"Combat"
Original Air Date on March 22nd, 2007
[ An audience is chanting, in anticipation of a fight. The fight promoters saunters into the arena, putting on a show. ]
Richter Maddox: Hey, fight fans! Are you ready?
[ Cheers and applause ]
Richter Maddox: Tonight's undercard is a special twin matchup introducing two new combatants. In this corner, the voluptuous ... the vicious ... Vixen!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Richter Maddox: And now ... entering our arena for the very first time ... ladies and gentlemen, please welcome ... the all-powerful, the all-american ... Man of Steel!
[ Cheers and applause ]
[ Somewhere in the building, away from the fight, Athena comes out of a shower and starts to dress. Just beyond the shadows, a man lurks, watching her. ]
Athena: You're paid to keep an eye on the fights, not me.
Man: The view in here's a lot better. Security guard by day, Catholic schoolgirl by night ... you're a woman of many talents, Athena.
Athena: And a woman of many desires. Unfortunately, none of them are you.
Man: Taking off early?
Athena: Rough day. How's the fight going?
Man: It will all be over soon. Big guy just showed up. He's an animal. Where'd Maddox find him?
Athena: Outside a bar in Omaha busting up a group of Hell's Angels.
Athena: Next time I catch you peeping at me ... I'll put you in a cage with him.
[ There is a huge crash, and an alarm starts blaring. Athena grabs a g*n and runs towards the commotion. ]
Athena: [ To a man running the opposite way in a long hallway ] What the hell's going on here?
Technician: He's tearing up the place. He just k*lled Maddox!
Athena: Who?!
Technician: Titan!
[ Inside the right cage, a huge brawler - Titan - is throwing around a combatant and when he lands, we can see that it is Clark. Titan has clearly gotten the better of the fight so far. ]
Titan: Time to die, Kryptonian.
[ 46 hours earlier. ]
Clark: [ On the phone ] Thanks, Oliver. Yeah, I'll call you if I find anything. Bye.
Martha: [ Reading the newspaper ] "Police are baffled over a recent string of bizarre citizens' arrests. Numerous career criminals have been mysteriously delivered to stations throughout the metro area, in most cases unconscious." Clark, do you know anything about this?
Clark: Sounds like some bad guys have finally been brought to justice.
Martha: Well, some of them were hurt pretty badly. That sounds like a little more than justice.
Clark: They were meteor-infected and put up a fight.
Martha: I know you're trying to help, but you can't go about it this way. It's ... it's not right.
Clark: You know what's not right, mom, is staying up here and doing nothing when I could be out there making a difference. Now, I got to go. Oliver gave me a tip. I got to follow up on it.
Martha: Clark ... I know how difficult Lex and Lana's wedding was for you, but ever since that day, it's like you've become another person.
Clark: Why? Because I'm not distracted by my feelings for Lana anymore? That I could finally focus on what I need to do?
Martha: Sweetheart, you should never consider what you felt to be a distraction. Love is a natural human emotion.
Clark: Then maybe my mistake was having those feelings at all. I'm not human, mom. It's time I stopped pretending to be.
[ Chloe and Clark are watching a video feed of the fight club on her laptop. ]
Chloe: Clark can you believe this? A krypto fight club on the internet? How come nobody else knows about this?
Clark: According to Oliver, getting the link and the password costs more than most people make in a year.
[ On the video, cheers and applause. ]
[ As they watch, Titan ends the fight with a huge blade that slides out of his arm band, which he plunges into the back of his opponent. ]
Chloe: Clark, he just k*lled that guy.
Clark: Chloe, I need you to trace the link back to the source.
Chloe: I'm trying, but they're bouncing it off about a billion different proxy servers. I mean, whoever's running this operation made sure that no one would be able to find him. Didn't Oliver and your superpals give you anything else?
Clark: It was a short conversation, Chloe. I've been kind of busy lately. All he said was he thought the location was somewhere nearby.
