PERRY.
Jeez, where did Kent find the Amazon?
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INT. CLARK"S APARTMENT - NIGHT.
The apartment decor is simple. Lots of photos and mementos from home, high school football trophies and journalism awards.
DIANA"s looking at the wall of pictures. DIANA This one is new.
CLARK (OS).
(From the kitchen he looks up at a wall and answers) That"s my parents and Lana last Christmas.
DIANA.
They"re such good people.
DIANA gently runs her finger over the image of PA KENT with envy.
DIANA.
You know they sent me a Christmas card.
CLARK.
(Embarra.s.sed) I told them you didn"t celebrate Christmas. You should send them a card when Zeus" birthday comes.
DIANA.
I don"t think Hallmark makes a card for that.
CLARK steps out from the kitchen with a picnic basket.
CLARK.
Ready?
DIANA.
Where are we going?
CLARK.
A little place I know outside the city.
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EXT. GRa.s.sY PLAINS - NIGHT.
CLARK and DIANA are sitting on a large blanket eating by the dim light of a lantern. Although we can"t see the background, they seem to be in the middle of nowhere with a starlit sky. DIANA Everyone misses you, Clark.
CLARK.
(Distant) Really? That means a lot to me.
DIANA.
You seem distant. What"s troubling you, Clark?
CLARK.
That train. I"ve caught planes in midair. I should have been able to stop that. If Metallo hadn"t been there those people would have died.
DIANA.
But they didn"t. Be glad he was there.
CLARK.
It"s weird because I felt fine before I got there and then I just felt so tired.
DIANA.
(Comforting) It"s okay.
CLARK.
(Worried) It"s not okay. I don"t get sick. Do you have any idea what it takes to make me tired?
(Beat) There was a minute where I thought I was going to die with those people.
DIANA"s face turns serious.
CLARK.
Have you ever thought you were going to die?
DIANA.
(Uneasy at the idea) I, I"ve never considered it.
CLARK.
Me neither. I swear I was going to get crushed between those trains. There was a minute, not even, a fraction of a second, where something inside told me to get out the way.
DIANA.
Clark...
CLARK.
And then in a split second I justified it thinking if I saved myself and let those few hundred people die how many more could I save in my lifetime? A few thousand? Tens of thousands? Would letting a few hundred people die be worth saving a few million in the end?
DIANA.
But you could never do that. Do you think you could just let some asteroid drop into the middle of downtown and whatever happens, happens.
(Beat) That"s not like you. I know it"s a lot of pressure but you raise the standard.
Hal doesn"t tell anybody but I can tell he tries to run the League like you would. People strive to be like you and that"s a good thing.
CLARK.
I"m afraid one day I"m going to fail them.
DIANA.
And one day you might. But you can"t live in fear of that. One day we both might die but it isn"t how you die that"s important... it"s how you lived.
There is a long silence.
CLARK.
It"s nice to have someone who understands.
DIANA.
Anytime, Clark. Anytime.
CLARK.
This is a really nice spot. I always wondered why it"s here.
DIANA.
Do you really want to know?
CLARK.
Nah.
The CAMERA pans out and reveals they are sitting in the center of STONEHENGE.
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INT. METROPOLIS NUCLEAR FACILITY - CORE MONITORING STATION.
A TECH is seated behind a large panel of gauges, lights and switches. His feet are propped up on another chair and he"s leaning backwards in his chair reading copy of NEWSTIME. Several SUPERVISORS walk past the gla.s.s booth and one knocks to get his attention. SUPERVISOR (Through the gla.s.s) Don"t fall asleep in there, Thomas.
TECH nods his head in acknowledgment and goes back to his reading.
SUPERVISOR #1.
(To SUPERVISOR #2) He is such a bookworm.
CAMERA pans behind him and we see the PLAYBOY hidden behind the NEWSTIME.
A siren starts to wail. On the panel, lights flare on and off.
TECH drops the magazines. He pulls two ma.s.sive books from underneath the desk and flops them open reviewing procedures. The SUPERVISORS burst in immediately taking positions on the board and making phone calls.
SUPERVISOR #1.
What the h.e.l.l happened?!
TECH.
We have a core breach in sectors seventeen, five, sixty-six, seventy-five and forty-three.
SUPERVISOR #2.
Barrier fifteen will reach maximum potential in three minutes. Reserve shields are in place.
SUPERVISOR #3.
(Holding a telephone) It"s Damage Control. They want to know can you contain it?
Extremely long beat.
SUPERVISOR #1.
Sound "em off.
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EXT. SUICIDE SLUM - AFTER MIDNIGHT.
Suicide Slum Metropolis" only ghetto and bigger than some towns. The buildings are run down tenements with barred windows. The cars are old and decrepit with exception if the occasional gangster ride that people cross the street to avoid. Unless you can protect yourself, you don"t walk here at night.
On a corner, dozens of youths are hanging out when the sirens begin to wail.
They echo through the night like air raid sirens from World War II.
One by one, everything stops. Cars stop moving. Music stops playing. People stop talking. People sleeping wake and look out their windows to see the commotion. Everyone already outside walks to the center of the street where they can get a clear view of the nuclear power plant visible in the distance at the edge of the slum.
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