Charlie is talking on the phone.
CHARLIE
Bailey, it's me. He won. Can you believe that?
The kid's robot actually won. I know. Happy? Oh, my God. Yeah.
He's been bit. He's been bit real bad. Anyway...
I just wanted you to know.
EXT.YARD
Max is operating Atom outside.
MAX
Jab, jab, hook. Jab, jab, hook.
I think you have to move your feet. Your feet. Feet.
Charlie comes when Max is dancing with Atom.
CHARLIE
Nice moves, kid. How long you been out here?
MAX
Check it out. I just spent the night doing something I think is amazing.
Incredibly amazing. If it works, you know? You know his remote was spotty?
CHARLIE
Yeah.
MAX
I killed it. Got rid of it. We don't need it anymore.
CHARLIE
How did you?
MAX
I had to start over. But I was able to use the spin frame from Ambush
and take the circuitry sleeve out of Noisy Boy, and it works.
He knows nothing, but it works. It really, really works.
CHARLIE
What works?
MAX
I got to turn it on. Left jab, right uppercut! Japan!
CHARLIE
You put Noisy's voice recognition into Atom? Pretty smart, kid.
MAX
Smart? It could be genius! It could be the most incredible thing
in the history of the entire world!
CHARLIE
Easy there, chief. Did you drink all these sodas?
MAX
I might have had a few.
I need you to teach him to box.
CHARLIE
Are you kidding me? He's not advanced
enough to handle Noisy's voice command.
MAX
So he needs your moves. Your commands.
Start over from the ground up.
CHARLIE
Forget it.
MAX
You were a boxer.Yesterday at the Zoo, you could see
things happen before they even happened.
CHARLIE
I haven't boxed in a long time. I'm not starting now.
MAX
Who's going to teach him to fight?
CHARLIE
You're doing fine. You don't need me. Sorry.
That was really cool, though, that dance.
You should do that on Saturday night.
MAX
Don't make fun of me.
CHARLIE
I'm serious. Before the fight, when you guys
take the ring, you should do it.
MAX
There's no way I'm dancing with a robot
in front of a boxing crowd.
CHARLIE
Are you kidding me? This is just a show.
People want to see something they've never seen.
Look. You think of all the greats. Think Ali, Sugar Ray,
Prince Rakim, Gammer, they all had their nicknames.
They had their personas. They all had flair.
Now you? You might not have much robot,
but with that dance, you got flair.
Plus, you're a kid. People love that kid thing.
What are you? Like nine? Ten?
MAX
I'm 11.
CHARLIE
Are you sure you're 11?
MAX
Yes. I'm sure I'm 11.
CHARLIE
Anyway, the point
is people want to see that.
MAX
You're really not messing with me?
CHARLIE
I am not messing with you.
They're going to love it.
MAX
Cool.
But...
I won't do it unless you help me.
CHARLIE
I can't dance. You're on your own there.
MAX
No. Boxing.
CHARLIE
Oh, I see.
MAX
I program the robot. You teach him to box.
CHARLIE
And you dance.
MAX
Yeah.
CHARLIE
Yeah? Deal.
MAX
Deal.
They shake hands.
CHARLIE
It's going to be cool.
EXT.YARD
Atom and Charlie are practicing boxing at night.
CHARLIE
Nice. You're going to be punching guys bigger.
You're going to have to punch up. That's it.
Nice. You, too, old man? Come on. Let's get to work.
Nice! Let's do that again. Nice. Three-punch combo.
Combo. Again. Again. Faster. Faster. Nice.
You're not even out of breath.
I like it. Let's see how you move. That's good.
Step around! Left hook! Left hook!
That's it. Every time.
Upper cut!
DEALER
Great fight, fellas.
Charlie and Max get some money.
RADIO DJ
105.5, WRUT, the satellite home of robot boxing.
Caller two, what do you got for me?
Have you heard about this little bot
out there, his name is Atom?
CALLER
Oh, yeah. My buddies and I saw him
the other night, and he dances.
RADIO DJ
Did you say "dances"?
CALLER
You heard me. He dances pre-fight with this little kid,
and the crowd went nuts for these two. You put the gimmick aside
for a second, and I'm holding here a list of the bots he's beaten.