Chloe: The security on this stream is off the charts. I mean, I can't record it, I can't download it. I can't ...
[ On the video, more cheers and applause ]
Richter Maddox: [ On the video ] Hey, hey, fight fans! Your winner and still undisputed champion ... the one, the only ... Titan!
Clark: Freeze that frame. What is that?
[ On the freeze frame they see a closeup of Titan, with a cleary visible tattoo that looks to be Kryptonian symbols. ]
Chloe: Is that Kryptonian?
Clark: It's a prison tattoo. Chloe, Titan isn't meteor-infected. He's from the Phantom Zone.
Lex: I thought we'd end the evening with a toast. We've officially been married one week. The baby's safe. It's just sparkling cider. It's not quite the same as celebrating on the beach in Boquete, but I guess it will have to do.
Lana: Lex, I'm sorry. I know how much you wanted to go on this honeymoon, but, like I said before, I don't think that flying off to some foreign country is good for the baby.
Lex: [ Chuckles softly ] Are you sure that's the only reason you gave up a week in paradise? Ever since the wedding, I feel like you've been pulling away from me.
Lana: Everything happened so quickly ... this pregnancy, the wedding. I still feel like I'm trying to catch up. I just need a little time.
Lex: [ Sighs ] Take as much time as you need. We have the rest of our lives together.
[ Lex leans in to kiss her, and she turns her head at the last minute as Lex kisses her cheek. ]
Lex: Look, I'm sure things will be different once the baby's born. Right? [ Toasting ] To our new family.
[ As Lana drinks, Lex watches her closely, then drinks from his own glass. ]
[ Chloe is sitting in her apartment when Clark superspeeds in, knocking over her coffee in the process. ]
Chloe: Clark ... slow down. I don't have enough money to hire a full-time maid to clean up every time you decide to blow in.
Clark: What did you find?
Chloe: The URL and the password that Oliver gave you are both null and void, which means that the fight-club promoters must be rotating them in order to maximize security and profit.
Clark: [ Yelling ] You have nothing!
Chloe: Don't bite my head off. You know I always have something up my sleeve. I'm starting to think that super-sleuthing might be my latent krypto power.
[ Chloe chuckles at her own joke, but Clark isn't in the mood to be amused. ]
Chloe: Okay, so it turns out that our Billy Idol look-alike is actually a meteor-infected Belle Reve resident. Now, this is the weird thing. After he was k*lled in that cage, he was returned back to his padded cell. The orderlies found his body this morning.
Clark: So if we find who got him in and out of the hospital, he'll lead us straight to the fight club ... and to Titan.
Chloe: Already on it. See? Your sidekick isn't completely useless.
Clark: I'm sorry I snapped, Chloe. I'm just worried that Titan might be a bigger thr*at than I thought. Your friend down at Metropolis precinct helped me find these. [ He sets a portfolio of photographs down on the table ] It's Titan's victims. They were all found between a crater outside of Omaha, where I think he landed, and Metropolis.
Chloe: He left the same wound on all the bodies, and ... and they're all fighters.
Clark: I know why ... the tattoo on Titan's arm. From what I could tell, it said he was a warrior, enhanced for combat. Ever since he's been here, he's been looking for a fight.
Chloe: What better challenge for a brawl-loving Zoner than a rumble at a krypto fight club?
[ Lois walks into the apartment. ]
Lois: Hey. Can you believe this? I couldn't find proof of the chupacabra in the everglades, so now my editor wants to downsize me. If I don't come up with an article in the next 48 hours, I can say adios to my weekly paycheck.
[ Clark and Chloe just look at her, suddenly silent. ]
Lois: [ Sighs ] Is that a story?
Chloe: No.
Lois: Okay, look, normally I would be hands-off, but this puppy needs a bone. Please, cuz. I'll owe you big-time.
Chloe: There's no story for the Inquisitor here, Lois. It's just a dead end.
