Épisode Sacrifice S05E03 - Smallville Saison 5

A young man, named Gabriel, is pointing his gun at a gaurd.

Gabriel : Take out your key.

Guard : You're out of your mind.

Gabriel : I wouldn't expect you to understand. Look, just take out your key.

The second guard is lying on the floor. He watches the other guard begin to remove his key.

2nd Guard : No, no!

Gabriel : Do it!

2nd Guard : Tom!

Gabriel : You know what to do.

Gabriel puts a key in a slot.

2nd Guard : Don't do it, Tom.

The Guard, Tom, shakes his head. Gabriel points his gun at the second guard.

Gabriel : I'll kill him.

2nd Guard : Don't listen to him! We can't let this happen!

Tom moves to put the key into the slot.

2nd Guard : Tom, no!

Gabriel : On three. One! Two! Three!

The guard turns his key.

Gabriel : I'm sorry.

He shoots the first guard and turns around, shooting the second. He then types something on a keyboard and the computer screen says "access approved".

Cut to the Talon alleyway. Day. Chloe is on her cell phone, walking to her car.

Chloe : Hey, Gabriel! I'm surprised MIT even let you converse with us pedestrian Met U-ers so early.

Gabriel : Chloe, you have to get out of town.

Chloe : I've been trying to since yesterday. I'm surprised that the necessities take so long to pack.

Gabriel : Listen to me, Chloe. Pretty soon, it's all going to be over.

Chloe : I know it sucks to say goodbye, but if Smallville managed without their cyber wizard, then I'm sure they'll survive without their star reporter.

Gabriel : Chloe, you are the one person who will understand why I had to do it. You have to make people realize it wasn't my choice. It was the only way.

Chloe : Gabriel, what are you talking about?

Gabriel : How much time did I spend at the Torch helping you chase the big story? Well, in an hour, you are finally gonna get it.

Chloe : What happens in an hour?

Gabriel : Smallville's finally gonna be gone forever.

Gabriel hangs up and presses some buttons on the computer. On the wall, a digital clock reads one hour. It begins to count down.

Computer : Cowntown commencing.

We see "Defcon 1" flashing on the computer screen. A window opens and we see a missile poised for blast off.

Opening Credits

Kent Farm. Day. Inside Clark's room we see Clark asleep. The alarm goes off. He turns over and we see Lana is next to him.

Lana : Hi.

Clark : Hi.

Lana : That was the best night's sleep I have had in weeks.

Radio Announcer : Thanks for listening this morning. It's six-thirty on a--

Clark : Oh, God!

Lana : Oh my God!

Clark : How did we fall asleep?

Lana : I told you we shoulda gone to the Talon!

Clark : Geez, but--ow! Ow!

He hit his foot on something.

Clark : Ow, that hurt so much! Alright, look, okay, my dad isn't going to be up for about fifteen minutes and we gotta get outta here. Well, you gotta get outta here.

Lana : You sure? 'cause sticking around for breakfast sounds like fun.

Clark : What?!

Lana : Pass me my shoe. "I won't fall asleep. I promise." What else are we going to do at three o'clock in the morning?

Clark : Look, you aren't mad, are you?

Lana : I'm furious.

They kiss.

Clark : Come on.

They sneak down the stairs, but his parents are in the kitchen.

Jonathan : Hey, Clark. What the---

Lana : Mr. and Mrs. Kent.

Clark : I can explain.

Lana : Clark and I made this decision together. So, if you are angry, you should be angry at both of us.

Martha : We're not mad, but this is, umm--you're both in new territory.

Jonathan : Lana, this is about a whole lot more than just you. So, if you don't mind, I would like to speak to my son alone, please.

Lana leaves.

Jonathan : You, sit down.

Clark goes to sit down.

Clark : Just remember I'm eighteen and I've been in love with Lana since I was seven, so it's not like we rushed into something here.

Martha : Please tell me you were at least safe.

Clark : Yeah. Yeah, Mom.

Jonathan : Safe? Safe has got nothing to do with this. You shouldn't be doing anything like this, especially under our roof.

Clark : Well, like you didn't do it?

Jonathan : Clark! There were a lot of conversations I didn't have with you because I didn't think I needed to have them.

Clark : Because you guys always think I'm not normal.

Martha : No, no, no. It's just that...you're so much more vulnerable without your powers.

Chloe : Knock, knock! Okay! I just passed Lana flying out of here. What would she be doing here at six-thrity in the...ohh.

Martha : So, Chloe. Um, Clark said you were off to Met U today. Looks like you're getting an early start.

