Flora & Ulysses (2021)

1. The Silver Surfer.

2. He first appeared with the Fantastic Four and can travel at the speed of light.

3. And, somehow, nobody seems to notice that he is completely naked.

4. Wolverine, a mutant with superhuman strength

5. who can heal himself and take down any villain.

6. He just shouldn't pick his nose.

7. And Incandesto, my dad's perfect creation.

8. He can shine with the light of a thousand suns

9. and rescue any soul from the darkness of despair.

10. However different they are, all superheroes come to us with a purpose,

11. to save those in need.

12. To stand watch when danger closes in.

13. But they have one thing in common.

14. They never show up in the real world.

15. Oh, boy. What now, Flora?

16. They're in mint condition.

17. I keep them in protective sleeves and try not to breathe when reading them.

18. Sellin' your whole collection?

19. If you ask me, great art belongs to the world.

20. I didn't. 'Cause I own a comic book store. And you're eight.

21. - Ten. - What, inches tall?

22. Look, I can take these to the store down the street.

23. Yeah, all right.

24. Let's see here, what do we got?

25. Wait.

26. Not that one.

27. All right, I'll give you 30 bucks for everything.

28. - Thirty? You barely even looked at them. - Yeah, because I got a tournament to host.

29. You think these guys have been sittin' here for 16 hours

30. so that I can sit here talkin' to Flora the Explorer?

31. Some of these are worth that alone.

32. Can you just go back through them?

33. - I'll wait. - I know you will.

34. Hey, watch it. Oh! Hey... Oh, come on!

35. Epic fail.

36. - Uh...

37. Thirty sounds good.

38. Yeah, 30 sounds great.

39. Some would still believe life is a comic book

40. filled with wonder,

41. where miraculous things happen.

42. Where families stay together.

43. But I am a cynic,

44. and a cynic knows that superheroes are only in your head.

45. Looks like fun.

46. Not for me. I've more serious matters to attend to.

47. Oh, right. Me, too. The righteous never rest.

48. The danger is what's real.

49. Heads up!

50. That girl just ate it.

51. Not that it's easy to let go of hope.

52. Flora, are you reading the books I bought you?

53. Yep!

54. Remember our contract.

55. Cynics live in defiance of contracts.

56. What? Cynics invented contracts.

57. - See? So much better than comic books. - Mmm-hmm.

58. Come downstairs, I wanna show you something.

59. So what do you think about the new addition?

60. Nothing in here looks new.

61. Old is the new new. I keep telling you that.

62. I thought you were talking about being 40.

63. I'm 36.

64. - Sure. - So what do you think?

65. About you being 36? Skeptical.

66. About this.

67. Wow, you replaced your computer with a typewriter?

68. Yeah.

69. It's gonna be hard to get on the Internet.

70. Exactly. That's the whole point.

71. My next novel is set in the 1920s,

72. so this is gonna get me to tap into the language.

73. Except for the "J" key, 'cause the "J" key doesn't work.

74. My mother is a romance novelist.

75. She said her books were about superheroes too.

76. But their superpower was something I wasn't old enough to know about yet.

77. She wrote about love because she had love.

78. We all did.

79. But ever since Dad moved out, she couldn't write anything.

80. I think maybe Dad was her "J" key.

81. You know what? I'll just write in the "J."

82. Heel! Heel! Heel!

83. - Heel! Oh, no! Searching.

84. Help! Help!

85. Runaway vacuum! Stop.

86. - Bad robot. Stop! Searching.

87. Holy Bagumba.

88. I know. It's good, right?

89. Sit! You sit!

90. No, it's terrible.

91. Boundary. Boundary.

92. I can help! Helping.

93. You got nowhere to go.

94. You're surrounded by boundaries.

95. Evolving.

96. - It's evolving. - I got it!

97. Evolving.

98. - Come on. Evolving.

99. I got it. I got it. No, I don't.

100. Archie, look out!

101. Trash.

102. Trash. Trash. No!

103. - Oh!

104. Canister full.

105. No...

106. If you're wondering how a squirrel's mouth tastes,

107. it's exactly how you'd think.

108. Fuzzy, damp, and slightly nutty.

109. But Incandesto fights for the weak, no matter how they taste.

110. And so would I.

111. Come on. Breathe.

112. Hello.

113. Why's he staring at us?

114. Maybe he's wondering why we're staring at him.

115. Because he was just dead?

116. Tootie? Did you turn on the Ulysses?

117. I spilled my Froot Loops again.

118. - Ulysses.

119. My dad drew heroes with powers you couldn't always see

120. until you needed help and realized they were the only ones there.

121. Like the Mighty Condor.

122. - Shobo the Homeless Warrior.

123. - And, of course, the Amazing Incandesto.

124. They all had power and purpose and courage.

125. But when my dad couldn't get any of them published,

126. he lost his.

127. And even though my mom tried to help him get his courage back,

128. there was nobody who could save him.

129. Hey, maybe the Mighty Condor needs to be more hero-y.

130. How 'bout a cape?

131. Who am I kidding? I can't keep doin' this.

132. George, capes could pay the mortgage.

133. There was nobody who could save him.

134. And nobody who could save us.

135. Most kids would've hoped for things to work out differently.

136. - But cynics don't hope.

137. They see what's real.

138. You have to stay in here, okay?

139. If my mom finds you, she might think you're a rat and hit you with a pan.

140. - That's how I lost my hamster.

141. Flora? I'm coming.

142. Ladies and gentlemen,

143. fax machines, calculators,

144. and all other outdated technology is now 50% off.

145. Outdated technology, 50% off.

146. Pause.

147. Hey, Chad.

148. Quick thing. I'm gonna put on my manager hat here for just one second.

149. I'm gonna need you to push those extended warranties on the printers.

150. I always offer it to people,

151. but they ask if the printers break, and they usually don't.

152. I'm gonna fast-forward this to the end here.

153. Sell the warranties.

154. Yeah. I understand the selling warranties part.

155. I don't quite understand how you're controlling time

156. - with an invisible remote. Excuse me, sir?