Clark: I'm sure after a shower and a cappuccino, you'll come up with something in no time.
Chloe: Clark's right. We'll give you some room.
[ Clark and Chloe leave the apartment. ]
Lois: [ Sighs ] I could have used a little help.
[ She sighs, and picks up a picture that Clark had been looking at, but left in the trash. ]
Lois: "Fr-44." Fort Ryan, hangar 44.
[ Lois walks into Hangar 44 at Fort Ryan, dressed in a full length red leather suit. Before she can get very far, she is met by Athena. ]
Athena: Hey, Puss in Boots. Where you going?
Lois: Whoa. Hey, my car overheated on the way to work, and I just needed some water for my radiator.
Athena: What are you all dressed up for, kitten?
Lois: I'm a dancer ... at the Phoenix.
Athena: Strip club down the road?
Lois: Yeah. Look, I go onstage in 15 minutes. I could sure use your help.
Athena: This place ... is a little off the beaten path. How'd you even know we were back here?
Lois: My dad's a General. Before the base was mothballed and sold off, I came here all the time with him.
Athena: A General, huh? I bet he's proud of how his little girl turned out.
Lois: [ Chuckles ] Hmm. Come on ... help a girl out? I'll leave your name at the front door. You can watch my act. I do a k*ller stars-and-stripes routine.
[ As she says this, Lois moves closer to Athena, trying to seduce her into letting down her guard, until they are standing toe to toe. ]
Athena: I've always been a sucker for a girl in boots.
Lois: Lucky me.
Athena: Wait right here, kitten. I'll be right back.
[ As soon as Athena is gone, Lois pulls out a digital camera and starts snapping pictures of the video equipment and the blood-stained cage arena. She turns the camera and sees Athena on the the LCD screen, pointing a g*n at her. ]
Athena: You're a very nosy girl, kitty cat.
[ Lois swipes the g*n away and delivers a round-house punch before Athena can react. ]
Athena: Pretty nice moves ... for a stripper.
Lois: Oh, honey, I learned even better ones as an army brat.
[ They fight, but it is over quickly, with Athena unconscious on the floor and Lois standing over her. ]
Lois: For your information, my daddy is proud of me ... kitty cat.
[ She stands up, only to see Maddox pointing the g*n at her instead. ]
Richter Maddox: If you were my little girl, I'd be proud of you, too. [ Chuckles ]
Chloe: So, I think I found our Vince McMahon wannabe, and he has total access to an endless supply of meteor freaks. Meet Richter Maddox, Executive Administrator at Belle Reve.
Clark: How's this guy keeping Titan locked up in Belle Reve?
Chloe: Actually, our jolly mean giant isn't in the Belle Reve yearbook. He must be freelancing.
Clark: So Maddox isn't just pulling fighters from the hospital, he's using outside talent? If I can talk my way into that ring, I'll find Titan.
Chloe: Clark, these bouts are televised live. You can't risk showing people your face.
Clark: I don't havea choice, Chloe.
Chloe: Clark, he can k*ll you.
Clark: Not if I k*ll him first.
[ Chloe looks at Clark with great concern for his new-found attitude. ]
Lex: Keep me updated on your progress. You have full discretion, Bartlett. Make it happen.
Bartlett: Yes, sir.
[ Lex is looking at a list of 33.1 facilities worldwide, and next to most of the locations it says, "Compromised." He clicks on one of the facilities and begins watching surveillance footage from this facility. On it, Green Arrow walks into the picture, points his crossbow at the camera, and then the picture turns to static. Lex closes his laptop, checks his watch, then goes into Lana's bedroom. ]
Lex: Lana?
Lana: Lex. [ Gasps ] Please. Please.
[ Lex finds Lana lying on the ground, writhing in pain. ]
Lex: Lana. Lana. Oh, my God.
Lana: [ Gasping ] There's something wrong.
[ Lana writhes in pain on the floor, then suddenly passes out. ]
Lex: Somebody help me! Someone!
