Act III, Scene I
Metropolis Airport. Clark, Lois and Jason emerge onto one of the private runways. Clark and Lois shield their eyes from the morning sun; Jason has no such need. He points and jumps up and down excitedly.
JASON: He's coming!
LOIS: (murmurs to Clark) Look – up in the sky...
CLARK: Real funny.
We cut to the small plane taxiing to a stop on the runway. Jason bolts from beside Lois and Clark and begins to race across the tarmac toward it.
LOIS: Jason! Human speed!!!
We see a close-up of Jason's face as he sprints. He rolls his eyes and eases back on the throttle, reducing his speed from well beyond what a human child should be capable of to merely one an Olympic sprinter would be thrilled to achieve.
The plane comes to a stop. We cut to Lois and Clark as they walk toward it. In the distance, they see the plane's door open and a man appear. The little boy jumps up and down and rushes up the small steps.
JASON: Daddy!!!!
RICHARD: Hey, big gu – ooffff...
Richard White is almost knocked off his feet, but manages to steady himself. He embraces his adopted son fiercely for a long moment, before the two of them descend the staircase to the tarmac of the runway. Lois and Clark are just arriving on the scene. Lois smiles, as does Clark. Both seem genuinely pleased to see Richard.
LOIS: Hey, Richard.
RICHARD: Lois.
They come together. Richard kisses her on the cheek. Clark discreetly looks aside but there's nothing suspect going on with this kiss; we sense he's just wanting to give the two their moment to acknowledge the five years of history between them. There's a look that passes between Richard and Lois that does much the same thing. Richard turns to Clark.
RICHARD: Clark. Good to see you.
CLARK: (shaking hands)Richard, always a pleasure. Been too long.
JASON: (rebukingly)Yeah, Dad! Way too long.
RICHARD: Yeah, sport, and like I said on the phone, I'm really sorry.
He glances at Lois as if to apologise, and does seem genuinely discomforted by something, but it goes no further than an expression.
RICHARD: Now what's all this about, Lois? You're serious about going to the North Pole?
CLARK: Uh. Actually – South Pole.
RICHARD: Wow. Glad I checked.
LOIS: Please, Richard. So much has happened...Intergang has the city by the throat.
RICHARD: I know. I've seen the news. (to Clark) And Clark...you're not...?
CLARK: I'm powerless. Completely.
RICHARD: Okay. (takes a breath) I'm convinced. South Pole it is. Well, as far inland as I can take us, which probably won't be very far this time of year.
LOIS: Oh, we have that covered. We think.
CLARK: Where's the-?
LOIS: Oh! Dammit. I got distracted by the plane coming in.
She points. We cut back to where we first joined the trio, about five hundred feet or more away just outside one of the hangars. Three large bags are piled there.
JASON: I'll get 'em!
LOIS: Jason, no-!
But it's too late. He's gone, speeding across the tarmac, a blur. He zips around in a U, scooping up the three bags at the apex of the turn. We cut to Richard watching. His eyes are on stalks. Jason is back standing in front of them in another instant.
The entire round trip took around four, maybe five seconds, and as he dumps the bags on the ground, we can tell by the impact they make there that these things aren't exactly lightweight, yet they hardly seemed to faze him.
Jason grins at his father, and we know why he pretended not to hear Lois' warning shout – this has been his first opportunity to show off to Richard, and he wasn't going to miss it. For his part, Richard looks shellshocked. In fact he looks so astonished that Jason's smile begins to wilt, until Richard collects himself and shakes his head in astonishment, grinning.
RICHARD: That was incredible! When did you start doing that?!
JASON: (smile fades) Like I said before, Dad. It's been too long...uh...whoa...
Jason sways on his feet, abruptly, seeming a little dizzy. Lois steadies him, concerned.
LOIS: Jason? What's wrong?
JASON: (shaking his head) Oh. Must have stopped too quickly Mom, that's all.
Richard watches this exchange silently.
We cut to a little while later. The plane is packed with the luggage and Richard is beginning the pre-flight sequence. Clark and Jason are strapping themselves in. Lois places her hand on Richard's shoulder and lets it sit there. Richard looks over at the woman he came within a whisker of marrying.
LOIS: Bring them home to me. And you. You come home too. Promise me.
RICHARD: You're sure about-
He moves his head to indicate Jason, who is sitting right at the back of the cabin looking out the window to his left, for a moment looking every inch a normal young boy.
LOIS: I'm worried sick about it. But there's no other way. So bring him home.
RICHARD: I will. I promise.
Lois moves back and plants kisses all over her son's face and head. He squirms.
JASON: Moooom!
LOIS: (tearfully) You listen to everything Daddy and Uncle Clark tell you, okay? And you come back to me.
JASON: 'Kay. But why do I have to sit wayyyyy back here? Can't I sit up near you, Dad?
RICHARD: (firmly) No, Jason. You sit right there, you hear me? It's safer.
Jason's shoulders slump sulkily. Lois flicks his nose and he abandons the pout and grins impishly at her, before reaching out and giving her a final hug which she accepts. When she breaks from it she turns to Clark. No words are exchanged – she simply leans in and kisses him on the lips, a kiss he responds to hungrily.
We see Richard looking down, face neutral, carefully composed, ostensibly checking out his instrumentation. When the kiss ends, Lois gets out of the plane.
We cut to the plane taking off. Jason waves out of the tiny window to his mother, now no more than a dot on the landscape as the land pulls away from them. On the ground, Lois waves back, looking sick with nerves.
We cut to a little later. Jason's eyes are drooping. They're flying over the ocean. Richard glances behind him from the cockpit and frowns when he sees Clark, and especially Clark's hands, which are securely gripping the edges of his seat. A bemused smile forms on Richard's face.
RICHARD: Something wrong, Clark?
