"It was Freak told me about King Arthur, 'how he got this round table 'and how he got the bravest knights in the world to sit at that table." ""'We will be brothers," said King Arthur..." ""'and we will fight for all those who ask for help." ""'We will be gentle to the weak" ""'but terrible to the wicked."" "'lt was Freak told me about King Arthur." "'lt was Freak told me everything." "'I live with my grandparents, my mother's people." "'I call them Gram and Grim." "'I saw a painting in a book once, it must be famous, 'this old dude and his wife standing in front of a farmhouse." "'This dude's holding a pitchfork and he looks like he never smiles." "'His wife don't look too much happier." "'That's Gram and Grim." "'Course, there's a good reason they look like that all the time - 'they got stuck with me. '" "'When you're in the seventh grade and you look like Godzilla, 'you're gonna get the looks and you're gonna get the whispers." "'Sometimes it seemed like the whole world 'had just seen me on America's Most Wanted. '" "Get the hell off me!" "Go on, go on!" "Get away!" "My friend in the guest bedroom, he doesn't like to be disturbed!" "'The Doghouse Boys liked to make trouble any way they could. '" "Get outta here, little prick!" "'Their leader was Blade... 'whose claim to fame was three months in juvy hall. '" "Here's a nice place to sit." "Check it out." "The Missing Link, with headphones, huh?" "How do you fail the seventh grade twice in a row, huh?" "You gotta try pretty hard to do that." "People look at you and laugh or they run the other way." "You got no friends." "You got nobody." "You're a freak of nature, dude." "But we wanna be your friends." "We could use some muscle like you." "I bet you could do some damage." "Just like your big, bad dad." "Ohhh." "# Killer Kane, Killer Kane, had a son who got no brain" "'There's a place I go in my head sometimes." "'lt's cool and dim in there and you float like a cloud. '" "'Now you are a cloud, 'the kind you see in the sky on a windy day." "'You don't have to think about anything." "'You're nothing, you're nobody. '" "Well, I have to go to the market anyway." "I see that Cooper's has pot roast on special," "$1.49 a pound." "Did you notice we have new neighbours?" "They moved up here from St Louis." "Her name's Gwendolyn." "She'd be just about your mother's age." "You know what I heard is... her son has been in some kind of special hospital down in St Louis." "The good Lord gives women the cross to bear." "Would the good Lord get you to bring me a cup of coffee?" "'lt was Freak told me about King Arthur." "'lt was Freak told me everything." "'See, I never had a brain 'till Freak came along and let me borrow his for a while. '" "Kevin, your room's still a pile of boxes." "Do you want me to help you unpack the books?" "No, Mom, it's OK, I can do it myself." "You have my word and my word is my bond." " What do you have there?" " It's an ornithopter." "I'm taking advantage of what looks like ideal flight conditions." "Say that again?" "The ornithopter is defined as an experimental device propelled by flapping wings." "That's a big word for a mechanical bird." ""Congratulations, Mrs Dillon, it was a tough delivery" ""but you've given birth to a healthy, seven-pound dictionary." ""You must be very proud."" "The flapping cycle..." "Hey!" "What's the matter?" "Never seen a robot before?" "All right." "Let's pick it up, ladies." "Use the backboard." "Hey, you too, Kane!" "Or do I have to translate into Neanderthal for you?" "Come on, line it up, boys." "Line it up, line it up." "What, you got a piano tied to your leg?" "Move it!" "Hustle it, hustle it, ladies." "Hey, check out the March of Dimes." "Fellas, it's time for Bowling For Midgets." "Our defending champion, Blade Fowler, is bowling for the Corvette." "Yes!" "All right, hold it, hold it!" "Who's responsible for this?" "It was Kane, Mr Sacker, sir." "Oh, yes, most amusing." "Shall we all go out and rile up a seeing-eye dog now?" "Kane." "You got yourself a detention for the week." "Now help that boy up." "Kane, are you bucking for two weeks?" "'Weekends generally meant two things." "'One was helping Grim patch up the place." "'The other was LD reading class." "'That stands for learning disabled, 'which was a nice way of saying reading for dummies... 