Fic: Season Seven - Bizarro
May. 27th, 2007 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bagheera_sanIn the life of each fan, there comes a time, when out of desperate fannish love and deep frustration (and a streak of megalomania) he or she decides to write their own virtual Season.
Yes. That time.
A while ago,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
the_rejection and I tossed around this idea of writing our own virtual Season Seven. But I opted out because a)the project seemed overwhelming and b)I'm notoriously afraid of working in groups. I have this thing where I cave every time somebody makes a suggestion, and then I'm not happy with the end product.
The thing is... yesterday inspiration struck me. I sort of have an outline of a Season now. And concepts for several episodes. I know this project is doomed, because virtual seasons always are.
1)Fewer episodes, probably.
2)Tons of characters from the comics: Mercy Graves, Lori Lemaris, a couple of surprise cameos and villains...
3)Little to no Lana "on screen" (there might be flashbacks), but she won't instantly be forgotten.
4)Clois, Chlark, Clark/other. Some Lionel/Martha. Clex subtext. Basically the whole spectrum of pairings, minus the excessive Clana.
5)Martian Manhunter as a regular.
6)It'll be the final Season. I hope to tie up most dangling plot ends.
7)It'll be set mostly in Metropolis.
8)Epic cheese.
Anyways, I wrote this. Bizarro's dialogue is heavily inspired by comics, in particular, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" The title was already suggested bymskatej. Any suggestion and constructive criticism welcome (I mean it, I'm not usually hoping for concrit, but I have the feeling this could use it.) I have no more knowledge of how the world works than your average SV writer. Thanks to attaccabottoni for pointing out the perfect song for the montage at the end!
Useful page about cinematography, in case the script format confuses you:
http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/htmfiles/cinematography.htm
Season Seven
Episode One : BIZARRO
7x01
BIZARRO
INTRO:
Voiceover from CHLOE: Previously on Smallville...
CLIPS from PHANTOM. Lex talking to his scientist about the alien peptides for his army. Lana accusing Lex of the baby-fake. Lana and Clark in the loft. Lana saying "Just know that I will always love you." Lionel and J'onn explaining the phantom to Clark. Lois being stabbed. Chloe's krytpo-tear. Lana's car blowing up. Clark slamming Lex against the wall, yelling about Lana's death. The Phantom boy. Clark and Bizarro fighting. Lex being arrested. Lois dragging Chloe through the collapsing tunnels. Lionel trapped under rubble. Clark being thrown out of the dam. Bizarro flying at the camera, his face becoming chalky white and cracked.
INT. THE DAM
LONG SHOT Lights flicker, the whole structure is shaking, water floods down from the ceiling.
LOIS behind the chained iron door. She's trying to drag CHLOE through it.
Lois (babbling): Please, please, please… wake up now. It's not funny anymore. I need you, Chloe. Wake up!
MEDIUM close-up of Lionel, unconscious, caught under a huge pipe. Water rises around him. Suddenly, his head jerks up and his eyes open. They flash milky white, then go dark again.
Lionel gets up and throws the pipe off himself
MEDIUM LONG shot. More stones fall from the ceiling. A pipe breaks. Lois is drenched in water. She sputters. Chloe remains lifeless. .
Lois: Dammit, Chloe! I'm not the smart one! I need you to get out of here, do you hear me? I need you!
A thundering noise. Lois glances up at the ceiling. She clutches Chloe to her and lunges towards the camera, just as the pipe and the ceiling all come down on them.
MEDIUM close-up. Lionel, holding the pipe and the rubble. Lois at his feet, bent over Chloe. She looks up blearily, then faints.
EXT. Outside the DAM, DAY
Muddy riverbank. Close-up of an arm as someone drags himself out of the water. Close-up of a torn red shirt clinging to a wet body. Camera pans in on Clark's face. His lower lip is bruised, he's panting. LONG SHOT, showing the dam collapsing behind him. CLOSE-UP of Clark's face as he stares. A whooshing noise. MEDIUM LONGSHOT Clark ducks .LONG SHOT of the MARTIAN MANHUNTER landing by the river. Clark straightens up again, relieved.
MM: The Phantom did this.
Clark: It's taken something from me. He looks like me now.
MM (disapprovingly): You should not have come here alone. This is what we were trying to prevent.
Clark: Lionel used kryptonite against it, but it only became stronger. What if it doesn't have a weakness?
MM: It does. We need to go to your father's Fortress.
Clark: What about the phantom?
Close-up of MM's face, worried.
EXT. ROAD. DAY.
CRANE SHOT of two police cars. MEDIUM Close-up of the inside of one of the cars, as seen from the front seat. FOCUS on Lex in the backseat, handcuffed. A policeman reads him his rights. Lex keeps glancing over his shoulder. The policeman looks annoyed.
FLASH Close-up of squealing tires.
FLASH The first car swerves hard right.
FLASH The second car stops.
FLASH The first car is suddenly lifted off the ground.
The camera slowly swerves around the car at ground level. A pair of boots. It zooms out a bit. Lingering shot from a low angle of BIZARRO, holding the car upright with one hand in the pose from the cover of Action Comics #1, outlined against the bright sun.
LONG SHOT of both cars. The doors of the first open and policemen scramble out and point their guns at Bizarro.
Bizarro face close-up. His face is still cracked and chalky. He grins lopsidedly.
MEDIUM long shot. Bizarro freezes the car with his cold-vision and drops it to the ground. It shatters.
CRANE SHOT The policemen from both cars run. A few shoot over their shoulders at Bizarro. He laughs and walks towards the second car. His walk is a bit clumsy.
SHOT OVER THE ROOF OF THE CAR Bizarro tears out the back door and throws it over his shoulder into the field by the road. The camera swerves so we look over Bizarro's shoulder down at Lex.
Lex (disbelievingly): Clark?
MEDIUM close-up of Bizarro, from Lex's perspective. He grins toothily.
Bizarro (cheery): Me am Bizarro. Lex am friend.
Lex slowly looks Bizarro up and down.
Lex: You're not Clark.