Chloe : Not without one last why-me moment, though. I got a cryptic call form Gabriel Duncan.

Clark : The tech guy from the Torch?

Chloe : Yeah, well, I guess today is my lucky day. Because he said that Smallville is going to be history in exactly fifty-three minutes.

Jonathan : Have you spoken to Sheriff Adams about this, Chloe?

Chloe : I think I've used up my limit of cry wolves with her.

Jonathan : Why don't you find Gabriel? I'll speak to the sheriff myself.

Cut to the Talon. Day. Lana enters her apartment.

Lex : Early morning or late night?

Lana : What the hell are you doing here?

Lex : I've been admiring your sketches. I didn't mean to pry.

Lana : No, of course not. You were just going through my things to get better acquainted. You can't just come in here like this!

Lex : Lana, I didn't mean to rattle you. There was no answer, so I started to get concerned.

Lana : Lex, I'm fine.

Lex : Are you sure about that? Look, I just want to talk about what you saw that day.

Lana : I'm sorry. Weren't you the person who told me I was hallucinating last time I mentioned a spaceship?

She opens her door for him to leave.

Lex : Lana, I might have appeard skeptical, but I still believed in you. That's why I send an expert to the site. Whatever caused that crater was not a meteor. Have you talked to anyone else about this? Like Clark?

Lana : You know, when you start rambling about spaceships and aliens, people kind of look at you funny.

Lex : Well, they must not have the same faith in you that I do. You're not crazy.

He leaves.

Highway. Day. We see a military vehicle driving up. The police have the road blocked off.

Jonathan walks up.

Jonathan : Sheriff Adams, may I speak to you for a minute?

Sheriff Adams : Nothing to worry about, Mr. Kent. It's just a routine drill.

Jonathan : It's a routine drill at the Hamstead Farm, huh? Wouldn't have anything to do with the missile silo in their back field, would it?

Sheriff Adams : Why don't you go on back to your truck, Mr. Kent?

Jonathan : Look, it's no secret that the government put dozens of these things out here, but I just thought they'd decommision them after the Cold War.

Sheriff Adams : Look, Mr. Kent. Thank you. We have it all under control. Thank you very much. Why don't you relax, sir, and let us do our job?

Back at the missile silo, Gabriel is typing on the computer. The clock reads "00:43:48".

In the hallway of a missile silo, military personel enter. They are armed and ready.

They enter the control room to find it very much empty. Sheriff Adams enters as well.

Sheriff Adams : All officers can stand down. There isn't even a missile in here. This is a false alarm.

Miliatary officer : Not exactly. That signal did not come from in here. It was rerouted through at least fifteen silos that are still active in the country. He could be in any one of them.

Cut to Gabriel. On the computer he is enterning "Smallville".

Clark and Chloe walk up to a house. Day. Clark knocks on the door.

Clark : Gabriel!

Clark tries the door and finds it locked.

Clark : It's locked.

Chloe holds up a credit card.

Chloe : Call it plan B. It's for those of us who can't crush metal with our bare hands.

Chloe uses the credit card to unlock the door. They enter.

Chloe : Hello? Gabriel? Is anybody here?

They see a picture of Gabriel's dad in military regalia.

Chloe : Find anything?

Clark, looking at some documents: Does the fact that Gabriel's father was a not-so retired military colonel count?These briefs are only a few weeks old.

Chloe : A colonel with an aero-space engineering degree from Perdue? Do you think that he might be the light house keeper for the local nuclear missiles?

They open some double doors.

Chloe : Whoa. Wall of Weird times a hundred.

We see that every inch of the room is covered with pictures.

Clark : Looks like Gabriel is giving you a run for your money.

Chloe : Um, yeah, I'd say he lapped me a few times. Why would he be so obsessed with meteor freaks? Oh, come on. Journalistic couriosity is one thing, but papier macheing your walls is another.

Clark : Chloe, conventionalists, shouldn't that have been a red flag?

Chloe : I just--if Gabriel was so determined to go atomic on the meteor epidemic, then why didn't his dad stop him?

Clark : Looks like he tried.

We see the body of Gabriel's dad. He has been shot.

Cut to Luthor Corp. Day. Inside, a team is working on the spaceship.

Lex : I expected results by now.

Scientist : That laser has technology so cutting edge that even the military doesn't know about it. We've tried every option.

Lex : Luthor Corp. doesn't believe in finite solutions.

Scientist : I'm not sure you understand, sir. We've used every chemical compound that exists, every alloy of metal, every method known to man.

