print this pagePREMIERE
Airdate: October 16, 2001
Written by: Alfred Gough & Miles Millar
Directed by: David Nutter
Transcript by: Debby A
ACT ONE
SCENE ONE:
Opening scene: Meteors hurtling through space. A small spacecraft can be seen among them. They fly past the moon toward earth.
SCENE TWO:
Bright sunny day, helicopter flying over cornfields. Caption reads, 'October, 1989'. Camera slides to show the 'Welcome to Smallville' sign featuring corn, population of 25,001 and the motto, 'Creamed Corn Capital of the World'. Cut to interior of helicopter. Newspaper is peeled back to reveal Lionel Luthor in a suit and tie.
Lionel (exasperatedly to a nine-year-old red-haired Lex seated next to him): This has got to stop. Open your eyes, Lex.
Lex (eyes squeezed shut): I can't...
Lionel: Luthors are not afraid. We don't have that luxury. We're leaders. (Pauses as Lex fails to open his eyes. Lionel leans closer.) You have a destiny, Lex. You're never gonna get anywhere with your eyes closed.
SCENE THREE:
Airborne view of typical rural midwest town of Smallville. Cut to interior of flower shop. Young girl seated at a short table in a pink fairy princess costume is waving a small wand.
Lana: Abracadabra...
A plainly-dressed man and woman enter the shop. They stop to look in the flower case.
Jonathan: Afternoon, Nell.
Nell (turning with bright smile, pleased to see him): Jonathan!
Woman turns around. Nell's look turns awkward, slightly disappointed.
Nell: ... Martha. What a surprise. What brings the reclusive Kents to town?
Martha (approaching counter): Tulips. Red ones if you have them.
Nell (fingering flowers behind her): What about Tiger Orchids?
Jonathan (approaching counter, puts his arm around Martha): No, thanks. Martha has her heart set on tulips.
Nell (disappointed): Yes, well, they are a very... uncomplicated flower.
Nell goes off to get the flowers.
Martha (noticing little girl nearby): That is a beautiful dress, Lana. Are you a princess?
Lana: I'm a fairy princess.
Jonathan (to Nell): Hey, where are her parents?
Nell: They're at the homecoming game with everyone else. I'm being the 'good aunt'.
Lana (to Martha): Do you want to make a wish?
Martha: I would *love* to make a wish.
Lana: Okay... (waves wand toward Martha) Abracadabra... (touches wand to Martha's forehead)
SCENE FOUR:
Exterior street. Jonathan puts two bags into the bed of a red truck. As he gets in the cab, Martha is in the passenger seat, looking wistfully out the window. He leans over toward her.
Jonathan: I know what you wished for. (Smiles understandingly)
Martha (with small shrug): I see a little face. It's all I ever wanted.
Jonathan leans over more and turns her around to kiss her. They are interrupted by cheering crowds all around the truck. A car full of cheerleaders goes past, waving pom-poms.
Jonathan: Hey, (smiling, pleased) looks like Smallville won again.
Martha slides over to sit beside Jonathan in the truck, leaning on him. He starts the truck and they drive off through the street full of cheering Smallville residents. A banner overhead reads, 'Let's Go Crows!'
SCENE FIVE:
Meteors hurtling through space enter earth's atmosphere, begin burning up. There are many of them. The small spacecraft is clearly seen among them.
SCENE SIX:
Cornfield. A crow is chased off a fencepost as a clump of dirt hits the post.
Lionel: Lex? Son?
Young Lex turns around. He is dressed in a navy suit with almost unnaturally red hair. Lionel is standing around an older truck conferring with two African-American men -- one in work clothes, the other in an older Western-style blazer. There is a plant behind them, as well as the Luthors' helicopter, and cornfields all around them. Satisfied, Lionel goes back to his business with the men.
Lionel: Now, where do I sign?
Man: Right here...
Lionel turn to the papers on the hood of the truck. Lex's attention turns to the cornfield ahead of him. He begins walking down between the stalks, as crickets chirp around him. An anguished, ghostly voice is suddenly heard.
Jeremy: Help me...
Lex looks around, but there is nothing.
Jeremy (urgently): Help me... please...
Lex looks around, afraid. He sees an old scarecrow. Scared, he begins to run through the corn, looking behind him as though being chased. He pulls out an asthma inhaler to use as he runs, but trips and falls into the dirt. Looking around, he finds the dropped inhaler and retrieves it. He pushes himself across the dirt to lean against a pole, breathing heavily.
Jeremy: ...hey...kid...
Hearing the voice, Lex looks up behind him. A pair of bare feet are tied to the post. He looks up more, and it is a teenage boy. He is tied, crucifixion-style to the post. Clad only in boxer shorts, he has a crude 'S' painted on his chest in red. Lex jumps back, terrified.
Jeremy: ...help me... (Lex is glued to the ground, so the boy pleads again) ...help me, please...
In the sky above him, a meteor streaks through the clouds in a fireball. It crashes into the cornfield nearby, making a huge explosion. The wave of dirt and energy rolls through the cornfield, destroying everything in its path. It engulfs the captive Scarecrow Boy. Lex runs for all he's worth, but the impact explosion engulfs him too.
SCENE SEVEN:
A street in downtown Smallville. The cheering crowd of families has stopped, staring into the sky. A long trail of dark smoke is left across the sky from the meteor that fell. Nell, carrying Lana, comes out to look.
Nell (looking at the meteor trail): What on God's earth...?
Across the street, a man and woman get out of a car. The woman waves.
Laura Lang: Hi, Lana!
Lana (seeing her, getting excited): Mommy! Daddy!
As Lana's parents stop outside the car to look at the sky, another meteor comes streaking out of the sky. Lana sees it headed toward them. It crashes directly into where her parents are standing, exploding them and the car. People begin screaming. The force of the explosion throws Nell and Lana away. People begin running from their cars and shops. Total chaos. More meteors are hurtling out of the sky toward Smallville. One strikes the water tower, exploding it. Meteors rip through buildings, destroy more cars while people run frantically about, trying to get away. Nell, holding Lana, is hiding amidst the rubble. Lana is sobbing for her parents.
