Revised Screenplay
17th January, 1983.
ALEXANDER SALKIND
presents
SUPERGIRL
by
David Odell
Copyright 1983
CANTHARUS PRODUCTIONS N.V.
All Rights Reserved
EXT. SPACE
THE CAMERA PULLS BACK. . .
INT. ARGO CITY
AND REVEALS THE inside of a domed city honeycombed with fantastic arches. The city is inhabited by young beautiful people in luxurious but simple costumes.
THE CAMERA ROAMS through the City, observing some people seated at a kind of cafe sipping drinks and relaxing; other people are in some kind of exercise class doing beautiful graceful movement; and finally a class of five year old children listen intently to a teacher who is demonstrating a molecular model.
TEACHER
And now, who can give me the electron
wave functions for Kryptonian covalent
bonding?
The five year olds eagerly raise their hands. The teacher points to one.
CHILD
The cube root of the wavelength over the
natural log of the integral of the speed of
light squared.
The teacher smiles.
TEACHER
Well, maybe that was a bit too easy...
THE CAMERA ROAMS ON through the city, following the sound of a strange, ethereally beautiful singing. The CAMERA discovers the source of the sound: an ARTIST sculpting a beautiful crystalline object with a MATTERWAND. The wand makes the singing noise as it creates matter out of energy. The Artist, whose name is ZALTAR, sometimes whistles along in counterpoint. .
A small girl is watching him with fascination. Her name is Kara, and she is seven.
Behind her, the dome, which encloses the City, marks the edge of the limbo outside.
KARA
What are you making:
ZALTAR
It's going to be a tree, I think.
KARA
What's a tree?
ZALTAR
It's something they have on Earth. You know,
where your cousin went.
KARA
Where is Earth?
ZALTAR
Didn't you study six-dimensional geometry in
school?
KARA
Yes, I know the equations---I just can't see it in
my head.
Zaltar laughs.
ZALTAR
Even I have trouble with that sometimes. Earth is in
outer space. And we're in inner space.
KARA
I don't understand.
ZALTAR
Wait till you're older. Here -- watch this.
Zaltar takes a small OMEGAHEDRON out of his pocket and holds it in his hand.
ZALTAR.
This is one of the four Power Sources of the City.
I borrowed it from the Guardians. Look what I
can do with it.
Zaltar touches his MATTER.WAND to the OMEGAHEDRON and the wand instantly becomes charged with flickering light. He touches his wand to the tree sculpture---and the
sculpture comes alive with dancing lights and shadows. Kara claps her hands with delight
at the spectacle. Zaltar steps back and admires his handiwork. He carefully puts down the
OMEGAHEDRON at his feet, takes a small flask from his belt, and drinks.
ZALTAR
You see, a tree is a living thing.
KARA
Can you create life?
ZALTAR
No, no, just the illusion of life. A kind of
half-life, maybe. A pale shadow of the real
thing. But it is lovely, the way the light plays
over the surface. . .
A woman's voice can be heard calling in the distance.
WOMAN'S VOICE
Kara. Kara.
Kara calls out in reply.
KARA
I'm here, mother.
Kara's mother ALURA appears through the lacey architecture of the city.
ALURA
Kara, you shouldn't be so near the Edge
without a grown-up.
KARA
I'm sorry, Mother.
ZALTAR
I was keeping an eye on her.
Alura puts her arm around her daughter affectionately, showing she's not really angry. Together they watch Zaltar's latest sculpture, flickering with the play of inner light and shadow.
ALURA
Thank you, Zaltar, but she has to obey the rules.
Zaltar takes another swig from his flask. and lowers his voice confidentially.
ZALTAR
You and your husband have been kind to me,
Alura. I have something to tell you: I'm going
away. Soon.
ALURA
But where?
Zaltar bends down to Kara and hands her his matterwand.
ZALTAR
Put your fingers there, Kara. And press hard.
She does, and the wand makes a horrible squawk. Kara laughs with delight.
ZALTAR
Good. Now, go make something pretty.
Kara scampers away, hardly able to believe her good fortune, and starts to make all kinds of
surprising sounds with the wand on the plaza nearby. Zaltar speaks to Alura in a low, confidential voice.
ZALTAR
I've discovered a new way into the Phantom
Zone.
ALURA
But the phantom Zone is for criminals.
ZALTAR
It's big. And empty. I'm tired of limiting myself
to Argo City. I want to do something new. I'm
starting to repeat myself here with this airy,
glittery stuff....
Zaltar waves a hand deprecatingly at the city around him.
ALURA
But Zaltar---you founded the city! It's yours. We
were all just refugees from Krypton when you gathered
us together and brought us here, to the inner dimension.
You can't abandon us now. You have a responsibility to us!
In the background, Kara has been modeling a spiky insect-like CREATURE. Now she suddenly finds the OMEGAHEDRON on the ground beside her. She doesn't stop to wonder how it got there from beside Zaltar's feet. She simply picks up the OMEGAHEDRON and touches it to the spiky creature. The creature suddenly flicks its wings and COMES TO LIFE, unnoticed by the adults. Kara drops the wand and laughs out loud with delight as the magical creature takes off from the ground and starts flying in circles around her head, glittering as if it were made of diamonds.
ZALTAR
I'm an artist, Alura. My work comes first. Other
people come second.
ALURA
How can you create beauty...with a selfish heart?
The spiky insect-creature flies closer and closer around the little girl's head, buzzing angrily. Her look of delight turns to fear. She tries to shoo the creature away. It flies off toward the thin membrane that encloses the city.
The spiky creature flies into the membrane and tears a ragged hole in it. With a giant WHOOSH all the air in the city starts to rush out the hole. Kara is swept along toward the hole by the wind. She cries out and stretches pleading hands toward her mother. THE OMEGAHEDRON is swept toward the hole as well. Kara grabs onto the ragged edge of the membrane.
ZALTAR
Kara---the Power Source!
Kara reaches for it, but it is too far from her, and the OMEGAHEDRON is sucked out into infinity by the wind. Zaltar picks up the matterwand from where Kara dropped it and touches her with the wand. She is instantly held fast. Zaltar pulls her back inside. He gives her to her mother Alura. Then Zaltar touches his wand to the membrane and seals the hole with masterful chords like a brass choir.
The wind dies down and all is silent, except for the quiet sobbing of Kara in her mother's arms. Zaltar kneels down beside her and strokes her golden hair tenderly.
KARA
I'm sorry... I didn't know.
ZALTAR
It was my fault. You aren't old enough to use
the wand. I shouldn't have given it to you.
ALURA
But the Power Source, Zaltar.
ZALTAR
It couldn't be helped. The city will have to make do
with three.
ALURA
But what will happen?
ZALTAR
The Guardians will be angry. They may even
send me to the Phantom Zone. You see, I didn't
really have permission to borrow it. I must go
explain to them...
Zaltar hurries off nervously. THE CAMERA HOLDS ON KARA'S FACE as she senses this may be her last sight of Zaltar.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. A SPRINGTIME MEADOW - U.S.A. - DAY. UNDER TITLES
A beautiful blonde in jeans and a frilly blouse is walking across a field of wildflowers. Butterflies flitter and dart from flower to flower. The blonde's name is SELENA. She is our ideal image of the girl next door, who grew up into a dynamite lady.
Her current boyfriend follows along behind her, lugging a big wicker hamper from their pickup truck parked at the edge of the road. Selena finds a grassy spot under an old oak. and spreads out a red and white checked gingham cloth..
SELENA
Over here George. It's the perfect spot. Nice view.
George sets down the wicker basket and Selena starts to unpack a scrumptious picnic of home cooked food. She unpacks fried chicken, hard-boiled eggs, potato salad, cold beer and a big rich creamy-frosted devils food cake.
GEORGE
You sure are a good cook, Selena. Man, that looks
too pretty to eat.
SELENA
Better eat it quick. It won't look too pretty when it's
all covered with ants.
She hands him a chicken drumstick and a hard-boiled egg.
GEORGE
Selena, I've been thinking. It's time I settled
down---and I don't know a nicer lady to settle
down with than you.
SELENA
Why George, are you proposing?
GEORGE
Marry me, Selena. The hardware store doesn't bring
in much now, but...
SELENA
George---I thought you'd never ask.
A shrill whistling sound from above makes them look up. With a loud plop and a spatter of icing the OMEGAHEDRON falls into the middle of the chocolate cake.
GEORGE
What the heck is that?
They look up in the boughs of the tree overhead, and then down at the chocolate cake splashed all over the checked cloth.
SELENA
A squirrel Frisbee?
Selena reaches out and picks up the OMEGAHEDRON. It comes away from the cake without a trace of the chocolate icing sticking to its surface, as if made of some substance, which repels other kinds of matter.
Selena holds the shining Omegahedron in her hand and examines it, turning it around and around as if hypnotized. Her face takes on a new expression. Almost as if the simple, wholesome innocence of her nature had been blasted away by some profound new knowledge of the universe.
SELENA
That's funny. I'd swear I know just what this is,
but I've never seen it before.
She stands up and walks across the checkered cloth, in a beeline for the pickup truck.
GEORGE
Hey, where you going?
SELENA
(calling over her shoulder)
I've got things to do.
GEORGE
What about my proposal?
SELENA
(dismissively)
Call me next week. Maybe we can have lunch.
She gets in the pickup and. drives away.
GEORGE
Hey! My truck!
DISSOLVE TO:
KARA' S FACE
She is ten years older now, a young lady. Almost ready to assume the long flowing gown of an adult, but still in the tunic worn by those under eighteen.
ALURA
(voice over)
But Kara, you are too young to go.
ANOTHER ANGLE. ARGO CITY. DIMMED
They are in the assembly amphitheater of the city, where the kindergarten nuclear physics class was seen. Kara is in the centre of the ring, with adults seated in scattered rows around her. Her parents Zor-El and Alura are standing in front of her.
KARA
I am almost an adult. This is what I want.
ZOR-EL
But Kara, no one has ever gone from here to
Earth. The journey is dangerous.
KARA
It was my fault we lost the Power Source.
ZOR-EL
Years ago. And it was Zaltar who stole it.
KARA
I allowed it to escape the City.
ALURA
Ever since we told you how your cousin Superman
was sent there as an infant, all you have wanted to do
was visit this place.
KARA
Yes, I do want to go. But someone must go. Our
scanning shows the Power Source has finally
reached the Earth. It could destroy everything unless
someone brings it back.
ZOR-EL
Superman will return it.
KARA
Why haven't you been able to contact him? He should
have returned from the neutron galaxy ages ago. He
may be dead.
ZOR-EL
But what can you, a mere girl-
KARA
I'll have super powers there. Like him. We can't wait.
Our lights are fading. Look around you. When I was a
child the City was bright and shining. Look at it now.
Zor-El and Alura sigh. There is no denying that the brilliance of Argo City has been much dimmed since Kara was a little girl.
ALURA
What do your teachers think?
Zor-El looks around the circle. A beautiful woman speaks.
TEACHER
It would be sad to lose one of our finest young ones
to the dimension barrier-- but the City cannot last much
longer without the Power Source. It is her future she's
fighting for, Zor-El.
ZOR-EL
Very well, let it be done.
Alura embraces Kara emotionally, fighting back the tears. Kara too is struggling to control her own emotions.
KARA
Don't worry, Mother, I'll be all right. I've studied
the transmissions from Earth. I know their customs.
Kara walks out of the amphitheater with her parents.
ALURA
But they are such strange, unstable people.
KARA
Then I will learn to act strange like them.
Kara holds up a small handbag. Inside we glimpse red and blue material.
KARA
I have made clothing and copies of their money, I
will be fine.
Her father puts his hand on her shoulder .
ZOR-EL
Be brave, my .daughter. Be wise.
KARA
As brave as my father. As wise.
They embrace, briefly. Kara then steps onto a circular platform set into the pavement of the city.
Instantly transparent bubble forms around her.
Her parents watch as she floats away.
She passes into an air lock through the membrane that surrounds the City, and off into an infinity of space.
MONTAGE: THE JOURNEY OF KARA INSIDE "HER SPHERE FROM THE INNER DIMENSION TO OUR WORLD.
Her sphere moves from blackness, to a dark green limbo. The atmosphere thickens around her. Soon it is unmistakably water, and she is heading toward the light above. A fish darts past with a flash of silver. The sphere rushes upward faster and faster. It breaks the surface of the , water. Kara springs free of the bubble, which disappears. She is now wearing a blue and red costume like her cousin Superman.
She lands on a nearby beach.
EXT. EARTH. BEACH BESIDE THE SEA. SUNRISE
She looks around her, feasting with her eyes on the details of this new exciting world.
Kara bends down and picks up a stone from the ground at her feet. To her astonishment, she
crushes it to powder in her hand, and blows the fine dust away with a blast of superbreath.
She looks down at her feet, so firmly planted on the ground. She rises a few inches into the air, and reacts with amazement. Then she looks up into the blue sky overhead and her expression of astonishment is replaced by a look of joyous longing. With a sudden impulse she shoots straight upward.
EXT. HIGH ABOVE THE EARTH. DAY
Kara loops and rolls, swoops and circles, laughing with sheer delight.
EXT. HIGH ABOVE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS. HORSES. DAY
Kara swoops down at a herd of horses. The herd parts and gallops off in all directions as she pulls out of her dive and flies away.
CUT TO:
EXT. MOUNTAINTOP. DAY
Kara lands on a mountaintop and admires the view. The she bends down and scoops up a handful of snow. She stares at it with awe.
INSERT. MICROSCOPIC SHOT OF SNOW CRYSTALS IN ALL THEIR INFINITE VARIETY AND BEAUTY.
BACK TO SCENE. DAY
Kara stands up, smiling. She flies into the air again.
EXT. FOREST. DAY
She lands and walks among the huge trunks of a primeval forest. Shafts of sunlight pierce the gloom. These trees are much more impressive than Zaltar's imitation back in Argo City. She hears a mournful sound and pulls back a spray of brambles. She sees a BABY DEER hopelessly tangled in the long canes. She shoots RAYS OF HEAT VISION from her eyes and slices through the tough stems. The fawn scrambles free, and scampers off into the forest. Kara watches it with a benevolent smile. She removes a brunette wig and some street clothing from a secret pocket in her cape.
EXT. MANSION --- GARDEN PARTY
A big impressive house somewhere in the Middle West. People mill about on the neatly manicured lawn sipping drinks and snagging hors d'oeuvres off silver trays from. passing waiters. All the quests have a name tag on, like at some kind of conference.
SELENA, the blonde who discovered the Power Source, is circulating among the quests. She has changed since we saw her last. No longer the girl next door, she now wears a fabulous designer dress dripping with jewels. She walks with the regal air of someone used to being obeyed, and graciously accepts the homage of the quests. A smile, a nod, a kind word from her leaves them all basking in the warm afterglow of her attention. But we notice odd details of the party: the decorations are all based on mystic occult symbols. At the refreshment table, there is a big ten-foot WICKER SCULPTURE OF A FEMALE GOAT covered with paper flowers. And the quests all have an indefinable air of strangeness about them. BIANCA, a tall cold-eyed brunette in black silk dress, whispers in Selena's ear .
BIANCA
Be careful. Nigel is going to try something.
SELENA
Don't worry about old Nigel, I can take care of him.
He's just a sore loser.
An ELDERLY MAN in a three-piece pin-stripe suit grabs her elbow.
ELDERLY MAN
I don't want much, Selena. I have simple tastes.
SELENA
What do you want?
ELDERLY MAN
Western Europe.
SELENA
I'm sorry, but I already promised Bianca she could
have Switzerland. You know how she loves to ski.
ELDERLY MAN
No problem. She can have it. I hate mountains.
Selena leaves him negotiating boundary lines with Bianca and strolls over to a sour-faced man in suede who has been scowling at her over his cigarette.
SELENA
Cheer up, Nigel. It's not the end of the world.
NIGEL
It may well be. I know how you won that election
Selena. You can't fool me.
SELENA
I have plans Nigel. You could come with me...
I'm going places.
NIGEL
You're not going anywhere. Except back to nowheresville.
You're too impatient, Selena. Look around you--all
these people have served years and years of apprenticeship.
Some of their families have been in the Craft for generations.
You can't join and take over our whole organization in a few months.
Selena smirks at him, self-confidently.
SELENA
I just did. Because I have the Power.
NIGEL
You're going to pay a terrible price. The power of Shadow
is tricky. Use it too much and it takes over.
Nigel drops his cigarette, stubs it out on the lawn, and takes out his platinum cigarette case.
SELENA
Bianca's taught me all! need to know. I'll be safe, as
long as I don't go too far.
NIGEL
Cigarette?
He holds the shiny mirror-like cigarette case in front of her so she can see her reflection.
INSERT. SURFACE OF THE CIGARETTE CASE. Selena's reflection. She is still the glamorous beauty, but looming behind her...invisible to ordinary eyes...is a DARK EERIE SHAPE OF SOMETHING HIDEOUS.
BACK TO SCENE.
Quick as a cat, Selena bats the cigarette case out of his hand and sends it spinning into the shrubbery. All traces of the Shadow behind her have disappeared.
NIGEL
Sorry. Forgot you were trying to quit.
Nigel snags a glass of champagne off the tray of a nearby waiter and sips it insolently.
SELENA
Nigel, get out of here. And don't come slithering
back.
Nigel shakes his head.
NIGEL
You need me, Selena. I'm the only one who can save
you from a terrible fate.
SELENA
I need you like an Eskimo needs a lawnmower. Now
burn rubber.
Nigel locks eyes with her.
NIGEL
Make me.
He takes another insolent sip of champagne...arid discovers a scorpion perched on the rim of his glass.
Nigel spits out the champagne and, drops the glass. Everyone laughs at him.