Lex : Which would clearly suggest that this craft isn't known to man. I recommend that you and your team start thinking out of the box.

Scientist : I'm trying to explain--

Lex : For every question in this universe there is an answer. Now, if you find that task too challenging, I'll recruit someone who doesn't.

He crouches down so that we see the spaceship's undercarriage. There is a black liquid dripping from it.

Lex : Find a way in. Wait--I didn't see this before.

Scientist : That's because it wasn't there.

We see a symbol that looks similar to a Z.

Cut to Clark and Chloe walking down the street. Day.

Clark : I don't know how they are going to check fifteen silos in forty minutes.

Chloe : Well, neither can you anymore, Clark, if that's what you're thinking. It's kinda rough being regular flesh and blood, don't you think?

Clark : Never stopped you. You know, of all people in Smallville, you are the only one he warned to get out.

Chloe : He just wants me to tell his story.

Clark : Either way, he trusts you. Maybe we don't need to search every silo.

Gabriel's cell phone rings.

Gabriel : Hello?

Chloe : Gabriel, hi. I, uh, I need your help. I started to leave town like you said, but then I was treally freaked out when I was driving and then this dog ran out in the road and I--

Gabriel : Chloe, slow down. What happened?

Chloe : And I guess, I guess I must've over cranked it and I ran my car into a ditch. And I can't get it started now and I'm really scared. Can you help me?

Gabriel : Where are you?

Chloe : Uh, Route 87, near the Old Mill.

Gabriel : Okay, just hang on. I'll be there as soon as I can.

Cut to Lionel's padded cell. Lex slams Lionel against the wall.

Lex : Tell me what the symbols mean! I'm not buying it, Dad. You're in there. You've been obsessively drawing them for weeks. They are identical to the markings on the ship.

Lionel : They'll never open it. Only he can open it.

Cut to Route 87. Day. Chloe is by the side of the road. A motorcycle drives up. It's Gabriel.

Chloe : Gabriel, I'm sorry! Everything happened so fast. I didn't know who else to call.

Gabriel : It's alright, you can come back with me. You'll be safe there.

Clark comes out of nowhere.

Clark : Gabriel! Which silo did you activate?

Gabriel turns to Chloe.

Gabriel : I trusted you.

Clark : You have your reasons for doing this, but killing everyone's not the answer.

Gabriel : You're wrong, Clark! It's the only answer.

Gabriel takes a gun out and shoots Clark in the chest.

Chloe becomes hysterical.

Chloe : Clark! Clark! No, you can't just do this! No! Clark! Clark!

Gabriel forces her onto the motorcycle.

Later, Clark is rushed into the ER.

EMT : I've got a gunshot found on Route 87. Male, eighteen, gunshot wound to the chest. Got massive bleeding, vitals aren't stable.

Doctor : We need to enterbate. Prep him to the OR immediately.

Martha : Clark!

Jonathan : What is it, doc?

Doctor : I can't tell until I open him up, but it looks like a bullet peirced his lungs.

Jonathan : A bullet?

Doctor : Sorry, I'm going to have to ask you to stay in the waiting area.

Inside the control room, the computer flashes "Defcon 1"

Chloe : Gabriel, Clark could die out there.

Gabriel : In twenty minutes, none of it will matter, Chloe.

Computer : Missile trajectory locked.

Chloe : You're going to kill everyone in Smallville! How could you do that?

Gabriel : It's not that difficult. They fail-safed the program back in 1979. It only takes a moderate genius to bypass it. You don't watch your dad do the same drill for ten years and not pick up a thing or two. Don't look at me like that, Chloe. You're safe here, okay? Besides, you're getting what you always wanted. It's the story of a lifetime.

Chloe : You really think I care about that right now?

Gabriel : You should care! Last meteor shower left ten times as much rock to infect people as the last one did. Pretty soon, there's going to be more psychos running around this town. This is the only way to end it. It's my one chance to be a hero.

Chloe : So, you're exterminating a few meteor freaks by sacrificing the lives of innocent people?!

Gabriel : Innocent? Every single one of those mutants was innocent before the meteor showers, but Dad always warned me to stay away from the rocks, because they turn people into mutants.

Chloe : Your dad? Were those his articals on the wall?

Gabriel : He tried to warn people. He said the meteors were destroying the town. No one would listen and during the last one, he became one.

Chloe : You know, a lot of people think special abilities are a gift. You didn't have to kill him just because he wasn't normal anymore.

