Sliders Season 6 Fan Scripts

by Ashe P. Kirk

Blurb

Set around 22 years after after the established Sliders canon, we revisit the world where Maggie, Mallory, and Diana were stuck at the end of the series.

They've built a life here, and their fame has given them easy lives of luxury- if somewhat isolated. Maggie settled down with Mallory, and they had a child.

Sliding is the furthest thing from Mallory's mind, but he keeps waking up more tired than he was the night before.

Meanwhile, Maggie knows why, and she's reluctant to tell.

This is the start of a series of unlikely events in rapid succession that culminate in many of the cast being reunited. But even after all the joyful reunions, Colin is still lost. Will they ever bring him home?

Foreword

Hello, I’m Ashe and I haven’t written a single Fanfic since I was twelve years old and writing Sonic the Hedgehog fics based on the SatAM cartoon I had literally never seen. Incidentally, I am now 36.

So it was as much a shock to me as anyone else that I would feel compelled by my extremely fickle brain to write this series.

But after watching 4 seasons of Sliders, then starting the horrendous dumpster fire that is Season 5, the desire to fix the show began to percolate.

At first I wanted to undo Season 5 entirely, but as I thought about it some more, I wasn’t entirely averse to the concepts in Season 5, just the execution. The treatment of the two O’Connell brothers’ characters was downright atrocious, and obviously Wade’s character was an irreversible disaster.

It would take a lot to piece things back together, but I couldn’t stop dreaming up ways to repair the damage. When it’s a show about infinite possibilities, I guess that helps.

Then, I read the really great fan scripts that have been in circulation a while, those being “Slide Effects” and the “Sliders Reborn” series.

But both of them, while being satisfying enough, still left me a little cold - both of them did Colin dirty, and I always considered him a highly salvageable character, if given a chance to have a real personality. I also grew to like Maggie, in some ways at least. Even goddamn Mallory had some glimmer of okayness in him, if he had just not been handled the way he was. So I wanted to do right by these characters.

And because I wanted to envision it as if they really made this thing, I’m setting it in the present, with all the characters advanced 20+ years in age.

And so, here we are.

When I first started watching this show like two weeks ago after having a dream about the two episodes I ever saw on TV during its original run (seriously), I didn’t even like it that much, so things sure have changed. LMAO. Well, I just regard it as a cheesy, fun but not stellar series that had characters I enjoyed and grew (overly) attached to.

Here are just a few things to know about this fic.

First, it’s in screenplay format rather than prose. Like, proper “let’s make a movie” screenplay format (for the most part). I have made short films in the past so it’s actually the format I’m most comfortable writing in. I get exhausted writing prose, and it always comes apart at the seams. So I wrote this the way it played out in my head as a piece of film.

Now, as someone with ADHD who often uses text-to-speech to read long blocks of text, I have been writing in a non-destructive way - the way some script writing software formats scripts makes the screen reader have lots of hiccups. I, on the other hand, have written this with that in mind. So if you use a screen reader you should be cool with this - let me know if you find any issues. Also I still don’t really know how certain things are supposed to be denoted in a script so I just guessed.

The scripts are written as if they were real 40-ish minute episodes (or thereabouts) - as such they are PG rated and have no explicit content. I do include a non-binary character, however, so if you don’t like that you can get lost lol. I’m non-binary too so deal with it.

Finally, at least for these first 3 episodes (not sure if I’ll do any more after that, depends on a lot of factors including but not exclusive to my ADHD), there isn’t a large amount of action, or world-building. It’s more of a string of character moments spread over three different worlds that have already been established in the show. BTW I name the worlds based on the EarthPrime.com names. So the ones present here will be Earth Prime, Earth Double Prime (EDP), and Seer World (SW). EDP is from the episode Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome and SW is the world from the final episode of the show, where three characters were stranded.

So I hope you enjoy these scripts. I powered through them, only took three days to have a three-episode outline and two scripts completed because I am obsessive when something makes my brain go brrr in the way this has.

(Also? Arturo is an absolute joy to write dialogue for.)

Episode 1:
Conjoined Quinns, Part I

Over twenty years have passed since the events of Season 5. Mallory and Maggie are married with a child. But Mallory's not well - no matter how much sleep he gets, he is still always exhausted to the point of waking hallucination.

Meanwhile, in another world, a new sliding machine is being built by a familiar face.

Act One

Ext. [EDP] Azure Gate Park, San Francisco - Day

Sweeping views of the bay reveal the distinctly blue colour of the Golden Gate Bridge (henceforth known as the Azure Gate Bridge).

A stout old man sits on a park bench overlooking the bay, throwing seeds to pigeons and other wild birds. We only see his back. A large overcoat, grey hair, and a very slight hunch.

A cell phone in his pocket starts to vibrate. We see that the man answering the phone is a much older Professor Maximillian Arturo.

He pulls out the cell phone - a modern smart phone of the 2020s - and holds it to his ear.

Arturo

Yes?

Incomprehensible talking comes from the other end of the phone.

Arturo

Damn it woman! Can’t a man take a walk in the park for an hour?

(beat)

It’s what?! No, no, don’t touch it. Leave it be or so help me!

Arturo stands from the bench, suddenly filled with energy.

Arturo

I’ll be home expeditiously. Do not touch anything, do you hear me?

Arturo hangs up the call, and takes one last look at the blue bridge before turning away.

Ext. [EDP] Street Outside Quinn’s house - Day

An old car pulls up to the house, and Arturo emerges.

He heads towards the door, where Missus Amanda Mallory waits. He kisses her on the cheek.

Missus Mallory

Finally! That thing’s been beeping since you left. What is it, anyway?

Arturo gently moves her aside, and enters the house.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Entryway - Day

The Mallory house of Earth Double Prime (EDP) is updated since we last saw it. The doorway has a smart doorbell monitor, and there are photo frames of not only pictures of the old Mallory family, but also more recent ones of Missus Mallory and Arturo together.

There is an incessant beeping noise pervading the space.

By the door is a coat rack. Arturo removes his coat and hangs it before striding further into the room.

Missus Mallory comes in behind him, looking concerned.

Arturo turns to face her.

Arturo

It’s none of your business, that’s what, my dear.

Turning abruptly, Arturo proceeds towards the basement door, but is stopped by Missus Mallory’s hand on his shoulder.

She turns him back around.

Missus Mallory

Look, I know your work is over my head - I’ve had that problem ever since I met Michael - but the least you could do is tell me why I have to deal with this noise all day.

Arturo looks into her eyes, and softens.

Arturo

Amanda, I—

He hangs his head.

Arturo

I apologise. I can be overly caustic at times. I suppose my temper is not helping my blood pressure any.

He turns toward the basement door once again.

Arturo 

Come, I’ll show you.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Arturo and Missus Mallory descend the stairs, into a larger and better equipped version of the basement we knew. Machinery decks the walls, an array of reflective tempered glass computer screens intermingled with more traditional dial controls, switches, and levers. It’s a combination of older and newer that only makes sense to a septuagenarian genius.

In the middle of the room is a small device with a smart phone screen attached by a cable, displaying a basic text interface. The text is a long block of incomprehensible characters.

Arturo

Since the incident that left me stranded here, I’ve been trying - mostly in vain - to build a new sliding device.

Missus Mallory

Wait, that’s what all this is?

I thought all the sliding technology was lost after Quinn’s equipment was—

Arturo takes a moment to painfully relive the loss of the equipment.

Arturo

Most of it was confiscated, yes. But even the US military could not confiscate this.

He taps a finger to his temple.

Arturo

I’ve been using this blasted basement in an attempt to recreate the original technology, and more sophisticated devices. The problem is, I haven’t yet been successful in opening a vortex. Something’s missing.

He turns towards the device.

Arturo

The infernal beeping is coming from this device here. It was built to receive interdimensional transmissions. It’s been purely theoretical, though— until now.

He picks it up and has a look at the screen. His eyes light up.

Arturo

My God.

The look of shock morphs into a genuine smile. His eyes move from the device towards Missus Mallory.

Arturo

This may look like gibberish to the untrained eye, but I believe it’s some kind of encrypted message.

Arturo laughs with delight.

Missus Mallory looks lost.

Missus Mallory

I don’t understand.

Arturo

My dear… I’ve been sent a message from another world, and look!

He points to a string inside the block of seemingly random characters:

QM-WW-MA-RB-MB-CM-DD

Missus Mallory

Quinn’s… initials?

Arturo

And Miss Welles, myself, Rembrandt Brown… I’m not so sure about the ones following that, but surely there’s no coincidence.

(beat)

This message… it’s got to be for me. I just need to figure out how to crack this code.

Missus Mallory’s eyes well with tears. Could it be?

Cut To:

TITLE CARD: SLIDERS

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Master bedroom - Day

Morning sun fills the large and lavish, but well lived-in, bedroom. A shelf displays some books and awards.

Two books titled “The Replacement - Memoirs of The Other Quinn Mallory” and “The Sliders: A Retrospective.”

A pair of Nobel Peace Prizes: one with the name Maggie Beckett, and the other with the name Quinn Mallory.

On the generously sized bed, one figure sleeps on the right side. It’s Quinn Mallory, but not the original - the one known to us as simply Mallory. He’s aged 20 years or so, but he still has the same dated haircut. Dark circles are visible under his eyes.

An alarm clock at the bedside strikes 7AM, and the radio bursts to life.

Radio Announcer (V.O.)

– and that’s your sports update for the hour.

(beat)

And calling all slide-hards! Rumour has it the cast of The Sliders are coming back for a reunion, twenty years since the finale. No word yet on the real life Sliders themselves, but—

The announcer is interrupted by Mallory’s hand pounding down upon the radio, turning it off.

Mallory

(drowsy)

No word, no chance.

Mallory yawns deeply and rubs his tired eyes. He looks like he never slept a wink. Notably, he wears a wedding band on his finger.

He rolls out of bed without grace, and stands up.

Groggy, he stumbles to the ensuite bathroom, stretching.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Bathroom - Day

The bathroom is spacious and modern, with a large mirror and expensive fittings. Mallory is already stepping out of the shower, and a wave of steam fogs up the mirror.

As Mallory fastens the towel in place around his waist, he looks into the mirror at his reflection, and for a split second, the reflection looking back at him is the original Quinn Mallory.

Alarmed, he dashes toward the mirror and wipes away the condensation— only to find his own, normal reflection.

Staring into his own eyes with intensity, he silently mouths: “What the f-?”

CUT TO:

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: dining room - Day

The dining room, once again, is large and beautiful, with a big bay window letting in the sunlight at one end, and a fireplace at the other, which isn’t presently in use.

At the table sits a familiar face: It’s Maggie Beckett, now a mature matriarch, wearing a wedding band to match Mallory’s. Before her is a plate with some food scraps, and two cups of coffee.

She sips on one of the cups, wearing a smile on her face; a smile that suggests she has a secret, but it’s mingled with a kind of joyfulness.

Mallory enters the room, a combination of nerves and exhaustion. He’s now dressed in a neat shirt and jean ensemble, hair gelled to the nines.

Maggie

(brightly)

Good morning!

She holds up a cup of coffee for him, and he grabs it and immediately takes a large swig.

Maggie

How’re you feeling?

Mallory shakes his head.

Mallory

Godawful, as usual. It’s getting worse, I think I’m startin’ to hallucinate. I need to see a specialist.

He takes another long swig from the cup, and it’s already empty by the time he pulls it away from his mouth.

Maggie

Get the chauffeur to take you today. I don’t think you should be driving like this.

Mallory

Thanks.

(facetious)

Maybe I’ll stay there.

Maggie

You’re not that tired, are you?

Mallory just gives her a look that says “maybe I am.”

He leaves the room, and Maggie watches silently, a flicker of guilt in her eyes.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

The marble-clad entryway features a lavish grand staircase, high ceilings, and a glass chandelier.

Mallory heads for the door, but before he gets there, a call from above breaks his stride.

Cole

Dad!

On the landing of the stairs stands Cole, the child of Mallory and Maggie.

Cole is a 19-year-old non-binary AMAB neuroscience student. She/They are dressed androgynously, with short mousy brown hair and a youthful face with the barest hint of facial hair detectable. Their eyes are a brilliant blue, just like the original Quinn.

Cole holds a large, unwieldy box of electronic equipment.

Cole

Umm, d’ya wanna be my guinea pig?

She shakes the box a little, letting the contents bounce on the sides noisily.

Cole

It’s for class.

Mallory looks up at Cole in disdain.

Mallory

Guinea pig?

He pauses, reflecting on the words he just repeated, then turns away.

Mallory

(firm)

Absolutely not.

He walks to the front door, and leaves the house.

Cole stands alone, perplexed and more than a little deflated.

Ext. [SW] Hospital - Day

A black limousine pulls into the emergency bay, and Mallory emerges.

He breathes the fresh air deeply, as if to prepare himself. He heads for the doors.

Int. [SW] Hospital Private Room - Day

As far as hospitals go, it’s a nice room. Deep pockets paid for this room.

The medical equipment is offset by expensive décor to make the room look as little like a hospital ward as possible, while still functioning as one.

By the large window, a sofa, occupied by none other than Missus Amanda Mallory. Not the one from earlier; it’s the original Earth Prime Missus Mallory. Despite being in hospital, she seems to be in good spirits, and doesn’t show any obvious signs of illness. She holds a crossword puzzle book and pen, busily filling out squares, until:

A knock at the door startles her. She turns as Mallory enters the room.

Mallory

Hey, Missus— uh, M-mom.

Missus Mallory

You don’t have to call me that, I told you.

Mallory

I know, I know. How are you doing?

Missus Mallory

(wryly)

I’m not dead yet, so that’s a start.

Missus Mallory pats the seat beside her.

Missus Mallory

Come on, sit.

Mallory does as he’s told. He’s stiff and doesn’t know what to say.

Missus Mallory

I know we don’t talk much, but I heard from Maggie recently and she wanted me to call you. So I did.

Mallory

Maggie set this up?

Missus Mallory

You say that like you didn’t want to come.

Mallory

It’s not that. It just feels weird to be around you, that’s all.

Missus Mallory Chuckles.

Missus Mallory

Weird good, or weird bad?

Mallory

Just… weird.

A moment of silence, as the two stare out the window.

Missus Mallory

Maggie says you’ve been tired a lot. You getting enough sleep?

Mallory

(exasperated)

More than enough. I’m in bed by seven thirty at night and sleep until seven in the morning. There’s somethin’ wrong with me.

Missus Mallory

Well, you’re welcome to nap here any time you want.

Mallory leans into her, and his head slumps onto her shoulder.

Mallory

Might just take you up on that.

Missus Mallory smiles at this, and puts her arm around him.

Missus Mallory

Thanks for just being here with me, Quinn.

The two close their eyes — him to sleep, and her to imagine a different face resting on her shoulder.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Dining Room - Night

The three residents - Maggie, Mallory, and Cole - are seated together at the table, with plates full of food. The fireplace is lit.

Cole eats with gusto, while simultaneously starting at their phone. Maggie holds off on eating, as she watches her husband eat expectantly.

Maggie

So…?

Mallory looks up, a mouthful of food bulging his cheeks.

He quickly chews and swallows.

Mallory

So what?

Maggie

Jeez, you saw your Mom for the first time in three years and you won’t even talk about it?

Mallory

Not my Mom.

At this, Cole looks from one parent to the other, searching.

Maggie

She doesn’t see it that way, Mallory.

She gives him a look of contempt and frustration.

Mallory

Look, I dunno! It was awkward, okay?

And… well, I fell asleep on her shoulder and when I woke up, visiting hours were over.

Maggie smiles at this.

Maggie

Aww, that’s kinda nice.

Mallory

Yeah, okay. You try being the world’s most exhausted guy and see how nice it is.

Cole, having stayed out of it until now, wipes their mouth with a napkin and pipes up.

Cole

You know, if you let me scan your brain, I might be able to pick up on what’s wrong.

Maggie cracks a smile at this interjection, and glances at Mallory with a shrug.

Maggie

Worth a shot. Cole’s top of her class, you know.

Mallory

Look, science experiments on me have tended to go… badly… in the past. I’d rather not.

Cole rolls their eyes.

Cole

It’s a simple scan, not anything intrusive. Lots of people have undergone the procedure and lived to tell about it. Scout’s honour!

Mallory

Yeah, well, “lived to tell about it” is not exactly the measure you think it is.

Mallory yawns.

Mallory

I’m done.

He collects his plate, and promptly exits the room.

Cole

I could really help him, Mom.

Maggie

I know, sweetie.

Cole

And like, being a composite of two different people? There must be funky stuff going on in that brain, right? I’d love to see.

Maggie

Yeah.

Maggie looks down, calculating.

Maggie

I, uh, might be able to convince him some day. But it might have to be at a weird hour of the night.

Cole

(questioning)

Uh, okay…? Well I don’t care what hour it is, as long as I can do it.

Maggie

We’ll have to see. If it happens some night, don’t question it, just do it.

Maggie looks towards the fireplace, forlorn.

Cole just looks baffled by this exchange.

Cole

(suspicious)

What are you hiding?

Maggie jumps at this sudden question.

Maggie

I, uh… I don’t think I’m ready to explain just yet. It’s complicated.

She makes eye contact.

Maggie

Just know that no matter how your Dad acts, he’s still your Dad. Okay?

Cole responds to this with great puzzlement, and you can see the cogs turning in their mind.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Master Bedroom - Night

The clock reads 7:21PM as Mallory, clad in boxer shorts, collapses into bed.

He sighs deeply as he pulls the covers over his body and buries his head into the pillow.

Blackness.

Fade to:

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

On Mallory’s face as his eyes flutter open to see not his familiar bedroom, but the Professor’s reworked basement. Startled, he jumps to his feet. Adrenalin has overcome his sleepy demeanour.

Maggie sits on a stool by a monitor. She waves at him, sheepishly.

Maggie

So… you’re probably wondering where you are, huh?

End of Act One

Act Two

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Mallory stares daggers at Maggie.

Mallory

What the hell, Maggie?

He looks around him, taking in the room.

Mallory

You… kidnapped me?

Maggie loses her smile, but it doesn’t turn to malice.

Maggie

Not exactly. You came here willingly. Sort of.

Mallory

This is some kind of lab. Is this something to do with Cole’s experiment?

Maggie

No, I promise she has nothing to do with this. Swear to god.

Mallory

Then what?!

Arturo

Allow me to explain, Mister Mallory.

Mallory whips around to the stairs, where Arturo stands.

Mallory

Who the hell… wait, I know you.

Maggie

You do?

Mallory

Yeah, the Professor, right? I’ve seen the TV show. You were there at the beginning.

Arturo

Hmm, close enough. And yes, I was indeed there at the beginning. Not the impostor who usurped my position and left me stranded.

He gestures to the door.

Arturo

Come now, we’ve much to discuss, and I’d rather do it over pot of tea than down here.

Mallory looks back at Maggie, who gives him a shrug and a half smile.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Kitchen - Day

The kitchen is not dramatically different from the 90s state it was in, just some updated furniture and appliances.

Mallory, Maggie, and Arturo sit at the table, which is set out with an English tea set.

Arturo takes the teapot and pours tea into three cups and saucers, distributing them to those present. As he does this, he talks.

Arturo

Mister Mallory, I apologise for whisking you away like this.

Mallory

So you did kidnap me.

Arturo

On the contrary. It seems Ms. Beckett here has been keeping a secret from you.

Arturo looks pointedly at Maggie, who withers under his gaze.

Mallory

And what secret would that be?

Maggie

Uh… you sleepwalk?

Mallory

Cut the crap, Maggie! I’m your husband, aren’t I? Tell me the truth! What is this?

Maggie sighs, and steels herself.

Maggie

Well, the truth is…

(beat)

Quinn isn’t gone.

Mallory

(incredulous)

What? Sure he is. The nanites—

Maggie

— didn’t stop you from feeling a connection to your Mom!

Mallory processes this for a moment.

Mallory

Okay, so… so there has to be more, right? How I ended up here?

Maggie exchanges an intense look with Arturo.

Flashback To: 8 Hours Ago

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Master Bedroom - Night

Maggie flips on her bedside lamp.

She’s alone in the bed. Visible excitement fills her.

She jumps up from the bed in a hurry.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Study - Night

The study looks like an ordinary study - mostly. Among the solid oak desk and bookshelves is strewn pieces of electronics, and hunched in a corner sits Mallory, wearing glasses, tinkering with a small device.

But it’s not Mallory - Mallory isn’t in the driver’s seat. It’s Quinn.

Maggie (O.S.)

Hey Quinn!

Maggie enters the lamplit room and strides over to Quinn. He glances up at her momentarily.

Mallory As Quinn

Morning.

And he’s looking down again.

Maggie glances at the clock on the wall, reading five past three.

Maggie

In the purely technical sense.

Mallory As Quinn

You’re in my light, can you please move over just a touch?

Maggie steps aside obligingly.

She nods towards the device in his hand.

Maggie

You’ve been working on that thing for a while. What is it?

Mallory As Quinn

(still looking down)

Interdimensional beacon. I got it online a couple days ago, but looks like the circuits got fried sometime yesterday. Damn.

He rubs his eyes, still visibly tired, but handling it a little better than Mallory.

Maggie

Beacon?

Mallory As Quinn

Transmits a signal to other worlds with coordinates leading back here.

Maggie

Isn’t that dangerous?

Mallory As Quinn

(nonchalant)

Could be, but—

He looks up at her.

Mallory As Quinn

—This world is safe from the Kromaggs, and I encrypted my message with a key that only my friends should be able to figure out.

(beat)

If anyone’s out there to receive it, that is.

Maggie

Why not just rebuild the sliding machine?

Mallory As Quinn

Look Maggie, I only get a few hours a night, and I’m just as tired as he is. It’s the best I can do right now.

The conversation is interrupted by a stately doorbell ringing.

Quinn and Maggie look at each other inquisitively.

Mallory As Quinn

(hesitant, perplexed)

Uh… you gonna get that?

Maggie

Quinn, it’s 3 in the morning.

Quinn looks down at his beacon, then back up at her, his face dawning with possibility.

Mallory As Quinn

I’ll get it.

He puts down the device.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

Quinn cautiously approaches the door, and squints through the peephole.

Startled, he jumps back. How could it be?

He swings open the door, to reveal Arturo.

Mallory As Quinn

P-Professor?

Arturo steps inside, and carefully studies Mallory’s unfamiliar face.

Arturo

Fascinating.

(beat)

Apologies for the ungodly hour of my arrival. It was the earliest convenience, and I saw a light on.

Mallory As Quinn

H-How are you here?

He pulls out a notepad with some scribblings on it.

Arturo

The people in town were happy to provide your address once they recognised who I was. Peculiar world, this.

Mallory As Quinn

That isn’t what I meant…

The professor returns to closely looking at the face of Mallory.

Arturo

Even more peculiar is what happened to you, Mister Mallory.

Maggie (O.S.)

Professor?!

The two men look towards the hall where Maggie has just emerged.

Arturo

I’m sorry, madam, I don’t believe we’ve met. You’re Ms. Beckett, correct?

Mallory As Quinn

Wait, you have met her.

(beat)

Unless…

Arturo looks pointedly at him, waiting for the penny to drop.

Arturo

Unless…

Quinn snaps his fingers.

Mallory As Quinn

You’re not the same Professor that died; you’re a double!

Arturo

Very good, Mister Mallory.

Quinn paces, full of adrenalin now.

Mallory As Quinn

Oh man, which one?
Are you one of the evil Professors? There really seemed to be a lot of them.

Arturo

Now, now… I’d hesitate to say “evil.” Reprehensible, perhaps.

(beat)

But no, I was in fact replaced by one of the… lesser… versions of myself. You left me behind.

Mallory As Quinn

(manic)

Wait, wait, wait, wait… you’re kidding, right?

Quinn runs his fingers through his hair, still pacing, thinking about the implications.

Arturo

Do you recall when you abandoned me, Mister Mallory? The world so alike to ours, yet slightly off in insignificant ways?

Quinn stops and stares at Arturo, as if searching.

Mallory As Quinn

We were so sure we had the right one. He was just like he ever was; no malice or - much - selfishness.

(suspicious)

Are you still lying?

Arturo looks him dead in the eye.

Arturo

(severe)

Mister Mallory. Would that supplanting scoundrel have recognised the score to “Tears In My ‘Fro?”

(warm)

Well played on that encryption key, by the by.

Quinn laughs, a joyous laugh, then he pulls the Professor in for a hug.

From near the hall, Maggie watches - dumbstruck.

Arturo

Now, my boy, I have only—

He pulls out a timer from his coat - a more modern, sleek design than the old ones, and looks down at it.

Arturo

—four minutes remaining on this slide, so if we’re to continue this reunion, you’ll have to come back with me.

Quinn hesitates.

Arturo

Of course, even while the algorithms within your message helped me to finally open a stable wormhole, I’ve had many years to vastly improve the surrounding technology.

I can control my slides. You will be back here by lunch, I guarantee it.

Quinn lights up, a mischievous grin creeping across his face.

Mallory As Quinn

Well, you know me. Can’t resist an adventure.

Maggie

I’m coming too. Someone’s got to be there to soften the blow… when Mallory wakes up.

The professor takes in this statement with curiosity.

Arturo

According to my research of this place, this Mallory fellow is supposed to be markedly different in personality and mannerisms from the Quinn I know. But so far I haven’t found that to be the case. I gather this is… abnormal?

Maggie nods.

Mallory As Quinn

It’s a long story. Tell you all about it after the slide.

Maggie

The slide…

Maggie puts her hand to her mouth.

Maggie

I can’t believe we’re going to slide again.

She can’t contain her excitement.

Arturo checks the timer again.

Arturo

Eight seconds.

Maggie grabs Quinn’s hand, and they grin at one another.

Arturo

Three… two… one.

He holds the timer out, and opens the vortex.

Arturo

Come along, then.

Arturo disappears into the tunnel.

Quinn and Maggie, windswept and giddy, follow him.

End of Flashback

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Kitchen - Day

Back in the present, Mallory silently sips on his tea, hand unsteady, trying to calm his nerves.

Maggie and Arturo watch him carefully.

Maggie

So… that’s how you ended up here. And there’s an open path home.

Mallory takes a deep breath, trying to form the words. He evades eye contact, preferring to look down at the teacup.

Mallory

How long has Quinn been doing this?

Maggie

I’m not entirely sure, but it’s been at least six months. That’s when I found out, anyway.

Mallory

That explains… a few things.

Maggie can’t read his face.

Mallory

The tiredness, obviously. But more than that.

Maggie… you’ve been so cheery in the morning, guess now I know it’s ‘cause you’ve been so happy to spend time with Quinn, right?

Maggie

(hesitant)

Well, it’s just it’s been over twenty years since he… went away. I’m not sure I can describe how it felt to get to talk to him again.

Mallory

Why didn’t you tell me?

Maggie

He thought you’d have a bad reaction, fight him, try to get rid of him again. We agreed it would be a secret.

She picks up her tea cup and stares into it.

Maggie

He did his best to let you get enough sleep. The deprivation affected him too. But in the last couple of weeks, he’s really pushed it because of what he was working on, I guess.

A moment of silence, as Mallory comes to a realisation.

Mallory

That visit to Missus Mallory wasn’t for me, was it? It was for him.

Maggie

It was for the both of you. I couldn’t have known you were going to fall asleep there, now could I? Besides, the least you could do for a dying woman is let her see the one person she cares about.

Arturo

Dying?

Arturo has been silent all this time, but is quite suddenly frantic.

Maggie

Yes, Quinn’s mother… the one who raised him. She’s on our world, and she’s got some kind of terminal bone cancer.

Arturo

(thoughtful)

I see. Perhaps this is pertinent information for the Amanda of this world as well.

Maggie

You know her?

Arturo

Know her? We’re in her house! She’s… well, my wife.

Mallory

(shocked)

What?!

Maggie

(delighted)

No way!

Arturo

Well, I was left floundering there on her front lawn that night. We got to talking, one thing lead to another. You know how these things go. United in our grief and what have you.

Maggie

Well, good for you, Professor.

Arturo

I daresay, even better for her.

He gives Maggie an impish wink.

Mallory

(quietly)

Can we go home?

Arturo and Maggie turn towards Mallory, who is staring into the distance.

Arturo

Very well, my boy. Fortunately, when sliding from the machine here on this world, we can open a gateway at will. We can go at your leisure.

Mallory

Then, let’s go.

Maggie

Mallory, wait.

Maggie takes his hand and stares him in the eye.

Maggie

(whispering)

This is our chance.

She runs her fingers over his wedding band.

Mallory’s eyes widen with realisation.

Maggie

Professor, take us to Earth Prime.

Arturo

You mean my home world? I’m afraid I haven’t the coordinates for that, or I’d have gone there already.

Maggie and Mallory exchange a knowing look.

Mallory

All right. For Remy.

Maggie and Mallory both remove their wedding bands. Engraved on the insides are two halves of the coordinates to Earth Prime.

Arturo

Well I’ll be.

Maggie

Professor, the Earth you knew is not… like it once was.

Arturo

Yes, those creatures, the Kromaggs. I did encounter them once during my time sliding. I read your world’s literature about them with some horror.

Maggie

We don’t know just how much destruction they caused, but I can bet it was a lot. And they might still be there.

Arturo

I see.

(beat)

Still, it is my home.

Mallory

And we need to find out if Remy survived. We promised him we’d find him again. If there’s any reason to slide, it’s that.

His graveness is broken by an aggressive yawn.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Arturo punches in numbers on his computer and turns dials, moving about the room to different control panels. Maggie and Mallory stand near the stairs, watching him work.

Arturo

You’ll find this machine to be a sight more sophisticated than the toaster parts and duct tape of Mister Mallory’s ramshackle creation in the nineties.

He pulls a large lever.

Arturo

What he lacked in spare parts, he more than made up for in ingenuity. Still, he didn’t have twenty-five years to perfect his quantum stabilisation modules.

Arturo picks up his timer, and points it towards the middle of the room.

Arturo

Ladies first?

He presses a button, and the vortex opens, a shimmering blue and white.

Maggie

(wryly)

Chivalry isn’t dead after all, huh?

Despite herself, she dives into the tunnel without hesitation.

Arturo follows behind her, giving a quick glance back at Mallory before walking through the portal calmly.

Mallory blinks his tired eyes and shakes his body in an attempt to invigorate himself.

Mallory

(wondering aloud)

I’m really awake, right?

And then he’s gone, into the tunnel.

End of Act Two

Act Three

Int. [Earth Prime] Mallory House: Basement - Day

The vortex lights up a mess of a basement, looking like it had been looted and abandoned long ago. The equipment that once stood here is long gone.

Maggie falls out of the portal, smacking her face on the floor.

Maggie

Ow, dammit!

Next comes Arturo, who carefully steps past her as if he was walking as normal.

Arturo

My apologies, Ms. Beckett, I neglected to tell you that if you walk into the portal calmly, you’ll exit just as calmly.

(beat)

The way you flung yourself in there, it really just dropped you like a log, didn’t it?

Mallory stumbles out, not gracefully, but also able to stay standing.

Mallory

Huh. Smooth ride.

Arturo

Thank you. Now come- let’s scout the immediate area.

Maggie springs to her feet.

Maggie

I’m an ex-soldier, let me take point.

Arturo

I was going to say “ladies first…”

Maggie rolls her eyes, and heads towards the stairs. Arturo looks down at the timer.

Arturo

We have thirty hours here. Let’s make them count, shall we?

Ext. [Earth Prime] Street Outside Quinn’s House - Day

The road is deserted - no humans or Kromaggs. Just abandoned houses and cars.

Maggie sticks her head out the front door, and looks around.

Maggie

All quiet out here.

(muttering)

Not usually a good sign.

She moves out onto the porch, and surveys the area in more detail. Mallory and Arturo wander out behind her.

Mallory points to the abandoned vehicles lining the road.

Mallory

I’ll see if I can’t hotwire one of these cars, if any still have usable batteries. We can look for signs of life further into town.

Arturo

(surprised)

Hotwire?

Mallory

I’m not completely useless.

With that, he barrels off towards the street.

Arturo watches him for a moment, before turning back towards Maggie.

Arturo

Something of an inferiority complex in that one.

Maggie

Yeah, he tries to hide it, but… he always knew that when everyone looked at him, they were thinking about Quinn and comparing them. Even long after we stopped sliding.

Arturo

To be completely honest, I don’t know how or why he would reject the once-in-a-generation intellect that was gifted to him in Quinn.

Maggie

Maybe he didn’t do it by choice.

Arturo gazes out at the quiet expanse.

Arturo

Ms. Beckett, which one of the two occupants of that body are you really married to?

Maggie

I love them both, you know? In different ways. But in the end I married Mallory. That absolute goofball.

Arturo

Then why do you still call him by his surname?

Maggie considers this for a moment.

Then, the reluctant roar of an engine.

Mallory

(distant)

Got it!

Maggie and Arturo share one last glance, and head towards the car.

Ext. [Earth Prime] Downtown San Francisco - Day

San Francisco is quite neglected. Vegetation is overgrown, and has reclaimed a decent amount of the structures. We still can’t see any inhabitants yet.

The car snakes through the streets.

Int. [Earth Prime] Old Car - Day

The car backfires, among other loud noises and bumps, as the sliders reach the population centre - and there are indeed people here: run-down, haunted people, certainly- but they’ve survived.

In the driver’s seat of the car sits Arturo, with Mallory and Maggie in the back.

Maggie’s eyes are glued on the people from within the car.

Maggie

People. They really survived.

Mallory

Not too many by the look of it.

Arturo

Have you spotted any Kromaggs?

Maggie

No… None.

Maggie marvels, and covers her mouth in excitement.

Ext. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel Street Level - Day

The car pulls up to the kerb, and the three occupants get out.

Mallory looks around. The passers-by regard them with small amounts of interest - the clothes of the locals are more worse for wear, and many are repaired by hand.

Mallory

So… do we just ask randomly?

Maggie

No need.

Maggie is suddenly holding a smart phone, tapping away.

Maggie

I just found an open Wi-Fi signal. Guess this world isn’t entirely bereft. Let’s search his name.

A few more taps, and…

Maggie

Rembrandt Brown… musician… also known as “Typhoid Remy the Saviour” - oh my god! He really did it!

Mallory

Is he alive, though?

Maggie

Hang on…

She taps and swipes some more.

Maggie

Brown performs weekly concerts at the Golden Gate Theater? Guys, that’s present tense.

She taps again.

Maggie

The next one is tomorrow night!

Mallory takes Maggie’s free hand.

Mallory

Have… have we found him?

Maggie

I think we found him.

They just stare at each other in wonder for a moment.

Arturo

Yes, I too am anxious to see my old friend. But unless we can find a phone number or address, we’ll need to wait just over a day to see him.

Maggie

I’ll keep searching. I can’t leave the Wi-Fi zone though.

Arturo

Well, we’re here in front of a hotel - shall we?

Int. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel Lobby - Day

The three enter the familiar hotel. It’s worse for wear, but there are people coming and going.

Behind the counter is a female Clerk who looks slightly bored. The trio approaches.

Arturo

Excuse me Madam, might you have a room for three travellers?

The woman shrugs and chuckles a little.

Clerk

Like there would be a shortage of rooms.

She grabs a handful of keys from a bucket and dumps them on the counter.

Clerk

Take your pick. Stay as long as you need, just return the key after.

Mallory

How much?

The Clerk looks at him funny.

Clerk

It’s mutual aid. We don’t charge for shelter, food, water, or any other human rights in this city. Just treat others right, help out if you can, and we’re cool.

She eyes them with mild suspicion.

Clerk

Just where do you come from, anyway?

Maggie

We’re… from Canada.

Clerk

Seriously? That’s weird, I always thought we got the idea from them.

Mallory

Well, not… Quebec.

Clerk

(commiserating)

Oh, I’m so sorry. Well, welcome to California.

Int. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Night

Arturo and Maggie prepare for bed, while Mallory paces, looking positively haggard.

Maggie

You’re up past your bedtime.

Mallory grunts; he’s frustrated. Angry.

Mallory

I can’t believe this place doesn’t have coffee. How could coffee be extinct?

Maggie

Mal, please. Get some rest.

Mallory

Are you saying that for my wellbeing, or do you just want to see Quinn?

Maggie

You’re exhausted, you need actual sleep. Please.

Mallory

Doesn’t seem to matter how much I sleep, I’m tired all the same.

He’s beyond reason now.

Maggie

So you’re just going to stay up forever, then?

Mallory

I don’t know! Just… stop talking to me. I can’t deal with it right now.

He heads for the door.

Maggie

Where are you going?

Mallory

I need some fresh air.

Maggie

Please don’t get yourself in trouble, Mallory. You’re not yourself.

Mallory

(muttering)

I’ll say.

He slams the door behind him.

Arturo and Maggie exchange concerned looks.

Ext. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel Street Level - Night

Mallory walks along the sidewalk in a haze.

Crossfade to:

Ext. [Earth Prime] Downtown San Francisco Street - Night

Mallory has no idea where he is, he just has to stay awake.

He bumps into a Pedestrian going the other way.

Pedestrian

Hey man, you okay?

Mallory makes an incomprehensible gesture in response, then stumbles against the wall.

Pedestrian

You’re not okay. Are you on something?

Mallory

(slurred)

No… no… just have to stay awake.

He shrugs - an exaggerated shrug - and chuckles.

Mallory

Heh… He can’t use me if I’m so tired I can’t stand, right?

The Pedestrian regards him with a mixture of apprehension and pity.

Pedestrian

All right then. Uh. You stay safe. If you decide to sleep after all, every one of these buildings has a couple of free beds, ‘kay?

The Pedestrian backs away cautiously, and then continues on their way, looking back once to make sure Mallory isn’t following them.

Fade to:

Ext. [Earth Prime] Golden Gate Park, San Francisco - Dawn

The first hint of sunlight bathes the park as a still-awake Mallory paces back and forth on the path. He’s the only one around. It’s silent except for his mutterings and footsteps.

Mallory

(muttering)

Can’t give up. Can’t let him in. Stay awake. Can’t let him win.

Quinn (O.S.)

You really don’t have to do this, man.

Mallory whips around. Sitting on a bench - in fact the same bench Arturo was sitting on in the first scene - is Quinn.

Mallory

How are you here?!

Quinn

Mallory, you’re severely sleep deprived - you’re hallucinating, obviously.

Mallory

(inarticulate)

You caused the deper… dep-ri-va-tion.

Quinn

Sit down next to me and I’ll make it better.

Mallory

Yeah right, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?

Quinn

Well, yeah.

Mallory blows him off, and turns away.

Quinn

You may be hallucinating my presence in the park, but my presence in your brain is real. I’m really talking to you.

Mallory

Why’d you wait ‘til now?

Quinn

Frankly I was staying out of your way as much as possible. I know how much you hate me.

Quinn stretches and looks up at the sky.

Quinn

But you’re kind of having a breakdown, so it’s probably in my best interest to get involved now.

Mallory

All this time, I thought you were gone. How are you still there?

Quinn

Well those nanites did a number on me, sure. They did a great job at quarantining my mind away from yours. But they didn’t consume me like you thought. I was just… trapped.

Mallory finally stops standing, and collapses on the grass.

Mallory

What do you mean, trapped?

Quinn

I was just a passenger. I had to endure watching you living your life, while I was unable to communicate with you or the outside world.

Mallory

(more alert now)

What changed? How are you able to now?

Quinn

Well, I can tell you it wasn’t easy. Years upon years of chipping away at my prison from within.

(beat)

I had a lot of time to think, at least. And learn about the nature of my existence.

Mallory

So then, what are you now?

Quinn

Well, you got all my body parts -you’re welcome, by the way - so now I’m just a disembodied brain.

(darkly)

Hmph. Just like Wade.

Mallory

But my brain is still… braining, right?

Quinn

Yes. We share the brain; just different areas. There’s plenty of brain to go around for the both of us, turns out. You’d know that by now if you’d let our kid do a scan.

Quinn stands up from the seat, and walks towards Mallory.

Quinn

Cole’s got my eyes, you know.

He leans over, and places a hand on Mallory’s shoulder.

This startles Mallory, and he instinctively moves his own hand to his shoulder. He touches Quinn’s hand and arm in alarm.

Mallory

I didn’t expect to actually feel your hand there. Pretty realistic hallucination.

Quinn

Actually, this is a dream now. You fell asleep right after you sat down.

Mallory

Dammit!

Quinn

Don’t worry, I’m not taking over this time. You need the rest.

Mallory

So what now? Seems we’re at an impasse.

Quinn

What do you want me to say?

“This brain ain’t big enough for the both of us?”

Mallory smirks.

Quinn

You have the upper hand. I merely found a line of communication and made a desperate plea to my friends. It’s really up to you what happens next.

Mallory

You talk as if I’m your prison guard or something. You know I’ve tried to separate us, and it didn’t work.

Quinn

I know. But you have to admit you haven’t provided the most comfortable environment to exist in. This wasn’t my fault either, you know.

Mallory rises to his feet and meets Quinn’s cool gaze.

Mallory

Jeez, I’m sorry I didn’t want to lose my sense of self!

Quinn

(finally worked up)

It’s not just about you, okay?! I also have a sense of self that you were all too happy to throw in the trash!

Quinn moves in so close that the two men’s faces are nearly touching.

Quinn

Maybe some simple sharing could have saved us both this crap.

After a beat, Quinn backs away.

Mallory

(quietly)

Is that possible?

Quinn

What?

Mallory

…Sharing.

Quinn considers this, mind racing.

Int. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Day

Arturo awakens to Maggie’s urgent prodding.

Maggie

Professor, wake up!

Mallory never came back.

Arturo moans; he’s never been as frail-looking as he is now, waking up in the morning. He’s showing every year of his age.

Arturo

That blasted idiot.

He gets up, with difficulty, and hobbles toward the window.

Arturo

Well, we have the day to find him. He couldn’t have gone too far in that languid state.

Maggie

You’re right. The people here seem pretty friendly, so let’s ask around.

Mallory (O.S.)

No need.

Mallory, haggard but unharmed, stumbles into the room.

Maggie

Mallory!

She rushes over to him, and catches him as he threatens to lose balance.

Maggie

Are you okay? Have you been awake all night?

Mallory

Not all of it.

Maggie

What happened to you?

Mallory

Nothing… just got some perspective is all.

(beat)

I’m going to bed.

He shambles to the nearest bed, and collapses onto it.

Mallory

Wake me in time for the concert, okay?

Arturo and Maggie exchange confused looks, and then look back down at Mallory, who’s already asleep again.

Ext. [Earth Prime] Remote Cabin: Front Yard - Day

Deep in the woods, a rustic cabin sits solitary, a single dirt road leading to the simple abode. In the front, a tree stump with a small log.

An axe slams down on the log, splitting in in two.

A black man’s hand places the next log on the stump.

As the axe swings down again, a small car comes up the dirt road.

We see a silhouette of the man watching the car arrive, and park. He wipes his brow, but we still can’t see his face.

From the car, a woman steps out: it’s Kelly Welles, the sister of Wade; a face we haven’t seen in a long time.

She hurries around to the trunk of the car, and retrieves several bags of groceries and supplies.

Kelly

Hey, I got most of what you asked. They didn’t have any beef though, so I got you insect patties.

She approaches the man, still unseen.

Kelly

You don’t have to make that face. It’s pretty good these days, you know.

Rembrandt Brown accepts the bags with a cringe. He has grey hair now, and a beard. Despite his rustic environment, his hair looks well maintained.

Rembrandt

Yeah, well, if I was meant to eat ants I woulda been born an anteater.

(beat)

Thanks, Kelly.

Fade To Black.

End Of Act Three

Episode 2:
Conjoined Quinns, Part II

The gang attend a fateful concert. Mallory learns to adjust to his new arrangement. Cole really wants to scan some brains.

With old friends being reunited, it seems like things are all falling into place at once. But who could have expected who shows up next?

Previously, on Sliders

Montage of clips and dialogue from Conjoined Quinns Part I:

Arturo

Since the incident that left me stranded here, I’ve been trying - mostly in vain - to build a new sliding device.

Cole

Dad! —

D’ya wanna be my guinea pig?

Mallory

Absolutely not.

Missus Mallory

Maggie says you’ve been tired a lot.

Mallory

There’s somethin’ wrong with me.

Maggie

Well, the truth is… Quinn isn’t gone.

Mallory

That explains… a few things.

Mallory As Quinn

Interdimensional beacon — Transmits a signal to other worlds with coordinates leading back here.

Arturo

I’ve been sent a message from another world.—

It’s got to be for me.

Mallory As Quinn

P-Professor?

Arturo

Do you recall when you abandoned me, Mister Mallory?

Mallory As Quinn

We were so sure we had the right one.

Maggie

This is our chance. —

Professor, take us to Earth Prime.

Mallory

For Remy.

Mallory As Quinn

Well, you know me. Can’t resist an adventure.

Maggie

“Typhoid Remy the Saviour” - oh my god! He really did it! —

I think we found him.

Quinn

Mallory, you’re severely sleep deprived - you’re hallucinating.

Mallory

All this time, I thought you were gone.

Quinn

Well those nanites did a number on me, sure. —

They didn’t consume me —

I was just… trapped. —

Maybe some simple sharing could have saved us both this crap.

Mallory

…Sharing. —

Is that possible?

Kelly

I got you insect patties.

Rembrandt

Yeah, well, if I was meant to eat ants I woulda been born an anteater.

Fade to black

Act One

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

In a near-perfect facsimile of the original basement where the adventure started, the old tube television is set up and pointed towards a red armchair, just as it once had been. Beside the armchair is a small table with an old landline phone- the push-button style.

Quinn Mallory, looking the same as we saw him last time in Mallory’s hallucination, sits on the seat and puts up his feet on the beaten-up footrest.

He produces a remote control, and switches on the TV. Static snow fills the screen.

Quinn leans forward and gives the television a smack on the side.

Quinn

Come on… old piece of junk.

He looks around the back of the TV and fiddles with the connections.

The flickering light from the TV becomes solid, though we can’t see what’s on it now, it’s turned away from our view.

Quinn moves back, inspecting.

Quinn

Better.

He sits back down and watches.

Cut to:

Int. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Day

Mallory awakens on the bed with a start. He’s alone. The clock reads 4:31PM.

He stands, and heads for the shower.

Int. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel: Shower - Day

Clothes hit the floor, and the room starts to steam up.

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

From this basement, we can hear the shower running. It’s tinny; coming from the TV.

Quinn cringes as he looks away from the television. He looks down at the telephone beside him. Dare he?

With a wicked smirk, he picks up the phone and holds it to his ear.

Quinn

Missed a spot.

Int. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel: Shower - Day

Mallory, deep in the mists of the shower, reacts with a start.

Mallory

What the hell! Can’t a guy get some privacy?

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn’s eyes twinkle with mischief as he continues to talk into the phone.

Quinn

Relax, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. 

Int. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel: Shower - Day

Mallory

This… arrangement… has not started well, Quinn.

He starts putting shampoo in his hair as Quinn speaks through his mind.

Quinn (V.O.)

Sorry, I just couldn’t help myself there. Promise I won’t do it again, okay?

Mallory

Thank you. We agreed only to communicate when necessary, right?

Quinn (V.O.)

Right. Just remember, I’m always here ready to help.

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Mallory (V.O.)

All right. Over and out.

Quinn hangs up the phone and settles his gaze back on the television.

Int. [Earth Prime] Dominion Hotel: Lobby - Day

As it was last time, a run-down but populated lobby with people coming and going. Our Clerk is back at the desk, without much to do other than engage in conversation with Arturo, who is at the desk looking down at her.

Clerk

So you’re in town just to meet Typhoid Remy? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the guy’s a recluse. When he’s not on stage, he’s in hiding.

Arturo

I’m an old friend of his, and I have the impression he’d very much like to see me.

Clerk

Well good luck with that. I wouldn’t have the first clue how to find the guy.

Arturo deflates.

Arturo

I see. Well, nevertheless, I shall be at his concert tonight.

Clerk

Poor guy. I get the impression people don’t go to see him so much for his music, more just to see the guy that saved us.

Arturo

(wistful)

Such is fame, my dear. Back in the sixties, The Beatles performed to crowds that couldn’t hear a note of music over the screaming all around them. I could never understand the bloody point. I suppose those young ladies were there for the experience, more than the music they could hear on their record players any time they liked.

Clerk

Still, I have to wonder if it’s hollow for him.

Arturo

Perhaps so. There’s a reason The Beatles gave up live performances at the height of their popularity.

Clerk

I wouldn’t have taken you for a Beatles fan, really.

Arturo

Oh, I have never been one, my dear. But in my travails, I’ve found ways to appreciate even things I personally find distasteful.

He looks around the lobby. Around him, people are helping each other, handing out food and water, giving medical care.

Arturo

This… mutual aid society you have here. I’ve seen some very nasty outcomes of a communist society, but perhaps this gaggle of kind people helping one another - this is what it could have been, with the right guidance.

Clerk

Huh, you’re pretty insightful… for a boomer.

Arturo

(introspective)

Yes, I’ve spent long years thinking about things that could have been. Envisioning infinite choices branching out into infinite timelines.

The society which I thought to be the endpoint - the pinnacle - was just an illusion. Time went on, ugly truths were laid bare.

Arturo leans heavily on the counter.

Arturo

The places I’ve lived most of my life may have the veneer of civil society, but underneath is a rot that eats away at it every day. One day that society will too collapse from that rot.

Will they be able to pick up the pieces as well as your people, I wonder?

There’s a moment of silence from Arturo. The Clerk is stunned at this dark turn.

Clerk

Are… are you asking me that question?

Arturo chuckles, and places his hand on her shoulder.

Arturo

No, no, I’m merely thinking aloud. Carry on.

He turns to leave, and at that moment, Mallory steps out of the elevator.

Mallory

Professor!

Arturo turns to him in jovial surprise.

Arturo

Ah, Mister Mallory. Perfect timing. Come.

He puts his arm around Mallory’s shoulders, and leads him towards the exit.

Mallory

Where’s Maggie?

As if on cue, Maggie enters the hotel.

Maggie

Right here. Still can’t get a hold of any way to contact Remy. We’re just going to have to find a way to reach him at the concert.

She smiles warmly at her husband.

Maggie

I’m glad you’re okay.

(beat)

You are okay, right?

Mallory

Yeah Mags. I’m good.

Maggie

Then I guess we have a concert to attend.

End of Act One

Act Two

Int. [Earth Prime] Golden Gate Theater - Night

The house is packed. This venue is well-maintained; it seems to be the liveliest possible environment in this depopulated world.

Spotlights move through the crowd, converging on the curtains. A live band plays a familiar intro - “Tears In My ‘Fro.”

The crowd goes wild.

The curtains open, and there he is - the distinguished, grey-haired Rembrandt “Cryin’ Man” Brown.

He bursts into song, and his singing voice is drowned out by renewed cheers. Finally, deep in the crowd, we see the three sliders. Mallory, Arturo, and Maggie are standing among throngs, looking up in near disbelief.

Maggie

(barely audible)

It’s him.

She reaches to Mallory and holds his hand. Mallory exchanges a warm look with her.

Crossfade to:

Time Skip to Song Climax

As the song reaches its climax, Remy unexpectedly locks eyes with Mallory.

This causes his voice to falter for a moment, before recovering. He finishes the song in a slightly rushed demeanour.

As the band closes out the song, he re-establishes eye contact with the sliders.

Rembrandt

Thank you all for comin’ tonight. I love you all!

As the crowd cheers in reply, Remy indicates towards the backstage using quick eye movements. Mallory nods to signal that he understands.

Rembrandt

But I’m afraid I’m not feelin’ so well right now, and I may have to cut the concert short. My deepest apologies, ladies and gentlemen.

The crowd has a collective disappointed reaction.

Distant Audience Member

It’s okay, we still love you, Typhoid Remy!

Distant Audience Member #2

Get well soon, Remy!

This comment causes the crowd to cheer and applaud as Remy leaves the stage, and start chanting “Get well soon!”

Int. [Earth Prime] Golden Gate Theater: Backstage - Night

Rembrandt dashes towards his dressing room. A Security Guard is posted outside the door. Remy nods to him.

Rembrandt

Hey Bill, there’s going to be a few guests showing up in a minute - let ‘em in, will you?

Security Guard

Yes sir.

He enters the door, giving Bill a pat on the shoulder as he goes.

Int. [Earth Prime] Golden Gate Theater: Dressing Room - Night

Rembrandt nervously sits at the mirror, staring at his reflection.