NIGEL
Balefire on you, Selena!
SELENA
(grinning)
You Scorpios can never take a joke.
All quests have fallen silent, staring at the altercation between the two of them.
NIGEL
You think you are on top now. Well there is someone
coming to challenge you. I saw it in the cards this morning.
SELENA
Throw him out.
Two burly waiters seize Nigel and drag him off toward the valet parking.
NIGEL
You won't last a year, Selena. The cards don't lie!
The crowd breaks into a buzz of conversation.
Bianca stands up on a chair. The crowd falls silent.
BIANCA
Let's not let one rotten apple spoil the party. I give you
the first woman in eight hundred years to head
the Circle: Selena!
Applause. Selena steps up onto a raised dais. And holds up her hands in an invocational gesture.
SELENA
Thank you, sisters and brothers of the Craft. It is a
great honor you have given me, and I will try to be
worthy. And when my secret plans are revealed --
you will learn that we are on the threshold of
power and influence undreamed of when Nigel was
our leader.
More applause. One of the cooks applauding at the refreshment table knocks over a fuel-pot under a chafing dish. The fuel-pot falls on the ground at the base of the wicker goat statue.
SELENA
And now, ,I call upon the Great Mother--the spirit
of Nature --- to bless all our endeavors in the
coming year...
A woman in the .audience screams. Everyone looks where, she is pointing. The huge ten-foot tall wicker statue ,bursts into flames.
Panic and pandemonium. Some of the quests run for safety. Others try to throw water onto the blazing, torch-like statue, but in vain. Selena frowns at the spectacle, and, without a word, turns and stalks into her house.
INT. SELENA'S HOUSE. LIVING ROOM
THE CAMERA FOLLOWS Selena through the French doors and into her large living room. On one wall is a huge, ornate gold-framed MIRROR, covered with a thick veil.
Selena sits down in front of a large hearth, and opens a secret compartment in the floor. She reaches inside and removes a finely wrought METAL BOX IN THE SHAPE OF A GARGOYLE and a pack of cards. She puts the gargoyle box on her lap, and begins to cast tarot cards onto the floor in mystic patterns.
The Elderly Man in the pinstripe suit enters from the garden. Outside the excited shouts and sounds of firefighting can still be heard. Someone runs by in the b.g. with a coil of garden hose. The Elderly Man walks over to Selena, timidly.
ELDERLY MAN
Is this Nigel's doing?
SELENA
It's a warning, that's for sure.
ELDERLY MAN
Maybe it was just an accident.
SELENA
(mysteriously)
There's no such thing as an accident. Everything has
meaning, if you can read the signs.
The elderly man looks down at the pattern of tarot cards Selena has cast on the floor.
ELDERLY MAN
Then what does it mean???
Selena shrugs and puts aside her cards.
SELENA
Don't ask me. I can't read the signs worth spit.
EXT. MIDVALE SCHOOL. DAY
A bus stops in front of the school. Kara, disguised in a brunette wig and unfashionable clothing gets out of the bus. (From now on we shall refer to her in human guise by the name of her secret identity LINDA LEE.) Linda walks up the driveway toward the main building. Around her the campus is full of girls all in the school uniform of skirt, blazer, and white knee socks. Many of them stare frankly at the new girl in the slightly dowdy dress, carrying a battered old suitcase.
In front of the school, LUCY LANE, one of the older girls, is batting in a softball game. She swings and hits one over the fence for a homer. Linda watches the excited, deliriously happy girls---wondering if she will ever be able to share such strong group emotions. Linda walks up the steps to the main building.
INT. MAIN BUILDING. MIDVALE SCHOOL. STAIRWAY
Linda walks up the long stairway in the entrance hall.
MYRA, the school bully, passes with her spy and toady the loathsome MUFFY. As they pass MYRA speaks in a loud voice.
MYRA
Geeze, another barfy new student. They're really
scraping the bottom of the barrel these days.
Linda walks on up to the next f1oor.
INT. MAIN BUILDING . MIDVALE SCHOOL. HALL
Linda walks along the deserted hall and stops at the office of the registrar, MR. Danvers. She enters.
INT. REGISTRAR'S OFFICE
MR. Danvers turns from his desk and glares at her.
MR. DANVERS
Don't you believe in knocking?
LINDA
Oh, yes. Knocking. The pre-entry signal. I forgot.
She knocks on the open door. Her manner is so open and guileless that MR. Danvers, though
he gives her a strange look, does not put it down to smart-aleckyness, as he normally would.
MR. DANVERS
What can I do for you?
LINDA
I'm Linda Lee.
My cousin wrote you.
MR. Danvers stares at her blankly. He's a bit absent-minded.
MR . DANVERS
Cousin? Wrote me?
Linda looks at the metal filing cabinet behind his desk.
Two beams of X-RAY VISION are faintly visible for an instant from her eyes.
LINDA
The letter's in your files. Under K, for Kent.
MR. Danvers opens his file and searches through it.
LINDA
I mean, it would probably be there, if you received it.
MR. DANVERS
Here it is. Oh...of course. You're the orphan. I'm so sorry
about your parents. We'll try to make you happy here.
He rises and walks around the desk toward her. He puts his hand on her shoulder in a fatherly fashion.
CUT TO:
EXT. CAMPUS. DORM
MR. Danvers is carrying her suitcase as he shows her around the campus.
MR DANVERS
...since your school records were lost in the fire, we'11
start you out easy first. You'll have English, Latin,
French, History, Art, Chemistry, Math, Biology
and Computing. Later on, you can add some electives.
I think we'll put you in "G" dorm.
He opens the door and ushers her into the dorm.
INT. DORM. CORRIDOR
MR. Danvers leads Linda down the corridor.
A girl dorm monitor sees him and yells out the traditional signal.
STUDENT MONITOR
Man on the floor!
Immediately, several of the room doors along the corridor slam shut. MR. Danvers smiles indulgently and leads Linda along to one of the rooms with an open door.
INT. DORM ROOM
LUCY LANE, still in her softball flannels, is digging mud out of her cleats with a Swiss Army Knife held over a wastebasket. MR. Danvers knocks on the open door, in the pre-entry signal of Earth. Lucy looks up.
LUCY
Oh, MR. Danvers, come in and park it.
MR. DANVERS
Lucy, your roommate still home with anorexia?
LUCY
It wasn't anorexia. It was the food.
MR DANVERS
Linda, this is Lucy Lane. You can room with her.
Show her around, Lucy; I believe you know her
cousin, MR., uh, Kent. Lucy turns into a bundle of
enthusiasm. She grabs Linda's suitcase and leads
her into the room chattering away excitedly.
LUCY
Wow, you're Clark's cousin?? Fabuloso! Clark's a
hunk. My sister Lois was a real nerd to let that one
get away. You'll love it here, we have a great dorm,
some really insane characters, I mean radical craziness...
MR. Danvers slips away, leaving the two new roommates to get acquainted.
Lucy puts Linda's suitcase on the bare mattress of the empty bed and opens the dresser drawers to help her unpack.
LINDA
I can do that.
LUCY
No sweat. When's the rest of your stuff arriving?
She looks down at the nearly empty suitcase.
LINDA
There isn't any.
LUCY
This is all your clothes?
Lucy involuntarily glances over her shoulder at the bulging closet beside. her own bed. Lucy's bed is smothered with teddy bears, and the walls around it are covered with photos and posters of male rock singers, movie stars, and tennis players. Also a large painted poster of SUPERMAN.
LINDA
I have money to buy more, but I haven't had a
chance since...
LUCY
Since what?? Did you have a fire at your house or
something?
LINDA
I'd rather not talk about it.
LUCY
You're not...an orphan are you?
LINDA
My cousin Clark is my only relative on Earth.
LUCY
Oh wow, I should've known. Me and my big mouth. Listen,
you can borrow any of my clothes you want. Any time.
LINDA
Thank you. You're very kind.
LUCY
I'm real sorry, Linda, I should've known it was
something tragic if you show up without a
wardrobe. Here, try on this. And this.
Lucy starts pulling clothes out of her closet and tossing to Linda.
CUT TO:
EXT. SCHOOL PLAYING FIELDS. DAY
Girls in their adorable school gym outfits run around playing field hockey. Linda hangs back on the outskirts of the mob. She sees Myra put her stick between Lucy's legs and trip her. Linda stops to help Lucy up.
LINDA
She did that deliberately.
LUCY
She's a beast.
The pack turns and heads back toward them, the lead. Myra slaps the puck directly at. steps in front of it to protect Lucy. The and shatters. .Play stops. The girls mill confusion, picking up the little pieces of with Myra in Lucy. Linda puck hits Linda around in puck.
LUCY
How'd you do that?
LINDA
Must've been a defective puck.
INT. LOCKER ROOM. DAY
Girls pile in and start to take off their uniforms. Showers are running in the background. Linda unlaces her shoes. Lucy is unlacing beside her.
LUCY
Keep an eye peeled for Myra. She's out to get you.
LINDA
But what for?
LUCY
She just hates anybody who isn't afraid of her.
INT. SHOWER. LATER. DAY
Linda and Lucy (seen from the shoulders up) are enjoying a nice warm shower.
Linda looks through the tile wall (with her x-ray vision) and sees Myra next door, fooling with the plumbing.
INT. PLUMBING ROOM
MYRA
(whispering)
Are they in?
Muffy (Myra's spy) nods yes from her look-out position.
MYRA
Listen to the screams when I shut off the cold water.
She takes a huge wrench and starts to shut off a valve. Her spy looks worriedly at the valve.
MUFFY
But, Myra, why don't you shut off the hot water and
give them an ice bath? If you shut off the cold it,
could scald them.
MYRA
So they lose a little skin. Serve 'em right.
Myra pulls on the wrench.
INT. SHOWER
Linda shoots a beam of her heat vision through the wall.
INT. PLUMBING ROOM
Myra pulls on the valve, but the wrench glows red hot in her hand. She lets go with a cry of pain. A pipe springs a leak, drenching her in her school uniform. Myra heads for the door, to get out. More pipes spring leaks. Myra is soaked, her hair all bedraggled, her uniform a mess.
CUT TO:
INT. COMPUTING CLASS
MR. Danvers is putting a fairly complicated equation on the blackboard. All the students sit at the consoles of little personal computers staring at their blank monitor screens. Except for Linda, who is staring intently at the wall on one side of the classroom.
MR DANVERS
Now, this is the kind of problem that used to take
weeks before the computer. It still takes a long
time without certain algorithms.
Linda stares out through the solid wall with her X-RAY vision.
EXT. CAMPUS
A cat is stalking along a branch of a tree toward a nest of little baby birds. The nest is wedged on top of a window cornice on one of the buildings, but the tree branch passes just close enough by it for the cat to grab the baby birds when he gets there.
Slowly the cat inches along the branch. Suddenly a beam of light hits the branch. It bursts into flame, and falls down to the ground, saving the birds from any future danger. The cat turns around like a felon caught in the act, runs down the tree trunk, and scampers away.
INT. CLASS
Linda smiles to herself.
MR. DANVERS (O.S.)
Linda? Are you with us?
She turns to look at MR. Danvers and finds everyone in class staring at her.
LINDA
Uh, yes, MR. Danvers.
She looks at the board.
LINDA
The answer is 5,271,009,010.
Linda smiles, proud that she got the right answer. The other girls in the class laugh at her. Even her friend Lucy snickers. Linda realizes she has made a mistake, but is not sure how serious it is. The class bell rings and the girls dash for the exit. Linda stays in her seat staring at Mr. Danvers as he goes around the room switching off the computers.
MR. DANVERS
You may go, Linda. But try not to clown around in
the future.
She meekly heads for the door. He turns to erase the blackboard. Something stays his hand, and he looks at the problem. Then he puts down the eraser and starts to copy the problem on a piece of paper.
EXT. ROAD OUTSIDE SCHOOL. DAY
Selena's Cadillac drives past the school. softball in front. Girls are playing softball in front.
INT. CADILLAC
Bianca is driving. Selena sits in the back brooding. Her tarot cards and the metal gargoyle box are beside her on the open counter of a built-in bar. She suddenly calls out to Bianca.
SELENA
Stop the car!
Bianca jams on the brakes and the car screeches to a halt.
EXT. ROAD OUTSIDE SCHOOL
The girls stop their softball game and turn to stare at the Cadillac.
INT. CADILLAC
Selena is gathering up her scattered things from the floor of the car.
SELENA
I said stop, I didn't say run into a brick wall.
BIANCA
What is it?
SELENA
The Coffer of Shadow. Look at it.
The metal gargoyle box is glowing with an inner radiance.
SELENA
What does it mean?
BIANCA
The danger. The one Nigel spoke of. It must be near .
They stare out the car window at the girls' softball game, which was resumed.
SELENA
Oh, fiddlesticks. What could be dangerous about a
baseball game?
BIANCA
Softball.
SELENA
It must be the girls. One of the girls.
BIANCA
But which one?
SELENA
Drive on. We have already attracted enough
attention.
Bianca starts up the car again and drives smoothly away.
SELENA
We'll bide our time and keep watch. Young girls
just can't keep a secret. If one of them's up to
something--we'll find out.
BIANCA
And then, like great cats---we pounce! And destroy!
The car swerves slightly.
SELENA
Bianca, try not to be so bloodthirsty when you're at
the wheel. OK?
BIANCA
Sorry, mistress.
CUT TO:
EXT. DORM. DAY
Linda is standing at the bathroom' window of her dorm room, looking outside with a melancholy expression. She slides the curtain across the window, so no one can see in.
INT. LINDA AND LUCY'S ROOM. DAY
Lucy runs in, fresh from her softball game, and sits down on the bed as usual to dig the mud out of her cleats. Lucy's bed is still a riot of stuffed animals and frilly lace pillows. Linda's bed' across the room is austere and almost monastic, with no family photos, posters, or toys.
LUCY
Hey, Linda, you in there?
LINDA (o.s.)
Uh-huh.
Linda answers from inside the shut bathroom door.
LUCY
How much longer you gonna be?
LINDA (o.s.)
Not long. I'm cutting my hair.
Lucy crosses to the bathroom door.
LUCY
You're a maniac! Let me do it for you. You'll look awful.
INT. BATHROOM OFF DORM ROOM. DAY
Linda is in her Supergirl costume and her blonde hair. Her brunette wig is hanging on a hook beside the mirror.
SUPERGIRL
I can manage, thanks.
Supergirl holds out a lock of her blonde hair. She looks into the mirror and SHOOTS A BEAM OF ENERGY FROM HER EYE, which reflects off the mirror and strikes her hair, cutting off one inch of the blonde strand.
INT. DORM
LUCY
I cut my own hair once. I looked so awful the only
thing was to go totally punk!
Linda opens the door and steps out of the bathroom. She is wearing her brunette wig and her Linda clothing. Lucy is puzzled.
LUCY
Your hair looks the same.
LINDA
It was just a trim.
The student hall monitor sticks her head in the door and yells excitedly.
JODY
Hey guys, Gloria just got a package from home.
LUCY
What's in it?
JODY
A hair dryer that makes popcorn!
LUCY
Wow! Pig-out time. Come on Linda.
Lucy hurries to the door. Linda holds back.
LINDA
No thanks. You go on.
LUCY
You sure?
Linda nods bravely, and Lucy dashes off down the hall toward the lounge. Linda stands alone in the room.
A beam of light from the setting sun shines through the room, and casts a pool of light on the opposite wall. Linda looks at the beam of light with nostalgia.
INT. DORM LOUNGE
Lucy and the other girls are stuffing themselves with popcorn turned out in bowlfulls by Gloria's new hair dryer. The package it came from lies torn open on the table beside the hair-dryer. Some of the girls start a playful popcorn-throwing fight in the b.g. One of the girls is strumming her guitar, and starts to sing "There's No Place Like Home". One by one the other girls join in. It's a scene of high spirits and camaraderie, in contrast to Linda's loneliness.
INT. LINDA'S DORM ROOM
Linda, still staring at the sunbeam shining through her room, and at the tiny dust motes dancing in the beam. From down the hall comes the sound of the girls singing, in improvised six-part harmony.
GIRLS .o.s.)
"Be it ever so humble, There's no place like
home..."
A tear of self-pity and homesickness wells up in Linda's eyes and runs down her cheek. She steps into the beam of sunlight and it shines full on her face. She suddenly hears Alura's voice in her mind.
ALURA (o.s.)
Kara, my darling...
LINDA
Mother! Is it you? Where are you???
ALURA (o.s.)
In Argo City. Have you found the Power Source?
LINDA
Mother, this world is so big. I don't know where
to begin to look.
ALURA (o.s.)
Kara, be careful. There is some terrible evil force coming
near you. I can feel it. Keep to your disguise. Let no one
know who you are.
LINDA
But why? I have super powers. Nothing can hurt me.
ALURA (o.s.)
There are more powers in the universe than we know.
And more than we can imagine. Be careful, Kara. And
come home safely.
The sun sets and the beam of light disappears as if a switch had been snapped off, leaving Linda alone in the warm afterglow of twilight.
The soft strains of girls harmonizing float down the hall.
GIRLS (o.s.)
"...mid pleasures and palaces Where'ere I roam, Be
it ever so humble, There's no place like home."
CUT TO:
EXT. SCHOOL GROUNDS. BENCH. DAY
Linda sits by herself reading on a stone bench: She is wearing the school uniform now. All around her girls are running out of the dorm with overnight cases and climbing into cars driven by middle-aged couples. There is a frantic bustle of activity.
CUT TO:
INT. OFFICE IN THE MATH DEPARTMENT
Mr. Danvers sits at his computer, which is spewing out page after page of a complicated printout. Finally the printer stops. He reads out the bottom line.
MR . DANVERS
Five billion, two hundred and seventy-one million,
nine thousand, and ten.