157. You helped me so much the last time I was here.

158. - I remember. - I was wondering if...

159. I know you're his daughter.

160. Oh...

161. Back to work.

162. Is everything okay?

163. - Yeah. I saved a squirrel. - What?

164. Do you remember how they explained

165. infant CPR in Terrible Things Can Happen To You?

166. Chapter 12, Grave Mistakes.

167. Exactly. I just pretended the squirrel was a furry little baby,

168. and it worked. I named him Ulysses. This is for him.

169. Did you put your mouth on the squirrel?

170. - I had to. - Was he clean?

171. Probably not.

172. Probably not or definitely not?

173. - Definitely not. But I had to. - Correct. Right.

174. Can I just take these?

175. I'll take care of it. Employees get 3% off.

176. - Nice. - Yeah, it's way better than healthcare.

177. So, I found a new publisher.

178. They mostly do online stuff,

179. but I think Incandesto would be better on a computer.

180. 'Cause he can light up.

181. You know, don't worry about it, okay?

182. I could submit it for you.

183. I just don't think the world is ready for Incandesto.

184. - This thing broken? - No. It's functioning.

185. 'Kay, I'll see you tomorrow. 'Kay?

186. - Okay. Okay.

187. What's another word for "steamy"? I've already used that three times.

188. Juicy.

189. Yeah, that's good.

190. What's another one?

191. Joyful.

192. Ha-ha, very funny.

193. - "Steamy..."

194. I saw Dad.

195. Yeah?

196. He's really letting the beard go.

197. Like the guy in Electric Love.

198. Will you point the Jack and Rose at me?

199. I... I need their strength.

200. The Jack and Rose.

201. It was a prestigious award from Romantic Living Magazine.

202. Because nothing says "living" like the Titanic.

203. Ulysses, you have to be careful.

204. A body can only take so much trauma.

205. Unless you're Incandesto's alter-ego, Alfred T. Slipper.

206. His trauma gave him power.

207. He was once an unassuming janitor

208. until he fell into a vat of industrial cleaning solution.

209. Then he transformed.

210. Hey, you got sucked up by a vacuum.

211. Maybe you're a superhero.

212. Nah. You're just a nice squirrel.

213. Flora Belle, can you come down for dinner?

214. It's from the microwave,

215. but I made it look like it's from the oven.

216. I'm turning the oven on, so it feels real.

217. All right, Mom.

218. Be right down.

219. Want me to microwave the rolls, so they're fresh from the oven?

220. Okay, I have to go. I'm gonna try and bring you up some more food.

221. I can't promise you it'll be good because I know it won't be.

222. Saving some for later. Looks so good.

223. So, I have some big news.

224. The Herald is doing a piece on my next book!

225. Wow!

226. Yeah. In publishing, they call that "trending."

227. People still read the newspaper?

228. Yes. You should, too.

229. It's not in my contract.

230. You live in defiance of contracts.

231. Right.

232. Hey, do you wanna go to the mall tomorrow?

233. We can get our hair done at that place where they act all snooty,

234. even though they're right next to the food court.

235. No, I'm good.

236. Flora, you can't spend another summer alone.

237. You need friends.

238. Do you have friends?

239. I'm an artist. I suffer for my art.

240. The ghost babies were weird.

241. Mmm-hmm.

242. Flora!

243. What is this?

244. Your typewriter?

245. I know it's my typewriter. I mean the paper in it.

246. "Squirtel.

247. "I am Ulysses. Born anew."

248. Holy unanticipated occurrences!

249. Flora, this isn't a joke. This typewriter is for my work.

250. But I didn't...

251. And my cheese balls? The whole bag? God.

252. Now I can't eat my way out of sadness.

253. Unless I wanna lick the cheese off the keys,

254. which, honestly, I'm considering doing.

255. God, think about that! How sad that is.

256. - That is really sad.

257. - Can I keep this? - No, I'm gonna publish it.

258. Did you type this?

259. "Do not hope. Observe."

260. Terrible Things Can Happen To You

261. made it very clear that hope can get in the way of action.

262. A true cynic has no luxury for hope, only observation.

263. Ulysses, can you understand me?

264. Holy Bagumba!

265. Can you talk?

266. Okay, that's not really talking, but still.

267. I knew it. The vacuum made you a superhero.

268. It sucked up an unassuming squirrel and spit out a Ulysses.

269. I'm so glad I saved these for an emergency.

270. Though, I told Mom I'd use them to line the cage when I got a new hamster.

271. Now, the important thing is to find your purpose.

272. Every superhero has one true and unwavering purpose.

273. Usually it's liberty or freedom,

274. but it can also be revenge, which is darker.

275. And you have to kill people, and then regret it afterwards.

276. Usually by screaming at the sky.

277. Do you have any enemies?

278. Don't worry. It's usually a person.

279. Or a monster. Or a monster that started as a person.

280. Superheroes can handle anything.

281. I can be your sidekick.

282. Incandesto has a parakeet named Dolores,

283. but you can have me. I will help you find your purpose.

284. Flora, I think your dad is here.

285. Don't worry. Dad is one of us.

286. I wanna lick these keys.

287. Hello!

288. Mrs. Tickham?

289. And some Tootie Turnovers.

290. Hello! Friendly neighbor here.

291. Tootie. What a nice surprise.

292. Well, the world is full of lots o' surprises these days.

293. William?

294. - Sorry. So many wonderful smells outside.

295. Jasmine, I think.

296. We don't have any jasmine.

297. It could be up to a mile away.

298. This is my nephew, William Spiver.

299. He's spending the summer with us.

300. Pleased to meet you both.

301. Well, I assume there are two of you.

302. Although, there could be a third who hasn't talked.

303. A baby, perhaps. I think I smell a baby.

304. There's no baby.

305. Could be up to a mile away.

306. William is suffering from temporary blindness.

307. It's caused by stress.

308. Hysterical blindness, actually.

309. I've read about that in Terrible Things Can Happen To You.

310. It's supposed to go away if you relax.

311. Squirrel!

312. There's a squirrel in here?

313. Where's my tennis racket? I can get a clean shot!

314. What? - Gah! Come with me.

315. Ah! Yes, I'm getting him now.

316. - Ulysses, you have to be more careful.