Chaos. Wall Street. One-Eyed Jack. No slouches on that list, right?
Atom's fought them all, beat them all. This bot is fast! He escapes shots
from these bigger bots, it's insane! No doubt. I'm telling you, listeners,
remember this name: Atom. That's right, A-T-O-M. This bot is one to watch.
INT.STADIUM
Charlie and Max win and came out.
FAN
Awesome fight, sir.
CHARLIE
Thanks, thanks.
An organizer comes up.
ORGANIZER
Great fight. You guys put on a good show.
CHARLIE
Thanks.
ORGANIZER
We'd like to invite you to fight on our card,
Virgin America Spectrum Detroit, Friday night.
CHARLIE
Right. That's a WRB... That's a League fight.
ORGANIZER
Damn right it is. What do you say, fellas? You ready
for the show?
CHARLIE & MAX
Heck, yeah.
Charlie and Max have a High-five.
INT.WAITING ROOM
Charlie is walking around. Max is doing maintenance of Atom.
CHARLIE
It's the undercard, but it's still a League fight.
I just want you to be relaxed. I want you to be relaxed.
No freaking out. Don't get all freaky-deaky on me.
You go freaky-deaky, this whole thing can go south.
Whatever you do, have fun, have fun. You got to have
fun, you understand me? We've come too far to get out there
and freak out and blow this whole thing.
We're going to have fun, and we're going to not freak out!
We're going to stay loose, and we're just going to bam him.
I've spent my whole life waiting to get here. We're going to...
I tell you what. Trust me when I say no freaking out. You got it?
MAX
I got it.
CHARLIE
Good.
A man walks in.
MAN
You have been invited to Lemkova Suite.
Follow me, please.
CHARLIE
What was that? One more time.
MAN
Lemkova Suite. Zeus Suite.
CHARLIE
Sure. Yeah. Let's head up to the champ's suite. Sure.
INT.CHAMP'S SUITE
Charlie and Max are invited into the champ's suite.
CHARLIE
Wow.
FARRA
Gentlemen, I'm Farra Lemkova.
CHARLIE
Yeah. I'm Charlie Kenton, and...
FARRA
And this, of course, is Tak Mashido.
MAX
Holy shit. It's Tak Mashido.
Farra, Charlie and Max take a seat.
FARRA
I know you have a very important fight
tonight, so I'll get right to it.
CHARLIE
It's a little far from the action for
my liking. It's nice. I like it, though.
Very nicely... Wow. That's a great shot.
Look at that.
TAK
You want an autograph?
CHARLIE
Would you mind?
FARRA
I'd like to buy your robot. He'd be useful sparring bot for Zeus.
And for that I'm willing to pay $200,000.
CHARLIE
Done.
MAX
He's not for sale.
CHARLIE
Of course he is. We can definitely...
MAX
He's not for sale.
FARRA
You are 15 minutes away from getting in the ring with Twin Cities,
a vicious League bot. So, to be clear, my offer stands until the
starting bell.
MAX
OK. And just to be clear, he's not for sale! Not now, not ever.
CHARLIE
Give me a minute to clear this up, OK?
Charlie and Max go out of the room.
INT. PASSAGEWAY
Charlie is chasing Max.
CHARLIE
Max! Be smart. I know you love him, but in 20 minutes
there may be nothing left to love. Think about it.
Take the offer.
MAX
You think about it. Why does she want Atom?
Because he's different from other bots!
CHARLIE
Yeah, he's different. He's smaller, weaker,
and he's going to get his ass kicked.
MAX
He's a boxer. We taught him to box. You taught him to box!
That's worth something.
CHARLIE
I think it is, too. I think it's worth 200 grand.
Two hundred grand.
MAX
We can go round and round this all night long. Look at me.
But it's not going to happen. I got a fight to get to.
INT.RING
The presenter is speaking on the mike.
PRESENTER
Ladies and gentlemen, tonight, the march towards
the Real Steel Championship makes its way through Detroit's
Virgin America Spectrum! Kicking off the evening, in our first
undercard, the two-headed tyrant, Twin Cities!
Twin Cities comes in.
PRESENTER
Opposing Twin Cities, in his first professional fight,
hailing from parts unknown Atom!
Atom and Max come in. They dance. The crowd goes wild.