'like me. '" "Your tutor will be right along, Max." "I'm Kevin Dillon." "I'll be your student reading tutor." ""Hi, Kevin." "My name is..."" " Max." " It talks!" " You're a tutor?" " In between basketball seasons." " Did you bring a book?" " I don't have no book." "Don't have a book." "How do you expect to read without a book?" "Read this." "Go on, read it." "First you have to open it." ""Chapter One." Now it's your turn." ""In the old days" ""as it is... told" ""there was a king in..." " "Brit..." "Brit..."" " Here." "Close your eyes." ""There was a king in Britain named Uther Pendragon." ""He was a good king and mighty," ""and much of his strength he owed to his chief counsellor Merlin," ""for Merlin was an enchanter" ""who could read the stars and hold discourse with the fairy world." ""Merlin knew the secrets of nature and the hearts of men." ""To him the future was as clear as the past."" "See anything?" "Every word is part of a picture." "Every sentence is a picture." "All you do is let your imagination connect them together." "If you have an imagination, that is." "Read chapter one by tomorrow." "Wait, I can't." "Can't?" "No, no, you will." "If you want to make it to the eighth grade, that is." "If not, you can always go to one of those special schools and sit around with a bunch of kids who can't even say their own names." "Get the picture now?" "It was Blade... who threw the basketball at you, not me." "You let those punks make a chump out of you?" "What's the matter?" " I don't like to cause trouble." " Oh, so you're a pacifist." " A what?" " A pacifist." "Pass on the fists?" "Get it?" "Right." "It's not my best material." "'I didn't read the first chapter by tomorrow." "'Or the next day or the day after that." "But Freak was patient." "'He told me dinosaurs had brains the size of walnuts 'and they ruled the earth for 60 million years, 'so I shouldn't feel bad. '" ""Sir Ector called to Arthur" ""and quest... questioned him" ""and Arthur said, 'I drew the sword from the ant hill."'" "Anvil." "It's just a big stone." " Anvil." " Not bad." "You made it to chapter two..." "this century." "Coming up next..." "Sir Lancelot and the fair Guinevere." "Violence AND sex." "How'd you like to earn a gold crown?" " Run that by me again?" " A gold crown." "Roughly five bucks." "Taking into account inflation since 900 AD." "Five bucks?" "For what?" "For taking me to the fairgrounds next Saturday to see the fireworks." "It's the Riverfest." "My mom doesn't like fireworks." "She doesn't like crowds." "She never lets me go anywhere by myself." "She thinks I'll get trampled or something." "But if I go with someone as big as you," "I think I could convince her." "Look, I don't know anybody else." "Do you want five bucks or not?" "You think it's easy for me?" "Sometimes I think my mom would like me to stay home in a wheelchair with a tube down my throat." "She's always worrying." "I feel sorry for her." "I bet your mom doesn't have to worry about you much." "My mom's in heaven." " Want a corndog?" " I'll pass on the triple bypass." "Well, well, if it isn't Frankenstein and Igor." "Is the freak show before or after the fireworks?" " Forget it." " At least the dwarf can talk!" "Why don't you cretins plug it up?" " You wanna say that again, freak?" " Which part?" "Why don't we start with cretin?" "C-R-E-T-l-N." "Look it up in the dictionary, you'll find your mug shot, shrimp!" "Hey, hey!" "You're not coming in, now, back off!" " What?" "What did I do?" " Big mistake." "Big mistake." "You can take 'em, right?" "Are you kidding?" "You don't mess with Blade and the Doghouse Boys." "You mean couldn't take 'em and I was giving 'em lip?" " That's about the size of it." " Oh, my God." "'Ladies and gentlemen, please move forward if you can 'and please enjoy Cincinnati's 45th Riverfest fireworks. '" "Hey, down in front!" "I said, down in front!" "'And that's how it started." "'He didn't ask me but I know all he can see are feet and knees." "'And so I just