Original subtitles

(BUZZING)

(GRUNTING)

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

(LASER FIRING)

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

(GROANING)

(SIREN WAILING)

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

Yeah! Folks!

And with the ring,

it's the Ageless One!

The great one,

Tanner Brooks!

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

ANNOUNCER:

On behalf

of the World Octal Federation,

thank you all for coming

down here, We love you!

And remember,

the thrills never stop

when you go for the, ,,

Ring!

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

ANNOUNCER:

Yeah!

Tanner, you were limping

out there, Any comment?

Yeah, what happened?

Are you injured?

I won,

You sure did that,

What about your next match?

You gonna be okay?

I'll be fine, yeah,

MALE REPORTER: That was

a hell of a throw, Tanner,

where did you come up

with that one?

It was like I could

see the moves,

I could see there was

a white light from where I was

to where I had to be,

I saw it and I went for it,

and it was there,

MARCUS: Thanks, boys,

Man was in the zone,

That's good stuff, Tanner,

Reminds me of that move

you made in the Manila Open

a couple of years ago,

And you were still a

top ten then, weren't you?

Yeah, (MARCUS CHUCKLES)

The tour won't be the same

without Tanner Brooks,

I just hope I get a chance

to go up against him

one last time,

Of course,

the only way that will happen

is if we both make

it to the finals,

See you there, Count on it,

MALE REPORTER: How're you

gonna prepare for that?

FEMALE REPORTER:

Will it be a grudge match?

Hey, you looked

good out there,

Are you okay?

Yeah, I'm all right,

Don't let Marcus psych you out,

he's just a lot of noise,

Besides, you'd kick his butt,

Yeah, not even on my best day,

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Yeah?

MICHAEL: Mr, Brooks?

Yeah?

Uh, hi,

I wanted to congratulate you

on your match today,

Thanks,

If you want an autograph,

you can talk to

the lady out front,

she'll send you one,

Oh, no, no, thanks,

but I didn't come here

for your autograph,

What can I do for you?

Well, um,

would you like to win

this tournament?

Of course I would,

You can't,

Is that right?

Mr, Brooks, I've been

a fan of yours

for a very long time,

I've watched your progress,

your entire career,

but your performance today

clearly indicated to me

the limits of your abilities,

I see,

MICHAEL: Yes,

Uh, now if you really,

really want to win

this tournament,

you need something extra,

Now, I've developed

this treatment, ,,

That's real, ,,

And if you came down

to my office, ,,

I'll tell you what, Doc,

I don't know

what you're selling

but I don't want any of

your snake oil, okay?

I'm not talking

about taking drugs,

I don't care what

you're talking about,

Get the hell out of here,

Why don't you make me?

(SCOFFS)

MICHAEL: Come on,

what are you afraid of?

Mr, Brooks,

I'm a hell of a lot

faster than I look,

CONTROL VOICE:

There is nothing wrong

with your television,

Do not attempt

to adjust the picture,

We are now controlling

the transmission,

We control the horizontal

and the vertical,

We can deluge you

with a thousand channels

or expand one single image

to crystal clarity

and beyond,

We can shape your vision

to anything our imagination

can conceive,

For the next hour,

we will control all that

you see and hear,

You are about to experience

the awe and mystery

which reaches from

the deepest inner mind

to The Outer Limits,

Evolution is guided

by the principle

of survival of the fittest,

For the human animal,

the urge to compete

is ingrained in our spirit,

But in some arenas,

the rules are not clear,

and victory

may well be an illusion,

Loser,

I used to keep

my extra bottle

under the sofa,

Or have you checked

there already?

Just looking for my sneaker,

I didn't want to wake you up,

Sorry, It's okay,

You're going to the gym?

Yeah,

Since when do you work out

the day of a match?

I just thought I'd try

something different, you know,

Shake things up a bit,

Can't hurt to change a little,

No, I guess it can't,

Tanner, I was thinking

that, you know,

between your tournaments

and my clients,

we haven't had a lot of time

to spend together lately,

(ZIPS BAG)

I think we've been

doing all right, huh?

Yeah, well, I was hoping that

afterwards we could get

away for a while,

Afterwards?

You mean like after

I lose the match?