317. Danger lurks everywhere.

318. Especially where there's tennis rackets.

319. Are you talking to that squirrel?

320. Go away, you're trespassing.

321. It's only trespassing if a sign is posted

322. with letters measuring no less than two inches in height.

323. Yep. There's one right here.

324. If you don't mind, I have important things to do.

325. Well, I don't have anything to do.

326. So, maybe I could be of assistance?

327. Do you mind if I feel your face?

328. So I know what you look like.

329. I guess.

330. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.

331. Doesn't really work. Just feels like a face.

332. Are your hands clean?

333. What happened to make you blind?

334. Why're you talking to a squirrel?

335. He's a superhero.

336. What?

337. "I..."

338. It's just one letter.

339. - "L, O, V..."

340. Uh, okay. He's going squirrel speed now.

341. "I love your round head.

342. "The brilliant green, the sky so new.

343. "These letters, this world, you.

344. "I am very, very hungry."

345. I told you. He types poetry.

346. Not great poetry, though.

347. He's a squirrel.

348. Fine. He's a poetry-typing squirrel.

349. Do you doubt him?

350. Of course I doubt him. What kind of superhero types poetry?

351. My dad's here! He'll know what to do.

352. Find your way out, William.

353. You don't have to ring the bell.

354. - But you do have to fix it. - But I don't live here anymore.

355. - Which thing are you responding to? - Ringing it.

356. So, you'll fix it.

357. Oh, I did fix it. That's why it sounds that way.

358. - Hi. Oh! Hi.

359. So, I was gonna give you a hug. Yeah, just like an adult hug.

360. - Yeah. - Great.

361. - Where's Flora?

362. Well, she ran off with a squirrel.

363. Hi, Dad. I just gotta run upstairs.

364. - 'Kay. What's under your sweatshirt?

365. - Nothing. - It's moving.

366. I'm pregnant?

367. - Is it the squirrel? - Yes.

368. Flora. Flora!

369. Did you see that? She's totally ignoring me.

370. She's never done that before.

371. I'm afraid it's drugs.

372. She's ten.

373. Will you just please help her?

374. I really need to focus on my book. We need the income.

375. I can't pay the mortgage with your paperclip commissions.

376. Oh, we don't get commissions.

377. Yeah, it's a metaphor.

378. I don't think that's a metaphor.

379. Okay, you know what? I'm a novelist.

380. - I know what a metaphor is. - Right.

381. Will you just put the squirrel in that and just get rid of it?

382. He's probably diseased, honey.

383. Squirrels are the most diseased of any rodent.

384. I think that's rats.

385. I wrote all of these books, George. All of them.

386. Mmm-hmm.

387. I guess we need to find another yard.

388. Yeah.

389. He's not just a squirrel, Dad. He's got powers.

390. He's been transformed like Alfred T. Slipper.

391. Okay.

392. That's it?

393. That's what?

394. This squirrel is a superhero.

395. The universe sent him for a reason.

396. Stop it. Stop it.

397. He's just exploring his powers. All superheroes do.

398. Flora, I used to think that life was a comic book, too.

399. Full of magic and wonder, but it's not.

400. There is no magic.

401. We just want there to be so the world doesn't feel so hopeless.

402. But Incandesto says...

403. Incandesto's a drawing, honey.

404. All superheroes are.

405. Our lives used to be full of magic.

406. Are you getting divorced?

407. No, we're just tryin' to figure things out.

408. Yeah.

409. - Hey, who's hungry?

410. Oh, donuts.

411. You know, I don't think you're supposed to bring a squirrel to a restaurant.

412. Unless it's like a seeing-eye squirrel or something like that.

413. - He'll stay in the box.

414. - He's trained? - He's a superhero.

415. - Right. - Hi. I'm Rita. You ready to order?

416. I'm not hungry.

417. Okay, well, I am. I'm starving. I will have an omelet...

418. I'll have a donut.

419. - One donut. I will have an...

420. - Two donuts. - Two donuts?

421. Two donuts.

422. - I'll have an omelet, please, with... - Uh, three donuts.

423. - I'd like an omelet, please, with bacon... - Six donuts? Please.

424. Is your mom feeding you?

425. Hey. What do you have in there? Is it a little kitty or something?

426. No. It's just a box.

427. Come on. Just a little kitty, right? Can I just...

428. I just wanna see the little fuzzball. Is it cute?

429. - Here, kitty... No!

430. There's always that moment in any origin story

431. where the hero awakens, embraces his identity,

432. and unleashes the full breadth of his...

433. - That moment was not now.

434. Not another infestation.

435. Ulysses, forget the donuts!

436. Squirrel! Aah! Get it off!

437. Just stay calm, he's friendly!

438. Squirrel! Squirrel!

439. Look out!

440. Ulysses! No!

441. Remember who you are, Ulysses!

442. Is he...

443. He is.

444. - Oh...

445. - Flora! Flora! Hey, hey, hey! Ulysses, get out of there!

446. Ulysses.

447. No, no, get back.

448. We should leave.

449. Yup.

450. Here we go.

451. Holy Bagumba.

452. Holy, holy Bagumba. He flew!

453. Yes. Across the whole restaurant.

454. - Yes! - I told you he's a superhero.

455. And he's not floating. He's actually...

456. - He's flying. - He's picking a destination

457. - and he's landing there. - Yes.

458. All right, because I have a light bulb in my apartment

459. that I can't quite get, 'cause it's too high.

460. Do you think he can twist it out?

461. - Yeah. - Okay.