[ Lana wakes up in the Smallville Medical Center, dazed and unsure of where she is. She can see Lex outside her room in the hallway, and pulls herself out of bed to reach him. ]
Lana: Lex.
[ She knocks a tray off a table, alerting Lex that she is awake. ]
Lex: Lana.
Dr. Albright: Mrs. Luthor, you shouldn't get out of bed yet.
Lex: Lana, you just passed out. You're at Smallville Medical Center.
Lana: Where's Dr. Langston? Is the baby all right?
Lex: He didn't return my page, so I called in Dr. Albright. She's been my family doctor for years.
Dr. Albright: You're going to be fine, Mrs. Luthor. You just need to get some rest.
Lana: Is the baby all right?
Lex: Could you give us a minute?
[ The doctor leaves, and Lana maintains a look of disbelief at the news she knows is coming. ]
Lana: Lex.
Lex: Lana. There were complications. We lost the baby.
[ Lana breaks down completely, sobbing and clutching Lex's jacket. ]
Lana: No.
Lex: I'm sorry.
Lana: No.
[ Maddox leaves a side door of the Belle Reve building and walks to his car. Before he can get in, Clark is at his side. ]
Richter Maddox: Oh! [ Gasps ] You scared me. Where did you come from?
Clark: You wouldn't believe me if I told you.
Richter Maddox: I've had a long day, so if you're looking to check in, the admitting desk is in the front lobby.
Clark: I'm looking for you, Mr. Maddox. I want to fight.
Richter Maddox: Oh. What did I do to you?
Clark: No. I mean I want to be in your fight club.
[ Maddox's jaw drops at the mention of his fight club, then he chuckles nervously and pulls it together. ]
Richter Maddox: Uh, you must have me confused with someone else. It happens. I have that kind of face.
Clark: I know about the fight club. I know you're not only using patients from Belle Reve. I want in.
Richter Maddox: Ow. Okay, look. The only place I can get you into is this psychiatric facility.
[ Clark slams him up against the car door. ]
Richter Maddox: Ugh! [ Breathing heavily ] You're clearly a very sick person, and you need help. If treatment's not what you're looking for ... then I suggest you back off.
[ Clark throws Maddox off of a nearby car, and when he picks himself up off the ground, he reaches for a p*stol and points it at Clark. ]
Richter Maddox: You're barking at the wrong dog, Jethro. Now put your tail between your legs and get lost.
Clark: Not until you let me in that cage.
[ Clark advances again, and this time Maddox fires the g*n. The camera swings around slowly to reveal Clark with an outstretched hand, holding the intact b*llet. He holds the b*llet out to Maddox and gives it to him. ]
Richter Maddox: [ Laughing ] Yeah. Now, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?
Clark: You haven't seen anything yet.
Richter Maddox: No, I bet not. Now, I thought with your pretty face, you've never gone a round in your life. But now I can see it in your eyes. Yeah, there it is. You got some fight in you, don't you? Welcome to the show. [ Chuckles ]
[ Maddox and Clark walk into the fight club arena together. ]
Richter Maddox: Yes! Hey, what do you think of the name "the Man of Steel"?
Clark: "Man of steel"?
Richter Maddox: Yeah, I give all the fighters their monikers. Trust me kid, it's a name that no one's ever going to forget. I got a feeling about these things. Some people say I'm psychic. Now, remember. Play it up for the cameras. People are forking over top dollar to see these fights online, all right?
Clark: Where's the crowd?
Richter Maddox: Crowd? What crowd? We don't have a crowd. Can't have a crowd if you want to keep this secret. Besides, who needs an audience when you got 50,000 watts of sound? Check that out. I just bought that.
[ Record scratching ]
Richter Maddox: [ Chuckles ] Gate! Now, here's how it works. We sell the spectacle to the "high rollers" online. And the noise pumps up the fighters for the fight.
Clark: Where's Titan?