Gabriel : He asked me to. No one wants to live like that, Chloe. Pretty soon, no one will have to.

Inside the hospital, Clark is on a hospital bed. Lana enters. She sits down beside him.

Lana : I don't even know if you can hear me, but I need you to know that from the first moment that I saw you, I knew that no one could make me happier than you. But, I also knew that you would never change. You would always be running around, trying to save the day. All those times I pushed away was because I knew this day would come.

Clark opens his eyes, looking at her. The then flatlines.

The doctor and several nurses enter.

Doctor, to Lana: You're not supposed to be in here.

Nurse : Please, you need to clear the room.

Lana is forced ou tof the room and the doctor and nurses begin to work on Clark. The doctor uses a defribulator on him.

Doctor : Clear!

Cut to a very gray pair of eyes. They return to their natural color.

Cut back to the OR where they are still working on Clark as Lana helplessly watches.

Cut to Lionel who sits up in his padded cell.

Cut back to the OR. They are pumping air into Clark's lungs.

Cut back to Lionel who is looking ahead. He punches through the glass window of his cell, shattering it completely. He steps out of the cell and superspeeds off.

Cut back to the OR. Clark is still flatlined.

Doctor : We're calling it. Time of death: 7:18 AM.

Lana breaks down into sobs and runs to him, touching his face.

The nurse gently pulls her away as the doctor puts the sheet over Clark's head.

Jonathan and Martha are in the waiting room, holding hands. They see Lana walking down the hall in tears. They stand up.

Martha : Oh, no!

The doctor walks in.

Doctor : Mr. and Mrs. Kent, we did everything we could.

Martha : No!

Doctor : But, we lost him.

Martha begins to sob and Jonathan holds her.

Nurse : Doctor, there's a problem with the Kent boy.

Everybody heads back to the OR to find that Clark is missing.

Cut to the control room.

Computer : Two minutes 'til launch.

Chloe sees the gaurd's dead body on the ground. She manages to untie herself. She takes the gaurd's gun.

Gabriel presses some buttons on the computer. Chloe hits him, knocking him away from the controls. She begins to type frantically on the keyboard. The computer flashes "access denied". She runs over to a window and sees the missile, prepared to launch.

Chloe : Oh, God.

Gabriel comes to and points the gun at her. She turns around and hits him. They struggle.

Gabriel : Do you not understand? This is the only way!

The gun goes off and blood splatters. Gabriel has been shot; he falls to the floor.

Computer : 5, 4, 3, 2, ignition.

The missile launches.

Cut to Clark. He's lying down in a places with a bluish lighting. He opens his eyes and stands up. He's in the Fortress of Solitude.

We see a form standing some distance away. It's Jor-El.

Jor-El : Hello, Kal-El.

Clark : How do you know to call me that?

Jor-El : You're my son.

Clark : Jor-El?

Jor-El : I hoped the time has come that you would call me father.

Clark : I was--I was just at the hospital. How did, how did you get me here?

Jor-El : The portal in the cave. When this body was activated by the crystal, it became an oracle of Kryptonian knowledge, a vessel to inhabit if ever you should need me.

We see he has taken over Lionel's body.

Jor-El : That time is now.

Clark : Am I dead?

Jor-El : Your mortal journey is over, yes, but your eminent destiny is too important to sacrifice. You will return with all your natural gifts. Unfortunately, this rectification does not come without a price. The life of someone close to you will be exchanged for your's.

Clark : No. No, I would never ask for that.

Jor-El : You already did. When you decided to relinquish your powers and disobey me. It was your choice.

Clark : Then just don't bring me back!

Jor-El : It's too late. For everything in nature, there is a balance. The life force that has been returned to you will soon be taken from..from someone you love. You're about to face your darkest hour, my son. But, remember: The lessons that we learn from pain are the ones that make us the strongest.

He hugs Clark and from his hands, an energy emits.

Jor-El : Always know that I love you.

Cut to the highway. Clark superspeeds down it. He sees the missile launching. He super speeds in it's direction, taking flight to catch it in the air. He grabs hold of it as it soars upward into space. Clark rips out the missile's nuclear component and hurls it into the void of space. It explodes.

Meanwhile, Chloe is seen in the control room crying. She then looks at the computer screen which reads "missile malfunction". She smiles.

Chloe : Clark.

At the Kent home, Jonathan is on the phone.

Jonathan : The hospital lost our son! Look, if I had any idea what happened, I wouldn't have had to call the police, now would I?

Listen, what I want you to do is: get a hold of Sheriff Adams and send--

Clark enters looking battered, but very much alive.