He sits back in his chair and puffs thoughtfully on his pipe.
EXT. SCHOOL GROUNDS. BENCH. DAY. LATER
The campus is deserted. Linda still pretends to read, but her sense of loneliness is palpable. Suddenly Mr. Danvers is beside her, looking down.
MR. DANVERS
No plans for the weekend, Linda?
LINDA
No, MR. Danvers.
MR. DANVERS
Can't have you moping around the campus. Why don't
you come home with us for dinner?
LINDA
I'd love to.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. BACKYARD OF DANVERS'S HOUSE. DAY
Mr. & Mrs. Danvers and Linda sit outside under the trees at a table piled high with delicious home cooked food. ,The dog begs for scraps. As the scene progresses (MOS) the Danvers bring Linda out of her shyness until they all laugh together sharing food, jokes and happiness. A. dreamlike moment of nostalgia from everyone's childhood.
INT. SELENA'S HOUSE. LIVING ROOM. DAY
Selena, at her most glamorous, in silk hostess pajamas and scads of pearls, stands looking out the French, doors of her mansion. She is staring shamelessly at ETHAN, a handsome young landscape gardener. Bianca is standing beside Selena.
BIANCA
Is he your entertainment for tonight?
SELENA
He will be. In about five minutes.
BIANCA
Have fun.
Bianca exits, and Selena waves to Ethan from the French doors.
EXT. SELENA'S HOUSE. GARDEN. DAY.
Ethan is sketching the house, adding new trees and shrubs in his drawing. He sees Selena waving, and walks over to her.
INT. SELENA'S HOUSE. LIVING ROOM. DAY
SELENA
Finished your estimate?
ETHAN
Well, there's several ways to go .
SELENA
Come in, have a drink, we'll talk.
She ushers him inside and sits him down in front of the vast hearth.
SELENA
You must be very popular in the neighborhood. I always
see your truck parked around.
ETHAN
I have a lot of repeat business. People seem to like my
service.
SELENA
I bet they do.
ETHAN
What's that big black scar on the ground? Like a fire.
SELENA
Oh, you know how parties are. Always some damage.
Ethan spreads his drawings out on his knees.
ETHAN
Now we could put in rhododendrons or lilacs...depending
on how alkaline your soil is.
Selena gives a cursory glance at the sketch, and then turns to a silver tray beside her. She picks up a frosty pitcher and pours an iced fruit drink into two tall glasses.
SELENA
I just love plants and growing things. It must be
wonderful to have green thumbs. Cheers!
Ethan looks at the drink with misgiving.
ETHAN
Uh, no thanks, I don't drink during the day.
Selena gestures outside.
SELENA
But look, it's almost sundown!
Ethan glances outside. Selena pours some poisonous looking red liquid into his glass from a tiny bottle hidden in her hand while his attention is distracted.
ETHAN
Really, I'm not thirsty. Now I could put in some
honeysuckle there and there...
Selena pouts exaggeratedly.
SELENA
Just take a sip or .I'll be hurt. It's an old family
recipe, I'm famous for them.
Ethan pauses. He doesn't want to offend his rich new customer over such a trifle.
ETHAN
What is it?
SELENA
A passionfruit smoothee.
ETHAN
Well, just one.
He takes his glass (with the extra ingredient) and clinks it against hers in a toast.
SELENA
To us. And to the seeds we'll plant together.
ETHAN
I'll drink to that.
He takes a careful sip of his drink, tastes, and smiles.
ETHAN
Hmmm. Delicious!
He tosses off the rest of it in one gulp. Selena watches him triumphantly.
ETHAN
Now, about my fee...
He suddenly clutches his throat with a gasp and collapses unconscious on the couch. She leans over him and strokes his cheek delicately with her long red-nailed fingers.
SELENA
Sleep well. And when you wake, drown in my eyes
and be all mine.
The DOORBELL RINGS. Selena looks up with annoyance.
SELENA
If that's the Jehovah's Witnesses again...
She angrily walks toward the hall, casting a fond look back at Ethan.
SELENA
Don't go away, gorgeous. I'll be right back.
EXT. FRONT DOOR OF MANSION
Nigel in a skin-tight vinyl jumpsuit with multidirectional chrome zippers is leaning on the bell. Behind him his Porsche is parked in the driveway, and beyond at the curb is a truck with ETHAN'S NURSERY AND LANDSCAPING painted on it. Selena opens the door, sees Nigel, and tries to close it. But Nigel puts his foot in and keeps it open.
SELENA
Nigel, get lost.
NIGEL
I have to talk to you.
SELENA
You're wasting your breath.
NIGEL
You used to listen to me. When you asked me to
teach you something of the Craft.
SELENA
I could teach you a thing or two now.
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM
Ethan opens his eyes. He rises from the couch and stands there swaying deliriously.
INSERT. P.O.V. OF ETHAN
The room swirls and distorts around him in garish nightmare colours.
BACK TO SCENE
Ethan clutches his head as though it were splitting apart, and lurches out of the French doors into the terrace.
EXT. FRONT DOOR OF MANSION
Selena is listening impatiently to Nigel, and staring oddly at him.
NIGEL
...trust the wisdom of the ancients, trust the Great
Mother to protect us... Why. are you staring at me
like that?
SELENA
I was just thinking, if I had your skin problems, I'd use a
good tannisroot ointment. Every night.
Nigel is rather vain about his smooth olive complexion, so he is completely thrown off his stride.
NIGEL
Nothing's wrong with my skin.
SELENA
Such a shame. You ought to take better care of
yourself.
Selena closes the door while he's off his guard. Nigel takes a pocket mirror out of his shoulder bag and stares with horror at his reflection. His face is erupting all over in ugly red blotches.
NIGEL
Nasty bitch!
EXT. GROUNDS OF SELENA'S MANSION. SUNSET
Ethan staggers across the lawn, still clutching his head, obviously very ill. As he disappears through the shrubbery on the far side of the lawn, he mutters drunkenly to himself.
ETHAN
Rhododendron.. . .honeysuckle. . .
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM
Selena enters and finds Ethan gone. She is furious. She walks to the French doors.
SELENA
Ethan. Come back. You'll spoil everything!
INT. THE DANVERS' LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
Linda is playing chess with MR. Danvers, while his wife knits on the sofa.
MRS. DANVERS
I think you'd better be getting back to the dorm, Linda.
The housemother'll expect you to sign in by eight.
Linda stands up from the chessboard.
LINDA
Thank you both so much. It was a lovely lunch, Mrs.
Danvers. I had a wonderful time. And you're a
terrific chess player MR. Danvers.
MR. DANVERS
What? Me?
LINDA
Sure. Mate in five moves.
She moves the pieces chonk, chonk, chonk, chonk, chonk...
LINDA
...and there goes my king. Got to hand it to you, I didn't
see it coming. Well, bye.
She walks out the door into the night.
MRS . DANVERS
What a lovely child. Such nice manners. We must
have her back, don't you think?
MR. Danvers 'grunts absent-mindedly, bemused at his loss.
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
Selena paces agitatedly in her living room. Finally she stops in front of the ornate mirror hanging on the wall. She puts her hand on the heavy veil covering it.
SELENA
Show me Ethan.
She rips aside the veil. The IMAGE IN THE MIRROR SHOWS ETHAN STAGGERING DRUNKENLY THROUGH THE NIGHT COWN THE CENTRE WHITE LINE OF A HIGHWAY. CARS WHIZZ PAST HIM IN BOTH DIRECTIONS.
SELENA
The silly fool!
EXT. HAMBURGER HEAVEN. NIGHT
Lucy is in front of the local hamburger drive-in in her Thunderbird convertible, talking to the foxiest dude at Rindge Tech. Other teens are hanging out and listening to rock music outside the drive-in. Lucy catches sight of Linda walking along the side of the road.
LUCY
Hey, Linda!
(to the boy)
It's my roommate. You'll love her. She's really off
the wall!
Lucy jumps out of her car, runs over to Linda, and whispers urgently in her ear.
LUCY
Linda babes! There's this all-night party at Eddie's...
his folks are away...
LINDA
Oh, I don't know. I'm not signed out
for an overnight.
LUCY
Go back, sign in, and climb out the bathroom
window. McCloskey's always zonked out:
she'll never hear you.
LINDA
It doesn't seem right.
LUCY
Please, as a favour to me? So I won't be the only girl?
Linda catches sight of a figure teetering down the centre, white line of the highway. Cars honk and zoom past him.
LINDA
Look at that guy!
Lucy whirls around and looks.
LUCY
What a space cadet.
(yelling and waving)
Hey, you dingleberry! Get outta the street!
Ethan ignores them, and continues to teeter deliriously.
INSERT. ETHAN'S P.O.V.
He sees the night as a fairyland of dancing, blurred lights: the neon of the hamburger stand; the garish pumps of the gas station across the street, the streaking head and taillights of the cars on either side. All sound is similarly distorted and far away.
BACK TO SCENE
LINDA
Why is he acting so strangely?
LUCY
I dunno, but he's gonna get creamed.
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
Selena holds the metal box shaped like a gargoyle. She looks at the IMAGE OF ETHAN in
her mirror.
SELENA
Power of Shadows...bring him to me.
The box in her hand glows with an inner light.
EXT. STREET OPPOSITE H]1..MBUP.GER RESTAURANT. NIGHT
There is a construction site next to the Hamburger Place. A giant BULLDOZER suddenly ROARS TO LIFE and bursts through the chain link fence surrounding the construction site. With no one at the controls, the bulldozer drives out onto the street. Ethan sees its GAPING JAWS and runs clumsily away. They snap at him with the clash of steel. He stumbles and the bulldozer scoops him up. It wheels around and starts to carry him away, with one of his legs protruding through the teeth of its giant mouth. The onlookers are stunned and horrified.
LUCY
Omigod, it's a runaway!
Lucy sprints out into the street, running after the driverless bulldozer.
LINDA
Lucy; come back!
LUCY
Somebody's gotta do something!!
Lucy dodges through the cars and alongside the bulldozer. She climbs bravely up into the driver's seat and tries to tug at the controls. They are frozen. In desperation Lucy yanks on the steering wheel. The bulldozer turns ninety degrees into the gas station.
EXT. GAS STATION. NIGHT
A TOURIST is filling his station wagon at one of the self-service pumps. His WIFE is bringing their TODDLER back from the rest rooms. The bulldozer suddenly smashes into the gas pumps and through the gas station. The tourist dives out of its path. The bulldozer circles behind the gas station toward a small motel next door, leaving in its wake a totaled station wagon, and gasoline leaking on the ground from the smashed pumps.
EXT. HAMBURGER RESTAURANT. NIGHT
Linda watches with mounting horror. And yet she remembers the warning from Alura, and stands frozen, unable to intervene.
EXT. MOTEL/GAS STATION. NIGHT
Lucy fights the wheel in vain. The bulldozer circles through the motel, smashing the individual cabins into matchsticks. The bulldozer drives under the MOTEL SIGN which HITS LUCY ON THE HEAD, KNOCKING HER UNCONSCIOUS. Finally, the bulldozer comes full circle and halts against a utility pole next to the gas station. The utility pole leans at a crazy angle. Its ELECTRIC WIRES break and dangle down, flashing blue arcs of electricity where they touch the pavement. The RIVER OF GASOLINE from the broken pump flows inexorably toward the arcing power lines. The mother kneels beside her dazed husband and looks over at her toddler running toward the arcing wires, his arms held out eagerly.
MOTHER
My baby!!!!!
Instead of helping, the onlookers turn and flee the inevitable fire.
EXT. HAMBURGER RESTAURANT. NIGHT
Linda can't take it any longer. She ducks into the deserted hamburger restaurant. An instant later, she emerges through a skylight in the roof in red and blue costume as SUPERGIRL! She stands on-the roof in front of a big illuminated advertising sign, which hides her from the fleeing crowd. Supergirl takes a deep breath and blows with her super lungs:. The toddler is blown safely 1nto his mother's arms.
MOTHER
My baby.
She grasps the child in her arms and helps her husband hobble to safety just as the river of gasoline reaches the sparking wires and BURSTS INTO FLAMES .
The bulldozer, with Lucy Lane unconscious at the controls and Ethan imprisoned in the scoop, is surrounded by an IMPENETRABLE RING OF FIRE .
Supergirl dashes through the ring of fire so fast that if there were any spectators who weren't running for their lives she would only be visible as a red and blue streak.
EXT. ACCIDENT SCENE/GAS STATION. NIGHT INSIDE THE RING OF FIRE.
Supergirl takes the unconscious Lucy from the driver's seat and carries her in her arms to the front of the bulldozer.
Supergirl pulls open the massive metal jaws with one hand like they were sheet rubber.
INT. SCOOP OF BULLDOZER
Ethan looks up as Supergirl slides Lucy Lane in beside him. He sees Supergirl's face backlit by the raging inferno outside.
SUPERGIRL
Everything's going to be all right. She's just
unconscious. No broken bones.
INSERT ETHAN'S P.O.V. LOOKING AT SUPERGIRL FROM INSIDE THE SCOOP
Ethan's swirling distorted vision suddenly focuses with , absolute clarity. A moment outside of time. The most romantic glamorous image imaginable: the blonde, backlit, looking at him with concern, her lips slightly parted.
BACK TO SCENE
There is something about Ethan's ecstasy, which holds Supergirl for a moment.
ETHAN
God...you're beautiful.
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM
Selena watches the image of Ethan and Supergirl in her mirror. Her face is a study in jealousy and dismay.
ETHAN (in the mirror)
God...you're beautiful.
SELENA
That was meant for me!
EXT. ACCIDENT SCENE/GAS STATION. BULLDOZER. RING OF FIRE
SUPERGIRL
Thank you. I'm going to close this up again.
ETHAN
Wait...don't leave me in here...
SUPERGIRL
It's for your own protection.
She pulls the massive steel jaws shut and tears the scoop off the bulldozer with a sound of rending metal. Immediately afterwards, the flames reach the underground storage tank and the bulldozer is enveloped in a FIERY EXPLOSION.
EXT. ACCIDENT SCENE. OUTSIDE RING OF FIRE. NIGHT
The entire gas station is a column of flame and black smoke reaching up into the night sky. A fire truck and a police car arrive on the scene, sirens screaming. The tourist family watch from a safe distance, their toddler clapping his hands excitedly at the spectacle.
EXT. IN THE SKY. HIGH ABOVE THE ACCIDENT. NIGHT
Supergirl flies out of the column of black smoke, carrying the sealed bulldozer scoop with Ethan and Lucy safely inside.
ETHAN
(calling from inside)
What's happening?
SUPERGIRL
(shouting over the wind)
I'm taking you to the hospital.
ETHAN
(within)
Let me out. I have to talk to you.
SUPERGIRL
Later.
EXT. ACCIDENT SCENE. POST FIRE. NIGHT
The firemen have smothered the fire with a blanket of foam. The blackened bulldozer minus its front scoop stands next to the smashed station wagon. A bewildered policeman is searching for victims.
POLICEMAN
Where's the casualties? You can't tell me there's
no casualties.
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
Bianca enters and sees Selena staring raptly at the mirror.
BIANCA
I came as quickly as I could. What is the danger?
SELENA
It's what we were warned about.
Selena points to the mirror, which shows the IMAGE OF SUPERGIRL FLYING THROUGH THE AIR CARRYING THE BULLDOZER SCOOP. Bianca can't quite make out what it is at first.
BIANCA
A Storm Dragon?
SELENA
No, a super girl.
EXT. HOSPITAL ENTRANCE. NIGHT
Supergirl lands with the bulldozer scoop in front of the emergency entrance. There is no one around. Supergirl rips open the sealed scoop with a loud noise of rending metal.
INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM. NIGHT
TWO INTERNS are chatting in the corridor near the doors. They jump at the sound of bending steel outside.
FIRST INTERN
What was that?
SECOND INTERN
Maybe we better take a look.
EXT . HOSPITAL ENTRANCE. NIGHT
Supergirl has strapped Ethan and the semi-conscious Lucy onto wheeled gurneys.
ETHAN
Don't leave me.
SUPERGIRL
I have to.
ETHAN
When can I see, you again ?
SUPERGIRL
Relax. Tomorrow this will all seem like a bad dream.
Goodbye.
She gives the gurneys a shove.
INT. HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM. NIGHT
The automatic doors open and Ethan and Lucy roll inside on the gurneys.
FIRST INTERN
Did we use the laughing gas tonight?
SECOND INTERN
That was last night.
FIRST INTERN
Then this is really happening.
The two interns catch the gurneys, and start examining Ethan and Lucy.
SECOND INTERN
Hey fella, can you talk???
Ethan begins to babble deliriously.
ETHAN
The girl. Where is she? It never hit me like this
before. I love her. My angel.
He sits up, tears brimming in his eyes, and grasps the , intern by the lapels.
ETHAN
Where is she? I love her, don't you understand? I'll die
if I can't have her.
The intern pulls away and points to Lucy, who is beginning to come to.
FIRST INTERN
She's right here fella.
ETHAN
No, not her. The blonde, the one who carried us
through the air:. She can fly. She's an angel.
The two interns exchange a glance. One of them steps to a wall intercom.
SECOND INTERN
This is Stenzl in Emergency. We got
a 412. Send down the boys from psycho.
ETHAN
No! She's real ! I saw her !
CUT TO:
INT. SELENA' S MANSION. NIGHT
Selena, is brooding in front of her mirror, which shows ETHAN IN THE HOSPITAL STRUGGLING WITH THE TWO INTERNS . Selena covers the mirror with its heavy veil. She speaks to Bianca standing beside her.
SELENA
Why did she have to show up now?
BIANCA
Eliminate her.
SELENA
That's easy for you to say, Bianca.
BIANCA
You can do it. You're the most powerful woman
on Earth.