SCENE EIGHT:
The Kents' truck is headed down a lonely, two-lane rural road out of town. A fireball streaks out of the sky to crash in the field next to them. The Kents look around worriedly, confused. Another one destroys the 'Welcome to Smallville' sign just as they pass it. They look back, scared.
Martha: What's happening, Jonathan?
As they turn around, another fireball strafes across the road in front of them. Jonathan slams on the brakes, but the truck cannot stop in time. It veers into the smoke and dirt trail left by the meteor. We hear a crash.
SCENE NINE:
Cornfield near the plant. Smoke everywhere.
Lionel (running): Lex!? (shoves into the stalks) Lex! Where are you?
As Lionel yells, he stops, realizing that the cornfield has been completely flattened. He runs over the ruined stalks, to stop and stare at the destruction. Looking down, he sees a patch of Lex's bright-red hair. He picks it up, visibly upset. He looks around, seeing something.
Lionel: Lex...?
Running over to something, he pulls the ruined corn away, staring stricken at what he finds. He backs away slightly. The camera now reveals Lex, completely bald, lying huddled on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. His eyes are open, but he is far from lucid.
SCENE TEN:
The Kent truck is upside-down in a crater. Smoke everywhere. The Kents are still inside, hanging upside down suspended by their seatbelts. Martha's tulips are spread across the cab. Jonathan regains consciousness, then Martha. As he struggles toward awareness, Jonathan looks outside the ruined window. A small pair of bare feet approaches across the crater path.
Jonathan (confused, uncertain, still looking out the window): Martha?
Martha looks over just in time to see a small boy hunch down to look at them. He is naked, has dark hair, and does not appear traumatized by what happened. The Kents are dumbfounded, speechless. The little boy smiles.
SCENE TEN: Jonathan and Martha are walking down the path of the crater, awestruck. Small bits of fire and smoke still litter the ground. Martha is walking behind Jonathan, carrying the toddler wrapped in a blue blanket.
Jonathan: Kids just don't... fall out of the sky, Martha.
Martha (confused, in shock): Then where did he come from?
Jonathan: I don't know. But he must have parents.
They stop as they suddenly see something embedded in the crater. It is a roughly egg-shaped metal craft of some kind, buried in the dirt.
Martha: Well, if he does, they're definitely not from Kansas.
Jonathan looks around, up at the sky. Then, back at the boy. Martha is smiling at the child. She looks at her husband.
Jonathan: Sweetheart, we can't keep him.
Martha is upset by the statement.
Jonathan: What are we gonna tell people? We found him out in a field?
Martha: We didn't find him. (She looks at Jonathan, amazed) He found us.
Jonathan looks back across the rubble as Martha hugs and comforts the boy. They both look into the sky, Jonathan's arm around his wife.
ACT TWO
SCENE ONE:
The Kent farm, full of cows, grain silos, and an old-fashioned yellow farmhouse. Caption reads, 'Today'. Cut to interior of Kent house. A computer screen shows a headline that reads, 'Record breaking teen becomes fastest man alive'. A teenage boy with dark hair is rapidly reading the article. Another article appears about a six-year-old Korean boy lifting a car of his injured father.
Martha's voice from another room: Clark Kent! You're gonna be late for the bus!
Clark (turning away from the computer screen in his room): Coming, Mom!
SCENE TWO: Clark opens the refrigerator and drinks from the milk jug. He is in jeans and a dark sweater over a white t-shirt, holding a piece of paper in one hand.
Martha (entering the kitchen): Uh-uh. (Takes the bottle away.)
Clark (protesting, slightly whining): It tastes better out of the bottle.
Martha: Where'd you learn your manners?
Clark (rummaging through a cabinet): On a farm. (He smiles at his own joke.)
Jonathan enters through the back door.
Jonathan (to Clark): Well... afternoon, sleepyhead.
As he takes off his work coat, Martha hands him a mug.
Martha: Oh, don't forget I have class tonight, so you two are on your own. (Chastising the men) And *don't* order pizza - there's plenty of food in the fridge.
Clark, now sitting at the kitchen table, looks worried about something. We see now that the paper in his hand is an 'Application for permission to participate in school football -- Smallville High School'. He is staring at it.
Jonathan (amused by his wife) offscreen: Hey, what'cha got there, son?
Clark (standing up to face his father): Permission slip. (nervously) It's for the football team. A couple of spots opened up.
Martha looks up, startled.
Clark: They're having tryouts this afternoon.
Jonathan takes the permission slip and looks at it.
Clark: C'mon, Dad, you played football in high school.
Jonathan (handing permission slip to Martha): That was different, son.
Clark: Why?
Jonathan (looking knowingly at Clark): You know why.
Clark: I figure I'll run at half speed and I won't hit anybody.
Jonathan (sits near Martha, taking a drink of his coffee): A lot of things can happen in the heat of the game, son.
Clark (pressing forward despite the opposition): Most new guys hardly even play. Chances are, I'll ride the bench half the season. (Looks imploringly at his father) Dad, I can be careful.
Jonathan (thoughtfully): I know that you can be careful, but what if there's an accident?
Clark just sighs. Jonathan looks uncomfortable, while Martha watches them both.
Jonathan: Um, look, Clark, (Puts his hand on his son's shoulder) I know this has gotta be really hard for you. But you gotta just hang in there like we promised.
Clark: I'm sick of 'hanging in there'. All I want to do is go through high school without being a total loser.
Clark gives his father an accusatory, frustrated look and walks out the door with his school backpack. Jonathan and Martha sigh and look very unhappy.