No,

I mean after the tournament,

Did you see me yesterday?

Yeah,

I really think I can win

this one, Jess,

Used to be a time

I didn't have to try

to convince you of that,

That's not fair,

and you know it,

You're right,

I'm sorry,

But win or lose,

you are retiring, right?

Sure,

I said I would, didn't I?

Gotta go,

(SIGHS)

You're late,

You're lucky

I came at all,

What are you doing

with military hardware?

(BEEPS)

Well, you can hardly

buy this kind of stuff

at Radio Shack,

You know, for a sports doctor,

you look an awful lot

like a rocket scientist,

Yeah,

Well, the defense

technology transfer

to the private sector

is very commonplace

these days,

You know, microwave ovens

came from the space program,

Look, you said you had

some kind of a treatment

that could guarantee

me to win the Octal,

Uh-huh,

Is it legal?

It's not illegal,

How does it, how does it, uh,

how does it work?

I thought you were the one

that told me, uh,

you weren't into drugs,

Look, I've never

been on drugs,

I've been in the game

a lot of years,

but I'm in top shape now,

I've never felt better

in my life,

I don't need you

or any treatment to win,

I just, ,,

MICHAEL: You just,

maybe would like

an edge perhaps?

Um, just in case, yeah?

Yeah,

Tell me,

have you ever

heard the phrase

"transcortical reflex"?

No,

Well, it has to do

with a high-speed response

to neural stimulation,

You see, when you

take a nerve impulse,

uh, and allow it

to go much faster

directly to the cerebral cortex,

it will influence,

influences voluntary

muscle control,

You see, Mmm-hmm,

I'm not a doctor,

What are you saying?

Um, would you turn

that switch on for me?

Sure,

(ELECTRICITY BUZZES)

Ow!

(SNICKERS)

Case in point,

You see, your hand reacted

before you even knew

what was happening,

Before your brain

could process the event,

the event was already

passed, you see?

Now, my treatment

accelerates the human

neuromuscular system,

so that a person can comprehend

and take part

and react to events

in a much shorter time scale

than would ordinarily

be possible,

You mean like how

baseball players say

they can see the ball

slow down before they hit it,

That kind of thing?

Yes, yes, exactly, exactly,

Now, my treatment

results in some remarkable

improvements in

reflex and reaction times,

Now, this is temporary

of course,

However, it lasts long enough

to make the difference

in the Octal,

Hmm,

What do you get out of it?

Well, um,

I get out of it

what any couch potato,

armchair athlete would

in watching

his favorite sport,

A vicarious thrill,

You're going to bet

on me, aren't you?

Oh, yes,

Yes, I am, but not for money,

Sometimes,

success alone is indeed

its own reward,

I see,

So, Mr, Brooks?

Mmm-hmm?

Tell me,

do you feel like a winner today?

(LIQUID BUBBLING)

(KEYBOARD CLACKING)

(BUBBLING)

What the hell is that stuff?

Oh, human nerve tissue,

(BEEPS)

Genetically engineered,

This stuff is not easy to grow,

But you see, the energy

required to accelerate you

through this whole process

is gotta come

from somewhere,

so what I do is,

I pull the energy

out of the tissue,

then I amplify it

and I put it back into you,

The conductive fibers

in this special suit

serve to equalize

that effect throughout

your entire body,

The hormones that

you give off during

intense physical effort

will kick in then trigger

that reflex acceleration,

So, all you got to

do is concentrate,

and let it work for you,

(EXHALES)

(KEYBOARD CLACKING)

(ENERGY PULSATING)

(MACHINE BEEPS)

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)

(BEEPING)

(HORN BLOWING)

ANNOUNCER:

Ladies and gentlemen!

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

The World Octal Federation

is proud to welcome you

to the next level

in combat sports!

A simple arena,

A simple goal!

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

And the most awesome test

of strength, speed, skill

and just plain guts

that you'll ever want to see!

Today,

from the fighting city

of Philadelphia,

Helen, "The Hammer" Draybeck!

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

Meeting in a battle royale

against that old favorite,

the Ageless Wonder,

Tanner Brooks!

(AUDIENCE CHANTING)

Tanner! Tanner! Tanner!