sort of reached down without thinking. '" "Hey, what are you doing?" "Wow!" "Yeah!" "Whoa!" "All right!" "'I'd seen fireworks before 'but that night, they looked like the most brightest, 'beautiful things in the whole world." "'Course, Freak had his own way of putting it. '" "Copper!" "Sodium nitrate!" "Magnesium!" "Amazing perspective from up here." "It's just about as tall as I'd like to be." " Uh-oh." "Cretins at ten o'clock." " What?" "Hey!" "Check it out, the freak!" "Hang right." "Damn." "Two more, two o'clock." "They've locked on to us." "Go left, left." "Steady, steady." "'That's how it started, all right." "'Only at first, it seemed like that's how it might end." "'But a funny thing happened." "'I felt Freak's foot hit my side." "'And it was like, at that moment, he became my brain." "'And I became his feet!" "'" "Here you go, have a ball..." "Ah!" " Hurry up, they're gaining on us." " Train's coming." "Don't worry, we can beat it!" "Damn!" "No, it's all right." "It's all right." "We'll get 'em." " Go straight." " Are you crazy?" "This is all your fault!" "If you hadn't opened your big mouth." "How can someone so small can have a mouth so big?" "How can someone so big be such a wuss?" "Look at you, you're built like the Terminator." "I'd trade places with you any day." "We got about five seconds till we get messed up real good." " Now it's time for the freak show." " Yeah!" "Straight." "Trust me." "That's cold." "Keep going." " Yeah, man." " Yeah, yeah." "All right, man." "Just keep going." "Come on, come on!" "Let's try going faster." "Well, get going!" "I can't." "I'm stuck in the mud." "Well, then, kiss your butt goodbye." " Max, Max, get up!" " I'm stuck!" "The mud's too thick!" " Whoa." " Is he all right?" " Can't get through the mud!" " Keep going!" "Help me, you assholes!" "Hey, you kids, stay right there, now." " Hey, hey!" " We didn't do nothing!" "Yes!" "Oh, good Lord." "This is what I've been afraid of." "Just like his daddy." "Just hush up!" " Max!" " Mr and Mrs Penniman?" " I'm OK." " Wait there, I'll be right back." "You have a brave young man here." " Hi." "Hello." " Hello, hello." "Your grandson saved my boy's life." "Stay warm, Max." "Good night." " What happened?" " Trouble at the fairgrounds." "Local punks." "We got a lid on it." "Night, now." " You all right?" " I'm OK." " Get him in here." " Old people." "You gotta reassure 'em." " I'll get you some orange juice." " No." "What this man needs is a cup of coffee-real coffee." "Here you go." "Um..." "I just wanted to tell you, um... what you done, um... was good." "Helping that crippled boy." "Real good." "I'm proud of you." "Thank you, sir." "Rise and shine!" "Come on, wake up!" "Sleeping destroys brain cells." "Come on, there are fair maidens to rescue and dragons to slay." "Get up!" "I'm not going anywhere, you almost got me killed last night." "A knight of the realm fears not death." "So, they keep you in a dungeon." "Look, take it back." "I don't have no friends and I don't need no friends." "Don't think of it as a friendship." "Think of it as a partnership." "You need a brain and I need legs." "And the Wizard of Oz doesn't live in South Cincinnati." " Morning, Mr Hampton." " Good morning, Max." "Where is it?" "It was there this morning!" "Where is it?" "Is it in this bag?" " It is, isn't it?" " Stop it!" " You're hurting me!" " Hey!" "Take it outside!" "You think it hurts now?" "A knight proves his worthiness by his deeds." "So where is it?" "Where is it?" "You think it hurts now?" "You think it hurts now?" "Do you?" "Do you?" "!" "Well, come on!" "Unhand her, knave." "You say somethin'?" " I said..." " Get your filthy hands off of her!" "Thank you." "It's on the house." "Did you guys have lunch today?" "Indeed." "In the kingdom of Baby Ruth." "Yeah, as I suspected." "You wanna take some of that home with you?" "Methinks his name is Sir Eats-A-Lot." "Sorry, it's just Gram never cooks like this." "Well, I'll take that as a compliment." "Yes, ma'am." "You slow down, Kevin." "You heard me." "Come on, drink some water." "I'm OK." "What does fair Guinevere have for dessert?" "Chocolate pudding, if Merlin will