ALTIDUDE
WRITTEN BY: WOLFPACK PRODUCTIONS
An older man dressed in a lab coat carefully handed the younger man a vile of red liquid, the pony-tailed man placed the vile into a holder that pulled it through a machine, causing the machine to make a bunch of loud noises. The two men gleefully waited at the end of the machine. “This is it, Ven, after our three years of testing, we’ve finally discovered-,“ the younger man interrupted the scientist, “Doc, you don’t have to tell me what we discovered; I was there.” The red liquid was pushed through the large machine, except now it was bright and pulsing. The two stared in amazement before touching the glass bottle. A bang on the laboratory doors surprised the men; they traded looks of confusion. The older man went to answer the door and was met by four men wearing leather jackets with a lightning bolt engraved on the sleeves. “How can I help you gentlemen?” The scientist asked. They demanded everything in the lab; the man laughed assuming the men were joking, but, they showed off their machine guns. The man named, Ven, pushed a cart full of heavy equipment towards the men, knocking them down. He and the scientist escaped the room and made their way to an elevator; Ven frantically pressing the ‘up’ button as the four men riddled the hallway and elevator with bullets. Eventually the elevator closed and rose to the surface. They ran inside of the closest building, The Airport, and anxiously searched for an escape from the men. They found an exit and burst through the doors, tumbling down a flight of stairs leading them outside where a single plane and one helicopter were stationed. “Inside the plane, they can’t find us th-,“ a shot sounded off and the scientist suddenly stopped talking and fell into the arms of the younger man. The scientist couldn’t communicate beyond the gurgles of blood slowly choking him, but, he placed the glowing vile into the hands of his partner. Ven sprinted behind one of the planes and chugged the liquid, forcing him to his knees as he clinched his throat coughing profusely. The four men divided and searched both sides of the plane. Ven magically disappeared. “Up here!” The floating man swooped down like a vicious eagle and took one of the attackers by the back of the head and threw him against a plane causing it to explode. The others continuously shot at the flying man until he lifted the attack chopper and dropped it on two of the men. Instantly killing them. The remaining man tried to flee but was cut off by the raging man fueled by revenge. “I am sick of you freaks!” the man attempted to shoot his gun, but, was disappointed and angered when the gun failed to release any bullets. He unsheathed a knife and approached the man in a sprint. Ven quickly overpowered the man and ripped off his arms like a toy action figure, then followed the dismemberment with a kick the chest. Police surrounded the man who sat next to his dead mentor in tears. They put him in cuffs and drove off, leaving detectives and a fleet of emergency units to witness the destruction and massacre.
CHAPTER I: 2 Years and 1 Chance Later
The clearly inebriated man was splashed with a large pale of ice water; he then jumped up, cussed loudly, and held an empty beer bottle as a weapon; “ so, this is where you’ve been all night?” The man wearing a cop uniform asked, “how did you find me, Baker?” The wild-haired man asked while slurring his speech, “it’s not that hard to find the infamous Ven Costello. I just follow the trail of destruction every time.” The cop then picked up a bar stool and sat next to the troubled man, “I don’t need another life lesson,” the cop slammed his hand on the table agitatedly. As the man noticed what the cop had placed on the sticky surface, tears filled his heavy brown eyes. On the table was a picture of the cop, an Hispanic woman with a radiant smile, and a happy baby boy; “-Marianna says Happy Birthday.” As the cop the left the ruined bar, Ven chucked a glass bottle at the door and stuffed the picture into his coat pocket, before heading towards the back exit. As he walked to the bus stop he was approached by a group of loud teenagers who should have been in school at the moment, “look at what the shit-storm brought in,” the apparent leader of the group insultingly said. Ven continued to walk past the misfits, ignoring their remarks; “hey! We’re talking to you,” said the leader. Once the boy gripped Ven’s arm, he quickly twisted it, then, ascended into the air, cracking the sky, and launched the crying thug as far as he possibly could; causing him to land in the ocean surrounding the little island of Altona.