462. I have always wanted to fly like that.

463. Oh, boy!

464. Is he okay?

465. I think he might need a doctor.

466. Okay, there's a doctor in Apartment Six.

467. We had to find a place to keep Ulysses safe.

468. Dad's apartment wasn't a typical superhero lair,

469. since it wasn't built into a mountain or in a frozen tundra

470. where your ghost father gave you advice.

471. But it did have a pool.

472. - I think he might have a concussion.

473. Keep your voice down. It's watching us.

474. It also has a psychotic cat named Mr. Klaus.

475. Very slowly.

476. Here we go. Here we go, here we go, here we go. We're safe.

477. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

478. Go, go, go, go, go, go!

479. - Dad! Hurry! Come on!

480. I can't get it to work! Go, go, go, go, go, go!

481. Get in, get in, get in!

482. - Okay. We survived.

483. What was wrong with that thing?

484. I don't think cats like to be groomed.

485. They're self-groomers, you take that away from 'em, they got nothin'.

486. - It looked like a furry dumbbell. - It did.

487. - Go, go, go! It's the cat! It's the cat!

488. I'm here about the squirrel.

489. Oh.

490. Uh...

491. Mr. Buckman, how nice to see you. Come in.

492. He looks good, right?

493. In my philosophical opinion, this squirrel is just fine.

494. You feel okay, Ulysses?

495. He has the power to understand?

496. And we can't return him to the wild.

497. He's here for a reason, and we're going to help him find it.

498. I thought a squirrel

499. stealing from my bird feeder was impressive.

500. Hey, look!

501. Okay, it feels superhero-y.

502. "Forever and wanting is stomach"?

503. It's poetry. He's a great poet.

504. - Or he's hungry.

505. And then it just, whoosh, took off.

506. Squirrels don't fly. They leap great distances.

507. Not this one.

508. So, it was with a little girl?

509. Yeah, and her dad. It was her pet.

510. Squirrels can't be domesticated.

511. They can be docile enough to handle if they're diseased.

512. - Rabies? - I didn't say that.

513. - But it's rabies? Oh, its rabies. - It might be.

514. Definitely. But don't worry about it. I trained for this.

515. I think like a squirrel, and it's my job to keep this town safe.

516. He's asleep.

517. Long day. Even for a superhero.

518. Flora?

519. Hey. That's William Spiver.

520. George Buckman. How do you do?

521. Don't worry. Nothing broken.

522. He's hysterically blind.

523. He's what?

524. Nice to meet you, sir.

525. Nice to meet you.

526. Yeah, I'll come to you. Sure.

527. - How are ya? Good.

528. - Do you still have the squirrel? - For now.

529. Okay. We need to hide him in a place that your mom will never look.

530. What about my tree house? She always says she can't look at that.

531. Yes, Terrible Things says that best way to avoid detection

532. is by using an alternate route,

533. or by curling into a ball and just screaming.

534. That's for mountain lions.

535. - It applies here, too. George!

536. No. Okay, all right, everybody act natural.

537. Very natural and calm. And here we go.

538. - There you are.

539. Didn't know you guys were back.

540. We're not.

541. What?

542. I'm so sorry. I'm not good under pressure.

543. Did you get rid of the...

544. Wasps? Oh, you got it.

545. Wait, we have wasps?

546. - Right, she's, um, talking about the...

547. The squirrel. He's gone.

548. Exactly. So, I guess we're all set, and there's nothin' to worry about.

549. You're so weird.

550. We nailed that.

551. We absolutely nailed that.

552. Anything she threw at us, we nailed it.

553. All right, okay. I gotta go to work. Got the restocking shift tonight.

554. - Okay. I'll keep him safe. - Yeah, I know you will.

555. Dad?

556. You know how in Terrible Things it says, "Do not hope, only observe"?

557. Maybe it's okay to hope.

558. There was a superhero in our midst.

559. We had yet to learn his purpose,

560. or his style.

561. But we knew how he made us feel.

562. Last time on our squirrels of Beverly Hills...

563. That maybe there was light in the darkness...

564. You look like a chipmunk!

565. and maybe the best part of having a superhero around

566. is how you start to feel like one, too.

567. Squirrels.

568. Hmm.

569. I'm better than a squirrel.

570. It's called a Pop-Tart.

571. It's kinda like a donut that got run over by a car.

572. Flora?

573. Ever heard of knocking?

574. Sorry. I heard your voice from my yard.

575. My blindness gives me a more advanced sense of hearing.

576. I'm over here.

577. Oh...

578. And, by the way, you almost knocked down Ulysses' Pop-Tart.

579. Make yourself at home.

580. Thank you. I'm sent here for the entire summer,

581. but nobody really planned anything for me to do.

582. Why were you sent away?

583. Uh...

584. Anyway, I, um, brought him this.

585. It's Rilke. My father would read this to me.

586. "You, sent out beyond your recall.

587. "Flare up like a flame and make big shadows I can move in."

588. "Flare up like a flame."

589. Hear that, Ulysses?

590. Flare up like a flame and find your purpose.

591. He has a purpose?

592. Every superhero has a purpose.

593. I'm sorry, but I don't think your squirrel is a superhero.

594. He may be very special,

595. and he knows how to type. But if you...

596. William!

597. Holy Bagumba.

598. "Flare up like a flame."

599. Hello?

600. Nothing broken. Is the Pop-Tart okay?

601. The universe was expanding, but it didn't feel any scarier.

602. It felt like it was just making room.

603. Uh, we called George in, sir.

604. This is comin' out of his check, I can tell you that.

605. How many boxes of pushpins is this?

606. Probably 15.

607. And how much is a box?

608. On sale for 39¢.

609. That's...

610. Definitely comin' out of his check.

611. Five dollars out of his check.

612. Just pretend you're in a tree.

613. - Let's go, William. - Where are we?