do the dishes." " Dishes?" " Dishes." "But knights don't do dishes." "In this castle they do." "Sorry, it was packed." " Popular Science!" " You're a popular guy." "Lock your door." "Max." "Max, Max." "Wake up." "WAKE UP!" "What time is it?" "A band of highwaymen ambushed the Queen of Saxony." "They stole her chest - no pun intended - but I know where they hid it." "Here, put this on." "It's the treasure, cleverly concealed in the slime of dragons." "It's a woman's purse and it's covered with crap." "And it's our duty as knights to return it to its rightful owner." "How are we gonna do that?" "Voila!" "A rope." "Dude, you have lost it." "Funny, that's the same thing they told Sir Isaac Newton." "Here, tie the end of that to the grate." " Who the heck is Isaac Newton?" " Just some British nerd who said..." ""If a fire escape exerts a force on a sewer grate..." ""a sewer grate exerts an equal and opposite force on a fire escape."" "Now, all you have to do is descend... and retrieve the treasure." "Me?" "How come I always end up knee-deep in crap?" "Just think of it as a close encounter of the turd kind." "I'll hold the torch." "I really don't like rats." "Well, somewhere down there a rat is saying, "I really don't like Max."" "Hey!" "Sorry, I thought I heard someone." "Not bad for the Queen of Saxony." "Hey, you know?" "I thought Halloween was next week." "There's no millpond between you and me now, is there, big guy?" "So tell the little freak man to give up the purse." "Just give it to him." "No." "What's the problem?" "Give it to him!" "This isn't a game, just give him the purse!" "A knight fights for what is right." "This is no time for that knight crap, just give him the purse!" "Hey, punk?" "No!" " What?" " En garde!" " OK, Maxy boy, put it down." " Don't throw that." " That was awesome." " Let's get out of here." "No, that was more than awesome, it was mythical!" "It was simply perfection!" "We look like a couple of freaks in these butt-stupid clothes." "That's what we are, a couple of freaks." "Loretta Lee." "240 Crescent Heights, apartment 103." " This is the place, all right." " Yeah?" "Well, it looks like the Queen of Saxony just fired her decorator." "She ain't home." "When you're on a quest, you see it through to the end." "If she ain't home, she ain't home." "Loretta Lee?" "Iggy?" "Is the circus in town?" "I believe this is yours." "Have a nice day." " Just wait here." " Wait a minute!" "Jesus Christ, you scared me half to death." "Wait a minute." "I know you." " No." "We were just leaving." " Sure as hell I know you." "Iggy!" "Come see who's here!" "Hang on." "What's your hurry, little fella?" " You're drunk, lady." " What the hell are you hollering..." "Ain't he the spittin' image?" " What are they doin' here?" " They just came to return my purse." "Ain't nothing missing." "If that ain't gentlemanly, I don't know what is." "Name." "Name!" "That won't be necessary, we were just leaving." " Max Kane." " Kenny Kane's boy." " What did I tell you?" " Shut up, Loretta." "Kenny Kane's boy, all growed up." " My, oh, my, how time flies." " Get away from him." "I knew you as just a young thing." "You got your picture in the paper!" " You're drunk!" " Yes, I believe I am." "Oh, you're crazy as a polecat!" "Iggy and your daddy did some time together up in Langford." "They go way back, isn't that right, Iggy?" " We got, we gotta..." " I got a good idea." "I think y'all deserve a reward." "Poor thing." "You couldn't speak, could you?" "What'd the papers call you?" ""Mute boy", that's what it was." "Poor little mute boy, all alone up there on the witness stand." "Wait!" "Max!" " Hey, Max!" " Stay away!" "Just stay away from me!" " Wait, dammit!" " I said stay away!" "Nothin' but trouble's what you've been." "We almost had a hundred bucks there." "My life was fine before you and your stupid quests." "Bunch of bull." "My father was a magician." "At least that's what my mom says." "He heard the words "birth defect" and he disappeared." "But I don't really care, you know." "Cos I don't even know who my father is." "I just know that's not who I am." "And that's not who you are, either." "A