Rembrandt

(muttering)

It was them, wasn’t it?

Then, the door behind him opens. He looks to the door through the mirror. It is them.

Rembrandt

I know I can see you, but I can hardly believe what I’m seeing.

He spins around on his stool. The palpable excitement on his face is undeniable. And then the tears come.

Rembrandt

(pointing to his eyes)

These ain’t no stage tears.

He launches himself towards the trio, and they reciprocate. It’s a great big four-way hug.

Maggie

I thought we’d never see you again.

Mallory

I was convinced you were dead.

Rembrandt

Guys, how is the Professor here? I don’t get it.

Arturo

Mister Brown, it’s a convoluted story and we haven’t the time at this moment. I’ll fill you in at a later date. The crux of it is that I’m the very same Professor you first slid with.

Rembrandt

You’re kidding?

Maggie

We’re nearly out of time, Remy. We have to slide back soon.

Rembrandt

How soon?

Arturo retrieves the timer from his coat.

Arturo

Twenty minutes on the dot.

Mallory

Before then, we want to hear everything that happened after you slid here.

Remy steps back. He has a thousand yard stare.

Rembrandt

Well, I didn’t die instantly like that Seer guy said. I mean - that’s pretty obvious by now, right?

He sits back on his stool, and gestures for the others to find a seat.

While he talks, they do just that.

Rembrandt

In a way though, it does feel like my life ended that day.

See, I was kinda lucky. Bein’ on the Kromagg “Most Wanted” list means they don’t wanna kill you right away. They gotta interrogate first.

That was their mistake. Every one of those monsters that tried to put me through torture again - well, they all caught the virus, and spread it to others.

Pretty soon they all had to vamoose to prevent their own extinction, but not before taking what people they could with them for slaves.

Mallory

So that’s why the population is so…

Arturo

Decimated.

Remy nods bleakly.

Rembrandt

Since then, I’ve been “Typhoid Remy the Saviour.” But after everything I’ve been through, I can’t seem to relate to anyone any more.

Performin’ is the only thing that’s ever made me happy without fail, but… the high’s just not what it used to be.

I spent all my time slidin’ trying to find my way back here, but since I’ve been here I’ve felt less at home than ever.

Remy fights back tears.

Rembrandt

“Cryin’ Man” ain’t my stage persona anymore - guess it’s just my regular one.

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn is on the edge of his seat, watching all of this play out.

Finally, he picks up the phone.

Quinn

Hey…

Int. [Earth Prime] Golden Gate Theater: Dressing Room - Night

Mallory looks away from Rembrandt as Quinn’s voice rings through his mind.

Quinn (V.O.)

Mind if I step in? Just for a bit.

Mallory swallows.

Mallory

(whispering)

Sure, go on.

Maggie

Hmm? Did you just say something?

Mallory as Quinn

Not for a couple days, actually.

Quinn stretches Mallory’s body, and rolls his neck.

Maggie meets his eye, and a smile creeps onto her face.

Maggie

Welcome back.

Quinn winks.

Rembrandt regards all this with confusion.

Rembrandt

Somethin’ wrong?

Quinn stares into Remy’s eyes, smiling warmly. Rembrandt stares back, and for a moment they’re all silent.

Maggie and Arturo briefly make eye contact, both having an understanding that Rembrandt doesn’t yet have.

Mallory as Quinn

It’s really good to see you, Remy.

Rembrandt squints.

Rembrandt

Q-ball?

Quinn smiles, and moves forward, arms extended, for an embrace. Rembrandt is all too happy to receive it.

Rembrandt

Brother, I always knew you were still in there.

Maggie

How… how did you just take over while Mallory was still awake?

Mallory as Quinn

Well as it turned out, communication was key to our reconciliation. We had a chat, and worked out a few things.

Maggie

So, he knows you’re in control right now?

Mallory as Quinn

Sure does. And what’s more, he can see and hear everything happening right now.

Cut to:

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement

In place of Quinn on the armchair, Mallory now sits, watching the TV.

We see that the TV is showing Quinn’s point of view, and as such, Rembrandt, Maggie and Arturo can be seen looking towards the “camera.”

Mallory glances beside him, at the phone. He lifts it to his face.

Mallory

Tell them I’m doing okay like this. It’s sort of creepy, but… tolerable.

Int. [Earth Prime] Golden Gate Theater: Dressing Room - Night

Mallory as Quinn

He says he’s doing okay.

Maggie sighs in relief.

Maggie

This seems like a healthier dynamic than before.

Mallory as Quinn

I sure hope so.

(beat)

Well, since we’ve all been reunited, it would be a shame to have to separate again in twenty minutes.

He takes Rembrandt’s hand.

Mallory as Quinn

Will you slide with us?

Rembrandt

(awkward laughter)

Why do I feel like you’re proposing to me?

He lets go of the hand and feels around in his pockets.

Pulling out his phone, he swipes and taps a few times.

Rembrandt

I have one confidant in this world, and I just want to get her perspective.

Mallory as Quinn

Who is it?

Rembrandt

Wade’s sister. Kelly. Only one round here I have somethin’ in common with. Shame it’s grief, huh?

He puts the phone to his ear.

Rembrandt

Hey girl.

(beat)

Yeah I had to cut the concert short. You’ll never guess who stopped by…

The phone conversation continues in the background, as we move to focus on Maggie, Quinn, and Arturo.

Mallory as Quinn

So I won’t be stealing any more sleep from Mallory. We’re gonna have to work out a timeshare.

Maggie

(flirty)

Heh. I always thought of that body as luxury real estate.

Mallory as Quinn

(disregarding the flirtation)

But ultimately, I need to find out if there’s any way I can have my mind moved out of here.

Arturo

Moved where, Mister Mallory?

Mallory as Quinn

That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?

(beat)

How much time we got?

Arturo

A few minutes.

Mallory as Quinn

(enthused)

Surely the greatest minds in the multiverse putting their heads together can think of something. Come back to my house and we’ll brainstorm. I can’t wait to introduce you to Diana.

Maggie

(wryly)

I for one can’t wait to explain to Cole where we’ve been for two days.

Rembrandt ends his call, and returns to the other three.

Rembrandt

Well, I guess this is goodbye.

Mallory as Quinn

You’re not coming?

Rembrandt

(grinning)

Goodbye to Earth Prime.

The foursome laugh with excitement.

Rembrandt

Kelly said something to me just now that really put things in perspective.

She told me that places aren’t home if there’s nobody left to fill ‘em with memories. Not having the people I care for the most in my life with me can make any place feel just as alien as any random world we’ve come across, you know?

(saccarine)

What I’m tryin’ to say is… wherever you guys are - that’s my home.

Mallory as Quinn

Then welcome back, man.

Meaningful looks are exchanged by all, except for Arturo, who’s looking at the time.

Arturo

It’s time. Look sharp.

(beat)

In three. Two. One.

Arturo lifts the timer, and opens the wormhole right there in the dressing room.

The quartet of sliders jump, one by one, into the wormhole. The last to go is Remy, who takes a deep breath of Earth Prime air - perhaps for the last time - and walks into the light.

Fade to black

End of Act Two

Act Three

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Study - Day

Rustling noises can be heard. Someone’s searching the room.

From behind the desk, Cole’s head pops up.

Cole

I found something.

Now we see Cole has been joined in this room by Diana Davis, on all fours on the floor, feeling around for something.

Diana

What is it?

Cole

That’s what I’d like to know.

They lift the beacon device. Diana’s brow furrows when she sees it.

Diana

Let me see that.

She inspects it, noticing that it’s been opened up and not been reassembled.

Diana

Huh, whatever it was, it’s broken. But… it’s sophisticated. Who could have made this?

Cole

Don’t ask me. But it’s our only clue to finding Mom and Dad.

Diana

I’m sure I’ve seen some of these configurations before.

She shakes her head.

Diana

Well, I’ll take it with me and disassemble it some more. Might offer some kind of evidence.

Cole nods in agreement.

Cole

Thanks for helping out, Aunt Didi.

Diana

Of course. Now come on, I’ll make some lunch.

The pair exit to the Entryway.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

They head in the direction of the other side of the staircase, where the kitchen is, but before they get there, the two start being pelted with waves of wind.

A bright light.

Cole

What the hell is that?!

Diana

You’ve got to be kidding me.

The vortex in front of the door, precisely where the last one had been when the sliders had left here, shines dramatically.

And then, Mallory appears, followed closely by Maggie, Rembrandt, and finally, Arturo.

Cole

No freakin’ way.

Diana

(wonder)

After all these years. My god.

The vortex closes, and the group is left standing in silence for a moment.

Maggie

(awkwardly)

Oh. Hey Cole. Hey Didi.

(beat)

Ta-da! We’re home!

Mallory offers a weak smile and wave.

Mallory

Miss us?

Cole

So, you just slid here before our very eyes, and that’s all you’ve got to say?

You realise I’ve been worried sick?

Mallory

(facetious)

Sorry Mom!

Cole relents, and laughs.

Rembrandt

So uh, got any good beef around here? I’m hankerin’ for a real burger.

Diana

Rembrandt…

Cole

Wait, did you just say Rembrandt? Oh my god.

Diana rushes over to him and hugs him.

Diana

You all owe me an explanation here. But for now, who wants lunch? I think I could rustle up some burgers, since it’s apparently a special occasion.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Dining Room - Day

Gathered around the dining table: Rembrandt, Mallory, Maggie, Cole, Diana, and Arturo.

Before each of them is a plate with a burger and fries, each in varied states of consumption.

They’re engaged in animated conversation, each occasionally taking a bite from their burger or popping a fry.

Diana

So they really call you Typhoid Remy?

Rembrandt

(swallowing)

Typhoid Remy the Saviour.

Diana

And you left a world where you were idolised? A celebrity?

Rembrandt

Wouldn’t be the first time. Besides, ain’t I an idolised celebrity here too?

Diana

(laughing)

Guess you make an impression wherever you go.

Maggie

(admiring)

He really does.

Rembrandt

Fame and fortune - that used to be all I wanted in the world, y’know? Before all the sliding business happened. Now I don’t know what I want. I just know who I want it to be with.

Mallory

Right here, at this table. This is it, man. All our friends and family together. And…

He taps his head surreptitiously.

Rembrandt

(quietly)

Not all.

He looks to the end of the 8-seater table. Two empty chairs.

Arturo

Miss Welles…

Maggie

And Colin.

Cole whips their head around at this name.

Arturo

I didn’t see much literature on this Colin fellow. Who is he?

Cole moves to say something, but doesn’t get anything out.

Rembrandt

He’s Quinn’s brother. And we all failed him.

Diana

Well, now that we have sliding tech again, maybe we still have a chance to find him.

Cole

What happened to him?

Mallory

We don’t really know for sure. Just that he became Unstuck, like Doctor Geiger was.

Diana

After spending years, maybe decades, unstuck, Geiger gained some measure of understanding of the vortex, and was able to orchestrate his own stabilisation in a magnetic field.
Maybe Colin has learned some tricks by now too. He might be leaving a trail for us to find him even now. You never know.

Arturo

You are a sharp tack, aren’t you Miss Davis?

Mallory

There’s a lot of brains in this room right now. Surely we can think of something.

Maggie

Well when we’re done here, all the genuises can get together in the study and… do whatever genuises do to figure this stuff out.

Cole

Can I sit in? I know I’m not a superstar quantum physics whatever, but I can understand some things.

Arturo

You do seem to have a little more to you behind your youthful, imprecise language. What field?

Cole

Neuroscience.

Arturo

A noble pursuit, and one which may prove relevant to… certain issues at hand.

Maggie looks searchingly at Mallory.

Mallory

Yeah, it might be time to have “the talk,” huh?

Cole furrows their brow.

Cole

This isn’t going to be the birds and bees, is it?

Mallory chuckles.

Mallory

Not unless you still need to hear that from me.

Cole

Most definitely not.

Mallory

Okay look, everyone else knows except you and Diana, so I might as well get it over with.

Diana

What is it?

Mallory

Well, it’s about Cole’s, uh, other Dad.

Diana

Quinn?

Mallory

Yeah. In a minute you’re going to see me behaving kind of different to normal.

That’s because I’ll be him.

Cole

(excited)

What! That’s so cool!

Diana

Wait, that was only meant to happen for a short period after the merge. You said yourself he was gone after the nanotech treatment.

Mallory

Well, that’s what I thought until like, two days ago. Turns out he’s been in there the whole time, like trapped or something.

Cole

Dad. If there was ever a reason to scan your brain…

Mallory

(sighing)

I know. I guess it’s alright if you do it.

Diana

I can’t believe he’s survived for so long. That’s amazing.

Mallory’s demeanour abruptly alters. Quinn has arrived.

Mallory as Quinn

Yeah, well, I wouldn’t call it much more than mere survival. Do you know what it’s like to see through someone else’s eyes as they do and say things that you have absolutely no control over? It’s a special kind of Hell.

Diana

Quinn?

Quinn gives a quick nod, before meeting Cole’s nervous eyes.

Mallory as Quinn

So, Cole. Nice to finally meet you.

Cole

This is… a lot.

Mallory as Quinn

We can stop any time, just say the word and I’ll hand over the reigns.

Cole

No. I never imagined I’d get to talk to you, and now… I really don’t want it to end. There’s so much I want to ask you!

Mallory as Quinn

It’s all right. We have time. I’m not going anywhere - least not ‘til we figure out some way of getting me out of here. But, in the meantime, the nerd squad needs our help.

He gestures towards Arturo and Diana.

Mallory as Quinn

Alright people, in the study, let’s talk shop.

Rembrandt

Look, Maggie and I might not be eggheads, but we could still be of use. Let’s put all our heads together on this one.

Quinn, grateful for the help, nods.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Study - Day

And so, the full cast gathers in the study: Mallory under the control of Quinn, Rembrandt, Maggie, Diana, Arturo, and Cole. Each takes their own little section of the room, with Quinn taking point, leaning against the front of the desk, a whiteboard on wheels perched beside him.

Arturo

With you at the helm like some sort of lecturer, Mister Mallory, I feel as though our roles have been reversed.

Mallory as Quinn

Professor, I’d never dream of it.

Quinn stands and claps his hands together loudly.

Mallory as Quinn

Okay class, listen up.

Arturo rolls his eyes, but can’t help smiling at the ribbing. Much has changed about their dynamic.

Mallory as Quinn

We all want to find my brother, and, if we can, separate my mind from Mallory in some way. Which one needs to come first is open to debate. And how we do it is very much open to suggestions.

Cole

(raising a hand)

Umm, hello, yes, I am once again asking you to have your brain scanned.

Quinn points his marker at her.

Mallory as Quinn

Perfect, that’s a great first step. We’ll do that tonight.

He writes on the whiteboard:

“Brain scan ASAP”

Mallory as Quinn

Next!

Cole

(to self)

Wow, different handwriting. Cool.

Diana

I might be able to build a portable magnetic field that you can use to contain Colin off-world if you have to.

Mallory as Quinn

Great thinking as always, Diana.

Continues writing on the whiteboard.

“Portable Mag Field”

Arturo

My sliding tech has the capacity to trace external vortex activity. Perhaps it can be configured to Colin’s quantum signature - should we ever find that.

Maggie

Really? Like the tech we used to track Rickman?

Mallory as Quinn

Exactly, and I’m likin’ where this is going. I’m thinking a brand new, state of the art timer with all of these additions, and more.

Added to the whiteboard:

“Tracing modules - quantum sig - new timer”

Mallory as Quinn

What else?

Rembrandt

Yeah, I thought of somethin’.

Mallory as Quinn

You have the floor.

Rembrandt

Remember that freaky-ass world with the dragon?

Mallory as Quinn

Oh, yeah, I almost—

(beat)

Remy, great thinking!

Arturo

I’m sorry, but did you say dragon, Mister Brown?

Rembrandt

Yeah, I guess it must have been with the other Professor.

Arturo

What in God’s name would a dragon have to do with any of this? If there even was such a thing.

Rembrandt

Well, it was a really strange one. There were like, these wizards? And a sword that only a Mallory could wield? Real Lord of the Rings stuff.

Cole

Kickass! I wanna wield a magic sword. I’m a Mallory too.

Arturo

Get to the point, man.

Rembrandt

Well, the wizard guy thought Quinn was immortal, right? So he did like, this spell to possess his body. And it worked, too.

Mallory as Quinn

That’s correct. Much like I’m using Mallory’s body now, Gareth did in fact do the same to me.

Rembrandt

But who knows if such a thing is possible outside that world. And even if we could do it-

Arturo

There’d be no willing vessel to accept that transference.

Mallory as Quinn

True. We don’t have some kind of blank “tabula rasa” style body to put me in.

Cole

Unless you could, like, clone yourself somehow.

Maggie

Even then - we’ve seen a world where they had that technology, but the clones weren’t blank. They were people with minds of their own, who’d just been kept in isolation so they appeared “simple.” It was barbaric.

Rembrandt

But Quinn, remember that world with the robots? That mad scientist was ready to put your brain straight in a robot body that looked just like you.

Mallory as Quinn

That’s right, and as I recall, we just sort of left it on the table singin’ “Tears In My ‘Fro”.

(beat)

Okay, let’s put these two ideas on the board, knowing they both have potential issues attached.

More scribbles on the whiteboard:

“Magical possession spell - no vessel available. Different natural laws??”

“Robot Quinn - brain transfer”

After writing these, Quinn reviews what he’s written and laughs at the ridiculous nature of the scrawl.

Mallory as Quinn

Let’s never let anyone else see this whiteboard, huh?

Moments pass without any new ideas.

Mallory as Quinn

Alright, let’s take five. Keep thinking, though.

Quinn takes a seat on the desk, and falls deep into thought.

Then, without warning, Cole is there, just in his periphery, and he is startled out of his reverie.

Cole

Sorry.

Mallory as Quinn

Oh. It’s fine.

Cole

It’s so weird to see you acting this way.

Mallory as Quinn

You want your Dad back?

Cole

No. I mean, yes and no. The way you described being trapped watching someone else makes me worried for him right now, but also I don’t want you to go either. The… I dunno - confidence? - you exude is so interesting to me.

Mallory as Quinn

If it makes you feel any better, he has an open line of communication with me. If he’s getting uncomfortable, he just needs to let me know and I’ll swap us out.

Cole

You have a lot of control of what goes on in there, don’t you?

Mallory as Quinn

Yeah. I’ve had a lot of time to study the only thing I had open access to.

Cole

I feel like there’s so much I could learn from you.

Mallory as Quinn

Well, I’m an open book.

Cole

Do you think you could control involuntary processes in the brain stem? Could you will your own heart to stop?

Mallory as Quinn

It’s theoretically possible, but I’ve never ventured to try that, for obvious reasons.

Cole

What about writing, editing, and removing memories stored in the neocortex?

Mallory as Quinn

Oh, easy.

Cole

That’s a frightening level of control.

Mallory as Quinn

Yeah well your Dad’s lucky I’m such a benevolent guy, I guess.

Cole

What about tampering with sensory input? Could you make hallucinations?

Mallory as Quinn

In times of vulnerability, yes. Such as severe sleep deprivation. That was how I first properly met your old man.

Cole

So, if Dad took DMT, you could have a field day.

Mallory as Quinn

Hmph. Yeah, probably.

Cole

(hesitantly)

Hey… I was named after your brother, wasn’t I?

Mallory as Quinn

You sure were.

Cole

Sorry I didn’t turn out as—

Mallory as Quinn

—A boy? Heh, don’t sweat it. I’m beginning to wonder if I have a gender at this point. It has so much to do with how others see you. And they haven’t seen me at all in a long time.

Cole

I’m seeing you now.
Metaphorically, of course. Even though the visual input I’m getting right now is of my Dad, my brain is cross-referencing with everything it knows about him, and telling me you are not him.
Brains are pretty good at picking up on these things, at least when you know the person.

There’s a moment of closeness, and then Quinn abruptly blinks away from the front. Mallory returns.

Cole

Whoa, something just happened, didn’t it?

(squinting)

Dad?

Mallory

Wow, you really are perceptive.

He playfully punches their shoulder.

Cole

Did Quinn just do that to check if I was lying?

Mallory

Nah - I did. You get a pass on that one, kiddo.

Cole draws their Dad into a hug.

Cole

You’re a dork.

Mallory

Oh, believe me, I know.

Back when I was sliding, I saw this movie called “The Matrix” on one of the nicer worlds, and I started dressing in this long black leather trench coat like the characters in the movie.

Thought it was so badass, but it made these loud rubbing sounds whenever I moved.

Cole

Oh my lord, please tell me you have photos.

Mallory

I can do you one better, I still have the coat.

Cole bursts into laughter.

Cole

(wheezing)

I need to see it on you.

Mallory

I’ll put it on for the brain scan. We can get two dorky looks for the price of one.

Arturo

Mister Mallory… everyone. I’m afraid I’m reaching the endpoint of this slide, so I must bid you farewell. I’ll return tomorrow evening, how’s that sound?

Maggie

That sounds perfect. Thanks for everything, Professor.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

The group stands around the open portal, as Arturo says his goodbyes. He hugs Rembrandt, who’s teary-eyed.

Arturo

Come now, I won’t be gone long. No need to get weepy on me.

Rembrandt

Yeah, I know, I know. I’m the Cryin’ Man, remember? Don’t let a few tears put you off.

Arturo

Adieu, my friends.

He walks into the portal, and it closes.

Cole smiles broadly, turning to her father.

Cole

(singsong)

So, who wants a brain scan?

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Study - Night

Cole sits alone, waiting. Cole has the box of components next to them and is rummaging through it, pulling out long wires and sensors.

A reclining chair is set up in the centre of the room.

A laptop is set up with a high-tech interface. A 3D model of a brain in one panel, and a some tech mumbo jumbo in another. At the top: “Awaiting Signal.” There is also a large blank pane which will later serve as imaging.

Cole plugs a cable into the laptop.

Mallory (O.S.)

Well, how do I look?

Mallory bursts into the room, wearing his old ankle-length leather coat, last seen at the end of Season 5. The coat whooshes and billows as he moves.

Cole can’t help but laugh.

Cole

Oh man. You look like “wish dot com” David Boreanaz.

Mallory

I choose to take that as a compliment.

Cole jumps up with a whole lot of wires.

Cole

Okay, take a seat and I’ll rig you up.

He sits on the chair, and she begins to stick sensors onto his head, as well as placing a round cap over his hair.

Mallory

I bet I look stunning now. Just like Neo.

Cole rushes back to the computer.

Cole

Alrighty, let’s begin. I need one scan with you, and one with Quinn.

The “Awaiting Signal” message on the laptop changes to “Connection Established.”

The 3D brain shows a glowing line track from top to bottom, then left to right, then front to back. As it does, the formerly blank panel shows cross-sections of brain in correspondence with the line on the 3D model.

Different areas of the brain have different colours associated with them, with the intensity of colour corresponding to amount of activity.

A loading bar moves across the screen.

Then, the current view is replaced with a larger version of the 3D brain, but with the colours shown in the cross sections all laid out in three dimensions. Some technical text and numbers are overlaid in various places, with a line pointing to different sections of the brain.

Cole is able to use her fingers on the screen to rotate, move, and zoom the brain, as well as move inside and outside of it.

Cole

Interesting…

I need Quinn to compare to. Can he come out to play?

Mallory closes his eyes for a moment, and opens them as Quinn. He raises a thumbs up.

Mallory as Quinn

You got it. Scan away.

The process on the computer is repeated, with varied colour patterns from the last time.

Once it completes, Cole looks intently at the screen.

The screen now contains two panels, each with one of the 3D brains from each subject.

Cole

(distracted)

You can take off the gear now, Quinn.

Quinn does so, before joining them in looking at the scan.

Mallory As Quinn

I might be able to help you out here. What have we got?

Cole

Well, Dad’s on the left and you’re on the right. I can see that when you’re not in control, there is a large concentration of activity in these five areas that seem to be working together in a way that the rest of the brain is not.

She points at bright red spheres in each of the five areas of the brain, all on the left side.

Mallory as Quinn

The nanites would have gone into each section of the brain and rounded up the part of my mind there.

And then after a while, they started to make connections again - like seeking like - independently from the rest of the brain, allowing me to reconstitute without being blended up with Mallory again.

Cole

And when you take over, it’s like you spill out of there and there’s little bits of you spread all over the brain. At the same time, Dad’s brain activity dulls a little.

They zoom in on the right-side brain, and we see small areas of bright red spread throughout the brain, with the other colours that were there on the left-side brain muted.

Cole

But there’s a marked difference in brain wave signature between the two of you. I can see exactly where your influence is and isn’t.

(under breath)

So cool.

Mallory as Quinn

Show this to your Professor and you’ll have a fan for life, huh?

Cole

Oh, he’s definitely gonna love this. Doctorate, here I come.

Quinn puts an arm around Cole, giving a quick squeeze.

Cole

That’s the first hug I’ve had from you.

Mallory as Quinn

Was it everything you imagined?

Cole

Better.

(playful)

Though, the noise of that stupid coat diminished the experience.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Arturo sits hunched over a control panel. He tinkers at it with a soldering iron, looking through a magnifier.

The sound of the doorbell chimes, muffled from his vantage point.

Arturo checks his watch - it’s 9PM.

Arturo

Rather late for visitors…

Then, a muffled woman’s cry, followed by a smashing sound.

Arturo jumps into action, switching off the soldering iron and dashing up the stairs.

Int. [EDP] Mallory house: Entryway - Day

Missus Mallory stands frozen at the front door, a broken tea cup litters the floor at her feet, along with its liquid contents.

The door is still closed, but in the smart doorbell monitor, we see the video feed of the other side of the door.

There in the dim light of the porch, we see Quinn Mallory and Wade Welles.

Arturo swings open the door, and there they are.

Wade regards the pair with trepidation, while Quinn merely stares at Missus Mallory; wordless, unreadable.

Wade

Uhh. Hi.

Arturo

Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Cut to Black

End of Act Three

Episode 3:
Identical Quinns

Unexpected visitors create new hope for Quinn. Rembrandt goes out for a steak dinner with Diana. Cole gets to scan more brains.

The basement gets a visitor. Love rekindles. A ghostly apparition may hold answers to the mystery of the group's recent string of unlikely events.

Previously on Sliders

Montage of clips and dialogue from Conjoined Quinns Part I and II:

Maggie

Well, the truth is… Quinn isn’t gone.

Mallory

…Sharing. —

Is that possible?

Maggie

It’s him.

Quinn

Mind if I step in?

Rembrandt

Q-ball?

Mallory as Quinn

Will you slide with us?

Rembrandt

Goodbye to Earth Prime.

Diana

Rembrandt.

Cole

No freakin’ way.

Mallory

— All our friends and family together. —

Rembrandt

Not all.

Arturo

Miss Welles.

Maggie

And Colin.

Mallory as Quinn

We all want to find my brother, and — separate my mind from Mallory in some way. —

We don’t have some kind of blank “tabula rasa” style body to put me in. —

I’m thinking a brand new, state of the art timer.

Cole

You have a lot of control of what goes on in there, don’t you?

Mallory as Quinn

Scan away.

Cole

There is a large concentration of activity in these five areas —

And when you take over, it’s like you spill out of there —

— there’s a marked difference in brain wave signature between the two of you.

Wade

Uhh. Hi.

Arturo

Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Fade to Black.

Act One

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Kitchen - Night

Gathered around the kitchen table: Arturo, Missus Mallory, Wade, and Quinn. As before, Quinn is silent, his movements stiff, and his face is largely unreadable - henceforth to be known as Silent Quinn. Wade, on the other hand, is highly expressive.

Missus Mallory is beside herself with emotion. Arturo is much more analytical.

Arturo

You’re the Wade and Quinn of this dimension?

Wade

I thought we’d found our home world a few times, but there was always something that proved me wrong. But… I think this is it. The blue bridge sort of sealed the deal.

Arturo

Outstanding.

Wade

We actually settled down in one of the other worlds, let the timer run out. Thought we were going to be there twenty-nine years. But a few days ago the timer sprung to life and started counting down. I don’t know how. But I took it as a sign, and it led us right back home.

Arturo

Fascinating. Perhaps my newly activated machine somehow became linked with your timer. I never would have guessed such a thing possible, though.

Wade

When we arrived, I came straight here. I knew Quinn’s mother would need to see him. I never guessed I’d see you here, Professor. Last I saw you, you chickened out of sliding. Probably for the best, under the circumstances.

She looks at Quinn with sadness.

Missus Mallory

(staring at Silent Quinn)

What’s… what’s wrong with my son?

Wade sighs. Silent Quinn is silently looking at Missus Mallory with moist eyes.

Wade

It happened years ago while we were off on adventures. I still don’t understand what happened entirely.

This freak with his own sliding tech comes out of nowhere and claims to know us, right? Then he sticks a giant needle into Quinn’s neck, and next thing I know, Quinn’s like this.

Silent Quinn looks at each of the people at the table with a trace of sadness, but he isn’t very expressive.

Arturo responds to this gravely.

Arturo

I see. Was the man named Rickman, perchance?

Wade

(shocked)

That’s it! How do you know him?!

Arturo

I believe the same thing happened to my own double, before being gunned down by the same man.

Wade

So you’ve encountered him…

You wouldn’t know if there’s any way to restore Quinn?

Arturo

I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of one of his victims recovering. Most went into permanent comas or died. You were at least lucky Mister Mallory was spared that.

Wade sighs.

Wade

I should have known not to get my hopes up.

Missus Mallory

You’ve been… taking care of him all this time?

Wade

Of course! I love him. Before this happened, we were engaged. Still got the ring on.

She shows her hand with the engagement ring, shockingly expensive.

Wade

(voice breaking)

24-carat Martian diamond.

She becomes emotional now. Silent Quinn places a hand on her shoulder slowly, but that’s the most of the comfort he seems capable of providing in this state.

Missus Mallory lets tears roll freely down her own face.

Missus Mallory

I’m glad he has you, Wade.

She stands, moves to Silent Quinn, and puts her arms around him. He looks up at her, almost blankly, but he also has tears starting to roll down his cheeks.

Arturo

There are people I’m sure would very much like to meet you… would you be interested in taking a quick jaunt to another Earth with me?

These friends of mine - if anyone can figure out a way to restore your Quinn here, it’s them.

Wade

You can do that? Control the slides?

Arturo

Indeed. I promised to return to them tomorrow evening, so make yourselves at home until then. They are going to have the shock of a lifetime.

Title Sequence: Sliders

Int. [SW] Hospital Private Room - Day

Missus Mallory Prime sits on the bed, flipping through channels on the TV. Everything is garbage.

She switches it off with a sigh. She’s bored.

A knock comes at the door.

She lights up, and gingerly gets to her feet, hobbling to the door.

She opens it to find Cole and Mallory there.

Cole

Grandma!

Cole hugs her, and enters.

Mallory hesitates.

Missus Mallory

Come on in. I don’t bite.

Mallory steps inside and makes sure the door is closed.

Mallory

So, I…

Missus Mallory

You know now, don’t you? About Quinn.

Mallory

I do. Yeah. And so does Cole.

Missus Mallory

I didn’t know - not until you fell asleep, and then popped right up again as my son. I didn’t question it.

Cole

It’s been a pretty weird few days for me, I gotta tell you.

Mallory

We… found Remy.

Missus Mallory’s eyes shine with amazement.

Int. [SW] Steakhouse - Night

A bustling restaurant with cowboy themed decorations and waitresses in sexy cowgirl costumes.

Rembrandt finishes a glass of beer, then grabs a fork and steak knife, and digs into a big, juicy hunk of meat.

Across from him sits Diana, who looks on with amusement.

All eyes are on them, being celebrities.

Rembrandt

Thanks for taking me out.

Diana

Of course! You deserve a bit of normalcy after what you’ve been through.

Rembrandt looks around him. People staring at him, wide-eyed, excited.

Rembrandt

Not sure “normal” is quite the word. But it’s nice all the same.

He waves to his admirers, who swoon.

Rembrandt

Doesn’t look like this place has changed at all.

Diana

You’d be right about that. The fame has certainly waned over time, especially since we all agreed to fade away into the background as best we could.

Rembrandt

But now the cat’s out of the bag that I’m back, that could change.

Diana grimaces.

Int. [SW] Mallory mansion: Cole’s room - night

The bedroom is not so different to Quinn’s room as shown at the beginning of Sliders, except with a little more creative flair and models of the human brain. And, of course, the fact it’s in a mansion.

Cole reclines on the bed, clad in high quality wireless headphones. They have their phone out and are tapping away while bopping their head to the beat.

We see on the phone that Cole is messaging with an unknown classmate.

Messages shown [not spoken]:

Cole

Skipping tonights class bc of family emergency

Unknown

Damn I’m sorry. Anything I can do?

Cole

heh no, it’s not something I can talk about rn. but it’s actually not really a “bad” emergency per se

Unknown

Lemme guess, your folks got sliding working again and now they’re gonna take you for a joyride?

At this, Cole looks up from the phone, deciding what to say next. Then they type:

Typing on screen [not spoken]:

Cole

I wish! [Nervous laughter emoji]

pls just pass on class notes. thx

After a moment, the phone chimes.

Message shown [not spoken]:

Unknown

Got it, np. Tell me all about when you can!

Cole smiles, reading this.

Cole

(out loud now)
Can’t wait.

The smile turns to a grimace as Cole’s headphone output is suddenly interrupted by a screeching noise.

In visible pain, they rip off the headphones, and rub their ears.

Cole

What in the…?

The headphones are still screeching, though it’s dulled now that it’s on the bed instead of Cole’s ears.

Cole turns off the headphones, and lurches off the bed.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

The entryway is lit up with vortex energy, as it had been the previous day, as Cole scurries down the stairs.

The light dims as the vortex closes up.

Remaining are Arturo, Silent Quinn, and Wade.

Cole

(top of lungs)

Mom! Dad! The Professor’s here!

(quieter)

And he brought… friends?

Arturo

Good evening, Miss Mallory.

Cole descends the stairs.

Cole

It’s Mix Mallory, if you don’t mind. Or just Cole.

Arturo looks at her funny.

Cole

Wouldn’t expect an old guy like you to understand. Who are these two?

We hear an indecipherable cry of shock coming from Maggie, who has appeared from the hall by the stairs.

Arturo

Good evening, Ms Beckett.

To answer your cry, no these aren’t the ones you knew.

Mallory (O.S.)

What’s all the commotion?

Mallory appears behind Maggie, and takes a glance at the scene.

Mallory

I must be hallucinating again.

Arturo

Not this time, Mister Mallory.

Allow me to introduce you to the Quinn Mallory and Wade Welles of the Earth where I was stranded.

Cole can’t control their grin as they walk up to the pair.

Cole

So this is what he looked like.

Wade holds out a hand in salutation. Cole takes it, and vigorously shakes it.

Wade

Hi. I’m Wade.

Cole

I’m Cole. Quinn Mallory’s… kid.

Wade

Oh my gosh… so nice to meet you.

Mallory and Maggie approach now, and each shakes Wade’s outstretched hand.

Mallory

I’m… also Quinn Mallory. But not the same… flavour? They call me Mallory.

Wade

(shaken)

N-nice to meet you too.

Maggie

I’m Maggie Beckett. Mallory and I are Cole’s parents.

Wade

Maggie. Lovely to meet you.

Maggie turns towards Silent Quinn, and Mallory and Cole are both already looking intensely at him.

Cole

Why is he not…

Wade

I’m sorry, Quinn has a brain injury.

This makes Cole’s eyes pop. A million thoughts have just flooded their mind.

Wade

He’s unable to speak, or do much of anything really.

Maggie looks pained at this revelation.

Mallory looks forlornly at this Quinn.

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn, sitting at the edge his armchair, absolutely transfixed, jaw hanging open, reaches a hand out for the phone, without taking his eyes off the TV screen.

He grabs it, pulling it to his ear.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

Back in the mansion, Mallory looks into the distance for a moment, listening. He then turns to Wade.

Mallory

Hey, so… did the Professor tell you about the deal with me?

Wade

He didn’t say much of anything; I think he was looking forward to a surprise on both ends.

What do you mean,“the deal?”

Mallory

So, I’ve never met a girl named Wade. But, uh, there’s another guy inside me who has.

Wade furrows her brow.

Wade

In… side… you?

Mallory

Look, just, let me show you.

He looks down for a moment. Then, he sharply breathes in, and gives his head a quick shake, as Quinn steps in.

He takes her hand, and gazes into her eyes.

Mallory as Quinn

I know it’s not the you I knew, but… god it’s good to see you Wade.

Wade is confused, until she really looks hard at him.

Wade

Whoa, that’s… uncanny. I don’t understand.

(gesturing in strained confusion)

You’re… Quinn within another, different-looking, Quinn?

Mallory as Quinn

I’m… sharing this body with an alternate version of myself. One that doesn’t have my face. Not like him.

He looks at Silent Quinn, who catches his eye. Silent Quinn’s eyes show a sense of alarm and confusion.

Wade

What is it about Quinn Mallorys and crazy things happening to them?

Mallory as Quinn

Crazy things happened to us all. Terrible things.

His face falls as he remembers his Wade, the other Professor, and Colin.

Cole pulls on Quinn’s arm. He turns to face her.

Cole

(pleading)

Let me do a scan on this Quinn?

Arturo

An excellent idea, Mix Mallory.

Cole looks at him, impressed.

Int. [SW] Mallory mansion: study - Night

Once again, the study is set up as it had been during the last brain scan. This time, Silent Quinn is sitting in the seat, as Cole busily attaches wires.

Around them: Wade, Maggie, Arturo, and Mallory (as Quinn), all watching on.

Maggie

Wade, you said Rickman did this?

Wade

You know him?

Maggie makes a fist.

Maggie

May he rot in Hell.

Cole finishes up the rigging, and switches on the laptop screen.

Cole

Professor, you didn’t see my results last night, did you?

Arturo

No, but I’d very much like to see them.

Mallory as Quinn

Basically, the nanotech took our integrated brain, and separated my brain activity almost entirely from his, only allowing him access to the body, and disallowing the two of us from merging again.

Cole

The pieces of his brain, after a while, connected back up to one another, so it was like having two independent brains in one.

Mallory as Quinn

Over the years of learning to exist as a disembodied mind, I was finally able to free myself in the past year, and commandeer Mallory’s body whenever he wasn’t using it. And now, when he lets me.

Cole

I’ll show you the imaging after I scan this Quinn.

Wade

Huh. Chip off the old block, aren’t you Cole?

Cole

I dunno about that. I’ve grown up with a lot of privilege. If I owe my education to anything, it’s probably that.

Wade

(playful)

You’re humble, too. I guess you don’t entirely take after him. Still. The way your eyes light up talking about this sciency tech stuff - it’s clear where you got that passion.

Cole smiles at this momentarily, before springing into action to start the scan.

Cole

Okay, so I’ll just run the initial scan… hang on.

The computer screen does just what it did the first two times.

As the full 3D model of Silent Quinn’s brain appears, several alerts pop onto the screen:

“Brain Activity not detected in area RS902”

“Brain Activity not detected in area LS455”

“Brain Activity not detected in area LG66”

“Brain Activity not detected in area LF511”

Cole, intently focused, clears the errors and zooms in on the brain model.

Cole

(under breath)

My god, what happened to him?

Wade

The last brain scan he got back on the world we were living in, they said he had extensive… what was the word…“atrophy,” I think?

Cole

They weren’t wrong. The language centres are wiped out, which explains his inability to talk.

Wade

Yeah. I’ve learned to live with the silence, but there’s so much more that’s missing.

Cole

Well, I can see that his frontal lobe is shot, which explains his passivity. His logic and spacial reasoning have withered too…

(beat)

But…

Cole points at an area of red.

Cole

All this area is mostly intact - long and short term memories.

(glancing up toward Wade)

He remembers everything. He just doesn’t have any ways to express himself.

Wade places a hand on Silent Quinn.

Wade

I wish I could tell what he was thinking. I wish there was some way to communicate with him both ways.

Cole stiffens. A light bulb moment.

Cole

Hang on.

They bring up the brain scan of Mallory’s brain. We can see similarities between Silent Quinn’s brain and this one. Red colouring in areas of Mallory’s brain in places where there is no activity in in Silent Quinn’s - but it’s the same red.

They bring up the scan from when Quinn was in control, then overlay it with Silent Quinn’s scan.

A message comes up:

Wave Activity Match - combine samples? Yes/No

Cole taps “yes” and watches the two brains combine to become a healthy-looking brain.

Cole

(whispering, shocked)

Oh… holy sh-

They’re cut off by their own hand on their mouth.

They whip out their phone, and dial a number.

Wade looks at the others, who exchange equally confused looks.

Cole

(into phone)

Anna, I have the wildest scan data and I absolutely couldn’t wait to tell you. And you’re gonna regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t let me into the labs. Tonight.

(beat)

I know. Just… please trust me on this one.

(beat)

Would it sweeten the deal if I said I was bringing Professor Arturo, Wade Welles, and Quinn Mallory?

(beat)

No. I’m not joking. And no, I don’t mean my Dad - though he’ll be there too.

Cole gazes up at the onlooking crowd, who are looking at them questioningly. They hold up a finger -“hang on.”

Cole

Of course you can get their autograph.

(beat)

Thanks Anna. See you there in twenty minutes.

They bring the phone down and tap to hang up the call.

Cole grins.

Cole

Come on, we have somewhere to be.

Quinn (the one in Mallory) exchanges an excited look with Cole. He doesn’t know what she knows exactly, but clearly it’s good. He sees himself in Cole here, the sheer enthusiasm for a scientific breakthrough he used to enjoy.

End of Act One

Act Two

Ext. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Night

The limousine pulls in front of the house, as the group all come out of the mansion’s front door.

They pile into the limo, and it pulls away. We stay here for a moment, and another car pulls into the driveway. It stops, and we see Rembrandt and Diana get out.

Diana

The Professor should be here by now.

The two head for the door, and see that none of the lights are on.

Diana

No lights on?

Rembrandt

Where’d they go?

Int. [SW] University: Hall - Night

It’s your typical university hall, with a series of doors to different labs and lecture halls along a corridor.

In the front of the door labelled “Neuroscience Laboratory G” stands a diminutive woman, Anna. She looks about early or mid twenties. She wears thick glasses and plain, comfortable clothing. She paces back and forth, carrying a folded up laptop, and a huge messenger bag is slung over her shoulder.

She catches sight of something, and we see that the door to the outside is opening, and our gang comes inside - Cole, Arturo, Maggie, Wade, Mallory and Silent Quinn. Cole carries her laptop.

Anna’s jaw hits the floor as she recognises each slider.

Anna

So cool…

Cole

Right?

Cole approaches Anna, ahead of the group, a big grin on her face.

Anna hugs her, a greeting of two besties.

Anna

I normally need to ask permission to use this lab, so count yourself lucky I’m such a big fan of “The Sliders.” I just hope I don’t get in trouble.

Cole

When Professor Harper finds out the goldmine of data I’ve got here, I suspect he’ll let it slide. Come on.

Anna takes a look at the crowd and turns, pulling a keycard from her bag. She opens the lab door.

Int. [SW] University Neuroscience Lab: - Night

It’s a well funded lab, decked in advanced machinery and monitors. There are two tables - or beds, with all kinds of wires and scanners around them, and at the head of each one, a ring of machinery which presumably a person’s head is put in the middle of as they lie on the table.

Just inside the door is a locking cabinet.

Anna

Okay everyone… sorry about this, but you all need to put your phones and any other electrical devices and place them in this faraday cage. The equipment here is really sensitive.

Each character, except Silent Quinn, places a phone in the cabinet, followed by Arturo placing his timer.

Anna catches sight of it.

Anna

Is that what I think it is?

Arturo

What do you think it is, my dear?

Anna just stares at it a moment, and closes the cabinet. She locks it.

Anna

Look, I’m a little starstruck so… let’s just get down to business.

She turns to Cole.

Anna

You had data to show me?

Cole smiles.

Cut to:

Int. [SW] University Neuroscience Lab: - Night

Cole and Anna have set up their laptops, both connected to the mainframe in the lab.

The monitors around the lab all receive Cole’s display feed, and the three brain scans are shown, along with the fourth one that combined two of them.

Maggie, Wade, and Silent Quinn all sit on chairs, while the others stand, looking up at the screens.

Arturo

I wish I knew what I was looking at.

Mallory as Quinn

I believe the red represents my brain wave signature.

Cole

And it’s the exact same as the other Quinn.

Anna

So scan one is…

Cole

My Dad’s brain.

Anna

Not only your Dad by the look of it.

Cole

Right.

Anna

And the third one?

Cole

That’s this Quinn over here.

They point at Silent Quinn.

Anna

It looks almost like his brain was cut in half and then crammed in your Dad.

Cole

That’s… not what happened, but… the brains are highly compatible. If they were united…?

She points to the final brain.

Anna

That’s amazing, but… how in the world would we do that?

Mallory as Quinn

You don’t want me subsuming this other Quinn anyway. I’m not taking possession of the poor guy like he’s an empty vessel. There’s a person in there.

Wade

Yeah, I don’t want to lose my Quinn.

Cole

I know. Which is why I want to try and communicate with him using the NBI. See if he can at least tell us what he wants.

Anna

Great idea… if he can understand the concepts involved. Or communicate with us at all.

Mallory as Quinn

NBI?

Anna

Neural Bridging Interface. Measures ongoing brain waves to gauge nonverbal responses to questions.

Mallory as Quinn

Neat.

Wade

How does it work?

Cole grabs a handful of sensors and starts placing them on Silent Quinn.

Cole

Well, when we have him hooked up, we start asking him some easy yes or no questions and see if we can gauge his brain’s patterns for affirmative and negative. Then if that’s successful, we start increasing the complexity of the questions.

Anna

It bypasses the need for language. Sometimes there are even pictures that form in our monitor. Rudimentary shapes, anyway, nothing mind-blowing.

Wade

Well, my mind already is blown.

Anna falters, looking at Wade.

Anna

Mm-Mine too.

Cole

We’re gonna need a few minutes to get the equipment online. Sit tight everyone.

Anna and Cole cross the room to a large control panel, and start pushing buttons and entering data.

Cole

Thanks again for letting me in here.

Anna

‘Nother semester and you’ll be getting access to these rooms yourself. Then again, with these scans? Maybe it’ll be sooner.

Cole

Your guess earlier was half right. About my folks, and sliding.

Anna

It was considerably weirder than I could have guessed.

Cole grins.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion - Night

Rembrandt and Diana sit on the steps of the dimly lit porch, phones to ears, frustrated and confused.

Remy pulls his phone down.

Rembrandt

Nothin’. They’re all out of range or off.

Diana

(resigned)

Maybe they’re off-world.

Rembrandt

But why? What could have happened?

Diana

Maybe the Professor’s timer ran out and they all went back with him?

Remy sighs.

Then, a thud is heard from inside the house, causing the pair to spin around.

Rembrandt

Hello?!

Diana

Is there someone in there?

They rush to the windows and try to peek in.

Rembrandt

I can’t see nothin’.

Diana

Me neither. Do you think they’d hate us if we broke in to see?

Rembrandt

Well, sounds to me like there’s already someone broken in. Let’s go!

Remy steps back, and tries to ram the door with his shoulder.

This only serves to hurt him, and the door is going nowhere.

Rembrandt

Agh! Damn that is a solid door.

Diana

We’ll have to figure out another way in.

Then, inexplicably, there’s a click at the door, and it opens just a touch.

Rembrandt stares at it, spooked.

Rembrandt

They never told me this house was haunted…

He goes inside.

Int. [SW] University Neuroscience Lab: - Night

Since we were last here, Silent Quinn has been hooked up to the machine, and he lies on one of the tables, his head within the circular ring. It lights up inside, and he closes his eyes reflexively.

Anna

The realtime monitoring will be projected here.

She points at the large central screen on the wall.

All present (other than Silent Quinn) looks at it.

It’s a greyscale fuzz, almost like an ultrasound image.

Cole

Okay, everyone needs to be quiet except for Anna, so she can ask the questions.

Nods all around.

Anna

Hi Quinn, I’m Anna. Can you hear me right now?

The monitor changes to have white on the right side, and a gradient into black toward the other side.

Then it’s back to the previous state.

Cole

(typing at her keyboard)

Okay, that was a definitive response, but we’ll need further questions to make sure it was intended to be a”yes” answer.

Anna

Hey, Quinn, that’s your name right? Quinn?

The monitor makes the same pattern once again.

Anna

That is encouraging. Now we’ll try to gauge a “no” response.

Quinn, please tell me: is your name John?

The screen changes again, but it’s the same response as the other two times.

Cole

That’s… considerably less encouraging.

Anna frowns.

Wade grabs his hand.

Wade

Quinn, who is holding your hand right now?

Anna moves to protest, but Cole puts out a hand to stop her, pointing at the screen. They look up at the screen to see a fuzzy image of Wade’s face.

Wade’s eyes fill with tears.

Wade

That’s right. I love you, you know that?

The screen morphs into a fuzzy image of figures embracing.

Wade

Oh Quinn… I’ll hug you once you’re out of that thing, okay? I’ll give you all the hugs you could want.

On the screen: a barely perceptible heart shape.

Wade can’t hold back her emotion now, and kneels before the table, resting her head on Silent Quinn’s chest.

He gingerly places his hand on her back.

Wade

He’s got so many feelings trapped in there.

Cole looks at Anna cautiously.

Cole

There is, uh something else in here that may be of use.

Anna meets her eye, and twigs onto what she’s referring to.

Anna

Oh, no. Cole, It’s highly experimental.

Cole

The more compatible the brain scans…

Anna

It’s never been trialled on humans.

Cole

Yeah, but it worked just fine on the monkeys!

Arturo

Oh good lord, what are you two scheming up?

Cole

We have a machine in this lab that lets two minds communicate via a direct neural connection.

Every one of the test animals came out of it significantly more bonded and understanding of the other.

Anna

Every one of the test animals that survived, you mean.

Cole

It requires the two subjects to be already closely matched in brain waves. Usually that meant siblings raised together. The closer the match, the better the chances of a good experience.

Mallory as Quinn

So, in other words, you’re suggesting I just… hook up my brain to him and see what happens?

(beat)

Well, I’m in.

Wade

Do it.

Cole grins.

Maggie

Aren’t you forgetting someone’s opinion?

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Mallory picks up the phone, looking serious.

Mallory

…I’m in, too.

End of Act Two

Act Three

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

Diana and Rembrandt have turned the lights on and are now searching the area for signs of a break-in.

Diana enters the room out of one side of the staircase, while Remy enters from the other.

Diana

I haven’t found any sign of anyone. But someone must have unlocked the door, right?!

Rembrandt

This is all very creepy.

As they meet in the middle, we see there is a tall figure standing on the landing of the stairs, though we don’t see much detail.

Diana and Remy haven’t yet noticed, as they ponder their predicament.

Then, a paper aeroplane hits Remy in the cheek, originating from the direction of the staircase. Remy, startled, grabs it before it falls to the ground.

The pair, alarmed, spin around just in time to see the figure seem to flicker and then vanish.

Rembrandt

Like I said… haunted.

Diana

I’ve seen someone flicker and shift like that before…

Remy unfolds the paper plane, and reads it with complete shock.

Int. [SW] University Neuroscience Lab: - Night

The two Quinns are now all rigged up, and lying on the two tables.

Cole

Now there’s no telling what’s going to happen in there, but if anyone can make this worthwhile, it’s a guy who’s had practical experience navigating a brain for twenty years.

Mallory as Quinn

Roger that.

Anna

I hope you’re right, Cole.

Arturo

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, young lady.

Wade

You really aren’t my world’s Professor, are you?

He responds by patting her on the back.

Anna

Powering on. Get ready everyone.

On Quinn as he blinks a couple of times and…

Flashcut to:

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn (as himself) opens his eyes, and sees Mallory sitting on the seat, startled. But also, there is his doppelganger, Silent Quinn, standing beside him.

Mallory

Oh, I didn’t know I was having guests. Would’ve made some tea.

Quinn turns around to see his old camcorder on a tripod, the same one he used to make his video diaries so long ago.

Quinn

Let’s make this a little more interesting for the folks at home.

He flips on the camera.

Int. [SW] University Neuroscience Lab: - Night

The big screen, that was showing the imaging earlier, suddenly gains a lofi standard definition camcorder feed of the Mindscape Basement, complete with sound.