Bizarro: Lex am smart. Me am Bizarro.
Bizarro grabs Lex's handcuffs and drags him up and out of the car by them. Lex struggles. Bizarro lets go of him. The handcuffs stay on.
Lex (angrily): Get off me! I didn't kill her.
Bizarro (shrugging): Bizarro not care.
Lex: What do you want from me?
Bizarro steps towards him and throws an arm around his shoulder jovially.
Bizarro: You am rule world with Bizarro!
Close-up of Lex's aghast face. FADE OUT.
EXT. ABOVE the DAM. DAY.
In the background, the dam collapses. In the foreground, someone zips towards the camera at superspeed. It's Lionel. He puts Chloe and Lois down on the ground. Close-up of Chloe's face. She looks dead. Zoom out. Lois groans and gets up on her elbows. She stares straight ahead. We see her cleavage.
LONG SHOT The collapsing dam, seen across the water from a distance.
SHOT Lois gets up on her knees. She spots Lionel.
Lois (panicked): What just happened?
WIDE SHOT Lionel seems at a momentary loss of words. He glances down at Chloe's prone body. Lois follows his glance. She jumps to her feet and steps back hastily.
Lois: No!
Lionel moves towards her. He looks a bit put-upon, but tries to comfort her.
Lionel: Miss Lane, calm down.
Lois evades his touch and rushes to Chloe. She kneels and touches Chloe's face. Close-up of Lois's face. She looks horrified.
Lois: No, no. This isn't happening. I didn't do that.
SHOT of Lois's hands and arms, as seen from her perspective. Her sleeves are still bloody.
Lois: I didn't do that! Lois!
MEDIUM SHOT of Lionel, frowning. The camera swerves, showing Lois and Chloe from his perspective. Lois is sobbing and shaking her head in denial. She turns her face towards him, tears running down her cheeks.
Lois: I only wanted to help! I'm a - a freak. I killed her and stole her body!
Close-up of Lionel. He opens his mouth and stares for a moment.
Lionel: Miss Sullivan? Is that you?
FADE OUT to Commercial
ACT 2
EXT. THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
Long shot of the Fortress. Arctic twilight, no sun in the sky. A short night in the Arctic summer.
INT. THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
Clark and the Martian Manhunter walk into the Fortress. There is no longer blood on J'onn's shirt. MEDIUM LONG SHOT following them as they walk through the Fortress slowly.
Clark: So the phantom is a Kryptonian now? Like me?
MM: Not quite. The experiment that created the phantom altered its physiology. It isn't allergic to green kryptonite in its natural form. But if kryptonite goes through the same duplication process that created the phantom, it will become lethal to the phantom.
Clark: So why didn't you give Lionel some of that? It would have saved us trouble.
MM (hesitating): It seemed unwise to reveal the existence of the Fortress to him. I do not trust Lionel Luthor entirely.
Clark: Yeah, neither do I.
MM: But I cannot access the Fortress on my own, so I had no choice but to try and fight the phantom without altered kryptonite. Lionel was trying to use Jor-El's knowledge to find a solution.
Clark (annoyed): You could just have told me.
MM: You would have known if you had finished your Kryptonian education when your father asked you to. Now you can't finish it at all.
Clark: What do you mean I can't?
MM: All the knowledge that was stored within the Fortress has been transferred to Lionel Luthor's mind. Extricating it from there would kill him. But as long as you have not finished your education, I can't fully involve you in this. On Krypton you would still be considered a child.
Close-up of Clark's puzzled face.
They approach the panel with the crystals. They light up as Clark touches them, and MM deftly uses the crystals while Clark watches uncomprehendingly.
MM: Your father and I did not always agree, Kal-El. My people were very different from yours.
Clark: Were?
MM: Mars has been dead for many thousand years. I am the only survivor.
Clark (softly): Like me.
MM pulls out the last crystal and pushes it into another slot. He appears to be done and looks at Clark.
MM: Yes. You and I have many things in common. But so far I have respected your fathers wishes and didn't interfere with his decisions. But things have not developed as Jor-El and I hoped they would. Maybe your father's construct was not flexible enough to deal with the changes.
EXTREME Close-up of a flat crystal surface nearby. A bright blue crystal materializes. MEDIUM close-up as MM picks it up, then offers it to Clark. Clark glances warily at both. He takes the crystal. Nothing happens. Clark raises his brows in surprise. FADE OUT
EXT. METROPOLIS, EVENING
LONG SHOT of the busy street in front of the DAILY PLANET. Noise. Cars, people. SHALLOW focus of a few pedestrians, stopping and looking up at the sky. Someone points up. Fast TILT upwards. A dark streak in the blue sky between the buildings.
LONG shot of the Daily Planet globe. Bizarro, an arm slung around Lex's waist, lands on it. He lets go. Close-up of Lex's face. He's breathing shallowly and slowly looking around. CRANE shot of Metropolis, slowly rotating around its axis, as if seen from Lex's perspective, ending with a SHALLOW focus of Bizarro's face. Sun setting in the background.
Bizarro (hopeful): You not like?
Lex: You won't have it as easy as Zod. This time we are prepared.
Bizarro looks confused. LONG shot of both of them standing on the Daily Planet globe. Bizarro spreads his arms wide triumphantly.
Bizarro: Me and you am rule planet!
FLASH
EXT. SMALLVILLE MEDICAL CENTRE
INT. HOSPITAL
Shot through a window into a hospital room. DEEP focus on Chloe, lying in a hospital bed. She's still deadly pale. Close-up of a black screen with a pulse line. Her heart-rate is low but steady.
SHALLOW focus of the hallway. MEDIUM shot. In the foreground Lionel is talking on the phone. In the background, unfocused, we see Lois, sitting on a chair and staring blankly ahead of herself.
Lionel (displeased): What do you mean Lex is gone?
Lionel: Hm. One of the cars has been destroyed, you say?
Lionel: No. Find him.
He ends the call and makes another.
Lionel: I need it. Now.
Lionel: I don't care if it's not ready. All we need is a suitable body. Prepare it.