SCENE THREE:
Outside the house, Clark is walking down the driveway, pensive. He looks up to see the school bus driving away. Jogging after it, he realizes he will never catch it. Inside the bus, a blonde-haired girl and an African-American boy are watching out the window.
Chloe: I can't believe you bet against your best friend.
She hands the boy some money, which he pockets, smiling.
Pete: Statistical fact: If Clark moved any slower, he'd be extinct.
Both smile and laugh good-naturedly. Back standing on the dirt road, Clark suddenly looks as though he has thought of something. He disappears in a blur of motion. As the bus goes down the road, we see a streak run through the cornfield. There is a new 'Welcome to Smallville' sign reading population 45,001, with the motto 'the meteor capital of the world'. As the bus stops for some students, there is a thud on the roof.
Chloe (pointing at the roof): Did you hear that?
There is another blur of motion through the cornfield away from the bus. It passes a sign for a housing tract reading, 'Pleasant Meadows, Another Luthor Corp Project'.
SCENE FOUR:
Smallville High School. A huge red banner reading, 'Fly to Victory' hangs over the entrance to the multi-story building. Students mill around outside and head inside. Music blares. The boy (Pete) and girl (Chloe) from the bus are going up the front stairs. Chloe is dressed eclectically with a large leopard-print bag and a fur-collared jacket. Pete carries a backpack and is wearing a red coat.
Pete: So... anyone ask you to the dance?
Chloe: Not yet.
Pete: Well, if nothing pans out with you-know-who, maybe you and--
Chloe (stopping forcefully): Pete, do you want to take a commercial break from the soap opera in your head? I've told you a hundred times -- I'm not interested in Clark.
Pete (as she walks away): Your vehement denial has been duly noted!
She smiles back at him and he runs to catch up.
Pete: Hey, maybe you and I could go together. I mean, not as a date-date thing. More of a friend-friend thing.
Before she answers, Clark approaches them.
Clark: Hi, guys.
Chloe (surprised by his being there): Uh, uh, what, weren't you just...
Clark: I took a shortcut.
Chloe: Through what? A black hole?
Pete (walking Clark away from Chloe): Clark, you'll have to excuse our intrepid reporter. Seems her 'wierdar' is on Defcon Five. She thought someone was attacking the bus.
Chloe, overhearing, runs around to stop the boys and make her case.
Chloe: Okay, just because everyone else chooses to ignore the strange things that happen in this leafy little hamlet doesn't mean that they don't happen.
Pete: Now, you know we'd love to join you and Scooby in the Mystery Machine for another zany adventure, but we've gotta hand in (takes a paper from his pocket and unfolds it) these permission slips before homeroom.
He walks Clark away again, excited.
Clark (awkwardly): Actually, uh, Pete, I'm having second thoughts. I don't think signing up for the team is such a great idea.
Pete (gesturing with the permission slip): Clark, listen. This is the only way.
Chloe (overhearing again): Wait, wait, wait. You two are trying out for the football team? (Amused) What is this, some kind of teen suicide pact?
Pete grabs her and pulls her away from the milling students. Speaks urgently and in a lowered voice.
Pete: We're trying to avoid becoming this year's scarecrow.
Chloe: What are you talking about and why are we whispering?
Pete: It's a homecoming tradition. Every year before the big game, the football players select a freshman, take him off to Riley field, strip him down to his boxers, and then paint an 'S' on his chest.
Clark: Then string him up like a scarecrow.
Chloe (making disgusted face): Jeez, that sounds like years of therapy waiting to happen.
Clark looks away from the conversation.
Pete: Why do you think we're trying out for the team? Figure they won't choose one of their own.
We see now that Clark is looking at another student. A girl with long dark hair and a bright smile. She is wearing a blue sweater and a necklace with some kind of green gem. She laughs with her girlfriends. Clark watches her for a long moment, then addresses his friends briefly.
Clark: I'll see you guys in class.
He walks toward the girl.
Chloe: Bye.
As Pete and Chloe watch Clark walk toward the girl, Pete pulls out some money and holds it up.
Pete: I give him ten seconds.
Chloe: Five.
As they watch Clark, Pete begins to count.
Pete: One, two, three, four, five--
Clark trips and falls to the ground, spilling his stuff.
Chloe (taking the money from Pete): Statistical fact. Clark Kent can't get within five feet of Lana Lang without turning into a total freak show.
Cut to Lana, holding a paperback of Nietzsche. Crouching, she hands it to Clark, who is collecting his things from the sidewalk.
Lana: Nietzsche...
We see a close-up of the green gem on her necklace as he takes the book.
Lana: Didn't realize you had a dark side, Clark.
Clark (awkward, unsure): Doesn't everybody?
Lana: I guess so. (She stands up) So, what are you -- man or superman?
Clark: I haven't figured it out yet.
A boy approaches. In a letterman's jacket, he is the blonde all-American type.
Whitney: Lana? There you are.
They kiss. Clark watches, unhappy.
Whitney: Hey, Clark.
Clark turns back to collecting his stuff.
Whitney (to Lana): I was wondering if you could do me a humongous favor. Could you check over my English paper? I didn't finish it 'til 2 am, so I'm not too sure about the ending.
Clark sits on a nearby fence, obviously feeling sick. He is hunched over, breathing oddly.
Lana: I'm sure it's great.
Whitney (noticing Clark having trouble): Dude... are you feeling all right? You look like you're about to... to hurl.
Clark (giving him a lame grin): I'm fine.
Lana looks a little concerned, but they turn away. Whitney stops to pick something up off the ground.
Whitney: You forgot one, Clark.
He tosses another book to Clark, who loses his grip on the rest of his books. They fall to the ground again, as does Clark. Whitney and Lana walk away just as the bell rings.
SCENE FIVE:
Inside the high school, the bell is ringing and students are hurrying to class. The camera slides over to a trophy case. There is a young man staring into it. Suddenly, he shoves his fist through the glass. Looking menacingly, he takes out a framed photo of three celebrating boys in Smallville High football uniforms.