Quinn

(on video)

Hello out there! So far so good!

Wade’s hand shoots to her mouth.

Anna

How…

Cole grins.

Cole

Told you he was amazing.

Maggie and Arturo look on in amazement.

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn leans against a table, and Silent Quinn begins to bound around the room, looking at everything.

Silent Quinn

I know this place!

Mallory’s jaw drops.

Mallory

Did he just talk?

Quinn

(excited)

I’m letting him use my brain’s language and higher processing to supplement his own.

Mallory

You can do that?

Silent Quinn

This is my basement. Oh man, I missed this place. How did I get here?

Wait, wait… you look just like me. You’re….

Quinn

I’m your double.

(pointing at Mallory)

And so is he… sort of.

Silent Quinn

Him? He looks nothing like us.

Mallory

Yeah I know. And I never hear the end of that.

Quinn

It’s alright. Just think and let yourself understand what’s going on.

Silent Quinn pauses a moment, thinking intensely. Then, he begins to pace, animated, and behaving like Quinn.

Silent Quinn

I was in a lab. Wade was there. And all these other people. Professor Arturo…?

Then I was all wired up and… so this is some kind of… mind meld or something?

Quinn

Somethin’ like that.

Silent Quinn

(snapping fingers)

That guy with the syringe. He took away my mind. All those years… no wait, I can think now. I can talk. You did this?

Quinn nods.

Quinn

I’m letting you borrow my ability to think and talk, while we’re connected up like this.

Silent Quinn

I feel like… myself again. Like I just put on glasses and everything’s come into focus. Oh my god, Wade.

He begins to get emotional, and focuses his attention on the camcorder.

Silent Quinn

Wade, can you hear me?

Cut to:

Int. [SW] University Neuroscience Lab: - Night

Wade watches (not so) Silent Quinn on the screen, letting her tears flow freely.

Silent Quinn

(on screen)

Wade, I… don’t think I can express with words how thankful I am for you… but words are better than a blank expression, right?

He peers lovingly into the camera.

Silent Quinn

(on screen)

Thank you for spending all those years looking after me. I appreciate everything you did, the way you sacrificed your happiness and chance to get home all that time, just so I could be in a safe environment.

No matter what happens, what I become, I love you.

Wade can’t even see his face properly any longer because of her teary eyes. She gets on the table and curls up against Silent Quinn.

Wade

I love you too, Quinn.

She kisses his cheek.

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn pats Silent Quinn on the back.

Quinn

You really do love her, huh?

Silent Quinn nods.

Silent Quinn

But… I can’t go back to her as I was. I just can’t face being incapable of expressing myself like that.

He buries his head in his hands.

Silent Quinn

It’s like purgatory.

Quinn

I know exactly what that’s like. Being incapable of signalling to your loved ones what you’re feeling, or even that you’re still there.

Silent Quinn

Oh… oh? I can see your memories…

Quinn

We were both isolated. Trapped in our own bodies, just in different ways.

Silent Quinn

Your childhood… exactly like mine…

Quinn

Except for the most minor of details, we lived exactly the same life right up until we started sliding.

Mallory, still seated on the armchair, starts to get uncomfortable.

Mallory

Hey, so…

Quinn

You don’t need to be here. You can have your body back.

And then, he’s yeeted into the armchair, which he seems to get sucked into, and he’s gone.

Int. [SW] University Neuroscience Lab: - Night

Mallory’s eyes pop open. He’s still wired into the machine, so he doesn’t move.

Mallory

Whoa. Uh… I guess I’m here now.

Anna

That isn’t supposed to happen!

Cole

Whatever you do, don’t move, okay Dad?

Mallory

Okay…

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

The two Quinns are now seated, facing each other - Quinn on the footrest, and Silent Quinn on the armchair.

Quinn

Remember Daelin?

Silent Quinn

Do I ever! One of those big “what-ifs.”

Quinn

And Bopper?

Silent Quinn

Poor li’l guy.

Quinn

It really does seem like everything matches. And then… sliding happened.

Silent Quinn

Major point of divergence in our respective memories.

Quinn

But still —

Silent Quinn

— we’ve both been looking for —

Quinn

— a way to become –

Silent Quinn

— whole again —

Quinn

— and we’re —

Silent Quinn

— so nearly —

Both Quinns

— identical.

The two share an understanding look as they gaze into one another’s eyes.

And then…

There’s suddenly just one Quinn in the room.

He looks surprised for a moment, before smiling in amazement.

He looks into the barrel of the camcorder.

Quinn

Be out in a sec.

Int. [SW] University Neuroscience Lab: - Night

For a moment, we see Quinn standing there, looking into the camera, and then, the screen goes blank.

Silent Quinn - now just Quinn, opens his eyes.

Quinn

That went better than expected.

He slides out of the machine, yanking off sensors. Wade scrambles to her feet.

The room is bathed in shocked silence.

Quinn

It’s good to be me again!

Wade

W…which one of you is saying that?

Quinn

Both of us.

He wraps his arms around her, laughing with joy.

Mallory

Oh my -

Maggie

- God!

Cole

(staring at their monitors)

He really did it… the synergy the program predicted… he brought them together as one.

Wade looks into Quinn’s eyes.

Wade

How can you be both?

Quinn

I can’t fully explain it, but we were just so similar that we just kind of slotted together like we were meant to be one being the whole time.

Wade

(wide-eyed)

So… do you still…

Quinn leans in to her.

Quinn

Love you?

They kiss. Wade melts into him as if she’s spent a lifetime waiting for this moment.

Mallory, getting out of the machine, looks on with wonder.

Maggie grabs him by the hand, and pulls him into a hug.

Maggie

We did it. We got the two of you separated.

Mallory

I… feel lighter, somehow.

Anna

Well, this has been the all-time wildest day I’ve ever had.

Cole

Here’s to many more wild days to come.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

The door bursts open, and in comes Maggie.

She stops cold when she sees Rembrandt and Diana sitting on the stairs, looking grim. Rembrandt still holds the unfolded paper plane.

Upon seeing Maggie, the two get to their feet.

Maggie

You two look like you’ve seen a ghost.

Rembrandt

You don’t know the half—

He trails off as Quinn and Wade appear in the doorway behind Maggie.

Quinn

Oh, hey guys. Surprise!

Rembrandt’s jaw drops, and he actually faints, though Diana catches him before he drops.

The paper he was holding drifts to the floor, and we finally see what’s written on it:

I helped you - now it’s your turn to help me. - Colin

Fade to Black

End of Act Three

Episode 4:
Mandela Effect

With the newly found note as evidence, it seems like there are no coincidences to the recent good luck.

But now, everything seems to be coming apart as some of the team ends up in a world where a strange symbol is carved into their hands, and things around them keep changing.

Foreword

I want to quickly preface this by saying that in this episode, Cole is something of a mouthpiece for my opinion on the so-called “Mandela Effect.”

I consider it one of the many ways conspiracy theorists reject the most likely explanation and invent convoluted ways of explaining their experience of the world to suit their own feelings on a matter (heaven forbid their own infallible brain could ever recall something incorrectly). It represents a lack of critical thinking that’s really dangerous in the current age of misinformation marked by the neo-Satanic-panic and antivax hysteria.

Just thought I should put that out there before anyone starts to think I would buy into this concept.

Still, it’s extremely compatible with the Sliders-verse, so I decided to put my own spin on it.

Previously on Sliders

Arturo

My dear… I’ve been sent a message from another world

Mallory As Quinn

H-How are you here?

Wade

— A few days ago the timer sprung to life — I don’t know how. But I took it as a sign, and it led us right back home.

Wade

What is it about Quinn Mallorys and crazy things happening to them?

Maggie

We did it. We got the two of you separated.

Mallory

I… feel lighter, somehow.

Quinn

It’s good to be me again!

Quinn

I can’t fully explain it, but we were just so similar that we just kind of slotted together like we were meant to be one being the whole time.

Wade

(wide-eyed)

So… do you still…

Quinn

Love you?

Maggie

You two look like you’ve seen a ghost.

Diana

I’ve seen someone flicker and shift like that before…

Cole

Here’s to many more wild days to come.

Note: I helped you - now it’s your turn to help me. - Colin

Fade to Black

Act One

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Living Room - Night

The living room, which we haven’t seen previously, is what you’d expect of a high-class dwelling. Rembrandt sits on the large modular leather sofa, looking at Wade, stunned.

Quinn is beside him and also seated in various spots are Maggie, and Diana.

Quinn

So, you missed a few things today…

Rembrandt

Is that…

Quinn

I’m sorry Remy, she’s not the Wade you knew. As for me?

(beat)

Complicated.

Rembrandt looks crestfallen.

Wade

We had a Rembrandt too. Got caught up in the slide with us. But he stayed behind on the first livable world we landed on.

(remembering)

Just… got in a cab and never came back. I think he hated us.

Rembrandt

No way, I— he could never have hated you.

Diana

Can anyone explain what is going on? How you all ended up here?

Quinn

We’ll fill you in on all the juicy details in a minute, but-

Quinn produces Colin’s note and waves it around.

Quinn  

(looking from Remy to Diana)

-first, where did this come from?!

Diana

There was someone in the house. Someone who… flickered out of this dimension right after throwing this at us. And well, if the note is accurate…

Quinn

(frantic)

He was here? Did you get a good look at him?

Rembrandt

No, as soon as we saw him he disappeared. I just know he was tall. But if I was a bettin’ man…

Maggie

It has to be him. Who else could it have been?

Quinn starts to pace.

Quinn

What did he mean he “helped” us?

Wade

Who are you talking about?

Quinn stops, and looks at her.

Quinn

I-

I have a brother. I never knew him until I found him on another world, but almost as soon as I had him back, I lost him again.

Wade

Wait, a brother? This must have been the other Quinn, right?

Quinn

Yeah. I was actually put on my world as a kind of refugee when I was young, and Colin was put on a different one. Back around ‘99 we finally reunited, and then-

Diana

Doctor Geiger happened. An experiment went wrong, and Quinn was put into Mallory’s body, while Colin became Unstuck.

Rembrandt

We hadn’t seen him since, until now.

Wade

Unstuck?

Diana

Unmoored from any dimension; he’ll just keep shifting from one to the next forever, unless we can get a hold of him.

Wade

And the note says he helped you?

Diana

Doctor Geiger was Unstuck too - and he had a strange understanding of the quantum fields involved in the wormholes. He was able to sense things - when gateways opened, even before it happened. Who knows what else?

Quinn

(thoughtful)

Just like being trapped inside a brain gave me heightened control over them, maybe Colin has some influence over sliding…

Wade

Wait - our timer. It turned on spontaneously, and brought us right back home. Maybe it was no coincidence after all…

Quinn

Right! And the inter-dimensional beacon I built. There was an infinitesimally small likelihood it would have reached the Professor in just a day or two. I just thought it was an insane fluke, but…

Rembrandt

Are you saying Colin’s been runnin’ around behind the scenes, giving us all these lucky breaks lately?

Quinn

(proud of his brother)

That’s my bro. He’s been orchestrating all these apparent coincidences…

(dawning realisation)

And the only thing he can’t help is himself.

Wade

And now he wants our help in return? I say let’s do it!

Quinn sits on the sofa next to Wade, taking her by the hand.

Quinn

The other Wade never got to meet him. I really want you to. Can’t get married ‘til all the family can be there, right?

Wade grins in response.

Rembrandt

Married?! I think you’d better explain everything I missed, Q-ball.

Quinn

Sure. It’s a little complicated, but I’m still technically two Quinns. I’m a much more compatible amalgamation, though.

(gesticulating)

The Quinn inside Mallory was able to cross a neural bridge and join up with the neurologically incomplete Quinn in this body and…

(interlocking fingers)

We both sorta fused into one guy, and it felt right. That make sense?

Rembrandt

Not a lick, but… it’s you?

Quinn

It’s me, Remy.

(beat)

And this is Wade from the world with the Azure Gate Bridge. I - or I should say, the Quinn from that world that’s a part of me now - was engaged to her, before the incident.

Rembrandt

Incident?

Maggie

Even now, Rickman haunts us from the grave. It was him.

Rembrandt

That bastard got around.

Wade

Yeah. And since my Quinn couldn’t communicate, I didn’t want to just go through with a wedding I had no idea if he still wanted. So we’ve just been officially engaged since then.

Quinn

(tenderly)

I still want it if you still want it.

Wade

(hesitant)

I think… we can really get to know each other again, just to make sure we’re still right for each other after all this, then we’ll decide.

Quinn

Well, you know how I feel. I just hope I make the grade.

Wade

(flirty)

I have a good feeling. You’ve made every grade you’ve ever set eyes on.

Quinn

(reciprocating the flirtation)

You got me there.

Maggie looks upon this, not knowing whether or not to be jealous.

Rembrandt just marvels.

Arturo enters the room, carrying his timer aloft.

Arturo

Sorry to interrupt.

(beat)

Time’s almost up for me - just a few minutes. Can I expect any companions back to the Earth where I hang my hat?

Quinn and Wade have an unspoken moment between them.

Quinn

We’re coming. I can’t wait to talk to Mom.

Rembrandt

Oh man, you have two Moms now.

Quinn snorts.

Quinn

(bemused)

I guess I do.

(beat)

I will absolutely be back to see Mom Prime next, count on it.

Diana

Wait, let me come too. You wanted that portable magnetic field built into your new timer, right?

Quinn

Good thinking.

Arturo

Well, I suppose we have ourselves a team. Pip pip.

Arturo dashes off towards the entryway, with the rest in tow.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

As the gang from the previous scene emerge into the entry hall, Mallory and Cole emerge from the other side.

Cole

Wait! Can I go too? I’ve always wanted to see what it’s like. Just this once?

Mallory

What kind of father would I be if I said yes, knowing what can go wrong?

Cole

Um, the greatest father in the world?

Maggie

Look, you’re an adult. We can’t stop you. But I’d advise against it. It’s dangerous.

Cole

Even though the Professor has been jumping back and forth for days and he’s completely fine?

Mallory just sighs.

Cole knows that means he’s given up, and grins, hugging him.

Cole

See you when I get back!

Arturo

Three, two…

He points the timer, and opens the portal.

As Quinn steps forward, his gaze meets Mallory’s eye, and they share bittersweet look. Their constant companionship has come to a close.

Quinn

See you round, Mallory.

Wade grabs his hand.

Wade

Come on.

Rembrandt takes one last look at Wade, and sighs with regret.

Quinn and Wade disappear into the tunnel, with Arturo hot on their heels.

Diana nods towards the remaining people, and steps in too.

Finally, Cole gives their mother a quick hug, and bounds towards the gateway. They give one quick glance back before walking into it. It closes behind them.

Maggie grabs and squeezes Mallory’s hand.

Maggie

Cole’ll be fine… right?

She’s trying to convince herself more than asking a question.

Mallory

(sappy, hand on chest)

Our baby’s first slide. I know I shouldn’t be proud, but…

Maggie regards him with amusement.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

The vortex deposits the sliders in the basement, and closes up.

Cole

That. Was. Amazing!

Diana looks around the room, impressed.

Quinn heads for the stairs, with Wade close behind.

Cole takes a moment to appreciate the basement, before heading upstairs.

Arturo sidles up to Diana.

Arturo

What you see before you is hardly a state of the art facility, but it is twenty years of tireless calculations and elbow grease.

Diana

You did all of this alone?

Arturo

Well, Mister Mallory’s machine was stolen away by the military, and there was nobody else around with the understanding of physics and mathematics needed not to make a bloody mess of things, so I had to do it alone.

Diana

This is incredible.

Arturo looks chuffed at the compliment.

Arturo

You’re very kind.

(sadder now)

I don’t get much recognition since the government cover-up forced me into obscurity.

Diana

Corrupt government, huh? Yeah, that checks out.

Arturo

It pains me to think of what they could have been doing with that technology all this time.

Int. Mallory House: Upstairs Hall - Night

Quinn emerges from the stairs, and heads toward the Master bedroom. Wade and Cole come up behind.

Quinn

(low volume)

She might be asleep, but I can’t wait.

He reaches the closed door, and pushes it ajar, checking for signs of his mother.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Master Bedroom - Night

A bedside lamp is on, and Missus Mallory sits in bed, working on a crossword puzzle.

She looks up in surprise at the door moving.

Quinn’s head peeks around the door.

Missus Mallory

Quinn?

Quinn

Hi Ma. It’s me.

He enters the room in full.

She drops her puzzle book and pen, and flings herself out of the bed.

Missus Mallory

Quinn… how are you…

Quinn

(reaching for her)

Long story. Just hug me, okay?

Mother and son embrace.

In the doorway, Wade and Cole look on, hearts warmed.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Arturo sits at a keyboard, typing something. Beside the keyboard is his communications device, the one on which he received the message in Episode 1. It’s plugged into a USB port on the wall.

He rubs his eyes - clearly tired.

Meanwhile, Diana has a number of electronics components in front of her on a table, and is tinkering.

Arturo

I daresay, I’ve almost got it… but not quite. Unfortunately I may have to swallow my pride and ask Mister Mallory.

Diana

Got what?

Arturo

This communication module I developed, it receives messages from other dimensions. I’m trying to make a two-way comms system so that we’re able to communicate with each other across dimensions. I may need to ask Quinn how he made his beacon device, which could transmit information rather than receive it.

Diana’s eyes light up, and she reaches into her handbag. She pulls out the beacon.

Diana

Is this it?

Arturo eyes it.

Arturo

If it is, why do you have it?

Diana

I didn’t mean to swipe it, but at the time I was looking for Mallory and Maggie, and this was the only clue.

Arturo

Let me see.

He takes it from her.

Arturo

Oh my, what happened here? It’s damaged.

Diana

It was like that when I found it, I swear.

Arturo

Well, perhaps I can replace some parts and reconfigure it. Thank you, Miss Davis.

Diana

You’re welcome Professor. Any thoughts on this magnetic field?

She holds up a palm-sized metal disc, about an inch in height, with a small series of buttons on the side.

She taps a couple of buttons, and a blue tube-shaped force field appears from the flat top side of the disc. It’s small, fading away after about 20cm of height.

Diana

It’s way too small for Colin right now.

Arturo

Looks like it needs significantly more power. But I have nothing here that will suffice.

Diana sighs.

Diana

Alright, I’ll head back home in the morning and see what I can get my hands on there.

Arturo

(checking his watch)

Excellent idea. Blimey, it’s after 2 in the morning. Let’s turn in.

Diana nods.

Arturo

I’m afraid I haven’t got enough beds for everyone, but feel free to sleep wherever you can.

Diana

Will do.

Arturo heads up the stairs.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Master Bedroom - Night

Arturo enters to find Quinn and Missus Mallory asleep on the bed together. It’s like they haven’t stopped hugging since we last saw them.

Arturo smiles at them, and leaves the room to find somewhere else to sleep.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Living Room - Day

Everyone other than Arturo is gathered here. They’re all dressed and prepared to leave.

Arturo enters from the basement, timer in hand.

Arturo

Ready to go?

Missus Mallory sits with Quinn on the sofa. She can’t stop herself from holding his hand and leaning against him.

Missus Mallory

Do you really have to leave again, Quinn?

Quinn

Sorry Ma. You’re… not the only Mom I need to see.

Missus Mallory

(still not quite grasping it)

Because you’re two Quinns.

Quinn

I’m a convergence of two - so I’m one now. A few conflicting memories, but all the same feelings. I love both my Moms just as much as the original two did each of theirs.

And my Mom on the other world is not likely to be with us for much longer.

Missus Mallory shakes her head. She’ll never quite grasp it.

Cole

I would have liked to stay longer too, but I guess I have class.

Wade

I’d like to stay behind - just for now. Since I came back, I haven’t seen my own family, you know? And now that Quinn’s okay…

Quinn

I’d be offended if you didn’t. Go.

Wade nods at him.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

With the group coming down the stairs of the basement, Arturo pushes the button and the vortex opens.

Missus Mallory kisses Quinn on the cheek, and lets his hand slide out of hers as he enters the gateway.

Then, Cole and Diana step through.

Arturo glances down at the timer.

Arturo

(shocked)

What!

Wade

What is it?

Arturo

Something’s wrong. The blasted coordinates changed!

(dawning horror)

Who knows what kind of world they just landed on?

Missus Mallory

Can’t you go after them?

Arturo

Yes, I have the coordinates recorded, but I need to make sure it’s not going to do the same to me or we could all end up lost!

He sits down and starts inspecting the timer.

Arturo

(cranky, and without looking up)

No sense in you two getting in the way, off with you.

Miss Welles, don’t you have a family to see?

The women look at each other, extremely worried, and head upstairs.

End of Act One

Act Two

Int. [CPW] Abandoned Warehouse - Day

The wormhole spits out the sliders, who tumble to the hard concrete floor without grace.

Quinn

Ow, that was a bumpy one.

Diana

I think I scraped my knee.

Cole

Uh guys, where the hell are we?!

The three stand up and glance around this dusty building.

Quinn

I… don’t think this is where we were meant to go.

All of a sudden, a man in a gas mask (henceforth known as Zealot) jumps out in front of them from behind an old crate.

He holds something that looks like a fire extinguisher, and just lets loose. A white gas - definitely not fire extinguisher foam - engulfs the sliders.

Instantly, they lose their senses, and stumble to the ground, coughing.

Cole

I can’t feel my legs…

Through the fog, Zealot grabs the arm of each one, and jabs a metal stamp onto the back of their hand. What’s left behind is several concentric circles cut into all their skin.

Quinn

What is this gas?

Zealot

I’m sorry, it’s just temporary. Had to stop you from gettin’ away before I could mark you.

Diana

Mark us?

As the gas dissipates, Zealot removes his mask and looks at them with manic eyes.

Zealot

I’m sorry. The angel told me to.

With this, the man is off and running away.

Ext. [CPW] Abandoned Warehouse - Day

We now see the warehouse is across the road from a public library.

Zealot scrambles out of the doors and starts booking it down the street.

The strange stamp, however, falls out of his pocket and clatters to the sidewalk.

A pair of children’s feet stop beside it, and a small hand grabs it.

Sammy, a small boy, inspects the thing. It’s bloodstained. He touches the edge, and it cuts him.

He inhales sharply, drops the object, and puts his finger in his mouth.

Sammy’s Mother (O.S.)

Sammy! Get a move on! And would you stop biting those nails?

Sammy runs off toward the library.

Int. [CPW] Abandoned Warehouse - Day

Quinn helps Cole to their feet, while Diana leans against a wall.

Diana

Some kind of paralysis gas…

Quinn

That was not a warm welcome to this world.

Cole

So it’s true. This is some random world, and now we’re never gonna get home because we don’t have a timer?

Quinn

Well, when you put it like that…

Diana

The Professor will find us. He was keeping all the coordinates. I’m sure he’s planned for something like this.

Quinn

Yeah, let’s hope he can come get us. But in the meantime we need to figure out why we just had these patterns cut into our hands.

Cole

(rubbing her hand)

It’s itchy.

Diana

What could this symbol mean?

Quinn

Guess we can ask around?

Cole

I’m more worried about tetanus or something. That thing looked dirty to me.

The group hobbles out of the warehouse.

Ext. [CPW] Abandoned Warehouse - Day

The group spots the library.

Cole

A library!

Quinn

Oh, that’s convenient. We can do some research of this world.

Int. [CPW] Public Library: Children’s Section - Day

There is a small play area for children, along with rows of children’s books. Sitting on a chair is Sammy’s mother.

Sammy is perusing a bookshelf. He spots a Berenstain Bears book, and pulls it off the shelf.

He flips it open and starts to read.

A moment passes and Sammy has a strange feeling. Like the vibe of the room just changed.

And the book he was holding has vanished.

He looks up, and it’s back on the shelf where he got it. Only now, it’s “Berenstein” Bears. He grabs the book again, tracing his fingers over the title.

Then the book pops out of his hands once again. He looks up at the shelf. Now, it’s “Berenstone” Bears.

Sammy

(spinning around, frantic)

Mom!

His mother is not there any more. In fact, the chair she was sitting on is on the other side of the area.

Sammy is panicked now.

Int. [CPW] Public Library: History Dept - Day

Cole, Quinn, and Diana are scanning the books on the shelves. Another library patron, a woman, stands in the aisle with them, looking at a book.

Cole starts flipping through a book on great leaders. They flip past a page about Nelson Mandela.

Cole

Hmm, pretty normal.

Quinn turns to the library patron.

Quinn

Excuse me…

Library Patron

Yes?

Quinn holds up his hand

Quinn

Do you recognise this symbol?

The woman glances at it.

Library Patron

No. Sorry. Looks painful though. Why would you do that to yourself?

Quinn

I didn’t.

He turns to the others. Cole is putting the book back while Diana looks at a rack of old newspapers.

Quinn  

Nobody knows what it is.

He turns around again to say something else to the woman.

Quinn

Could you—

The woman is gone.

Diana

Oh my god.

Quinn

What is it?

The two join her at the newspapers and she points at a headline.

Diana

I swear to high heaven that headline just said “President Sanders” a second ago.

The headline in question now says “President Clinton Inaugurated” next to a photo of Hillary Clinton being sworn in as president.

Quinn

Are you sure?

Diana

Well, I was sure.

Cole’s attention is caught by the sound of a child crying.

They look around the side of the aisle to see Sammy on the floor, weeping.

Cole

(rushing to him)

Hey… hey… What’s the matter, kid?

Sammy looks up at them, wiping his snotty nose.

Sammy

I can’t find my Mom and there are ghosts.

Cole furrows their brow.

Cole

Ghosts?

Sammy

They keep changing everything and everyone I talk to keeps disappearing…

He collapses into a new torrent of cries.

Cole hugs and comforts him.

Cole

It’s alright. I’m not going to disappear.

Sammy

Everyone else did!

Quinn and Diana appear behind Cole.

Quinn

Cole, something really weird’s happening here. Everything’s in a state of flux.

Cole

What? What do you mean?

Quinn grabs the nearest book from a shelf.

Quinn

Wait for it…

A moment of suspense, and…

It vanishes out of his hands.

Cole gasps.

Quinn

That’s not all.

He reaches out, and grabs the same book from the same spot.

Quinn

It’s like it’s resetting.

Diana

The headlines on the newspapers keep on changing in small ways.

The book pops out of Quinn’s hands again.

Cole looks at Sammy.

Cole

Is that what’s happening to you?

Sammy nods.

Sammy

But you’re not disappearing like my Mom did?

Quinn

Whatever’s happening, it seems to be happening to just us and this kid. Nobody else is batting an eye.

Cole

Oh shoot, it’s like the Mandela Effect.

Quinn

The what?

Cole

(dismissive)

Just some internet conspiracy theory. People have memory lapses where they remember things incorrectly, and they claim it’s because they “shifted timelines” to an alternate world.

(rolling eyes)

But really it’s just the human brain as an unreliable narrator. They’d rather believe they’re involuntarily sliding than believe that their own mind is flawed.

Quinn

(smirking)

Not so unrealistic now, huh?

Cole makes a grimace. He’s right, as usual.

Diana

Why is it called that?

Cole

‘Cause there’s some subset of people that seem to recall Nelson Mandela as dying before he ever ascended to power in South Africa.

(smirking)

I’m willing to bet that any South Africans who lived under his leadership are “mysteriously” immune to the phenomenon.

Diana processes this for a moment, and then crouches to Sammy’s level.

Diana

What’s your name, sweetie?

Sammy

(sniffing)

Sammy.

She offers him a hand.

Diana

Come on, we’ll figure this out. It’s what we do.

They head toward the exit of the library. Behind them, another shift happens - the fiction and non-fiction sections flip. People are suddenly in different places.

Cole

(glancing around)

This is so unsettling.

And then, as the next shift passes over them, Sammy vanishes.

Cole

Sammy! No!

Diana and Quinn look at each other, terrified and grave.

Ext. [CPW] Street Outside Library - Day

The group comes to the kerb and stops dead, seeing that the abandoned warehouse is no longer abandoned, but a fully functional warehouse with trucks being loaded up.

Quinn

It’s like we’re sliding without sliding. Almost like…

Diana

Being Unstuck?

Quinn and Diana exchange a grave look.

Cole spots something further down the street.

Cole

(shouting, angry)

Hey!

Cole takes off, and we see that Zealot is standing on the street, looking towards her with confusion.

Quinn and Diana follow.

Cole tackles the man, who cries out in confusion.

Cole

What did you do to us?!

Zealot

What are you talking about? Who are you?!

Cole

You said an angel told you to gas us and cut us, what did they look like?!

Zealot

I swear I have no clue what you’re talking about. Please let me go. Do you want my wallet? I’ll give it to you.

Quinn

Cole, stop. It’s not the same guy.

Zealot

He’s right, whoever you think I am, I’m not. Honest! I don’t know anything about no angels.

Cole stands up.

Cole

I’m sorry.

Unknown Voice (O.S.)

There you are.

The group turns towards the voice, and Quinn’s jaw drops.

It’s Colin. A haggard, bearded, shaggy-haired Colin, but Colin all the same. He wears the exact outfit he was wearing at the time he became unstuck. It doesn’t seem to have worn a day.

Quinn staggers to him, looking at his brother in awe.

Cole gawks, before looking down at where Zealot had been cowering. He’s gone. They look back towards Colin, who’s now hugging Quinn.

Colin

It’s good to finally see you, brother.

Quinn

So it was you who brought us here.

Colin

Yes, I’m sorry about all of this. It was the only way I could think of to finally get us in the same place.

Quinn

And how exactly did you do this?

Colin is already walking down the road, pointing.

Colin

Come on, let’s find somewhere to sit and eat and we can talk all about it.

End of Act Two

Act Three

Ext. [CPW] Urban Shopping Street - Day

A marketplace expands out ahead.

Colin strides ahead, as the others struggle to catch up.

As they pass different shops and street vendors, Colin grabs an apple from a fruit cart, and starts eating it, without ever paying the vendor.

Vendor

Hey, you can’t just-

And then the vendor resets to a passive state, as they shift into the next world, and the apple is gone.

Quinn

Is this how you eat?

Colin looks back and nods.

Colin

(continuing on)

Yes, sometimes it’s all I can do. The shifts are not normally this rapid-fire, though. I think having you all here with me has made it go a bit haywire.

(grabbing a bag of chips from a vendor)

But yes, I have to work quickly to get anything down my oesophagus. Once it’s in there, it shifts with me, but until then…

The chip pack pops out of existence again before he’s able to eat any. He gestures as if to say “see?”

Colin  

On a good day, I can get a full restaurant meal before I shift, at least if they don’t take too long to cook. At least I never need to pay, not that I could if I wanted to.

He turns sharply, and disappears into a bar.

The other three hurry behind him, each with some degree of horror on their faces.

Int. [CPW] Dive Bar - Day

Colin’s still moving at a high pace, knowing that he can’t slow down while shifts are happening so fast.

The bar itself is fairly quiet.

The other three finally catch up to him as he takes a seat at the bar.

Colin

May I have your beer sampler please?

The bartender nods, and turns away to pull the beers.

Colin

(to Quinn)

I think I can hold up the next shift for a few minutes. Just ‘til we can get a bit of spirit into us.

Cole

You can hold up a shift?

Colin

Not for long, and it takes effort.

Time is of the essence, always.

It’s taken me a long time to get my… abilities, as it were, strong enough to really start affecting things, but it’s never enough.

Bartender

One beer sampler. Twelve bucks.

He places a tray of four small glasses filled with different kinds of beer.

Colin

Allow me to open a tab, if you will, Barkeep.

Bartender

Hang on.

He turns away and starts tapping on his till touch screen.

Colin

Getting the sampler tray saves them from too much waste to throw away when we go.

(beat)

Bottoms up. Quickly.

He grabs one of the beers and starts downing it. Quinn follows suit, and Cole takes one too.

Diana

That’s okay, I don’t need it.

Colin puts his empty glass on the bar. Quinn places his beside it. Cole isn’t so fast.

The Bartender looks back.

Bartender

What name?

Colin

It doesn’t matter.

The Bartender looks at him funny, and then disappears. We see that he’s now been reset to the other end of the bar, and is engaged in conversation with a patron.

The beers and empty glasses are gone.

Cole, with hands and lips in a drinking position, just without the glass, pouts.

Cole

You can’t ever slow down, can you?

Colin

(sighing)

Not for twenty years.

Note: During this next sequence, the bar will shift and change over the course of the conversation, all in the background.

Quinn moves to comfort Colin, then his eye catches the symbol on his hand, reminding him of its existence.

He holds it up to Colin.

Quinn

What is this? And what did you say to that guy who did this to us?

Colin

That I can explain.

A long time ago, I found out that if my blood mingles with that of another, they get temporarily pulled into my orbit, as it were. I don’t know how it works or why - haven’t had many opportunities to read scientific papers of late. But when whatever this effect is wears off, the person just goes back to the world they started, while I continue on.

(beat)

I took a long shot with that religious fellow. On some worlds he’s completely normal, and on others he’s a zealot. I shifted into existence right in front of him and he instantly believed me to be an angel. Then I gave him my blood and some instructions.

Meanwhile I held off my shift for as long as I could while also directing your wormhole to me. Took a lot out of me, I can tell you. Couldn’t shift until you were all marked, and that’s why I had to have a helper. Took all my concentration.

Cole

What’s the weird symbol mean?

Colin

Symbol? Oh, the pattern on your hands? It’s the stamp of one of those cigar lighters from a car.

I know it’s an unorthodox way to pass blood into another, but in my trials, that concentric circle pattern was the most efficient way to create the effect for an even two hours, no more or less.

He pulls up his sleeve to show marks of the same pattern on his own skin.

Colin

I’m sorry to say it doesn’t happen in reverse.

Cole

What happened to that little boy, Sammy? He was shifting with us too, until he just disappeared.

Colin

A child?

(thoughtful)

It’s possible he somehow got some of my blood in him too - just significantly less of a dose. I couldn’t begin to guess how.

Quinn

But he’s okay? He went back to his world?

Colin

(not confident)

Probably?

Quinn places his elbows on the ever-changing bar, and puts his palm to his chin.

Quinn

I’m sorry it took us so long to find you.

Colin

It’s alright, brother. I don’t blame you for any of this.

He turns to Diana.

Colin  

You, on the other hand…

He scowls at her.

She shrinks from him.

Diana

I’m sorry for the hand I had in this. I was young and arrogant, and I never believed Doctor Geiger would steer us wrong - not until the incident with you and Quinn happened.

(introspective)

I’ve spent my life since then trying my best to make it up to everyone.

She produces the magnetic field generating disc from her handbag.

Diana  

I’ve been working on this field generator to stabilise you in one world. It’s not finished yet, though. It’s only big enough for something no larger than a fist.

Quinn

Or… a vial of blood?

Diana meets his eye.

Diana

(dawning realisation)

We know now it carries his quantum signature. Maybe the Professor would be able to analyse and record it so we can track Colin across dimensions.

Quinn

Or, if nothing else, when we’ve got a beefed up prototype of this magnetic field, one of us can use the blood to get pulled into his flux state, and use it on him to finally stabilise him.

Diana

There’s only one problem with that, and it’s that a magnetic field of that size won’t be sustainable inside the wormhole. Wherever he gets stabilised is where he’ll need to stay. Maybe forever.

Quinn

So our best bet would be to figure out some way to draw Colin to one of our home worlds, and stabilise him there.

Diana

(sarcastic)

Oh, Yeah. Easy peasy.

Colin

Well, I’ve done as much as I’m able from this position. I’ve exhausted the limits of my vortex manipulations. I will let you take my blood, but we’d better get going before I lose you again.

Diana

All right, where’s the closest hospital or clinic?

Colin

I certainly can’t guarantee it will be a clinic by the time we get there, given the circumstances, but I’ll take you.

(to Quinn and Cole)

You two head back to the warehouse. Your Professor friend should be arriving soon.

Int. [CPW] Medical Clinic - Day

Colin walks in and heads straight for an open room, paying little mind to the people in the area. Diana follows closely behind him, looking much more nervous about the brazen breach of protocol.

A Nurse moves to stop them, a little too late.

Nurse

Hey, you can’t go in there. Excuse me!

She chases after them, until the next shift happens and she vanishes.

Int. [CPW] Medical Clinic: Pathology Room - Day

The two enter, and Diana closes the door and locks it behind them.

Colin

No point in doing that, it’ll be open again in a minute.

Diana

Well, I just bought us that minute.

She hunts around for the right sterile equipment, and grabs a syringe and some vials, plus some swabs.

Colin

Hurry. I can’t hold the shift back much longer.

She scrambles to get it ready.

Colin sighs.

Colin

You never put effort into finding me, did you?

Diana

(still setting up the needle)

I’m sorry, I didn’t have the first idea about where you could be or how to track you down.

She wraps a strap around his arm and starts looking for a vein.

Diana  

Make a fist for me…

Colin

Yeah, but that man, Doctor something.

Diana sticks the needle in.

Colin  

He was like me, and you worked with him for a long time. You didn’t learn anything in all that time that could help me?

Diana

I’m sorry. Doctor Geiger had an uncanny control and understanding that he never shared with anyone else. I mean, not in any way that could have helped you, that is.

Colin

(angry)

I don’t believe you.

With that, the vial vanishes, and the blood that had been collected spills all over Diana’s hands.

She holds them up in mild disgust.

Colin

That’s fitting.

Diana, sighing, uses her elbow to close the door that is now open once more, and rinses off her hands at the basin.

Diana

(repeating the preparatory steps)

What do you want me to say? I failed you? Yes, I did, okay? I failed both Quinns, too. I even erased the daughter I never had from existence. I’m a screw-up.

Drying her hands, she rifles through the shelves to recollect the blood-taking instruments.

Diana  

(eyes tearing up)

I’m goddamned useless compared to all the superior intellects around me.

She places the strap on Colin once again, and he balls up his hand.

Diana  

(sticking in the needle)

I ended up sliding with Mallory because I felt responsible, and I stayed long after anyone wanted me because it was the only way I could sleep at night.

But in the end, I failed at every way I tried to help.

Colin

Did you fail because you’re inferior, or did you fail because you simply see yourself as inferior and were living up to that self-assessment?

Diana

(finishing up)

Either way, the result’s the same.

She pulls out the field generator disc, places the vial on it, and turns it on. Then takes a deep breath of relief.

Colin

The world I grew up on shuns people of science. Meeting my brother was the first time I ever got real praise and encouragement for my achievements.

Sure, my stupid flying machine was just a glider that every other world invented ages ago, and Quinn’s intellect is far more advanced than mine, but he never let me feel inferior to him, you know?

(reminiscing)

He used to call me a genius, boast about me. That’s the kind of person my brother is. And those words of encouragement were so motivating for me to start learning about all the complex concepts he already knew inside and out.

Colin opens up the door, and moves to the doorway. Diana’s eyes glimmer.

Colin  

If you let him boost you up too, I bet you’ll find you’ll be overcoming barriers you thought too difficult before.

You’ve already done more for me today than you did in decades. Is it mere coincidence that it’s been less than a day since you met my brother in the flesh?

He exits the room, and his voice becomes muffled as he walks away. On Diana as she digests his words.

Colin (O.S.)

You’re not forgiven, by the way. Not yet.

Int. [CPW] Abandoned Warehouse - Day

The warehouse is once again empty and dilapidated.

Quinn and Cole enter.

Cole

He said the Professor would be here soon, yeah?

Quinn

Or is it that we’ll be at him soon?

Cole

Oh right, we have to shift back to where we arrived first.

From the darkness, a voice:

Arturo (O.S.)

Oh, thank God.

Arturo walks into a shaft of light.

Arturo

What an absolute blunder today has been. Where’s Miss Davis?

Quinn’s face falls.

Quinn

If we’re back here, that means…

Diana (O.S.)

Colin’s gone!

Diana appears through the doors of the warehouse.

Arturo

So you really did see Colin. I had a suspicion he had some hand in all of this.

Diana

(holding up the disc)

I got his blood sample though. Let’s hope it’s enough.

She arrives at the other three now.

Diana

Boy am I glad to see you, Professor.

Arturo

Likewise.

He checks his timer.

Arturo

We have twenty minutes until the slide window. What shall we do ‘til then?

Cole

I’ve got an idea.

Int. [CPW] Public Library - Day

Sammy is sitting in a bean bag, on his mother’s lap. She’s reading the original “Winnie the Pooh” by A. A. Milne to him.

Sammy’s Mother

(reading aloud, softly)

“Help, help!” cried Piglet, “a Heffalump, a Horrible Heffalump!” and he scampered off as hard as he could.

Sammy catches sight of a familiar face.

He jumps up and goes to Cole, who’s standing there with Diana.

Sammy

You’re back!

Cole

Sorry for disappearing, Sammy. We had to go frighten off the ghosts. Did it work?

Sammy nods happily.

Sammy

Mom came back and everything.

Cole looks at the mother on the bean bag, and nods to her, giving her a warm smile.

Diana

We promise they won’t be scaring you like that any more, okay? We got ‘em good.

Sammy

Thank you!

He goes back to his mother, and sits on her lap.

Sammy’s Mother

Who are they?

Sammy

My friends who scared away the ghosts!

He waves at them, and they wave back before turning to leave.

Sammy’s Mother

(back to reading)

“Help, help, a Herrible Hoffalump! Hoff, Hoff, a Hellible Horralump! Holl, Holl, a Hoffable Hellerump!” And he didn’t stop crying and scampering until he got to Christopher Robin’s house.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

The portal opens once again, and so returns Quinn, Cole, Diana, and Wade.

Quinn

Looks like we made the jump this time.

Cole

Home, sweet home. Well, that was an adventure. And a learning experience. And… terrifying.

Wade

Kind of bummed I missed out on the fun.

Quinn

Not sure I’d call it fun. But seeing Colin was more than worth it.

Diana

(brooding)

It was certainly enlightening.

Cole

(facetious)

And hey, we all got these neat scars.

Maggie (O.S.)

I’m sorry, what’s this about scars?

Maggie enters the room from the right of the stairs.

Cole and Quinn exchange an awkward look.

Cole

Uh, Quinn’ll fill you in. See ya.

Cole dashes for the stairs, giggling, and disappears up them.

Maggie

(mocking)

Quinn… were you an irresponsible parent?

Quinn

(holding hands up defensively)

I can honestly say that none of what happened was my doing. Pinkie swear.

(grinning nervously)

But, you might want to sit down to hear about it.

Maggie gives him a look.

Fade Out

End of Act Three

Episode 5:
Quarantine

In their efforts to rescue Colin, the slider gang (original generation + Alt Wade) winds up on a world where a pandemic is ravaging the world and it seems like America is incredibly divided on the seriousness of the virus.

Meanwhile, Quinn is mistaken for some actor named Jerry, and the Professor might be in a spot of trouble after failing to properly socially distance.

Previously on Sliders

Quinn

I’m sorry Remy, she’s not the Wade you knew.

Diana

You deserve a bit of normalcy after what you’ve been through.

[People staring at Rembrandt]

Rembrandt

Not sure “normal” is quite the word.

Quinn

Sorry Ma. You’re… not the only Mom I need to see.

Missus Mallory

Because you’re two Quinns.

Rembrandt

Are you saying Colin’s been runnin’ around behind the scenes, giving us all these lucky breaks lately?

Colin

It’s good to finally see you, brother. —

I have to work quickly to get anything down my oesophagus. Once it’s in there, it shifts with me, but until then…

[Bag of chips vanishes]

Cole

You can’t ever slow down, can you?

Colin

Not for twenty years.

Quinn

Our best bet would be to figure out some way to draw Colin to one of our home worlds, and stabilise him there.

[The vial of Colin’s blood is placed in the magnetic field]

Quinn

A vial of blood?

Diana

We know now it carries his quantum signature. —

What do you want me to say? I failed you? Yes, I did, okay? —

I’m a screw-up.

Colin

You’ve already done more for me today than you did in decades. Is it mere coincidence that it’s been less than a day since you met my brother in the flesh? —

You’re not forgiven, by the way. Not yet.

Act One

Int. [SW] Hospital: Hall Outside Private Room - Day

Cole stands at the door to Missus Mallory’s hospital room, beside Quinn who is off to the side.

Cole

We need to finesse this surprise, because she’s frail. Who knows how she’ll react to seeing you.

Quinn smirks.

Quinn

Alright, I’ll follow your lead.

Cole

Good. Stay here until I give the signal.

Cole opens the door, knocking on it as she peeks in.

Int. [SW] Hospital: Private Room - Day

On the other side of the door, we see Cole.

Cole

Hey Grandma!

Missus Mallory Prime is seated by the window, on her sofa seat. She whips her head around and smiles at Cole warmly.

Missus Mallory

Cole! You should have told me you were coming, I would have showered.

She raises from her seat, with some difficulty.

Cole

(gesturing)

No no, don’t get up. I have a surprise and you’ll want to be sitting down, okay?

Missus Mallory

(sitting down)

A surprise? Your visit is surprise enough.

Cole

Oh, you’re gonna forget all about that in a hot second.

(towards door)

Okay!

On Missus Mallory’s face as she sees her son’s face for the first time in decades - and all the emotion that comes with it.

Quinn

Hi, Ma.

Missus Mallory is speechless.

Quinn rushes to her and gives her a hug, sitting on the sofa with her.

Cole

Told ya!

Missus Mallory

When did this happen? How?

Quinn and Cole exchange glances.

Quinn & Cole (Simultaneously)

Long story / It’s complicated.

Ext. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Poolside - Day

Rembrandt, Maggie, and Mallory are clothed in swimsuits, in repose on poolside recliners. Each has a cocktail and are taking in some sun.

Rembrandt

Now this is what fame and fortune’s all about.

Mallory

A private pool and bottomless cocktails? Yeah, it’s quite the perk.

Maggie

Guess we take it for granted these days. But after seeing your Earth, I guess we should count our blessings.

Rembrandt

I mean there was no shortage of privacy there, what with the lack of people. But there was always the loomin’ clouds of despair, and the regret.

Mallory

Speaking of which, how are you doing, man?

Rembrandt

I haven’t been happy in a long time, you know? But at least now the questions I had about what happened to y’all are answered.

(sadder)

Still, it hurts to see Wade, after everything. Knowing that it’s her face and her personality, but none of the connection.

And the way people stare at me out in the world, it unnerves me. I only feel safe in this house.

A moment of silence is broken by the sound of a camera clicking.

Maggie

Oh crap, it’s the paparazzi.

She jumps up, looking around the trees. She spots a photographer harnessed to a branch, aiming a telescopic lens DSLR.

Maggie

(shouting)

Vulture!

She reaches under her seat, pulling out a paintball gun.

She points it at the guy, and takes a perfectly aimed shot, which splatters paint all over the camera - and possibly damages it in the process.

The photographer recoils, but the harness keeps him in place.

Maggie

Better luck next time, jerk!

(back to normal volume, at Mallory)

Guess they know about Remy.

Rembrandt cringes.

Rembrandt

I think I’m gonna go back inside.

He grabs his things, and heads for the house.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Living Room - Day

Wade reclines on the modular sofa, watching “The Sliders” on the enormous TV.

Rembrandt wanders in from the courtyard, and glances at the television.

A cheesy, early millennium 4:3 aspect show with hammy acting and soft, soap opera lighting.

On the TV, an obviously cheap set containing a bed where an actor playing Wade lies, with an actor playing Quinn kneeling beside her:

Actor Playing Wade

Quinn, before I die of this deadly fever, I need to tell you… I love you!

Actor Playing Quinn

Oh Wade, I love you too. I’d kiss you right now, but… you know.

Wade stares at the television, unable to contain her embarrassment. She pauses it, and looks at Rembrandt.

Wade

Hey Mister Cryin’ Man, you watched any of this show yet? I may actually pass away from second hand embarrassment.

Rembrandt avoids eye contact with her.

Rembrandt

No, and now I’m glad I haven’t. It didn’t happen like that!

Wade

Oh, I could have guessed.

(beat, more serious tone)

I’ve noticed… you’ve been avoiding eye contact with me since I met you.

Rembrandt

(still avoiding eye contact)

Yeah, I guess I have.

Wade

Listen, I heard about what happened to the other Wade, and I’m so sorry.

Rembrandt

(looking anywhere but at her)

It was hard. And I thought I’d moved past it, ‘til you showed up, and now when I look at you, my mind just throws up pictures of the other Wade floatin’ there in the tank.

Wade

What happened to her was unconscionable. I’m so sorry you had to see her like that.

Rembrandt

The two of us, we kinda had a special dynamic, you know? Q-ball and the Professor were always talkin’ their intellectual mumbo jumbo, and we were the two regular people followin’ our hearts.

And Maggie, well, she warmed up after a while, but she was still a soldier. She could put her feelings aside like changing hats when the time came. Me and Wade, we were emotional support, for each other, but also for the team as a whole. We were a gut check.

His voice breaks up too much to continue.

Wade holds his hand tightly.

Wade

What does your gut say now?

Rembrandt meets her eye for a split second, before wrenching it away again.

Rembrandt

It’s saying to leave this room and hide.

Wade

It’s that bad, huh?

Rembrandt

What?

Wade

Your PTSD.

Rembrandt

Yeah, I guess that’s what it is.

Wade

So all the R and R here isn’t helping at all?

Rembrandt

Only a little.

(thoughtful)

Thing is, every time I go out of this house there’s someone gawkin’ at me. I know I used to want that kind of fame, but…

Wade

That sounds rough.

Listen, what if you were on a world where nobody was staring at you. Would that help?

Rembrandt

You mean back on your homeworld?

Wade nods.

Wade

Yeah, maybe you can take a vacation in obscurity there.

Rembrandt mulls this over.

Rembrandt

Yeah, why the heck not?

Wade

Great! Quinn’s scheduled to go there tomorrow to help out Arturo and Diana with their work. We can go with them.

(beat)

I heard your Wade published her diaries on my world, thought I’d check it out. Gotta be more authentic than this cheesefest.

She gestures to the TV with the remote, unpausing it.

On TV:

Actor Playing Rembrandt

(entering the frame)

The Professor made us some mould juice he says is the cure.

Actor Playing Wade

Save yourselves, I’m already dead!

Watching this, Rembrandt’s uneasy smile fades to a frown.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Master Bedroom - Night

Mallory, in boxers, gets into bed, with Maggie already there, scrolling on her phone. She wears a satin night gown.

Mallory

It’s nice havin’ the whole gang together, working to find Colin, huh?

Maggie

(not looking up)

Yeah, it’s been a crazy week and a bit. Lot’s happened.

Mallory

(clumsy flirtation)

You know, there’s finally no third party in my head to watch us get up to no good.

Maggie looks at him, unimpressed.

Maggie

(sarcastic)

Well when you put it like that, how can I possibly resist?

She goes back to looking at her phone.

Maggie

Another night, babe.

She flicks off her lamp.

Mallory looks positively wounded, there in the dark illuminated by a weak shaft of moonlight.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

Once again, Professor Arturo is standing, ready to open the gateway back to the world he now calls home.

Ready to depart are Wade, Quinn, and Rembrandt. Cole stands back with Mallory and Maggie, seeing off their friends.

Arturo

My apologies for the short visit, but Colin’s blood won’t be fresh forever.

Maggie

Not a problem, Professor.

Cole

(sulky)

I wish I could come, but I’m stuck here writing papers.

(brightening up)

But thanks to you guys I’m a shoo-in for a high grade.

Arturo opens the vortex.

Remy hugs Maggie, shakes Mallory’s hand, and nods towards Cole, who he really doesn’t know at all.

Then he enters the vortex.

Wade waves as she enters.

Arturo gives a resolute nod to the room, and enters too.

Quinn gives Maggie a hug, and then grips Mallory’s hand in a “bros for life” gesture.

Quinn

When next we meet, maybe Colin’ll be with me.

Maggie grins.

Maggie

I hope so.

(beat)

If you ever need us, just drop in any time.

Quinn nods, and runs for the vortex. And he’s gone.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

The sliders gather as the wormhole closes behind them. Diana’s there, waiting.

Diana

Oh, hey Rembrandt! What brings you here?

Wade

He’s on vacation from the public eye.

Rembrandt

Yeah. Thought a little anonymity might calm my nerves. Things are getting a bit intense over there.

Diana

I get it. When we went out for dinner that night, you were edgy about all the attention. This might do you some good.

Wade

As for me, I’m here to see the other Wade’s diary. I want to know more about her. Just to compare notes.

She looks Quinn in the eye.

Arturo

Of course, I’ve got a copy on the top shelf of the living room bookcase.

Wade

(still looking at Quinn)

Thanks.

