gotten a little
bored of living in the shadows.

INT. SMALL OFFICE - NIGHT

Xander leans back from the computer, blowing out a long sigh.  As if struck by a sudden notion, he turns to look at a CANDLE sitting on the end of the workbench.  After staring at it for a seconds, he closes his eyes, and concentrates.  There is a slight pause.  And then the tip of the wick BURSTS into flame.

Xander opens his eyes, and grins.

The picture fades to black.

Xander (VO)
It's about time for me to step into
the light.