Lionel: I'll call you back as soon as we've got a definite location. Be ready.
A female doctor approaches him, he hangs up.
Doctor (serious): She's in a coma. There's no way to tell when she'll wake up as long as we don't know what caused this. Do you know her personally, Mr Luthor?
Lionel hesitates. He glances at Chloe through the window. Shot of him smirking. He turns back to the doctor.
Lionel (ironically): I'm a friend of the family.
Doctor: Does she have a drug history?
Lionel: No.
The doctor notes this down. She asks more questions, but the sound fades out. Instead we hear the beeping of Chloe's monitors again.
In the background, Lois suddenly gets up and walks to the window. She stares in. Close-up of the window. Lois's reflection, super-imposed over Chloe in the hospital bed. Lois looks confused or worried.
Lois: Chloe?
MEDIUM shot of a nurse approaching her.
Nurse: Are you alright, Miss?
Lois glances down at her bloody clothes. She gingerly touches her belly.
Lois: No. No, I'm not. What the hell is going on here?
EXT. TOP OF THE DAILY PLANET GLOBE
LONG shot of Lex and Bizarro. Lex reaches inside his jacket with his cuffed hands and pulls out a gun. Bizarro grabs it from him at superspeed. EXTREME close-up of Bizarro's white hand, crushing the gun. Some of the bullets in the magazine are green kryptonite. He drops the crushed gun and bullets. MEDIUM shot. Lex staggers backwards. He slips, looses his balance and falls off the globe. Bizarro sighs and blurs into superspeed.
BLUR
LONG shot, SHALLOW focus on Bizarro catching Lex in mid-air. They float. Lex looks breathless and horrified. He struggles. Bizarro frowns.
Bizarro (dejectedly): You am… liking Bizarro?
Lex (defiantly, but not entirely convincingly): Even if you kill me, there are people who'll fight you.
Bizarro takes a long moment to think. Then his frown clears up.
Bizarro: Fighting mean you care!
A shrill noise, like the one the caves used to call Clark. Lex winces as Bizarro grips him more tightly. Camera pans in on Bizarro's squinting eyes as he looks around, confused.
Commercial
ACT 3
INT. FORTRESS of Solitude.
Dim light. It's still night outside. The shrill noise is audible here too. Clark is clutching his ears in pain. In one hand he still holds the blue kryptonite. The noise fades.
Clark: That's the same noise the caves used to call me.
MM: It's the beacon of the House of El. The phantom will recognize it and hopefully come here before it harms anyone.
Clark (suspicious): Why would the phantom recognize it?
MM turns away and walks a few steps. Close-up of his face from a high angle as he stares up into the Fortress. He squares his jaw.
Clark: There's more, isn't there? You're not telling me everything!
MM: Your father was trying to develop a weapon. A Kryptonian super-soldier to fight criminals like Zod and the Brain-Interactive Construct. Titan was one of these failed experiments. The phantom another.
Clark (shocked): Jor-El created all those monsters from the Phantom Zone?
MM: Not all of them. You don't understand, Kal-El. Without a yellow sun, Kryptonians are no more powerful than ordinary humans. They had to find some way to defend themselves.
Close-up of Clark's face. He looks not at all convinced.
MM (offscreen): Your father was a hero, Kal-El.
EXT. THE ARTIC, TWILIGHT
The sky over the arctic plane is cloudy. Some clouds are tinged with red and gold, indicating that dawn is close. Bird's eye view of the Artic plane below. A small dot approaches the camera. The shrill noise grows louder as they approach. It is Bizarro, carrying Lex. When they are close, the camera starts tracking them. Lex is shivering badly, his nose is reddened, he's gritting his teeth to keep them from chattering.
The shrill noise stops. Bizarro stops in mid-flight.
Bizarro (surprised): Beautiful noise am gone!
Lex watches him with a frown. He looks scheming.
Lex (with fake concern): You're confused. I think you need help.
Bizarro: Me am perfectly imperfect!
Lex (annoyed): You're lost.
Bizarro tilts his head. He flies them down to the ground. LONG shot of the two standing on a huge field of white ice. Lex's teeth chatter.
Bizarro: You am cold.
Lex, arms crossed protectively against the cold, takes a step back.
Bizarro: We am enemies. Me help.
Bizarro steps towards him. Lex tries to evade, but Bizarro wraps his arms tightly around him in a hug. The hug is crushing Lex. Close-up on Lex's face as he gasps for air. Dramatic music.
Lex: Stop! You're killing me!
Close-up of Bizarro's face. He smiles sweetly.
Bizarro: Yes.
Lex goes slack. FADE OUT.
INT. FORTRESS
MM's eyes glow red.
MM: He's coming. Follow me.
MM zips out of the Fortress in streak of red. Clark stands there alone for a moment, then follows, also a streak of red.
EXT. ARCTIC
Two streaks of red race towards Bizarro and Lex. One dissolves into MM, pulling Bizarro off Lex. The other becomes Clark. Clark catches Lex as he collapses and drags him aside.
MEDIUM close-up of Lex and Clark. Clark lowers him to the ground. Close-up of Lex's face. His lips are tinged blue, his eye-lids flutter, the whole image recalls the scene after Clark pulled him out of the river in Pilot. For a moment he seems to look at Clark, then he falls unconscious.
LONG shot of MM and Bizarro struggling. Bizarro tries to use heat breath. MM throws him several feet through the air.
MM: Kal-El! The blue kryptonite!
MEDIUM shot of Clark, watching with a torn expression. He looks down at the kryptonite in his hand.
LONG shot of MM and Bizarro fighting. Bizarro is winning. He seizes MM by the neck and pulls at one of his arms. MM utters an inhuman scream.
Close-up of Bizarro's face. His happy smile suddenly goes slack in surprise. He falls, revealing Clark behind him. Clark is holding the blue kryptonite.
LONG shot. MM staggers away, bent in pain. Clark kneels by Bizarro. In the background, the sun rises. The camera slowly changes to DEEP focus, until only the sun is visible.
Bizarro (off-screen): All go… dark.