She peels herself away and heads up the stairs.

Diana

I sensed some tension there.

Quinn

I think she wants to share in some of the memories I have with that Wade. Understand my relationship with her better.

Rembrandt

That, or read about the competition.

Remy pats Quinn on the back, and heads upstairs himself.

Diana

Well, we’ve got work to do.

Quinn

(taking a seat)

Can’t wait.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Living Room - Day

Wade sits on the couch, reading voraciously. Missus Mallory sits across from her, doing a crossword.

Missus Mallory

I know you just want to understand him better, but he knows you’re not the same Wade as the one you’re reading about.

Wade

(looking up)

I know, I know. It’s just… all the other sliders, they knew her. Rembrandt is so traumatised that he can’t even look at me.

I just want to make sure I don’t step on any toes. I have a responsibility not to tarnish her memory.

Missus Mallory nods with understanding.

Missus Mallory

You really are a kind person, aren’t you?

Wade

I just try to make the world a better place than I found it, that’s all.

Missus Mallory

There’s nobody I’d want to marry Quinn more.

Wade

(touched)

That’s so sweet. We’re taking it slow, but, so far so good.

Missus Mallory

(thoughtful)

I hope the other me lives long enough to hear wedding bells.

Wade

(dawning concern)

I’ll keep that in mind.

Ext. [EDP] Azure Gate Park - Day

Rembrandt lies on the grass, as the sun warms his face. Next to him is a takeout burger and fries, which he grazes on.

He’s peaceful. Nobody pays him any mind.

Rembrandt

(under breath)

Never thought I’d be so happy to be washed up.

He leans back, and closes his eyes. A contented smile emerges on his face.

End of Act One

Act Two

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn, Arturo, and Diana are dishevelled and tired-looking. Quinn has stubble on his face. They’ve been hard at work for a while.

In front of Arturo, the communications device.

Diana is peering into a microscope, and looking away every so often to write something.

Quinn tinkers with the timer.

Missus Mallory enters from above, carrying a tray of sandwiches and tea.

Missus Mallory

Lunch time!

She places the tray on a free surface, and waits for anyone to make a move. None do - they’re all too absorbed in what they’re doing.

Missus Mallory

You have to eat. I don’t want to throw out another tray of my hard work.

(exasperated)

This is what I get for marrying two scientists and giving birth to another.

(beat)

Eat when you have a minute, and don’t let that tea go cold!

She turns to leave.

Quinn

(still absorbed in his work)

Thanks Ma, love ya.

She smiles, and heads back upstairs.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Living Room - Day

Missus Mallory sits herself down on the couch, next to Wade, who has long since finished reading the diaries.

Wade

How’s it looking?

Missus Mallory

I don’t know, they barely even acknowledge my existence when they’re so caught up in their science.

(looking at Wade)

Will you make sure my boys are eating?

Wade shrugs.

Wade

What makes you think they’ll notice me any more than they notice you at the moment?

(beat)

I’ll see what I can do.

She heads off towards the basement, passing Rembrandt, who’s entering the room.

Missus Mallory

Ah, Remy, how’s the vacation coming along?

Rembrandt

(stretching)

It’s been a good week. Can’t say it fixed me or nothin’, but it’s a start. How’s the work coming along?

Missus Mallory

Don’t ask me. Those three are off in another world.

Rembrandt

(startled)

What, they slid? Where?

Missus Mallory

(chuckling)

No, no. Figure of speech.

Then, a muffled cry from the basement.

Arturo (O.S.)

Eureka!

Remy and Missus Mallory look to one another, excited, and head toward the basement.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Missus Mallory and Rembrandt hurry down the stairs. Wade watches the three scientists.

Arturo stands proudly before a monitor displaying the message:

Synchronization Complete.

Current location of target: 82.003.283.0191

Quinn sits by the food tray, mouth full of sandwich.

Diana stands grinning at the monitor.

Arturo

Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to announce we have cracked Colin’s quantum signature, and we have a potential means to trans-dimensionally supplant his matter.

Wade applauds.

Wade

Woo!

I don’t know what that means, but way to go!

Rembrandt

We’re gonna need an English version o’ that.

Quinn

(swallowing)

It means, in theory, that we should be able to get a lock on his location in space-time, slide to him, implant him with a chip that Diana developed, and that should allow us to intercept one of his shifts, bringing him into a stable magnetic field on one of our worlds.

Missus Mallory

(clueless)

Once again for the slow?

Diana

(grappling for an analogy)

You know how in schlock movies, how they draw a big pentagram on the floor and summon a demon into it and trap it there? Well, we should be able to do something like that with Colin.

But we need to get a hold of him first. Fortunately the blood I extracted carried exactly the right information we needed to track him down.

Missus Mallory

Thank you, I think I get it now.

Quinn

We’re going to have to work quickly to catch him before he shifts.

Wade

Well what are we waiting for? Let’s go!

Arturo looks at Quinn, then Diana.

Arturo

Well, I suppose now’s as good a time as any. Let’s wait for his next shift to maximise the time we have to reach him.

Quinn

I hope he’s near where the portal opens…

Rembrandt

You said he had crazy powers, right? Maybe he already knows we’re coming.

Wade

Only one way to find out! So who’s coming?

Quinn

I definitely am.

Diana

I’m going to stay behind to monitor things on this end. You guys take the comms device. It should theoretically be working now to send messages in text.

She grabs it, and hands it to Quinn.

Arturo picks up a carry case.

Arturo

Allow me to accompany you, Mister Mallory. The chip is in here. I need to get it straight into his body before he shifts, so Diana suspended it in a saline syringe for me.

Quinn

Sure thing. As long as it’s inside him, it should shift with him, like he said it worked with food.

Wade

I want to go too.

Arturo

It’ll only be for an hour. Are you sure?

Wade nods vigorously.

Wade

I’ve always been a slider and I’m not ready to retire.

She glances at Remy.

Rembrandt

(as if someone’s trying to convince him)

Ah, what the hey. Old time’s sake.

Diana

Alright, if you insist.

(typing at a keyboard)

Okay, just rigging up the machine. Be ready for the next shift.

Arturo hands Quinn the timer. Quinn looks at the two devices he’s been given, one in each hand, and passes the comms device to Remy, before using his newly freed hand to hold Wade’s.

On the computer screen:

Current location of target: 82.003.283.0191

Then it changes abruptly.

Current location of target: 82.003.283.3467

Diana

We got a shift! Go now!

Quinn points the timer and opens the wormhole.

The group races into it, not a moment to spare.

Ext. [CPW] Golden Gate Park - Day

The sliders pile against each other as they leave the vortex.

They are in the park - somehow, nobody saw them appear. But as the wormhole closes, the group catches sight of a woman with a sign coming into view, seeming to be doing a one-woman protest.

The sign says:

Tracking chips in vaccines
Mark of the Beast!!!
I will not bend my knee
to the Satanic globalists

Wade

Where is this? Conspiracy World?

Quinn

Seems like a pretty standard nutter.

Then, just as Rembrandt predicted, Colin emerges from between two trees.

Colin

(nodding in greeting)

Afternoon! I’m glad I managed to redirect you here.

Quinn takes off, and hugs his brother.

Colin

What brings you here? Have you worked out how to save me?

Quinn

Potentially. Come on, the Professor has a tracker injection for you.

Hearing this turn of phrase, the woman with the sign looks, narrow-eyed, at the brothers.

Colin

Oh, something subcutaneous? Good thinking.

Quinn

It was all Diana’s idea. She’s been a great help.

Colin smirks to himself at this.

They arrive at Arturo, who already has his case open, and is preparing the syringe.

The woman with the sign watches, eyes manic.

Arturo quickly injects the solution, and just as he pulls it out, he is tackled to the ground by the woman.

Colin jumps back, and, as if by instinct, shifts away.

Woman

Demon! You demon! I rebuke you in Jesus’ name!

She spits into his face.

Rembrandt tries to pull her off him and she hisses at him like a feral cat.

Woman

(vitriolic)

Satan will not prevail. Jesus will destroy you and your New World Order!

I rebuke you! In Jesus’ name Amen!

Wade

Oh god, we are on Conspiracy World.

Quinn

Not so fast…

Various passers-by, some clad in face masks, have come to Arturo’s aid, restraining the woman and helping him up.

Woman

He injected that poison into someone! The vaccine! They were talking about tracking chips openly! He’s working for the devil!

Man

Hey, shut the hell up! My mother died of Covid, you psycho!

Teenage Girl

(filming with her phone)

Shame on you, Karen!

Masked Businessman

You’re the reason people keep dying! Screw you!

Arturo wipes his face with a handkerchief, and takes the hand of a 30-something woman, Felicity, who helps him up. She wears a face mask.

Felicity

You okay, sir? I can’t believe that woman did that, that’s so disgusting.

(leaning in)

If I were you I’d get a Covid test, ‘cause that walking petri dish sure never would.

Arturo

Thank you for your help, my dear. Now… what is a Covid test?

Felicity looks at him, baffled.

Felicity

I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard that right… could you repeat that?

Arturo

What is a Covid test?

Felicity

You’re pulling my leg, right? Where have you actually been for the past couple years?

Quinn chuckles nervously, pulling him away.

Quinn

Okay Dad, leave the nice lady be.

(to Felicity)

Dad’s not all there. Don’t worry, I’ll get him tested.

Felicity looks at Quinn with recognition, and then blushes.

Felicity

Oh my god, I’m sorry but is it okay if I get a selfie with you?

Quinn blinks.

Quinn

Uh… sure thing.

She pulls out her phone and they pose for the photo.

Felicity

Thanks a lot. Man this is going to be a wild story to tell. Thanks Mister O’Connell.

Felicity dashes off, leaving Quinn dumbfounded.

Wade

(wandering over)

What was that about?

Quinn

I dunno, but I have the feeling we should be finding some WiFi.

Arturo

(checking the timer)

We have fifty-four minutes until the slide back. Let’s be quick about it.

Ext. [CPW] Al Fresco Cafe - Day

Arturo, Quinn, and Wade sit together at a table. Rembrandt approaches them with a box of surgical masks, which he places on the table.

Rembrandt

Lots of people seem to be wearin’ these, and if Q-ball’s famous we might be better off with ‘em.

Quinn grabs one, and moves to put it on.

Wade taps on her phone, sullen.

Wade

Okay, so this “Covid” thing is a global pandemic that started at the end of 2019 and spread to… everywhere. My god.

Arturo

(going white)

Pandemic…

Wade

(swallowing hard)

Over 6 million dead worldwide…

Remy and Quinn look at one another in alarm.

Wade

Over a million in the US alone…

Arturo stares off into the distance silently.

Wade

Spread by respiratory droplets.

Rembrandt looks in horror at Arturo.

Rembrandt

So if we slide now…

Quinn

We might be bringing back a deadly virus.

Wade

(still reading phone)

Risk of death increases with age and other health factors, especially lung conditions and diabetes.

Arturo

(taking a deep breath)

Given the risk factors, it may be prudent for me to remain on this Earth until I can be sure that I am clear of the virus.

You three can slide back and return for me after a quarantine period. I’ll keep the communications device with me so we can stay in touch.

Wade

But couldn’t we all be carrying this thing now? None of us can go back and introduce this thing to other worlds.

(looking at phone)

Says here that the incubation period is… one to fourteen days?! Oh man.

Quinn

Look, at least one of us needs to return, or we’ll be stuck here for the rest of the Professor’s life.

The Professor shoots him a look.

Arturo

Alright, quickly, send a message to Diana. Tell her she has half an hour to convert the basement into a quarantine station for three. And she must not only have no contact with you for two weeks at minimum, but also she must air seal the basement door. You’ll have to get your air through the window.

Wade looks introspective for a moment.

Wade

Professor, if you get sick, who’s going to take care of you?

(beat)

I’m staying.

Arturo

Now, there’s no need for that.

Wade

Look, you saved my double’s life from a horrible sickness once. I want to do that for you. I spent near twenty-five years caring for someone. Turns out I have a knack for it.

Quinn

If you’re staying, so am I.

Arturo

No Quinn. I need a technical hand in case you need to work on the equipment in there. You must go back.

Rembrandt is silent. His gaze flickers to Wade and then down again just as quickly. He starts tapping the message to Diana into the comms device.

Wade

Go on. Remy and Quinn can go back, and we’ll stay.

Arturo

Very well. It’s settled.

Arturo dons a mask, and Wade follows suit.

Arturo

Let’s go to the Dominion, Miss Welles.

He turns to Quinn and Rembrandt.

Arturo

Find somewhere discreet to Slide, and for God’s sake avoid everyone.

He heads off, muttering to himself.

Arturo

This blasted world is a nightmare.

End of Act Two

Act Three

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Day

Arturo and Wade sit on their beds, each absorbed in their phones.

Arturo

Good heavens. This pandemic began during the presidency of one Donald Trump.

Wade

That explains all the memes I’m seeing with him in ‘em…

Arturo

What kind of off-the-wall nonsense world is this, anyway?

Wade

I don’t know, but it seems like half the country’s gone a little nutso.

That lady in the park - she was spouting the same stuff as I keep encountering on social media. It’s like instead of causing panic as you might expect from a deadly pandemic, it caused some kind of mass denial.

That’s why it spread uncontrolled.

(beat)

And despite all the dead, and the ones that survived having all kinds of health problems, they seem to be largely pretending it’s not even happening.

Arturo

While I’d like to think that wouldn’t happen on the Earth where I live, who knows? Some people prefer convenient lies to inconvenient truths.

Wade

And get this. I looked up all our names.

She holds her phone out so that Arturo can see it. On the screen is a promotional still of the show Sliders, complete with the original four cast members.

Arturo

What the devil?!

Wade

We’re characters in a TV show here, just like the world where Maggie and Mallory live. How does this keep happening?!

Arturo

Perhaps there was a Seer on this world too?

Wade

I don’t know, but I gotta see this show.

Arturo

Well, we have two weeks here, at minimum. Plenty of time, if you can get a hold of it.

Wade

The woman in the park who recognised Quinn; she thought he was an actor called Jerry O’Connell. My double is named Sabrina Lloyd, Remy’s is Cleavant Derricks, and yours is John Rhys-Davies. They’re all actors of varying levels of fame. Yours and Quinn’s seem to be the most prolific.

(glancing at phone)

Wait, Colin was played by Jerry’s real brother, Charlie O’Connell!

Arturo

Just a moment, I heard that every one of Colin’s doubles was meant to have died when he was Unstuck?

Wade

I don’t know about any of that, but he’s sure not dead here.

Arturo

This world is truly stranger than fiction.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Rembrandt and Quinn sit on stools overlooking their inflatable mattresses covered with blankets, looking extremely bored.

Rembrandt

She coulda set up a TV at least.

Quinn

She had a half hour. I think she did alright.

Quinn glances around the room at all the shiny toys.

Quinn

I got plenty to occupy me. You’ve got your phone, right?

Rembrandt

Yeah. Can’t wait to have the mother of all cricks in my neck in a few days.

There’s a sudden beeping, and Rembrandt follows the noise to the comms device.

He presses a button to stop the noise, and looks at it.

Rembrandt

Oh good, they’ve sent through a list of symptoms to look out for.

Quinn

Let’s hear it.

Rembrandt

Loss of, or change in, smell and/or taste. Headache. Sore throat. Fever, chills. Dry cough. Phlegmy cough - really, both? Body pains. Congestion. Shortness of breath. Brain fog and confusion.

Quinn

Oh, great, just what I need after half of me spending twenty years in a brain fog.

Rembrandt

Oh, I’m not done. Diarrhoea. Rashes, discolouration of the digits, red eyes, chest pain, loss of speech or mobility.

Quinn

Jeez.

Rembrandt

We might be in for a ride, huh?

(reading on)

Says that the symptoms vary wildly, it could be any combination of them, but the most common are your classic flu symptoms — just worse, and with potential for long term illness after recovery. That brain fog is the most common symptom of what they’re calling “Long Covid.”

Quinn

I’m really worried about the Professor.

Rembrandt

Me too, Q-ball. Me too. But if he does get sick, he’s in the best place to be treated, right? They’re experienced with it there.

Quinn

Yeah. You’re right.

A knock at the small window at ground level. The two look up, and Diana is leaving a tray of food there for them.

Rembrandt

Kind of feels like being in prison with the food slot here, huh?

He opens the window more than the small crack previously, and pulls through the tray. On it is a couple of bag lunches with a note.

Quinn grabs the note and reads.

Quinn

(reading aloud)

Place the tray out for eight, one and six. I’m afraid it’ll have to be all disposables, since we don’t want to risk your used plates and cutlery. Sorry. Diana.

(looking up, smirking)

Prison, you say?

Rembrandt lifts up one of the bags and finds another note.

Rembrandt

Looks like this one’s just for you, Momma’s Boy.

Quinn takes it, and smiles.

Note: Take care of yourself Quinn. Text me every day. Love Mom xx

Quinn

What can I say? That’s an accurate characterisation.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Day

Arturo and Wade seem not to have moved at all since we last saw them, but now their hair is more messy, and they look more disheveled - it’s clearly been a few days now.

Wade

I tracked down a streamable link for the show. Wanna watch?

Arturo

Miss Welles, I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do less.

Wade giggles.

Wade

Well, I don’t have headphones so you may have no choice.

Arturo

(deadpan)

O joyous day.

He sniffs. We see that his forehead is a little more moist than usual.

Wade

Professor, are you feeling normal?

Arturo

(uncertain)

I feel fine - I think. But I’m not going to deny it if I begin to deteriorate. We’ll have to see what the next twenty-four hours hold in store.

Wade glances down at her phone.

Wade

Oh no, news of our run-in with that weirdo are starting to spread.

Arturo

(sighing)

Yes, I did see someone filming with their phone.

Wade

It’s only on niche sites so far- people think it’s a publicity stunt for a reunion of the show. Though when they asked Jerry and John for comment, they said it must be something called a “deepfake.” I don’t know what that is, but it hasn’t quelled the speculation.

Arturo

Just what we need.

Wade

Hey, as long as they’re asking them rather than us.

A knock comes on the hotel room door.

Wade dons her mask and hurries over. She opens it to a tray of food placed on the floor.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Hall - Day

The room service worker who left it is hurrying further down the hall. They look back briefly, and they’re wearing a mask.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Day

Wade

(picking up the tray)

Lunch is on.

She places it on the table as Arturo continues their conversation.

Arturo

Well, while you were reading scurrilous gossip, my research brought me the news that there is yet another virus on the horizon in this country called “Monkeypox.”

(wiping his brow)

The sooner we can vacate this hellish world, the better, I say.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Quinn hunches over some electronics, screwing in a circuit board.

Rembrandt paces the room, clearly suffering from boredom.

Rembrandt

What are you workin’ on now, Q-ball?

Quinn

New timer. Might as well make the most of the downtime, right?

Rembrandt

Yeah, easy for you to say when we’re in egghead paradise down here. I got nothing.

Quinn

Aren’t you a singer? Serenade me.

Rembrandt

“The caged bird sings,” huh?

Remy thinks for a moment, before starting to belt out the old African American song “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.”

Rembrandt

Swing low, sweet chariot,

Comin’ for to carry me home…

Quinn looks up at him with some concern at his sorrowful choice of song, but enjoys the performance all the same.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Night

The room is dark, it’s clearly late. The two sliders lie in bed, sleeping.

That is, until Arturo coughs. It’s a nasty, raw cough.

Arturo sits up, turning on his lamp, continuing to cough several more times. His face is flushed, and hair drenched.

Wade stirs.

Wade

Uhn… Professor, not to state the obvious, but I think you have Covid.

Arturo

Yes, thank you for your —

(cough)

— invaluable assessment, Miss Welles.

Wade

(disappointed, and anxious)

Guess we’re in it for the long haul now.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn and Rembrandt are both going stir-crazy now. They have a deck of cards out and are playing a very uninspired game of Go Fish.

Rembrandt

(monotone)

Got any threes?

Quinn

(monotone)

Go fish.

Rembrandt picks up a card from the deck, but his ability to care about this game collapses before our eyes.

He puts down his cards.

Rembrandt

This blows.

Quinn

We could play blackjack.

Rembrandt

Against a card counter? What kind of fool do you take me for?

Silence.

Quinn puts his cards down too.

Rembrandt

You really exhausted everything you can do down here?

Quinn nods.

Quinn

Built a new timer, upgraded Diana’s field generator - not that the thing’s of much use now, improved the latency of the comms, did diagnostics on the Professor’s equipment… I’m out of spare parts and there’s nothing left to upgrade anyway.

Rembrandt

And you did all that in five days?

Quinn

My propensity to work quickly is normally a blessing.

Rembrandt

Well Q-ball, welcome to my boredom.

They sit there in silence for an uncomfortable length of time.

Cut to:

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Day

Immediately, we launch into Arturo coughing. It’s a nasty hacking cough punctuated by gasps for air.

Wade places a moist towel on his forehead.

Wade

Professor, you’re in a really bad way. Might be time to take you to a hospital.

Arturo, unable to speak due to his coughing fit, merely nods in compliance.

Wade herself is now showing early signs of the virus, with her skin looking pallid.

She clears her throat and grabs the phone.

Int. Hospital Covid Ward: Nurse’s Station - Day

A masked Wade watches the masked Arturo being whisked away into the ward, as she stands by a Nurse behind a desk - the nurse is decked out in full PPE.

Nurse

Has he had his four vaccines?

Wade

I’m sorry, he hasn’t been vaccinated.

The nurse sighs deeply.

Nurse

He’s had ample time - he an antivaxer?

Wade

No, and I can’t explain why but he actually didn’t have the opportunity before he got exposed.

Nurse

(sceptical)

Sure thing. Look, I can’t sugar-coat this. I’ve seen a lot of unvaccinated people in his state, and it can go either way.

Wade looks crestfallen.

Nurse

We’re gonna treat him with some oxygen, and if he deteriorates, he may need to go on a ventilator. If that time comes…

(leaning their elbows on the desk)

We set up a video call to say goodbye, in case he doesn’t wake up from the induced coma.

Wade’s eyes glisten.

Nurse

Pray that it doesn’t come to that, but if the time comes, make sure his affairs are in order.

The nurse gives Wade a stack of home tests and a pulse oximeter.

Nurse

Take these back with you and monitor your symptoms. If your blood oxygen dips below ninety per cent, call us. And use these tests once you start feeling better. Isolate ‘til you come up negative.

Wade

Thank you.

Nurse

We’ll stay in touch, okay?

Wade nods, and turns away.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Quinn is fast asleep on his air mattress. Rembrandt stares up at the ceiling, absolutely jonesing for dopamine.

He stands up, and inspects the window to see if he can squeeze through.

Ext. [EDP] Mallory House: Side of House - Night

Rembrandt shimmies through the window with difficulty, but manages to pull himself out of the basement.

Rembrandt

(to self)

Twelve days is long enough, right?

He disappears into the night.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Quinn is awoken by the comms device beeping. He looks at it.

Quinn

(under breath)

Oh, no.

He flips over to wake Rembrandt.

Quinn

Remy, they’re putting the Professor on a v—

He finds himself patting an empty mattress.

Quinn

Remy…?

Int. [EDP] All-Night Diner - Night

Rembrandt enters the largely unpopulated diner, checking his pockets for cash.

He greets the waitress behind the counter.

Rembrandt

Hey there, just a bowl of fries, thanks.

The woman nods. Rembrandt takes a seat.

In his pocket, his phone begins to ring.

Rembrandt

Damn.

He takes out the phone and answers.

Rembrandt

Hey Quinn.

(beat)

Look man, I’m sorry but it’s almost two weeks and I couldn’t stand another second in that damned basement, man. I feel fine. I’ve felt fine the whole time.

The waitress places the bowl of fries on the table in front of him.

Rembrandt

I’m just getting some grub—

(looking up at the waitress)

— Thank you —

(looking back down)

— No, I’ve only gone near one person. I didn’t go to some club or some nonsense, I’m not that dumb.

He places a fry into his mouth, and chews.

His eyes widen.

Rembrandt

(awkward, into phone)

Uh, so…

I’m gonna come back now. I can’t taste these fries.

He drops his money by the bowl, and dashes for the door.

Int. [CPW] Hospital Covid Ward: Isolation - Night

Arturo sits in his hospital bed, with an oxygen mask. His breathing is laboured.

He holds up a phone, through which he can see Wade.

Arturo

Wade, if I don’t —

(wheeze)

— survive, tell Amanda —

(cough)

— I’m sorry, and I love her.

(wheeze)

And tell Quinn —

(gasp)

— he’s the best stepson I could imagine.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Suite - Night

Wade looks at the Professor’s sorry state in her phone, just barely holding back her tears.

She nods at him.

Wade

I will, Professor.

She coughs a few times.

Wade

Promise me it won’t come to that, okay?

The Professor nods.

The phone is taken from him, and a nurse looks into the phone.

Nurse

(through phone)

You take care, Ma’am. We’ll keep you informed. But I’m afraid it’s time to hook him up.

Wade nods.

Wade

You do whatever you can for him, okay?

Nurse

(maudlin)

We will. We always do.

The phone hangs up, and Wade begins to bawl her eyes out.

Her phone switches back to the “Sliders” video she’d been watching. It’s paused on a moment from “Fever” where the Professor is starting to display symptoms of the infection, but continues working on the cure all the same.

She puts the phone down, unable to keep watching for now - just openly weeping into the empty hotel room, Arturo’s bed still unmade.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Quinn paces, running hands through his hair, beside himself with anxiety.

Finally, he hears a tap on the window. He stops, and looks over to find Rembrandt peering in.

Rembrandt

Hey Q-ball. I’m so sorry. I really thought we were in the clear, you know?

Quinn

(frantic)

Listen, I’m not sure what to do here. You might have exposed people to a deadly virus in a world that doesn’t know about it. Who can we call for that kind of thing?!

Rembrandt

Maybe we just have to tell that diner what’s happening?

Quinn

You’d better think of a convincing lie, man. Because if this thing gets out…

Rembrandt

I’ll be Typhoid Remy all over again. I get it.

Rembrandt pulls out his phone.

Int. [EDP] All-Night Diner - Night

The waitress mops the floor as the phone on the wall rings.

She turns, and answers it.

Waitress

Hello?

(beat)

Oh, hey there. You left in a hurry. My food no good? You left a full bowl.

We see that she’s grazing on the bowl of fries that he left behind.

As she listens to him, she looks down at the bowl, suddenly very concerned.

Waitress

You’re kidding me…

(beat)

How contagious?

In a panic, she throws the fries into the trash.

Waitress

Look, I can’t afford to take two weeks off…

(beat)

You’ll pay me how much?!

(sceptical)

Okay… I mean, if this isn’t all a great big joke, then sure…

Fade to black

Int. [CPW] Hospital: Covid Ward - Day

Gentle light filters in the window.

Arturo lies in his hospital bed, face covered with a BIPAP mask. His eyes flutter open.

Cut to Black.

End of Act Three

Episode 6:
Gender Police

After Quinn gets caught up in a military incursion of the basement, a team of Wade, Maggie, Diana, and Cole attempt to rescue him, but are instead flung to an Earth with a strict patriarchy and literal gender police.

When Cole is arrested for attempting to use a Women's bathroom, and subsequently rescued by a resistance group, the cis women of the team wind up involved with a rival group - with a secret.

Foreword

Content Warning: This episode explores the difficult and timely subject of transphobia and TERF rhetoric, and while the script explicitly condemns it, it may disturb some readers.

Please read with care.

I’m a non-binary intersex person who’s been increasingly horrified at hate directed at my friends who are just trying to be themselves, and this is my attempt to work through it, and give others a taste of the future I fear.

This is the kind of thing Sliders could be if it had guts, but last I heard, Tracy Tormé was working on some kind of Sliders reboot that he promised would specifically not be “woke.”

In this script, I’m trying to put across the message that the fascist patriarchy won’t stop with trans people, and that anyone who throws us under the bus to enjoy a temporary reprieve from oppression better watch their backs, because once they’re done with us, guess who’s next.

Previously on Sliders

Arturo

I don’t get much recognition since the government cover-up forced me into obscurity. — It pains me to think of what they could have been doing with that technology all this time.

Wade

I heard about what happened to the other Wade — I have a responsibility not to tarnish her memory.

Rembrandt

What are you workin’ on now, Q-ball?

Quinn

New timer.

[Woman spits into Arturo’s face.]

Felicity

If I were you I’d get a Covid test.

Arturo

What is a Covid test?

Felicity

Where have you actually been for the past couple years?

[Arturo coughing]

Wade

Professor, not to state the obvious, but I think you have Covid.

Nurse

We set up a video call to say goodbye, in case he doesn’t wake up from the induced coma.

Arturo

Wade, if I don’t —

(wheeze)

— survive, — tell Quinn —

(gasp)

— he’s the best stepson I could imagine.

[Arturo wakes up in hospital]

Act One

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

Cole sits on the staircase, staring at the spot where the vortex has opened up so many times recently. It’s as if they’re willing it to appear.

Anna wanders in from the hall, looking for them.

Anna

There you are. Whatcha doing?

Cole

Trying to convince myself that if I stare hard enough, they’ll show up.

Anna joins them in sitting on the step.

Anna

I wish I could offer any comfort, but these wormhole things are unpredictable, right? Anything could happen. They could be off on adventures like in the show?

Cole

That could mean I’ll never see ‘em again. And I just met my other Dad, you know?

Anna has no response to that.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Master Bedroom - Day

Maggie, wearing a towel, is rummaging through her closet, looking for something to wear.

Mallory comes up behind her, and starts massaging her shoulders. She recoils from him.

Maggie

Not now.

Mallory grunts; something just snapped inside him.

Mallory

(contentious)

Not now? Not ever, it seems like!

Ever since Quinn vacated the premises.

Maggie

(nervous)

Oh, don’t be silly.

Mallory

Come on. Everyone sees it. Especially me. How many times have we had sex in the month since he left?

Maggie

I don’t keep track of—

Mallory

Maggie, you don’t need to “keep track” of a big fat zero.

Maggie

(guilty)

Fine, I’ve been distant.

Mallory

It’s because you love Quinn, isn’t it?

Maggie

What? No, I love you!

Mallory

Then why, Maggie? Why aren’t you giving me any affection?

Maggie

I don’t know, okay? You just have… different vibes now.

Mallory

Which suggests that it is Quinn.

Maggie

Look, I’m obviously not going to deny that I went into our relationship loving Quinn. I thought he was dead, though, so it wouldn’t matter. And over time that love morphed into a love for you, such as you were.

I don’t know why I don’t feel as turned on by you now. Maybe it was Quinn that I was attracted to, but I always saw your face, heard your voice, enjoyed your personality. So I just figured it must be you!

Mallory collapses onto the bed.

Mallory

(defeated)

Quinn just keeps ruining my life, even after he’s gone. I can’t win. I’m always gonna be compared to him, just because we share a name.

He buries his head in his hands.

Mallory

Why doesn’t anyone just like me as a person?

Maggie moves to comfort him, but he denies her.

Mallory

Our marriage is a sham! How did I never see it? The way you were so happy after Quinn took over my body. You’re never that happy to see me.

Maggie is weeping now.

Maggie

I’m sorry. I never expected to feel this way.

Mallory

Maybe Quinn isn’t the only person I’ll be separating from this year.

Maggie’s eyes widen at the suggestion.

Maggie

You know what, maybe that’s not such a bad idea.

She storms out of the room, carrying a pile of clothes.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

Cole and Anna’s reverie is broken by Maggie storming down the stairs, wearing a few loose items of clothing she’d managed to throw on herself in her rage.

Cole

Mom? Are you okay?

Maggie

(icily)

I’m fine.

As she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she’s stopped in her tracks as a vortex opens in front of her.

Cole and Anna stand from their spots, each excited in their own way.

Cole is taken aback to see Missus Mallory and Arturo appear, followed by Wade and Rembrandt.

Both Maggie and Cole are saddened to see the portal close without Quinn showing up, but they are nonetheless relieved to see those that did come.

Maggie

(anger gone for now)

Oh my god, where have you been for a month?! What happened?

Rembrandt

Oh we’ve just been in Covid isolation is all.

Maggie

Co-what now?

Arturo

We got caught up in a pandemic on another Earth. Finally got a clean bill of health…

(wheeze)

So to speak.

(beat)

I’ve come here to recuperate. I was told I could live in some kind of luxury here.

He leans heavily on Missus Mallory. He’s in a bad way after his near-death.

Wade

The Professor almost didn’t make it. And now he’s got a severely reduced lung capacity. He’s going to have to rest for a while, I think. Who knows if he’ll ever really recover. This kind of thing was pretty common on that Earth.

Maggie

We have deep pockets at our disposal. And you can stay here as long as you want; we have guest rooms coming out our ears.

Maggie helps Missus Mallory carry Arturo toward the living room.

Cole

(to Wade)

Where’s Quinn and Aunt Didi?

Wade

They stayed back to work on their containment thingamijig for Colin. But Quinn promised to spend 10 hours here a night, so you’ll see him soon.

Cole pumps a fist.

Remy and Wade head to the living room, leaving the two zoomers alone on the stairs.

Anna

(to Cole)

Wow. Sliding really is dangerous, huh?

Cole

From my very limited experience, yes, very.

(grinning)

But, it looks like a spot may have opened up for a young, vibrant team member with sliding in their blood. Who am I to refuse?

Cole follows the group into the living room, with Anna trailing behind.

Ext. [EDP] Mallory House: Backyard - Day

It’s mid-morning, and Diana is standing over the flower beds with a watering can. She completes her chore, and pulls out a small list of tasks that Missus Mallory presumably gave her to take care of the place while she was gone.

Diana

(to self)

Water flowers: check.

(beat)

Trim hedges? Okay I think she’s just turned me into her new gardener. What a pointless waste of time.

Her musing is drowned out by the sound of military vehicles roaring down the street. One by one they begin to stop in front of the Mallory House.

Thinking fast, Diana hides in some bushes.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn lifts his head from his soldering, hearing the commotion. He hurries to the stairs and cautiously peeks out the door.

In terror, he closes it, lunges for the two timers and comms device, placing them in whatever pockets he can find in his clothes.

He then heads for the window in an attempt to escape, but he’s only able to open it before two soldiers burst through the door, one pointing a gun at Quinn.

Soldier #1

(pointing a gun)

Sir, put your hands where I can see them.

He puts his hands in the air.

Soldier #1

Turn around slowly.

Quinn does as told.

Soldier #2

Please hand over the timer, sir.

Quinn

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Soldier #2

Please don’t play dumb with me, sir. We are well aware that you have sliding tech, and we know who you are.

Soldier #1

Hand it over, now!

Quinn sighs, and grabs the old timer from his pocket, giving it up to Soldier #2.

Ext. [EDP] Mallory House: Outside Basement Window - Day

Diana taps very gently on the glass so that Quinn, whose head can be seen right by the window, can hear.

Notably, the tray from the previous episode is still sitting there at the window, almost forgotten.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn stands still for a moment, and then in one swift motion, grabs the tray and hurls it at Soldier #1, using the distraction to toss the new timer out the window, along with the comms device.

Quinn

Go, Diana!

Ext. [EDP] Mallory House: Outside Basement Window - Day

Diana, without any time to think, opens a vortex and slides away.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Both soldiers now have their weapons trained on Quinn.

Soldier #2

Oh, that was a mistake, sir. Come with us please, and no more funny business.

Quinn goes quietly now that the timer is safe.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

The vortex opens once more, and Diana collapses into the room, before springing back up and standing vigilantly for some soldier to come through after her.

Fortunately, it closes without that happening.

She breathes a sigh of relief, and then drops to her knees in shock.

Cole’s head pops out of the hall.

Cole

Aunt Didi?!

They rush over to her.

Diana

Quinn’s in trouble. The military just seized the basement.

She holds up the timer, which has been set for 10 hours in anticipation for Quinn’s short stay later.

Diana

I have to slide back in exactly ten hours, or we’ll all be stuck here with no way to reach him.

Cole takes a moment to process this.

Cole

(shrieking)

Mom! Dad!!

Int. [EDP] Interrogation Room - Day

Quinn sits in silence, hands cuffed to a nailed-down chair. He looks at the analogue clock hanging above the door, concerned. The clock reads half past four.

Finally, the door below the clock starts to open. On Quinn as he refuses to look at whoever’s coming in.

Unknown Interrogator (O.S.)

We’d been tracing vortex signatures for few weeks, but we couldn’t track down the source ‘til… oh!

(amused)

Ha! Should’ve guessed who I’d find here.

Quinn’s eyes pop in recognition of the voice, and his eyes meet one of his doubles, wearing a suit and tie. He looks like he has no shortage of ego. Henceforth known as Bravo.

Bravo

Good afternoon, Quinn. For the sake of the circumstances, call me Bravo; it’s one of my code names.

Quinn

What are you doing here? This isn’t your Earth.

Bravo’s eyes light up with the trademark Quinn excitement. The wheels are spinning in his mind, and he loves it.

Bravo

Oh, interesting.

If you’re saying that, then you’re either this world’s native Quinn, or you know what happened to him. Which is it?

Quinn

Maybe I’m him, maybe I’m not. Could be either. Could be both.

Quinn’s eyes dart to the clock, and back.

Bravo holds up the old timer, turning it over. Then he throws it over his shoulder like it’s garbage.

Bravo

Useless. You must’ve cannibalised it to build the one you threw to your lady friend.

Look man, we’re intellectual equals, I’m sure. You should have deduced by now that we’re not trying to hurt you. It’s just this tech needs to be contained. You’ve surely seen the harm it can do in the wrong hands.

Quinn

What, and your hands are the right ones?

Bravo

(chuckling)

Touché. But maybe you should see our facility before you make that judgement.

Quinn

Oh, goody, the grand tour, huh?

Bravo

Hey, I wouldn’t do it for just anyone, you know?

Bravo touches his earpiece.

Bravo

Charlie, this is Bravo. Engage Contingency A6.

He looks at Quinn pointedly.

Bravo

You haven’t stopped looking at that clock behind me, so it’s pretty obvious to me that the woman you were with is due back pretty soon. I don’t know what kind of back up she’s getting, so my colleague is in your lab, diverting her next slide to a random Earth.

Quinn

What?!

(disbelieving)

No, there’s no way your flunkies know how to do that.

Bravo

You’d be surprised how good my flunkies can be. And relax. We’ll let your friend come back as soon as you and I have come to an arrangement. We could use another Quinn on the team, just puttin’ it out there.

Quinn stares at him with intense anger.

Bravo

Think about it. You might be surprised at the good we’re doing.

He leaves the room, leaving Quinn to stew.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Living Room - Day

Arturo, Missus Mallory, Maggie, Mallory, Cole, Diana, and Wade all sit around the room.

Maggie is assembling guns.

Maggie

Quinn needs us, and that’s all I need to know.

Diana looks at her in gratitude.

Diana

Who else is coming? We’re talking the army, okay? It’s going to be a long shot at best.

Wade

Count me in, obviously.

Arturo

I am in no state, I’m afraid.

Maggie

That’s alright, you get your rest.

Rembrandt

I… want to help, but…

Wade

Remy, you need to do that thing we talked about, okay?

Rembrandt

(head lowered)

Yeah. Okay.

(looking at Maggie and Diana)

I’m sorry.

Maggie

It’s alright. You’re going through things.

She looks at Mallory, her gaze changing from sympathetic to stony.

Mallory

Why do I get the feeling you don’t want me to come along?

Maggie

(angrily)

Mallory, you do what you want. Try not to get fused with another double this time.

Mallory

(venomous)

Oh, just say it. You think I’m useless now.

Maggie

Oh go throw a pity party, Mallory.

The room has become tense, and Mallory stands up.

Mallory

You know what, screw it. I’m outta here.

He storms out, leaving the room gawking in shock.

Cole looks alarmed at what just happened, but nonetheless resolute.

Maggie

I’m sorry about that. We’re going through a rough patch. But there’s no time to worry about that right now, so let’s just focus.

Cole

Mom, let me come.

Maggie

Cole, no! It’s way too dangerous!

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Hall - Day

Mallory hesitates, before hearing:

Cole (O.S.)

(muffled)

It’s my Dad! I need to help him.

Mallory sighs, and continues his exit.

End of Act One

Act Two

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

It’s time. The off-world team of Cole, Wade, Maggie, and Diana make their final preparations.

For Maggie, this means concealing weapons on every part of her body. Guns, knives, more guns, cable ties, and more.

Cole and Diana each have a handgun strapped to their bodies, and Cole places a switchblade in their boot. Diana has a flashlight in a holster on her belt.

Notably, Cole wears an interesting mix of women’s and men’s clothes - jeans with a shorter skirt over the top, eyeshadow, a leather jacket, big Doc Martens, and a chunky chain around their neck.

Wade

You really need all those weapons?

Maggie

As the boy scouts say, “be prepared.”

Cole

I don’t love guns, but think about who we’re going up against.

Wade

You could have weapons coming out of your eyes and still be greatly outmatched by the military.

Maggie

Ideally, we’ll never need to fire a round. But they can be an effective tool for getting people to do what you ask. And that’s what we’ll need.

Wade sighs, and shrugs.

Diana

All right everyone, let’s go.

Diana points the timer, and the vortex bursts open.

They step through.

Ext. [CPW] Mallory House: Outside Window - Day

The four sliders appear from the vortex.

Diana freezes, staring at the house.

The house is painted the wrong colour. It’s a shade of blue, when it was once white.

Maggie

Alright, stay sharp everyone.

(beat)

No military vehicles? Have they already left?

Wade

This… this isn’t the right Earth.

Cole

Are you serious? Again?!

(beat)

Is it just me this keeps happening to?

Maggie

How do you know?

Diana

The house is the wrong colour.

She inspects the paint job - it’s weathered and there’s caked dirt over it. Then she looks down into the basement window. It’s dark, so she flips on her flashlight and looks in.

Diana

Washer, dryer, boxes - no lab.

Maggie

Crap. Let’s get out of here before whoever lives in this house sees us.

Ext. [CPW] Street Outside Mallory House - Night

The foursome regroup on the sidewalk. Diana’s looking disdainfully at the timer.

Diana

The military must have somehow messed with the coordinates. I didn’t know they would be capable of doing that, unless they forced Quinn to do it.

Wade

How long are we stuck here? Wherever here is.

Diana

(mournfully)

Five days and two hours.

Maggie

(alarmed)

You’re kidding!

Cole

What do we do now?

Maggie and Wade exchange glances.

Maggie

Let’s head to the Dominion. As long as we can get a room, we can just hole up there until the slide.

Ext. [CPW] San Francisco Street - Night

The four sliders walk along the busy street towards the hotel, and the women are being assaulted with catcalls and whistles.

All the other women around them wear conservative skirts and dresses, and there are very few women with short hair. This society is highly gendered.

Cole, on the other hand, seems to be getting less favourable looks and comments.

Passer-by #1

Freak!

Passer-by #2

Check out the degenerate!

Passer-by #3

What the hell is that?

Cole, looking extremely worried for their safety, powers ahead into the hotel.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Lobby - Night

Cole, Maggie, Diana, and Wade step up to the counter. They feel like everyone’s staring at them. Behind the counter, a male clerk eyes them.

Maggie

Hi, we’d like a suite, please?

Clerk

Sure, and what name can I put that under?

Maggie

Uh, Beckett. Maggie Beckett.

The clerk just stares for a moment.

Clerk

I need a man’s name, ma’am.

Maggie

(annoyed)

There are no men in our group.

The clerk looks Cole up and down with disdain.

Clerk

No, I guess not.

(beat)

Look ladies, you need a man to check you in. It’s the rules. He don’t have to stay but he needs to do it. With his credit card.

Maggie scowls at him, and turns to the others.

Maggie

We’ll have to find somewhere else.

Cole sighs in exasperation.

Cole

Okay, but I gotta use the bathroom.

Maggie

Should be one by the Hotel bar. Go.

Cole dashes off as we follow them to:

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Bathroom Queue - Night

There’s a few people awaiting entry into the bathrooms. Cole goes to the ladies queue.

They’re not paying much attention. When they reach the front of the line, they realise they’re stepping through some kind of X-Ray.

There’s a shout, and Cole looks with alarm as two armed men grab them on either side.

Gender Officer #1

Sir, you’re under arrest for attempting to enter the women’s bathroom.

Cole

(incredulous)

What? I’m not a sir…

Gender Officer #2

X-ray says otherwise, mister.

The police place handcuffs on Cole, who is just dumbfounded.

Cole is forced out of the bathroom, and is taken towards the side exit of the Hotel.

Cole

(top of lungs)

Mom! Help!

Gender Officer #1

Shut your mouth, degenerate.

Ext. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Alley - Night

Cole is manhandled towards a police car parked in the alley.

Cole

No, stop!

They manage to ram an elbow into one of the officer’s stomachs, winding him, but it just makes the other one restrain Cole more tightly.

As they approach the car, a great big thud is heard, and we see that the officer has been hit hard in the head by a crowbar.

Two unknown rescuers wearing ski masks have come to Cole’s aid.

A drawstring sack has been pulled over the head of the officer that Cole had managed to hurt, and tightened enough to buy time.

Unknown Rescuer #1

Come on! Quick!

Cole finds themself being pulled along in a rush, through alleyways and tunnels, and finally boosted over a chain link fence and behind a dumpster, where they finally get a moment to breathe.

Unknown Rescuer #1

Thanks for giving us that opening. I don’t think we could have helped if you hadn’t elbowed that pig.

Cole

Thanks… but who are you??

Unknown Rescuer #2

IOA.

Cole looks blankly.

Unknown Rescuer #2

You haven’t heard of us?

(sigh)

Guess we need more PR. We’re the Intersectional Outcasts Alliance.

Unknown Rescuer #1

We provide a safe haven to folks like you.

Cole

Like me?

Unknown Rescuer #2 takes off their ski-mask, and we see that it’s a trans woman, henceforth named Beth.

Beth

Yeah. Gay, trans, intersex, gender-non-conforming, queer. Anyone subject to the Gender Assignment Act.

Cole

Oh dear god, what is that?

Beth furrows her brow.

Beth

You came to the Western States and you don’t know that? Oh honey. We have a lot to tell you.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Lobby - Night

Maggie, Diana, and Wade are still waiting for Cole to return.

Maggie

I’m gonna check on Cole. The way people were commenting before, she could be in trouble.

(catching herself)

I mean, they.

Maggie hurries off.

Wade

They?

Diana

Cole’s non-binary. Uses “They/Them” pronouns. Well, they used to use “She/They,” but they’re trying to transition us all to just “They/Them.” We do sometimes catch ourselves saying the wrong thing, but we’re trying.

Wade

(seemingly new to the concept, sceptical)

Hmm.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Bathroom Queue - Night

Maggie peers around, and then spots some signage on the walls.

Gender checkpoint

X-ray in use

prosecution applies for improper bathroom use

She overhears a woman:

Woman in Queue #1

I just saw them grab a degenerate trying to enter our bathroom, can you believe it?

Woman in Queue #2

That’s what the IOA’s pushing for, you know. Men in our bathrooms, exposing themselves.

Woman in Queue #1

Thank god they caught him.

Maggie

(horrified)

Oh, no.

She dashes back toward the lobby.

Int. [CPW] Dominion Hotel: Lobby - Night

Wade and Diana are startled by Maggie running back to them, looking frantic.

Maggie

Guys, I think Cole might have been arrested.

Diana

What?! Why?

Wade

What, you’ve never been arrested within an hour of arriving on some world for breaking some rule?

Maggie

(beside herself)

Cole uses the ladies room when they go. It’s generally safer. But, not in this world. They have actual police that monitor who goes in and out of bathrooms, and what they look like… you know, down there. I think they took Cole away.

Diana

Oh my god.

Then, their conversation is broken up by the front doors of the hotel slamming open, and a small crowd of women burst in, wearing t-shirts emblazened with a large “XX”. One of them, Mel holds a megaphone.

Mel

(into megaphone)

Ladies and gentlemen, your patriarchal oppression is over! The XX League are takin’ over this hotel tonight!

The announcement ellicits a low murmur, followed by some boos from male voices.

The clerk looks at them with annoyance.

Wade grins at these women, who seem to be a huge shift from what they’ve seen so far on this Earth.

Wade

Right on!

Mel glances at her, and her eyes light up.

Mel

Wade Evans? Ladies, look! Our leader graces us with her presence.

All of the women of the XX League crowd around Wade, who looks back at Maggie and Diana before being swallowed up by them.

Maggie

Doubles again?

Diana

Guess so.

Wade makes eye contact with Maggie. She’s a mixture of surprised and elated that her double is the leader of some group that’s fighting this oppressive system.

Maggie is less enthused, of course.

Diana

Maybe this group could help us find Cole?

Maggie looks at her, and nods.

Maggie

Let’s ask.

Int. [CPW] IOA Base - Night

Between Beth and a now-unmasked Unknown Rescuer #1, Jesse, a woman with what could be considered by some to be a masculine build, Cole heads, blindfolded, down a winding corridor that opens up to a large industrial warehouse.

Finally, they stop and remove Cole’s blindfold.

Cole takes in their surrounding. People of all kinds are scattered here. One section of the room has a series of cots, while another is an industrial kitchen. Yet another area is a simple medical station.

The people around are highly diverse, though the majority are in some way outside the gender norm.

All are scruffy and pale, as if they don’t get much sun.

Beth

Welcome to IOA HQ. I’m Beth, by the way. And this is Jesse.

(beat)

Oh, by the way, this whole facility is a dead zone for cell signals. Keeps us invisible. Don’t expect to be calling anybody from here.

Cole smiles at the scene before them. They’ve never felt more like they fit in than among these people that all look so different.

Jesse

So, you don’t seem to know much about our country. Where you from?

Cole

Uh, Canada.

Beth

Never heard of it.

Jesse

Well regardless, if you kept wearing those clothes you would have either been picked up by the pigs or beaten to death sooner or later, even if you hadn’t gone in that bathroom.

Cole

I see… what kind of punishment is there for being like us?

Beth

(gravely)

Well, first they try conversion therapy for a year, and if you don’t conform to a gender after that they send you to prison ‘til you do.

Jesse

Needless to say, most of us who get to prison never make it out. Often we’re murdered in there.

Beth’s head hangs.

Jesse

Beth’s girlfriend, Hayley, died in prison. They’ll never say she was murdered by a prison guard, among other unspeakable things, but our sources say she was.

Cole processes this with great horror.

Cole

I’m only here for five days, but while I’m here I wanna help. I have some tech expertise. With the right equipment, I know how to monitor brain waves, tell truths from lies at a higher hit rate than a polygraph.

Jesse and Beth glance at each other, calculating.

Beth

Maybe you can help out. We have a project we’re working on. Obviously as a newbie we can’t fill you in on much just yet, but…

Jesse

We might be able to get you the tech you need. But for now, grab a meal from the kitchen, and pick a bed.

Int. [CPW] XX League Base - Night

Located in a well-maintained floor of an office building, the XX League base is much more “legitimate” than the ramshackle headquarters of the IOA. Some women are working at computers, though since it’s late at night now, it’s largely deserted.

At the entrance, Maggie and Diana have their weapons confiscated.

Maggie stands, arms outstretched, being patted down by one of the women. With each weapon confiscated, she gets more and more annoyed.

Maggie

Do you have to take all of them?

Mel

I’m sorry. We are a strictly non-violent organisation.

They wave Wade through without the strip search.

Maggie

(muttering)

I’d better get these back.

Diana

(impressed)

Non-violent, huh?

Mel

(to Wade)

Missus Evans, welcome to the San Francisco chapter of the XX League. We’re delighted you’ve taken the time to come.

All the women in the place (and they’re all cis women) stand up and nod to Wade as Mel leads her through the building.

Wade

(winging it)

No problem. Listen, you got somewhere to sleep here?

Mel

Absolutely, ma’am, I’ll have our girls make up a private room off the women’s shelter upstairs.

Wade

Can you make it four beds?

Mel

Four? Are you expecting another?

Maggie

We came here with my kid, Cole, but she’s missing.

She catches the “she” and cringes.

Mel

Oh, I see. We can help you find her; we have connections in the police. What’s the name? Cole…?

Maggie

Cole Mallory.

Mel nods towards a woman at a computer near her, who writes the name down on a notepad.

Mel

So ladies, make yourselves at home and we’ll have your quarters prepared in no time.

Maggie and Diana look at one another, somewhat impressed by this organisation, though Maggie is still a ball of anxiety.