614. Comic Cave. We have to prepare Ulysses for a more dangerous world.

615. Good plan, but it doesn't seem that dangerous.

616. Look who it is.

617. You know, the gamers named a monster after ya.

618. Its specialty is making grown men cry.

619. I'm here on superhero-related business.

620. If you're gonna bad-mouth Spider-Man again,

621. I'm not havin' it. I'll close this place down.

622. All I said was that Incandesto can beat him.

623. With light? Are you crazy?

624. The light of a thousand suns.

625. Throw Spider-Man into the sun and see how he feels.

626. The sun is 27 million degrees.

627. It's pretty hot for a guy in jammies.

628. That's true. Didn't think of that.

629. Hey. What's his deal?

630. I'm hysterically blind.

631. Would you mind if I felt your face?

632. Yes.

633. Fair enough. I will attempt to read your features using echolocation.

634. What do you guys want?

635. Do you have anything on superhero training?

636. Specifically, small furry mammals?

637. - No. - Then just regular superheroes?

638. - No. - Superhero purpose discovery?

639. - Nope. - Being a Superhero for Dummies?

640. Not really a self-help genre.

641. Flora, over here.

642. Animal Control is on the scene investigating.

643. But, Rita, what did they tell you about the attack?

644. They said it was definitely rabies.

645. And it was in my hair, trying to give me rabies.

646. And did it look diseased?

647. Yes, it was covered in rabies.

648. Wow. Well, let's hope they capture this squirrel

649. before the disease spreads to our pets and our children.

650. Oh, no.

651. He's a fugitive.

652. - We've gotta get to Dad! - Oh!

653. What are those? Pushpins?

654. I love it. I want him to do that in all my stores.

655. Really?

656. You know how many people have Instagrammed this?

657. That's free advertising, Chad. Hashtag, money.

658. You know, that's exactly what I said.

659. Hashtag, my idea.

660. Oh, hey, there he is. George. George. My man.

661. - Your man? Yeah.

662. Listen, I need you to make me

663. - another one of those signs, like now. - Dad!

664. - What's wrong? - They're after Ulysses.

665. We gotta go. Come on. - Whoa, pause.

666. You're still on the schedule. I need your help.

667. - You got... - I can't. Okay?

668. You have to. You're scheduled. That means that you...

669. Then I quit!

670. Nice!

671. Yeah. I quit.

672. - Oh, it feels so good!

673. - You know... - Pause.

674. You're fired.

675. Yes.

676. Here we go, here we go, here we go!

677. - Hurry. - Seat belts.

678. Okay, here we go.

679. - That's my bad. I popped the clutch. Dad?

680. Give me a second. Here I go, and I'm goin' in first now.

681. - I'm goin'... I have sensitive hearing!

682. Go! It is my first stick-shift.

683. Hurry! Get ready.

684. - Yes. Finally!

685. And, baby, here we vroom!

686. Well?

687. Loving the Victrola.

688. Right? And then, I'm gonna tell the reporter that romance is timeless,

689. and I'm gonna move around the room with my eyes closed...

690. - That's really good. - Yeah.

691. Oh, sorry, it's on shuffle.

692. - Dang it!

693. I'm also gonna put out some Hickory Farms.

694. Are you okay?

695. Yes.

696. No.

697. This interview is so important for us.

698. But I am circling failure's neighborhood...

699. - Can I talk to you as a friend? - Yeah. An editor would've left by now.

700. - You're about to be a failure. - Really?

701. I'm talking to you as an editor now.

702. Oh, yeah, a friend would've left by now.

703. Phyllis, you've blocked everyone out to succeed,

704. but you blocked yourself out, too.

705. Writing used to come easy for you, remember?

706. Let people back in.

707. Because then maybe something will go right.

708. And you need this to go right.

709. You can't sell a book without good press.

710. I need good press.

711. - Hmm?

712. No.

713. No.

714. Stupid squirrels.

715. It's on the house.

716. You're the only one around here trying' to crack this case.

717. Wait. Is that the one? Yep.

718. They broke our donut and then tore outta here, shouting, "Enjoy your rabies."

719. Wait. Gotcha!

720. All right, we know he has super-strength,

721. but he can't go invisible, can he?

722. George Buckman?

723. Miruna County Animal Control.

724. - Go, get outta here.

725. - Go, go. Now, now! Go, go. Now!

726. Mr. Buckman.

727. We got this. We're in the big leagues now.

728. This is what we've gotta do. We gotta act natural.

729. There's a bike there. Okay? Here we go.

730. Closer. You're not even close to the door. Okay. You can do this. Hands down.

731. Okay.

732. - Mr. Buckman? - Yes. Hey. Hi.

733. - Is that your Nissan out front? - No, I drive a Nissan.

734. Seriously?

735. - Flora. - We need a place to lay low.

736. The sofa will do. In, in. In.

737. Come on, come on.

738. If you are indeed the owner of that Nissan...

739. What squirrel?

740. He didn't ask about a squirrel.

741. - You have a squirrel? - No.

742. No. You know what's funny? We did. But then we cooked it.

743. - Set it free. - Set its soul free.

744. - By cooking it. - We... By cooking it.

745. Yes. - So, it's dead?

746. - No. - Yes.

747. Yes. Yes. Yes.

748. - Its body is dead. - Yeah.

749. - But its heart... - Its heart is also dead.

750. There is no part of the squirrel alive.

751. - It's super dead. Super dead. - Yeah. It's super dead.

752. So, if you like live squirrels, get outta here.

753. Get outta here, mister.

754. Okay. Anyway...

755. Any chance that you left the entry door open?

756. Yeah. Why?

757. That was pretty slick.

758. We were, uh, pretty slick.

759. Pretty slick.

760. - No!

761. How did you do that?

762. Who's got the cat-like reflexes now?

763. Huh? Me.

764. You messed with the wrong guy, kitty.

765. He got bone.

766. Hurry!

767. Okay, we're safe now. Here we go.

768. - Very gently, okay? Flora?

769. What? - I locked my keys in the car.

770. - Dad! - I know. I'm sorry.

771. I've never been on the run with a fugitive squirrel.

772. - You see 'em? - No.

773. Is that it? Right there. Is that them?

774. - No, that's not them. That's not them.

775. - There! Nailed it. No. I can't see them.