Nice work, boss.
MAX
Thanks.
CHARLIE
Did you switch him to fight mode?
MAX
Of course.
CHARLIE
This bot is tough to put down.
MAX
Atom can do it.
CHARLIE
Look over there. You see those geeks with the joysticks and consoles?
They're controlling everything their bot does. They're monitoring his
systems, seeing what he sees, stadium feeds of the fights.
This is not like the underground handheld remote bots
we've been fighting. This is the League. Stand on that.
MAX
So what do we do?
CHARLIE
We fight smart, we be patient. And pray. Seriously, pray.
REFEREE
Ready!
CHARLIE
Hands up.
REFEREE
Fighters ready! Fight!
CHARLIE
Engage. Slip! Right! Lean back. Right, left! Cover up!
Duck! Left roundhouse! Damn it. Lean left! Lean right!
Cover up! Cover up!
MAX
What's going on in there?
CHARLIE
He's taking too many hits. Get your hands up!
CHARLIE
Get out of that corner! Move!
MAX
He's getting killed in there! Tell him what to do!
CHARLIE
That guy's got two heads, a foot
of reach on us, and no blind spot.
MAX
He's got to have a weakness. Find it!
CHARLIE
Wait, wait, wait. Right shoulder, right shoulder,
right shoulder! He's got a tell! He's got a hitch
in his shoulder every time he throws that right bomb!
We got him! See? Here it comes again! Duck! Spin!
Slide left! Roundhouse! One, two! Backstep. Backstep.
Backstep. Lean right.
Bailey is cheering for Charlie.
BAILEY
Come on, Charlie! Get in there!
CHARLIE
Got to get in close where he can't use that size and reach on us!
Left to the body! Right to the body! Left to the body!
MAX
Yeah, it's working!
CHARLIE
Stay downstairs! Left, right, left!
OPPONENT
These program modes aren't working.
CHARLIE
Left! Right hook, slip! Right uppercut! Left uppercut!
Duck left. Counter right!
MAX
Get him, Atom!
CHARLIE
Here comes the Charlie Special. Three-punch combo to the body!
Out! In! Counter! Two-one-two!
MAX
Two-one-two.
CHARLIE
Stay on him! Lunging right! Don't let him go. Right to the body!
Straight right to the head!
OPPONENT
We got a systems crash!
MAX
Get him, Atom!
OPPONENT
This is not happening, man.
MAX
Put him away, Charlie!
CHARLIE
Spin left! Spin right!
BAILEY
Finish him!
MAX
Do it!
CHARLIE
Right uppercut! He's down!
REFEREE
One! Two! Three!
Four! Five! Six!
CHARLIE
We got him. Stay down!
REFEREE
He's out! He's out!
Charlie and Max win. The crowd cheers.
BAILEY
Yeah!
CHARLIE
Corner! Corner! Corner. Victory!
REFEREE
In a time of one minute, 47 seconds of the first round, Atom has defeated...
Max grabs the microphone from the referee.
MAX
I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight! Our little bot from the junkyard
got a shot at a League fight. How about that? And the last thing I want to say
to a special girl who won't be named, Farra Lemkova. That instead of buying my robot,
using your money to control this sport...
Charlie stops Max.
CHARLIE
That's it!
MAX
I'm not done. Why do not give the littlest guy the biggest shot? Because I bet if you
give him a shot, he'll surprise you! Wouldn't you like to see a little guy
get a shot at the Real Steel Championship? I challenge Zeus to a fight.
Any time, any place, anywhere! You name it! We will be there!
I'm going to get us that fight!
EVERYONE
Atom, Atom, Atom...
INT. THE PASSAGE OF THE ARENA
FINN
That was a ballsy move, you challenging Zeus like that.
CHARLIE
That's one thing to call it. A lot of people would like to see that.
MAX
You're damn right they would.
CHARLIE
Are you listening to this kid? Jeez!
FINN
Good fight, fellas.
CHARLIE
Thanks, man.
CHARLIE
Look at this. Let's celebrate.
Charlie shows Max the prize money.
MAX
Yeah.
All right, 70-30, right?
MAX
Yeah, 70 for me and 30 for you.
CHARLIE
That's so right. That's very funny.
CHARLIE
I told you we shouldn't have sold him.