Int. [CPW] IOA Base - Day

It’s morning, though you’d hardly notice in this dank place. All the residents are gathered around tables, eating some basic gruel. Cole sits beside Beth and across the table from Jesse.

Beth

(through a mouthful of food)

The intersex folks we have here, most were surgically altered at birth to fit them with either male or female standards.

Jesse

They’re the only ones who can legally take hormones, but only for the one gender they were assigned. So in here, they swap around. Has to be rationed but it’s better than nothing.

Cole

Why not just play along as a gender?

Beth

A lot do. But it takes its toll. High rates of, well, you know. At least here we’re free to be ourselves, even if this is the only safe place we’ve got.

Cole

I get it. If I was forced to stay a boy, I might not have got this far.

Beth

You had supportive parents, huh? What’s that like?

Cole looks into her bowl.

Cole

They had no idea what I was talking about at first, but after a while they saw I wasn’t just yanking their chain.

(beat)

At first they had a lot of trouble adjusting to the change from “he” to “she,” but now since I’ve asked them to call me “they,” now they’re having trouble not saying “she.”

Beth

I really would kill for parents like that. Ones that actually try and understand you.

Cole

Yeah, I guess I’m really lucky.

She finds her eyes welling up as she thinks about her parents.

Cole

I hope they don’t separate.

(catching self)

But my problems are nothing compared to yours.

Jesse

Hun, we’re all in solidarity here. We have to be, it’s our only means of survival. And that means we validate each other’s feelings.

Beth nods, and Cole responds with a warm smile. Cole feels connected to these people.

Int. [CPW] XX League Base - Day

A large group of women, all wearing the XX t-shirts has gathered and they’re working on protest signs.

Mel

(addressing the crowd)

Okay girls! Let’s show these arrogant males that women deserve equal rights! That we demand an end to male violence! That our bodies are not their property! The next big march is tomorrow, straight to City Hall!

Wade, Maggie, and Diana work on their own signs.

Wade’s sign:

Equality now!

Diana’s sign:

Silence is violence

Maggie’s Sign:

End bathroom policing

Mel comes upon her sign, and looks at it, frowning.

Mel

Excuse me, but that message is not in our ethos.

Maggie

What? Why wouldn’t you be against violating people as they go to the bathroom?!

Mel

The only violation that goes on is when males try to invade our bathrooms, dressed up unconvincingly as women.

Maggie can’t take this.

Maggie

My child was almost certainly carted away by these gender police, and Cole is no threat to anyone!

Mel

Then your child must be a man in womanface. We oppose all male violence, including the degenerate male who feigns womanhood to satisfy their sick fantasies.

Maggie

(standing up in rage)

Oh don’t you dare talk about my baby like that.

Diana

(providing support)

Cole goes to the ladies room when there’s no unisex option, because they fear being beaten in a mens room for looking feminine.

Mel

“They?” What kind of freak is this Cole, anyway?

Maggie slaps her hard in the face, and makes a beeline for the exit.

Wade

Wait!

Diana looks at her.

Diana

You could have stood up for Cole.

Wade

They… they’re doing a lot of good here, Diana. I can’t just give up on ‘em because of one thing.

Diana

I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect this from you, Wade.

Diana shakes her head and turns to leave too.

Diana

We’ll meet you at the hotel for the slide. You can do whatever.

She walks away, leaving Wade crestfallen.

Int. [CPW] IOA Base - Day

Cole is seated near a group of IOA members who are assembling large rifles. Beth sits beside her.

Beth

Unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of non-violence. When our lives are on the line every day, it’s fight or die.

(beat)

Of course, that makes for bad PR. We work in such tight-lipped secrecy that the only time anyone hears about us is when we pull stunts like the one we did to rescue you. They paint us as the violent ones, but…

Cole

You’re defending yourselves the only way you can.

Beth nods.

Cole

(musing)

Stonewall was a riot…

Beth

(unfamiliar)

Stonewall?

Cole

Oh, just a… story… I once read. About a gay bar hassled and raided by the cops. Things came to a head and they started throwing bricks at the cops in defiance. It was violent, but it was a breakthrough in their fight for rights.

Beth

Sounds like a good story.

Beth thinks for a moment, before finally speaking up again.

Beth

Listen, I shouldn’t be telling a newbie this, but we’ve got such a great plan about to come together. You ever heard of the XX League?

Cole

No. Sounds… exclusionary.

Beth

That it is. They’re what I would call the government-approved opposition. They’re a safe outlet for most people who disapprove of the patriarchal regime.

Cole

What do you mean, “safe?”

Beth

They’re ostensibly a women’s rights group who put on big displays. They rattle a few cages, feel good about it, but ultimately change nothing, while throwing people like us under the bus - in fact they’d probably spit on either one of us given half the chance.

(leaning in, whispering)

We’ve got some serious dirt on them.

Ext. San Francisco Street - Day

The protest is in full swing now, with a huge group of women marching down the street.

Wade walks side-by-side with Mel towards the front of the pack.

She slows her pace, letting the crowd go ahead of her, until she’s trailing behind them. Looking defeated, she stops in her tracks in the middle of the road, watching the march go on ahead.

She stands there for a moment, and then:

A sack is thrown over her head.

Cut to Black

Int. [CPW] IOA Base - Day

Cole and Beth are having lunch at the mess hall table, and Jesse appears, bounding toward them.

Jesse

We caught the big fish!

Beth stands, elated at the news.

Cole

Big fish?

Beth

(whispering)

The leader of the XX League.

Cole smiles at this.

Jesse

(to Cole)

Oh, we got all your components, they’re waiting for you by your bed. Be ready by tomorrow, okay?

Cole is now just as excited as the other two.

Int. [CPW] IOA Base: Interrogation Room - Night

Wade is tied to a chair, the sack still over her head. Finally, Jesse pulls it off her. Beth and a trans man, Blake, stand near the doorway.

Jesse

Welcome to the fun, Missus Evans.

Wade squints at the light shining on her.

Wade

What’s the big idea? Who are you?

Jesse points to a symbol spray-painted on the wall: a circle with an “equals” sign in the middle.

Wade looks at it without recognition.

Wade

Am I supposed to know what that is?

Jesse frowns.

Jesse

Well you’ve ratted out enough of us, the least you could do is recognise our symbol.

(leaning in close)

We’re IOA.

Wade looks blankly.

Wade

Look I don’t know who you are, but you’ve got the wrong person, I swear.

Jesse

Oh my god, screw you. You look down on us, you send our people to prison, if not their deaths, and now you won’t even respect us enough to acknowledge we exist? Just for that you can stew until morning.

Jesse heads for the door.

Wade

Wait, I have to use the bathroom!

Jesse

(glancing back)

Tough cookies. All of us here are pretty damn used to holding it. Maybe you can too, hey? Just for a change.

Wade is left alone by the IOA members, the shutting of the door echoing through her small space. She weeps softly in the dark.

Fade to Black

Int. [CPW] IOA Base: Interrogation Room - Day

The door creaks open, letting in a shaft of light. Wade, who has been sitting here all night, is exhausted and she shifts around uncomfortably, crossing her legs to try and keep the pee at bay.

Jesse, Beth, and Blake resume their positions.

Jesse

Mornin’, sunshine! Ready for round two?

Wade

I wasn’t lying, you know. I’m not Wade Evans. I look like her, but I’m not her. Please, you have to believe me.

Jesse has a moment of doubt. She turns to Beth.

Jesse

Bring in the lie detector.

(turning back to Wade)

Hope you weren’t bluffing, ‘cause we’re about to find out for sure.

Wade looks at the door, as she sees a figure coming in with a bundle of wires and sensors attached to a phone.

Then the figure turns, and it’s Cole.

Cole locks eyes with Wade.

Cole

Oh my god, Wade!

Cole runs over to her and gives her a hug.

Wade

Cole, I can’t believe… we thought you were taken away by the police.

Jesse and Beth exchange horrified looks.

Blake whips his sidearm up and points it at Cole.

Jesse

(betrayed)

How do you know Wade Evans?

Cole

Evans?

They look at Jesse earnestly.

Cole

No, this is Wade Welles, and she is nothing to do with the XX League, I promise!

Beth

Then how come she was picked up while marching with them?!

Jesse

Cole, she was side-by-side with the chapter leader.

Cole looks at Wade, and then they look back.

Cole

Look, I’m not from Canada. I’m from an alternate Earth. And this is an alternate Wade, who’s actually from an alternate alternate Earth from mine.

Wade

I hate to complain, but before we go into our convoluted explanation, can I please use the restroom?

Beth and Jesse stare, disbelieving, at this strange turn of events.

Int. [CPW] IOA Base - Day

Blake and Beth wait outside the bathroom, guns at the ready for any funny business.

Meanwhile, Cole is sitting on a chair near the door, being guarded by Jesse.

An IOA member sidles up to Jesse, and whispers something in her ear, which makes Jesse all the more confused.

A flush comes from the room, the sound of running water, and finally Wade emerges, her hands raised and dripping.

Wade

Thanks. Thought I was going to burst.

Jesse

Look, this story you’re tryin’ to feed us, it’s pretty fanciful.

But I’ve just been told that Wade Evans is, right at this moment, speaking at a rally in Sacramento. So… I have no choice but to believe that you’re not her.

Beth

You could be some kind of twin or some kind of lookalike decoy.

Jesse

But until we can figure it out, we’re gonna need you to stay locked away in the interrogation room.

Blake

Look, we’ll still feed you, and let you use the bathroom, but we can’t let you go.

Cole

Fair enough.

Wade

We only have a few days to the slide, Cole.

Cole

I know. But I trust these people. We just need to convince them, somehow.

The two are lead back to the room by Blake and Beth.

Int. [CPW] IOA Base: Interrogation Room - Day

Wade and Cole hold their hands in the air as they enter the room. Jesse follows them in, with a second chair. She puts it down.

Jesse

Sorry Cole.

And she leaves, closing the door behind her.

Int. [CPW] Sleazy Motel: Room - Night

Diana and Maggie are sleeping uncomfortably on bedbug-ridden beds. With no night clothes, they’re merely wearing the clothes they have had on for days now.

A dark shape moves into frame, looming over the sleeping women.

As this person walks towards the beds, a small creak is enough for Maggie’s eyes to snap open.

She jumps to her feet, and flips on the lamp. It’s an older man, who freezes in surprise.

Diana wakes, and frantically sits up.

Diana

What the heck! The guy from the reception desk?!

Maggie

Oh you dirty bastard. Get the hell out of here before I kick your sorry ass! I mean it.

She throws a shoe at him.

Maggie

Beat it, scumbag!

The man scurries out, leaving the two women feeling wholly unsafe.

Diana

This world claims to care so much about women’s safety, but I’ve never felt less safe.

Maggie

Yeah. Let’s get out of here.

Int. [CPW] IOA Base: Interrogation Room - Night

Cole lies on the concrete floor, staring at the ceiling. Wade sits on her chair, bent over with her face in her hands, similarly listless.

Cole

So why were you hanging around with the XX League?

Wade

They seemed to be doing good work. But then they started saying all these horrible things about “degenerates;” Maggie and Diana left there and then. I thought maybe they were salvageable from within, I just wanted to find their Wade and maybe I could explain myself to her.

Cole

(wryly)

Do you know why they brought you here?

Wade

I have no idea. I thought it must be the gender police come to take me away for being the leader of the league. Never suspected it would be another rebel group.

Cole

There’s a reason the gender police leave the XX League alone, and it’s because this world’s Wade is a collaborator with them.

Wade

What?!

Cole

Yeah. These guys got a hold of some photos of her and the governor being really chummy together at his mansion.

Wade

So they were planning on blackmailing her?

Cole nods.

Cole

She collects information on “degenerates” who come to the XX League for help, and gives it straight to the governor. Lots of IOA members have been burned by her, or know someone who has.

Wade

My god, she’s a monster!

Cole

And in return, her group is permitted to operate, as long as they don’t cause any real, problematic disruptions. They’re treated like an exhaust valve for angry women, to stop the pressure from becoming explosive.

(sitting up)

And at the same time they continue to spread propaganda about people like me and this group, in order to use ‘em as a scapegoat. Everybody wins, except us degenerates who get thrown under the bus by all of them. Classic fascism if you ask me.

Wade

I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.

Cole

Yeah. Most of the people out there don’t.

Wade’s eyes widen.

Wade

Oh, I just got an idea.

She shoots Cole a grin.

End of Act Two

Act Three

Int. [CPW] All-Night Diner - Day

Maggie and Diana sit at a table nursing glasses of water. They’re both very tired, owing to their lack of safe place to sleep.

Maggie taps away at her phone.

Maggie

I seem to have phone service, but neither Wade’s nor Cole’s phones are ringing. I don’t know if it’s just this world having incompatible networks, or what.

Diana

Could be any number of things. Listen, let’s just go back to the damn XX League, at least they have a women’s shelter.

Maggie

(sighing)

You may be right.

But then, Maggie’s phone rings. She looks up at Diana.

Maggie

It’s Cole!

She answers.

Maggie

Cole, oh my god… what?

(beat)

Whoa, slow down.

A moment passes.

Maggie

Ah… alright. No, we’re at the all-night diner two blocks east of the Dominion.

(beat)

Okay, I guess we’ll see you then.

She hangs up the phone, almost teary-eyed with relief.

Diana

What they say?

Maggie

Okay. So, Cole said they couldn’t say much over the open line, but they’re with Wade, and there’s a car coming to pick us up outside in ten minutes.

Diana just looks at her, mouth agape.

Int. [CPW] Nondescript Sedan - - Day

Beth, wearing a masculine disguise despite herself, drives the car. Cole sits in the driver side back, with Wade in the front passenger seat. The passenger side back door opens, and in get Maggie and Diana.

Diana

Apologies if this car gets bedbugs. We just spent a night in the shadiest motel I’ve ever seen.

Beth

Oh, don’t worry about that; these cars are gonna get torched when we’re done with ‘em.

Maggie

Where are we going, and how did you escape the cops, and—

Cole

Chill Mom.

They eye their mother through the rear view mirror.

Cole

I’ve just been hangin’ out with trans militia members in a secretive anarchist collective. That’s all.

Maggie can’t help but smile at this.

Maggie

That’s my baby.

Wade

As for where we’re going? That would be Sacramento. I’m gonna be continuing a long slider tradition.

Beth

Look, I don’t know if I believe any of this sliding business, but that video you taped was…

Beth does a “chef’s kiss” gesture.

Wade looks proud of herself.

Beth

There’s a few other cars taking alternate routes to the rendez-vous. You’ll have plenty of backup.

Cole

Thanks Beth. I owe you so much.

Beth

Pull this off, and consider the debt repaid.

Ext. [CPW] Sacramento Street - Night

Wade Evans, makeup and expensive jewellery, walks, flanked by two burly male bodyguards, towards her home.

From every hiding spot appears an IOA militant, pointing their gun at the three. Wade E looks distraught.

Jesse, clad in a ski mask, walks in front of them.

Wade Evans

What is this?!

Jesse

Missus Evans, I’m afraid you’re going to have to get in the car.

Wade Evans

What car?

Right on cue, a car pulls up beside them.

Jesse

That one.

Having no choice, she gets in.

Int. [CPW] Nondescript Sedan - Day

Waiting for her inside are three more figures, also wearing ski masks. Jesse joins them in the car, so Wade E is in the middle.

The car pulls away and they start weaving through the streets.

Wade Evans

IOA, I presume?

(beat)

I had no idea you’d be so brazen.

Beth

(from the driver’s seat)

We have a few aces up our sleeve.

Jesse

Yeah, like all this information and photographic evidence of your collusion with the governor.

Wade Evans

(defeated)

… I see.

(beat)

What are your demands?

Jesse

Nice to hear you’re co-operating.

It’s simple: tell us when and where you’re next meeting the governor.

Wade Evans

What, so you can storm in and shoot up the place?

Beth

You know, there’s far more to us than violence. We actually help people that need it instead of handing over their names to be arrested.

Wade Evans

Look, I can’t. You know they would destroy the XX League at the slightest murmur of my betrayal.

Jesse

Sounds a lot like someone you shouldn’t have gotten in bed with to begin with.

Wade Evans

I give people hope that the regime can some day be toppled.

Beth

You sacrifice people like me to keep your status and false hope. Don’t you dare pretend you’re doing good.

Wade Evans

Well, regardless, that evidence you think you have can easily be faked. Nobody will believe the IOA.

The person in the passenger seat, who has been silent until now, pulls off their ski mask and turns around, to reveal Wade.

Wade

What if you confessed?

Wade E just stares in shock.

Wade

I already recorded a video; wanna see?

She holds up her phone, and hits play.

Wade

(on tape)

Hello, I’m Wade Evans, leader of the XX League. I have a confession to make.

You see, I’ve been secretly working with Governor MacArthur to funnel information on gender-non-conforming individuals, also known as “degenerates,” in exchange for my group’s continued operation without prosecution.

I am deeply ashamed to have sold out my principles in this way, and in apology, wish to throw my full-throated support behind the Intersectional Outcast Alliance, who have worked tirelessly to support trans, intersex, and gender-non-conforming people, providing them with sanctuary and health care.

The patriarchy’s violence is perpetrated on both women and people whose body and gender presentation doesn’t neatly fit our society’s strict categorisations, forcing those most vulnerable to hide in the shadows lest they be abused at best, or killed at worst, while my group enjoys privileges not dreamed of among the IOA.

I am deeply regretful to have bought into the lies that the governor and his supporters have spread about my trans siblings. We are in this together, and only through solidarity can we hope to topple this fascist regime.

Your physical sex characteristics do not define who you are, and I am truly sorry that I’ve lead this group to hatred against those who need us the most.

Thank you.

Wade Evans closes her eyes.

Wade Evans

This is just a nightmare. It’s not happening.

Jesse

You gonna tell us now?

Wade Evans

(tears rolling down her face)

Kimpton Sawyer. Tomorrow night, 7pm sharp. Under the name Charles Laurel.

What are you gonna do with me now?

Beth

Relax, we’ll let you go, soon as we play our little ace here. ‘Til then? Welcome to the real rebellion, Missus Evans.

Fade to:

Int. [CPW] Kimpton Sawyer Hotel: Honeymoon Suite - Night

Governor MacArthur, a middle-aged man with a stout build and neatly trimmed hair, sits on the bed, clad in a satin robe.

A knock at the door.

MacArthur grins lecherously, and hurries over to the door. He opens it, and Wade walks in. She wears her double’s clothes and makeup.

Wade

(in greeting)

Governor.

MacArthur moves in to kiss her and she stops him.

Wade

Listen, before all that, I have some important information about the IOA.

He stiffens.

MacArthur

Oh, what information?

Wade

Well, the truth is, I’ve decided to join them.

MacArthur

What the heck are you on about?

Wade

They have a recorded confession and endorsement from me that they’ll release should you make any move on either organisation. Or if anything happens to me.

MacArthur

What are you saying? You’re willing to give all this up for some degenerates? What’s gotten into you?

Wade

It’s over, governor. This dance we do, where you always get to stay on top. No more.

MacArthur

You’re out of your mind, Wade.

Even if you send out some video like that, who’s going to believe you?

Wade

I control chapters all over the Western States who hang on my every word. You saw to that.

MacArthur

And one word from me, and all of them get carted to jail.

Wade

Will the people stand for that? Or will that push them over the edge and encourage them to rise up? Your call.

Wade smiles, satisfied with herself. She exits the suite, confident.

MacArthur

You crazy witch. The XX League’s days are numbered!

MacArthur, red-faced, pulls out his phone and dials a number.

MacArthur

Good evening chief. Yes, I’m calling to put a bounty—

He’s about to continue when he hears a click and feels a gun barrel, complete with silencer, on the back of his neck.

IOA Militant

(whispering in his ear)

You better hang up.

MacArthur

Ah, never mind.

He hangs up the call, and raises his hands slowly.

Int. [CPW] Kimpton Sawyer Hotel: Corridor - Night

The sound of a silenced gunshot can be heard.

Ext. [CPW] Quiet Sacramento Street - Night

Several Nondescript Sedans pull up to the side of the road, and Maggie, Wade, Cole and Diana get out of the car, along with Jesse and Beth.

Cole hugs Jesse and Beth.

Wade

How’s the other Wade doing?

Jesse

She knows everything she had going on is over. Just how over, none of us really know. But maybe now she might have to come to us for help, and that’s a bargaining chip I can handle. We’ve given her a secure line of communication.

Beth

So, how long did you say you have?

Diana

(checking the timer)

Looks like just over a minute now.

Maggie

Thanks for taking care of my baby, you two.

Beth

(warmly)

Supportive parents are so precious, Cole, and you’ve got two.

Cole

Three actually… but that’s beside the point…

Beth

You hang on to them.

Maggie’s face softens.

Diana

Ok, here we go. Be prepared for anything.

She opens the vortex. Jesse and Beth marvel at it.

Maggie, Diana and Wade jump in. Cole hangs back just a moment.

Cole

So… you took the shot, didn’t you?

Jesse

We had to.

Cole

(smiling grimly)

I hope you’re right. See you.

Cole jumps through, and it closes.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

The vortex deposits Maggie, Cole, Diana, and Wade right back in Arturo’s basement lab.

Before them, Quinn sits on a stool, chewing casually on a Red Vine. He turns to face them and waves. 

Quinn

Ah! Hey guys, glad you’re safe.

Wade

Quinn? What happened? I thought you were captured!

She lunges forward and hugs him.

Quinn

The military did something funky with the machine that sent you to a random world, but I fixed it. Can I have a quick look at the timer, though? Need to adjust somethin’.

Diana hands him the timer. He grabs a screwdriver and starts opening up the back.

Cole’s brow furrows ever-so-slightly, as they sense something the others don’t.

Diana

I thought they were gonna clear this place out.

Quinn’s busily taking apart the timer piece by piece as he speaks:

Quinn

Nah, it’s built into the walls. Would have been a waste of effort when it’s perfectly fine here. Don’t worry about it.

Diana

(suddenly alarmed)

Quinn, why are you disassembling the timer?

Cole

He’s… not our Quinn…

He looks up at them, and flashes a smile.

Quinn

(pointing a screwdriver at Cole)

Good catch.

He touches a finger to an earpiece, which we had not seen previously.

Quinn

Bravo, this is Charlie. Mother Bird has nested. I repeat: Mother Bird has nested.

(with a smirk)

Four birds, actually.

He gives a quick wink to the four.

Wade walks back several steps.

Wade

Who the hell are you?!

The Quinn double, Charlie, gives a quick shrug.

Charlie

(as if it’s obvious)

I’m Quinn Mallory.

He grabs his jar of Red Vines and offers it to them.

Charlie

Red Vine?

Cole, in a state of shock, reaches out for one. Maggie slaps their hand away.

Cut to Black.

End of Act Three

Episode 7:
Quinntuplets

Quinn is recruited by a crack team of three other Quinns all working out of a high budget military facility.

Almost like Stargate, they've built an impressive catalogue of worlds, and established a wide network of embassies, sharing their tech while absorbing tech from other worlds.

But, there's someone in a holding cell that's got a bone to pick with Quinn Bravo.

Previously on Sliders

Arturo

I don’t get much recognition since the government cover-up forced me into obscurity. — It pains me to think of what they could have been doing with that technology all this time.

Quinn

New timer.

Arturo

We got caught up in a pandemic on another Earth. I’ve come here to recuperate.

Soldier #2

Please hand over the timer, sir.

Diana

Quinn’s in trouble. The military just seized the basement.

Bravo

Ha! Should’ve guessed who I’d find here. — Maybe you should see our facility. —

Quinn

Oh, goody, the grand tour, huh?

Charlie

Ah! Hey guys, glad you’re safe.

Diana

Quinn, why are you disassembling the timer?

Cole

He’s… not our Quinn…

Charlie

Good catch.

Wade

Who the hell are you?!

Charlie

(as if it’s obvious)

I’m Quinn Mallory. — Red Vine?

Bravo

We could use another Quinn on the team, just puttin’ it out there. — Think about it. You might be surprised at the good we’re doing.

Act One

Title: Four Days Ago

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Corridor - Day

We open on a clean, white corridor with a number of doors that require keycodes to open. There are military people passing by, some entering and leaving rooms.

Quinn Bravo strides confidently down the hall, giving the occasional nod to the people he passes.

Quinn walks just behind Bravo, looking nervous as he studies everything he sees.

Bravo

I don’t know why most Quinns just try to run around the multiverse without any safety net, you know? You could easily end up in mortal danger, and I’ve seen my fair share of dead Quinns.

Quinn lingers his gaze on someone entering a number into a keypad.

Bravo

Here, we do everything carefully. We send through a probe that tells us if the air is breathable, the temperature isn’t gonna fry or freeze us, all while downloading information about the world, if there’s an available wireless network.

Bravo touches his earpiece.

Bravo

Charlie, this is Bravo. Could you reset the key code for room seven thirty-two?

(meeting Quinn’s eye and winking)

I noticed.

Quinn doesn’t like this one bit. Now he knows how people feel around him.

They stop at a large double door.

Bravo

In here’s the research lab. Charlie spends a lot of time in there, tinkering. Charlie’s another Quinn, by the way. Head of the Tech division. Nice guy. Bit of a man child.

Quinn takes this in, with seeming understanding.

Bravo

I’m sure you want to see the big toy, though, don’t you?

He leads Quinn further along, and they approach a large window looking upon a cavernous room from above.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Day

On the outside rim of the room are a host of control panels and machinery, though the middle and far wall of the room are completely empty and clear, with yellow and black striped tape marking out an exclusion area.

Personnel in military fatigues hurry back and forth, with some stationed at control panels, waiting.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Corridor - Day

Quinn gives a low whistle; he’s suitably impressed.

Bravo

See what the right resources can get you?

(beat)

Delta’s due back in a minute, so keep watching.

Quinn leans on a handrail as he looks down into the room.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Day

A red light starts flashing.

Bravo (O.S.)

That light means our equipment has detected an incoming vortex. It’s been going haywire since you and your friends started sliding all over the place lately.

A vortex bursts to life in the exclusion area - it’s enormous.

Through the gateway comes a military Jeep being driven by yet another Quinn double. He drives it slowly towards the window and disappears into a tunnel underneath their feet.

Quinn

Just how many Quinns work here?

Bravo

Currently? Just three. But we’re worth our weight in gold ‘round here.

(beat)

Let’s go see him.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Rec Room - Day

A pinball machine, an old Donkey Kong cabinet, basketball hoop, and several chess tables are set up in this room that seems starkly different to the rest.

Quinn and Bravo enter, and Quinn looks, surprised, at this stuff.

Bravo

Charlie picked out all this stuff, in case you hadn’t guessed.

An elevator on the other side of the room opens, and Quinn Delta is there, dressed in camo gear.

His face is serious until he sees the Quinns, then he grins, though his posture is still soldier-like. He salutes Bravo.

Delta

This the new Quinn, sir?

Bravo

Yes. At ease, soldier.

Delta’s salute lowers, and his posture softens, but not dramatically so.

Quinn

Hi…

Delta

I suppose he’s been making the pitch to you?

Quinn

(wryly)

Yeah. Really laying it on thick.

Delta

For what it’s worth, I’ve never felt more at home than I do here, and we’re doing great work.

Bravo

Delta leads all our off-world exploration. He’s not as book smart as the two of us, but he’s the bravest guy I know.

Bravo pats Delta on the arm.

Bravo

(quietly)

He’s been known to beat me at chess once in a while, so don’t underestimate him just because he never went to college.

Quinn

(to Delta)

Good to meet you.

Bravo

Alright, one final thing to show you before we take you back to your quarters…

Quinn

You mean my cell?

Bravo

Tomayto, tomahto. Come on.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Presentation Room - Day

The room is like a small lecture theatre, and Quinn sits on a seat somewhere in the middle, looking nervous.

A projector screen is set up, and the lights are dimmed.

Bravo stands in the front, holding a small remote. He clicks it, and his presentation starts.

It’s a cheesy corporate PowerPoint.

On Screen:
Welcome Quinn

Bravo

Well, you’ve seen the facility, now it’s time to see the pitch.

He clicks the remote.

On Screen:
Five Great Reasons to Join Our Team

Quinn can barely believe what he’s seeing. He’s embarrassed to be here.

Bravo

I’ve compiled a shortlist of the reasons why you, Quinn, belong here at the facility, working with us. Number one.

Click.

On Screen:
Reason #1
You’re Quinn Mallory

Quinn raises an eyebrow.

Bravo

We both know a Quinn is a cut above the rest. You’ve spent your whole life being the smartest guy in the room.

Well, here, you’ll be working with your intellectual peers. You’ll be challenged to be your best, and you’ll accomplish things you never thought possible.

He shrugs.

Bravo

I know it, you know it: we’re awesome.

Quinn

(deadpan)

I sure hope I don’t come off this egotistical.

Bravo

(smirking)

Ego’s only a problem if you can’t live up to it. Next slide.

Click.

On Screen:
Reason #2
Resources

Bravo

There’s no need to be sliding around on a wing and a prayer, Quinn. We have staff. We have limitless parts and equipment. We have military funding. If you run into trouble, there’ll be a team ready to rescue you.

Click.

On Screen:
Reason #3
Opportunities Abound

Bravo

Do you know how much new tech we’ve gotten our hands on these past twenty years? Every world has it’s own new discoveries and we get to absorb it all. Wouldn’t you love to dig around?

Click.

On Screen:
Reason #4
We’re Doing Great Work

Bravo

I’ll tell you more if you join us, but do you know why the Kromagg Dynasty never invaded this Earth? It’s because of us.

Quinn looks sceptical, but intrigued.

Bravo

It was through our diplomacy that they agreed to leave us, and all our outposts, alone.

(grinning)

And thanks to this team, they see a Quinn face and run the other way. You probably haven’t seen any in years, right?

Quinn thinks about this.

Bravo

But after all this, here’s the best reason to join my team.

On Screen:
Reason #5
Sweet Perks

Bravo

You saw the rec room. Well, more than that, you should see our pay and benefits. Personal chauffeur. Full health care. Gym and spa on site. All the lattes you can drink. The works.

Quinn

That… hasn’t really been an issue for me in a long time.

Bravo

Well, regardless, it’s a salary package that suits the importance of the job.

He clicks again.

On Screen:
We await your answer.

Bravo

So ultimately, the question is: Will you be our Quinn Echo?

(beat)

We’re gonna give you ‘til we bring in your friend to decide.

Quinn

And what makes you think you’ll get a hold of her?

Bravo

She’s gonna come back sooner or later, and when she does, Quinn Mallory will be waiting to welcome her.

Quinn blanches at this.

Bravo

Any questions before you head back?

Quinn

Yeah. Who do you answer to?

Bravo

Quinn, I’m just a humble link in the chain of command. I ultimately answer to the Commander in Chief.

Quinn

So this is a legit military branch?

Bravo

Yeah… just don’t try to get ‘em to admit to it. Top Secret.

Quinn

How many Quinns have you given this exact presentation to, anyway?

Bravo

Including you?

(thinking)

Somewhere around seventy or eighty.

Quinn

And yet, there’s only three of you?

Bravo

Yeah, we Quinns are a temperamental bunch.

Quinn

But you keep trying, huh?

Bravo

I already told you: we’re awesome.

Fade Out

Title: Present Day

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Quinn’s Cell - Day

It’s a basic holding cell, though it’s hardly used so it’s in excellent condition; very clean and sterile.

Quinn, with several days of stubble, and greasy hair, sits back on his bed, which is overlaid with a thin foam mattress. He wears a prisoner jumpsuit.

He seems to be trying to zone out, having nothing to do but think.

The cell door makes a noise, bringing Quinn out of his dissociation.

It opens, and another Quinn double stands in the doorway, a huge smile on his face. This isn’t Bravo - he’s far too casual. He’s wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt over a t-shirt, and knee-length shorts. He’s got a lollipop sticking out of his mouth. It’s Quinn Charlie.

Charlie

(taking out the lollipop and waving it around)

Hey, man! I’ve really been lookin’ forward to meeting you.

Your timer was a joy to study; never considered linking the relativity matrix with the overload sensor to prevent unanchoring events. Genius.

A brief look of bashfulness flickers over Quinn’s face, before he corrects himself.

Charlie

Listen, your friends are safe, and they’re ready to see you. Come on.

Quinn

(sitting up, alert)

My friends? Which ones? Where? And you must be Charlie, right?

Charlie

(chuffed)

My reputation precedes me.

(beat)

Follow me, okay?

He beckons, and heads out into the corridor for a moment before peeking back in.

Charlie

Listen, Quinn. No monkey business, alright? We’re all friends here. At least, I like to think so.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Presentation Room - Day

In the front row, four seats are occupied by Maggie, Diana, Wade, and Cole. They have guns trained on them by some soldiers, and Bravo enters the room from the back.

Bravo

So, Quinn’s got a few lady friends I see.

Hearing the familiar voice, they all turn to see, and are immediately tipped off that this isn’t Quinn. They regard him with disdain.

He heads to the front of the room, as their gaze follows.

Maggie

Where is he? Our Quinn?

Bravo nods towards the back of the room again, where Charlie and Quinn have just appeared.

The four spin back around.

Unable to know if this is their real Quinn, they hesitate.

Quinn starts to dash towards them.

Quinn

Oh my god, am I glad to see you guys are okay.

He moves to hug Wade, but she doesn’t reciprocate.

Wade

Are you really my Quinn?

Quinn looks at the faces of each of the sliders, then at the other two Quinns.

Quinn

Yeah, I guess it might be a little hard to tell right now.

He points at Cole.

Quinn

Cole, your Dad’s jealous of your intelligence and he’s sure you got it from me.

Cole smiles in relief, blushing. He points at Wade.

Quinn

Wade, remember that world with the spores that turned people into slave zombies with mushrooms growing out of their ears?

Wade’s expression makes it clear she does remember such a world.

He points at Maggie.

Quinn

Maggie, Colin may not have liked the cookies you baked while you were stoned, but your baking got a lot better over the years.

Maggie cringes, thinking about that long buried memory.

Finally he points to Diana.

Quinn

Diana, we haven’t finished our work helping Colin.

Diana looks down with guilt at this remark.

Wade stands and plants a kiss on Quinn’s mouth.

Wade

You didn’t have to air everyone’s dirty laundry like that, but thank you for proving it’s you.

Bravo

Well, that’s all very touching.

Anyway…

By now, Charlie has joined Bravo at the front of the room, and is twirling his lollipop in his mouth.

Bravo

We’ve brought you in here so I can explain what’s going to happen next.

Cole

(raising a hand)

Maybe you can explain what’s happening right now, first?

Bravo

(rolling his eyes)

We’re a military sanctioned sliding facility staffed by various Quinns. What’s not to get?

Cole

Sorry I asked.

Bravo

Look, it’s hard to find good non-Quinn talent, and he seems to trust you all, so you might find a place here. I want to offer you all trial positions here at our facility. We’ll put you in departments based on your individual skillsets.

Wade looks at Maggie, who shakes her head.

Maggie

What happens if we refuse?

Charlie

I’ll send you to any world you wanna go to other than this one, but it’s gonna have to be without your timer.

Wade

So that’s it? Work for you or never slide again?

Cole

That’s a terrible choice.

Bravo

It’s the only choice.

He looks at the soldiers who have been guarding the group.

Bravo

Take them all to a cell, let ‘em talk it over.

(looking back at them)

When you have your answer, call out for us.

The guards come to the group.

Guard #1

Move it.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Large Holding Cell - Day

The room, much like Quinn’s previous cell, is neat and clean. It’s got two sets of bunk beds - still one bed short for the five of them.

Quinn, Wade, Cole, Maggie, and Diana sit in various places, looking rattled.

As the conversation below happens, Diana is partly distracted, looking out the window of the cell door, where a strangely refracted light keeps flashing against the wall. She can’t stop staring at it.

Cole

So, I don’t understand why you guys never had some code word to make sure you were talking to each other instead of doubles.

Quinn

That… would have been smart.

Cole

We could come up with one now?

Maggie

(eying the ceiling)

They’re probably listening to us. Some other time.

Diana

Where did these Quinns come from?

Quinn

Whoever originally took my equipment must have replicated my machine and come across them on other Earths.

Wade

Maybe they were looking for the one who built it, and just gained some help along the way.

Maggie

Who cares? They’re all jerks. Let’s just all go back to the mansion and build a new machine. Everyone else is already there.

Wade

This world is my home! I don’t want to just… get evicted from it.

Quinn

With the basement under their control, they have all the data we’ve collected. We’ll lose all our progress on finding Colin if we just go now. I can’t let him slip through my fingers again.

He holds his head in his hands.

Quinn

Maybe if I work with them, we’ll be able to bring him here.

(glancing up)

You all should go back. I’ll stay, and maybe I’ll be able to get the timer back and return to you some day.

Wade

I’m not leaving you here alone, Quinn. Even if it means being stuck working for these army freaks.

Cole

I don’t want to lose you again either… Dad.

Maggie

Cole, no. You have a Dad at home.

Diana

(still staring out the window)

If Quinn’s staying, so am I. I promised Colin I’d save him.

Maggie

(incredulous)

What, so everyone’s staying now? To work for the smarmiest Quinn in all existence? I can’t believe you people.

She stands.

Maggie

Cole, you have a degree to finish, and a life to live back home.

Cole

But…

Maggie

Think about it. Do you never want to see your friends again? Anna?

Cole

Of course I do…

Maggie

So let’s go back.

(swallowing)

We can be a happy family again.

Cole just gives her a sceptical look.

Quinn puts a hand on Cole’s arm.

Quinn

I’m sorry, Cole. I would have loved to bond with you some more, but I guess it wasn’t to be.

(beat)

I can never thank you enough for all the help you’ve given me. You go back, and give your Dad some of your wonderful attention. I get the feeling he needs it right now.

Cole tears up, and nods.

Quinn looks to Maggie now.

Quinn

It’s been strange and wonderful living two long lives with you in very different ways. But I guess this is goodbye.

Maggie

(quietly)

Once upon a time, I told Remy that you were my world, and that I couldn’t go on without you.

But, I guess I’ll have to learn to live with just that.

She hugs him.

Wade looks uncomfortable, and as soon as Maggie lets Quinn go, she grabs his hand for security.

Cole notices this, and pipes up to change the subject.

Cole

So, um, what’s the deal with the mushroom zombies?

Wade and Quinn exchange an amused look.

Wade

My Quinn and I came across that world during our travels. It was so creepy.

Quinn

Inhale the spores, and the fungus starts eating you from the inside out, and eventually reaches your brain, at which point you start doing the organism’s bidding, spreading its spores around and eating whatever flesh you can find. By that point you’re already dead.

Wade

We both inhaled the spores shortly after we arrived, but we were lucky to find a cure before it killed us. Terrifying experience.

Cole looks, wide-eyed, at them.

Cole

Maybe… maybe I’m not cut out to be a slider after all.

End of Act One

Act Two

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Night

Quinn, Diana, and Wade stand to one side, with Bravo and Charlie on the other.

Delta stands in the middle, in front of Maggie and Cole. He points his timer, which is a small device built into a wristband, at the empty space.

As the vortex opens, Maggie and Cole hold hands. They look, teary-eyed, over at those staying.

Maggie

Don’t you dare forget about us.

Cole

You’ll come back again some day, right?

Wade nods back, looking up at Quinn.

Wade

I’ll see to it.

Delta

Go.

Maggie and Cole walk tearfully into the vortex.

Quinn watches them, not so sure he really will see them again.

Fade to:

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Day

The room is a large lab with a series of partitioned areas, each with their own different shapes and looks, lined with computers and control panels. In the centre is an octagonal space about 20 feet in diameter, with an array of electronic pieces spread out.

In the centre of it all, Charlie sits cross-legged on the floor, with a large, flat, round metal device. It’s the magnetic field generator Quinn and Diana had been working on.

Charlie is holding a spanner and is tinkering with some part of it. He leans over beside himself and grabs a chip from a bowl on the floor, and shovels it into his mouth.

Quinn wanders into the room, carrying a cup of coffee, and trains his eyes on Charlie. He heads over to him.

Charlie

Mornin’!

Quinn

(eyes narrowing)

I hope you’re not taking that apart like you did my timer.

Charlie grins up at him.

Charlie

No way! I wanna get this thing up and running. Maybe your bro can join the team too, even if he’s stuck in a magnetic field.

His eyes shine with excitement.

Charlie

Besides, it’s an excellent chance to study and understand how he works.

Quinn

Where’s Diana?

Diana (O.S.)

Just over here, Quinn.

Quinn follows the voice to another part of the room, from which Diana is emerging, holding some print-outs of data.

Diana

I’ve been here since six.

She blushes.

Diana

I guess I was excited to be in a big research lab again.

(to Charlie)

You’d better not be getting salt in those components.

In response, Charlie licks his fingers sheepishly, then wipes them on his shirt.

She turns back to Quinn.

Diana

The guy’s brain works a mile a minute, but he’s kind of a trash goblin.

Quinn can’t help but laugh.

Quinn

Not so different to me when I was… eighteen or so. Though all those snacks can’t be good for his long term health.

Charlie

(amused)

I can hear you, you know! And for your information, my finely tuned brain requires calories to run.

Diana just rolls her eyes.

Diana

What’s Wade doing?

Quinn

Not positive. Delta lead her off towards the portal room. They might be heading off-world somewhere.

Charlie

Ooh, he’s gonna give her “The Tour.”

Diana and Quinn look at Charlie, who’s giving them a look that says “well, are you gonna ask me to elaborate?”

Quinn

Fine, I’ll bite. What is—

Charlie

(interrupting excitedly)

Tour Mode is a system protocol that opens a gateway to all our coolest outposts in five minute intervals.

You jump from one to the next, getting a quick overview of each one as you go. Whole process takes about an hour and you don’t even need to use a timer ‘cause it’s automatic.

I programmed it, of course.

Quinn ponders this for a moment.

Quinn

You can open a gateway automatically based on preset coordinates? Can I see the code?

Charlie looks at him like he just found a new best friend.

Charlie

Hell yeah you can! Come on!

He jumps up and bounds over to a computer.

Seeing the Quinns distracted, Diana’s expression becomes serious as she slips away.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Corridor - Day

Diana heads, acting as nonchalantly as she can, towards the holding cell area entrance. Once she gets near it, she tries to look like she’s studying a fire escape procedure sign on the wall.

Soon enough, a soldier carrying a tray of food enters a code into the keypad and enters the door.

Diana isn’t able to see the code, so she waits a little longer. After a moment, the soldier comes back out, without the tray.

As he moves away, paying her no mind, she slips her foot in the door before it shuts. She goes inside.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Holding Cells Hallway - Day

Diana studies the wall, trying to conceptualise the source of the light flashes she’d seen earlier. Finally, she sees a cell door with a small square window, which she feels might be the source.

She peers into the window.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Cell 02 - Day

Inside, another Quinn double can be seen sitting on the bed, eating listlessly from the tray that was recently given to him - Quinn Alfa. He’s got a beard and shaggy hair, and doesn’t look like he’s seen the outside in a while.

Catching her presence, his head whips up to her, eyes wide and wild.

In the window, Diana looks like she’s about to speak, but Alfa puts a finger to his lips, and uses his other finger to point to the ceiling, then to his ear, then back to the ceiling.

Diana nods in understanding.

He then starts communicating in sign language to her.

Alfa

(in American Sign Language)

You saw my Morse Code? Do you understand A.S.L?

Diana nods in reply, unable to use sign language herself due to her face only being visible to Alfa.

Alfa

(in American Sign Language)

Thank god. I need your help.

On Diana’s face as Alfa signs her a message that we don’t see. We merely see her eyes getting wider.

Ext. Outpost World - Day

In a remote canyon, populated by a small military camp, a vortex opens.

Delta walks calmly through, followed by Wade.

Delta

And here’s the world furthest from our own, co-ordinates wise. There’s not a lot here; just some plant life, insects, and microbes. We suspected something catastrophic happened a long time ago that destroyed most of the life here. But it seems completely fine to live here now. You won’t find fresher air.

Wade

It’s so quiet.

Delta

We considered using this place as some kind of emergency world in case something happened to ours, but there’s just not enough biodiversity to sustain a large human population. Even this camp has to get regular supply shipments.

(beat)

And thus concludes our tour. The final gateway should be opening up in a few minutes. ‘Til then, take some deep, cleansing breaths.

Wade

You really like this life, don’t you?

Delta

Ma’am, it’s the only one I know.

Wade

What made you become a soldier?

Delta

(shrugging)

Both my parents died when I was a teen, and I had no direction. Military gave me structure.

Wade

Doesn’t it feel weird to take orders from another you?

Delta

He looks like me, but he’s got all kinds of knowledge and skills I don’t. I don’t have to worry about the details like he does, I just head off to other dimensions and explore. It’s fine by me.

The vortex opens beside them.

Delta

Time to go. Watch your step.

He jumps in, and, after a final look at the desolate, lonely environment, Wade follows him.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Rec Room - Day

Diana stands by a microwave in the kitchenette, waiting for a meal to cook. She looks troubled.

Charlie enters, giving her a nod before stopping at the Donkey Kong cabinet to play a round.

Diana goes to him, visibly nervous.

Charlie

One of these days I’m gonna hit that kill screen, I know it.

(beat)

Is there a reason you’re distracting me?

Diana

Sorry. I just wanted to ask you something.

Charlie

(eyes fixed on the screen)

Shoot.

Diana

What kind of surveillance do they have on us here?

Charlie

Your standard cams that I’m sure you’ve seen around the place, plus audio in some places.

(beat)

Why…? You up to no good?

Diana

It’s… it’s not that, I just feel so watched. Is there anywhere I can get a moment to myself? Our rooms, maybe?

Charlie is silent for a moment, weighing up whether or not he trusts her.

Then he moves his hand to the side of the cabinet where he’s rigged in a volume wheel, and flicks it upward, making the video game sounds loud and abrasive.

While he keeps his gaze on the video game, his expression is nervous.

Charlie

Your quarters don’t have cams except on the outside, but they’re probably bugged.

(beat)

Listen, there’s a secure booth in the northeast corner of the research lab that’s soundproof and in a blind spot. Just try not to talk about stuff like this in the open, okay?

He lowers the volume again, but in his distraction, he loses the game.

Charlie

Dammit.

Diana whispers in his ear.

Diana

Thank you.

The microwave beeps, finishing its cooking.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Day

Quinn’s at the field generator, tinkering with it and pressing a button, which makes a blue ring around the device light up. He seems pleased with this development.

Diana appears in front of him, and he glances up towards her.

Diana

Quinn, I need to show you something over there.

She gestures broadly towards one side of the room.

Quinn’s brow furrows at this, and she looks at him pointedly, her eyes wide.

She gestures for him to follow, and he does so, looking alarmed.

The booth, which Charlie had spoken of, is indeed in the corner. It’s small, but with enough room for two people to stand.

Diana opens the door, and steps in, gesturing for Quinn to join her. They close the door.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Secure Booth - Day

Diana

Charlie told me this was the most private place around. We should be able to talk here.

Quinn

You trust him?

Diana

No, but he seems to be the only one here who’s been open with us. At least, after we figured out he wasn’t you.

Quinn

Yeah, he doesn’t seem to have much in the way of facades. But what’s on your mind?

Diana’s gaze lowers.

Diana

There’s another Quinn in the holding cells. I first noticed when we were in there, he was flashing an SOS on the wall using a spoon reflection or something.

Quinn looks surprised, and impressed.

Diana

So I snuck in to see him. We couldn’t talk because of the audio bugs, but he used sign language.

Quinn

Wait, you went in there? You must have been caught on camera.

Diana

I probably was, which is why we need to work fast.

The Quinn said he was code name “Alfa” - the first Quinn at this facility. He says that Bravo’s planning something terrible, and that he’s captive because he tried to expose him.

Quinn

I knew Bravo was hiding a lot, but can we trust this Alfa guy?

Diana

I don’t know, but he said whole worlds are at stake.

Quinn processes this with horror.

Quinn

Don’t suppose he gave us any way to confirm what he told you?

Diana

Maybe. He left me with a series of letters and numbers, but I don’t know what it means.

She hands him a slip of paper, where she wrote down the code. He looks at it, and his mouth curls into a smile.

WLGYLUTCA2MAB

Quinn

It’s a password. Used to be the one I used for my computer science class.

“When life gives you lemons, use the citric acid to make a battery.”

He thinks for a moment.

Quinn

Charlie doesn’t seem to have grown up much. Maybe he still uses it for his password here. Could be an opening. Thanks Diana.

Diana nods.

Diana

I hope you can find what you need before someone starts asking about why I went in there.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Rec Room - Day

Wade sits alone at a table, flipping through some papers.

Quinn enters the room, carrying two coffee cups.

Wade

Oh thank god, I was beginning to think they were hiding you.

Quinn

No, no. It’s just been a busy day for all of us. How’s this place been treating you?

Wade

Okay, I guess. Delta’s a total stiff, though. I’m glad you were the Quinn I met, and not any of these other guys.

Quinn hands her a coffee cup. Surprised, she takes it.

Wade

Oh, thanks.

Then she notices the note that he passed to her with the cup. They make meaningful eye contact for a moment, and she pockets the note.

Quinn

You been told anything about this Kromagg truce that these guys supposedly brokered?

Wade

Delta told me a little about it. Kind of unnerving. Reminds me of a cold war situation. “Mutually assured destruction” kind of thing.

Quinn

So they have the means to wipe out the Kromaggs?

Wade

They have a stockpile of the virus spread out over a lot of Earths. They ended up exchanging lists of coordinates to Earths that either side is not allowed to ever go to.

Of course, that also means each side has exactly the right list of targets to strike if war ever breaks out.

Quinn

Sounds tenuous.

Bravo (O.S.)

Maybe so, but it’s prevented a lot of unnecessary bloodshed.

They turn to see Bravo, who’s just entered the room and is opening the kitchenette fridge.

He pulls out a salad, and moves to join the others at the table.

Bravo

And it’s why we have to stay on top of every new tech we can find. Sooner or later, the stalemate is gonna end, and I’d rather we have the advantage when that time comes.

He sits.

Bravo

Wouldn’t you?

The mood at the table now spoiled, Wade and Quinn just exchange uncomfortable looks.

Bravo

Look, I know you don’t trust me, but you don’t have to clam up every time I’m around.

Wade

(wryly)

That’ll happen when you basically threaten us into staying.

Bravo looks hurt.

Bravo

Once we’ve learned to trust each other, then you get the freedom to leave the facility at any time.

Quinn

Under surveillance, I’m sure.

Bravo

(digging at his salad with a fork)

Trust is hard-earned, I’ll give you that. And betrayal of that trust can have some unfortunate consequences. But that comes with the territory of having Top Secret clearance.

Bravo shovels salad into his mouth. He chews, and swallows. Then he takes the remainder of his salad, and stands.

Bravo

Pass that message on to Diana, will you?

He winks at Quinn, and heads out of the room.

End of Act Two

Act Three

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Day

Quinn sits at a computer in a corner of the room, furiously typing.

Diana looks at him, and then towards the door as Charlie enters. She heads over to him.

Diana

Charlie, can I pick your brain about the field generator?

Charlie looks happy to be wanted.

Charlie

Absolutely.

She leads him to the device, as Quinn continues tapping away.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Day

The assistants in the room work busily, as Delta and Wade stand just outside the exclusion zone.

Delta

You ready for your first real mission?

Wade

You bet! Where are we headed?

Delta

Almost entirely unexplored territory. We have probe readings, and some supplies have been sent through. But other than that, pure virgin land.

Wade

Fingers crossed for no fungus zombies.

Delta regards this with a confused smirk.

Delta

(shouting)

Opening portal now!

He holds out his arm and presses the button on his wrist.

Nothing happens.

Delta looks perplexed.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Day

Quinn continues working at the computer, hands moving quickly at the keyboard.

On the screen, he’s got up blueprints for the facility, and in another window, he’s typing commands.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Cell 02 - Day

Alfa is surprised by a vortex opening right there in his cell. He doesn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, and jumps right in.

Immediately, it closes.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Day

Just as Delta is about to touch his earpiece, the vortex opens. He looks at Wade in confusion. She shrugs.

Wade

On the fritz?

Delta just shakes his head, looking at the wristband.

Delta

I dunno, but it’s open now. And the readings are normal. So I guess we’re okay. Charlie’ll fix things if something goes bad. Let’s go.

Wade follows him into the vortex, with a ghost of a smile on her face.