knight proves his worthiness through his deeds." "This is the most beautiful place I've ever been." "If you think hard enough, you can put yourself in their armour." "Lancelot the Brave." "Tristan the Strong." "Galahad the Purehearted." "With this Excaliber, in the name of God," "St Michael and St George..." "I hereby knight us..." "Freak..." "Freak?" "Freak... the Mighty." "'From that day, Freak never asked me nothin' about my father." "'And I never asked him nothin' about his." "'Cos that's not who we were. '" " Hey, look!" " It's alive, it's alive!" " Alton." " Sir!" " Fowler!" " Yeah." " Elwood." " Sir." " Kane." " Sir." "Dillon?" "Sir." "Miss Dillon." "School district policy prohibits any child with a serious physical or medical handicap from participating in school athletic activities." " Mrs Addison..." " It's a liability matter." "Now, I'm sure you understand that." "You see, my son Kevin..." "He's been made fun of and called names his whole life." "If you've been made fun of your whole life, you find another place to live." "And he's found that place, up here." "Kevin lives in this world of books and words and ideas... and things I don't even understand." "But I understand this." "Kevin would trade it all for a chance to be normal, to have a friend, to do the things that normal kids do every day." "Max Kane has given him that chance." "Well, I'm not gonna let that be taken away from my boy." "Oh, if you want to kill yourself in gym class, Kevin Dillon, don't expect me to cry for you." "Yes!" "Come on, come on, that's it, that's it!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak!" "Freak the Mighty!" "Freak the Mighty!" "Freak the Mighty!" "We shall yield not to you... or any man." "Miss Addison, you wanted to see me?" "Come in, Max." "Sit down." "Is something wrong, ma'am?" "Did Gram call or...?" "No, Max, your grandparents are fine." "We've been notified by the parole board." "Your father's been granted a parole." " No." "No!" " Max..." " No!" " Listen to me, Max." "Listen to me!" "He can't come near you, all right?" "I want to make that very clear to you." "No!" "No!" " Shhh." " No!" "I don't want to hear it!" "No!" "Elton." "You get that gun out of this house." "Don't start with me, Susan." "He serves nine years out of 30 and they let him go, just as free as you and me." "That's justice and not a damn for the victim." "You heard the lawyer same as me." "If he comes within five miles of Max or us or the house they'll put him right back in jail." "You believe the damn lawyers?" "It's because of the lawyers that he's out walking around." "That's what's wrong with this country!" "They'll make you believe any damn thing as long as they get paid." "Tell you what I believe." "If Kenny Kane comes anywhere near my grandson or you or my home, he's gonna get a taste some real justice." "No, you can't." "You're not gonna have it here." " Don't tell me what to do, woman!" " I'm telling you!" "Our Annie's gone." "All we have left of her smile... all we have left of her heart is in that boy down there." "I'm not gonna have hatred comin' into this house and poisoning him." "I don't know." "I don't know." " How can you eat that slop, Dillon?" " I'm hungry." "You're eating too fast." "Excuse me, Mom?" "I said you're eating too fast!" "What's eating you?" "Where does the fair Maid Marion get her perm?" "Excuse me..." "Hey." "You call dis spaghetti?" "What have I done to deserve your disrespect?" "I see you are new to our family." "I don't like you." "I like you." "Help!" "Help!" "Help!" "Somebody help me!" "Help!" "Mrs Dillon?" "We need to speak." "Spock." "Spock, that's him." ""'We will be brothers," said King Arthur..." ""'and we will fight for all those who ask for help."'" "Mrs Dillon." "Please sit." "Kevin is, uh, is out of danger." "I'm sure you understand the degenerative nature of Morquio's Syndrome." " I'm sure I do." " There was an airway blockage." "Kevin stopped breathing long enough for unoxygenated blood to circulate, weakening some of the nerve tissue." "Why don't you just tell me when I can take him home?" "Right." "Uh, Mrs Dillon..." "From my examination of Kevin, I think