SELENA
Am I? Still?
There is a pause as the implications reverberate.
BIANCA
Yes! You own the Coffer of Shadow. Nothing can
withstand its power.
SELENA
I've been saving it. For the right moment.
BIANCA
That moment is now! What good is a sword unless
it be unsheathed? Use it, and no one will dare
oppose you again. No one.
Selena toys with the idea in her mind, turning over the various arguments. A smile creeps across her face.
SELENA
Not even Nigel.
Selena goes to the secret compartment, opens it and takes out the metal gargoyle box. She looks at it with a dreamy, far-away expression on her face.
SELENA
What do I do? I don't know her name.
BIANCA
The Naming of Names is not necessary. Just concentrate
on her face. Your Shadow will do the rest.
Selena holds the gargoyle box out in front of her and opens the lid. Inside is the OMEGAHEDRON power source from Argo City, spinning around a strange dark region in its centre. Selena closes her eyes and whispers to the spinning ring.
SELENA
Power of Shadow hear me. Find her wherever she be.
Find her and destroy her.
A BLACK CLOUD OF SHADOW bursts out of the centre of the OMEGAHEDRON, filling the room. Selena drops the gargoyle box and shrinks back with sudden misgivings at what she has unleashed. Even Bianca's face has gone white. The two women huddle together as a HUGE INVISIBLE PRESENCE fills the room with darkness. Then the unseen presence suddenly SMASHES ITS WAY OUTSIDE THROUGH THE SOLID WALL OF SELENA'S LIVING ROOM, leaving a big hole and a trail of crushed furniture behind it. Light returns to the room as the shadow departs. And from outside the sound of crackling shrubbery dies away. Selena regains her composure and looks around at the mess of her once splendid living room.
SELENA
Next time, remind me to do this out in the yard.
BIANCA
Yes, of course, it was foolish of me.
Bianca reaches down to the floor for the gargoyle box with the OMEGAHEDRON, which is still lying right where Selena dropped it. But Selena quickly picks it up herself before Bianca can touch it.
SELENA
I think I'd better keep it.
BIANCA
Whatever you say.
SELENA
Yes. Whatever I say. From now on.
She shuts the lid of the gargoyle box, sealing the spinning OMEGAHEDRON safely inside.
CUT TO:
INT. DANVERS ' LIVING ROOM. NIGHT
Mrs. Danvers is on the phone.
MRS. DANVERS
The housemother still doesn't answer.
Mrs. Danvers hangs up the phone with a worried expression.
MR. DANVERS
Probably drunk again. I'm sure Linda got back all right.
MRS. DANVERS
We should have driven her.
Mr. Danvers stands up and puts on his jacket.
MR. DANVERS
I'll just drop by the school and. make sure she's all right.
EXT. MIDVALE SCHOOL. DESERTED CAMPUS. OUTSIDE THE DORM. NIGHT
Linda drives up in Lucy's car, the one left behind at the scene of the accident outside the hamburger place. She drives past the paddle tennis court and parks in front of the dorm. Linda gets out of the car, and lets herself into the dorm with a key. Inside, she signs her name in the book. ,
INT. DORM CORRIDOR. NIGHT
Linda walks down the long dormitory corridor past room after empty room. The place is kind of spooky.
INT. LINDA'S ROOM. NIGHT
Linda enters the room she shares with Lucy. She puts Lucy's car keys on her bedside table next to the snapshots of Lucy's family and of her half-dozen current boyfriends. Linda turns and crosses the room to her own monastic bed in its drab, undecorated corner. She lies down on her bed with a sigh, staring at the ceiling in a melancholy mood.
Suddenly, she senses that something is not right. She gets up from the bed, walks to the window, and gazes out a-t the deserted campus.
EXT. OUTSIDE DORM. TENNIS COURT. NIGHT.
The dorm is set apart from other school buildings and surrounded by tall trees. The tennis court is visible from Linda's window, and a city park adjoining the school property. The UNSEEN MONSTER is heard approaching through the park with a thud of heavy footfalls and the crack of snapping tree trunks and branches. A bolt of lightning flashes, followed by a crash of thunder. The wind howls. A storm is brewing.
Far away across the campus something huge and powerful forces itself between the two big oaks, snapping them like matchsticks. The unseen monster hauls its enormous bulk toward the dormitory, crushing everything in its path, its footsteps making the ground tremble like an earthquake.
INT. LINDA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT
Linda watches with uncomprehending eyes the approaching swath of destruction heading straight for her. Nothing she has learned about this strange alien world has prepared" her for this. For the first time since she left Argo City, her eyes show fear. And yet there's a deeper streak of defiance in her that impels her to stand her ground and face the horrible juggernaut.
EXT. FORM. TENNIS COURT. CAMPUS. NIGHT
HUGE FOOTPRINTS sink into the damp grass of the campus. A bicycle rack full of Schwinns is flattened into the dirt with a metallic screech. The monster proceeds inexorably toward the wooden rain shelter on one side of the tennis court. The shelter is crushed to kindling wood. The monster drags its enormous unseen bulk across the smooth clay surface of the tennis court, crunching , deep cracked depressions in the clay. The net stretches and groans toward Linda as the' invisible enormity comes closer, and finally snaps with a loud twanging sound as the steel cables part. The tall cyclone fence bulges outward toward Linda and momentarily outlines the form of" the monster before it crumples and falls with the screech of twisted steel. The only thing between Linda and the monster is Lucy.' s parked car. The monster stomps the car flat with a noise like colliding express trains and heads for Linda.
INT. LINDA'S BEDROOM. NIGHT
LINDA
Hey, that's my roommate's car!
Determination floods her face. She whips off her brunette wig and her civilian clothing to reveal the blonde hair and red blue tunic of SUPERGIRL!
EXT. OUTSIDE THE DORM. NIGHT
Supergirl flies out the dorm window and lands in front of the unseen monster. She raises her hand in challenge and calls out in a commanding voice.
SUPERGIRL
Leave this place and do no harm.
Something picks Supergirl up and flings her against the wall of the dorm, crushing the soft drink dispenser under her and squirting cola in every direction. Lightning flashes and thunder booms overhead. Supergirl picks herself up, shaken.
She launches herself directly at the space in mid-air ten feet above the monster's footprints. She crashes into something hard and invisible with the sound of a tremendous impact. Supergirl falls to the ground, staggered by the concussion. The irresistible force has met the immovable object. Supergirl looks up, and---altering the wavelength of her X-Ray vision to a transcendental frequency---paints this beam over the monster and just for an instant makes it visible: a HUGE NIGHTMARE SHAPE LOOMING OVER HER, AND REACHING OUT TO CRUSH HER WITH MASSIVE TALONS. Then the image fades.
Supergirl is seized again and flung against the school flagpole, breaking it off at the base. Supergirl stands up and seizes the flagpole. She looks up at the flickering lightning in the sky. She flies straight upward into the storm with the bare flagpole held in front of her.
EXT. THUNDER STORM. LIGHTNING
Again and again huge bolts of lightning strike the flagpole. Supergirl's face is contorted with agony as her body absorbs enough electricity to run Las Vegas for a year. She looks down and sees through a break in the clouds the campus far below.
EXT. CAMPUS
Suddenly Supergirl dives down from the sky, glowing with accumulated electricity. She embraces the monster with a tremendous crackle of energy. The two of them are bathed in brilliant arc light. The monster is briefly made visible again by the energy. But this time it is shrinking, shriveling up into a shapeless lump. The light fades as the energy is discharged. A dark, shapeless lump detaches itself from Supergirl's grasp and flies shrieking away into the night. Supergirl stands alone and exhausted, her muscles trembling with fatigue.
She turns and walks unsteadily back toward the dorm.
CUT TO:
EXT. CAMPUS. NIGHT
MR. Danvers drives up the long driveway toward Linda's dorm. He parks his car behind the flattened remains of Lucy's car, and gets out, staring with amazement at the destruction wrought by the titanic struggle.
He walks toward the dorm, fear and confusion on his face.
INT. DORM. ENTRY. NIGHT
Mr. Danvers pushes through the unlocked front door. He glances in the sign-out book for Linda's name. Then he knocks on the door labeled HOUSEMOTHER MRS. MCCLOSKEY. No reply. He opens that door and peeks in.
INT. HOUSEMOTHER'S ROOM. NIGHT
A slovenly, overweight woman in a housecoat is curled up on her sofa, a bottle of whiskey clutched to her breast. She snores heroically.
INT. DORM. HALLWAY. NIGHT
Mr. Danvers walks quickly down the long line of empty rooms to Linda and Lucy's room.
INT. LINDA'S ROOM. NIGHT
Mr. Danvers pauses at the door and looks in. Supergirl, in her blonde hair and red and blue
tunic, is lying asleep on Linda's bed.
MR. DANVERS
A Supergirl...
(to her)
Linda...is it Linda?
Supergirl looks up at him and smiles, weakly.
SUPERGIRL
I didn't want anyone to know... but I was so
tired...forgot...
M. Danvers sits on the side of her bed.
MR. DANVERS
Are you all right?
SUPERGIRL
Just need rest, that's all. Sorry about all the damage
outside. I had to fight some terrible thing...
MR. DANVERS
But why?
SUPERGIRL
An evil force. Trying to destroy me.
She sits up and looks anxiously at him.
INT. SELENA'S HOUSE. LIVING ROOM
Selena watches their image in her mirror.
SUPERGIRL
(image)
You won't tell anybody, will you?
MR. DANVERS
(image)
Not even my wife. And, if there's anything I can do to
help---I'd be honoured.
INT. DORM. LINDA'S ROOM
Supergirl sinks back down and closes her eyes.
SUPERGIRL
Thank you, Mr. Danvers.
She lapses into a deep sleep. Mr. Danvers stands up, and pulls the covers up over her in a fatherly gesture. He stands beside the bed for a long time looking down at her, and then walks out of the room, closing the door shut behind him.
CUT T0:
EXT. HOSPITAL ENTRANCE. DAY
Linda gets off a bus and enters the hospital.
INT. HOSPITAL. DAY
Lucy Lane is sitting up in bed with a white bandage around her head. Superman's pal JIMMY OLSEN is standing awkwardly beside the bed holding a small bunch of daffodils. Lucy is talking animatedly on her bedside telephone, when Linda enters.
LUCY
...come see me. And smuggle in a pint, they won't
let me have anything, but make sure it's Jamocha
Almond Fudge . . Listen, I got to run, my
roommate just walked in. Bye.
Lucy hangs up and turns to Linda.
LUCY
Hey, Linda-babes! I've got so much to tell you, I
don't know where to begin! Oh -- this is Jimmy
Olsen, he works with Clark and my sister at the
newspaper.
JIMMY
Nice to meet you. Lucy's told me all about you. Your
cousin Clark taught me everything I know about
the newspaper business.
LINDA
Nice to meet you.
She shakes hands shyly with Jimmy, then turns to Lucy.
LINDA
I'm afraid I have some bad news about your car.
LUCY
Mr. Danvers called. I'll get a new one with the
insurance money. B.F.D.
Jimmy keeps looking at Linda.
JIMMY
Do you have any theories about last night?
LINDA
Theories?
JIMMY
How Lucy and that guy got to the hospital. And all
that damage at the school. The police are calling it
a freak tornado. I'd like to interview you for the Daily- -
LUCY
(overlapping)
Oh, Jimmy, can't you forget about your career for one
second?
JIMMY
-- Planet. I mean, you were there. Do you think it was natural,
or like some people are claiming, supernatural?
LINDA
I believe there's a rational explanation for everything. But
I don't know what it is.
JIMMY
Can I quote you?
Lucy hands Jimmy a stainless steel urinal.
LUCY
Jimmy, would you please put those poor flowers
in water before they die?
JIMMY
Oh, sure.
He steps into Lucy's bathroom with the urinal and fills it with water from her shower. Lucy grabs Linda's arm and whispers urgently in her ear.
LUCY
Listen, I know I've been saying you ought party
more, but keep your hands off this one, will yak?
He's private property. I've been waiting years
for him to develop.
LINDA
He's nice.
LUCY
Nice? He's cute enough to melt lead!
Jimmy emerges from the bathroom with his daffodils neatly arranged in the stainless steel jug.
JIMMY
Where is your cousin Clark, by the way?
LINDA
He's off doing a top secret uh, investigation.
JIMMY
I knew it ! He's working on a hot scoop !
CUT TO:
EXT. HOSPITAL. ENTRANCE. LATE AFTERNOON
Bianca drives Selena's Cadillac up to the emergency entrance and parks in the ambulance zone. Selena get out of the back seat in a dramatic opera cape of raw silk with opal trim.
SELENA
(to Bianca)
This won't take long. Keep the motor running.
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR. LATE AFTERNOON
Selena strides down the hospital corridor almost as if she is floating an inch above the floor. Her huge silk cape billows around her, making her seem larger-than-life. Nurses, orderlies, patients scatter to get out of her way. Her presence is so formidable and she moves so fast and inexorably that no one has a chance to stop her and inquire what she's doing there. She knows exactly where she's going to. She turns a corner, and steps inside an open door and closes it behind her.
INT. ETHAN'S ROOM. DAY
He is sitting in bed, an ice bag on his head, drawing a picture of Supergirl on a piece of cardboard. He is in pajamas and robe.
Selena steps beside the bed. He looks up.
ETHAN
Oh no, not you again.
SELENA
What an adorable hat.
ETHAN
They think I have a concussion.
SELENA
And you think you're in love.
ETHAN
I know it.
SELENA
This "love" of yours will soon wear off. I gave you
a temporary love potion.
ETHAN
Why should I believe you?
SELENA
It's the truth. In twenty-four hours you'll forget all
about that girl.
Ethan. reaches out and grabs her cloak with a grip of such urgency that she is pulled slightly off balance.
ETHAN
Then I'm not the only one who saw her. You did too!
Selena pulls his hand away from her cloak.
SELENA
Yes, yes I saw the whole thing. How could you be
interested in that puny little girl?
ETHAN
But she is real, it wasn't just a concussion.
SELENA
Forget her, you're mine. I saw you first.
Selena sits on the side of the bed. She removes a vial of liquid from her bodice.
I saw you
SELENA
(continuing)
Here. Drink this. It's an antidote to the love drug I
gave you.
Ethan sweeps it on the floor, where it shatters. He starts frantically ringing the buzzer pinned to his bed.
ETHAN
Nurse! Nurse!
SELENA
You can't escape from me that easily. I'm afraid
you don't know who I am.
ETHAN
Nurse!
SELENA
Don't think I'm weak, just because I'm a woman. I have
Power. Give in, stop fighting me, Ethan. I always get
what I want.
ETHAN
Nurse! Help !
The door opens and a NURSE walks in.
NURSE
Would you stop screaming. There are sick people trying
to sleep.
ETHAN
Get her away from me. She's crazy.
NURSE
(to Selena)
Are you family? Visiting hours are over.
SELENA
They're over for you sweetheart.
Selena removes the gargoyle-shaped box from her sleeve and opens the lid. The OMEGAHEDRON inside spins and sends out a powerful force, which slides the nurse backwards out the door and pins her to the wall of the corridor outside. The door slams shut. Selena closes the lid of the Coffer and turns to Ethan.
SELENA
Now you see who you're dealing with.
Ethan scrambles out of the bed and away from her, backing toward the window.
ETHAN
Leave me alone.
Selena, at the bed, discovers his sketch of Supergirl on the piece of cardboard.
SELENA
This is your problem, right here. This girl's driving
you insane, Ethan. Let me help you.
ETHAN
I don't want your help.
SELENA
Come back to my house. My car's outside.
Selena reaches out a hand to Ethan.
ETHAN
No!
SELENA
I never met a man I couldn't have--and you're no
different from the rest!
The door opens behind her and TWO SECURITY OFFICERS push inside, with guns drawn.
SECURITY OFFICER
Okay, what's going on in h--
Selena gestures with the gargoyle box at the men and their guns fly out of their hands and up to the ceiling. The men stare at the ce1ling, astonished. Ethan takes advantage of the distraction to dash out through the open door. Selena turns to look at Ethan escaping and the
guns fall to the floor and discharge. The security men run into Ethan's bathroom, slamming the door behind them.
Selena ducks out into the corridor.
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR
Ethan is running away down the corridor. Frightened patients peek out of their rooms. The nurse who was ejected from the room cringes in fear as Selena emerges into the corridor.
Ethan dodges past two orderlies who are pushing a HEART-LUNG MACHINE down from the surgery. Selena raises the gargoyle box and points it at the HEART-LUNG MACHINE.
SELENA
Power of Shadow---seize him.
The HEART-LUNG MACHINE comes to life---its lights flash, its array of tubes tipped with needle probes writhe like Medusa's hair, its wheels turn around, and it chases Ethan down the corridor. Selena laughs her deep throaty chuckle of triumph. Ethan looks behind, sees the machine chasing him and cries out with alarm. A CART OF SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS rolls out of a closet in front of him, its scalpels standing up and pointing at him, quivering eagerly, blocking his path.
Ethan dives through a swinging door to his left.
INT. OPERATING THEATRE
A team of surgeons and nurses are bent over a patient on the table. Ethan runs through in the background. The surgeons continue with their work. The heart-lung machine wheels through after him, followed by the scalpels flying through the air like a swarm of hornets.
The surgical team doesn't look up from their work.
Several cylinders of anesthetic gas tear themselves loose from the wall and trundle away out of the room after Ethan and the other apparatus. One of the nurses finally looks up.
NURSE
Doctor, I think you' re going to have a gas
problem.
DOCTOR
I shouldn't have had the cabbage at lunch.
INT. X-RAY ROOM
Ethan bursts into an empty surgical X-Ray room---the pursuing apparatus visible a few yards behind. He slams the heavy lead-lined door and bolts it shut.