Richter Maddox: Titan? Unh-unh. That's the main event. I want to warm you up with something easy. It won't be much of a fight, but then again, it doesn't matter because all the fans want to see is somebody die.
Clark: Then who am I fighting?
Richter Maddox: Ah. [ Whistles ]
[ On the other side of the cage, Lois is led into the arena, and turns to see Clark. ]
Lois: Get off me! I hope you like the taste of vinyl, honey, because you're about to eat a fistful of red patent leather.
Clark: Lois?
Lois: Smallville?
[ Audience chanting ]
Technician: Stand by on one. We're online ... in 3 ... 2 ... 1.
Richter Maddox: Hey, fight fans! Are you ready? Tonight's undercard is a special twin matchup introducing two new combatants. In this corner, the voluptuous ... the vicious ... Vixen! [ Cheers and applause as Lois enters the arena ] Yummy. And now ... entering our arena for the very first time ... ladies and gentlemen, please welcome ... the all-powerful, the all-american ... Man of Steel!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Richter Maddox: I can't wait. Ladies. Good luck, pretty boy.
[ Maddox clears out of the cage, and Clark and Lois begin to circle each other, trying to figure out what to do. ]
Clark: Lois, what are you doing here?
Lois: Trying to stay alive. Punch me.
Clark: What?
Lois: Look, not too hard, just enough to make it look real. All they want is a fight. So when I hit the mat, Maddox will come back in. We make our getaway.
Clark: I'm not going to punch you, Lois.
Lois: Fine. Then you take the dive.
[ The audience murmurs as she lands a punch, but she recoils at the pain in her hand from punching Clark in the stomach. ]
Lois: That is not just a six-pack under your shirt. That's a steel kegger.
[ Audience booing ]
[ Outside the cage, Titan appears and recognizes Clark immediately. ]
Titan: Kal-El.
[ Clark uses his heat vision to take out the broadcast equipment, sending it up in flames as the technicians scramble. ]
Technician: Whoa! Wait, wait. The light feed went down. [ Alarm blaring ]
[ Titan breaks into the cage and when Maddox tries to intervene, Titan throws him across the cage where he lands heavily. A technician standing nearby looks down at Maddox - he is dead. ]
Technician: Show's over!
Clark: Lois ... run.
[ Athena meets up with the technician in the hallway, in the scene replayed from Act 1. ]
Athena: What the hell's going on here?
Technician: He's tearing up the place. He just k*lled Maddox!
Athena: Who?!
Technician: Titan!
[ Inside the ring, Titan has thrown Clark against the cage, and seeing this, Lois jumps onto Titan's back, only to be thrown across the cage and land unconscious. Titan advances on her, but Clark stops him. ]
Clark: Leave her alone!
Titan: The human means nothing to me. You're the fight I've been hoping for.
Clark: You don't belong here.
Titan: You're the one that doesn't belong.
[ They have a long and protracted fight, with Titan clearing getting the better of Clark. Clark is beaten from one end of the arena to the other in spectacular fashion, and his face is a bloody mess by the time Titan extends the huge blade from his arm band. ]
Titan: Time to die, Kryptonian.
[ Clark catches Titan's arm and they struggle to gain the advantage. Finally Clark breaks free and Titan is thrown to the ground so Clark can get to his feet. ]
Clark: My turn.
[ Now Clark goes on the offensive, using his superior speed and strength to his advantage to repeatedly pummel Titan. With a final, epic punch Clark sends Titan sailing into the air, landing on his own blade. Titan gets up slowly, but we can see that the blade has broken off in his chest. ]
Titan: Good fight.
[ After a moment, Titan falls to the ground a final time - he is dead. Clark checks on Lois, who is still unconscious on the ground. ]
Bartlett: Sorry to bother you with business, sir. I know this must be a difficult time.
Lex: Get to the point.
Bartlett: We located the fight club, as you instructed.
Lex: So you have Titan?
Bartlett: Negative. He was dead when the team arrived.