I can say..." "I can say that, uh..." "That's a nice hammer." "Can you maybe go hammer over there?" "Go hammer over there, OK?" "I think I can say that his, uh... his bone growth has ceased while his internal organs are continuing their natural growth." "I... am not a counsellor, Mrs Dillon, this is very hard for me to say." "But I recommend you start thinking about making some... preparations." "Why don't you tell me how long?" "I'm not an expert on Kevin's disease but I would say... maybe a year?" " Want something?" " No thank you, ma'am." "Stop ma'aming me, it makes me nervous." "Yes, ma'am." "I'm just gonna have a..." "hot chocolate with extra whipped cream." "I said whipped cream..." "He's gonna be all right." "He's gonna be all right!" " He's gonna be all right." " It's my fault, my fault!" "He was just eating too fast." "He's gonna be just fine, you'll see." "But I'll tell you something." "The next time he tries to eat chop suey that fast," "I'm gonna dump it on his head." "You do that, Max." "Oh, God." "OK." "OK." "OK." "'The deal was, Freak had to stay in the hospital for two weeks." "'lt was the longest two weeks of my life. '" "Even Mr Sacker signed it." "I didn't know he could write." "'Freak was told it might be a while before he could go back to school." "'Also, we had to cut back on quests." "Doctor's orders." "'But once in a while, we'd sneak out." "'He'd have good days and bad days 'and on the bad days I just never put him down. '" " Here it is." " Here's what?" " See the wing of that building?" " Yeah." "Swear that what you're about to hear you will tell no one." "A sacred oath upon your good name and honour." " L, Max Kane..." " Here do swear here do swear that I will tell no one." "Inside there is a laboratory called the Experimental Biogenetic Intervention Unit." "At some near future date, as yet undetermined, but likely within the next year, I will enter that lab." "King Arthur wanted to improve his men so he made them armour-plated." "Today we have biogenetics, the science of designing replacement parts for the human body." "You mean you're getting new legs?" " No, I mean a whole new body." " A new body?" "Yeah." "Go closer." "I never told you this, had to keep it a secret, but every few months I've gone for tests." "They've measured me, analysed blood, metabolic rates." "I've been X-rayed, CAT-scanned and sonogrammed." "They're fitting me for a transplant." "I'm going to be the first biogenetically-improved human." "Sounds like it's gonna hurt." "Maybe, but so what?" "You can think your way out of anything, even pain." " Sounds too dangerous." " Hey, life is dangerous." "Max?" "You OK?" " I'm just like him." " Just like him?" "Oh, Lord." "I thought I'd gotten rid of every last picture." "I look in the mirror and I see him." "I hear my voice and I hear his!" "It's no use, you are who you are." "And nothing else." "Killer Kane, Killer Kane, had a son who's got no brain!" "Listen to me." "You are nothing like him, you will never be like him." "You know why?" "Because you have your mother's heart." "You're my noble knight." "That's what you are." "Not a word, boy." "Not a sound." "I came back, like I said." "Shh, shh, shh." "Everything changes now, son." "'Once on TV, this dude hypnotized a lobster." "'Maybe you saw it." "'He touches a lobster and it freezes, it can't move." "'That's sort of what happened to me." "'Like I'm paralysed and my head is empty." "'And nothing matters." "'Not Gram and Grim, or Freak, or the stars in the sky." "'They're all just make-believe, 'this dream I was having for a long time." "'And now I'm awake again..." "and he's there." "'And for some reason, I'm thinking this weird thought." "'He doesn't need a suit of armour. '" "Well, let me look at you." "It's like looking at an old picture of myself." "Christmas Eve." "Christmas Eve." "All them letters I sent you, all them birthday presents and Christmas presents," "I bet you never got a one of 'em, did you?" "Oh, they poisoned your mind against me, I know that." "Get down." "Yes, sir, you and me, we're gonna have the time of our lives, boy!" "Is something going on?" "Good evening, Mrs