INT. LOCKER ROOM, 7F

Lawrence waits for Gavri outside of the change rooms. Gavri steps out, looking fancy: black suit jacket, black tie, pressed shirt, and fitted black pants with black leather shoes.

Lawrence
You clean up well. How much of that is men's?

Gavri
Just the pants, actually.

Lawrence
The shoes? The socks?

Gavri
Women's.

Lawrence
The UNDERGARMENTS?

Gavri shrugs and glances to the right. Lawrence gives him a dumbfounded look.

Lawrence
You're not serious.

Gavri
(Red-faced, sweating.) I dunno what to tell you, man, they just fit nicer. It's not like I'm wearing lace.

Lawrence
Why not just wear briefs? You can wear briefs. Briefs are for men, aren't they?

Gavri
(Trying to talk the conversation away.) They just don't have the same fit, y'know? It's like, they're either butt-snug, or empty-ass. And they either sit on the hips, or they dig in. I don't like it when it digs in and goes empty-ass, that's all I'm saying. It just doesn't feel right, all that thick, loose cotton. It's wrong on me.

Gavri shakes his head, and does a noncommital shrug. Lawrence watches him for a second, with narrowing eyes, and a turned head. Just letting him stew in the embarrassment.

Lawrence
(Head nodding low, getting angry.) You're telling me, that as you're standing in front of me, you're wearing women's underpants?

Gavri
(Brows raised, leaning back.) Because you asked! Don't ask, next time!

Lawrence
(Snidely making fun of him.) They got little bows on them and everything? Pretty ones?

Gavri
(Ashamed, but not really.) No, man, they're just plain and black. Like a superhero. Look at any comic book cover, they're wearing the same thing. I mean, at least mine aren't over spandex.

Lawrence
(Exasperant, hands outward.) THOSE ARE BRIEFS!!

REEL CHANGE: COMIC BOOK COVER

We see a comic book cover of Ultra Blue, standing next to The Cardinal on the rooftop of a Manhattan skyscraper, Ultra Blue posing with pride and The Cardinal looking down below. Ultra Blue is in his standard blue and red fare, while The Cardinal has on a darn brown spandex bodysuit, a black speedo, and a cape that's black on the outside, red on the inside. The title reads, 'POWER PAIR! With ULTRA BLUE & THE CARDINAL', issue #56.

[Gavri
(Defensive.) No, they're not! You see that Y-stitch in the front? Or is it just flat? Like panties?]

We zoom in very briefly on Ultra Blue's 'briefs' with a FLIK of the lens, to inspect them, somewhat awkwardly. The view is shaking a little bit, ever so slightly. FLIK, as the lens opens and closes, changing position, to The Cardinal's.

[Lawrence
(Distressed.) Alright, already, then it's a wrestling thing!! That's what the wrestlers wore back in the nineteen-thirties, isn't it?]

Neither has any Y-stitching – flat surface. The shot zooms back out again with a FLIK to show the whole comic book again, which opens up to show a bombshell blonde woman just having showered. In one panel she's wearing a towel, in the next, it's a full-page view of her wearing plain black panties and clasping on her black bra. The camera zooms in quickly to show the panties'. FLIK.

Gavri
Yeah, but they're exactly the same, they're just made for different curves.

Then we get a quick recap, less than a second each. Ultra Blue, The Cardinal, and the woman. FLIK, FLIK, FLIK. Sure enough, they're the same.

REEL RETURN

Gavri
(Deflecting.) Is there a reason you're asking me about all this?

Lawrence
(Disbelieving.) Is there a- a REASON?!

Lawrence lets out an arduous breath, and shakes his head. He turns away, palm to Gavri's face, like he doesn't even wanna look at 'im. Gavri lifts his hands up in frustration, and lets them fall to his sides.

Gavri
I'm sorry, man, you asked.

Lawrence
Well, I shouldn't have.

Lawrence groans, and rubs his eyes.

Lawrence
(Pinching his nose-bridge, then flat-palming directions, then pointing them.)
As long as it looks professional on the outside. You're representing our company, the dress code is in your contract.

Gavri
No problem.

Lawrence
(Getting over it.) After your next shift, go back down and grab two more of everything, keep them clean at all times. Change here, not at home, keep your day clothes in your locker. No food stains, EVER. We do NOT pay for dry-cleaning.

Gavri
Sure thing.

Lawrence
(Through gritted teeth.) And so help me God, if you come to work wearing women's undergarments, do not expect me to defend you with Human Resources. Any other employee sees you, I am not liable for what they say to you.

Gavri
(Shaking his head flippantly.) Yeah, obviously.

Lawrence walks away, done with the subject. Then he comes back with another question.

Lawrence
(Utterly confused.) Do your parents know?! Your friends?!

Gavri
I moved out, I do my own laundry, I buy my own clothes. No one else has even seen them, not even Callie. And we're sharing a room. You're like, the only person who cares this much.

Lawrence shoves his finger right in Gavri's face, to the point where it's scary.

Lawrence
(Boundary-setting, angrily.) Do NOT accuse me of CARING what's in your PANTS.

Gavri
(Hands up to his shoulders.) Okay! Let's just forget about this whole thing, alright? We've been talking about underpants, for like, three solid minutes.