Bizarro: Hello… Kal-El…
The sun grows brighter and brighter. WHITEOUT.
EXT. METROPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT. DAY
INT. MPD
LONG Shot through a window. Interrogation room. A bare desk, chairs. Lex sits on one side, a female police detective in civilian clothes on the other. Lex no longer wears the handcuffs, but still the same clothes.
Close-up of Lex.
Lex (blankly): I don't remember how I got to the police station. As you may recall I was unconscious.
Detective: Mr Luthor, you realize that you handing yourself in to the police after the car crash can only be to your advantage, don't you?
A door opens behind Lex. A police officer enters, rounds the table and hands the detective a sheet of paper. She reads.
Detective: Well, Mr Luthor, apparently the only witness has taken back their charges. Since there's no further evidence of you being involved in Mrs Luthor's death, you're free to go once we've cleared up a few formalities… FADE OUT
INT. SMALLVILLE MEDICAL CENTRE
A busy hallway. Doctors, nurses, patients. Lois stands in front of a patient room, wearing different clothes than the day before. Shot through half-closed blinds of the inside of the room. We see Gabe Sullivan sitting by Chloe's bedside, holding her slack hand. She is still not conscious. Someone appears next to Lois.
Clark: Lois! I heard that Chloe is –
Lois stares at him. Clark falls silent.
Lois (choked): Clark… it's me. Chloe.
Clark: Chloe?
Chloe/Lois pulls him aside. She's close to tears.
Chlois: I went after Lois and found her with a knife-wound in her belly. She was dead, Clark. Dead!
Clark: This is really you?
Chlois: I… I did something. Clark, I think this is my meteor power. I healed Lois's body, and now my body is in a coma and I'm in Lois body and I keep having these lapses where everything goes dark and then I can't remember and… and then I wake up again and…
Clark hugs her awkwardly, patting her back.
Clark: Jesus, Chloe…
Chlois (sobbing): I'm like my Mom, Clark. I stole her body!
Clark: You saved her life, Chloe.
Chlois: What if I can't give it back to her? What if I can't stop? Clark… Clark what if I'm fading? What if those blackouts mean I'm dying…
Clark: No. You're not dying.
Chloe/Lois goes quiet. She looks up at Clark. Close-up of Clark's face. He looks close to tears, too.
Chlois: I heard about...
Clark: I'm not losing anyone else, Chloe. Not you. Not Lois.
Camera zooms out as they hug again.
EXT. MPD. DAY.
Front door. Lex walks out a, talking on the phone. He looks pissed. Camera changes from deep focus on Lex to shallow focus on the foreground. A black limousine, Lionel stands in front. Close-up on Lex as he spots Lionel. Simmering rage.
MEDIUM LONG shot of both.
Lionel: A little more gratitude would suit you, son. I got you out of jail.
Lex: So you were the witness. I should have known. Did you kill her, too?
Lionel clucks his tongue disapprovingly. He lays a hand on Lex's shoulder, Lex shrugs it off. Lionel opens the door of the limousine for him. Lex doesn't get in.
Lionel: This should have been a lesson to you, Lex.
Lex: A lesson? About what, Dad? Trust?
Lionel: Family.
Lex: You're right. And you know what I learned about family? I have none.
Lex turns around and starts to walk away.
Lionel (raises his voice): You're still a Luthor, Lex.
Lex turns around. His face is blank with rage.
Lex (softly): Yes, I am. Don't ever forget it, Dad.
Silence as they stare at each other. Lex turns away. Music starts to play as he walks away.
MONTAGE
[Music: Breathe Me by Sia]
EXT. LUTHORCORP PLAZA DAY
Lex, walking towards LuthorCorp, reads the morning edition of the Daily Planet. Shot of him frowning. Shot of the headline, a picture of Lana below: Luthor Wife Dies In Car Bombing. Lex enters the dark inside of the foyer through the rotating glass doors.
INT. SMALLVILLE MEDICAL CENTRE
Clark, sitting by Chloe's bedside. Clark holds Chloe's hand. In his other hand he holds an old, crumpled picture of Lana. He looks heartbroken. Martha comes in, dressed in a fashionable blazer and skirt. She stops. Clark looks up. They hug silently, she pets his hair.
INT. LIMOUSINE
Lionel, looking thoughtful. He holds a blue folder in his hands. Among the files is an ultrasound. He closes it. A single word and some numbers are written in Kryptonian on the outside.
INT. BATHROOM
Lois stares at a mirror, seeing Chloe instead of herself.
INT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
Bizarro's body, bedded on a crystal dais, dead. Snow crystals are settling on him.
INT. AN APARTMENT
A nicely decorated apartment. Many flowers. A wall with family portraits and pictures of Smallville: Nell's flower shop, the market, Smallville High. Pictures of Lana, riding, her first day at school, in her Homecoming dress, her wedding. Shot of Nell Potter, talking on the phone. She hangs up, her hands are shaking. Nell sits down and starts crying.
EXT. PACIFIC COAST DAY
CRANE Shot. Deep blue ocean to the right, desert to the left. A lonely coast road, on which a single white cabriolet drives at high speed. Zoom in on the driver. A woman with bright red hair, wearing sunglasses and a white shawl. It's Lana. She reaches for the radio tuner, smiling.
The song fades out as the camera zooms away from Lana's car, higher and higher up. Clouds. White noise, soundbits from different radio stations. English, Spanish, other languages. Bits of music. Upper atmosphere. The Earth, seen from space, as the radio noises grow quiet.
Earth, shrinking in the black distance of space. Silence.
FADE OUT.
::::::
1) Feel free to tell me how much you think Chlois sucks. It's supposed to be controversial.
2) This isn't like other fanfic in so far as I'm trying to keep it Smallville, in both format and characterisation. I haven't got budget restrictions, of course, and I'm not devoted to Lana.
3) I have a plan where this is going. It's only vaguely more convoluted than the baby plot ;P
4)There was this POLL a while ago, about what fandom wants S7 to look like. I try to heed that poll, now and then.