He hears the thud of the apparatus beating impotently against the door. He leans against the door panting, his cotton hospital gown and robe soaked with cold sweat. Suddenly, with a whir of motors, the giant multi-armed C.A.T. SCANNER behind him comes to life, its lights glowing, and reaches out its chrome steel arms toward him.
Ethan yells, runs across the room, climbs on a gurney, rips a metal grill off the wall, and dives into the air conditioning duct.
INT. DUCT
Ethan scrambles noisily along inside the metal duct as if all the fiends of hell were after him.
CUT TO:
INT. LUCY'S HOSPITAL ROOM
Lucy is showing off the controls of her bed. The door opens. Lucy, Jimmy and Linda look with amazement at what's outside in the corridor.
LUCY
Omigod.
A DELIVERY BOY enters with A SPECTACULAR FLORAL ARRANGEMENT.
DELIVERY BOY
Where you want this?
LUCY
Over by the window. It must be from my sister. Give him
a tip, Jimmy.
Jimmy is acutely aware how pathetic his daffodils look as he fumbles in his pocket for a dollar for the delivery boy. Suddenly overhead there is a loud banging and clattering from the air-conditioning duct. Everyone looks up at the ceiling with alarm. But Linda's X-RAY VISION lets her alone recognize Ethan.
JIMMY
Gosh, what do you suppose .that is?
LINDA
Well, Lucy, it's nice to see you're feeling better. Nice to
meet you, Jimmy.
LUCY
You're not gonna stay for the ice cream?
LINDA
I have to get back. I'm having dinner with the Danvers.
LUCY
Again? You're getting real tight with them. You're gonna
be a straight-A student---just kidding, thanks for coming.
Her phone rings and she picks it up.
LUCY
Phillip! When are you gonna come see me?
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR
Linda walks out of Lucy's room and quickly down the corridor. Jimmy hurries to catch up with her.
JIMMY
Can I give you a lift?
LINDA
Oh, no thanks.
JIMMY
It's no trouble. I'd like to ask you some more questions.
Linda's heart sinks as she realises she doesn't know how to get rid of him politely.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROOF OF HOSPITAL SUNSET
Ethan batters the top off a ventilator and crawls out onto the roof. He turns and quickly replaces the aluminum top, bashing it firmly closed with his fist. He straightens up, sweat-soaked, bedraggled, haggard and exhausted, looking like an escaped lunatic with his disheveled hair and his torn hospital robe. He heaves a sigh of relief, and turns to see Selena standing behind him, her silk cape billowing in the breeze.
SELENA
Give up?
Ethan takes a beat to make sure he's not hallucinating, then he summons new reserves of strength and runs over to the TALL BRICK SMOKESTACK from the hospital's incinerator.
ETHAN
Never!
He starts to climb up the steel ladder on the side of the chimney.
SELENA
What goes up must come down.
EXT. HOSPITAL ENTRANCE. SUNSET
Jimmy opens the door of his car for Linda. It's parked in the ambulance zone, right behind
Selena's Cadillac.
JIMMY
I probably would've got a ticket without this press pass
on the windshield. Does Clark get many tickets?
Linda pauses, looking up at the sky.
LINDA
(distractedly)
I wouldn't know. Look. Up in the sky.
Jimmy follows the direction of her gaze.
INSERT. THEIR P. O . V. OF THE ROOF
Ethan clings to the iron ladder on the side of the chimney, his robe fluttering in the wind.
BACK TO SCENE
JIMMY
An escaped wacko! What a picture!
Jimmy opens the trunk of his car, takes out his camera bag, removes his Nikon, and starts fumbling around trying to change his 50mm lens for a telephoto. Linda watches Ethan with an expression of growing concern on her face.
EXT. ROOF OF HOSPITAL
SELENA
Come down from there, you foo1...
EXT. LADDER ON.THE SIDE OF THE CHIMNEY
Although she is forty feet below him, Ethan hears her voice as though it were inches away from his ear.
SELENA
(continuing)
...before you get blown off and kill yourself.
Ethan is so surprised at hearing her voice so close that he looks around with a start, misses his footing, and nearly falls off the ladder.
EXT. HOSPITAL ENTRY. JIMMY'S CAR
Jimmy gasps with anguish, as he struggles to mount his telephoto lens, dropping lens caps, film boxes, and filters all over the place.
LINDA
Someone's chasing him.
JIMMY
Say---you think that's the same guy who was in the
accident with Lucy?
LINDA
Yes.
JIMMY
The scoop of the year!
He starts shooting film. His motor drive whirrs.
EXT. HOSPITAL ROOF
SELENA
It'll be dark soon. And cold. Come down while you've
got the chance.
EXT. TOP OF CHIMNEY
Ethan reaches the top of the chimney. He climbs over the lip of the brickwork and stands up, half hidden in the thick white smoke belching from the chimney.
ETHAN
No. She'll come for me. Like she did the last time.
My angel.
He starts to cough from the smoke and nearly loses his balance.
EXT. ROOF OF HOSPITAL
SELENA
She's not coming for you. I killed her. She's dead.
EXT. TOP OF CHIMNEY
Ethan is staggered by this news. He reacts as though he had been punched in the gut.
ETHAN
No. I don't believe you. It's not true. She's alive
somewhere. My angel. My love--
He falls off the chimney, and catches himself on the lip of the brickwork. He hangs there by
one hand.
SELENA'S VOICE
You idiot!
EXT. HOSPITAL ENTRANCE. JIMMY'S CAR
Jimmy runs out of film. He frantically rips off the magazine and tries to load a fresh one, while Ethan dangles.
JIMMY
There goes my Pulitzer Prize.
Linda steps around to the other side of his car. Bianca is staring up at the chimney from the driver's seat of the Cadillac. She doesn't see Linda lift up a sewer grating with her toe and drop noiselessly and suddenly out of sight into the storm drain below.
EXT. ALLEY BEHIND HOSPITAL
A red and blue streak bursts upwards out of another storm drain. The iron cover flips off and lands with a clang as Supergirl flies skyward toward the roof.
EXT. TOP OF CHIMNEY
Ethan's grip fails and he falls.
EXT. CHIMNEY. SKY
Supergirl appears, snatches Ethan in mid-air, and flies off with him into the clouds above.
EXT. ROOF OF HOSPITAL
Selena reacts with relief---then, realizing who has saved him, her face clouds with resentment.
EXT. HOSPITAL ENTRY
Jimmy Olsen's magazine pops open and film unspools out of his camera as his motor drive whirrs.
JIMMY
Darn!
He turns to Bianca, who is looking up in the sky from beside the Cadillac.
JIMMY
Hey lady, did you see that?
Bianca gives him a glance of contempt.
BIANCA
See what?
JIMMY
The girl---dressed like Superman--caught that guy in
mid-air.
BIANCA
Really? Maybe you should check into the hospital and
have your head examined.
EXT. HIGH IN THE AIR ABOVE THE HOSPITAL. SUNSET
Supergirl carries Ethan beside her, her arm tight around his upper chest, his arm over her shoulders. They are above the clouds bathed in the rich warm glow of sunset. He looks at her ecstatically, his eyes drunk with love.
ETHAN
You're alive! She didn't kill you!
SUPERGIRL
Who didn't?
ETHAN
That woman who's after me. She hates you. Because
she knows I love you.
SUPERGIRL
You love me?
ETHAN
My angel. My goddess. I feel I've always loved you all my
life. I'll die if I can't spend the rest of my life just looking
at you, holding you in my arms...
SUPERGIRL
We have to have a long talk about all this.
ETHAN
I know just the place. Hang a left at the Amalgamated Tower.
EXT. HOSPITAL ENTRY. TWILIGHT
Selena comes striding out 'of the hospital, scowling. Jimmy Olsen notices her, and senses her
aura of power. He drops his useless Nikon into his camera bag and starts rummaging for another camera.
BIANCA
Home?
SELENA
No way. I'm not going to let that little hussy make a
monkey out of me.
BIANCA
(shrewdly)
Is it her that's bothering you--or your gardener?
Selena looks at Bianca with wounded dignity.
SELENA
I use men, but I'm not addicted to them. I can quit
whenever I want.
She gets in the back seat of the car, just as Jimmy Olsen snaps a photo of her with a Polaroid. Selena slams the car door and Bianca drives off. Jimmy examines the instant photo he just took. His eyes widen with wonder and the hair prickles on the back of his neck as he sees the image.
INSERT: THE POLAROID IN JIMMY'S HAND. THE PICTURE OF SELENA ENTERING HER CAR, BUT BEHIND HER THERE IS A HIDEOUS LOOMING SHADOW---MUCH LARGER THAN WHEN NIGEL SHOWED IT TO HER.
CUT TO:
EXT. AMUSEMENT PARK. NIGHT
The park is deserted, in darkness. One by one the lights come on, outlining a1l the structures in jewel-like, fairyland colours. It looks strangely familiar. On some deep level there is a resemblance to Argo City.
THE CAMERA PANS over to reveal Ethan standing beside the huge fairground switch boxes, turning on the lights. Supergirl stands beside him.
ETHAN
This is my favourite place in the city.
SUPERGIRL
Are you sure it's all right for us to be here?
ETHAN
They don't care, they're tearing it down for a
shopping centre.
He flips the last switch, which starts the Ferris wheel revolving slowly, like a great spiral galaxy in space. Soft music plays.
ETHAN
Like it?
SUPERGIRL
Yes. It reminds me of home.
ETHAN
Where Superman's from? Krypton?
SUPERGIRL
No. Argo City. It was on a chunk of rock that was part of
Krypton once---but we moved it to inner space.
ETHAN
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
SUPERGIRL
It's not important. The important thing is I'm here to
find something and I think you can he1p me.
ETHAN
Come on, let's ride.
They walk to the slowly revolving Ferris wheel and hop aboard one of the gondola cars.
ETHAN
I used to work here summers when I was a kid.
SUPERGIRL
Ethan, tell me more about this woman who's after you.
ETHAN
Let's talk about us, not her.
SUPERGIRL
Tell me where I can find her.
ETHAN
I don't want you to go near her. She's bad news.
Ethan puts his arm around her shoulders, casually, no big deal.
SUPERGIRL
But be reasonable. If I don't do something to stop her
she'll try again. And maybe hurt you.
ETHAN
I'll be safe with you. We can stay together the rest of
our lives.
SUPERGIRL
We can't do that.
ETHAN
Why not ?
SUPERGIRL
We're from different worlds.
ETHAN
Just give me a chance to show how much I love
you. Love changes everything. Love makes
everything possib1e.
EXT. ENTRANCE TO AMUSEMENT PARK. NIGHT
Selena gets out of her Cadillac and walks to the chained and locked gate. A big sign says KEEP OUT. CONDEMMED PROPERTY. FUTURE SITE OF FUNFAIR MALL SHOPPING PLAZA. She mutters something under her breath and the chains fall away, the locks click open, and the gate glides noiselessly ajar. Se1ena strides in imperiously.
EXT. TOP OF FERRIS WHEEL
SUPERGIRL
All this talk about love, it's silly.
ETHAN
You don't like me? You hate me?
There is such a look of tragedy on Ethan's face, that Supergirl is afraid he might instantly fling himself to his death if she said yes.
SUPERGIRL
Of Course I don't hate you. I don't hate anyone.
ETHAN
What do you feel about me?
SUPERGIRL
I...I don't know. This is all so sudden.
THE CAMERA RACKS FOCUS FOR A MOMENT TO DISCOVER :
Selena, lurking.be1ow them in the shadows of the Spine Snapper Ride.
ETHAN
There's one sure way to find out how you feel.
SUPERGIRL
What's that?
ETHAN
Let me kiss you.
SUPERGIRL
No.
ETHAN
You're not afraid are you?
SUPERGIRL
Of course not, but...there are things we don't understand.
ETHAN
If we wait until we understand everything we'll be dead.
Come on. You can learn more from one kiss than from
years in school.
SUPERGIRL
Well...I guess one is all right.
She closes her eyes, parts her lips, and leans forward.
SUPERGIRL
Is this how?
ETHAN
Terrific.
Their lips meet. Zowie.
SELENA
What a touching scene!
Her voice is like having a bucket of ice water dashed over you. Ethan and Supergirl pull apart. The Ferris wheel has carried them all the way around and back down again. Selena is standing beside them. Supergirl stands up and steps boldly out of the gondola to confront her.
SUPERGIRL
Who are you ?
SELENA
I am Selena. Give him to me. Now. Or you'll both
be sorry.
SUPERGIRL
I don't scare that easily.
Selena rummages down deep in her handbag and pulls out the gargoyle box.
SELENA
All right, Miss Know-it-all. If I can't have him,
nobody can.
She holds the gargoyle box out toward the Ferris wheel.
SELENA
Coffer of Shadow, show your Power!
INSERT C.U. OF THE BOLTS HOLDING ETHAN'S GONDOLA TO THE FERRIS WHEEL: THE BOLTS UNSCREW AND FALL OUT.
BACK TO SCENE
Ethan yells as his gondola falls off the Ferris wheel and down onto the tent, which covers the DODGEM CARS.
INT. DODGEM CARS TENT
He falls through the tent and onto the electrified floor below. The wooden gondola shatters on impact. Ethan sits up, dazed by the fall, and sees a dodgem car painted like the face of a vicious football player heading toward him. Ethan scrambles away on his hands and knees. Another hideously painted car attacks him, and another, and another. He dodges and scuttles around desperately. Finally he manages to climb aboard one of the cars.
EXT. AMUSEMENT PARK
Supergirl reaches out to seize Selena. But Selena holds up the gargoyle box and is surrounded by an impenetrable, glowing shield of force. Supergirl tries to push through, the shield in vain.
Supergirl flies to the little fence made out of steel spikes surrounding the Haunted House. At super speed she rips up the entire line of fence posts and hurls them like javelins at Selena.
Selena dissolves her force field and tries to run away, ducking and dodging the rain of javelins. She turns too quickly and the GARGOYLE BOX slips out of her hand and rolls underneath the deck of the carousel. Selena moans with despair, and pauses, reluctant to leave without the box. This is the opportunity Supergirl needs. The fence posts bury themselves in the ground in a perfect circle around Selena---effectively imprisoning her.
SUPERGIRL
That ought to keep you out of my hair for a while.
SELENA
A cheap trick.
SUPERGIRL
Cheap but effective.
INT. DODGEM CAR TENT
Ethan is holding on to his car desperately as all the other cars viciously ram into it. Suddenly his car is lifted up, carried through a hole in the tent roof, and off into the night sky.
ETHAN
Supergirl'?
He looks under the car. There she is, carrying him to safety. She smiles reassuringly.
EXT. AMUSEMENT PARK
Selena is trapped inside the ring of posts, fumbling in her bag. One by one she takes out dried herbs, feathers, dusts, and flings them at the bars while she shouts magic word. Nothing works.
SELENA
Yookoohoo! No, that's not it. Sis-o-reb! Nope.
Ka-ma-hoochie!
Bianca appears out of the shadows. Selena looks up, embarrassed.
BIANCA
Sure glad you didn't let make a monkey of you.
SELENA
Shut up, and get me a hacksaw.
Bianca pauses uncertainly.
BIANCA
Why don't you use the Coffer of Shadow?
SELENA
(evasively)
I don't feel like it right now.
BIANCA
She didn't take it from you, did she?
SELENA
That little girl? Ha. Now go on, get me some tools.
BIANCA
There's no need. I learned the Craft from my grandmother.
Bianca takes out a bundle of twigs from her pocket and strokes the bars of the fence with it.
BIANCA
Sycoraka f'kah s'koo...
The bars fall down like boiled spaghetti. Selena steps out of the circle of confinement with queenly dignity.
SELENA
Good. Now bring the car. We must call a meeting of
the seven.
Bianca bows.
BIANCA
Yes, mistress.
Bianca hurries off toward the parking lot. Selena watches her until she turns the corner of the Haunted House. Then Selena kneels down and carefully reaches under the deck of the carousel for the GARGOYLE BOX.
SELENA
There you are. Come to mama.
She takes out the box, s1ips it inside her cloak, and stands up. She casts a last glance around the scene of her defeat, and strides off after Bianca.
CUT TO:
EXT. TROPICAL BEACH. DAY
Supergirl lands Ethan in his battered dodgem car on a beautiful, deserted tropical beach. Palm trees wave over a white sand beach. The blue ca1m of a lagoon mirrors huge white clouds that hang motipn1ess on the horizon like colossal snowy mountains. Gaily-coloured parrots screech in the branches of blooming hibiscus and jacaranda. Ethan gets out of his carnival ride and gazes around w1th awe at the beautiful scene.
SUPERGIRL
I thought I'd show you one of my favourite places.
ETHAN
It's paradise . We could be very happy here.
SUPERGIRL
But I have to go back. I brought you here so
you'd be safe. From her.
ETHAN
You can't just abandon me. Alone.
His words strike a sensitive nerve in her. She relents.
SUPERGIRL
I'll stay for a while.
Ethan is filled with enthusiasm.
ETHAN
Great! I'II build a house-- right over there, with
a veranda looking out to sea. And I'll plant a
garden! Papayas, pineapples, bananas, mangoes---
anything'll grow here. And I'II fish in the lagoon,
and we can go sailing in a dugout canoe, and---
SUPERGIRL
Ethan---when I said 'a while' I meant a couple of hours.
Ethan's face falls. He looks at her beseechingly.
SUPERGIRL
Well, maybe a little longer than that.
She smiles and takes his hand. Together they walk along the beach.
CUT TO:
EXT. SELENA'S MANSION. NIGHT
Rolls Royces, limos, and Maserattis parked in the driveway. It looks like a meeting of the ostentatious car club. A helicopter lands on the front lawn. The ELDERLY MAN from the garden party gets out and walks across the lawn toward the house with the aid of a cane. Behind him the helicopter takes off again. Selena opens her front door and confronts him angrily.
