♪
[voice] Vampling.
[rumbling]
Vampling.
- [voice in dream] Vampling. - [shouts]
Ooh.
Just a bad dream, Mr. Rutabaga.
Gotta lay off three-spice pizzas.
Happy Birthday.
Day 4,745 of my unremarkable life.
[dog] Wait for it.
Rainey?
[screams]
[Rainey] Whoa!
The first time's always the best.
- Ha-ha. - [mother] Honey? Time to get up.
The school musical auditions are today.
Ah-ha. Humans. [sneezes]
[exhales sharply]
♪
[pants]
[ball rattles]
Three, two, go time.
- [boy] Here we go. - [beeping]
[coughs]
Brah, smoke bomb? Cruel.
My wings don't work with smoke on them.
Well, that's how you catch a Hugar.
You're gonna hunt every Blended who wants to live as a human?
Yes.
- [grunts] - [chain rattles]
Argh. Argh!
Mythics, Blendeds whatever.
Whoa. Hey. What are you doing?
Yep.
Man what, are you, like, 13?
Go be an influencer like every other kid your age.
Please. The world is bigger than your phone.
Besides, I come from a long line of hunters.
It's what I was born to do. Capture and dispose of monsters.
Ever think of breaking the cycle?
Huh? What do you think?
- [cackles] - You could be a hero.
Don't do it, man. Whoa.
[boy] It must have been the three-spice pizza.
Last time I had one, I dreamt I was trapped
in a washing machine on spin cycle.
[girl] Rainey talking? Talking!
No way, no how. No dream.
I woke up floating above my bed.
Maybe I can fly.
Sick. And come here. Check this out.
[camera clicks]
Nah. You're messing with me. That's obvs a filter.
Argh. It was real!
[boy] Whoa, Carmie.
See?
That is what I'm talking about.
Maybe I'm a superhero.
The first one without a tragic origin story.
Carmie, don't touch anything. Don't kick anything.
You can't be seen.
No. I want to be seen.
Girl power. Tween excellence.
Adopted kids make the world spin.
I have superpowers.
Leanna is going to be so jelly.
I'm gonna, like, crush this audition.
And I'm maybe just going to, like, float right over her.
There's no floating.
There's no anything
until we figure out what happened to you.
Well, maybe what happened to me
was so that I can finally have a thing.
Superpowers.
You're not getting it.
If you've been given powers,
you've also been given enemies.
It's how it works.
A voice in my dream did keep saying, "Vampling."
"Vampling"?
What does that mean? What does that mean?
♪ They're trying to ride my wave Got 'em coasting ♪
♪ Can't be stopped I'm in motion ♪
♪ Home room breaking out With my crew in Cancun ♪
♪ You ain't got to hate You could get this way, too ♪
♪ They trying to ride my wave Got 'em coasting ♪
[girl] Carmela? Yay! Audition day.
- [shoe squeaks] - Whoop! [thuds]
[gasps] Who spilt water on the floor?
People, please. A little courtesy.
It's gonna be hazardous dancing next to her.
As friends, Carmela, I--
Uh, she hates that name.
Carm, Carmie? All good. Never Carmela.
I won't remember that.
You are, like, so brave to even audition. Like, why?
Wardrobe, makeup, an audience staring at me for 90 minutes.
It'll be fun.
Fun?
Really?
I've been practising for months.
Mm-hmm. Carmela, I've trained my entire life for this moment.
Not a bit of it was fun.
Acting, voice and dance lessons since I was five.
I won Miss Kramposki's Deli Queen pageant
three years in a row.
Well, I can do all the TikTok dances.
The first parts
kinda. [laughs]
I was chosen most likely to succeed
at my kindergarten graduation.
Wow. That's a lot of pressure to live up to.
Never, ever speak to me again.
Good luck. Kidding. Not kidding.
[school bell rings]
♪ They trying to ride my wave Got 'em coasting ♪
- You sure about this? - Yes. This is my moment.
[chair legs scrape on floor]
Hi. I'm Kev.
Let's see what we have.
- Okay. Let's go. - [dance music plays]
[Leanna] Don't try to follow me.
[teacher] Five, six, seven, eight.
Ugh.
[Leanna] Excuse me.
[music stops]
First cut. Back line.
- Thank you. - [boy] Argh.
Eee-ooh!
[music resumes]
And six, seven, eight.
[Leanna] Carmela, get behind me.
Whoo! Ugh. [thuds]
[music stops]
Who pushed me?
- [shouts] - She's clumsy.
Ever since she was a kid.
[teacher] Okay. Final cut.
Let's see who has what it takes to be in this show.
Whee! Woo!
- It's all good. Let's go. - [music resumes]
Let's go and see who makes the show.