5) Lana with red hair wasromanyg's idea, and I had to steal it, because it's perfect and comics canon.
6) Suggest music! I fail at music.
I'm insane.
Yes. That time.
A while ago,
the_rejection and I tossed around this idea of writing our own virtual Season Seven. But I opted out because a)the project seemed overwhelming and b)I'm notoriously afraid of working in groups. I have this thing where I cave every time somebody makes a suggestion, and then I'm not happy with the end product. The thing is... yesterday inspiration struck me. I sort of have an outline of a Season now. And concepts for several episodes. I know this project is doomed, because virtual seasons always are.
1)Fewer episodes, probably.
2)Tons of characters from the comics: Mercy Graves, Lori Lemaris, a couple of surprise cameos and villains...
3)Little to no Lana "on screen" (there might be flashbacks), but she won't instantly be forgotten.
4)Clois, Chlark, Clark/other. Some Lionel/Martha. Clex subtext. Basically the whole spectrum of pairings, minus the excessive Clana.
5)Martian Manhunter as a regular.
6)It'll be the final Season. I hope to tie up most dangling plot ends.
7)It'll be set mostly in Metropolis.
8)Epic cheese.
Anyways, I wrote this. Bizarro's dialogue is heavily inspired by comics, in particular, "Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?" The title was already suggested by
mskatej. Any suggestion and constructive criticism welcome (I mean it, I'm not usually hoping for concrit, but I have the feeling this could use it.) I have no more knowledge of how the world works than your average SV writer. Thanks to attaccabottoni for pointing out the perfect song for the montage at the end!Useful page about cinematography, in case the script format confuses you:
http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/htmfiles/cinematography.htm
Season Seven
Episode One : BIZARRO
7x01
BIZARRO
INTRO:
Voiceover from CHLOE: Previously on Smallville...
CLIPS from PHANTOM. Lex talking to his scientist about the alien peptides for his army. Lana accusing Lex of the baby-fake. Lana and Clark in the loft. Lana saying "Just know that I will always love you." Lionel and J'onn explaining the phantom to Clark. Lois being stabbed. Chloe's krytpo-tear. Lana's car blowing up. Clark slamming Lex against the wall, yelling about Lana's death. The Phantom boy. Clark and Bizarro fighting. Lex being arrested. Lois dragging Chloe through the collapsing tunnels. Lionel trapped under rubble. Clark being thrown out of the dam. Bizarro flying at the camera, his face becoming chalky white and cracked.
INT. THE DAM
LONG SHOT Lights flicker, the whole structure is shaking, water floods down from the ceiling.
LOIS behind the chained iron door. She's trying to drag CHLOE through it.
Lois (babbling): Please, please, please… wake up now. It's not funny anymore. I need you, Chloe. Wake up!
MEDIUM close-up of Lionel, unconscious, caught under a huge pipe. Water rises around him. Suddenly, his head jerks up and his eyes open. They flash milky white, then go dark again.
Lionel gets up and throws the pipe off himself
MEDIUM LONG shot. More stones fall from the ceiling. A pipe breaks. Lois is drenched in water. She sputters. Chloe remains lifeless. .
Lois: Dammit, Chloe! I'm not the smart one! I need you to get out of here, do you hear me? I need you!
A thundering noise. Lois glances up at the ceiling. She clutches Chloe to her and lunges towards the camera, just as the pipe and the ceiling all come down on them.
MEDIUM close-up. Lionel, holding the pipe and the rubble. Lois at his feet, bent over Chloe. She looks up blearily, then faints.
EXT. Outside the DAM, DAY
Muddy riverbank. Close-up of an arm as someone drags himself out of the water. Close-up of a torn red shirt clinging to a wet body. Camera pans in on Clark's face. His lower lip is bruised, he's panting. LONG SHOT, showing the dam collapsing behind him. CLOSE-UP of Clark's face as he stares. A whooshing noise. MEDIUM LONGSHOT Clark ducks .LONG SHOT of the MARTIAN MANHUNTER landing by the river. Clark straightens up again, relieved.
MM: The Phantom did this.
Clark: It's taken something from me. He looks like me now.
MM (disapprovingly): You should not have come here alone. This is what we were trying to prevent.
Clark: Lionel used kryptonite against it, but it only became stronger. What if it doesn't have a weakness?
MM: It does. We need to go to your father's Fortress.
Clark: What about the phantom?
Close-up of MM's face, worried.
EXT. ROAD. DAY.
CRANE SHOT of two police cars. MEDIUM Close-up of the inside of one of the cars, as seen from the front seat. FOCUS on Lex in the backseat, handcuffed. A policeman reads him his rights. Lex keeps glancing over his shoulder. The policeman looks annoyed.
FLASH Close-up of squealing tires.
FLASH The first car swerves hard right.
FLASH The second car stops.
FLASH The first car is suddenly lifted off the ground.
The camera slowly swerves around the car at ground level. A pair of boots. It zooms out a bit. Lingering shot from a low angle of BIZARRO, holding the car upright with one hand in the pose from the cover of Action Comics #1, outlined against the bright sun.
LONG SHOT of both cars. The doors of the first open and policemen scramble out and point their guns at Bizarro.
Bizarro face close-up. His face is still cracked and chalky. He grins lopsidedly.
MEDIUM long shot. Bizarro freezes the car with his cold-vision and drops it to the ground. It shatters.
CRANE SHOT The policemen from both cars run. A few shoot over their shoulders at Bizarro. He laughs and walks towards the second car. His walk is a bit clumsy.
SHOT OVER THE ROOF OF THE CAR Bizarro tears out the back door and throws it over his shoulder into the field by the road. The camera swerves so we look over Bizarro's shoulder down at Lex.
Lex (disbelievingly): Clark?
MEDIUM close-up of Bizarro, from Lex's perspective. He grins toothily.
Bizarro (cheery): Me am Bizarro. Lex am friend.
Lex slowly looks Bizarro up and down.
Lex: You're not Clark.
Bizarro: Lex am smart. Me am Bizarro.