(CHANTING CONTINUES)

ANNOUNCER:

Ladies and gentlemen,

are you ready

to take the ring?

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

Your health insurance paid up?

I feel pretty good today,

You won't be,

(MACHINE POWERS UP)

(SIREN BLARES)

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(GROANS)

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

Ha ha!

(VICTORY SIREN WAILING)

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

Helen, it looked like you had

it in the bag, what happened?

I don't know what happened,

he was down for the count,

FEMALE REPORTER:

How did you manage to, ,,

Ladies and gentlemen!

The winner once again!

Tanner Brooks!

(AUDIENCE CHANTING)

Tanner! Tanner! Tanner!

JESSICA: Tanner,

(GASPS)

(SIGHS)

(MOANS)

Tanner,

(GASPING)

(GROANING SLOWLY)

(SLOW MOANING)

Jess?

What's happening?

(SLOW MOANS)

Jess?

JESSICA: Honey,

BOTH: (GASPING)

I can't take anymore,

(EXHALES)

(ENERGY PULSATING)

(GRUNTS)

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLES)

(GROWLS)

Tanner Brooks!

(GRUNTS)

When's your next match?

You'll be okay?

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

(GRUNTS)

(VICTORY SIREN WAILING)

ANNOUNCER:

Tanner Brooks,

ladies and gentlemen!

It's okay,

What happened?

The treatments

are wearing off, man,

What treatments?

Who's this?

Jessica, this is Michael Chen,

He's a sports medicine

specialist,

Come on,

Mrs, Brooks,

your husband is an

exceptional athlete,

I'm sure you must be

very proud of him,

I am,

Dr, Chen's been

helping me with my, uh,

training program,

How long's this been going on?

Not long,

Uh, look, why don't you

drop by the office

later this evening?

Perhaps we could discuss

the situation further then,

That's great,

That's what I'll do,

Come on, I gotta

hit the showers,

I'll meet you outside,

(SHOWER RUNNING)

(WATER SLOSHING)

(DISTORTED SPLASHING)

(CAR ALARM BEEPING)

(CHILDREN CLAMORING)

Tanner!

I mean,

Mr, Brooks?

Yeah,

Do you think you

could sign this? Sure,

KID: Thanks,

TANNER: What's your name?

Douglas, Douglas,

(SCRIBBLING)

Thanks, man!

Hey, guys!

Check it!

I got Tanner Brooks' autograph!

JESSICA: Look out!

(BRAKES SCREECHING)

(GRUNTS)

TANNER: Kid?

Kid, you all right?

Tanner!

Come on, guys!

Let's get out of here,

JESSICA: Are you okay?

Get me to Chen's lab,

Hurry,

(SHIVERING)

JESSICA: If you can't do

anything for him,

I'm taking him to a hospital,

MICHAEL: Now Mrs, Brooks, ,,

To see a real doctor,

Mrs, Brooks, please,

try to understand,

Now, the treatments

your husband underwent,

and quite by choice I might add,

were to enhance his reflexes

and his coordination,

Now on occasion,

there are some

stresses on the body,

certain side effects, ,,

Side effects doesn't

begin to cover what I saw,

(TANNER GROANS)

Tanner?

(GASPS)

Tanner?

(GROANS)

What happened?

Do you remember?

(SIGHS)

(TANNER GROANS)

Not all of it,

Man, it was like,

my senses were on a rubber band,

I was being snapped

from one world to the other,

It was, ,,

One place, everything

was moving real slow,

and the other place,

everything was,

was moving really fast,

Oh, baby, what have you

done to yourself?

Mr, Brooks,

MICHAEL: Mr, Brooks,

it appears that the energy

from my treatments

is building up in your system,

It's affecting you

more than just

on a cellular level,

it's affecting you

also on a quantum

mechanical level,

What does that mean?

Well, it means that your body

is shifting in and out

of an entirely

different quantum phase,

a phase where time flows

much differently than here,

Can you do anything about it?

Well, I believe the effects

should dissipate on their own

in due time,

It may take a little while,

but in the meantime,

no more treatments

for you, starting

immediately, all right?

Hey, Chen,

You can't do that to me,

The finals are tomorrow!