♪
[squeals]
[props and set clatters]
[they gasp]
- [zapping] - [dancers shout]
[zapping]
♪
Honestly, what were you thinking?
Mrs. Johnson, if adults knew that 98% of the time
the answer to that question is
"I wasn't thinking," would they keep asking?
I'm not playing this game with you, Carmie.
Not even on your birthday.
Vice-Principal Chase will be with you shortly.
- We gotta go. I think I know-- - Mr. Gardner?
Kev. Just Kev.
What are you doing here?
Hoping to prevent catastrophic events
from occurring to my friend,
the school, the world.
That's nice, but you're going to do it out of this office.
Good day.
Now, Kev!
Hmm.
People always talk about nature versus nurture
and which one dominates.
What no one ever talks about is what happens when
the natural order mixes with the unnatural order.
That would be something to talk about.
When you said unnatural, did you mean supernatural?
No idea.
Things go into my brain and immediately exit my mouth.
Most people say it's weird. I say it's a gift.
So, you weren't talking to that kid?
I wasn't not talking to him. [chuckles]
The name's Madison. Happy Birthday.
How did you know it was my birthday?
Miss Henley?
Ooh. [thuds]
I'm okay.
New shoes.
This isn't over.
[Chase] Now, Miss Henley.
[exhales sharply]
Carmie.
I didn't do anything, okay? They were the ones who act--
Mmm.
They say you pushed Leanna off the stage.
[Carmie] Can we just call it
circumstances outside of my control?
I'm sure they were.
Regardless, I need to put on a musical.
[Carmie] Musical.
Yeah, yeah. Let's get into it.
Do some, what do they called? Rehearsals.
Bring in the audience and I'll own it.
Whatever "it" is. What is "it"? [chuckles]
You and Leanna clearly don't get along,
and that is a problem that I don't want to deal with.
Well, we're on the same page, and I
Especially because she is a trained singer and dancer.
And you, while enthusiastic, are not trained.
Oh, I'm trained. Yeah.
Tap, jazz, hip-hop.
I've been studying YouTube. Yeah, for months.
I've got this.
Say nothing! Say nothing.
I'm sure you think so, but I have a decision to make.
Don't worry. We'll be fine without Leanna.
Not the decision I was thinking.
I'll let you know if you're going to be a part
of the musical or not.
- Oh, but I can-- - Great. We're done.
- What? - [Kev] You didn't say anything?
How could I? She was telling me I might've blown my chance
to be in the musical.
That's not your biggest problem.
Really? Because I want No. I need to be in it.
What's wrong with one of us, the outsiders,
slightly uncool kids, not really talented, succeeding?
Stop. Listen. I remember where I heard the word "Vampling".
- So, it's a thing? Vampling? - Yes.
People just don't kick trash cans across the street.
Adrenalin?
Doesn't explain you blasting Leanna off the stage,
- you floating, or - Hormones?
What? I'm 13. May be possible.
Not possible.
Something in you has changed and given you these powers.
Like Zendaya?
She doesn't have superpowers.
Really? Because if you know, you know.
If you don't, you never will.
[Kev] I'm hitting the stacks.
Excellent. Who's your friend?
It's Carmie. You've met her, like, a hundred times.
But always ignores me.
Maybe, maybe not.
Don't touch the sleeved books. Only Kev.
He respects the art and he knows how to deal with tape.
You! Kid!
[alarm blares]
Nice try, but back, back, back.
Back, back. Stop.
Forward. Back Back.
Does this always happen?
- Yeah. - Okay.
Yes. Good.
Good. The comic returned. That's good.
You? Still not good.
You're banned for life.
[gasps]
Now, be gone!
- [Carmie] I found it. - Put those down there.
You know these are just comics, right?
That's what they want you to think.
Who's "they"?
There's always a "they" running things.
They have used comic books
to send secret messages for a century.
- To who? - To them.
I'm not even going to ask who "them" are.
- Buck Rogers, 1929. - Okay.
Why was it that the first rocket-ship design
- ever came from a comic book? - I have it.
So they could get the plans across the country
without anyone knowing.
Do you know about that? [laughs]
Of course you don't. Nobody does who doesn't read comics.
Ah. Here we go.
What's a Mythic?
They're legendary monsters who came before man.
So, I'm a monster?
No. But you could be a Blended,
the offspring of a Mythic and a human.
Grab me the magnifying glass.
Uh, super speed. Nice.
I am going to dance circles around Leanna.
This is the best day of my life! [squeals]
Carm?
Vampling?
"Vampling:
"the Blended offspring of a vampire,
and their powers are super speed," check,
"enhanced strength," check.
"energy blast "
- [chuckles] The best. Check. - Yep.
-"Fly." - Fly?