776. Okay, fine.

777. This is down a little.

778. Ulysses.

779. See, I told you it was a superpower.

780. No, Ulysses, you only have to hit it once.

781. Go. Oh, and now!

782. Now!

783. Now, now, now! Now!

784. Now! Now. Now. Now.

785. Ulysses, stop it!

786. Now. Stop it. Now. Now.

787. Wait, wait. Don't, don't. Give it a second.

788. Pull it now.

789. Come on! Ulysses! Ulysses!

790. Got it. Good job, Ulysses.

791. - Holy Bagumba! - Holy Bagumba!

792. Hand over the squirrel!

793. No, no, no! Watch out, watch out! No!

794. - Get in the car! Where's the car? Okay.

795. Everybody, hold on! I got this!

796. - I hadn't shut my door. - Yep.

797. Dad, he's right there. We need to lose him!

798. We will. This is the sports model.

799. Something... What's happening?

800. Dad, your hand's tranquilized.

801. Shift it for me.

802. I don't know how to drive a stick.

803. William? - I'm blind!

804. Okay, okay, okay! - Why didn't you just buy an automatic?

805. Because I wanted the sports model! I wanted to be cool, okay?

806. It's fine. We can do this. Toss it. Toss my hand like a pancake.

807. Like a pancake! Flora, like a pancake! Through the hole.

808. Yeah, yeah. Yes, yes, yes.

809. Here we go. Now we're rollin'.

810. It's stuck.

811. What? My hand's stuck.

812. What's going on? - My hand is stuck.

813. - Dad! - Oh, no!

814. What's happening?

815. I got a cramp, too. I got a cramp in my leg at the same time.

816. You know what?

817. Maybe I will drive.

818. Butts, butts, butts, butts

819. Butts, butts, butts, butts

820. And big ol' butts And butts and butts and...

821. I don't know if we were great in the superhero world,

822. since we were missing a door and William fell out at a stoplight,

823. but injustice was being defeated, and we were part of it.

824. See you tomorrow.

825. I will not see you, but I will hear and smell you tomorrow.

826. Thanks for keeping it weird.

827. Hey, guys. Just in time for dinner.

828. Okay, Phyllis. Open up. You got this.

829. Go wait in the tree house.

830. Dad always said the best trap for a superhero was a feast.

831. If there was soup cooking, you were probably next.

832. But Incandesto always knew what to look for.

833. Carrots. The main ingredient in people's soup.

834. Mmm-mmm.

835. So, anything goin' on?

836. You can tell me. I'm letting things in.

837. I don't love this soup.

838. Well, you make it.

839. Oh?

840. I mean, thank you for your feedback.

841. Um, so...

842. - Your big interview's tomorrow, right? - Yeah.

843. - You nervous? No.

844. Marissa says it'll just be basic questions, fluff piece.

845. Yes. I'm terrified.

846. Because what if I fail?

847. And this book won't sell without good press.

848. You know what?

849. If you want any backup, I'm happy to come along.

850. You would do that?

851. Even though we're...

852. - Separated? - Yeah.

853. I still want you to do well, Phyllis.

854. That'll never change.

855. Thanks.

856. I do have one condition, though.

857. You gotta let the squirrel back in.

858. What's that now?

859. He is a special creature with a lot to offer the world.

860. And we need to protect special creatures, not be afraid of them.

861. So, he's been livin' in the tree house.

862. Oh.

863. George!

864. Here he is.

865. Also, I quit my job.

866. Mom was inspired again.

867. Something was changing in all of us.

868. And hopefully, it wasn't the mashed potatoes

869. we had just eaten off the floor.

870. Mom said you could sleep out here tonight.

871. I told her that your apartment was under construction,

872. not that Animal Control is waiting there to shoot you with a dart.

873. Thank you, sweetie.

874. Why can't you just tell her that you don't want to get divorced?

875. Sometimes it's easier to draw a superhero than to act like one.

876. I love you.

877. I love you 3000.

878. I'm just so proud that I could bring more beauty into the world.

879. And you two have been married for...

880. Fifteen years.

881. Wow! - Yeah, 15 good ones.

882. Hmm. Is it weird being married to a romance writer?

883. I mean, you have to compete with all those guys she writes about.

884. How do you still sweep her away?

885. - I was never good at any of that. No.

886. - Anyway... - She swept me away.

887. Not with a white horse or anything, but with... With a laugh.

888. She has this amazing laugh that just lights up a room.

889. And this is your next book?

890. Yeah. Yeah. But, hey, no peeking.

891. It's actually a departure for me.

892. It's basically, it's...

893. Poetry.

894. Huh?

895. Oh, uh...

896. Yeah. But it's garbage.

897. It's just something I do to warm up the keys.

898. - Mmm-hmm. - Huh...

899. But anyway, the book, it's... - "I like it inside.

900. "Blankets. Food. Flora breathing.

901. "I am hungry no more. I broke the table."

902. Based in the roaring '20s, when romance was...

903. Have you written anything?

904. I think I have enough.

905. Good luck.

906. Oh, no. No.

907. Wait. Wait.

908. I thought you did terrific.

909. I should get back to work.

910. Okay.

911. It turns out, the hardest thing about having hope

912. is watching the people who don't.

913. And the only thing harder than that

914. is watching the people who once did.

915. Hey.

916. The window is busy this week.

917. My apartment's being watched. They want the squirrel.

918. It's good that I skipped bowling tonight. In, in, in.

919. And even in the darkest of times,

920. a true hero will risk everything to save the world he loves.

921. I'm in trouble.

922. I feel like everything is just slipping away.

923. When I met the other Dr. Meescham,

924. our country was at war, each day was uncertain.

925. But we always said goodbye to each other the best way we could.

926. We said,

927. "I promise to always turn back to you."

928. And why did you do that?

929. 'Cause when you turn back, you see that the person you love is still there.