Jeremy: It's payback time.
He leaves, taking the photo with him.
SCENE SIX:
A Porsche rips past a sign that reads, 'Luthor Corp Fertilizer Plant No. 3'. It speeds past a Luthor Corp truck, music blaring. Stopping in front of the plant, a young bald man in a dark suit gets out. Looking around, he sighs.
Man: Thanks, Dad.
As he walks inside, the license plate on his car is visible. It is a Metropolis license plate reading simply, 'Lex'.
SCENE SEVEN:
A football field. A whistle blows and we see the football team is practicing. Whitney is the quarterback. On the sidelines, the cheerleading squad is practicing. Lana is front and center of the squad.
Cheerleaders in unison: Red and gold no doubt... we're here to win one out... (they cheer)
Behind them, in the stands alone, Clark sits. He has an open book, but he is watching the activity on the field instead.
There is a flash, and it is night. Clark, in a football uniform, is playing quarterback. Band music plays in the background, and a crowd cheers. He takes the ball, backing up to look for someone open. No one is open. The crowd cheers, the seconds tick off the clock. He must do something. As the other team closes on him, he blasts through them, shoving them all through the air. He runs and no one can catch him. The seconds tick down. The crowd cheers. He jumps over another group of players in his way. Just as the clock reaches zero, he lands in the end zone. The ref calls it good. Smallville has won the game. He spikes the ball. Lana runs up to him, smiling.
Lana: I knew you could do it, Clark.
As the crowd chants, 'Clark, Clark, Clark', he grabs her and leans down to kiss her--
Pete: Clark!
Clark jumps, startled. It was not real. He's still sitting in the stands alone. Pete is standing in front of him, in a football uniform.
Pete: How do I look?
The helmet, too big, slides down over Pete's eyes.
Clark (laughing): Like a tackle dummy. (He stands to leave) Good luck.
Pete watches him go.
SCENE EIGHT:
A country road. The Porsche is speeding down it. Lex is driving, unhappy and bored. He downshifts. The opposite direction, a semi is headed down the road. As the semi approaches a bridge, we see Clark standing at the bridge railing, looking over at the water. He looks contemplative. Distant and unhappy. The truck's load of barbed wire is starting to come loose. It breaks off the truck, unnoticed, and rolls across the road just as Lex's car speeds onto the bridge. Lex's cellphone rings and he digs for it. Looking up, he sees the wire roll in the road and slams on his brakes. But it's too late -- he hits the wire, popping his tires in a cloud of smoke, and swerves out of control across the road. He slams directly into Clark and the railing, sending them both off the bridge to crash into the water.
Under the water, the Porsche is intact, but Lex is unconscious. Clark swims over, peels the roof of the car back, and goes inside after Lex. On the bank, he lays Lex on the ground and starts doing CPR.
Clark: C'mon (pumping on Lex's chest)... don't die on me...
Lex spits up water, regaining consciousness. Clark is relieved. There is a bleeding cut on Lex's cheek. Coughing and gasping, Lex looks up at Clark.
Lex: I coulda sworn I hit *you*.
Clark (breathing heavily): If you did, I'd be... I'd be dead.
Clark looks silently behind him up at the destroyed bridge railing.
ACT THREE
SCENE ONE:
The riverbank. Jonathan runs up to Clark, who is sitting on the ground wrapped in a red blanket, still wet. Police are working at the scene.
Jonathan: Clark!
He stops in front of Clark, checking his son out for himself.
Jonathan: Son, are you all right?
Clark (nodding): Yeah, I'm okay.
Jonathan (loudly to the sheriff nearby): Who's the maniac who was driving that car?
Lex: That would be me. (Holds out a hand.) Lex Luthor.
Jonathan (ignoring the offered hand, taking off his coat): I'm Jonathan Kent. (Wraps the coat around Clark over the blanket) This is my son.
Lex: Thanks for saving my life.
Clark: I'm sure you would have done the same thing.
Clark gets off the ground, his father heading him up the embankment.
Lex (to Jonathan as he passes): You have quite an extraordinary boy there, Mr. Kent. If there's any way I can repay you--
Jonathan (takes a breath): Drive slower.
They both walk up the embankment to the road. Lex watches them leave, then turns as his car is pulled out of the water with a crane.
SCENE TWO:
Kent farm at night. In the barn, Clark is in the hayloft. He has a telescope, which he looks through at the moon. Then, he moves it to focus on the house across from him. Another big farmhouse, the lights are on and the screen door opens. Lana Lang comes out onto the porch. Clark smiles, continues watching. Lana sets a mug down and sits on the bench. Whitney sneaks up behind her as Clark watches, the smile disappearing. Whitney surprises Lana, giving her a big hug and kiss from behind.
Lana (laughing): Whitney, my aunt will be back any minute.
Whitney: Oh, come on. We're living life on the edge.
Lana: Well, if Nell finds us out here, your life won't be worth living.
Whitney: Where is she anyway? Bridge club?
Lana: Lex Luthor's
Whitney (coming around to sit beside Lana on the bench): I didn't know your aunt was in with the Luthors.
Lana: She sold them a ton of land.
Whitney: They own the Metropolis Sharks. She could put in a good word for me.
Lana: You want someone to put in a good word, ask Clark. He saved Lex's life today.
Whitney: You're kidding.
Lana: Sometimes people can surprise you. (smiles fondly) I think it's kind of cool.
Whitney (changing the subject): Coach said a scout from Kansas State's comin' to the game Saturday.
Lana (smiling): That's great.
Whitney (seriously, looking in the distance): I don't want to be a 'remember him'. Smallville's got enough of those guys.
Lana smiles, takes off her necklace. She hands it to him.
Lana: I want you to wear this to the game on Saturday.
Whitney: I can't take this.
Lana: You can give it back after you've won.
Whitney (looking at the necklace): Is it... really made from a piece of the meteor that... y'know...