Lex: According to your reports, Titan decimated some of the toughest meteor freaks out there. Now, who could have taken him down?
Bartlett: We don't know, sir. We lost our internet link right before the team moved in. They did retrieve Titan's body. I think you'll find the autopsy report interesting.
[ Bartlett hands Lex a confidential file. ]
Lex: He wasn't a meteor freak.
Bartlett: No, sir. Titan wasn't human.
[ Clark is in the loft, looking over a stack of satellite images of meteor craters. ]
Martha: How's Lois?
Clark: She's pretty banged up, but the doctor says she's going to be all right. She's already started working on her article about the fight club.
[ Martha looks concerned. ]
Clark: Don't worry. She didn't see me do anything newsworthy. I won't be making any headlines.
Martha: I'm glad to know she's fine. How are you?
Clark: I thought that Titan was the last prisoner I let escape from the Phantom Zone. But looking at all these ...
Martha: If there are any more out there, I'm sure you'll find them.
Clark: And then what? I don't know how to return them to the Phantom Zone. The only way to get rid of them ... is to k*ll them like I did Titan.
Martha: Clark ... from what you told me, that was an accident.
Clark: That's what I keep telling myself.
Martha: Well, what if it wasn't? He would have k*lled you.
Clark: So I just k*lled him first? How does that make me any different than Titan?
Martha: What you're feeling right now is what makes you different ... regret, remorse for a vicious creature who would have m*rder*d you and Lois without a second thought? Those feelings are what make you human no matter how much you deny it.
Clark: And what about the anger? I wanted to k*ll him, mom. I wanted to k*ll him with my bare hands. I've never felt rage like that before.
Martha: You were angry before you ever heard of Titan. We both know that's not what this is about.
Clark: How could Lana do it? How could she marry Lex?
Martha: I don't know, Clark, but she made her choice.
Clark: Or someone made it for her. I have to figure out what happened. I gotta do something.
Martha: Honey ... I understand how much this hurts, but part of being human, of being in love ... is learning to let go. If you can't, I'm afraid the anger you're feeling will always be there.
[ Clark looks away, out the window across the farm. ]
[ Lex walks into the nursery where Lana is sitting alone in the dark. ]
Lex: Nell called. She wanted to know if you'd like some company tomorrow.
Lana: [ Softly, with a far-away voice. ] I don't know.
Lex: Lana, you haven't left this room since we got back from the hospital.
[ Lana speaks as if in a daze, almost in a whisper. ]
Lana: I like it here. I called Dr. Langston to tell him what happened. They told me he was k*lled in a car accident.
Lex: Oh, my God. [ He kneels at her side ] That's terrible. When?
Lana: The day of our wedding. Lex, why is all this happening?
Lex: Some things in life are just ... out of your control. Sometimes you have to let go and leave it in the hands of a greater power.
Lana: I lost our baby. I'm ... I'm so sorry.
Lex: Hey ... it wasn't your fault.
Lana: I have to know for sure. I need to get my files from Dr. Langston's office.
Lex: We will. Lana, how can I make ... how can I help make the pain go away? What can I do?
[ Lana is silent, looking off into the night outside the window as Lex holds on to her hand, looking at her uneasily. ]
[ Later, in the study, Lex is talking on the phone to Dr. Albright. ]
Lex: Are you sure these are all of her files? Thank you for your help, Dr. Albright. And forget you ever heard of Lana Luthor.
[ Lex takes the medical reports on Lana out of the file and throws them into the fire. He takes a longer, last look at the picture of the baby from the ultrasound, then throws that into the fire as well, as a tear falls down his cheek. ]
06x17 - Combat
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A young Clark Kent struggles to find his place in the world as he learns to harness his alien powers for good and deals with the typical troubles of teenage life in Smallville.
A young Clark Kent struggles to find his place in the world as he learns to harness his alien powers for good and deals with the typical troubles of teenage life in Smallville.