SELENA
You're late.
ELD ERL Y MAN
The President was giving a speech. I couldn't just
walk out.
SELENA
You're more afraid of the President than me???
ELDERLY MAN
No, of course not.
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM. CANDLELIT. NIGHT
Waiting for her are an extraordinary group of people, all of whom we met or glimpsed briefly at the garden party. Bianca is talking to ERICA, a red-haired female dwarf. A proud, barefoot AMERICAN INDIAN WOMAN in fringed doeskin is talking to a muscular, young BLACK MAN in a cashmere suit with lots of gold and diamond jewelry. NIGEL is sulking in the bar, his face covered with tannisroot ointment.
Selena enters with the Elderly Man in the banker pinstripe. They all form a circle in the centre of the room.
SELENA
Let us begin. I invoke the rule of seven.
OTHERS IN UNISON
The Circle is complete.
NIGEL
You better have a pretty good explanation for
this, Selena.
SELENA
We are in great danger. A being has come to Earth
with powers far beyond those of anyone member of
the Craft.
INDIAN WOMAN
But Superman has been away.
SELENA
It is not Superman I speak of, but his cousin Kara. She
knows we exist..
ELDERLY MAN
Then she must be destroyed.
NIGEL
How did she find out about us?
ELDERLY MAN
That is unimportant. Now that she knows, she will
become curious and learn more. When she learns
we plan to restore the ancient religion of this planet
and avenge the centuries of persecution---she will
try to stop us.
BIANCA
We must destroy her first.
ERICA
But how can we destroy her?
SELENA
By the Rite of Ultimate Power. One person must
volunteer to take on the combined power of us all.
Nigel stands up and points an accusing finger at Selena.
NIGEL
You! You want to take our power for yourself!
Selena reacts calmly, speaking in low, modulated tones, as if to an overstimulated child.
SELENA
Nige1, you know the one who takes on Ultimate
Power must sacrifice the last sparks of her own spirit.
Selena takes hold of a golden chain hanging around her neck and draws out a little glass vial attached to it. Inside the glass vial a tiny spark glows brightly.
SELENA
(continuing)
Which of you is willing to make that sacrifice?
NIGEL
You would! You revealed our existence so you could
have all of our power.
SELENA
Maybe you'd like to get rid of this Supergirl yourself,
Nigel?
NIGEL
Why get rid of her at al1? You've used the Coffer
of Shadow too much. It is beginning to rule your heart.
SELENA
Nonsense.
Nigel pulls aside the heavy veil covering her mirror.
FOR AN INSTANT SELENA SEES HER REFLECTION IN THE MIRROR. BEHIND HER LOOMS THE DARK, EVIL PRESENCE, INVISIBLE TO THE OTHERS IN THE ROOM, AND MUCH LARGER THAN WHEN SHE GLIMPSED IT AT HER GARDEN PARTY.
Then Bianca leaps to the mirror and pulls the veil back across it. Bianca stands challenging Nigel, daring him to try again. Selena looks at the gargoyle-shaped Coffer of Shadow, sitting beside her hearth. It too seems much larger than when we last saw it at the hospital. Selena wonders for a beat if maybe Nigel is right. Can the Shadow be ruling her?
BIANCA
Enough quibbling. Let us vote.
They all draw their sacred white-handled knives out of concealment in their clothing. Nigel defiantly places his on the floor with its blade pointing inward. Then one by one, the others put down their knives with the blades pointing outward. They all look at Nigel. His shoulders sag with dejection.
SELENA
I invoke the rule of seven. Do you agree?
Nigel speaks with the voice of someone pronouncing his own death sentence.
NIGEL
I have no choice.
His knife turns by itself on the floor until its blade points outward. Everyone joins hands in the circle. A fire springs to life on the hearth. Someone starts to chant in a strange ancient tongue. Slowly the heavy, opulent living room begins to change: the carpet becomes the floor of an ancient stone temple with dark brown stains splattered across its massive granite blocks, the walls start to melt away. Outside the windows the dark night is replaced by hot, brutal sunlight pounding down on an endless desert stretching away to the horizon.
The house completely dissolves and is replaced by monumental stone ruins. The smoky fire crackles and sends its dark plumes boiling skyward. The only thing remaining of Selena's house is the hearth and the Coffer of Shadow. Selena stands up And walks out of the centre of the circle toward the Coffer. She opens the lid. She pulls the glass vial off the golden chain
around her neck and drops it into the Coffer.
CUT TO:
EXT. TROPICAL BEACH. DAY
Ethan wanders along the beach with Supergirl, holding hands. She stops to pick up a seashell. Ethan clutches his head as if he has a sudden violent headache, moans, and collapses on the sand. Supergirl kneels beside him.
SUPERGIRL
Ethan, what IS wrong?
Ethan opens his eyes and looks at her. He speaks in a voice of bleak despair.
ETHAN
She said it wouldn't last.
SUPERGIRL
What wouldn't last? What's the matter with you?
Ethan sits up, wincing like someone with a bad hangover.
ETHAN
I don't love you any more.
SUPERGIRL
Just like that?
ETHAN
Like turning off a light.
He struggles to his feet and stands there unsteadily.
ETHAN
I feel awful. All that romantic garbage. All that
mushy talk.
He lurches off into the undergrowth, toward the interior of the island. She plunges into the vegetation keeping pace with him.
SUPERGIRL
Where are you going?
ETHAN
Away. From you.
SUPERGIRL
But why?
ETHAN
Because you remind me of all the dumb things I said.
SUPERGIRL
I sort of like what you said.
ETHAN
That makes it worse.
SUPERGIRL
But I don't understand.
He stops and stares at her for a moment.
ETHAN
Of course you don't. We're from two different
worlds, remember?
He stalks off into the jungle, leaving her behind, hurt and bewildered.
CUT TO:
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM/PAGAN TEMPLE. NIGHT
A barbaric ritual. Selena's companions sway and gyrate to the sound of gongs and drums. The floor is covered with a red mist. In the middle of a column of fire a figure like Selena seems to float. The ritual reaches its climax and everything pauses for a moment of sti11ness.
Selena steps forth from the column of fire. She is clothed in a shimmering garment---white with flashing highlights of rainbow iridescence. The six other members of her group fall to their knees in awe. Selena seems to glow with an inner radiance. She laughs, and the pagan temple around her changes back to the living room of her house in Midvale. In her shining gossamer gown and her new aura of majesty, she seems too large, too powerful to be contained in the familiar surroundings of her house.
SELENA
At last. Ultimate Power.
BIANCA
And the first thing we do is get rid of Supergirl!
SELENA
What do you mean we?
She turns on the kneeling six. They cringe from her. Selena raises her hands and the kneeling six cry out in fear.
CUT TO:
EXT. BESIDE A STREAM. TROPICAL PARADISE. DAY
Ethan is sitting beside a stream on a gravelly bank idly tossing pebbles into the water. Supergirl steps out of the jungle and watches for a moment. Then she comes and sits down beside him.
ETHAN
Hi.
SUPERGIRL
Hello. Are you still mad at me?
ETHAN
I'm not mad at you.
SUPERGIRL
It seemed that way to me.
ETHAN
I know I was acting funny---I'm sorry. It's just...I miss it.
SUPERGIRL
Miss what?
ETHAN
What I had before. What's not there now. It's like I
woke up and found part of me wasn't there any more:
something that made me feel really alive and aware of
things. It was like, for the first time in my life, everything
fitted together perfectly---you and me and the world
around us--like we were a wonderful song...
He falls silent, and tosses a few pebbles into the stream.
SUPERGIRL
And now?
ETHAN
And now...the guitars are out of tune, and the words
don't make sense, and somebody unplugged the mike...
SUPERGIRL
Well...I don It know much about these things, but maybe
if you had that feeling once...it can, come back.
He turns to her hopefully.
ETHAN
You think so?
SUPERGIRL
I don't see why not.
ETHAN
But what if---it wasn't real?
SUPERGIRL
Feelings are real. Once you've had them, they're yours
forever.
Ethan's face lights up. The future begins to exist for him again.
ETHAN
Hey, listen, when all this blows over, maybe we
could get together every now and then and see each
other. And maybe something might. happen again.
What do you think?
SUPERGIRL
Are you asking me for a "date"?
ETHAN
Why not? You're a good-looking girl. And I'm---
available.
SUPERGIRL
Aren't you forgetting about Selena?
ETHAN
She'll forget about us eventually.
CUT TO:
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM
In the polished surface of her mirror, Selena makes a scene appear: Ethan and Supergirl on the tropical island.
SUPERGIRL
(image)
There's something very dangerous about her. Something evil...
ETHAN
(image)
I know what it is. She has this lead container shaped
like a gargoyle. Inside there's a silvery ring...
CUT TO:
EXT. TROPIAL ISLAND
Supergirl becomes very excited.
SUPERGIRL
That's the Power Source that was lost from Argo
City! That's what I came: to find! Where does she live?
ETHAN
In this big old house on Orchard Avenue---but you better
stay away from there.
SUPERGIRL
I can see through walls. I could surprise her. The only
thing I can't see through is lead, that's why I didn't
see the Power Source at the amusement park.
She stands up.
ETHAN
Wait. Don't leave me.
SUPERGIRL
You'll be safe here. I'll come back as soon as I have
the Power Source.
He stands up and takes her hand.
ETHAN
Before you go...
SUPERGIRL
What?
ETHAN
Just one kiss. For old times' sake.
SUPERGIRL
And you can see how you feel about me, right?
ETHAN
Yes.
She closes her eyes and parts her lips. Slowly their lips come together and touch. Then a sudden rush of sheer desire flows through them and the simple experimental kiss become an ecstatic prelude to the heights of lovemaking. But before either one of them can go one step further, ETHAN DISAPPEARS WITH A FLASH OF BLINDING WHITE LIGHT. A cloud darkens the sun, and the trees are lashed into a frenzy by gale-force winds. Selena's laughter can be heard from somewhere far away.
SUPERGIRL
Ethan!
Supergirl flies into the air.
EXT. TROPICAL ISLAND. SUNSET. SKY ABOVE ISLAND. DAY
Supergirl flies around the island very fast at high speed, searching for Ethan and Selena. She hovers like an eagle for a moment, then speeds straight upwards.
EXT. ABOVE THE OCEAN. DAY
Supergirl flies back to North America, faster than she has ever flown before.
EXT. ABOVE MIDVALE. DAY
Supergirl zeros in on Selena's house like an exocet.
EXT. SELENA'S FRONT LAWN
Supergirl lands and walks cautiously up to the front door, ready for anything but what she finds: the front door is ajar. She pushes it open with a creak of its massive hinges. She walks slowly inside.
INT. SELENA'S MANSION. FRONT HALL/LIVING ROOM
Supergirl looks around. The house seems deserted and drastically neglected. Cobwebs hang over everything. The dust has the thickness of a hundred years. Moths have eaten away all the splendid tapestries. Rats cavort along the baseboards. Bats sleep in the chandeliers. In the living room Supergirl finds Bianca crouched in A Corner, gibbering mindlessly. Bianca too has changed: she is dressed in rags, and her wild staring eyes are rimmed with dark circles. When she sees Supergirl she cries with fright.
SUPERGIRL
Hey take it easy. I won't hurt you.
BIANCA
I thought .it was her, coming back. Spared me.
But I thought. . . maybe changed her mind.
Nigel warned us. Wouldn't listen to him.
SUPERGIRL
What are you talking about? Where's Selena?
BIANCA
No. Don't want to know. She's bad. Don't go near her.
Hurt you.
SUPERGIRL
I have to find her. Tell me.
Supergirl looks into Bianca's eyes with her calm, heroic gaze, and Bianca comes somewhat to her senses. Bianca points to the adjoining bar. Supergirl walks over warily and sees FIVE GOLDEN CAGES suspended among the bottles. Nigel and the four remaining members of the Circle are imprisoned in them, shrunken but alive. Nige1 is in a perpetually turning squirrel wheel. He sees her and calls out.
NIGEL
Supergirl! She's waiting for you. On Taliesen Mountain.
Stop her before it's too late!
Supergirl gets a look of determination on her face. She turns and flies out through the French doors and heads straight up into the air.
INT. SELENA'S NEW HOUSE (A MOUNTAIN-TOP PALACE)
Ethan is in a dark, shadowy place, bound to a stake with stout cords. Sticks of wood are piled all around his feet. Selena stands beside him in her shining gown of power. She looks even more gorgeous and cruel than before. She offers him a glass of water to drink, but he turns his head away violently.
ETHAN
I'm wise to your tricks, lady.
SELENA
I could force you.
ETHAN
If that worked, you would've done it already. No,
you want me to drink it of my own free will. Well
let me tell you, sweetheart, it'll be a cold day in hell
before I fall for that one again.
SELENA
Go on, talk big! I'll soon have you purring like a kitten.
She puts the glass of water in a, basket at the end of an iron chain hanging down from above. There is a straw in the glass at such an angle that Ethan can just reach it with his lips if he stretches as far as possible.
SELENA
You've been without water for a whole day. Let's
see how thirsty you get in a week.
ETHAN
You vicious--
SELENA
Careful, don't make me angry. I start fires when I'm angry.
She glances meaningfully at the faggots piled around his feet and walks away.
THE CAMERA FOLLOWS HER revealing that she has been talking to Ethan inside the mammoth fireplace of her living room. Her new house is enormous. Where before she lived in a mansion, now she dwells in a palace. The fireplace is seven feet high, the living room floor is wide as a football field, and. the French windows into the garden now tower like the windows in the North transept of Chartres Cathedral. Selena disappears out the imposing portals which lead to the wet bar and butler's pantry--each now the size of a basketball court.
Back in the fireplace, Ethan cranes his neck to make sure she has gone, then reaches out toward the glass hanging nearby. He pokes the straw with his forehead. The glass swings slightly. The glass swings close enough for him to bump it with his forehead and set up a rhythm. He gauges the swing of the glass and, at the precise moment, grabs for it with his mouth. He catches hold of the rim of the glass with his teeth and holds it there for a moment as he summons his courage to do what must be done. He bites hard on the rim of the glass with his teeth.
The glass shatters and falls to the floor with a crash, leaving Ethan with a small fragment of the rim in his mouth and a trickle of blood down his chin. He leans his head over until it is directly above his left hand tied to the stake two and a half feet below his shoulders. A droplet of blood falls into his hand. He drops the glass fragment down to his hand and catches it. He grins, and sighs with relief. Then spits to clear his mouth. Slowly he saws. at the ropes that hold him with the sliver of glass in his left hand. One by one the strands part.
Ethan strains against his bonds and the weakened rope snaps. He quickly disentangles himself from the coils and steps out of the fireplace. He looks around the mammoth room. The coast is clear. He spits a few bits of glass out of his mouth, and dashes out of the doors
to the garden.
EXT. SELENA'S HOUSE. GARDEN. CONSERVATORY
Ethan sees a green plastic garden hose, which the gardener has left running in a trickle to irrigate the hydrangeas. Ethan remembers that he is very thirsty. He picks up the hose, rinses out his mouth hurriedly, and then takes long, desperate gulps of the water. Behind him he hears Selena's laughter. He drops the hose as if stung by an electric eel and turns to see her emerge from behind a large strangler fig.
INSERT ETHAN'S P.O.V.
The same effect as when he drank the love potion the first time. The plants of the conservatory swirl and distort in garish nightmare colours. At the centre of his vision is an area of crystal clarity surrounding Selena. She approaches him seductively, fully confident of her power. As she comes nearer, the clear area expands and drives out the visual chaos. Selena speaks, and her voice is a close-miked throaty purr.
SELENA
I told you I'd win.
BACK TO SCENE
Ethan is held by the spell of her magic. And yet there is part of him that still resists. You can see him try to turn his head away from the vision of ideal beauty before him, and then give in as she comes closer and I touches him with her hand. A zap of energy passes between them at her touch.
SELENA
Kiss me.
He embraces her roughly and crushes her lips with a kiss. He is filled with a tigerish lust that thrills her deeply. She rakes her long red fingernails across his back and moans with pleasure.
EXT. ABOVE THE MOUNTAINS. DAY
Supergirl flies over the Rockies toward Selena's house.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. TALIESEN MOUNTAIN. SELENA'S NEW HOUSE. DAY
Supergirl flies over Selena's new house. For the first time we can see the enormousness of it:
a grotesque, towering monstrosity, that seems to brood threateningly over the landscape.
EXT. GARDEN BEHIND SELENA'S NEW HOUSE. DAY
Supergirl lands and walks toward the towering French doors of the living room. But something distracts her. She turns and enters the gigantic conservatory to her right.
INT. CONSERVATORY
Supergirl looks around and sees in the middle of the conservatory a reflecting pool surrounded by exotic plants. She walks closer and looks down into the reflecting pool. In the bottom of the shallow pool she sees Ethan securely bound. His eyes stare wildly. Dead or drowning.
SUPERGIRL
Ethan!
She leaps into the shallow pool, and sinks over her head. A polygonal section of the surface of the reflecting pool detaches itself from the water and rises up perpendicularly. It is a door to the Phantom Zone. Supergirl is trapped behind an impenetrable force field, looking out in despair. Ethan is not there with her. His image has disappeared.
The real flesh and blood Ethan appears with Selena from behind the strangler fig. They look in at Supergirl trapped behind the shimmering polygon that la ads to the Phantom Zone. Selena laughs at her, but Ethan stares as if at a long forgotten acquaintance whose name he is trying to recall.
Selena notices Ethan's wandering attention and she puts her arms possessively around him.
SELENA
Enjoy your prison, Supergirl. It's forever.