Ven’s appearance on the bus caught everyone’s attention, and not the good kind. Murmurs of cuss words filled the awkward silence as he took a seat alone in the back. “You have some nerve continuing to show your face on this island,” a woman whispered across from him, “yeah? Well, you have some nerve coming out of your house without re-waxing that monster from under your nose,” the woman was appalled by his drunken response. He put on his headphones and reached into his pocket to observe the picture once more; he then flipped the picture around and noticed the writing on it, “despite all the trouble you harbor, Ivan, still needs a connection with his dad. When you’ve got help, you may visit us.” He exhaled from his nostrils and asked the bus driver to let him off. The other riders sighed with relief as Ven left the bus. He gave the bus “the finger,” before launching himself into the air and flying to his destination. He stood in front of a small brick house distant from the rest of the island’s “attractions.” The door opened and instantly shut, “don’t be like that,” Ven shouted. The door opened once more and a lady wearing barf-green scrubs stepped out; not allowing the inside of her house to be shown. “What do you want, Costello?” She pushed her long, free-flowing, brown hair behind her ears revealing her vibrant brown eyes, and then folder her arms. “I need a favor,” she immediately cut his sentence off; “a favor? Are you kidding me?” She began to enter the house, but Ven lightly stepped in front of her. She kneed him in the groin, and then pushed him from the stoop. “Thanks a lot, sis!” Ven grunted out as he attempted to regain balance.
There were no clouds in site, just the sun warming the little island giving life to everything. Everything except Ven Vendalia Costello, whom was sitting at his local bar chugging down pints of beer back-to-back. “You can’t just drink your problems away,” the young male bartender said while handing Ven the bill, “watch me,” said the drunkenly depressed man. “Where’s Louis?” Ven asked, “he left me in charge, what do you need?” Ven slid the pricey bill back to the bartender, then added, “I don’t pay for drinks here; I have a ‘family discount’.” The bartender pointed to a board that read, No Free Drinks, Ven. “Eighteen dollars,” the bartender repeated, “put it on my tab,” he said, staggering from the bar stool. “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t let you leave without paying,” Ven got frustrated and grabbed a tip jar from the live band, then, set it by the bartender; “there. Enjoy your day, Otto.” As Ven walked away from the bar, he was hit in the head with a guitar and fell to his knees, “the hell?” A leather boot connected to his face and he found himself getting jumped by the band. A blue SUV pulled up across the street from the altercation, “that’s enough,” a woman’s voice projected. The band stopped attacking, then, returned to the bar; “I didn’t need your help,” Ven yelled, “-then why did you show up at my house?” He dusted himself off, after spitting out the blood from his busted lip, then, handed her the picture. “I need to get my life back on track. For my family.”
Helena agreed to take Ven into her home as long as he quit drinking, found a job, and wouldn’t use his abilities. Ven noticed the Barbie Dolls and dollhouses scattered around the living room, “when did you have a kid?” He curiously asked, “her name is Leilani, and she hasn’t had a man around since she was three, so I’m trusting you to be a good role model,” Ven chuckled and then added, “-I can be a decent role model.” Helena tossed Ven a garbage bag filled with her ex-husband’s clothes, “burn that jacket, it’s been through hell,” she commented. The two siblings sat at the small table and conversed about the past, “-how about that time dad caught you in his car when you were supposed to be taking exams,” she reminisced, “that has to be the angriest I’ve ever made him,” Ven replied barely getting the words out due to his laughter. Their stories were briefly interrupted by a phone call to Helena’s phone; it was from her job, so she dismissed herself before taking the call in her room. Ven stood up from the table and looked at all the pictures placed around the pale blue room. Leilani looked to be the age of a middle schooler, she had curly brown hair, and a light dusting of freckles spread across the bridge of her nose. Helena returned from her room, dressed in her scrubs, “Toledo’s Gang attacked another business man, branded him with a ‘T,’ Ven shook his head and tossed his sister her purse, “have fun,” he said sarcastically, she uttered, “I hate these scrubs,” before leaving the home.
Later that day Leilani returned from school and was confused at the sight of Ven sleeping on her couch, she quickly drew a knife from the kitchen and held to Ven’s neck, “where is my mom? And why are you in my house?” She interrogated; Ven’s eyes opened quickly as he was stuck awkwardly positioned, “you must be Leilani. I’m your Uncle, your mom went back to work,” she glared at him before putting the knife away, “you’re the reason no one can leave the island,” Ven shamefully lowered his head, “technically.” She retrieved her pinky backpack and went into her room, shutting the door. He decided to take a walk to the Altona Police Department to check-in on his old friend, Jayden Baker. The police looked at him in disgust as he walked through the tense building and met with Jayden, “what are you doing here?” He asked with a puzzled expression, “I’m trying to get Marianna and Ivan back. I realized I made a bunch of reckless mistakes and risked the lives of many,” Jayden nodded understandingly, “so, what can I do for you?” Ven scratched his head nervously before answering, “I need a job, man.” The chances of Ven Costello getting a job after his extensive background were as slim as a string of yarn, “I could have a talk with Judge Delano, he and I have become friends from our encounters thanks to you. Meet me at the Courthouse tomorrow morning,” the two men shook hands before Ven departed.