There's no other choice!

TANNER: Chen said this

energy build-up's

gonna dissipate, right?

I can take another treatment,

I'm in great shape,

I can take a 100

more treatments,

Will you listen

to what you're saying?

(JESSICA SIGHS)

I don't understand any of this,

You've never taken drugs

before in your life,

(WHISPERS) It's not a drug!

You used to feel sorry

for the players that did,

It's not a drug!

There's no difference,

I can't win without it!

Well, then that's something

you're just gonna

have to accept,

That's easy for you to say,

I have spent my entire life

training to be the best,

Not my best, "the best!"

And for the first time,

in my career, I can actually

see it happening,

You know what,

you don't understand that,

And you never will,

you know why?

Because you don't know

what it's like to be a winner,

You don't know what

it's like to be the best,

Well, I'm sorry, honey,

but you're not the best,

And so what if you're not?

This game is not who you are,

Winning only lasts for a moment,

You can't build your life

around a moment,

because a moment doesn't last,

You know that I love you, right?

Of course,

Then please,

forfeit the match tomorrow,

Walk away from this

while you still can,

I can't do that,

I can't, Jess,

that'd be pathetic,

Everybody would think

I was scared,

Not the people that matter!

I don't wanna

go out that way, okay?

You know,

when I nearly drank

my way out of our marriage,

you helped me stop,

You stopped me

from hurting myself,

I'm just trying to do

the same for you,

REPORTER: (ON TV)

And with the startling news of

Tanner Brooks' injury

just before the finals,

we spoke to his opponent

in the match,

Marcus, do you think

this is just bad luck?

Considering the timing

of Tanner's injury,

I'd say his luck's

holding out just fine,

Got to be honest

with you, boys, I mean,

look at the man's career,

It's always been

second place, second best,

Never really had what it takes,

It's no different now,

Won't surprise me

if he doesn't show,

I mean, look at me,

Can you blame the guy

if he's scared

to go up against this?

(LAUGHS)

(CAMERAS CLICKING)

(KEYBOARD CLACKING)

(MACHINE POWERS UP)

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLING)

(BEEPS)

(HORN BLOWING)

 REPORTER:

Here at ringside,

time is running out,

and unless Tanner Brooks

reports to the arena

within five minutes,

by rule, the match

will be declared

a forfeit,

(AUDIENCE CHANTING)

Tanner! Tanner! Tanner!

(CHANTING CONTINUES)

Jessica, tell me

he's coming, please,

I don't know where he is, Neil,

I woke up this morning

and he was gone,

Check his dressing room,

Yes, again,

(AUDIENCE CHANTING CONTINUES)

(AUDIENCE CHEERING)

ANNOUNCER:

Tanner Brooks!

Hey, folks, you didn't think

we were gonna

disappoint you, did you?

Ladies and gentlemen!

Are you ready

to take the ring?

You should have stayed

injured, old man,

(WHISTLE BLOWS)

(SIREN WAILING)

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(AUDIENCE CHEERS)

(CRACKLES)

(GASPS) Tanner?

(AUDIENCE JEERING)

(CAMERAS CLICKING)

NEIL: What kind

of lab is this?

Why did you give

my husband

another treatment?

Mrs, Brooks, I didn't,

I got here,

the locks were cut,

the equipment was all on,

Your husband broke into

this place last night,

Then I want to know

exactly what's happened to him,

Look, the treatments

were developed

to improve the reaction times

of fighter pilots,

There were some side effects

and the DOD decided

to abandon the project,

It doesn't look abandoned to me,

Their decision was premature,

My principles were sound,

and I decided to develop

the treatment on my own,

All it needed was

a few refinements,

And a guinea pig!

The treatment works best

with individuals

that have a very high degree

of athletic ability,

So a professional athlete

was the perfect choice,

You know, you're

just like my husband,

Obsessed with victory,

no matter what the cost,

No matter who it hurts,

Is Tanner dead?

Uh, no,

I don't think so,

Mrs, Brooks,

your husband

subjected himself to

power levels even higher

than I've ever used before,

My read-outs indicate that

the effect has

probably shifted him

into an entirely

different quantum phase,

uh, another time

continuum, if you will,

and in that state, uh,

everything around him

has to be going so slowly,

that seconds to us,

have to seem like hours to him,

How long can he

survive like that?