Bizarro grabs Lex's handcuffs and drags him up and out of the car by them. Lex struggles. Bizarro lets go of him. The handcuffs stay on.
Lex (angrily): Get off me! I didn't kill her.
Bizarro (shrugging): Bizarro not care.
Lex: What do you want from me?
Bizarro steps towards him and throws an arm around his shoulder jovially.
Bizarro: You am rule world with Bizarro!
Close-up of Lex's aghast face. FADE OUT.
EXT. ABOVE the DAM. DAY.
In the background, the dam collapses. In the foreground, someone zips towards the camera at superspeed. It's Lionel. He puts Chloe and Lois down on the ground. Close-up of Chloe's face. She looks dead. Zoom out. Lois groans and gets up on her elbows. She stares straight ahead. We see her cleavage.
LONG SHOT The collapsing dam, seen across the water from a distance.
SHOT Lois gets up on her knees. She spots Lionel.
Lois (panicked): What just happened?
WIDE SHOT Lionel seems at a momentary loss of words. He glances down at Chloe's prone body. Lois follows his glance. She jumps to her feet and steps back hastily.
Lois: No!
Lionel moves towards her. He looks a bit put-upon, but tries to comfort her.
Lionel: Miss Lane, calm down.
Lois evades his touch and rushes to Chloe. She kneels and touches Chloe's face. Close-up of Lois's face. She looks horrified.
Lois: No, no. This isn't happening. I didn't do that.
SHOT of Lois's hands and arms, as seen from her perspective. Her sleeves are still bloody.
Lois: I didn't do that! Lois!
MEDIUM SHOT of Lionel, frowning. The camera swerves, showing Lois and Chloe from his perspective. Lois is sobbing and shaking her head in denial. She turns her face towards him, tears running down her cheeks.
Lois: I only wanted to help! I'm a - a freak. I killed her and stole her body!
Close-up of Lionel. He opens his mouth and stares for a moment.
Lionel: Miss Sullivan? Is that you?
FADE OUT to Commercial
ACT 2
EXT. THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
Long shot of the Fortress. Arctic twilight, no sun in the sky. A short night in the Arctic summer.
INT. THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
Clark and the Martian Manhunter walk into the Fortress. There is no longer blood on J'onn's shirt. MEDIUM LONG SHOT following them as they walk through the Fortress slowly.
Clark: So the phantom is a Kryptonian now? Like me?
MM: Not quite. The experiment that created the phantom altered its physiology. It isn't allergic to green kryptonite in its natural form. But if kryptonite goes through the same duplication process that created the phantom, it will become lethal to the phantom.
Clark: So why didn't you give Lionel some of that? It would have saved us trouble.
MM (hesitating): It seemed unwise to reveal the existence of the Fortress to him. I do not trust Lionel Luthor entirely.
Clark: Yeah, neither do I.
MM: But I cannot access the Fortress on my own, so I had no choice but to try and fight the phantom without altered kryptonite. Lionel was trying to use Jor-El's knowledge to find a solution.
Clark (annoyed): You could just have told me.
MM: You would have known if you had finished your Kryptonian education when your father asked you to. Now you can't finish it at all.
Clark: What do you mean I can't?
MM: All the knowledge that was stored within the Fortress has been transferred to Lionel Luthor's mind. Extricating it from there would kill him. But as long as you have not finished your education, I can't fully involve you in this. On Krypton you would still be considered a child.
Close-up of Clark's puzzled face.
They approach the panel with the crystals. They light up as Clark touches them, and MM deftly uses the crystals while Clark watches uncomprehendingly.
MM: Your father and I did not always agree, Kal-El. My people were very different from yours.
Clark: Were?
MM: Mars has been dead for many thousand years. I am the only survivor.
Clark (softly): Like me.
MM pulls out the last crystal and pushes it into another slot. He appears to be done and looks at Clark.
MM: Yes. You and I have many things in common. But so far I have respected your fathers wishes and didn't interfere with his decisions. But things have not developed as Jor-El and I hoped they would. Maybe your father's construct was not flexible enough to deal with the changes.
EXTREME Close-up of a flat crystal surface nearby. A bright blue crystal materializes. MEDIUM close-up as MM picks it up, then offers it to Clark. Clark glances warily at both. He takes the crystal. Nothing happens. Clark raises his brows in surprise. FADE OUT
EXT. METROPOLIS, EVENING
LONG SHOT of the busy street in front of the DAILY PLANET. Noise. Cars, people. SHALLOW focus of a few pedestrians, stopping and looking up at the sky. Someone points up. Fast TILT upwards. A dark streak in the blue sky between the buildings.
LONG shot of the Daily Planet globe. Bizarro, an arm slung around Lex's waist, lands on it. He lets go. Close-up of Lex's face. He's breathing shallowly and slowly looking around. CRANE shot of Metropolis, slowly rotating around its axis, as if seen from Lex's perspective, ending with a SHALLOW focus of Bizarro's face. Sun setting in the background.
Bizarro (hopeful): You not like?
Lex: You won't have it as easy as Zod. This time we are prepared.
Bizarro looks confused. LONG shot of both of them standing on the Daily Planet globe. Bizarro spreads his arms wide triumphantly.
Bizarro: Me and you am rule planet!
FLASH
EXT. SMALLVILLE MEDICAL CENTRE
INT. HOSPITAL
Shot through a window into a hospital room. DEEP focus on Chloe, lying in a hospital bed. She's still deadly pale. Close-up of a black screen with a pulse line. Her heart-rate is low but steady.
SHALLOW focus of the hallway. MEDIUM shot. In the foreground Lionel is talking on the phone. In the background, unfocused, we see Lois, sitting on a chair and staring blankly ahead of herself.
Lionel (displeased): What do you mean Lex is gone?
Lionel: Hm. One of the cars has been destroyed, you say?
Lionel: No. Find him.
He ends the call and makes another.
Lionel: I need it. Now.
Lionel: I don't care if it's not ready. All we need is a suitable body. Prepare it.
Lionel: I'll call you back as soon as we've got a definite location. Be ready.
A female doctor approaches him, he hangs up.