A sharply dressed man darted across the flooded streets as the five teenagers dressed in white tracksuits with a silver “T” printed on the on the back. The man found himself backed into an ally clinching his briefcase to his chest for dear life. One of the guys put on a metal brass knuckle that was also a “T”. When the guy clinched his hand, the T burned bright red, the man cried out for help as the group approached closer to him. Before the smoldering metal touch his forehead, a cracking sound made everyone jump, it was Ven Costello standing in a cliché Hero Pose. “That’s enough! Leave now, or lay where you stand,” he threatened comically, the group took their focus from the older man and approached the unmoved Ven. “This won’t end like the other m-,” Ven refused to let the familiar teen talk, instead, he quickly grabbed him by the shirt, tossed him in a dumpster, then, threw said dumpster far into the ocean. The others ran towards him with knives, he disarmed each teen by breaking their fingers, arms, and slamming them into each other. Ven offered his hand to the cowering man, “behind you!” He shouted, Ven instinctively ducked, as one of the thugs got ahold of the dropped brass knuckle and swung his fist at Ven’s head. An angry buried his fist into the thug’s stomach, then, held the weaponized hand against his chest, branding him of his own gang. Police swarmed the vicinity as they got a call due to the boy’s screaming. They huddled over the business man who urinated his suit pants, “are you alright?” Officer Baker questioned, the man nodded with a grin and tears in his eyes, “what happened here?” the sobbing man took a breath and a stated, “a hero.”
The next morning Ven was up early to pick-up coffee and meet with Jayden. “You actually showed, off to a good start," he joked while they entered the courthouse. Court was currently in session, so, the two took their seats in the back, unnoticed by Judge Delano; “Mr. Josephine, you are here because why, sir?” asked the bald, serious-faced Judge, “drug possession,” mumbled the Defendant, “what else, Mr. Josephine?” added the Judge, “-conspiracy to sell, weapon possession, distribution, murder, attempted murder, and, I’m pretty sure you’re going to add armed robbery after APD searches my warehouse.” The judge roared in laughter before sentencing the man to seventy-seven years on Red Steel Prison, which was on a remote island. Extremely difficult to escape. The cops cuffed him and dragged him out of the courtroom. As the courtroom emptied, Jayden approached the Judge, “Deputy Baker, you did a great job tracking down Josephine. How can I help you this morning?” Jayden stood before the Judge and spoke, “A year ago, Altona lost its entire Airport, do you remember that?” The Judge nodded his head, “it was that destructive menace, Ven Costello. Why do you ask?” Jayden nervously swallowed and continued, “I’m asking because, I actually spoke with Mr. Costello, he’s adamant that he meant no harm, he was ‘defending,’ as he puts it.” Judge Delano’s face was no longer amused, “he wants to make amends with his wife and kid, and the only way for that to happen is if he behaves civilly,” he then added, “-look, if you could just get him a job, I can assure he will be no problem.” Ven emerged from the seats and stood next to Jayden, “I understand that I cost our island it’s only form of aerial transportation-,“ Jayden quickly added, “and put us three million in debt,” the two exchanged a combative look, “what do you want out of this meeting, Mr. Costello?” Ven took a second to think before speaking his answer, “Judge, you’ve seen me in this courthouse at least twice a year since the age of sixteen. I’ve never willingly entered by choice until now, I don’t want to be the Island’s Catastrophe anymore. When I lost my mentor, I spiraled into a deep state of depression and drinking, and I did many things I regret so much. But, the thing I regret more than anything is losing the woman who rooted for me despite my past and losing the happiest little boy this island has. I’m asking you as a former father and husband to help me be a normal civilian.” The Judge stared at Ven blindly before opening his mouth, “you are not a good father, and an even worse husband. But, I do see enough potential to turn you into one. Professor Gordon was a personal friend, why he would mentor you, I will never understand, but, he saw something in you that you will prove to not only me, but to your wife, son, and the rest of this island. One slip up and not only will you be locked up in Red Steel, but, Deputy Baker will lose his job.” Jayden gave Ven “the death stare” while the Judge continued to talk; “you have one month to apprehend each member of Jose Toledo’s gang, and, bring Mr. Toledo in. If you kill anyone in the process I will charge you; if you fail to bring in Toledo, you will cost your friend his position. Deal?” Ven shook his head and responded, “deal.”