I have to guess that

he can't last more than

10, maybe 12 hours,

I mean, the strain

on his body, his cells,

his metabolism,

has got to be

absolutely incredible,

Is it supposed

to be doing that?

(CRACKLING)

We've got to catch this,

(ENERGY PULSATING)

(GASPS) Oh, my God!

(ENERGY PULSATING)

There!

(BEEPS)

JESSICA: It is Tanner,

I thought you said

he couldn't interact

with anything,

The chamber is energized

the same way your husband is,

It's been responding

to his presence,

JESSICA: If you're right

about what's happened to him,

he may have been in

that chamber for hours

just to get our attention

for a few seconds,

He may not even

realize we saw him,

Can you use the chamber

to bring him back?

It's possible,

Even if it is,

how are we going to

let him know he has

to get back in there?

JESSICA: I'll tell him,

In person,

This treatment will shift

you into the same state

as your husband,

at which point, you will

be able to touch

and interact with him,

Assuming you can find him,

I think I know

where he might be,

Get back as quickly as possible,

Every second counts,

Okay,

Mrs, Brooks, Mmm-hmm?

I'll bring you back, I promise,

Let's do it,

(KEYBOARD CLACKING)

(MACHINE POWERS UP)

(ENERGY CRACKLING)

That's it,

She's gone,

Not quite,

You still have to

bring them back,

That depends entirely on her,

TANNER: And Tanner Brooks

comes up from behind,

With incredible effort,

he snags the ring,

and slams it home,

(CLANGS)

The crowd goes wild,

JESSICA: Tanner,

How did you get here?

Same way you did,

Tanner, everything's

going to be okay, but,

we have to get back to the lab,

Why?

JESSICA: Chen thinks he can

reverse the process,

We got the idea from you,

We saw you in the chamber when

you were calling for help,

I wasn't calling for help,

I was waving goodbye,

Why?

(SIGHS)

I thought I'd never

see you again,

TANNER: I was in the chamber

it seemed like forever, I just

wanted to say goodbye,

JESSICA: Are you telling

me that you don't

want to come back?

You know, when I first

started Chen's treatments,

it was like I was invincible,

Nobody could touch me in here,

And you know what?

Nobody could,

It was easy,

It wasn't challenging,

It wasn't exciting,

it wasn't dangerous,

It wasn't fun,

I managed to take the fun

out of the only thing

I was ever really any good at,

(TANNER SIGHS)

I hurt the only woman

I ever really loved,

Pretty impressive, huh?

Tanner,

Look, I'm sorry,

I blew it,

Big time,

Hey,

Sometimes it's not about

winning or losing,

It's about accepting

what's happened,

and finding our way through it,

You're the one

who taught me that,

Come on,

Let's get back,

(EXHALES)

Come on,

(ENERGY PULSATING)

MICHAEL: It's not working,

What's the matter?

I should have realized,

(ELECTRICITY CRACKLES)

There are two of them!

What are you doing?

The system is designed

for only one person,

There's not enough

nerve tissue left

to absorb the energy of two,

What are you talking about?

If I'm going to bring

them back, I have to absorb

the excess energy,

Please, there's

very little time left,

(ENERGY INCREASING)

I thought I had all

the bugs worked out,

Here, when they get back,

give them that,

What for?

It's an explanation,

(ENERGY CRACKLES)

(GROANING) I'm so sorry,

He's cold,

It's gonna be okay,

Here you go,

Tanner!

What?

(BREATHES DEEPLY)

Your face,

You've aged,

Chen said that,

the treatments would

accelerate the cells,

the metabolism, Aging process,

Even though you were

only there a few hours, ,,

It felt like years,

Chen, uh, said to give you this,

He was only 30 years old?

He tested the treatment

on himself,

It's not his fault,

I did this to myself,

I can deal with it,

Hey,

we'll deal with it,

I love you,

CONTROL VOICE:

For the human race,

life is a ceaseless competition

for power, for fame, even love,

But when the desire for victory

is reduced to winning

at any cost,

then we can only