Lana (nodding): So much bad luck came out of it -- there can only be good luck left.
Whitney leans over and kisses her. Clark looks up from the telescope, upset. He abandons the telescope and sits down alone.
SCENE THREE:
Auto repair shop, also at night. Loud music blaring. Inside, a man is working on a truck. He successfully starts the truck and is pleased. As he drops the hood, he is startled by another person standing nearby in the shadows.
Man: Jeez, kid. You scared the crap outta me.
When the kid fails to respond, he stops to look at him. The lights flicker once. The boy still doesn't move, staring menacingly at the man.
Man: Don't I know you? (realization dawns) You look like that scarecrow kid. Where the hell you been?
Scarecrow Boy still doesn't answer. He smiles evilly.
Man: Hey, freakazoid, wake up.
He reaches out to push the kid. As his hand contacts the other, an electrical charge rips through him, throwing him across the garage. Lights flicker. The boy advances on him.
Man (from floor): That was twelve years ago, man. It was just a game. (Breathing heavily) What do you want?
Jeremy: To play.
Scarecrow Boy grabs him again, the electricity surging through him as Scarecrow Boy lifts him into the air and slams him against the wall. Camera reveals the same framed photo of three football players that Scarecrow Boy took from the trophy case in the school. The glass breaks as the sound of energy crackling gets louder.
SCENE FOUR:
Daytime. Kent Farm. Clark is walking down the drive, backpack in hand, looking extremely unhappy. He sees something ahead and jogs toward it. It's a brand-new red truck with a big blue bow on the hood.
Clark (approaching Martha getting on a tractor): Hey, Mom? Whose truck?
Martha: Yours. (Takes an envelope from her pocket) It's a gift from Lex Luthor.
Clark takes the envelope, opens it to read the card inside. It's monogrammed 'LL'.
Clark: "Dear Clark: Drive safely. Always in your debt. The maniac in the Porsche."
Clark smiles, looking at the truck.
Clark: I don't believe it. Where are the keys?
Martha (getting off the tractor): Your father has them.
Cut to a chipper being used. Jonathan is feeding branches into it. Clark walks through the barn toward him. Seeing him, Jonathan stops the chipper, removes his safety equipment and leaves the machine.
Jonathan: I know how much you want it, son. But you can't keep it.
Clark (following his father into the barn): Why not? I saved the guy's life!
Jonathan: So you think you deserve a prize?
Clark (slightly angry): That's not what I meant. (Getting no favorable response from his father) Look, how about you drive the new one and I'll drive the old one. Everybody wins.
Jonathan (sighing): It's not about winning, Clark.
Clark: It's not like the Luthors can't afford it.
Jonathan (sighing again): Do you want to know why that is? Do you remember Mr. Bell? We used to go fishing on his property? How about Mr. Guy? He used to send us pumpkins every Halloween. Well, Lionel Luthor promised to cut them in on a deal. He sent them flashy gifts. (Holds up keys to new truck) Only once he sold him their property, he went back on his word. He had them evicted, son.
Clark: So you're judging Lex on what his father did?
Jonathan: No, Clark, I'm not. I just want to make sure you know where the money came from that bought that truck.
At an impasse, Clark doesn't respond. He just heads up the stairs to the loft. Jonathan turns away, then stops.
Jonathan: Clark, I know you're upset, son, but it's normal.
Clark throws down his backpack.
Clark: Normal?
He walks past Jonathan toward the chipper. Flicks it on.
Clark (to his father): How about this? Is this normal?
Clark thrusts his hand into the chipper. Jonathan runs over and grabs at Clark's arm, pulling it out of the chipper. Panicked, he examines Clark's arm. The sleeve is ripped away, but his arm has no injury.
Clark (passionately): I didn't dive in after Lex's car. It hit me at sixty miles an hour. Does that sound normal to you? (backs away one step, imploringly) I'd give anything to be normal.
Clark jogs back up the stairs. Jonathan watches him go. Martha appears nearby, also watching Clark. They both look worried, torn. Martha gives Jonathan a small shrug, and he nods slightly.
SCENE FIVE:
Clark is in his hayloft, sitting dejectedly near the telescope. Jonathan approaches, pulling something from his pocket. It's a piece of cloth.
Jonathan: It's time, son.
Clark: Time for what?
Jonathan: The truth.
Jonathan sits down next to Clark. He fiddles with the cloth for a moment.
Jonathan: I want you to take a look at something.
He unwraps the cloth to reveal a small piece of smooth metal with undecipherable symbols on it.
Jonathan: I think it's from your parents. Your... your *real* parents.
Clark takes the object from his father, frowning. He looks at it.
Clark: What does it say?
Jonathan: I tried to decipher it for years, but it's not written in any language... known to man.
Clark (eyeing his father): What do you mean?
Jonathan (awkwardly): Your real parents weren't exactly from around... here.
Clark: Where are they from?
Jonathan just looks up at the sky. Clark follows his line of sight, confused.
Clark (disbelieving): What are you trying to tell me, Dad? That I'm from another planet?
Jonathan just looks at his son.
Clark (sarcastically): I suppose you stashed my spaceship in the attic?
Jonathan: Actually... it's in the storm cellar.
SCENE SIX:
The storm cellar. Jonathan slides a tarp off the small spaceship from the field.
Jonathan: This is how you came into our world, son. It was the day of the meteor shower.
Clark (backing away from the craft): Wait. This is a joke, right?
He turns away from the craft and his father, then turns back angrily.
Clark: Why didn't you tell me about this before?
Jonathan: We wanted to protect you.
Clark (angrily): Protect me from what?
Jonathan doesn't answer.
Clark: You should have told me.
He disappears in a burst of super speed. Jonathan jogs to the open door after him.
Jonathan: Clark!
ACT FOUR
SCENE ONE:
A graveyard at night. Lana rides up on a horse. She dismounts and enters the cemetery, carrying flowers. Something startles her.