Ext. Unexplored World - Day

A vast jungle expanse greets Wade and Delta. By a tree nearby is a pallet loaded up with supplies.

Delta

Alright, let’s secure the area, and—

He’s cut off by a blow to the head. He falls to the forest floor, revealing Alfa with a big stick.

Alfa

I’m sorry, man.

Wade rushes to Delta’s side and checks his wound.

Wade

Jeez, I thought you were going to reason with him. He could be really hurt!

Alfa looks at her forlornly.

Alfa

My apologies. I’ll tend to his wound. But I know him better than you; he’s not really one for independent thought. Lets Bravo do the thinking for both of them.

(beat)

Help me switch clothes.

Wade

You’re not going to fool anyone with the beard.

Alfa points to the pallet.

Alfa

Should be shaving supplies in there. I’ll deal with that after we’ve tied up Delta.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Day

Diana and Charlie work at the generator together.

Charlie

This thing should be up and running in no time. You said the data for Colin is on the computers at the basement, right?

Diana nods.

Diana

Yeah. Should have everything we need to activate his chip and draw him here.

(beat)

Listen, that thing you said before.

She nods toward the booth.

Diana

I wouldn’t mind us having a chat.

Charlie looks troubled at this.

Charlie

Sh… Sure.

They both head over there, and get inside the booth.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Secure Booth - Day

Charlie looks slightly terrified.

Charlie

Look, we can’t make a habit—

Diana

I’m sorry. I just really need to ask you something, and it’s important.

Charlie

(sighing)

What?

Diana

What do you know about Project Hyacinth?

Charlie’s eyes bulge.

Charlie

How do you know about that?

(stressed, running fingers through hair)

Oh my god, you are up to no good!

Diana

I met Alfa.

Charlie

Oh god, oh god…

Diana

Don’t you know what Bravo has planned? Aren’t you horrified?

Charlie

Look, big time political stuff isn’t my wheelhouse, okay? I’m the tech guy. I’m just here for the cool science, you know?!

Diana

Well, that’s a cute way to pretend this doesn’t affect you, but how can you look at that thing you’ve helped build and pretend it’s not going to destroy entire universes?

Charlie

(frantic, stuttering)

It’s never gonna be used, it’s just a deterrent.

Diana

That’s not what Alfa seems to think.

Charlie

I’m just the tech guy…

Diana

I know you’re not a bad person, Quinn. Please don’t prove me wrong by telling anyone about this chat.

Charlie

Diana, I…

(swallowing)

I just want to build cool gadgets, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.

(beat)

I won’t say anything, but please don’t expect any heroics from me, okay? I’m not cut out for all the crazy swashbuckling stuff I’ve heard other Quinns have done.

Diana

(sincerely)

Thank you.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Day

The two exit the booth, and Charlie, with a grave expression, wanders over to another secluded corner of the room and pockets a small object.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Operations Room - Day

This room is small, with primarily a large table lined with chairs. Some maps are up on the walls.

Alfa, disguised as Delta, sits at a table, next to Wade and across from Bravo.

Alfa

We tracked a perimeter of a mile around the entry point, and there was vegetation as far as the eye could see.

No sign of human activity, and as far as wildlife, we spotted only birds, insects, spiders, and snakes.

Recommend alternative entry point GPS location for the next excursion, sir.

Wade

(offering little to the report)

It was beautiful, though.

Bravo

(to Alfa)

And how was Wade? She make herself useful?

Alfa

Yes sir, spotted a snake before I stepped on it. Has her wits about her.

Bravo

Glad to hear it. Maybe you’ll fit in here after all.

Wade doesn’t crack a smile, opting simply to meet Bravo’s eye with a less-than-cheerful expression.

Wade

Are we finally done for the day? I’m beat.

Bravo

Absolutely. You’re both dismissed. See you back here at 9am tomorrow.

Alfa and Wade glance at one another. Alfa nods.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Entrance - Dusk

The exit to the facility is a ground level foyer with a high security gate guarded by armed security guards. It seems to be a regular office building, perhaps a front organisation of some kind.

A set of elevators open, and Alfa comes out, still in disguise. He produces an ID card, and the guards allow him to leave.

He’s visibly sweating.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Dusk

Quinn opens the doors of the lab, to find Wade waiting.

Wade

Hey… just knocked off.

(slowly)

Delta’s gone… uh, home.

Quinn nods, but is still trying to work out what she means.

Charlie, by the field generator, is slowly packing up his tools. Diana helps him, but has her gaze fixed on Quinn and Wade.

Wade leans in to kiss Quinn, and slips him a note as they hold hands.

Wade

(with heavy undertext)

Okay, I’ll just wait around here for you to finish up. Don’t be long, okay?

She looks at Charlie and Diana.

Wade

How’s it coming along?

Quinn immediately heads over to the computers, and sits at one, glancing down at the note in his palm a couple of times as he types.

On the screen, he brings up the various schematics of the Project Hyacinth machine, using the passcodes slipped to him by Wade.

One by one, he deletes them from the system. He then checks the building blueprints once more and uses the other side of the notepad to write:

Level UG2, Storage Room 8.

He types in a few commands and the computer responds with the message:

Door UG02-S08 Unlocked.

He then closes out of the windows and jumps up out of his chair.

He almost walks straight into Charlie, who’s looking at him with immense nervousness.

Quinn

… You okay, man?

Charlie, shaking, reaches into his pocket and pulls out the object we saw him grab earlier.

Charlie

Here. In case things go south.

Quinn looks down at it, and recognises what it is.

Quinn

Your contingency?

Charlie nods sadly.

Charlie

Just take it.

Quinn looks at him with a new respect, and gives him a short but genuine hug, before, joining Wade and Diana, who are both waiting at the door.

Quinn

We won’t forget this.

And they leave. Charlie smiles grimly at them as they go. He’s done it now.

Ext. [EDP] Front of Mallory House - Night

A military vehicle is in the driveway, and a soldier is posted at the entrance.

A car pulls up to the side of the road, and we see what appears to be Charlie emerge. But it’s not Charlie.

Alfa

Hey man, I forgot a memory stick in the basement. D’you mind? Kind of important.

The soldier looks at him with some suspicion.

Soldier

Sir, under the circumstances, we’ll need to hear your code phrase to confirm your identity.

Alfa cringes a little, and then holds up his arms like he’s holding a sword aloft.

Alfa

(doing his best Charlie)

By the power of Grayskull!

The soldier chuckles.

Soldier

Okay sir, come on in.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Alfa enters the room, closes the door, and starts hyperventilating. He’s not the most stable Quinn around.

After a moment trying to calm himself, he hurries over to find Quinn’s timer in pieces, laid out carefully as Charlie had been studying it.

He quickly sets to work, trying to put it back together.

He’s frantic and it doesn’t help him with these tiny components.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Underground Corridor - Night

The elevator doors open onto a dimly lit corridor that’s deserted, but anxiety-inducing nonetheless.

Wade, Quinn, and Diana hurry in the direction of Storage Room 8, at the far end of the corridor.

Quinn

Project Hyacinth should be in that room over there. We just need to take out the stabilisation coil and maybe a few of the flux torus pieces, then take a bat to the processing unit.

Wade

What did you say it could do?

Quinn

It opens a series of unstable wormholes in a world all on top of one another, which creates a chain reaction that collapses it into a singularity and takes everything with it.

Diana

In layman’s terms, the portal turns into a black hole, and everything is wiped out.

Quinn

What’s worse is that if there’s an unrelated vortex open on that world at the same time as this is happening, there’s a recursion event that will take with it whatever other world that vortex is linked to.

They reach the door, and Quinn grabs hold of the door handle, and looks back at them.

Quinn

If this thing is ever used, it could be catastrophic and destroy multiple Earths.

He opens the door.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Storage Room 8 - Night

Quinn flips the light on as he and the other two enter, and the room lights up to reveal a room full of boxes and crates, and one large object in the middle covered by a cloth.

But they’re not alone in the room.

Between them and what’s presumably the machine, stands Bravo and a wounded Delta.

Bravo

Damn, that was the fastest a Quinn has ever found this machine. Speed run champ over here.

Int. [EDP] Mallory House: Basement - Night

Alfa closes up the back of the timer; he’s managed to get it together.

A knock on the door. Alfa freezes.

Soldier (O.S.)

(muffled)

Hey! Open up!

With no other option, Alfa points the timer, and opens a vortex. But because he put the timer together in such a hurry, it’s unstable and doesn’t look normal.

He gulps hard, and jumps in, right as the soldier busts into the room. The vortex fizzles out immediately after his jump.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

The vortex opens wildly, and Alfa is flung out of it at high speed. He hits his head as he lands, and is out cold, as the timer hits the ground heavily, and falls to bits once more.

Mallory, hearing the commotion, comes out of the hall. He’s wearing pajamas and slippers. As soon as he sees Alfa, he rushes over.

Mallory

Oh my god! Quinn?!

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Storage Room 8 - Night

Back in the storage room, Bravo and Quinn stare one another down.

Bravo

I’m gonna give you one final chance to turn around and forget about this. We can go back to normal, and you can keep working with us.

Believe me, this is the best offer you’re going to get, so I suggest you take it.

Wade makes eye contact with Delta, who looks utterly betrayed.

Quinn

(still staring at Bravo)

What do you think, guys? Stay in this totalitarian hellscape?

Diana

I’d rather not.

Wade

Rather die.

Quinn

(gesturing)

Guess we’re not interested.

Bravo

Then you realise we’re going to have to send you off to a random Earth, for good.

Quinn

I was afraid you might say that.

He reaches into his pocket and brings out the object Charlie had given him.

It’s a miniature timer.

He presses the button on it, and a vortex opens between them and Bravo.

The three jump in.

Delta makes a move to follow, but Bravo grabs his arm.

Delta

Sir, they’re getting away.

Bravo

It’s alright. We’ve secured Project Hyacinth, which is what we came here to do.

(beat)

Anyway, I think I know where they’ve gone.

He smirks.

Bravo

But most importantly, they’re going to need to come back here once they realise what they left behind.

Delta nods in understanding as the vortex closes.

Ext. Unknown City - Night

It’s dark, but some occasional bright lights expose silhouettes of people walking past, all roughly the same height and build.

The vortex opens in the middle of the street, depositing Quinn, Wade, and Diana into a puddle.

Quinn gazes up at the tall buildings around him.

Diana and Wade watch the portal until it closes, worried about being followed.

Finally, they turn around to see Quinn a little ahead, looking out of sorts.

Wade

Where do you think this thing took us?

Diana

I’m not sure, but if it was Charlie it’s surely gotta be some place with a lot of tech.

Wade

(looking up)

I’ll say.

Diana follows her gaze. Flying cars zoom overhead.

We follow one past a billboard, which has a familiar face on it: Quinn.

Quinn

(dumbstruck)

Hey… Wade… Diana…

They catch up with him, and finally see that he’s been studying the passers-by.

Every one of them is a Quinn.

Diana and Wade come up on either side of him, jaws hanging open. Quinn looks to each of them, unable to form words.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Night

Charlie stands in darkness, a soft blue glow on his face. We don’t see where it’s coming from.

Charlie

Hey man. I’m so sorry.

I screwed up big time. But don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll come back to help. I mean, how can they not, with you here?

I just need you to know that it wasn’t my choice, so please don’t blame me.

We now see who he’s talking to.

The octagon in the lab now has a blue field around it, and inside sits Colin Mallory.

Colin

I’m going to guess that you’re not my brother.

Charlie

(sadly)

Good catch.

Cut to Black.

End of Act Three

Episode 8:
Oops! All Quinns

Quinn's never seen a city with so many handsome devils before. Old and new acquaintances await in the futuristic city of Quinn Francisco (a tribute to Rick and Morty).

Meanwhile, Quinn Alfa awakens to a smashed timer and a family not his own.

Previously on Sliders

Bravo

We’re a military sanctioned sliding facility staffed by various Quinns.

Quinn

Just how many Quinns work here?

Bravo

Currently? Just three.

Delta

I suppose he’s been making the pitch to you?

Charlie

We’re all friends here. At least I like to think so.

Wade

So that’s it? Work for you or never slide again?

Alfa

(in American Sign Language)

I need your help.

Diana

— Said he was code name Alfa - the first Quinn at this facility. He says that Bravo’s planning something terrible, and that he’s captive because he tried to expose him.

Bravo

Do you know why the Kromagg Dynasty never invaded this Earth? It’s because of us. —

— Sooner or later, the stalemate is gonna end, and I’d rather we have the advantage when that time comes.

Diana

What do you know about Project Hyacinth?

Quinn

If this thing is ever used, it could be catastrophic and destroy multiple Earths.

Charlie

Here. In case things go south.

Quinn

We won’t forget this.

Quinn

What do you think, guys? Stay in this totalitarian hellscape?

Wade

Rather die.

[Quinn, Wade, and Diana escape through a vortex]

[Alfa crashes through a vortex into the mansion]

Mallory

Oh my god! Quinn?!

Charlie

Hey man. I’m so sorry.

Colin

I’m going to guess that you’re not my brother.

Charlie

(sadly)

Good catch.

Quinn

Hey… Wade… Diana…

[Street full of Quinn doubles walking by can be seen]

Cut to Black

Act One

Int. [SW] Therapist’s Office - Night

Rembrandt sits on a couch opposite an older woman wearing smart casual attire, Doctor Emmanuel. She’s sitting in an armchair holding a clipboard and pen.

Doctor Emmanuel

I’m confident you’re suffering from depression, but on top of that I feel we may need to dig deeper to learn about your traumas some more.

You’re displaying some classic signs of complex PTSD, so I’d like to see if we can get you assessed for that.

Rembrandt

Ain’t my traumas plenty understood on this Earth already?

The doctor smiles at him sadly.

Doctor Emmanuel

Rembrandt, while we do know plenty of what happened, we don’t know what it did inside that brain of yours. Experiences affect everyone differently.

(beat)

Alright, our time is up for now, so I’m going to start out by prescribing you some anti-depressants. Trial them for a month and see if they improve your mood any.

She writes out the prescription, and hands it to him.

Rembrandt

(sighing)

Alright, whatever you say, Doc.

As he begins to rise from the couch, his phone starts to ring. He answers.

Rembrandt

Yeah, what’s up?

His face turns serious.

Rembrandt

I’m on my way.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Guest Room - Night

In the guest bed, Alfa lies, sleeping.

He stirs now, though, and instinctively places a hand to his head where he hit it. Touching it, though, makes him gasp in pain.

Alfa

Agh!

His eyes open, and he looks around the room in confusion.

He finally sees that Mallory is seated in a corner, wide-eyed.

Mallory

Hey. I’m glad you’re awake.

(beat)

Maggie told me there were a bunch of different Quinns, so uh… are you ours?

Alfa

Sorry to disappoint, but no.

Mallory

…Oh. Then, who are you? Why are you here?

Alfa

Kinda by accident, but…

He attempts to get up, but his head is too sore. He cringes and lies back again.

Alfa

Your friends are in big trouble. They helped me escape, but I think they were probably caught.

He glances around, and pats down his clothes.

Alfa

The timer…

Mallory

It smashed. Pieces everywhere.

Alfa

Oh no…

Mallory looks both dejected and relieved to see all the sliding business over with.

At the doorway of the room appears Rembrandt, accompanied by Maggie.

Maggie

Mallory, why didn’t you say he was awake?!

Mallory

(belligerent)

He just woke up, alright? Calm down.

Maggie gives him a dirty look.

Maggie

So is it our Quinn or not?

Alfa

No, I’m not. I don’t want to mislead you all. I didn’t even get to meet your Quinn. Just Wade and the other lady, whose name I didn’t catch.

(emotional)

But your Quinn helped me, even having not met me. And now he’s probably in worse trouble than I was.

Alfa breaks down and begins to cry.

Rembrandt moves to comfort him.

Rembrandt

Hey, it’s alright. Q-ball’s resourceful, I’m sure he’s got some plan. Some way outta this mess.

Alfa

But I just stole and destroyed his best chance. I’m such an idiot! Who knows what Bravo’s gonna do to him?

Mallory looks at this emotionally damaged Quinn with surprise. He’s never seen Quinn vulnerable in this way. His expression softens into empathy.

Maggie

The Professor’s looking at the pieces of the timer as we speak. I’m sure it’s repairable. You look terrible; get some rest, okay?

Rembrandt

What should we call you? Those Quinns all had code names, right?

Alfa

(through tears)

I’m Quinn Alfa. The original failure.

Ext. [QF] Busy Street - Night

Picking up where we left off last episode, Quinn, Wade, and Diana are gawking at the stream of Quinn doubles passing them on the sidewalk.

Quinn taps one on the shoulder. The Quinn double stops, and looks expectantly at them.

Quinn

Hi, could you tell us…

Wade

What this place is?

Quinn Double

(to Quinn)

Oh, you’re a newbie? Welcome to Quinn Francisco!

(to Wade and Diana)

And welcome to your Wade and Diana, too.

Wade and Diana glance at each other, getting more weirded out by the second.

Quinn Double

You here by chance or by invitation?

Quinn

(one eyebrow cocked)

Chance, I guess.

Quinn Double

(laughing)

Oh, nice. This must be pretty wild, huh?

Wade

You could say that.

(beat)

Did you say Quinn Francisco??

The Quinn double chuckles.

Quinn Double

Yeah; it was a joke name to begin with, but it caught on, so it’s just what the city’s called now.

Listen, you’ll wanna go to the nearest Orientation Center.

He points down the road.

Quinn Double

Two blocks that way, then hang a right. There’s a big sign that’s impossible to miss.

Quinn

Th-thanks.

Quinn Double

No prob. And chill out! Promise there aren’t any weird, arbitrary laws you’ll be breaking without realising. All the city’s rules are laid out in our handbook - copies are free at the Orientation Center.

(walking away)

Enjoy your stay, you guys!

The trio stare at one another for a moment.

Quinn

This is all really weird, right?

Diana

You noticed, did you?

Wade starts walking in the direction the Quinn double had been pointing. She turns back momentarily to say:

Wade

Well, I for one, am not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Quinn

(following)

I’ve seen about enough of my own face for one lifetime…

Fade to:

Ext. [QF] Street Outside Orientation Center - Night

The trio passes by a lot of land that appears to be a big junkyard filled with scrap metal and old junk. Quinn looks at it with excitement, especially once he sees a vortex open over it, and some more scraps fall through to join the pile.

Across the road, another vortex opens, and another Quinn double appears out of it. His head is down looking at his timer, and he just keeps walking as if he does this all the time.

Above them, a video billboard displaying an ongoing game of Mindgame, last seen in the episode Eggheads. All the players are Quinn doubles, except for a few, one of whom looks remarkably like Cole, and others may be alternative offspring of a Quinn.

Wade

(awestruck)

This place really is built for Quinns, isn’t it?

The Orientation Center is covered in signage and arrows that say:

Orientation center:
New arrivals here

The three enter the double doors.

Int. [QF] Orientation Center - Night

The Orientation Center has the appearance of a tourist information centre, filled with brochures and a reception desk. On the far wall is an elevator with a sign reading:

Newcomer accommodation:
1 Quinn Plus up to 3 Guests Stays Free

Diana is startled to see that the man behind the desk looks just like Mallory.

Mallory Receptionist

Oh, it’s a Diana! Must be my lucky day.

(beat)

You three new in town?

Diana

Uh, yeah. And this is… really bizarre.

Mallory Receptionist

Totally understandable if it’s your first time. I take it you’ve met a Quinn who looks like me before.

She nods in response.

Mallory Receptionist

Well, we’re pretty rare, so congrats.

He reaches down under the desk, and produces three copies of the Quinn Francisco City Handbook.

Mallory Receptionist

(handing them out)

Here, these are our rules. Is there anything I can help you with? Somewhere to stay the night?

Quinn

That would be handy, yeah.

Mallory Receptionist

Alright, we got plenty of rooms upstairs, but first I’ve gotta scan you with my little doohicky here, see if you’ve got any flags against your ID.

He produces something akin to a temperature gun, which he points at Quinn.

Quinn

What ID?

Mallory Receptionist

Yeah, I don’t know how this thing works, but every different Quinn gets a different ID code that comes up when I use it. We have a database that it checks against, in case of a Bizarro universe Quinn who’s fleeing his crimes.

Diana

(looking at Quinn)

Quantum signature, maybe?

Quinn considers this, shrugging.

Mallory Receptionist

(looking at the reading)

Well well, you’re in the system. You did say it was your first time?

Quinn

Yeah, I’ve never even heard of this place before now.

Mallory Receptionist

It’s weird though, I’m getting two conflicting IDs, but only one’s registering against existing data.

Quinn

Yeah, I’m sort of a convergence of two different Quinns, so…

Mallory Receptionist

Oh, the ol’ twofer. I gotcha.

(beat)

Listen, there’s a note on your record here. It’s got an address you’re suggested to go visit.

He writes it down on a notepad, and tears off the page, handing it to Quinn.

Mallory Receptionist

Here. You’re not required to go there, but the system asked me to give it to you either way.

Quinn

(looking at it)

Thanks.

The Mallory hands him a keycard.

Mallory Receptionist

Your room is 206. Oh! And—

He pulls a folded-up map of the city off a rack on the wall and hands it to Diana.

Mallory Receptionist

Don’t wanna get lost.

Wade

Thank you, you’ve been very helpful.

Mallory Receptionist

That’s what I’m here for.

Int. [QF] Room 206 - Night

The room is arranged very similarly to the hotel rooms shown throughout the series. Four beds, plenty of space to talk.

Wade, Quinn, and Diana have already got themselves set up. Wade is flipping through the handbook, while Diana sees what’s on television. Quinn is still looking at the address he was given.

On the TV, there are only four channels. One plays 80s cartoons, another streams a Mindgame match, the next shows science documentaries, and the last channel is news.

Diana

Only four channels, and they’re all catered to Quinn.

Wade

It says here that this whole Earth has been rendered uninhabitable by catastrophic climate change, and this city contains the entire world population, which is just people from other worlds. It’s protected by a climate control bubble powered by the Earth’s core. Every resource here is imported via sliding.

Quinn

Okay, I gotta admit, that’s incredible.

Wade

And get this: because they continually get Quinns from all over the multiverse, they have a policing clause that allows for most crimes to be let off with a warning the first time around. Ignorance of the law is a solid defense here.

Quinn makes a sound of acknowledgement, but something on the TV has caught his attention.

The newsreader is the spitting image of Logan St Clair.

Wade looks up.

Wade

Who’s that?

Quinn

She’s my female double. Logan. Though she can’t be the same one, can she?

Wade

(blushing)

A female Quinn?

…Sounds kinky.

Quinn

The one I met was a cartoonish villain who kidnapped the other Wade, nearly killed the Professor, tried to sleep with me, and sabotaged my timer. So you could say it wasn’t the best experience.

Diana

Yeah, well, don’t blame it on her chromosomes. I’m sure there are lots of them who are just as nice as you.

Quinn

I guess you must be right.

Wade

I’d like to meet one. Think of the fun—

Quinn shoots her a startled look.

Wade

—We could have… gossiping, about… girl stuff.

She’s still red-faced, but we can only guess what she’s thinking.

On Television:

Logan

… That’s your late news for tonight. I’m Logan Mallory, wishing all the Quinns out there sweet dreams.

She blows a kiss toward the camera with a smile.

End of Act One

Act Two

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Rec Room - Day

Bravo sits at the chess table, in the middle of a game against Delta. Both are intently looking at the pieces as they talk.

Bravo

(frustrated)

You know, I haven’t had a Quinn get under my skin quite this much since my ostracisation.

I have to plan our next move carefully. And it has to exclude Charlie, who’s proven himself to be a problem.

He moves a pawn.

Delta looks at the board silently for a moment, and moves a piece.

Bravo

If he seeks asylum there, he might be hard to find. He could plan anything with all those Quinns around.

Might be best to send you there to track him and his friends down before he has a chance to blend into the crowd.

He makes his next move.

Delta nods.

Delta

Should I leave today, sir?

Delta moves a piece.

Bravo

Yes. Don’t make yourself known unless you have to. Find his whereabouts, keep tabs on him, and send bi-hourly reports. I’ll decide what to do from there.

Bravo moves a piece. Delta looks at his move, then back up at Bravo, questioning.

Delta makes his move.

Delta

Checkmate…?

Bravo stares at the board for a moment.

In a sudden burst of rage, he stands and swipes all the pieces to the floor.

Then he collects himself again, acting as if nothing had happened.

Bravo

Go.

Delta stands and heads for the elevator. Bravo crosses his arms.

Bravo

(as if disgusted by the name)

“Quinn Francisco.” Their mayor isn’t even one of us, you know.

Delta is in the elevator as the doors start to close.

Delta

Yessir.

Ext. [QF] Street Outside Orientation Center - Night

Quinn, Wade, and Diana come out of the Orientation Center.

Quinn hails a flying taxi, which descends to pick them up. They all pile in.

Int. [QF] Flying Cab - Day

Quinn produces the slip of paper with the address, and hands it to the driver, who turns around to reveal a Maggie Double. She looks at it, and then up at the gawking trio.

Cabbie Maggie

(in a thick New York accent)

You’re newbies, huh? Listen, little piece of advice…

She turns to the front and peels away from the kerb and into the sky.

Cabbie Maggie

Quit starin’ at everybody so surprised like. Really gives you away. Pretend like nothin’ shocks you, you’ll blend in better.

Whoever you see here, it’s prob’ly not the one you know. So chill.

Diana

How did you end up in a city like this… if you don’t mind me asking?

Cabbie Maggie

Got caught up slidin’ years back. My husband came up with it with the help of some Quinn or another.

I was in the air force, now I fly a car. Simple transition.

Best city in the multiverse to live, if y’ask me. Quinns are very polite guys. For the most part.

Quinn

How did everyone find this place? I never knew it existed.

Wade

Haven’t you been reading the handbook? Some come here by chance, others get invited by other Quinns they’ve encountered.

Quinn

(petulant)

I never got invited…

Diana

To be fair, half of you was incommunicado and the other half was a disembodied brain.

Quinn

Inside another Quinn, who also never got invited.

Diana

He never met another Quinn to invite him.

Quinn

Okay, you have a point.

Cabbie Maggie

Sounds like you’ve had a complicated life.

Quinn

(almost laughing)

You have no idea. I have between three and four lives worth of memories, you know. Me, the other me, Mallory for a chunk of his life, and the bubble universe where I lived to old age with Maggie.

(beat)

And I have three mothers.

Wade

Wait, three?

Quinn

(sheepish)

Yeah, though technically Mom Prime is my foster mother.

Wade

(remembering)

Oh right! Your birth mother left you with her, right? And then put Colin on the other planet.

Cabbie Maggie

Wait, you’re that Quinn? Oh, makes sense.

Quinn

(intrigued)

What does?

Cabbie Maggie

This address you gave me.

Quinn

You know the place?

Cabbie Maggie

You don’t? It’s where your birth Dad lives.

Quinn’s jaw drops.

Quinn

Oh my god.

The guy at the Orientation Center just said it was attached to my ID. I didn’t know what it was.

(beat)

I’ve never met him. I’d given up looking.

Cabbie Maggie

Well, looks like we got ourselves an auspicious occasion.

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s Residence - Day

The cab drops down into a well-landscaped courtyard, with a fountain, and a statue that we see is of Colin Mallory. A modestly-sized, but very fancy-looking house awaits them. Think marble columns and lots of ivy.

The sliders jump out of the cab. Cabbie Maggie rolls down the window.

Cabbie Maggie

Enjoy your reunion.

(repeating a spiel she says after every trip with newcomers)

No pay required - city’s funded by the Mallory Foundation. You might be surprised how many Quinns are loaded.

(waving)

See ya!

The cab lifts off and flies away as Diana reads the plaque on the Colin statue.

Diana

“In memory of all the Colins that vanished in nineteen ninety-nine.”

Wade

So it’s true that they all vanished. All except your brother, and that one guy from the pandemic Earth.

Quinn

I can’t even begin to speculate on that guy. Come on.

He walks to the front door and presses the doorbell button.

Diana and Wade flank him as they wait.

The door finally opens to reveal Michael Mallory. He’s dressed in a plain pinstripe shirt and khaki trousers, quite unlike how he was pictured in the message beamed to Quinn’s brain long ago.

He regards the trio with little surprise; given the city in which he lives, it’s hardly shocking to see a Quinn and a couple of his known companions.

Michael

Oh, have you come about the plumbing?

(beat)

You don’t look like tradespeople.

Quinn remains silent for a moment, taking it in.

Quinn

I—

(hesitating, restarting)

So look, I just got here in town and they… they sent me here? I think you’re my birth father. At least, that’s the hypothesis of my cab driver.

Michael

They sent you here from the Orientation Center? After scanning you?

Quinn nods. Michael’s face lights up.

Michael

(barely contained joy)

Uh… I suppose you’d better come in!

Ext. [QF] Street - Day

As we open, we focus the puddle on the road that the trio landed in back in the previous episode, which reflects a couple of flying cars in the sky, before a brown leather boot lands in it, splashing water.

We see that it’s Delta, wearing civilian gear but still maintaining a military posture. He checks readings on his wrist device for a moment, and walks onward towards the sidewalk.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s Residence: Living Room - Day

It’s a cosy house with antique, classic style furniture. The sofas look like they came out of the early 20th century, though they’re well maintained.

Quinn, Wade, and Diana sit on the seats. Michael is not currently in the room.

It’s quiet, but you can hear the sound of the fountain outside. No birds can be heard.

Quinn

This place isn’t what I expected. Their civilisation was meant to be really high tech.

Wade

I mean, this city is really high tech too. Maybe he just likes this style of décor?

Michael (O.S.)

Some things are timeless.

Michael enters the room carrying a tray of tea. He puts it down on the coffee table.

Michael

These older hand-crafted pieces are designed to last lifetimes, you know. Just some reupholstery once in a while and they’re good as new.

He pours them tea.

Michael

So, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it? First I thought you were dead, then I started hearing you were looking for me. I moved here hoping I’d find you. Figured it would be the best place for it, right?

Quinn

Sorry, I was a little indisposed all this time.

(beat)

Look… I’ve been burned before. Do you have any… proof… you’re my real father?

Michael thinks for a moment, then reaches for a book on his shelves. He opens it up, and it’s been hollowed out. Inside are two microdot chips.

Michael

These look familiar to you?

Quinn

Are they…

Michael

Backup copies. If you need proof, you can use it.

Quinn takes one, and holds it to his forehead for a moment.

It starts to light up, and, having seen enough, he immediately removes it and the two men finally hug. It’s a long one, and they both have red eyes by the end of it.

Quinn

What happened to my mother?

Michael

I’m sorry, Quinn. She passed away about nine years ago.

Quinn

(dejected)

I see.

Michael pulls an old family photo off a shelf, showing the whole family together.

He and Quinn both sit down to look at it.

Michael

(sighing)

I gave up on Colin after finding out that every Colin Mallory in existence supposedly disappeared in ninety-nine. Nobody seems to know why.

Quinn exchanges a look with Diana.

Quinn

It’s complicated, but Colin is alive, Dad.

Michael

(astonished)

But how? Do you know where he is?

Quinn

I’ll explain more later, but he’s not tethered to one world, and he shifts between them constantly. The freak event that caused it also destroyed all of his doubles.

Michael’s mouth drops open at this.

Diana

We had the means to find him and stabilise him. Until yesterday.

Quinn

Yeah.

(realising)

…Just the kind of bargaining chip Bravo’d use to get me back there. Dammit.

Michael’s brow furrows.

Michael

Wait, did you say Bravo? Like from the Quinn Squad?

Wade

Quinn Squad?

Michael

Yeah… that military group that keeps confiscating timers from Quinns they find and then trying to recruit them.

Quinn

You know them?!

Michael

Are you kidding? That bastard Bravo used to run this place. We banished him. You know he tried to make everyone give up sliding? Except him and his friends, of course.

Quinn

I see. He must hate this place, not being able to come here even though he’s, like, unhealthily into Quinns. No wonder it was Charlie’s bug-out.

Michael

So that’s how you got here?

Quinn

Yeah. The timer was a one-way trip. It fried its own circuits after we slid here.

Michael

That’s alright; do you have any idea how many sliding machines and timers you can find in this city? Heck, I’ve got one in my own basement!

Quinn’s eyes light up.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Study - Day

Arturo sits at the desk, peering into a magnifying glass at electronic components, tweezers in his hands. We see that it’s the broken timer.

He sighs heavily and takes a moment to rub his eyes.

Maggie peeks into the room.

Maggie

Hey. How are you doing?

Arturo

Dreadfully, my dear. This blasted brain fog, and constant wheezing. I’m half the man I was.

(swelling anger)

I just wish I could concentrate properly!

This outburst leaves him coughing.

Alfa (O.S.)

Maybe I can help?

Alfa appears behind Maggie, who steps further inside to let him pass.

Alfa

(with a faux smile)

I mean, I have a concussion and standing up is making me dizzy, but… I’ll try.

Arturo

(sarcastic)

Oh yes, let’s bumble our way to success like a pair of Conrad Bennish Juniors, shall we?

Alfa

(rubbing his temple)

I don’t know who that is.

Arturo

Well, that’s a blessing for you.

(beat)

I get the impression this timer has seen its last slide, to be quite honest with you.

Alfa

(depressed)

They’re probably all off on some random world by now anyway, or dead. I’m sorry.

We now see that Cole has just entered the room and is staring, wide-eyed, at Alfa. They take a moment to gather themselves after walking in on such a morbid thought.

Cole

No way, the Quinn I know is way too smart for that.

Arturo

I’d like to think there was some way he outplayed this Bravo character, but they’re both Quinns. That’s an even playing field.

Alfa

It would be, if Bravo didn’t have the military at his disposal. And Delta. I’m sorry, but there’s no way.

Cole

(harshly)

What kind of Quinn are you anyway? “Downer” Quinn?

Alfa

(sighing)

More like “Realist” Quinn.

(beat)

Sorry for failing you all.

He moves past Cole and leaves the room, head hanging. Cole watches him go, and looks back at Maggie and Arturo in exasperation.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Hall - Day

Alfa and Mallory pass each other in the hall, and Mallory heads for the door to the Study.

Cole (O.S.)

What good is having some random Quinn here if he’s given up?

Mallory takes this comment with some pain.

Alfa, at the threshold of Hall and Entryway, stops cold as a bright light and wind starts assaulting him.

Alfa

Oh… guess I was wrong?

Mallory looks toward the light in surprise.

Mallory

(shouting towards Study)

Hey, everyone! Get out here!

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

The three sliders come flying out of the vortex in a rougher manner than usual.

Quinn ends up falling onto the bottom of the staircase.

He looks up to see Alfa, Mallory, Maggie and Cole standing near the left side hall, with Arturo hobbling out of the hallway behind them. On the right side, Rembrandt and Missus Mallory appear. All have sheer relief on their faces.

Rembrandt

Q-ball, my man. You made it.

Quinn

(scrambling to his feet)

Sorry we’re late.

As Diana stands, she meets Alfa’s eye.

Diana

Alfa… you got out.

Alfa presses his mouth into a smile, but his eyes don’t follow suit.

Alfa

You too. I’m glad.

Cole

(smirking)

He’d literally just given up on you, you know.

Cole moves past them to Quinn, who they hug.

Cole

Welcome back.

Alfa

How did you get out of the facility?

Rembrandt

Where’d you get that timer?

Maggie

What happened with that doomsday machine?

Mallory

Did you manage to get Colin back?

Missus Mallory

Are you all okay?

Arturo

Come now people, give them a precious moment to catch their breath before bombarding them with questions.

Wade

(looking at the timer)

Listen, we’re only here for an hour. We have a tight schedule because…

Diana

We have a military base incursion to plan. Who’s in?

Maggie

Taking down that sleaze? Let me at it.

Quinn

Primary objectives are getting Colin back and disabling that machine. Bravo stands between us and those goals, so he’s definitely gonna have to be taken down.

Mallory

Hey, can we rewind a bit? How did you get here?

Quinn laughs.

Quinn

Mallory, meeting your double was the least weird thing that’s happened to me since I last saw you.

(to Maggie)

Meeting yours might be the most weird, though.

He starts walking in the direction of the living room.

Quinn

Come on, we’ve got quite a story.

Maggie and Mallory look at each other in surprise and intrigue before following him.

Ext. [QF] Street Outside Orientation Center - Day

Delta steps out of the Orientation Center, a slip of paper in his hand that contains an address.

He types something into his wrist device, and continues on.

As he passes, in the window of the Orientation Center we can see the Mallory Receptionist gagged and handcuffed to a bar on the wall.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Living Room - Day

In the center of the room, Quinn, Wade, and Diana sit. The rest are scattered around them, with Alfa sitting on the floor against a wall.

Alfa

So you saw the city, then. Where I first met Bravo. Bet it’s changed a lot.

Quinn

(amused)

Quinn Francisco.

Alfa

(incredulous)

They kept that name?

Quinn shrugs in reply.

Maggie

You really found your birth Dad? For real this time?

Quinn

(grinning)

Seems that way.

Cole

(excited)

I have a Grandpa!

Maggie

Is this city safe?

Quinn

It’s basically tutorial level for sliders.

Cole beams at this.

Cole

I’m going.

Maggie shrugs in defeat.

Wade

However! With Bravo around, no place is truly safe. Not if he can get the coordinates.

She looks down at the timer.

Wade

We gotta go in ten. Anyone who’s coming, assemble by the stairs.

Alfa

We need to be extremely careful from here on out. Quinn Squad’s got the coordinates to every one of these worlds, including right here.

Anyone who stays behind better steer clear of this house for a while.

This prompts Arturo and Missus Mallory to exchange a look.

End of Act Two

Act Three

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Day

In the magnetic field, Colin lies on his back, staring at the ceiling. Beside him, just out of the field, lies Charlie.

Colin

I’m hungry.

Charlie

I already gave you all my snack stash.

(sulky)

I’m hungry too.

Colin

I thought you said you worked here. Why are you trapped in this room with me?

Charlie

Because I backstabbed everyone who trusted me and helped your brother escape.

Colin

Oh.

(beat)

Well, at least you have a bathroom. Can I at least upgrade from a bottle to a bucket?

Charlie

I don’t have a bucket.

Colin

What sort of high tech lab doesn’t have a simple bucket?

Charlie

This one, apparently.

Colin

I suppose this is peaceful in some way. Don’t get much of that, shifting around.

A moment passes as they lay there.

Colin

Could use a shower, too.

Charlie

Yeah, me too.

Colin

Can’t you control door locks and things from your screens over there? Quinn used to do stuff like that all the time.

Charlie

I’m completely barred from access.

Colin

Can’t you… I don’t know… “hack?” That’s a thing, isn’t it? I know that’s a thing.

Charlie

If I could hack my own security protocols, don’t you think I’d be doing that?

The sound of the doors opening makes Charlie shoot up to a sitting position.

Bravo enters, flanked by two soldiers.

Bravo

Hey there, getting some quality chat time in, you two?

Colin

I’m hungry.

Charlie

Come on, Colin’s innocent. And probably highly traumatised from slipping through the fabric of space-time for two decades. Let him go.

Bravo

(sarcastic gesturing)

Oh, well in that case…

(beat)

I’ll get you some food, but only because you’re both more useful to me alive. We’re closing in on Echo, so hopefully that’ll change soon enough.

He turns to leave, and ushers out the soldiers with him.

Colin

Wait, can I get a buck—

The doors slam closed, and Colin sighs.

Charlie

If it makes you feel any better, I have to empty those bottles.

And you pee so much for someone who’s barely hydrated.

Colin

(not comprehending the idea of schadenfreude)

Why would that make me feel better?

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House - Day

Delta drops onto the roof from a flying car.

He crosses the roof and quietly jumps down onto a balcony at the back of the house.

He produces a small gadget from one of his pockets and hovers it over the door lock. The door unlocks, and he slips inside.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Master Bedroom - Day

Once inside, he pulls another device from a pocket, and places it on the floor. It’s a palm-sized metal sphere with a button on the top.

He presses the button, and the device activates, with a ring of red lights around the perimeter.

His work done, he leaves the way he came.

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House - Day

Delta climbs down to the ground level, where he hides in a bush. He taps his earpiece.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Master Bedroom - Day

The device breaks apart into a swarm of 12 tiny drones, which rise into the air, and fly off into the rest of the house. One remains, which plants itself under the bed.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Living Room - Day

Michael Mallory stands in the living room, clearing off the tea from earlier. He doesn’t notice the drone flying in.

Undetected, it plants itself on the underside of the coffee table.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Basement - Day

We follow another drone into yet another basement laboratory, full of sliding equipment.

The drone places itself under a seat.

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Bushes - Day

Delta places a visor over his face.

Ext. [QF] Delta’s HUD POV - Day

The visor allows him a basic virtual reality rendering of the bug locations in the house. The view can be seen as an overlay over the bushes Delta can see in front of him.

He sees one of the bugs pulsing, and focuses on it with his eyes. The eye movement triggers the machine to start playing audio through his earpiece from that location.

Delta listens carefully.

Footsteps. Then, the active audio shifts to the basement, where he hears the familiar sound of a vortex.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Basement - Day

The vortex has indeed opened, and Michael Mallory pokes his head into the room to see a large group of sliders arriving:

Quinn, Alfa, Wade, Mallory, Maggie, Cole, Rembrandt, Arturo, and Diana.

Michael

(impressed)

You have quite the team.

Quinn

Yeah, I’ve made a few friends over time.

Ext. [QF] Delta’s HUD POV - Day

Delta listens in.

Maggie

Listen up, everyone. You want to take on an army, you’ll need to think like one. Come with me and we’ll run some drills.

The sound of many feet stomping up stairs.

The active audio changes to the living room, and finally out into the front courtyard.

Delta focuses on this courtyard bug, from which the only notable audio is coming.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Basement - Day

Quinn, Alfa, Mallory, and Michael remain silently behind in the basement, each taking turns writing on paper and showing it to each other. They’re planning something, but we can’t see what.

Alfa holds up something, and Quinn nods, followed by Mallory, followed by Michael. They each start to tiptoe up the basement stairs.

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Courtyard - Day

The four Mallorys continue to creep silently, past Maggie who’s making the others run laps - except for Arturo, who sits uncomfortably on the edge of the fountain, looking grim.

Maggie

Come on maggots, put some energy into it! Any one of those soldiers could lay you flat right about now!

As Cole huffs and puffs, they watch Michael’s flying car ascend into the sky.

Maggie

Alright people, take five!

Distraction’s over.

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Bushes - Day

Delta rips off his visor.

Delta

(whispering)

Damn. Well played.

He types into his wrist device.

Delta

(as text)

Bugs anticipated. No intel acquired. Next move?

Bravo

(as text)

Proceed to Plan B.

Ext. [QF] Quinn Francisco City Hall - Day

The large domed building is barely different from the version we know, except that the rows of flags outside are all different versions of the US flag (and other countries in which this city stands depending on the local geopolitics), all from different Earths.

Michael’s flying car comes in for a landing right in front.

Quinn, Alfa, Michael, and Mallory all jump out.

Mallory

Remind me again why I’m here?

Quinn

You’re a Quinn too, you know.

Mallory

Oh, come on. I stick out like a sore thumb. You said there was one of me workin’ reception at your welcoming centre? Typical.

I bet we’re treated like an underclass and made to work all the menial jobs, right? I’ve seen “Rick and Morty.”

Michael

What…?

Quinn

So have I; I was there when you saw it, and need I remind you that a Morty was in charge in their city?

Mallory

An evil Morty.

Alfa shrugs at Michael, and they begin to ascend the stairs.

Michael

Well, I don’t know who or what a Morty is, but our mayor isn’t evil…

They enter the City Hall.

Int. [QF] City Hall: Rotunda - Day

Mallory is the first to enter, and he immediately sees another Mallory who’s mopping the floor.

He’s about to make a comment when Maggie Guard #1, a Maggie Double in a security uniform, points an ID scanner at him, and he’s startled into silence.

A second Maggie, Maggie Guard #2 starts scanning Quinn.

Upon scanning Mallory, Maggie Guard #1 looks at the scanner and says:

Maggie Guard #1

Ooh, it’s a new Quinn in the mint flavour. Welcome!

Mallory is suspicious by her supposed enthusiasm, besides the obvious shock of seeing two of his wife.

Maggie Guard #2

(whacking the side of her scanner)

How weird, this one’s bringing up two IDs…?

Quinn

(holding up a finger)

I can explain that.

Maggie Guard #1

(scanning Alfa)

No way…

She touches an earpiece.

Maggie Guard #1

We got a flagged Quinn at the entrance. All units stand by for potential trouble.

Maggie Guard #2 finishes scanning Michael, and her brow furrows.

Maggie Guard #2

This is definitely Michael Mallory S-Twelve. What’s he doing with Quinn Squad Alfa?

Quinn

I can also explain that.

Michael

We need an urgent audience with the Mayor. I would’ve phoned ahead, but I believe my house, and possibly car, are bugged.

The Maggies look at one another, an unspoken understanding passing between them.

Maggie Guard #1

(to Michael)

Alright, we’ll take you to our holding bay and arrange an audience.

(with a smirk and a shrug)

Directive three: “Always Let Them Explain.”

Maggie Guard #2

(to Maggie Guard #1)

No stupid misunderstandings.

(to Quinn)

Come on.

As Maggie Guard #2 leads them away, Maggie Guard #1 stands back, listening to something in her ear.

Maggie Guard #1

(muttering to self)

Oh, that rat bastard.

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s House: Bushes - Day

Delta continues to lie in wait.

His wrist device vibrates, and he checks it.

Bravo

(device text)

Mayor notified. Retrieve package, leave at 19:00.

He looks up and begins to silently rise from the bushes, until he hears a gun being cocked.

We see Maggie has one pointed at him.

Maggie

We ladies tend to be a little paranoid about the idea of strange men watching us from the bushes, you know?

Stand up.

He raises his hands, and slowly stands.

Then he lunges for the weapon. Maggie struggles with him.

Maggie

I don’t want to shoot you…

The scuffle results in the gun falling to the ground, and Delta grabs his own handgun from his belt as he begins to flee, but he almost runs right into Cole, who’s got a rifle pointed towards him.

Cole

Uh-uh. Drop it.

Maggie recovers her own gun, and points it at his back.

He finally drops his gun, and kicks it away.

Rembrandt emerges from around the corner of the house, holding cuffs.

Rembrandt

At ease, soldier.

Always wanted to say that.

He pulls Delta’s hands to his back and locks them into the cuffs.

Maggie

We’ll need to search him. Thoroughly.

Cole

Okay, dibs not, please. I don’t want to feel up my Dad.

Maggie

Don’t worry, it’ll be my pleasure.

Cole

Gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.

Delta’s stone-faced expression turns to more of a grimace as he’s lead to the house.

Int. [QF] City Hall: Holding Room - Day

A small room lined with benches. At the entrance, Maggie Guard #2 stands, gun at the ready. Michael, Quinn, Alfa, and Mallory, are all seated in the room.

Maggie Guard #2

Word on the comms is that Bravo’s looking for someone who escaped him. You guys wouldn’t have any idea about that? Alfa?

Alfa

Damn. So he really does know we’re here.

Maggie Guard #2

Ah, so I was right. Well, lucky you. That’s sure to grab the Mayor’s attention.

Unknown Quinn (O.S.)

You’d be correct. Thank you, Maggie. I’ll take it from here.

Maggie Guard #2 nods, and steps aside.

The Quinn who just spoke, Quinn-943, now enters the room. He looks like any other Quinn, but he’s visibly dead inside. Absolutely no light in his eyes.

Without hesitation, he looks Quinn dead in the eye, and speaks directly, but without any feeling or expression.

Quinn-943

(deadpan)

You’ve finally arrived here after all this time. I thought it would be much sooner.

Quinn

Me, specifically?

(squinting)

Do I know you?

Quinn-943

Nobody knows me. But yes, we have met.

Quinn

The only Quinn I’ve met who ever had a dead-eyed stare like you is… huh.

Mallory

Are you the Mayor?

Michael

No, he’s the Mayor’s assistant, Quinn Nine-Four-Three.

Quinn-943

Correct. I relinquished the name Quinn when I relinquished my humanity. I am merely a number assigned by the city now.

He gestures out of the room.

Quinn

Your specific words the last time I saw you were, “I’ll never slide again.” So…

Quinn gestures broadly.

Quinn-943

I was brought here by others against my will, to pay for my terrible crimes.

Quinn

(incredulous)

And then you ended up the… Mayor’s assistant?

Quinn-943

This is my penance. Shuffling Quinns in and out of an office I will never hold. Doing meaningless busywork. Being kept in line by a bureaucracy I can never escape. A fate worse than the death you never granted me.

Quinn stands and gives him a soft punch in the arm.

Quinn

(awkward)

Well, you’re… doin’ great, sport.

He turns and shares a cringe with Mallory, who is frankly terrified of this Quinn.

Quinn-943

(downbeat, but still flat)

You needn’t humour me. We are enemies, so will it forever be.

(leaving)

The Mayor is waiting.

Those remaining seated now stand, and begin to move toward the door, with Mallory bringing up the rear.

Alfa

I’m… officially not the most screwed-up Quinn.

Mallory

(whispering so 943 can’t hear)

Why does he talk like that? That’s so creepy.

Int. [QF] City Hall: Holding Room - Day

The double doors of the Mayor’s office swing open. Quinn-943 holds one, staring blankly towards the silhouetted figure facing the other way, the Mayor, who we don’t get a good look at just yet.

Manning the other door is a Wade double, wearing business attire.

Quinn-943

Mister Mayor.

Mayor

Thank you, Nine-Four-Three.

The doors shut now, leaving only the four sliders and the Mayor.

The Mayor turns around, and we finally see it’s another Mallory double. He’s well dressed and neatly groomed. He regards the party before him with an affable smile. He holds a piece of paper.

Mayor Mallory

Gentlemen, take a seat.

Quinn turns to Mallory, eyes wide, trying to express an “I-Told-You-So” vibe without speaking.

Mallory looks back with equal surprise.

They all move to one of the chairs in the room and sit down.

Mayor Mallory

(glancing at the paper)

If this communiqué I just got from the Quinn Squad is authentic, I think you’re all in something of a pickle.

We can only speculate what Mallory is thinking about here, but it’s safe to say it might be “Rick and Morty” related.

End of Act Three

Episode 9:
Quinnternational Incident

Things come to a head with the Quinn Squad, but Bravo is no ordinary enemy to outwit.

Will Quinn be able to rescue his brother, escape the facility, and prevent the annihilation of Quinn Francisco, all in one night? Or will everything fall apart when his plan fails to get the results he needs? How far can Bravo push Quinn into his own dark side?

Previously on Sliders

Wade

Quinn Squad?

Bravo

We’re a military sanctioned sliding facility staffed by various Quinns. —

— Will you be our Quinn Echo?

Diana

What do you know about Project Hyacinth?

Quinn

If this thing is ever used, it could be catastrophic and destroy multiple Earths.

Bravo

You realise we’re going to have to send you off to a random Earth, for good.

Quinn

I was afraid you might say that.

Alfa

So you saw the city, then. Where I first met Bravo.

Quinn Double

Oh, you’re a newbie? Welcome to Quinn Francisco!

Mallory Receptionist

Listen, there’s a note on your record here. It’s got an address you’re suggested to go visit.

Quinn

You know the place?

Cabbie Maggie

You don’t? It’s where your birth Dad lives.

Quinn

Oh my god.

Bravo

Track him and his friends down before he has a chance to blend into the crowd.

Delta

Yessir.

Michael

So, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it? —

— That bastard Bravo used to run this place. We banished him.

Diana

We have a military base incursion to plan. Who’s in?

Quinn

Primary objectives are getting Colin back and disabling that machine.

Colin

I thought you said you worked here. Why are you trapped in this room with me?

Charlie

Because I backstabbed everyone who trusted me and helped your brother escape.

Quinn

You’re a Quinn too, you know.

Mallory

I bet we’re treated like an underclass and made to work all the menial jobs, right?

Cole

Uh-uh. Drop it.

Maggie

We’ll need to search him. Thoroughly.

Mayor Mallory

Gentlemen, take a seat. —

— If this communiqué I just got from the Quinn Squad is authentic, I think you’re all in something of a pickle.

Act One

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s Residence: Living Room - Day

Wearing only underwear, Delta sits uncomfortably in a solid oak armchair, one arm handcuffed to the leg of the chair. Maggie and Cole stand at a safe distance, pointing their firearms toward him.

