THE SPECTRUM HEROES

Something strange is going on at Vista Bluffs Jr. High and new student Benji Finley and his classmates are the key to unlocking the mystery.

MS.Mary

(32 years old) Ms. Mary created the world renown Autism program at Vista Bluffs. She quickly becomes a trusted mentor to Benji helping him understand ASD and his recent Autism diagnosis. She helps guide Benji with her sage advice and motivation, almost as though she already knows EVERYTHING about him. She eventually reveals herself to be much more than just a teacher.

VISTA VALLEY BROS

A clique of “popular kids” who are infamous bullies - instantly recognizable in their matching red hoodies. They try to recruit Benji and tempt him to betray his new friends, putting his character to the test. They pick on the ASD students and plan to humiliate them at the Lunar Ball Dance with Benji’s unwitting assistance.

MRS. BRUNK

(60 years old) The witchy Vista Bluffs janitor who always seems to be watching intently in the background. She takes a keen interest in Benji and his new classmates. Brunk eventually tries to thwart the Spectrum Heroes from solving the mystery and answering the “Call to the Crystal.”

ACT ONE

(Warning! Spoilers below!)

We meet our hero, BENJI, tossing and turning in the middle of an otherworldly dream: a

mysterious voice and the blinding glow of a crystal beckons him from a dark void. He

dares to reach out and touch the strange gem, creating a powerful jolt that snaps him

awake in his bed. He pulls off his virtual reality headset, having fallen asleep with it on

after a long night of playing his favorite video game: VEXXORA. He catches his breath and

shakes it off — he has a much bigger challenge in store: today is the first day of school

and he’s the new kid in town. For Benji, fitting in has always meant a rigorous act and

rehearsal. He is careful to hide a side of himself he doesn’t yet understand.

We get a tour of Vista Bluff Junior High from Benji’s perspective, including an

introduction to some of our main characters and a possible love interest. A teacher, MS.

MARY, offers Benji some helpful directions in the hallway. He’s also befriended by a

quiet gentle giant of a boy named BOBBY, who helps him pop open his stuck locker door with

a muscled nudge. Benji works hard at fitting in, enabling him to catch the eye of the

popular kids. At lunch time he’s invited to sit with a clique of bullies who call

themselves the VISTA BLUFF BROS — readily identified by their matching red hoodies.

But when the group decides to pick on Bobby, Benji’s heroism shines through and he

sticks up for the quiet giant. The resulting kerfuffle with the lead Bro, ASHER, has him

“stripped” of his red hoodie status and lands him in a meeting with the school

psychologist. Their interview leads to a deeper conversation with his Mom and some

recommended testing. Benji learns he has a high-functioning form of Autism.

ACT TWO

Benji’s second day of school is off to a bumpy start, following another intense dream involving the

strange crystal. He finds himself being transferred to a special class under the mentorship of Ms. Mary. Bobby is in attendance and we learn the names of the other ASD students:

JACKSON, IKE and SUMMER. Through their introductions in class, we learn they are all new

students at Vista Bluffs and “interestingly” all of them are from different parts of the country. Benji is

initially embarrassed to be there, but soon benefits from learning about himself — and he secretly loves

the camaraderie and friendships of his new classmates.

Benji eavesdrops on his new peers, discussing their strange dreams involving a glowing crystal and a

voice whispering cryptic phrases — but he resists volunteering his own similar recurring dream. The

students surmise that these clues must add up to a greater mystery they’ll have to solve together. They

pool their respective ideas and special skills, which each contribute an element to solving part of the

riddle. Ike recognizes part of this involves a calendar, the phases of the moon and complex GPS

coordinates; Bobby’s test relies on his strength; Summer’s is solved by her fast reflexes; and Jackson is

the one to discovery the subtle iconography built into the school’s architecture that contributes to

solving the riddle.

They surmise that the final clue will only be revealed during the upcoming lunar eclipse — the very

night of the “Lunar Ball” dance of a celestial theme happening at school. Benji is still reluctant to share

his dream and feels left out, as there’s not a clear element for him to contribute so far. Adding to the mystery, the school’s creepy janitor, MRS. BRUNK, has been snooping around and asking

cryptic questions about Benji.

When the Vista Bluff Bros offer to let Benji sit at their lunch table again and return his red hoodie if he

is willing to go along with a cruel prank at the upcoming dance, he has to make a decision between fitting in with the "cool kids" or showing loyalty to his new friends in Ms. Mary’s class.

Benji rebukes the Bros’ offer, but his new peers find out and are upset that he was even considering it.

This splinters Benji further from the group as time is ticking towards the mysterious event.

An eleventh hour crisis unfolds as the kids discover that someone has stolen all of Ike’s notes and

deleted all the applicable files from his tablet device — all the crucial clues they needed to solve the

mystery tonight! Benji decides to go to the dance alone and stop the Bros’ mean prank to splash paint

on the ASD students, which he succeeds at doing — but his despondent classmates are not ready to

forgive him just yet. The leader of the Bros, Asher, ends up being the one splashed with paint as his

plan is thwarted by Benji. As Asher goes to clean up in the janitor sink, he stumbles upon Mrs. Brunk

looking through Ike’s STOLEN NOTES! She turns around to reveal she is not in human form - but some

kind of MONSTER!

ACT THREE

Benji sits outside the dance, where he witnesses Mrs. Brunk reveal her true form when no one is

looking — she’s some type of ALIEN CREATURE with her sites set on sabotaging Ms. Mary and his

classmates. Benji races to the rescue, just in time to warn his peers and defend them against Brunk. But

it's too late for the bully Asher as she seals his terrible fate. Shadows on the wall show Asher being

devoured by the Alien Creature. Benji's new friends find it in their hearts to forgive him, just in time to

complete the riddle from their dreams. Benji reveals his near photographic memory of Ike’s notes was

his contribution to the 5-part riddle and he finally realizes his purpose in the team in time to save the

day and protect his friends.

They each take their positions in Ms. Mary’s classroom, alongside engraved images in the wall just as

the lunar eclipse reaches its pinnacle. This unlocks a secret level below the room! The floor lowers to a

dark chamber below. The EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL CRYSTAL awaits, glowing with radiant energy. Ms.

Mary steps out of the shadows and reveals they were all brought together here in her class for an

important mission: to save the planet Earth from encroaching evil — a teasing glimpse of the bigger

adventure to come. They each had to complete a quest to prove themselves worthy. Each of the five

students come together and touch the glowing gem. This “crystalizes” the new friends as a fledgling

team of super heroes: THE SPECTRUM HEROS.

CHAPTER ONE