Penniman." "We're here to inform you that Kenneth Kane did not report to his parole officer yesterday in Cleveland." " You wait here." " He's been missing 24 hours," " He's in violation of his parole." " No." "No, that can't happen, no." "We don't want to alarm you, ma'am, but just as a precaution..." "He's gone." "Ow!" "Voila." "Size 14." "Of course." "The Queen of Saxony." ""Iggy and your daddy..." ""did some time together up there in Langford." ""They go way back."" "An old buddy of mine lives up here, he's gonna take care of us." "Owes me a favour." "It ain't much." "Old bat that lived here went to visit her sister for the holidays." "Lousy spark plugs!" "You wouldn't light out on me, would you, boy?" " No, sir." " No." "That's good." "Cos we got to talk, man to man." "See, this is only a temporary thing, just for one night." "Tomorrow we're gonna get on the road, just you and me, the way it oughtta be." "There's... something you need to know about your daddy." "I never killed nobody." "I loved your mother." "I never harmed her." "Not one golden curl on her head." "I swear." "You understand what I'm telling you?" "Yes, sir." "Right, then." "We don't need to discuss it no more." "Oh, my God." "No!" "Kevin?" "Oh!" "Oh, boy." "Steady!" "Get out!" "Get out of the way!" "Move!" "Ouch!" "Ouch!" "Ouch!" "The only person I want coming' through this door is Iggy." "Merry Christmas." "I just thought I'd make you boys a nice Christmas meal." "Oh, my." "He's gonna have a hard time eating like that." "I can feed him if you like." "Just set that tray down right there and get yourself out of here." "Leftover pizza." "That's nice, Loretta." "You haven't changed a bit." "My, it's cold in here." "Brr!" "It's cold as a witch's tit." "Oh, come on, Kenny." "Can't you be nice?" "We had some good times in the old days." "The old days are over." "You and I got nothing to discuss." "Thank you for the pizza, Loretta!" "Thank you, Loretta." "Now, come on, let's go." "Did you..." "Did you tell your daddy about the time you returned my purse?" " What are you talking about?" " I guess lggy forgot to mention it." "He came by with this crippled kid and they returned my purse with $400 still in it." "Hey." "What crippled kid?" "Well, I told lggy." "I said, "Iggy, you better tell Kenny about this."" " Who is he?" " Just a crippled kid." "Just... just a crippled kid?" "A friend of yours?" "I said, a friend of yours?" "Yes, he's a friend of mine." "Young maiden, a favour I beg." "Call the police and tell them to come here." "Friends talk, don't you understand that?" "They're gonna look everywhere, talk to everybody and this crippled kid will remember this place!" " Why didn't you say you'd been here?" " You didn't ask me, sir." "I didn't ask you?" "What, are you some kind of moron?" "Yeah." "You brought those here to give to him." "Tryin' to poison my son's mind against me, aren't you?" "Now, Kenny." "I told you to keep your hands off my boy" " But you brought your filth in here!" " You're the only filth in here." "Get your paws off of me!" "I said..." "Let go!" " You'll see His wrath now!" " Let go of her!" " Look away, son." " Let go!" "Let go, she can't breathe!" "She can't breathe!" "She can't breathe!" " Shh." " She can't breathe!" "She can't breathe!" "You were wearing a black t-shirt with no sleeves." "You... you carried me back to my room!" "You put me to bed, you told me to shh, that I was dreaming!" "Is that any way to talk to your daddy?" "But I wasn't dreaming." "I remember, I saw you!" "I saw you kill my mom!" " You'll wish you hadn't said that." " I said it!" "And you're never gonna stop me from saying it again!" "Because I've wanted to say it for a long time!" "Looks like we got a situation here, huh?" "Huh?" "I've come for my brother in arms!" "A knight proves his worthiness by his deeds." "You're the crippled kid." "This is your partner in crime, this little freak?" "What are you, soft in the head, boy?" " Guess what I got for Christmas?" " Well, I don't know." "This squirt gun and a chemistry set." "Good old reliable H2S04." "Sulphuric acid." "Oily, colourless and able to strip the paint off a car in two