MAX
OK. No, no, no.
MAX
I remember now. Who's right?
Say who's right. Say "Max is right."
CHARLIE
All right, all right. All right.
CHARLIE
We're a good team.
MAX
No, no. Max is right.
CHARLIE
That was unbelievable.
MAX
Thank you, Twin Cities. We set?
CHARLIE
Yeah.
MAX
Let's do it.
Ricky walks out.
RICKY
Charlie boy.
CHARLIE
Ricky, I was just going to call you.
RICKY
Oh, yeah.
CHARLIE
I actually really was going to call you.
RICKY
Don't worry about that. That was a heck of a fight.
Congratulations to both of you. That was good.
It was an amazing fight. That was a great job, young man.
Two more men walk out, carrying sticks.
CHARLIE
Come on, man.
RICKY
What?
CHARLIE
You serious?
RICKY
You thought I was joking when I said I'd beat you
within an inch of your life? He thought that was a joke.
It wasn't a joke.
CHARLIE
I got a kid here. And I have your money. We don't have a problem.
RICKY
I'm sure you do, but I think we know it's about much more than
money, don't we?
CHARLIE
All right. What do you want? You want 25, 30? You want 30 grand?
I got the money in cash here.
RICKY
Yeah, right.
Charlie punches a man and runs. He helps Max run.
CHARLIE
Let's go! Max, go! Go, go! Run!
Run! Come on. Keep up, keep up!
RICKY
Get him now!
CHARLIE
Run! Come on!
The men catch Charlie and start to beat him.
MAX
Get off him! Get off him!
RICKY
Come here!
STREET TOUGHS
Hey, Ricky.
One of the men picks up Max.
CHARLIE
That's his money! Leave him out of this!
MAX
Stop! Stop!
RICKY
Take all his money. Take it all.
Your friend's a real dirtbag, kid.
MAX
He's my father!
Charlie is beaten up badly. Ricky leans down and talks to him.
RICKY
Well. Looks like a little less than an inch of your life.
Well, buddy, that will teach him. Just like old times, Charlie boy!
Let's go, boys.
CHARLIE
I'm sorry, Max. I'm sorry. Sorry.
INT. BUILDING
Charlie and Max walk into a building.
MAX
What are we doing here?
CHARLIE
Max, just...
MAX
Is it Farra? She called you, didn't she?
We're going to get the Zeus fight.
CHARLIE
It's not the Zeus people. I've been
thinking about all this, and...
Marvin and Debra come out to see Max.
DEBRA
Max! It's so good to see you.
MAX
What is she doing here?
CHARLIE
It's better if you go with her now.
MAX
We get beat up, so you call her to come and get me?
DEBRA (TO MARVIN)
He's been beat up. I told you he couldn't take care of him!
CHARLIE
Yeah. I called her. Look at us. We're a mess.
MAX
We're fine. She can leave! Atom's fighting good.
We can make the money back. Charlie, please.
CHARLIE
Just...
MAX
Charlie, we're doing so good. Charlie, please, no.
Don't. Don't. Don't. Please. Please.
CHARLIE
Trust me, kid. It's better this way, all right?
I know you think you know what's right, but you don't.
You're too young. You don't know.
Look at me, trust me. And legally she has custody,
so what can I do? What can I do?
Max leaves. Debra follows him. Marvin tries to give Charlie
the rest of the money.
CHARLIE
I don't want your money, Marvin.
Max goes to the trailer. Debra and Charlie follow him.
DEBRA
Max, we have our own swimming pool
and we have a hot tub and a lot
of super fun toys to play with.
Do you want to play with them?
It's going to be fun.
CHARLIE
What's going on?
DEBRA (TO CHARLIE)
He won't even talk to me, so thanks for that, Charlie.
I'm going to wait in the car.
CHARLIE (TO MAX)
You don't want to talk, fine. I'll talk.
What do you want me to say? I'm sorry?
You knew from day one what this was.
You decided to take the ride.
You thought me, you, and a little robot from the junk heap
were going to ride off into the sunset?
No, you forgot who I was! You deserve better...
...than me. Will you say something, please?
I tried. What do you want from me?
MAX
I want you to fight for me. That's all I ever wanted.
Max leaves with Debra and Marvin.
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