Supergirl calls out to Ethan, her hands and face pressed against the transparent wall of her prison, but no sound can escape the impenetrable force field.
INT. PHANTOM ZONE DOOR
Supergirl is seen in reverse, beating on the hard crystalline surface of the prison.
SUPERGIRL
Ethan! Don't let her do this!
Beyond the threshold of the zone, Selena in her conservatory kisses Ethan with fierce lust. He returns her , emotion, forgetting all about Supergirl.
SUPERGIRL
No. No. It isn't true.
The image of Selena and Ethan begins to recede, getting smaller and smaller, until it vanishes entirely in infinite blackness.
EXT. SPACE
The flat two-dimensional polygon that is Supergirl's prison whirls away through space. Behind the transparent surface we can see Supergirl's face stained with tears.
EXT. PHANTOM ZONE
Another kind of reality. Unlike anything we have ever seen. The crystal prison lands on the ground of the Phantom Zone and shatters. Supergirl picks herself up from among the fragments of her prison and looks around. The landscape is utterly strange and alien, with a feel of stark, oppressive sterility. As far as the eye can see there is no sign of life. Supergirl stands up and raises her arms to fly. She hops into the air about eight inches and lands flat-footedly on the sand. With a shock she realises SHE CAN'T FLY.
She hops a few more times, with no more success.
She picks up a small rock from the ground. She tries to crush it in her hand. She can't. Angrily she hurls it from her as far as she can. Instead of disappearing into infinity it drops at her feet a few yards away. She scoops up some sand from the ground and holds it cupped in her hand. She takes a deep breath and tries to blow it away. She is barely able to disturb a few grains. She drops the sand and sits down on a rock, forlorn and dejected.
Suddenly she hears Alura's voice, very faint and coming from a long distance away.
ALURA'S VOICE
Kara, where are you?
KARA
Mother? I can hardly hear you.
ALURA. S VOICE
Kara! You're alive. We were so worried. You disappeared
from the scanners...
KARA
I'm lost, Mother. In some awful place. I can't fly anymore.
And I'm weak.
ALURA'S VOICE
Kara, you must not give up. We must retrieve the
Power Source. The City is dying.
KARA
Then send someone else. I failed.
ALURA'S VOICE
We can't. The' dimension barrier is stronger. We no
longer have the power to push through.
KARA
But Mother, I'm lost.
ALURA' S VOICE
You must try. . . it's cold. And dark. . .
The rest of her sentence fades out, and is lost.
KARA
Mother---I tried. I really tried.
Kara puts her face in her hands and starts to sob hopelessly.
CUT TO:
EXT. UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK. DAY
Establishing shot.
INT. GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The DELEGATE FROM URITANIA is going on (in Esperanto) denouncing the latest outrage against his peace-loving country. A few bored DELEGATES of various nationalities
are sprawled in their seats listening to the simultaneous translation over earphones. The dign1fied PRESIDENT of the General Assembly is sitting on the dais behind the ranting delegate. With a FLASH OF LIGHT and a chok1ng cloud of sulfur fumes, Selena appears beside the podium. She is in her shimmering white robe. The dozing delegates wake up with amazement. The URITANIAN delegate stares at her with his mouth open as she slides him away from the microphone.
INT. TRANSLATOR"S BOOTH . GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Inside the translator's booth, the entire panorama of the enormous hall is visible through the glass window. The eight TRANSLATORS stop translating and stare at the scene below.
BACK TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Selena is about to speak in the microphone, when two SECURITY GQUARDS attempt to step onto the podium. Selena reaches out toward them. A field of force from her hands stops them in their tracks, knocking them backwards off the steps to land on their butts. The delegates gasp at this act of magical violence.
SELENA
Nations of the world! I bring you tidings of a new age!
The President of the General Assembly starts to shout at her and bang on the podium with his gavel. Selena looks over her shoulder with mild annoyance. Instantly the President's gavel turns into a live eel. The President drops it with horror. Selena continues her speech.
SELENA
I bring you a return to the ancient true worship of
Nature, our Sovereign Queen and Mother. And
I bring you myself as her representative here
on Earth.
The URITANIAN suddenly recovers his wits and tries to place a hand on Selena's shoulder. A whirlwind hurls him off the podium into the desks of the front row delegates. The delegates babble in consternation but keep to their seats. Selena raises her voice to be heard over the uproar.
SELENA
From this moment forth, all science, religion and other
unnatural beliefs are forbidden. And in their place I
will teach the One True Way of our ancient
grandmothers.
The President of the General Assembly has recovered enough from the surprise of the eel to
interrupt Selena.
PRESIDENT
You are talking about the end of Civilisation as we
know it.
SELENA
And it's about time too.
PRESIDENT
I do not know who you are, or what evil force
you represent, but it will take more than a
few threats from you to make mankind turn back
the clock and abandon thousands of years of progress.
Selena has listened with a mocking smile as he speaks. He finishes to a smattering of applause from some of the delegates.
SELENA
Threats? I don't need threats to destroy civilisation.
I have something better.
She snaps her fingers in the air. Immediately a RAIN OF MONEY BEGINS TO FALL ALL OVER THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. PAPER MONEY AND COINS OF ALL NATIONS. Selena looks at her work with pleasure. Then she disappears in a FLASH OF LIGHT.
The delegates blink with astonishment. The only trace of her presence is the tang of sulfur in the air---and the money. One delegate forgets his dignity and starts scooping up money from his desk and stuffing it into his pockets. Suddenly all the delegates are doing the same thing. The only exception is the delegate from the United Kingdom who thinks it might be beneath his dignity, and looks about with mild disapproval.
CUT TO:
EXT. THE PHANTOM ZONE
Supergirl walks across the rolling monotony of the Phantom Zone. We have never seen her like this before: sweating, her hair unkempt, streaks of dirt and grit on her face, exhausted and full of despair. She stumbles at the crest of a low ridge and falls down to the bottom of the slope, banging her head on a rock. She sits there, a big rip in her ,uniform, rubbing her bruised forehead. It is hard to imagine her any worse off.
She hears a sound, vaguely familiar. She looks around for its source. She follows the sound, crawling slowly along the base of the ridge. The sound gets louder and as she, approaches. It is a sound of celestial, spiritual beauty: the music of the spheres.
Suddenly she comes out into a tiny valley in the Phantom Zone and sees before her the most beautiful sight she could imagine. The harsh monochromatic sterility of the Phantom Zone gives way to a riot of bright colours. A dome-like building protrudes from the ground. All around it are gorgeous singing sculptures in the style of Argo City. A sculptor. in the clothing of Argo City is modeling a glassy statue with a matterwand. He turns and catches sight of Supergirl. It is Zaltar.
SUPERGIRL
Zaltar.
Zaltar drops his wand and comes running over to Supergirl. He kneels beside her on the sandy ground.
ZALTAR
Kara? Is it you?
Supergirl nods. She is obviously exhausted. Zaltar takes the bulb full of liquid off his belt and offers her a drink. She drinks thirstily of the refreshing green liquid, and feels strength returning to her body.
SUPERGIRL
What is this place?
ZALTAR
This is the Phantom Zone. But why did you
come here from Argo City?
SUPERGIRL
I was on Earth...
ZALTAR
Earth? You crossed the dimension barrier? By yourself?
SUPERGIRL
Yes. I went there to find the lost Power Source...
ZALTAR
Shouldnt've done that.
SUPERGIRL
...but the person who has it. tricked me, and sent me
to the Phantom Zone.
ZALTAR
It's dangerous to use a Power Source on Earth. It can
unleash all sorts of terrible forces---
SUPERGIRL
I know.
ZALTAR
Well, nothing we can do about it. Come into my house.
You can stay with me, until I build you your own
place. I expect you won't want to mix with the others--
not our type of people.
He helps her to her feet and over to his house, a sort of Argonian gothic cathedral half-buried in the sand. The curves of the arches and the materials are strongly reminiscent of Zaltar's work on Argo City.
SUPERGIRL
Others?
ZALTAR
Criminals.
Zaltar gestures vaguely to the horizon on his right.
ZALTAR
A few hundred parasangs that way. I avoid
them. And you should too.
Zaltar leads Supergirl past the singing sculptures. She smiles as she passes them, and remembers his "tree" in Argo City.
SUPERGIRL
...mid pleasures and palaces though I may roam..."
ZALTAR
What? Palace? Hardly.
SUPERGIRL
Just feels, a little, like a tiny bit of Argo City...
ZALTAR
Yes. Can't seem to get away from that style.
Must try something new.
INT. ZALTAR'S HOUSE
He helps her down a long spiraling staircase to the floor of a high domed room. In the centre of the room is a huge round table cluttered with tools, models and unfinished projects.
SUPERGIRL
It's lovely. . .
ZALTAR
No, no. Not lovely. 'Perfect'. Did everything
just right. Nobody telling you to change this,
move that around. Please yourself. That's
the secret of happiness.
SUPERGIRL
Are you happy, Zaltar?
ZALTAR
What kind of a question is that? Of course: I am. I do
whatever I want. All the time.
SUPERGIRL
But what about other people? Don't you miss them?
They have reached the ground floor. Zaltar plucks one of the liquid filled bulbs from the stem of a large plant growing in a niche in the wall. He squirts some of the green liquid in his mouth with great satisfaction.
ZALTAR
I look at them all the time. Every planet in the galaxy.
It's quite boring. Here, rub some of this onto that bruise.
He carefully applies some of the green liquid to the wound on her scalp.
SUPERGIRL
You look at them? How?
ZALTAR
The Phantom Zone overlooks everywhere.. If you
have the right tools.
Zaltar sweeps the clutter off the table and onto the floor.
He passes his hand over the table and instantly the table turns into a WINDOW INTO ANOTHER WORLD, showing an image of a herdboy riding on the back of a water buffalo in a rice paddy.
ZALTAR
There you see? What could be more boring than that?
He waves his hand, and the image disappears.
SUPERGIRL
Wait. Could...could I see the place I just came from?
Zaltar sighs with great martyrdom, and starts to fiddle with his controls.
ZALTAR
It'll only make you sad.
He shows her the proper hand gestures to control the image.
ZALTAR
This goes closer. This moves it around. And
this begins.
He gestures with his hand and the WINDOW OPENS again. Supergirl ZOOMS THE IMAGE IN as fast as she can, trembling with desperate urgency. The IMAGE ON THE TABLE DISSOLVES FROM HIGH ABOVE A CITY DOWN TO :
EXT. WALL STREET. DAY
The financial district. Bank clerks are shoveling money out the windows of several large, imposing banks. Passersby ignore the bonanza, and trudge dejectedly on.
INT. STOCK EXCHANGE. DAY
Chaos and pandemonium on the floor. Not the everyday chaos and pandemonium you always see. Brokers are trying to strangle one another. Fist fights. Bloody noses. The crunch of breaking knuckles.
EXT. SUPERMARKET. DAY
People are waiting in line with wheelbarrows full of money. The store manager shakes his head and sends them away. The only people he lets in the store are a man with a live turkey under his arm, a little old lady carrying a Rembrandt in a nice gold frame, a woman who gives him her fur coat and a man with an antique clock.
EXT. HIGH ABOVE SELENA'S NEW HOUSE. TALIESEN MOUNTAIN. DAY
The CAMERA ZOOMS DOWN and DISSOLVES THROUGH THE ROOF TO:
INT. ANTE ROOM IN SELENA'S NEW HOUSE
A mob of dignitaries and petitioners is waiting anxiously outside the large imposing doors to Selena's reception room. Generals in uniform, diplomats wearing their medals pinned ,on their formal suits, bankers in pin stripes, and the robed ecclesiastics and holy men of various faiths. A secretary opens the door to the reception room, and the dignitaries all surge forward.
SECRETARY
No more audiences today. Go home. All
of you.
Through the open door Selena can be glimpsed sitting .on her throne-like chair, with Ethan kneeling at her feet, resting his head in her lap like a pet animal.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. SELENA'S SITTING ROOM
The secretary closes the doors leaving Ethan and Selena alone. She strokes his head. Outside crowds can be heard chanting her name: "Selena! Selena!"
SELENA
They want me. Doesn't it make you proud?
ETHAN
Yeah.
Selena gets up and walks over to the door leading out to her balcony.
SELENA
Coming?
Ethan follows her sullenly.
EXT. BALCONY
They walk out onto the balcony. The crowds scream her name. She waves smiling. Ethan stands a step behind her with a moody expression on his face.
SELENA
Smile, lunk-head. You're not a gardener any more,
you're Prince Ethan now.
Ethan lifts his hand and waves half-heartedly.
EXT. GROUNDS OF SELENA'S NEW HOUSE. BENEATH THE BALCONY
The crowd is enormous, held back behind police barricades. Guards in the special livery of Selena's service hold back the surging tide of humanity: people .praying, chanting, walking on their knees, cripples on crutches, the ailing on stretchers carried by relatives. And in front a disciplined youth group in a distinctive costume perform chants and fanatic cheers. Huge banners display Selena's portrait. Images of her are everywhere.
INT. ZALTAR'S HOUSE. PHANTOM ZONE
Supergirl reels with shock at the scene
SUPERGIRL
That horrible woman!
ZALTAR
Told you. Wouldn't listen to me. Knew it would
make you sad.
He starts to gesture the image away, but she puts her hand on his arm, stopping him.
SUPERGIRL
No. I have to see this.
Zaltar shrugs.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. HAMBURGER HEAVEN. MIDVALE. DAY
The roadside complex where Lucy's traffic accident occurred. The Hamburger Place is boarded up. The area is almost deserted and no cars pass on the street. All of the huge advertising billboards along the way are now covered with pictures of Selena. The only writing is in mystic symbols. A lone figure walks furtively along the street. It is LUCY LANE, her face disguised with dark glasses. She goes to the rear of the abandoned Hamburger Place and knocks four times. The door opens quickly and she ducks inside.
INT. HAMBURGER HEAVEN. DAY
The restaurant has been converted into a clandestine print shop. A few serious teenagers are working the press and turning out seditious handbills. Freshly printed pages are hung on clothes-lines so the ink can dry. "THE TRUTH ABOUT SELENA" is the headline over JIMMY'S PHOTO of her getting into the Cadillac with her huge shadow looming behind. Lucy crosses to Jimmy Olsen, who is tying up bundles of handbills.
LUCY
I had to dump the papers in a trashcan. The Danvers
have been arrested!
JIMMY
How do you know?
LUCY
I saw them dragged out of the Administration Building.
JIMMY
Did anybody notice you?
LUCY
I can't help it if men notice me.
JIMMY
Lucy! Be serious. We could be executed for treason!
She kisses him on the nose.
LUCY
Just kidding. Nobody saw me.
Jimmy gives her another bundle of handbills. HELMETED GUARDS in the livery of Selena's service kick down the door. and rush in, weapons drawn. They smash up the print shop and arrest everybody. Jimmy and Lucy are handcuffed and dragged away.
INT. PRISON
The Danvers and all the teenagers from the print shop are crowded into tiers of barred cells set into the walls of a dark, enormous cavern. Jimmy and Lucy huddle together for warmth in one of the tiny cells.
JIMMY
I sure wish Superman was around. He wouldn't
let any of this go on. Not for one minute.
LUCY
I wish they'd tell us what they're going to do with us.
JIMMY
I heard stories. I don't think you wanna know.
There is the clank of an iron door, and Ethan enters the prison with several of the guards in Selena's livery. He walks past the cells, glancing now and then with compassion at the poor wretches inside. Lucy calls out as he passes.
LUCY
Hey! Ethan!
ETHAN
Hmmm?
LUCY
Remember me? We were in a disaster together.
ETHAN .
Oh yeah, the girl in the hospital, on the other stretcher.
LUCY
Right! Say, do you swing any weight around here?
ETHAN
A little.
LUCY
Can you get us out? It's all a misunderstanding. We
thought they were selling hamburgers in that place.
ETHAN
I'll mention it upstairs.
He turns to go, but Jimmy reaches out and grabs his sleeve.
JIMMY
The blonde girl who saved your life---where
is she now?
Ethan pauses. Buried memories rise to the surface of his mind, bringing pain.
ETHAN
She's gone. No one will ever see her again.
CUT TO:
INT. ZALTAR'S HOUSE IN THE ZONE
Supergirl waves her hand over the table angrily, decisively. The WINDOW of the Zone closes, and the image of Ethan disappears. She crosses to Zaltar, who is reclining on a couch in an adjoining room, getting drunk on the green liquid from the plant bladders.
SUPERGIRL
Zaltar, please help me.
ZALTAR
Of course, my dear. What can I do?
SUPERGIRL
Help me to get back to Earth. Where my friends are.
They need me.
Zaltar looks pained, and takes several deep drinks of green plant sap before he answers.
ZALTAR
There's no way out of the Zone. No one's ever escaped.
That's why they send the criminals here.
SUPERGIRL
If there's a way in, there must be a way out.
ZALTAR
No, that's not true---there's well...no--
He suddenly has an idea, vaguely forming at the back of his drink-sodden brain. He toys with it, while Supergirl leans forward eagerly, waiting. He changes his mind several times about whether it's possible or not, each time changing his facial expression. Supergirl has the feeling she's watching a debate conducted by squints and grimaces.
ZALTAR
There is a way.
SUPERGIRL
I knew it!
ZALTAR
But it's impossible.
SUPERGIRL
Why?
ZALTAR
No, it wouldn't work, you couldn't, it's too---
if it didn't work you'd be swept into a singularity---
no, you'd never make it. Forget I mentioned it.
Supergirl's heart sinks. She rocks back, clutching her knees, trying not to show her sadness.
ZALTAR
I could do it.
She is suddenly all excitement and hopefulness again.
SUPERGIRL
Then teach me how.