On the sofa sits Wade, Arturo, and Rembrandt.

Rembrandt

So. What’s Bravo’s plan?

Delta just looks him in the eye, silent.

Maggie

This is useless. It’ll take a lot more to get info out of the guy than chitchat.

Arturo

(to Delta)

Just what do you think you’re doing taking orders from that pompous windbag Bravo?

(wheeze)

Here’s a novel concept for you: some bloody critical thinking for a change!

Delta withers before the Professor, despite Arturo’s frail state.

Rembrandt and Wade make amused eye contact.

Arturo

You want an order so bad? I order you to grow a blasted spine and make your own decisions!

Delta seems to seriously consider these words.

Rembrandt

Man, you know the guy’s power tripping. Why feed into that?

Delta

(smirking)

You don’t know much about the military, do you?

Rembrandt

I’m a Navy vet, so I know a thing or two. I know that your superiors are fallible human bein’s and easily corrupted.

Maggie

Sometimes you need to keep an eye on your superiors. Sometimes they come unhinged and start stealing brain fluid from innocent people. It’s a whole thing.

Delta looks at her with an eyebrow raised.

Rembrandt

When I was sliding with Q-ball, we’d always look to him for answers, plans, decisions. But that didn’t mean we didn’t think for ourselves.

We challenged him all the time, and he valued our input, least most of the time. That’s what bein’ a team is about.

Delta stares at his feet for a moment, before stiffening.

Delta

You really think you’re going to turn me to your side or something? While I’m sitting at gunpoint in my underpants?

Arturo

Ha. Don’t pretend you didn’t already surrender your dignity long ago.

Wade leans towards him.

Wade

Listen, Delta, I owe you an apology. I knew Alfa was going to be there waiting for you on the jungle world, but I swear I didn’t know he was going to hurt you.

Delta laughs, but there’s no joy in it.

Delta

He made the right choice. Both he and I know that was his only chance.

Diana appears at the entrance of the room, looking at Delta.

Diana

Do you even know why he was being held captive?

Delta

(thinking)

Tried to steal tech and run away with it.

Wade and Diana glance at one another.

Wade

You really got the CliffsNotes version, didn’t you?

Int. [QF] City Hall: Mayor’s Office - Day

As we left off last time, Mayor Mallory stands holding a sheet of paper, before a bewildered Quinn and Mallory, with a less bewildered Alfa and Michael Mallory also present in the room.

Mayor Mallory

I’m glad you’ve come to see me.

He looks at Quinn.

Mayor Mallory

First of all, welcome to our city, Quinn One-Eight, and Quinn One-Four-Seven-One… the two of you who… apparently have combined, somehow. I expect you’re happy to have finally found your father.

Quinn leans over, taking his father’s hand.

Quinn

You could say that.

Mayor Mallory

(to Mallory)

And you, Quinn One-Four-Seven-Two, our sensors picked up traces of Quinn One-Eight’s signature inside you as well. I expect that’s a fun story.

Mallory

(eyes locked with Quinn)

Yes. “Fun.”

Mayor Mallory

(amused)

You seemed surprised to see one of our faces in charge around here.

Mallory

Yeah, I guess so. I always thought of myself as the Quinn consolation prize. I’m not nearly as smart as him, and everyone treats me like I don’t add anything to the team. They don’t even call me my name, because to them, he’s Quinn.

Quinn

Okay man, we need to have a chat later.

Mayor Mallory

Don’t be so hard on yourself. You and me have lots of good qualities. You don’t have to be a super genius to have value.

There was a reason I was elected Mayor and it’s not because I understand how a car can fly. That’s all I’m sayin’.

Mallory considers his words.

Mayor Mallory

(looking down at the paper in his hands)

So it says here that Quinn Squad Bravo wants Alfa and… Echo? Turned over.

Quinn

I don’t know why he still insists I have that code name. I’m not part of his crew.

Mallory

(scanning the page)

By the looks of things, neither is Alfa.

Alfa

(nodding)

Got that right. Not anymore.

Mayor Mallory

He says he has something you want, and that there’s an incentive for us to turn you over, but he doesn’t say what that is.

(beat)

Do you know?

Quinn looks at Alfa.

Alfa

Yes. Have you ever heard of… spaghettification?

Mayor Mallory

What…?

Alfa

When an object falls into a black hole, it gets stretched out like a noodle as it reaches the event horizon, before disappearing into the infinitely dense point.

Now imagine that happening to you, then the world, then the solar system, then the galaxy—

Mayor Mallory looks at him with a crinkled nose, having no idea where this is going.

Mallory

Dude, stop, you’re just confusing the guy.

(taking charge)

Here’s what I understand: they built a machine that can destroy a whole Earth, and take other Earths with it if there’s portals open. It’s really, really dangerous.

Quinn

Especially in a place like this, which constantly has open connections to other worlds. For him to even threaten to use it just over the two of us is frankly terrifying.

Mallory

The guy’s out of his mind.

Mayor Mallory

(thoughtful)

Bravo’s been a thorn in our side for a long time, but this?

He crosses his arms, thinking.

Alfa

We have a possible plan, but…

He looks at the other three.

Quinn

It’s risky, but it’s the only way I can see that has a chance to actually stop Bravo and this weapon. But…

Michael

You’ll need to evacuate the city. Immediately, and completely.

The Mayor looks at them gravely.

Mayor Mallory

I see.

Well then, you’d better explain this plan to me.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s Residence: Living Room - Night

Delta continues to sit in his underwear, handcuffed and guarded by Maggie and Cole. Still in the room sits Wade and Rembrandt.

Rembrandt’s phone buzzes, and he checks it.

Rembrandt

Looks like the plan’s on, folks.

Wade

The Mayor agreed? That’s great!

Maggie

Okay. Then I guess we get to find out if my place is a suitable prison for this guy.

Rembrandt

(reading phone)

They’re headin’ back here while the city’s notified of the evac and the bit players get called up to join the fun.

As if on cue, a bell somewhere outside starts ringing. Cole nods at Wade.

Wade

Looks like it’s starting.

Delta

What are you people planning?!

Cole

(proudly)

Oh, it’s so cool. Unfortunately we’re going to miss the best part, but I’ve got a special mission, so I’m not complainin’.

The sound of a door slamming.

Mallory (O.S.)

We’re back!

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s Residence: Entryway - Night

Quinn, Mallory, Michael, and Alfa have arrived. Wade comes to greet them, and kisses Quinn.

Wade

Welcome back.

(to Alfa)

Right. Let’s get you changed.

Int. [QF] Michael Mallory’s Residence: Living Room - Night

Both Alfa and Delta are now stripped to their underwear. Wade starts throwing Delta’s clothes towards Alfa.

Wade

Déjà vu, huh?

Alfa

(cheekily)

Starting to think you just want to see a bunch of Quinns without their clothes on.

Wade

(grinning)

That’s the dream.

Delta

(quietly)

Alfa, I…

Alfa

(pulling on clothes)

Sorry I cracked your head open.

Delta

Sorry I didn’t ask for the full story about why you were imprisoned.

Alfa

Sorry I ever recruited Bravo in the first place.

Delta sighs.

Quinn wanders into the room, and flushes when he sees the states of undress, while Wade, Cole, and Maggie are all in the room watching.

Quinn

Should I… come back?

Cole, who is doing their best to ignore the subtext, simply gives him a pleading look.

Quinn

(shaking his head, looking away)

When you’re all ready, meet us in the courtyard and we’ll slide.

(to Cole)

Remember what you’ve got to do and be quick, okay? It’ll take time to warm up, but it may be less time than we think.

Cole nods vigorously.

Ext. [QF] City Street - Night

A bell rings in the distance.

As various Quinn doubles walk by, they all start receiving notifications on their phones and timers. Their expressions turn serious.

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s Residence: Courtyard - Night

The whole team has assembled: Quinn, Michael, Alfa (now decked out in Delta’s gear), Arturo, Rembrandt, Wade, Mallory, Cole, Maggie, and Diana. Delta stands, still at gunpoint, in underwear and handcuffs. He looks defeated.

Quinn moves in front of the crowd, carrying a box full of timers. They each possess a touch screen, and a mini keyboard is attached.

Quinn

(handing out the timers to everyone)

Okay, everyone, listen up.

The Mayor graciously allowed me access to these timers. You’ll each get one to take with you: some very clever version of me has modified them to allow for multiple slide windows.

You have twenty opportunities to slide, from anywhere you are, over the course of twelve hours.

They’ve been pre-programmed with the coordinates you’ll need to get you where you have to go, and there’s text comms built in.

Just remember, do not open a wormhole back here until the all-clear. And when those twelve hours run out, they’ll be paperweights.

Alfa steps forward and nods at Quinn. He turns around to face everyone.

Alfa

Good luck everyone. I deeply appreciate your help, and I’m sorry that it’s come to this.

Quinn

Now, go.

Alfa looks at Delta’s wrist device, which he’s now wearing. He taps the screen and the timer display appears, counting down to 1900 hours; there’s four minutes to go.

Maggie is the first to make a move. She pushes the button on her timer, pointing it to an empty space. The vortex opens, and she grabs Delta.

Maggie

Let’s go.

She nods at Quinn, then Mallory, then pulls Delta into the vortex with her, with Cole following behind, gun raised.

Wade steps forward to Quinn.

Wade

Don’t get yourself killed. We have a wedding to plan.

Quinn

Oh?

Wade kisses him on the lips gently.

Wade

Your Mom deserves to see you happy before she goes. I mean, the Mom that’s sick. But also the other one, and your birth Dad.

(beat)

Your family is complicated. Anyway, I’m up for it if you’re still up for it.

He laughs, and gives her a hug.

Quinn

Of course I am, I never stopped being up for it.

(beat)

And we’re gonna make it, okay? Now, get going.

Wade nods, and opens her own wormhole, waving as she jumps in.

Throughout the courtyard, our heroes are saying goodbye and stepping through their gateways.

Until finally, only Alfa and Quinn remain.

They turn to each other.

Quinn

Ready?

Alfa

I hate impersonating him, but I’ll do whatever it takes.

Quinn turns, placing his hands behind his back. Alfa places cuffs loosely on his wrists, loose enough for him to easily slip out of them.

Then Alfa checks his wrist device once more.

Alfa

1900 hours in three, two…

He presses the button and the vortex opens up.

He grabs Quinn by the wrist, and they jump in.

Ext. [QF] Busy City Block - Night

From above, we see that throughout the city, wormholes are opening and closing as the city clears of inhabitants.

The ringing bell is now accompanied by a blaring alarm sound and the voice of the Mayor:

Mayor Mallory

You now have sixty minutes to evacuate. Volunteers for the operation are instructed to slide immediately.

Some whole cars fly into the portals, while Quinns, Mallorys, Rembrandts,  Maggies, Dianas, Wades, Arturos, and some various offspring of all of them, disappear into their own, with hastily packed suitcases.

Many of the Quinns, notably, are carrying gadgets and machinery, while some carry weapons.

Int. [QF] City Hall: Mayor’s Office - Day

Mayor Mallory sits alone at his desk, speaking into his intercom, a continuation of the previous scene’s speech.

Mayor Mallory

All sliding must be ceased at twenty hundred hours; or eight PM. It is vitally important. Anyone remaining after that time will need to shelter in place, but I strongly recommend leaving.

(beat)

Godspeed, everyone.

Mayor Mallory turns off the intercom, and sighs, knowing this is as much as he can do now.

A knock comes on his door, and it opens slightly. Quinn-943 steps in.

Mayor Mallory

Nine-Four-Three, what can I do for you?

Quinn-943

(flat, as always)

Will you be evacuating, sir?

Mayor Mallory

No. If this city gets… spaghettified, I’m going with it. It’ll be my punishment for making the wrong call.

Quinn-943 stares at him for a moment.

Quinn-943

Alright. I’ll make coffee.

Mayor Mallory

You’re staying?

Quinn-943

(leaving the room)

Being stretched into pasta and then compressed into infinitely dense matter cannot be worse than my present existence.

Mayor Mallory

(cringing)

Man that guy’s a downer.

End of Act One

Act Two

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Night

The sensor light flashes in the portal room. A number of soldiers ready themselves.

Towards the back of the room stands the uncovered Project Hyacinth machine, with Bravo leaning on it, arms crossed.

The machine is a steel behemoth, a number of large coils rising from the top, and a control panel at the front.

Bravo rises from his lean, and stands alert as the vortex opens in the exclusion zone.

Bravo

Look sharp, everyone.

The soldiers draw their weapons.

Through the wormhole appears Quinn and Alfa, posing as Delta. Bravo walks toward them.

Bravo

(to Quinn)

Echo, you made the right choice.

Quinn

Don’t call me that.

The portal closes, but the light doesn’t stop flashing.

Bravo

(to Delta)

Delta, I haven’t had a report from you in several hours.

(narrowing eyes)

If that’s really you.

Alfa stands to attention and salutes.

Alfa

Yes sir. Comms were confiscated while I was in City Hall to retrieve Echo, sir.

Bravo isn’t convinced.

Bravo

Soldier, quote to me your most recent clearance code.

Alfa hesitates, then his rigid posture melts into slumped shoulders.

Alfa

You got me.

He punches Bravo in the jaw. Bravo recoils, but doesn’t fall.

Bravo

(irritated)

Ow!

(beat)

Jeez, weak performance, Alfa. Was this really the best you could do?

He gestures to the soldiers to take them into custody.

Quinn pulls his hands out of his cuffs.

Quinn

(shrugging)

No.

He looks up at the flashing light, pointedly.

Bravo follows his gaze, and his brow furrows.

A new portal opens where the last one was.

Then another beside it. And another, and another.

Throughout the room, at least 12 different portals open all at once. From each of them appears a Quinn double. The soldiers aim their guns and pull their triggers, but the guns all jam.

We see that one of the Quinns is pointing a glowing yellow gadget at them that’s somehow suppressing their use. This Quinn smiles as a couple of other Quinns come up behind them, pressing a different device to the backs of their necks. There’s a flash and a metallic noise from each as they’re activated, and the soldiers collapse to the floor, unconscious.

Bravo steps back in surprise. Then he catches himself, and pulls a remote control out of his jacket pocket. He points it at the Project Hyacinth machine, and activates it.

Bravo

(staring daggers at Quinn)

You just doomed Quinn Francisco, Echo. Hope you get everyone out.

It’s the last thing he says before he too is rendered unconscious.

On the control panel screen of the Hyacinth machine, the countdown reads 05:59:40, and ticks down from there.

Seeing this, Quinn pulls out his timer, and types into the comms:

Quinn

(as text)

5 hr 59 min. Hurry.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Night

The room is dark, except for the blue light of the magnetic field. Colin is sitting uncomfortably on the floor, looking painfully bored.

Just outside the field, Charlie lies, having a nap.

The loud sound of the door being unbarred causes Charlie to snap awake.

Charlie squints as a sliver of light hits his face.

Charlie can just barely make out Quinn’s face in the silhouette.

Charlie

(assuming it’s Bravo)

What now? Come to taunt me some more?

Quinn ignores Charlie and walks up to the magnetic field, making relieved eye contact with Colin.

Quinn

You’re really here.

The lights of the room flicker on, illuminating Quinn fully. In the doorway is Alfa, hand on the light switch.

Charlie eyes the two Quinns, questioning.

Colin stands and gets as close to Quinn as he can.

Colin

Are you…?

Quinn moves to hug his brother, but the magnetic field gives him a mild shock, repelling him.

Quinn

Ow. Yeah, it’s me. Bravo’s in a cell.

Colin grins.

Colin

Knew you’d figure out some way.

Charlie

What?!

He looks at Alfa, who’s still in Delta’s clothes.

Alfa looks back, with sad eyes and a distinctly slumped posture.

Charlie

Alfa…?

Alfa

Yeah. Good to see you again, Charlie.

He walks further into the room.

Alfa

I’m sure you want to know how we managed this, but that’ll have to wait. Bravo’s activated Hyacinth.

Charlie’s eyes widen.

Charlie

He didn’t…

He starts pacing, agitated.

Charlie

There’s no way to shut that thing off without the deactivation code!

Alfa

We need your help and we need it now.

Charlie

Look, I want to help, but I’m barred out of the computers, and Bravo’s the only one who’ll know the code.

Quinn

It’s okay. We have a plan.

(checking his timer anxiously)

Come on, Cole.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Cell - Night

Bravo awakens with a start.

He sits up, and sees that he’s wearing one of the prisoner jumpsuits that Quinn and Alfa had once worn.

He fixes his hair, and wanders to the door of the cell, looking out the window with a self-satisfied grin.

Bravo

(calling out)

Hello? Anyone around?

(beat)

How long was I out? Has Quinn Francisco been destroyed yet? Sucks if I missed it.

He doesn’t appear concerned at all, as he knocks on the window.

Quinn’s face appears at the window, and smiles back at Bravo. He puts a finger to his ear, touching an earpiece.

Quinn

(through speakers)

How you doing in there? Nice and cosy?

Bravo

Me? I’m great. I’m the only one with the deactivation code.

Quinn

I know. But that’s okay. There’s plenty of time to pry it out of you.

Bravo laughs.

Bravo

You think you can just get me to talk? Really?

Quinn

I have my methods.

Bravo

You could just take your brother’s machine and leave. Forget about all this. The city’s done for.

Quinn

Nice try, but I don’t abandon people who need me.

He touches his earpiece again, turning off the audio, and Bravo watches him turn, say something inaudible, and walk off.

A moment later, the door swings open, and two Quinn doubles come in. Quinn Double #1 carries one of the guns that the soldiers had been wielding.

Quinn Double #1

(a little unhinged)

Hey there Bravo. I’ve been waiting six years to push the barrel of a gun into your back.

Bravo

That’s cool. I have no idea who you are.

Quinn Double #1

Yeah, I know. Someone with as many enemies as you would certainly have trouble keeping track.

Quinn Double #2

Just get up.

Bravo

What are you gonna do, shoot the only guy with the code? You need me too much.

Quinn Double #2 rolls his eyes, and, from a pocket, produces the device from before, that caused Bravo to pass out.

Quinn Double #2

Would you rather just wake up somewhere else again?

Bravo

(suddenly cooperative)

Okay, okay, I’ll go. Don’t use that thing again, it hurts.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Operations Room - Night

The room has been reworked to house the neuroscience equipment last seen in “Identical Quinns.” The large screen has been mounted on the wall, and various pieces of equipment are scattered around the edges of the room linked by a series of cables.

Cole stands at the head of the room, proudly surveying the set-up.

Behind them, Charlie enters, staring intently at an EMF meter.

Charlie

Colin’s EMF field is playing havoc, but this room seems to be the most protected. We just need to keep out transmitting electronics while using your equipment, and keep the doors shut.

Cole

Thanks. You are, by far, the most helpful one of this squad.

Charlie

(doubtful)

I hope this works.

Quinn (O.S.)

(from behind the door)

Ready?

Quinn enters the room and sits on the long desk, which has been adapted to fit the neural ring devices.

Cole

You bet.

Quinn

Bring him in!

Charlie retreats to the other side of the room, as the Quinn doubles push Bravo into the room.

Quinn

(to Quinn Double #2)

Keep that stunner at the ready.

Quinn Double #2 nods, and holds it up. Bravo grimaces.

Bravo

(hurt)

What the hell have you done to my ops room?

Quinn begins having sensors attached to his head.

Quinn

When I said I would pry out the code from your brain, I meant that more literally than you may have thought.

Bravo

What, you gonna try pulling some tricks on my mind like the Kromaggs?

(scoffing)

Good luck. Spent years training against that kind of thing.

Cole starts placing sensors on him.

Cole

(confident)

Yeah, well, if anyone can do it, it’s him.

Cole finishes rigging up Bravo.

Cole

Lie on the table, head inside the ring. Don’t make us stun you again.

Bravo narrows his eyes, and joins Quinn in lying on the table.

Quinn

Can’t wait to see what kind of past could turn someone like me into someone like you.

Bravo

I bet it’s less than you’d like to think.

Cole pushes a button, and the machine comes to life.

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Bravo opens his eyes. He’s on the floor of the old 1995 basement. As he pulls himself up, he sees Quinn sitting in the armchair, legs crossed up on the footrest, hands resting behind his head.

Quinn

Welcome to history.

Bravo

Oh. This place.

Quinn

Hey, let’s see what’s on TV.

He produces the remote control and switches it on.

Begin fuzzy TV screen memory scene, in Bravo’s P.O.V.:

Int. [Bravo Homeworld] 1992 Mallory House: Quinn’s Room - Night

In the corner of the screen shows a pixelated date, such as seen in datestamps on camcorder recordings:

05-20-1992

A teenage girl, Maddy, sits on his bed, staring at him. She’s crying.

Young Bravo (V.O.)

But we used condoms!

Maddy

It’s okay, Quinn. You can still go to MIT. Go become a famous scientist.

(sniffling)

I’ll take care of our baby.

Young Bravo (V.O.)

Can’t you… you know…

(whispering)

Get rid of it?

Maddy bursts into a new round of tears.

Maddy

Are you kidding me? You fancy seeing me swinging on a public gallows, Quinn?

Young Bravo (V.O.)

No… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—

The screen turns to static.

End TV scene.

Int. [Mindscape] Mallory House: Basement - Day

Quinn reacts to the static with surprise. He turns to Bravo, who’s looking at him with fury.

Bravo

(severe)

That’s quite enough of that.

Quinn

(bewildered)

You weren’t supposed to be able to do that.

Bravo

Guess you weren’t expecting a mind as strong as mine.

And now that I’ve figured out how to shut you out, there’s no chance you’re getting that code. I can hold out long enough.

Quinn frowns, and points the remote at the TV again, flicking through the channels.

Just static.

Quinn

No… no, no…

Bravo

I told you. The Kromaggs tried this crap all the time. We had to train rigorously to beat their tricks. Guess you’re just not good enough, champ.

He grins that self-assured grin once again.

Quinn moves to stand.

Flashcut to:

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Operations Room - Night

Quinn sits up from the table, groaning in frustration.

Beside him, Bravo opens his eyes, and starts pulling the wires off himself.

Bravo

(nonchalant)

Well, you tried your best. It was a bold gambit, I’ll give you that.

(beat)

Now, why don’t you call off this incursion, give me back my facility, and hand yourself and Alfa over, and I might consider shutting the machine down. Maybe.

Quinn

Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

Quinn looks to the Quinn doubles.

Quinn

You guys take him back to the cell. I’ll keep thinking. We’ll figure something out, I know it.

The Quinn doubles grab Bravo and escort him out of the room.

Quinn remains, and you can see the terror in his eyes as he wracks his brain for a new plan.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Corridor - Night

As Bravo is escorted by the Quinns past the large window overlooking the portal room, he catches sight of Wade standing there in the room, alone.

He looks from one Quinn double to the other, studying them as they walk.

Then he takes his chance.

He elbows Quinn Double #2 in the ribs, loosening his grip on the stunner, enough for him to grab it, and press it to the back of Quinn Double #1’s neck, and pull the trigger.

The gun-toting Quinn slumps to the floor as Quinn Double #2 jumps on Bravo. Bravo rolls with the attack, using the momentum to kick Quinn Double #2 off him.

He jumps to his feet, and knees his opponent in the face as he attempts to get up. He finishes by using the stunner on his neck.

Bravo straightens and fixes his hair.

Bravo

Amateurs.

He grabs a hold of Quinn Double #1 and drags him to a door. He enters the keycode, and opens the door, pulling the double in with him.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Night

Wade checks her phone. It looks like she’s waiting for something.

The countdown on the machine is now down to 00:58:20 and counting.

At the sound of a door, she looks up.

Bravo enters, wearing Quinn Double #1’s clothing. He strides towards her.

Bravo

(mildly menacing)

Hello, Wade.

Wade doesn’t know which Quinn this is.

Wade

(studying)

Unless my Quinn changed clothes, you’re not him.

Bravo

Yeah, I’m not.

By now, Bravo is close enough. He grabs her by the shoulder, spins her into him, and holds a blade to her neck.

Wade cries out.

Wade

Whoa, what the hell—

Bravo

Shh, shh, shh.

Easy now. I’m not going to hurt you unless you make me mad, Wade. Okay?

Wade

(cautious, anxious)

Oh, it’s you. What do you want with me?

Bravo

Well first off, you can use that phone of yours to tell Quinn to come here. Just how many bargaining chips do I need to convince him, anyway?

Wade brings her phone up to her eyeline, and starts typing.

Bravo

Thank you, Wade. Nice to see someone actually cooperating with me for once.

Wade

You and your threats. You know that’s the only thing keeping anyone loyal to you.

Bravo

(laughing)

Yes, it’s the only thing that keeps most people in line.

And that’s why I despise principled people like Echo. They’re willing to run a wrecking ball through perfectly good systems, and even put people in harm’s way just to stay true to their personal moral code.

Wade

Harm’s way?! You’re the one with a knife to someone’s throat and about to blow up an Earth.

Bravo

And none of that would be the case if Echo would have just joined the team. We could’ve all gotten along. Gone out to karaoke.

Wade rolls her eyes as Quinn bursts through the door.

Quinn

Bravo, what are you doing? Wasn’t it enough just to activate that machine?!

Bravo

Apparently not. I gave you every reason to back down, and still you didn’t. So, now your girlfriend gets to be the next reason.

Wade

That’s fiancée, jerk.

Quinn, don’t worry about me. You can’t let him get away with this.

Quinn stares, mind racing. He trembles.

Bravo

Why don’t you go lock the doors, Quinn? Let’s wait out the countdown without any more surprises. Tick tock!

Quinn hesitates a moment, before going to each door and barring it.

Bravo

I suppose now, the real negotiation begins. Let’s talk.

But as he finishes the sentence, he’s tackled to the ground.

It’s Charlie, who has been hiding behind a control panel all this time.

The tackle leaves a three-deep pile on the floor, with Wade on the bottom.

Charlie pulls Bravo off her, and tries to keep him down, without success. Bravo turns the tables and punches him hard in the face.

Charlie is incapacitated long enough for Bravo to pull out the stunner he’d taken from his double and put him to sleep.

Bravo stands, brushing himself off, and then blanches as he sees Quinn cradling Wade, with blood everywhere.

Quinn

Wade, stay with me, okay?

Wade can’t speak as the blood gushes from her neck. Quinn tries in vain to stem the bleeding, but it’s severed a major artery. She stares, fearful, into Quinn’s eyes.

Bravo mouths a curse, and kicks Charlie in the stomach.

Bravo

(to Charlie)

You stupid bastard.

Fade out

End of Act Two

Act Three

Fade in:

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Night

The countdown has reached 00:03:24 and counting.

Quinn sits on the floor next to Wade’s pale body. A huge blood puddle underneath her. He’s shivering and silent.

Charlie is still out cold.

Bravo stands by the machine, arms crossed, staring at the countdown.

Bravo

Quinn Francisco is going to be wiped out in a few minutes. Last chance to save it, Echo.

Quinn

Stop calling me that.

Bravo

So, you’re really not going to back down? Are you sure the city’s empty? What if some people didn’t get the message? You gonna let ‘em die?

Quinn

Why do you pretend to care about anyone else when it’s obvious you don’t?

Bravo

We’re both Quinns, Echo. You have just as much capacity for this as I do. And, in fact, you’re proving it right now.

You should have surrendered right off the bat, but you chose to push your luck. Because you’re selfish, and you think you can control everything.

Quinn

You’re right. I should be ashamed.

He glances at the countdown: 00:01:19.

Quinn

I should be ashamed, but I’m not. Maybe I’m no different to you after all.

Bravo grins.

The countdown reaches 00:00:59.

Quinn reaches into his pocket and pulls out his timer. He opens a vortex.

Quinn

So anyway, this wormhole leads straight back to Quinn Francisco, and I’m sure you know about the recursion effect.

You can either shut down the machine now, or we all die in thirty seconds.

Bravo stares at him for a moment, and bursts into laughter.

Bravo

Oh my god, that’s ruthless!

Still laughing, he runs over to the machine and enters the code.

The machine shuts down.

Bravo looks back at Quinn, impressed.

Bravo

I admit, I was absolutely not expecting that from you.

He looks Quinn up and down.

Bravo

I guess I underestimated your ability to use threats. You really aren’t so different to me, are you?

Just out of focus, we can see an unusual anachronism behind Quinn. An old tripod with a 1990s camcorder.

Quinn

(calmly, smiling)

Thanks for the code.

He moves backwards to the camera, and looks into it. Bravo gawks at him, not quite comprehending what’s happening.

Quinn

You guys get that? Don’t worry, I did. Here.

He taps on the buttons on the side of the camera.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Operations Room - Night

Quinn and Bravo lie on the table. On the wall is the monitor, which shows a feed of the camera.

Quinn has typed the deactivation code into the camera’s built-in title function, and it displays the code in a white-on-black box on the screen:

2203-AR-9L-3V1K

Charlie writes it down, and hands it to one of the Quinn Doubles, who hurries off with it.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Portal Room - Night

Bravo finally catches up to what’s happening, and looks down to where Wade’s body was. She’s not there. Charlie is gone, too.

He gives a slow clap to Quinn.

Bravo

Should have guessed it was a trick after Charlie tried to act all heroic.

Bravo chuckles bitterly.

Quinn

I’d never put all those people in such imminent danger, because I’m not like you at all.

Bravo

Guess not.

(beat)

All the trickery and mind games? You’re more like a Kromagg.

Quinn moves in on him.

Quinn

No, I’m nothing like them.

(beat)

I’m much worse.

Cut to:

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Operations Room - Night

Quinn’s eyes pop open, and he sits up. Bravo doesn’t stir yet.

Quinn has a forlorn look. He’s just done something he hopes he won’t live to regret.

Cole looks at him, smiling.

Cole

You did it! I knew you would.

He looks at Cole without smiling.

Cole

What’s wrong…?

Quinn

Bravo shouldn’t give us any more trouble, at least for now.

Cole, brow furrowed, looks down at Bravo.

Cole

Wha-what did you do to him?

Quinn grabs Cole’s wrist and leads them towards the door. He looks at Charlie as he walks.

Quinn

Charlie, you seem best equipped to handle a version of us who thinks they’re still twenty-one, right?

Last thing he remembers was sliding for the first time.

Charlie’s jaw falls.

Charlie

Wha… hey, wait.

But it’s too late, Quinn’s already left, and closed the door.

Charlie’s head turns to Bravo, there on the table.

Bravo’s eyes flutter open, and glance around in confusion.

Bravo

…Where am I?

Charlie stares for a moment, trying to think of a story to tell him.

Bravo sits up, bashing his head on the machine as he does, and starts frantically pulling sensors off. All the charm and confidence is gone. He’s just a frightened, confused young guy now.

Charlie

(improvising)

Hey, so… long… story.

Bravo

Is this a parallel dimension…?

(looking at Charlie)

Wait, you look a lot like…

Charlie

(idea forming)

An older version of you. Yes, and that’s because, um, that portal was actually to… the future.

(more confident)

I’m you in the future.

Bravo takes a moment to process this information.

Bravo

I didn’t think time travel could happen.

Charlie

Well, time travel backwards is a whole thing, but forwards? We do that all the time, right?

Bravo

I… guess so…

Charlie

So anyway, you should know before you go looking in a mirror that the, uh—

(pulling random words)

— space-time relativity matrix caused you to age at the same rate, so don’t freak out that you also look the same age as me.

Bravo catches sight of his reflection in the now-blank monitor. He looks in shock, and approaches it, touching his face.

Bravo

I’m melted…

Charlie places a hand on his shoulder.

Charlie

Don’t sweat it, man. Fifty’s the new thirty.

(beat)

Come with me to the rec room, I’ve got Red Vines and a Donkey Kong arcade cabinet.

Bravo

Really? I love that game!

Charlie

(leading him to the door)

I know.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Research Lab - Night

Cole, Quinn, and Alfa stand around by Colin’s enclosure.

Cole

You really erased all his memories? Since the mid-nineties?

Quinn

Not erased, exactly. I blocked them off with a big wall of sorts. Those memories might hold valuable information, so I couldn’t destroy them.

He sighs, visibly struggling with this decision. Colin sees this.

Colin

I think you did the right thing. He gets a second chance.

Cole

Yeah, what was going to happen otherwise? He spends his life in Quinn Francisco’s version of Alcatraz?

Quinn nods, the decision still weighing on him.

Quinn

Still, we’ll have to keep a close eye on him. That wall may fall some day and he’ll be gunning for me big time.

Colin

What will you do with him?

Quinn

I… think he has a kid. Only, they’d be almost thirty now.

Cole looks shocked.

Alfa

Bravo used to lead Quinn Francisco, briefly.

We should ask the Mayor if there are any records of his home world. Maybe we can reunite him with his family.

Charlie enters the room, looking sweaty.

Charlie

(at Quinn)

Hey, thanks for leaving me to improvise. Jeez.

Quinn

Where is he?

Charlie

Right now, quite absorbed in saving a princess from a gorilla.

(beat)

So he thinks he time travelled, and I think that’s the easiest to swallow explanation for all this.

Alfa

What did you tell him about all of his doubles?

Charlie

Told him some junk about time travel paradox duplication. It’s flimsy, but he’s placated for now.

He turns to Quinn.

Charlie

Listen, I spent my captivity drawing up some plans you might want. It should make Colin’s existence a little less… horrible.

Colin

I’d appreciate that.

Charlie crosses to some rolled up papers on one of the desks, and hands it to Quinn.

Quinn opens it up and looks it over. As he reads it, he grins.

Quinn

Charlie, you’re amazing.

Cole

(to Charlie and Alfa)

I guess one of you has to take over this operation now.

The two men exchange looks.

Alfa

Yeah, I guess so.

(at Quinn)

You wouldn’t be interested in helping to rebuild this place? Make it a little more welcoming?

Charlie

Assuming we can get the go-ahead from the military after all this.

Quinn looks thoughtful for a moment.

Quinn

I’ll consider it. But for now, I’ve got a wedding to plan.

Cole and Colin grin at one another.

Fade Out

Montage of Reunions, cut to music:

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

Rembrandt, Mallory, Michael, Diana, Maggie, Wade, Arturo, the two Missus Mallorys, and Anna all stand in anticipation. On the stairs, Delta is handcuffed to the banister, and sitting uncomfortably. He’s wearing a bathrobe over his underwear.

A vortex opens, and Quinn steps through. Wade runs to him, and embraces him.

Cole is next to appear, and is greeted by Anna, Mallory, and Maggie. Maggie looks bursting with pride. Anna looks completely manic with excitement.

Alfa and Charlie come through now, and Diana greets them. The three look up the stairs at Delta, who regards them with an uncertain look. Alfa walks up to him and sits beside him.

Rembrandt and Arturo approach Wade and Quinn. Arturo gives Quinn’s hand a vigorous shake. Rembrandt sees this and scoops both of them into a hug. Arturo looks annoyed about this, but eventually smiles.

When this hug is done, Quinn approaches his two mothers, and Michael, and hugs each of them one after the other.

Ext. [Bravo Homeworld] Strip Mall - Day

Charlie stands with Bravo, who looks terrified, facing towards a dollar store.

Maddy, now in her late forties, exits the store accompanied by a 29-year-old woman: Riley, the daughter of Bravo and Maddy. Both carry some shopping bags.

Charlie pushes Bravo forward, whose eyes are turning red and moist. He reaches them, and says something.

Maddy drops her shopping bags in shock, and immediately bursts into tears, drawing him into a hug.

Charlie scratches his head nervously, and approaches them.

Fade out

End of montage.

End of Act Three

Post-credits:

Int. [QF] City Hall: Mayor’s Assistant’s Office - Day

In a dark room, sitting at a desk, is Quinn-943. His cheek rests on his hand as he stares blankly into the distance.

He sighs deeply, the only one left who laments this outcome.

Quinn-943

And still I toil.

He sips from a coffee mug.

Cut to Black

Episode 10:
Family Reunion

In a double length finale, the whole family has gathered for the Mallory-Welles wedding. Well, maybe not quite - there's one person missing. Maybe they can be found before the big day?

But as one couple ties the knot, another marriage is on the rocks. Can Maggie and Mallory find a reason to stay together?

Hearts are poured out and lives are upended, as everyone reaches a natural crossroads. Where do they all go from here? And what of Missus Mallory, who's living on borrowed time?

p.s. Apologies for the on-the-nose reference. If you get it, you'll know.

Previously on Sliders

Maggie

Fine, I’ve been distant.

Mallory

It’s because you love Quinn, isn’t it?

Wade

Your Mom deserves to see you happy before she goes.

Quinn Double

Oh, you’re a newbie? Welcome to Quinn Francisco!

Michael

So, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?

Mayor Mallory

You seemed surprised to see one of our faces in charge around here.

Mallory

I always thought of myself as the Quinn consolation prize.

Quinn

Okay man, we need to have a chat later.

Bravo

You just doomed Quinn Francisco, Echo.

Quinn

Stop calling me that. —

— I’d never put all those people in such imminent danger, because I’m not like you at all. —

— I’m much worse.

Quinn

Bravo shouldn’t give us any more trouble, at least for now. — Last thing he remembers was sliding for the first time.

Quinn

You’re really here.

Colin

Are you…?

Quinn

Yeah, it’s me.

Charlie

Listen, I spent my captivity drawing up some plans you might want. It should make Colin’s existence a little less… horrible.

Colin

I’d appreciate that.

Alfa

You wouldn’t be interested in helping to rebuild this place? Make it a little more welcoming?

Quinn

I’ll consider it. But for now, I’ve got a wedding to plan.

Cut to Black

Act One

Int. [CPW] Medical Research Facility: Cubicle - Day

A medical research lab filled with women in lab coats bustles with life.

While the majority are ladies, a scant few men do walk among them.

One cubicle contains a woman of around 26, brown hair and intelligent eyes - Lani Hills. She types numbers into a spreadsheet, referring back to an MRI scan on the desk.

A woman, Shweta, peers over the cubicle wall and down at Lani.

Shweta

Lani, how are the figures looking?

Lani

(eyes on computer)

Couple more treatments and there should be full remission.

Shweta

That’s fantastic!

I bet Doctor Rutger is so steamed that an assistant cracked the twinning algorithm before she did.

She holds out a fist, and Lani bumps it with her own, bashfully.

Lani

I guess so. She’s put me on grunt work ever since.

Shweta

You just know she’s going to be taking all the credit.

Lani shrugs.

Lani

I don’t really care about all that. I’m just glad we’re saving lives.

Shweta

(facetious)

Oh, she’s so humble!

Shweta walks away, amused.

Lani returns to her work, but grabs a paper bag from under the desk, and opens it to reveal a muffin, which she begins to eat. The bag is labelled with a logo: “Mrs Hills Bakery.”

Int. [Earth Prime] Kelly Welles’s Residence: Kitchen - Day

The last time we saw Kelly Welles Prime, she was bringing Rembrandt groceries. Now, she enters her kitchen carrying a stack of mail, and there’s a small package in the pile, which hasn’t been addressed, but delivered directly to her mailbox.

Curiously, she opens it up to find a letter accompanied by a timer, which is ticking down from 9 days, 3 hours, and 46 seconds.

Recognising what this is, she hurriedly opens the accompanying envelope.

She reads the letter, and her expression turns to shock and incomprehension.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

The Entryway looks the same as ever, except that in a corner of the room is a 4-foot diameter metal plate, with an 8-foot arch over it: one of many electro-magnetic enclosures that are now scattered through the house.

The vortex opens by the front door, as it has so many times before, and Michael Mallory steps out gingerly onto the marble floor.

He peers around the empty room, a little deflated that nobody is there to greet him.

Michael

(calling out)

Knock knock? Anyone home?

In response, the enclosure hums to life, filling with blue light. Michael looks at it in curiosity.

Then, a figure materialises in the field. It’s Colin. Upon seeing Michael, his face lights up.

Michael walks to the enclosure, his eyes welling up.

Colin

Hi… Dad. Nice to finally meet you.

Michael extends an arm to the edge of the field.

Colin

I wouldn’t touch that…

But it’s too late; his fingertips are met with an electrical shock, and he pulls away.

Michael

Ouch.

Colin

(bittersweet)

I’m a… thorny rose bush. Look, but don’t touch.

Michael

I thought for so long you were dead, Colin. I just wish I could hug you.

Colin sighs, shrugging.

Colin

Me too.

Michael

You can only exist in this tiny machine?

Colin

Well, thanks to the combined ingenuity of Diana, Charlie, and Quinn, I have had my range extended a bit. There are a number of these pods set up around the house, and I can jump from one to the other at the push of a button.

(excited)

And he rigged up a whole guesthouse for me. I have my own toilet!

Michael

(warmly)

I’m glad they’ve worked out how to keep you grounded, even if it’s not under the most independent of circumstances.

Colin

It’s far better than my life before, even if it does sometimes feel like captivity. Perhaps some day they’ll figure out a better way.

Quinn (O.S.)

Dad!

Michael and Colin look towards the stairs. Quinn is descending them rapidly.

Michael

Morning, son!

He crosses the room and meets Quinn at the bottom of the stairs, and the two men hug.

Quinn

(disappointed)

I was hoping to be there when you two finally met.

Colin

Sorry brother, I couldn’t wait.

Michael

So, I received your invitation. Congratulations.

Quinn

There’s a lot of friends and family to wrangle from different Earths. Lucky for us, we have a surplus of timers now. Thanks, by the way.

Michael

Don’t thank me, thank all your doubles.

Colin

I don’t know Wade very well, but the two of you seem quite smitten.

(beat)

Whatever happened with you and Maggie? I seem to remember some chemistry there.

Quinn cringes.

Quinn

There’s a conversation I’ve been avoiding.

(beat)

I was inside Mallory for the whole time they were married. In a way, it was like I was married to her, too. But we haven’t talked about it since…

Colin

You really should clear the air before your wedding day.

Quinn

(sighing)

Yeah, I guess so.

Just now, Cole appears from the left side hall.

Cole

Ooh, “clear the air?” What kind of juicy gossip have I walked in on?

They see Michael.

Cole

Grandpa!

Cole hurries to him and wraps their arms around him.

Michael

Cole, it’s good to see you as boisterous as ever.

Cole

Are you staying until the wedding?

Michael

No no, I’m only here for today to see Colin. I have council duties to attend to during the week. But I will be back here for the wedding.

Cole

(disappointed)

Oh, okay.

(at Quinn)

Everyone got their invites?

Quinn

I’ve invited who I can think of from Earth Prime, Wade’s world, and here. The whole family.

Upon this last statement, he hesitates, as if he’s just remembered something.

Cole catches this.

Cole

What was that look?

Quinn

(shaking his head)

It’s nothing. I was just remembering a slide a long time ago when I… may or may not have… fathered a child.

Cole’s jaw drops.

Cole

I could have a sibling and you never told me?!

Cole punches him in the arm, then it occurs to them:

Cole

Wait, with who?

Quinn

Look, it was a long time ago. We were on a world where the male population was extremely low. Sperm was hard to come by, and I owed someone a favour…

Cole grins widely in amusement.

Cole

(laughing)

You dog!

(beat)

Do you think there’s any way of finding them?

Michael

Quinn Francisco or the Quinn Squad may have data on that world…

Cole’s eyes light up.

Cole

Let’s go!

Quinn shakes his head.

Quinn

Nah. There’s only a minor chance she even conceived a child at all.

And even if we found the right world, can you imagine some random stranger coming up to you and saying: “Hey! I’m your long lost Dad from a parallel world and you’re invited to my wedding! Well, see ya!”

Cole

(deflated)

Hmm, I guess you’re right.

Cole stares into space. We can see they have not let go of this idea just yet.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Living Room - Day

Mallory lies on the sofa under a blanket, sleeping. It looks like he spent the whole night here. His feet poke out the end of the blanket.

Quinn wanders in the room, and sees him there. He sits down beside him.

Mallory doesn’t stir, so Quinn pokes a finger into his foot a couple of times.

Mallory

(eyes still closed)

Stop that.

Quinn

Maggie kick you out of the bed again?

Mallory sits up, looking glum.

Mallory

(grumpy)

Yeah.

Quinn

I’m sorry, man. Is there anything I can do?

Mallory

(flatly)

Can you make Maggie stop being in love with you?

Quinn blanches.

Quinn

She… she is?

Mallory

How have you not noticed? I thought you were supposed to be perceptive!

Quinn

Who, me? I don’t notice stuff like that! Do you know how long it took me to pick up on Wade’s signals?

(beat)

Both Wades.

Mallory holds a palm to his forehead, and shakes his head.

Mallory

Okay, well Maggie has always been in love with you. The only reason she married me was because you were a part of me. And now that you’re not there, our relationship is falling apart.

Quinn processes this with great concern.

Quinn

I’m sorry. I didn’t know this was all because of me.

(beat)

I’ll talk to her.

Mallory stands up, folding up his blanket.

Mallory

I’d appreciate that.

Quinn

Wait, before you go.

He stands, and looks at Mallory seriously.

Quinn

I spent long enough in your head to know all your complex feelings towards me, and I know you’ve always felt judged against my accomplishments, and it isn’t fair.

Mallory

I get that you never chose any of what’s happened, and it isn’t your fault that the two of us are constantly compared.

Quinn

I just need you to know that you’re worthy of love, and that you should measure your value by your own standards, not anyone else.

You’re a good guy, Quinn, whether Maggie sees that or not.

Mallory

You called me Quinn…

Quinn

That’s your name.

(smirking)

I’ve met so many Quinns lately that I’m starting to feel like everyone’s called Quinn.

Mallory

And yet you’re the only one who everyone calls Quinn.

Quinn

Not entirely true. I’m also “Q-ball.”

Mallory

Maybe that can be your new code name in the Quinn Squad.

Quinn

Yeah, that could work. If I take up their offer.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Guest Room - Day

Rembrandt sits on the edge of his bed. In one hand is a pill, and in the other, a glass of water.

He swallows the pill, and is washing it down when there’s a knock on the open door. Rembrandt turns to see Wade standing in the doorway.

Rembrandt

(evading her gaze)

Oh, hey.

Wade

How’s the treatment coming along?

Rembrandt puts the glass down on the side table.

Rembrandt

No radical change so far. Just feelin’ numb all the time. Which I guess is better than bein’ emotionally unstable.

Thing is, I can’t even cry now. And I’m the Cryin’ Man! Crying is my whole thing!

Wade sits on the bed next to him.

Wade

These things take time. I had to process a lot of grief about Quinn, after he was brain damaged. I was in therapy for years. Still on anxiety medication.

But, even before I got him back, I managed to find my way out of the worst of it. I know you will too.

She takes his hand.

Rembrandt

(sorrowful)

Oh man, you really are just like her.

Wade

So I’ve heard. Sorry if my presence is causing you pain.

Rembrandt

(sighing)

It’s alright. None o’ this is your fault. It’s not fair to you that I keep talking about her, when you’re your own person, y’know?

He looks her in the eye, and lingers there for a moment, before looking away.

Rembrandt

New eye contact record.

Wade smiles, and puts an arm around his shoulders.

Int. [SW] Colin’s Guesthouse: Bathroom - Day

Bathed in blue light, the small guesthouse is Colin’s respite from the world. It’s like a very expensive self-contained cabin or hotel room.

The bathroom is spacious, and Colin sits, relaxing on the toilet, hands behind his head and eyes closed, looking blissed out.

Then, a knock at the front door makes his eyes open.

Int. [SW] Colin’s Guesthouse: Open Plan Kitchen / Living - Day

The sound of a toilet flushing can be heard, and Colin comes out of the bathroom, shaking his hands dry.

He goes to the front door and opens it. In the doorway stands Diana.

Colin

(cordially)

Ah, it’s you. Hang on.

He steps back to a control panel on the wall, and pushes a button, which shrinks the magnetic field, opening up an area from the door to a sofa that isn’t bathed in blue.

He moves to a recliner on the opposite side of the room, as Diana enters and sits.

Diana

Thanks, Colin.

Colin

To what do I owe the pleasure?

Diana

I’ve come to ask you…

Colin

If I’m ready to forgive you?

Diana

I wouldn’t put it like that exactly, but… yes.

Colin reclines his chair thoughtfully.

Colin

It’s true you’ve improved my life considerably, but then again, it was you and your boss who ruined it to begin with.

Diana looks at the floor.

Colin

On the other hand, you took my words seriously, and you accomplished amazing things as a result.

He pauses, dragging out the moment.

Colin

(stalling)

Hmm. Hmmmm.

He clicks his tongue a few times. Diana looks incredibly uncomfortable.

Colin’s mouth curls into a sudden smile as he meets her eye.

Colin

Oh, what the hey.

He stands up and holds up his hand like a holy man.

Colin

Congratulations, Diana, you are hereby absolved.

Diana exudes relief as she also stands.

Diana

Thank you, Colin. This means the world to me.

(beat)

And I wanted you to be the first to know…

I’ve decided to join up with Charlie at the facility. As a side project, we’re going to see if we can figure out a non-destructive way to tether you to one Earth.

Colin smiles at her.

Colin

That’s wonderful.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

Quinn opens the door excitedly, and lets in Arturo followed by both Missus Mallorys. Missus Mallory Prime, wearing a hospital wrist band and an a medical alert necklace around her neck, is now in a wheelchair being pushed by Arturo’s wife.

Quinn

(greeting each)

Professor.

(nod)

Moms.

He gives each of his mothers a hug.

Missus Mallory Prime

Amanda and I were just talking about your suit for the wedding. Are you sure you wanted the blue pocket square?

Missus Mallory EDP

We just think you’d look nicer with the red.

Quinn shares a look with Arturo.

Quinn

(complaisant)

I’ll wear whatever you think is best. But Wade has to agree to it too, okay?

Arturo

Come now, Amandas. No need to railroad the boy immediately upon arrival.

He hobbles off towards the living room.

Quinn gives the Moms a shrug as he follows.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Living Room - Day

Arturo takes a seat on the sofa, and Quinn leans against a wall as his mothers come in. Mom EDP helps Mom Prime onto the sofa.

Quinn

You two have really bonded, huh?

Missus Mallory Prime

Seems we have a lot in common.

Missus Mallory EDP

Like a son, for one.

Quinn

Speaking of which…

Quinn looks over to the window overlooking the poolside. Michael can be seen on a beach recliner, basking in the sun.

Quinn walks over to the window and knocks on it. He gestures for his father to come inside.

Quinn

He really enjoys your company, you know?

Missus Mallory Prime

Really? Even though I pretended you were dead?

Quinn has no answer for this, so he just makes a face and shrugs.

Int. [SW] University: Lecture Theater - Day

Cole sits in a seat next to Anna, among a class full of other students.

In the front of the class stands Professor Charlotte Harper, an older woman with high intellect but poor interpersonal skills.

Harper

As you may know, if you’ve been refreshing your student results page on your phones instead of listening to my lecture, some of you did remarkably well on your exams. Those that did not had better hope your research papers can bring up your GPA.

(beat)

You’re dismissed. Make sure those papers are in my inbox by midnight.

The class stands, and most of the students start to leave. Cole lingers behind, with Anna keeping beside them.

Harper sits down at her desk, and starts shuffling through papers. Cole approaches her, pulling a document wallet out of her bag. They hand to her.

Harper looks up.

Harper

Oh, thank you Cole. But I do need a digital copy.

Cole

Already in!

Harper smiles, impressed.

Harper

I look forward to reading this and finally getting a detailed account of the story behind the unfathomable readouts in my lab the other month.

Cole shifts uncomfortably on their feet.

Cole

I have a confession to make.

Anna starts backing away and looks for somewhere to stand that won’t draw ire.

Harper raises an eyebrow.

Harper

Could it be that a few weeks ago, you got Anna to let you in to the labs, pilfered all my neural bridging equipment, and then later tried to put everything back as it was, but failed miserably?

Cole looks like a deer in headlights.

Cole

(weakly)

Um. Yes?

Harper

Cole, I let you get away with many things because of who your family is. I don’t like it, but I assume you must have had a very important reason to do what you did.

Cole nods.

Cole

I added that reason as an appendix to my assignment. It’s going to sound pretty bananas, but…

Harper sighs heavily.

Harper

I’m sure it is. Off you go.

Int. [SW] University: Corridor - Day

Students come and go as we follow Cole and Anna down the hall.

Cole

So. I just found out I might have a long lost sibling.

Anna’s eyes widen.

Anna

Seriously?

Cole

Quinn was a, uh, “sperm donor” once on some world low on men.