Lana: Who's there?
Clark: It's me. (He steps out to the open, standing in front of a winged angel statue.) Clark.
Lana: Clark Kent? (Comes closer) What are you doing creeping around the woods?
Clark: You'd never believe me if I told you.
Clark: Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.
He turns to leave.
Lana: Clark, wait. (Walks toward him) I just wasn't expecting to see anyone out here. Are you okay?
Clark (stopping): I'm hanging out in a graveyard. Does this strike you as okay behavior?
Lana: Hey... I'm here too.
Clark: Good point. What's your story?
Lana (moving to stand in front of him): Can you keep a secret?
Clark: I'm the Fort Knox of secrets.
Lana: I... came out here to talk with my parents. (Laughs, turns away slightly) You must think I'm pretty weird, you know, conversing with dead people.
Clark: No, I don't think you're weird, Lana.
She smiles at him.
Clark: Do you remember them?
Lana: They died when I was three.
Clark: I'm sorry.
Lana: It's not your fault, Clark. (Smiles, warmly amused) C'mon, I'll introduce you.
She takes him by the hand and leads him to a gravestone set in the ground.
Lana: Mom, Dad, this is Clark Kent. (to Clark) Say hi.
Clark: Hi. (Waves slightly, awkwardly)
Lana chuckles. She crouches and sets the flowers down on the stone. It reads, "Lang, Lewis (1957-1989) and Laura (1959-1989), forever loved"
Lana (to gravestone): Yeah, he is kinda shy. (Pauses) How should I know? (to Clark as he, too, kneels down) Mom wants to know if you're upset about a girl?
Clark just shakes his head.
Lana: Dad wants to know if you're upset about a guy?
Clark (quickly): No. No.
Lana (laughing): He has a twisted sense of humor.
He smiles a little.
Lana: Seriously, Clark, why are you out here?
Clark (intensely): Lana, do you ever feel like your life was supposed to be something different?
Lana (nodding): Sometimes I dream I'm at school, waiting for Nell to pick me up. But she doesn't come, so my parents drive up. They're not dead, they're just... really late. (Smiling) And I get in the car and we drive back to my real life in Metropolis. That's usually when I wake up. But for a minute, I'm totally happy. (Suddenly somber) Until I realize I'm still alone.
As she stops talking, there is a silence. Then Clark leans toward the gravestone slightly.
Clark (to gravestone): What's that, Mrs. Lang? (Pauses) Yeah, I'll-- I'll tell her.
Clark: Your mom wants you to know you're never alone, that she's always looking over you. No matter what. (pauses) What's that, Mr. Lang? (Pause) Your dad thinks you're a shoo-in for Homecoming Queen.
Lana (smiling): They really say all that?
Clark: Oh yeah. They're really quite chatty once you get 'em started.
Lana just smiles at him.
SCENE TWO:
A large, red barn at night. Lana and Clark are walking away from it.
Lana: Thanks for walking me home.
Clark: Beats creeping around the woods.
Lana (laughing): You realize this is the longest conversation we've ever had? We should do it again.
They stop near the house.
Clark: Yeah, we should. (pauses) So, are you going to the dance?
Lana: Yeah... with Whitney.
Clark (suddenly awkward): Right. Of course.
Lana: How 'bout you?
Clark: Nah... figured I'd sit it out.
Lana: Well... if you change your mind, I might save you a dance.
Clark perks up slightly. Lana walks over and gives him a small kiss on the cheek.
Lana: Good night, Clark.
As she walks away, she turns to smile fondly at him again. Once she turns back away, Clark smiles too, and walks the other direction. As they both disappear, Whitney walks out of the shadows of the front porch behind them. Angrily, he watches Clark walk down the dirt path.
SCENE THREE:
A European-castle style mansion surrounded by manicured gardens. Daytime. Clark is walking down a hallway inside, looking around cautiously.
Clark (calling out): Hello?
He pauses to look up a staircase, then moves on down the hall.
Clark: Hello?
He walks into a large room, where two people are fencing furiously around the room. Clark stands in the doorway, watching as one, a woman, pins the other against a wall. Angry, the pinned man hurls his saber across the room. It slams into the wall right next to Clark's head. The man takes his mask off to reveal Lex.
Lex: Clark? (Walks toward Clark) I didn't see you.
Clark (eyeing the saber): I, uh, buzzed, but no one answered.
Lana: How'd you get through the gate?
Clark: I kinda squeezed through the bars. If this is a bad time--
Lex: Oh, no, no. I think Heidi has sufficiently kicked my ass for the day.
Lex walks away to set down his saber and mask.
Clark: This is a great place.
Lex: Yeah... If you're dead and in the market for something to haunt.
Lex heads out into the hallway, and Clark follows him.
Clark: Well, I meant... roomy.
Lex: It's the Luthor ancestral home. Or so my father claims. (He walks up the staircase) He had it shipped over from Scotland stone by stone.
Clark: Yeah, I remember. The trucks rolled through town for weeks, but no one ever moved in.
Lex: My father had no intention of living here. He's never even stepped through the front door.
Clark: Then why'd he ship it over?
Lex (shrugging): Because he could.
SCENE FOUR:
Upstairs, Luthor mansion. Clark follows Lex into a large, sunny room with gym equipment.
Lex: How's the new ride?
Clark (reluctantly): That's why I'm here.
Lex: What's the matter, you don't like it?
Draping a towel around his neck, Lex goes to a table with some fruit.
Clark: No, it's not that. I... can't keep it.
Lex (turning to face Clark): Clark, you saved my life. I think it's the last I can do. (Pauses) Your father doesn't like me, does he?
Clark hedges.
Lex: It's okay. I've been bald since I was nine. (Walks to the front of a full-length mirror) I'm used to people judging me before they get to know me.
Clark: It's nothing personal. He's just not crazy about your dad.