ZALTAR
No, it's no good---you can't practice--- you only get
one go. A thing like that. No. Sure you don't want a
sip of this? It's delicious, I think.
He takes another sip of his drink.
SUPERGIRL
Tell me how. to do it. If you could do it, I can.
He looks at her shrewdly, appraising her abilities with a suddenly lucid glance.
ZALTAR
Takes a long time, you know, learning the wand.
Just begun to understand it myse1f. Give things a
kind of life--can also take away life; works backwards
too. Besides I can't let you take my wand. Only have
the one, what would I do? I'd be helpless. It's
out of the question.
SUPERGIRL
Then come with me.
ZALTAR
Leave the zone? What would I do on Earth?
SUPERGIRL
You could do anything. You could sculpt
mountain ranges...draw with rainbows!
You'd have superpowers.
ZALTAR
Superpowers. Got you in a lot of trouble, didn't they?
SUPERGIRL
Please. I have to get back to Earth. My friends are
in trouble. And unless I bring back the Power
Source, Argo City will die.
He looks at her kneeling beside his couch, tears streaming down her cheeks, pleading with him.
ZALTAR
Oh, all right. Stop crying. Let's go.
He stands up, takes his matterwand, and heads for the stairs up to the surface. Supergirl can hardly believe her plea has been granted. She runs after him, up the stairs.
SUPERGIRL
You're going to take me back?
ZALTAR
Going to try. Didn't say I could.
EXT. ZALTAR' S HOUSE. PHANTOM ZONE
They emerge from the circular doorway out onto the flat monotonous terrain of the zone. Zaltar pauses for a moment to get his bearings, then strikes out with long energetic strides. Supergirl hurries to keep up with him.
SUPERGIRL
I heard my mother ask you once "how could a
man with such a selfish heart create beauty?"
She was wrong, Zaltar, you have a generous
heart.
ZALTAR
Not doing this for you. Just sick of this place,
that's all. Wretched singing sculptures, always yowling
at you. Boring!
Supergirl scampers along beside him, smiling. Zaltar never looks back at his abandoned house, but keeps his gaze fixed on the horizon straight ahead.
INT. SELENA'S NEW HOUSE. HALLWAY
Ethan is walking down the hall and sees guards dragging Lucy Lane and Jimmy Olsen in chains. Lucy calls out to him.
LUCY
Hey, I thought you were gonna mention us upstairs.
ETHAN
I did.
LUCY
(bitterly)
Well thanks a pile, fella.
Ethan watches them dragged away. He has a puzzled expression on his face.
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM. DAY
Ethan enters. Selena is staring into her magic mirror. Her face is white with fear.
ETHAN
What's going on?
Selena snaps irritably at him.
SELENA
Guess! Go on.
ETHAN
I don't know. You seem afraid.
SELENA
You're a regular Einstein, aren't you?
ETHAN
(the truth dawns on him)
Supergirl?
Selena doesn't answer, but looks back at the mirror. Ethan moves to her side and watches with her the IMAGE OF THE PHANTOM ZONE.
INT. PHANTOM ZONE/QUANTUM VORTEX
Zaltar leads the way, firming their path with the matterwand, and then hauling himself and Supergirl forward over an upward sloping, undulating surface. Behind them luminescent waves of energy can be seen, like the ocean at the base of a steep cliff, constantly sweeping backwards and downwards, away from their goal.
INT. SELENA'S NEW LIVING ROOM
Selena looks up and realises Ethan is behind her, looking intently at the image.
SELENA
Quit staring so hard. You'll strain your eyes.
She puts her hand on his cheek. He turns away from the image of Supergirl and looks deep in
Selena's eyes.
ETHAN
You're not going to hurt her, are you?
Selena is furious. Her eyes get that dangerous look.
SELENA
You can't put her out of your mind, is that it?
ETHAN
Well...I guess I can't.
SELENA
I'm ready for her. I'll show you.
Selena walks out the French doors followed by the dazed Ethan.
EXT. CONSERVATORY. DAY
MR. & Mrs. Danvers, Lucy Lane, and Jimmy Olsen are imprisoned in four metal cages hanging over the reflecting pool in the conservatory. The ropes that keep the cages from falling into the pool are GIGANTIC GOLDEN SERPENTS, their tails around an overhead beam, and the jaws tightly locked on the tops of the cages. A fifth cage hangs there empty. The water in the reflecting pool has changed colour to an opaque yellow. Selena shows the arrangements to Ethan.
SELENA
Unless Supergirl agrees to go away forever, the
serpents will drop them one by one.
Selena puts a small silver whistle to her lips and blows a high, melodious note. The fifth serpent opens his jaws and releases the empty cage into the pool.
INSERT: REFLECTING POOL
The empty cage lands in the water and is instantly eaten up by the most powerful acid imaginable, leaving nothing but froth and acrid fumes. Ethan looks down into the cool at his reflection distorted by the spreading ripples.
BACK TO SCENE
ETHAN
Why the empty cage?
SELENA
That one was for you. But I thought I'd wait and
see how you behave when Supergirl gets here. I'd
hate to lose you, Ethan.
Selena steps beside him and puts her hand on his shoulder. Ethan cries out with terror. Selena looks down at what he sees.
INSERT: REFLECTING POOL
Behind Selena, distorted almost beyond recognition by the ripples on the surface, is a GIANT MONSTROUS SHADOW-BEING, ITS ARMS OUTSTRETCHED, ALMOST ENVELOPING HER, but invisible except in reflections.
BACK TO SCENE
Selena steps away from the pool, shaken by the sight.
ETHAN
What...?
SELENA
You don't get this far without paying...a
certain price.
She turns and walks quickly out of the conservatory, followed by Ethan.
MR. DANVERS
If only I hadn't made that speech denouncing her.
MRS . DANVERS
I'm not afraid to die. I'm proud of you.
She stretches out her hand through the bars and clasps his bravely. Lucy turns her face away to give them some privacy in their. final moments. Jimmy is looking at her.
JIMMY
(shyly)
I've been in love with you for years. Remember
how you used to visit your sister in the newsroom?
And put your fingerprints on my lens.
LUCY
Remember? I was trying desperately to get you're
attention.
JIMMY
You were? You mean we could've been... you-know-what...
all this time?
LUCY
You bet your ass.
JIMMY
Why didn't you tell me?
LUCY
You're supposed to guess.
She reaches out her hand through the bars and clasps his bravely, like the Danvers.
INT. THE PHANTOM ZONE/QUANTUM VORTEX
Zaltar is continuing his climb, but the way is getting steeper, and he is tired and short of breath. He pauses.
SUPERGIRL
Why are you stopping?
ZALTAR
Stopping? Was I? Silly. One thing you
musn't do.
He continues forward, and upward, firming their path with the matterwand. The wand creates a warm circle of white light around them in contrast to the monochromatic energy field of the Phantom Zone. Because of the inherent curvature of the Phantom Zone vortex, they seem to be scrambling up a sheer vertical wall now. Supergirl is close beside Zaltar helping him along, not merely following as she had before. The throbbing sound of energy waves surging down the vortex is growing louder as they proceed. Zaltar stumbles, and drops the matterwand.
ZALTAR
Oh dear!
The vortex starts to sweep the wand backwards, down to where they have just climbed from. Supergirl makes a desperate lunge and retrieves the wand as it sweeps past. But now she is being swept backwards.
ZALTAR
The wand. Use it.
Supergirl somehow finds the right grip on the controls and points the wand at the undulating surface beneath her. She stills the moving surface and stops her backwards motion.
ZALTAR
Good girl! That's the way!
But now Zaltar is being swept backwards toward her. She points the wand at his feet and halts his downhill slide.
ZALTAR
You can use the wand.
SUPERGIRL
Better than when I was a child.
She hands it back to him and they resume their slow upward progress.
ZALTAR
I remember you then. Cute thing you were. Like
your mother.
CUT TO:
INT. SELENA'S NEW LIVING ROOM
Selena stands watching the image of Zaltar and Supergirl in her mirror. Beside her on the floor is the Coffer of Shadow, now swollen to the size of a large pumpkin. It pulses and glows with inner light. The lid of the Coffer of Shadow starts to rattle as if something inside is attempting to get out.
INT. THE PHANTOM ZONE/QUANTUM VORTEX
Flaming spheres of BALL LIGHTNING begin to whizz past Zaltar and Supergirl. Zaltar is startled, and he stops his forward progress.
ZALTAR
What's that? Never saw anything like that.
SUPERGIRL
Don't stop. Keep moving.
ZALTAR
Yes, mustn't stop.
SUPERGIRL
(grimly)
It's Selena. I'm getting so I can recognise her work.
Another flaming sphere whizzes toward them. It hits Zaltar on the shoulder and knocks him off the safe path. He starts to roll backwards down the vortex.
SUPERGIRL
Zaltar. Use the wand!
ZALTAR
Too late. Too late. Save yourself.
He is being swept faster and .faster away from her, receding like the image of Ethan when she was trapped in the zone. Zaltar throws the wand to her, and then is swept away, out of sight, downward to his death. He calls out after he disappears.
ZALTAR
(voice over)
Goodbye...
SUPERGIRL
Zaltar!
She begins to be swept backwards, but she uses the wand, and stops her slide. Gripping the wand fiercely, she starts to forge ahead. All the while she has to dodge the flaming spheres that Selena sends down the vortex.
SUPERGIRL
You're not going to win, Selena. I won't let you.
Suddenly Supergirl enters another area of the vortex. She begins to move forward, upward, without clawing her way. She accelerates, moving faster and faster.
EXT. GRASSY MEADOW BESIDE A POND
Supergirl lands, in a deserted sunny meadow. She collapses sobbing on the grass. The matterwand lies beside her.
SUPERGIRL
Zaltar, Zaltar. You never had a selfish heart.
She looks up at the sun shining down serenely, bathing the Earth in its life-giving rays---and returning her superpowers to her.
SUPERGIRL
Wherever you are, Zaltar, thank 'you.
She stands up and flexes her muscles. She no longer looks tired or disheveled. Her red and blue costume shines in the bright sunlight. She picks up the matterwand and leaps into the air, flying faster than a speeding bullet.
EXT. ABOVE SELENA'S NEW HOUSE. TALIESEN MOUNTAIN
Supergirl swoops down from the sky and dives through the roof.
INT. SELENA'S LIVING ROOM
Supergirl smashes through the ceiling and lands next to the French doors. Ethan and Selena are standing against the opposite wall, next to the veiled mirror.
SUPERGIRL
You've had your fun, Selena, the game is over.
ETHAN
She has hostages.
SELENA
The Danvers. And two of your little friends.
SUPERGIRL
It's just one more crime you'll have to pay for.
Ethan points to the conservatory and mimes the words 'out there'. Selena blows on the silver whistle on the chain around her neck.
INSERT: THE SERPENT HOLDING JIMMY OLSEN'S CAGE OPENS ITS MOUTH AND THE CAGE DROPS AWAY.
BACK TO SCENE
Supergirl blows an enormous blast of superbreath out the French doors.
INT. CONSERVATORY
Jimmy Olsen's cage is blown away from the acid bath and he lands in a bank of ferns.
JIMMY
Hey, what gives?
The blast of superbreath blows the cages of Lucy and the Danvers away from the pool as well. The serpents loose their grip, arid the Danvers and Lucy land beside Jimmy in the fern bank.
INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY
Selena witnesses the destruction of her hostage scheme.
SELENA
All right, Supergirl. The game's not over till
the last card's dealt.
Selena opens the lid of the grotesquely swollen Coffer of Shadow sitting beside her on the floor. The OMEGAHEDRON inside spins.
All the FURNITURE in the room suddenly launches itself at Supergirl. Huge oak refectory tables, alabaster thrones, marble urns, iron firegrates, shie1ds and armour, bronze statuary, and razor sharp panes of glass from the windows all shatter themselves against her invulnerable body. Ethan stands in the corner, ducking the stray fragments that come his way.
SUPERGIRL
You've run out of things to throw, Selena.
SELENA
Not yet.
Selena points her hand at Supergirl with a gesture of attack. The COFFER OF SHADOW emits a dense black mist that darkens the room. A giant invisible hand seizes Supergirl and hurls her into the alchemical bar with a crash of bottles. Supergirl stands up with the wand held in front of her to ward off another attack.
ETHAN
It's her shadow-self! Her dark side!
SUPERGIRL
How do I fight it?
ETHAN
Turn it against her.
Supergirl raises the wand and APPLIES IT TO HER OWN BODY. THERE IS A FLASH OF BLINDING LIGHT, and Supergirl is transformed into a perfect image of Selena---as she was at the fairgrounds.
There are now two Selenas in the room---the real one beside the Coffer of shadow, and the one holding the matterwand in the alchemical bar. The Real Selena is first astonished, and then furious.
REAL SELENA
Power of Shadow, kill her!!
The Second Selena calls out to the SHADOW-SELF in Selena's own unmistakable voice.
SECOND SELENA
No. I am your mistress. Do not harm me.
REAL SELENA
Don't listen to her! Kill her! She's lying.
SECOND SELENA
You are my shadow, you must obey me.
The Real Selena is distracted by the duel of willpower with her double and doesn't notice Ethan creeping along the wall toward the Coffer of Shadow.
Ethan lunges for the shining OMEGAHEDRON inside, and snatches it out just as the heavy lid slams shut with a clang of metal. Ethan rolls over and over on the floor, away from Selena, clutching the, shining ring to him like a football in the end zone after a quarterback sneak on a fourth down trailing seven to six with three seconds on the clock.
ETHAN
I've got it! The Power Source!
The Real Se1ena cries out with despair.
And then the SHADOW attacks her. The Real Selena cries out as she is surrounded by a black mist that starts slowly choking the life out of her.
REAL SELENA
(terrified)
No! Stop! Please!
Ethan hands the Power Source to the Second Selena in the bar.
SECOND SELENA
Thank you. I'll take this back to Argo City.
ETHAN
It is you, then, really?
Without a word, the Second Selena kisses him on the lips.
SECOND SELENA
Well?
ETHAN
It's you all right.
SECOND SELENA
I'll make it easy for you.
She again APPLIES THE WAND TO HER OWN BODY. There is a flash of light, and once more Supergirl stands before him, clutching both the Power Source and the wand.
ETHAN
I couldn't help what I did, before. She drugged me.
SUPERGIRL
I never doubted you for a moment.
REAL SELENA
Supergirl. Please! Help! I'm dying...
Supergirl steps toward the corner of the room beside the mirror where the Real Selena is imprisoned in the cloud of blackness. Supergirl touches the SHADOW with her wand. There is a cosmic musical chord, and the SHADOW is destroyed; it falls to the floor in a rain of hard, dark cinders.
The Real Selena rises from the corner of the room where she was released from the grip of the shadow. She looks at herself in the mirror. She is changed into the softer, more innocent person she was at the picnic before she found the Omegahedron. THERE IS NO MORE EVIL SHADOW LOOMING BEHIND HER IN THE MIRROR REFLECTION. She turns to Supergirl and Ethan.
SELENA
I'm free. I can never thank you enough.
SUPERGIRL
For what?
Selena points to the glittering OMEGAHEDRON Supergirl holds.
SELENA
Ever since I found that thing I've been like
a prisoner in a terrible nightmare. You have
no idea how awful it is to be mean all the time.
SUPERGIRL
Your nightmares are over. I'm taking this back to
Argo City where it won't be misused.
(to Ethan)
You could come too. It might be safer for you.
ETHAN
No thanks. I have friends in the resistance. They'll
vouch for me. I figure I might get a million bucks
for my memoirs.
SUPERGIRL
I'll come back as soon as I can.
SELENA
What about me? They'll make, hash out of me around
here.
Supergirl and Ethan exchange a glance. Selena's innocence is the one problem they have not foreseen.
ETHAN
She's right. They'll string her up.
SUPERGIRL
Do you want to come to Argo City?
SELENA
What's it like?
SUPERGIRL
It's the most beautiful place in the universe.
SELENA
Sounds O.K. to me. Let's go.
Supergirl holds out the matterwand to Selena.
SUPERGIRL
Grab hold of this. It forms a force field for the
journey through inner space.
Selena grasps the matterwand and the two of them fly together out the French doors.
CUT TO:
INT. PRISON. DAY
Supergirl and Selena fly through the prison. Supergirl melts open the locks with BEAMS OF HEAT VISION.
The prisoners climb out of their cells cheering and rejoicing.
EXT . HAMBURGER HEAVEN. GAS STATION. DAY
All the people of Midvale are enthusiastically chopping up the billboard portraits of Selena and throwing them into a bonfire in the middle of the street. Statues, banners, mystic symbols, giant tarot cards, old uniforms of her palace guards and youth group --every last remnant of her regime joins the blaze. People are smiling, dancing, holding hands, drinking: the atmosphere is like a block party on the first week in spring.
CUT TO:
EXT. HIGH ABOVE THE SEA.
SUNSET
Selena and Supergirl fly over the ocean toward the setting sun.
SELENA
Where is inner space?
SUPERGIRL
It's everywhere. But water is always
the door.
They plunge down into the sun's reflection on the sea surface.
EXT. INNER SPACE
Supergirl and Selena fly together through the dark reaches of inner space. Supergirl is tired but triumphant. The OMEGAHEDRON glows brightly in her hand. Selena looks around her with awe and wonder.
SELENA
Will they be angry with me for
stealing the Power Source?
SUPERGIRL
They'll be grateful. If you hadn't found
it, it would still be lost. Look, up ahead.
SELENA
Yes, I see it. Shining like a jewel.
SUPERGIRL
That's home.
P.O.V. OF SUPERGIRL AND SELENA
Argo City floats ahead, seeming to welcome them, its lights, growing brighter and brighter as they return with the lost Source
FADE OUT:
THE END
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