930. And when you don't turn back, that is when they slip away.

931. For that's the moment that they need you the most.

932. Phyllis?

933. Yeah.

934. Ulysses?

935. Ulysses?

936. "Dear Flora,

937. "I am very fond of you,

938. "but I hear my call to the wild, and I must return to my natural habitat.

939. "Yours, Mr. Squirrel."

940. William? William Spiver?

941. - Flora? - He's gone!

942. - Who is? - Ulysses.

943. I think my mom kidnapped him.

944. Are you crying?

945. No.

946. I have her Jack and Rose. I'm holding them hostage.

947. - Makes sense. - Are you gonna help me or not?

948. Of course.

949. I just have to take off my bathrobe and run a comb through...

950. Hurry! We have a hostage!

951. I am!

952. Shoo! Shoo!

953. Just go!

954. You're making things so much harder.

955. Do you understand that?

956. We all needed that interview to go well.

957. Nothing is going right for me.

958. And it's all on me to fix it.

959. Nobody cares.

960. That's...

961. That's for me?

962. And so, your plan is to offer an exchange.

963. - The Jack and Rose for the squirrel? - Yes.

964. But you have no idea where your mother is?

965. I didn't say it was a perfect plan.

966. I suppose.

967. At least it's a plan.

968. I've found that when you act without any thought or reason,

969. much worse things can happen.

970. Oh, boy!

971. If I could see, would I be freaking out right now?

972. You'd probably say that we need to find shelter.

973. Rather quickly.

974. Come on!

975. What is this place?

976. Splash Rapids.

977. Me and my family used to ride our bikes here every Saturday.

978. Dad would bring a second swimsuit

979. and let it float next to him in the lazy river,

980. just to watch the lifeguards freak out.

981. And then it closed.

982. I pushed a car into a lake.

983. What?

984. That's why my mother sent me away.

985. I was taking revenge on Jacob, her new husband.

986. Where's your father?

987. He died.

988. Oh.

989. Jacob wouldn't stop calling me "Billy."

990. Billy's not my name.

991. My name is William. William Spiver.

992. But he kept calling me Billy.

993. I just couldn't take it.

994. "William" was my father's name.

995. He was a man of great humanity and intelligence.

996. He played the piano,

997. and he knew about astronomy and the universe.

998. Jacob doesn't know there even are stars.

999. He just knows about his car.

1000. Hello?

1001. The journalist was wrong about his poetry.

1002. A squirrel sees it.

1003. He sees all the beauty in the world.

1004. He sees Flora.

1005. I can't believe I'm losing my family

1006. because I can't view the world like a squirrel.

1007. It's definitely not how I thought the week was gonna turn out.

1008. Do you know how much it costs to get a new car door?

1009. More than the actual car.

1010. You haven't lost anybody.

1011. I just forgot to turn back.

1012. Where's Flora?

1013. What are you thinking about?

1014. The Illuminated Adventures Of The Amazing Incandesto.

1015. There's this picture of Alfred T. Slipper looking out at the world,

1016. and Dolores is on his shoulder, and he turns to her and says,

1017. "I'm alone in the world, Dolores.

1018. "And I'm homesick for my own kind."

1019. I'm homesick.

1020. I miss my family.

1021. I miss what we used to be.

1022. But you're not alone.

1023. Flora!

1024. Don't take another step!

1025. Show me Ulysses, or Jack and Rose are dead.

1026. The figurine, I know the ones in the movie are dead.

1027. It's okay. He's right here.

1028. - Good.

1029. Now, slowly hand him to William, and I will slowly...

1030. Oh, dang it.

1031. Jack and Rose have the worst luck.

1032. That was just a decoy?

1033. - No, it wasn't.

1034. I was gonna take him away, Flora.

1035. And then...

1036. I saw this.

1037. Okay. You don't have to do that anymore. It's okay.

1038. "Words for Flora.

1039. "Nothing would be easier without you because you are everything.

1040. "All of it.

1041. "Cheese puffs, corks, giant donuts...

1042. "You are the ever-expanding universe to me."

1043. You are everything.

1044. My life is screwed up, but you aren't.

1045. You're what I did right.

1046. How could I ever forget that there's magic in the world

1047. when you're standing right in front of me?

1048. Yeah!

1049. Ulysses! Nobody move!

1050. - Don't hurt him! - Stand down!

1051. George! - Get him, get him!

1052. George!

1053. Dad!

1054. Got him!

1055. Stop! He doesn't have rabies!

1056. That's not somethin' we can risk.

1057. And the only way to do that is to test his brain tissue.

1058. Look, I'm sorry. He'll be euthanized this afternoon.

1059. No!

1060. Flare up like a flame, Ulysses!

1061. Flare up like a flame!

1062. Oh, baby. It's okay. It's okay.

1063. Okay. Flora,

1064. do you remember how Incandesto overcame the odds

1065. and defeated the darkness of a thousand hands?

1066. He teamed up with Dolores.

1067. Yes. And?

1068. And the thorny blowfish.

1069. Really?

1070. Okay.

1071. For you, I'll be the thorny blowfish any day.

1072. Good. 'Cause I feel like you're the only one of us

1073. who will actually punch somebody in the face.

1074. - Oh, you got that right. Hey!

1075. Is there a fourth weird character?

1076. There was a talking chair.

1077. I'll take it.

1078. Okay.

1079. All right. All right.

1080. Let's finish this.

1081. You don't come into our water park unless you're ready to make some waves.

1082. Do you want me to slow down?

1083. Nope.

1084. I like the sport model.

1085. We've got this.

1086. Wait, won't they know we're coming?

1087. Yeah, but they won't know who's not coming.

1088. What?

1089. Hello!

1090. Just lookin' to adopt a pet.

1091. What a wonderful adventure.

1092. I haven't driven the other Dr. Meescham's car since my license was revoked.

1093. Yeah.

1094. We should get inside before somebody sees us.

1095. Okay. I'm comin'.

1096. You remembered to turn back.

1097. I did.

1098. over. Stand by.