Doctor (serious): She's in a coma. There's no way to tell when she'll wake up as long as we don't know what caused this. Do you know her personally, Mr Luthor?
Lionel hesitates. He glances at Chloe through the window. Shot of him smirking. He turns back to the doctor.
Lionel (ironically): I'm a friend of the family.
Doctor: Does she have a drug history?
Lionel: No.
The doctor notes this down. She asks more questions, but the sound fades out. Instead we hear the beeping of Chloe's monitors again.
In the background, Lois suddenly gets up and walks to the window. She stares in. Close-up of the window. Lois's reflection, super-imposed over Chloe in the hospital bed. Lois looks confused or worried.
Lois: Chloe?
MEDIUM shot of a nurse approaching her.
Nurse: Are you alright, Miss?
Lois glances down at her bloody clothes. She gingerly touches her belly.
Lois: No. No, I'm not. What the hell is going on here?
EXT. TOP OF THE DAILY PLANET GLOBE
LONG shot of Lex and Bizarro. Lex reaches inside his jacket with his cuffed hands and pulls out a gun. Bizarro grabs it from him at superspeed. EXTREME close-up of Bizarro's white hand, crushing the gun. Some of the bullets in the magazine are green kryptonite. He drops the crushed gun and bullets. MEDIUM shot. Lex staggers backwards. He slips, looses his balance and falls off the globe. Bizarro sighs and blurs into superspeed.
BLUR
LONG shot, SHALLOW focus on Bizarro catching Lex in mid-air. They float. Lex looks breathless and horrified. He struggles. Bizarro frowns.
Bizarro (dejectedly): You am… liking Bizarro?
Lex (defiantly, but not entirely convincingly): Even if you kill me, there are people who'll fight you.
Bizarro takes a long moment to think. Then his frown clears up.
Bizarro: Fighting mean you care!
A shrill noise, like the one the caves used to call Clark. Lex winces as Bizarro grips him more tightly. Camera pans in on Bizarro's squinting eyes as he looks around, confused.
Commercial
ACT 3
INT. FORTRESS of Solitude.
Dim light. It's still night outside. The shrill noise is audible here too. Clark is clutching his ears in pain. In one hand he still holds the blue kryptonite. The noise fades.
Clark: That's the same noise the caves used to call me.
MM: It's the beacon of the House of El. The phantom will recognize it and hopefully come here before it harms anyone.
Clark (suspicious): Why would the phantom recognize it?
MM turns away and walks a few steps. Close-up of his face from a high angle as he stares up into the Fortress. He squares his jaw.
Clark: There's more, isn't there? You're not telling me everything!
MM: Your father was trying to develop a weapon. A Kryptonian super-soldier to fight criminals like Zod and the Brain-Interactive Construct. Titan was one of these failed experiments. The phantom another.
Clark (shocked): Jor-El created all those monsters from the Phantom Zone?
MM: Not all of them. You don't understand, Kal-El. Without a yellow sun, Kryptonians are no more powerful than ordinary humans. They had to find some way to defend themselves.
Close-up of Clark's face. He looks not at all convinced.
MM (offscreen): Your father was a hero, Kal-El.
EXT. THE ARTIC, TWILIGHT
The sky over the arctic plane is cloudy. Some clouds are tinged with red and gold, indicating that dawn is close. Bird's eye view of the Artic plane below. A small dot approaches the camera. The shrill noise grows louder as they approach. It is Bizarro, carrying Lex. When they are close, the camera starts tracking them. Lex is shivering badly, his nose is reddened, he's gritting his teeth to keep them from chattering.
The shrill noise stops. Bizarro stops in mid-flight.
Bizarro (surprised): Beautiful noise am gone!
Lex watches him with a frown. He looks scheming.
Lex (with fake concern): You're confused. I think you need help.
Bizarro: Me am perfectly imperfect!
Lex (annoyed): You're lost.
Bizarro tilts his head. He flies them down to the ground. LONG shot of the two standing on a huge field of white ice. Lex's teeth chatter.
Bizarro: You am cold.
Lex, arms crossed protectively against the cold, takes a step back.
Bizarro: We am enemies. Me help.
Bizarro steps towards him. Lex tries to evade, but Bizarro wraps his arms tightly around him in a hug. The hug is crushing Lex. Close-up on Lex's face as he gasps for air. Dramatic music.
Lex: Stop! You're killing me!
Close-up of Bizarro's face. He smiles sweetly.
Bizarro: Yes.
Lex goes slack. FADE OUT.
INT. FORTRESS
MM's eyes glow red.
MM: He's coming. Follow me.
MM zips out of the Fortress in streak of red. Clark stands there alone for a moment, then follows, also a streak of red.
EXT. ARCTIC
Two streaks of red race towards Bizarro and Lex. One dissolves into MM, pulling Bizarro off Lex. The other becomes Clark. Clark catches Lex as he collapses and drags him aside.
MEDIUM close-up of Lex and Clark. Clark lowers him to the ground. Close-up of Lex's face. His lips are tinged blue, his eye-lids flutter, the whole image recalls the scene after Clark pulled him out of the river in Pilot. For a moment he seems to look at Clark, then he falls unconscious.
LONG shot of MM and Bizarro struggling. Bizarro tries to use heat breath. MM throws him several feet through the air.
MM: Kal-El! The blue kryptonite!
MEDIUM shot of Clark, watching with a torn expression. He looks down at the kryptonite in his hand.
LONG shot of MM and Bizarro fighting. Bizarro is winning. He seizes MM by the neck and pulls at one of his arms. MM utters an inhuman scream.
Close-up of Bizarro's face. His happy smile suddenly goes slack in surprise. He falls, revealing Clark behind him. Clark is holding the blue kryptonite.
LONG shot. MM staggers away, bent in pain. Clark kneels by Bizarro. In the background, the sun rises. The camera slowly changes to DEEP focus, until only the sun is visible.
Bizarro (off-screen): All go… dark.
Bizarro: Hello… Kal-El…
The sun grows brighter and brighter. WHITEOUT.