seconds." "So ask yourself, "Am I feeling lucky today?"" "Bullshit." "In the five-tenths of a second it would take to move in any direction your crotch will look like a nuclear accident." "You little..." "Hold it!" "What did you have in there, anyway?" "Just soap, vinegar and chilli pepper." "Worked like a charm, didn't it?" "Oh, hey, did you lose this?" "Come on." " We shall yield not to you..." " Or any man!" "'We had Christmas a week late that year." "'By then, Gwen had forgiven Freak, Killer Kane was back in prison 'and we got our pictures in the paper. '" "All we had for Christmas was an apple core and lump of coal in our stocking." " If we were lucky." " Oh!" "You never had a lump of coal." "You're right." "They were so poor they couldn't even afford coal." "All they got was a piece of paper with "coal" written on it." "If they were lucky." " Merry Christmas." " Thank you, Merry Christmas!" "Best meal I've ever had!" "The sky's like a photograph from a billion years ago." "Just some old movie they're showing up there." "Lots of those stars have switched off by now." "We're just seeing the rerun." "I almost forgot." "This is for you." "You don't have to say anything," "I know you're overcome with gratitude." "What kind of book is this?" "It doesn't say nothin'." "Close your eyes." "Every word is part of a picture." "Every sentence is a picture." "All you do is let your imagination connect them together." "If you have an imagination, that is." "Max." "He went in his sleep." "That wasn't supposed to happen." "You were supposed to give him a new body!" "Stop, you idiots!" "He was supposed to get a new biogenic body!" "No!" "He was tested, measured!" " He told me he'd be the first..." " I know." "I know." "Listen to me." "Kevin knew he wasn't gonna live very long." "He knew it was just a matter of time." "You see..." "What happened was his heart just got too big for his body." "It's OK." "It's OK." "Go home." "Just go home." "Go home." "Can I help you, son?" "'There's a place I go in my head sometimes." "'lt's cool and dim in there and you float like a cloud." "'Now you are a cloud, 'the kind you see in the sky on a windy day." "'You don't have to think about anything." "'You're nothing, you're nobody." "'I stayed in the down under for days and days 'and kept the door closed." "'Which is why I missed the funeral and Kevin's mom moving away." "'Grim threatened to unscrew my door but he never did." "'He just kept saying I should come out for Gram's sake." "'Sometimes she'd come down and say I should come out for Grim's sake. '" "It comes off in a couple of weeks." "What you been doin' these days?" "Nothin'." "Nothin's a drag, kid." "Think about it." "'So I thought about it." "'Matter of fact, I started thinking real hard. '" "Can anyone tell me why Miss Havisham wanted Pip to fall in love with Estella?" "Lisa, you've had your turn." "Max?" "Well..." "I think it's because... she wanted Estella... to break Pip's heart, just like her heart had been broken long ago." "Thank you, Max." "'And then..." "'I started connecting all these things I was thinking about." "'And I had a crazy thought." "'Since Freak showed me I could read a book, 'maybe I could write one, too." "'Then I thought to myself," ""'Who are you kidding, Max Kane?" "You got no brain."" "'So I wrote that down." "'And then kept on going... '... until it was spring again and I reached my last page." "'Now, only this dumb writer 'could get writer's block on his last page." "'You see, I just didn't know how to end it. '" ""Yet some men say in many parts of England" ""that King Arthur is not dead," ""that he shall come again," ""that there is written this verse upon his tomb," ""which lies at the bottom of the lake," ""'Here Lies King Arthur, Once And Future King'."" "'Once AND future king." "'Now, that could either mean that he will come again... 'or, I had a better idea... '... that when someone so great once was... 'then someone so great will always be." "'And by the time we get here, which I guess should be the end, 'you're gonna know the story of Freak the Mighty, 'who slayed dragons, saved maidens 'and walked high above the world. '"