Lex: Figures the apple doesn't fall far from the tree? (Nods, still looking in the mirror) Understandable. (Turns to Clark) What about you, Clark? Did you fall far from the tree?
Clark doesn't answer. After a moment, he hands the keys to Lex instead.
Clark: I'd better go. Thanks for the truck.
Clark heads for the door.
Lex: Clark.
Clark stops. Turns around.
Lex: Do you believe a man can fly?
Clark (confused): Sure. In a plane.
Lex: No, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about soaring through the clouds, with nothing but air beneath you.
Clark: People can't fly, Lex.
Lex: I did. After the accident, when my heart stopped. (Turns away from Clark as he speaks of the memory) It was the most... exhilarating two minutes of my life. I flew over Smallville, and for the first time, I didn't see a dead end. I saw a new beginning. (Faces Clark again) Thanks to you, I have a second chance. We have a future, Clark, and I don't want anything to stand in the way of our friendship.
SCENE FIVE:
Smallville. A crowd has gathered as a man is being brought out of a story on a stretcher. As the police hold the crowd back, Pete and Chloe are in the crowd. Chloe has a camera. The paramedics put the man into an ambulance.
Pete: That's the third guy this week.
Chloe: And they're all former jocks.
Pete spies Scarecrow Boy in the crowd and points him out to Chloe.
Pete: Who's the weirdo?
Chloe: I don't know. Let's check him out.
She snaps a picture of Scarecrow Boy.
SCENE SIX:
Closeup of a high school yearbook. The picture of Scarecrow Boy is labeled 'Jeremy Creek'.
Chloe: His name is Jeremy Creek. This is a picture of him twelve years ago. This is one I took four hours ago.
She points out the digital snapshot. The two pictures look the same, age-wise. We see now that Chloe, Pete, and Clark are in the school, in a messy office-like space.
Clark: That's impossible. He'd be like 26 today. It must be a kid who looks like him.
Pete: My money was on the evil twin theory, until we checked his 'missing persons'.
Chloe: Jeremy disappeared from the state infirmary a few days ago, where he'd been in a coma for twelve years. They say he suffered from massive electrolyte imbalance.
Pete: That's why he hasn't aged a day.
Clark: So you're telling me he just woke up.
Chloe: No, there was a huge electrical storm, and the hospital's generator went down. And when it came back on, Jeremy was gone.
Pete: Electricity must have charged him up like a Duracell.
Clark: And now he's back in Smallville, putting former jocks into comas. Why?
Pete: Because twelve years ago today, they chose Jeremy Creek as the Scarecrow.
Clark holds up a newspaper clipping and reads the headline.
Clark: "Comatose boy found in field twenty yards from meteor strike."
Chloe (contemplative): The exposure to the blast must have done something to his body...
Clark (looking at clipping): No, this can't be right.
Pete (to Chloe): I think you ought to show him.
Clark: Show me what?
SCENE SEVEN:
A dark room. The door opens and Pete turns on the light. Clark and Chloe follow him in.
Chloe (proudly): It started out as a scrapbook and just sorta... mutated.
They are all looking at something.
Clark: What is it?
Chloe (approaching the wall): I call it 'The Wall of Weird.'
The wall is covered in photos, clippings, and papers. She stands expansively in front of it, proud. Clark eyes it warily. We see close-ups of clippings of a man with fingers appearing and disappearing on his hands, of glow-in-the dark geodes, and tabloid headlines.
Chloe: It's every strange, bizarre, and unexplained event that's happened in Smallville since the meteor shower. That's when it all began -- when the town went schizo. (Amused smiling)
Clark continues to eye the wall.
Chloe: So what do you think?
Clark: Why didn't you tell me about this?
Chloe: Do you tell me everything that happens in your life? We call keep secrets, Clark.
But Clark is transfixed by the stories on the wall. Near-death encounters, flashes of light, meteor paths. Then, he sees a Time magazine with the title, 'Heartbreak in the Heartland'. The three-year-old Lana in her pink fairy costume is caught sobbing into the camera.
Clark (looking closer at the picture): Lana? (Horrified) My fault... It's all my fault...
He turns and leaves the room quickly. Chloe and Pete stare after him, confused.
SCENE EIGHT:
A cheering crowd of students is exiting the school. They're obviously excited about the football game. Clark exits behind them, heading the opposite direction. As he heads through the parking lot, a hand grabs him from behind.
Clark: Chloe, leave me alone.
The hand turns him around. It's Whitney. And he's angry.
Whitney: Congratulations, Clark... you're this year's Scarecrow.
Clark (shoving Whitney): Don't mess with me right now.
Whitney: C'mon. (Shoves Clark) Bring it on.
Some football players are gathering around. Clark takes a swing at Whitney, but his blow dislodges Whitney's shirt, revealing Lana's green necklace around his neck. It starts to glow. Immediately, Clark looks pained. Whitney takes the opportunity to throw Clark to the ground. Clark is suddenly too sick to fight back. Whitney grabs him by the collar.
Whitney: What's goin' on with you and Lana?
Clark (pained): Nothing...
Whitney isn't satisfied. He spots Clark looking at Lana's necklace.
Whitney: You like her necklace? Huh? Good. (rips it off his neck and puts it around Clark's) 'Cuz it's as close as you're ever gonna get to her.
The other boys surround them as a pickup truck pulls up. Clark is incapacitated as they dump him in the bed of the truck and climb in. From behind the building, Scarecrow Boy is watching them.
ACT FIVE
SCENE ONE:
Night. A cornfield. Clark is strung up like a scarecrow, down to his boxers with a red 'S' on his chest. The green necklace hangs from his neck. He is clearly sick and weak, shaking and breathing harshly. At the edge of the clearing, Jeremy is standing watching him.
Jeremy: It never changes.
Clark: ....help me...
Jeremy: Hurts, doesn't it?
Clark: You're Jeremy...
Jeremy: I thought if I punished them, it would stop. But it never stops.