Silence, then they break out into a laugh and shake their heads. Lawrence slaps Gavri playfully over the head, and Gavri palms the spot where he hit. Lawrence takes a deep breath to cool himself down, and shakes off the tension.

Lawrence
(Grinning.) You know, you really had me going, there.

Gavri
(Confused.) Huh?

Gavri freezes. Lawrences smile drops, and his eyes lid over. He shakes his head with dismay.

Lawrence
(Letting it go.) Anyway, you can keep the suits when you're done the job, we ordered a bunch and never use them.

Gavri
(Sincere.) Thank you, Mr. Larsen.

Lawrence
Think of it as your starting bonus. Now, it's time to meet my son.

Gavri puts his old clothes in his locker, and closes the door. WHAM! Loki is standing right there. Gavri jumps. He looks around, Lawrence is gone.

Gavri
Where did-

Loki
Gone. Probably back to work.

Gavri
Hey, didn't you used to sell drugs at my high school?

Loki
(Cavalier.) No, but I get that a lot. Walk with me.

INT. WORK STATION, 2F

Loki takes Gavri to the second floor, and Gavri looks around for anything that might be his office. Instead, he walks to a cubicle at random, grabs some paper and a pen, and sits down to make notes. The sudden disturbance of the area kicks up dust, lit by the sun from outside. He stops in the middle of a sentence to take a prescription bottle out of his pocket, pops it open, and pops a pill. Gavri stares.

Loki
You want one? It's Ritalin. Keeps me focused.

Gavri shakes his head 'no'.

Loki
Look... you're a reporter, right? You go around, asking people questions, then you write some little puff piece about stuff that's happening, then you pat yourself on the back and go to sleep?

Gavri
(Coughs.) In a nutshell.

Loki
What you PROVIDE is a surface-level re-assessment, easy to swallow, maybe with some hypotheticals thrown in there, for fun. "Could this mean so and so for the future? Only time will tell. Well, thanks, Tom."

Gavri is silent, and takes a seat.

Loki
You chase leads the readers around in a circle, like a dog after its own tail, never seeing the greater patterns that make up our world. Always thinking that this fuckin' tail is coming outta nowhere, and next time, you'll get it for sure. "Why do crimes happen? Why do poor people get mistreated? Why are politicians corrupt?"

Gavri
Something in the water, I guess.

Loki
Exactly, these questions aren't your JOB to answer, they're MINE. All YOU do is eat breadcrumbs. "The President was shot. That blows. Sorry, got a little biased there. He's dead now." Or, "Those foreign governments were at it again, at precisely four o' clock last Tuesday." You offer any more than that, it's an opinion. But guess what?

Gavri
What?

Loki
(Smug.) I'm the one who leaves you those breadcrumbs. Who teaches you what culture means, and when we've wronged it. Stories are nothing but opinions. No facts, no grip, no sense of reality. And that's the whole point. Working on a story like this is a zero gravity environment, okay? It's like freaking rocket science.

Gavri
I like my gravity heavy, actually.

Loki
Good for you. The rest of the world? They don't see it that way. They want true love, hard grit, and high fantasy. Even our action movies are full of shit that could never happen.

Gavri
(Nodding.) Sure. So how do you see your work?

Loki
(Excited.) My dream is to make the best stories ever told! I know my craft, and I'm DAMN good at it. I practice day and night, studying bigger and better writers, so one day I can be the biggest and best of them all.

Gavri
What would you call success?

Loki
Financial independence, same as anyone. That's all we're working for: food, love, and shelter. The same things that drive the characters in our films. Anything more complicated than that, it won't land. And guess what?

Gavri
(Smiling.) What?

Loki
Success does NOT come to those who wing it, or the people who talk a big game and front nothing. Plan your beats, or beat it. They can fake it, they may even take it, but they don't last. They fizzle out, like fireworks.

Gavri
I've seen plenty of posers make it big.

Loki
Where will they be in twenty years? Making public appearances for their adoring fans? Giving talks at universities? Not a chance. These guys suck away at their fan-base, stringing together the most obscene shit they can come up with, satisfy all their weird kinks at name-lister sex parties, get caught doing something terrible, big scandal, and then they disappear. Gone. Finito.

Gavri
Like kids at the candy store with their dad's wallet. They always get grounded in the end.

Loki
(Snaps, and points at Gavri.) EXACTLY, my man. Exactly.

Gavri nods, and leans back in his chair.

Gavri
How do you think my work is going to help with yours? If my facts and dates are such a burden to your deeper understanding of larger trends.

Loki
(Grinning.) Yeah, well, I don't really need you, honestly. I could just spin some yarn myself. Heinz wants accuracy, I guess, so...

Loki claps his hands together.

Loki
...it'll be a challenge.

Gavri
Is there anything you need from me to get started?

Loki
Yeah, read up on the monomyth, at the library downtown. If we're gonna work together, I need you to have, like... a basic understanding of how to write and what my goals are.

Gavri
Why would I need that?

Loki
So you don't make bland notes about stupid shit I don't care about, and then I have to read through it all. I'm dyslexic, I don't have time for that. You want my brain to explode?

Gavri
(Shaking his head.) No, haha.

Loki
(Laughs.) Good, me neither. Pleasure to be working with you, Gavri.

Gavri
You as well.

They shake hands.