CLARK: (strained) Nope. Fine.
RICHARD: Whassamatter? (laughs) Superman afraid of flying? There's a front page scoop.
CLARK: Superman loves it. Clark Kent is suddenly reminded that this little collection of nuts and rivets and fuel is suspending us ten thousand feet above open ocean and if anything goes wrong, I can't just rip open my shirt and save the day.
RICHARD: Come up here, Clark. Seriously. It's less scary from the cockpit. Come on.
CLARK: Uh, I should probably stay with Jas-
He trails off, having glanced across. Jason is sound asleep. Clark unbuckles his belt, stands up – and the plane hits a little pocket of turbulence, shaking them somewhat. Clark's hands shoot out to grip the nearest available surface. He closes his eyes, looking distinctly green around the gills. Only when the plane has levelled does he risk opening his eyes again.
RICHARD: Sorry...
Clark moves across to the boy, reaches inside the overhead locker and produces a travel pillow, which he fixes around the boy so he'll have something soft to snooze on. Jason mumbles but stays asleep. This done, Clark glances up and sees Richard's hand waving him on. Clark obliges, moving forward into the cockpit and getting into the co-pilot's chair beside Richard.
He buckles himself in and leans forward so he can look out the wraparound piloting windows, which are now showing wispy clouds below them and the magnificent blue shimmer of the Atlantic Ocean far, far below.
Clark sits back. He takes another steadying breath.
RICHARD: See? Better, huh?
CLARK: Oh. Yeah. So much. Thanks.
RICHARD: Clark...
There's a tone to his voice that makes Clark look up from his vigil of trying not to look up. Richard is staring straight ahead, as a pilot should most of the time, but we can tell by the expression on his face that he's about to say something he's not been looking forward to.
RICHARD: I, I wanted to thank you.
CLARK: Thank me?
RICHARD: Gee, you sound kinda surprised, Clark. I mean, I got turned into a killer cyborg and I tried to kill you repeatedly, and when you had the chance to kill me, you didn't take it. Instead, you rebuilt me.
CLARK: Well. We had the technology...
The two men smile at the weak joke. It relieves some of the tension, but Richard looks as if he's not finished what he had to say, and indeed he hasn't.
RICHARD: Listen, uh. Jason's pretty mad at me for not spending more time with him, yeah?
CLARK: Uh...look, Richard, we live in Metropolis, you live in LA. It's not easy, I know that-
RICHARD: Clark, please. You don't have to make excuses for me, okay. It is easy and we both know it. I own a plane. God, I could have asked Superman to fly him to me in, what, ten minutes? Less? And he could have stayed weekends and he would have loved it. And I haven't. I haven't seen him since his birthday which was nine months ago now. Nine months, one week, three days, in case you're interested.
CLARK: I don't know what to say...
RICHARD: You won, Clark. You won Lois. And I know that makes you uncomfortable around me, and yeah for a while you weren't my favourite guy. But you know, time passes. And I don't hate you, I really don't. The whole saving my life thing helped, admittedly. You're so goddamn decent that you're impossible to hate.
CLARK: (confused)Richard, I'm sorry, I don't know what you're-
RICHARD: It didn't entirely take.
CLARK: What didn't?
Richard simply presses a few controls on the plane and lets go of the controls. The plane maintains its altitude and speed, much to Clark's relief. Richard reaches under his seat and produces a long thick bar of what looks like iron or steel.
As Clark watches, Richard takes the bar and bends it, slowly but surely. He shows effort in doing so, but there's no way a human man should be able to make any sort of impact on a piece of metal that thick.
Richard drops the bar on the cockpit floor. It clangs. Clark's eyes follow it all the way down.
CLARK: Richard, no...I'm so sorry.
RICHARD: Hey. Not your fault, as I said. But that (indicating the bar) isn't the problem, Clark. Hell, sometimes it comes in handy. There isn't a jar of pickles I can't ass-kick, you know?
CLARK: So what's the problem?
RICHARD: How was Jason when he came back from spending his birthday with me?
CLARK: I-I don't know. He was fine, I think-
And then, Clark remembers. And horrible realisation dawns on his face.
CLARK: No. No...he wasn't fine. He had a cold. A fever. He was shivering. Lois and I put it down to a virus...
RICHARD: And how many viruses has that kid ever gotten, Clark? How many other times has he gotten sick , that you can remember?
He turns away from Clark. Clark's face is full of shock, full of pity, for the man before him. He struggles to find words.
CLARK: Richard, I...
RICHARD: It's still in me. The Kryptonite that powered Metallo. It's spread throughout my entire body, Clark. I had three different hospitals run tests in LA to confirm it. None of them understood how I'm not dead already of cancer. So I have to stay away from my son, not because I love him less, not because I'm a bad father, but because if he stays with me for too long he's going to get weaker and weaker until eventually...he'll die.
Clark says nothing. What is there to say? He glances back at Jason, peacefully asleep, and at where he is sitting, the seat Richard insisted he use for the trip. The seat furthest from him.
RICHARD: I guess you really are powerless, or you wouldn't be able to sit so close. (sighs) I hope we find what you're looking for, Clark. If there's one thing that all this with Batman has proved, it's that Lois was right. The world doesn't need a Superman. It needs Superman himself. Jason does too.
CLARK: Jason's got two. He's a lucky kid.
RICHARD: (bitterly) Yeah. I'm a real hero. I didn't realise intelligence went out with the heat vision.
CLARK: You should have told us, Richard.
RICHARD: And what could you have done?
CLARK: Honestly, I don't know. But I promise you this – I'll try. With everything I have, I'll try to fix this. You deserve that. Jason deserves that.
Richard glances across. He smiles, and nods.
RICHARD: Thank you.
We cut to an outside view of the plane as it continues to skim across the skies.