Anna

Wait, I remember that episode of the show. There was nothing about him fathering a kid, though. Maybe the Seer thought that was a little intimate.

Cole

I wanna find ‘em.

Anna

Wait, how would you even begin to do that?

Cole

How do you think? Just need to get my hands on a timer and I can ask people who might know.

Anna

Oh my god, you have to take me. I know that episode inside and out. I could help!

Cole grins.

Cole

I was hoping you’d volunteer. We just need to follow Grandpa back to Quinn Francisco tonight.

Anna can’t contain her smile.

Ext. [SW] Private Firing Range - Day

Deep in the Mallory property lies a firing range where Maggie stands, rifle in hand and earmuffs on. She points the weapon towards a target in the distance, and fires a few shots, which all hit the middle region of the target.

Behind her, Quinn emerges from the treeline.

Due to the earmuffs, she doesn’t hear him coming, and jumps when he taps her on the shoulder.

Maggie

(removing the muffs)

Jeez Quinn, don’t sneak up on a woman holding a high calibre semi-automatic rifle.

Quinn

Sorry. I would have called out, but you probably wouldn’t have heard with those things on.

(beat)

Listen, we need to talk.

Maggie

And you couldn’t wait until I was finished pumping a target full of bullets?

Quinn

I just needed a one-on-one. Thing is, I’ve been hearing you might… have feelings for me?

He looks at her with worry. She responds with an eye roll.

Maggie

Dammit Mallory! Look, I don’t want to burden you with our marital problems.

Quinn

You’re not denying it…

Maggie

Yes, okay, fine! Is that what you want to hear? We lived a damn lifetime in that bubble universe, how can I just ignore that?

Quinn gives her a grim smile.

Quinn

(sighing)

I know. I’ve spent two long marriages with you. Even if I couldn’t talk to you for one of them.

Maggie

(grim)

And then you just proclaimed your love for Wade and we’ve barely talked since.

Quinn sits down on the grass, looking out into the trees.

Quinn

That was an inherited trait from my convergence… but it’s real. I just figured you were happily married and that my departure wouldn’t make a difference to that. But it seems I was wrong.

(beat)

I do have feelings for you too, but my heart belongs to Wade. What she went through for me, I can’t adequately describe.

Maggie sits beside him.

Maggie

I get it. I’m not going to ask you to give her up for me.

(sigh)

I just don’t know what to do. I don’t feel for Mallory what I used to. And I… have itchy feet. I crave… adventure.

Quinn

(surprised)

You want to go back to sliding?

Maggie

Are you kidding me? Of course I do. The best years of my life were spent in mortal danger, by your side.

Quinn mulls this over.

Quinn

Maybe you could talk to Alfa and Charlie about work?

Maggie

You realise by going to work with them, I’d effectively be separating from Mallory.

Quinn

Maybe some time apart could be good for you both? You wouldn’t have to divorce, necessarily.

Frankly I think he needs some time to find himself, too.

(cringing)

Not that I want to be a homewrecker or anything.

Maggie

No, our home was already pretty wrecked.

Maggie thinks for a moment, a smile tickling at her mouth.

Maggie

Joining the military again, huh?

She looks at her firearm resting on its cradle.

Maggie

Even though I left it, it never fully left me, did it?

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Night

The crowd of current residents of the mansion, along with some extras, enter the entryway from the direction of the dining room, chatting and laughing.

Michael walks with Quinn, who pushes Mom Prime’s wheelchair. Maggie and Mallory walk with a distance from each other. Cole and Anna walk together, sharing a knowing look.

Rembrandt and Arturo walk together, and Wade walks next to Diana, talking as if they have bonded somewhat recently.

In the corner, Colin materialises in the machine.

Michael

That was a lovely dinner.

(looking from Mallory to Maggie)

Thank you to my hosts.

Maggie

Well, as much as I’d like to claim credit, we have a cook on retainer.

Michael

Well, give them my compliments.

He looks down at his timer.

Michael

Looks like it’s about time to leave. I’ll see you all on Saturday.

He gives Quinn a brisk hug, and kisses the hands of both Missus Mallorys. He crosses to Colin.

Michael

Colin, I only hope that some day you’ll be able to get out of this thing.

Colin

Me too. Goodbye, father.

Michael

Bye, son.

Cole and Anna hold hands as the vortex opens.

Michael walks into the portal, and Cole steps forward, pulling Anna.

They look at Quinn, Mallory, and Maggie.

Cole

(rapidly, no pauses)

Hey we’re going back with Grandpa okay bye!

The two young people race to the wormhole and jump in, leaving everyone speechless as it closes.

Arturo breaks the silence.

Arturo

…Carpe diem?

Maggie and Mallory both look at Quinn.

Quinn

(uncertain)

I’m sure they’ll be fine?

Maggie

(to Mallory)

They get that youthful impulsivity from you, you know.

Mallory

Hey, I…

(relenting)

Okay, that’s fair.

Wade

(looking at Quinn)

Maybe not entirely from you.

End of Act One

Act Two

Ext. [QF] Michael Mallory’s Residence: Courtyard - Night

Michael lands without incident on the tiles, and continues walking towards his front door, until he hears the stowaways falling onto the ground before the vortex closes.

He turns to see Cole and Anna smiling awkwardly at him.

Cole

Surprise!

Michael

(amused)

If you wanted to come back here, you could have just asked me.

Anna

It’s a secret mission!

Michael

Alright then, come inside and we can talk about it. I’ll keep my lips sealed, assuming it’s nothing outrageous.

Cole

Thanks, Pops.

They follow him towards the door.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Dining Room - Night

Mallory and Maggie are clearing empty plates from the table. Maggie looks like she’s trying to work up the courage to say something.

Finally, she puts a stack of plates at the end of the table and looks at him.

Maggie

Mallory, what would you say if we had… a break?

He looks at her as if he’s been waiting for this conversation.

Mallory

You mean, a break… up?

Maggie

No, no. Not unless, after a while, we decide that’s for the best.

Mallory

So would one of us be movin’ out, or…?

Maggie

I’m thinking of going to work with the Quinn Squad. For a little while.

Mallory’s eyes go wide, but he’s largely calm.

Mallory

I see.

(beat)

More Quinns for your buck over there, huh?

Maggie

What? No, it’s nothing like that. I don’t even know those Quinns.

Mallory

Doesn’t our Quinn have a standing offer to join them too? You sure you aren’t doing this just to spend time with him?

Maggie

This isn’t about Quinn, okay! I just feel so isolated here. Sliding was tough, but I miss the adventure. Even if Quinn doesn’t accept his offer, I want to try.

Mallory

(sighing)

I’m so tired of arguing. Fine, go do whatever it is you want to do.

He takes his stack and moves to leave the room.

Maggie

Wait. I’m worried about you, Mallory.

Mallory

Me? Why would you worry about me?

Maggie

I need you to promise me you’ll get therapy or something. Please.

Mallory

You think all this is because of my problems?

Maggie

No! That’s not it at all. I just want you to work on your self-esteem, okay?

Mallory sighs and heads for the door.

Mallory

I’ll think about it.

Ext. [QF] City Hall - Day

A flying taxi descends to the front of the steps, and Cole and Anna get out.

Anna is wide-eyed and nervous, while Cole is merely smiling broadly.

The taxi driver, who is a Rembrandt double, waves, and leaves.

Anna

(watching the taxi fly off)

This place is bananas.

Cole

Right? I didn’t get a chance to explore last time, but I’m not passing up that chance this time.

(turning to the steps)

But first, we have work to do.

Int. [QF] City Hall: Rotunda - Day

Cole and Anna enter, and find themselves being scanned by the Maggie Guards.

Maggie Guard #1

(checking her reading)

Oh, offspring of Quinn one-four-seven-one with traces of Quinn one-eight, and an unregistered Maggie. Lucky her.

(making eye contact with Cole)

I hear your Pa and company were instrumental in taking down Bravo. Nice job dealing with that jackoff.

Cole beams.

Cole

You could say I played a pivotal role.

Maggie Guard #1

(looking at Anna)

And who’s this?

Anna

(nervous)

I’m Anna. No relation to a Quinn.

Cole

She’s just my friend I’ve brought along for the ride. She also helped with the operation.

Maggie Guard #2

Well, welcome to the city. You two been to the Orientation Center yet?

Cole holds up their handbook.

Cole

Sure have!

Maggie Guard #1

What can we help you with at City Hall, kids?

Cole

(awkwardly)

Do you… um… have records of different worlds we could browse or search? We’re looking for a specific one that may contain my long lost sibling.

Maggie Guard #2

We do, but you’ll need an access code from the Mayor. I’m sure he’ll be happy to give you an audience.

Int. [EDP] Military Facility: Operations Room - Day

Delta sits alone, waiting. He wears a prisoner jumpsuit, but isn’t restrained. His hands are clasped on the table.

The door opens, and Alfa enters, followed by Charlie.

Alfa

Morning, Delta.

Delta nods in greeting.

Charlie

…Hey.

Delta

Have you decided what to do with me yet?

Charlie and Alfa glance at one another.

Charlie

You’re… our friend, right?

Delta

I always thought so.

Alfa

But you still took Bravo’s word for it when he locked me up…

Delta nods grimly.

Delta

I guess I just… let myself be used, out of convenience.

Charlie looks down.

Charlie

(sighing)

You’re not the only one, man. I helped design and build that stupid machine and it never registered with me that it might actually be used.

Delta

Difference is, you actually saw the error of your ways before it was too late.

Alfa

Is it too late for you?

Delta thinks for a moment.

Delta

I hope not. I wanna make things right.

Charlie smiles at this.

Alfa

Then, we want to offer you that chance. But you need to think for yourself. I think your mind is going underutilised.

Delta

(facetious)

Is that an… order?

Charlie pulls out his phone, which is vibrating. He glances at it.

Charlie

Oh, it’s a message from Diana. She wants to talk?

Alfa

Alright, we’ll go see her.

Int. [QF] City Hall: Mayor’s Office - Day

The doors of the office swing open, revealing Cole and Anna being shuffled in by Quinn-943. Anna is having trouble taking her eyes off him. He’s just giving off such terrifying vibes.

Mayor Mallory stands from his desk.

Mayor Mallory

Good morning. What a pleasure to see some new faces.

(to Cole)

So, you’re Quinn one-four-seven-one’s… daughter?

Cole

(off-balance)

Uhh, just “kid.” I’m non-binary. And umm…

(beat)

I’m like the kid of two Quinns that were sharing a body combined at the cellular level, so I don’t know that either one is necessarily the dominant father in that situation, but I dunno.

(beat)

My name’s Cole.

Mayor Mallory

(slightly confused)

Cole it is, then.

Anna

I’m Anna. Anna Horowitz.

Mayor Mallory

Hi, Anna. I’m fairly sure you’re the first of your kind to show up here. So congratulations, you’re Anna One.

Anna blushes.

Mayor Mallory

So, you’re after a records room pass?

Cole

Dad— Quinn one-eight, is getting married and I want to surprise him with his long lost child who may or may not exist. I want to find ‘em.

Mayor Mallory

(nodding)

Alright. Well, we only have data on worlds that residents here have volunteered information on, and some of the records are incomplete. But, I’m happy for you to take a look.

He goes to his computer on his desk and types a few things. Then he grabs a pen and post-it note pad and writes down:

339K>de2002

He pulls it off, and hands it to Cole.

Mayor Mallory

Here’s your temporary access code. Expires in six hours.

Cole

Thanks Dad—

They cringe as they realise what they just said.

Mayor Mallory just gives a light chuckle.

Mayor Mallory

It’s alright. I admit you bear a striking resemblance to my daughter.

Cole smiles at this.

Int. [QF] City Hall: Records Room - Day

The lights come on in the records room. It’s merely a small round room with a single computer terminal in the middle.

Anna

Oh wow, I was expecting filing cabinets or archive boxes.

Cole

Well, it’s our lucky day, I guess. Fully searchable database.

Cole moves to the terminal, which displays a password field. They enter the code given to them, and the screen updates to be a query form.

Cole

Okay… World ID, no idea. Climate… normal? Political situation… oh boy.

Anna

Here, allow me.

Cole steps aside for Anna.

Anna

Political situation as of the mid 90s was US conflict with an Australian hegemony.

Unusual laws… men are placed in breeding facilities rather than allowed freedom.

(beat)

Women run everything… low population… breeding regarded as patriotic… non-breeding males are considered traitors.

Cole seems to be getting nervous at all this.

Anna

Adding in possible 1996 incident involving three so-called escaped patriots… okay, let’s see if we have any matches.

She presses Enter on the keyboard and stands back.

Anna

(shouting)

Booyah! One match!

Cole rushes over to the screen and reads it, the edges of their lips curling upwards slowly.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Study - Day

Maggie sits at the desk, waiting.

The door opens, and Diana comes in, leading Alfa and Charlie into the room.

Maggie

Gentlemen.

Charlie

This place is so fancy, I feel underdressed.

Maggie

It’s fine.

Alfa

(to Diana)

So, what’s this about?

Diana

As I’ve told you, I’d like to work with Charlie in the Research Lab.

Charlie

(excited)

And you’re most welcome to.

Maggie

I want in too.

Charlie is surprised. Alfa just raised his eyebrows a little.

Charlie

Last time you were there you didn’t seem too pleased about the whole operation.

Maggie

That was when I was there under duress. Sounds like things are a bit different now.

Alfa

I’m negotiating with the military over different freedoms to allow, but suffice to say it’s going to be a much more welcoming environment.

Maggie leans back in her chair, and puts her feet up on the desk.

Maggie

Well, maybe you can use someone with a history of both military leadership and sliding.

Charlie

(to Alfa)

We could pair her up with Delta?

Maggie

Delta? I thought he was Bravo’s goon.

Alfa

He’s no common goon. He was our friend, and he knows he messed up. He wants to make amends.

Charlie

I’m just as guilty as him for what happened. He deserves as much of a second chance.

(beat)

But, it could be useful to have someone there to keep an eye on him.

Maggie thinks a moment.

Maggie

Sure, count me in.

(beat)

Hope he doesn’t have hard feelings towards me for keeping him in his tighty whities.

Alfa

We also need someone to keep tabs on Bravo. We’ve briefed the mother of his daughter, Maddy, on the basics of the situation. All you’d have to do is check in on her in secret once a month, to see if he’s still… subdued.

Maggie

Easy.

Charlie

Then welcome aboard.

He extends his hand, and she shakes it. Both smile, though Charlie’s displays a great deal of giddy excitement as opposed to Maggie’s more composed expression.

Int. [QF] Salon - Day

A Quinn double, Hairdresser Quinn, sweeps the floor of his salon as Cole and Anna enter.

Hairdresser Quinn

(putting the broom aside)

Oh, hey there. What can I do for you two?

Anna

So, um, my friend here needs a makeover to look as feminine as possible.

Cole smiles awkwardly.

Cole

Yeah… can you like, do extensions or something?

Hairdresser Quinn

Sure. But you don’t look so sure you want this.

Cole

Look, I have to go undercover as a woman, so what I want is not relevant to the issue at hand.

Hairdresser Quinn

Undercover, you say? You headed somewhere interesting?

He pulls out a chair, offering it to Cole. Cole sits.

Cole

Interesting, sure. Not so friendly towards anyone who could be confused for a dude.

(whispered to self)

Why does this keep happening to me?

Anna

Yeah, Cole doesn’t want to end up shipped to Australia for breeding or something.

Hairdresser Quinn

Australia?

Cole

Yeah, the world we’re headed to is dominated by Australia… for convoluted reasons.

Hairdresser Quinn

Back on my homeworld, I once went to Australia.

He gets a far off look in his eyes.

Hairdresser Quinn

Those kangaroos… really come out of nowhere on the road.

After a moment of staring into the distance, he comes back to the present, and places a smock around Cole.

Hairdresser Quinn

(chipper)

So, what kind of length are we looking at?

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Living Room - Day

Seated in his own recliner within his enclosure, Colin shifts restlessly, across from Rembrandt and Wade.

Colin

There’s something that’s bothering me about being effectively grounded like this.

Rembrandt

Well, you’ve been hopping around for decades, man. The sudden stop must be pretty jarrin’ for you.

Colin

Yeah, I suppose.

(beat)

I like the stability, certainly, but every so often my heart jumps, like I’m about to shift again, even though I know intellectually I won’t.

Rembrandt

Could be trauma. My shrink is telling me all kinds of physical effects can happen when you have trauma that’s built up over time and never processed right.

Wade

Maybe we can get Doctor Emmanuel to talk to you too.

Mallory enters from the back door.

Mallory

Doctor Emmanuel?

Rembrandt

My therapist.

Mallory’s face turns sour.

Mallory

Maggie said I need one of those too.

Rembrandt

Sounds like all of us are needing some support.

Wade

Hey, this is perfect! You should all get together for a support group! Be radically open with your feelings together!

Mallory cringes.

Mallory

I don’t need a pity party, I’ll be fine.

Colin

I don’t know…

Wade

(exasperated)

You men always need to act so unaffected by everything. Well guess what? Ignoring it is what got you all into this mess, and only through being vulnerable and honest about your feelings can you hope to work through them.

Alfa (O.S.)

She’s right, you know.

The group turns to see Alfa in the doorway to the hall.

Alfa

Uh, sorry. I overheard.

(beat)

It’s Alfa, by the way.

Rembrandt

Oh, right. You seemed like you had some troubles too, huh?

Alfa nods sadly.

Wade

There you go, four of you makes a good sized support group! You could meet here with Doctor Emmanuel once a week. It’ll be great for all of you.

Rembrandt

Well, I’m in.

Alfa

(shrugging)

Sure, I guess. If it doesn’t conflict with missions.

Wade looks at Colin.

Colin

I’ll admit that I have nowhere better to be.

Wade

Mallory…?

Mallory looks sceptically at her.

Mallory

You really think it’ll help?

Wade

Yes. It absolutely will, promise.

Mallory sighs.

Mallory

Okay, fine. I’ll give it a chance. But if it’s no good then I won’t do it again.

Wade

(smiling)

Deal. I’ll go call her.

Ext. [QF] Golden Gate Park - Dusk

The sky is lit with unusual vibrance as the sun sets on Quinn Francisco. Over the bay, we see the limits of the city fade out to desert, where the climate bubble ends its circle of influence.

In the park, Cole and Anna sit on the grass and watch the sky, licking ice cream cones. Cole has been transformed into a remarkably femme version of themself, with long hair and makeup. Beside them are shopping bags from various women’s fashion stores.

Anna

I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun in my life.

Cole

It’s been pretty amazing.

Anna looks at Cole, appreciating their appearance.

Anna

You really look great. Not that you don’t normally.

Cole

(sad)

Thanks. It’s really not my style. But I’m glad I look convincing.

Anna watches Cole eat the ice cream, and looks on the verge of saying something. But she doesn’t.

Cole

This is the kind of place I’d like to go on a date some day.

Anna blushes.

Anna

Yeah. Pretty romantic.

Cole

But who’d even date someone like me? A neutrois asexual who’d rather be mapping neurons than gettin’ it on?

Anna sighs. The oblivious nature of Quinn has been passed on to Cole, it seems.

Anna

I think you have just the right qualities. You’re kind, you’re fun, you’re great with a screwdriver—

This causes Cole to burst into laughter.

Cole

(amused)

That’s the most screwing I suspect I’m willing to do.

Anna joins in the laugh.

Anna

Maybe if you look around, there’s someone who’s already all-in on the Cole train.

Cole stops laughing, and makes pointed, surprised eye contact with Anna.

Cole

Whu-what?

Anna realises it’s now or never.

Anna

…I like you, okay?

Cole is speechless for a moment. Then their face changes to an awkward smile.

Cole

I… like you too. I think?

Anna

(confused)

You… think?

Cole

(trying to articulate)

I… don’t know what attraction is supposed to feel like. I don’t know what the difference between platonic and romantic love is. I know I have strong feelings towards you, but I don’t know if they’re just regular BFF feelings or something more. Sorry, that doesn’t make much sense, does it?

Anna puts her arm around Cole’s shoulder.

Anna

It makes enough sense to me. Maybe… we can explore these feelings together?

Cole

(a little nervous)

Okay…

Anna

We can take it slow. Nothing sexual on the table, not unless you ever allow it. Just… feelings.

Cole gazes into her eyes, and smiles.

Cole

Ah hell, why not?

They share a brief peck on the lips.

Anna

Well I’m glad that went okay… otherwise this would have been an awkward trip…

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Dining Room - Night

Arturo, Quinn, Wade, and Alfa sit around the dining table, each with an empty plate in front of them, among others at the table. It’s obvious that they’ve stuck around after dinner has finished.

Arturo

I have a query, Mister… Alfa.

(to self)

Oh, that won’t do.

Alfa

Just Alfa is fine, really.

Arturo

Regardless, I need to know the status of my home. The one your people seized.

Alfa

That was your house? I know it’s the address where Quinn grew up. And me, if you count my home world. I thought it was his place.

Arturo

It may have been once, but I moved in there longer ago than the total time he spent there in his life.

And putting all that aside… all my stuff is there.

Quinn

It’s true. “Mi casa es su casa.”

Alfa

Charlie had a good understanding of what was going on with that. I’ll tell him. But I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to move back there.

Wade

What happened to wanting to contain sliding tech?

Alfa

Charlie can cloak your wormholes from our detection system easily enough. I won’t tell the President if you don’t.

(beat)

So did Maggie tell you she plans to come work for us?

Quinn

I had an inkling.

Wade

No, really?

Arturo

So she and Mallory…?

Quinn

Splitsville. In a manner of speaking.

Arturo

(surprised)

I see.

Wade looks uncomfortable at this revelation.

Fade to:

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Master Bedroom - Night

Maggie emerges from the ensuite bathroom, wearing a bathrobe, to find Wade sitting on her bed.

Maggie

Oh!

(cautious)

Hey…?

Wade

Hey.

(standing)

Sorry to barge in like this. I just heard about your joining the facility. As you know, Quinn’s got an offer with them too.

Maggie

He does.

Wade

Look, I know you have feelings for him. It’s been obvious to me since we were in that holding cell in the facility.

Maggie’s face drops.

Maggie

There’s no need to worry about me. I’m a soldier, okay?

Wade

(sad)

You do love him though, don’t you? As much as I do. Just, the other aspect of him that I never knew.

Maggie sits on her bed.

Maggie

Of course.

Wade

You said you spent a lifetime together in a bubble universe?

Maggie

Yeah.

Wade

Sounds intense.

Maggie

It was. But, we’ve talked about it. I know he’s all-in on you, and that’s all there is to it. I just want to see him happy.

Wade

That’s all I needed to hear. Thanks, Maggie.

Int. Michael Mallory Residence: Courtyard - Day

Cole, wearing as femme an outfit as we’ve ever seen them, strides out the front doors, with Anna walking closely behind them. In Cole’s hand is Michael’s timer.

Michael scurries behind them.

Michael

Don’t forget I have comms on there. If you get in trouble, notify me. And don’t stay up too late. Do you have a jacket?

Cole

I’m good, Pops.

They give their grandfather a token hug.

Michael

I’ve set the timer so that it’ll take you to your home an hour before the ceremony.

Cole

Yes, you’ve told me that multiple times. Thank you, Grandpa. Now we gotta go!

Cole activates the timer, and the vortex opens. Anna and Cole grab one another’s hands.

Cole

See ya!

And they disappear into the tunnel.

End of Act Two

Act Three

Int. [SW] Mansion: Quinn and Wade’s Guest Room - Day

Quinn lies in bed facing the edge, sleeping soundly.

We see Wade peek over him, and pull him towards her. He stirs, and smiles at her as she kisses him.

Wade

Quinn, it’s the big day.

Quinn

Finally.

Wade

(playful)

What, you got impatient waiting for twenty-three years?

Quinn

No, I mean, after the first decade they just kinda blend together.

Wade clasps his hand.

Quinn’s smile fades for a moment and he looks pensive.

Wade

What is it?

Quinn

Just thinking about Cole and Anna. It’s been five days and if Cole’s not back to be ringbearer…

Wade

Well, if there’s one thing I know about a Mallory, it’s that you all have impeccable timing, even if you cut it fine. I’m sure they’ll be here.

Ext. [CPW] Mrs Hills Bakery HQ - Day

A taxi pulls up to the large office building in downtown San Francisco. The Mrs Hills logo is on a big sign in the front.

From the cab emerges Cole and Anna, who look up at the building.

Anna

We’ve finally found the place.

Cole

We would have found it a lot sooner if we didn’t slide right into airport customs without passports.

Anna

(frustrated)

I can’t believe that happened.

Cole

(bitterly)

Oh, I do. Every time I slide, something bad happens, I swear to god.

The pair head for the entrance.

Int. [CPW] Mrs Hills Bakery HQ: Reception - Day

Cole and Anna approach a woman, Beverley, working the desk.

Cole

(doing their best femme voice)

Hello, my friend and I are looking for someone. Could you help?

Beverley

Sure, hun. Who you after?

Cole

Uhh…

Anna

Jane Hills, please.

Beverley looks at them with a raised eyebrow.

Beverley

You two got an appointment? You do know she’s the CEO. Very busy woman.

Anna

We don’t, but—

Cole

Tell her Quinn Mallory’s… daughter… wants to talk to her.

Beverley

Alright, but don’t get your hopes up, sweeties.

She picks up her desk phone and taps a couple of buttons.

Beverley

Yes, hi Sal. Got a couple of young girls here wanna talk to Jane. One says she’s Quinn Mallory’s daughter? That mean anything to you?

Beverley looks up at Cole.

Beverley

They’re checking.

A quiet moment happens, and Cole turns around to check out the lobby.

On one side, a large acrylic sculpture of a cake slice, with a plaque below.

On the other, a waterfall flows into a small marble pond.

Beverley

(on phone)

You serious? Okay.

Beverley places the phone handset on her chest.

Beverley

(perplexed)

Go up to level 8 and someone’ll be waiting.

Cole and Anna exchange a look of victory.

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

The quiet room springs to life with two different wormholes on opposite sides of the room.

From one comes Kelly Welles Prime, and from the other, Kelly Welles EDP and her mother, Missus Welles.

The two Kellys stand for a moment, staring at each other.

Kelly Prime

Whoa. M-Mom?

Kelly EDP

Oh my god, I have a twin now!

From the top of the stairs, Wade emerges, hurrying down.

Wade

Welcome!

Wade’s mother smiles up at her.

Missus Welles

So this is where you’ve been hiding.

Wade reaches the three, and gives each of her world’s family a loving hug.

Wade

Sorry, life’s been pretty hectic.

She turns to Kelly Prime.

Wade

(sheepishly)

Hi.

Kelly Prime looks at the double of her sister, and tears fill her eyes.

Kelly Prime

When I saw that invitation I didn’t know what to think.

(voice breaking)

I almost didn’t come… thought it would be too painful.

Wade looks at her with empathy. She’s been through this with Rembrandt.

Wade

Remy thought you’d want to meet me. It’s been hard for him to look at me, but…

Kelly Prime draws her into a hug.

Kelly Prime

(lovingly)

Just shut up. I know you’re not my Wade, but I don’t care. You can still be my sister.

She looks to Kelly EDP.

Kelly Prime

And so can you.

Kelly EDP smiles broadly, and eyes Kelly Prime’s shabby clothing.

Kelly EDP

You look in desperate need of a shopping spree… sis.

Wade

Well that’ll need to wait because you two need last minute alterations on your bridesmaid dresses. Come on.

Int. [CPW] Mrs Hills HQ: Conference Room - Day

The conference room is empty except for Cole and Anna who sit side by side at the table, holding hands. Cole checks the timer.

Cole

Only 2 and a half hours. We’re cutting it so close. Even if she has a kid, they could be anywhere. They could be in Australia for all we know.

Anna

Well, even if they are, at least we’ll know that much. We won’t go home empty-handed.

Cole

You’re right.

The door of the room opens, and a woman in her sixties enters the room, wearing a suit. It’s Jane Hills.

Jane

(suspicious)

So, which one of you claims to be related to Quinn Mallory?

Cole raises their hand.

Cole

That would be me.

Jane

And you are?

Cole

My name’s Cole. I’ve come… a really long way to find you.

Jane, still eying the two with suspicion, sits across from them at the table.

Jane

What do you know about Quinn?

Anna

(excitedly)

He’s a scientist who invented a device that let him pass between different dimensions, and he passed through this one a long time ago.

Cole

…And may have left something behind. Like, maybe my sibling?

Jane looks back and forth at the people before her.

Cole holds up their timer.

Cole

Look… my Dad’s getting married in a few hours and I just thought it might be nice to bring his long lost child to meet him. I’ll bring ‘em back tomorrow, I promise!

Jane

You come to me as a complete stranger and want me to believe you’re his daughter just because you know a few details?

Cole fishes their phone out from their pocket. They flip through some photos, and then turn the phone to show Jane several photos of Cole and Quinn.

Jane looks at them, and becomes emotional.

Jane

He sure has gotten older…

Cole

Time’ll do that.

Now, is he your Baby Daddy or not?

Jane nods.

Jane

Yes. I had a daughter, Lani.

Cole’s eyes light up.

Cole

A sister!

Cole high-fives Anna.

Jane

How do I know if you take her away, she won’t be gone for good like Quinn?

Anna

Shouldn’t that be her choice to make?

Cole

And she won’t anyway! The field of sliding has improved dramatically since the nineties. Difference between a brick cell phone and a modern smart phone.

They wave around their own phone in demonstration.

Jane is silent, thinking.

Cole

If nothing else, I just want to meet my sister. Please?

Ext. [SW] Secluded Glade - Dusk

The venue for the wedding is a beautiful outdoor garden, seemingly cut off from the world.

A lattice arch entwined with creeping wisteria stands at the far end centre, with rows of pews punctuated by a red carpet running up the middle. Beyond the arch is a view of the sea.

Fairy lights are strung around the glade, making the place seem otherworldly.

The pews are packed with people; with friends and family we’ve seen near the front, and other, presumably more distant relations, filling out the back.

At the arch, Quinn stands in his suit, looking nervous. One of Colin’s pods is off to the side of the altar, and Colin is standing there as Best Man. Standing front and centre is the officiant, an older man in a suit and a reverend’s collar.

Quinn begins to pace, and Michael stands from his front row seat beside the two Missus Mallorys to calm his son.

Michael

It’s alright. Cole will be here.

Quinn

How do you know they didn’t miss the slide back?

Michael

The last message I received from them says they’ll be here, and that was an hour ago, so unless they somehow missed it at the last second, they’ll be okay.

Quinn

I wish you’d tell me what they were doing all this time.

Michael

Sorry, son. Sworn to secrecy.

The fill lights dim, and only the aisle and altar areas are illuminated.

Quinn

Oh no, it’s starting.

Michael pats Quinn on the shoulder.

Michael

Relax, okay? This is your day. Let other people worry.

Quinn does his best to compose himself as the music starts.

The guests stand to watch the procession.

First comes Arturo, arms linked with Maggie. They take their place to sides of the altar as groomsman and bridesmaid.

Next is Kelly Prime and Rembrandt, two friends who have finally reconnected.

Then comes Diana and Mallory. As Mallory reaches Quinn, he gives him a pat on the shoulder as he passes. Diana gives a pointed smile towards Colin.

Next comes Kelly EDP, alone as Maid of Honour. She takes her place at the side of the arch with an animated grin, and turns toward the entrance of the glade.

Quinn follows her gaze.

Cole emerges, a victorious grin on their face. Cole wears a tuxedo on top matching the groomsmen, and a billowing skirt underneath that matches the bridesmaid dresses. They carry a plate where the rings are set. Their hair still has the extensions, but it is pulled back into a plait down their back.

They wink at Quinn, who looks extremely relieved to see them.

As Cole continues up the aisle, we see Lani and Anna at the back of the crowd. Lani is staring, open-mouthed, at the scene.

Cole reaches Quinn, and hands him the rings. They lean over to whisper in his ear.

Cole

(whispering)

I brought you a present. Talk to me when the ceremony’s done.

Quinn watches Cole take their place in the front row of pews, looking satisfied. He just looks confused.

Finally, Wade enters, walking beside her mother, who looks joyful in the way that a mother who spent the better part of 30 years thinking her daughter lost forever must in this kind of moment.

Wade wears a lavish dress and a crown of white flowers on her head. When she sees Quinn, her smile becomes a grin, and so does his. She maintains eye contact with him as she traverses the aisle.

Finally, all parties are in place.

The Officiant addresses the crowd.

Officiant

Ladies, gentlemen, and those in between.

He meets Cole’s eye, and they nod in approval.

Officiant

Welcome, and please be seated.

The guests sit.

Officiant

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to celebrate the marriage of —

(squinting at his notes)

— Quinn Mallory’s… combined… duplicates?

He looks at Quinn, who nods, eyes dancing with amusement.

Officiant

…And, Wade Welles.

(beat)

The bride and groom have prepared vows, so please…

He gestures to them to continue.

Wade produces a folded up slip of paper, and reads from it.

Wade

Quinn, until recently, I’d given up hope that this day would ever come.

Once, I took care of you twenty-four hours a day, when you weren’t able.

I spent nearly every moment of my day with you, but you weren’t in a state where we could have the relationship we’d planned. But I never stopped loving you.

I guess the sickness and health part is already sealed, right?

(beat)

Since you’ve been healed and restored, I’m more sure than ever that I want to spend every possible moment with you.

I love even the pieces of you that I never knew before.

You may not be exactly the same man I met, but I’m blessed to have the man that now stands before me.

She puts away the paper, and takes Quinn’s ring, sliding it onto his finger.

Quinn’s eyes are glistening as he takes his turn.

Quinn

Wade, all I can do is thank you for accepting me as I am.

When I was an overly excited kid who dragged you into a lifetime of trauma because I couldn’t wait.

When I was a guy that would have starved if left alone because it didn’t occur to me that my hunger pains were trying to tell me something.

Every day you were there to feed me, because you cared about me so much, and you never let me starve.

And then when I became the Quinn who’s talking now, still you accepted me, even with all the excess baggage and friends.

You still stayed close to me, through it all.

Even though I came together out of two Quinns, my love for you didn’t waver for a second. How could it?

If any Quinn who knew a Wade like you didn’t love her, I’d hate to be him.

Quinn’s shoulders relax, as he finishes his vows. He takes Wade’s wedding ring and slides it onto her finger.

Among the bridesmaids, Maggie is crying, but trying not to make it obvious.

Among the groomsmen, Rembrandt is openly weeping. Mallory awkwardly has an arm around his shoulders.

Officiant

Do you, Quinn Mallory, take Wade Welles to be your lawfully wedded wife?

Quinn

I do.

Officiant

Do you, Wade Welles, take Quinn Mallory to be your lawfully wedded husband?

Wade

(voice breaking)

I do.

Officiant

By the authority vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you married. You may now share a kiss.

Quinn leans in to Wade, whose arms latch around his neck, and they kiss.

Fade to:

Ext. [SW] Secluded Glade - Dusk

The bride and groom are finishing up signing their marriage certificate, and Cole approaches the table, with Lani hovering behind them.

Quinn looks up.

Quinn

Who’s this?

Cole

Oh, only your secret long lost daughter.

Quinn freezes in shock.

Cole

This is Lani. Well, that’s her nickname. Her full name is Quinlan Mallory Hills.

Quinn

(processing)

So that’s where you’ve been.

Wade looks both shocked and delighted at this news.

Quinn stands and extends a hand to Lani. She takes it.

Quinn

(shaking hands vigorously)

I can’t believe it. I never thought I’d get a chance to meet you.

Lani

(looking at him in wonder)

Likewise. Until about…

She checks her watch.

Lani

An hour and a half ago, when I met Cole.

(beat)

I’m… a little overwhelmed.

Quinn

Not an unusual feeling around here. Listen, just relax, go off to the reception with Cole, and I’ll talk to you some more there when all the formalities are over with.

(flustered laugh)

You caught me at a busy time.

Lani nods and turns to Cole. Cole leads her away from the table.

Wade stands up beside Quinn as the two siblings head off.

Wade

I assume there’s a long story behind all this?

Quinn

(off-balance)

You’d be correct.

She kisses him on the cheek.

Wade

Can’t wait to hear all about it.

End of Act Three

Act Four

Int / Ext [SW] Banquet Hall - Night

In this scene, the focus roves around the room, capturing conversations in snippets.

The room is set out with a series of dining tables around the outside and a stage and dance floor in the centre. On the back wall is the wedding party table. A bar is in one corner.

At the edge of the wedding party’s table, an EMF pod is set up complete with small table and chair. As we move past it, Colin materialises inside it.

On the stage, Rembrandt is setting up for a show with some hired musicians.

As we see him, he’s chatting with a guitarist.

Rembrandt

Thought my tear ducts were dried out, but I cried like a baby at the ceremony. Looks like I still got it.

Guitarist

Right on, Cryin’ Man!

They low-five one another.

At the door across the room, guests file in.

We see the two Kellys talking animatedly.

Kelly Prime

Does your world have coffee or chocolate?

Kelly EDP

Of course. What, yours doesn’t?

Kelly Prime

No, they went extinct during the invasion. I could murder a mocha.

Kelly EDP

Surely this world has them. Let’s check the bar.

We move on to Arturo, who enters with the other elders; Missus Mallory EDP pushes Missus Mallory Prime in her wheelchair, and Michael brings up the rear of the group.

Arturo

I’m looking forward to returning to our house, Amanda.

Missus Mallory EDP

I bet those army thugs never watered my flowers. I’ll be coming home to a dead garden.

Missus Mallory Prime

Those monsters.

Michael

What a shame I didn’t meet you earlier. I invented a device that attracts and absorbs ambient moisture and directs it under soil. They keep my plants quite healthy.

We move on to Mallory and Maggie.

Maggie

So you’re going to turn our house into some kind of bachelor pad?

Mallory

No, we’re just going to have a weekly support group. And all live in the house separately.

Maggie

Well, just don’t trash the joint.

Mallory

(rolling his eyes)

We have house cleaners.

Diana approaches Mallory now, and breaks him away from Maggie.

Diana

I’m so glad to hear you’re doing this. I think it’ll be really beneficial for all of you.

(leaning in)

Colin hides behind his affable facade, but I know he has a lot of serious things to work through.

Mallory

You think so?

Diana

(nodding)

You and he have a common flashpoint in Doctor Geiger.

Mallory

Yeah, I guess you’re right. But what about Quinn? He’s a victim of Geiger, too.

Diana

He seems pretty well-adjusted, all things considered. That man knows his way around his own brain. Maybe he’s already worked through his trauma?

Mallory

Always one step ahead of the rest of us, huh?

We move on to Cole finding their seat at the bridal party table. Lani hovers behind them.

Cole

So you’re a doctor?

Lani

Not just yet. I’m a medical scientist specialising in cancer research.

Cole

Oh that’s awesome. I’m a neuroscientist. Science gang!

Cole gestures towards their seat.

Cole

Here, take this for now and I’ll go find someone to get another chair.

Lani sits in the chair, looking uncomfortable.

We follow Cole as they walk to the bar.

There, the two Kellys wait for a bartender to make their coffees, while another bartender approaches Cole.

As Cole begins to ask, we move past the bar and into the back rooms, before finally leaving out of the propped open fire door, where we catch the limousine driving by that carries the married couple.

As it pulls up to the main entrance, we catch up and watch Quinn and Wade step out to a flashing photographer’s camera.

We follow them back into the premises, where Rembrandt stands on stage, microphone in hand, to introduce them.

Rembrandt

Everyone, here they are, the happy couple: Quinn and Wade Mallory. Let’s give ‘em a hand.

A round of applause echoes through the hall, as Quinn and Wade proceed to their seats, waving.

Fade to:

Int. [SW] Banquet Hall - Night

Time skip to the best man toast. All those present are now seated at their tables, with Lani and Cole squeezed together at their place.

A microphone has been set up by Colin’s pod, and he speaks into it awkwardly.

Colin

Hello everyone, I’m Colin, Quinn’s brother, and I have been told I need to make some kind of speech now. Given that it’s been some time since I’ve been able to hold a pen for long enough to transcribe anything, I fear it may seem disjointed, but I’ll try.

Some of you who know Quinn may be wondering how he has a brother you never knew about, and why I’m confined to a strange little machine.

Well, fear not: that’s easily explained.

You see, Quinn and I were separated as children and placed on parallel dimensions with foster parents, then no sooner had we rediscovered one another did he get fused with another version of himself while I lost my grip on the very Earth I stood on, and it’s taken over twenty years to bring us to a point where either of us can be here talking to you today.

(beat)

See? Easily explained.

This causes a ripple of confused laughter.

Colin

I’ve not had the privilege of growing up with Quinn, or even spending much quality time with him. But those few, precious moments I’ve spent with him make me wish that I had.

Quinn is a man that would go to the ends of the Earth to help someone he cares about, and that’s genuinely an understatement.

And given what I know about Wade, he found his perfect match on that front.

He holds up his champagne glass.

Colin

A toast to Quinn and Wade, two of the most caring people to ever walk the multiverse.

Congratulations Quinn. I love you, brother.

Glass clinks are heard throughout the venue.

Fade to:

Int. [SW] Banquet Hall - Night

Time skip to Bridal Waltz.

Quinn and Wade are alone on the dance floor as music swells.

Rembrandt

Ladies and gentlemen… et cetera, all eyes on our special couple tonight as they have their first dance as husband and wife.

Rembrandt starts to sing “Stand By Me” by Ben E King, as Quinn and Wade dance.

Wade

(quietly to Quinn)

What made you pick this song, anyway?

Quinn

I don’t know. Just thought Remy would sound great singing it, I guess?

Wade

Hey, you were right.

Fade to:

Int. [SW] Banquet Hall - Night

Time skip to later: 

As music blares, and people dance, Quinn takes a moment to rest on the outskirts of the dance floor. He looks pretty tired.

Finally, Lani approaches him.

Quinn

Hey. I’m sorry I haven’t been available all night. Who knew it was this exhausting just to get married?

Lani

That’s okay. I’ve just been taking everything in. I met my… grandparents? Though only the man said he was my biological grandfather.

Quinn

Yeah, that’s right. But I see all three as my parents. You heard Colin’s speech, right? The explanation was in there somewhere.

Lani

I did hear the speech, but understand it? Not exactly.

Quinn

(chuckling)

Yeah, it’s like that in this family. Welcome to the madness, Lani.

Lani

Cole was saying something about their brain equipment causing two versions of you to merge, thus freeing their other Dad from your presence… it’s just so incomprehensible. I’m gonna need diagrams.

Quinn

(amused)

I’m sure Cole will be able to provide.

Lani

But what’s interesting me is your Moms. One has terminal cancer? And one has no cancer? Is that right?

Quinn

Yeah, I think that’s accurate.

Lani

Back home I work in a cancer research facility.

Quinn’s attention is piqued.

Lani

It became a major branch of the government about fifteen years ago, when over twenty per cent of people who had been exposed to the virus that devastated the male population went on to develop aggressive tumours - both men and women.

Just recently we had a breakthrough in our treatments. Each year we scan people for all types of cancer, and if they’re clear, we store their biological and cellular data in a master file, which provides a template.

If they develop cancer in the future, we use that template to tell our nanites what to recognise as healthy tissue, and what to attack.

Quinn’s eyes light up.

Quinn

So you can program them to specifically target cell abnormalities based on the healthy past version of the patient? That’s genius!

Lani

Right! And while it couldn’t work on your mother without a template…

Quinn

(wonder)

We have a healthy version right there…

Lani looks him in the eyes.

Lani

We might still be able to get the cancer out. I don’t know about the damage it’s done already, necessarily, but…

Quinn

We have to tell them.

Lani nods.

Quinn pulls Lani into a hug.

Quinn

Thanks for bringing us hope.

Fade to:

Int. [SW] Mallory Mansion: Entryway - Day

The family has gathered for their farewells.

Quinn is sitting on the stairs, overlooking all his loved ones in the entryway. Wade is sitting by him.

Lani, Cole, and Anna are all in high spirits, standing together engaged in conversation.

The four elders stand in a group (except Mom Prime who’s sitting in her wheelchair) with very pleased expressions. Missus Welles is with them also, and the two Kellys are together, seeming to enjoy each other’s company. Kelly Prime, notably, is wearing brand new clothes.

Colin is in his pod, seeming to be waiting for someone to engage him in conversation.

Diana and Maggie stand together, suitcases on the floor beside them.

Rembrandt and Mallory stand together, still in their pajamas. They are  not going anywhere.

Mallory

This place is about to get real quiet again.

Rembrandt

Not when there’s a piano in the sun room. I’ll see to that.

Mallory smiles, and puts his arm around Remy.

On Kelly Prime now, who moves to hug her double.

Kelly Prime

I had such a great time hanging with you. I don’t want to go home.

Kelly EDP

Then don’t! Come back with me and Mom.

Why stay in a world without chocolate?

Kelly Prime considers this.

Kelly Prime

When you put it that way…

We move on to Michael and Arturo’s conversation.

Michael

You’re comfortable with your wife going off to that unfortunate world?

Arturo

I admit, I had an absolutely dismal time there myself. But if it means the other Amanda gets a chance to survive, I am not going to protest. And, the template record may save her own life some day.

Michael nods.

The focus shifts to Lani, Cole, and Anna.

Cole

You think Grandma is still curable?

Lani

I think we can, at the very least, halt its growth. Best case is full remission.

Cole

Worst case?

Lani

Worst case, I suppose, is that it doesn’t work and she’s no worse off.

Anna

I’m so glad I could be a part of this. This has been the best week of my life.

Cole takes Anna’s hand.

Cole

(grinning)

Mine too.

We move our focus to Quinn and Wade, who are coming down the stairs. Quinn is pushing buttons on a timer.

Quinn

Alright, first slide back: Earth Prime. Kelly?

He looks at Kelly Prime, who looks at him sheepishly.

Kelly Prime

I’ve, uh, decided to go back with my double.

Quinn

(smiling inquisitively)

Really? Okay.

He taps new co-ordinates into the timer.

Quinn

In that case, I guess we have a few people heading off to Wade’s home world, then.

(beat)

Everyone for Azure Gate Bridge world, step forward.

The two Kellys, Missus Welles, Diana, Maggie, and Arturo all step forward.

Quinn points the timer, and opens the vortex.

Wade hugs her family.

Wade

See you guys soon.

She turns to Kelly Prime.

Wade

Hope my Mom treats you right.

Kelly Prime smiles, and hugs Wade.

The three Welles family members jump into the vortex as Wade waves.

Arturo kisses Missus Mallory EDP goodbye, then approaches Quinn.

Arturo

Congratulations again, Mister Mallory.

Quinn

(leaning in with a mischievous smile)

After the honeymoon, we’ll be moving in with you.

Arturo

Wait, what?

Quinn pushes him toward the wormhole.

Quinn

Bye, Professor!

Arturo gives him a sour look as he enters and disappears.

Diana and Maggie are next to approach. Diana nods at Colin in the corner, who gives her a wave.

Maggie briefly meets Mallory’s eye, then Rembrandt, then Colin.

Maggie

We’ll stay in touch, guys.

Quinn

Bye, Maggie.

He hugs her; a little too long for just friends, but a little too stiff for lovers.

Maggie

We’ll see each other soon enough. Bye, Quinn.

She steps through. Diana waves broadly before following. The wormhole closes behind her.

Quinn

Okay, so next is Moms and Lani. Cole, I need the co-ordinates.

Cole bounds up to him, holding up a slip of paper, from when Cole had copied down the information out of the records room. He copies the data to his own timer.

Quinn

Okay. Lani, I need you for a moment.

Lani crosses the room to him.

Quinn

Okay, so this is important. I have to set this timer for a specific amount of time. How long will the treatments take?

Lani

(thoughtful)

I wanna say three months. But it could be a little longer depending on the size of the cancer.

Quinn

Okay, I’ll set it for four months. It’s important that you press this button—

(points to a button)

— when the timer reaches exactly zero. Not a second earlier or later.

Lani, looking nervous, nods.

Quinn

If you somehow fail to do so, use this —

(pointing to another button)

— to send us a message.

Lani nods again.

Quinn

Got it?

Lani

(gulping)

Yeah, got it.

Quinn

Okay. I’m counting on you.

He points opens the vortex, before handing Lani the timer.

Quinn

Good luck.

They share a quick hug, and Quinn moves to his mothers.

Quinn

(to Mom EDP)

Hey Ma, you’re really brave to be doing this. Thank you.

Missus Mallory EDP

Oh, honey, I couldn’t stand by and watch my new friend die if I could stop it.

Missus Mallory Prime

You really are a sweetheart, Amanda.

Quinn hugs both of his mothers.

Quinn

Alright, you’d better go. I love you both.

Mom EDP pushes the wheelchair to the vortex. Lani and the Moms wave, and then vanish into it.

Quinn watches it close, a bittersweet look on his face.

Now, only Michael remains to go home. Quinn moves to him.

Quinn

Your turn, Dad.

Michael nods.

Michael

You’re coming with me, right? For your honeymoon?

Quinn

(nodding)

We have an appointment at the travel agency.

No vacation like a slide-hopping tour of paradise worlds.

He looks at Colin.

Quinn

You take care of Mallory, Cole, and Remy, alright?

Colin

Oh, I’m sure if they act up, my standing here admonishing them will be more than effective enough.

Quinn smiles at him.

Quinn

I might not be coming back here to live, but I’ll visit all the time.

Colin

What will you be doing, anyway? Are you joining the Quinn Squad?

Quinn shakes his head.

Quinn

No, not directly. I’m thinking of workin’ out of the basement again. Bit more freedom, bit less politics.

Colin

I would have thought after all this time you’d be looking to retire from sliding.

Quinn

(smirking)

I’m a glutton for punishment.

He crosses to Cole and Anna, who are now sitting on the stairs.

Quinn

I’ll see you around, Cole.

Cole

Hope your honeymoon can hold a candle to the wedding.

Quinn

It’ll be tough. What a night, huh?

Cole

(hugging Quinn)

Bye, Dad.

Quinn

Bye Cole.

Finally, Quinn approaches Remy and Mallory, with Wade also approaching.

Quinn

So, a support group, huh?

Rembrandt

We got issues, what can I say?

Mallory

What’s your secret to being so put together?

Quinn

Who, me?

(thoughtful)

Maybe I’m not as “together” as I appear. I’m always working through stuff. Pretty good at keeping it to myself, though.

Rembrandt

Well, if you ever need someone else to talk to, we’ll be here, brother.

He hugs each of them, then returns to Michael. Wade lingers.

Wade

(to Rembrandt)

You take care of yourself.

Rembrandt smiles at her, maintaining eye contact.

Rembrandt

I will, Wade.

Wade smiles at his unbroken gaze, and hugs him.

We move focus to Quinn and Michael.

Quinn

Time?

Michael

(eyes on timer)

Twelve seconds.

Quinn nods, and the two move to the centre of the room, followed by Wade, who breaks away from Remy. They give a final wave to those remaining. Michael opens the vortex, and Wade takes Quinn’s hand.

They walk into the light, as the others watch and wave.

Mallory and Rembrandt exit into the hall towards the living room.

The vortex closes, and Cole stands up and stretches.

Anna

I really thought you might jump in there.

Cole

Nah. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely wanted to.

They pull out a timer from their jacket, which is counting down from 00:00:44.

Cole

But I didn’t need to.

Anna laughs.

Anna

I almost forgot you had one too.

Cole

You coming along?

Anna

Definitely.

Colin watches them from his pod.

Colin

(amused)

I suppose you want me to let your father know.

Cole

(startled)

Actually… I forgot you were still standing there. But yes please, Uncle Colin.

Colin

Ouch, that hurts. Well before you go, I just want to say thanks for helping with Quinn.

Cole

Aww, thanks. Well, you helped too, right? None of this would have happened without your weird superpowers.

Colin smiles.

Colin

Just call me the puppet master.

Cole

(glancing at timer)

Oh, I gotta go.

Cole opens the vortex, and looks back at their uncle.

Cole

The work won’t be done until you’re outta there. So we’ve all got a reason to keep sliding and looking for some way.

Colin

I can tell that’s just an excuse. Go, have a good time seeing new worlds. Just be careful.

Cole grins at him.

Cole

I will. Bye!

They wave, and join Anna at the vortex. They take one last look at each other, and jump in.

As the vortex closes, Colin stands alone in the room. His smile fades, and he collapses to the floor, tears forming in his eyes. He’s not as okay as he’s been projecting.

End of Act Four