EXT. METROPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT. DAY
INT. MPD
LONG Shot through a window. Interrogation room. A bare desk, chairs. Lex sits on one side, a female police detective in civilian clothes on the other. Lex no longer wears the handcuffs, but still the same clothes.
Close-up of Lex.
Lex (blankly): I don't remember how I got to the police station. As you may recall I was unconscious.
Detective: Mr Luthor, you realize that you handing yourself in to the police after the car crash can only be to your advantage, don't you?
A door opens behind Lex. A police officer enters, rounds the table and hands the detective a sheet of paper. She reads.
Detective: Well, Mr Luthor, apparently the only witness has taken back their charges. Since there's no further evidence of you being involved in Mrs Luthor's death, you're free to go once we've cleared up a few formalities… FADE OUT
INT. SMALLVILLE MEDICAL CENTRE
A busy hallway. Doctors, nurses, patients. Lois stands in front of a patient room, wearing different clothes than the day before. Shot through half-closed blinds of the inside of the room. We see Gabe Sullivan sitting by Chloe's bedside, holding her slack hand. She is still not conscious. Someone appears next to Lois.
Clark: Lois! I heard that Chloe is –
Lois stares at him. Clark falls silent.
Lois (choked): Clark… it's me. Chloe.
Clark: Chloe?
Chloe/Lois pulls him aside. She's close to tears.
Chlois: I went after Lois and found her with a knife-wound in her belly. She was dead, Clark. Dead!
Clark: This is really you?
Chlois: I… I did something. Clark, I think this is my meteor power. I healed Lois's body, and now my body is in a coma and I'm in Lois body and I keep having these lapses where everything goes dark and then I can't remember and… and then I wake up again and…
Clark hugs her awkwardly, patting her back.
Clark: Jesus, Chloe…
Chlois (sobbing): I'm like my Mom, Clark. I stole her body!
Clark: You saved her life, Chloe.
Chlois: What if I can't give it back to her? What if I can't stop? Clark… Clark what if I'm fading? What if those blackouts mean I'm dying…
Clark: No. You're not dying.
Chloe/Lois goes quiet. She looks up at Clark. Close-up of Clark's face. He looks close to tears, too.
Chlois: I heard about...
Clark: I'm not losing anyone else, Chloe. Not you. Not Lois.
Camera zooms out as they hug again.
EXT. MPD. DAY.
Front door. Lex walks out a, talking on the phone. He looks pissed. Camera changes from deep focus on Lex to shallow focus on the foreground. A black limousine, Lionel stands in front. Close-up on Lex as he spots Lionel. Simmering rage.
MEDIUM LONG shot of both.
Lionel: A little more gratitude would suit you, son. I got you out of jail.
Lex: So you were the witness. I should have known. Did you kill her, too?
Lionel clucks his tongue disapprovingly. He lays a hand on Lex's shoulder, Lex shrugs it off. Lionel opens the door of the limousine for him. Lex doesn't get in.
Lionel: This should have been a lesson to you, Lex.
Lex: A lesson? About what, Dad? Trust?
Lionel: Family.
Lex: You're right. And you know what I learned about family? I have none.
Lex turns around and starts to walk away.
Lionel (raises his voice): You're still a Luthor, Lex.
Lex turns around. His face is blank with rage.
Lex (softly): Yes, I am. Don't ever forget it, Dad.
Silence as they stare at each other. Lex turns away. Music starts to play as he walks away.
MONTAGE
[Music: Breathe Me by Sia]
EXT. LUTHORCORP PLAZA DAY
Lex, walking towards LuthorCorp, reads the morning edition of the Daily Planet. Shot of him frowning. Shot of the headline, a picture of Lana below: Luthor Wife Dies In Car Bombing. Lex enters the dark inside of the foyer through the rotating glass doors.
INT. SMALLVILLE MEDICAL CENTRE
Clark, sitting by Chloe's bedside. Clark holds Chloe's hand. In his other hand he holds an old, crumpled picture of Lana. He looks heartbroken. Martha comes in, dressed in a fashionable blazer and skirt. She stops. Clark looks up. They hug silently, she pets his hair.
INT. LIMOUSINE
Lionel, looking thoughtful. He holds a blue folder in his hands. Among the files is an ultrasound. He closes it. A single word and some numbers are written in Kryptonian on the outside.
INT. BATHROOM
Lois stares at a mirror, seeing Chloe instead of herself.
INT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
Bizarro's body, bedded on a crystal dais, dead. Snow crystals are settling on him.
INT. AN APARTMENT
A nicely decorated apartment. Many flowers. A wall with family portraits and pictures of Smallville: Nell's flower shop, the market, Smallville High. Pictures of Lana, riding, her first day at school, in her Homecoming dress, her wedding. Shot of Nell Potter, talking on the phone. She hangs up, her hands are shaking. Nell sits down and starts crying.
EXT. PACIFIC COAST DAY
CRANE Shot. Deep blue ocean to the right, desert to the left. A lonely coast road, on which a single white cabriolet drives at high speed. Zoom in on the driver. A woman with bright red hair, wearing sunglasses and a white shawl. It's Lana. She reaches for the radio tuner, smiling.
The song fades out as the camera zooms away from Lana's car, higher and higher up. Clouds. White noise, soundbits from different radio stations. English, Spanish, other languages. Bits of music. Upper atmosphere. The Earth, seen from space, as the radio noises grow quiet.
Earth, shrinking in the black distance of space. Silence.
FADE OUT.
::::::
1) Feel free to tell me how much you think Chlois sucks. It's supposed to be controversial.
2) This isn't like other fanfic in so far as I'm trying to keep it Smallville, in both format and characterisation. I haven't got budget restrictions, of course, and I'm not devoted to Lana.
3) I have a plan where this is going. It's only vaguely more convoluted than the baby plot ;P
4)There was this POLL a while ago, about what fandom wants S7 to look like. I try to heed that poll, now and then.
5) Lana with red hair was
romanyg's idea, and I had to steal it, because it's perfect and comics canon. 6) Suggest music! I fail at music.
I'm insane.