1099. Come on, boy.

1100. He'll be in that lab.

1101. It's locked, it's locked.

1102. I could squeeze through that vent and open the door from the inside.

1103. No. I'll do it.

1104. I seem to have a knack for absorbing short falls.

1105. You okay?

1106. Nothing broken!

1107. I can't see anything.

1108. It's okay, I'll use echolocation.

1109. All clear.

1110. I thought you said it was all clear.

1111. I meant for me. Your position would have a different echo.

1112. Now everything has an echo.

1113. You know what? The lab must be on the other side of those doors.

1114. Okay.

1115. Let's go. We've got this.

1116. You don't have to do this.

1117. When I asked my father about the expanding universe,

1118. he said, "Maybe it's just putting things where they're supposed to be."

1119. I think this is where I'm supposed to be.

1120. I think so, too.

1121. William?

1122. Skunk!

1123. - I saw it!

1124. What's going on? - I can see!

1125. - There's still a skunk right there! That was my fault!

1126. - I saw a skunk! - Wait a second, you can see?

1127. - Yeah! I guess I'm less hysterical.

1128. - Go! Go, go, go, go, go, go! Go!

1129. Excuse me, this is a hazardous area. You can't be in here.

1130. Okay, I got this one. I got this.

1131. Oh, boy.

1132. Hey. How are ya?

1133. We're actually here to adopt a puppy.

1134. Nice.

1135. Oh, um, well, actually, you need to go to the lobby.

1136. This way?

1137. Hey! They're after the rabid squirrel!

1138. - Go, go, go! Come on! This ain't a drill.

1139. Hey! Call security!

1140. It's this way!

1141. Get 'em, get 'em, get 'em!

1142. Somebody do something!

1143. Find Ulysses and get outta here!

1144. This way!

1145. Not in my house! Tasers up! Let's go, let's go!

1146. Does anyone see him? Not yet, keep looking!

1147. Come on, chop-chop!

1148. Look!

1149. Wait, wait, no, no, no!

1150. Oh, no. Wait!

1151. All right, just grab an animal.

1152. Contain 'em!

1153. Poppins...

1154. Get... Find Poppins! Come on!

1155. Squirrels!

1156. Open the cages! Come on!

1157. Ulysses!

1158. I don't see him! Ulysses!

1159. Keep looking!

1160. - Ulysses!

1161. I found him! Hey, buddy!

1162. Don't worry, Ulysses. We're going to save you.

1163. Aw, he's cuter than I thought.

1164. I need a knife!

1165. I have nail clippers.

1166. What? Stop...

1167. Right there.

1168. Do you like M&M'S?

1169. No, I care about my teeth. Why?

1170. Squirrels do.

1171. No, no, no!

1172. Go wait in the lobby.

1173. - Tiny claws. Big claws.

1174. Let's go, come on!

1175. - You're not goin' anywhere!

1176. - What...

1177. Do not mess with the thorny blowfish!

1178. My teeth...

1179. He doesn't belong here.

1180. Step away from the cage.

1181. You really wanna do this?

1182. Because I have spent the better part of my life

1183. dreaming of ways to take down villains like you.

1184. This is my jam.

1185. Cool speech.

1186. Get away from the squirrel.

1187. What squirrel?

1188. The...

1189. No, no, no, no, no!

1190. Bull's-eye! No, no!

1191. - Hey, you!

1192. Forgive me.

1193. Ulysses!

1194. Okay. Come on, come on, come on. We gotta go. Go.

1195. No! Get off!

1196. Ow!

1197. That's not good.

1198. He's gonna make it.

1199. That guy had him cornered.

1200. He's going to make it.

1201. Son of a...

1202. Don't move!

1203. Dad!

1204. - You're not leaving with the squirrel! George!

1205. Hey!

1206. Oh, no!

1207. Oh, no!

1208. Ulysses!

1209. Okay, I can't feel my legs.

1210. No, no, no, no, no, no!

1211. Stand down. I can't look!

1212. George!

1213. - George! - Dad!

1214. I'm flying!

1215. Every superhero comes to us with a purpose.

1216. We don't always see it at first.

1217. Because we don't always know where to look.

1218. This is amazing!

1219. But Ulysses showed us...

1220. the world is filled with wonder and magic.

1221. Huh?

1222. Ulysses!

1223. And we found it in the people we love.

1224. I can't even feel my leg.

1225. Here.

1226. You're not coming?

1227. This is not my adventure, dear.

1228. Did we just break a magical squirrel out of animal jail?

1229. We did.

1230. Thanks, Ulysses.

1231. - Are you okay? Oh, yeah.

1232. Oh...

1233. Oh, gee...

1234. The world is full of injustice.

1235. And there are always other people who need saving.

1236. Which meant that the most heroic thing we could do

1237. was to say goodbye.

1238. Don't give up.

1239. On my comics?

1240. On me.

1241. Never.

1242. Thank you, Ulysses.

1243. Go on, now.

1244. Flare up like a flame.

1245. Hey! Buckmans!

1246. You're not gettin' rid o' me.

1247. Turn him over.

1248. He's all yours.

1249. Oh...

1250. So much rabies.

1251. The world was as it should be.

1252. Ulysses could stay hidden from those who would do him harm.

1253. And be ready to defend those in need.

1254. We had love,

1255. and we had comic books.

1256. Not just the ones we got to read,

1257. but the ones we got to live.

1258. People will say it didn't happen, that squirrels can't write poetry,

1259. and that the world isn't full of superheroes.

1260. But like any natural-born cynic...

1261. - ... I say, "Do not hope. Observe."

1262. Because when you do,

1263. you'll see how much wonder the world actually has,

1264. and you won't be a cynic anymore.

1265. Even after he bit me in the face,

1266. that rattlesnake knew, I wasn't leavin' the hole until he did.

1267. - Wow!

1268. You're not afraid of anything.

1269. I am afraid of some things.

1270. Oh.

1271. Is that a cat?

1272. Yeah. That's Mr. Klaus.

1273. - He's my best friend.

1274. Hello, Mr. Klaus.