He turns to leave.
Clark: ... wait...where you going?
Jeremy: Homecoming Dance. I never made it to mine.
Clark: ...get me down. Please...?
Jeremy: You're safer here.
With a small grin of satisfaction, he leaves through the cornstalks.
SCENE TWO:
Lex' car is leaving the fertilizer plant. Jeremy jumps the fence to the cornfield and is spotted by Lex's headlights. Lex stops, sees Jeremy, and flashes back to the meteor shower. He remembers seeing Jeremy on the pole as the meteor struck. But as the memory ends, Jeremy is gone. Lex looks around for him.
Clark's voice: ...help me...
Lex is struck by the déjà vu. He gets a flashlight and wades into the corn. He comes upon the clearing, seeing Clark as the Scarecrow.
Lex: Clark?
Clark looks up at him, in pain.
Lex: Ah, jeez.
Lex hurries to untie Clark.
Lex: Who did this to you?
Clark: Doesn't matter.
As the ropes fall free, Clark falls from the pole. He lands in the dirt and the necklace falls off. Freed from its effects, he stands up fully recovered. He looks at himself briefly in amazement, then grabs his clothes from the ground.
Lex: Clark, you need to see a doctor.
Clark: I'll be okay.
He runs into the field. Lex calls after him.
Lex: At least let me give you a ride!
But Clark is gone. Looking down, Lex spots the green gem on the ground. He picks it up and examines it.
SCENE THREE:
Homecoming Dance. Music is playing and kids are dancing. Jeremy walks toward the school. Inside, Chloe and Pete are dancing happily, and Lana and Whitney are dancing slowly, very much into each other. They wear crowns as King and Queen. Jeremy approaches a box labeled, 'Fire sprinkler system'. He opens the door to it.
Clark: Jeremy. You need to stop this.
Jeremy looks out and sees Clark standing in the road in shadows. He abandons the box and approaches Clark.
Jeremy: I don't know how you got here. But you should have stayed away.
Clark (angrily): I won't let you hurt my friends.
Jeremy: Those people in there aren't your friends. The sprinklers'll get 'em nice and wet. I'll handle the rest.
Clark: They never did anything to you.
Jeremy: I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing it for you, and for all the others like us.
Clark: What happened to you was my fault. I can understand your pain.
Jeremy: I'm not in pain. I have a gift. And a purpose. And a destiny.
He turns away, but finds Clark standing in front of him again.
Clark: So do I.
Jeremy fills with electrical charge and grabs Clark. Clark throws him across the road and over a truck. Jeremy scrambles up from behind the truck.
Clark: Give it up, Jeremy.
Jeremy places his hand on the truck and it starts. He gets in the truck and starts driving directly at Clark. As he rams into Clark, Clark hangs on to the hood and is pushed forward with the truck. Jeremy drives directly into a wall marked, 'water main'. He crashes into it, sending bricks flying. The water main breaks, flooding the area under the truck. Clark climbs up from the rubble of the hood. He sees Jeremy regain consciousness. Jeremy's electrical charge starts sparking around the water spilling into the truck. There is a huge flash and Clark is hurtled backward through the air. Jeremy is trapped inside the cab as electricity fills it. As it dies down, Clark grabs the truck and pulls it from the water. He pulls the door off the hinges and water spills out. He pulls Jeremy upright.
Clark: Are you okay?
Jeremy (dazed and confused): Who are you? (Looks around) Where am I?
Clark (relieved): I'm Clark Kent. And you're in Smallville.
Jeremy: I want to go home.
Clark nods.
SCENE FOUR:
Inside the dance. Lana and Whitney are still slow-dancing, gazing into each other's eyes. Clark stands on a landing overlooking the dance as slow music plays. He sees Lana and Whitney kiss. Dejected, he turns away. As he leaves the building, he passes a row of shiny trucks. Stopping, he looks back at them. He gets a smile on his face.
SCENE FIVE:
Students are leaving the dance. Lana and Whitney come outside, arm in arm, happy. Around them, students are laughing and pointing at something. Whitney abandons Lana and pushes forward to see. Three pickup trucks are stacked on top of each other.
Whitney (to the crowd): Who did this to my truck?
Clark is walking away and stops to look back at the spectacle, smiling, self-satisfied. Whitney is angry, and Lana just looks at the pile, astonished.
SCENE SIX:
Clark is in the hayloft, looking through the telescope. Jonathan enters behind him.
Jonathan: Your grandfather gave me that telescope when I was... about your age.
Clark sits down. He looks very contemplative.
Jonathan (smiling at the memory): I came down for breakfast one morning, and there it was.
Clark doesn't respond to the story.
Jonathan (serious): Are you okay?
Clark: Can I answer that in about five years?
Jonathan (smiles again): Yeah.
He leaves the loft. As he does so, Clark gets up and goes to the railing overlooking him.
Clark: Dad!
Jonathan stops, looks up at him.
Clark: I'm glad you and Mom were the ones that found me.
Jonathan (emotionally): We didn't find you, Clark. You found us.
Clark smiles widely. His father smiles back, then leaves the barn. Clark goes back to his telescope, turning on a radio as he does.
Lana: I didn't see you tonight, Clark.
Startled, Clark jumps. Lana is standing in her dress in the loft.
Clark: Lana. What are you doing here?
Lana smiles, comes closer.
Lana: I saved you that dance.
She puts her arm on his shoulder, and they begin to dance closely to the slow music on the radio.
Lana: Is everything okay, Clark?
Clark (smiling): It's perfect.
A loud car horn startles Clark. He jumps, and Lana is gone. She wasn't ever there. Looking out of the barn, he sees cars filled with cheering students in school colors driving off. Lana is waving goodbye to them from her front porch.
Clark: Thanks for the dance, Lana.
As though she heard something, Lana turns. Seeing nothing, she continues inside, smiling. The camera tilts up to the stars above Clark's loft.
END CREDITS