Jonathan : I'll call you back.

Martha : Oh, Clark!

She hugs him.

Jonathan : Son, they told us you were dead.

He and Clark hug.

Clark : I was.

Jonathan : Jor-El.

Clark : Yeah.

Martha : He returned your powers, didn't he?

Clark : I'm not human anymore. It's the only way I could come back.

Jonathan : We heard about a missile malfunction. You stopped it, didn't you? It's not easy to sacrifice the things you want the most to save other people. We're so proud of you, Clark.

Clark : The sacrifive would've been not coming back at all.

Jonathan : Son, after all of those threats, Jor-El decided to offer you, to give you your powers back. He didn't ask for anything in return?

Clark : No.

There's a knock at the door. Lana enters.

Lana : Mr. and Mrs. Kent?

Clark steps into the hallways so Lana can see him,

Lana : Clark.

She runs to him and jumps into his arms.

Cut to the Luthor Mansion. Night. Lex is in his study. Lana enters.

Lex : Lana, I heard about Clark's resurection. You know, I've never really believed in miracles, but I've certainly done my share of asking for them today.

Lana : Me too, but I think that we have different reasons.

She opens her purse and pulls out a blue folder. She hands it to him.

Lana : Clark's medical file.

Lex : That's confidential.

Lana : I heard you asked for it at the hospital. All of his test results came back normal, when are you going to realize, Lex, that he's just like the rest of us?

Lex : Do you really believe that or is that what you have to tell yourself to stay in a relationship with him? You've had our doubts about him too. You can't deny it.

Lana : I was wrong. Believe me, there is nothing unusual about Clark. Except his ability to see the good in people who don't deserve it.

Lex : I think you're forgetting something, Lana. Whatever new lie he told you, however he swept it under the rug, a normal person doesn't rise from the dead.

Lana walks out and Lionel walks in.

Lionel : Aren't you going to give your old dad a hug?

Lex : I was told you were missing from Belle Reve. Man, I don't understand. You've been nearly catatonic for weeks.

Lionel : Didn't I just overhear you say you've been looking for miracles all day? Looks like I'm it.

Lex : So maybe you can tell me why you've been wondering around mumbling things like Krypton and Kal-El.

Lionel : Krypton, Kal-El. I don't--the last thing I remember is standing here, arguing with you.

Lex : That was weeks ago. Okay, you don't recognize these?

Lex lifts up a rug which reveals the markings on the floor, which Lana had found Lionel carving weeks before.

Lionel : Looks like something from the cave. What is it?

Lex : I found you carving them with a cork screw.

Lionel : Wasn't I creative? I wish that I could unlock the laberynth of of my subconcious, but I'm sorry to disappoint you, son.

Lex : I have my father back. What's to disappoint? If anything, I say this is cause for celebration.

At the Kent Barn...

Clark is sitting alone, thinking. Chloe enters.

Chloe : When Kansas didn't merge with Oklahoma today, I kinda guessed you were involved.

Clark : Looks like you're okay.

Chloe : You don't look too bad, yourself. For a dead guy. I heard what happened at the hospital. You went and got your powers back, didn't you?

Clark : I didn't have a choice.

Chloe : I know how much you've dreamt of having a bland, generic, mundane life. Being normal is higly overrated. And besides, it makes my whole sidekick role easier if you can bring super duper strength to the table. I mean, not that we didn't make a great team out there today and minus the whole part where I was kidnapped and you were shot. So, are you healing or how does that work exactly?

Clark lifts up his shirt to reveal his healed gunshot wound.

Chloe : Wow.

She touches it.

Chloe : Unscathed on the surface. That's not what's going on underneath, is it, Clark?

Clark : I guess I never will be able to escape who I really am. Back to the lies and hoping no one will ever ask to see the scar.

Chloe : Namely Lana.

Clark : We've never talked about Lana--

Chloe : That's because we don't have to, Clark. I'm a big girl now. I do have one confession: I really liked being the only one who knew about, you know, you. For lack of a cheesier word, it just made it special, but if you honestly believe you can stay with Lana and not tell her, I think you're seriously kidding yourself.

Clark : I don't have a choice. I can't expect her to react like you did.

Chloe : But, don't you think you owe her the choice?

Clark : I can't take that risk. I've risked too much already and now someone else is going to have to pay for it.

Chloe : Clark, is everything okay? What's going on?

Clark : I never should have given up my powers. Why did I listen to him? Chloe, I think I've made a terrible mistake.

FADE TO BLACK

End