Really? [gasps, thuds]
Ow.
Scratch flying. We'll put "float."
I can't be a Vampling. My parents are normal, kinda.
Your bio parents? What do we even know about them?
My parents adopted me when I was three months old.
I have no idea.
So, one of your birth parents could've been a vampire.
That's impossible.
I'd say it's pretty undeniable.
"A Vampling receives their powers on their 13th year."
Happy Birthday, by the way.
[sighs] I mean,
I guess I always thought I was a little different,
but never thought I was a freak.
[phone chimes]
It's my dad. I gotta go.
Carmie?
You're not a freak. You're my best friend.
- [door closes] - [chuckles]
[comic store owner] So, you just moved to town?
You always ask so many questions?
- I just asked one. - That's a lot.
Okay. Show me what you think you have.
Maybe.
Is communicating a difficult thing for you?
Is that another question?
Yes. No. Maybe. I That wasn't a question.
[clears throat] I heard you are
the best at what I do.
Hey, kiddo. You got to answer your texts.
I know. Sorry. I'm just distracted.
Ah. Well, you want me to pick you up?
I mean, your birthday tacos are here,
and they are a-taco-ing.
No. I'm good. See you soon.
[eerie voice whispering]
[voice] Vampling. Vampling!
Nature-versus-nurture girl. What up?
Sorry. I didn't see you. I thought someone or something
was following me, but maybe not. I don't even know.
Sometimes I think people are following me when they're not,
and then, sometimes, people are following me
when I think they're not. So, I don't know.
- You always talk this fast? - Yes, I do.
Because life goes fast and you have no idea
what's going to happen next, even if "next" is what you want,
which in my life has never been the case
The name's Madison. Remember?
Sorry. Carmie. Nice to officially meet you.
My mom and I just moved here. It's her restaurant back there.
Oh. That must be nice. You can eat whatever you want.
- No. It doesn't work like that. - Oh.
Those girls you drenched at school were pretty upset.
They had a lot to say about you.
It's a long story.
Well, curious minds want to know.
Have you ever wanted to be someone special,
not just an outsider looking in?
Well, today, I had my chance to be special,
and I blew it.
Well, there's always second chances.
Besides, being an outsider kind of makes you cooler.
Impossible.
Joan of Arc. Greta Thunberg. Zendaya.
All outsiders trailblazing new paths.
[Carmie] I want to be like all of them.
[Madison chuckles] Exactly.
You get it.
But what if you turned out to be someone
you never thought you were?
That would be so dope. I hope I have that problem.
Wait. What were we talking about?
Listen. We can't change who we are,
and when you really think about it, would you want to?
- [tires squeal] - [shouts]
Did you just
Uh, did you did you just
How?
Uh, adrenalin.
Lots of adrenalin.
But what I think I just saw isn't possible.
Look. I have to go.
But I mean, you just saved my life.
- Can we talk about this? - No.
Yes.
I don't know, okay? Uh, I can't be late.
And the tacos are a-taco-ing, so
[gasps] This isn't over!
- [girl 1] I would love that. - [girl 2] Okay.
- [girl 1] Yeah. - [indistinct chatter]
That was so sick.
[girls] Oh.
It's my birthday. All good.
- [girls laughing] - [phone chimes]
Oh. Where am I?
Understudy. Understudy.
Understudy!
I made it kind of.
[squeals]
[shouts]
[phone chimes]
Hmm. Thought I'd gotten rid of all these.
Kev?
I'll be in my office. Lock up when you're all finished.
- Got it. - And, uh, Kev?
- Don't forget your phone. - [Kev] Oh.
Thank you.
[phone chimes]
You really want to explain to people why you can fly?
I knew you could talk.
I thought I was hearing things this morning.
I always could.
Now that you understand me, check your teeth.
What?
Your fangs. A dead giveaway.
Whoa!
I really am a Vampling!
Pull those beauties in. Taco time!
You are going to take a lot of getting used to.
[Rainey] Out of my way! Out of my way!
There's my birthday girl.
[both] We're hungry.
Carmie, meet Dylan. He just moved in down the block.
His mom's working tonight, so I invited him for dinner.
Hey, Dylan. Welcome to the neighbourhood.
Happy Birthday, Carmie. Thirteen is a big year.
Yeah.
So, how was the first day of the rest of your life, honey?
I believe I broke my unremarkable streak.
Oh. Well, birthday tacos for the birthday girl. Let's go.
[mother] Mm-hmm. Yes.
Dylan, why don't you sit over here with us?
[door creaks]
So cute when so tiny.
No way I'm staying in here.
[groans]
You can't keep us from the humans.
That kid is weird
but he delivers.
So many more to catch.
- [cackles] - Help!
♪