Bubble Boy

EXT. CITY STREETS – MORNING

Starman walked alone.

No cape. No armor.

Just a gray hoodie, worn jeans, and tired eyes. He kept his head low as people passed, some staring, some turning away, others crossing the street to avoid him.

In his ear, Jace's voice came through gently.

JACE (V.O.)

"Breathe. One step at a time. You're not here to be liked. You're here to listen."

Starman nodded silently and approached the first door.

INT. APARTMENT – LIVING ROOM

A woman opened the door, older, with deep eyes that had cried too long. She stared at him for a moment.

"You've got nerve."

"I know. I'm here to say I'm sorry. For what I did. For who I was."

She said nothing.

Then she opened the door wider.

Inside: pictures of her son. A small shrine. A quiet ache.

She poured tea. They sat. She cried. He did too.

JACE (V.O.)

"That's one."

MONTAGE...

A middle-aged man throws a punch at Starman's face. He takes it, says nothing, then leaves flowers at the man's doorstep.

A little girl hugs him. "Mommy said you were bad, but I saw you save a dog once."

A young woman screams at him through a door. "YOU DON'T GET TO SAY SORRY." He stays anyway, sitting outside her building until she finishes screaming… then whispers, "Thank you for staying."

Starman walks away from a family who slammed the door in his face, head bowed, tears in his eyes.

JACE (V.O.)

"Some wounds won't close. But showing up means something."

INT. ORION'S HOUSE – EVENING

Starman stood outside a modest home. Weathered siding. A cracked driveway. A broken swing set creaked in the wind.

He knocked.

A woman opened the door, Orion's wife. Her eyes widened in horror.

"You don't belong here."

Starman said nothing, but behind her, a teenage boy pushed past.

Orion's son. Seventeen. Wild eyes. Orion's jawline. Orion's rage.

He lunged with a knife.

JACE (V.O.)

"Lookout!"

The blade swung but Starman didn't move.

The boy's hands shook. The knife nicked his palm.

Blood.

He dropped the weapon with a choked cry.

Starman reached out...

"Let me help..."

But the boy backed away, horrified. Not of the pain. Of him.

Eyes full of terror. The same eyes that once looked up to him in awe.

"You killed my dad."said with fear.

Starman froze.

The woman rushed to her son. Held him. Glared at Starman like he was poison.

He stepped back.

"I'm sorry for killing your father and husband." Said with sad eyes.

Then turned...

And flew.

EXT. SKY – NIGHT

Starman soared into the clouds, face wet with tears. Not from the wind. From everything else.

JACE (V.O.)

"You okay?"

Silence.

Then...

STARMAN (V.O.)

"No. But maybe… that's the point. I should have never existed."